You might call it “creative arboriculture” or maybe “living sculpture.” The art involves guiding young tree development using cables or frameworks and using precise techniques of pruning and grafting.

What could be seen as eccentric is, in fact, detailed and documented experimentation. Gavin is supported by the European Union’s Climate KIC, which subsidizes new sustainable businesses that could reduce carbon emissions in manufacturing. This green aspect is one of Gavin Munro’s greatest motivations. He is keen to share his research: If big companies take it up as a viable production method, then the environment will benefit and, he feels, this alone would be a success. The energy used in transport and manufacture could be reduced massively.

As his reputation spread, his order book filled. Everything growing is, in theory, sold. He also receives commission inquiries. Interestingly, a popular request is coffins for green funerals. The main product is chairs, then various shapes and sizes of earthy lampshades, then a greater challenge: tables.

Although a work in progress, his display of flourishing, organically fed and sculpted young ash, sycamore, hazel, sessile oak, red oak, crab apple, willow and wild cherry already looks like stunning one-off art pieces.

How They Grow

Early on in this project, Gavin observed that chairs are best grown upside-down. While it might seem logical to start with a sapling for each leg, it is not so. Trees grow outwards, so they adapt comfortably to spreading and being formed into chair legs. As Gavin puts it, “You have to learn to think like a tree” by watching what it does. New shoots are soft, vegetable-like and non-fibrous. They can be radically bent and, if suitably supported, as the tree matures that is the shape the new wood acquires.

When the first two healthy shoots grow from a mother root, the chair maker eases them horizontally in opposite directions, creating the chair back’s top rail. As they proceed, vertical shoots sprout. These mature to become back spindles after the maker selectively prunes them down to three or four — whatever works visually. As the outer top rail gains sufficient length (i.e., the width of the chair back), the shoots are bent upwards to push towards the light and form the chair’s back legs, while lateral shoots are trained to begin the growth of the seat.

Gavin has developed a reusable framing box system created from thin cellular plastic sheeting used for signboards, which he has assembled into a chair-shaped mold with sequences of holes to attach the shoots using rubberized ties. The molds are secured in long rows to horizontal fence wires.

As growth proceeds, they begin grafting. New shoots grafted laterally create cross members, and the structural value of joinery framing is ready-grown. Where two or more twigs grow parallel, a careful hand fashions a lengthwise cut and binds them together to create a natural lamination. Gavin proudly showed me a couple of twigs grafted together lengthwise over two seasons. Woodworkers know that laminating timber in the workshop produces greater strength. In addition, the natural fibrous strength of a stick is stronger than similar sized timber with a cut grain. Combining these two factors creates a slender, strong chair leg and an interesting material, which in itself is a useful benefit of these experiments.

Gavin has tried finishing the harvested goods with planers and sanders, or the grinder-mounted Arbotech shaping tool, but he is more inclined to the use of drawknives of various shapes and sizes to stay as green as possible. I will look on with interest to next spring when he begins harvesting the full-grown furniture and hope it won’t put too many of us joiners out of work!

The post A Chair Grows in England appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

I thought it would be an interesting challenge to create my own version of a music box, built from mostly wooden parts. The one I came up with is based on an antique hand-cranked barrel organ. Here’s how it works: A drum, made of narrow slats attached to a pair of end discs, rotates as it’s driven by a hand-cranked pulley. As the drum rotates, small pins that pivoting blocks, each of which is fitted with a small round mallet at the end of a rod. As the pin rotates past, it releases the pivot block and the mallet falls and strikes a metal xylophone tone bar, thus producing a musical note. There are a total of 15 mallets and tone bars, and the pattern of pins on the drum determines which notes are struck — and, hence, the tune the music box plays. I arranged the pins of my music box to play “Heart and Soul,” but it could be set up to play just about any short song. The entire mechanism fits into a case with an angled front covered by a glass-paneled door, so you can see the mechanism operate as the song plays.

It’s not an easy project to build, but, when you are done, it sounds great and is fun to operate.

Cutting the Slats

The pin-bearing drum is the heart of the music box, and its surface is made up of 64 individual slats — enough to play a song that’s eight measures long, with each individual measure divided into one whole note, two half notes, four quarter notes, eight eighth notes, or any combination thereof. Each pin set into the drum activates one note at a time, and their arrangement determines the tune the music box will play. To create a “map” of the location of the pins in the slats (somewhat akin to “composing” your song), visit More on the Web to see my instructions and chart.

When choosing wood for the slats, to prevent problems from expansion and contraction, it’s best to use only well-dried, straight-grained, quartersawn stock. I chose vertical grain Douglas fir and oriented the slats with the radial grain facing up. After thickness-planing the stock to 3/8″ thick, crosscut the blanks to 15-1/2″ long. Set the table saw’s rip fence for a 2-3/64″ cut (just 1/64″ under 3/8″) and rip 64 slats, plus a few extras. Mark one face of each slat to keep them properly oriented.

Next, make an alignment board from a flat piece of plywood or MDF that’s at least 2-1/2 feet square. Clamp a pair of straight strips flush with two adjacent edges, using a framing square or triangle to assure that the strips are exactly square to one another. Now lay the slats atop the board face-up and flush to the alignment strips so that they form a continuous sheet, like for a tambour door. Reject any slats that are warped or wonky. Number the end of the slats sequentially, moving from right to left. Underline the numbers 1, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 19, to avoid confusing the slat’s top and bottom surfaces.

