To make this chair, we used solid cherry lumber surfaced to 1-3⁄4″. There are no metal fasteners used here…just dowel joints and a form of mortise-and-tenon joinery. The primary machining on this chair was done with a router guided by shop-made templates. The back legs, back slats and the seat (pieces 2, 5 and 6) were all template-routed to their final shape. The front legs and the stretchers (pieces 1, 3 and 4) were rough cut on the band saw, then planed square and smooth by hand.

Including:

• Template routing

• Round tenons on square stock

• Dowel joints located by dowel points

• Hand planing legs

Chairs have a reputation of being difficult to build, and with good reason. As our late contributing editor Mike McGlynn used to say, “when you make a chair, the joinery has to be bomb-proof.” That may have been a slight overstatement, but probably not by much!

Getting Started

Begin the process by getting sufficient 1-3⁄4″ stock into your shop to make the chair (or chairs), and keep it there for a while to let it get used to the environment. With your lumber in hand, the first task on the agenda is to make the template for the back legs, pieces 2. Because the template will end up long and skinny, Baltic birch plywood (1/2″ thick) is the perfect material to use here. The voidless plywood provides strength and dimensional stability that are essential for this task. Lay out the shape of the leg on the plywood with a sharp pencil, using the Drawings on the following page as a guide. Then step to your band saw and cut the shape, staying just outside the pencil lines. When you’ve cut it out, sand and plane the excess away until you have an accurately formed template. Remember, any dips, bumps or other distortions will be clearly telegraphed to your leg stock as you rout, so refining the shape of the template is very important.

Now use the template to trace the shape of the legs onto your cherry lumber. Even though it might seem a bit odd, a full thickness black Sharpie® is the perfect marker to use for this task. Its ultra-dark lines are easy to see, and it is thick enough that you can cut exactly to the outside of the line and have just the right amount of wood to trim away with the template-routing bit. Which brings up a couple of other important points: If you have not done much template routing, you need to be aware that routing across end grain in situations like these legs can lead to disaster. You must be very careful to avoid fracturing the grain at the corners. It is better to avoid the corners and just rout up to them but stop short, leaving small nibs of wood to be sanded off later. Also, pay attention to how the grain runs (by looking at it visually and listening while you are cutting) in the leg as you are routing. If the grain is as curly and troublesome as the cherry we used here, you will need to stop and do some climb cutting in places to avoid tearout.

The legs were routed in a two-step process because the router bit was not long enough to machine the thickness of the leg in a single pass. After securing the template to the leg blank with carpet tape, take the first routing pass. Then remove the template and lower the bit in the router. This way you can complete the cut by guiding the bit’s bearing along the surface of the wood you’ve already machined. You will also need to lift the leg up from the surface of your bench — we used Bench Cookies® for that task (also, clamp the leg to the bench). With that done, sand the nibs at the ends of the legs and set them aside for now.

Next, it’s time to make the front legs and the stretchers (pieces 1, 3 and 4). We ripped them from the cherry lumber using the band saw, and then used a hand plane to square and smooth them. Even with this unruly cherry, that process only took a short while. As long as you are at it, now is a good time to make the seat blank (piece 6) from 1-1⁄8″-thick stock. Here we resawed the thicker cherry lumber to about 1-1⁄4″ thick, glued up the blank, then planed it flat (across the grain) with a bench plane. Make the blank slightly oversized as, once again, you will template-rout it to its exact dimensions later.

Round Tenons on Square Stock

This sliding jig allows you to use a router table to raise round tenons on the ends of square stock by rotating it in the tenon guides. Tenon diameters are adjusted by raising and lowering the router bit. Tenon lengths are set by means of a stop-fence clamped over the bit. Interchangeable tenon guides accommodate different stock thicknesses. Place the stock into the jig and, with the bit turning, engage the stock with the cutter and the stop fence by sliding the jig along the miter slot. A stop clamped to the table locates the jig centered on the bit. Rotate the stock in the tenon guides until the tenon is smoothly cut.

