The candy machine fits well on the smaller top specified in the Material List But you might prefer to make the larger top instead and use this Pedestal Stand to display a big house plant or other object. Either way, let’s get started making it!

Milling and Gluing

Notice in the Exploded View Drawing that while the small top is an edge-glued panel, the stand’s discs, base and large top are each made up of four sections miter-cut into 45°-45°- 90° triangles that are glued together into blanks to hide the end grain.

I settled on walnut for my project. At the table saw, I started by ripping enough of it and crosscutting it into sections (outlined in the Material List) to make each of the discs and the stand’s base. The two 6″ discs need material ripped to 3″ wide; the 7″ disc needs 3-1/2″-wide stock and the 8″ disc requires 4″-wide stock. Do the same for the stand’s base sections and the larger top, if that’s the top you’ve chosen for your project.

From here, I took all the sections to my miter saw, swiveled it to exactly 45 degrees and miter-cut each section into a triangle. Keep in mind that the “top” of each triangle should be oriented at the edge of the workpiece and centered on the section’s length. The tops of the triangles form a square corner. You may want to test your saw setup on scrap wood first to make sure four triangles will fit together without creating gaps.

Once all those are cut, it’s time to glue together blanks for the discs and base (and large top, if you’re making one). A strap clamp is ideal for this job. Apply a liberal amount of glue to all joints before assembling each group of four triangles, and make sure you don’t overtighten the clamp that co uld push the joints out of alignment! When the blanks dry, scrape off any glue and sand their faces flat. My random orbit sander with 80-grit sandpaper made quick work of that task.

Routing Round Discs

I used Rockler’s Circle Cutting Jig for Compact Routers to turn my square blanks into four discs. To use this jig, first drill a 9/32″ center hole to register the jig’s pivot pin and then set it for each disc’s radius. With a 1/4″ straight bit installed and my compact router mounted on the jig, three progressively deeper passes in a clockwise direction cut through the stock. Secure each disc blank temporarily to a sacrificial board before routing it round. Next, I eased the top and bottom edges of the discs, as well as the flat edges of the base, with a 3/8″ roundover bit. Sand these parts up through the grits to 220 and apply a finish of your choice. I chose hard wax oil.

Off to the Lathe!

​

Mount a square blank for the pedestal between lathe centers and turn it into a round cylinder. A spindle roughing-out gouge, like the one shown here, is the best tool for this task.	After marking off the major transitions on the pedestal with a pencil, use a parting tool to bring those areas to correct diameter.

It’s time to turn the pedestal! Start by cutting yours to length, marking the centers of the ends and dimpling those centers with an awl. Mount it on the lathe. I reached for a spindle roughing- out gouge to turn the pedestal blank into a cylinder. Take care to maintain a consistent diameter. Then, I referenced the Pedestal Detail Drawing and used a caliper and parting tool to establish final diameters at all of the key locations on the workpiece.

Check your sizing periodically with a caliper.	Turn the long tapered areas of the pedestal to shape using a spindle roughing-out gouge or a skew chisel. Try to keep the tapers as flat as possible

From there, I used various traditional and carbide-insert lathe tools to turn the pedestal to final shape. While tapering the long top and bottom “straight” areas of the spindle, I found it helpful to reference against a long rule to identify any high or low spots that needed attention. Make these tapers as straight as you can.

A long rule will reveal any high or low spots of your taper cuts.	Here, a spindle gouge shapes a concave recess into the center of each of the spindle’s three middle rings. A round carbide-insert tool is another good option for this shaping step.

The narrow center “ring” details have a slight undercut on each of their top and bottom faces. This creates the illusion that they’re floating. A diamond-shaped carbide-insert tool excelled at reaching into these tight places for me.

The author found a diamond-shaped carbide-insert tool helpful for working inside of the narrow areas between the rings when forming their slight top and bottom undercuts.	Hard wax oil or a shellac-based friction polish applied on the lathe are two quick finish options for this project’s pedestal. Or wait until after final assembly and spray it with an aerosol finish instead.

When the turning is done, sand the pedestal up to 220-grit and apply finish while it’s still mounted on the lathe. If you’re making the small top for this project, glue up a blank for it, cut it to final shape and sand and finish it. I rounded the corners of mine to 1-1/4″ radii at the bandsaw.

Putting the Pieces Together

Install rubber feet on the base, then attach the base and bottom discs to the pedestal with a 4″ lag screw. Counterbore the screwhead.	Install the top two discs on the pedestal with another 4″ lag screw, just as you did for the base and bottom discs.

That brings us to final assembly. I attached screw-on rubber feet to the base to protect the floor and create a shadow line there. Now use two #14 x 4″ lag screws to attach each stack of discs and the base to the pedestal. Be sure to first drill a pilot hole and a counterbore to recess the lag screw heads before driving the fasteners home. I grabbed several long #8 wood screws to attach the base of the candy machine and the top panel to the top disc.

