Then, just as I got “rolling” on this project, my lathe decided to go on strike! Most of us would agree that woodworking is a proving ground of the old saying, “necessity is the mother of invention.” That is what drove me to create my rolling pin jig. I managed to mill the sleeves round, cut the grooves and even make the handles with a table saw, router and this new jig. In the next few pages, I’ll show you how it is done and, along the way, I’ll introduce you to the bird’s-mouth router bit and teach you how to make large diameter dowels on the router table.

Fashioning the Sleeve Blanks

Everything in this project is determined by the size of the rolling pin sleeves, so they need to be made first. Six segments (pieces 18) form a hexagon that gets milled round in the jig later. Mill your stock flat and straight. Remember that you are making three sleeves, so you need 18 pieces for your three-roller set. You will certainly want to make up a few extras for setups. My sleeves were to be 9-1/2″ long, so I cut 20 pieces a bit long — 10″.

I set up the bird’s-mouth bit in the router table. Into one edge of the piece, this ingenious bit cuts an angled notch, which mates with the square end of the next, forming a 60° angle. Setting the bit is not difficult: the top part of the notch should be 5/8″ long (the same as the thickness of the end it mates with, as shown in the photos and illustrations). The peaks of the hexagon will get milled off, so the joint only needs to be close. Mill one long edge of each part, then dry-fit them together.

The width determines the overall diameter of the finished sleeve, which should end up just about 3″ at the smallest point. Spread glue into the notches and assemble them. For clamping, I used several rubber bands wrapped around the assembly. After they are done drying, trim off the ends, but leave them a bit long.

Creating the Core

The sleeves you just made will slip over a core that also holds the handles. Since the interiors of the sleeves are hexagonal, the core needs to be as well. It also needs a hole through the center to house one of the threaded rods (piece 19). Rather than try and drill a straight hole through the core, I made it in two parts (pieces 20), with a groove along the center of each.

Carefully measure the inside of the sleeve along the widest point. That is the overall width of the core halves, with the thickness being half the small width of the sleeve. Mill the groove down the center of both halves. Then set the bevel angle on the saw to a 30° tilt, and bevel each long edge of the blanks. Test the fit inside the sleeve before gluing these pieces up, and be sure to err on the side of too large. Later, you can joint the faces of the core to adjust the fit.

Routing the HDPE End Caps

The end caps (pieces 21) keep the sleeves in place on the core. I milled them from 1/2″ HDPE (high density polyethylene). Inexpensive plastic cutting boards are a great source for this material. I drilled a 1/4″ pilot hole in the plastic, then used a router and trammel to cut a circular groove halfway through the plastic. The inner ring formed this way (bottom photo, right) was cut to fit close inside the sleeve. I then reset the trammel and cut their overall 2-7/8″ diameters.

Assembling the Jig Box

The trick to milling the hexagonal sleeves round is a box-style jig. It holds the core and sleeve assembly so it can be turned underneath a router bit. On top of the box, a sliding plate guides the router back and forth along the length of the box. Although I only needed one point to turn the rolling pin under the router, I made the ends with slots at three levels so I could use the jig for other projects with different diameters (see Drawings). The ends (pieces 1) are cut to size and notched for the sides. To make the slots, I used a 1/4″ drill bit at the endpoints and I cut the slots at the band saw. I then cut the sides (pieces 2) to length. Assemble the jig with glue and screws, and add the clamping blocks (pieces 3).

Building the Router Slide

The router slides across the top of the jig box on a custom base. It needs to slide easily but be snug enough to not shift, spoiling the grooves during milling. I used 1/2″ Baltic birch for the base and attached a fixed fence to one side (pieces 4 and 5). To keep it snug, I attached a spring-loaded fence (piece 6) to the other side of the base. It consists of a base part with offset spacers and face strips to provide a stiff spring action, keeping the slide tracking smoothly (see Drawings).

To be sure that the router is properly centered, I mounted the slide on the jig box and transferred the center lines. Then I drilled the mounting holes and through hole for the router. Bore the through hole large enough so you’ll be able to see your work.

Adding the Indexing System

Rounding the hexagonal sleeve is smoother and easier with the router drawn fluidly along the length of the jig. Cutting evenly spaced grooves on the other two sleeves is impossible without an accurate indexing system. Both of these are accomplished using a threaded rod system mounted to the outside of the jig (see Drawings).

Fix one of the rods (piece 7) to the jig side with steel angle brackets (pieces 8). The outer hole in the bracket is drilled out to 1/4″. Set jamb nuts and washers (pieces 9 and 10) to either side of the bracket so that the threaded rod does not slide side to side. Add a cross dowel (piece 11) between the brackets to connect the slide to the indexing rod, and fabricate the small crank (pieces 12, 13 and 14) for the end. Use two nuts tightened against one another anywhere the nuts must stay tight.

Drill a hole into the bottom of the cross dowel bracket (piece 15) of the slide plate. The cross dowel fits into this hole, allowing the indexing system to move the slide back and forth.

The last pieces of the jig to add are a pair of locking cleats (pieces 16). The assembly will be mounted on a threaded rod resting in one of the slots at the ends of the jig box. You’ll fix these locking cleats in place on the jig with pairs of hex head wood screws and washers, to trap the rod in its slots.

Mounting the Rolling Pin

The second piece of threaded rod, along with two sleeve clamp discs (pieces 17), jamb nuts and washers are used to hold the rolling pin assembly in the jig for milling. Another crank handle assembly is attached to one end, then sets of jamb nuts and washers are placed at each side of the jig box ends to keep the assembly from moving back and forth. Set the rolling pin in the center of the jig box with the clamp discs and jamb nuts and tighten to keep the assembly from slipping on the threaded rod as you move on to turning it.

Rounding the Sleeves

For rounding, a standard straight cutter can be used, but there are better choices. A round-nose (or core box) bit cuts more smoothly, since the rounded end takes a shallow cut at the edge and deeper toward the center. This really reduces the possibility of tearout. Because of its round tip, the core box bit needs to be moved in small increments to leave a smooth surface behind. The best bit is a dish carving bit. It has the same smooth cutting properties as the core box, but a wide flat in the center means that the cuts overlap, leaving a very smooth finish.

With the rolling pin mounted in the jig, and the router mounted on the slide base, turn the indexing handle until the router is off the end of the sleeve. Plunge the router down and lock it. Only take a shallow cut at first. With the router running, begin slowly turning the rolling pin assembly and the indexing handle at the same time. The router will begin shaving the high spots off the hexagonal sleeve. Do not let go of the rolling pin handle, or the rotating bit will tend to spin it fairly rapidly! Keep moving the slide across the jig evenly until you reach the other end. Then lower the bit and mill back across. Continue this process just until the sleeve is round.