Drilling the Holes

The next step is to drill holes in the slats for the loom pins (available from craftparts.com, item TP1030) that will trip the pivots when the drum turns. After creating a song layout sheet (see online instructions), remove only the slats that will receive pins, leaving the slats that don’t need drilling on the alignment board. To make drilling quick and accurate, create a 3/4″ x 1″ x 30″ positioning fence for the drill press, marked with a series of perpendicular lines: The first line at the center of the fence marks the centerline of the 3/16″-diameter drill bit. Draw the next line 3/4″ to the right of the first line and label it “G3,” for the highest note on the xylophone. Space each subsequent line 1 inch to the right of the previous line, and label it with the next lowest note: F2, E2, D2, etc., all the way down to G1, the lowest note. After aligning the fence center mark to the bit and setting the fence so that slats will be drilled on center (widthwise), clamp it to the drill press table. Now, with a slat face-up and its numbered end on the left, line up the slat’s right end with the desired note you wish to drill a hole for and bore the hole 5/16″ deep. Align the slat to other note marks, as indicated by your song layout sheet, to drill subsequent holes. Do this with the remaining slats until all the holes are drilled.

Creating the Slat Assembly

To make it easier to attach the slats to the end discs that form the drum, a piece of canvas is glued to the back of the assembled slats, in the same fashion used to create a tambour door. First, return the slats to the alignment board, each face up with the numbers running right to left. After doublechecking to make sure the numbers are in proper order, flip the entire slat assembly over so that it’s facedown on the board; the numbers should now be upside down, and run from left to right. Press the slats tightly together and flush to the alignment strips, then nail or screw a straight scrap of wood parallel to the slats, about two inches from the end of the last  slat. Cut a pair of wedges from scrap 3/8″-thick stock, each with a 10˚ complementary angle. Set the wedges in the space between the slats and end strip, then press the wedges firmly against each other. This effectively clamps the slats tightly together, eliminating any spaces between them.

Cut a piece of 12-ounce duck canvas that’s 14-1/2″ wide and a little longer than the slat assembly. Apply yellow glue liberally to the surface of the canvas, spreading it evenly with a squeegee. Turn the canvas over, center it on the slats and press it down, working from the center to the edges to remove wrinkles and air bubbles. Next, use an old household iron set to the “wool” setting to quick cure the glue. After waiting about 10 to 15 minutes for the canvas to cool, remove the assembly and flex each joint between adjacent slats. Sand the slat faces to final smoothness.

Before inserting the loom pins, trim them to their correct 1-5/16″ length using a simple sawing jig. Cut the jig’s kerf square and perpendicular to its hole and position it 1-1/16″ from the left-hand end of the block.

The pin to be trimmed is inserted up to its head in the hole, then cut with the saw (the next pin pushes the waste piece out through the hole on the other side of the block). Now, with the slat assembly on the workbench, gently tap the loom pins into their holes.

Making the Drum Discs

A pair of 3/4″ wood discs make up the ends of the drum. To assure that both discs are perfectly round and exactly the same size, turn a template on the wood lathe: First, drill a 3/8″-diameter hole in the center of a blank cut from 1/4″ hardboard. Mount this on the lathe and turn it to exactly 8-3/8″ in diameter. Cut two disc blanks and drill a 3/8″ hole in the center of each. Rough-cut these round, making each just slightly larger than the final diameter will be. Use a piece of 3/8″-diameter dowel to align the template to the blank, then use double-stick tape to temporarily fix the template atop the blank.

Now, with a piloted flush-trim bit in the router, carefully trim the disc to final size. Repeat with the second disc. Next, mount a rabbeting bit in the router with a pilot bearing set to cut a shoulder that’s 1/2″ wide. Adjust the bit’s cutting depth to 3/8″ and run the bit around one side of both discs. Mount one of the discs on the lathe and use a small gouge to form a shallow U-shaped groove around the rim, for the 1/4″ round urethane drive belt that will turn the drum (available from polybelt.com). Now is a good time to also turn the 1.”-diameter drive pulley, which also receives a U-shaped groove. Also turn the crank handle and spacer, and cut out the crank lever and drive pulley square. Drill a small countersunk hole in a side of the square, for the locking screw, and glue the square to the side of the drive pulley, aligning their holes with a scrap dowel.

Assembling the Drum

To join the drum parts together, set the pulley-groove disc rabbet side up on the bench and insert the 3/8″ steel rod axle into its center hole. Now wrap the slat assembly around the disc, with the numbered ends pointing down. Set the slats into the rabbet, then put a couple of large rubber bands around the bottom of the slats, to hold them in place. At the top of the assembly, apply glue to the ends and inside edges of the slats as well as the rabbet in the other drum disc. Fit the disc onto the slats, making sure their ends are flush with the disc shoulder, then pull on enough large rubber bands to clamp the slats tightly against the disc. Once the glue is dry, flip the drum over and repeat the gluing process with the pulley disc. To fill the small gap between the first and last slats, cut one of the extra slats to the necessary width, then glue it in place.

Building the Mallet Pivots

The music box’s notes are played by 15 ball-headed mallets, one for each tone bar. Each mallet attaches to a pivot block, shaped as shown in the Drawing. The easiest way to make the pivot blocks is to create a “loaf” (a long strip that’s been shaped to the profile of the blocks), then cut the individual blocks off one at a time. Start by ripping a piece of stock to 3/4″ x 1-3/16″ x 20″. Take a 1/2″-radius cove router bit, remove its pilot bearing, and mount the bit in the router table. Set its height and the position of the table fence to cut a cove shaped as shown in the Drawing, above. It’s best to rout the cove in two passes: The first pass removes most of the waste; the second trims the cut to its final size. Use a 1/4″-radius piloted roundover bit to shape the profile on both top edges of the loaf strip, then sand the strip smooth. On the table saw, use a miter gauge to cut the 15 individual 15/16″-long pivot blocks from the loaf.

