The learning curve, fortunately, is a quick one, and the reward for mastery is entry into the realm of the stacked ring bowl. Sometimes called a “bowl from a board,” it is constructed from concentric rings cut at a specific angle that allows them to stack with near-perfect alignment.

Straight Side Bowls

This angle is a function of wood thickness and ring width. It can be approximated, but for precision, it should be computed using a tangent table or an app, like the Angle Calculator at scrollmania.com.

When all cuts are made at this angle, the result is a bowl with straight sides of uniform thickness that can often be sanded with spindle and belt sanders.

Bowls of this type are usually cut from patterns that show all the rings, and their finished appearance runs the gamut from plain to dramatic.

Curving Side Bowls

As attractive as straight-sided bowls can be, the potential of the stacked ring approach is shown most clearly by bowls whose sides form graceful curves. The first cut of this type of bowl is made at the same computed angle as its straight-sided counterpart. At that point, the formulaic aspect ends and artistry begins.

By making subsequent cuts at progressively steeper angles, curved sides are created; the amount of curvature is dependent upon angle choice. Two different methods can be used. One results in bowls with gradually thickening sides, and the other with sides that remain uniform.

For greater flexibility in angle choice, curved-sided bowls are usually cut from patterns showing only the first ring. That ring becomes the template for the second; the second ring serves as a template for the third ring, and so on, until all the rings are cut. Because of their curvature, these bowls are best shaped and smoothed using small sanders chucked into a drill press.

Using Multiple Blanks

With a single blank, you can make a bowl that flares outward at the top and gradually tapers down to a smaller base. To construct more elaborate projects such as vases, or bowls whose upper rings curve inward, you’ll need to use one or more additional blanks. Rings cut from these blanks are added to the original set, and the project is finished as one unit.

Projects requiring more than two blanks are often assembled and sanded as subunits, then glued together for the final shaping.

Final Steps

While rings cut at a steep angle form the structure of a scrolled bowl, its ultimate appearance depends on the care taken with the procedures that follow the cuts. These steps (gluing, sanding and finishing) are often regarded as nuisances, to be dispensed with as quickly as possible. The result may be a bowl that disappoints rather than delights, with visible glue lines, irregular upper edges and a finish with drips and sags.

While many scroll saw projects are essentially complete once the cuts are made, scrolled bowls are not. They are most appropriately viewed as creative endeavors, in which careful cutting of the rings at a steep angle is only the first step in a process that can produce bowls comparable in beauty and artistry to those turned on a lathe.

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I opened the crate and stickered the live-edge slabs in my woodshed, where they languished until April of this year. Then, Ken and I set aside a solid week to build an 8′ live-edge table and two live-edge benches. We spent Monday morning moving the stickered slabs from the shed to the shop for inspection. At 2-3/8″, they were too thick for our Festool TS 55 Track saw, which has a maximum depth of cut of 1-15/16″, so I called my friends at Doll Lumber to see if they would plane them down to 1-7/8″. After running a metal detector over the slabs, we schlepped the wood to Doll’s yard — one of the smartest things we did all week. Suddenly, the wood came alive, showing us grain and character. As we sorted the wood back at the shop, Ken and I instantly agreed which slabs belonged in the table and the slab that would become the two benches. The wood spoke to us, and we were listening!

Scale Model for Testing

On Tuesday, we worked on the benches. We decided on a turned leg reminiscent of the designs of George Nakashima, who brought live-edge furniture to its zenith in the 1950s. We wanted a simple taper with a 1″ wedged through tenon in the slab, with the legs splayed at a 15° angle outward to where imaginary corners of the bench would be.

We tested the idea with a 1:50 scale model that we glued together with butt joints and super glue. This allowed us to ascertain the looks and the tip-over resistance of the design before fabricating a simple jig to drill the leg mortises through the slabs.

Wednesday morning, we picked slabs for cutting the trestle leg parts. With careful layout, we were able to get all the pieces for the trestles, plus a live-edge stretcher between, from two slabs.

Each support consisted of two uprights and two trestle crossmembers. In our design, it doesn’t matter which part of the supports is the “top” or the “bottom”: they can be rearranged so that the stretcher is either at floor level or abuts the underside of the table. The stretcher attaches to the uprights with heavy-duty knockdown hardware, allowing the table to be transported in pieces and easily assembled or disassembled.

Thursday was spent sanding all the pieces, including the table top and bottom. We beveled the trestles before assembly with a sharp 45° beveling bit to create absolutely uniform chamfers for a pleasing look.

For one large check in the wood, we chose to glue in a filler piece. First, we taped a piece of paper over the crack and rubbed the area with a soft pencil. We then glued this tracing to a suitable piece of walnut and band sawed the filler piece with the table set to 2°. This put taper into the walls, allowing the piece to be tapped into the void with lots of glue for lubrication. Once the glue was dry, we hand planed the patch level and it became nearly invisible.

Holding Up to the Sit Test

Friday was spent in all the details that are part of any project. We cut elongated holes in the trestle for attachment to the table and screwed metal inserts into the underside of the top so that it could be attached with machine screws and was free to expand or contract independent of the trestle. Once assembled as conceived, the table was rock-solid. Ken and I could both sit on it, and no gyration would budge it.

