Both methods are easy to learn and far less demanding than traditional approaches. The first produces segmented bowls with solid sides; the second creates open segmentation.

Segmentation with Solid Sides

My method for creating this type of bowl eliminates the need to cut many small pieces at precise angles. Instead, it relies on stack cutting, a standard scroll saw technique, to create the blank.

The basics are simple: two contrasting blanks, typically between 1/4″ and 1/2″ thick, are attached with double-sided tape. A pattern, consisting of a circle divided into a designated number of segments, is attached; the circumference and segments are then cut to shape.

Once cut and numbered, alternate segments from each set are exchanged to form two multi-colored circles. Because all pieces are stack cut, deviations in any piece are compensated for by complementary deviations in the adjacent pieces.

The segments are glued at their edges to form two circles and sanded lightly once the glue has set. They are then glued together to form the blank.

The blank can then be cut in the same way as any scrolled bowl, or rings cut from it can be used as decorative elements in a multi-blank project.

Open Segmentation

It was challenging to design a blank that would look like open segmentation when cut into rings, but the solution turned out to be quite simple. The blank is constructed from wedges cut from a circle, then glued evenly around a thin substrate.

A pattern is attached to the substrate side and the rings are cut at predetermined angles. The cutting process creates rings with a regular pattern of slices and spaces.

Depending on size and purpose, the bowl can be cut so that the wall thickness remains uniform throughout, or cut so that the wall thickness increases slightly with each successive ring.

Walls of even thickness are ideal for smaller bowls, especially those that are primarily decorative, while those with increasing wall thickness have a greater gluing surface — a consideration for larger bowls or those intended for regular use.

Sanding of an open segmented bowl is standard, with two notable exceptions. First, care must be taken to avoid catching the sander on the edges of the segments; the slits at the bottom of the round inflatable sander are especially vulnerable. For this reason, I use the smaller of the two inflatable sanders: the openings in their abrasives resist snagging better.

Second, the center section of the blank, usually used as the base, has wedges on its underside. These must be sanded off for the piece to be used. If this is not feasible, cut a new base from the same wood as the substrate.

Variations to Explore

This versatile method for open segmentation can be used for rounded square and wavy bowls as easily as for round ones. With a slight pattern adaptation, it can even be used to make oval bowls whose segments remain evenly sized all around the circumference.

Once you’ve mastered the process for making a basic scrolled bowl, it’s an easy transition to variations that no one will believe were made with a scroll saw.

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Corian®

In thicknesses of 1/2″ or less, Corian can be used to make attractive cutting boards, trivets, coasters and candleholders. Even though it’s expensive to buy, you can often get offcuts from a local countertop fabricator for little or no cost. (It helps to call in advance, bring a sample of your work and cut a small project as a thank you.) Another source is eBay; check frequently, as offerings change constantly.

While easy to cut, the material can melt if the wrong type of blade is used or the motor speed is too high. Skip tooth blades are generally recommended, with motor speed set at about 60 percent of capacity. However, after some experimentation, I found that the #5 Flying Dutchman Polar blade had no trouble handling 1/2″ Corian at the highest speed setting, while others could not do so at any speed.

This variability of performance among blades is why you should always make trial cuts on scrap with the blade and speed setting that you’re planning to use. When your project has been cut, sand it to correct irregularities, soften edges and create the desired degree of shine.

Acrylic

Acrylic sheets can be cut with a scroll saw, provided precautions are taken to reduce friction and heat. When cut, the edges look frosted; heat from a butane torch will restore the clear appearance as well as soften the edges and remove small surface scratches.

Acrylic excels where transparency is desirable. When used as the center panel of a frame-and-panel box lid, it allows the contents to remain visible even when the box’s lid is closed.

Metal

Equipped with a metal-cutting blade, the scroll saw can cut soft metal such as copper silver, brass and aluminum, up to 1/8″ thick, as well as 1/8″ brass rod. Sheets can be taped between pieces of 1/8″ plywood to prevent burrs on the underside, keep shavings under control and protect the saw table.

In the hands of a skilled cutter, the scroll saw can also be used to cut coins, turning these everyday objects into pieces of incredible beauty and delicacy.

Foam Core, Paper, Fabric

Many craft materials can be cut quickly and easily with the scroll saw.

I’ve cut 1/2″-thick foam core glued to hardboard to make a base for a wedding cake.

