Lye : tT aes A Storage Project Ce VEL MMA acute Master the tie With Our Keepsake BoxaS 7 ~ | Woodsmith | | . | No.139 February, 2002 e. Publisher Donald. Peschke ; Ss SAWDUST Senior Editor Jon Garbison Assistant Editor Brian McCallum: Contrib, Editor Craig Ruegsogger I have to admit that when winter sets LITTER & KEY RACK, Of course there in around here, a warmer climate are times when it’s nice to be able to ‘sounds very inviting. But what dolook but the material on Saturday forward to with the colé weather is ing, and have the last coat of fn being able to spend more fime in the ish on by Sunday evening. If this Art Director Todd Lambirth Senior Iustrators David Kreyling Dirk Ver Steg Harlan V, Clark Graphic Intern Jonathan Bike : shop. Forme, isthe perfect tme of sounds good to you, check out the year to try my hand ata project that Letter and Key Rackeon page 22 ‘Grane Dict Tet Kakek = Poe Der Ken ined © hassome interestingchallenges—one NEW FAG. I'm happy to say that Ryan St Projet Desioness Kent Welsh, Ryan Mimeck # Proict Designen: that will stretch my tics just abit. Mimick has joined our design team. ira Fick ne he © Sob Cntonrs Se Care So 3 Se oe, Now Tm not taking about building Hisfiretprojctforusis the Keepsake Par eee RCS that will fake months to Box on page 28. This project uses tra- Carp VP: Douglas |. Hicks * Art Director: ae Flint «= ‘complete. Usually what 1 have in ditional splined miter joinery. But the ‘Sere Gri Dour Chee Chweli » Ase ier: Cai ming is project that requires just 2 drawer has an interesting detail that Revermie neon hut hain rest || GoiiEacinertuNeuces Some maxcveccass re atetntoid. _asisihty dierent en ters Take the feature project in this ve made — the ende ofthe drawer comcutariow rte er at es he Jssue for instance. It's the Bedsie are mitered, This creates an aimost eee! Chest that’s shown onthe frontcover, _ invisible joint Ine between the sides 4 Pomp Soa ack Wah heroes Pages + i s ‘Bie © Cte nag Hee Canaan “Thischesthas several interesting fe ofthe drawer and the box ' ee an i lent nc Cota bak tures frame and panel construcion, WOODS TOUS, you enjoy wood sors gin oes on the sel dries: worengen! owe welae an cxct ll Ye ee Mar SE ae ar east and bracket feet. ing opportunity for you to combine Ae Er Tek ee ‘The elegant ooking bracket feet the two— Woodsmih Tours “neat: Na eeu > Pomcion Be” Goce : | China's Etonic Pubeitng Brcor: Doalar M. eur = are one of the hallmarks of fnefurni- It's a chance to get 2 bel Neceficmi a Pe: a et ture, Although the feet appear to be scenes lok ae some of America's pro- af carved by hand, that's not the case. mier woodworkers in their own Norte Sige Set © ou Feder fd Sewer mo Cul Sc» 9 Mest ofthe work can be done on the shops. Pius youl visit too factors, ener reece DEN Mis WU Bete Ta table sav. Then all you have to dois historic sites, and more along te way. Asi Rie hoe fer prone Col ego some tna hand For more information: call Linda at eo head Receptic ial shaping by ‘or val ‘This combination of using power 8003335141, ext. 7241. Or visit our tools and hand tools speeds up the website: www. WoodsmithTours.com, once te ores process, Crafing the fers wil sil Tach, Service Bets: a a require a couple of days in the shop to Chat Sra Res Ama Coe Aer Hells Cael Si oped get them just right But forme it'ssat- che ec he = Henn Se Caen ising work, and the end result more fet Sone kT ie than justifies the little bit of extra time woopsvrm store : pete tn ODM STORE ag required to getitjust right. ‘Messteon nti Novant Mat ese Setter tre ape Ve Brae Woosh Reaccist Gallery Visit other Woodsrrith subscribers’ workshops, Pataca tal oe Dlotos ofthe prjedsteyve bat Wodlontacin he | eit ct em Readers Galley on te Woah web sts ‘ ama ee Feel, ‘eo. Woodsmithcom eee "We wa yout be part ofthe Readers a Gallery submi phot of surfeverte inerrant Peet tits adda ropa tettone Caves hogs ° ‘blow the instuctons youll ind the a Readers Gallery PinednusA 2 ‘Woodsmith No. 139____ CONTENTS Features Bedside Chest ‘There are plenty of elegant details in this handsome project — hardy puil-out tray, three “raised” drawers, and shop-made bracket feet. But even with all these details, the construction is still straightforward. We'll walk you through every step. Dovetailing Quick Tips When building drawers, you can’t beat a half speed and accuracy. And here ate five tips to make your next set of dovetails faster, more accurate, and nearly “goof-proof.” Making Bracket Feet. 18 With all those curves, you might think fae making bracket fect is areal challenge. But you'll be surprised at how easy it is with our sep bs urna weg ls band saw, and some 4,!"-thick stock, you're ready to got started. Letter & Key Rack Build «handy litle rack this weekend, and you'll wonder how yo ever got along without it. The rack provides the perfect spot to empty your hands and pockets. And you'll always know where your keys are (or at lease where dey shoud be). Keepsake Box .. ..28 deiner palate median Vecpedies over che years. They deserve to be stored in a special place. This elegant box with its ‘mitered comers offers three lined compartments for the safe stor- cage and display of those treasures. Departments Tips & Techniques. .... Shop Notes . Sources .. No. 199 Woodsmith| Ove guane\y A Yeoyroneatty Tips & TECHNIQUES _ FREE ‘Online Tips Iyer tke even ‘nore woocwork- Table Top Tool Cart In my garage shop have These small car's allow mac! ine’s base. Then I easily acrossthe bench, as gts AES] more bench tep machines the bench top tools to roll trace an outline of the shown in detail’b. Goa is simple] than Thave bench space. from the front tothe back tools foot print onto the To anchor the carts Batiste) fd roving those of my bench. This ney centerotthepjwood. when in-use T led HeeBOMEE | reswy om like my when I ned to use the Net. roited out a%'- hols vith the same suc feo wevaonei) srinder and sander back tool | Just roll itforward. deep recess forthe too! wing as the existing bench meth and forth was difficult And when I'm done Isim- setinto. And mounted the dog holes. Finally, bolts rmscrimicm | Not to mention the ply ollitback to the rear tool onto the cart using canbe placed through the ches that it putin my ofthe bench. theholesonthetool. cart into the bench to bench top. My solution Fach cart staris asa Then 1 added some keepitin place. detail 2 was tomake aroling cart piece of plywood sized stall wheels to the cor Joh C. Sinens foreach machine slightly larger than the _nersto make the eart roll Yardley, Pomc Holding Power Screw Removal SomaaytinesIwish Ihad got the itea for an inex- Inaperfect world, screws dill and back out the bro threebands.Tryingiohold pensive screw holder. wouldneverswiporbreak. ken screw. ascrew while holding the I found that using a But for most of us, a bro- Ronald Sih Grill and the workpiece, small length of clear tub- ken screw is a common Machesney Pak, Ina well need I say more. ing worked great. By place probles Sn some cases,its-— ‘And those magnetic ingiton the bit and screw, not the end of the world, tips only work so the screw stays put. Ityou're “lucky” there | py eS wwell:Sol Now, when a task might be enough leit | Set requires both hands, ike above the surface to oe on a ladder, T can be chickyour dill at ei assured that my sorew will By carefully tightening § hotwander or fallof my cordless dril's chuck = RelA. Kasey on the exposed screw © ule. Mane temmins 1 can reverse the 4 x Woodsmith No. 139CD Storage Bin For years "ve stored small —until you drop one. pieces of hardware and odds and ends in old jars. puter technology is help- These glass jars work tine ing fo writable CDs come in are ‘great for storage. are light ard can be easily ‘serewed to the underside 1g out in the shop. I've und the containers that It only takes a slight turn But now I can say come to release the lid. Unlike those glass jars that require several turns. Another advantage is the opening. Glass jars tend to have a smaller ‘The plastic contsiners _ mouth. So the only way to ‘get anything is to dump place. Then I simply theentirecontentsout. screwed it to the under ‘of my shop cabinets Plas The orly modification side of my shop cabinets. the unscrewing of the CD = container is much easier. Chop Saw Trash Can ‘In my small garage shop. space is a constant srug- to file. Toconsolidete as much base to help keep it from was to cut the center bar ‘Mike Sonnenberg out that holds the CDs in Lesingon, Kenny Bench Holster attached some clests getting tho top heavy, I Italways seems as though the underside of the added a few sand bags to Thave more projects going aspossible,Tcame up with moving eround too much. ‘a combination that works When using a chop sav, having 10 ss the cutoff across the shop to the trash was hit or miss. So, 1 got the idea to put my chop saw on the trash car. A 0gallon barrel ‘works well. But the size of trash cans varies, so the height will depend om the actual barrel used, The saw gets attached toa plywood base that has, a hole cut near the front, sec drawing, This opening allows for the cutoffs and scraps to get swept right into the tach, L ‘SANDING FINGERS Sometimes you car't find @ tool orig to make ajob aay easier. This can be the case when sandinghard toreach spots or tricky deiails. By placing some self adhesive sandpaper on my finger tips, [ cau sand just bout any detail there is. ‘No matter