Desk Clock * Tower Bookcase * Small Box Stub Tenon & Groove Joinery * Quick Finishing FixesEDITOR'S COLUMN air Bxccutive Raitar Managing Kaltor Assistant Editors DomalaB. Peschke Doulas! Hicks ‘TerryJ. trokman Jon Gartison Mark A. Willams Td en Davi Reg Cah Seon Dirkverseg oe aol feelin ee doeaca nM Kenia Sodan ee Creative Director ‘Senior Mlustrators ‘aRCULATION Ne Bal Name Ot Pare force! Monae Pgs Ropes» Diet Ma ‘fey Bole tise ete ‘Nostale: Ket A.B "Caton Jina Sn ana PUBLISHING SeRVICES ‘Mr Gk Gaye“ Greph Aris: Chest. Cor (CORPORATE SERVICES Plan Director chy Cone: Rabon mt La Th oe ERiince © ncn Crk Gabo Sow lpr lojr le Paarl utter "Nor Ans ek ton «ae sta Gg aa Te Reon ‘ame hse Babe Ken Gah ‘wooosMmnMAlL ORDER An Die Gil Sekaon Coiniog Prod. Mr: Bob faker Conmol/ Prod. Sgr: Mak. Naitast Prot Supplies Linduones» Tech Supe Dave Ste *S)sten Operair nay As (CUSTOMER SERVICE Manager: ei Bes» Team Leader: Karl Cronin + Customer Service Rey” enter Murphy, Joy Kewors, Ses Kona, Atm Cot, Lona Alpes, Alam Best Andes SHIPPING DEPARTMENT Sup Nancy Jnson + Fullinent Gin Soca, (hick Caron Syva Cac, lary Prine woonsmrrH STORE Tides gar Doe nes dette Aleem eal. ShneseraSalee Sta: Wendell Sone Pal Lowery Ofte Manager: Vik Ewa ‘aiealaet aS eee Sega , it eae ican Se iDesMobes Wandatad- fasion Pea x Sse Qian Cy 200-359-3075 60am ee Ole ep Prntedin USA, Sawdust Be isnt always better, And this goes for woodworking projects too. Dont get me wrong —I like large project But sometimes small projects can be just as satisfying to build as large ones, After all they dont take muck tine, mistakes arent costly, and it gives you a chance 10 try avariety of woodworking techniques. ‘COTTAGE WALL CABINET. A good exam ple of this isthe cotage wal ein shown on page 6. I's rot lage or compli- cated project to build. But it does provide An opportunity to try’ mamber of wood- working techniques. Dadces and rabbets are used to hold the cabinet together. There's a raised panel project intimidate you. Its nota cfficalt to build. Basically, itSjust a narrow, plywood box with a few adjustable shelves and some simple molding. DESK ciock, But my favorite project in this ise i also the smallest the des lock on page 14. It requites the smallest amount of material and the least amount of time to build, But what I realy like bests that it has a nifty litle solution to a big proslem. Let me explain Most stall clock movements require a ‘ig bitto dril a rather lange note, (In my ase, 236 diameter.) But who wants 10 spend 2 lot of money for aril bitthat ges sed $0 seldom? The solution is simple. In- door with stb stead of ding penonand Foe. cme nee joinery. Andt in this of wood, Gio stp _ lhe projects inthis issue FA ts pedoffwithbuit- prove that "good things come sors was built up moldings that in Setions. Ths abs mace in small packages. Nigel sos witha router the opening There's even with a band saw ‘couple of design options to choose from. ‘The cabinet can be buit with atowel bar or Shaker pees. Whichever you prefer. We'e also showing a couple of options for finishing this project. For the cabinet pictured on the cover, | used a traditional ‘wipe-on oil finish. Bui for the one shown fon page 6, I tried something different, What I wanted was the look of 2 painted cabinet — but I did't want to hide the grain ofthe wood. The solution was to apply several coats of white stain, Then to bring out the pat- tem ofthe grain, we rubbed on alight coat of dark stain. The end result is a project that looks ike a painted "antique." ‘SMALL BOX. The small box shown en page 26 ig another small project that gives You a chance to use almost every tool in ‘your stop. Before you're done, you'll use the band saw, table saw, dill press, hand- held router, and the router table. Its a lot of woodworking fora 'small!” project. TOWERBOOXCASE, Another small pro- ject that has gone over big here is the tower bookcase on page 18 Small project? ‘Okay, its over six fee tll, but ittakes up less than two square fee! of floor space. That's quite a bit of storage for such a small space. But don' let the height ofthis before we assembled the different pars FINISHING FIXES, I know youte prob: ably getting tired of allthis "small alk,” but thinking stall aso applies tothe finishing auricle on page 22, With mostfinishingart- cles, I'm inthe shop completing a new pro- ject This time, I decided to try something different: eparringa damagecfinish. Tknow what you're thinkinz —refinish- ing a project is a big job. And I couldr't agree more, But you dom" need to reénish project just because it has a smal sratch or dent, There are some simple techniques, you can use to repair the damage. These iechniques won't take a great deal oftime, ‘money, or skill but will make the scratches practically invisible, NEWFACES, Recertly, we've ind acou- ple of new people join us. Holly Lucas s our new bookkeeper. And Paige Rogers has joined our circulaion department (OPEN HOUSE INVITATION 1 mentioned lest issue that we've finished remodeling our offices, and we'e getting ready for issue No. 100, To celebrate both events, we thought we'd kavea little open. house. It take place on Sunday, July 23, from 15 PM. So ifyou're in the neighbor. hhood, please stop in and say” ge ; } | Wooasmith No. 99A LOOK INSIDE Contents FEATURES Cottage Wall Cabinet 6 Tis 's a project with lors ofopttons. It can be butt with a towel bar or Shaker pegs. And depending on the ‘ype of Stub Tenon & Groove page 12 Jinish you choose, itll look great in a bathroom or Hitchen. | Stub Tenon & Groove ... AD Use thisjoint whenever you need a quickframe, Our step- by-step instructions will show you how to cut both she stub tenon and the groove easily aad accurately. Desk Clock 14 An inexpensive clock movement and afew scraps of wood are all you need to build this weekend project. Tower Bookcase. cemmsaseecen LB Ifyou're short on storage space, this tall bookcase may be the answer. There's enough room to hold a small library, but it takes up less than two square feet offloor space. Finishing Fixes 22 Ifthere's a scratch or dent in your furniture, you don't have to completely refinish the piece. There are some simple techniques for quickly repairing minorfinish damage. Small Box.. isl The appearance ofthss box isn't the only thing that makes it unique. The construction is unconventional as well. The body is built from a.single block. Then i's "scooped out” like a pumpkin — but you dox't need carving tools. Finishing Fixes page 22 | DEPARTMENTS s & Techniques acne Shop Notes Reader's Jig... BEMNCCS -soecnenessnonsnecsvnrnacasanasion Small Box page 26 No. 99 ‘Woodsmith 3FROM FELLOW WOODWORKERS When applying a finish to. a pros, Keanbeifeunaeiag iton every st ly the teas next to the work- bench. Sol itt my projects upott ihe a ih el tie ge 3 ‘The shapeofthe blocks keeps them stable under heavy loads And since only a small point on, cach block actually touches the ‘wood, I can apply finish tothe entire project. ‘The blocks are simple to sake. Just tit your blade to {30° and cut as many as you need. ‘Note: Using a hardwood (ike maple) works best, The, ska will ast longer ard won! ‘get crushed underthe weight of heavy project, Al Hannas Summit, New Jersey SCREW REMOVAL +Nothing is more frustrating andiime consuming then trying to remove a broken woodserew when assembling 2 project. If you're lucky, there's endugh of the serew left 90 you can grab i: with pliers. But when it breaks offbelow the surface, ita chal- lenge to removeit without dam- aging the wood around it Rather than drilling out the ‘wood around the sexe, I dil ut the screw itself. All it takes isablockofhardwood and adrill bit a lite smaller than the di- ameter ofthe sew: Tips & Techniques FINISHING SUPPORTS To remove the broken screw, I start by drilling ahole (salle? than the diameter ofthe screw) through (like maple). Ill use the drill press to make sure the hele is rfectl the bio and clamp it in place. When ili te hole, it works best to pressure fairy light You don't ‘wantthe itto wander off the ty bfthe screw and int the wood a block of hardwood