Curio Cabinet © Display Shelf » Saw Blade Rack * Shaker Wall Clock * Molded Bridle Joints Vol. 19 / No. 113EDITOR'S COLUMN No. 113 October, 1997 To a SAWDUST uite often when designingapro- piece of ornate crown molding to ject, we start with a rough con- give the shelf a distinctive look. cept of what we want the project to SHAKER WALL C0cK, There's one look like, Then we proceed to work other project in this issue that uses out the deta molding — the Shaker Wall Clock But with two of the projectsin this on page 28. But the difference here issue, we wok a different approach, is the molding is “builtin” not We started with a specific detail, and applied. The top and bottom of the then we designed a projectaround it. clock case and the inside edges of ‘h of these projects that detail the doors all havea molded edge. If was a piece of decorative molding. this sounds complicated, don't The famy things that stumbled worry, i's really quite simple. These across this idea almost by accident. molded edges can be made easily Let me explain, Several menths ago with a table saw and a router. ‘was ata local building center, buying some materials to work on my TENTH ANNIVERSARY house. (like to go out early on Istopped by the Woodsmith Storethe wurday morning and spend a litle other day to check out some new ime just looking” around before weodworking tools (know itsstare iy things get busy.) ing to sound like I spend too much Before long, Ifound myselfin the time around tools and lumber.) Aryhow, while Iwas there [got to talke where they keep the fancy molded ing to Dave Larson (the store man: stock used to trim the interior of a ager). He reminded me that the millwork section of the store. It's Kite i house. As was looking atall the dit Woodsmith Store is celebrating its oe eae ferent sivles of molding, itoceurred ten year anniversary this fall, to me thatit might be inteeating to Some of you may remember Perla Meer eiied try some of this premade molding reading about the opening of the (pk Ese Spe Nay ‘on a woodworking project. And store way back in Woordamith Issue aan « wr a ones TibalSrce that’s just what we di No, 58. There have been a lot of linger « Cut Sen ep Anon Gon, URI0 CANINE. One of the pieces of improvements over the years. The say Trachea Navy Dow molding. vas a strip of oak cove store hae doubledin size. And it now Sor a ae molding. Ii was just what T needed — offers just about anything a wood: for a special project that Td been worker could want Soifyou planning to build —a curio cabinet. area on October 2nd, 3rd and Asan Manag Pal Sacer s Lowes, Jerome Herr, Wendell Ste DISPLAY SIE. The other project in sure to stop i. Barnet, Kathy ‘Sith, Joka Johnson + Ofer thie issue that uses premade Congratulations to wervone at ee molding isthe display shef on page the Woodsinith Stor —vou've done 16, But this time we used a wide a greatjob! e - - a — “Tan a ited USA. . / Cee eenCONTENTS Features Curio Cabinet Tnset glass doors an distinctive feat t0 make your own instructions on how to ¢ 2 acouple of d ¢. And if you prefer od step-by-step Curio Cabinet jee 6 Fitting Inset Doors .... ec A2 With inset doors, th gap between the door and the will show you how. Display Shelf... Gora few e: Display Shelf page 10 pre-made crow Fitting Crown ple Installing cv worry, 1 take you throxg) Saw Blade Race Molded Bridle Joint This unique join important diferenc: Shaker Wall Clock Saw Blade Rack tage 22 Departments Tips & Techniques Talking Shop ..... Shop Notes Sources Shaker Wall Clock page 28FROM FELLOW WOODWORKERS Multi-Purpose Sawhorses don't have room in my shop for a separate fnish- inggarea or assembly table. So instead, Imad a couple af simple modifications to ny sawhorses, irst, 1 maile some removeable pads to fit on the top of my sawhorses. ‘These pads are wrapped with carpet so they won't scratch the surface ofa pro- ject while Pm finishing it see photo, Dowels on the bottom of the pads ft nto holes dried in the tops of my sawhorses, see drawing at right and detal ‘The second thing I did vas to serew an L-shaped bracket to the sie of each sawhorse, see desl The brackets help to hold sheets of plywood so I can cut them down to amore man- sageable size, Because the plywood is held vertically, Teon'thave to strech to cut allthe way acrossthe sheet. Talso use the brackets and an old piece of plywood es a backer board when I need to spray aproject with coat of paint or finish. Lary Heinonen Benton, Michigan Indetorof miter gauge SECOND: Cit trip blade Woodsmith Attach deat ‘otha Sexo Frwoodscrew / Steschond “4 ex 14-Fh woodserew Miter Gauge “Bookmark” When cutting miters, 1 sometimes need to change my miter gauge to adiffer entsetting, but then return tomyoriginal angle. To do this, Fuse apiece of ape as "bookmark to remember iy criginal setting. just place a small strip of adhesive tape across the Then using a razor blade, I ‘When Ineed to returnto this setting.all Ihave to do isadjust the miter gauge so the strips of tape line up. Ptr Ser Fores, Wisconsin No.113Scroll Saw Sander enjoy making scroll saw toapieceofthin cardboard. projects butone ofmyleast Then I secured the card @ iat tis is sanding aboard and sandpaper to a workpiece after cutting it _scrol saw blade by wrap- out on the scroll saw. —pingrthe ends wit tre, see Sanding the outside edges detail ‘a’. For strength, 1 ac aaa fairly easy, but trying to used the widest scroll saw feqreboara fairly easy, but trying to used the " antoan ‘work sandpaper into allthe blade I could find.) tight inside corners and With the blade: ‘curves can be frustrating. i GneafernoonTeuneup into a recesses with the idea of using my of my scroll saw projects, scroll saw as a sander. I sec drawing at right. taping blade Leave space ounted nd my seroll saw, ean sand attached a narrow strip of man adhesivebacked sandpaper Cord Wraps Magnetic Clamp Pads try to reuse and recycle Whenever use barclamps, clamp pads. Ijust drilled a I place a block of wood shallow hole in the centerof between theclampandmy a block of wood. Then I asmuch as can. Recently Hound a great use for al those empty plastic caulk Bur best of all, 1ean get workpiece to preventdent- epoxied asmall magnet nko tubes Talwaysscemtohave several wraps from one ingthesurface ofthe wood. — the hole, see drawing. lying around solalwayshaveplen- The problem is trying to. ‘The magnet holds the Telean out the inside mhand if one gets lost hold the block in place _ block in place, leaving me the tubes and cut them in or wears. while tightening theclamp. with both hands free. sections to use as cor Vllssonsio To solve thia, I simply Jobo S. Nuter ‘wraps. The plastic s more Caljomia made some magnetic Apopla, Flora i lamppad FIRST Dil shallow 7 holon tock of wood HAIR PICK FILTER NO-FOG SAFETY CLEANER GLASSES Ifind that the pleated fl Every now and then, 1 tersluseinmy'shopvae- have trouble with my SUBMIT YOUR TIPS uum tend to getclogued safety lasses fongingup with dustand debris. while I'm working. But ou would like m7 h Tosolvethis problem, daring-a recent visttoan Tuse an ordinary plastic evegiass store, I discov- hair pick. The long fin- ered an anti-og cleaning gers ofthe pick dislodge solution for glasses. 1 packed debris from tried it on my safety ven the pleats with- glasses and haven't had e damaging the filter. a problem since, ing on the published lengtt Hay Brooks p and reciraw th SECOND: Epon fat, ‘aund magnet into le reeand, Michigan N Woodsmith 8Saeuo PROJECT CURIO CABINET a “This canis cabarets full of tateresting eanes that deserve cl caser bol from the cove molding to the glass panel doors joined with bridle joints. W th any curio cabinet, you hope _Gettingatightfitforthiscove mold: inchuded instructions for making it people appreciate the “curiosities” ing requiresa cut that’s angled intwo yourself on paze 11 that are on display. But as a wood directions:acompound nitercut. But The molding isnt the only feeture vworker,youalso wantthem to bealit weve come up with atechnique that 1 ike about this ea tie inquisitive about the cabinet tse, willsimplify the setup, see the crown also include some interesting joinery Thiscuriocabinet has acouplefea —moldingarticle on paze20. —vou justcan'tsee it until you open. tures particulary ike. Forinstance, But what ifyou want to build the them up. For these doors, we used a when adding thecove molding atthe cabinet out of cherry orwalnut, and bridle joint, see the exploded view at top and bottom ofthe cabinet, Iused the molding isn’t available in this type right. A bridle joint features an open e Premade molding, which is readily of wood? One simple solution is to mortise and atenon. And what’snice available at many lumberyards and build your own, This cove molding _isthat everything can be done onthe ome centers ism’t difficult to make. And we've table saw with asimple tenon jig net. The doors 6 Woodsmith No.113Construction Details ie OVERALL DIMENSIONS: ondplug 27 Wx 25"H x BHD @ cx0:ssecn0n oe {| p< cove lear mang aeap ° | || motu nore Sethe S ‘obbeted to . took hick Sal Be) soustane | shee Shett case i Gls doors sorrom ! fongors. 2 io bralejone is = forastn ten uw fisting the neet bees SUPPLIES Be os + (15) #8 x 114"Fh Woo race tego + (6) #8 x 1" FhWoodsc ‘aPnoW + )Spoon-style Shelf Pins 23% MATERIALS + (1)2" Cove Moiding (6 Ln A CaseTop (I) ¥4x7-23% H Side Aprons (2) ¥ax1%-5% + (4d) #17 x34" Wire B Case Bottom), %ax7%- 24% 1 Sheles(2) 44x5¥- 22% + Q pe) 194" x 2" Brass Bu € Case Sides 2) ¥%4x7-22% J Door Stiles (4) %ax 1% -21 rgh + (24) BS x34" Fh Woodsc D Case Back (1) Yaply.