We disassembled the table and loaded it in my truck for the trip to Ken’s garage, where he spent the next 10 days applying an oil-based Waterlox finish that really brought out the color of the wood. The table now graces a Chicago apartment and will become a Zahka family heirloom. All in all, it was an action-packed week but very, very satisfying.

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Do you have a recommended finishing method for marquetry pictures, given that they typically incorporate a variety of wood types, wood grains, grain directions, etc.? Would you have any pro or con comments about the idea of finishing a marquetry picture with several coats (eight to ten) of Zinsser SealCoat Sanding Sealer, sanding between every two or three coats? I find that this product goes on rather easily and, since a marquetry picture doesn’t experience any appreciable wear, I thought it would be an acceptable alternative to the much “smellier” Deft® lacquer that I’ve been using for a number of years now.

— Robert Swanson
Wichita, Kansas

You chose wisely. Zinsser SealCoat Universal Sanding Sealer is pure, dewaxed shellac, and that is an excellent finish for a marquetry picture. Dewaxed shellac seals well over all woods, comes in a variety of hues, and has good wetting and clarity. I like to flood on the first coat liberally, then wipe it all off. Woods prone to absorb more finish will do so, resulting in very uniform sealing. Thus, by the time you get to the second coat, you have a more uniform surface than you started with.

Because it contains a polar solvent, the first coat of shellac will raise the grain of wood slightly, leaving it not rough, but furry. I like to knock back the “fur” with a very light scuff using 800-grit sandpaper, taking pains to avoid cutting through to raw wood. Because shellac dissolves itself with each coat, you don’t need to sand after that unless you get dust, dirt, brush marks or spray marks (runs, overspray, etc.) in the finish. As long as it goes on smoothly, there’s no need to sand between coats when using shellac.

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Even the simplest kitchen tasks — like chopping up raw veggies for a salad or soup — can be made easier with the right accessory. This over-the-sink cutting board is one example. It will enable you to do your cutting and simply slide the pieces into a wire strainer for rinsing. Or, use the strainer first as a catchall for the stems, cores and seeds you don’t plan on eating. Dump those out, then push the veggie pieces into the strainer for rinsing.

Don’t forget to measure your sink opening; you’ll want this cutting board to overhang the sink rim by at least an inch on both ends for stability during use. Also, be sure to have your stainless steel strainer in hand before you start building. Mine has a 7-1/2″ diameter, but various sizes are available. Choose one that’s right for your food prep needs.

Ripping Strips, Gluing Up

Head to your table saw or band saw to rip the seven workpieces that will form the cutting board blank. The center bubinga accent piece measures 1-1/4″ wide, and the two narrower bubinga pieces are 3/8″ wide. Once you’ve got those cut and set aside, rip two 4″-wide pieces of red oak (or your primary wood) for the outer strips of the cutting board, then reset your saw fence and rip two 3/8″-wide pieces for the narrow strips.

Gather up the parts and head over to the workbench to glue them up. Arrange the strips to arrive at the best look for you, then reach for the proper formulation of glue — it’s got to be waterproof, for obvious reasons! Titebond® III in the green bottle is right for the job. Even the blue-label Titebond II won’t offer adequate water resistance for a cutting board that’s going to get regular washings and immersion.

Spread glue along the mating edges of the strips and clamp them together. When installing and tightening the clamps, the strips may want to shift out of alignment at first. Glue acts like a lubricant until it begins to tack up. So, do your best to even up the joints before you crank up the clamping pressure.

Once the glue dries, remove the clamps and scrape off any glue drips and residue. Trim the ends flush, if needed. Then, it’s time to smooth the faces. I have a surface planer, which is ideal for this step. But, if you don’t own a planer, you can also hand plane the faces flush and smooth. Or, just reach for your random orbit sander.

However you do it, try to keep this blank as thick as possible. The thinner it becomes, the more likely it will warp when it gets wet. After my cutting board came out of the planer, I sanded it up to 120-grit to remove the planing marks.

Forming the Strainer Cutout

Next up, find the center of your cutting board’s width, flip your strainer upside down and draw its shape onto the blank about 1-1/2″ in from one end. Note: this isn’t a cutting line!

Now, draw a second circle 1/4″ in from the first so the cutout will be smaller than the strainer’s rim. Drill a starter hole for your jigsaw blade within the inner circle, and carefully cut out the opening.

Let the saw do the work, and avoid twisting the blade as you go, which can lead to a wavy edge and burn marks.

Now it’s time to sand that sawn edge. Here’s where a benchtop spindle sander really shines for smoothing away rough edges and evening up curves.

A sanding drum in a drill press, or even sandpaper wrapped around a dowel, will also work, but it will just take longer. Sand away the larger layout line, too.

Routing and More Rounding

The metal rim of your strainer will fit better in the cutout if it can sit in a shallow rabbet around the edge. So, chuck a 1/4″ rabbeting bit in your handheld router and set it for a 1/4″ cutting depth. Feed the tool around the strainer cutout to create the rabbet.