Each individual block now receives two holes: a pivot hole for the 1/4″-diameter steel rod that supports all the blocks; the other for the 3/16″ mallet dowel. To drill the pivot  hole (positioned as shown in the Drawing above), chuck a 17/64″-diameter bit and drill lengthwise through each block. Next, chuck a 3/16″-diameter bit and bore the holes for the mallet dowels. After gluing the ball knobs (craftparts.com, item KBB075) onto the ends of the mallet dowels, press them into the pivot blocks (don’t glue them yet). Slip the blocks onto the 1/4″ steel pivot rod, fitting a single 1/16″-thick washer between each one. Make the two end spacers by center drilling a pair of 5/8″-long, 3/4″-diameter dowels, then slip them onto the ends of the rod, adding washers at the outside ends.

Creating the Xylophone Rack

The music box uses metal tone bars taken from an inexpensive xylophone (the Lyons 25-note xylophone, available from Amazon.com). First, use a pair of needlenose pliers to remove the pins and grommets that secure the 15 chromatic tone bars (not the sharps and flats) to the plastic case. Carefully peel up the two foam strips that the bars rested on and set them aside where their adhesive strips won’t get fouled with sawdust.

To make the new rack to support the tone bars, cut the two rails and two crossmembers, sized as per the Material List. Chuck a V-groove bit in the router table and plow a 3/16″-wide groove, spaced 3/16″ from the rail’s inside edge, along the length of each  rail. Next, drill 15 holes 1/16″ in diameter for the tone bar pins in each rail, spaced one inch apart relative to the centerline of the rack. Glue the crossmembers between the rails, making sure the spacing between the holes for the widest tone bar is 2-3/4″, and 1-7/16″ for the narrowest. Stick the foam strips you removed earlier into the rail grooves, then mount the tone bars by gently tapping the pins/grommets into their holes.

Making the Case

After cutting all the case components to size as per the Material List, trim a 35˚ triangular piece from the top forward edge of each side (see the Drawing) on the table saw, using an accurate miter gauge to guide the cut. At the drill press, bore the 3/8″ and 1/4″ holes in the case sides, positioning them as shown in the Drawing for the drum axle, crank rod and pivot rod. Only the crank hole goes all the way through; the others are bored 7/16″ deep. After sanding the sides smooth, glue on the crank spacer, using a tape-covered dowel scrap to align it with the crank hole. To make assembly simpler (as well as allow disassembly, in case future repairs are needed), the bottom, sides and top of the case are butted together and joined with 2-1/2″-long #8 construction screws. Space the holes in the sides 3/8″ from the edges; space the top holes 3/4″ from the edges. Drill all holes with a #8 countersinking drill, boring each hole deep enough to form a 3/16″-deep, 3/8″ counterbore, to accommodate the wood buttons that hide the screws.

Next, rout three slots on the front of the case to allow the sound of the music box to be heard without lifting the top. Make these slots with a 1/2″-diameter spiral fluted bit in a plunge router fitted with an edge guide. Clamp the ends of the case front with a pair of bar clamps, placing a scrap piece between the piece and the clamps, then secure the bar clamps to the work table. Mark out the slots (see the Drawing) on the front, then set the router’s fence, start the router, and plunge the bit to cut each slot all the way through the workpiece.

To make the frame for the angled glass door at the front of the case, cut the stiles and rails to length, noting that the extra length of the stiles and width of the rails allows for beveling of the frame’s edges later (see the Drawing). You can join the frame members with dowels or with loose tenons, such as those cut by Festool’s Domino tool. Once the frame is glued up, rout a 7/16″-deep, 3/8″-wide rabbet (for the window glass) around the inside of the back side of the frame, using a piloted rabbeting bit. Square up the corners with a chisel. Next, on the table saw, cut a 17.5˚ bevel on the back edge of the frame, as well as on the front edge of the case top. Mortise the back edge of the frame, as well as the forward edge of the case top, to hold a pair of 2″ x 1″ hinges, each spaced 2-3/8″ in from the frame edges. Chop out both 1/16″-deep mortises by hand with a chisel, then drill pilot holes for the hinge screws.

Make the molding strips that hold the glass in the frame by first routing a length of stock with a 1/4″-radius piloted router bit, then cutting off a 1/4″ by 1/4″ strip on the table saw. Now set the table saw blade to a 35˚ angle and bevel the front edge of the glass frame, as well as the top edge of the case front. Use a small router and piloted 45˚ bit to put a small chamfer around all the edges of the frame and top (but leave the hinged edges unrouted). Also chamfer the top and the ends of both case sides; these create reveals where the sides join the front and back.

Assembling the Music Box

Before final glue-up, preassemble the case, setting the drum and mallet pivot block assemblies into place and temporarily clamping all the case parts together. Use a 3/32″ bit to bore pilot holes through each case side, then screw the parts together. To make sure that the music box will play correctly, set the mallet support (with the foam mallet rest strip, piece 20, you’ve made from weatherstripping adhered to its top edge) and xylophone rack and supports into place and check the fit and alignment. The mallet heads should be centered on the tone bars and come to rest about 1/16″-3/32″ above them. You can adjust this by trimming (or shimming) the mallet support and/or the xylophone rack supports. Once the notes sound crisp, screw the rack to the supports, and the supports to the mallet rest.