The author mounted the candy machine’s metal base and top panel to the stand’s top disc by driving #8 x 1″ screws down through the parts.	If the top surface of your pedestal stand’s top will be visible, drive #8 x 1-1/2” screws through the upper discs from below to install it in order to hide the screwheads.

Once that was done, I could finally check this project off the to-do list! Now we’ve got a proper wooden stand for our family’s candy machine, and my new benchtop lathe tackled its first big turning job with flying colors!

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Pedestal Stand appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

This interior shutter project has a lot going for it, including excellent light transmission that doesn’t compromise privacy and simple modular construction. You can use almost any wood for these shutters, but typically it’s best to either match or complement your existing woodwork. I used vertical-grain pine that has a naturally attractive ribbon pattern and a medium ivory color. It’s also easy to work and relatively inexpensive. A translucent shoji-style fiberglass material works well for the screen, but there are a number of other materials you can use, such as rice paper and plastic-coated paper.

Keep in mind that this is a millwork project, so it doesn’t require quite the high level of workman-ship you might devote to a furniture project. The thickness and width of the parts work for most window sizes, so you only need to adjust the length. For very large windows, you might want to scale up the size of the parts or add more lattice strips to the grid. The variations on this project are almost infinite, so you’ll likely want to add your own special touches.

Measure, Mill, Join Frames

You’ll need to start by measuring your window casing and checking it for square. Measure the exact opening, then subtract about a quarter inch from the sides and top/bottom to allow a little room for swing clearance and space for the hinges. (Most carpentry isn’t as precise as your woodworking, so you may need to make some adjustments after you assemble the frames.) For large windows or ganged windows, consider making bifold or multiple shutters to span the area.

Because this project lends itself to mass production, it’s best to mill the frame parts for all the windows you intend to cover before doing any joinery, to ensure consistency. (Read on to learn more about making the lattice strips.) A jointer and planer are almost a necessity to achieve straight, square and uniform stock. You might want to sand the parts lightly before you start the joinery.

There’s a lot of flexibility when it comes to joinery. I used a Festool Domino to make floating mortise-and-tenon joints. This tool can quickly make strong, precise joints. However, a biscuit joiner is just as fast and makes acceptably strong joints. You can also attain very good results with dowels or pocket-hole screws.

Once you’ve glued and clamped the frames, you can sand them with 150-grit paper. Be sure to ease the edges enough so they won’t splinter, but don’t round them too much. If your shutters are a matching pair like this project, mark the top edges with arrows that point to the front and inside stile edges. This will serve to keep the shutters paired and correctly oriented. Check the bare frames in the window casing to be sure they fit with some room to spare and make necessary adjustments. If the fit is too tight, trim the inside stile edges that form the closure between the shutters.

Now is as good a time as any to cut the translucent screen material. This should be done before fastening any lattice parts inside the frame because the bare frame serves as a pattern. The easiest way is to lay the frame on top of the screen material and trace around the inside with a pencil; then use a metal straightedge and a utility knife to cut the material.

Make Lattice Strips and Router Jig

If there’s a fussy part of this project, it’s making the lattice. The 3/8″ x 3/8″ lattice strips must be uniform, and the half-lap joints that form the grid must be precisely made. There are a number of ways to make the strips, but I’ve found that using a band saw and a planer is efficient and it keeps waste and dust to a minimum.

First, rip wide pieces from 3″ or 4″ stock roughly 7/16″ thick. Next, rip 7/16″-square strips from these pieces. Now you need to remove the saw marks and mill the strips to exactly 3/8″ square. Run the strips through your planer, making four total passes: the first two on perpendicular sides of the strips to remove about 1/32″ and then a third and fourth pass on the opposite sides for the final 3/8″ dimension. The strips might not be perfectly square, but the deviation with pieces this small will be insignificant — try making a few practice pieces first. (If your planer won’t adjust down to 3/8″, you can make a subbase out of particleboard or MDF to fit under the planer’s cutterhead.) Make more pieces than you’ll need because you’ll unavoidably have some ruined pieces.

You can use a table saw to make the half-lap joints, but I think a router jig is more accurate and makes cleaner joints. The half-lap routing jig is simple and easy to make with MDF or particleboard and a few bits of hardware. There are two basic parts: the base and the router carriage. The base has a thin hardboard fence attached to it to align to workpieces so they’re perpendicular to the router carriage. The router carriage is adjustable for different stock thickness with the carriage bolts and should be made to fit your router (or at least the guide rails positioned for your router’s base). Adhere sandpaper or self-adhesive abrasive strips to the carriage bottom to prevent stock from shifting. To ensure that the jig makes accurate cuts, all the parts should be square, the carriage bolt holes should align perfectly in the base and router carriage, and the fence on the base should be perpendicular to the slot in the router carriage. The fence should be the last piece you install because it’s dependent on how the base and router carriage are aligned. Finally, run the router into the fence with a 3/8″ bit to create an alignment mark.

