NO.

27

NOTES FROM THE SHOP

$2.50

I
COMPLETE PLANS FOR:
PICNIC TABLE
PATIO CHAIRS
OUTDOOR BENCH
PLUS. . . A SHOP TEST ON
CARBIDE-TIP SAW BLADES

Sawdust
\80t'T T1II, i&'l I have a I>a\,'blue
sweater with 1 hole In one sleeve, It',
thread-bare, and ~ng
from old age.
EdoIo<
And
I've
been
told
it's
lime
to get rid o(
DonaldB. P_ko
"that old lhing" and buy a new one.
DesIgn O!redO<
But I like my old gw ca ter. I always feel
Ted K,"~k
warm in it - even though I know a new
sweater
would really be warmer.
",","tant EdItors
So what's the point of all this talk about
Steve Krohmer
old
swealers'! I thought thi. Wa::I a woodMlctlHl P. Scott
working n13f.,."87.inp.
G,aphoc ~ne<s
\\'~II.it'. ju ..\ thal I have almost the
O.vld KI-vllng
same f,...bllj.,0<8 about my saw blade. For the
Mltela Simmons
past eoupte o( year. I've been using a
Freud ;;Olooth earbide-upped
comSo"*'1p(IOn Manager
bination blade. That blade he> cut a lotof
SencIy J. Baum
5.oIJKf __
.. eod and e'en thou"h 11'8 b<-gmning to
w~ do" nibil, I (c-c! romfortable with it
ChtlaWlloll_
and it aI"'I)'5
lhe JGb done.
Y1ctcy RobIn..,n
I wouldn't thmk of ~tt= a "" .. 0""
Jeckle Stroud
Thall'. until l madelhe ml'tal", o(u,in"
SIllrley _an
one of Fre1ld'. new 1,t:1!S~1"Anti-grip"
Pem Dlckoy
blades. Ju.t on" CUI. that, ali it took to
completely alter my way o( looking at "''''
Computer OperatIOnS
blade. anll "hilt I <huuld expect of them,
KenMI_
But before I gN too exened about this
C.'CtJlatJonMan~e,
blade, IN me back up a minute and explain
Jeff Forri.
how all nfthis started. StllV. Krnhrner (our
assistan; t~it(1r) drt'\" the :u.....ib'1lmenlof
Admlnl$tralNe AsslSlanl
writing a twopage article about ~a\\
Cheryl Scott
blades,
ISSN 0164-41 14
\\'e a~'IX'edthat We ,hould buy ..."en.(
WOOOSMITM .. pubiIIwd bornandIIy (JanuaIY. type, of blades and te;;t them out 10"""i(
March May. Jutr. ~.
~
by 1M........ JllIy "11.< an~' difTcreJWebetween
_.,
~
Company. 1912 G<and on<' blade and another. \\,thout going
0\ e",oard on thiS project. we ... ttled on
A'18 0.. Moonee. Iowa 50309
WOOOSMITM ... regosIeted _
01 the two brand-: 8(>= and Ft\'ud. Then we
added the Mr. Sawdust- blade. beeau..<e I
W_
PucIst"'Ij Company
krep ...,ing (ull'p3~e ad., (or it in Fine
Copyright "83 by Woodsmlth Pul>lish"'9
~y
All Rlghla Reserved.
1~'wd"'O'*'''9 And I "anted to kno" just
how
1to<,,1 it "II!;
SublCrlptlon. Ono yoar (6 ossues) $10. Two
In the middle of all this, Ted Kralicek
yoar. (12"'u ) S18 Single copy price. 52.50
(our
Pe.iWl I)ir('<:torl dedded we $hould
(canada ond Foreign. add $2 pe< year.)
Chlngo Of Add,... : Please be sure to IOOOOe gel A new table b3W. Thing> were getting a
Iitlle cl'o\\'dcd in the shop - almost to the
both your old end new edd,... lor change
address lola" to, WOOdsmlth.
1912 Grand Avo .. poinl thAI we hod to hedule lime on the
one table I18W we had.
0e5 Moines, low. 50309.
Our npw ,,*w and the <o1It'Clionoi sa"
Second cia.. poouogo pold at Des Moines.
biRd""amved about the same time. It was
Iowa
__
; Send Change of eddrBss 00IJC8. lhen I reali7A'<llhat we were really buying
Form 3579. 10WoodanIIh Pub6shIng Co. 1912 twO parate pil'C<" o( equipment. The
table till" by itsel( i.jw;t a way to ltUide
Grand Avo. Ooa MoInes Iowa 50309.
board.lhrou~h the blade. But it', the ....
BACK ISSUES
blade that" ",ally dQinll all the """rk.
A list 01 the oon*,ta 01 .. bad< oSSI _ _,.
I left the 'hop to -IWl th.. ch""ks (or all
on the _
01 hi ouue ij the _
IS
thi. ne" equipment. \1eanwhile, Ste\'<
""'"""0. you '*' .....,lor a _
desCiilliilg
,tarted t~ting the ',1\\ blad~. A couple of
week..b.t.r, hceme'l,'l'd (rom the s.op and
the oontenla and pnc:es of .. back 1S$U8$
annouooetl that the two-page article on
SAMPLE COPIES
saw blade.
now going to be si.. pages. I
agreed
i(
only
to lo'l!t him out of lhe shop
II you hay ,_
who would1000e
to see a copy
s:oIroulcl gQl some lime in on the new :;3\\',
01WOOd.mlth. Just send the name andaddr ....
I thought I'd leSt out the new Lable $8W
and WI'. send a eample (at no COSI).
Num_27

May June, 1983

,.ta

0'

W""

by etltung lhmugh 1 1'''''''' o(,;crap oak.

That'. "hen It hRppen.-d I didn't realize
St.\I had I.ft the t rt'tId "Anu'gnp-blade
on the """ ,\. I trimmed olTthc end rothe
oak scrap, I noticed something was

dltrtr~nl.
The nil 1<e.'m
.. 1 mooth, almo>l effort
I"",s. Ilook ...lat th., r.....hly cut end. and to
my surprise, it \\ltl"t,'t ~r"oolh ... it \"83
perf, -e t. The ,nt! gram ("II like Jr(as.,. No
lorn fih.'r . :0;" tooth marks. JUSt a
smooth. ,Imost burnished surface you
couldn't II,' "bul touch
and beamazed.
Itook the bl:id.. ofT the laW to >eo w hat it
locked like 1110Gb a,._ me The teeLh
~hln<' Ilk. IIOm,thmg IIralght out of a
lOOthJlL.<U' c.. mmc rciaJ The blade it..~j,;
<Oah-d "1th blark T.non (\' ou get the
(<:('bnJ:llorth \ ad"r .. ould use it to cut
do" n h~ "Pl'on<nto )
Okay, ouy All 01 thIS is oc-ginning to
SoU",1 hke A bl~ pubbc ....Iatjons effort Cor
F null,.", bla<l....
I .. II .. Inlll lhat I'm very impl't'ssed
...ith the, 1>1.101, Jlul.n all (aime<s, I'm sure
th~n' an: IIlh.'r "IIW blad es that will product~the ""'"'' Itu:dit~or cut. (Tbe Mr.

S!iv.,lu ...t 1.lntlj is lInt' fir them.)