-23%20% K Door Rails(4) _ ¥ax 1%a-11%6 gh + 2) Wix9" - 189%" Glass Panels E filer Stip(1) ¥%4x%-23% —L Bead Molding (1) 4x3 60 In.in + (2) %"-cia. Brass Knobs F TopPanel(1) ¥%4x8%-27% MGlassStops(1) %x34-60n.in + (2) Double Bal Catches G Front Apron (1) x 12-21% _N Wal\Cleats(2)_¥ex2- 22% CUTTING DIAGRAM x 7s" -.96* Red Oak (5 Bo Ft) *wam) 965 Red Oak (32.7 6d. Ft) ‘A To bul this curio cabinet, we Be TL, swe pre-made molding, which is e F F YYW LM commonly avilable in a variety of © pce of thik plywood (24" x24 and 8 near fet of 2* cove molding seyles and woods. Or you can Snake your own, se page 11 ‘Wooddsmith(CASE SIDE DETAIL ore an is patel holes ht Bore sembing ae 7 i ee aile * —= 7 L a: ig es | Wirt 2 )|lU + |e 7 LU pieces before you Case Assembly There's nothingparticulary dificult about this cabinet — everything is jpined with simple dadoes and rab- bets. But the case pieces do have some unusual features. DADOES. The first thing to note that the case top (A) and bottom (B) aren't the same size, see draw- ing above. The bottom sticks out 1" atthe front and sides of the ease. And the top isa “flee” top. Instead of st {ing on top of the case it’s trapped in Yep dadoescut in the sides (C), Shop Tip: les uch easier to route hinge Ls BE ZED ten wise in the side semble the case (Or, BACK (i ply-23" 20%) | \ wore: Fnbbets make iethick ose Bleces ook etek see detail ‘a’ above. Later, the case top willbe covered by atop panel and some cove molding, referto the draw ing atthe top of page 9. RABBENS, Another feature ofthis case is that the pieces look only "thick even though they're made with $4" stock, That's because there's a 4- deep rabbet on the frontedge ofeach piece, see drawing above and Fig. 1. Although the rabbetsare the same depth, they're not the same width, ‘The case top and sides have a %'- Woeddsmith wide rabbeton their front edges, see Fig. 1a. But since the bottom stands proud, its rabbet is wider (1"), see Fig. 1b. Plus, the rabbets are cut on both the front and side edges. ‘GROVES. After cutting all the rab- bets on the case top, side, and bot- tom pieces, I cut a /j"-deep groove near the back ofeach piece to hold a Yj'thick plywood back, see drawing and detail in upper let margin. Then Try assembled the case and cut a cease back (D)to fit in the grooves. SIDES. Atthis point, the case could be assembled, but it's easier todo a litle workon the ses frst. The sides need a series of'/ "dia, oles. These are for some shelf pins that will sup- port two shelves added later ‘After the shelf holes were dulled, Teut the mortises forthe doorhinges, see margin photo. This way, I could use my router without the top and bottom getting in the way. But because the sides are rabbeted, had to use a couple spacers to add su» port for the router base, see page 25. ASSEMBLY. Now the case can be assembled. The top is simply glued and screwed between the sides, see detail’ above. And the bottom panel is glued and screwed to the sides. No. 113Top & Molding With the case complete, Iturned my attention to the top panel, see dra ingat right. But before you can work on the top, a filler strip needs to be aalded. This gives you something to screwinto when attaching the panel AUgR STRIP. The filler strip (E) between the rabbetsin the case sid and is sized so i’s sh with the top ofthe sides, see drawing and detail (Mine was" thick) Then the stip is simply glued to the case top (A), TOP PANEL, Now atop panel (F) can be glued up from "thick stock. | sized mine to overkang the onthe front and sides, see etal (Mine was 894" x 2750.) Note: Aiter the cove molding is added, the top will only overhang the mo Next, I beveled the top fa match the “thickness” ofthe cas pieces (4"), see Figs. this tit the blade 11° and auxiliary fence for sup f0TTOM APRONS. WY hhoks plugged, the next step is aprons to the bottom of drawing. These support the molding added att “The front (G) end sie aprons ( averipped 1 wide soth deeper than the molding, see detail ‘Then they're mitered to lensth s they set 14" in from the edge case. (Mine were 213" and 51" Jona With the aprons serewed in [aided the cove molding. use! pre made molding for this cabinet. but fou'can make yourown, see paze 11 crown molding, cove moldivs satan angle, soit requires ao and miter eut. For more on iti okding, see rae 20, se I : 02 sotto: eae counrdpeaged 27H \ ‘APRON socdieemaiptag—? GY Toattach the molding, Tused glue xd brads for the front pieces. But to wthe Sides ofthe caseto expand and contract, Lapplied glue only near the front corners and simply tacked the molding in place atthe back, SHELVES. Before beginningthe doors, Woodsmith Pots Naa Fh ‘woodscew Nore: tof rol page 20 Screws nape crews in aprons are ‘counterbored 36" ‘ond plugged (stoke secnow view Teut two shelves (1) to fitinside the case, see drawing above. [sized them toallowa Vie" gap at each side (234 Jong), and they step 14" short ofthe fabbets in front (54" wide). Finally, 1 soitened both front edges of the shelves with a slight 04") chamfer. A. To cu the compound mites for the molding I made a sed to hold the piece a an angle, see page 20. 9Doors Now the cabinetis ready for the inset ‘ors, see drawing. These are joined ‘with abride joint and have bead mold- if applied to their inside edges. RAIL & STLES, I started by ripping: the34"thick stiles (J) and rails (1) 114 wide, see drawing and deta “Then Lut the sles to equal the fll beight ofthe cabinet (21"). And Tut the rails to equal half the width ofthe ‘opening (L1%e"). “The next stepis to cut the bridle joints, This simple joint can be cut quickly onthe table saw, see theart- cle on page 26. (Note that this article describes making molded bridle joints. The joints on these doors are regular bride joints, so they're even easier, refer to the box on page 27.) With the doors glued up, the next stepistomountthe doorsin the ase, see the drawing and detail ‘b: The trick with inset doors is getting the gaps consistent. For a stepbystep technique on doing this, see page 12 ‘MOLDING & STOPS. Next, I removed the doors and installed the molting along the inside edges oftheir frames. ‘There are reallytwo pieces here: the bead molding (L) on the ouside and some glass stop (M) on the inside to hold the 1A/thick glass in place, see Fig. 4 Both are cut from the same 3-thick oversize blank, BE Todothis, sed a" roundover ‘A Topostion the dit to rout the “bead” edge of the beaal molding ‘lank. Then I set the fence 34" from. when luingie the blade and ripped off the molding totkedoors,1 and the stop, flipping the biank wed Ithick between passes, see Fig. 3. spacers “To instal the bead molding, si peat Formore on cut Brak ain seepage 26 ply miter the ends to length and glue them inside the door. The trouble heres positioning the pieces so they stand proud the same amount all the sway around the door. To solve this, made several "hick spacers oft under the mokding as it was being ‘lued in place, see photo in margin, (This allows forthe "thick glass and 9e'wvide glass stop) Before adding the glass and the '® NOTE Door © Tied tore 119gh) cre pening eee dane id hore: feet doors see pagei2 stops, I ished the entire cabinet. First, I stained it with a golden oak stain, Then I applied a few coats of a wwipeon finish. ‘WALL CEATS, All that’s left now isto hhang the cabinet, see Fig. 5.To do this, Imade two wall cleats (N),each with one edge beveled 45° One piece is screwed to the wall while the other is glued to the back edge of the cab- inet, see Fig. 6. NOTE Bud wh mites 10 Woodsmith No. 113SHOP-MADE COVE MOLDING When adding thecove molding tothe cabinet, I decided to use premade molding. Butifyoa want to make your ‘own molding or don't want tobe in ited in your choices of wood (in ings are usually cak, pine, or pop! all you need isa able saw. Tomake this molding, Istarted off ‘with several "thick bla ‘cut 24! wide. (Toend up with eno: molding, make at least 8 i COVE CUTS. The next stop i the cove, This is done by each blank across the saw blade at an angle, see Figs. 1 and 2.11 this looks a bit odd, but the th keep in mind is that y very light passes, raisin ‘no more than Yc" with each pass angle and cla the back ofthe biade cave in a series of ligh ing the blade until there are shoulders on either side of see Fig. 2a (ifyou end up: upon the final cuts ifyou lay out the When the shoulder is created, 1 bevelsontheend ofone ofthe blanks. made one last pass, cutting the iece With the bevels cut the next pass tonal width, see Fig. 3c. (The mold- shoulders, simply lp the bl estabistes the shoulder along the ing should be 1 tll and 17 wide forend and make another pas bottom edge, se Fig. 36 The trickis when attached t the cabinet) BEVEL CUTS. With the cove c to position the fence sothe blade is Now before mitering the molting that’seftisaseries ofbeve cuts ith just short ofthe corner that rests on to length all you need to dois sand the saw blade tited 45; see Figs. the table. Then raise the blade until the cove and theshoulderto remove anid 3a, Shop Tip. Is easier to sneak it creates wide shoulder, any saw and bur marks. 