tight, Thenposition overthe boken sre your drill John Dvksira Calgary, Alberta CARPET TAPE * Llike to use carpet tape when working on aproject. But it ean be difficult trying to remove the backing once the tape is nck in place. ST use a ite trick that works every time. Firs, cut offa small piece of Se el a eee sti ‘0 sticky part), se Fig. | Then cutapiece like nor- smal and siekit nplace. Nov li up on the small piece onthe end and fold it back to form a small crease (lke opening a pop-op ‘on apop car), see Fig. 2. ssicky part ofthe tape from the paper backing othe baclang is easy to pull the of the tape ‘This crease’ will separate the per backing, see Fig. 4. b, see Fig, 3. Then Stull pce off the end and remove the pa- George Johnson Foser City, California 1WOOD PADS The legs on outdoor furniture always present a problem. The «end grainon the ends ofthe kes socks up moisture like water through a drinking straw. To prevent this, Ladd wooden pads totheends ofthe legs. ‘These pads are nothing more than blocks of wood the same size as the legs. They're per- mantly atached with ghie and serews. Shop Note: Both con- struction achesive of exterior sue can be used ‘But the trick here's installing the pads so the face grain (not ‘end grain) sits on the wet sur- fece, Face grin doesnt draw the moisture 0 the pads "block it’ from the gs. BEESWAX “+1 like 10, ccat_wood- screws withbeeswaxtolu- bricate them, But my bees: wax cake is hard to keep track of, Pusit's usually covered with chips and dir. To keep my wax handy and lean, I made a wooden dis. penser. ls ablock of wood with Bestof all, when you use up the any towards the top, simply cut off par of the block to ex- ose fresh wax, see Fig. 2. ‘Stanley Walsh a hole dalled in it. Just fill the Jerry Minnick Baton Rouge, Louisianna hole with melted wax, see Fig. | ‘raro, lowa 1 eae fohiinote BRAD HOLDER +A magnetic. paper clip diss + Using a push sick is always 2 penser makes a great pace to good ken. Especially when store small brads. Just give ita you're citing narrow pieces. Tight shake, and dhe bra¢s stck But if you're like me, the push tothe magnetic ring around ihe stick ends up on he workbench top. Then its easy fo grab one just whe you need most when you need it To keep mine handy, | came Rot, Weichel up with the idea of making it Santa Rosa, Caljornia wageetic, That way lean stickit on the ip fence within easy reach whenever | need it. Note: Make a couple extra to stick to the jointer or band saw. Tis not difficult making push sticks magnetic, Fist, cut out the push stick to the size and shape you need. Then cut offa piece of magnetic tape (avail- able at most hardware stores) and attach itto one side of the stick. The magnetic tape is ea ily cut with scisors and comes MAGNETIC PUSH STICK ‘SUBMIT YOUR TIPS Ifyou would like to share an you (upon publication) $3) to ‘oritins! shoptemed tp, se $150 cepeaig on the ub 0 Wontgih, THs and ished Engh ofthtip Peas Techniques, 2200 Grand Ave- _inclidea briefexplanation and nue, Des Moines, lowa 50312, skeich (or photo). And don't Orifit’seasierforyou, FAXit worry about sending in a wf Sifachesve upe on one | tOUSat-515-282-6741.Oruse rough copy. Well remite the Se ee ae" | our BMal address. 78330 tipandredmwthean f neces Gaus Scharg | 280L@compuserve-com. "sary. Also, please include Diland: Florida |_If we publ send Dine number. No. 99 Woodsmith .FEATURE PROJECT Cottage Wall Cabinet " From building a raised panel door to installing built-up molding, this storage project features a number of woodworking techniques. There's even a special finishing process you may want to try. Te raised parel door on this cotage wall cabinet is easly the biggest chalenge youl ra io when building Bur ike everythingelse onthis projec, the door has been designed to be 88 "bude: friendly" as posible. For one thing, the doors held together witht tenon and grove jonery. Piss 2 simplejoint and we've ineluded 2 step by Sepanticletohelpyou make t ee page 12. “The door is also easy to install Its rab- betel lip overhangs the cag, s0 there's no fusing withthe tiny gaps that you'd have around an inset door, Plus used a pair oF ‘omortise hinges to hang the doc. ‘As forthe est ofthe project, theres noth- ing completed abot No band ier, No icky assemblies. An the only Blane soul need 0 gle up is forthe raised panel "eo tora wit :verything’s pty stator ward with this ebinctExsept for some routed mold ing and the scallops on the sides, almest all the work is done on the table sa. ‘OPTIONS. Orcourseit doesnt matterhove casyapajestsifit doesn it inyourhouce Here's whee this cabinet shows ts versati- fy, bean ft in almost any room: kitchen, bathroom, hallway, utility room, and even an informal ding room, 'As with aay joj, the type oF wood you ws las i aoe th appearance ofthe projet I used red oa ‘which is an informal wood (ike ine). But you could "dressup the eabineby building itout ofcherry or walt FINISH OPTIONS. AS for the finish, there are alot ofoptions ete, too. You can simply wipe on femconts Fano nish fothecabe tet lkethe oneshown on the over, Oryou at fist "paint it with a couple coas of Stan, Then highligh the pores wih an ad- ditional car ofa darker stain, as shown a lef (Focmore on this, see box on page 11) DESIGN OPTIONS. And there's even a do- sign option, You don't have to include the towelbar, shownhere instead youcan sub- stitute afow of Shakerpess, see the photo onthe nextnage Woodsmith No. 99Construction Details Overall Limensions: 37° x 18%4"x 814" Wood: Red Oak - 14 bd. ft. The molding is built up fiom wo layers oF a-tnickstock Lower back (04°s0ld wood) ‘serowedinto ‘rabbet to allow for ‘expansion and ‘contraction A Design Option: Instead of a towel bar, this cabinet can be built witha back thaifeatures common Shakerpegs. For ‘more on this, see the box onpage 9, ; No. 9 ‘WoodsmithCASE, BACKS, & MOLDING 1 kept the case of this cottage wall cabinet preity simple, There are really just a few parts —twosidepiecesthat sandvichthree horizontal dividers, see the drawing at let ‘Ang the joinery is simple too —just dadoes and rabbets SIDES & HORIZONTAL DIVIDERS. To. buile the case, [stated by cutting the pieces to size. The sides (A) and horizontal divi ers (B) are cut fiom "thick sock, see drawing at lef. DADOES & RABBETIOR DIVIDERS. Aner everythings cto si the next step ito ccut two dadoes and a rabbet in each side piece, see Fig. 1. The dadoes are cut to fit the two horizontal dividers that form the fixed shelves in the case, see drawing ate ‘The rabbet cut on the end holds the third divider that forms the top of the case. ge es alt ee se Figs Iaand b. To help prevent chipou, i god Hen to une analy fence cathe mtersauge. Andwhen eating the dadoes, I used the rip fence as a opto ‘make sure the dadoes alien with each o RABBETFOR BACKS, Next. fie to.ce- ate some rabbets to hold the backs of the cas. Tis csetctallyhastwo barks the upper tack is cut from 1s'thick plywood, and the lower back is ¥4"-hick solid wood, Instead of making two separate rabbets forthe diflerentszed backs, ct a single, Saleep mbbet forboth, using a dado blade in the table sew. To do tis, first attach an auiliary fence fo the np fence and se 10 uta 34?ssiderubbet, se Fig. 2a. Then raise theblade 1 above the table and cutthe rab- beis along the tack edges of both side plcogsandall hee hrizonal vider, 2 2 and drawing at left, PSON SIDES. Now the joinery is ‘complete, and the scallops on the bottom ends ofthe sides can be eat, soe Fig. 3. This procedure isnt difficult. Ail you need is @ ‘compass. Fis, lay outthe twoares on each side piece, Next, cutthe scallops withaband saw orsabre saw, Then sand them smooth ‘Atthis point, you needto makea decision, ‘Are you going to include a towel bar? Ifso, then youl nea io doa litle more work However, ifyou decide instead touse the 0p- tional lower back with the Shaker pegs (se box on next page), then you'e ready to as- semble the case TOWEL aR. if you are going to include the towel bar, youll need to drill a hole on ‘each inside face ofthe sides, se Fig. 3. Like th dadoes, these holes ae" dep.’ ‘With the holes drilled, the towel bar (C) cea be cutto length from a 34-dia. dowel, see craving argh on page 9. ASSEMBLY: Now he ae can be se 1 Agi Row EW 2 ee ‘asset 4 -y oF © DETAIL 8 ‘Woodsmith No. 99bled, see Fig 4. The only thingto watch out fori yeu ie therabove onthe bor zontal dividers, see drawing at left copie & They should be positioned to hold the bike bes toh uppar ev do ers should face each other. rabbet on ‘the lower divider should face down. ‘urven cx, When the she 1s dy, the next step isto add the backs, see Fig, Sand drawingat ight. First,theupperback(D) Sur tose fromm thick plywood. Then its simply glued in place. Because this back is only 4" thick, it wont lush withineback othe case ts Roned Hol sikeel ha nore toes ing the case. Cut two /"-thick hanging, Cleats (E) tofitbetweenthe sides, see Fig. Se pee emotes sets Back. For the lower back, the ten- cons on the ends of the optional Shaker pe re ee it. de- ‘Sed against using ans fhebotemelgewouldoeexposa hsead T built the lower back (F) from 4"-thick ‘ak, see Fig. 5. Because it's solid wood, you Pera ae ened in humidity, Sodon' gethe lower bce usteeny tapes FILLER STRIPS. The upper and lower tacks only fill the rabbets at the top and bot- ‘tom of the case. Part of each rabbet is still above the lover shelf To fill these bets, Leuttwwosmall fillerstnps(G)to size and glued them in place, ee Fig. Sa. MOLDING. The step si add deco tivemolding tothetop ofthe ese, see dran- ing a nebt This molding is bul up from two 44"thickstrips Begin by cutting two blanks for each strip. Theyre all the same length (20, but the molding base (H) is 2%" wide, while the molding cap (1) 837°, see Fig. 6 ‘Nextroura profile alongone edge ofeach blank, see Fig, 6. The base molding has a Ysroundover The cap has a. Weave. After the profiles are routed, the blanks can be clued together, see Fig. ‘When the elue is dry, the molding can be attached. T stated withthe Ton piece of ‘molding, see Fig. 7. The back edge ofthis is 14" from the front ofthe eae, se ig. 7a. (I drew a line across the ‘op of the ‘ase to postion the pene) ‘Mtesthe frontpiece to ength and center itsileiside,(Draving cnn on the ‘molding and the cas helpswita alignment.) Then {clamped the molding, drilled shank andpilot hols, and screwed itn place, ith the front molding in place, the side pieces are easyto install Just miter one end land cur then flush with the back. Then Ssorew them to the top ofthe case. 5 ‘Shaker Pegs, Won choose the Shaker ‘begs instead of the bar, drill holes in Towser back (E) and glue then place No. 99“The door on this cabinet isa ¥-thickraised panel with a %4'-thic frame. To make the door easy to build, [used stub tenon and ‘groove joinery to hold it together, ‘To make the door as easy as posible to install, [decided to build a lipped door. its ‘2 Tanger than the opening, and the ip on the inside edge overlaps the case. RAILS STILES. Begin the docr by build- ing the frame, soe Fig. 8 and drawing a left ‘Thoge pieces are all thick ond 24" wide. Tofind the length ofthe rails (J), measure the height of the opening and add. 2". (Mine were 2077 tong.) To find the length ofthe stiles (K0,add to the widthofthe ‘opening, subtract the width of both rails, ad add forthe tenons on the ends, (My rails ended up 1114" long) After the rails and stiles have been cutto size, the next step 1s f0 cut the stub tenons, fd ce oe BL Eerie ot ting ths joint, see the artiste on page RAISED pant. With the rails and stiles complete, work can begin on the raised ‘panel, Firs elue up a "thick blank forthe Fase panel (L). Then cutthepanelto fine ished size, To determine these dimensions, 8 ‘dry assemble the door fame and measure the opening (including the grooves). Then subtract 48" to allow for wood movement, To cut the raised profile onthe panel, the first thing I did was establish the square shoulders. This is done by scoring the out- sie foce of the panel withthe saw blade, see Fig. 9. Simply raise the blade 14" above the table nd set the rip fence 11" from the far ‘ecge ofthe blade, see Fig. 9a Then make a scoring pass along the sides and ends. To complete the profile, I used the table saw again, this time standing the panel on cege, see Pig, 10. But to do this say, the panel needs some support, So I built a tall Jiethat slides along the rip fence. (Foemore ‘ot thisig, see page 16.) ‘You want the panelto fitheframe without being too loose ortoo tight. With Sie-thick edzes, the panel fits the V-wide groove swell, So set the fence oo the jig is from the blade, sae Fig 10. Tilt the blade 6° and tase it to the shoulder on the panel. Then ‘at the beveled profile ard sand it smooth, DOOR ASSEMBLY. With the panel ocm- plete, the door canbe glued and clamped to- ether, But tallow the panel to float, don't‘ge inthe panel You wnt cantract with changes in humidity. ‘Once the glue dries, round over the owt sie fise the door, se Fig. Ma. (used ‘roundover bitin the outer table) Then Toa the pe the sie age eth dor teinga’W rbbetbi, ce Fig 0B _MuINT BOR Te at sep mont the door onthe cae with inet Beate onc anh dt hinge” (For sources, seepage 31) Tas oilinge c orecall aoieen ent dln need to cut any moniss 6 mount i Irv simply serened to the beck ofthe door stile and the inside edge of the case. “All thts it fre door apis oid knob and a magretic catch, see Fig. 13. ‘To complet the cabinet, two adjustable slelves ur added, ser, 1, Measure the inside ofthe case and cut the shelves (M)_ to size — making sre there's Vas" clear- ange alow the dor shu comply Finally to holdthe shelves, I drilled holes inside the case for shelf suppons, using a sshop-builetemplate, se Fig. 15, a MATERIALS & SUPPLIES. A Sides @) 9ax7-351% B Horizontal Dhiders (3) 4x7 15/6 © Towel Bar(1)" = 154 dowel Upper Back (1) apy -15)4¥21 E Gleas (2) 12x2!2~ 15%” F Lower Back (1) 34x6%4- 151% Flor stipe @) Vax an7 H Molding Base (2) 94x 2% -20 rh. 1 Molding Cap(2) 34x3%4-2000h. J Door Rails 2) ax 14 ‘ALSO NEED: 24” x 24°. ed oak syweod 96" Rad O0t (53c_5p ane Fi aera tes aeaee K Door Stas () 3 x2n-201 L Raised Panel(1) Ax 1114-1656 Ni Shelies 2) XS 98 1 (1 pai) Antique Brace Ye" Inset Hinges = (1)86x 112" Fh Woodscrews ‘= (7) #82" Fh Nocdscrews = (1) 10d. Wood Krob "© (1) Magnetic Catch & Strike Pte * (@) Spoonstyle Shelf Support Fins “Optional Bock requires (8) Shaker pegs ‘Woodsmith iJOINERY Stub Tenon & Groove ‘You don’ always need amorise and tenon jointioholdaframe togeter. Infact, a quick ‘and exsy way o join files and rails (used in frame and panel construction) iswith stub tenon and groove j ‘This simple joint is made by first cuting a groove on one edge ofboth the stiles (the vertical peoes) and the rls (the horizontal pieces). This groove holds a center panel and short, stubby tenons, These stub ten- ‘ns g2tcut on ust the ends of the rails ‘The depth ofthe groove (and the length of the tenon) can vary depending on the GROOVES ‘The fist step isto cut the grooves centered on the frame pieces, These grooves are re ally shallow mortises for the stub tenons and center panel to fit into, ‘When cutting a groove fora solid panel, | usually make te wigh VS the thickness of the stock. Forexample: a V4"-wide groove in ‘6-thiek stock. But when using a plywood nel, I cut the groove to hold the plywood, ou wanta snug fit when ging in place ‘Cuiting the groove so it's centered on the ‘edge ofa frame piece is easy. Simply adjust type of patel you planonusing. A¥4" seep groove works fine with a plywood But ifthe panel i slid wood, Il use 2 )8-deep groove. Why the difference? eae aoe ie gue ap! nt the groove ‘9 itbecomes apartof the joint, That way I can get away with a smaller tenon. Bat 2 sol parel cant be glued, It has to float in the fiame to allow for wood movernent. So to get a strong joint, you need deeper the rip fence on your table saw so the blade cats lose tothe center, ee Fig. You dont need itto be pertect here's why. ‘Afier making your fist pass, just flip the board end-for-end and make a second cu, see Fig. 2. Now even if your blade isn't cen tered, the groove will be. You've removed the same amount of stock ftom both sies. To adjust