But th, 1.,1111"' thu. "'i"1t a good saw
hI.d" cI.... makl ",hlto,n.'nce. If you expeer
perf, -cuon, 1101'7'1an' hIa<1,,,, that will produ",'" 'Tho:'1l"'.Ju ta",:ou"rofbowmuch

roone) It', \\Clrtil.

I agn"t ~ th !"tt\ t~cc;.nc1u.....ions that
olle 01 t .... best cIJoict. f"r the money is the
Freud 6O-to"th combIMtlon blade (my old
(a\'ont~). The D<''' .\nllJmP blade is a
(anto,,_llcbla<l<" but It'. dpsitmed clUelly(or
cut..,fT "urk.
I a"o grw th. t t h. St-""" bJades ...iIl
cut wood. but th(,y "mply aren't up to the
quality o( thl' Freud "roduct
A, (or th,' Mr. Sawdu,t blade. I'm still
not quite (Ulwin(t,1 thllt "lh. only blade
you'll ever need" i. worth $lf10.
~.;" ~'At-~~S,
Wtl'''4! addt>d Ollemore

De\\'

(aC(' to 110.JmIUpnl 11',,,,,1.,,,.1/,. Jelf Far

ri..hM jf.inf"C1 Ult 1I) (.'1N)nJlnate the ciraala
Uon efT(,rts
thl" blJ"IJle~ foide of this.

bU>lnes Jeff '" from Ava (population

2.514), MllIkIIlri,"b~", be operated his

own hard" ,... 1 lumber company.
A! h~CUlll(" on buud here. our cir<uIa
tlon ,-Wld~at about 130,000. and Jeff ,,;n
be re>ponoiblc (or k~inJt ali o(those num
be", under control. But be'~ off to a good
start. He', alrt'ady a..",,11rt'd me that cir
culatlon "ill increase by one new subriber. JeIT and Marilyn are expecting
lheir Ii..l child AUj(U>t4th.
NEXTIILIII.tXI:. Th. next issue of Wood
tmlith (Number 28) .hould be in lhe mail
during the week of July 25th.

WOODSMlTH

T_ip-s & Technigu_e_s __

__

STICKY STAVES

When it came time to "glue up" the staves

used for the turned canisters (TI'oodsmilil
No. 25). I came up with an easy way to
keep everything under control. Ijust used
tape (masking, fiberglass. or whatever) to
secure all the individual pieces until
they're glued together.
The .fin;t step is to lay out all the staves
ed~ to edge ..zith the outside r.ce upward.

The first step is to label the md. vidual

drawer sides using a simple method that
involves marking each drawer side with
a lelter. The key to this marking system is
to mark the letter near the bottom edge on
the ot8id. face.
"GUR',.A__

!::t==~~o~c=~
=~\ ...-""'"
BOTTOM EDGE

SIOl

'>.

......,

<

'ENCE

Next. I made two labels that are attached to the dovetail jig for identifying
both the proper sides, and their locations
for routing each or lhe four joints. Each
label consists or two separate two-letter
Then I applied two orthree rows of tape to combinations. Each set of letters is posithe outside race to hold the individual
tioned with one letter over the other,
staves together. Finally. the whole assem- representing the two sides needed to rorm
bly is turned over and rolled into. cylinder each corner joint. The top letter represents the piece placed in the top oflbejig,
10 cheek the fit between the staves.
II everything fits okay, the next step is and the bottom letter represents the piece
placed in the front or the jig.
10 flatten the assembly out and brush glue
Example: The dovetail formed between
on the edges of each stave. Then the entire
assembly is rolled up, and clamped with sides B and A is cut using the left side of
the jig (two of the joints are cut wring tbe
web clamps,
IIthe fit between the staves needs ad- let\ side of the jig, and lhe remaining two
justing, I don't apply glue to two of the joints use the right side of the jig). The
joint.~ (cpposite each other). This produces label shows side B over side A, so piece B
two half cylinders after the assembly has is inserted in lhe top of the jig, and piece A
been clamped. \Vhen everything is dry, I ftGUI.
trim the two halves until they mate perfectly. Then finally, the two half cylinders
are glued together.
Pm:y F. Ha1!$e7I
WalhaUa. N "rtll Dakota
OIlGANIZED

DOVETAilS

Recently I constructed 8 few drawers (14

to be exact) using a dovetail fixture to rout
halfblind dovetails on all four comers. This
involved a total of56 individual joints, and
about 10 million possible combinations.
About the time I was half done. the
problem started. All of a sudden Irealized
that 1 have become confused about where
to position the proper pieces for each joint.
(Repetition doesn't sharpen my mind. it
dulls it)
So to eliminate the chance of mounting
the pieces into the dovetail jig in the
"TOng position, 1 came up with a ~imple
labeling system for both the drawer sides,
and the jig.
WOODSMlTH

I've been using a cut offjig you showed in

Woodsmitlt No. 25 for some time now,
There is one change I've made that might
interest your readers- (added a measuring tape.
To incorporate the measuring tape into
the cut off jig, I simply redesigned the
fence into an "L" shape. This allows the ,{,'
wide tape to be attached on the shoulder of

<
INSIDf FAa!

APflY GlUt
10 JOINtS

MEASURED CUT OffS

HAW!.

SiDf

PlYWooO

IAIU

the fenee. Then finally, adjustable stop

blocks are cut to fit the new fence.
If the measuring tape is attached to the
fence of the cut off jig accurately, you can
save a lot of time normally used in measuring and marking.

L. A. S"yder

lVyoming. Michigan
Editor's Note: Tlte ollly mail order ."ure.
'IH!'veb.", obit to local. for 1M8elf sticking counler tape is Garrett Wade. 161
At: em'~oflhe Amertc(l$, Neu: York, NI'II!
I'ork, 10013. Stock /I 3()N()1.Ol. S3.90

row.

TII<!3etape cue 6feet lOll!], 'f,wide. and

calibraled in 'It,' illCl'I'mellt. (the first 6"
are calibm/<ld in 'In" incremell(8). They
CCLII be ea$i1y cui to match th II""gllll)fll'6
c,lI,off jig f."ce (fheV'rI! made with .1)()$'
thick slee I). Tile rult is aUadled by ,..,mOt
ing tile paper back and simply prC$$;ngthe
tape ill position.
One (Jth~..ole: Wllc" the tape i8 set lip
for a partie.dar blade, it may .wI be aUII
rate wilt,," ,.ud witlt anotlle, blade.

is inserted in the front of the jig. Note: 1-':":':"';';'':':'''-''';';'''';';'''';';''''_':':''''''_-------1

SlND IN YOUR IDlAS
Always keep the labeled face ofthe drawer
sides facing out, away from the jig, and 1----------------1
the labeled edge against the guide pins in If yoo'd liketoshare a woodWOlldnglipwllh other
readers of Woodsmlth, send your Ide. to:
the jig.
Woodsmlth, Tips & Techniques. 1912 Gland
Using this system, [ can tell at a glance
which two sides are joined together, and Ave.. Des MoI~. low. 50309.
We pay a minimum of $10 for tips, and S15 or
where to locate each individual piece.
more lor special techniqUes (lIIat are accep,ed
Even at\er 56 joints.
tor publicatIOn). Please gille a oomple",,,,,piana'
Sue Kortum lion your idea II a sicetch is needed, send It
Custer. So"III Dakota along. we'lI draw a new one.