I’ve also used it to craft a custom-sized ring holder. The scroll saw can also make quick work of cutting multiple shapes for appliqués or quilts.

Not all fabrics cut equally well; select those unlikely to shift, such as medium weight cotton.

Fabric can also be glued to plywood, then clamped securely to prevent cupping as it dries.

And don’t overlook the saw’s ability to customize notepads or make stacks of decorative cutouts.

Once you start thinking outside the (wooden) box, you just might begin to use your saw in ways that you never imagined.

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1. It’s all about the blades. A British band saw patent was filed in 1809. But the technology to create durable band saw blades (the welds broke quickly) kept band saws from being a practical tool for the next many years. A patent by Anne Crepin, a Frenchwoman, solved the welding problem in 1846, and the way was made clear for band saws. The American band saw patent was filed in 1836 by Benjamin Barker of Ellsworth, Maine. (Apparently it had to wait for a suitable blade as well!)

2. Size matters. Woodworking band saw blades are generally made of carbon steel. The width of the blade is the key determinant as to how small a curve or diameter you can cut. A 3/4″-wide blade’s minimum cut diameter (about 5-1/2″) is much larger than a 1/4″ blade (approximately 5/8″). On the other hand, wide blades usually cut straighter lines than narrow blades, if they are sharp.

3. Those are some fine teeth you have. Tooth count varies on band saw blades. In general, narrow blades have more teeth per inch and cut smoothly but require a slower feed rate. Wide blades have fewer and larger teeth per inch. They cut more roughly but are stronger, to handle much thicker material. The larger gullets between their teeth allow more swarf to be removed with greater efficiency while producing less friction.

4. Two to tango. There are two main types of tooth configurations: hook tooth and skip tooth. The hook tooth has about a 10-degree rake angle, allowing more aggressive and faster cutting. Its trade-off: a rougher cut. Skip tooth blades will not cut as quickly but leave a much smoother surface on the wood, requiring less sanding on exposed edges.

5. Jack of many materials. While we primarily cut wood, band saw blades are available that cut many different materials. Plastics and non ferrous metals (brass, copper and aluminum) can also be cut with the proper blades on a standard band saw. Carbide tooth blades are a relatively new technology that provide high quality cuts and remain sharp for a long time.

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– Granville Jones

Trying to seal liquid sap is an exercise in futility. Spar urethane (a misnomer, by the way) is probably exterior urethane, and while it would undoubtedly cure over the sap pockets, do you really want active, oozing sap under your cured finish? That can’t end well.

The traditional material for sealing sappy knots is called “knotting” and is made of thick shellac. It works moderately well for a little while but ultimately fails. I’ve seen sap make its way through just about every clear wood finish, thick paint and even through vinyl “contact paper” drawer liner material. There is a way to “set” the sap by heating the wood past the point where sap crystallizes, but it’s probably not practical on your thick pine slab. Personally, I would consider using something else for a coffee tabletop. After all, even the best finish has its limitations.

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With that in mind, we asked Minneapolis woodworker Jacob Garrison to design a couple of workshop fixtures that provide both flexible storage and a work surface. The results are this wall-mounted cabinet with drawers and workbench on casters. The two are made to work well together, with the cart nesting under the wall cabinet when not in use.

We started by limiting them to a depth of no more than 20″ (less being even better). That way the workbench cart can be pushed against most garage walls so it won’t interfere with a parked car. Mobility also adds to its versatility: just roll the workbench out and use it wherever you need it most. Common home center plywood, hardboard and pine trim are smart choices to help keep this no-nonsense shop project budget friendly.

Building the Wall Cabinet

We’ve kept the wall cabinet’s design simple here so that even a beginner can build it with just a few tools. Following the Material List, lay out and cut the cabinet’s top, bottom, ends, drawer supports and back panel to size from a sheet of 3/4″ plywood. It’s easiest to cut the parts with a table saw, but you could also use a circular saw and straightedge.

Assemble the cabinet carcass with glue and screws — we used trim head screws that don’t need to be hidden by wood plugs. Now add a pine face frame to the cabinet’s front edges with glue and brad nails to hide the plywood edges.

The cabinet’s drawers are shallow and wide to keep their contents organized without getting buried. Cut the drawer fronts, backs and sides to shape.