It’s best to pre-finish all music box parts before final assembly. I chose to spray lacquer them, but you can use any finish you choose (just mask off any edges that will be glued up). Begin assembly by gluing the front and back to the plywood bottom, making sure they’re flush and square. After screwing the crank handle to its lever with a #6 x 1″ screw and gluing the lever to the crank rod, slide the assembly into the case side. Fit the drive pulley and secure it to the rod with a #4 x 3/4″ screw, driven through the pulley square. After screwing on one case side, set the axle at the pulley end of the drum and the mallet pivot rod into their respective holes. Slip the belt over the drum, then fit the other case side and screw it into place. Set the glass into its frame and secure it with the molding strips, each attached with a few small brads carefully driven. Screw the case top on, then mount the hinges that attach the glass frame. Set the xylophone rack/mallet rest assembly into the case, securing it with a couple of screws driven through the rack supports. Tap wood buttons into all the screw holes, then slip the urethane belt onto the drive and drum pulleys.

Now you’re ready to turn the crank slowly (clockwise only!), and enjoy the beautiful tune your music box plays.

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings.

The post Old-Fashioned Music Box appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

In line with our theme of sticking to basics, all the materials for this bookcase come from just about any “big box” home improvement center. You can make this project with simple pine if you like, but we opted for hardwood and chose solid red oak for appearance and durability. For a painted bookcase, poplar would be a good choice.

Taking advantage of the off-the-rack sizing of dimensional 1 x 10 oak (actual measurement 3/4″ x 9-1⁄4″) for the bookcase sides and top, and 1 x 3 oak (really 3/4″ x 2-1⁄2″) for the kickplate, you’ll only need to cut these parts to length. Simple rip cuts trim shelves and rails to width.

Making First Cuts

Using a miter gauge on your table saw, begin by crosscutting the bookcase sides, shelves, kickplate and rails to length. If you lack a table saw, then a circular saw, jigsaw or handsaw can handle the job.

Examine your stock and decide which faces and edges will be the “presentation sides.” That means you’ll want the nicest-looking surfaces facing outward on the sides and upward on the shelves and top. Keep minor blemishes or odd grain on the inner and downward faces. Label the lumber — painter’s tape and a dark marker work better than just penciling the wood — to ensure you make cuts that keep those nicer faces oriented in the presentation direction.

Set up the rip fence to shave 1/4″ off the back edges of the three shelves. This allows the shelves to fit flush with the bookcase back, which is inset by 1/4″. Set the shelves aside for now, then reset the rip fence and cut the two upper rails to width.

Finally, cut the plywood for the bookcase back. Ripping the sheet to width is straightforward on the table saw, but because the bookcase back is taller than it is wide, it’s easier and safer to cut it to length with a jigsaw or circular saw.

Cabinet Joinery

This bookcase joinery is fairly straightforward and quickly done on the table saw using a stacked dado cutter. The 3/4″-thick shelves fit into 3/8″-deep dadoes in the bookcase sides. A rabbet cut into the back edges accommodates the cabinet back. We’ll cut the dadoes first.

We’ve laid out the shelves so each opening is a uniform 11-1⁄2″ tall. However, you can easily adjust measurements to accommodate whatever you want to store in the cabinet. (Or, make the openings smaller and add another shelf.) Using the height of the kickplate at the bottom as your starting point, mark the first dado at 2-1⁄2″, the second at 14-3⁄4″ and the third at 27″.

The bookcase back fits into rabbets on the rear edges of the two sides, also made with a dado cutter. This time, though, we’ll use the rip fence instead of a miter gauge.

To achieve the 3/8″ width of these rabbets, you can either remove and restack your dado cutter to 3/8″ thickness, or create a sacrificial fence. The beauty of this simple jig is that it allows you to adjust rabbet width on the fly without needing to restack the cutter — all you need to do is move the fence in or out.

Set the dado cutter 3/8″ high, and adjust the fence so 1/4″ of the blade is exposed. Now, making sure your workpiece is oriented correctly, just run the stock through. That’s it.

By cutting these rabbets last, you’ll remove any tearout from the back edge that was created in earlier dado cuts.

At this point, all your workpieces are prepped and nearly ready for assembly. However, you’ll find that all the inner surfaces are much easier to sand now rather than waiting till afterward.

Pocket-hole Joinery

Pocket-hole joinery complements this cabinet’s dadoes and rabbets by making assembly both fast and uncomplicated. We’ll use pocket screws to secure the bookcase top (piece 5), as well as the kickplate (piece 3) and upper rails (pieces 4).

You will want to make sure your pocket-hole jig is aligned squarely on your drilling marks and is square to the end of the workpiece. After you have drilled the first pocket hole, reset the jig and drill each hole in turn. Repeat for the opposite bookcase side.

In the same manner, drill a pair of evenly spaced pockets on the inside ends of the kickplate. For the narrow upper rails, a single pocket hole on each end is all you need.

The Assembly Process

Apply glue into the dadoes on one bookcase side and, being careful to mind the directional labels, set the shelves into place flush with the bookcase front. Since we trimmed the shelves by 1/4″, they should also be perfectly flush with the rabbet on the back.

Now, apply glue into the dadoes on the other side and fit it to the shelf ends and align as before. Clamp everything up to complete the assembly, and check for square.

When the assembly has dried, apply glue to the top edge of the kick plate and, orienting the pocket holes toward the inside, clamp it to the underside of the bottom shelf slightly inset from the bookcase front to create an attractive reveal. The exact amount of inset is up to you, but 1/8″ to 3/16″ is common.

With the assembly on its side, drive home a pair of pocket screws on each end of the kickplate to secure it. Since the kickplate meets the bottom shelf in a long grain-to-long grain glue joint — the strongest there is — we have no need for additional screws.

Apply glue to the tops of the bookcase sides. Upend the assembly onto the top and attach it with three pocket screws on each side. Those pockets aren’t that visible up underneath the top, but let’s take one more step to make them disappear.

