And if you’re willing to test your template-making skills, this alternating, double-shelf project is well worth the effort. Its small cubby in between the shelves can stow a wallet, jewelry or other small valuables behind the front door. I outfitted the project with a strip of low-cost LED rope lighting to cast a soft glow under each shelf. Mine also contains a USB outlet for charging smart devices. The project mounts to a wall stud with screws driven through the cubby’s back panel.

If you like the look of the project but aren’t yet up to the challenge of tricky template-making (or investing in the edge V-groove router bit set), you could simply make the plywood shelf cores larger and wrap their edges with thin veneer edge tape. But that won’t be as durable as solid wood in the long run, nor will it give the same effect as this contrasting, wide purpleheart will. So, why not test your skills and build it just as I have!

Making Subassemblies of Trim Blanks

Let’s get down to business by assembling pieces of long and short side trim to the front trim pieces. I ripped my purpleheart stock to 4″ wide, then headed to my miter saw to crosscut the pieces to rough length. Now, study the Trim Subassembly Drawing for miter-cutting these trim pieces correctly. Why miter them, you ask? Well, mitering will eliminate nearly all of the end grain that would take finish more darkly than the side grain will. You’ll also help to blend the face grain more uniformly all around the shelves, which will look much better when viewing the shelf trim from above.

Notice how the short and long side trim pieces are mitered at 45 degrees on one end. The long front trim piece is miter-cut at 29.5 degrees on one end but 60.5 degrees on the other end. I could make that last cut happen because my Makita miter saw swivels to 60.5 degrees. Some saws do. If yours doesn’t, you might have to tackle that cut in a different way with another saw instead.

Glue and clamp the three trim pieces for each subassembly together. You can see in the photo at right that these are simply glued butt joints. Any reinforcement across the joints (dowels, floating tenons, biscuits) would become exposed when the trim is finally cut to width. But no worries, because in this application, reinforcement isn’t crucial. Glued miter joints will be strong enough for machining, and once the trim wraps the shelves, joint strength will come from the routed V-groove joints between the plywood and purpleheart anyway.

Get ready for some challenges gluing the funky mitered ends together, however. I used both wood screw clamps and bar clamps for that job. The wood screw clamps actually became attachment points for my bar clamps. Kind of unusual, sure, but it worked! When the clamps come off, sand or plane the joints flush.

Making Template #1: Inner Trim Edges

Draw a full-size version of the Shelf Template on a large piece of 1/2″ MDF or other sheet material. Make sure your template workpiece is at least a couple inches wider on both sides than the gridded shape. You also want the “legs” of the template on either side of the shelf shape to be 2″ longer than necessary. Use a flexible batten or large French curves to draw a smooth layout line for this template, centering it on the template material. The line represents the inside edge of the purpleheart trim. I used a jigsaw to cut out the center waste of the template, sawing just inside my layout line.

Then I took the template over to my benchtop oscillating spindle sander to smooth and fair its sawn edge. Go the extra yard here to make sure this inside edge of the template is perfectly smooth and even by working it further with some careful hand sanding.

Mark the 2″ template leg extensions on their inside edges so you can line the template up accurately on your glued-up trim subassemblies.

The next step will depend on your confidence at the band saw. I attached the template to the first trim subassembly with short pieces of double-sided tape, took it to the band saw, and sawed away the inner purpleheart waste. I was careful when attaching the template that I would be removing about the same amount of trim material all the way around.

If you fear you might accidentally cut into the template doing it this way, then just trace the template’s inner profile onto the trim subassemblies instead and band-saw the waste away. There’s no risk of damaging your template this way, so play it safe if you wish.

Forming the Routed Profile on the Inner Trim Edges

With the template attached to the first trim subassembly, install the concave edge V-groove bit (the one that looks like a bird’s mouth) in your router table. With the router unplugged, set the motor to a medium/ high speed and adjust the bit’s height so the midpoint of the bird’s mouth profile will be centered on the thickness of the trim material.

The router bit’s top pilot bearing needs to be able to roll along the cut edge of the template, too. Then start the router and, beginning with the bit’s bearing on the template’s right “leg,” feed the template and trim subassembly clockwise around the bit to remove the rest of the inner waste. This bit reforms the inner edge of the purpleheart trim into a sharp chisel point.

Detach the template from the first trim subassembly carefully, then mount the template to the second trim subassembly with more double-sided tape, and repeat the routing process.