the widh of tho groove, move the a fence over alittle and make another cat, Remember you're cutting stock from both sides ofthe workpiece. So ifs a good grooves (and longer tenons) toincrease the surface area for gluesup. Batthere's moreto considerthanjustthe depth ofthe arcoves, The grooves andten- ons should also be centered cn the thick- nessofthe workpieves, And the workpieces shouldall be the same thickness, This way, there will oaly be two setups. One for the grooves. And another forthe tenons. idea to make small adjustments and sneak upon the final width ofthe groove. “The trickto keeping the groove centered is making sure the workpiece stays tight against the rip fence. Here’ where using a ‘eathertoard rally helps, see Fig. I. ‘Abo, i's important to keep the workpiece essed down against the table, see drawing lov. it ie during wet, re wllbe + stepin the groove. Thiscancause problems during assembly. So 1 check eack groove and, necessary, make another péss. Bea ey Blade choices. A rip blade is a good choice for cutting grooves. Theflat-topped teeth produce aflar-bouomed groove. Dovnwardpressure. Hold the work. piece firmly against the table to prevent ‘stepped culs In the bonomoftie groove, Woodsmith No. 99STUB TENONS ‘Once the grcoves are complete, the second ‘Sep is tocutienons on the ends ofthe nil, ‘Sometimes when there are only a few ten- ons to cat, Tl use a regular blade. Bat it takes several passes to remove the waste. ‘And it leaves small ridges that make fiting the tenon dificult. ‘That's why I like using a dado blade. I may takea litle timeto install, buteach: ‘ofthe tenon i cu ina single pass, Ps, vou ont have lite ridges to clean up later. Ty use a dado blade, frst bury itn an aaniliary fence. Then adjus the fence 0 set the length ofthe tenon, see Fi ‘Nowset the height ofthe blade to estab- ls he hikes ofthe tenon, Aguck way to get close i to setthe blade flush with the bottom edge ofthe groove, see Fig. 4. Citing ‘tenons is aot like cutting ‘rooves. The goal isto endup withthe ter- ons entered on the workpiece. To dothat, equal amountsare cutirom each side ofthe rail see Figs. Sanda. Make yourcuts ona fest piece and check the thickness of the tenon, it should fittight enough sot wort fallout ofthe groove Ifneeded, adjustthe height ofthe blade a little and meake another practice cat. When the tenon fits tight inthe groove, cu al the tenons on te nil peor. ASSEMBLY tS good idea to dey assemble the sles, rails, and certer panel to make sure every- thing fits together tight. Exen after using {est pieces something couldbe overiooked. ‘You dont want to find 2 tenon thats just bittoo long ora sep in agroove afteryou've applied glue to all the pieces jow is also a good time 1 sand the face the ses and ras (but dont round over the corners). These areas can be difficult to sand once the frame hes been assembled. ‘The trick o gluing tether a stub tenon ‘and groove joint is using enough glue to rake srongjoint, but notion much sothat itruns all overthe place, When using a solid ane, I apply a thin continuous film on eek Sand the cheek. Lighthysand the tenon ‘check 10 get a smug fit in the groove, But stay clear ofthe shoulder to keep it sharp tion for eo “chamfer fmnon: Chamfer tenon. A small chamfer on the ends maker tt easier iota tenon two a groove during assembly. pieces togeherto close any gaps. Ince the clamps are tightened, ate Gane n tttan) em hejont inl ty loosening the tmp ile. it it isn't square, try repositioning the clamps. Frnaly, if ye naling # sod pan i's a good idea to install « brad in the t rail. It keeps the panel centered but sill cltheccuerpatlend be Esdeiesel GaGcue tek Thenlghly shape. knoe aoe te fae 2 fa. Socerconrscampro\| | fut bd e. Sold pa Avod excessglue Teron cheek ‘prossure nfo t a fm tame Gluing up. A thin bead of glue spread en othe heels of te enon i a that's needed when gluing up the joint Clampingpressure. Putting a spacer under the workpiece aligns the joint with the clamp jawfor even pressure. Securing apanel. A solid panel floats in epramme. Use a brad to keep it cenered. A plowood panel can be glued in place. No. 99, Woodsmith BWEEKEND PROJECT _ Desk Clock To build this clock, all you need are a few scraps, an inexpensive clock movement, and a weekend. he best part ofthis clock is what you don't need to build it. You don't need alot of wood, And you don't need a lot of time, either. But best of all, you don't need any special tools. Let me explain This clock uses an inexpensive battery= operated movement that fis into a hole in the front face. The body of my clock move- ment was 24" in diameter — much bigger than any drill bit had in my shop. 1 did't want to buy a spécial Ditto build the elock, 50 I designed my way around the roblem Instead of using a sinele, thick sank, the matn body of this cock is built from pieves that are sued together. This way, thehole forthe movement can be cut with either a si bre sawor band saw. FRONT & REAR BLOCKS. Tobuild thebody ofthe clock, begin by cutting 4 frome block (A) and rear block (B) 1 size from ° thick stock, see Fig. 1. (sed mahogany.) Then on the face ofthe front block, ley out 1 circle that matches the diameter of the body. oF the clock movement yout wsing, see Fig. 1. (Mine was 294" in diameter) Before cutting cut the circle on the froat block, | cur shallow rabbets on the sides of both Blocks, se Fig. 1. This way, when the blocks are ued together, these rabbe's will form shadow lines that hide the gue join HOLE FOR MOVEMENT. Tocreste the ole forthe clock movement, the first step is to rip the front block (A) ino two pieces, see Frontpiecs should bo fish nth roa lock Woodsmith,Fig. 2 The goal here is o create an ¥A’gap that's centered on the front face. ‘Thisisa simple procedure —justripthe block down the center. But it's easy 10 be off ahair, So using the same setup, imade asec- ged pui eibtiepsfon lemme ofthe blade, see Fig. 3. This second passen- Sures that Both pieces mateh perfectly. ‘With both picces ripped to the same size, you can now cutthe hole forthe clock move- ‘ment and sand it smooth, ee Fig. 4 SSAA Now ut teresa hole for the movement, i's time to put the pieces: back together, soe Fig. 4 To do this, simply’ lu the two halves ofthe front block to the rear block. Note that the two halves ofthe front block aren't glued to each other. In- stead, the blocks are flush zt the sides (a5 ‘well asthe top and bottom end)- ‘CLOCKTOP & ROTTOM. The. tody of the clock is now complete. So next, Lworked on the top and bottom of the elock These are nearly identical. Each consists of layer of mold ind aetna ose se ees MOLDING. To make the mokiine( I first cut two 14"-thick blanks to finished di- ‘mensions — 2" larger than the body ofthe clockin both wid and length, soe crawing stright. (My molding blanks ended up 2" ihe wet eg cael net thing You need oo i out Ya" roundover around one face of both pieces, see Fig. 5. Note: The router table works best here. Butit's a good ideato take ‘a couple precautions. Because these mold. fog pocet te ual gd ty fencmin reduce the opctengasemn dies Also, to reduce chipout, use abacking beard andar nde ore mcg tee PAINT. Before going on, I painted the molding to match the trim around the clock mover, (rs much casero do hige foreits assembled.) I gnve each piece a cou- ple coats of black paint, being careful to Avoid the outside faves of the blocks, see ‘drawing above. This would preventa good slue bond when the cap and taseare adced. At this point the molding pieces can be sorewed to the main body of he clock, see drawing above. They'e centered on the ‘body both side-to-side and ironttoback, IP A BASE. Now, all that’ left t0 com pletethe clock istoaddthe cap and base. ‘The eap (D) and base (F) are nearly ‘identical, see drawing above. They're i" largo in iongth and width than the molding (bie etdea up 240" wide and 434” king | But the pieces aren the same thickness. I? OVERALL pimewsions: One aewx 20D ‘hey were, the clock would look “top heavy." So the exp is cu fram VU'-thick stock, while the base is cut from 4 stock. "Now the cap andibase