how tight of 2 ‘curve, my fingers manage to conform to the profile. Greas Wiliams Alcon, Ohio No. 139 ‘To keep it from THIN-CRUST PLY When scoring plywood to reduce chip-out, try using large, sharp pizza cutter Utility blade tips can dull quick. But the edge of the Pizza cutter lasts a while. us you can reshanpen it Roger Breton fin Penk, New Yor the bottom of barrel. con than work space. And Pery Ruterbush getting my tools lost in the Aleewon, Michigan many layers of projects was: analltoo often occurrence. My cordless drill gets cused allot, both in the shop and around the house. So to keep it handy, aitached an ordinary laun- dey detergent botde to my bench. I cut the boitom off, and use it like a holster, see photo, Now Ihave a place to put it without misplac- ing it or taking up bench space. Ron Crow Web Cie, Mo. BTC ai I you. have an original shop tip, we ‘would like to hear from you and con- sider publishing your tip in one or ‘more of our publications. Just write down your tip and mail it to: Woodsmith, Tins and Techniques, 2200 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Towa 50312, Please include your name, address, and daytime phone number jn case we have any questions. If you ‘would like, PAK it to us at 5152826741 ‘or send us ant email message at. wood- ‘smith@woocismith.com. We will pay up to $200 if we publish your ti. a ‘WoodsmithBEDSIDE CHEST This chest may have heirloom-quality ais Pre the joinery is ney cee forward, and we'll show you how to build the bracket feet step-by-step I re are quite a few eye-catching details on this formal chest — the fame and pane! top, the pullout ira, the ‘raised’ drawers with their ogee prodlesand brass hardware, aad the bracket fet. But if you look closely You'll se that most ofthese detals are prety traightiorward to build. “Take the top of the case, as a quick example. The pavel is piy- ‘wood, $0 there are no solid wond panels to giue up. (ll the panels on this chest are plywood.) And the frame wraps around the top panel with tongue and groove joinery, ‘which is easy to cut onthe tabe sa ‘When it comes right down to it, the only detail thas a bit out ofthe ordinary are the bracket feet. But don't worry, There's no carving involved. The curved profiles are roughed out with the table sew and ‘band sav. The final shaping is done with a block plane and sandpaper. So its really not all that dificult ‘And we've mail it even easier with the step-by-step article that begins on page 18. (If youre till not con- vinced, check ut the optional base featured on page 19 and the man factured bracket feet on page 35) ‘The siding ray provides a convenient A common router jigs prea for cuuing “The anideon ge 18 wil ge you ll place ta set ahot cup of coffer. And the these handsome doveails, Pls take a lock the pattems and mstmuctions you need 10 plastic laminate is easy to ceo, atthe dovetaling tps included on page 15. bud these bracket feet in your shop. 6 Woodsmith No. 139® ahi Saver foned eitelovetate Bae Ee Construction Details OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 335" x 2034"D x 29%" utiose profile ray panel Cieted vith plate tantrote porel ret phmood Top fame istered ot Feotand joined to pore! itn stub tenon ard groove Bones. a ofeore wep trae so aging ‘tarset a ee Se : Ba peer with bulinese ae an ee aren ore opting! NOTE ee) wm RE ea pattern of ha Sletielsncig deed ‘pce 13 cantatas, bracket oot template, goto | nehcentered enners ee MATERIALS & SUPPLIES A Case Sides (2) Ys ply. - 1814 x 24% M Top/Btm. Frame Bk, (2) 34x 234-28 Y Drwr, Stops (8) Wx e-V B Web Frame Fr/8k. (10)44x 1 24-29% N Trim Molding 54x "he-14in ft. Z TWayPanel (1) — %4ply. - 16%@x 25% © Web Freme Sides (10) 94x 154-1494 © Bracket Feet Blanks (3} 1/2x4/-16 AATrayFr/Bk Edging (2) %4x1-27% 'D Drawer Runners (4) 94x1~-17!% P Bk, Bracket Braces (2) %x 3-3 BB Tray Side Edging (2) Ux 1- 1648 E Corner Stiles (4) Ux Vi4- 24% Q Sm. Orwt FriBK.(2) 2x 54-27% CC Trey Guides (2) Vax Ve- 1698 F Back Rais (2) "yx 1%-28 R Sim Drwt Sides (2) Vex S%e-1744 + (16) Plastic Stem Bumpers G Back Panel (1) Yaply -28x21%2 S Lg. Drwr Fr/Bk (4) Y2x 6-27 %— * (10) #8 x 14" Fh Woodscrews +H Front Rails (2) YaxV¥o- 27% T Lg, Drwe, Sides (4) Vex Gie- 17% > (22) 1'-long Wire Brads 1 Front Edging (3) 34% %a- 27% U. Diwe, Bottoms (3) 14 py, - 17¥ex 265% * (18)#B x 94" Rh Woodscrews: J TopBim. Panels (2) % ply. - 15%@x 28 V_ Diwr. Guides (3) She x 12-16% * (30) #8 Washers K TopiBtm. Frame Fr. (2) 3x 2%4- 32% W5m.Dnwt False Fr(1) %4x514- 27% » (6) 314" Brass Bail Puls w/Screws LTopiBim. Frame Sides (4) 34x 254-20 X Lo. Orwr. False Fr. 2) No. 139 Wx 6% 27% * (2) 7a" dia. Brass Knobs WoodsmithWee seanne Mer Bi Tie wes frames are Haentes! aiepanteare Mook Paneer. stem bumper : Seemoumpet SE hie maple see page 33 for sources Case Sides & Web Frames ‘The case ofthis bedside chest starts blade until the tongue is 14" thick. _ With the web frame pieces cut to out astwo se panels fat sandwich WEB FRAMES, Now the panelscan be size. the only thing left to do is eut five identical web frames, see Fig. set aside while you make the five the stub fenon and groove joints CASESIDIS. I started by cutting the web frames that ft between them that hold them together, refer to the case sides (A) to size from?A"cher- (Fig, 1). These are open frames box on the opposite page. The ry plywood (Fig. ). This way, when joined with stub tenons and grooves are cut on the front and it's time to join the web frames to grooves. And since the front edges hack pieces (Step 1). The sides the panels later, you can simply glue vill be covered with edging, the receive the stub tenors (Step2) them in place without having to famescan bebuik-withalessexpen- _ASSENBLY, Now the web frames are oa, hole for fem bumper | & Since theramers worry about wood movement, sive wood, like maple or poplar. ready to be glued together. This aie guides re To make it easy to position the Before cuiting the frame pieces to isn't especially difficult, but you'll centred sender te web frames, Leutfivedadoes across size, make sure the stack will ft want to make sure the side pieces drawers, plastic the insideofeach panel, asin Fig, la snug in the éadoes you cut in the are Dush with the ends of the front stembutions ae and 2. These dadoes should match side panels. Then you can rip the _and back pieces. This way, you can died 0 the ses the thickness of vour stock (i). /-wide web frame fronts (B), be sure to get a good give joint of dw web frames With the dadoescut,thenext step tacks (B), and sides (O).The fronts when gluing the frames between toheep the draw. is to cut tongues on the front and and backs are ent to finished length the two sides. Plus, ifs a good idea arsfrom rocking. back edges ofthe pane's, as youcan 29%"), but when cutting the sides, to double check that the frames are see in Fig. 8. Andsince each tongue you'll went fo make eure the assem- flat when you clamp them together. js formed in two passes (lippingthe bled frame is going to match the _Before assembling the case, you'll panel between passes), its best to shoulde>toshoulder dimension of need to add plastic stem bumpers to sneak up on the final height of the the side panels (174"),as in Fig. 1b. the front corners of the web frames,a shown in Fig. 1b athe lftmar- fin photo, These bumpers wil sap- (\ wrlhe sies ofthe avers ee and they need to be added now Lecause air the cases assembled, there won’ be enough room to get di between the anes, Atthis pont, the web ames can ( be glued between the sides. Icon parabbora centrated on te font of te assem 2 by, making eure the web frames “tert ‘were dish with the shoulder of the #"@2Hg7 tongues onthe side panels Cig). DRAWER RUNNERS. While the slue on the case asseubly Is drylag, you con hegia work onthe ‘oar draner runners (D), as shown in Fig. 4 (he top fame docset need a run net) These “thick pieces are ipped I? wide and cu o match the depth ofthe web frames (7, “There are two things to do with these runners before they can be sled in place. First, youll need to ft notch on each end to match the width ofthe frame paces (19 ‘What you want 10 end up with isa ea weet Ws charmer on Teacing edge | ‘web frame (Fig. 4b) ‘As you can see in Fig. 5, did this with multiple passes over a dado blade, supporting the runners with along auxiliary fence and sneaking up on the length of the notch by using the rip fence as a stp. ‘The position here is scrap spacers to fit on either side of Aftor the notches wore cut, all want the runner parallel to the side the runner. Sneak up on the size of that’s left is to chamfer the leading panels and perfectly centered. these spacers so the runner fits edge ofthe runner (Fig.4a)."Then it Fortunately, there's a foolproof! snug between them. Then glue the can be glued into the case method for doing this, Just cat runner in phaee. SRO ee al ‘You don’t alwaysneed to cil mortisesand tenons tw holda fame together Ia fact,aquick andl easy ‘way to build frame is with a stub tenon and grcove Joint. the frame is open (like the web frames Inete), ther the groovesare cuton the rls Step 1), and the stub tenons are cut onthe encs ofthe ‘silesor, in thiscase, the web frame sides Step 2). the frame includes a panel {lie the case back Jeter), then the grooves are cut on all four pienes, ‘To get a good fit T always center the grooves Dwi lenons dy cutting them in multiple passes 9A centered