Apply a bit of glue onto the insides of the screw holes (you won’t need much), then slide in pocket-hole plugs. (If you don’t know where to find these locally, you can order them, along with other supplies needed for this project like flathead screws, and even a pocket-hole jig itself, from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware at www.rockler.com, phone 800-279-4441.) When the glue has dried, trim the plugs with a flush-cut saw and then just sand them smooth. We’ve used oak plugs here, of course, but they’re available in several wood species.

Glue and clamp the upper rails into place — the front rail inset the same distance as the kickplate, the rear rail flush with the rabbet on the back— and attach with pocket screws oriented toward the rear where they aren’t seen.

The final step is to set the back of the bookcase into place, drill shallow countersunk pilot holes, and attach the back with 1/2″ to 5/8″ screws. Evenly space the screws around the back edges, plus one that goes through the back and into the center of each shelf.

Finishing Up

Give the entire bookcase a good sanding. Your lumber is probably pretty smooth right from the store, but it may have milling marks that should be removed. While those marks aren’t that noticeable now, they’ll really pop out with a washboard-like appearance once finish — especially stain — is applied. For most home center lumber a thorough sanding with 100-grit paper, followed by 150-grit, does the trick.

Lastly, give your bookcase the finish of your choice. You’ll find it easier if you first temporarily remove the back, so that you can finish the “case” portion of the bookcase and its back separately.

We used three coats of satin polyurethane for a moderately glossy appearance and the highest level of protection from wear and the elements. However, aerosol spray lacquer would make for a fast-drying high-gloss finish if you’re in a hurry. Amber shellac, meanwhile, also dries quickly and imparts a warm Old World tone to the wood.

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings.

The post Quick and Easy Bookcase appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The result is this article. The 4-ft.-wide by 3-ft.-deep workbench is built as a torsion box to make it strong, stiff and light. The cabinet is bolted to the wall to keep it secure and stable, and the work surface covers the tools and upper storage area when closed.

Cutting the Parts

I prefer to use a circular saw and straightedge to reduce full sheets of ply as much as possible prior to final trimming at the table saw. The first step is to cut the cabinet sides. Set your straightedge to cut two 113⁄4″-wide strips, and crosscut the two sides to 68″ long.

The rest of the large parts can be cut at the same time. The bottom, top and shelf are cut from the same sheet. The back is cut from one of the 1/2″ sheets. The top and bottom of the torsion box will be trimmed to size after assembly, so they simply need to be rough cut to the size listed in the Material List.

Making the Torsion Box

The work surface folds into the cabinet, so it needs to be as light as possible, but strong and stiff. A torsion box is the perfect solution. A grid framework is covered top and bottom with plywood. This gives the stiffness, but not the weight, of a solid bench top.

The ribs and sides are cut from the remainder of the 1/2″ sheet. These all need to be the same height, so rip them all at the same time. Crosscut both the upper and lower ribs to final length. The ribs are half-lapped to form the internal grid. Cut all the half-laps in the upper ribs at the same time, then cut them in all the lower ribs.

Dry-fit the framework so the sides and ends can be crosscut to exact length. Wrap the sides and ends around  the ribs, marking and cutting them to exactly fit around the assembled grid. Building the torsion box can now begin.

Start by gluing and clamping one of the long side parts to the 1/2″ plywood torsion box base. The base and top are cut oversized to be trimmed flush with the grid after assembly, so the side is attached just inside the edge of the base. Next, glue and clamp one of the ends, forming a square corner from which to work.

Now attach the lower ribs to the base one at a time with the half-laps facing up. Clamp the upper ribs in place to keep the lower ribs properly oriented as you work. Glue along the lower edge of the ribs and up the edges that meet the side.

After all the lower ribs are in place and the glue cures, add the upper ribs. These should just drop into place since they were used to locate the lower ribs. Again, glue the lower edge and the end of each rib as it is set in place and clamped. This is where the phrase “you can’t have too many clamps” becomes real!

Glue and clamp the remaining sides in place. The final step before securing the top is to add some blocking for the vise to bolt to. The vise can be added to either the right or left front corner as you prefer. Cut scrap pieces to fit inside the four spaces that make up the corner you want to mount the vise to. Two layers of 3/4″ material glued to the bottom and to each other will provide all the structure needed. Mark this corner so that later you’ll know where the vise goes.

I used construction adhesive to adhere the top, rather than yellow glue, since there is a LOT of glue to lay down at one time. Run a bead along the top of all the ribs and sides, then set the 3/4″ top in place and clamp it down. It is oversized, so it does not have to be set exactly square. Just ensure that it ovehangs the sides all the way around.

For clamping the center of this large assembly, I set two five-gallon pails full of water on the center. This adds 80 pounds to the center, and it ensured that the surface came out flat and smooth. Once you remove the clamps, trim the top and bottom flush to the sides with a router and flush-trim bit.

Add the vise next. This simply surface mounts to the bottom face of the torsion box. Locate the corner with the blocking inside (you did mark it, right?), drill pilot holes and screw it in place as recommended in the manufacturer’s instructions. The two layers of blocking and 1/2″-thick base should give you 2″ of solid material to screw into.

Once the vise is mounted, locate and rout a dado for the T-track. The track required a 3/4″-wide, 3/8″-deep dado, which I plowed using a straightedge to guide the router base.

I centered it on the top to have screws as close to the ends as possible, then trimmed and filed the ends flush. Your work surface is now complete and ready to mount to the cabinet.

Building the Cabinet Assembly

The cabinet is just two sides with top, bottom, one fixed shelf and a 1/2″-thick back. The back slides into a 1/2″-wide by 1/2″-deep groove in each side. Cut these grooves with a router while you still have the sawhorses and straightedge out. Locate the groove 1/2″ in from the back edge of the sides to allow for the mounting cleats.