08 Rs siode Shoule be just Bhortof paint No. 13, Woodsmith nNOOO) anes TECHNIQUE trick is getting it to fit. Unlike doors that cover an opening (overlay doors), an inset As you might expect, getting this narrow, and every hinge mortise is perfect. But how long you've been at it, you're going to ‘The secret to fitting an inset door is to build ina little breathing room. (A few tricks building the case as square as possible. But you don't have to worry if it's slightly off. create the consistent gaps later. When measuring for the doors, keep in a level surface. Then I measure the case ‘opening, looking for the langest dimension FITTING INSET DOORS Shop Tip: Its next to impossible to mount twisted door properly. It's almost easier to build a new door. So to end up with a flat door, I check it carefully when it's dry assem bled. Sight down the door and check the top and bottom edges to make sure they're par- allel, see Fig. 1. Ifthe door is twisted, repo- sition the clamps to try to get it Bat DETERMINING THE GAP. AMfer the door is assem- ‘led, the first thing to dois decide how large you want the gaps around the door to end up his depends on two things: the size of the door anil the time ofthe year. T shoot for a Ye" gap with most small to ‘medium-size doors. Butthe larger the door, the larger the gap. So sometimes, I'l allow ‘as much as an 1A" on each side. Of course, ifit's winter, I make the gap aahair or two wider so the door has room to expand in the summer, And ifi’s summer, Til make the gap slightly narrower. TRIMMING THE DOOR, Even though I know ‘what size want the gaps to be, at this point T don't try to cut the doors to final size. Instead, [trim them just enough to match the shape ofthe case opening. To do this, frst check the diagonals, see Fig. 2, Ifthe diagonals are the same, then the opening is square, and the door can be ‘mounted in the case, see page M4. More than. likely though, one or two edges of the door ‘will need to be tapered. To figure out which ‘edges to trim, I measure the case opening ‘carefully to find out which edges are not par- allel to each other, see next page. Jop and bottom es Should be petal! 2 Woodsmith No.113 uvTrimming the Door: sos NOT pana. ‘Sometimes, the top and bottom edges ‘ofa case opening are parallel, but the sides are not, see drawing at right. ‘When this happens, the top and bot tom of the door will work fine as they are, but the side of the door (the one that wll be hinged tothe case) needs tobe tapered to match the case sie ‘This taper in the side of the c will probably be very gradual, soit ‘won'tbe easy to see. Butall you need todo is set the door in the case and slide it againstthe side. The door wil hitat the top or bottom first. And the unwanted gap on the opposite end will show ou just how much you need to taper the stileon the door. ‘To lay out the taper on the side of thedoor, [measure the unwanted gap and then transfer this measurement tothe opposite end ofthe hinge stile, see Fig 3, Itsalsoa goodidea to draw out the taper using a pencil and a sSraightedge, This way itwillbe much, easierto See what youre doing when trimming the edge ofthe door. ‘The goal here is simple. You want to get the hinge stile to fit tight all along the side of the case. At point, you're not wortied about cre- ating the gaps at the tp and the bot- tom othe door. Those will be creat- edafter you get the door ‘hung inside the case. Totaperthestileona long door, you can use hand plane or jointer. For a shorter door, I prefer to use the table saw, see Fig. 4. First, I setthe rip fence to equal the width of the door. ‘Then to establish the angle of the taper, I tape atiny shim to theinside edge of the door. (The shim should equal the final width of the taper.) Remember, atthis point, the take off as little material as possible, Sides of eve ‘pening nat porate! A With the top and boitom cae paral hinge side of door should be tapered to march Trimming the Door: the sidesofthccase ate pa the top and bottom are not the side of the door as ich the top drawing in margin at right ‘The problem here is that the door isn't going to fitinto the case. Sowhat 1 do is lay the case down flat on its back and set the door on top 0 the hinge stiles sh withthe sideof the case opening, see Fig. 5, Next, een ter the door topto-bottom. Th ‘mark the tapers that need to be mace STTOM INOT PARALLEL thetop and bottomedges, [reach insideand trace the edges of the case the door, see Fig. 5. the top and bottom edges can be trimmed. Here again, Hike to use the table saw, but this time, the taper will eecut using the miter gatuge and sith the Stuationabove, the goal ‘atthispoint isn't to create the gapsat the topand bottom. Allyou want to do is get the top and bottom edges of the door parallel to the top and bottom edges of the case. The gaps will be created later —after the door is hung Inside the ease, However, thereis one gap you need tp allow for at this point. The hinge stile on the door needs to be trimmed Ye" (or 0) to equal the gap you ‘want between the door and the side ofthe ease. ‘The reason you need todo this nowis that after the door is ‘mounted, youll only be able to trim the stile af the center. And you don't ‘want this sileto end up alot thinner than the hinge stile atthe side. Top ane beter ofa rot paraie A Wik he sides oft case par and bot thedoor tapered S S es oot tush | Genter doo ag seth ise No. 13 WoodsmithHanging the Doors Now that the doors match the case Tae cpening,thenextstepistohang them | L3haoed pasion of hinge on se an the hinges. This does more than ; = justallow the door to open and cose. Installing the hinges also creates the apalong the sie ofthe door. Sit’s important that the hinges are positioned carefully HINGE POSITION. The first thing todo is decide how far the hinge will stick out atthe front ofthe case, see drawing in margin, There are two cri- teria to keep in mind here. First atleast half ofthe binge Ss ‘seco Darrel must be proud ofthe Birt center| iefer Be nar of barrel | ofesred oop case. Otherwise the door won't open all the way. The second thing to keep in isthatyou don't wantthe leaf ofthe hinge to be sticking out on the inside of the case. avout Block. After Ihave determined how much the hhinge will sand proud on the outside of the case, I make CASE NORTISES, With the hinge laid final gap to be (o" fora Ye" gap). ‘myselfasimplelayoutblock, out on the case, like to rough out With the bit et, it's a good idea to see Fig 1, I's an L-shaped the mortise with a router and a testthesetyponaserappieceThen ‘A Traditionally, the fall block thathelpsin laying out straightbit see Fig.2. Later, Ticlean you canrout themortise, staying clear barrel ofthe hinge the position of the hinge on itup wih a chisel, see Fig. 3. ‘of the layout lines. stands proud of the the case and the door, Aer ‘The importantthing here issetting Note: Working with a face frame face ofthe cabinet. the top (or bottom) edge of thebitt»therightdepth—thedepth here can beatitle tricky: The edge of Bur technically, only the hingeismarked, iM bcate of the mortises determines the gap _ the frame is too narrow to support halj the hinge barrel the othertwoedges. Thisway, between the case and the door. _the base ofthe router — itwill tip eas- reads to be exposed _—_allthe hinge mortises willbe My fistinstinctistomake the mor- ily and gouge the mortise, Sol add | laid outexactly the same, tise the same depth as the leaf, But _ more support by clamping a thick ‘Thelayout blocks simplyaserap_ this dest alvays work. Thebarel_ scrap iece hsh with he opening piece glued toa hardboard lip, see may betoo big and youllend up with _Alll that's left is to clean the mor- Fig. la. The length of the scrap should a gap that’s larger than what you want. _tises with a chisel, see Fig. 3. And to match the length ofthe hinge. And the So typically, Iuse the barrel ofthe _ make sure the mortises don't end up thickness af the scrap pce deter age tsetupihe bi, centering the _tolarge top shortof the kyotlines mines how much ofthe hinge will be bit on the barrel, see Fig. 2a. Then I and check the fit of the hinge often. mortised into the case. tower the bit half of what I want the DOOR MORTISES. Now that the hinges: inthe case are complete, work ean begin an the hinges inthe dor The important hing thatthe meres lineup Tod tis Lette dorinthe case, and ifit doesn't fit tight top to bot tom, I shim it up so it’s centered. (If there are vo doors, makesuretheir ‘rails will line up.) Then I transfer the positon ofthehinge morisest the door, see Fig. 4 Nov you can fallowihesame po cedure used for the mortises in the Case king the same shaped block tolay them out “ Woodsmith No. 113Creating the Gaps ‘When the mortises forthe hinge are done, all that’s left isto create the proper gaps around each side ofthe door. And the fist step to doing this js to mount thedoor in the case Since I end up putting on and removing the door several times dur ing this process, [dont want tohave to put in and take out twelve serews, so typically use a single steel screw for each hinge leaf, see box bel ‘CHECKING THE SDE GAP. With the door mounted, take a step back and s how itfits. There should be a sm: consistent gap along the hinged ede ofthe door. there's not, then now's the time to work on it Ifthe sap is oo wide, then youl need make the mortises alte deep- er. Butif the gaps are too na ifthey're tapered from top tb you can try to correct this by ming one or both hin TOP, BOTTOM, & CENTER GAPS. Whee youre satis thes over. All that’s lef ‘op, bottom, a to match the gap at the side Todo this, rst measin near the hinge, see Fig. 1 mark this dimension on ¢ measuring in from the top aa tom edges of the cabinet least two markson each edge say ‘an connect the marks with line when the door is remove Next, I lay out the gap at the cen ter of the door. To do this, I When installing hinges, you need tobe ready to make afew adjustments. This ean mean patting on and taking off the dora few times. And one thing to avoidis breaking one ofthe brass serews So luse a single sel serew to hold each teal see left photo, (Use the brass screwsafterthedoorfits) And Stee! woodscrews. One fiustration ifthe mortiseistoo deep, Iuse you want to avoid is breaking a brass athin piece of cardboard asa screw. So | put a single stee screw in shim, see right photo, the hinge leaf when fitting the door Mark centering finding the center of thecase at both he top and bottom, see Fig. 2. Then this