Cut Half-lap Joints

There are several tips that can increase your success in cutting the half-lap joints. You should cut all the strips to the exact length before you cut the joints. Use the shutter frames to determine the fit, and you might want to make dedicated sets of strips for each frame in case there are slight dimensional differences.

Once you cut the strips, use masking tape to gang them together with the ends perfectly flush. Mark the joint locations in pencil, and then scribe the joint lines with a utility knife. This will help prevent any chipping or tearout from the router. When you place the ganged strips in the jig, be sure they’re abutting the fence, that the joint lines correspond with the router alignment mark on the fence and that the carriage bolts are securely tightened. Also, place an extra piece of lattice to the outside of the ganged pieces to help balance the height of the router carriage.

Rout the joints with a 3/8″ straight bit and make the cuts in two passes while keeping the router pressed against the guide rails. Work carefully and don’t force the router through the cut. Use dust collection if your router has it. It will enable you to see the start and stop of the cut much more easily.

Assemble the Lattice

You’ll assemble the front lattice in the frame and the rear lattice as a standalone unit. The rear lattice acts as a retainer for the screen material and provides visual balance when the shutters are open.

Begin by marking the 1/8″ setback guidelines for the front lattice inset with a combination square and pencil. Before you start, make a dry run to ensure the grid strips fit properly in the frame. The strips don’t need to be glued; pin nails provide all the needed fastening.

The holes made by the nails are so small they’re almost invisible, and don’t need to be filled. Attach the vertical lattice strips to the stiles then the horizontal ones to the rails. Now you can add the inside vertical strips with a little glue in the joints followed by the horizontal strips.

The rear lattice goes together the same way with glue in all the joints, but it’s not permanently attached to the frame. You just need to check that it fits flush over the front grid and isn’t too large (or small) for the frame. To fasten the front and rear grids together, you need to bore screw holes and countersinks for #4 x 5/8″ brass screws through the rear grid into the four inside grid intersections. Install the screws to cut the threads before you finish and assemble the shutters.

With the grids completed, now is a good time to set the hinge positions. The shutter hinges have removable pins so they work on the left or right side. Unless your shutters are very large or heavy, stick with two hinges on each side. Three or more hinges can cause binding and complicate installation. It’s important that the screw holes are perfectly centered to keep the hinges aligned. I used a self-centering Insty-Drive bit for this purpose. Remove the hinges before finishing.

Finish, Assemble, Install Shutters

Sand the assemblies with 150-grit paper and be sure to ease all sharp edges. There’s no need to sand too much or with a finer grit paper — the finish will hide many imperfections. Thoroughly clean off all the dust before applying finish.

Because the shutters are next to windows, they’re exposed to more light and temperature variations than other woodwork in your home. A film finish will help reduce seasonal wood movement and protect the wood from wear and tear. I brushed on two coats of a clear waterborne interior finish and opted not to stain because the natural color of the wood was appealing without alteration. For a smooth finish, sand lightly with 320-grit paper between coats to remove dust nibs.

Once the finish has cured, install the screen material. The fiberglass shoji that I used is stiff enough so that no glue, tape or staples were needed to retain it in the frame. But you might need to fasten thin paper screen to the back of the front grid if it doesn’t stay put. Install the rear grid over the screen and install the brass screws; then reinstall the hinges.

Installing the shutters isn’t difficult, but there are a few steps you can take to reduce any possible frustration. Use a thin spacer between the window casing and the shutter to eliminate the possibility of binding. The hinges also have a slotted hole to allow for vertical adjustment, so use only this hole until you’ve installed the opposing shutter and can align the pair. If the shutters are a little twisted in the frame, you can try moving one of the hinges slightly out to compensate. And if the gap where the shutters meet isn’t even, use a shim behind the hinge leaf. When the shutters seem reasonably well-aligned, install the rest of the screws. I installed a magnetic touch latch to retain the shutters. It eliminates the need for knobs to open and close the shutters to maintain a clean appearance.

If you’re like me, once you’ve built a few of these shutters, you’ll want to make more sets for other rooms in your home. They’ll help keep your rooms light and airy even on the most dreary days.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post Translucent Screen Shutters appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

I’ve set the bit high enough to easily measure and set the fence to center a 1/4″ x 1-1/2″ mortise in 3/4″ stock. I then drew start and stop lines directly on the router table that match the start and stop line on the workpiece. (A thin-tipped permanent marker pen is easily visible and comes right off with a touch of rubbing alcohol.) For even more visibility, you can continue the stop/start lines on the fence.

Mortises are deep cuts — this one is 1″ deep — so cut in multiple shallow passes of increasing depth. With the router on and the workpiece against the fence, lower it carefully onto the bit on the start mark, then push it smoothly along the fence to the stop mark.

Now, shut off the router, remove the workpiece, raise the bit a little more, and repeat the process until the mortise is complete. I’m just cutting this one mortise here, but if I were doing several, I’d run them all through on the first bit setting, raise the bit and run them all through in series.