Their inside faces require a 1/8″-wide x 1/4″-deep groove, located 1/2″ up from the bottom edges, for installing the drawer bottoms, so plow them now with a table saw or a router and 1/8″-dia. straight bit.

Dry assemble one of the drawers to measure its interior for a bottom panel, and cut the four bottoms from 1/8″-thick hardboard.

Assemble the corners of the drawer boxes with glue and brad nails. Then, install a 1/2″-thick support underneath the drawer bottoms to stiffen them.

Fasten drawer slides inside the cabinet openings and to the drawers to hang them. Finish up the cabinet by attaching faces and pulls on the drawers. To mount the cabinet, just drive 3″ screws through its back panel and into each wall stud behind it.

Making the Workbench Cart

The workbench cart is also designed for easy construction. As you’ll see in the drawings and the photos to follow, it consists of long and short wood frames that support the work surface and two shelves beneath.

Cut the long and short frame rails and stiles to size, and assemble the four frames with pairs of 1-1/4″-long pocket hole screws at each joint. Bring the frames together to form the bench’s base by driving 1-5/8″ screws through the end stiles of the long frames and into the edges of the short frames.

Now cut and install shelf supports inside the base with 1-1/4″ screws. With those in place, cut and install the plywood sub top on top of the frame and the shelves on the supports with glue and brads — this stiffens the cart and provides stability. Notice in the Drawings photos that the sub top has a 1-1/2″-dia. through hole drilled near one corner.

It will enable you to push out and replace the 1/8″ hardboard work surface if it should ever become damaged. Wrap the edges of the sub top with pieces of long and short trim, glued and brad-nailed in place, to form a shallow recess for the work surface.

Finally, install a piece of triangular plywood blocking to the underside of the cart at each corner. Attach 4″ locking casters to this blocking with 1/4″ x 1″ screws to make this cart a breeze to roll around the shop and park wherever you need to use it for your next project.

Lock-Align System Can Upgrade Drawers

Rockler’s Lock-Align Drawer Organizer System is a collection of various interlocking components designed to store a variety of supplies. The system uses a combination of repositionable dividers that form a grid, plus bins or trays to line the drawer.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

4″ Heavy-Duty Polyurethane Casters (2) #23030
75-lb. Full-Extension Drawer Slides – Centerline® 3612 (4) #23127
Trim Head Square Drive Screws 6 x 1-5/8″ (1) #61226

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

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And then there is the walnut lumber. Thick, live-edged with bark inclusions, its grain wraps around the table, highlighting heartwood and sapwood. Those light and dark colors are amazing — even surprising. We found the walnut at a local sawmill, which is a fun task in and of itself. While the table plan was designed in advance, the stock we found for it definitely influenced the final result, and its irregular edges were always an important consideration.

Making the Templates

When working with irregular lumber like this, one key to success is to somehow create dead-straight edges from which to form your joinery. Then, there is the additional challenge of getting the serpentine live edges to meet at the mitered corners in a way that is attractive and not distracting. In order to solve both of those problems, we made templates for the tabletop pieces from 1/4″ material. Making a template for each of the four pieces enables you to check them for a correct fit.

After allowing the lumber to acclimate to our shop for a week or so, we used a draw knife to cut away the bark from the edge of the board. Then we used the templates to mark the lumber for the four top segments in preparation for cutting these pieces at the miter saw. Notice that we laid them out sequentially in the order of edge piece/end piece/edge piece/end piece. That ordering will allow the figure of the wood to flow around the tabletop. At this point we did not miter-cut the stock, just broke it down into blanks by cutting straight across the width. Mark the workpieces on their ends (we used numbers) to help assure that you’ll have them properly aligned when assembled.

With the stock cut to more manageable size, the next step was to face-joint the blanks and then plane them to a uniform thickness of 1-5/8″. After that, it was time to do some more advanced joinery.

Cutting Straight Edges and Miters

Once again we grabbed the templates to mark the stock for the next machining steps. Be very careful to locate the pointed tips of the miters dead-on the waney edge of each blank; this is the best way to get a reasonable alignment of those irregular edges when you assemble the tabletop. (Even so, a bit of carving will likely be needed to terminate the miters perfectly.) We marked the straight inside edge and the miters on each piece. Note that when working with walnut, a white marking pencil makes these layout lines much easier to see.