groove is cut in two My Stub tancns are as cut n mul- (Gipping them between passes), Andifthe panel IB passes. The first pass is roughly tiple passes vith a dado blade. is $4! plywood, Isize the groovesto bold the ply centered. Then for the second! pass, Sneak up on the height of the bledle ‘wond snug. (It'susuallyless than’/"thick) the werkpieceisfipoediend-forend. unite tenon fis sug in the grocve. END VIEW No.139 Woodsinith 9 ———— ———==_0 @ BACK PANEL By eatin, 7 Back Panel & Front Edging With the case assembled, its time 10 dress up the front and back edges, 1s you can see in Fig. 6, The back a simple frame and panel with 1" piy- ‘wood for the panel. The front gets individual pieces of edging to cover the plywood and web frames. ‘CORNER STIL, Both tho front and back have identical comer stiles (B) for covering the edges of the plywood ease sides, as shown in Fig. 5. Buch isa ¥/"thick piece of cherry that’s ripped 14" wide and cut to match the height of the case. All four siikes need to have a groove cut on their inside face, as shown in Fig. 7. This groove is cut to ft over the tongue on the side panels, My tongue was right at 14" thick, so was able to use a 1A" dado blade in the table sav Regardless of how you cut it, the groove should be ‘cut 10 6 over the tongue and posi- fioned so the edge of the corner sfileis fish with the face ofthe side panel, as shown in Figs, Gand 6b, When these grooves have been ‘cut, veut can glue the frontiwo stiles fo the case, But there's still more work todo with the back stiles, ACH FRAME & PANEL, ‘The back cor ner stiles become part of the frame ‘and panel assembly thats glued to the back of the case, The trick with, this assembly isthat it has to Gtover the tongues already cut an the back of the side panels — which means, ‘you have to be careful to get the Cveral size of the panel right. ‘The dimension to focus on is the lengih of the back rails (#9, as shown in Fig. Gabove. And the best ‘yay to do this is to measure right from the case, First dry clamp the stiles to the case, Then measure between them to find the chouléer- toshoulder distance. Add %4" to this ‘dimension for both stub tenons, and Woedsmith No. 199‘you have the length of the back rails. (Mine ended up 28" long.) WD __Merihe vale have beon cut te length, you can cut the grooves on all four pieces, as shown in Fig. 8 This groove is different from the ‘one you cut on the fave of he stile ‘eariier. Its centered on the edge and issized to hold aA" plywood panel Next, you can eut the stub fenons ‘on the ends of the back rails, as shown ing, 9, Then the frame ean be dry accemibled, and the back ‘pane! (G) can be cut to sie. After the back is assembled, you ‘can glve ito the ease. The tongues on the case should fit into the grooves on theassembly and align it automatically. But if your tongues aad grooves don't line up perfecly, you may need to widen the grooves ‘enough to get the back to fitwell FRONT RAILS BEDGING. With the back in place, you can turn your attention to the front of the case. Here, the edges of the web frames needlto be covered, asshiowa in Fig, | 10. To do this, Let two front raile ®@ ii; coverthe openings the tp and bottom and three front edying pieces (1) for the web frames in the | middle, All these pieces are %7 thick and ere eut to fit between the | front corner stiles (271A) CHAMFEE CORNERS. The last thing to do at this point is rout a stopped chamfer on each of the comers, as shown in Fig. 11. These chamfers stop and start even with the upper | and lower front rails. And when you're done, you'll want to doa litle ean upattheends ofthe chamfers, see the box below, Ne, 199 wore: Frontvaitsand aging cot "ebetween cn ates rei eee ‘When you rout a stopped chao fer, its end isn't symmetrical, as ‘you can seein tie first workpicce at left. One side ends up a litle “flat” But here's a quick solution, ‘Simply wrap sandpaper around a dowel and carefully sand the end {right photo). It won't take much to get both sides looking the same {as inthe second piece at let). WoodsmithA The shadow ‘eratzen he ply- swvod pand end solid wood frame creaed by rou Inga small rabher Top & Bottom “The case snow ceady forts topand Intom assemblies as shown in Fig 12 Toheep things a easy as posse, these fame snl pants ae identical — or nearly identical. The only dif ferences thet the top assembly has asnall shadowlinearaure the panel as shownio the phot below lett ANE. The fics thing to do is cut the ton and botion panels () to size, as indicated in Fig. 12. Both panels are 3 cherry plywood. To hold and align the frame pieces, they have a tongue ext around all four edges, as you can see in Fig, 12a, (cut these on the table saw Juste the tongues onthe sce pat ets refer io Fig. on page 8) At this point, the bottom panel can be set aside while you cut the ‘shadow line | mentioned earlier, ‘This shadow line is simply a 4c! wide rabbet. And to get a really clean cut I decided to use a straight bit at the router table, as shown in Fig. 18. Bat be sure to start wilh the ends of the panel first so if there's. any chipout, it'll be cleaned up when you rabbet the long edges. Fran, With the panels complete, is time 10 work on their rames, ‘The first thing to do is plane some stock to mctch the thickness ofthe plywood exactly. (%4" plywood is usually a hair less than $4" thick.) Then youcan rip the top a botione frame fronts (K), widen (1), and backs (M) 2%)" wide (Fig. 12b) and cut them extra long. Next, youll want to cat the grooves that will Stover the tongues on the panels (Fig. 12a). This way, a5 you miter and cut the frame Pieces to length, you can check your Drmgress with the otal panels I started with the sides, mitering fone end but stil leaving the pieces extra long, Then with the sides dry ‘clamped to the panel. you can miter both ends ofthe front picces, sneak: ‘ng up oa their fnal length oowrhang face Stirane Snd ios or ski rath Toe ee peg 18 Now before you cut the sides to length, the frame backs (M) need a litle work. They're cut to the same overall length as the panel 8"). ‘Then tongues are cuton the ends to fit the groovesin the side pieces.ASSEMBLY. After the frame sides Ihave bea cut to lengt, the top and botiom frames can be assembled. Then you can routa bullnose profile around the front and side edges, as shown in Fig. 14, To attach the panels to the case, you can't use serews, so I simply ‘glued them fiush with the back and centered sidetosside. Then I made some trim molding (N), in Fig. 15, and glued and the case with small wire brads. s shown ed itto BRACKET FEET, Nowis 2 good time to build the bracket feet (0), see the photo at right, Even though there are quite a few stops to follow, these feet are easier to build than they Jook. Plus, all the steps have been ‘aid outin the article on page 18. Mounting the fect couldn't be any easier As you can see in Fig. 16, all ‘you have to dois drill some counter- bored pilet holes at the drill press anil then screw the feet to the bot- tom of the case (Figs. 16aand 160). Note: [fyou don't care for bracket feet, take a look at the optional base below. Or for same sources of man= tufachured bracket feet, see page 35. A Step-by-step direc tions for balding the bracket foet are given inthe amicle Ware lark for — NOTE: For sources of f Stapeayste rating fect stort ennage 18 manufactured feet. see pages Bracket feet are quite distinctive, but here's a different base ‘you could set this chest on. It's simply a mitered apron sized ‘0 the bottom frame wiloverlang it's alte frontand Sides. (This way, the base aligns with the trim molding.) “After mitering the pieces, the profiles can be cut (detail’! below). The real trie, though, is creating the straight lines between the prafies, Here, I used the same solution used (on the keepsake box base, turn to Shop Notes on page 27, To attach the base to the chest, cleats are added to the frontand sides, with triangular corner bleeksat the back (the ‘back bracket braces shown in Fig, 16 above). Alnrpe S|.) Saee - cS cee, Lae Woodsmith 8me yore: Beaton are Het ae ard tive ante Bre the tony ‘SMALL DRAWER LARGE DraWER nore: Borrom ply Tie 265) Drawers With the ease complete, I decided io build dhe three drawers. One shit shorter than the ather two, batother than this, the drawers are identical ‘ur 10 sit, The fr thing to do is cut the drawer pieces to size from *A'-hick maple, as shown in Fig. 17. Exea though there will be falee fronts added! later, [stil sized the snail frowt (Q) back (Q), al sides {B) and the Laige fronts (8), backs (S), and sides (7) 0 fi he drawer openings, allowing for a ‘Ac! gap along esch ed. DOVE, The drawers axe joined with routed halfbiind dovetails If you have one ofthese jigs, then you but onthe Foreach drawer ‘hu tan stops Bbackotear pa SMA ey oe a, j Formore on cutting Folch ane sd Guide see page 26 Large False PRON? Hea) Note: aut tao large cranes next page, there are afew tps that ‘will make this process even easter. Next I cut the grooves for the drawer bottoms, Usually, Tl center these grooves on the bottom pin (ond sock’) but this time, there vill be guides underneath these panels, so I wanted the bottome (U) «exactly "from the bottoms ofthe drawers, as inthe let margin details, Thea before gluing the drawers together, its a good idee to drill ‘mounting holes forthe fale fronts. GUIDES. Now it's time to work on the drawer yaides (V), as indicates in Fig. Y7a, Actually, the first things you're going to want lo do iscut the notch on the beck, bottom: edge of the drawer But both ofthese proce: dares are covered on page 26. FALSE FRONTS. Now tha the guides are in place, you'll be able to slide the drawers into the case and pos- tion the all (W) and larg ‘ronts (X). These %a"-thick cherry icees are simple enough. All you need to do is ront an ogee let pre: file around the edges, as in Big. 18, STOPS & HARDWARE, Finally, added two stops (Y) to each drawer oper- ing, sizing them so the drawers stood 9%" proud of the case. ‘Then the drawer pulls can be attached to the front, and a stems bumper can be aided to each back corner to keep ‘the drawer from sagging (Fig. 19). Plast stem bumoer= Woodsmith No 139» DOVETAILING * Quick Tres _ When building drawers, youjust Mast halthlind dovetail jias can't beat a halPblind dovetail work essentially the samme way, Jig: Withacouple test piecesand but an instruction manual isa’ ‘afew minutes, youcan beset up going t tell you everything to rout dovetails quickly and dike how to keep your pieces accurately. And whether you oryznized or how to prevent ‘only have one drawer iobuiidor chipout). So we've come up a checeful, you know they'll be with a few tips tha'll help you as strong as possible — and rout dovelailscleanly and accu: theylllook good too. rately on any project. Label Carefully ‘The more drawers you'rebuild. But lve also found thatlobeling When routing dovetails, chipout ing, the more you need to be the jig makes the process even on the side pieces is pretty com- organized to avoid mistakes. So more foolproof. The left sie is mon, but there's an easy way to Tvegoitenintothebsbitoflabel. numberecito remind me thatthe avoid this problem (or at least Ing my crawer pieces carefully, firstand hird cornersare routed ninimize {9 1like to make a As you can sce in the drawing egninst this step. The second _ tight, skim passfrom right to let below, Lidenttveach piece, num- and fourth corners are routed before begin following the tem her each corner sequentially on the right sie. And in each _ plate. This skim cut establishes arcund the drawer. and mark the case, the bottom edges are post- the shoulder removing the mate. | pees WD vorimecges. tioned against the tops. tial that would tend & chip out Double Check Sandpaper Solution Afi turning offthe router,your Every once in a while, Twould firstimpulse isto ake thepieses finish routing dovetsils only to Dut of the jig and test their ft. find that one of the workpieces But firs, visually Goublecheck had shified slightly. And of thesocketstomakesurethey're course it was ruined. Then one all the same depth. This way, if day] came up witha simple solu- youveinadvertently topped one tion Iputadhesive-backed sand. short. you caa routitagain with- paperon the base and clamping out ary trouble bars, asin the drawing at lof. number ends Fo jg womepond fof anton QUICK TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE Setting.up to rout mechine cut dlovetaiis is always a trial and error effort, There’s usually some fiddling around with the testpeces anc adustingofthe Jig to geta perfect it. Here are afew ofthecommeon problems Gad solutions). Other prob = Temsare usually caused bythe Too Loose ifjpintistoolooxe, Too Deep Kis go too dear, Offset. ifthe pieces don't lion FW —_eaverpeces et eine hush increase br deotn move template forwerd. at the top or bottom, they may ‘across the top orbecause they Too Tight. /f the joint is too Too Shallow. if not deep nothavebeen positioned tight shift asthey're being routed. tight, decrease bit depth enough, move template back against the stops scan IRE REEL No. 199 Woodsmith 6 EEE Qebumper noteh toe Pull-Out Tray The pullout tray above the drawers the drawer (27'4"), minus 14" for edging to cover the plywood. The coulda’t be any simpler. As you can the strip of edging on exch side. height (width) of these strips of !- seein Fig.20 above, it'sa*4"plywood (My panel ended up 25%" long) thick solid wood will determine the penel with apiece ofplastic laminate LAMINATE, Next I adided the plastic gaps above and below the tray, as to protect the top and strips of solid laminate tothe panel. Not only does shown in Fig. 20a. So I ripped the wool to hide the plywood edges. it protect the wood from hot cups of _froni (AA), back (AA), and side TRAY PANEL. The first thing to do is coffee and tea, its also easyto lean. edging (BB) pieces 1" wide (tall) cut the tray pane! (Z) t0 size, as When applying plastic laminate, 1 and left them extra long. shown in Fig, 20. ripped the ply- like to use contact cement. The Since the froat and back pieces ‘wood 1634" wide. But [should prob- important thing is to make sure will overlap the sides, I glued the ably point out that the tray won't you've got enough cement on both sides to the panel frst and trimaned stand proud as far es the dravers surfaces to get « good, consistent them flush. Then the same can be i Ie only sticks cut 34" past the bond. Then applying and trimming done forthe front and back pieces. front face of the cese. (A couple the laminate are no big deal, as you Before mounting the tray, the last “drawer” stops added later will ake can see in the box below. thing T did was to rout a 14" round- careotthis) Asforthelength ofthe t9eINe. When the laminate is over around ail the edges and sand panel, is the same as the width of trimmed flush, its time to edd the the corners (Fig. 202). ‘ere Wd &. iret te ons of contact coment to overend ay Wate larinate rit nee tobeived ee panel. Then center leninate over saa to match the plywood panel. To do ths, mount the panel using dowelsas spacers. Remove one dowel a flush trim bit in the router and rout around one ata tine, rong the laminate down as you go. face of panel. Then fghty sand the edges. 16 Woedsmith No. 139TRAY GUIDES. Now it’s time to get the tray to slide in and out of the AD ee smut Like the drawers. the tray is supported and guided ftom below by a drawer runner at the ‘center and the plastic siem bumpers atthe sides ofthe web irame. Whats different hore is how the tray rests on the runner Instead of actualy resting on the guides like the drawersdo, the tray rests on the notch you'll cut in the back. This reas, you want toe pretiy careful that the noteh in the back ofthe tray ads up Ye! deep (ig. 200) “To guide the tray. I mae a pair of thin tray guides: (CO) to Gt under the panel and ride against either side of the runner (Fig, 22a), Mine ended up oaly 7c" tall, and rather than plane these thin pieces down, [ on ae . : ate simply sipped them to this width | S999 85H i : ————— ) from « piece of 9/"-thick stock, as = — you can seein Fig. 21 To mount the guides, the first from sideto-side. Now you should thedrawerrunnerto wctasa spaces thing I did was find the center ofthe be able to Inok up under the tray When the glue cried, | tested the fi tcay and draw a line*4’ over from and see if your layout line aligns and sanded the guides s needed tacractal (ew dNC (ica we lueiedt eerie wuorne wel cues AB cerea runner insiae the case), To. and if it does, you can glue one of adding the knobs tothe tray and the double check the accuracy of this the guides flush with this line, pulls to the drawers (see page 35 for line, T removed the drawers and slid ‘To position the other guide, [ sources), [wiped on several couts of fete ciienmigicemwie GaietiGe es Gtiets Hasiuiniaren cl CUTTING DIAGRAM ner noes sire : 2 & Va" x7" ~ 72" Maple (3.5: é z Ret 6" - 72" Cheery (Bd. Pty CC. 2" x7" - 72" Maple (3.5 S¢ Z ae ec SSS a geen oe Der meet —y 7) aera [ re a : ble AA ; 5-72" Cherry (2B. Fe) W nee eine <6" 48° Maple Bd. Fe) ‘ALSO NEEDED: One : =. Shean chon Eieeret a pioad Ne. 139 Woodsmith, vRoos TECHNIQUES acletfeethave just the right com- ‘bination of strength and elegance. The thick blocks provide pleaty of support fora traitional project like the bedside chest on page 6. Butthe sraceful contours ofthe ftcesandthe curves ofthe sealloped proiiles keep the feet rom loking oo heavy. Allin all. theyre pretty impressive On the other hand, you've never made bracket feet, ifs eaey to be a bit intimidated by all these curves. Donit be. They don't require nearly 2s much handwork as you might expect — most of the shaping is done atthe table saw and band sav. FROM ROUGH TO READY. Bracket feet start outas you can sa slue two 44"shick pieces together, so don't have to buy any 1jthide F) stock. The blanks are then extover- Sized (44! x 16"), s0 two balves can be cutfrom each blank. Alofthe work of shaping the face DED) roll is done while the blanks are Sy oversized. Then they'llbe cit in half and mitered, and the curved scallop A Bracket jeet look will be cut (see the pattern on the lke they were cu next page). Finally the halves of from thick blocks cach front foot willbe ghued together. of wood, but these ‘Blanks were made hike uth eo pieces of siceioot Bile 3g" thick stock. a7 To begin, rise the blade to the final deoth of the cove (*4’). Then using lope, mark where the teeth of the blade enter and exit the table. Roughing Out the Face Profile With the bianks in hand, you're ready {to create the Shaped profileon the face ofeach blank. All the rough work forthisis done atthe table savy, start ing with a simple cove Gieps 13). COVE SETUP. A cove is cut by push ing a board across the table saw at an