Router bits cut incredibly clean and even mortises. As with the drill press, the mortises will be rounded. You can leave the mortise as-is for rounded tenons, or square the slot for squared tenons and then produce an ample amount of tenon stock.

The post Working with Loose Tenons: Router Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

For drill press mortises you won’t need a special tool or jig like our first two examples, just a fence attached to the machine’s table and a sharp pencil.

Draw a centerline on your workpiece, then the outline of the desired mortise. I’ve marked out a 1/4″ x 2″ mortise in a piece of 3/4″ oak and have clamped the fence to center a 1/4″-diameter Forstner bit on the line. A Forstner bit is the best choice to make here for drilling clean, overlapping holes. But a sharp brad-point bit also does the job quite well.

Set the drill press depth stop to match your mortise and start drilling. I find it helpful to first drill the end holes to define the mortise length, then just move the workpiece from one side to the other between the initial holes, drilling overlapping holes to remove as much waste as possible.

With the mortise drilled, clamp the workpiece up and use chisels to clean and square the inner walls of the mortise. If you plan to use round-edged tenons, there’s no need to shape the mortise ends; otherwise, square the ends as well.

Here’s a tip: With some planning at the drill press, you could size the hole pattern to match that created by the Beadlock, allowing you to use ready-made Beadlock tenons. We’ll cover cutting tenon stock shortly.

The post Working with Loose Tenons: Drill Press appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

To demonstrate how it works, I’ll make a joint for a table apron at the top of the leg. As with the Domino, mark the workpieces with penciled alignment marks where the tenons go, centered in both the 1-1/4″ leg top and the end of the 3/4″ apron.

After securing the apron in a vise, loosen the drill guide block, and slide it to the “A” position and clamp the jig into place on the pencil mark at the apron end, centered in the jig’s window. Then, using a stopped bit, drill three holes lengthwise into the workpiece. The holes will be spaced slightly apart.

Next, undo the thumbscrews and slide the jig’s guide block to the “B” position, realigning the guide for drilling two more holes between the others, connecting them all. Remove the Beadlock and repeat the process with all the apron ends.

For the leg tops, the process is the same, although it’s easier to clamp the leg horizontally directly to a workbench. As before, drill the first three holes with the guide block in the “A” position, then drill the final two in the “B” position.

That’s all it takes to create the mortises, which remain a series of holes; no trimming or squaring necessary, as the Beadlock tenons are shaped to match. Just insert the Beadlock tenons into place for a test-fit, then glue and clamp.

For more tenon cutting techniques, check out A.J.’s look at the Festool Domino.

The post Working with Loose Tenons: Beadlock appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

These joints aren’t always easy to make, in that the mortise and the tenon, created separately and part of the workpieces themselves, must fit perfectly. They’re also a time-consuming process. But loose tenons — sometimes called “floating” or “slip” tenons — offer all the benefits of regular tenons and are usually faster and simpler to make, especially when making a lot of them. And because they’re “loose,” if a mortise is off a bit, size-wise, you can just toss the tenon and cut a new one to fit.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll find out how loose-tenon joints can work for you.

Festool Domino

The German company Festool created a stir when they introduced the Domino in 2007. Able to make perfect router-like mortises (which we’ll cover shortly), they do so faster with less setup using a lightweight handheld tool that combines the attributes of a biscuit joiner and router bit, along with horizontal oscillating action.

Available in two models, Domino machines use different- sized bits and settings to create a variety of mortise sizes that pair with Festool’s offering of loose tenons. The Domino 500 I’m using here creates mortises for tenons measuring 4 to 10 mm thick (about 3/16″ to 3/8″). The 700 model does 8 to 14 mm (5/16″ to 9/16″). Maximum depths are 28 mm (1-1/16″) and 70 mm (2-3/4″) respectively. Both models have a width setting that adjusts for a tight or loose fit of the tenon.

Before using, adjust the front fence to set the mortise height in the workpiece (much like a biscuit joiner) and cutting depth. The depth is set to match half the length of the tenons. Here, I’ll be using Festool’s 8×40 mm tenons, so I’ve set the depth for 20 mm and adjusted fence height to center a mortise in 1-1/2″ stock for the leg set of a small table. Next, mark the workpieces. For the rails and stiles of the leg set, I’ve marked the centers on the ends of the rail and in the side faces of the stiles. It’s also helpful to add registration marks for workpiece orientation.

Clamp one of the stiles to a work surface and center the Domino’s hairline cursor on the marks. Note in the middle right photo that I’m using the rail butted up against the back of the stile for extra support. Key on the Domino with the thumb switch and smoothly plunge the tool into the workpiece. Then repeat with the second stile.

Similarly, clamp the rail solidly, line up the Domino on your end-grain mark, and plunge. Since this is a lengthwise plunge, no need for extra support. Flip the rail, re-clamp, and cut the opposing mortise into the other end.