Making Template #2: Outer Edge of Shelves

The good news about doing a really careful job of making the first template is that it will improve your odds for laying out the second template accurately. This one, also made of 1/2″ MDF or plywood, will form the outer routed profile of the shelf cores to mate with the chisel-pointed profile on the purpleheart trim. Here’s how to lay it out. Start with a piece of oversized MDF, and mark it 2″ in from one long edge to serve as an extension of the template past the shelf during routing. Now lay one of the trim subassemblies on it so the bottom square ends of the side trim pieces intersect your 2″ layout marks. Take a very sharp pencil or a fine leaded mechanical pencil and trace around the bottom edge of the trim’s routed profile, right where it touches the template surface. This line represents the outer perimeter of what will be the plywood shelf. It’s SUPER important to trace this layout line accurately.

Grab your jigsaw and cut just outside of this layout line (only the portion inside the layout line is the template this time). Very carefully, sand the template up to the layout line. If you sand the line away, the fit between the plywood and the trim might be too loose and create a gap on the shelf. If you don’t sand enough, the trim will fit too tightly around the plywood and could break at the mitered joints when it’s installed. Take your time and be fussy with this sanding.

Fitting the Routed Shelf Edge to the Trim

Cut two plywood panels for the shelves, and then cut one or two more that you can use as test pieces. Why? Because at this moment, we still don’t know if the second template will produce shelf cores that fit the trim correctly. So, there’s some experimentation and refinement ahead of us! It’s the nature of the beast … don’t ask me how I know.

Get one of your plywood test pieces, and trace the shelf template onto it. Band-saw the test shelf about 1/16″ outside the layout line. Now chuck the convex V-groove bit (with the pointed center tips) in your router table. Adjust its height so the bit’s tips line up with the inside routed edge of the trim subassemblies. Once that’s dialed in, mount template #2 to your plywood test shelf with double-sided tape so the shelf’s contoured edge overhangs the template’s edge evenly. Make sure to also align the back “flat” edge of the shelf with the template’s 2″ overhang marks. Start the router, and rout all the way around the shelf to reduce its size and form the concave, mirror image to the trim’s convex chisel-edge profile.

Remove the template from the shelf, and clean off any whiskers left by the router bit along the routed edge. Now very carefully and gently, try to slide one of the trim subassemblies into place on the test shelf. Don’t force the parts together, or you could break the miter joints. Do the routed joints fit together? Are there any gaps, or is the fit too tight? Either way, if the shelf and trim don’t come together well, it’s time to make little adjustments to the shelf template’s perimeter and rout another test shelf. Keep working at the template’s shape until it produces a shelf that fits the trim.

My cherry plywood was slightly thinner than my purpleheart trim, so I readjusted the bit height so the best face of each shelf aligns flush with the best face of each trim subassembly. Keep in mind that if you need to do the same thing, these shelves will face in opposite directions on the final project. Go ahead and rout your actual shelves. Then glue and clamp the trim to each shelf. Remember to tighten those clamps carefull so as not to over-stress the miter joints.

Making Template #3: Outer Perimeter of Trim

It’s time to bring the overly-wide purpleheart trim down to its 1-1/4″ final width, and we’ll do that with a third template. To make it, I first created a simple scribing jig for my pencil.

It’s just a scrap with a flat edge that rides against the shelf template to trace a layout line 1-1/4″ larger than the shelf onto a piece of MDF.

Create this template with the same 2″ extension as the other two templates.

Cut the template out, sand its outer edge smooth and use it to trace the outer perimeter layout line onto both trim subassemblies.

Cut them to shape at the band saw or with a jigsaw.

Grain Direction Precautions

Refining the outer edge of the trim with template #3 is our next step, but it’s a bit tricky because the grain direction of the purpleheart comes into play. Flush-trimming around the corners could mean you’ll be routing with the grain and then inadvertently against the grain from one piece to the next, depending on your stock arrangement. So to help mitigate problems, I installed a double-bearing flush-trim bit with a shear-cutting angle (Rockler #27867). After sticking each trim subassembly to the template, I started the routing process with the template on top, riding against the bit’s top bearing.

But, if the purpleheart started to chip, or the bit’s cutting action began to feel choppy, I stopped the routing pass, flipped the template over, and raised the bit to use its bottom bearing against the template instead. That way, I could reverse my feed direction and rout with the grain again. Your template-routing experience will help you assess how best to flush-trim these edges in order to rout with the grain direction as much as possible. But I definitely recommend preemptively using the same shear-cutting bit as I did, or one similar to it. It really helped here!

