No. 87 June, 1993 EDITOR'S COLUMN PUBLISHING SERVICES -Asecie Fito Gorn C Gappes Soior Graphic ‘reat KODSTTL Whitmer i007 Madde ‘CORPORATE SERVICES Conroter: aut Grays Aceoanyg Lau Thoms Boothopimy Selina Sp «Tafometon Sess ste Moor «erate Pal, Cro: ue ip dene ay oy be, Sinn, Anata, Aon itn SHPEINGDEPARTMENT Sitar ek on ata Sawdust De you ever complete a project and et the felt thatif you had ald Justa ize more detail it wouldbe a itole Torbeter? That s what happened with the model Fire Truck were feeturing inthis ‘save Letmeexplan, Our design director, Ken Munkel, has bean waning ( buldthis model for some ‘ime, (His fist projector uswes the “Clas. Se Roads” way tack inisie No.5) So finally told Rentoo ahead with the Fire Truck. Before knew at, he nad te Hick J a he brought the model inte my office and pointed! out his fivonte part the extension lies that ontle sideofine truck, Try them out ‘They actully work” Andthey cid. Tivas fiscinated withhhow they worked. It syns great toslige thom upanddown cn the dovetail abpets FINISHING TOUCHES, A couple of days Inter I was inthe shopand notied ihe Fite ‘Truck siting on the bench, Butitseemeda lite different than remembered. Ken explanei that he had tae a close Took at the model truck and added a few “fnishingtouches” Lite tallight, head- light, and brass rls. Small detals, But they rhadeabigdifferenceinthelookofthe Fire Truck ‘AS a matier of fact, Ken seemed <0 pase th the muck it he kl uid a second one and even dyed this one red. Thenhetoundaribber“irehose® anc Brass fiting ranozzletomakeltlookeven more authentie, “Thepointis it litle detilelikethesethat finish offa project Whetherit'sa bass rail onthebackofaFireTrickorasheheround- over on te edge ofa tbl, faking the time to dg alitle more lmostalvays improves the final look. ‘ator? Ti like 19 say something else here about the Fire Truck. This relly iit ato fot younidstoplay wth Asamater 1 [would strongly recoramend that this Fie Truck no! be given any cil uncer the age of four. Small parts that add detail can come loose and get swallowed ‘reatinga dangerous situation. Ttwas designed asa display medel, but suppose yon could give itty an older child ‘who is soingto respect itand handle twith cae. Maybewithanexplanationabout how itdoesnt belong intl bottom ofthe toy box ‘unclomeath the Ninja Turtles, JELLY CUPBOARDne ofthe mos popy)- la projects wee eve feature wasthe cd fashioned Pie Safe with punched tin panels thatwasin WoodamithNo. 55. Ivereceived dozens ofphotos from readers hie have built this country project So for this issne | decided 10 build a similar project The Jelly Cupboard on page 6 is qute a byt nar- tower than the pie sate, butifsdesionedto accept the same size panels (Were also showing it ‘with wood panels, see the photo onthenest rage.) 1 wanted to off some new patterns to punchin the in, We've come up with three new pattems to add to three ofthe most lar pattems from the Pie Safe. All si pattemsare shown on page 3 Hfyouhavertt punched tin before, yout Find thatitsa fairly casy (but ine-consum ing) process, IFyou order the tin, well in lide step-by-step instructions on howw to punchthe tn and"age" so tmmedately ks like an antique. ‘CUSTOMER SERVICE. We receive a lt of Pesitive comments abput our customer Service. Ive always believed that Woodsmith'sfirst goal is 1 serve wood- workers One way wedthissthough cur Customer Service Asatmatter of face] titel plus ‘that we are one ofthe few magazines who handle our own customer service phone calls. When you call Woodemith, you get Woodsnith. Notsome big company in an- ‘otter city that answers phones for lots of diferent magazines. NEWFACE, Allofthis discussion about customer service my clever Way ofintro- ducing ournew customer service manager, Valetie Wiese. Valeri has considerable ex: perience in this area and should help con- tinue our tradition ofserying woodworkers. © WoodsmithA LOOK INSIDE ie Contents Six great tips. 1) Laying Out ‘Tips & Techniques L4) Shelf Holes. 