Once that’s done, let’s get rid of this cutting board’s sharp corners. I used a pint can of wood finish like a template to draw curves onto the corners of my project. They don’t have to be this curvature, though. Choose any radius you prefer. Then, cut the corners round with a band saw, scroll saw or your jigsaw again. Give the cut edges a good sanding to smooth them

Since this cutting board is all about curves, I think it’s a good idea to ease the sharp edges that still remain around the perimeter of the board. So, switch out your rabbeting bit for a piloted 1/4″-radius roundover bit.

If you use a handheld router to knock off these edges, feed the tool counterclockwise around the board. I decided to do this machining on my router table instead. Same goes for feed direction: rotate the cutting board counterclockwise over the bit to remove these outside edges. You always want to feed a router or a workpiece against the bit’s rotation to cut most safely.

Chances are, easing these edges has produced a few burn marks and probably some roughness along the end grain. The rabbeted lip of the cutout surely needs some clean-up work as well. So, you already know what has to happen next: more sanding. For this go-around, though, there’s no other option than to do the work by hand. If you want to actually save time when hand sanding, start with a sufficiently coarse grit. I’ll suggest grabbing a fresh piece of 100-grit paper and beginning there. If your router bit has left a lot of roughness and burning, you may need to go even coarser than that, but I think finishing with 120-grit is fine for this utilitarian project … it’s not furniture.

Oil It Up If You Want To

There’s no hard-and-fast rule that cutting boards must have a finish, despite those Internet debates you might have read. Still, an easy-to-apply finish, like a mineral oil/beeswax blend, will keep your project looking great. And, it’s food-safe. Give it a try. Then, drop in the strainer, and you’re all set to get to work on that dinner salad for tonight.

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When you first look at the piece, it is easy to miss many of the fine details. And that is one of the truly pleasurable things about this console — the more you look, the more you like. The wood grain of the solid walnut flows around the carcass. The tambour doors provide excellent access to the interior and are a stunning collection of vertical lines when closed. The angled and tapered legs (also of solid walnut) have the mass to balance the carcass and draw your eyes up from the floor. The interior of the console is made from naturally finished maple plywood, making the most of the light that bounces into the recesses of the cabinet. And, while certainly not last, the finish on the hand-selected walnut lumber brings out the rich color of this truly American wood. There are many more lovely details, but I will leave them for you to discover. Even so, I would like to give a nod to Jacob Garrison and others on the Journal’s staff for the work they did in designing this project.

Waterfall Corner Joinery

Waterfall joints are a subtle but lovely design feature that has gained popularity lately. Featured on kitchen islands in cable TV home improvement shows, this particular type of mitered corner has become nearly ubiquitous. That’s really what we are talking about: mitered corners, conceived in such a way as to allow the grain of your panel to “flow” around the corner.

So, what are the details to keep in mind when you are considering a waterfall joint? Let’s start with the most obvious: the panel from which you’ll cut your corners has to be long enough to have continuous grain — in our example here, the “waterfall” flows between the sides and the top. Our bottom panel does not have continuous grain.

Next, if you are using a solid wood panel, aligning the stock as you glue up the large panel can be a challenge. Splines or biscuits can make that task easier, but be careful not to locate them where future machining will expose them to view. Take time to “compose” the panel, arranging the boards for the most pleasing blend of grain.

Additionally, you will need a way to accurately cut the miters in your panel. This is critical. (Here we constructed a crosscut sled for the table saw to make that happen.) Finally, you’ll need a way to accurately align the miter joints while wrangling a really large project. Again, splines or biscuits are lifesavers here. Having a friend around during the glue-up is also a good idea.

You Can Build This!

The techniques required to build this console are not overly difficult and are within the skill level of most woodworkers. The biggest challenge is surfacing the wide walnut panels. This task can be achieved using a variety of solutions, but it should be considered before you start.

Go ahead and get your solid lumber and bring it into your shop for a week or so to get it acclimated to its surroundings. Purchase about 30% more 5/4 roughsawn walnut than you think you will need to allow for regular waste and an “oops” here or there. To accommodate the waterfall miter joinery, you will need boards of sufficient length: just a bit under 8′ of length as long as there are no serious flaws in the stock. Surface the lumber to just a bit thicker than 1″, say a scant 1/16″ over, so you can flatten the glued-up panel later and retain the 1″ thickness. Joint the edges of the lumber to flatten and square them 90° to the faces of the stock.

Now you need to compose the panel (put the boards together so the grain pattern is most pleasing) and do a bit of noodling regarding how you will glue and clamp the panel together. We used biscuits to help keep the boards’ edges nicely aligned during the gluing and clamping phase. I also chose Titebond® III for this task, as it has a longer open time. Every little thing can be helpful. One note about the biscuits used to align the long boards: plan ahead and keep their locations out of the area where the mitered corner joints will occur. At this time, I also glued up the stock to make the bottom panel of the console. Once the glue has cured and you’ve removed the glue squeeze-out, it is time to cut the miters. The crosscut sled we built for this task had a couple of special features. Purpose-built cleats and a toggle clamp held the panels securely. I first cut the panels to their exact size and then tilted the blade over to form the miters on the smaller pieces. Between those two cuts, I surfaced the panels to their 1″ thickness.