It’s Jig Time

We used the shop-made jig to raise round tenons on the ends of the front legs and stretchers, pictured on the following page. It is not complicated, and one of its best features is that it can handle stock of differing thicknesses, using interchangeable tenon guides. As with any machining task, it only makes sense to use scrap lumber cut to the same dimension as the actual leg and stretcher stock to set up the cuts and test the fit of the tenons in pre-drilled holes. The stretcher tenons were formed to be 1/2″ in diameter and 1/2″ long. The leg tenons were also 1/2″ long but 1-1⁄8″ in diameter. One tip to keep in mind: make the tenons just oversized in diameter and then hand sand them from there. This ensures a tight fit, which is crucial for chair joints.

Making the Back Slats and Seat

The cross slats that make up the ladderback need to be perfectly fitted between the legs. With the chair parts clamped together, determine the slat length and create a plywood template using the Drawings as your guide. The back slats end up being 3/4″ thick, but they are shaped from 1-3⁄4″ stock. Once again, you will use a two-step template routing sequence, this time on the router table. Cut the slat blanks to length, use the template to trace their shape onto the blank, and then drill their ends for pairs of 3/8″-diameter dowels. Use the band saw to rough cut them to shape. Then step to your router table and chuck a 3/4″ “pattern” bit — it has the bearing at the “chuck end” of the bit — into your router.

Carefully rout the shape of the back slat, keeping your hands well clear of the cutter. When those cuts have been done, chuck a 3/4″ flush-trim bit with the guide bearing on the end of the bit. Set it so that it will clean up the rest of the waste on the slats and repeat the process. Sand the back slats smooth and then use dowel points to help locate the dowel holes in the back legs. Drill the dowel holes (we used a drill press for this) and then dry-clamp the components together. When everything fits properly, disassemble and finish-sand the parts.

Now it’s time for your final template-routing process to complete the seat. Make a 3/4″ plywood template, shaped as shown in the Drawings but fit precisely to the chair as it is in clamps. Secure it to the seat blank with carpet tape. Step back to your router table and use the flush-trim bit (the red bit above) to shape the blank. Take care at the end-grain corners. Square up the notches at the back of the seat with chisels. Mark the locations of the front leg mortises on the seat, and drill them. Test their fit, and then final sand the seat. Once that’s done, drill 3/8″ dowel holes in the notches of the seat as shown in the Drawings, and use dowel points to locate matching dowel holes in the back legs. Drill those holes and test-fit the seat one more time. When you are satisfied, glue and clamp the chair together. We added 1/4″ locking dowels from underneath the seat as shown in the Drawings. Drive them in and sand them smooth.

After the clamps came off and any glue squeeze-out was removed, we broke the edges of the chair parts with sandpaper, rounding them over to make a pleasing shape. The last task is putting a few coats of Watco® Natural oil finish on the chair and letting it cure. Now you have a fine hallway chair or, if you make a few of them, a dining room set.

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

The post PROJECT: Making a Ladderback Chair appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

It’s symmetrical, with interlocking dovetail slides and keys. The sides are alike, as are the ends and the top and bottom. Which is really the top? How do you get it open? The answer may not be immediately obvious. For now, don’t try to solve it. Think about getting it made.

You’ll only need a couple feet of stock, depending on board width. So rummage through your stashes of scraps too good to toss. Joint and plane all the stock for the box to a 1/2″ thickness. Rip the sides and ends to width, and crosscut these four parts to length. Make sure you have some decent sized scraps, thicknessed along with the good stuff, to use for dialing in setups. Set the rest aside for now.

Making Rabbeted Miter Joints

I elected to use rabbeted miter joints to assemble the sides and ends. The joint’s benefits are its clean appearance, its improved stress resistance over a plain miter joint, and particularly its ease of assembly. You can cut mitered rabbets on the table saw, but it’s less intimidating to make them on the router table. You’ll need a bit to cut rabbets and a chamfering bit to add the mitered ends.