Finishing Up the Shelves

Once the trim was flush-cut to final width, it was time to trim the shelves to their final front-to-back width of 12-1/4″ at the widest point. I did this by mounting each shelf temporarily to a flat-edged panel of MDF that was wider than the shelf. That way, the panel’s flat edge could follow my table saw’s rip fence while I trimmed the waste off of the back flat edge of both shelves.

Wrap up work on the shelves by hand-planing or scraping and sanding the trim flush with the plywood cores. Be careful to not overdo it and cut through the plywood’s thin face veneer. And when you’re satisfied with your shelves, you can also be happy that you’ve completed the hardest part of this project!

Building the Middle Cubby

I made the cubby so that all the visible parts, when viewed from in front, would be purpleheart. So, the cubby’s sides and door are solid purpleheart. But the top and bottom panels are maple with a 3/4″ x 3/4” strip of purpleheart glued to their front edges because those components aren’t as obvious. That way, when the cubby’s door is opened, the carcass looks like purpleheart all the way around.

Use a wide straight bit in the router table or a dado blade in your table saw to plow 3/8″-deep x 3/4″-wide rabbets along the top, bottom and back edges of the side panels so they wrap over the ends of the top and bottom panels.

I decided to install the door with a single Mini Blum® 26 mm Frameless Overlay Hinge (Rockler #38385) that snaps closed, because this door is so tiny as to not need two hinges. Follow the instructions that come with the hinge to bore a stopped hole in the back of the door for the hinge’s cup. Dry-assemble the cubby with clamps so you can install the carcass-side component of the hinge on the cubby’s side panel.

Tricking Out the Project and Installing It

There are several doodads you can choose to add to your project as I have to make it even more useful, and now is the right time to consider them. I like the white Tot-Lok Mechanism (Rockler #63164, #63172), because it enables a door to be unlocked with a magnetic key from the outside. So, I mounted this hardware to the back of the door and to the cubby side opposite the hinge. I also thought LED lighting might be a nice touch. I picked up an inexpensive 6-ft LED rope light, and I routed a channel in the cubby top, bottom and back to feed the LED through from inside the cubby to the bottom faces of the shelves. If you’d like USB ports in the cubby too, you’ll need to chisel an opening for that hardware in the cubby side as I have.

All of this work happens before gluing the cubby together. When I was finally ready to assemble everything, I glued the cubby top and back panels to the side panels first, but I left the bottom panel unglued so I could remove it for installing the cubby to the top shelf. When this glue-up dried, I centered the cubby’s top on the bottom face of the top shelf with the back of the cubby flush with the back edge of the shelf. I fastened the cubby to the top shelf with four #8 x 1-1/2″ screws driven into countersunk pilot holes. Then I could glue the cubby’s bottom panel into place and install the bottom shelf to it (facing the opposite direction to the top shelf) when the glue dried. To verify the alignment of the two shelves before attaching the second one, stand the project on a workbench and use a couple of combination squares held against the ends of the shelves to see that their ends align. I made a few adjustments, then drove four screws up through the bottom shelf into the cubby bottom to attach the parts.

At this point, I went ahead and applied a couple of coats of poly to the whole project. After it cured, I installed the LEDs and USB hardware, then hung the shelf on the wall near an outlet to power everything up. A few long screws driven through the cubby’s back and into a wall stud will provide plenty of structural support to secure this project at the height you need it.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Floating Bedside Shelf appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

This knife block will hold a typical set of kitchen cutlery — an 8″ chef knife, a serrated bread knife, a couple of smaller utility/paring knives and four steak knives, plus a sharpening steel and kitchen shears. If you have even more knives to store, you could always add more wedges or widen the block to accommodate three knives widthwise instead of two, as it’s laid out here. Feel free to modify the design to suit your needs.

Time for Some Tapering

The first order of business is to create the knife block’s seven primary wedges. I ripped my 8/4 cherry into long 3-5/8″-wide strips, flattened one face of each strip on the jointer and then ran them through the planer to create parallel faces. Try to keep this stock nearly a full 2″ thick. Then crosscut the workpieces into eight 10-1/4″-long blanks (one becomes a test piece).