angle, guided by a pair of wood fences. If you've never cut 2 cove before, don't worry. Steps 1 and 2 vill show you exactly how to set up Next, make 0 templote with a 134 inside windows (the coves final wich). Then ange the template 50 the long edges touch the marks Woodsmith your table saw. And cutting the cove is done in multiple passes, “nib- Ding” avay only %e! of material vith each pass Gtep 9. ‘To find the correct angle of the fences, I first mark the entry and ‘exit points of the blade when it’s raised to its full height, which is 44" for this cove (Step 1). Thea I make a posterboard “frame” (with a 1%4'- wide opening and a%/" border) and Second fence | a ladle "high and make a pass Raise bled in ‘ie’ increments and repeat untl cove i %e" deep. No.130angle it until it touches the entry With your template in hand. set it and exit points (Step 2), Now the —ontheendsofeach blank and alignit firstfence can beclampedin place. with thecove. Then trace around the To position the second fence, sim- template, as shown in the photo ‘ly clamp it to the table with one-of below. Now you've got a good guide the blanks sandwiched in between, for what the profile wil look ike and (The blank should side singoihly) where to remove the waste. UT COVE At this point, youre FINISH WDTH. The next step is to ready to cut the coves (Step 3). Start begin removing the waste by trim with the blade set '/a" above the ming the edges of the blanks (Step table, and don't remove any more 4). Withtheproflealready drawn on than Yis"in one pass Stopwhen the the ents, allyounced to doissetthe cove is tits full eight (4 fence so the blade aligns ith the NALETEAPLNE Now belore you do profileines. (Voullend up trimming: ‘any more sheping. _g00ditleato about ‘A! or so from each edge) ‘make atemplate (s you can see in CORHETECOVE, Now you're realy to the photo below, I made mine out of elongate one edge of the cove. You hardboard) The pattern below is could do this with arasp or file, but the only one you teed for the feet. I removed most of the waste much ‘The curve on the end will help you quicker with a 1A" jdde stacked ‘create the face profile. (The seal- daria set, asyou can see in Step 5. Topedl profit will be utlater) Inremoving the waste, youl need to adjust both the angle and the height oj the blade, but there aren't any hard and fast dimensions to ‘work with here. The best way {0 set vp the saw isto crouch behind the saw and eve down the saw blade (with the blank behind the blade so you ean see the profile.) Don‘t attempt (o cut right to the Tine. The idea is just to get close ‘enouigh so the final shaping doesnt take alot oftime (or effort). And be ready to make several passes, resel- ting the fence and the angle of the lade with each pass. ROUNDOVER, After the blanlss are sipped te width, the roundover locat- ed on the top, outside comer can be roughed cut, Again Tused the table ‘saw to remove mich of the waste, bat this time, [used a reeular siew blade tiled 45% asshown in Step 8. END view =) NOTE: Serade fowaste ade of | protte ives END View a NOTE: Blade titea ss | hae Sra With the protie fad cut on the Ie Next, extend shape of cove by ends of eech blank Gee photo sD) removing wote with dado bade below), ro them to final width (2, sett angle Adjust rp ferceancicaco rimming waste from each edge. blade between passes os neccle Bracket Foot Pattern NOTE: Enlarge ths pattern 200% fora ful sze patter Now the top, outside corner of leach blank can be trimmed. Toe thes, tia requaar saw blade 45° Then sneak up on the final layout ine. A Harvard mater « good. weasable teamplae jor the Frachet fet profiles, sca otter at ef. To poston the template om the Bank, juseline itp twit dhe cove you'e aleady cu_ Face Profile: Clean-Up Upto this point, all the work atthe table saw has been to get the face of the blanks to rough shape, Nove is time fo clean up all the unwanted shoulder lines and saw marks lett by the sawblade so that youend up with a smooth carve on the face profile. This is where the handwork of ‘making bracket feet comes in, and youll find there's really not much to it. Fach blank only has litle mate- rial left to remove, and the profiles drawn on the ends will guide you. Butdor'tbe too eriieal. The bracket feetend up far enough apart so that tno one will notice if the profiles aren't exactly identical OUTSIDE CURVES. ‘The arcas that need the most shaping are the out- side (convex) curves at the top and bottom of the feet, I shaped them with a block plane sef to take a thin shaving, as shown in Step 7. (But Miter & Spline Joint Now thatthe profile ofeach blank complete, they can he cat into indi vidual pieces and one end of each ont piece can be mitered. LABHL BLANKS. But before you get started, i's a good idea to label the pieces, as shown in the drawing below. For each front foot, you want to tue the ends you cut apart back together — this time joining them with splined miters, ‘There are two reasons for doingit this way. For one thing, te grain on the faces ofthe halves will match up and "wrap around!” the foot, Plus, y Miter these ence er best rofl and grata match “econo: Miser ovo blanks lerfontrece tens 3870) ‘On the blank’s outside curves, plone eny herd fines, remoxing enough wasteto cestea gentlecune that matches the layout cn the ends. you can also get the job done with a fasp ofa Surfomiype plane, which Took ikea bloc plane but orks like a rasp.) Start by smoothing out the noticeable shoulders, Then sim- aly Keep taking thin shavings, fl lowing the profile drawn on the end. since you have alecady done the final shaping, this technique will ensure the profile of ihe pieces match as closely as possible, (You ‘may sill need to do some ight sand- ing after they're glued together) MITER FRONT PEGS. With the paris Tabeled and cut apart the next step is to miter one end ofeach iront foot piece, as shown in Step 9. The nice thing here is you don't have to ‘worry about an exact length. That vill be taken care of when you cre: ste the ecallop profile later But tll acted a stop block to the auxiliary ‘Once the ridges have been planed aviay smooth cut the curveusing _3piece of sandbaper repped arourcd a short eng of plumbing insulation INSIDE CURVES. ‘The inside curves are even easier. All ou need 10 do is sand or scrape them Giep 8). 1 rapped sandpaper around a length cof plumbing insulaifon. It provides just enough support and flexibility to sand the curve efficienty miter gauge fence so the piece ‘wouldn't shift as. it was being pushed across the blade, “After mitering the pieves, [low ered the bide and repositioned the Si0p block to cut a kerf for a pine Gtep 10). These splines are added moslly to keep the pieces aligned svhen you glue them together BACK FET. Because a project lke the bedside chest is usully against a wall, only the front feet are mattered. The back feet are simply supported with o small triangular brace in back (referto Step 10) ardéoare saline the blanks in hat. (See drawing, at eft) Then miter the four pieces that willbe used for the kent feet Woadsmith Otte tin each mitered end fora spine tohelpaign the pieces Then cut ardooard spline to fit inthe kerf No. 139Scalloped Profile Deforeyoucan ge the fect together, there's still ne more profil tocut it's ‘cat on the end ofthe blank (inscead ‘of onthe face), and the work is done at the band saw and drill press (instead ofthe table saw). But the first | thing to dois layout the profile {AY UT PROMS. You've already made the template for this curve, refer to the vattern on page 19, But is time, the front and back legs are | slightly different. The front feet are 7" long overall (Step 11), while the back feet are only 6'4" (Step 12 | __Frboth feet. aid out line across the back side ofeach blank an then aligned the template with this line. With the back feet, the thing to keepin sindis tat theyre not iene | tical, With their contoured faces, they're mirrored images of each other, so make sure you end up with both a right and a let back foot. SHAPE PROFIL. These profiles are easier to create than the face pro- files, [roughed out the profileat the band saw Gtep 13). Thon T sanded as muich as possible with a drum sander Gtep 14) before finishing them with hitlehand sanding. Foot Assembly ‘Now that the profiles are complete, the feet are ready to be assembled. FRONT FET. To join the halves ofthe front feet, I wanted to use clamps, Dat there's no good place fo position them, So | glued small clamping ‘biocks to the top and bottom edges parallel withthe miteredend, Andto ‘si V1 ia ieee ont of te pattern onto back slo of the iritered pieces. Postion the template 40 the feet will end up 7" long. 222 = foot blank £0 it wil and up ‘'2" jong. Flip template for second foot 50 back pieces are mircored. 13 es eee both the front and back feet using the band savy, staying to the waste side ofthe layout ine make sure I could remove them eas ily, [used plywood for the blocks and liquid hide glue to attach them, as shown in the margin photo. The plywood can be split fairly easily between the bottom two ples, and then by applying a litle hot water to the plywood, you can loosen the 14 each foot, sand thescafioned profile to the yout ines, using a chum sander in the oil press. bond ofthe hide glue. Then the foot can be scraped clean, and the spline can be trimmed flush. BACK FEET. For the back feet, 1 glued and screwed triangular braces to the back of the feet (Step 1%). Por more on this and on mount- ing the feot, turn to page 13. 