Cutting the Grooves

Obviously, one of the sleeves will be left as a smooth cylinder. The other two get grooved, and the indexing system allows you to cut evenly spaced grooves. The threaded rod has 20 threads per inch, so each full turn of the rod moves the router bit by 0.05″. For the narrow strips, we want 1/4″ grooves spaced 1/8″ apart. So center to center, the bit needs to move 3/8″, or 0.375″. That means 7-1/2 turns per groove. In order to ensure even ends, mark the center of the sleeve length, and start there. With the router unplugged, plunge the bit down to the surface of the sleeve.

Now set the depth stop to 1/8″ deep. With the router running, plunge it down slowly as you turn the rolling pin assembly. Be sure to turn the assembly so that the groove is an even depth all the way around. With the center groove done, move the bit over by turning the indexing handle 7-1/2 turns, and start the next groove. Work from the center to one end, then return to the center and work across the other half.

The last sleeve is grooved wider, but the process is the same. I used a 1/2″ round-nosed bit and cut no more than 3/16″ deep. Center to center, these grooves should be 5/8″ apart, or 0.625″. This works out to 12-1/2 turns. (In either case, you can actually just do eight or 13 turns and ignore the half, since you will be trimming the ends of the sleeves later, making the grooves even. You can use a small sander to smooth the sleeves while they’re still in the jig.

Shaping the Handles

The last parts to make are the handles (pieces 22). You may be able to find handles at a craft store, or you can buy 3/4″ or 1″ dowels. I chose to make my own in the shop. I started with a 1″ x 1″ piece of stock and installed a 1/2″ roundover bit in the router table. For safety, I made the stick several inches longer than needed. Leave the ends square and rout the center section only, rounding over all four long edges. Cut the handles 5″ long, then round their ends. I used the same setup to do this, but I moved the fence in a little and added a block to rest the handle against as I rolled the end over the bit. Then I drilled a 1/4″ hole three inches in to each handle, followed by a 1/2″ counterbore deep enough to house two jamb nuts (pieces 23).

I finished all of the wood parts with three coats of salad bowl finish, lightly sanding between coats. Wax the core to ensure that the sleeves will slide smoothly on and off.

Final Project Assembly

Trim your three sleeves to final length. Mine were 9-1/2″, but it can vary a bit to even out your grooves. All three do need to be the same length. Cut the core section 1/2″ shorter, to account for the step in the end caps. Now cut the threaded rod to length (add up the sleeve plus the endcaps, plus three inches for each handle. (In my case, this was 16 inches overall.)

Now thread two nuts onto one end of the threaded rod, about 3″ in from the end, and jam them together there. Use epoxy to glue this end of the rod into one of the handles. Wax another scrap of threaded rod, turn two nuts onto it, and epoxy them into the other handle. As the epoxy begins to harden, carefully unscrew the threaded rod from the second handle, leaving the nuts behind, glued in place in the handle. You now have one handle with 13 inches of threaded rod in it, and another with just the nuts embedded in it.

To assemble the rolling pin, slide one end cap down the threaded rod, then the core, one of the sleeves and the other end cap. Thread on the other handle. To change sleeves, simply disassemble the parts, slip the new sleeve in place and replace the endcap and handle.

Use the smooth sleeve to roll out the pasta, then switch to one of the grooved sleeves
to cut the pasta into strips. Bon Appetit!

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Multi-sleeve Rolling Pin appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

When not hosting a card game, it is an elegant side table of modest size, just 22″ square. But turn the top 45 degrees, open up the leaves, and it becomes a 31″ square game table complete with felt playing field and pockets for the chips.

As you may have guessed, creating a table that will go through this transition involves a bit more work than a traditional table. There is the fairly standard apron, but it houses a captured “sub-top” that provides the structure and strength to support the spinnable tabletop as well as its folding leaves. When they’re closed, the table’s leaves resemble an old-style folded envelope, giving the table both its name and its unique look.

Mahogany is the traditional material of choice for this project. Look for rich color and consistent grain. The material that is used for the folding leaves should be selected carefully to match when folded closed. The hidden elements such as drawer sides and runners can be made of whatever secondary wood you have available.

The inlay strips that surround the table leaves should be 3/8″ wide for proper proportion, and the stringing should be 1/8″ wide or less. It is important to have the stringing (and the leaf inlay) on hand prior to milling their respective grooves to be certain of a tight fit. They can be bought pre-made, but are not that hard to make for yourself.

Making the Legs

To begin prepping the legs, select straight grained stock and, after preparing it on the jointer and planer, mill them to 1-1/4″ square. Arrange the pieces to present their best faces outward, and mark them. This will help ensure that the faces get mortised in the proper locations. Cut the mortises according to the plan — none for the top stretcher across the front, which will be secured using a dovetail (see the Drawings).

As you can see in the lead image and the Drawings, there is a small molding detail just below the apron. To locate and mount the molding, a shallow dado is milled around the leg to receive it. My dado blade and miter gauge made short work of this task.

The first step in forming the spade foot shape at the bottom of the leg is done by a point-cutting roundover bit. Following that, I stepped to the table saw and used a tapering jig to complete the spade foot form.

Now you are ready to make the longer tapers on all four sides of the legs. Mark them from just below the molding dado to the top of the foot, and carefully cut them on the band saw. Then sand or scrape them smooth.

With the legs properly shaped, you can add the stringing. The outside two faces of each leg get these string details. I used a hand beader, but a scratch stock or trim router with an edge guide would be equally effective to make the shallow grooves along the length of the tapered leg section and at the square top segment of the leg.

The cross grooves are easy to cut with a sharp chisel. Obviously, these grooves must be carefully cut to the width and thickness of the stringing to look good. While this process does take time, it really lifts this project to the next level. When you are done with this task, sand the legs and the stringing up through the grits. Set the legs aside for now and move on to the aprons and stretchers.

Milling the Apron Details

The three aprons and two stretchers are next on the agenda (pieces 3 and 4). The stretchers and the drawer front are all cut from one slightly oversized blank. This is done to ensure a consistent grain pattern running through the drawer front and the stretchers. A nice touch.

Start out by ripping the top stretcher from the blank, then reset the fence to rip the drawer front, then set the saw one more time to rip off the bottom stretcher. Go ahead and cut the stretchers and drawer front to their final lengths. The other three aprons can be cut and ripped to their proper size.

The three apron pieces and bottom front stretcher need to have mitered tenons raised on their ends to match the mortises you’ve chopped. (The top front stretcher gets dovetails formed later.) Look to the Drawings to find the details regarding the tenons. Test fit them to their respective mortises as you go.