The reason why it’s good to keep these wedge blanks nice and thick is that it will make them easier to clamp upright in your tapering jig for the next step — turning them into wedges. Start by marking a centerline along one edge of each blank, dividing it lengthwise. Now mark two taper lines on either side of the centerline that reduce the blanks from 1-3/8″ thick on one end to 1/2″ at the other end.

I used Rockler’s Small Parts Taper Jig retrofitted with a pair of Rockler’s long aluminum Hold Down Clamps I had on hand to cut the blanks into wedge shapes. The jig is small enough to accommodate blanks of this length, and the longer clamps pinned them down securely beside the jig’s fence to keep my hands safely clear of my band saw blade. After adjusting the taper jig’s fence to the correct angle, and setting it so that my blade would cut just to the waste side of the layout line, I sliced one face off of the test blank. Make any adjustments, if needed, then cut one face off the other seven blanks, too. After round one of these cuts, I flattened all the cut faces up to the layout lines with several passes on the jointer.

You’ll need to reset the taper jig to cut the second angled faces of the wedge blanks. I also reversed the direction of the blanks from the wide end oriented toward the back of my jig for the first cut to the narrow end of the blanks for the second cut. That arrangement enabled me to keep the majority of wedge shape positioned on top of the jig and securely clamped. When the second faces are cut, head back to the jointer again to flatten them further and remove any waste beyond the layout lines.

Preparing Thin Laminations

You’ll need eight 1/8″-thick “pinstripe” laminations for the knife block, and here’s how I approached the task. I first ripped and crosscut four 3-5/8″ x 10-1/4″ workpieces to size from my 4/4 wenge stock, then resawed them down the middle to produce eight blanks. I had hoped that these workpieces could have yielded three pinstripe layers per blank instead of just two, by making two resaw cuts instead of one, but a couple of test cuts on a scrap piece of wenge proved that cupping or bowing was going to be an issue when the stock was resawn really thin. So I abandoned that option in favor of one resaw cut per blank. Due to the variable nature of wood, sometimes we have to waste a little stock in order to come out ahead with the workpieces we actually need to make, and this was one of those occasions.

To bring those overly thick laminations down to their final 1/8″ dimension, I needed a way to send all eight through my thickness planer safely. A length of 3/4″ melamine shelf board was the ticket. Using double-sided carpet tape, I adhered all the wenge blanks to the melamine with their jointed faces down (and sawn faces up) so the shelf could act as a carrier board through the planer. It’s never safe to feed stock much thinnerthan about 3/8″ through a surface planer by itself, because at some point it becomes too thin to remain flat. Pressure from the feed rollers could cause the end of the stock to bow upward, get caught in the planer’s cutterhead and shatter — not what you want to have happen! Several passes of the carrier board through the planer reduced the wenge to 1/8″ in a safe and controlled fashion. Just don’t skimp on the tape, and keep each planing pass relatively light, skimming off material in shallow passes.

Once the wenge was pried free of the carrier board, I removed all traces of the tape adhesive, then glued a “pinstripe” layer to one face of six of the wedges. For the seventh wedge that would become the top of the knife block, I glued a wenge layer to both faces instead.

Laying Out and Routing Knife Slots

Except for a couple of larger slots that will be required to store a sharpening steel (it’s a 7/16″-square slot for mine) and shears (that one is 5/8″ x 1-1/8″ for the one in my knife set), all the knife slots need only be 1/8″ tall to accommodate typical knife blade Their widths will vary, based on the specific knife styles you own. I routed all the knife slots into the wenge layers only. For the sharpening steel and shears slots, I centered them on the wenge layers and extended the openings into the cherry wedges above and below evenly.

Lay out a slot for each knife on the ends of the wedges. Determine a slot arrangement that maximizes space and groups like knives together. Plan for two knives per pinstripe layer when possible, but keep in mind that the wenge that remains in between and outside of the blade slots is the only material that will glue one wedge to the next.

To rout the knife slots, I used a 3/8″ straight bit, raised 1/8″ above the table. My router table fence guided each of these groove cuts, with the slots extending the full length of the wedges. Try to group your routing passes to take advantage of the same fence setting when you can, even if that means routing a couple of passes on one wedge, then jumping to another wedge out of sequence. It will add efficiency to the whole process. Also, be mindful of the following safety rule: When you’re widening a groove that requires more than one routing pass, set up your cuts so that each pass after the first requires you to move the fence backward, away from the bit. That way, the bit will continue to remove material against its rotation on the side of the slot closest to you (in front). If you find yourself needing to move the fence toward the bit instead, you’ll be cutting the back side of the slot and with the bit’s rotation, which is unsafe. That’s a climb cut situation, and it could cause the bit to grab the stock and pull it through at great speed, potentially resulting in a loss of your control over it.