With the four large walnut carcass components cut to size and mitered, form a 1/4″ x 3/8″ rabbet on their interior back edges. When that’s done, it is time to rout their inside faces. But before you can do that machining, you need to construct a template to guide the router. In the Drawings, you’ll find the details to create the template. It allows you to plow the tracks that the tambour doors will slide in as they open and close. I used a 5/16″ straight bit chucked in my router and a properly sized rub collar to guide the tool. Because the interior will not be seen, I screwed the template in place to be certain it would not move as I routed.

And here is an important point. Try as you might, when you create the template, it is unlikely to be exactly symmetrical. Because of that inaccuracy, if you were to trace the shape of the template onto a large piece of paper, then flip the template over and trace its shape again, you would see that the lines would not match perfectly. To avoid plowing mismatched tracks into the top and bottom panels, mark the opposite faces of the template “top” and “bottom.” When you plow the track in the top, you should see the word “top,” and you should see the word “bottom” when routing the bottom. Doing that will keep the tracks perfectly aligned despite template irregularity.

For the last bit of routing, plow the dadoes that will later accept the vertical dividers. These are stopped dadoes sized to match the plywood thickness. See the Drawings for details. With that done, you have just a couple more tasks before you can glue the carcass together. The first is to form the angled leg mortises in each corner of the bottom. I did that by building a jig to hold the bottom at the 7° angle on top of my drill press table. I made use of a 2-7/8″-diameter Forstner bit to excavate the round mortises. I tested the setup using some scrap plywood before I drilled into the walnut bottom (better safe than sorry). Later, the legs will be turned to fit tightly into the angled recesses.

Before you leave the drill press, take the time to bore a hole through the bottom at the center of each leg mortise. You can use the same jig as you drill these 3/8″-diameter holes. Later, you will use these holes when you mount the legs with threaded inserts. Don’t be alarmed when the 3/8″ holes intersect with the dadoes; they’re supposed to do so. In fact, now would be a good time to chop out the four tiny mortises to fit the ends of the T-nuts that will be installed later.

Glued-on Clamping Cauls

Gluing and clamping together a large mitered cabinet like this is no small challenge. I took two steps to make it easier. First, I sliced three biscuit mortises per corner, to once again aid in keeping the joints perfectly aligned. Second, I made clamping cauls from scrap plywood. I glued those cauls in place on the outside corners of the sides, bottom and top, using a single squiggly line of liquid hide glue. I just rubbed the cauls back and forth until they “grabbed,” employed a couple of Rockler Bandy Clamps to hold them securely and then let them cure for an hour or so.

I can almost hear you saying, “Why in the world would you glue those ugly chunks of plywood to the cabinet?” Don’t worry, they are just temporary: after the console is assembled, you will take a chisel and break the cauls away. A little sanding and scrubbing with some water (a big advantage of hide glue’s reversibility!) and you will never know the cauls were there — except that the miter joints will be as tight as can be.

It is always a good idea to do a dry assembly to check out your joinery. That also gives you a test run to determine how complicated the glue-up process will be. The clamping cauls make this gluing and clamping process so much easier to do. If the glue joints fit well, go ahead and apply glue and clamp the carcass together, and measure the diagonals to verify it is square. Allow the glue to cure for several hours, overnight if possible. After the glue cures, use a wide chisel and a mallet to pop the cauls off of the walnut. Do this by laying the flat back of the chisel on the walnut, and use the bevel of the chisel as a wedge to pop and pry the cauls free. Then sand and wash the hide glue residue away.

Now go ahead and build the legs. They are made from glued-up walnut blanks measuring 3″ x 3-1/4″ x 17″. Their shape is a straight taper that starts at 2-7/8″ at the wide end and reduces to a 1″ diameter at the narrow end. I mounted mine on the lathe by drilling a hole for a threaded insert at the wide end and then using a mandrel in the drive head of the lathe. (The threaded inserts and bolts are optional, but I found them to be a good idea.) A standard live center will work at the narrow end. Start with a spindle roughing gouge, get the shape close, then switch to a square-end scraper. If you are comfortable with it, finish the task with a skew chisel. Sand the legs smooth all the way up to 600-grit paper. With that, the shaping is done, but before you set them aside, take a few minutes and seal the end grain of the wide end of the legs with hide glue. Later, you’ll use the same glue to secure the legs in their mortises. This step will make the leg joints much stronger.

Tambour is Terrific!

If you have never made a tambour panel before, it can seem a bit tricky and even overly complicated. But in truth, it is really pretty easy, especially when you use Rockler’s tambour cutting router bits. Following the directions on the tambour bit packaging, cut your stock to its width and thickness. I chose to leave the pieces long, rather than cut them to length before I machined them. I think it saved time. Each piece needs to be machined twice. Make sure you shape enough stock to have a few extra pieces, then cut the pieces to length.

The next step is to cut a small rabbet into the front-facing ends of each piece of tambour. These rabbets will allow the pieces to fit and slide in the top and bottom tracks. I made a little jig to hold each piece and used a dado stack to form the rabbet on the table saw. See the Drawing at right for the tambour details.