The sub-top mounts inside the aprons employing a tongue and groove joint, and the grooves need to be cut at this stage. Set the dado blade up for a 1/4″-wide cut, 3/8″ deep, and set the rip fence to groove the parts 1/4″ down from the top edge. All three aprons and the top stretcher need to be grooved.

Using a very traditional bit of table joinery, I chose to dovetail the top stretcher into the legs rather than using a mortise and tenon. Since there are only two small joints, they can be easily marked out with a knife and hand cut to fit. See the Drawings for details.

The table frame can now be dry-fitted, and the sub-top dimensions confirmed. Clamp the assembly together, ensure it is square, and measure the inside dimensions. Ideally, the sub-top should be 18-1/2″ square including the tongues, but adjust as needed to fit snugly inside the dry fit you’ve made. My sub-top was cut from 3/4″ mahogany veneered plywood I had left over, but any good quality ply can be used since the sub-top is only glimpsed when opening the leaves.

As you can see in the Drawings, cut a 1/4″-thick x 3/8″-long tongue around the edge of the sub-top. The corners of the sub-top will need to be notched to fit around the legs. Flip the dry-clamped subassembly over, center it on the subtop, and mark out the notches.

The tabletop pivots on the sub-top around a 5/16″ carriage bolt, so the sub-top requires a 5/16″ pivot hole and counterbore marked out in the exact center of the sub-top. The hole and counterbore should be sized to contain a 5/16″ fender washer and nylon lock nut. Be very sure to test the fit of the frame and sub-top, ensuring that they are snug and square. Once everything is set, glue the frame and sub-top together.

With the base assembled, the trim molding can be wrapped around the legs. The trim molding was milled on the router table from a wide piece of clear maple for safety. See the Drawings for the molding profile and dimensions. The profile for your molding just needs to be close to the one illustrated — it does not need to match perfectly. Key to the process is a kerf that is cut top and bottom on the maple board which will form a boss (a small raised section almost like a tenon or a tongue), fitting the dado in the table legs you made earlier. Once the moldings were cut from the blank, I dyed them black. Then I mitered the pieces and applied them to all four of the legs with glue, clamping them securely.

Here’s the Safe Way to Form Those Small Moldings

Small details can make a big difference in your projects…but sometimes small can be dangerous.

The small molding details on the legs of the game table are made from maple stock — so you may ask why they look like ebony. The answer is simple: India ink. It creates a jet black color.

To make the molding, plane a piece of approximately 3″-wide maple lumber to 1/2″ thickness. Next, set up your router table with a profile cutting bit; our author used a Provincial edge bit for the task. Test your setup on scrap lumber before you make the actual cuts, and then form the molded shape on both edges of the prepared maple lumber.

With that done, move to your table saw and form a small saw kerf on both faces of the stock, just behind the molded edge. This will create a boss — a small raised section — on the back of the molding, which will fit into the dado on the leg. Now rip the molding off of the lumber and apply the India ink as a dye. Allow it to dry completely before you miter the molding to fit.

Making the Fold-open Top

The hinged top of this project really provides a “wow factor,” and not just because it rotates and opens. When opened up for play, the top shows a mitered mahogany frame with quarter-round corner blocks surrounding a felt playing surface. As mentioned earlier, select the stock for these parts with an eye to matching grain and attractive figure. Start by milling the frame parts to thickness and width, but go ahead and crosscut them a little over-long. Miter the four frame parts to size, testing their fit. Next, glue and clamp them together. While the glue is drying, make the corner blocks. Their grain runs diagonally into the corners. To achieve this, I made an MDF template with a trued-up curve. The corner blocks are cut square, and then the curve was rough-cut on the band saw. To make them identical, I pattern-routed the corner blocks using the MDF template. The problem was, these parts are too small to safely flush-trim on the router table. My solution was to do the task with a handheld router instead. I mounted the template to a block with glue and a screw, then clamped it into my bench vise. Next, I attached the corner blocks to the template with double-sided carpet tape and trimmed the blocks with a hand router and a pattern-routing bit — to ensure uniform size, fair curves and square corners. The corner blocks are clamped in place (with glue) using notched scraps to protect the frame corners. When the glue had cured, I took it out of the clamps and sanded it smooth. As shown in the Drawings, the frame gets a 1/2″-deep, 3/8″- wide rabbet milled all around the underside to accept the field base.

When completed, the top frame will capture two layers of plywood (or MDF) that combine to support and form the playing surface. One is a 1/2″ thick layer that forms the base, and the other is a 1/4″ sheet that is the substrate for the felt playing surface. Use the frame opening to mark their shapes by tracing right onto the sheetstock. Carefully cut the felt substrate shape, using a table saw and band saw: it must fit the opening very closely, so it will likely require some sanding or rasp-work to fit it properly. After you are done fitting it, go ahead and set it aside until later. Next, trace the base layer shape (onto your 1/2″-thick sheetstock) using the frame opening as a guide. You will need to add 3/8″ all around so it fits inside the frame rabbet. Cut out the piece on your band saw and then sand the edges smooth so the base fits snugly, and pocket-screw in place. While your pride may drive you to shape this piece with precision, a perfect fit is not necessary, as it will not be seen by anyone but you. Lastly, measure and mark the exact center of the subassembly and drill a 5/16″ hole and counterbore for the carriage bolt pivot.

Creating the Triangular Leaves

After building and assembling all of those parts, you’d think that you should be done about now. Well, not quite…

The four leaves that form the top of the table need to be quite accurately made, so once again I decided to use a template routing technique to ensure the required uniformity. Because it is inexpensive and exceptionally stable, I used plywood as the template material. To create the leaf shape, first cut a perfectly straight edge onto an appropriately sized piece of plywood and mark a 22″ line on the prepared edge.

Then, find the exact center of that line and extend a vertical center line at 90° that is 11″ long. Connect the ends of the lines to form the triangle. This layout must be exceedingly accurate. If the template is not symmetrical, the leaves will not fit well when the table is folded. Take care when cutting out the template and, when you have finished, lay out and cut a circular hole where indicated for the chip pocket (see the Drawings for details).

With template in hand, use it to lay out the leaves. Ideally, all four should be cut from the same board, but if not, take care to keep the color and grain consistent. Rough-cut the parts slightly oversized with a band saw or jigsaw. Then, once again taking advantage of double-sided carpet tape, secure the pieces to the template you just made and flush trim them to final size on the router table.