The sequence, as shown in the photos, is as follows: First, you rabbet the parts. Then you bevel the ends of those rabbets — in effect, mitering them.

The depth for all the rabbets is half the stock thickness, in this case 1/4″. Put a straight bit in the router and carefully adjust the depth of cut to 1/4″. Make a test cut on a piece of the setup scrap; rip the scrap in two and put the pieces together in a shiplap. The faces must be flush with the bottoms of the rabbets tight together. If you’ve got a gap between the rabbets or if the faces aren’t flush, tweak the bit height and cut a new test. Then set the fence for the first round of rabbets.

The rabbets cut across the ends of the box sides are half the stock thickness in width, or 1/4″. Slide the fence into position, and use the final depth-of-cut test piece as a gauge in setting it. You want only enough of the bit exposed to cut as wide as the depth. Again, confirm the accuracy of the setup with test cuts.

Rabbet the ends of both side pieces, backed up with a good-sized pusher to guide the workpieces through the cuts.

Now alter the setup for rabbeting the box end pieces. These rabbet widths match the stock thickness exactly. Using an end piece as a gauge, shift the fence to expose more bit. Once again, confirm the accuracy of the setup with test cuts. That done, cut rabbets across the box ends.

Beveling the Rabbets

The bevels (or miters) are routed with a chamfering bit. When you fit the bit in the router, be sure to extend it far enough out of the collet. The bottom of the cutters must be 1/4″ above the tabletop to mill the bevels. As you adjust the height of the bit, use a workpiece to gauge the precise elevation. The terminus of the angled cutting edge must align with the rabbet bottom. Similarly, adjust the fence so only enough of the bit is exposed to cut the thickness of the rabbet projection.

Confirm your setup using the final rabbet test-cut scraps. Make any necessary adjustments before cutting the good parts. Back up the cuts to prevent blowouts.

After sanding the parts and checking the fit, I assembled the box with glue, clamping it with a band clamp and four shop-made corner blocks. To make such blocks, cut a rabbet in a 1-1⁄4″-square strip, then chop it into four pieces, each about 2″ long. Wax the faces of the rabbets so the blocks don’t get glued to the box. As you tighten the band, measure the diagonals to ensure the box is square — you may need to coax it.

Make Rabbeted Tops and Bottoms

After the glue sets, pop off the band and corner blocks, clean up the edges of the box, and rip and crosscut the top and bottom to fit the box you’ve now got. I cut the two parts using a cutoff sled on the table saw, and I used the box assembly to set a stop for ripping, then crosscutting the parts accurately.

Cut 1/8″-deep, 1/2″-wide rabbets around the top and bottom (see Drawings), so these parts set slightly into the box. Glue the bottom to the box (not the top).

Rout Slots, Slides and Keys

I routed all the dovetail slots, grooves, slides, and keys with a 3/4″ 14° dovetail
bit. I cut the wide slots in the box ends first, then routed and fitted slides to them. Put the bit in the router and adjust the cut depth to 3/8″. Plan to make the slots about 1-3⁄4″ wide (precision here is irrelevant). Set the fence 15⁄16″ from the tip of the cutter for the initial cut. Using its rabbet, position the top on the box. To prevent blowout damage, cut two pieces of scrap to cover the top and bottom. A clamp holds the package together and ensures you slide the same side of the box along the fence on each cut.

Make a first pass, routing a dovetail groove through one end of the box. Then roll the box end-for-end and make a duplicate groove through the other end. Adjust the fence about 5/8″ further away from the bit and make second passes though both ends, widening the slots. A second fence adjustment and third cuts should be sufficient to complete the slots.

To make the slides, cut a strip of 1/2″-thick stock about 2″ wide and 7″ long. Leave the depth-of-cut setting unchanged, but move the fence to house the bit almost completely. A shallow first pass along each edge of the blank establishes the dovetail angle but leaves a shoulder above the bit to bear against the fence. A multi-pass cut-and-fit process, shifting the fence, whittles down the dovetail section without affecting the overall (fence-bearing) width of the blank.