Attach the bottom to the sides at the bottom edge and flush front to back. Install the top flush with the top edge of the sides and front, and so the back edge just meets the back groove. Screw the shelf between the sides 42″ down from the top face. I added the leveling legs next. They are centered about two inches in from each corner.

Now fit the 1/2″-thick plywood back into the grooves in the sides. It rests on the bottom, stiffening the cabinet and keeping it from racking. Once the back was in place, I ensured the assembly was square by measuring the diagonals, then secured the back across the bottom, shelf and top.

Lastly, add the 1/2″ plywood cleat across the top of the back to provide support for anchoring the cabinet to the wall during installation.

Outfitting the Storage Area

The work surface folds into the upper section of the cabinet, but it leaves an empty space about 7″ deep that can be used for storage. I wanted to store both hardware and tools, so I chose the combination of boxes and pegboard shown in the photos and Drawings. You can tailor this space to fit your needs, but nothing should block the work surface from closing.

The boxes sit in a set of pigeonholes mounted under the cabinet top. I cut the shelf and dividers from 1/2″ ply and assembled them with glue and nails. In my work station, the pigeonholes are  spaced 5-3⁄8″ apart. The cabinet’s shelf is glued and screwed in place through the back, so first trace the shelf and dividers with a pencil. Remove the shelf and drill pilot holes centered in the tracings, then clamp the shelf back in place and add screws.

Make boxes for the pigeonholes from 1/2″ ply as well. Cut all the sides and ends. Each gets a 1/4″-wide, 1/4″-deep groove in the lower edge to accept a bottom. After that, cut finger joints in the ends and assemble the boxes: they just slide into the pigeonholes.

Attaching the Work Surface

The torsion box work surface is simply hinged to the fixed shelf of the cabinet. Surface-mount the 4″ gate hinges to the  bottom back edge of the torsion box with the barrel against the back edge.

Attach a pair of clamps to the cabinet sides and use a roller stand to hold the work surface level while you attach the hinges to the shelf.

One cabinet side needs to be notched for the vise to clear when the work station is folded. The size and location of the notch are determined by your vise and which side you chose to mount it to. Fold the unit closed as far as possible, then mark the upper and lower points where the vise meets. Add a bit extra, especially at the top, and cut a notch in the side. I drilled the corners with a 1″ Forstner bit and used a circular saw to remove the waste. I cut the outside corners round as well and sanded the notch smooth.

Once the workspace can fold closed, it needs a mechanism to keep it safely locked away. I chose to use a standard gate latch. Mount the arm section to the door, and attach the latch to a block on the cabinet side. I found that the block needed to be set a bit proud of the side to automatically latch closed properly.

I added a tool trough to the front edge of the workbench. It is made from three pieces of 3/4″ ply grooved for a bottom like a drawer box. I used an offcut from the pegboard as the bottom, because the holes will allow debris to fall through rather than collect. I finger jointed the pieces of the trough together.

I pocket screwed the side pieces to the front of the bench, slipped the bottom in, then fit the long side into the finger joints with glue. A few small glue blocks  under the inside of the trough bottom keep it supported along the bench front.

The legs get added next. They mount to the bottom of the work surface using folding leg brackets that lock both open and closed. Cut the legs from 2x stock to 28-1⁄2″ long. Drill a 3/8″-diameter hole about 1-1⁄4″ deep into the lower ends of the legs to accommodate a T-nut and leveling glides.

The leg brackets screw directly onto the bottom of the work surface. One mounts well out toward the corner, the other more inboard to clear the vise. Lastly, I added a handle to the bottom face of the work surface to make it easier to open and close.

A piece of pegboard occupies the rest of the upper section of the cabinet. I used strapping to frame the space and added a center cleat. This can be made from scrap you may have on hand as long as all the pieces are the same thickness. Simply screw the pegboard to the strapping where needed.

Finally, I made doors for the lower cabinet space. I cut these out of the remainder of the 3/4″ plywood and mounted them using cup hinges. This space can be organized with shelves or dividers to fit your storage needs.

Installing the Project

Locate the studs within the area where you plan to install the cabinet. Set the folded work station in place and adjust the legs to level the cabinet.

Drill and drive screws through the back of the cabinet into the studs using at least 2-1⁄2″ screws, #8 or heavier. The cabinet is less than 14″ deep, so anchor it properly for safety. Securing it to the wall will also ensure that it remains stable in use.

Whether you have your entire woodworking shop in your garage, or just need a place to putter at home, this work station will give you the space and versatility to work while only extending a short distance from the wall when folded up.

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings.

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Starting with the Legs

To begin, build two side assemblies from pairs of legs, upper and lower rails, the two narrow side slats and three panels. To that end, prepare your leg blanks and make a scrap template for the cloudlift pattern. Mark the legs as fronts and backs, lefts and rights to help keep their orientation clear, then draw the cloudlift profiles, but don’t cut them.

Next, cut a 1/4″-deep groove into the wider inside faces of the legs, centered on their width, using a 1/2″ straight or spiral bit in your router table. Stop these grooves (which house the side panels) 1-1/2″ from the leg bottoms, and square up their ends. The side rails fit into 3/4″-deep mortises in these grooves. The top side rail mortises are 1-1/4″ long; the bottom rail mortises are 1-3/4″ long.

With the same bit, plow a 1/4″-deep groove down the narrow, inside edges of the back legs for the back panel. Position them 1/2″ in from the back faces of the legs, and stop the grooves 1-3/4″ up from the leg bottoms.

Now, mark the 1/2″-wide mortises for the top, center and bottom front rail tenons on the inside edges of the front legs. Position these mortises 3/8″ in from the front faces of the legs. Rout the mortises 3/4″ deep, and chisel their ends square.