05 Fist clve plywood clamp blocks Mardbourd Darale whites spline SECOND: Pore oway neste dnd sandémoath 6 ng locks to the pieces par- allel to the mitered ends (ee margin). Then gue halves together. No 139 1602 tere pry away at boiter ply Then loosen glue with hot water pare away pl with chisel, and sand! smooth. Woodswith V7 ee ‘anddhillcounterbored shank holes, (Use handScrewi to hold brace.) Then glue and screw to foot. i. These camping Blocks are ply ‘wood so they'll stl easily along the plas. And they're glued place with hide hue, which con bre loosened with alle hot wave.LETTER & Key RACK _ Simple joinery and low cost materials really deliver on this weekend project. it,noteve: yone wants to builil a rge bookcase used on a day-to-day basis, also has plenty of space for other “pocket” And even though it's only made of seven ‘stronger than a butt joint or a plain rabbet joint ‘but justas simple to make, The curved details look nice. but they're not justfor decoration. They make it casy to reach pericetly matched set of sides. Mong with the patterns on the opposite page. there are free website, (See Online Extras on page 35). ‘To top itall off, the materials dont require a from only one board or could easily be made MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, & CUTTING DIAGRAM A Sides (2) Wx 3-22 E Upper Bin Divider (1) Br 3-36 B Back (1) Vex 5-22 F Lower Bin Divider (1) Wax 2h - Sh € Upper Bin Front (1) WXS-S Wa" Fh Woodscrews D lowerBinFront (i) 44x50 1% “long Mug Hooks w/Serews “ur x 6-96" Pine (45a) LLL Lele 2 Woodamith No. 139Sides ‘The sides are the foundation of thi projectso that’s where Istacted Begin by cutting each site (A) to finished length and width, as showain Fig.1. Once that's done, its a good iden to ly out the final shape of the sides directly on each workpiece. This helps io keep the pieces oriented correctly when eutting the joinery. After laying out the patterns, you ‘ean turn your attention to the join ery. Bach side piece has a tongue ‘on the front and tack edges. Later ‘grooves will be cut on the front anc! back pieces to itover these tongues TONGUES. There's nothing icky about making the tongues. All you hayeto doisrabbet the outside face ‘of each piece. Lused the table saw with a darto blade buried in an auxil iary fence, see Fig. 2. DADOKS, Once: the tongues are complete, you're ready to cut the dadoes for the top and bottom dividers. Here again, Tused a #4" dado blade, But this time, Tattached an auxiliary fence to the miter gauge and added a stop block 10 keep the pieces from shifting. The daclo for the lower divider is straightforward. Its a 90°cut on the inside face of cach side (Fig. 1). Butthe dado on the upperdivider is abit trickier. It’s angled, so you eed to cut a mirrored sot of dadoes. To do this, rotate your miter gauge 22142, as shown in Fig. 3, Then cutore side atthis setting. ‘To cut the matching dado on the other side piece, move the miter ‘gauge to the other side of the blade and adjat it 2214° in the opposite direction and reset the stop bloc. CURVES, Now it's time to cut the curved profile you laid out eztlier As you can see in Fig. 4, Tike to cut both of the side pieces at the same time to ensure a miaiched pair. To do this, Lused doublesided tape to jin them together. Just make sure the daaloes are facing each other. ‘The curves can be cut with a band saw, scroll saw, orjig saw (Fig. 4). Then sand the edges smooth with a drum sander, But you'll still eed 10 hand sand the lower detail ofthe sides, see margin photo. No. 139 Top Side Pattern Full Sze Paton To donnlcad fee. shosn here vst new Wodsrih com, Nowe you dont have ecoessto he A A oral aeding Hock takes co of sanding those tage cures a the boctom ofthe sida piecesFronts & Back With the sides complete, you ean fur your attention fo making the three pieces that sandwich the sides: the back and two bia fronts, as shown in Fig. 5 Alf the picees have grooves to match the tongnes on both sides. But where the back is just a simple rectangular piece, the bin fronts each have a decora- tive cutout (more on that later. ‘Sinoe all these pieces are the same width (4A, [decided to rake them from a single, long, blank. (Mine was 32" tong.) There's a couple of advan- tages fo doing this. First, a large er workpiece is easier and safer to handle while running it through the saw. And second, you'l beable to eat the grooves for the tongue and aroove joinery all at once. This helps ensure a con- sistent grooveiin al of the pieces. ‘GROVES, Since these grooves are only al! wide (loo narrow for a regular dado late), Tused a normal ‘gonide bade, as shown in Fig, 6a “Tomake the grooves, startby set ting the ri fence Ac" from the edge of the blank, see Figs. 6 and Ga. After making the first cut on both edges of the blank, nudge the fence away from the blade and sneale up on the final width, Test the fitas you gountil the grooves fit te tongues. FRONTS, Once the grooves have been completed, the back (#). and zypper(C) and loner bi fronte (D) can be cut to finished size, as you can see in Fig. 9. You don't need to o anything more to the back piece at this point, But there are some decorative cutouts to mak on the ‘upper and lower bin fronts nthe upper bin front, the extent is made in two steps. First a 144" dia. hole is drilled 2" from the top, as you can see in Fig. 7, (1 used 2 Porstner bit) Then the rest of the profile is ent ont on a band saw and seek a =o pose 0 rides eae pet frortsand the back @- sandesl smooth on a dum sander ‘The shallow curves on the lower bin front are laid out with a quik: tip. {like to fay out smal arcs, like the ones in Fig, 5b, with an ordinary penny: Then cut the profile (ig. 8)| Dividers ‘The upperbne divider (and leer in divider (F) are the las. pieces to ‘be made. The lower bin dlvier is sim- ly ripped and cut to length (Fig. 5). But the front and back edges of the ‘upper bin cvider Fave tobe beveled {o it ightageinst the frontand back. EVES. To make these beveled ‘cus, I tilted the table saw blade BBIA® fo match the dadoes in the sides (Fig. 9). But [should mention ‘couple of things about this setup ‘What you want to avoid with this cat is to have the waste piece fall | _onto the saw blade and kick back. | _ And since the blade on my saw tilts to the right, [had to move my fence to the left side of the blade io make this cut, 2s shown in Fig. 9. (f your blade tits to the lef, you ean leave the fence on the right side) Regardless of which way your blade tits, youll want toad an aux. iiary fence to the rip fence. This prevents the first bevel from getting stuck under the rip fence when you flip the piece over to cut the second BW evel oc in Fg. fo: (Succ up sa this second bevel to zeta zood fit) With the bevels cual that’s left is to erosscut the dividers to length to ft between the sides (Fig. 10). _SSINBLY, Thi project might seem tricky to glue up all at once. but its ‘not First set the back on my bench and then glied the sides in place. Next, after appiying a drop of glue to | __ the dadoes, the dividers are sid into place. Finally, the bin fronts are glued on to the sides Pig. 1). Alter all the pieces are assembled, its just 2 matter of flipping i over and clamping it down to @ flat sur face, ikea workbench, This will pro- vide even clamping pressure along the entire length of the back, HARDWARE & HANGING. One of the reasons | made this project was to help me keep track of my keys. The key rack at the botiom Is simply a set of three small brass mug hooks | mounted in a row (Fig. 2b). A Thang the rack on the wall 1 first drilled mounting holes at the top and bottom (Fig. 12). Then using wall anchors, I mounted it to the wall with two screws. oe No. 139 ————E====_=____======—_—_————Fitting Center Drawer Guides Under the drawers ofthe 1a). The next bedside chest (page 6), step is to widen there are thin guides that its “mouth,” as foverthe runners inside you can see in ioceeneeptObcirgit an osio mile —— = Positioning these guides leftmargin. The diawersin the bods chest (Daze 6) site on a wood zuide correctly is important —OUIDES. AL this system: under dhe drawers, The rennes ithe case are raht- Decauseitaffectshow well point, you can jonuend. The guides tnder the draws requved abt more fiting thedrawers wilslide, start onthe NOTCH. Before you begin drawer guides, as in Figs. But youll find that the a square and checked that working on the guides, 2 and 3. I planed some dado blade wil tend to lift they were centered. by you'll need to cut a notch stock te %{e" thick s0 the the thin piece up off the _ measuring out from each in the back of the drawer, pieces would fit under the sav, soto keep it pressed line to the drawer side, a8 ay in Fig. 1 below, After drawer bots. down safely, madea long shown in Fig. 2) laying out the notch cen Each guide nceds cen. pushblock,asin Fig.3. To double-check the lay tered on the back, bottom tered groove so itll slide MOUNT GUIDES. The last out lines, I centered! the ele of the draver, 1 easily over the runners instep is to mount cach drawer in its opening and made two vertical cuts the case. cut this groove guide toits drawer: To do looked underneath to %e’ down with a hand by making wo passes this accurately rst craw make sure the tines were saw, Then T removed the over