2) Bandsawing Muitiples. 3) Light-Duty Clamps 4)A Better Vise Handle. 5) Rein- forcing Miter Joints. 6) Sanding Chamjers. Plus Two Quick Tips: jay cop | te door on this Jelly Cupboard offers a choice. It can be solid wood with a “raised”field, or punched tinfor more ofa country look. Wood You can't stop woodirom moving Movement D1 put there are ways to design a project so it doesn't come apart later. eae Clamps by themselves are great Sens Te MAY cols But sometines they need a eo little help. Here are some tips to make ordinary clamps even more useftl 5 1) Centered Dadoey on the Table IShopNotes 16} ¢,, 2) Making Quarter-Round Molding. 3) Cutting Ruixed Panels 4) Routing Custom-Fit Dadoes. Compound Miters JB] Cuting compound miters aeeu- rately can be quite a challenge. Here's the step-by-step procedure we follow to obtain the best results Angled sides make it easy to get at the contents ofthis tray. The han- dle divides the tray into two sections. [Silverware Tray ered This Fire Truck looks like an Hive tiene BM cuthentic replica, But adding the realistic-looking details doesn't require any special fools e ; Hardware and supplies needed ES BU ir the projects in thts issue Fire Truck No. 87 Woodsmitn 3 feFROM FELLOW WOODWORKERS Tips & Techniques LAYING OUT SHELF HOLES + Ieusually takesa lot oftime to Thy out and drill uniformly spaced holes for shelfbrackets incabinets, But get around this by using aleneth of drywallor- rer bead to positon the holes Toposition and drillthe holes, firstlay the bead over the comer. of the workpiece, pressing it teanstheedge, sede L Now Tncate and drill the firsthole, To keep the bead in place, 1 insert a shel? bracket into the first hole, see Fig. 1. And then lla pin the las hole in the sane manner Withthebead pinned, illthe remaining holes Whes diling the hols, pes hese bead tight against the ege oft sworkpice fo ensure the holes ae dled ina staight Ine Dave Malott Coldunter, Michigan BANDSAWING MULTIPLES <1 built the Slant Front Desk With my method you don’ have featured in Woodsmith No. 86 to worry about alignment, #'s and used a different technique cone quickly and axromaticaly. for cutting the ares onthe front Tse two blocks of wood with of the pigeorhole dividers, By 90° notch eut in each block, Dandsawing the arcs on ali the see Fig. a, The dividers are pleces atthe saine tine, theyall stacked on top of each other, ‘cane out identical then trapped between the ‘You could tape or serew the Hlocks. The ares are then cutat dividers together, Butts hard. these tine, se Fi, togetthe sidesand corners ofall Chide TMitehelt tie dividers perfectly aligned, Big Bend, Wisconsin LIGHT-DUTY CLAMPS + Instead of buying some fight vweightclamps fora resent pro- Ject, T made my own from two ‘Sripsofscrapandtwo large rub- ber bands, se Fig, 1 They look and work ike large cloties pins, ‘The rubber bands 1 use are the large, Wi-wide type (ny newspeper carer uses them to wrap the Sunday paper) J wrap the bands around the until they're tight ne hingabout these clamps though — they have some "memory," see Fig. 2. So afte eich se, | just turn the strips aroundsol can reuse them. This, ight bond also seems to make the clamps arp alte beter William Bosch Greeley, Colorado Edtior’s Note: We found that adding sirips. of adhesive. hacked sandnaper also helped the clamp grip better A BETTER VISE HANPLE + Most European-style work- each balleee Fig. (Thaliame- bench plans feature a tal vise ter ofthe hole must match the and an end vise And most of diameter ofthe dovrel,) these vises require that you ‘Then, before gluing the bells make yourown handle, tothe dowel I sippeda large 0- ‘When building my bench, { ringovercach end ofthe dowel, wanted a handle that would be see Fig 2. The rubber O-rings 2s fograb and fel good in my absorb