Once the blank fits easily into either slot, cut it into two slightly overlong slides. Clamp the box in your bench vise, with a scrap tucked in to hold the slide in place, as shown. Plane down the slide flush with the box end’s face. Turn the box over and repeat the operation to finally fit the second slide. Sand the ends of the wide slides flush with the top and bottom of the box. Glue the slides to the box top (and only to the top, not to the box itself).

With them in place, you can now rout the key grooves across the box top and bottom. Milling them repeats the earlier process for routing the wide slots. Clamp scrap against the wide slides to prevent exit damage. Lower the bit to cut only 1/4″ deep, and set the fence to locate the groove in the center of the box. Plow grooves across the box top and bottom.

Make the keys the way you did the wide slides. Resaw or plane a 1″-wide strip of stock to 3/8″ thick. Rout the edges and fit the keys into the grooves. Plane them flush and trim them to exact length.

I applied Waterlox for finish, allowing it to dry for several days before rubbing it out with wax and #0000 steel wool.

Solution Step of Construction

The solution to the box’s puzzle — how to open the thing? — is in the limited movement of the bottom key. It moves clear of one slide, but then stops with its far end sticking out. That movement aligns tiny notches in the key’s edges with the dovetail notch in the adjacent slide. Pull the top up, and the slides (they’re glued to the top, remember) pull up and off with it.

The key’s movement is governed by a 1/8″-dia. dowel pin projecting into a short slot in the box bottom. Fit it by pulling the key out of the bottom and laying out the ends of the slot on the centerline of the dovetail groove. Drill the ends of the slot with a 3/16″ bit and then waste the material between them. Reinsert the key, aligning its ends flush with the box ends, then transfer the near slot end location to the key with a transfer punch or drill bit. Move the key to what will be the limit of its travel and score its edges to mark the two notches that must be pared. Pull out the key and drill a stopped 1/8″-dia. hole at the mark, then pare off the dovetailed edges. Reinsert the key, glue the pin into its hole, and fit the top and slides in place.

I left the key in the top unglued, as a kind of diversion. The key comes out, but the box just doesn’t open!

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

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I did not intend this, but it was one of those designs that just evolved on its own. Anyway, the lady was pleased, which was just as well since we share an apartment in San Francisco.

I used mahogany for the desk, with ebony inlay, but other combinations would be equally suitable — walnut with maple inlay, for example, or cherry with rosewood. Cutting slots for the inlay is tricky…one slip of the router and you’ll have to start over.

But I feel adding inlay to the top and carrying that theme over onto the drawer faces and legs adds elegance to this project. If you work carefully, guiding your router against a straightedge or a curved template, you’ll have good success here.

Beginning with the Top

Start by gluing up stock for the desk top and rough-finishing it so there is a level surface for the router, then lay out the curves at the two ends. I initially set a beam compass to a radius of 52″ — the same length as the desk — intending to cut it on the band saw using a pivot. However, the curve looked wrong…too mechanical and simple-minded. So I picked a straight-grained batten and put pressure on the ends with a long bar clamp.

By changing the clamp pressure, I could adjust the amount of curvature very precisely. I don’t know if the curve so generated has any mathematical pedigree, but I suspect it belongs to the same family as suspension bridges. Anyway, it looked right for this desk, so I marked the curve with a felt-tipped pen and then sawed it by hand with a 300mm Japanese saw. The flexible blade is ideal for cutting shallow curves such as this one.

I used the offcut as a sanding block to smooth the ends of the desk top, then traced the curve onto scrap and sawed it out as a template guide for the router. By clamping this guide to the desk top, I could rout out a groove for the inlay with confidence. If you are not comfortable making this cut with a router, I suggest you practice on scrap wood until you are. Use a straight 3/16″ carbide bit and be sure to go against the direction of the bit rotation. Otherwise, the bit can take charge and run away with you.