Gluing up the Wedges, One Joint at a Time

Wedge-shaped workpieces are difficult to glue together, because it’s challenging to apply clamping force uniformly. Here’s how I made the process easier for this situation. I used a strap clamp around the entire assembly, and I glued only two wedges together at a time. If you try to glue all seven at once, they’ll invariably slide out of registration with one another when you tighten the clamps, and the glue is still acting as a lubricant before it tacks up.

I also fashioned a couple of angled scrap blocks and taped them to the jaw faces of a long F-style clamp. That way, the clamp could apply lateral pressure across the wide end of the block where the strap clamp seemed to offer the least effective pressure. I also found it helpful to install a couple more bar clamps at the joints between the first/second and sixth/seventh wedges. These joints often wanted to slide out of alignment, but the clamps prevented that from happening. If the faces of the wedges/pinstripes are flat, it doesn’t take Herculean force to create tight glue seams, but a few well-placed clamps sure helps.

Final Block Shaping

Once all the wedges are assembled and the glue is dry, flatten the faces of your knife block and bring its overall width down to 3-1/2″, either by sending it through your thickness planer or with a hand plane, as I did.

The narrow and wide ends of the block also probably will have small misalignments between the layers, but no worries. Just use a flexible batten or trammel points to draw two radii on the blank — one near the narrow end and one at the wide end.

I set the overall length of my knife block at 9-3/4″, using radii of 8-1/4″ and 18″ to create concentric curves. Trim off the excess ends of the block at the band saw, then smooth the cuts with a curved sanding block or on a spindle sander with a large-diameter spindle. I also eased all the sharp edges of the knife block with a 1/8″ roundover bit in a handheld router. I touched up these little details with some hand-sanding.

Adding Feet and a Renewable Finish

A couple of feet underneath your knife block will make it even more tip-resistant, lift it slightly up off the counter and add an attractive design element. Using a 3/4″-wide dado blade in your table saw, raised to 5/8″, plow a pair of dadoes across the bottom wedge.

I located these cuts 1-3/8″ in from each end of the block. The feet are simply 5″-long “sticks” of 3/4″ x 3/4″ wenge, with their top corners cut and sanded to 5/8″ radii.

Center the feet lengthwise in the dadoes so they extend out evenly on both sides. Attach each foot to the blank with a single #8 x 1-1/2″ flathead wood screw driven into a countersunk pilot hole.

Any oil/varnish blend would be a good choice for finishing this knife block because it will enhance the color of the wood while also adding a degree of protection from cooking spatters and spills. I wiped on three coats, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly before reapplying. Once the finish cures, this attractive kitchen accent is ready to display your cutlery in style!

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Pinstriped Knife Block appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

With that feedback in mind, senior art director Jeff Jacobson and I decided to design and build an updated version that has some of the best features of an Adirondack chair but addresses some of the shortcomings. Jeff built two prototypes before he was satisfied, and this chair is the result of those efforts.

The outside frames are built in a “Z” shape and are then joined together with a series of cross braces. I chose African teak from Rockler as the lumber for the frame and crosspieces. It is excellent for outdoor projects as it resists rot very well (but not quite as well as the Asian teak that most folks are more familiar with). It machines well and, while there is a wide variation of hues in the lumber I selected, when finished with an outdoor oil I think it looks lovely.

For the seat and back slats we used 1/2″ pine lumber. I can almost hear you thinking, “Pine is a terrible outdoor wood!” And that would be true if it was not painted — then it holds up great in the great outdoors. The chair’s design also allows the slats to drain, so no puddling of water, which also is a hedge against rot.

How So, Domino?

I want to say a couple of things about the joinery of this chair. I happen to be a fan of Festool’s Domino loose-tenon system. At the same time, I understand that Domino machines are financially out of reach for a lot of woodworkers. Even so, I wanted to try out Festool’s Dominoes made from sipo wood — a species that resists rot. But if you want to build this chair and don’t wish to use the Domino system, let me say that dowels would be another perfect product for joining the legsets, too.

And while I also used Dominoes to join the cross braces to the leg frames, you could do that with dowels or even with screws driven in from the outside of the leg frames.

