September/October 2020 Archives - Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To

Stationary Tool Plug Storage is a Snap

Reader Submitted — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 17:54:48 +0000

I used to keep the power cords of my stationary tools draped over the top of the tool when not in use, but often they would fall to the floor where I would inevitably step on them. No more. Now I clip one of those inexpensive keyring carabiners to a convenient place on the tool, and I capture the plug inside it. The carabiner’s spring-loaded gate makes it easy to store or remove the power cord, and those delicate electrical prongs are never underfoot.

– Ed Klodnicki
Durham, North Carolina

The post Stationary Tool Plug Storage is a Snap appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

PROJECT: Five-spindle Inlaid Bench

Rob Johnstone — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 18:17:19 +0000

Sitting down, and what we sit on, is kind of a big thing. We all do it every day in a multitude of settings and for a wide range of reasons. Some of my most pleas- ant times have been sitting under a tree or on a grassy hillside with nothing more separating my behind from the earth than a layer of denim. Not surprisingly, like many guys my age and in similar circumstances, I have “my chair” in my home. It is where you will find me regularly reading a book, scanning the Internet or simply caught up in deep thoughts. (What if the hokey pokey is really what it’s all about?)

But chairs, benches and other sorts of seating are more than just utilitarian. Over time, they have come to represent statuses from elevated to humble, societal roles or cultural conventions. If I were to invite you into my house and you chose to sit in my preferred chair, I would be gracious and sit some- where else — but I might give you the stink eye when you were not looking. (Uncouth knave! You have usurped my place in my home!) We all know what the terms seat of power, seat of honor, the hot seat or place at the table represent. Thrones are simply chairs with mere humans sitting upon them, but clearly they are also much more than that.

So we should not be surprised that when it comes to the things we sit on — chairs, benches, stools, sofas, ottomans, pews — the variation in those items is remarkable. Which brings us to this project: a five-spindle turned and inlaid bench.

First, Some Design Context

I fell in love with a version of this bench on Pinterest (yes, I look at Pinterest — judge me if you wish). When showing it to my co-workers, I described it as Asian-inspired. I got pushback from a couple of them claiming its Danish Modern influence, so I put the kibosh on that by deciding to add a couple of carved bamboo images on the backrest.

I found the style of a wide bench with a low back attractive, so I was also pleased and surprised when it turned out to be comfortable for me to sit on with the backrest nestling into the small of my back. If you are shorter or taller than me, I don’t know if that will hold true for you.

While I was inspired by an image I found, how many woodworkers do you know that just build an exact copy of a project? Not me for sure. For that reason, I did some sketch- ing as I modified the bench to suit my aesthetic and then moved on to building a prototype from MDF. I can’t say enough about the benefits of prototyping and seeing a full- sized example of what you wish to build. In this case, I moved the long stretchers higher on the legs and added a very slight curve to the ends of the seat and backrest as a result of this process. Then came the real work: building it.

Preparing Materials

I chose to make the bench from 1-3⁄4″ maple lumber. The thick lumber provides visual weight and the actual substance required to support the joinery.

Starting out with 1-3/4″-thick maple lumber, the first step was to glue up a blank for the bench’s seat. Thick joints like this require extra time to cure.

I ripped and crosscut the seat pieces to width and length, and I glued them up slightly oversized in both of those dimensions.

The stock remaining after making the seat and backrest was then cut to width on the band saw and to length on a miter saw. These blanks will be turned into the various spindles.

Then I took the remaining stock from that process and ripped pieces for the various turned parts to width on my band saw. Next, I stepped to a miter saw to cut them to length. You’ll find the dimensions and joinery details in the Drawings.

Before turning the spindles, the author used a Festool Domino machine to form mortises on the legs and stretchers.

I decided to join the legs and stretchers using Festool’s Domino loose tenons. Dowels or another loose-tenon system would work as well. I formed the mortises before I turned the back spindles and legs to more easily and accurately place these joints.

See the Drawings for mortise location details.

But I should have thought ahead and waited to mill these mortises into the ends of the short stretchers, as these holes prevented me from easily mounting those parts between centers on the lathe. “Plan B” of temporarily filling those mortises with Domino tiles worked to solve the dilemma.

With the blank preparation completed, it was time to get busy turning the various spindles for the undercarriage and those that support the backrest. The spindles that join the backrest to the seat have 5/8″-long tenons turned to 11/16″ diameter.