0'

Picnic Table
LIGHT-WEIGHT, STURDY & STORES FLAT
\Vhen J set out to build a picnic table, I had
two thi,*, in mind. First, 1 bad visions of
barbecued steaks, corn on the eob. potato
salad, and cold watermelon - all nicely
laid out on a picnic table in my back yard.
B11Imy second thought was, "\Vhat am (
goingto do with the table when the gloomy
weather of winter !'OIL, around and ( want
to store it away?"
To solve this "inter-time storage problem. ( needed a fairly light-weight table
that could be moved without the use of a
tow truck. AI$O to make moving it around
and storing it easier, Iwanted to make the
legs uf the Lable collapsible so it wouldn't
take up much spaee.
Before J even sat down at the drawing
board. Irealized that this table is one oithe
few projects I've designed for when it
was,,'t going to be used. The method J
tame up with to accomplish this goal was to
use hinged-leg arrangement that's nOI
only easy to set up. but it's also
quick and easy to tear down.
The next problem Wl1!; to design the table top so the same
style could be used on a set of
chairs (page 8) and a bench
(page 12) - creating. coordinated outdoor furniture set. To
coordinate these three components,
I used 3 simple
const ruction technique that
involves making frames out of
H~"-~hiek redwood and then
inserting "".-thick cedar slats,
(These thinner slats also help
to reduce the overall weight of the table
top).
THE TABLE TOP

The table top is constructed foUo\\'ingthe

same basic theme of lhe entire outdoor
furniture set: a redwood Crame with cedar
slats. Only in the ease of the table top, the
frame is modified sllghtly to accommodate
IWOextra divider rails. see rig. 1.
These extra rails serve two purpose s.
First, they shorten the span of the cedar
slats (thus providing additional support for
the slats). And second. they provide a
place for attaching the legs on th~ underside of the table.
CLT 1'0 SIZE. All of the pieces for the
table top are ripped tAl a standard width of
21'1'. J started with the six pieces for the
frame. ripping them out of 2.6 redwood.
see Cutting Diagram.
5HOI' NOTf:, Since 2)(6:; usually have
rounded edges, Iripped these pieces to get
two clean (square) edges. It should be

a half lap at both ends. and

cross laps if' from each end. see Fig. 2.
mils (A) -

easy, I thought.
get t wo 2y,,'-\\~de
pieces Out of a 2x6 (which is actually 5'1!:wide). But it didn't work that way on the
material I was using because some of the

(:R()()'.;S. Alter the joints were eat, I

eut grooves on the edges of the two end
rail. (B) and the two diviner (C) rails to
house the slats. Here. r wanted to make
sure the face of the slats would be flush
\\;th the face of the frame members.
Todo this, hold the face side ofone of the
slats on the edge of one of the rails. and
mark the position of the wld" .ide of the
slaton the edge of the rail. Then set up th('

boards were narrower than they were

saw

.0

supposed to be.

\\'haL I wound up doing was ripping tl\.

2,,6:; down the center first. Then I set the
fence for 211, and ripped oITas much of lhe
outside (rounded) edge as I could.
Finally, I cut the two long rails (A) to
length or64", and the end rails (B) and the
divider rails (C) to a length of ll5y,,'.

to cut a 'Y!"

x 31", groove so the

edge of the groove is on the line .

bottom

A s shown in Figure 2. the two end rails

(B) have groove. on the inside edge only.
The two divider rails (e) have grooves on
both edges.
LAG SCREWS. To ,,(!-engthen each of the
half laps I added lag screws at each joint.
But before drilling for the lag screws, lin>t
I dry -elamped all six members of the frame
HALF LAPS AND GROOVES
(clamping the lbng raiJs against the sheulders of the half laps on the end rails and
Aft.cr all six pieces are cut to size, they're
joined with half Is", to formthe frame. 1 divider rails). Then just to be sure. I
eut the half laps on both end. oCthe divider double-cheeked the frame for square.
raiJs (C) and the end rails (B) first. (All four
Finally. I marked the center of each
pieces are cut with the same setting on the joint and drilled v. eournerberes %' deep,
saw to make sure the shoulder-to-shoulder
followed by '." pilot holes. (I found
the easiest way to drill all these holes
distance between the half laps is exactly
was to use a drill mounted in a Portalign
the same on these four pieees.)
Next, I cut the jOints on the two long attachment, 1
"IOODSMITH

THE SLATS

'While the frame is dry-clamped together .

measure the distance between the grooves
to determine the length to cut the slats.
Then all of the slats are cut 2Y," "ide. and
to length (to fit between the grooves).
After cutting the slats to size, 1 CU~
rabbets on each cnn to leave a ~" x Yo"
tongue to lit the grooves. see Fig. 3.
And linally. to reduce the chance of
splintering. [ also chamfered both top
edges of each slat.

,.~"1r-

.. ,

I
fI

S1~~

3."

BRACKET FOR LEGS

Finally. a 5Upport bracket is mounted to

the underside of the table, see Fig. 5. This
bracket supports the slats at the center of
the [able, and is also used to mount the
hinged braces for the legs.
Cut the bracket (D) to length so it overlaps the outside rails 1W on both ends, see
Fig. 6. Then cut half lap on each end so
the shoulder. of the half lap lit tight
against the inside edges of the long rails.
AMr it's cut to length, drill pilot holes
and apply glue to the half lap (but nOt on
any part that touches the slats), and screw
it in plate.
S&CURESI....TS. Finally, I eounterbored
pilot holes in the bracket, so each hole was
centered on a slat (see ~lg.5) and secured
the slats to the bracket with #8 - IY,"
woodscrews,

-a'~.

1-1

:;

1-

F3I
U

'.

:
:
't
a

21....

SflACi BETWEEN SlAJ$

.t.,

-'-

31'

-p.,...

ASSEMBLY

Now the table top i. ready to be assembled. Slide the slats into the grooves
and apply adhesive to all the half laps. (I
used resorcinol glue. It'~ waterproof and
suitable for outdoor projects.) Then drive
the lag screws home.
\Vben the glue is drv, cut 8 IV." radius on
the four corners ofthis frame with a sob>..
saw, and round over all edges with a 01.1'
eorner-reund bit, see ~"'ig.4.
ALIGN SL'\1S. Position the slats evenly
across the width of tbe table, and drive
a-penny finish nails through the center of
each slat (from [he bottom side of the
table).

..,.

FlGUIE 1

....

1-8'"

l-

-l

0"~
:I
8---;

6a

1'"

2'~

B
B
-;

"--S' .

c
~o

VIew Of DlVIOE. tAlL!

I~
'",-\' .

,_J. '-.,

t.,

J.__

L_

I. LAG

SCREW
INSEaT SLATS

AU GRQOVlS
WIOEaY 1, OlE'

UFOIl MOUNTlNG
fNO boll

1 l~G

,',
AGURE 4

AGURi 3

.....(HAMRa

fI(-,-.__

80TH

..,

fOOts SUG""tr

..

.,

'.
._..

.oUT l..
CORNU ftOUNO

CUI
TONGUES

-. ON AU OUTSIDE fOGlS

ON 10TH ENDS
flGURf6

SUPrOIt UAcm

COUmtaSINIC

fASTERH BAA.CkEt

WITH Its

ro

flAM

. 1'. WOOOSCRfWS

......tOUNlfaIOAE ,liOt HOU$

CENTERED ON s~rs

G\.UE AND

.sc~wTO flAME

SC:RlW SlAYS 1'0 SUrtOR'T ItACI(T

WOODSM1TH

FfGlI,u 7

"'2~ ._ S

I '

2'0

:,

r-S

"

f-

"1".