With the pieces all marked, it was time to cut the straight edges that will form the interior rectangular opening when the table is assembled. We used a track saw — a circular saw that has a special aluminum track to guide it — to form those straight edges. A regular circular saw with a shop-made guide would work for the task as well. What is critical is that these cuts are straight and square to the machined faces of the walnut. For that reason, it is very important to have a sharp saw blade and to take your time. Let the saw do the work as you cut — don’t force it. The straight cut edges become the fixed starting points from which the miter cuts will be registered. Any significant deflection of those edges will make forming accurate miters much trickier. (And most of us think that miters do not need to be any trickier … ever.)

Cutting those tricky 45-degree miters is next on the agenda. As with any closed mitered frame, these cuts are critical to bringing the shape together. They will form those straight edges into a rectangular opening, and they will do the same for the ash inlay we will install later in the process.

First take a moment to transfer the number notations on the end of each piece to the face, since you will be chopping the existing numbers off the boards. We then used hash marks, crossing each miter line, to also help keep the orientation of the parts clear.

Any time you are going to be cutting expensive stock like this walnut, set up the saw carefully and make test cuts on scrap material first. In our case, checking the accuracy of the detents on the miter saw required cutting a complete set of miters. We used MDF for that task. The good new for us was that the saw was dead-on when swung to 45 degrees left or right. The earlier advice about using a sharp saw blade is doubly important here for the miter saw: these are heavy-duty cuts, and you need all the saw’s elements working together to cut well. Now go ahead and cut the miters, using the saw’s hold-down for improved safety and accuracy. Once cut, check how the parts fit together. You will probably have to adjust the miters a small amount … it just goes with the territory.

After that’s done, it’s time to start sanding the faces of the stock, but first study the figure in the wood. You still have the option of choosing one face or the other as the tabletop’s show face. But before you can get busy sanding, transfer the hash marks back to the ends of the boards so you won’t lose them as references during sanding.

Drum Sanding Convenience

We used JET’s new compact 1hp 10/20 Drum Sander for the first time on this project. Don’t let its small footprint fool you. It worked like a full-sized self-feeding unit, producing excellent results without a hiccup.

We sanded both faces of the tabletop pieces, first to clean up any areas of tearout from the miter cuts and then to get a good look at the wood’s figure. There had always been a presumed “top” of the tabletop as we were working on it. That was mostly the result of looking at the waney edges and deciding which orientation would look best. As it turned out, this continued to be the determining factor — the board’s figure on both faces was pretty similar.

With sanding behind us, it was on to the router table to do a bit of additional machining. The rectangular opening in the center of the tabletop is covered by a glass insert, and that insert sits in a rabbet that encircles the opening. We made ours 1/4″ wide by 1/4″ deep. You’ll also need to rout a 1″ wide, shallow groove for the inlay. We used a 5/8″-diameter straight bit for both operations. Open up your router table’s split fence so that you can expose only 1/4″ of the router bit, and then set the depth to 1/4″. Use a bit of scrap to test the cut and, after dialing it in, go ahead and mill all of the rabbets on what will be the top of tabletop. (You are committed now!)

We used ash lumber for the inlay species, but maple or even a dark wood like wenge would look great, too. Rip some strips 1″ wide by 1/8″ thick from your inlay material. We took the extra step of running them through the drum sander to make certain that they were entirely uniform.

Now, back at the router table, close the fence facings and slide the fence 2″ back from the router bit. Lower the bit until it is a strong 1/16″ above the table, and give that setup a test run. (Keep that scrap piece close by for now.) When you are satisfied with the cut, grab the walnut and plow a groove, orienting the straight edge of the pieces against the router table fence. Once you are done with that, move the fence an additional 3/8″ away from the bit and, grabbing the scrap stock you saved a minute ago, plow the remaining width of the groove. Test the inlay strips in the groove and adjust it as needed. The strips should fit snugly. If they do, glue the strips in place and let it fully cure.

Here again was another time the 10/20 Drum Sander proved its worth: we used it to sand the inlay flush to the top of each mitered piece. Then, a Japanese hand saw made quick work of trimming the ends of the inlay pieces flush to the mitered ends of the walnut.

Assembling the Top and Finishing Up

Although these mitered ends are wide and thick, providing lots of glue surface area, we still thought the joints needed to be reinforced with some loose-tenon joinery. We chose the Beadlock® system for that task. Drilling a series of side-by-side holes creates the mortises that fit Beadlock’s prefabricated tenons quickly and easily.