There are 13 spindles to turn for this bench, most of them simple cylinders. I did attempt to turn the legs in a way that evokes a cured bamboo stalk. I didn’t really think I succeeded until an observer commented that hey do look right. You can decide. My lack of skill using a skew chisel was made painfully clear as I turned all of these pieces. (I’ve got to practice more …)

The short stretchers needed a Domino mortise in each end. That made mounting them between centers difficult. A Domino was put into each mortise and cut flush to solve the problem.

Then I sanded the spindles up to 400-grit because I chose to use Watco Oil finish on the bench. Usually I preach applying finish while the pieces are still on the lathe. In this case, though, I didn’t want to take the time to mask all the mortises, so the finish came later.

Thirteen spindles of various lengths and shapes are required for this bench. All of them were sanded to 400-grit while still on the lathe to prepare them for a Watco Oil finish.

There are just two more pieces to make: the long stretchers. After I cut them to length and width, I centered Domino mortises in their ends and sanded them smooth. I also drilled pilot holes in the short top stretchers for screws that will attach the undercarriage to the seat. One hole on each stretcher is elongated to accommodate seasonal wood movement. With that done and after a full dry assembly, I glued and clamped the leg sets together.

Making the Seat and Backrest

Without a drill press in his home shop, the author used Rockler’s Portable Drill Guide to bore 11/16″-diameter holes for the spindles. The guide handled the task easily.

The seat glue-up was now ready to come out of the clamps. I scraped away the glue squeeze-out and then cut the seat to width on the table saw. I wanted to form a very delicate curve on each end of the seat, so I marked the center of the seat blank on each end as well as the exact length of the seat (56″) on those lines. I then measured back 1/4″ and used a square to scribe a line across the width of the seat blank on both ends. Flexing a thin piece of stock that connected the scribed line on each side of the seat with the center point at the 56″ mark, I drew a gentle curve on the ends of the seat. I cut those curves on the band saw, then faired them with a handheld belt sander.

With that done, I set the completed seat on top of the backrest blank and traced the end curves onto it. A trip to the band saw and a bit of belt sander action finished up the backrest’s curves.

With the backrest and seat shapes completed, it was time to sand them. And boy, that was a lot of sanding. Once again, I was determined to sand through all the grits, starting with 60-grit up through to 400-grit. I took a break at the 180-grit stage to form the 1/8″-wide x 3/16″-deep shadow lines in the backrest using a full-thickness table saw blade. Be- fore moving on, I drilled 11/16″-diameter holes for the back spindles using a new portable drill guide from Rockler. Now it was time to do some carving.

Carving and Inlay the Easy Way

To enhance the Asian influence of this project, a simple bamboo motif was carved onto the face of the back-rest.

Bamboo carvings had been part of my concept for the bench from the beginning. But carving is one area of woodworking that I find tedious. Frankly, the skill is “heavy lifting” for me.

These mirror image carvings were easily done with a Shaper Origin CNC.

Enter the Shaper Origin handheld CNC machine. I was able to carve the bamboo motifs easily and accurately with this tool. After I carved the shapes into the backrest, I sanded with 320-grit paper and then applied a wash coat of shellac to the carved face.

The carved bamboo designs were filled with colored epoxy resin.

Just as the Shaper Origin makes carving easy, “inlaying” with colored epoxy is even easier. I mixed up the epoxy, added color, put the mix in a glue syringe and “stayed within the lines” as I filled the carving with it.

This “inlay” procedure could not have been easier. Mixol colorant was added to the prepared resin.

I made puddles of the epoxy in a few places on the carving. But once it cured, it sanded off in a snap, thanks to the shellac wash coat, leaving the carved lines neatly and fully filled.

The colored resin will be flowed into the carving with a glue syringe.

At this point, I sanded the entire front face of the backrest once more, starting at 220-grit and continuing to 400-grit.

It cured completely in 24 hours.

Finishing and final assembly was all that remained to be done. Before I installed the backrest on the seat, I did a couple of things. First, I dry fitted the back spindles in their bored holes. A couple of the tenons needs to be sanded slightly smaller.

After the excess and overflow of the green epoxy was sanded away, the surfaces of the backrest and seat were smoothed up to 400-grit.

Then I applied the first coat of Watco Oil to the seat and the back spindles, but I carefully kept the tenons and the areas where the spindles would be housed bare of finish. I used Watco’s “light walnut” color on the spindles and “natural” on the seat and backrest.

As with any woodworking project, a dry assembly before gluing and clamping is a must. Here the author found that the spindles’ tenons needed a little adjustment before they fit properly.

Then I glued and clamped the pieces together and let the glue cure. While that was happening, I applied several coats of the light walnut Watco to the leg set.

Once the dry fit was successful, it was time to glue and clamp the bench together. The tenons and spindle shoulders provide significant glue area.