II

..,,,,' --r
2;
:

-NOfeN

DlfU

; ;
MOll

2'h~

STOCK

~~ 01''

THE LEG ASSEMIILlES

-- 2", -

Cf:Nfl_ED ON

'2",,- W1DE,

2'~

+.

2'.;' r--':

-3.'" ----2''';

I I

2~'

,,
AGUIE.
".. 1 LAG SC.fW

",.....- AND WASHER

_WHO OVE. AU EDGES

E;XCEPf TO' TWO EOGES-

or.

A"'''O lNStOf SQUARE

M(AStJ'_E otAGO"'.L
fROM. STllt(HEIt

1'0 abent

tHEN suaTRACTV.

"

;II

HEX HEAO IOU

A,NDWA$Hfl

After the table top is built, the only thing

left to do is to add the legs. Initially, J
designed this table with a trestle leg systern, But this style doesn't allow the legs to
ecltapse for easy storage.
Al\er a little more time at the drawing
board, Icame up with a hinged leg system
that's sturdy, yet can be disassembled for
storage. And one of the nicest things about
this system is that it only requires building
two simple frames . . . using half laps,
naturally.
LEGM3SE"Ht.lES. Both leg frames consist of two legs (G), and two stretchers (H
and I). The first step is to rip all of the
pieces for the frame to 2~'wide. Then J
cut the legs to a length of2S". and the tWO
stretchers 3Oy;,long.
After all the pieces for the leg assemblies are cut to size, the next step is to cut
half laps on both ends of lhe legs, and on
both ends of the stretchers, see Fig. 7.
Al this point. I cut two additional
notches in tbe top stretchers (H) on both
leg assemblies, These notches house the
braces (J) so they lie flat against the table
top (when the table is broken down for
storage), refer to Fig. 1I. These notches
are 2\l," wide, '1'," deep and are cut 7Y,"
from each end of the stretcher.
The last step before assembly is to drill
two
holes Cor the bolts used to attach
the legs to the table top. These holes are
5" from esob end of the top stretcher, see
Fig. 7.
Ai:lSt:MBLY. Now the leg frames are
ready for assembly. Dry-clamp the four
pieces for each frame, and cheek the fit of
the joints and the square of the frame.
Then mark the center of each joinland drill
. eounterbores. '1'," deep. Follow these
eounterbores with the W' pilot holes for
the leg screws. Finally, apply glue to each
joint and lag screw the leg frames
together.

..

INSER1'BOlt

AND lAP ITTO MAIl

fOP'5 rtfleHir.

IN LEOMilMan'

JIOSmON OF
ROSAN INSEJIT

1t0000tNSW

I..H-O

DIVIDEt fl'A_l

MOUNT

THE LEG FRAMES

On" of the tricks to this leg system is the

/
CENTEalfG
I-...ME ON OIVlnu RAll

c
ROU.flO
STtAI' HIHGI

SEEAGutE 9
lOt

DUE.tMINING

,,,NOt" OF aItAC'

AlIGN (OGt Of KNUCKlj

WITH (HO 0; UACE

way it folds down for storage. To be effective. the legs have to be easy to remove.
Yet. when the table is assembled, the leg
frames have to be mounted so that they're
sturdy.
To accomplish both objeeti ves, I mounted the frames to the bottom of the table
with rosan inserts and hex head bolts.
SHOP).'OTE,Rosan inserts (also <ailed
threaded inserts) are brass sleeves that.
are threaded on both the outside and inside. The outside threads are similar to
those on a screw - so the insert ean be
screwed into a hole. Theil the inside
threads are sized to accept a eommon hex
head bolt.
The rosan inserts Iused on this table are
WOOOSMlTH

threaded on the inside to accept a '1'''- hex

head boll. And the hole needed to screw
them in place should be Ye' in diameter.
DRILl. HOLES. To mount the rosan inserts, the first step is to mark the position
of two holes on the divider rail (C). These
two holes must tine up with the two holes in
the top stretcher of the leg frame.
To mark their position, I put hex head
bolts in the holes of the stretcher and centered the stretcher on the divider rail.
When it's centered, I just gave the bolts a
sharp tap to mark where the holes should
be drilled.
Drill Ye- holes at these points, and screw
tbe 'Ya' rosan inserts in place. And finally.
mount the legs with Vo' x 3" hex head bolts.

AGURf 11

SUPPORT BRACES

The leg frames are supported with two

braces (J) going from the bottom stretcher
of each frame to the center bracket, see
Fig. 9. To get the final length of these
braces, first mount the legs to the bottom
of the table. Then measure from the inside
comer of the stretcher
to the inside
corner of the bracket CD)and subtract y,"
from this measurement to allow room for
the hinges.
MOUI<T BRACES. To mount the braces, I
used strap hinges on both ends of the
braces, see fig. 10. F'il"1lt, I attached the
strap end of one hinge to the end of the
brace. Then on the other end of the brace, I
attached another strap hinge to the opposite face.
Next, I mounted the nap end of one
hinge to the center bracket. Here, 00 sure
the knuckle of the hinge is centered on the
edge of the bracket, see Detail in Fig. 11.
However, when mounting the other hinge
to the stretcher, slide the knuckle offcenter .Iightly - so the .dg~of the hinge
knuckle is on the edge of the stretcher,
(This is to make sure the hinge doesn't bind
when the legs are folded down.)

fOLDING

screw-eyes.
FINISHING. Since food is likely to come in

contact with the surface of the table, a

stain that's non-toxic when it's dry should
be used. See page 14 for a ....view of the
possible stains to use.
\VOODSMlTH

0"
DETAil OF HINGE

ON aNTER BRAOCfT

flOURt 12

{AilE TO,. fACt! OOWN

NOTCHES IN tOP

'TRfTCHt. fOLD INTO I.lACES

LlN.IOU lfGS
f-J:OM ROSAN IN5.tRlS

FOt.O DOWN

THE lEGS

\Vben the braces are mounted, the table is

ready to use. Then when you want to disassemble it for storage, toosen the hex
head bolts (that hold the leg It-ames to the
rosan insert on the bottom of the table).
Then fold the leg frames down. moving
the top stretcher toward the center of
the table.
II e\'erything is aligned properly. the
support braces (J) should fold neatly in the
notches in the bottom stretcher of the leg
frames. To hold the leg It-ames in place
during storage, I added small hooks and

lIG fR.utI 'IN roLOfO IOSITION

MATERIALS
For
A
B
C
0
E
F
Fot

G
H
I
J

the Tobie Top flame:

long Roil. (2)
End Roil. (2)
Divid., !toil, (2)
CAnter Brodt (1)
Short Sioh (22)
long SI." (III
th. Let Ftom .s.:
I.g, (0)
lop S..... e..... (2)
Bottom Slt.'ch." (2)
8to~'"(4)

FOLD UP

usr

CUTTING DIAGRAM
HDWOOD 1.... "

llh

II 2'),

64

.s'''' 12

11,1, Jt 2Y. - 351,4

11,t"

)I

'"

IIC

l'n - 3Slh

v.. IIC 2Y).

21,N

331/,

8Y'.

. ,. 2~ 380/.

E-

I ,i
CtOA. ~.