Notice in the Drawings that five web frames support the drawers and create the dresser’s internal skeleton. Mark their locations on the four legs in order to rout 3/4″-wide, 1/4″-deep dadoes that will seat them in the legs. Stop these short dadoes at the side panel grooves. Once those are milled, rough-cut and then template-rout the cloudlifted edges of the legs. Complete the legs by rounding their bottom corners with 1/4″ radii.

Forming the Side Subassemblies

Set the legs aside for a spell and prepare blanks for the top and bottom side rails. You’ll need to make a cloudlift template for tracing the profiles on the bottom edges of all four rails. Draw the shapes to inform you of which edge is “up” on these rails, but don’t cut the cloudlifts out just yet.

On the thickness of the rails, center a 1/2″ straight bit in the router table to plow grooves for the side panels and side slats: rout a 1/2″-deep groove into the top edge of the bottom rails and a 3/4″-deep groove into the bottom edge of the top rails. The side slats join to the side rails with 1/2″-square tenons, so mark and chop those next. Make them 1/4″ deeper than the grooves.

Now head to your table saw and raise 3/4″-long tenons on the ends of the rails. The top rail tenons are 1-1/4″ wide and flush to the top edges of the rails. The bottom rail tenons are 1-3/4″ long with a 1/2″ bottom shoulder, so form this shoulder, too.

You need 3/4″-wide, 1/4″-deep rabbets on the top inside edges of the top rails to house the top web frame, so those are your next task. Likewise, the inside top edges of the bottom rails need a rabbet to fit the bottom web frame. Cutting these will remove the inside wall of the side panel grooves, but don’t fret: the support here will be returned when the top and bottom web frames are installed. With the rabbets done, band saw and template-rout the rails’ cloudlifted edges

Mill blanks for the four side slats from straight-grained stock, and rout 1/2″-wide, 1/8″-deep grooves into two opposite edges of each slat for the side panels. The ends of the side slats also need 1/2″ x 1/2″-square tenons to fit into the rail mortises, so raise them now. Note that the top tenons are 1/2″ long, and the bottom tenons are 3/4″ long. Finally, the inside faces of the side slats require 3/4″-wide, 1/8″-deep dadoes to fit the ends of the web frames, similar to the legs.

With the joinery behind you, surface six 1/2″-thick blanks for the side panels, and dry-assemble pairs of front and back legs to upper and lower rails with the panels in place to create two carcass side subassemblies. Be sure there’s about 1/16″ of expansion capability for the panels between the slats to allow for seasonal wood movement.

Disassemble the parts and soften, with 1/8″ roundovers, all the sharp edges that will show from the sides of the dresser. Stain and finish the side panels, then glue up the dresser’s two side assemblies, and take them through to final finish.

Making Web Frames, Drawer Dividers and Supports

Next up, you can build the five web frames. One of the crucial aspects of the web frames, given how long they are, is to start with your flattest stock. Give it time to settle and distort as you prepare it, so you can correct any minor twisting or bowing before assembly. The web frames’ construction couldn’t be simpler: the fronts and backs are connected by three cross rails with tongue-and-groove joints: 1/4″-thick, 1/2″-long tongues on the rail ends fit into matching grooves in the fronts and backs.

Once assembled, the back corners of all five web frames need to be notched to accommodate the back legs. Cut these notches 5/8″ wide and 1/8″ deep. Next, notice in the Drawings that both the vertical drawer dividers and the upper drawer supports fit into 3/4″-wide, 1/8″-deep dadoes running across the web frame fronts and backs. Refer to the additional Drawings in “More on the Web” to lay them out, then plow these dadoes across the web frame fronts and backs with a router and a long fence or slotted jig. (For specific step-by-step instructions to make the web frames, our “More on the Web” coverage provides the full details.)

The four vertical drawer dividers are made with the same tongue-and-groove joinery as the web frames, but it’s important to get their sizing dialed in accurately: they must keep the web frames flat along their length, in order for the drawers to fit properly and squarely.

So, build them carefully. To that end, I dry assembled the carcass to verify the lengths of the various divider fronts and backs while making them. A dry assembly is also a convenient time to measure and cut the upper drawer supports and the back panel to size. Check their fit with a test installation, then disassemble the carcass.

Forming the Front Rails and Upper Rail Assembly

The front rails are the last items to make before assembling the carcass for good. Prepare strips of stock for the top, center and bottom front rails. Rip and crosscut the three rails to final size, then mill 1/2″-thick, 3/4″-long tenons on the part ends. The top rail tenons are flush with the rail’s top edge and 3/4″ wide; the center and bottom rail tenons are centered on the part widths and are 1″ and 1-3/4″ wide, respectively. Now trace and cut the cloudlift profile onto the bottom rail’s bottom edge, and ease the rails’ front edges with 1/8″ roundovers.

Notice in the Exploded View that the front ends of the upper drawer supports are hidden behind short slats that tuck between the top and center rails. Mark the inside edges of these rails for 1/2″ x 1/2″ mortises that will join the short slats to the rails. Cut the mortises 1/4″ deep, and square up their ends, if needed. Prepare blanks for the short slats, as well as the half slats that will fit flush against the legs. Raise tenons on the ends of the full slats to fit the rail mortises.

Round over the front edges of the short and half slats. Set the half slats aside, but glue the short slats into their rail mortises to create a subassembly. I also cut tiny 1/4″ x 1/4″ x 3/4″-long cleats and glued them into place on top of the center rail, against the outside edges of the short slats and 1/2″ back from the rail’s face. These serve as mounting points for the wood filler pieces that will fill the narrow openings at the end of this rail subassembly, later.

Two faux rails flank the middle drawers and hide the front edges of those web frames. Prepare these rails, but leave them overly long: they’ll simply glue onto the front edges of the web frames after the carcass is assembled, when you can trim them to final length and fit them accurately.