adado blade, flipping acenterline on the drawer centered over the drawer waste with a chisel, scor- the zuide between passes bottom and then measure runner, ‘Then | glued the gthebotiomelgeoithe (Fig. 3). And it’s nt a bad both directions to guide to the drawer bot- = notch and paring down to idea to sneak up on the lay out the edges of the tom, using a heavy object Temove the waste (Fig, finalwith ofthe groove, guide. (Idrew them using toapply pressure, 0 = 7 4A fed rock in dhe beer edge of the drawer makes icasierto “feed” the drawer guide onto the manner in the case. No. 139— Routing A Straight Edge Usually, cutting a straight line is easy, and cutting carvesisachallenge With the base of the keepsake box on page 28 and the optional base for the bed- side chest (page 13), is the other way around, Once the profiles have been laid out, they can be cut to rough shape on the band saw. A drum sander will work to bring the ‘curves fo final shape. But it’s next to impossible to sand 2 straight line with a drum sandler. So instead, I used a lush trim bitin the router table ‘The secret is providing a straight surface for the Ditto tide on, As you can see in Fig. I, this is done by fastening a straight piece of scrap along the Ihyoutline, ‘Then adjust the height of the bit to ride on the ‘serap, a8 shown in Fig. 2. Note: For the optional base of the bedside chest, youll need to stop the lush trim bit just short of ‘he ends so you ean clean up the inside corners with asharp chisel. Chip-Free Corners When routing 2 profile around assembled frames dike the base and lid of the keepsake box), the bit will often creaiealittle chipout at the corners, With the firstthree carness, ou can clean upany chipoutas you begin routing the adjacent edge. Butifthe last corner Applying Veneer A piece of highly-figured ‘veneer that Id been saving was perfec or thelldcfthe keepsake box on page 28.1 wanted to make sure the veneer pattern ended up chips out you're out ofkick Here's an easy solution, ‘Start routing at the center of one of the edges, as shown in Fig. 1, This way, when you get to the last corner. you'l still be able to clean up any chipout when you complete the Drofle on the frst edge. 69 centered on the lid, so 1 used coatact cement to glte ito the id panel, ‘The benefit of using contact cement is that once the pieces touch, they won't slip, as they might with a liquid glue, Of course. that means the pieces must be in the right positions before they're pressed together. ey ‘One way to do this isto puta piece of waxed paper ‘between the panel and the veneer, like you see in Fig. 1, This way, you can posi tion the veneer over the pane! before pulling the waxed paper out slowly, ‘Once the pieces have ‘made contaet, firm pres: sure from a roller ensures atight bond. ‘The edges of the veneer can be trimmed cleanly by turning the panel upside down and running a razor ‘aaife aloag the edges of the panel (Fig. 2). 0 D cu perfectly seraght line hare the cues om the ends ofthis base, all you need isa flush vim bit and a sraight ieee of sre. A To select che bes. looking area from sasheet of weneer, cutamaseche same size asthe td prael from apiece of cardboard.‘eepsakes remind us ofspecial events and people, So why should those cherished memen- toes he stuffed into a shoebox on ‘2loset shelf Insteal, keep thei close at hand and on dieplay in this frandsome box. STORAGE SPACES. This box has lots of room for small treasures, fn the drawer and lidded com partment. Inside the thick lid there's 2 recess perfect for sior- ing photos or letters. 28 KEEPSAKE Box. An unusual mitered drawer and astriking veneer are just two of the reasons this box may become a keepsake itself. MITES. The li, base, and case of the box are all mitered irames that ft around panels. Even the: ends of the drawer front are mitered so it will ft tight to the front ofthe case ‘WOOD. I built my box out of mahogany with plywood panels ‘A Aseries of saw herfs create the appearance inside. The lid panel is dressed of three drawers and ao form shedoue Ines up with a mahogany veneer. If above and below the drawer. The lid is vencering is new to you, there accented witha mahogany bel vencer, and are detai's on page 27. For afi he profleis cut with « common router bit ish, Tused a tung oil varnish. ard pass on the table saw. ‘Woodsmith No. 139oe celtics, vena Deveustons: meatal : \ 1BIVWx 19° x 71H ‘entra storage SER \ Case pieces are solid wood. 7 (eose ae Pasir Base ah Dinter Bex nets tnt wenecetnge wise Save kos ecront_/ Erte ese oe nfeesmater drovers -—_- MATERIALS, SUPPLIES & CUTTING DIAGRAM A Case Sides (2) YexAlh-10 Lid Panel (1) Yo py.- Bx 11 B Case Back (1) Wx h-12b Mid FrIBK Rais (2)* Wax a= 13 | € Case front() ex Stgn}-12!2 NN Lid Side Rois (2)*_ 14x 114 10% | D Cose Bottom (1) Yepy. Slax 113% © Pocket Supports (2) Ya %-11 E Base Sides 2)* TxV=11 + ()9* x12" (eqh,)tWo-ply veneer F Bose Front/Bock @)* 1x1%2-13!2 > (2) 1%" x 174" Brass Hinges Screws G Base Panel(1) — Yepy.-9Yox12_ + (1) Lightweight Brass Chain, 8° Long H Drawer sides (2) YX2-9%4 — (2) 4x 16" Rh Bross Screws 1 DrawerBack(1) %x2-11e + (B)34"-dia. Brass Knobs wiScrews J DrawerFront(1) ex2- 12% * (A) 15" Brass Escutcheon Pins K Drawer Btm.(1) Yetutd.-9x11% > (3) Postertoard and Fabric Liners i x 55° — a6" mahogany (18 59. FL) Ye xa" 36° Mahagony (15a Ft) z Eps eee Eee fora se bottom, “Partsare resewn trom two BU ercboardorcraner dorian — ‘laminated pieces of 4 stock ALSO NEEDED: ‘and base panel, an No. 139 Woodsithau 4 When cating spines forte miter joints, ies jer trip hem froma wide Blank Case I startet work on thecase frst Whats unique about this case fs thatthe bottom is centered Intheassembly and dividesthe uupner ease from the drawer, And the case front iscut inal to create the drawer opening. SE. The case sides (A), tuck (B), and front (O) start out cut to rough length. Bat the front is left extra wide. ‘The drawer front will becutfrom the workoiece late, as ilustrated in Fig. 1. This way, the grain pattern ‘sill match on the front ofthe box Next, eacl. piece needs a groove that will hold a plywood bottom panel (Fig. 1, The grooves all need to be the same distance froma the top edge. So | marked this edge on each pilece and made sure it was agains. the fence as laut each groove TERS, After the grooves are cut, the pieces can be mitered to length ‘The pieceson opposite sides have to ed up exactly the same length, so ‘what [do is miter one ond of each piece first. Then | fastenastop Block to an auxiliary miter gauge fence and niter the other end of one pai, as shown in Fig, 2. (The stop block will need th be repositioned before rmitering the second pai) Mont. Now the case front can be rippeil to final width Just set the rip fence so you end up with a 1" rab- Deton the ease front, ke you seein Fig. 3, Set the etoff piece aside to use for the drawer front later. 1 munis. Assembling a mitered box can be like bulkling a house oicards — there's nothing mechanical to hho things together So I keto ara NOTE Casetront, 2H Eeeard erst Drawer front fhenmtered eo ‘ut trom blank Torease front splines to thejoint to make thealign- ment caster (and the joint stronges) ‘As Fig. 4 shows, the grooves for the splines are cut on the table saw. Just be sure they dent cut into the [groove for the bottom (Fig. 1a) Spline’ oF SECOND: Camp son Breck to uray fence a mies teed An easy way to ent the spines is shown in the margin photo, Then they can he cut to length (Fig. 1. JoTTOM, ‘The next thing to dois 10 xy assemble the box and measure for the botfon: (D). After it’s cut ‘rent bint y NOTE: Poston spline soar fo ord roar Tortottem see Ag. 18 Woodsmith No. 119‘s2e from 16" plywood (Fig. 1), the case can be glued together ‘Onee the eases assembled, you'll notice the exposed grooves in the Side panels. As Fig. 1 shows, I filled these with splines, then trimmed and sanded them flush. BASE ‘The base is similarto the casein that it's also made up of four mitered pieces that fit round a panel. But ‘other than the miters, the construc: tons" quite the same 1aSE FRAME. I you take 2 Took: at Figs. 9 and Sa, you can see tht the base sides (B), front (F), anc back (P) are 1" thick. [ glued up blanks fiom thinner stock, thea resawed them 26 shown in Fi. 6 so the joint Ine would be hidden by the case Like the case pieces, the base rieces are cut to ished width but {o rough Fength. Then a groove is routed in each piece like you see in Fig. 7 Later, atongue onthe bottom panel will ft ito this groove. The lea here isto position the groove 0 the top ofthe panel will be dush with the top of tne base (Fig. a), JASE PANEL. There's not much to the base pal (O). Is just apiece of'4 plywood cut to it between the grooves in the base, As Fig. 8 shows, a rabbet is routed around the panel to leave a tongue to it the groove ia the base pieces. Once the tongues are cut, the dase plecescan be mitered to length (o.6t around the panel. FEM. Before gluing up the base, a profile i cut in each piece to forma Sfoot” at each corner (Fig. 5h). 