1Yt )I 2~ 28
l!4 x 2~ 30'/,
llA )I 2'h . 30'h
. x 2~. 26

1.1

((OAR

11

g
8

31
I~

"I, . ".

I I. I_EJ

If.

'I(

S'fI . 96

F
I

I I I II
I E:IS

Patio' Chairs
SUf'v1MERTIMESITIIN'
Building a chair for outdoor use (especially
one that's built entirely of wood) has two
essential requirements. First, it must adhere to the mailman's creed: resisting the

ra\'age~ of "mud. rain, sleet, hail, and

snow." And second. it. can't. have an)'
splinters.
To meet the first requirement, the chair
shown here is built with redwood and
cedar. Both of these woods are weather
resistant, However. they're also prone to
splintering. So all edges are rounded ever
and sanded smooth to prevent any hangups.
As for the construction of this chair, it's
designed to be built using only one basic
woodworlring joint - a half lap (with the
help of a few lag screws). Also. to make
everything go a little easier, all of the
pieces used to build this chair are cut to a
standard width of 2~.
TOSTAJIT. To start things off, I ripped all
of the redwood to a width of 211,,".(All
pieces are CUI out of2x6 stock, as shown in
the Cutting Diagram.) Then the 16 pieces
for the side. seat, and back frames are CUt
to length as shown in the Materials List
(!tems A through G).

THE SIDE FRAMES

Once "U orthe pieces were cut to width and

length, I started to work on the two side
frames. Both of these frames consist of
two legs (A}. one arm (B). and one middle
stretcher (C).
JOISERY. ThefU'>ltstep is to cut a half lap
on both ends of the arms and stretchers,
and on the top end of each leg. Then bores are drilled. drill V.r-diameter pilot
another half lap (which in this case is called holes for the lag screws. see Detail B.
a eros. lap), is cut near the bottom of each
Note: The fourth joint (where the arm
meets
the back leg) has a hole for It pivot
leg. The only thing that sets this joint
apart from all the others is that it's cut 3~ dowel that's used to attach the chair's
from the bottom of each leg. rather than back. see Detail A. This hole is drilled later
on (a!\.er the frame is llS... embled),
nush with the ends, see Fig. J.
sno I'SOT:, Although 1started eenstrueGLCF. uP. Af\cr the three counterbcres
tion with the two side frames, in actual and pilot holes are drilled, remove the bar
practice it's best to cut all of the half laps clamps and round-over the bottom end of
for all four frames at the same lime. This each leg with a -" comer-round bit (on 8
router table). see Fig. 2.
ensures consistency for all of the joints.
COC:'>o'TERBOREFOR .... C SCREWS. After
Now, glue is applied lo all four joints of
cutting the half laps for the side frames, I both frames. (1 used resorcinol glue for this
project. It'. waterproof and suitable for
dry-clamped the frame members together
with pipe clamps (clamping across the legs outdoor applications.) Then drive I' lag
to hold them against the shoulders of the screws in lhree of the joints. The fourth
arm and stretcher), Cheek all the joints to joint (for the pivot dowel) is held together
make sure they fit properly.
with a C-elamp until the glue dries.
ROl'SO OVER. To soften tbe edges of the
Then 1 used a drill mounted in 3 Portalign attachment to ccunterbore a "". hole. chair, cut a 10/,- radius on the top comers
v,,' deep in the center of three joints: both of tbe frames (where the legs and arms
joints on the stretcher lind the front joint meet). Then round-ever all of the edges on
the ol,t.ide of the frame, see Fig. 3. (The
on the arm. see Fig. I. After the counter-

inside edges. between the arm and the

stretcher, remain square-edged.)
1'1\'01' OOI\'EL. Finally, a '1'. hole. IY.
deep is drilled in the center of the fourth
joint (where the arm meets the back leg.)
Then glue a 2"-!ong pivot dowel into this
hole. see Fig. 2.
SEAT AND BACK FRAMES

After the side frames are completed, the

other two frames are built (one frame
forms the seal and the other one forms the
back). Both of these frames consist of 3
redwood fmme with cedar slats. And ODe"
again. nil pieces are 2\4' wide,
THE FlUMES. To make both lhe seat (D
and E) and back (F and G) frames, cut half
laps on the ends of each piece, see Fig. 4.
Then before the frames are assembled, CUt
a'" x '1',' groove on the four 19"long
pieces (D and F) 10 house the slats.
This groove must be positioned so the
slats are flush with Ihe top face of the
frame. To mark the correct position for the
WOODS~nTH

groove. place one of the cedar slats flush

with the top race ofthe frame member. and
mark the "rnI<'l'I"d_ of the slat on the edge
of the I'rnme member. see Detail in Fig. 1.
Then cut the groove so the bottom of the
groove is on this line.
TKg SI.ATS. Afl.er the grooves are cut.
the five c:e<10l'slats (L and M) for each
frame can be cui to width and lenl(th. Once
again, these slat. are 2~~ wide. To determine their length. dry-assemble the
frames and measure the distance bel ween
the bottoms ofthe groove. and cut them 10
this lenl(th.
Next. rabbet both ends ofthesIHts,lea,'ing ". x 1',' tongues to lit the gJ'OOves.
Also chamfer the tOP edges of each slat La
reduce the chance of splintering.
C(lL').'TERRORF. A~1) PI1.OT UOLES. After
the slats are cut. dry-clamp the four frame
members together and drill
counterbores and
pilot holes at the center of
each joint for the lag screws.
Then, before final assembly. two more
v.." holes aloe needed on the back frame.
These holes will accept the pivot dowels on
the side frame. and are drilled """ deep and
centered 011 the outside edges of the side
pieces CCl. see Pig.. 1,
,ISSlI8LI'. Now the frames can be assembled. Insert the slats in the grooves of
the frame. al>ply glue to the half laps (no
glue in the gt'OO"1lSor 011 the slats), anti
screw the frames together.
''OSIT'OS SLATS. After the glue is dry.
tap the slats into position so they're evenly
spaced in the frame. Then nail them in
place (from the back side) with 3-penny
finish nails.
COR~'En ROt''III. Pinally. the foul' corners of each Frame are eut ie a j.y, radius,
and then the outside edges are rounded
over with a''',,'' corner-round bit.

......,.

'Y'

V.

fIGURE I

AGUltE 1

FtGUH 3

SQUARE

"

COItN!'t
IOUNO-

DO NOT aOUNO
INStDl EOGlS

CO.HE.

t.

_to

IOUNO

bOlUS

SlAT OEtAIL

AGUafo4

,,"/
A
"

INSIDE. EDGf.5_

lonOM

COtl::z:NEIJOINT DEtAlL

VllW

I' LAG ScaEW _..,-

AND WASHta ~~'--~_

COUNTU6OAt.

~~,,~~
J~.

,
19
SEAT'RAMi DEWl

- I (_..__
..0...... .1 I ~

- T=>==t

CKAMF. fOGES
S4.IGH1\Y

./1

I,

l'Ir--~

TOVVtfW

,i.

CUT
IlAOIUS
(ON
Atl COINEU

....,
<, {,',~.~

--?-;:::::::::'-;:::::::::'I

~.
coS'~

"-r'7'IfL'Ar(L.

ON OUTSIOf EOGES -7

\VOOOSMlTH

N;.ut(

SlAT SUP'ORT SYSTlM

11

M fl.