Before you take the template off the leaf, set up a handheld router with a dish-carving bit or core box bit to mill out the shallow depression in the underside of the leaf for the chip pocket. As you can see in the photo at right, I mounted a small piece of plywood to the base of my router, to add stability and control during this cut. When you are done with that step, it is time to flip the leaves over and start to add some classic decorative touches.

Hinges and Decorative Touches

The outer edge of the closed table has a 5/16″-radius stepped bead profile that I cut on the router table. To achieve that, each of the leaves gets milled along the base leg (the long edge) of the triangle. Before plowing the grooves and adding the inlay, you need to take some time to mill the hinge mortises. Fitting the hinges and leaves at this stage makes it possible to refine the fit of the leaves, trimming a little from the edges if needed, without damaging the inlay.

Mark out the hinge locations 3″ in from the corners as shown in the Drawings. Set the leaf 1/16″ off of the top frame and screw the hinge in place, but upside down. Now, carefully trace the mortise location with a sharp knife, then remove the hinge and, using those marks, clean out the mortise with a router or chisels as you prefer. Note that it is a stepped mortise, and a small clearance section is needed for the connecting bar of the hinge. Mortise all eight hinges in the leaves and frame, and then temporarily mount the hinges to the table. Fold the leaves in and ensure they meet in the center without binding. As you will notice, there is just a bit of play in these hinges. Check the fit and, if needed, this is the time to shave a little off an edge for a proper fit.

Once the hinges are fitted properly and the leaves adjusted, remove the hinges and begin milling the leaves to accept the inlay. A 3/8″-wide rabbet is milled around the edges of the top of the leaves to receive the cross grained inlay strip. Along the outer edge of the leaf, the rabbet starts at the edge of the roundover milled in earlier, but on the other two sides the rabbets are right out at the edges. The depth of the rabbet should be the same as the thickness of the inlay, or just a hair less so that you can sand it flush. Carefully cut the inlay strip to meet at the corners. A nice trick to help cut the corners easily is to use the leaf template: first as a setup piece for the rabbets (testing the cuts), then as a cutting guide for the strips. After you have properly fit the inlay strips, glue the trimmed inlay strips in place, being careful about the alignment of the corners. I used blue painter’s masking tape as “clamps” in this process.

Another detail to attend to is the brass pull. With the top folded, one of the leaves needs a pull for opening the table up. Many antique examples have some type of spring-loaded mechanism, but others have a visible pull. I couldn’t find any detail regarding how the spring mechanism worked, so I opted for a single brass pull. The pull requires drilling a shallow 1-1/4″ counterbore and a 1″ diameter hole 5/8″ deep for the body. This is located near the tip of the triangle, so don’t force the fit. Widen the hole if needed to avoid breaking the tip. (Please don’t ask how I know this!)

Drawer & Runners

No game table would be complete without a drawer for storing cards and chips. The drawer front, which you set aside earlier, can now be cut to final size. Measure the finished opening and allow space on all sides for a reveal. I chose to dovetail the front to the drawer sides.

The front and sides are grooved to accept a bottom, and the back fixed between the sides using simple groove and tongue joint. Poplar was my secondary wood for the drawers, but whatever is on hand in your shop will be fine.

Runners that guide the drawer should be rabbeted to fit closely between the apron sides and the drawer, about 3/8″, depending on how much gap your drawer has. See the Drawings for all the drawer construction details. Drill and screw the runners to the apron sides. Maple or another close-grained hardwood is a good choice. Wax them well after finishing to ensure smooth drawer operation. Stop blocks (in this case made from mahogany scrap) are added to the underside of the sub-top as drawer stops.

Finishing and Assembly

With all the subassemblies completed, everything can be cleaned up, given a final sanding and the finish applied. For ease of application, durability in use and low-odor considerations, I chose waterborne polyurethane for this project. I applied three coats on all the subassemblies, with a light sanding between coats. When the finish completely cured, the sub-top and top were waxed to allow the top to smoothly pivot on the frame. A 1″ long carriage bolt was set into the hole in the center of the top, and down through the matching hole in the sub-top. A fender washer and nut attached the top to frame.

Next, reattach the leaves to the frame with the hinges and install the pull on the leaf. I mounted brass pulls to the drawer front — and the project was getting dangerously close to completion. All that remained was to mount the felt onto the playing field.

Applying the Felt Field

To make the playing surface, the felt is cut slightly oversized in comparison to the 1/4″ substrate you cut earlier. I used spray-on adhesive to bond the felt to the substrate, and then trimmed the felt, leaving a 1/4″ flap all around the substrate.

Grab the double-sided carpet tape you’ve used earlier and apply several pieces. I used thin spacers to center the felt-covered substrate as I mounted it.

With the felt-covered substrate in place, I used a thin wedge to tuck the overhanging felt flap into the crack between the frame and the field.

Operation

When not hosting a card game, the table is a mild-mannered end table, quietly gracing a den or family room. But when friends arrive, the top is rotated 45 degrees, exposing the corners of the frame. The leaves are unfolded, exposing a felt playing surface and the expanded table surface. When you’re done with the game, simply fold the leaves back in, and rotate the top until it is squared with the base of the table.

Here’s one thing to be aware of: the hinges are a two-knuckle design, with a short connector bar between the leaves. This means that the hinges can shift back and forth about 1/16th of an inch when closed. As the leaves are closed over the top, they can shift noticeably from corner to corner. A tap with the palm can align them properly.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Narrow Sewing Machine Hinges (4) #30897
Folding Adirondack Chair Hardware (1) #24618
Provincial Edge Bit (1) #64033

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

In order to make the desk more stable and accommodate a typical laptop, I increased the depth to 16″. I added a second tenon to the bottom shelf to stiffen the desk, and included a cutout for more leg room under the desk, along with some other minor changes.

Not every woodworker has a shop equipped to easily handle sizing and flattening large glued-up panels, so I decided to order two sets of panels from online sources to see how much they would cost and to test the quality of panels bought this way. You certainly can lay up your own, but if large, flat solid-wood panels are hard for you to deal with, ordering your panels pre-made may be an option.

Large Solid-wood Panels

If you decide to glue up your own panels, make them just over the actual part sizes shown in the Material List. Not knowing exactly what I would receive in terms of quality, I ordered the pre-made panels well oversized. The panels for the middle and upper shelf were sized to include enough stock for the door frame, so I did not need to buy and size rough oak lumber. This also helps ensure that the door will match the color and grain of the desk. You will also need a half sheet of 1/2″-thick oak plywood for the door panels and the back of the desk.