As always, before you glue this tabletop together, you need to do a dry assembly. It allows you to test the fit one last time and practice with your clamps. When you are ready, glue and clamp the parts, allowing the joints to dry overnight. Scrape off any squeeze-out, however, when the glue gets rubbery after 20 minutes or so.

When the clamps come off, it’s time for another round of sanding. We sanded the top up to 400 grit so that the wood almost looked polished without a finish applied. And speaking of finish, for air-dried walnut like we used, you can’t beat Watco Oil to enhance the color. We wiped on five coats, allowing it to cure and rubbing it down with 0000 steel wool before the last coat.

Tubular-steel legs were an early decision for this project. They harmonize nicely with the tabletop’s rectilinear shape. Once installed, we knew the hardware was a good choice. That done, we set the glass into place for a lovely last touch. This table is practical, beautiful and full of surprises … just as we had hoped.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

U-Shaped Welded Steel Table Leg Set #40716

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Walnut Coffee Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

But we can still find and prepare our own wood from trees as we find them. And we can still make what we want to from wood, even if it is not a typical usage. For example, I make a lot of bowls from wood. There are more practical bowls made of glass, plastic and ceramics in my cupboards, but I like to make wooden bowls. The stock I use to make those bowls often comes from chunks of tree trunks that are dropped off at a local municipal lawn waste disposal site. I love driving into the site, sorting through the logs and finding something that I can then turn into a bowl.

And that’s how I happened upon this huge chunk of cottonwood. I saw it and for some reason the shape of it struck me as a table — it was inspiring! I tried to lift it into my pickup, but it was way too heavy, so I talked a fellow scrounger into helping me lift it into the bed. That was last fall, and this cottonwood spent the winter huddling behind my garbage can until the thaw. Then it was ready for me to get started on its transformation. But the question was, how to do it?

An Odd Collection of Materials, Tools and Products

• A Huge Chunk of Cottonwood
• Makita Cordless Chainsaw
• Makita Cordless Angle Grinder
• Arbortech TURBO Plane
• Arbortech Ball Gouge, TURBO Shaft
• Propane Garden Torch

• Various Power Sanders
• Aqua Coat Grain Filler
• Zinsser Clear Spray Shellac
• Chrome Adjustable Legs

Power Carving and Chainsawing to the Rescue

I had already been pondering the idea of using power carving tools from Arbortech to shape wood, and so that is where I started. But I also knew that I would need to remove a good bit of material, and for that my trusty cordless Makita chainsaw was just the ticket.

A concept for the table had been floating around in my head over last winter in countless sketches. I liked the basic shape of the log but wanted to refine it a bit.

I was going to take the bark off of what I was considering the “back” of the table, then I wanted to texture that exposed curved face using a ball gouge carver. How much texture is something I would decide on as I worked with the piece.

What I think of as the “front” of the table needed to be reshaped to a refined arc. There were chainsaw cuts and fracture voids in that front that I thought would look cool if they remained, but I still wanted the front facing curve to be shaped as smoothly as possible. I used Arbortech’s TURBO Plane to do that.

The overall concept was to have the top and front be super smooth with a gloss finish, and the textured back would feature a dramatic color difference.

I decided that the back should be carbonized in a burning technique called shou sugi ban, then have a clear finish applied. With luck and some skill, the variation in texture, color and shape might just form an attractive if odd table.

All of those choices worked out really well, in my opinion. But my first notion for the legs of my table was not so great.

Legs: A Less Organic “Plan B”

My initial leg plan was to use some of my other recovered wood — a long limb from an elm tree — chop it up and turn some short legs from it. I would then texturize and carbonize them, re-turn the bottoms of the legs to expose clean wood fiber and apply a clear finish.

So I did all of that and the legs looked, well, dumb. They were too stubby, there was too much going on and they were just plain awkward looking. Bad plan.

Which left me in a bit of a pickle, because a table without legs is just a chunk of wood on the floor. But it leads me to an important point. When you are designing a project, especially one like this that is centered on a material that is unique (you don’t find many huge chunks of cottonwood laying around), design choices need to be flexible.

So I asked for advice from my art director, and he recommended some chromed metal legs from Rockler. That turned out to be a great idea. It added one more different bit of texture and shape while also enhancing the overall modern look of the table.