pieces canbe glued ‘6 the molding. You want to avoid squeez= ‘out here, 50 spread the glue thin and stay 4 away from the SE es i ‘ment, Lapplied a couple light coats of tung Biwaltepastbeae a No. 9 Woodsmith| SOME TIPS FROM OUR SHOP Shop Notes RAISED PANEL SADDLE i To make the raged panel for the cottage wall cabinet (fea- tured onpage 6) Lusedihe table stw, Butto do it safely, built a ‘quickjigthatholds the panel se- ccurely during the cut. The jigs bke a saddle that fits ‘over the rip fence. It provides a way'o securely oldie pane! position, as it passes over the saw blade. ‘Thejigiseasy to make. Justa couple plywood pieces with a ine mile ig used thick plywood forthe sides and 1¥2"tick stock for ‘the spacer THE SPACER. The idea is to rake a jg that fits snug on the fence, but slides smoothly atthe sametime. Thekey 1 doingthis iscuitinga spacertethe comect width — the same thickness as ‘your np fence. To get the spacer cut to the ‘exact siz, | start with a piece Sfigly wider than needed and ‘timittofit.Ifseasyto ‘test the fit by clamping the spacer be tween the side pieces and slid- ing it along the rip fence, sce Fig. 2. Once you have a perfect fit, stewthe sidestothe spacer. ‘Note: The side piece that holds the panel should be square to te table after assembly, ‘CUTTINGTHE PANEL. It's easy to cuta raised panel. Just install it on the jig and hold itin place witha couple clamps. Keep the clampspositoned ouofthe way to avoidhitting the blade, Then feed your panel slowly past the bade tomate the cat. ‘NOTE. Sts 210 pivocd 2 EDGING PLYWOOD + It can be a real challenge ed ing plywood (like the sides of the towerbookcase on page 18). ‘The edging strips neverseem to say where I want them, Fortu- mately, there are a few tricks to make installing edging easier. ‘Whenever possible, Tl use ‘edging. that's wider than the thickness of the plywood, refer to Fig. 2. That way, ali ‘withthe plywood iit entical. It will ke timed flush ler SPACERS, [also use speoers (strips. of thick Masonite) _under the plywood when gluing ‘on the edging, see Fig. 1, They Tasetheplywood ofthe clamps tokeep the edging centered, see 2. Phe Heel ak klein cos Snag athe pce putin ie feth the Screw nthe clamp for eee PRESSURE Bioc«. | also like to-use a pressure block between the damp head and he edging Ithelps distribute the clamping presse, 80 fewer clamps ae feeded, see Fig’. Plu, tp ‘tects the edging from dents and Scratches from the clamp jaw. T made my pressure block fiom apiece of 44 I'he sme length as the plywood panel. No. 99TRIMMING EDGING FLUSH + Once the edging was glued on fiom tipping is to clamp both the sides ofthe tower bookcase. side pieces together. This ac- (Gee page 18), it needed to be complistes two things. It gives trimmed fush, Todothis,tused you a wider surface for the router with: Mush trim bit, But routerto sitoa, Andyou can rout ‘the sides ofthe tower bookease the edging on bath case sides at presented fewproblens. the sametime. Fint, the thin plywood sides To make this work, you'll dan'alvetherouter mucho st_have to separate the case ses oon, Which makes iteasy to tip 10 make room forthe routerbit. the router and gouge the cdg I clamped 2n4 spacers between ing. Second. thebearing onthe the sidesto hold hem apartand router bit falls into the dadoes make a wide platform for the for the shelves —abo gouging router, se poto atright the edging. ‘One thingto keepin mind is Fortunately, both problems is the routing direction. The are easy to solve. To reventthe router bit may grab the work- bearing from dropping in the pleceifyou routin the wrong, dado, all thats needed isafiller rection, ee Fig 2 stp jo film the openng, ste Fall, the edging an be Fig 1 Catthostrps thts immed to length. Tl uso a suigin the dado and just thick —chise!and slowly pare away the ‘enough to fit flush with the face excess onthe ends, see Fig. 3. It ofthe plywood leaves a square edge with very ‘The trick tokeeping the router litle chipout. 2 EXACT-SIZED EDGING =e ce tne i asl ae ie UA edging to the fixed shelves on ghie is applied, the edging al- thetoverbodkcas, lended up waysslices out ofphae ‘ lang things line dfremly. "My sohtentothspreblemis Instead of installing oversize _touse semp blocks te hep align pieces that get trimmed flush the edging. Firs, 1 clamp the | amsr: ow Jater, the shelf edging is cut to serapblocks o both sides ofthe og cemict size and glued in piace. stelf. They form a slot for the The reason for doing things edging to fit into, see Fig. | differently is the narrow edge These blocks also hold the ed nthe shelt.i'st00 easy forthe ing in, postion until I can routertotip and gougetheedg- "clamp" & secon; cee ing So like to eutthe edging Another problem is how to. | Ueeblods icra stnpsoranexactfit. Thatway, clamp. the edging in place, | '/eep ‘habe! coy + ile let aadeg 8 Thavereallynsecy waved (am eaarain needed to make them fit flush. it. So instead of clamps, Il use ‘with tape One yblem you run into duct tape. It pulls the edgins is keeping it aligned with the Bua dries. BS No. 99 Woodsmith "STORAGE PROJECT | Tower Bookcase Sometimes smaller is better. This narrow design fits almost any location. WV ircaigatesalitemore omar ncaromndthes home! Especnlly when you dont have to sericea lot of floor spce 10 ext That's the idea behind the simple design ofthis tower bookease Tetakes up kss than to square fet offlor space bocause igi srtvetiay Wetesa is rotten usable) can store or display a variety of tems ‘Onething unique avoutthe njsable sches show theyre held nthe case Dowel pins into grooves on the el ofthe Shelves So with the shelves installed the dowels are hidden “Ther nothing complisated with the restof the Lookease either Base tongue and groove joins hold the cise together. ‘And building the molding fs Sralghtforward too. But think the best feature ofthe tower bookcase is is mo- biliy. The compactsizeandligiterweight make easy "o move thie bookease anywhere extta stonge space needed.CASE Thecaeisthehearofthisprjet sus an upright box wit three xed shelves in- stalled between two vertical sides SIDES. The vertical case sides (A) are ‘cut irsto finished size. They're ripped from sheet of'-thiekplywood (used cherry), see drawing. at right, Note: When cutting the pieses 10 length, its a good idea to use a pywood blade cra erosseut blade with at least S0teeth Iwill hep reduce the amount of chipout on the ends With the sides cut to size, the next step is to cut Y4lowide dadoes at both ends, and across the midile. Later these dadoes hold the fixed shelves in the case. Tocutthe dadoes, lused a %' straightbit in hand-teld router. I wis tempted fo use ach ade intent ew Baie pies arejustiog long to handle easy. Espec ‘when you'ettying to cut the dadoes near theenis ofthe sices. ‘The easiest way t0 rout the dadoes isto lay the sides edgetoedge with the inside faces up ike an open, took) Fi. ‘Then raut each setaf daloesin one pass us- inga straightedge to guide the router. TLYWOOD EDGING. With all three sets of dagoes cut, the front edge of the plywood sides can now be covered to hide the plies anc sop the dacoes. To do ths Lnpped ‘two long strips of hardwood cate edging (B) from apiece of4"thickstock The ed- ing strips are ripped to a thickness of Mi, thon ghiedand clamped in place. Now: For Upson naling eg, reer to page 16 BACKRABBET. Now, finish the sce eves, a rabbetis cut the backedges, soe igs 2and2a, Thiscreatesarecessforaply- wood buck installed leer PXEDSHELVES. To join. the sides to gether. thre fixed shelves ae glued‘ the top, middle, and bottom of the ease. All thie shelves are cut from ¥4"hiek ply- ‘wood and are made the some way. I started on the fixed shelves (C) by first cuting them to finished size, see drawing. Nest, i tongues are cut on bothends, 35° details above at right, These tongues are sized to fit in the dadoes cut in the side pieces and hold the ease toeher amg — 15% S| ear Ed i) 788 - ae Wal Sao “ fi u. ® |2%" sorrow peas I nie | obec x7 eserichiounaivabestiat CASE ASSEMBLY. Oncethe tongues onthe _ sit flush with the edges ofthe rabbets on the. shelves fitsnug in the sides, the