I wanted the color to mimic bamboo. I then fastened the undercarriage to the bottom of the seat with #10 x 2-1⁄2″ screws. After assembly, I applied several more coats of the Watco products to build up a more durable film coat.

The undercarriage attaches to the seat with 2-1/2″ screws. On each upper stretcher, one of the through holes that accommodates the screws is elongated to allow the seat to expand and contract across its width seasonally.

While it is no throne, I’m very happy with this bench on several levels. It’s a fun project to build, looks beautiful when done and provides some very practical seating.

Free downloadable SVG files for the bamboo images are available here.

Download the Full-size Inlay Pattern Here.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Five-spindle Inlaid Bench appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

PROJECT: Easy Live Edge Table

Dan Cary — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 16:09:30 +0000

Modern-style live edge tables with metal legs like this one have exploded in popularity in recent years. If you’ve ever shopped for one, however, you know how very expensive they can be at a furniture store or gallery. And building one can be challenging if you don’t have access to slabs or the shop machinery to process them.

But take heart: there’s a simple solution for both the tabletop and legs. Timber-Link pine and maple slabs, available from Rockler, come in both live edge and straightedged pieces that are ready to assemble and finish right out of the package.

Timber-Link slabs are pre-drilled for pocket screws and come in both 4- and 6-ft. lengths. Waney-edged slabs are 5″ to 8″ wide, and straightedged slabs are 8″ wide.

Pre-drilled pocket screw holes make the top as easy to build as applying glue and screwing the slab sections together. The number of pieces you buy determines the top’s width, and you can cut it to any length you prefer.

Combine them to create custom tabletop widths. Start by arranging boards in the order you prefer and marking them.

Arrange the 2″-thick live edge and center sections for a pleasing grain pattern — there will be some variation, especially if you order online and can’t handpick the pieces.

Invert the boards so their bottom faces are up and, keeping them in order, assemble the joints with glue and 2-1/2″ pocket screws.

Mark the boards order, then spread glue on their mating edges and assemble with 2-1/2″ pocket screws. When the joints dry, remove the edge bark with a scraper, drawknife or chisel and sand the surfaces up to 180-grit.

Here, a helper makes minor adjustments to keep the boards flush while the screws are being driven.

Then apply your choice of finish. I used wipe-on urethane for my table.

Remove the bark from the tabletop edges and sand its surfaces smooth. Apply your choice of finish — the author used urethane. Then install the pre-painted steel leg sets with lag screws.

Rockler offers several styles and sizes of painted or unpainted welded-steel leg sets that simply fasten to your new tabletop with lag screws. Then voilà, you’re done. There’s no faster way to build a custom on-trend table than this!

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Pine Timber-Link Slab, Edge Piece, 6′ Long x 2″ Thick x 5-8″ Wide (2) #63608
Pine Timber-Link Slab, Center Piece, 6′ Long x 2″ Thick x 8″ Wide (2) #64197
28″ H V-Shaped Welded Steel Table Leg Set, Black (1) #66014

The post PROJECT: Easy Live Edge Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Woodworker’s Journal – September/October 2020

Matt Hocking — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 16:49:41 +0000

At the moment, it’s hard to predict what Fall 2020 will bring, but chances are good that we’ll all be continuing to socially distance to stay healthy. What better time to keep busy in the shop building one or more of our October issue’s projects and boning up on your general woodworking knowledge.

Gingko Leaf Table: Guest author and frequent contributor Willie Sandry offers a handsome walnut accent table project, inspired by Japanese architecture and furniture.

Easy Live Edge Table: If you’ve been hankering to build one of today’s on-trend live edge tables but don’t have the planer, jointer or drum sander to process the slab, take heart: this project’s table top comes in sections from Timber-Link that are easy to assemble with only a drill/driver. Rockler offers welded-steel leg sets to complement your new slab table top, too.

Inlaid Five-spindle Bench: Our publisher designs an Asian-inspired bench that combines basic woodworking, spindle-turning, CNC routing and epoxy inlay techniques into the same attractive project!

Retro Starburst Clock: Some of you may remember the funky celestial clocks from the 1950s. Pinterest and other social channels will show you how popular those eclectic timekeepers continue to be today. We offer plans to build a maple-and-walnut star-shaped clock that will keep you busy at the tapering jig and router table.

Woodturning: Experience at the lathe as well as observing beautiful bowls can help you elevate your own bowl-turning style and aesthetic tastes. Ernie Conover shares examples from his bowl collection and some dos and don’ts to think about when turning your bowls.