To complete the joint, slip a tenon into the mortises and test-fit. If everything’s good, add glue, clamp up, and the pair of mortise-and-tenon joints is done. That’s it.

All four of those identical mortises I just made took only a matter of seconds to machine. You won’t find a faster and easier method for loose-tenon joints than the Domino. On the downside, the tool is pricey. But if you do a lot of mortise-and-tenon joints with loose tenons, it could be an excellent investment.

The post Working with Loose Tenons: Festool Domino appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

But when outfitted with jigs or a specialized base plate, a router table’s handheld cousins take on a whole new range of useful abilities that prove once again why the router is the most versatile shop tool.

Routing Ellipses, Circles

You can cut circular shapes on a band saw if they’re not too large and with a jigsaw if they are. While both techniques are fast, the resulting shapes don’t always turn out perfect since the workpiece is cut by hand without guidance.

Circle-cutting jigs are helpful, but not for oval shapes. But a combination setup, like Rockler’s various ellipse/circle cutting jig options, enable your router to handle both tasks. These jigs feature a dovetailed jig base with a pair of sliding pivot pins, while the jig itself (a pivoting arm) is mounted under the router. Let’s demonstrate this with a sample ellipse.

Before you begin, understand that the workpiece — both the ellipse and the outer waste — must be fully supported and unmovable. You’ll rout all the way through the workpiece, so a sacrificial surface underneath the work is essential. A sheet of plywood or MDF clamped to your workbench works fine.

You can clamp the workpiece down, too, if it’s large enough that the clamps are out of the way. But you can’t clamp the ellipse you’re cutting out in the center. The answer is to forget clamps and use double stick tape to hold everything securely.

To plot the ellipse, draw center pencil lines on your workpiece for the major and minor axes. Then make marks on each radius to define the size. I’ve marked the lines at 5″ and 7-1/2″ radii for an ellipse measuring 10″ x 15″.

Now, mount the jig base in the center of the workpiece aligned with your penciled lines. The jig base attaches with screws, so if the resulting marks will be visible in the finished piece, you can either screw the base down to what will be the unseen side, or use double-stick tape to secure it. Slip the two sliding pivots into the base’s dovetail slots.

Install a straight cutter into your router — either an upcut spiral or regular straight bit — and set the plunge depth to about 1/8″. We’ll make the ellipse with repeated cuts, not in a single pass. Line up the locking attachment knobs on the jig arm with the pivot pins on the base and slip the assembly into place, which will allow the router to rotate freely around the base. Slide the router until the bit lines up with the radius mark for your major axis, and tighten its knob. Then swing the router around to the minor axis mark and tighten it. The router will now rotate in a perfect ellipse.

Turn on the router and plunge the bit into the work, then steadily rotate it around the pivots to complete the first cut. Raise the bit, turn off the router and increase the plunge depth another 1/8″, then make another full rotation. Repeat this process until you’ve routed all the way through and slightly into the sacrificial sheet underneath.

I’ve wrapped the cord clockwise around the router. It’s a great tip that I’ve discovered! As you rotate the router, the cord will want to coil around the router and possibly snag. Wrapping the cord one turn in the same direction you’re routing will instead unwrap the cord in a more controllable fashion as you rout.

Routing a circle is the same process but even easier. For this, you’ll need just a single pivot pin, which is solidly screwed into the jig base through a provided set of holes. There’s no sliding along the jig base’s slots this time; a simple circular rotation is all that’s required to cut the workpiece.

Routing Signs

Short of using an expensive CNC machine or doing it entirely by hand with careful and laborious chiseling, the best way to create signs quickly and accurately is with a handheld router paired with lettering templates.

Lettering guides, such as Rockler’s Interlock Signmaker’s Templates, consist of a series of polymer capital and lowercase letters, various spacers and punctuation. The guides fit together like puzzle pieces to make full templates of words or phrases, just right for a plunge router equipped with a guide bushing and signmaking bit.

For signs with standardized all-capital letters, everything is the same size; you just spell out what you want with your templates and rout away. Script lettering, however, is more involved. Because the letters are “kerned” to accommodate different widths and make the script flow smoothly, the sign is routed in separate passes with different letter parts and spacers.

Rockler makes this easy with an online tool wizard, where you simply type in the words you want and it plots the entire template arranged for each pass. You can then print this guide out to use as you arrange the templates on your workpiece.

For this example, we’ll rout the six-character word “Signs!” This is only a two-pass project, but other words can require five or six passes. By the way, the number of passes isn’t dependent on word length but rather letter complexity. For example, the shorter word “cat” is a three-pass routing operation.

Begin by selecting all the letters and spacers as detailed on the guide along with word anchors on each end, and center the assembled template for the first pass on your workpiece. Separately secure the word anchors first with double-stick tape. These anchors stay in place through all the passes.

Now use masking tape to secure the edges of letters and spacers, and smooth the tape down completely so the router base doesn’t catch on loose edges. Also, it’s a good idea to secure any thin, extended interior parts of letters with a small piece of double-stick tape underneath to keep them from flexing as you bear down when routing.