casecanbe back ofthe case, (Ifneeded, trim the shelf assembled. To do this, slide in the shelves back edge unvil is flush ) ‘uni! the front edges ofthe tongues butt up Finally, glue and clamp the fixed shelves agains. the edging strips atthe front ofthe between the side pieces. Check that every- ‘ease. At the same time the shelves should things square after the clamps are tight.FINAL ASSEMBLY With the case assembled and ghued to- gia, [ wanted to hide the plies on the ed shelves the sane way'the side peces were covered. To do that, strips of shelf edging (D) are added to the top, bottom, ‘middle fixed shelves, see drawing and detailaatright, Again, formore onirstalling engin fenton 16 1K INSTALLATION. Now isa good time to enclose the back of the ease, Normally, ifS about the last thing Ido, But on a long narrow project like the bookcase, its pretty easy 10 rack te sicks just moving itaround the shop. Adding back pieces now sirength~ ‘es the case 10 Keep that from kappening. eae eet of Vthick plywood, see drawing alright, You may wonder why I used two instead of one. I'secenomics, By Us- Ing two pioees, I could cut both from a half sheet of plywood instead of having o buy 2 full shee. Note: Don't worry about the "scant" where the two back pieces meet. If be hidden behind the middle fixed shelf. see detail in drawing a right. ‘Then install the case backs intherabbets ctinthe case sides, To do that, used glue and ahandful of short brads. CLEAT. To compte construction of the «ase, a cat (F) is attached to the bottom fied shelf, see detail c in drawing at right. This cleats a 54'thick pece of stock glued and camped flush with the fromt. I's added tocreste more glue surface for atachinethe front piece of base molding (added next). MOLDING. With the case complete the next stepis toadd the base molding, see Fig. 3. The easiest way to make the mokling (st star with onefonz bea fis lea ieee gies 245° chamfer along one edge, se Fig, 3a. Now tis Tong lan en te mere into three pieces to fit around the base. Before attaching the base molding tothe case, a half ellipse 1s cut in the front pece. Ttadds a decorative detail to the bookcase. ‘Tocreate this shape, first enlarge the half pattem below to create the shape ofthe par- tial elipse, sce Fig 4. It isn critical that you ‘match the pattem exacly. But what you ‘want fo end up with isa design that looks ‘balanced on the frontpiece ‘The way I went about doing that isto first find the centerline ofthe front piece. Then position the halfpattern on one side ofthe cee a el a coe alf ofthe partial ellipse, sce Fig 5. Now flipping the pattern. over, the other half of the ellipse can be drawn next. When you're finished, the ellipse will be automatically centered on the front piece. Now eat out the shape and use a drum sender to sard the elipse smooth. Filly, all three pieces can be glued and clamped tothe botom ofthe case. 20 Se =‘TOPMOLDING. To complete the molding for the case, top molding (H) is added neat, see Fig. 6, This is made in much the same wayasthe base molding, Firs,ablenk for all three pieoes is rpped to finished ‘width from Yf-thick sock. Next, a.12° bevel can be ripped on one face, sxe Fig 6 : Now miter the ends of the pisces to fit around the top with a 2" overhang. Each piece can be glued and serewed in place to form a U-shaped frame to sit on top of the ‘ase, Finally, install flat-topped plugs in the Stew holst fil inthe pening. ‘SHELVES. Now, allthat set forthisbook- cea is t0 add the rest of the shelves, So make fouradjustable shelves () to fitin- side the case, see Fig. 7. These shelves are the same wich astie fixed shelves (C) that hold the ease together (11). As for their length, I cut the shelves Yis' shorter than the opening in the case. ‘The only thing unusual about the adjust- able shelves is the way they/te keld in the ‘cate I's asysiem of Self suppor pins that fitin holesin the case, Nottoo unusual. But the shelves don't rest on top of the sup- port pins, Rather, they fit around the pins, ee Fig. 7a. i's all done with a simple ‘groove in the ends ofthe shelves. To cut the 44"vide groove, Led a dado blade in the table saw. Note: The grooves should be centered on the thickness of the shelves so they sit eve, SHELF EDGING. Aftercutng the grooves on the four adjustable shelves, a piece of shelf edging (J) is glued and clamped to the front edge of each shelf, The exlging hides the groovesas well as te plies of the plywood. They're attached with glve, just like the edging strips on the fixed shelves, DOWELPINS. To support the shelves in jig. This isjuse a ashi ‘kpieoe of wood with the bookcase and make them adjustable at ‘the holes already laid out and drilled. “To make the holes for the ste suppor dowel pins are installed in the sides. The pins, rst mak the location ofthe holes in- hnoles forthese shelf supportpinscanbe p0- side the case, se Fig. 8 Then use the jig as ‘template 6 dil the holes forthe sheWes. the same time, short lengths of diameter sitioned most accurately with a shop-built Fal, cut fur shelf suppor pins from i the dowel rod for each of shelves, Be ‘cause the pins need tobe removable, I didnt sainor fi sh them. Just add a cost of wax they willbe exe opal out when chang ing the height ofthe shelves, MATERIALS Ses 2) ply 1154x7654 Edging (2) aaxie-76% shehes @) apy -1172x 15/4 Edging () axl 142 Backs (2) py 151 x 36% ) YxVA-1Wh Moking (1) 3424 -45 rah, Molding) %x372- 5 rah, Yoox ahs axa Whe g2e8? i i ig i ‘SUPPLIES At 36" Choy Fynd A a Ter elele yaa asle: + G8) #16 x4" Brats + (©) #8x 114" fh Woodscrews + (1) 18x 18" BirchiMeple Dowet + (©%%" Chery Flation Pugs 1a" 48" x48" Chery Pinwoed Kesh eee Woodsmith aWOODWORKING TECHNIQUE fier the final cow offs is on ped eta setse oft All the nashent drcbochechingmsesvemett, ‘test-fitting joints, and sanding every surface te perfecto has pa 0 Te poet foks gm goed itso gungta ok ‘course, I want it to stay that way as long as, ible, but it's only a matter of time. ‘Fars when the angey kick in Side denly Te orercorme wit Gis ure to protect my projest like a new Dom ty Bul ths motrng fing cart prevent the incre Wheher the project is. beng moved ino plc, Being pasedby normal tafhe, or ataced bythe grandkids, it doesn't take long be- fore a scratch, nick, or dent appears. Tiese protlens me ral ating For bring so sal they attract aotof attention. ‘The west ofa project can be lawless, Butjust cone serach dent acs like amen I sttonatially ll! yoursye nghto ifyeue ie ne your fas reson 16 come up wit 2 eieative way 10 hide the elem (Using a dolly or etrsnging the Fimitue are a couple that cone to mind) And like most woodworkers, I hate to even. think refinishing projec. Lasky, refi isn't perfection Finishing Fixes ‘shing isn't always the only solution. In fact, Tonly do itas a ast resort. ‘Sowhatdo I do? [take the "hazy man's ap- proach’ and start by doing as litte work as possible. My geal is simply to fix the prob= Jem without creating extra work for myself, ‘With most seratches and dents, you dont reed to make the blemish disappear com- pletely, All you want is 10 fool the eye into The secret to fixing afinish is to do as little as possible. The goal it's camouflage. not noticing the damage. To make the seraich blend in with the. surtounding ‘wood. Afterall, most people doa' scrutinize every square lich of project. Bt efal hiding mic damage takes lotestimethanreinishing. You probably already nave the pps you nee night in your shop. And ifnot, a quick trip to your local hardware store should supply the res, “To betruthful, I found these repaisto be almost fin. Partafthetime, you getto "pay" detective. Afterall, you don't always know (rat my az, you cant always remember) ‘what finish is on a piece of furniture. Or ifit ‘was stained. Or what caused the damage. “The rest ofthe time, you're a problem sober. OF course, not every solution is go- ing to work. But this isnt a big deal Just keep couple hings, 3 first hing IF do is esk myself aques- tion, Will the solurion be worse than the problem? Forinstanc:, {you might think i'd be easy 16 Sand out asertch, Butthe sand- ing