Tool Tutorial: Pneumatic tools make nailing, sanding and spray-finishing easy — but not without an air compressor to power them. Learn more about choosing, using and maintaining an air compressor in this article.

Tool Preview: Rockler’s new Rock-Steady Folding Steel Stand can provide stow-able convenience for a full-size router table, T-track table or other general worksurfaces.

Hardworking Woods: Ash has long been prized for baseball bats, bent-wood creations and general woodworking. Unfortunately, an invasive insect may bring an end to this stalwart North American hardwood species.

Six Simple Finishes: Want to capitalize on oak’s dramatic open grain? Nothing does that better than oil-based pigment stain. We’ll show you how to apply it well.

The post Woodworker’s Journal – September/October 2020 appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

September/October 2020 What’s in Store Roundup

Matt Hocking — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 16:02:17 +0000

Rockler Router Fence Storage Tray

Rockler Carbide Cutter Honing System

Wagner FLEXiO 4300 Paint Sprayer

Milwaukee M18 FUEL 2-gallon Compact Quiet Compressor

Pony Jorgensen E-Z HOLD Expandable Bar Clamps

The post September/October 2020 What’s in Store Roundup appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Five Spindle Bench Inlay Pattern

Matt Hocking — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 15:28:19 +0000

Want to carve your own version of Rob’s bamboo pattern? We’ve got a downloadable version of the bamboo motif from his Five-spindle Inlay Bench.

Download the Full-size Pattern Here.

The post Five Spindle Bench Inlay Pattern appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Air Compressor Water Woes

A.J. Hamler — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 21:08:12 +0000

All compressors accumulate condensed water, which can rust a compressor’s tank if not drained regularly. And, yes, the water always looks nasty.

To keep liquids from entering tools, an inline filter – installed between the compressor and tool – help minimize the amount of water traveling through the hose.

A filter can also be installed permanently near a compressor, with all air being filtered no matter which hose or tool is attached. This model includes an auxiliary pressure regulator.

Condensed water is an inevitable side effect of compressed air. Most collects at the bottom where it can be drained off, but some finds its way into the hose and through the tool. For this reason, all tool manufacturers recommend putting a few drops of lubricating oil in the tool’s connector before use to mitigate moisture-caused rust.

Performance-wise, the amount of moisture passed through the hose isn’t a huge issue for fastening tools, but water traveling through sprayers applying paint or a final finish to a project can ruin the finish.

Water can be handled a couple of ways. For shops with air plumbing, water traps can be installed at low points in the airline to collect water through gravity. A drain valve at the bottom of the trap releases collected water.

For hoses, you can install an inexpensive inline water filter that collects not only water, but also any dust or small debris (like tiny rust flakes from the compressor) sent through the hose. These simply screw in place between the hose and tool, or two sections of hose.

For a more permanent solution, a larger filter can be mounted to the wall at any point in an air run – either a hose or plumbing. These are larger filter assemblies with higher capacity for trapping water and debris, but function the same way. Some of these include an auxiliary regulator that can be used in place of the one on the compressor. This can be handy when mounted away from the compressor and closer to the work area or, if using multiple hoses or plumbed airlines, each line can be regulated separately. High-end versions can include an oiler, useful for shops that regular use air tools frequently (but not sprayers) to constantly keep them lubricated.

Click Here to Download a PDF of This Article.

The post Air Compressor Water Woes appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

VIDEO: Five-spindle Bench with Carved Epoxy Inlay

Rob Johnstone — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:50:43 +0000

This Asian inspired Five-spindle Bench is enhanced with bamboo motifs carved with a Shaper Origin and then filled with colored epoxy to create easy, effective inlay. Follow the bench’s construction and carving technique in this video.

Free downloadable SVG files for the bamboo images are available here.

The post VIDEO: Five-spindle Bench with Carved Epoxy Inlay appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

VIDEO: Building a Live-Edge Slab Table with Metal Legs

Dan Cary — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:42:22 +0000

Modern-style live edge tables with metal legs like this one have exploded in popularity in the past few years. If you’ve ever shopped for one of these tables you might have been hit with sticker shock. And the prospect of building one of these tables might seem out of reach because the slabs alone can be tough to find and most of us don’t have the equipment to mill our own slabs. Also, welded metal legs aren’t something you can find at every corner hardware store. We’ve found an easier way to build a live-edge slab table.

The post VIDEO: Building a Live-Edge Slab Table with Metal Legs appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Retro Starburst Clock Drawings

Jeff Jacobson — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:33:17 +0000

Find the measured drawings and a full-size template for the base of the clock.

Click Here to Download the Drawings.

The post Retro Starburst Clock Drawings appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.