mest ofthe shock when fan he handle I designed isthe balls drop against the vie rade fomalargedowel andtwo _(D-ings can be purchased from 2'dia. wooden bills see Fig.2,._-mosthardiware sores.) To make the handle, first drill John Morris a¥tdeephole inthe centerof Haddonfield, New Jersey 2 aren aoe rose aie lame extn Sune ‘anette ost ‘Woodsmith No. 87j REINFORCING MITER JOINTS + Mitered comers need reine be vemered on thejoiniline, and forcement And there are many drilled only halfway through the waysiadoitOneway reinforce thickness ofthe frame } miersisto bricge thejoint with Next.Tusea"ia. lug cutter alaiveplig—stenghensthe <0 cuta plu fom the sine m- } Joint by gluing face rain‘o face terial es the frame, refer to Step | ‘rain, soe Fi 2, (fyoure thinking of using a | Firat, | ghie up the mitered short length of dowel instead of joint without the plug. Once thea plug. it won't work. The plug, ele has dried, I drill a "dia, gives vou morefacetoface olt- shillowholeinthebackside of ing. A dowel gives you a weak ach mitered comer, refer 10 end grain glue joint.) | Step lin Fig 2,Theholeshould Now ghie and clamp the plug inthe hole, with thesmooth side _ to Sepp3. Once the glue is dry, of he plug fice down ard the sinc the plug smooth ‘fain ofthe plug running per- Robert Taugher penilicula to the jointline, wefer GrowsePointe Woods, Michigan SANPING CHAMFERS + When sanding chamfered thick cork, se Fig. 1. The me- comers, i's just about impossi- tangular setionkeeps the sand ble to Keep from rounding over ing bleck flat on the workpiece, the edges ofthe chamfers—es- Thebeveled secon holds adhe- pecially nartow chamfers, To sive-backed sandpaper (Sich as avoid this, Tuse a sanding block 3Ms Stikit) and ndes against made just forchamfers. ihe chamfer. ‘The sanding block is built Thomas F. Bussey fromtwo pieces ofscrap ands". Cedar alts, fowa QUICK TIPS both sides ofthe clota and allow NONSUP PUSH STICK =the cfath to dry completely Recently 1 was ripping thin Then fold the cloth so it fits strips on my table saw, Every yourhand, ons na whe the push sick When vipng up the dust ‘Would lip offthe workpiece, wipe inone diection (notin To prevent this, I glued a cles). And fold back the dirty ‘gral piece of ol inner tube to. sideofthe cloth between passes. the bottomptthe push stick. The Stephen Hodlee mubberdoesnit sip offthe wood, Kankakee, Minois sonpwIhavebettercontrol. Marilu N. Gliceman [SEND INYOUR TIPS _| Boverly Hills, Florida TACK CLOTH MAtersanding a project, [ike ‘0 wipe it down witha tack clot before applying the finish, But tusea different type oftack cloth, Mine is just = soft cotion cleth rayed with alight coat of Fn- dust Dusting and Cleani Spray. (Endustdoesn’ conta ‘waxorsiline, So itwon'tcause finishing problems later.) Just spray 4 small amount on No. 87 Woodsmith 5OU IN TERS ROWE GC Tr Jelly Cupboard There are probably a dozen ways to join the boards when building a cupboard. But for this project we kept it simple — mostly daxkbbetsind These make the cupboard easier to build, and it looks more "country." oinery decisions...they 20 into. every project. Like the shelves in this Jelly ‘Cupboard. These coukdave been mounted on adjustable shelf brackets for holding different-size cans and jars, But | did something different this time. By installing the shelves in dadoes in the cupboard sifes, the shelves are permma- nently attched to the sides, The joins ae strong and the shelves wont twist So the shelves are both structural cnd functional BACKSIATS. The back of the cupboard also helps to hold the unit together, But there wasa decision tomakehere, to, Ordi- narily T use plywood fora cabinet back, but for a "country" project like this, plywood would lock out of place 'p [used solic pin for the back — buts not glued up into a panel. Instead, I cutab- betsonthemnting edges ofthe back slatsto ‘reate whats called a "ship lap" joint This allowsthe back sats to expand andcontract ‘without pushing the sides of the cupboard away from the shelves. FINISE, I decided to sain the cupboard to ‘gveltthelookofaged pine, Butstaion pine n tum out blctchy. So frst. | scaled the fice with MeCloskey’s Sain Controller and Sealer. Ten [applied a 50/50 mixture of Minwax GoldenOak and Colonial Maple. Finally, {covered the stain with twocoats of ‘Gerefal Fnisies Royal Finish atin), Hard-purched tin panels can be substi- tule for tie wood paels inthe door. ForEXPLODED VIEW CUTTING DIAGRAM. 