The panels were delivered from both vendors in multiple packages. They were very well wrapped and protected, and none of them suffered any damage in shipping. One vendor provided me with quartersawn white oak, and the other with plainsawn. I unpacked the panels and laid them flat with stickers in between for a couple of days to allow them to acclimate. Both sets were uniform in thickness and sanded to what looked like about 80-grit. There was some minor bowing in the plainsawn panels not seen in the quartersawn stock, but that is as expected, and none of the bowing was enough to worry about. I was very pleased with the quality of what I received. The quartersawn set was $409 with shipping and the plainsawn ended up at $337.

The Side Template

In order for the desk to come out square and straight, the two sides must be exactly the same, so taking the time to make a full-scale template pays off. I laid out the dimensions on a quarter sheet of 1/2″ plywood. I cut and sanded the profile and mortise locations. Make sure that everything is true: any flaws in the template will be repeated on the parts. Also be sure that the mortises are sized properly for the thickness of the panels you are using. You want the tenons to be a bit loose in the mortises. And do not forget to drill the hinge location hole as well.

When the template is ready, clamp it in place and mark the outline of the sides on both larger (18″ x 50″) panels. Removing the template for now, use a jigsaw or band saw to cut out the side shape, being careful to leave about 1/16″ extra around the outside edges in case of some splintering here or there.

Once again, clamp the template to the side, making sure it is within the rough cut just made. Chuck a 1/2″-diameter flush-trim bit into a handheld router, then trim the side to the template, being careful that the template does not shift as you are working. Before removing the template, you can also rout out the mortises. Use a 1/16″ pilot bit to drill through the center of each mortise location on the template, then drill a 5/8″ hole with a Forstner bit, using the pilot hole as your guide. Drill halfway through with the Forstner, then flip the part and drill through from the other side. This prevents tearout as the bit cuts through the other side.

With the router turned off, set the flush-trim bit through the hole, ensuring that the bit is not touching the wood. Hold the router steady as you turn it on and remove the waste inside the mortise. Now the template can be removed and the mortises squared up with a chisel. If you try to chop through from one side, the grain can break away as you reach the bottom of the mortise. Work through from both faces toward the middle for the best results.

Next, mill a groove to accept the back. This is the point where the sides become left and right, so lay them out carefully. The important thing is that the sides are mirrored to each other. Use a straightedge and rout a 1/2″ groove from the top of the part to the mid-point of the bottom mortises. The groove should be 1/2″ in from the back and 3/8″ deep.

The last step is to drill the pivot hole for the hinge. Lay the template on each inside face and drill the 9mm pivot hole 1/2″ deep into each side part. Be careful not to drill all the way through the sides.

The Shelves

Take your panels to the jointer to straighten one edge, and rip them to final width at the table saw. The bottom shelf is ripped to 16″, the middle to 12-1/4″ and the top shelf to 9″ wide. Save the offcuts, especially from the middle and top shelves, and set them aside for now. (This will be the stock for the door’s frame.) Now crosscut the shelves to 14-1/2″ long.

The middle and top shelf get a single tenon on each end, exactly centered. (See the Drawings for details.) Each tenon gets a through mortise for the wedge. These will need to be chiseled out from both faces, just as you did with the mortises in the sides, so be sure to mark both shelf faces before you cut the tenon shoulders to shape.

Since all the tenons are the same size, I made a story stick to speed the layout. Mark the shoulder line and three lines for the through mortise, as shown in the dimensioned Drawings. Cut the shoulders away, being careful to keep them square to the face of the shelf. Once the shoulders are removed, you can cut the outside corners of the tenon at 45 degrees using the layout lines.

The mortises can now be chopped through. You want to cut the mortises 3/4″ across the grain, but only 5/8″ along the grain. The outside face of the mortise is cut at an angle to match the wedges, but for now just cut them 5/8″ wide. Again working from both faces to the center, drill a 1/2″ hole through the waste, and square up with a chisel.

To create the angle for the wedge, choose the best face to be the top of the shelf. With this face up, use a chisel to chop from the outer line of the mortise down to the existing opening at the bottom of the mortise.

The bottom shelf gets two tenons on each end. They are made the same as those on the other shelves, but they are NOT centered. The back panel of the desk sits on top of the lower shelf, so be sure to lay out the tenons so that the back shoulder of the shelf is 1″ longer than the front.

The top shelf gets a 9-degree bevel cut along the front edge for the door to rest against when it is closed. Be sure to orient this cut so that the bottom face of the shelf is wider than the top face.

The bottom shelf gets a section cut out of the front edge for some extra leg clearance. Use a jigsaw to cut this out, and sand the edge smooth. This is a good time to dry-fit the desk and confirm that all the tenons line up properly and fit in their mortises.

The Back

Rip the 1/2″ oak ply to 30-3/4″, then crosscut one end square. Edge-band this end with a thin piece of solid oak, left over from ripping the panels, to hide the panel’s edge plys. After the glue dries, trim the banding flush if needed and crosscut the panel to 36-1/4″ long. The back slides into the grooves in the sides and rests on the bottom shelf. If the fit is snug and the back is square, it will keep the desk square during use.

The Door

The door is a standard frame-and-panel style. The only critical detail is that the back of the door becomes the work surface of the desk when opened. This means that the panels must be flush with the frame in back, and have no real gap between the panel edges and the frame.

Start by cutting two panels, 11-3/8″ x 11″, from the leftover 1/2″ plywood. Next, rip the leftovers from your shelf panels to 3″ wide, and crosscut them into two stiles, two rails and one center stile according to the Material List. Next, set up a stacked dado and cut a 1/4″-wide by 1/2″-deep groove into one edge of the stiles and rails, and both edges of the mid-stile.

If the ply panel were exactly 1/2″ thick, this groove would be centered on the stiles and rails. But you will have to adjust for the actual panel thickness. With the grooves cut, widen the dado stack and cut 1/2″-long tenons on both ends of the rails and mid-stile. Remember, your groove is probably off-center, so you have to cut the tenons in two setups to match any offset.

Once the frame parts fit properly, cut a 1/2″-wide rabbet all the way around your panels. The depth of the rabbet must be the same as the inside shoulder of the frame. This should leave a 1/4″-thick tenon on the panel edge that fits perfectly in the frame groove. Assemble the door and set it aside to dry.

Wedges

You can cut the eight wedges out of the scrap left over from the sides or the bottom shelf. They are 3″ long, 3/4″ thick and taper from 7/8″ at the top to 1/2″ at the bottom. They are small, so cutting them out on the band saw and sanding them smooth is the safest way to go.

Finishing

Since the desk is designed to assemble without fasteners, finishing is easy. All the parts were sanded to 120-grit prior to staining. I used Minwax® Toffee water-based stain to simulate a traditional fumed oak finish. There are large areas to cover, so apply the stain to small areas, wipe it off right away, and keep a wet edge working to maintain as even a tone as possible.