With the machining done, you’ll need to hold the tambour together as you assemble the separate sticks into a sliding door. You join them by gluing them to a canvas backing. I used liquid hide glue to glue the canvas to the tambour, but the tambour sticks need to be tightly held together as that process happens. So build a frame on a plywood substrate. Keep one of the three frame pieces removable so that you can screw it in place and apply pressure — compressing the tambour pieces together (with the additional tambour “door handle” piece in place).

With the sticks in their jig, use blue masking tape to create a boundary for the hide glue when it is applied. Cut your canvas oversized and spread the liquid hide glue onto both the canvas and the tambour assembly with a small roller. Put a heavier coat of glue on the canvas and a light coat on the assembly. Then carefully lay the canvas glue to glue, on top of the tambour panel and vigorously rub it smooth with your hand. The heat from the friction you create will help the bond form. After the glue has cured, use a razor knife to trim the canvas at the perimeter you formed with the masking tape. It works really slick. Remove the panel from the jig and test the fit in the console carcass. Repeat the process for the second panel.

Adding the Interior Components

Take some time now to cut the vertical dividers and their shelves. I drilled 1/4″ holes for shelf pins in just the left-hand compartment, but you can make the shelves in both compartments adjustable if you prefer. I applied a hardwood strip to their front edges, as well as on the vertical dividers. I stopped those strips to create two small notches at either end of the dividers (see the Drawings) so these strips would hide the end of the routed dadoes. Create the plywood back panel for the internal compartment, and set all those pieces aside for now.

Next, make the walnut stiles that are located on both sides of the carcass, where they are set back in the opening about 1/4″ to hide the curve in the tambour track. They need to fit tightly and are attached with pocket hole screws. The carcass’s back panel is 1/4″ Masonite — very typical of this construction style. Go ahead and cut a piece to fit.

There are four tiny track filler pieces that you need to make now, as well. They fill in small gaps in the tambour track that were incidentally formed when the dadoes for the vertical dividers were cut. See the Drawing for details.

Add Orange to Your Walnut

Walnut lumber that has been kiln-dried sometimes ends up looking gray and wan. Our finishing expert, Michael Dresdner, recommends using an orange dye on bland-looking walnut to pop the colors that may have been muted by the drying process. The dye is easy to use: mix it with water, flood it onto the wood and then wipe it off. In the case of our console, the outcome was stunning.

Finishing and Final Assembly

Well, you’ve been waiting for it … it is time to sand! I sanded all the hardwood pieces of the console up through 600-grit, because I wanted a specific finish that is slightly out of the norm. For me, the beauty of the walnut was paramount. So, my plan was as follows: sand ultra-smooth, apply an orange dye (suspended in water) to the walnut, use #0000 steel wool to polish down the grain that the water-based dye raised, apply a thinned coat of Zinsser® SealCoat to seal the wood cells, and then apply three coats of clear BRIWAX® using more #0000 steel wool, allowing the wax to dry between coats and buffing it with a soft clean cloth. In my opinion, this delivers a perfect Mid-Century Modern finish and truly enhances the piece.

After the finish was applied, I assembled the components, starting by attaching the legs with hide glue and T bolts. Then I added the interior components, slid the tambour doors into their tracks, installed the track spacers and finally tacked the back panel in place.

While I am taking credit for this project, it was truly a group effort. The good news for you is that we figured out all the details and you can build it and properly get all the credit.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

TransTint Orange Dye (1) #22307
1/4″ Nickel Pin Supports (1) #22773
Rockler Tambour Router Bit Set (1) #61896
Slipstick Round Self-Stick Felt Pads (1) #57071
Rockler High-Carbon Steel Forstner Bit (1) #56974
T-Slot Bolts-5/16″ – 18 Thread 1″ Long (4) #33965
Hex Drive Threaded Inserts (1) #31880

The post PROJECT: Tambour Console Cabinet appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Getting it Going

We chose black walnut wood, but cherry would be another good choice. Bring your lumber into your shop several days in advance, and procure at least 30% more than you think you’ll need.

Once your stock is at the proper thickness, you can proceed to break it down to the component parts of the tabletop — there are a lot of pieces. With a very sharp blade in your table saw, start by ripping the hardwood to width. (See the Material List for sizes.) It is a good idea to use a zero-clearance insert if you have one. When the ripping is done, crosscutting begins, but here is an important note: cut the pieces slightly overlong by at least 3/4″. The reason is that, with the many cross-lap cuts you will make, if your setup is off even 1/64″ or less, that can add up to nearly 1/4″ over 14 cuts. You also will want to make a couple more extra slats than you need in each length. Think of it as working smart, not hard.

With that done, remove the standard blade and set up a dado stack in your table saw to make a 3/4″-wide cut. Make a test cut with that setup, and be sure its width matches your stock thickness.

Now, before you go any further, apply a coat of WATCO® Oil finish to all the slat blanks. The finish will make gluing up the tabletop easier — and removing hardened glue much, much easier. (Again, working smarter …)

Notching, Notching and Notching

You may think you’ve exercised your table saw pretty well up to now, but you’re just getting started.