mark I measure back half of Jesired gap and mark this on the ‘oor. Again, [marked the top and bot sm of the door so I could connect S with a straight line later, TRIMMING TO FINAL SIZE. Now the door si beremoved and trimmed to final size. For the top and bottom of the door, Luse the table sawand the miter gauge with an auxiliary fence, see Woodsmith Cardboard shim. Ifthe gap between the door and the case is too narrow ‘orf the gap tapers from top to bot (om, ty aking a thin carcboard shin, Fig. 2 (Ifthe top and bottom edges were tapered earlier, this won't be a square crosscut.) When trimming, ‘keep in mind that you'll need tosand the edges to remove any saw marks, ‘Totrim the center stile, use ahand plane. This way, I'l be sure not to remove too much material, Pls, I wont have to worry about saw marks. With the doortrimmed to finalsize, allthat’s leftis tomountitto the case, this time using the brass screws, 15WEEKEND PRODJECT DISPLAY SHELF a Classic crown molding and a simple design are just two of the features that make this weekend project a graceful addition to any home. l sing crown molding is a great tothe frontand sides, this shelftakes But instead of four sides and a top ‘way to“dress up” many projects. on a completely different look. and bottom, this box only has three It can transform a plain, utilitarian And fiting molding doesn't have sides. In place ofa back, there's acleat piece of furniture into something tobe complicated or difficult. Infact, that is used to hang the shelf on the interesting and special, weuseda store-boughterown mold- wall. (For more on this wall hanging Take this wall shelf forexampl. By ing for this project, see photo above. system, see page 24). itself, a wall shelf is really nothing But more on the molding later. started by cutting the front (A) more than a boned attached te the RAME.The framework ofthe shelf and sides (B) om thick stock, wall. But by adding crown molding is reallya box that hangs on the wall. _ see drawing below. (Shop Note: lused a Wed sexe oy Lodi Bilao oes, on" —— ES ® aS " a Allport we ct fom titre aipt elas eis) | hee Ye ohmtor ‘Woeadsmith Nott 16poplar for this project since i takes paint wel, se the box on painting the shelf on page 18.) I ripped these pieces to finished width (4) but Jeftthem alittle long. Later, they'lbe rmitered to exact length. ‘The next steps to cut an lee ‘groove on the inside face ofthese three pieces to hold a "thick bot tom, see detail‘a on previous pace. ‘These grooves are cut on the table saw usinga dado blade. “Most of the front and sides ofthe shelf willbe concealed by the crown molding. However, the lower ede of these pieces wil stil be visible even afier the molding isin place. So t0 soften these exposed edges, simply routed a Ye" chamier along the out side bottom edge ofthese pieces And since the joint between the front and side pieces willalso be ible, I wanted to conceal the jeinery possible Sof used miter in these pieces 1 started the front piece to final length, mitering both ends pieces. only one end of each piece is mitered, But since the grooves forthe bottom are akeaty cut in these pieces, just make sure ‘you miter the eorect end so you wind ‘upwithalft and right side. The sides can be trimmed to fina length by squaring up the back ends. BorTOM. With the miter jintscut, Ary fitted the pieces together so 1 could measure ora bottom (C). This piece is cut to fitbetween the grooves inthe front and side pieces. Before guingall our pieces togest> er Imade aclet (D) to fitat the back ofthe frame between the two sides, sce drawing on opposite page. This is simply anarrow piece of stock with 2 45° bevel ripped along one edge: “To assemble the frame, I simply ‘ued up the sides and front, trapping thebottom and deat in between, Then tohelp hold thecleatinplace, I érove a serew through each side into the ends of the cleat or. The lst sep to complete the frame is to add atop. I cut the top (lange enough so that it overhangs the frame by 2" atthe front and on the sides, ee detail bon oprosite page, This overhang will provide a No. 113 place for ataching the crown molding. ‘The top is screwed down to the Sides and front of the frame, But because I didn't wantthe screwheads to be visible, I counterbored the screws and plugged the holes. {96E MOLDING. With the frame com- pleted, [began work onthe molding. ‘The shelf actually uses two kinds of molding — a store-bought crown ‘molding and a shop made edge mold- ing around the top. ‘To make the edge molding (F), 1 routed a bullznose profile on both edges of a wide, #-shick blank, see Figs. 1 and 1a, (Shop Note: Its safer to use awide blank instead of tryinge to work with narrow pieces of stock) ‘Thenusing a push stick for safety, [ripped the edging off both sides of the blank, see Figs. 2 and 2a. At this point, Feould just cut the edge molding to size and glue it Woodsmith straight to the op. But to help keep the edging aligned and create alip all, around the shelf, I routed a shallow _groove on the back of the edging, see Figs. 3nd a. After mitering the ends ofthe molding io length, I glued itto the edges of the top. MATERIALS A Front (1) Wx3%e- 25% B Sides (2) WxIMe- 4% € Bottom (1) axe - 24% D Cleats (2) ex M%a- 2a E Top (1) x7 - 30% F Edge Molding (1) 44 x34- 48 (gh) ‘Also Needed: Sin feet of 34" poplar crown meodng SUPPLIES + (7) #6 x 1M Fh Woodscrews +) #8 x21 Fh Woodscrews + #18 Wire Brads for Crown Molding + (5)3¢'-cia. wood plugs "7‘Whenitcame tothe crown molding, I used a storebought ‘molding. The com. plicated profile of this molding is just too difficult to try to duph cate in the shop. ‘When you go to purchase the crown molding, you'll probably ind several differentstyles, But the pro- file doesn't matter as much as the size. The crown molding I used is 4314 wide (hen laid flat). FHTING THE MOLDING. Cutting: and fit. ting the molding around the shelican be a litle bit tricky. This is because crown molding doesnt fit flat against the surface to which it's mounted. Instead, itprojects at an angle. So the ends of the molding have to be cut at ‘compound miter. For me, the easiest way to do this is with a simple jig that attaches to the miter gauge. This jig simply era- dles the molding, holding it at the same angle at which twill be mount- ed, (For more information on the fig and fitting crown molding, see the technique article on page 20.) Once the pieces are mitered to length, they can be attached to the shelf, see Figs. 4 and 4a. (I found it easiest to do thiswith the sheifturned upside down on top of my work- bench.) The edge molding crectes a “lip” for the top edge of the crown molding to restagainst, see detail ‘at at top of page. Then to secure the BF Coun molding Imeidiog with gue ‘a bac ide foun feeroun molding molding, 1 simply used glue and brads, see drawing. HANGNG THE SHEL The shelf fits over 1 second bevel-edged cleat that is screwed to the wall, But to prevent the shelf from sipping off the wall if it gets bumped. I added a lip to the wall cleat, see page 25. 10 ‘Theprimercoatservesadual pur- paint (this is especially important pose. It seals the wood to prevent if you're building the shelf out of sap from “bleeding” through the ine). Andit provides abase forthe The key to ary painting job is prepa: ration, Since paint sticks best to a smooth surfice, start by filing all the nail holes with putty top coats allowing the paint ‘Then carefully sand the to form a protective “film” entire shelf smooth, ‘on the surface ofthe wood. Primer. But sanding alone isn’tenoughto prepare the surface for paint. You'l also need to apply a coat of primer, (Lused a white pig- ‘mented shellac primer) When it came to the paint, I used two coats of a semigloss latex enamel. ‘This paint providesa tough finish and makes clean-up whole lot easier a... Wooddsmnith No. 113QUESTIONS & (Ooi e TALKING SHOP CUTTING DIAGRAM 60" Rel Ook (21 04. Fe) Cutting Diagrams Q: Whats the purpose of like buying a whole chick- the cutting diagrams you enbreast,bonesandall,as | 4g%.x96"-4¢ Oak phwood show with your projeets, opposed to paying alittle and how are they used? extra for abreast fillet ‘Steve Gaudin And sinceyoulose some ofthe wood inthe rimming Essentially, a cutting dia process i'sa good idea to gram Is designed to give buy morethan you need. @ you an idea of how much typically buy about 20 per umber youlIneed fora pro cent more wood) ject. Italso shows you an Sowhat oesallthishave economical way ofmarking to do with cutting dia out the pieces on your boards to avoid waste mis? Well, how you use iagramdepencds upon ‘The problem isthat cut. the kind of wood you're \ fingdiagramsonly workin working with. you're PP SSNPREn ES a perfect world, where using premium kumber, all \ ‘every board is > o do is transfer if your boardsare already surfaced ‘even andl free fr am layout 2d free of defects, you can la out the . @ men pieces straight from the world, theclosest you can But even if you're work cutting diagram. cometofinding lumberlike ine with StSor $2Stumber, this is premium lumber a cutting diagram can still Gike Weyeracuser’s Choice serve asa visual reference. Wood). Although itcostsa I Jook at the shape and bit more, this wood is sur- _ Sixeofthe pisces om the cut faced onallsidesand guat- ting diagram and then start nteed to be defect froe the pieces around Premium lumberis often ch the available instandard widths boards [have on hand. I's In most cases, you'l have to and in smaller quantities like trying to work a giant _9lter the layout to fit your Gomedederssellitby the jigsaw puzzle ‘board (or Boards). inch). So t's an especially When it comes to marke good choiceifyoure build ing out the pieves. I try to ing.a small