The water base will raise the grain, so sand again using 220 once the stain is dry, then apply your top coat. I sprayed on several coats of Minwax Polycrylic, sanding with 400-grit between coats. I also applied a generous coat of paste wax to all the parts. This greatly helps with assembly and disassembly when the desk needs to move.

Assembly

With the finishing done, the door needs hinges added and chains attached to hold it flat when being used. The hinges mount on each end of the door with the pivot pin 1/2″ up from the door bottom. They are surface-mounted with two supplied screws, and can be adjusted to square up the door when closed.

The easiest way to assemble the desk is to stand one side on its back edge and slip the bottom shelf through the side, securing it with two wedges. Then the middle and top shelves can be locked in as well. The second side is slid over the shelf tenons and the door pivots inserted into the sides just before the second side is seated. Insert the rest of the wedges and stand the desk up. Lastly, slip the back into place.

The final bit of assembly is to attach support chains for the door. Flat-link brass sash chain is a good choice here. Cut two lengths of chain at 18″ long. The chains attach to the door in a small mortise on each side. A 5/8″ Forstner bit cuts the mortise. (I used a roller stand to support the door and hold it parallel to the floor as I attached the chains.) Since the mortise is offset to one side, a block clamped to the door keeps the bit from “skating” as you drill about 1/2″ deep. Attach the chains with a panhead screw driven into each mortise. Center the screws.

Hard to Find Hardware

Pivot Hinges (2) #30007
Threaded Brass Inserts (2) #33183
Brass Thumbscrews (2) #70003

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

The post Project: Mission Oak Knockdown Desk appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

For cleanliness and durability, I decided to use cabinet liner, available from most plywood distributors. Cabinet liner is plywood with a laminate face already applied. It is relatively inexpensive and easier than full-sheet laminating in smaller shops.

For a bit of contrast, I decided to use wood for the countertop and drawer front. My local home center sells aspen panels that come glued up and sanded to exactly 3/4″. One 24″ by 72″ panel provided both the countertop and the drawer front I needed. The high-pressure laminate on the cabinet liner is more durable than a melamine face, but cut parts still need to be handled with care to prevent damage to the freshly cut edges.

The step-back design needs to be rough cut to shape before flush trimming, so I tested cutting a scrap with both the band saw and jigsaw to see how much excess I needed to leave before routing. While both tools left a rough edge, the chipping was tightly contained, so I was able to rough cut the sides to within 1/4″ of the line I wanted to flush trim.

Making the Template

I made a template for flush trimming the sides. Use the Drawings to create a 42″-long template, which allows for one clean pass with the router. I made my template from 1/2″ plywood, which can be used with either a top or bottom-bearing bit. Take the time to ensure that the template is smooth and accurate: any flaws will be transferred to all the parts you make from it.

Sides Shaped

This is a freestanding cabinet, so most of the work is in creating the sides. Begin by crosscutting the full sheet to 72″ long, then rip this section into two pieces 22″ wide. Use a melamine- or laminate-cutting blade in your saw.

Identify the faces of the sides you want to be the insides and trace the shape onto the panel, leaving about 1/4″ for trimming using your template. Rough cut the sides to shape with a jigsaw. Next, clamp the template to the sheet and use a spiral cutting pattern bit to form the shape. With the sides cut to shape, the rabbets, grooves and dadoes for the shelves can be milled.

Rabbets, Grooves and Dadoes

The wood panel and cabinet liner sheets were of two different thicknesses. When I measured, I got lucky: the cabinet liner material fit perfectly into a dado cut made with a 23/32″-dia. plywood bit, and the counter fit a standard 3/4″-wide bit, so I only needed two single-pass setups.

Take the time needed to carefully lay out and cut the rabbets and dadoes in the sides, ensuring that they match side to side and are square across the panels. It is pretty much impossible to hide a repair in the side if you make a mistake. (Don’t ask how I know this.) Cut all of the joints 1/8″ deep.

The back is what keeps this tall, narrow cabinet from racking, so I prefer to trap the back into a groove. Plow grooves to fit the thickness of the 1/4″ cabinet liner. Mill these a full 1/4″ deep. The back will pass behind the counter and rest on top of the drawer shelf. The lower section remains open for ventilating the mini fridge.

Making the Shelves and Bottom

Once the cabinet sides are complete, move on to the shelves. The Drawings show a 1-1⁄2″ hole drilled through the back as a pass-through for the microwave cord. If you already have yours, you can position this hole to suit.

The shelves and bottom panel should be cut to the dimensions listed, but be sure to verify them against the actual side pieces. The shelves and countertop could be simply glued into the dadoes, but because this cabinet is freestanding, I opted to use pocket screws to help stiffen the structure. Look to the Drawings for their location.

Dry Fitting Before Assembly

Before applying glue, dry fit the shelves and counter to the sides to ensure everything fits as expected. Everything should be aligned flush to the front edges of the sides, and nothing should be blocking the back grooves except the drawer shelf where they end.

Before beginning assembly of the carcass, it’s time to mount your drawer slides in place. It is MUCH easier and more accurate than trying to work inside the drawer opening after assembly. I chose full-extension side mount slides, so they just need to be centered between the counter and drawer shelf before you screw them in, 1/8″ in from the front edge. Once you are happy with the way all the pieces fit on one side, add glue to the joints and screw the shelves in place. Install the countertop as well. The second side is then glued and fitted onto this assembly and screwed in place. Check for square once everything is secure, but do not worry if it is not perfectly square; adding the back will set things right.

Next, install the back, carefully measuring the width needed inside the back grooves — the tighter it fits, the better. Slide the back into the grooves from the top and press it firmly against the top of the drawer shelf. Then, drive a couple of screws through the back and into the edge of the top shelf, and the cabinet is ready for edge banding.

Next Steps

I used simple white iron-on edge banding to cover the plywood edges of the sides and shelves. The area where the sides step back is the most difficult, so iron on the edging near the step and work through the step area first. If your iron cannot get fully into the radiused corners, you could use a blow-dryer or a hot air gun and a dowel to secure the edging in these areas. Banding the rear edges of the sides is optional. When that is complete, go ahead and mount the plate casters and stand your cabinet up.

You’ll notice in the Material List that there are two stretchers located in the opening behind the fridge. Use pocket holes to mount them; you may need to adjust their placement to accommodate the fridge’s power cord.

Dealing with the Drawer

Adding a drawer below the countertop was a pretty obvious choice. The box is made from 1/2″ Baltic birch, and it’s joined at the corners with box joints. The drawer assembly captures the bottom. This is another area I always dry fit…glue-up is final. When the glue cures, attach the box to the drawer slides.