Clamp the workpiece securely, set the bit to 1/4″ cutting depth and place the router’s guide bushing into the template for the first letter. Turn on the router and plunge it into the work, following the templates as you cut each letter.

After making a complete pass, vacuum out all the debris, which has a tendency to pack down into the letters. It is essential to check that each letter is fully formed with all waste removed. Chances are, you missed some here and there and will need to repeat the first pass to clear out any remaining waste.

When the letters in the first pass are fully formed, be sure to leave the two word anchors solidly in place but remove the lettering and spacing templates from the center. Replace them with those for the second pass, and tape them down. Make the second routing pass the same as the first to complete this sample sign.

The last step is to remove all the templates and refine the lettering with a bit of folded sandpaper. This will remove any burn marks or light “feathering” around the routed grooves left by the bit. Once sanded, the sign is ready for paint or a final finish of your choice.

The post Extend Your Router’s Repertoire appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

I decided to use my router table to form all the grooves, rabbets and dadoes in this project, but you could also do all the machining with a table saw and dado blade. Feel free to modify the positions of the dadoes shown in the Drawings to create spacing that suits your needs best.

Start construction by cutting all the parts to size as specified in the Material List. Then install a 1/2″-diameter straight bit in the router table. Raise the bit to 1/4″ and set the fence so the back of the bit is flush with the fence facings. Rout a 1/2″-wide x 1/4″-deep rabbet in each end of the tray sides to capture the front and back pieces. Next, cut the 1/2″-wide x 1/4″-deep dadoes in the tray sides for the cross and rear dividers. Be sure to remember that the tray sides are mirror opposites of each other.

Milling More Grooves, Dadoes

Switch to a 1/4″ straight bit, set its height to 1/4″ and position the fence 1/4″ away from the back of the bit. Go ahead and mill a groove for the tray’s bottom panel along the inside faces of the tray sides, front and back, along the full length of these parts.

You can use the same bit at the same height to rout the four dadoes in the tray front and cross divider that will hold the silverware dividers. I found it helpful to tape these two pieces together with their ends aligned so I could rout both parts at the same time. It ensures that the dadoes will line up with one another correctly when the tray is assembled.

Now, gather the four silverware dividers so you can draw a large radius on the top edge of each to mark their recessed cutouts. To lay these out, first draw a centerline across the width of each divider, and mark the center point of these lines (it establishes the apex of the curve).

Open a compass to 4-1/2″ then set up for drawing each curve. I just drew a line on my workbench, aligned it with the centerline on each silverware divider, and used the bench layout line to locate the point of my compass for drawing the radius. Cut the recesses out at your band saw, and sand the curves smooth.

Assembling the Tray, Adding Optional Parts

Sand all the parts you’ve made so far up to 180-grit. Then assemble the tray, applying glue to the corner rabbets, bottom grooves and dadoes for the cross divider. I used a band clamp to hold the parts securely. When you tighten it, be careful that the tray remains square; its diagonal measurements should match. I didn’t glue the silverware dividers or rear divider in place so those can be removed if my storage needs change. After the glue dried, I simply top-coated the tray with wipe-on poly to match the knife block.

One option for filling the tray’s rear compartment is with a steak knife holder. Making it is simple: I just cut 1/2″-deep kerfs for the knife blades across the face of a 3/4″ x 5″ x 6-3/4″ piece of scrap walnut. I spaced the knife-blade slots 3/4″ apart, with this spacing centered on the slots. The steak knife holder fits the tray if the rear divider is removed.

Not all steak knives will be long enough to fill the area that’s left for their handles beside the knife block. So, I cut a 3/4″ x 1″ x 5″ filler block and placed that behind the ends of the handles to prevent the knives from sliding out of their blade slots.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Utensil Tray appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The two-level design I’ve come up with here is relatively easy to build and offers a wide range of customization options. The dividers are made from a combination of 1/2″- and 3/4″-thick solid walnut and mounted on a 1/4″-thick Baltic birch plywood base. But you can choose just about any species of wood, mix and match multiple species or even use Baltic birch plywood for all the parts, if you like.

Cutting the Parts

Look at the the Drawings and Material List to familiarize yourself with the knife block’s design and pieces. Start construction by ripping enough 2-1/4″-wide stock to make the bottom inside and outside dividers.

Then rip 1-3/8″-wide pieces for the top dividers and handle rest. Crosscut the bottom dividers, top dividers and handle rest parts 1/4″ longer than necessary for now.

Shaping the Dividers and Rest

Face-glue three pairs of bottom inside dividers together, and do the same for the two handle rest parts. Carefully align their edges and ends flush. When the glue dries, unclamp and crosscut the parts to final length.

Now grab your compass to lay out a 1-5/16″ radius on the sides of the top dividers and a 3-3/4″ radius on the sides of the bottom dividers. Then, use a band saw or jigsaw to cut just outside the layout line on each divider.