will make more seratctes on the finish and may even create a light spot inthe wood —a much bigzer problem, ‘So. thinking thrcughthe proo- 55 ill ofen save you a Tot of eta work Then to.be on the safe side, alvays test ‘your idea first in an inconspicuous spot. Un- Uerthe top of table or behind a Back le. If it doesnt work or if it creates another problem, ai least it won't be visible. So where doyou start? [always start with the same procedure, regariless ofthe finish or the damage. Before, doing anything, | ete projet a god cleanin, se the on the next page. 2 Woodsmith| OIL FINISHES ‘Avwipe-on oil finish is one ofthe eases fin ishes. to apply. Thats the good news ‘They're also the easiesi to damage, since there's practically no fin on the wood ‘Actually, repairing damage to an cil finish ismore of an exercise in good camouflage And fortunately, mest minor flaws can be easily hidden orat least minimized, Bu before you begin, ask yourselffyon really want the piece to look new. After all, furniture develops character overtime, 30 ‘you may aot wantto remove ll that charac- ‘ter—maybejustthe damage that draws too much attention to its DULLFINSH, Ive found with, many pro |e fnisned with wipeon nih, the rob lem isnt damage but old age. An oil finish ‘ean quickly look dull and dry ‘To reiuvendte anol finish, all youhave to do isapply afresh ccat. It dcesnthave to be the sume brand of finish or even the same type of oil finish ‘There's no trick to applying an oil finish, Just wipe orbrush it over the entire pice (The piece should've been cleanedby now, see box at right) Then wipe offthe exoess, Ofcourse, with some project I also had other repairs to make. And ifS a good idea to wait on the new coat until ffer all the ‘other problems have been taken care of. SCRATCHES, With ofl finishes, scratches age pretyeag thie, The smaller neswill darken and blend in when you adé a new coat of finish. But deeper seratches may need a litle more work. That's because 2 deep scratch is alot lighter in color than the ‘wood around it ‘The tick is simply to stain the serach so itdoesn'tstand out. And the stain you need isprobably already inyour finishing drawer. Don't worry ifthe color isnt quite a per- fect match. It doesn't have 19 be. ‘The reason for this is simple. Your eye naturally notices contrasts, So to effectively camouflage the scraich. all you need to do isminimize the contrast in color Removing the grime. Dhefirst step with ‘any project is to clean it with naphtha and soft rag. This solvent dries quickly and won't damage the wood. THE FIRST STEP: CLEANING THE FINISH ‘Theres a simple ul follow wa r= pairing any finish: Always start wit easiest possible solution —and the one ‘that's the gentlest onthe existing finish. ‘So before yon begin making repairs, its ‘good idea to clean the project firs. "Now when I say ‘clesning,” your first ‘thought might be soap and water, Acti- ally, water is my last resort. Ideally, you don't want to pir anything on the Wood that could cause damage. Instead, I start with @ solvent, usually naphtha. It dries quicklyandis sifeto put ‘on any finish (but I always test itin an in- conspicuus spo first be sale, Ifthe naphtha and cloth con't seem to be removing the erime, you cantry amild abrasive ike sted wool ora Seoichs Brite pad. But remember, an abresive will af fcetthe surface Iewill dull aglosy finish And with a thin, wipe-on ol finish, i can remove some color. RepairTip: With dari-coloredweods like walnut and cherry, its bestto make the re- pairslightly darker thanthe wood around it ‘The easiest way to apply the stain to the scratch is with ¢ small arts’ brush. When ifs dey, add afresh coat of ol tothe project. DENIS. Denis are another common prob- Jem. Jusilikeascratch, a dentcan be stained ‘0 match the wood. You can also try t0 raise the dent by steaming them out witha hot ion and a wet «loth. But this wont: work on broken fibers. You ean also try filing the dent with putty. But ded prt canbe evenmore noticeable than the dent itself BLOTCHES. Bloiches and spots are, ar- “other problem, It’ be nice ifyou could re- moye them completely, but mest times, the sain is deep in the wood. Stil, there are some things you can do to try to minimize their appearance. Restoring thecolor. A. litle stain will Jide nicks and scratches. And it doesn't have to match perfectly either. The goal is {0 minimize the contrast in color: Ofcourse, naphtha wont always work In those cases, I vet outa bucket of water (nd alittle mild scap). But dant soakthe ‘wood. Use as litle waier as possible: ‘Actually, removing dirt, wax, and gerprinis may uncover even more tiny Scratches than you could seat frst. But thisisntasephackward. Nowyouknow ‘what you really have to work with—and how much work you'll need to do. On the otherhand. Tm sometimes sur- prised at waat a good cleaning wil do. ‘With one project, the Shaker side table shou inte photos below, the op vas badly stained. In fect, my first instinct was to belt sant itand start ver Instead, | ‘gave ita good cleaning, And to my sur- brise, the top looked salvazeable. ‘After the projects clean, the next step is fo find out what type of finish you're with, Thisis where the detective work comes in, see the box on page 24 You may try what call he "mineral spi- iy" tes. Wipe mineral spirits onto the sur face ofthe rece. This wil showyon howthe ‘wood will look when ifs darkened by an- bither coat of ol By adding a couple coats of i, the con- trastbenveen the sain andthe wood should be minimized. another oat ofoisn.going t hide the problem, then youte let with one more o> fon. You can try and stan the blot just like you would sein a sertch or gu Sometimes this wll gtyou fal way. Follow ingup witha ceat of stain to the whole piece imp nthe Howden rs inforturatly. not every projest can be ed with acoalor woot el, Some need more ghss or rore protection. Afi finish isthe answer here, se the box on page 24 But even with greiter pretcton, fi n= ishes sil et damage. : Applying « new coat To rejuvenate a dry, dull finish and 10. "seat" in all your JSinishingfizes, simply brush or wipe on a Jresh coat or two ofan oilfinish No. 99 Woodsmith BFILM FINISHES ‘WHE like the ene of wip on a la 1. many times a film finish is a better hoice. For ane thing, some projets Took barter with los, formal finish, But also, they offer more protectin than oils do. Mf course, film finishes do get damaged. Infact taink Murphys law applies her: I seem the more time you spend finishing a project, the sooner it's damaged. Fortu- Mitel, the damage can be mace nearly in- vaible — with alte work QUICK FIX. A quick, temporary fix that will hide minor nicks and scratches (and rake the lager ones less obvious) paste wax, [ find paste wax helpful when I don't have time to make a repair immediately. It rages ie sheen ofa fins and hides ght Scratches. An atnted wax will minimize large scratches and dents, too. Then when I have thevime, simply remove the wax ‘with mineral spins and epa the daa BASIC STEPS To repaia fim fins, 10) tow thesamebasie sepsthat! do for ano finish is just litle more involved "After youve chaned and determined the type nish on a projet, the ist sep isto Soro the color problems RESTORING THE COLOR To add colorto a scratch or dent, there are a number of options. Ifthere's no stain on the wood, then you can simply apply some snore finish, The finish will darken the dam agesoitblends in, Luseanarist’sbrash for this. It lets me get into the litle seratches much easer, Ifthe wood was stained, 1 simply paint in some new stain. (Again, the calor doesn't have tobe a perfect match.) Another solution foradding ecloristouse a touch-up marker." These are just lke felt tippens only they have a stain and some fin- ishinthem instead ofink. They're made for “drawing in" small scratches in furniture, ‘The range ofcolors is mere limited thanyou ‘can achieve with a stain, but they're also much easier to usc. WATER RINGS. You don't aways need to rs. When youve Zor spindles arid intricate carvings, a toothbrush is handsfor getting into those hard-to-reachplaces. 