Have a look at the Drawings. If you think about the number of notches you are about to make and how exposed the cross-lap joints will be to view, it only makes sense that you will want the cuts to be sharp and with as little tearout as possible. Two steps will help with that goal: first, use another zero-clearance insert in your saw, and second, use a cross-lap jig with a fresh backer board. While you can build one for this task, the Rockler Cross Lap jig is what we used — read more about it later.

By surfacing your stock thickness down to match the width of your dado stack cut, you have already achieved 50% of the setup required to form an accurate cross-lap. Now you need to raise the dado stack up to form a notch that is exactly half of the width of the slats: 7/8″ in this case. Test the setup on scrap pieces of the tabletop stock. Two notches mated together form a cross-lap joint, so every adjustment of the cutter, up or down, will double the effect on the joint. When you get the height of the cut dialed in, you are ready to make some serious sawdust!

Every slat, whether long or short, will have a notch cut exactly at the end. For that task, we outfitted our miter gauge with a sacrificial fence and used a stop block to perfectly position the notch. Then we cut all the slats including the extras.

With that done, set up your jig to cut the notches into the long slats. The Rockler Cross Lap Jig has a couple of real advantages here, starting with the adjustable indexing key that accommodates the width of the cross-lap notch you are forming. It also has an adjustable fence so the repetitive cuts are easy to lock in. On the long slats, the cuts are set at 8-1/2″ from the key to the dado head, for a total of five more cross-lap joints in each long slat. Go ahead and make those 70 cuts — and don’t forget to turn on your dust collection, first!

When the long slats are machined, it is time to turn your attention to the short slats. The spacing of the cross-lap joints in the short slats is 3/4″, the same as the thickness of the slat lumber. Adjust your cross-lap jig to make those cuts, and get busy machining the remaining notches. (You should be getting really good at it by now!)

With that task behind you, the final step in making the long and short slats is to cut them to their exact length. We did that on the table saw again, employing our miter gauge, after replacing the dado stack with the regular saw blade. A properly set up miter saw set would do the job just as well.

Rockler Cross Lap Jig

Rockler’s easy-to-use Cross Lap Jig (item 56372) mounts to a standard miter gauge. Its fence is adjustable so the operator can quickly change notch spacing.

The jig’s unique adjustable registration key is a super handy feature that makes a huge difference. No longer do you need to try to create your own key, perfectly sized to hold your stock, while also not so tight that it is annoying to use.

Assembling the Tabletop

While this tabletop is not a difficult piece to put together, it will work best if you do a couple of things: first, carry out a complete dry assembly. Now create 12 clamping cauls (or battens, if you will). They should have a very gentle curve on one edge, so that when you clamp the tabletop together, pressure will be applied to the slats across the center as well as those on the perimeter.

Add the cauls to your dry assembly, clamping it up as if it were the real glue-up. Figuring out where you will need your clamps and how to make them work with the cauls is worth the time. (Really worth it!)

If it all fits together properly, take the top apart, but keep the pieces in the same order as they went together in the dry assembly; this will avoid surprises when you start actually applying glue. At this point, drill a countersunk hole in the endmost notches of the short slat (see the Drawings for details). These pilot holes are for the #6 screws that will help secure the outer long slats to the short slats. The screws plus glue at those corner joints provide a rock-solid connection.

Now you are ready to put the pieces together. While it is not required, having a friend help with a complicated glue-up like this one is always a good idea. Another tip: Titebond® III wood glue has a longer open time than other options, and that’s why we used it here. Apply glue to the joint surfaces on the slats with a brush, but do not install the outer slats at this time. Assemble the whole tabletop with the clamping cauls in place. Let the glue cure well. After the glue is dry, remove the clamps and install the two outer slats with more glue. Drive the screws home to secure them to the short slats.

Attention to Details

When the glue has cured, get ready for a tedious task. As with any gluing and clamping operation, there will be glue squeeze-out. In this case, however, there are 65 rectangular openings in the top where the excess glue could be hiding. So there is no other option but to get in there and get rid of any glue drops you might find.

We found the spatula end of a Rockler Silicone Glue Brush was perfect for prying the glue off without scratching the surface of the wood. This is where applying that first coat of WATCO Oil finish has come to your rescue: the glue will be so much easier to remove.

When you are done with that job, you might need to use a random-orbit sander on the outside face of the tabletop to level any uneven intersections of the joints on the exposed edges. But, don’t worry about sanding the initial finish. Just apply at least three more coats of WATCO Oil to blend things in and build up a more durable final surface.

Legs are Next

The legs we built are a true homage to the Nelson Bench look of the project. With that said, you don’t need to follow our lead here.

To make our rhombus-shaped leg assembly, start with some solid hardwood lumber. Since we painted our legs, yellow poplar was a great choice. First, rip the 3/4″ stock to the width, following the dimensions in the Material List. Next, lean your table saw blade over to 8° (or tilt your miter saw over at 8°). Cut the leg components to length.

Grab the leg uprights, and drill counterbored pilot holes for #8 x 1-1/2″ screws at both ends of the pieces. (See the Drawings for details.) A drill bit with a counterbore collar is a great way to get this done. Assemble the rhombus-shaped assemblies with glue and screws at each corner. Allow the glue to cure, and hide the screw heads with wooden plugs glued into the counter bores. Trim and sand the plugs flush. Break the sharp edges of the leg assemblies with sandpaper. Then take the time to sand the assemblies to 150-grit.