37-6" aE Sette. 26" @ 84. FO. WoodsmithSIDES & SHELVES Back when jelly was mace at home, a eup- board wauld probably have been made of pine. Andit vould have had some kno. So fo make this Jelly Cupboard authentic look ‘ng. used #2 common pin. After letting the lumber dry cut in the shop for two weeks, | started work on the sides ofthe cupboard. ‘curTO SIZE. Inordertominimizethe cup- ping that may occur with wide boards, 1 edge-glued edch ofthe sides from two nar- rower boards, When the gluedried, Featthe ‘idea(A io finished dimensions, se: Fig SHELF DADOES. Five shelves hold the sides ofthe cupboard together, Theshelves are held in dacoes spaced evenly apart, ee the Front View on page 7. Butthere are a couple ticks to routiig the dadoes inthe sides and gettinathemto slignaiterthe eup- board is assembled Firs, I clamped both cupboard sides to ther with the inside facesup, see Fig. 1. ‘Then Tlaid out the postion ofthe dadoes by. measuring down ftom the top end. To follow the lines forthe decoes, | guided the routerazainsta straightedgeclanped 'o the workpiece. Andbecause the Y4pine for the shelveswas sight fess than Yatick, 1 ‘used 4 straight bit inthe router. Then | routed each dadotothe correct width intwo passtsusing aremovable spaceragansithe straightedge, see Pig. 1. (Refer to. Shop Notes, page i¢ formore onthistechnique:) BACK RABSET, After routing the cadces forthe shelves, arabbet ean be cut in each ‘cupboard side for installing the back Sats, see Figs 2and2a Shop Note: To make sure the rabbet is routed along the conectedges (the sidesare “mirror” images), ithelps 0 fist stand the sidesupand markthe elges toberabbeted DECORATIVE CULOUIS. The last CUS 10 make on the cupboard sides are mostly decorative — semicircular cutouts atthe bottom ofeach piece, sce Fig 3. These cut- outs crentea pir of eet.” ‘Note Athouph the fet sar ont different wis, eytendup the smearing strip is added tothe front, referto Fig. 6. SHELVES. Now tie shees canbe ripped to.width sethey’re flush with the front edge ofthe sidesand ako the shoulderofiherab- betfortheback sats, seeFig. 5, Thencutthe shelves (B) tolength, see Fig 4, ree Us NAILS ASSEMBLY, Finally, the case can te as- sembled with the shelves elued into the dadoes, see Fig, 5, Note: Wheninsiallingthe shelves, Keep them flush to the front edges offic Sides (A), Also, if you don't have enough clam, ‘you could assemble the case the old-fash-| ‘oned way —with squarecutnails to pull the sides tight tothe shelves, see box above. 5FACING STRIPS At this point the project has evolyed into an ‘open-front bookshelf. To give it more of : finished “cupboard” look, and also to cre- ate-a flame that surounds the door, facing, | strips are addednext ‘Rip TO winra The strips are attached to the front edge ofthe cabinet sides and to the! top and bottom shelves, see Fig. 6. Mast Inppedtwo ste tacing strips (C) oni fangs 0) he cane Width, se Fig, 6a ‘SIDE STRIPS. Now eutthe side stripe the ‘same length as the cupboard sides, Then attach these 10 the edges ofthe cupboard with gue ndclamps, ee Fig 6 TOP nomen Ss ex, bape plom: of pine for the botiom Bectagt rip {Gy see Fe 6. The will be nasly nviden Tater — it's mainly to fill in between the bot- tom shelfand thekickboard, refer to Fig. 8. "Thenthetopandbotom stipsean beet to ilbeiyeen tbe sitcratps ‘arracTO CASE: Before Shing