Assembling the Carcass

You’re nearly ready to assemble the carcass, but there are still some final details to finish up. The top web frame needs attachment points for the dresser’s solid wood top panel, and the web frames can provide a convenient means for stiffening the long front rails. There’s also the matter of securing the drawer dividers that align vertically in the carcass. The fact that the upper drawer supports line up with the top divider ends, and the left top drawer divider end aligns with the
middle drawer divider ends, makes attaching these pieces to the web frames more difficult. I accomplished most all of this with slotted screw holes and pocket screw joints. (Find more details in our More on the Web coverage.) You’ll be quick to notice that fastening these vertical dividers to the web frames adds a tremendous amount of rigidity to the carcass framework. The dividers also help keep the web frames perfectly flat across their length. Additionally, you need to cut the various notches into the front corners of the drawer dividers so they’ll fit around the front and faux rails. The online Elevation Drawings provide dimensions for these notches. Cut them carefully with a jigsaw.

At this point I sanded, stained and finished all the carcass parts but kept the front edges of the middle drawer web frames bare, in order to glue the faux rails onto them. Now, with a deep breath and long pipe clamps, you can assemble the entire carcass, installing the web frames, rails, drawer dividers and upper drawer supports on the side assemblies. Drive screws into all your planned locations. Cut, glue and clamp the faux rails in place to wrap up this major step. Leave the back panel off until the drawers are installed.

Building the Dresser Top

If you built our Greene & Greene Nightstand project, the construction of this dresser’s top will be familiar, since it’s exactly the same. Glue up the top’s center panel and prepare blanks for the breadboard ends. Bore three 7/8″-deep mortises into the top face of each breadboard end for square plugs, using a 5/16″ chisel in a mortising machine. Now set up your router table to mill a 3/8″-wide, 1-1/4″-deep mortise along the inside edge of each breadboard end. Stop these mortises 1/2″ from the part ends. With that done, raise tenons on the ends of the top panel with a dado blade and table saw or a router and fence to fit the mortises you’ve just made. Cut 1/2″ shoulders on the ends of the tenons.

Fit the breadboard ends onto the center panel, and mark the locations of the square peg holes onto the panel tenons with the tip of a 5/16″ brad-point drill bit. Remove the breadboard ends. Bore a 5/16″-square through-mortise at the marked center point, and 5/16″-wide, 1/2″-long mortises at the other two.

Round the corners of the breadboard ends with 1/4″-radii. Then ease their edges, plus the long edges of the panel, with a 1/8″ roundover bit. Finish-sand the three parts. Spread glue along the center 6″ or so of the tenons, and slip the breadboard ends into place, clamping the ends to the panel.

While the glue cures, make up six 5/16″-square plugs, 15/16″ long, to fill the plug mortises. I used ebony and gently sanded one end of each plug into a “pillow” top. Both the wood species here and the pillowing detail are traditional Greene & Greene aspects of these plugs. Tap them into their holes carefully with a dab of glue, until just the top 1/16″ “pillowed” portion stands proud. Stain and finish the dresser top.

Building the Lower Box-joint Drawers

After the long haul of making the carcass, you may be relieved to learn that this dresser’s drawers aren’t terribly difficult to build. The front corners meet in symmetrical box joints, and the back corners are simple rabbet-and-dado connections.

The size and layout of the box joints on these drawers changes from one row to the next, so unfortunately, a conventional box joint jig won’t work here. Instead, I made up pairs of plywood templates for the three drawer joint sizes. I cut the drawer face pin-and-socket patterns first with a dado set, then knifed the layout for the drawer sides using the face templates as guides. But, for the drawer side templates, I marked their patterns .008″ smaller than the face layouts at every cut, using an automotive feeler gauge. This clearance allows for an easy slip fit of the joints without looking “loose.” (For the complete details on fitting and building the drawers, see our More on the Web coverage.)

Bore the square mortises for the plugs 3/8” deep, then use the spur centers of the mortise chisel to locate a 7/64” bit for drilling through holes for the screws. Screw each pin to its socket with 1-1/2″ panhead screws hidden in recessed screw
holes and covered by 5/16″-square plugs. After the drawers are assembled, mount them on their slides in the carcass.

Adding the Secret Drawers

The three shallow secret drawers on top are even easier to build! The boxes assemble with 1/4″ x 1/4″ rabbet-and-dado joints. Locate the drawer bottoms 1/2″ up from the bottoms of the drawer sides if you use the self-closing King Slide® hardware we suggest. The instructions that come with the slides provide the details you’ll need to install them on the upper drawer supports. After these drawers are hung, add mahogany drawer faces with a tight reveal to simulate a frame-and-panel look — this, and the lack of a need for drawer pulls, is the special effect that makes them “secret”! Then, position and pin-nail or glue the half slats and filler pieces into the open spaces at the ends of this row.

Finishing Up the Last Details

Now’s time to slide the back panel into place and fasten it to the web frames with brads. Mount the top on the dresser with screws driven through the top web frame, and complete the drawers with some custom arched wood pulls. You can read how I made those in our More on the Web coverage. The pulls on the larger two drawers are heftier than those on the five smaller drawers, yet the end effect is still a pleasant and interesting visual “balance” once they’re installed. And, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the front faces of all the pulls aren’t flat — they’re gently curved to continue the curved theme suggested by the rounded ends on the box joint pins and the pillow-topped plugs. Finally, find a couple of helpers with strong backs to move this testament of your hard work to its new bedroom home — you deserve the break!

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For a PDF explaining the pin arrangement Sandor used for this project (and an overview for how to customize your own music box) Click Here.

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You can find the cut layouts for the plywood by Clicking Here.

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