Terrific Templates

I chose to make a complete set of MDF templates for every piece of this chair’s framework (with the exception of the seat and back slats). Not only does it speed up the building process, but as it is not uncommon to build more than one of this type of chair at a time, they also will make that easier down the road. A set of templates can also help to minimize measuring errors, because many of the project parts can simply be traced to shape using the templates.

Start by ripping the leg pieces to width. Then mark out the shapes of the different pieces using the templates. With that done, step over to your miter saw and use the templates to set the angles that you need to cut. That’s another benefit of the templates. The last step in forming the legs is using a taper jig to cut the long tapers.

To form the backrests, use the template to lay out the pieces. Cut the angles on the backrests with a miter saw, and then use a band saw to cut away most of the waste close to the long remaining line. Next, step to the router table chucked with a flush-trim bit. Attach the template to a backrest blank with double-sided tape and rout the shape.

Cut the remaining section (the back) of the top angle on the band saw. Now cut up blanks for the seat cross braces. Attach the cross brace template to a blank and template-rout the shape onto the cross brace. Repeat this for all the cross brace pieces.

Doing the Dominoes

Now it’s time to chop the mortises for the Domino loose tenons for the legs and backrest subassembly. Using two 8-mm Dominoes at each joint, they will form a strong connection. Machine the mortises and dry-fit the subassemblies together with the Dominoes in place. When you are convinced that all is well, move on to gluing and clamping the parts together. I used Titebond III, as it is waterproof and has a reasonably long open time. Clamping these pieces together is a bit of a puzzle, but using the cutoff blocks of waste, and double-sided-taping them to the edges of the pieces, I was able to get sufficient clamping pressure to make it work.

While the glue was curing in the leg frame subassemblies, I moved onto machining mortises into the ends of all of the cross braces. It was straightforward work. Put two mortises in each end of the 4″-wide cross braces and one mortise centered in the seat cross braces. Wait on the headrest for now, as you’ll need to locate the mortises at the top of the backrest first.

When the glue has cured on the leg subassemblies, it’s time to sand them smooth. I worked up through the grits from 80- to 180-grit. I softened the edges of the legsets with 220-grit sandpaper, just to remove the sharp edges.

Next up, I needed to bore holes through the seat cross braces and upper back cross brace that allowed me to screw the seat slats to the chair with the screws hidden from view. See the Drawings on the next page for how these two-step holes work. I used #8 x 1-3/4″ flathead zinc screws. They need to extend 3/8″ beyond the edge of the cross braces to penetrate into and secure the seat slats. Take note that the outer holes need to be bored deeper, because the piece changes width, and the holes on the upper back cross brace are just counterbored, as it is a much narrower piece.

Proceeding with the Seat Layout

With the leg subassemblies prepared, it’s now time to lay out the mortise locations for the seat and seat back cross braces. I confess that it was at this point where I decided I would rather just screw them in place, but I persevered with the Dominoes. Three seat cross braces are mounted on a line that runs squarely back from the front edge of the front leg. For this location, see the Drawings.

The cross braces that support the back slats are mounted with their back edges flush to the back edge of the backrest. See the Drawings for their location, too. If you, like me, are using a Domino machine to form the mortises for the seat cross braces, you will need to use a scrap fence clamped in place to help you cut the mortises accurately. Remember how I had you wait to cut the mortises into the headrest? It will make sense now as you need to get the plate of the Domino machine past the bend in the backrest. Locate the mortises at the top of the backrest, then transfer the locations onto the headrest and machine them.

Now let’s back up a bit and address this process if you are not using a Domino machine. If you are using dowels, it would be pretty much the same but would be a bit easier to lay out. If you are using screws driven in from outside the leg frames, you should lay out the cross brace locations on the inside of the leg frames and then drill a small-diameter pilot hole from the inside of the legs outward. Those holes will give you the location where you can drill the counterbore or the countersink (your choice). If you choose to counterbore, you can make your own plugs from African teak with a plug cutter. The screw holes will almost disappear under the plugs.

However you choose to do it, when you are done it’s time to dry-fit all the joinery. Be certain everything comes together correctly, because once you start the glue-up for real, you are committed and there is no going back. I started the glue-up on my workbench, applying glue into the mortises and to the ends of the cross braces. Once I had them all in place, I put the other leg frame on top of the assembly. This is possible to do by yourself, but another person helping makes it much easier.