Cut the groove in the curved ends first and then, using a straightedge as a guide, cut slots along the long sides. Doing it this way minimizes tear-out where the two grooves intersect. When done, use the router again with the same depth setting to cut the shallow notches at each corner for squares of inlay that join the strips where they meet.

When cutting a precious wood such as ebony into inlay strips, I minimize waste by clamping a fence to the band saw instead of using the table saw. This works best with a 3/8″- or 1/2″-wide blade, because it’s less likely to wander in the cut.

After cutting sufficient strips of inlay — you can butt them end to end if necessary — glue them into their slots. Start at the curved ends using a piece of hardwood scrap with wax paper in between so you can apply even pressure with clamps. Glue the long sides next. Now cut the small squares of ebony for each corner and glue them into place. Clean the top up with a block plane and scraper, sand it up to 120-grit, and set it aside to work on the base.

Assembling the Legs and Aprons

The legs are square in section and are tapered below the ebony bands. Cut them to size, and taper their ends. Slots for the leg inlays are best cut against a miter gauge on the table saw using the rip fence as a stop. It’s a simple procedure. With the legs done, make up the front, back and side aprons. Use the flexible batten to form the bottom curves on these parts before shaping them at the band saw. Mark the location of the three drawer faces on one of the long aprons, but don’t cut them out yet.

Before final assembly, mill a shallow slot for the wooden buttons on the inside of the aprons at your table saw or router table. These will connect the top to the base and allow for seasonal wood movement. Be careful to stop the slot cuts short of the drawer fronts on the front apron (see Drawings). With that work behind you, join the legs and four aprons together with pairs of 1/2″ dowel pegs and glue. As you clamp the assembly up, be sure that the legs are parallel to each other (or even toe out slightly) by adjusting the placement and pressure of the clamps.

After the glue dries, mark out and cut the three drawer fronts free with a thin, fine-tooth saw. Label them clearly so you can reassemble them in the same sequence. This gives a consistency of grain and color — important in a delicate piece of furniture such as this desk. Make four crisscross cuts on each drawer face with a thin-kerf blade at the table saw to fit the 1/16″-wide inlay strips. Then cut slots across the ends of the “stub” apron pieces of the front apron for inlay here, too. Glue the inlay strips in place and then plane or sand them flush. Notice in the Drawings that I added a single dowel near the cut ends of the front stub apron in order to lock them in place underneath the desk top. They also will receive a wooden button and screw.

Speaking of which, use some scrap stock to make the nine wood buttons now, and drive a countersunk wood screw through each to fasten the desk top to the leg base. Be sure to position the buttons on the side aprons in a little bit from the legs so the top can expand widthwise with the seasons.

Adding the Runners and Drawers

The desk drawers are suspended from the desk top and slide along pairs of drawer runners with supports dadoed into them. Use scrap stock to make the runners and supports. Then turn your attention to the drawer boxes. You can construct these drawers with any joinery you prefer, but the parts are sized in the Material List to accommodate rabbet-and-dado joints. Cut the joinery, make slots for the drawer bottoms and assemble the three drawers with glue and clamps. When the joints cure, cut 1/8″-deep, 3/8″-wide slots along the drawer sides for the runners.

Then flip the desk over and set the three drawers and their runners in place. Use 2″ countersunk screws in elongated holes to attach the drawer runners to the desk top. Only after the drawer boxes have been fitted and slide in and out smoothly should you attach the drawer faces. I didn’t do this, and aligning the bands of inlay on the drawer faces after the drawers were in place was a tedious, time-consuming business. You can use short pieces of double-sided tape to position and hold the drawer faces in place temporarily, before fixing them permanently with screws driven from inside the drawer boxes.

There is no functional need for pulls with drawers this small since they are easily opened with a hand beneath the front edge. If you prefer the look of pulls, make a set using the same wood as the inlay in a style that suits your taste.

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

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