You’re ready to paint the legs, which is pretty easy. Start by putting a coat of primer on the raw wood. Inspect the legs after the primer coat dries, and fill any cracks, defects or holes with spackle or wood putty. Sand the primed leg assemblies with 180-grit paper, and then apply the paint.

We used an aerosol spray can of black enamel on our legs, and it worked extremely well. Two coats of the enamel will provide a smooth, lovely finish to the table legs you build, too.

Metal Leg Options

This classic tabletop looks great with a variety of legs holding it up. Hairpin legs are the real deal when it comes to Mid-Century design, and they are easy to use and elegant to look at.

The more substantial metal tube legs offer a rectilinear reflection of the top’s shape. They can be painted various colors and provide a similar visual effect to the wooden rhombus legs that we designed for the table.

If you choose to go with either of these two options (both available at rockler.com), you will need to add a wooden platen across the bottom of the tabletop so that you have a solid surface for mounting the metal legs.

Keep the platen thin, in the 3/8″-thickness range, and mount them with sufficient screws to hold the legs firmly.

Final Details

Attach the legs by screwing through their upper crosspieces into the walnut tabletop. We used five screws per crosspiece. That may seem like a lot, but these mechanical joints will need to stand up to the wear and tear of being pushed, pulled and occasionally sat on. Surfaces like this that are low enough to serve as quick “chairs” should be strong enough to bear that weight — better safe than sorry!

Here’s one last suggestion: apply a coat of paste wax to the tabletop, both for some protection and to create a pleasant texture.

This little coffee table is lovely to look at and will be a project that will be enjoyed for years and years to come.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

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

Here’s a great opportunity to have a friend come over and help out, or maybe invite a Scout group to your shop to have a make-and-take meeting! (Our cutting diagram will show you how to yield two of these projects from one 4×8 sheet of 3/4″ plywood, if you’re so inclined.) Feel free to redesign the window shapes and sizes to your liking. Personalize the title of the book, too. Be creative, and most of all, have fun!

Cutting the Pieces to Shape

Cut blanks for the plywood pieces (roof panels, front, back, sides and floor) on your table saw. Prepare a 3/4″-thick blank of wood or plywood for the roof’s “book spine,” too. If you look closely, I used medium-density overlay (MDO) plywood for these main parts; it has a laminated wood core but a smooth, weatherproof resin facing that takes paint really well. Signmakers love it. You can use ordinary exterior-rated plywood instead if you can’t get a sheet of MDO.

Now, lay out the 32° roof angles on the front and back pieces. Then use a sliding bevel gauge, set to this angle, to adjust your miter gauge for cutting the roof angles to shape on the table saw.

Grab one of these roof cutoff pieces to use as a guide for tilting your table saw blade to bevel the top ends of the side pieces; they need to fit flush with the roof panels when those are installed.

While the table saw blade is still tilted to this angle, it’s also the angle you need for the edges of the roof peak/book spine. So, bevel rip one of its edges. Then, with the front and back pieces standing up, hold one roof panel and the spine in place to check their fit. Mark the spine to width, and bevel rip its second edge. Take your time and creep up on the final size to form tight roof joints.

Next, cut a piece of 1/2″-thick lumber to the right widths and lengths to make the various window and door trim parts With this done, I switched blades and cut three pieces of 1/8″-thick acrylic for the larger two windows and the door pane at my table saw. Use a triple-chip tooth blade, if you have one, that will cut it safely. Or, you can buy a simple tool at hardware stores and home centers to score and snap the pieces to shape. I cut out the little round acrylic window using a coping saw with a fine-tooth blade.

Forming the Window Openings

Pre-drill counterbored pilot holes for #8 screws where the sides will attach to the front and back and where all four of these panels will attach to the bottom. Using a stop collar on your bit will ensure that all the counterbores will end up being the same depth.

The acrylic window panels can now become templates for tracing their openings on the side and front panels. Use a speed or combination square to help get each window aligned properly and parallel to the bottom edges of the parts.

Next, go ahead and cut out the window openings. Drill a hole large enough for your jigsaw blade in at least one corner of each opening for making these interior cutouts. When those are done, lay out the larger 11″ x 15″ shape for the door’s “core” piece, and remove that as well — do this carefully, because this piece will be re-used. Cut out the 2-1/22″-round window opening with a jigsaw, Forstner bit or a hole saw.

Now glue and nail the top, bottom and side pieces of the door frame to the core piece. The goal here is to center the core on these wider frame sections so the inside edges of the frame form a rabbet for installing the acrylic pane.

The outer rabbet of the door frame will overlap the door opening and create a weather seal there. When that’s done, set the door in place on the front panel, and glue and nail the trim pieces around the door opening, adjusting them so the door fits with a little gap all around.

Assembling the Building

Let’s assemble the big parts! Attach the front and back panels to the sides with glue and 1-1/2″ screws. Drive more screws along the bottom edges of all four panels into the bottom to secure it. Fill the screw counterbores with wood plugs, and trim them flush.