project. follow a couple oftips. First SURFACEDLUNGER, But mos. of all, I Jay out the larger hardwood dealers simply pieces first. Once this is, carry boards that are sur done, i's easier to ft in 1 faced either on two sides the smaller pieces, \ (62S) or onfour (S4S).And Next, I group similar- in either case, the boards sized pieces together so 1 Other than price (S4S_ Finally, | aways allow for CUTTING PLYWOOD. There's Since plywood comes in. lumber generally costs a little extra length when _ one occasion when youcan standard 4'x 8' sheets, you OO wocericc: biccets weuckcuge: cobuy ican ‘between the twoisthat with waylcancutthemtorough gram just as it appears. gram exactly. Just make ‘S2S you'll have to trim the length initially and trim That's when buildingapro- sure you pay attention to edges yourself. It's kind of them to final length later. _ject that calls for plywood. __ the grain direction. No. 113 Woodsmith| FITTING CROWN MOLDING At first glance, the angles involvec like a tough task. But all you need is a EF: ng molding on a project isn’t on iba eae seta caeteale so res teed Tha vara emg ov sil at eee precept oeetrachstemt eke ee eee ging oa ‘oem spon este ues psn cecolmy mi pugs pa NOTE: To use thisli9 “The jig does nothing more than fae fine Pee “attach jg to iter gouge wn srens — provide a 90° corner torestthe crown ‘molding against and a lip to keep the molding propped up, see drawing below, The key is that the molding rests fat against the face and bottom ofthe fig. see detail ‘Shop Note: The dimensions shown inthe drawing are for the jig we used to cut the 34" crown molding used on thedisplay shelf. Ifyou are going tobe cutting adifferent size of crown, crown molding should Fest fat against face ‘nd bottom off0 Jig bottom ci" herdoars) Woodlsinith din fitting crown molding make it look simple jig and a little patience. molding, you'll have to adjust the dimensions of the jig accordingly. Using a jig to hold the molding in position also makes it easier to visu- alize the finished cut before youmake it Thismay not sound ike abig deal, but figuring out which way to hold a piece of crown molding when miter- ing the ends can get confusing. Shop Note: You will ave to readjust your miter gauge and move itto the oppo site side of heblade depending upon. ‘which end of the molding youre cut ting and the direction of the miter. FHTING THE MODING. To me, the secret to fitting crown molding is to take it slowly, fitting each piece individual ly. But the order in which you cutand fit the individual pieces of molding ‘depends. lot on whether you'e apply- ing the molding to a room or furni- ture project. And sometimesit even depends on the nature ofthe project For the display shelf, Hound iteas iest to place the shelf upside-down on top of my workbench and work from ‘one end to the other: In other cases (a kitchen cabinet, for instance), it No.might be easier to apply the molding toboth sides firstand then fitthe cen- ter piece in between, Usually, I star fitting crown mold- ing by cutting exch piece to rough length, allowing plenty of extra length for mitering the ends. And when it ‘comes to mitering the pieces to exact length, [rely on cutting the pieces to fit rather than using a rule or tape measure. This way I don't have to ‘worry about messurement errors I start fiting the first piece of mold- ing by simply mitering one end and holding it up agai mark it for length, Then after trimming the piece to length, nail it in place using small brads or finish nals, see Step2. use apair of needle-aose pliers to hold the brads while hammering themin ) With this piece of molding attached firmly in place i's much easier torest fii the next piece ‘The second piece of mo ted in the same mnitering one end th batt against the first pi ing). Justremember to readjust sour niter gauge and move itt site slot, see Step3 [Now test the ft ofthe two pieces “They should meet with a bh joint line in between. If they don either your cuts are offor the con ismotexactly square, see the remedy the box at the lower right. ‘When you'e satisfied with the thetwo pieces, mark the opposit ofthe second piece for length, see ‘Sep 4, This ends also mitered, see Step 5. But be very’ careful when marking and cuting this piece sin ifyou cut it too short, there's noth ing you can do but start al over: with a new piece of molding Once yo havethe eecond piece of ‘molding cut to the right length anc railed in place, you're pretty much home fee. All yau have to do now is fi the last piece. This is just a matter of mitering one end, testing the fit, and then marking and cutting the ‘opposite end to length, see Step 6 After the last piece of molding is mailed in place, ike to go back and setallthenail esd and fill the holes vith putty so they won't be seen, a No. 113 oF: Gye and y ‘After mitering one end of the first piece of My Attach the fist piece of motding with brads crown molding, holdit in place against the aw or3d finish nails. A par of needle-nose pli- project and mark it for length ers holds the brads while you drive them in ae frst (Zensiot maling second plece, move the miter ‘ther side of the blade and 1¢ opposite 45° setting, ‘Alter checking the ft ofthe tw pieces of ‘molding, carefully mark the second piece so it can be mitered to final length. Mark and ten final piece of mating g the marks as guide, miter the sec piece of molding to length. Just be The last piece of molding is fitted the same way as the first — miter one end, mark it for length, and trim ito size Ifyoute tying to fitcrown molding toa cor ner that’s not exactly square, you'l proba: by finda noticeable gap where the two pieces of molding meet, To get rd of this gap, try relieving the back edge of the mier by trimming off a ssmallamount ofmateria with chisel, block plane, or sandpaper: This allows the pieces {ofittogether tightly along ther fronted. Woodsmith aSAW BLADE RACK This simple rack will protect your blades | and keep them close at hand. [xscenents ohne hops where the table saw blades cut a series of angled ‘arehungon arail. The problem with _dadoesin the sides ofthe this i the teeth can knock against rack. But this would have cach other. Andsomehow, youdtways required a special index end up needing the blade on the bot ingjig.And simply serew- tom of the stack ing them between the “This sav blade rack takes care of sides would also have both of these problems. The blades been abit awkward. are right at hand, and the teeth are So to hold the sleeves protected. And since ithangs on the at the proper angle, Thor ‘wal itdoesn’ttake up much space, roweda common shelving technique unique feature ofthis rack is — support pins. I added small dow- the sleeves that the saw blades slide esto the inside oftherack. Then I cut into. They tilt forward so the blades grooves on the endls ofthe sleeves. are easy to pullout and slide backin, This way they simply slide over the But geting thesleeves.t the correct pins without any hassle, see drawing angle took a bit of ead scratching. in right margin on page 23. RACK. To build the rack, aacens smp ‘1 started with the rack (hardboard assembly. Ths includes _p the9/thicktop and bot- tom (A) that are trapped between a couple of rabbeted sides (B), see drawing and detail’ below. ‘After all thepieces were cutto size and the side pieces were rabbeted, 1 ‘cut a groove in each piece for a Y'- thick hardboard back, see detail’ ‘Then I dry assembled the rack and cut the back (C) to size ‘Butbefore you ghue the racktogeth- er, drill a series of holes for the 1A". dia. support pins (D), see details ‘c" and ‘a! Then cut Jong pis from. ole Sole. shes = 2 Woodsmith 2"Wi! dowels and glue themin the holes. ‘With the rack glued and serewed together, I glued two 1" hardbeard backing strips (B) tothe back, see the drawing onthe page at eft. These sips simply support the back wen itstime to serewthe rack tothe vall. suet. Now you can turn your attention to the sleeves, see the draw at right. Each sleeve isa sand- wich ofthree ayers of hardboard. T started by ctfting two rectangi lar sleeve faces (F) foreach sleeve. Tmade mine Yi" shorter than the swith ofthe rack opening (10!) ‘Then to makeiit easy to slide the saw blades into the seeves, chamfered the inside edge only ofeach face see etal’ at right. Next, workedon the sleeve spac: ers (G), see drawing above, These nd upastriangleshaped pieces hat allow the saw blaie to slide between the sleve faces. But they start as" square blanks mace from 1" har board, see Fig. 1, (One square blank will make two Wiangular spacers) ‘And to cut the blank into spacers. I rmadea simple sled, see Figs Yanda. ‘The base ofthe sled is a #° x 12 serap piece of phwood. By gluing = couple fences in place. the sled wil hold the spacer blanks atthe right angle. (Lused a blank to position the fences when gluing them tothe sec. NOTE: sieeve Spacers start out Bair squares Seerig? Just line up opposing corners of the ‘blank along the edge ofthe base.) ‘Now the spacer blanksare ready to be cut into triangles. But when posi- tioning the rip fence, setitso the blade ‘cuts through the center ofthe square, Fig. L Thismeans your frst pass ‘will im off the edge of the sled.) With the spacers cut to size, the sleeves can be assembled. But since glue makes the pieces slide, Idecid- ed to use more pins (D). To do this, first 1 driled dia, hholes fr the pins in all four pieces of cach Sleeve, To ensure that all the pieces line up, used the sled again, clamping it to the drill press table, see Fig. 2 After drilling the first hole in each corner, flip it over and drill the second, see Fig. 2a, Note: With the chamfer face pies, drill the holes at the ottom edge (the ene not chamfered), Now, after