".

r..'_L
"'_9r.,

RON'YfOG(

t.'.

1f1"

t....:_--,:-.-::===--,=""
~. COUNTtl:lOll. Dft' wrTM

:;:--:=;=~

mOl HOlf aKff:IfD

-.

~ }_;ONT lOGE

1 '

INs'or 'ACl

,...J..J.
._.

_'

ON rttICkN'ISS

,~~--~---- --------)~'---------,\
'IONt 10Gl

"""4

all the "11)' Ih",u~h,

The fi",t two hol~ arc used to join the

c1eattoth"erossllnlclK'r,
They're drilled

"" thecounlOrbol'e$ an> on theo.I~,d'f(U<

or the clcal .....ee ~t(>p2 In f'ig, S.
The nexl two holt,S an' u"",'11to join the
cleat 10 the ""I. frame, They're drilled
with th. ceumerbores on the j"$id~far~ of
th( clem, H'" Sh'JI :1in t'ij!. 5.
And Onally,Ih,' rt'mllining two holes are
used 10mount tlu- ""aI,They're drilled on
th.. bottom ,.111" of each cit-at, as shown in

~. oowt\
H

Step 4

, LAG saEW

flGUUO
lOP WW CtosS SKnOH

."

t.oown

H
CUM

"

I SIllI'"11
a.IU "

"tor

COUNTlllOtf

....Oft'
HOI.f

To add ,-ublllty(thall', to prevent raekinlll a ero.'>' ot,,t<Iler Is mounted between

the two eleats,
The length of t hi. em;,
II)
must be equal W the \\rolh of the _t
frame (" hieh should be 191 minu:> the
thickn<" ofbulh cleats ta total of 3"). This
should be a final length of 16".
After CUlling the stretcher to final
length, dry-clAmp It between the two
clent.<'and m3kr 'Ute Ihetola!width oithi$
assembly i. exactly equal to the width of
the seat thtme. And while you're at it, also
check to ~," that lh, width of the back
frame i.equnl 10 th,' seat frame,

.""td>er

'Y"
...,. IMW

... IIUT

,'1
': :,', T""

10

6. However, end Jtr81n does not provide

much bolding stt't'ngthfur the Ia!! screws,
To ,trenllth,'n the holding power. drill
hole n<'ar,-a<h end oflbe -rretcher, and
glue a %. do" el In these holes so the lag

'=:::=-

fig. 5.

DOWELROl.t;" The cleats are mounted

lDthe cruN<.trelcher by dri"inlllag screws
into the end ItI'3in o(lhe s IJ'('tcher.see Fig,

INTOIHD OF STlna.u
flGUIE'

III

CROSS STRlTCHIR

......DwASHO;

"""",

M~),

.st. m hole., are

drilled in eathdeal, wh hoi""""""'1S ofa
%" counroo,... \\11h ~ ," "nO! hole drilled

SVPflOIT Q(AT

and to a rough lenJrth of Ih". Then miter

both end, al 6", IlUIkin~sure the cuts are
parallel to each other, see ~tcp 1 in Fig. 5.
The fin.ll"ngth of eachcleat should be 17"
I"",,",ured from long pomt to ,,},ort point
"-"-'['IBL\HOII'

11

To make the c1ral> for this support S)'S'

tem, ril) l1AO J)itc(>" or redwood 2~-wide

on one

-,AGUII.

THI ellATS

COUNlll&Olf.'. Dfl'
~_-=~=:;:.W::.l~'.H
v, PlIO'HOU,-~-...__ .... __
,

r--1., ~"

At lhl' point the four buic fracM, for the

chairare complele .s.,I, I added. 'flipport ') stem to p....md" a ..,lid ba.se for the
seat frame, and also to UlCJ1'a.", the overall
.tability of the chall'. The seat support
consists of IWod~at' I H. "ith a cross
stretcher U) between them, see Fig. 6.

1, __

.. , =======================~g~e~th~.r.

=,...'-4x
sr:::~~~

","w, have ""m<Ib,nj( to hold on to .

\"h.n the dowels ~ in place, clamp the
cleat. 10the end$ ofth e stretcher tsee Fig.
n
and drill ~. pilot holt'SmlO the ends of
the stretcher, going throu> the dowels.
Then drive the Ing ",,"'W' into the holes
(and dowels) to hold the assembly tosee Fig. II.

WOOOSII.nTH

AGUll '0

MOUNT SUPPORT STSTEM

Now the ~eal .upporl lL"t'mbly can be

~unted to the .idc frome s, Thi MHmbly
I:; mounted at an anlt"le10 make Ih,' .blllr
more comfortable. After a
-It -1.11,"1
decided on an anJd~ of 6". Th", &nl(l. 111"1.'$
IIw f~linl( of .iltlOg 'in" lh, chair rather
than ju.1 "on" u,
To mount th, ,upporl 'y"tem. (ir>1 fo..
<ale the """ilion of th., pilot holCIIr..r Ihe
tag """" ...... The ~1'i101 holes on Ihe fronl
~ are localed !W.'dow n I'lvm Ihp buI,'"m
tdg,. of the ann and
from lhe .n& d,
tdgr or the 1<01(. see t'll! 10.
The pilol hole, on the back leg, muOl be
lower to gel Ih~ 6' angle (memiom-d
above), To loral' lb. pilot hole.. un the
bark IeI(>'.mark a line 11II,' do" n from Ih.'
bottom edJ{O of the arm. Then lemporarily
screw the eleat 1(0the fronl 1,1t'and alill'"
the center .fthe counterhon' (on th.' hack
oflhe cleat) with the marked lino. Poke an
awl through tho eounterbo .....10 mark the
position of the rilol h"le. Finally, drill \IJ'
pilot hole, in the back 1"1:".

)'

f,"

I.

~t 1'IU)()r\ AJo-.""l'm..

MOUNT THI SEATFRAME

!lie.XI,the scat frRme i. mounted to Ih~

support ~ytltt!m.Posuion the seat framt~ "0
it hanll" 2~;' in fronl of Ihe from edge of
the legs. ee t'ij.'(.II. Clamp it In place and
11...., an awl to locate Ihe position of \I." pilol
hole". Then remove the ....t i'nIm." drill
the pilot holes, and linall~ l{lue anti lair the
frame into posinon,

-I

uoc [0Gt IS

....

10 POOOUCI
MNI

II

r=-

1-1

i-

"11'1
0

-. '.

-'-t-~.

P'IlOl

ItOUS

._ fOOHlLlG_L
0

0
IACICLlG_

~-

-L

'-

_J.

'<:>
,

r----

MOUNt SUHOlT ASStIMtY

ANOlAaFlAME

I..)

AI SAME",..

r.outt

.J

I....

11
FWONTlfG
,

t 2','-

E-j'7,;;
I'OSI'ION
SIAl 'lAMf '2''1'

L_t

iN '.ONT Of

'IONT lEO

~/
..

~'

11.

V~

f'L.~r1
~

....

Ii

~V
V
~

AGUtf

~. CoaHQ
IIOUNDOH

Sido_ .....(.)