I clamped the top dividers into a single group and did the same for the bottom dividers so I could sand their curves to the layout lines all at once. Next, use a hand plane, file or sanding block to shape a slight radius on the top of the handle rest. When that’s done, sand all the knife block parts to 180-grit.

Assembling the Knife Block

Cut the plywood base to size as well as seven spacers for the top and bottom dividers from 1/4″-thick scrap. Place the bottom dividers upside down and insert spacers between them, aligning the back ends of all pieces. The spacers are narrower than the dividers to prevent them from contacting the base when the dividers are installed.

Clamp the dividers and spacers together. Apply a thin layer of glue to the bottom edges of the dividers only. Then flip the divider-and-spacer assembly over and clamp it to the base.

When that glue-up dries, remove the clamps and spacers. Repeat the assembly process to install the top dividers. Glue and mount the handle rest to the base where it best suits the handles of your knives.

Finally, lightly sand all surfaces with 220-grit paper and apply a wipe-on poly finish to all surfaces. It will be foodsafe once the finish completely cures.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: In-Drawer Knife Block appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Preparing a Long Panel

There are only four parts on this stand’s Material List, so its modest lumber requirement provides a nice opportunity to try an exotic or figured wood you wouldn’t normally choose. I settled on a piece of swirly grained bubinga. Its irregular pattern and reddish color reminds me of marble more than wood!

Whatever species you choose, rip and crosscut enough 3/4″-thick stock to glue up a panel measuring 16″ wide by 48″ long. Joint and plane the boards carefully to minimize the glue seams as much as possible, then glue and clamp them up. When the joints dry and the panel comes out of the clamps, plane, scrape or sand any uneven glue seams flat, and sand the panel up to 120-grit.

The reason for beginning with a single panel is so you can harvest the individual workpieces from it to harmonize the grain pattern. Square up the ends of the panel. Then, starting from one end, mark an 8″ length for one side panel, a 16-1/2″-long piece next to it for the top panel and another 8″ piece after that for the other side panel. Crosscut the parts to rough size. What’s left of the panel is the shelf. Trim it to 15-1/2″ wide and 15″ long. Finish up this step by trimming the sides to 7-1/2″ long and the top to its final length of 16″.

Starting with Tails

There’s no shame in cutting through dovetails with a router and a dovetail jig, if you’d rather do that. But I like the ability to create narrower pins than my dovetail jig will allow and the freedom to space the pattern as I choose — two big advantages of cutting dovetails by hand.

If you like the look of the dovetail pattern shown on the facing page and in the Drawings, we’ll start by laying out the tails on the two side panels. Grab a sharp marking gauge and scribe a baseline for the tails all the way around the top ends of both side panels. Set these scribe lines about 1/32″ wider than the thickness of the top panel (this way, the tops of the tails will protrude slightly above the top panel when the joints are assembled).

Now lay out the center points of the pins every 2″ across the tops of the sides. This spacing will create a half socket on both ends of the side panels and six pin sockets in between. I did this by first clamping both side panels together with their ends and edges aligned and their “show” faces pointing outward. That way, I could mark the center points on one board and extend the layout lines across to the other board so the sockets would align perfectly.

The tops of the pin sockets are 1/4″ wide, so mark those next on both sides of each center line. I then set the angles of the tails to 1:6 (about 10 degrees). It makes the bottoms of the pin sockets 1/2″ wide. Use a fine-lead mechanical pencil and either a bevel gauge or a dovetail saddle square to draw the tail shapes down to the baselines on both side panels. Unclamp the side panels and complete the tail layouts on their inner faces, too. Do yourself a favor right now, and mark the pin sockets with black Xs to avoid confusion later. These are the waste areas to remove.

You’re now ready to saw the tails down to the baselines with a dovetail saw, following your angled layout lines. Many will cut these freehand. But if you’re less than confident that you can saw squarely and accurately, there’s another option that makes the process very easy. A number of years ago, I tried out a clever and simple aluminum jig, designed by British woodworker David Barron, that guides the saw blade while making the tail and pin cuts. Rare-earth magnets hold the saw blade at the correct angle while you saw to minimize angle-cutting errors. You can learn more about it at Barron’s website, and on his YouTube videos.

To use the jig, position its angled face toward you and rest the portion of the jig below the magnet on the tail board’s top edge. Carefully align one or the other angled edge of the jig with a tail line, hold or clamp the jig securely and set the saw blade against the jig’s magnetic face. Then start the saw cut with a long, gentle stroke and proceed to cut down to the baseline. Repeat this for every tail layout line on both side panels.