I used a piece of the aspen panel to make the drawer face. Mount the drawer face to the drawer box, centering it on the cabinet. Attach the drawer handle to the drawer face with long screws driven through the drawer front.

Finishing the Bare Wood

The cabinet liner requires no finish, but the wood counter and drawer front will need protecting as there will be food involved. I applied wipe-on poly, which is fast and easy to do: the area being covered is small enough that this can be done by hand in just a few minutes.

That’s it. Now you are ready for some microwave magic and a cold beverage!

Hard to Find Hardware

3/4 Extension Drawer Slides – Centerline® 766 #46864
Heavy Duty Twin Wheel Casters #40262
Plastic Preglued Edge Banding, Melamine #45982
Satin Nickel Conquest Pull #26114

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

The post PROJECT: Workshop “Kitchen” Cabinet appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

What I came up with was this miter saw station. It is essentially two standard cabinets with the saw mounted between them. Instead of drawers below the counter, a built-in shelf supports the lumber being cut. A 10″ saw can really only cut about 7-1/2″ wide, so 7″ of width is plenty to support the cut. Tucking it under the counter lets me have my miter station AND lots of bench space that does not need to be cleared off every time I want to make a cut. So let’s begin, maximizing your shop space.

Getting Started

Even in a well-equipped shop, cutting a full sheet of plywood when working alone is difficult and dangerous, so I reduce sheets into more manageable pieces using a circular saw and straightedge. A sheet of rigid foam insulation on top of the sawhorses (or even on the floor) allows you to make the cut without damaging your blade or horses, while supporting the whole sheet during the cut. Just set the circular saw blade to cut through the plywood but not through the foam. The cutting diagrams show you how the three plywood sheets can best be sectioned by hand. Rip about 1/4″ to 3/8″ off one long side to provide a clean edge and crosscut as shown. The smaller sheets are then ripped into the components using the table saw, and then crosscut to length.

Cut Shelf

The cut shelf needs to end up very flat and straight to work properly, so it gets built first and the cabinets fabricated to fit the shelf. Save the waste when you crosscut the two shelf parts and the shelf back; they will be useful as setup parts for the next step.

Unlike a portable saw stand, this Miter Station provides two continuous surfaces extending out from each side of the blade, perfect for adding a stop system.

Before assembling the shelves, cut two T slots in them for stops. Plow 3/8″ grooves down the length of the shelves (see the Drawing).

Follow up with a T-slot cutter on the router table. This makes adding stops easy (I used Rockler’s Inline stops).

With the cut shelves milled, the backs can be attached. Nothing fancy here: they get glued and pocket screwed along the back edge of the cut shelves.

Start at one end and screw them on, working across, keeping them exactly flush with the back edge of the cut shelves. I assembled the cutoffs, too, so I have a sample part that will come in handy during some setup later.

Sides/Dividers

The sides and dividers all need a large notch in the top front corner to accept the cut shelf. There are six to cut exactly the same, so a template is required. I used the cut shelf sample from earlier to mark out a template, then carefully cut and sanded the notch.

Cleats added to the top and front edges of the template ensure alignment. I marked and rough-cut all six parts on the band saw, then flush-trimmed them to match the template.

The bottom inside edges of the sides get a 1/8″-deep rabbet for the deck, and a 1/2″-wide by 3/8″ deep dado to accept the back. This is where the sides become lefts and rights. It is just a shop cabinet, but there is no point in not having the best faces showing.

The final step in making the sides is to drill a line of 1/16″ pilot holes along the centerline of the rabbet. You’ll thank me for this tip as you assemble. The dividers need nothing other than the notch.

Deck

The two decks only require a 1/8″-deep, 3/4″-wide dado milled front-to-back along the centerline to locate the divider. Again, drill a series of 1/16″ pilot holes along the dado centerline. Now you can assemble the basic cabinets.

Carcass Assembly

Attach one side to the end of the deck with glue and screws. Then attach the other side in the same way and screw through the deck into the divider.

The routed notches in the cabinets have a rounded inside corner. It is easier to round over the back of the cut shelves to match rather than squaring all the notches.

Now the cut shelf can be added to each carcass. The ends mount flush with the sides, but I marked the center of the shelf to help get the divider in the right place. I glued and nailed everything to hold it as I drilled pilot holes and screwed through the shelf into the notches.

You may have noted the lack of a toe kick. Because the cut shelves need to be aligned very accurately across the station, I chose to use adjustable leveling legs to support the cabinets. This is the easiest way to precisely level and straighten the whole setup, and they are easy to use.

I drilled 5/8″ locating holes in the four corners of each deck and near the centerline. I spaced them about 2″ in from the ends and 3″ in from the front/back. The leveler bracket has an expanding boss that fits into this hole. Driving the pin in from the outside spreads the boss, holding the bracket in place as you secure it with the included screws. The leveler legs then snap into the brackets. Turning the feet adjusts the height up or down.

Set the cabinet on its legs and slide the 1/2″ plywood back into the back rabbet. It rests on the deck and stiffens the cabinet. A couple of brads through the sides will keep the unit from racking.

Saw Tray

Now the miter saw needs a place to sit. I have included the dimensions used for my saw, but you may need to adjust them for your particular saw.

I cut the shelf parts from the remainder of the plywood. Measuring my miter saw, it was clear that I would need 24″ of space to swing the saw, and at least 12″ to bolt all four feet to the shelf. To stiffen the shelf, I added 2″-wide drop edges around the shelf bottom. I then carefully checked the height of the saw cutting surface. You’ll need this dimension when you mount the shelf.

Setting the Cabinets

I set these without the tops or doors in place. The weight is manageable and the interiors are open for easy access. Set the two cabinets generally level and spaced apart by the width of your saw shelf. To mark the saw shelf position, measure down from the top of the cut shelf the same distance as the height of the miter saw measured previously. Mine was 3-1⁄4″.

Clamp the saw shelf between the cabinets close to the lines. Set the clamps just tight enough to hold it in place. Use a mallet to tap it into final position, and firmly clamp it in place, but do not screw it in yet. Set the saw on the shelf and check to see that you have the positioning right.

The saw deck should be perfectly level with the cut shelf, and the fence of the saw flush with the cut shelf back. This shelf worked out to be flush with the front of the cabinets. Others may not. No worries: adjust the shelf position until the saw lines up properly.

When positioned, screw the shelf into place. Two or three 1-1⁄4″ screws in each side will hold any miter saw that you can lift. Do not yet secure the saw.

Level and Straight

This bit can be tedious, but it is crucial for accurate cutting. To adjust the cut shelf even with the saw fence, set a long straightedge centered on the saw fence, and align the cabinets until everything is touching the straightedge.