I Know It’s a Bit Odd … But!

I am well aware that this project is unusual and, to be frank, odd. To some degree, it wants to be both a table and bench. And I can almost hear some of your questions and comments, so I will try to address a few of them here. Even so, I would love your full opinions about the project, so please send them in!

First question: Who would want this weird piece of furniture? Well, the reactions I’ve gotten so far have been hot or cold with little middle ground. Some would want it, and others would not.

Won’t that big chunk of wood keep shrinking and cracking as it dries? Yes, and that process will only add to its unique and somewhat distressed look.

How much does it weigh? Too much! Have you totally lost your mind? Perhaps, but that is really a different discussion altogether….

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

Taking cues from several Nakashima pieces, my final design features a half-dovetailed case over a rectilinear base joined with half-laps. The flexible design can be scaled to fit larger TVs or serve as a low bookcase under a window. The case is joined with halfblind dovetails at the upper corners and dadoes at the bottom, with a vertical divider dadoed into place at the center. While the two shelves could be fixed in dadoes, I chose to use adjustable pins so the owner can add more shelves at a later date, if desired. I used wide, vertical-grain fir for the case, which prevented me from having to glue up panels. To carry the straight grain figure around to the front and back of the console, I applied shop made banding to the edges.

Starting with Dovetails

Begin by cutting the top and sides to final width, then plow a 3/8″-wide rabbet 1/4″ deep on each end of the bottom face of the top. The rabbets’ shoulders make it easier to mark the dovetail pins and also strengthen the case against racking. Once the rabbets are cut, mark tails on the ends of the top panel.

For the 12″-deep case here, I used three 2-1/2″-wide tails spaced 1-1/4″ apart and set back 1″ from the front and back edges, but this spacing can vary based on your personal preference and the depth of your case. Remove the waste between the tails using your preferred method.

The wide spacing between my tails allowed me to remove most of the waste on the band saw before paring to my layout lines with a sharp chisel. To finish the dovetails, position each end of the top panel over its mating side panel, and mark the locations of the tails with a sharp knife before cutting the sockets.

There are various ways to cut dovetail sockets, ranging from routing the bulk of the waste away before cleaning the joint with a chisel, or carefully paring the joint.

I cut a series of kerfs in the waste area, sawing close to my layout lines, then chop out the waste with a chisel. Once the bulk of the waste is clear, I pare to my layout lines with a chisel and test fit until I have a neat joint.

Adding Dadoes and Rabbets

To plow the stopped dadoes for the case bottom and vertical divider, I used a 1/2″ straight bit in a router guided by a simple jig composed of two rails joined by parallel fences.

A cut in the fence aligns the jig with layout lines on the workpiece, and the parallel rails guide the router precisely.

Position the jig, clamp it in place and plow each 3/8″-deep dado in a couple of passes. It’s easy to forget that these are stopped dadoes, but start each joint with a plunge cut, and stop routing before you reach the end of the board.

A 3/8″ rabbeting bit set 1/8″ deep makes quick work of forming the tongues on the ends of the case bottom and center divider — rabbet both faces of these panel ends.

Then trim the shoulders of the tongues so their overall length matches the dado lengths.

Prefinishing Before Assembly

When possible, I like to pre-finish parts before assembling them. For this console, that meant finishing the case’s interior surfaces before putting it together and then finishing the outside of the case after it came out of the clamps. I started by sanding the case parts, working up through the grits to 220, then applied blue painter’s tape to the joinery to keep those surfaces bare. I wiped a few coats of garnet shellac on both sides of the divider and the inside faces of the case. After the shellac cured, I wet-sanded by hand using denatured alcohol and 320-grit wet-dry paper to smooth the finished surfaces further.

At this stage, you can remove the painter’s tape to prepare for assembly. The glue-up isn’t complicated, but its sequence matters. Begin by joining the sides to the bottom, then insert the divider into the bottom. Finally, place the top. Carry out a dry fit first before opening the glue bottle to practice the sequence and ensure that the joints fit together well.

Applying Edge Banding

Edge banding is usually reserved for covering the exposed edges of sheet goods to make the edges more attractive. Here, it actually serves the same purpose. Depending on your wood choice, you might decide to skip this step, but in this instance, adding edge banding enabled me to wrap the vertical grain pattern from the faces of the case around to its front and back edges. Applying banding to both edges also keeps the appearance of the console consistent if it should happen to be positioned away from the wall.