Still on the bench, I clamped across the headrest, the wide cross brace between the front legs and the other wide cross brace between the back legs. Then I carefully lifted it from the bench and stood it up on the floor. In that position, it was easy to add clamps where they were needed to close up all the joints. Allow the glue to cure. Once the glue has dried, re-sand the pieces starting at 150-grit and switching to 180-grit. The chair frame now is ready for its finish.

Heading for Home

You are well on the path to completion, but there are a few more tasks to get done. If you have not already done so, go ahead and make the armrests. Carefully make the notches where they join the backrest. Note that the forward edge of the notch is angled to match the backrest. Lay out and form mortises on the top of the front legs, transfer the locations to the armrests and chop those mortises. Clamp the armrests in place and drill a counterbored hole through the backrest. Unclamp and take the armrests off, apply glue to the appropriate surfaces and clamp and screw them in place.

Now it’s time to make the seat and back slats. Take note that there are two widths (3″ and 3-3/4″) for each set. I painted my pine slats gray. You could make them from African teak or some other hardwood, too. That’s a design option — you choose. Whatever you decide to do, I suggest that you apply finish before attaching them. Same goes for the chair subassembly. I put two coats of General Finishes Outdoor Oil on the teak before I attached the slats, and I think it looked great.

When the paint and oil has cured, it’s time to complete the project. Screw the slats in place. I started with the seat slats. Space them evenly and drive the screws home. I tilted the chair forward to make it easier to get to the screws on the bottom of the cross braces. (Easier for this past-60-year-old, but still not particularly easy.) I found it necessary to clamp each slat in place before I could drive the screws. As I was using pine, I took care not to overtighten and strip out the wood fibers. For the back slats, I put a 3/4″-thick piece of wood across the seat slats to ensure that I located them properly. The back slats were easier (okay, easy) to install.

Here are two optional tips. The first is using epoxy resin to seal the end grain at the bottom of the legs. If the chair will be used in places where the leg bottoms will get wet, the epoxy will stop the water from wicking up into the wood fibers. This will help to keep the wood from breaking down over time. Five-minute epoxy works great.

Second, I wanted to hide the screw holes on the back cross braces. A 1/8″-thick strip pin-nailed in place did the job.

Now you are done! And you may be wondering if this design is more comfortable for smaller framed people — the answer is yes. While Mary was not available to try it out, we had a bunch of folks “test sit” in it with positive results. Most wanted to take it home and continue testing it over the summer. Hmmm …

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

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Adirondack Upgraded: It took several prototypes, but our art director landed on a fresh update for a classic chair that is both fun to make and easier to get up and out of.

Pinstripe Knife Block: Kick that old humdrum knife block on your counter to the curb after building this wenge and cherry version. Its wedged laminations can accommodate any kitchen knife collection you need to store.

Floating Bedside Shelf: There’s some tricky templating work to be done if you build this curvy bedside accent. But you’ll have a chance to try some new router bits as you wrap thick hardwood edging around each shelf. It’ll raise the bar on your routing skills!

Woodworking Basics: In our second of a new four-part series for beginners, learn how to build a sturdy end table. This project will introduce you to panel glue-ups, taper cuts and wood movement considerations — all excellent lessons to learn.

Modern Shop Hand Tools: Whether building wheel spindles, barrel staves or Windsor chairs, drawknives and spokeshaves have always been essential hand tools. Learn more about what they are and how to use them for adding curves and contours to your projects.

Simplifying Bit Setups: A matched set of edge V-groove router bits can help you install durable, attractive solid-wood edges to plywood shelves. Here’s how to set up and use them well.

Advanced Power Tool Techniques: A.J. Hamler teaches the ins and outs of four must-know band saw techniques for experienced woodworkers: Resawing, pattern-cutting, making compound cuts and preparing bowl blanks from logs.

Tool Preview: Nova brings DVR motor convenience and a load of great features to its new Nebula 18-in. Wood Lathe.

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WORX 20V Power Share Full-Size Hot Glue Gun

MICROJIG Grr-Ripper2 Go and Color-Coded Index Sticker

Metabo HPT 18V MultiVolt 18-Gauge Compact Brushless Brad Nailer

Rockler Dog Hole Routing Template

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Click Here to Download the Plan.

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The post VIDEO: Building a Basic Small Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post VIDEO: Milling a Cherry Tree appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post VIDEO: Resawing with a Band Saw appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

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