The cabinets are held together by the saw shelf, so you may need to shim between the saw shelf and cabinets front or back to achieve this. Loosen but do not remove the screws, add wedges until things are where you want them, and re-tighten the screws.

Next, stand the straightedge vertical and adjust the cabinet height until the straightedge is in contact with the miter saw table and cut shelf all the way across. The leveling legs will make this a lot easier. The levelers allow for adjusting all four corners of the cabinets largely independently. Remember that level would be nice, but STRAIGHT is what is important.

I did not fasten these cabinets to the wall. I left room behind so the cords of my bench tools could be kept out of the work area. If you want to secure yours, no problem, but be careful not to misalign the cut shelves as you do so.

Tops

You can use premade laminated countertops from the home center. The tops on my unit are simple plywood panels. The top is supported by the sides, divider, cut shelf and back, so it should remain flat over time. The 7″ overhang on the front worried me a bit so I doubled it up, gluing and nailing on a 7″-wide strip to the underside to resist sagging. My tops are cut to 54″ for a bit more bench space. The inside edge is flush on the saw side, and the overhang is on the outside.

I drilled pocket screw holes in both sides and the divider. The top is set in place with the buildup tight to the cut shelf back, then screwed in place.

Doors and Shelves

This article is about the cut shelf, so I won’t go into details on door construction. Simple slab doors cut from another sheet of 3/4″ ply or whatever would work just as well. I happened to be making stile-and-rail doors for another project, so it was easy to make these at the same time.

The doors are hung with cup hinges, which make them easy to adjust after hanging them. I made up a template for drilling pilot holes for the hinge plates. This saves a lot of time and frustration. Just remember that the template will rest on top of the deck, but your door should align 1/8″ up from the bottom edge of the deck.

Fixed shelves or even adjustable shelves could be used, but I hate having to kneel down to find things in the back, so I made pullouts. These are cut from the same 1/2″ ply as the backs and are simple, open boxes 3″ tall. I plan to store cased tools (routers, dado sets, nail guns and the like) on the deck and hardware in the pullouts. This way I’ll be able to access everything easily.

The only thing to keep in mind with pullouts is that, unlike fixed shelves or even normal cabinet drawers, pullouts need to clear the door. This means that the pullout width needs to be 1″ smaller than the opening for the slides, and an extra inch is needed to clear the door. I built mine 3″ narrower than the space, and added a 1″-thick cleat to each side. Technically, you only need to cleat on the door side, but I like having an even gap on both sides.

And there you have it. An 8′ miter station with adjustable stops, over 17 square feet of usable bench space, and nearly 30 cubic feet of storage all contained within 21 square feet of floor space. Perfect for small shops, and very convenient for larger ones, too.

Click Here to download a PDF of the related drawings.

Hard to Find Hardware

T-Slot Cutter (1) #26099
Inline Stop (1) #50603
Adjustable Leveler Leg (1) #32183

The post Space Saving Miter Saw Station Project 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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You can find the cut layouts for the plywood by Clicking Here.

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Want the plans for this miter saw station? You’ll find them in the May/June 2015 issue of Woodworker’s Journal. Order the May/June 2015 issue here.

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The banding is made up of cross grained mahogany with black edges. I ordered dyed black veneer that came in 4 x 36″ pieces.

In order to get the cross grain, a piece of mahogany about 6 inches wide was selected and cross cut into 5/16″ wide strips. These were then glued into 4 inch wide stacks. The ends of the stacks were trimmed square and the stacks were then glued into a long strip.

This long strip needs to be laminated between two sheets of the black dyed veneer, so one face was scraped smooth, and then planed/sanded until the glued up substrate and the black veneers measured 3/8 inch thick. The three parts were then laminated together.

With the blank dry, all that remains is to rip it into thin strips.  The wide black faces now become thin banding on the outside edges of the cross grained mahogany. It is a fair amount of work to complete, but you can cut a great many strips from the blank, and the final effect is well worth the effort.

Holly Stringing

The thin strips used for the string detail on the legs of the table were cut from a wider sheet of holly veneer. A knife can be used for this, but it is hard to hold securely and maintain clean edges. A veneer saw was designed to cut these thin strips.

For consistency, I cut a narrow kerf into the edge of a piece of hardboard (two came as packing around the holly veneer) and clamped them together on my bench. I slipped the holly under the lip of the hardboard and sawed along the edge. This gave me very clean and consistent strips of holly to use for the stringing.

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Photo 1

Signmakers often raise letters by removing the background around them, and all sorts of serving trays, bowls and stands are dished out to provide a rim for keeping things in.

Photo 2

I used to use a simple round-nose bit to mill out these areas, (Photo 2) but the Dish Carving Bit (sometimes called a bowl bit) vastly simplifies the process and has other uses in your shop. Since the very tip of a round-nose bit is quite small and has no real flat on the tip, it takes many passes to mill out an area, and typically needs carving and scraping to smooth the bottom. The Dish Carving Bit provides a wide, flat cut at the tip, but is rounded over on the corners of the cutting edge so the area being milled always has a smooth curve transitioning

from bottom to side. This is especially important for serving trays and such as it makes them much easier to clean after use.

Photo 3

Photo 4

This particular bit comes with a matching bearing (Photo 3). The bearing makes it easy to use templates to control the shape and size of the pocket being milled (Photo 4). For deep cuts (like snack bowls) as the cut deepens, the bearing will guide along the previously cut edge, so the template does not need to be overly thick. Templates allow you to make a number of pockets that are the same size and shape, or even irregular shapes. The only real limit is in the corners. Their minimum radius is determined by the bit diameter.

Photo 5

Here, I am using the bit to mill a water well for a Japanese style tea tray (Photo 5). Because the pocket is wider than the router base, I am using an auxiliary base to span the template, insuring a smooth bottom. Waste will need to be removed as it builds up or the bearing might be guiding along a pile of chips rather than the template.

Photo 6

This bit earns its keep in my shop just for making pockets, but I find myself using it for other tasks as well. Here, I am using it to trim edge banding on a cabinet side (Photo 6). The rounded corners keep it from leaving lines. The smooth transition from side cut to bottom cut also minimizes tearout along the outside edge.

Photo 7

Mounted in the router table, the round corner and flat bottom combine to make an excellent back cutter for door panels (Photo 7). Thicker panels tend to sound and feel better than using 1/4″ plywood, and this setup allows you to tailor your panel to fit the groove (Photo 8).

Photo 8

For serving sets, reproduction tables, gameboards and a host of other projects, the Dish Carving Bit will become your “go to” solution for many common tasks.

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