Side

""me
Ann, (21
Sid.
S'N1CMt'I (2)
_. _ '."m (21
_,
"" .... Sod" (21
..... ""....'......'m(2)
ftorne

F
G ..... """'"
Sod.. (21
H su_'
CI... h (21
I SuP..... 5.....<'-11'

""2'/~

,'",.2',.,9
llltx2'.,.19
,.,., 21/, 19
11ft x 2'.,.17
',_
1'It a: 2' ...19
1',,&21'11-12
1V,.2'.17
11

J ........ S....ICho. (I)

K Cko. eo,. (2)
I 500. 510.. (5)
..... Sloh (51

,1

16

1'It 21ft. 21
.... 2')a1 .. ~
' 2'1
J
2';' 711;.

1'1.

I 1'''

CUTTING DIAGR_

Cut CAP TO fll

IUWHtI t.fGS

u..
IffW{(H UG$

GlUE IN P'LACE

ltDWOOO 1

"S',, q.

.
1
I
.EDWooD ",., "s'
~

'i2

~.IJ

I
.

)f

,~ . L ,...;.~
1- ...

MATERIALSLIST

eonOM STWCHU
~

11

121

GWE IN P'lAC:[

~A

''':

SUP1"Of:r
mncHtt

i::-_

Yo

l LAG SC.W
WlTHWA5MO

EOGU

.,

,ty

-_

StAT fRAME

/:

Although the thair <houldbe llrellv 'Iunl,

at this POllll, it'.. best to add ."..th,r <roM
Ftre",her(JliM>I" -en th~ 1"0 lerr ,t ... tet::
ers. This stretcher L.. cut to length 80It'~:r
longer than the width of the ""at floamt>.
Then rut I "wiele,'Y'-dl'l:P rabbeu on <'arh
end, see Fig, 9.
AAer the rabh<>ts are eut. malw,ul\'th"
distance between the ,bouldtl'S of tlw nthbets is exactly equal 10 tbe WIdth of th.,
seat frame. IThi hould b<o HI'.) Th~n
round over all edj!\'."fth 1T'<'uh.r. and
glue It in pi............ t'ilt'. 12.
CAPS.Finally, 10d....." up the ~ide ofthe
chair a litUe, I added cap .trip,; 0,) 10cov~r
the side cleats. Th("'e cal" arc .. 1hick
and ~ut 10 fit bel .....
een the twO leg!! with
both ends mitered al 6', (1'0 get Ih.
thickness for the .. cap., I reNlwed lh.m
from IY,' <tack,)
Fll'lSHING. I'd AUJ{J{.~I
""inK >'OrnetyJ'l'
of protective stain on this chair. A I'Cvie"
of the possibililies is givcn on page 11.

11
I~

lOW'll TKAH
AONllOG(

STRlTCHEIt AND CAPS

\VOODS~tlTH

~.

'rfo

bly can be glued and screwed III the .iele

frames. NOTE: Wh~n you'rv rCddy tu
drive the lag "ereW~ home, be sure to
mount the chair', back frame in l)(l~ilion.
Apply a coal of",,,, to the plvct dnw~l. and
pop them into the hol~. in the back rn'm~,

IOnOM

the

Of SlOE fRAMI

'Yo

A..~t;)lDL\.No,,-!

IrNSIOf ,.CI

sv,' ,'-

~~t:~T!"-1 ~I13
II

Garden
Bench
-------------------------------------SIDE BY SIDE SITIIN'

----------------------------

E\'('r)o'c)n~ ha......8 favorite \\"8.:" to rvlax ~or

m, It', .,tungon a bench and "atchllllllif"
110by. Aft, r building thL' beneh, I l'ull.. 1
It 0\"" to 8 large walnu: tl'e>' .n my hack
yard, And there. in the root .11....1<. I Jlat
back en my bench. propped up m~ 1....1.anti
watched the neil1'hOOrsmo" tb< or lawn>!. (l
gIJ(':Ij! beneh e, j us t bring out my roman; c
nature.)
Aclu:t1I) Ih~- bench \\ a, d,.ign.,!1 '" a
companion piece to the picnic wbh, nnd
chain. ill this !.."e. In fact. th~ cOII_lruolIe.nof th .. ""nch is almost id"II11eoll.. thl
chaiN. The lirsl.tep i,10 rip all thl'III,'Ces
to. tl<ud.rd width of21 , . TI,.u I .taned
constructlon \\1th the "do frames.

,
f

THl SIOl flIAMIS

f'".,Il. rut the legs (A). arm, (Il). and

,tretrh.,... (e) 10 length. and cut hall lap!
on each piec-e. (Refer to the dn""ng on
1"1)<.
9.' Then dry-clamp lhe (ram,' memben. tOJ(l,th~rand mark the po~itinn... fth.,
lag serews on three ofthejoinl> (wh,n'th
t.rctch., overlap the legs and \\ h,'I'\' thl'
front leg meets the arm.)
!\ext. drill 'Y,diame,er eounu-rborc ..
IV.'IIee " at each joint. and foil"" \\ Itb ~.
1'1101holes drilled all the \\ay IhrouKh l'lI('h
eount.rbore. (I used a drill mounl",1 to a
Ponalign atl.lChmenllO drill th........ ,1.,,)
Everythllll( up 10 110\\ """ been the "'m~
procedure 3!'1 on the chaiN. How ever,
ther"', a change for the rounhjoinl (\\ here
the arm meets the back leg).
Instead of drilUng a hole fOI' Q ,ingll'
pivoting dow el, I anchored tho back f".me
to the .ide frames with two dowels. However, I waited to drill these hole until
ofirr the back frame was assembh-d.
\!o..'E"BL\. For now. go ahead and glu.,
and bw >'0'1!\\ the side fram<... t"gt'lh.r.
Atu-r they're
rut a I y." radius
on tbe top come,.. (where th~arms ml'('l
the logo). and round over thl' ool$i,I,' ,'()~...~
of th~ frame with a %. <'()rn~r,,,,ulld bit.

a-,...,mhIed.

THI SlAT ANO 8ACK fltAMlS

The baoie construction of the frames for

th.... al and back is idenLicallo ,h ..,( on
th., chair. The only difference i. the Il'ngth
l\\O members on each rrnme.
The .cat fro.m~ eonsb" of two long
pi~ (01. and two ,ide pieces (E). ""',

or

FIIl.I. Theba<-kf",1II~hast\\olong",_,
(t) annlwo .lde pi_" (G).

AI\~r the four piece:, for each frame ....,

CUItu I~n,.,h, tilt half lap-" at the end. of
~aeh pIece. Then tilt "'. x 'I\. groo"c, in
the 10nKpi~'I:eS.(Once again, liS. a pi('W of
~crap ccdllr to mark the pollllion of the

bottom oillus 1(1'0(1\ .., on Ih. Inside edge lor

the long frame mt'ml~'T> )
THESl..\TS Th~I'\'llre Ih ~lal. It and lit
on each frame. and eacb .II i, 2~" wide.
To determine the final ~'ngth of the slats,
dry-assemble the fnun,s ",,<I measure the
distance between Ih,' bottom. of the
grooves and cut the .Ial" 10 this length.
Next, cut rabbets on both ends of the
.I.~ to leave ....tblck (lnj(\I~'to lit in the
grooves. (If all m"a><UrI'm,'"h and cut ..
have gene arcurclinj( 10 ..,h"lule. the dis~
between the ,b<>ulde,.,.of the rabbet>
on the slats .hould I '''Iual10 the dk~<t'
ootween tbe .;hould
of Ihe half lap" on
lhe :;ide pi..,." of Ih, fra~.)
AS::iElIJILL At thi- IJOtnt the frame for
the seat can 00 "",~mbh,() Ibul \\ail 011 the
back frame). Drydamp the seal frame
logether and drill ""unterOOrt's and pilot
holes at each con,.r. 'rhen in"crtthe slats,
apply glue 10 the half 1111'"and ...".ew the
frames together. Finally. cut a lV, radius
at each corner. and round over the edges
,,;th a %. comerruund bit.
MOUNTINGHOllS

lk>forethe back fran ... ran be ......