4 THE SECOND STEP: READING THE FINISH ‘After the pieoe of furniture is clean (see bbox on paze 2), it'time to play detec- tive, From now en, you need to know ‘what you'te dealing with. So the second step T always iake is fo "tead” the finish to sec if itS one of three things: a pene trating ol finish, n evaporating film fin- ish, of a non-evaporating film finish. ‘You can see the difference between a penetrating ishes, Wit oi fish andthe film fine a film finish, its apparent there's something between you and the ‘wood, On the other hand, with an oil in- {sh, there's not much finish on top ofthe ‘wood — its gotthe "naturel look.” (Ifyou. have an oil finish io tepals, see page 23.) I youre renaiing fim finsh (and most store-bought Furniture has a film Bish) you tl aged io know what And of film: evaporating or non-evaporati With evaporating finishes, li ic and laqque, the finish hardens ino a film asthe solvent evaporates. But even after it's cured, you can "soften" or tedissalve add color (as with a serateh), Sometimes You want to remove it. Water rings are a ood example of this, Here moisture bas gotten into the finish and tured it whit Certain finishes, like shellac and lacquer, are more prone to Water ings, (Forte tea Sen, see box above.) With finishes like paly- turethane and varnish, this problem is kss likely to occur, but once it does the water is usually deep in the finish, So your chances for removing it aen' as goo. ‘Removing a waterring isnt aitnicalt.The sefest and easies: solution isto put an oily substance, like petroleum jelly or may raise, on the ing and lt i set overnight Ifthe cil dbestt work, tr removing the ring with aleahol. Use a cloth rolled into a ‘ped. Apply litle aleohol to the pad and tap ita few times to disperse the alcohol. Then wipe the pad aeross the ringin lightpasses. aepbing a temporary rete was: “ttiiuise thesheen sfapnish and con hide scratches. To appl ihn, eve coat to @ farge are, place d ball fax in a cloth Woodsmith the finish by adding more. sohent ‘Though theyprovide much more protec- tion than an oil, they're still somewhat easy to damage. Butalso easy to repair. To see ifthe finish evaporates or not, begin by putting a drop of aeohol in an inconspicuous location. If the finish dis- solves immediately, then i's shellac Next, iry lacquer thiner. If softens the finish, then is lequer. (It could also be a water-based finish, Butthey havent ‘been around long, so is unlikely, Water- based finishes aren't trueevaporative fin- isheseither. They're harder to repair.) Ifthe finish stl hasnt dissolved at this, point, then its not going to. This means the anon-evaporating finish, like ‘vamish or polyurethane. ‘A ton-evaporaing finish hardens as it ‘reacts tothe air around it. which creates tough, protective film. This is good for preventing damage ut whenyoudo gt Anick orseraich this type of film is also harder to repair. But be careful. Aleoho! will soften and even dissolve some finishes. Ifthe finish 8% stichy, youllhave to wait abitbetween passes 0 allow the alcohol to evaporate Unfortunately, not all water stainscanbe fixed this way. With some, the water has stained the wood. notiustthefinish In these ‘cases, the only way to fix the ring isto stip the finish and start over. FIXING THE HUM ‘After resoring the color, the next sep 0 fix the film ofthe finish, This is something ‘you don’ have to worry about with ol in- ishes, but onthe other hand, the repair will bbe mach less noticeable — ifnot invisible, Having said that, I should mention that I dont fix every scratch or dent. Outofthe ‘way seraiches, like those onthe legsofata- bie, arent noticeable (after the color has Touching up the color. There are a number of salutions for applying color to aseruich ora dent, This touch-up marker Isa quick way toadd both siainané finish. No.9been blended in). But the top of a table is iach different. Here, you're sill going to see the "break" inthe surface ofthe ‘lm, so ya'll want to fill n the depression, There are three ways to dothis, Ifthe seratch isa ight one, you migh' try rubbing cut the scratch with pumice or roi~ tenstoné. But you have to be careful net to cut through the finish into the wood. And pst scratches and dents ate too deep for this solution anyway. ‘A "safer solution isto fill the dent with some finish, To do this, adda drop of the ‘same type of nish to the dent and lett dry. The god is to end up withthe new finish standing: slightly proud of the surface. (Later, you'll “sand it Feel) But dont worry about filing it completely the first Removing awaterring. To remove a cloth that's dampened withalcotol. Theale ‘cohol draws the water out as it evaporates. BURN-IN STICKS Lets face it Ifyouvve gota desp gouge, fill ing it in with multiple coats of a finish will take quite abitoftime. A much quicker so- lution isto usea burn-in stick. (Forsoutees, see page 31.) burn-in sick just atc os fin {sh eithershellac orlacquer. (They come in variety ofcolors.) The finish is melted into the gouge with a hot knife. It doesn't matter \what kind of knife you use or how you heat it — you could even use a butter knife and a blow torch, The only tick is wetting the temperaturejustright.IfifS too ho, the fin~ ish will bubble and. burn. IF is ‘not hot ‘enough, the finish wont drip into the gouge, anditllend upstringy (Like melted cheese). ‘Note: if you want to take away the chal lenge, youcan buy an electric knife that aufortillyheato hightemperature. Once the gouge is filled, you level it. Here again, the best too! is a hot, wide knife called a ‘dragaway” knife. Tt mets the burn-in finishas pulls itaway. Of course, you can just sand it own, as shown time, The process will take several tions beeate the finish shrinks i dies, Pus, fyou apply the finish too thick, twill ‘take mich longer to dry theroughly. Note: With varnish and polyurethane ‘oui always be ableto se tiny fines around the finish patch’ youjust pat in. These ines ate there because the new finish doesnt tond to the old finish, see box on rage 24 Another way t0 remove a blemish isto fil in the finish with a hurn-in stick, see the box below. This isthe fastest method but also the most difficult. But for a large deat or gouge, it may also be the only solution LEVELING THEFINSH ‘nee the dent has beon filled, there's one last sep: to evel the finish. Since the patel Fixing thefilm. To "pate" a scratch or dent in afitin finish, simply fill itin with morefinish, This takes several applica- tions mostfinishes shrink as they cure. Burn-in sticks. A burn-in stickisastick coffinish that's melted into a deep gouge or dent, The heuted knye must be the right temperature, orit will burn thefinish Inthe photo, but you have tobe very carefull ‘ot to damage the surrounding finish, Obviously, thisprozessis pretty involved, and theres more to it than I can exphin here. In fact, there are training seminars ‘offfinish stands a litle proud of the rest of the surfce youl ned to "sand it level. | ‘This s the tricky part, so be careful, And prosoed slowly — you ‘don't want to sand through the finish and ruin all your work. 1 usually start off with pumice, a felt block, anda litle water for hrication. stillnot quite done. The problem now: shcen. The sheen ofthe new finish you just applied may be different than the rest ofthe surface. You can try to rub outthe paich io match the rest of the surface, but tt might be just as easy © rub out the entre surface tothe sheenyou want. Fora satin sheen, use (0000 steel wool, Fora glossy sheen, rub out the surface with pumice and, ifrecessary, rottenstone. Maiching the sheon. Tomaichthe sheen ofthe repair with the rest ofthe piece, rub ‘out the surface, Use steel woolfor a satin sheen. Punice and rottenstone for gloss. Loveling the repair. After the gouge is Jilled, thefinish is leveled so itglush with the surface, But care must be taken not 0 damage the surroundingfinish specifically forteaching histype of ‘spot re phic! Whether you ated theor nok tea ‘200d ideato get somemore informationand plenty of practice before attempting this ‘ype of repair ona project you eare about. No. 99 Woodsmith T 25