I ripped strips of edge banding on the table saw, cutting the stock 1/8″ thick from a board that was slightly thicker than the width of the edges I was facing. While it might be tempting to set the rip fence just 1/8″ away from the blade to make these repetitive cuts, I think it’s safer to set up these cuts so the strips fall away from the blade instead of being trapped between the blade and the fence. This requires me to reposition the fence for each cut, as the workpiece gets progressively narrower. But if you set each cut up carefully, you can still end up with strips that are all the same 1/8″ thickness.

I wanted to ensure a tight fit between the pieces of edge banding, so I applied it in stages, gluing only a piece or two at a time. If you’re impatient, a brad or pin nailer can speed up the process, but I prefer to take my time using glue and clamps alone to avoid the need to fill any nail holes.

I began by applying a piece to the top edges, cutting strips of banding to length and mitering both ends at 45°. After applying a thin layer of glue, I clamped the trim in place, taking care that its inner edge was flush with the inside edge of the case. The outer edge of the trim should stand slightly proud of the case and will be trimmed flush later.

The side edge banding came next. I cut these pieces a little longer than their finished length and mitered the top ends. When gluing them on, again take care to make sure their inside edges are flush with the case’s inside edges. After the clamps come off, trim their bottom ends flush with the bottom face of the case with a utility knife or hand saw.

With the sides covered, move on to the bottom piece of edge banding. Cut it to fit tightly between the side banding, and glue it in place. Finish up by gluing the center pieces of edge banding onto the divider, leaving both edges proud of the divider.

I used a piloted flush-trim bit in my trim router to trim the edge banding flush with the case and cleaned up the inside corners with a chisel, but a block plane would work, too. Depending on your taste, you could also apply a small roundover or chamfer to the outer edges of the banding, but I simply eased those with a sanding block. Once that’s done, do any touch-up sanding and apply finish to the outside of the case.

Installing the Shelves

Next comes the two adjustable shelves. Cut panels for them that are 1/8″ shorter than the width of the console’s openings. Install edge banding on their front and back edges to continue the vertical grain pattern here. Once that’s glued in place and trimmed flush, sand the shelves and apply finish to complete them.

To hang the shelves, I created a basic drilling jig for positioning the shelf pin holes inside the case. It’s just a length of scrap cut slightly shorter than the case opening with a pair of holes drilled at the desired height and set back about 3/4″ from either edge. To use the jig, clamp it in place with one of its edges flush with the front or back of the case, and drill the shelf pin holes about 1/2″ deep. Though they aren’t necessary, I also added metal shelf pin sleeves to these holes to lend a more refined appearance to this aspect of the build.

Building the Base

The key design elements of the case — its overhang and setback — carry through into the base, with the stretchers extending past the feet and the feet set back from the edges of the case. I joined the stretchers and feet with simple half-laps. Cut the parts to size, and drill pilot holes through the thickness of the stretchers at the drill press for eventually screwing them to the case bottom.

Next, arrange the stretchers and feet in their correct orientation, and mark the stretchers for the cross-lap pockets, using the feet to set the actual width of these cuts. I cut the pockets with a Japanese pull saw and chisel, first making parallel saw cuts, then chopping away the waste in between them.

These joints can also be cut on the band saw or using a dado blade on the table saw. Fit the stretchers and feet together; if the joints are too snug, I find it’s easier to plane the long grain of the feet until they slip into the joint pockets. It’s much easier than paring or filing the end grain inside the pockets to fit the feet that way.

When the joints slip together as they should, drill countersunk pilot holes and drive a screw through each half-lap joint to lock the parts together. Then invert the case, position the base for an even overhang all around, and drive screws through the stretchers and into the bottom panel to attach these components.

With the console still inverted, drill the four installation holes for the adjustable chair glides. Install the glides, and turn the console right-side up. Slip the shelves into place on shelf pins and this project is ready for your living room or, in my case, delivery to a happy client.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Black 1/4″ Pin Supports (1) #22781
Black 1/4″ Sleeves (1) #22872
Polished Nickel Glides-Screw Chair Glides (1) #12295
1/4″ Hex Drive Threaded Inserts (1) #31872

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Nakashima-inspired Console appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

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The post Woodworker’s Journal – September/October 2019 appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.