1 rough cut the profile on the band No. 139 ‘tw and sanded the ends on the ‘dewm sander. An easy way to clean up the straight portion of the profile is described on page 27. When the profileis completed. the base can be -glued together. Woodsmith NOTE: Base Tron, bac, 2nd sides lued uo from thinner stock NOTE: See page27t0 cut toat prot en base Thickros of ri bottom pone! vi OYE. The last thing to do before ing the case to the base is to rout cove around the top edge, like you see in Fig. 9, There's a tip on page 27 that will help reduce chipout on the comers as you do this ltraighe 3 aL~~ A Ascading biock ae ee ee NOTE: Drawer front ‘pped 1 fia oschh SRerjainege scat Drawer There are acouple oftmusl things bout the drawer, Mostobvioasis the mitered drawer front, Less obvious 's the fact thet the drawer is built to fitthe exact width and height of the case opening, (Sanding the drawer sles provides room fori x0 tide) S1DB. Building the drawer is prot ty basic, ( started with the drcanr sides (2D, 2s shown in Pig 1, Their length allows fora gap heween the drawerand the back ofthe ease ‘The dramer back (D can also be cut to size (Fig, 10). To allow tor the joinery its length ist less than the interior width of he ease JOINERY. I decides to cut the join ery next, below ripping the drawer sront towidth, This way, any chipoat or the edges ofthe drawe front wil be cleaned up asit'seut io size, The deaver joints are simple 10 cut on the router table, First, ¢ dado iscutacrss each end ofthe demerr Aunt (1) so that its ouiside edge aligns with the inside corner ofthe ras illustrated in Figs, Lt and Ha. Then each se piece receives a ralbhet to accent the hacks (Fig. We) ‘The boitor patel sisi a groove ineach drawer piece (Fig. 0b}. The grooves run the full length of the sides and back. But on the front the roove stops at eac's dado soit slow winen the drawer is pen. NOTE Drawer back ind sees ore Bethick mshogany Fran is ee ehick mabognry, selup, All you have to do is plunge the piece onto the bit, as shown Fig, 12, and stop the cut whea you hear the bitreach the dado, FAISE FRONTS. Before the drawer is assumbied., there are sill afew cuts tomake, asshown in Fig. Ie, Two keris on the drawer front create the Mlus.on of three sinaler drnwers. These are aut on the table saw with the blade set above tie table. (Lusedl a sip bled to get a Mat bottomed groove) Alter cutting Ue kerts, I repost tioned the rip fence to cnt rabhets ‘0 the top andl bottom exes of the drawer front. This creates shadow Woodsinith eee Re J] fence | a Aue ees (NaSTines that “separate” the drawer from the case and base, s0TT0M. Now you're ready to cut « drawer bottom (K) tsi from hardboard (Fig. 10), and sue the drawer together, = And finally, just sand the drawer sides so the draver slides into the case easily (Gee mar agin photo on the opposite page). uD Construction of the lid is a lot like that ofthe base, atthis time, Tsteried with the panel. That’s because the panel is veneered, and you need to know the panel's final thickness before you can begin work on the frame that goes aroun ‘VENEER. AS Fig. 19 shows, the lid panel (L) is a piece of " plywood ‘with mahogany veneer applied to the outside face. There's more about veneering on page 27. ‘After the veneer is in place, the panel can be set aside while some ‘work is éone an the rails. EAS. Like the base pices the lid ‘from’ (M), back (M), and side rails (ON) are buil vp from thinner stock. ‘And positioning the thicker piece oa top helps conceal the joint Hine ina fiat portion ofthe profile (Fig, 139). ‘After the rilshave been ripped to ‘wid (Fig. 139), I made tw cuts on the inside face of each one, The first is a groove to accept a tongue that will be cut on thelid panel (Fig, 14). ‘Then youcan reposition the fence and use the same hitto cut a rabbet along the bottom, inside edge. This rabbet will accept acouple of pocket supports added tothe lid later. All that’s left now is to create a tongue around the panel to ft the groove and glue the lid together. PROFIE. With the lid assembled, ‘you cen Sart on the edge profile, First, I routed a small chamfer around the bottom of the li, like you seein Fig. 15. Next, Tout a deep rabbet at the table saw, es shown in Fig. 16, The key hore isto make the rabbet deep enough to clear the bearing on the router bit that is used to complete the profile. Ifyou take a look at Fig 17, youcan see what Tmean. No. 139 Thies of fciparelUs bras: eseutcheon pin Allthat remainsto complete the box is to install the hardware and add some other finishing torches. INGES & CHAIN. The hinges are Hor tived into both the lid andease. Ater tracing the outine of ahinge leaf onto thelid with auuility knife, 2sshown in Fig. 19 Trouted out most ofthe waste ian > Reiss earnes e o_Restion tempor — ‘with a hand-held router, like you see inFig. 20. You nced to clamp a piece (6 scrap to the lid to give the router moresurface to ride on. [deaned up themortises with a chisel (Fig. 202). ‘Thea with the lid centered on the ‘case, you can trace the location ofthe hinges onto the case. The seme pro. ‘Bock rat efi escuieneon pin ‘celure usedto cut the mortises on the lid is used on the case Gig. 21). ‘Nexi, a short section of chain is added (0 keep the lid irom opening too far, as shown in Figs. 18 and Lb. Finally, small, brass knob is cen- tered on each ofthe false frontfields, asillustrated in Fig. 18 POCKET SUPPORTS. A pair Of pocket supports (O) keeps items stored in the lid from falling out. These are secured to the lid with brass eseutcheon pins (Fig. 180). fHMSH, Next, Tremoved the hard: aro and applied three coats ofa tung oil varnish tothe box. LUNING. While the Ginish was dry- ing, I made 2 liner to fit each com- partment.‘To do this, wrapped fabric around '/shick, seléadhesive poster ‘board that found ata hobby shop. ‘WoodsmithSOURCES BEDSIDE CHEST You'll need to order two pedestal ‘Tofind the hardware or the bedside feet — one for each front corner chest on page 6,youmay waatte tart _(shown onthe leftin the photo), ‘The with the sourees in the margin at back comers ezci need a pedestal right. Ifyou havea woocworking spe- end (shown on therightin he ptoio). cialty store nearby, you might find The pedestal ends are specifically ost of the items you'll need there. macle forthe right or leftsile of cab- READY-MMDE FET. Ifyou'd rather not inet, se youl need one of each, rake the bracket eet, you can order PULLS AND BUMPERS, The brass bail ready-made feet lke those shown in pulls stem bumpers, and tray knobs the photo at right. Plus if you'd like are also availeble from some of the tomake the chest from something sources listed at right, ‘other than cherry the feetalso come ROUTER BITS [used two special bits in oak and maple. I ordered mine to focm the profiles on the drawers from Rockler, but they can also be and the base ofthe chest. One is a found at Van Dykes Restorers (sce Romanogee bt witha 1 radius. The information in the margin), other isan ogee fillet bit with a 3" radius. You may be able tofind these locally, or they can be ordered irom ‘soveral ofthe sources in the margin. PLASTIC LAMINATE. The laminate for ‘the pall-cut tray is availabie at home ‘centers and some hardware stores. KEEPSAKE BOX The other was the router bit used Mound much ofwhat was needed for forthe id profile. It's aclassical ogee the keepsake box (page 28) with abit from Amana (#54134). You ean visit to a local hauctware store and a buy Amanabitsoaly through one of | hobby shop (or the posterboard). their dealers, co visit their website or veneer that I ordered from Bob Morgan Woodworking Supplies. A ‘tworly veneer makes a highly fige ured wood like this easier to work with. The second ply helps keep the ‘MAILOROER. | cic order a few items call them to find a eater. ‘wood from wrinkling and buckling. by mail. One wes the drawer knobs. _YEHER, The veneer I used for the Contact information for each of ‘These came from Lee Valley. lidpanelisa twoply mahogany crotch these companies isin the margin, LETTER & KEY RACK ON-LINE EXTRAS Or you can have the patterns ‘The only hardware you need forthe You dontt have to mess with aphoto- letter and key rack on page 22isthe copiertoenlange the patterns for the three hooks along the bottom. The bracket feet for the bedside chest ones Iused are small mug hooks (page 19) and the side panels ofthe (V" long) that | found in the Lee letter and key rack (paz 23). You can Valley catalog. The part number is download free, fullsize versions of OOWS5.01.See the margin atrightfor the patterns, ust visit our website t ‘ordering information, ‘wwvwoodsmith.com. RCD St) mailed to you. Just send a stamped, seltadéressed #10 envelope to: Woodssmith Patterns PO, Box 812 Des Moines, 14 90804 Please specify whether you'd like the patiern fr the bracket fet or for ‘thelletter and Key rack ‘+ ‘Onine Exrse” Plans, Patterns, & More * Over 100 Woodworking Tips Online «Visit Our Radars! Project Photo Gallery + Projet Pian You Can Download 1 Catsog of Project Kits Tools Jigs, de Plans + Forums or Woodworking, Tools, & Cassels * Links 0 Other Woedworking Sites mall ORDER SOURCES Similar project supplies ond hardeners many be ordered from the follouing companies: ‘Amana Toot Comp. 800-445-007 ron natal so ote ite Bob Moran oostworkiag Supptes 502-4562545. Lee Vater s00-871.8198 wae. com Bai ple, ete is, Hinge, ey ces, Krebs Racker Woodmoring 100-279-4441 ‘wavitocklrccm Baily Hig, uo, tet Roster Stem bunpers Nana's Restorers 800-358-1224 vss Pedestal ft Woodcraft 002251155 wninvodera.com iu, ona is Woodsanita Store 800.826 5084 ‘ai pls rctenon i, Hae, Restrbi oodnerkers Sepp srecvond worker itt 200-648-0202 Bai pls Btetche ‘ine i. Re, eer bitsKeepsake FINAL DETAILS sured mementos provides «beat