you've cutsome more'"ong owel pins the deeves can be giued together: Just keepin min that the chamfered eeiges on the face pieces ‘should face each other. A To poston ‘A this point, allthat' lft isto cut the seves at acentered grooveoneach end ofthe the poper sleeve, see Fig. 2 Size this groove to angle, they have grooves bly. Then serew the rack tothe wall that side over and slide the sleeves into place. dowel pins No, 13 ‘Wooddsmith 2SHoP NOTES Tenon Jig Tovten cut tenons by lying tne workpieces fat on the table saw and making a series ofpasses over adado lade, which leaves tiny score lines on the cheeks af the tenons, Usually this isn't problem. But with . the bridle joints on the | doors ofthe curio cabinet . | and the Shaker clock, any score lines on the cheeks would be visible. to end up with clean cheek cuts, I stood each piece on end and used a simple tenon jig,see photo. . This is basically just a tall carriage that straddles the rip fence. And to keep the workpiece 90° tothe table, there's a vertical stop that the piece butts against, see the drawing below. Face PIES. To make this jig, [started by cutting two face pieces out of //" MDF. (Mine were 8" tall and 12" Jong, see drawing) Next, [cut to Y-eep darloes on the inside face ofeach piece, see detail ‘a ‘Theseare sized tohold the MDF crosspieces added later. Just be sure to posi- tion the bottom dato so the crosspiece will clear the top of the rip fence (and any ‘exposed bolt heads on top ofthe fence, see detail a’) Before working on the crosspieves, [cut one more Ye'dleep dado forthe verti- cal stop, see drawing. This allows you to easily replace the stop in the correct posi tion — exactly 99° to the table, (The stopstend to get chewed up as they pass ‘over the saw blade.) ROSsPIEGES. With the two face pieces com plete, I connected them with a coupe Crossplece Woodsmith crosspieces, see drawing and detail ‘a’. These are sized so the faces it just ‘snug against the rip fence, ‘The goal here is to allow the tenon jig (o Slide easily —but without any ‘slop: When the crosspieces arecut to final size, the jig canbe screwed together. I also waxed the insidefaces ‘of the jig so it would slide ‘easly on the fence. \eRnicaL sToP. Finally, cut the vertical stop to fit the dado and screwed it in place as well. But to avoid damaging the blade, place the bottom screw abere the highest blade setting, ( nowt Eaton Siew verve sie crospiece =e \ | b sarery wore = & Eero | =| * | & No. 13Routing Hinge Mortises in Rabbets ‘When creating hinge mor tices, I use my router and straight bit to get a clean, consistent mortise, But with the curio cabinet on page 6, Thad to use alittle diferent procedure. First, I had to rout the hinge mortises before glu- ing the case together. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough room for the base ofthe router Another difference was the side pieces had rabbets on their front edges. This created a couple problems. First, there wasn’ enough support for the base of the router, And second, since the doors aren't rabbeted, the height ofthe bit would have to be changed. Ball Catch Tip Tri ball ake part othe the inside of the door first, see Fig. 1. (Make sure the sete below the ap ofthe cabinet.) Next, I put the ball catch onthe strike and dosed the door, see Fig. 2. This way, | (on Feat ld he at tarde ethos fo the bal etch inexact the right position. s, [mot ‘The solution to both of these problems was to use spacer strips. When rout- ing the mortisesin the case sides, I carpettaped some thin serap pieces into the rabbets, see Fig. 1. By siz ing these spacers so they ‘were flush with the sides, they provided extra support for the base of the router: Later when it wastimeto rout the hinge mortises in the door, I used the spac- cersagain, see Fig. 2. This time, they “lit” the r bbase so you don't have ‘worry about changing the depsh of the bit Note: I did ptt piece nex Hanging Cleat Modification When hanging a shelf or cabinet, Hike to use a sim- ple cleat system. Ifeatures ‘wo thin strips with mating ‘bevels cutat 45°. One piece isscrewed to the wall. The other is attached to the shelf or cabinet. To hang the shelf you simply set the shelf cleaton the wal cleat When it came time to hang the display shelf on page 16, I planned to use this cleat system. But the shape ofthe shelfereated a problem. The shelf sticks No. 113 ‘out from the wall farther than it hangs dows from the cleat. So small bumps and vibrations caused the shelf to creep up the wall see Fig, 1. Before Tong, the shelf would have come crashing down, ‘Toprevent this from hap- pening, Iremoved the wall lea. and glued ahardboard lip to the front. This lip sticks up above the cleat so the shelf cleat (and the she’) is trapped against the wall see Fig, 2. ales shelf in place Woodsmith 326 MOLDED BRIDLE JOINT e A molded bridle joint features “built-in” molding. And because it’s an With the rail and stile blanks cut to finished size, rout the profile Con one edge of each workpiece. I ‘wo ofthe projects in this issue fear ie glass doors joined with a bri- dle joint. But they're not exactly the ‘same bridle joint. The curio cabinet features a standard bridle joint, see the box on page 27. And to hold the sassin place, strips ofbead molding andl glss stopsare added to the inside ofthe door frame afteritsassembled, With the Shaker cleck on page 28, I didnt want to add the molding later. Instead, the molding is built into the door pieces from the beginning, see photo at left. This “seamless” look usually requires quite a bit of hand ‘work. But this isn’t the case with a molded bridle joint. Except for some final paring, nearly everything can be donc on the table saw. Now on the edgeadjacent tothe molded edge (the inside face), cuta ix 1p" rabbet on each piece "ee “open” joint, you can do nearly everything with the table saw. MAKING THE BLANKS. A bridle joint is made by cutting an “open” mortise and atenon. And one nice thing about iis you don’ have to worry about adding or subtracting for the tenons when it comes time to cut the pieces tolength. Thestiles will equalthe full height of the door. And the rails will equal the fall width of te door. ‘Once the workpieces are cutto final size, Lrout the profile along the inside edge ofthe piece, see Step 1. Then 1 ‘cut the rabbet on the adjacent edge, ‘see Step 2. Now the pieces are ready for the molded bridle joints OPEN MORTISE Likea regular mortise and tenon joint, Tmake a bridle joint by creating the mortise on the sie first. It’s centered ‘on the thickness of the workpiece, and its width is roughly a third ofthe thickness ofthe workpiece. ‘To cut thie mortise, [don't have to use a drill press or spend ary time squaring up the mortise with a chis- el Since the mortise is “open’ onthe end, itcan be cut with asimple tenon jig. UFyou don’t have a tenon ji doesnt take much to make one, see the instructions on page 24.) ‘Toset the height of the blade, luse To cut the mortise on the stile, first install arp blade ard raise it to match the inside face of the rail. ‘Next, with the stie clamped to a tenon jig. cut a centered mor- tise, floping the piece berween passes. Woodsmith ‘Now rotate the stile and remove the shoulder left by the rabbet, sneaking up on the final cut No. 113 “.the rail piece, see Step 3. Here, the ie ade is aise unt its fush withthe bottom of the rabbet. (This equals @ tre width ofthe workpieces without the molding.) Then to center the mor- te, Leutitin tw passes, fipingthe sll between passes, se Step 4. At this point, the tenon jig allowed ail sme to avoid a litle hand work. That's because the molding atthe end ofthe To cut the tenons on the rails, "IF Now set the fence so the shoul. siilehas tobe cutaway to make room firstsex the saw bladejust below MF der cut will equal the inside face forthe ral, ee photo on page 26. the morise on one of the stiles. of the stile. Then cut the shoulders, ‘Typically, thisis done with a cis: el. But since the saw blade was arready set tothe right height, Isim- pl rotated the stile and cut away the ‘molding, sneaking up on the final post- tion of the fence, see Step 5. (The shoulders on either side of the mor- tise should be flush.) ‘TEHON Next, [worked on the tenons on the 8 J5r9 the tenon ia. ut the cheeks, (Clean up the shoulders of the ends ofthe rails. Sin figong the piece betveen passes. tenon, andif necessary, trim off each tenon will be visible when the con the tenon’s fal thickness. the small “fin” left by the rabbet. joint is assembled, I cut them into aT " ‘eps so there woulda't be any score Z i motsiog lines running across the cheeks FD waelea aed 27 @ tries won R L A When assembling ders withthe raving Sat on the tbe f brid join Frame Tset he height ofthe bade using the pst the clamps afl piece, keeping the blade a ile inset short of the mortise, see Step 6. | centerpiece ¢ SAIN! and add C-clamps (Otherwise, you'end up withascore | Sgua feknes rangi] SSSR to thecomers mark right at the shoulder of the tenon) And hep fence shouldbe IQ iter the mein, ake | Now new the ras andes set s0 the shoulder equals the in 2 paring jg from three scrap in the jig and pare off the cor. face of the stile piece, see Step 7. pieces and miter the ends at 45°. ners until the pieces ft tight together. (Remember to set the fence fromthe far edge of the blade enough to remove the waste. And earlier, you'll need to clean up the ‘The second step is to cut the you'll want to sneak up on the final shoulders of the tenon, see Step 9. hocks ofthe tenons, seeStep 8. Here thickness ofthe tenons until they fit Plus, there may be a thin litle “fin” again, ! used the tenon jig. But this snug in the mortises. created by the molding, which also time, the