Next, we can cover up the sawn edges of the openings in the library by attaching the window and door trim. Miter cut the little trim pieces for the round window’s hexagonal frame (60° angles for each cut) and glue it together. A rubber band can make a handy clamp to hold these little pieces in place. While that frame dries, position the four parts of each window’s trim so it overlaps the cutouts and provides surfaces along the back edges to install the windows. Pin nails and glue provide enough holding power for this trim.

Once that’s done, go ahead and attach the window and door panes to the trim and door framework with beads of clear silicone caulk spread along the rabbets.

Those corner joints on the building need to have their exposed plywood edges covered so the plys and little voids don’t show up under paint. I covered the edges with exterior wood putty. Sand the dried putty smooth.

Creating the Book Roof

At this point, we can close up the building by installing the upside-down book roof. Start by rounding over the top edges and what will be the bottom corners of the roof panels with a router, hand plane or sander to make them look more like book covers. Mark the roof pieces with centerlines where they’ll overlap the front, back and sides of the building. Soften the top edges of the roof peak with a hand plane or sanding block to simulate a book spine; make sure these curves stop where the peak will intersect the roof panels. Use 1-1/2″ brad nails and glue to install the roof panels and peak on the building.

Complete the look of the book by laying out and cutting four pieces of curved fretwork that will form the edges of its open pages. Use the gridded drawing as a guide, then cut these pieces to shape with a band saw or jigsaw.

Time to Paint!

Putty and sand any remaining nail holes or defects, and you’re ready to paint your library before doing the last bits of final assembly.

I chose red for the main structure, and when that paint dried, I masked off and painted the trimwork white as well as the library’s interior. Paint the book covers and spine a darker color. But, before you do that, think about whether you want to put a title on the front and back covers of the book. I decided to paint the title sections of the book red to contrast with the roof color, then I used HotStamp letters in my woodburning tool to burn the words into the cover. I also titled the library with HotStamps. (If you aren’t familiar with these stamps, they’re made of brass and thread onto a woodburning tool. Just heat them up to “brand” one letter at a time.) When that’s done, touch up the paint around your lettering or masked-off areas as needed.

I painted the fretwork pieces white, then used my woodburner again to add a series of thin lines to them that look like page edges. A permanent marker would work well for this detailing, too. Attach the fretwork by boring pairs of countersunk screw holes through them and fastening them to the bottom faces of the roof panels. Inset the fretwork back 1/2″ or so from the front and back edges of the roof to add more realism.

Final Assembly Details

All that’s left to do on the library itself is to hang the door. I did that with a pair of 2-1/2″ utility hinges. Pre-drill pilot holes for the hinge screws in the edges of the door frame and the surrounding door trim to prevent splitting the wood. I used a self-centering bit to position these holes accurately. Make sure to mount the hinges straight so the door won’t bind when it swings.

Add a magnetic catch behind the door. Make a little latch out of an off-cut piece and attach it to the door trim with a screw that’s just loose enough in its mounting hole so the latch can swivel around to make sure the library door stays closed when visitors aren’t browsing!

Mounting the Post and Project

The post for the lending library is very easy to make! Use either a table saw or a miter saw to cut two 10-1/2″-long pieces of a cedar or treated 4×4 to form two braces. Miter cut their ends to 45°. I used a 5-ft. length of 4×4 for a center post. Attach the braces to the post with long, countersunk deck screws so their top angles are flush with the top of the post. Then glue and screw a 5″-wide, 20″-long piece of 3/4″ stock to the tops of the post and braces to create a mounting platform for the library.

Dig a hole in the ground where you’ll locate your library. Depending on the length of your post, make the hole deep enough so the top of the platform will be about 3 ft. high. At this height, readers both tall and small will be able to reach the books. Set the post and backfill around it with dirt. Firmly tamp and pack down the backfill.

Install the building on the post by driving 1-1/4″-long screws through the bottom and into the post and braces. Then stand back and admire: your Little Lending Library is open for business!

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

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Tambour Console Cabinet: The waterfall joinery isn’t the only stunning thing about this cabinet. In addition to the walnut exterior, which extends to the angled and tapered legs, it’s got a maple plywood interior that reflects the light and an extensive series of vertical lines from the tambour doors.

Little Lending Library: Get a read on this simple build that taps into the free library trend. Kimberly McNeelan’s design features a roof shaped like a book.

Over-the-Sink Cutting Board: David Picciuto’s kitchen project is a simple build but a stepped-up solution to kitchen issues: he’s added a hole for a metal strainer and a contrasting wood for looks.

Modern Coffee Table: Inspired by the Nelson Bench, an iconic Mid-Century Modern design, this coffee table features lots and lots of cross-lap joints. Copy our design, in which we made wooden legs, or make things easy on yourself and purchase some pre-made metal options.

Tool Tutorial: Chris Marshall helps you figure the best option for you to tackle your sanding tasks with the power of benchtop sanders: disc, spindle and combination.

Scroll Sawing: Expert Carole Rothman helps you learn the technique of making steep angle cuts on your scroll saw to create bowls with a lathe-turned look.

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