Now remove the waste in the pin socket areas, marked with Xs. To do this, some woodworkers chop all the waste out with just a chisel. I prefer to saw the waste out with a fretsaw first, leaving just a bit of waste at the bottom of each pin socket. Then, I chop and pare the rest of the waste away with the blade registered at the baseline. I work carefully in from one face until about half the waste is removed. When I make these chopping cuts, I tip the handle of my chisel about a degree or two closer to me so I’m slightly undercutting the bottoms of the sockets. When half the waste is removed from all the sockets, I flip the panel over so I can remove the remaining waste by chopping in from the other face. Doing this prevents the chisel from chipping the bottom outer edges of the sockets.

When the sockets are cleaned out, make sure their baselines are flat through the thickness of the side panels. This will enable the pins to slide into them squarely when the joints are assembled. Check the baselines with the blade of a square extended through the sockets; it should rest evenly across them on the baselines. Pare away any remaining waste that prevents this from happening.

Carefully saw off the tiny half-pin socket waste from the back corners of the side panels and the longer front wastepiece. I did this at the band saw with each side workpiece registered against a rip fence and the blade cutting just to the waste side of the baseline.

Shaping the Pins

With the tails now cut to shape, rip the top panel to its final 14″ width. Clamp it to the edge of your bench with an end facing up, and lay the correct side panel over it on your benchtop.

Align the edges of both panels, and adjust the tail board carefully so its baseline is aligned with the inside face of the top panel. Clamp the tail board in place. Carefully transfer the angled tail pattern onto the end of the top panel to mark for the pins.

Use a sharp, thin-bladed marking or pocketknife to incise these lines into the top panel’s end grain. Then flip the top panel so its other end is up and repeat the pin-scribing process using the other tail board.

Grab your marking gauge, again set 1/32″ deeper than the thickness of the side panels, to scribe baselines across the faces and ends of the top panel. Then draw straight lines down from the knifed lines on the end grain to the baselines to complete the pin shapes. Mark the large tail socket waste areas with Xs.

Go ahead and saw straight down to the baselines to cut the angled faces of the pins. Again, my Barron jig helped me guide these cuts easily by flipping its orientation around for the pin cuts. Aim as accurately as you can to literally split these layout lines with the saw blade — it will help to minimize the amount of paring you’ll have to do next.

Saw or chop out the large waste pieces in the tail socket areas. Effectively, the process is the same as when cutting out the pin socket areas, but there’s just more waste to remove. Use wider chisels to help speed the process along, and work carefully when you’re chiseling up to the baselines to keep them straight and evenly aligned with one another.

Now, fit the corner joints together, one joint at a time. If you’ve cut carefully, the pins and tails should engage one another snugly, right from the start. If they don’t, you’ve got some paring to do to improve the fit.

The goal here is to pare away as little material as possible so the joints will close without creating gaps between the pins and tails. But, if you remove too little, the panels could crack when tapping the joints together. Pare only from the angled, inside faces of the pins, leaving the tails alone. Work slowly and carefully until the joints fit together.

Installing the Shelf

The dovetails are the hardest part of this project, so it’s downhill from here! Chuck a 3/8″ straight or spiral bit in your router table, and raise it to 1/4″ cutting height so we can plow a groove on the inside face of each side panel for the shelf’s stub tenons. Set and lock the router table’s fence 31-1/16″ away from the back of the bit. Identify the cutting limits of the bit by drawing a pair of long vertical lines on the router table fence to mark the bit’s position. This way, you’ll know where to begin and end these groove cuts accurately — they stop 3/4″ from the front ends of the side panels.

Mark the outside faces of the side panels so you can stop the groove cuts accurately. (We’ll be routing these panels with their bottom flat edges against the fence.) Go ahead and plow grooves, then square up their rounded ends with a chisel. When that’s done, cut a 3/8″-thick stub tenon on each end of the shelf. I did this step at the table saw with a wide dado blade buried partially in a sacrificial fence. Trim the front corners off the tenons, shortening their width to 15-1/4″.

Dry-assemble the sides, top and shelf to make sure the dovetail joints close fully with the shelf in place and the sides are square to the top.

Adding Curves and Finishing Up

Disassemble the project so you can use double-sided tape to stick the side panels together in a stack with their inside faces touching. Mark one side panel for the large arch that forms the stand’s 2″-wide “feet” on the bottom edge. I made the apex of this arch 2″ and used a large French curve to create the shape. Draw the smaller curve from the front half pin socket down to the front edge of the side panel 4-1/4″ up from the front foot. Saw these curves into the ganged side panels at the band saw. Then sand the curves smooth and fair.

Give all the stand’s parts a final sanding before assembling them. Spread glue on just the dovetails, and clamp up the project with the shelf dry-fitted in place. This way, you can remove the shelf after the glue dries to prefinish it and the interior surfaces of the project next. My bubinga certainly needed no stain, so I simply sprayed it with three coats of aerosol satin lacquer. Once that was done, I flattened the protruding dovetail joints, glued the shelf into its grooves and sprayed the outer surfaces of the project.

Allow a week for the finish to cure, then this office machine stand is ready for use. And you’ll have another hand-cut dovetailed project under your belt!

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Dovetailed Printer Stand appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.