blade should be just high Since the saw blade was set short should be removed with a chisel FITTING THE JOINT. At Iridle jointis complete, but the pisces pilot ‘Sitwon tthe Thatsbocie the molding still needs to be mitered. ‘This requires a simple paring jigthat will slide over the pieces, see Step 10. Pare the molding with achiseland, the jg, see Step 11. The goal is for the rails and stiles to fit together tight. But even though the molding willend up flush with the shoulders of the mortises and tenons, it's still a good ilea to sneak up on the cut so you don't end up with a gap. 18 No. U3 Woodsmith aSHAKER WALL CLOCK — _ a A simple design calls attention to the joinery and workmanship that go into this clock. [eeensenctes the theory, “fit aint broke, don't fix it" So when we began talking about building Shaker wall clock, I ‘knew that I wanted to stick with a tra- ditional design including the nery ‘Afterall. it’sficultio improve upon the clean lines and proportions that ‘the Shaker crafismen came up with so many years agp. MODERN METHODS. But even though thedesign ofourclockisfairyirueto the original, weused some medern" methods ofconstruction. Forexample, the Shakers would have made the molded profile at the top and bottom of the clock with a molding (hand) plane. But we used a table saw. . ‘And the bie joints on the doors would have been cut with a fine- toothed backsaw anda chisel Here . again, we usedatable saw along with, | aashopmade tenon ig. But I don't think using modern tools compromises the integrity of a project. In fact, being innovators them- | selves, the Shakers were quick 10 adopt new to's and methods. they ‘were sil builng furniture today, fa . be willing to bet they’ jump atthe chance to try outa table sa or just about any other “newfangled took 01D NEW, Construction and design issues aside, the rst ofthe dock is also amixtureof the old and the new. “Take the materia for example. Most ofthe clock is built of sold cherry wouldhaveboen itedwithawoodor ing Gust an occasional battery ‘stock. But the back is made of "brass mechanical clock movement. change). But this movement is dif- thick cherry plywood. This prevents But we decided to usea battery-pow- ferent from ones we have used in the it from cupping and twisting out of ered quartz movement instead. past Itfeaturesaswingingpendulum — shape the way solid wood might. In addition to beingrelatively inex- and mechanical striking mechanism, “The clock movement is another pensive, quartz movements acct soit has the look and sound of an ‘example. Originally, a clock like this rate, reliable, and never needs wind- _ older clock (see page 35 for sources). a Woodsmith No. 113 | '* eeeConstruction Details OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 13%4°1 x 32°H x 51%4"D (CROSS SECTION A Sides (2) B Dividers (3) © Spacers (2) D Divider Rail(1) E Top/Bottom (2) F Hanger Block (1) G Front Face rim (1) H Backer Board (1) 1 Back Face Tim (1) 3. Stop Block (1) K Lower Back(1) 0} L Upper Back(1) Ye ply. 10% « 11 M Door Rails(#) 34x 14-11 N Upper Stiles (2) 34x 1% O Lower Stiles(2) 34x 1% P Glass Stop(l) —-Yex3a- 80CGh SUPPLIES + (2) #8 x 1" Flathead Screws + (34) #18x 4%" Brads + (@) Brass Turn buttons wi * (2)54etdia, Magnetic Catches wiScrews * (2 pr) 2° x1" Brass Butt Hinges w/Screws * (2)34*-dia. Cherry Knobs * (1) Clock Meverient wiDial & Hands + (2) %"-thick Glass Pane's for Doors FRONT FACE nore: Dials backed up with thik pywrood lock face Contracted with ‘molded bridal joints, See page 26 eR “Als need one 24° x48" sheet of ir -thick cherry plywood No. 113 Woodsmith 29Case ‘The case of the clock starts out resem ing’a narrow box standing on end, I's made up of two sides connected by dividersat thetop and bottom, see drawing at right. A third divider in the center splits the case into upper and lower sections, and provides a place to mount the clock movement. ‘The sides (A) are cutto size from 'Wthick stock, see drawing. Then | rabbeted the ends of each side to scceptthe top ae bottom dividers. dado cut on the inside face of each side will hold the center divider. In addition to the rabbets and dadoes for the dividers, each side also receives a 1/4" x '/i" rabbet along the inside back edge, see Figs. 1 and 1a. This rabbet willoldatworpiece phy- wood back that’s added later. Even though the door hardware won't be added until later, I cut the mortises for the door hinges at this point. Since the hinges are mounted tothe edge of the right side, the hinge mortises can becuton the table saw using a dado Dade, se Figs. 2 and 2a, On the front edge of the left side, 1 drilled a couple of °/¢"-dia, holes for the magnetic catches that will hold the dc closed, see drawing and detail, The hey here Isto avoid making the holes too snug — other- vise you'l risk splitting the sides when it comes time to insert the catches. The catches should slide in and out ofthe holes easily. (Note The catches will be epoxied into the holes later on, when the doors are added.) Divieks. The three dividers (B) start out as identically-sized pieces, see drawing above. The only differ- ‘ence between them is that the cen- a ter divider has a I"-wide clearance slot cut in the middle for the clock pendulum, see details’ above, I made this slot by simply drilling couple of "dia, holes and removing the waste in between with a sabre saw, Once thisis done, the sides and dividers ean be glued together. ‘After I had the basic frame of the case assembled, I began work on the NOTE: Conte sot on width ‘nd length of contr diver NOTE: cut hinge Imrie inside before asembling case spacers and divider rail that are attached to the center divider, see drawing on next page. SPACERS started by making a pair of spacers (C) io iton top ofthe cen- ter divider — one at the front of the cease and one atthe back, see detail'c’ onnext page. These are simply cut to size and glued in place. ‘With the spacers glued in place, 1 ‘Woodsmith® enter ee hole added a divider rallto the front ofthe unter divider. This rim piece divides the upper and lover doors. ‘This divider rail (D) starts offs awide, #"4hick blank. To createthe bullnose profile on the front edge of the rail I used a roundtover bit, see detail'd. Then afer ripping therailto width (1") and cutting it to length (119, itcan be glued tothe front edge ‘ofthe center divider, see drawing at right and detail'c, TOP & BOTTOM. There's not much to the top and bottom (E) of the clock They start off as wo identical pieces of 3/ahick stock. But when it came tomaking the rounded profile onthe ends and front edge of the top anc bottom, Iran into a head!-scratcher Twanted to createa gentle, 74's roundover on the edges of thes pieces, But since this than it is high, it's no roundover. This around-ov Wotto mes alittle hand workt sires ular roundover, see box below NoTeH. Once hw the profile of the top cettanotch centered on the back ei ofthe top piece. This is for € ‘erblock that willbe added next. O this is done, the top and bottom | with a rectangular piece of >be glued to the case. thick stock, see drawing. Before HANGER BLOCK. Originally: clocks ik ing ont the are at the top of the this oneweredesigned to hang from block, [aid out and dried a 1", apeggon the wall So included. je. Then I rounded over the outer block for an authentic touc of the hole with a router and a make the hanger block (F), 1 e % roundiover war) Prweadicrew (a) iat nese on >) : tag bln en ip re} waste ct YY roundover bit. After laying out and cutting the me on a bandsaw, I sanded the edge of the hanger block ‘snooth. Then toattach itto the case of the clock, I glued and screwed itn place, see detail ‘a Shapinganirrularroundover Nore Cur is really atwostep process. jaye ere re With the profile traced out on the end of the stock, I use a table saw to remove most of the waste, see Steps 1 and 2. Blade tilted By tilting the blade, Ican stay eae outside of my layout line. es ‘Then I remove the remain- ing waste and refine the pro- file with a sanding block or hhand plane, see Step 3. avoid tesrout, tit the sav make the frst waste cut. Starting on the ends fistio My For the second waste cut, blade to approximately 25° 10 around andplace itso itles at simply flip the workpiece Baway the remaining vaste to smooth out the roundover (on the table saw ‘and complete the profile. Bey sand or plane No. 113 Woodsmith32 Clock Face With the case completed, I turned my attention to the face of the clock. ‘The clock face and movement are held in place by two sets of face trim pieces — one in front ofthe face and ‘one behind it Together, these trim pieces hold the face and movement securely in the case. Istarted by making the frontface trim (G), see Fig. 3. Although these pieces are only 94" x %/" when fine ished, I started with a 4""thick blank. ‘This made it easier to roundover the edge, see Fig. 4. Then the trim can simply be ripped to finished size on the table sax Dutin order odo this, you'll have to make two separate cuts, readjusting your rip fence between passes, see Fig 5. Iitered the ends ofthe rimpieces to ft inside the upper portion of the clock case. Thea they can be glued in place to the case, flush with the front edge, se Fi 3 QOCK FACE, The 97" square metal. lock fac fs mounted behind he front face trim, But las afraid that with- ‘out any additional support, the thin. ‘metal face might flex and sag under the weight of the clock movement. So added a wood backer board ‘This backer board (H) is just a piece of /;"-thick plywood cut to match the case opening (10" x 10"), ‘see Fig. 6. A%4"diameter hole drilled inthe center othe hoard allows the shaft for the hands to pass through. ‘The metal dial is not actually attached to the backer