onthe op and botom sips, make t mark on the id bot ike ‘Kon the and bottom shelves to indicate where the Sus shoe sued on ss Fas Gan Gp. By attaching hestrpsin tes ecatons AGseadofflsh vith he abelDyalips re Ieee fe sop an boson oft cr cee ing. These lips serve asdoor sops when the dor (attached later) is closed, refer to the Front View on page 7. KICKBOARD A kickboard atthe bottom ofthe cupboard falds a decorative look o the project. So it dovsn'tlook “boxy.") CurTO SIZE. Tomake the kickboard, fi Hpapiee afoot se Fi. 7. Then cit the kickhoard_ (F)to length to match the width ofthe case ROUNDver TOP EDGE, Next, to the transition between the Kiekbosrd and the lower facing stip, rout a round-over alona the top outside edge ofthe kickboard, seeFig, 7a ‘CUT OUTTOE OPENING. Then, to create the actual ie opening on the kickboacd, [ ‘eatouta profile slong te bottom, se Fi. 7. This shape complements the shape ofthe ‘cutouts on the side pieves. ATTACH TO CASE. Now the kickboard can be attached to the case, But | did this the i-fashioned way, withexoosed dowels sce Fig. 8.To do this, clamp thekickboardo the When shaping the front end, ihe top is tapered on the band saw in two passes. The ack ofthe chassis sticks up offive ta- He and w flipped hetween ats BACK END & FENDERS ‘You'd expect thatthe inside of the cab weal be completed at the endofthe assembly ine. But ‘once the back end of this Fire Truck isadied, there's no room tonal inthe steering wheel. So before going on, T-added the dish stering wheel, and seats ‘Note: Most ofthe remaining paris are cut from thin sock, SO alihis point, Lresaved enough wood fora the thin pioes, Re- Tertothe Materials Listonpage Dee OF CHASSIS 6 Mitte ack ofc cab atone, glue tte dash inplace and drill holefor the sieer- eel, After wanailed tn, cut the sear back seat cushionto size and glue themino cab. 25 forthepartsand thicknesses. BACKEND. The back end of the Fire Truckbosty sjustahol- Jow box: Its builtin two stages. ‘You start with the ea backand Neztcut tte cab back and the sides to size The aagle on the back edges of the sides shuld match the bevel offte chassis. Then, glue allihicpieces to he chassis the sey se Sy Then the deck support and rear doors are added, and the deck is glued on tire tea THNDENS, After he bck end was complete, ben onthe d> tails, starting with the fenders. ‘The fenders look like thin stock bentinto halfcircles. Butthey’re realy bangsawn from 16 1 tangles blanks ED 9. “Though [lige the tapers on the front end, they added a little extra work for the front fenders) DECK "DOORS. From eee BUA vtene, ne euTEDER. To enclose the bods, rip the deck, ‘port andrear doors tft benwveen the sides (ite deck support and rear doors are identical ivces,) Refore alin, scorea Uinefowar doors First, they have tobewiderthan the back fenders, To do this, 1 simply laminated two pees t- ‘gether cut of "hick stock TAPER FENDERS. The fenders inthe frontalso have to becut to mateh the taper of the engine compartment Togetthecorre:t angle, I decided to take the uesework out ofit First, | outlined the chassis onto apiece ofpaper andlaid the fender on this pattem fo locate ullaes, Se Seep LCT nile smal sled? are top fenderstoit, see Step 11 This let ‘mebandsaw the front fenders'0 e ofthe frontend, Thefenders are cutoutona band saugom YyStock. (Thesfronifender is mafem fw plecex glued togeher.) Cui the tnside arcs first, Then sand andround the top, eusidecdges, ‘To fod the angle (0 cuithefrontfenders, firstouiline chassis, extending sites ith dashed lines, Positionthe glue line offender ‘on the dashed line and mark thefront offender toadd color to your Fire Tuck, now would bea goodtimeto dye thebedly, seetheboxonpage 3) VI Nez nate a seation apiece ofserap anidartach de fender so the marks lian with the edge ofthe sled. Cut and sand the fend: ers. Phen ghue all four fenders 10 the chassis, No. 87 Woodsmith. a