board. Instead, the two pieces are pinched between the clock: movement and the move- ‘ment retaining nut, as welas the two ‘sets of face trim, see Figs. 6 and 6b. BACK FACE TRIM, Since the back face ‘trim (1) won't be seen, I didn't both- ‘er with the roundover. Instead, Ijust ‘cutit to size G4" x 9"). Lalso didn't ‘worry about mitering the endsof the back trim pieces to length — they're simply cutoff square. Before instaling the clock face and back face trim pieces, I secured the clock movement to the backer board and dial. This is just a matter of slid- ing the backer board and dial over the shaft of the clock movement and then threading the movement retain- ‘BACKER BOARD. pio to eatin ing nut onto the shaft. ‘There'salso one other detailto tend to, After I finished my clock, I dis- covered that the weight of the bat- tery causes the clock movement to droop to one side. So to solve this Wordsmith problem, I simply glued a narrow stop block (J) to the back of the clock face, against the side of the ‘movement, see Fig. 6a. Once this is done, the clock face and back face trim pieces can be installed. No. 13Back Te clock movement that we used ‘hasamechanical striking mechanism vith an onoffswich, This way you can turn the striking mechanism off if you don't want to hear it, But in order todo this, ya'llnced accessto the back of the cock since this s where the switch is located, (You alo need to get at the back ofthe clock whenever you need to change the cock batter.) Originally, I planned on making the back out of a single piece of ¥ thick plywood and holding it in place vith brass turn buttons atthe sides a8 well as the top and bottom, But because of the rabbets cut in the back edge of the side pieces, there wasn't a wide enough space to mount the turn batton. Soinsead, Ima the back in wo pieces. This allowed me to nail the lower back in place and use turn but tons only onthe upper \OwR BACK First, To 6) between the side othe center vier ‘The spacer (C) shi ered by the lower back Shice yon'll bare access tthe lover portion ofthe frentofthe clock, he simply be nailed in place with some ‘YeMong brads, see Fig 7c PIR BACK. Nex, I-cut an upper back (Lalo from "ply woo Originally, penéulums were sed to rexulate clocks Moving the bob (the large neta discat the endfthe pen- ‘quartz movement, the pendu lum is really just for looks. (Although it swings. it doesn't affect the timekeeping of the dock) So the length of he pen- ulum is determined more by the desired appearance. On this clock, the 19" pen- ‘aack oor) Sit between the top of the case and he lower back. And in order tomake i easier toremove this back, [drilled 2 diameter finger hole near the top ofthe back, see Fig. 7. BRASS TURN BUTTONS, Because ofits smal size, only needed two pairs of Gulum) up or down made the smaller clock, you can easily Score in 1° dock run faster or slower, shorten the pendulum length, apne However, since we used a Mostpendulums have score ADJUSTING THE PENDULUM dulum has an actual length of 16". (The 19" isfrom the hand shaft) Butifyouhave alonger ie pendulum or you're making a lines spaced 1" apart on the back ofthe pendulum rod, see a i Fig. 1. All you have to do is, break off one ar more of the scored segments to shorten the pendulum, Thenjust place the pendulum hookin the slot in the movement, see Fig. 2. turn buttons to held the upper beck. in place. A pair at the top are fas- tened to the back edge of the top piece, see Fig. 7a, At the bottom, I simply screwed the turn buttons through the lower back and into the center divider, see Fig. 7b. Hanger hook No. 13 WoodsmithA A pair of reele- ‘nose pliers are good for sipping the ‘magnetic catches wl epoxying them into the holes in the clock case. Doors Making and fitting the doors is the last step in ‘completing the clock. And ‘even though there aren't alotof pieces involved, the trick isin the joinery. JoWeRY. The rails and siiles of the doors are jdined with bridlejoints — also known as an open mortise and tenon joint. But the inside edge of cach piece is molded with aroundover bit. This re aies unique challenge — rmitering the ends ofeach ‘molded edge so the pieces can fit together. To help you out, we've included a ‘Sepbystep technique art- e beginning onpage 26. 1 started by cutting the oor rails (MM) and stiles (N, 0) to size from $A- thick stock. To do this, I just measured the open- ings, allowing for a Vhs" ‘gapat the top and bottom ‘ofeach door, see detail b Alter molding the edges ofthe frame pieces with a round-overbitand cutting the rabbets forthe glass, catthe bridle joints, se detail'a'and the technique article on page 26 ARDWARE, Once the door frames ‘were assembled. installed the hinges and mounted the doors to the ease to check the fit Then, I installed a ‘wood knob on each door. Finally, I epoxied the magnetic catches nto the side of the clock case, see photvatleft. But instead of using the strike plates that come with the ‘catches, I used just the screws, see detail‘c’The screwhead has lower profile than the strike plate so the doors won't stick out too far fom the case when they'e closed. ‘uss. With the hardware installed, Tremoved the doors and measured the glass openings. The glass is cut i" smaller than the openings to allow for a Ys clearance gap on all sides, ‘Then to hold the glassin place, cut some '/("x"%" trips of wood to use «asglass stops (P), see Figs. Sani 8a. But don't instal the glass justyet Its ‘easier to apply a finish to the doors, ‘and the rest ofthe clock) first. After applying three coats ofan oil finish to the entire clock (don't for- ‘ge to finish the gass tops), installed the glass. This is simply a matter of placing the glas in the opening and securing the glass stop behind itwith some small brads, see Fig. 8a ‘With the glass in place, the doors can be remounted. Now all that remains is to add the clock pendu- Jum, see box on previous page. 10 No.113® SOURCES MAIL ORDER SOURCES Similar project supplies and hardware may Woodonith Project Supplies Also keep in mind that offers hardware kits and _thiskitdoes not inchudethe supplies for some of the "thick glass panels for projects: shown in this the doors or the eight feet be ordered from issue. Similar supplies for of 2" cove molding used at the follencing theseprojeetsare alsoavail- the top and bottom of the ‘companies ableatyourlocalhardware cabinet. And you'll also store or through the mail need to provide your own ordersources atright. hardware formountingthe ‘abinet leat to the wal. (To CURIO CABINET secure our wal cleat, we A-complete hardware kit used two #8 x 2/ for the curio cabinet on woodscrews) ee Vall page Giseurrenty avaiable s00-871.8158 from Woodsmith Project SHAKER WALL CLOCK Shaker pegs we used to Note: The length of the Curocabnet hrdunn Supplies. The kitinchides When choosing the clock hang the clock (see the pendulum is measured movement face the following items: ‘movement for the Shaker photo onpage 28). The kit from the hand shaft on the Precision Movements (®) Spoonstyle ShelfPins wall leek on page 28, we doesinclude the following: clock movement. Soa 19"- _800.5%8-2024 @pe)2"x14"Butllfinges decided to use amodern —@) Hf" Magnetic Catches long pendulum actually stosercort (21) 45x" BrassScrews quartz movement, see (4) Brass Turn Buttons measures about 16”. movement fee (44) #17x%4" Wire Brads photo. Andwewanted itto (4) #44" Brass Screws Quartz movement clocks (13) 4" End Grain Mugs havechimes. Butwedidn't @pr) 2'x1" Butt Hinges with real chimes are also TumeratCeks (2) 5-dia. Brass Knobs like the sound of the eee: (1) Quartz Movement availbleatthesourceslist- 800-544-1711 (@) Double Ball Catches tronicchimes,sowefound with 19" Pendulum ed at ight. Or ifyou want Shakers (15) #8x 142" Fh Screws a quartz movement with _ and 2/"dia. Bob to order a mechanical monenent face (@#x1"FhScrews real "bim-bam") chimes. (1) 974" Roman Face ‘movement for the clock, Curio Cabinet Hardware Currently, Woodsmith ("Time Ring) call Woodcraft, see listing Wooderét ™13+100 $17.95 Project Supplies is offer- (1 pr) 37-long “Spade” at right. And regardless of 800.225.1153 Note:The #Sscrewslist' ing a hardware kit forthe Clock Hands what clock you order, make ed above are to be used Shakerwall clock. Th (@) #8x1" Woodscrews sure you have the move. whenmountingthe hinges, does not include the j4"- G4) #18x 14" Wire Brads menton hand before build: Woodsmith Store (The woodserews provid- thick glass panels required 2)" Cherry Knobs ing the clock case so you 80895-5084 ed with the hinges are too for the doors. And it does Shaker Clock Hardware Kit can make changes to the — Curoeainz hai longforthecuriocabinet) not include the maple 7113-200 $110.05 dimensions as needed. Shaturcactmernnt eS ee) ‘fyouwould like to order project supplies or books from WoodNet wow ‘ON THE WEBI Woodworkers Store Woodemith Project Supplice, lease use our Toll Free |» Over 70 Woodworking Tips Online 800.279.4041 ‘order line, se below If open Monchy through Friday, | _» Project Plans You Can Download rio ceinet hte from 8 AM to 5 PM Central Time. ‘© WoodNet Forum — Woodworkers’ Q&A Saker clockhardirre Before calling, pease have your VISA, MasterCard, | __* Home Improvement Forum ‘Discover Card ready. '* Power’Tool Reviews ‘* Links to Other Woodworking Sites Online Back Issue Index. Ifyou would like to mail your order in, call the ‘number below for more information concerning ship- ping charges as well as any applicable sales tax. 1-800-444-7527 Note: Prices subject to change after December 1997 Point your browser to: http://www.augusthome.com Sclet ‘oodsworking® from the Weleome Page mens 1 Woodsmith 35RUBY 1Bare)sg FINAL DETAILS ™ @. ‘A Shaker Wall Clock. On Sha