"'mbled. r
worked on the mounttnj( .~.. tem t"join tbe
hack frame to Ih. ,"le fnunl~. Here. in
Head of drilling a ,ingh: bole for a pivoting
dowel ("" wa:; don,' On the chair). 1 an
chored the back framl' 10 lh ide frames

-------

12

witb

t .... d..\\el-. TIll>mean, Ihe back wID

be a\ a otl angle (:t won't pivot], and th""
It f

linl., sturdier.

11('I.f:~I' ~IOEFR.\'1. To do that

the
lirsl >lep is to drill two~" hull" an the ,ide
fram~s, Th. first hole b ""nler.~1 an thv
joint wht're the ann meets the t.1<k lell.
1'('. Fig. 2. Then n second hal. I. marked
2~ down f1"('IIn the first one, an(I""." (n-lln
Lb,' ill,i"e ~rlJZ:eof the frame,
Aft~r the positions of both holl" are
mark ...I, dnil \4" holes. I
on Ihe
in, ilk f... of !>nIh "ide frames.
H()l.t_,., "'Ch. FR_\\lE.
Then, two
matching ~ hoi .... mu..1 be ,trilled on tb~
,icl"I' ccn I\.: I of the back frame The fll'!lt
hoi., i$ nt,.-...l on the length of lh ide
pi'~~, see FiJZ:.a. To locat~ th., ';Cl"(lntl hoI
mt-aKun' du\\ n 2t" (y:hieh is the !lam~
dilitun4.'C ;,t.l'i h'et"'een the centt"f'2' r.f the
holb on th ide frame). Mark (hi. IIi...
UlliN' nown from the firsl hole, and drillthc
....,.nn hoI,.
......
'f. \1111.\. The wt step i, to )1lu. 14
do"..l,,, "to th.. hol~ in the side frame. e<"t:
~'Ij:.
8. n.cn the back frame can be .......m
bled. (Just foUowth. """'" "J"OC.'('dure
m.'n
tioJll'd .00". for the seat Iramt>.)

d,""

SlAT SUPPOl'

SYSTIM

The .eal ~uppon sY.lem for tbi. bonch i.

similar to Ihe one for the chair. but due (0
th~ .,111< It'ngth of the bench (and tbe

\VOOOSM1TH

,
r

potential for greater racking pressure), I

put two stretchers between the cleats (inswad of just one as on the chair),
rue CLEATS. Once again cut the two
cleats (Hl to a rough length ofl8'" and miter
both encl. at 60 Then drill the six counterbores and pilotholes in the cleats (as-shown
in fig. ;, on page 10).
TilE Sl'Rf;T('II!:RS, After the cleats ate
C\lt and drilled. mark off the length of the
support siretehers (1) t> the total "idth or
the support assembly is equal to the width
of the bench seat. AI.o drill the 0/." holes at
each end of the stretchers for the V'dowels, Then the cleats are lag screwed to
the stretehe rs the same way as was done
on the chair, see Fig. ~.

'~
-

I [

stAC'

A[)O SEAT FRI\~1t:.

Position the

When I was ready to mount lite seat

frame, 1 made one minor addition. To keep

this rather long frame from sagging in the
middle. I glued an extra slat to the underside of the middle $18ton tbe frame. This
extra slat rests on the t we support stretchers and holds the seat up.
~""lRTCHER ANI) CAl'S. FilUllly, 1 added
the bottom stretcher (.))that goes between
the stretchers on the side frames. It's cut
2" longer than the length of the sear. and
the ends are rabbeted with I"-wide.
:y.'-deep rabbets. As on the chair, I also
added
-thick caps (K) over the cleats,

r.-

WOODSMITI!

..

.j>

I [ ,

l-

I'....,. v,

it.

h,~-

blW'

),

'1'.

i' ~

lJ

...

..

ftGUtf

oowa.

1J1)~

@.J_

I,lG
A

~t~'

~IIIHOlAN:~

_-:'>"

~~

r:

...

~ .>; :<-

-_.

:.--

, :.....

II.

17

e
b

k..,

.Mm. __.

~.~
......
"<'
a'

">

,.;....!..

__3

LAG SCR'EWAND WASte'.

CUTTING DIAGItANI

MATERIALS LIST

l
M

<;:D Ilc

GLU2 -.l0N?1_
~., DOWflIN'"
HOltS tN
SIDE FRAME

'/'

I~

H
I
J
K

- /~/'"

~. G

'7'"~".-.

- " l--.

',,- DOWEL

'

t-

1 I ......

<

J_<r

'IM

.-

i-

-s

ftGUU 1

'-

54"

I-

.. ),. a A" GROOVE

I
.

7'~ t'

.'

fO. SlAT

FIAMf

A
8
C
0

HAtf LA' AT AU FOUl CQRN{IS

APAIJ

seal

R
- .

ill""

SLAH
,.

frame on the support cleats so the front

edge is2~'in front of the legs. Poke an awl
through the counierbores on the bottom of
the cleat to mark the position of the pilot
holes.

......

THE fiNAL STEPS

Now it's beginning to look like. bench, All

that remains is to add the seat frame and a
bottom stretcher.

11

- .-

]~Dorn:DOOOODDJD
-

12 ~

or

x~ .. GlOOYE

_\.

I~

0/.-

lAP AT AU FOUR CO.NIRS

rot ....CI(

fU,ME

fINAL ASSEMIl Y

To begin lhe final assembly of this bench,

the support assembly Is mounted to the
"ide frame, al a S" angte, To mount this
assembly, first locate the position of lhe
pilot hole on tbe front leg. 9-Y, down from
the boucm of the arm and
in from the
ill*ide edge of the leg.
To locate the pilot hole on the back leg.
mark a line UV." down from the bottom
edge of th. arm, Then temporarily screw
the cleat to tho front leg and align the
center of the eounterbore (on the back
rhe eleat) with the line on the back leg.
Poke the point of an awl through the counterbore 10 mark the position or the pilot
hole. ~'inruly. drill the 'ho" pilot holes on the
back legs.
When you'r e r eady to mount the support,
assembly to the side frames. be sure to
mount the back rrsme on lhe dowels. This
time. apply glue to the dowels tl) fasren
them into the holes in the back frame. At
the same time. j!'I\,c and screw the support
assembly to the side frame .

..
,

~"

AGUlf J

Sid. Frome Let' (4'

Sid. 'ro",. Alms(2)
Sid. From. St,.r,hen (2)
Soo. Frome Top(8tm (2)
s.ol Ft'Ot'MSide. (2)
Back fftomo Top/8'm (2)
Bock Frcm. Side, (2)
Support Clea.s. (2)
support Stte't,h.t (2)
Sottom Sr,.tch., (1)
Cloro' Cop' (21
SIOl' (18)
Bade Slo.. (18)

s..,

1111::1 2'h .. 27
1\10 2\10- 19
1Y, II 2'h- - 19

1~ x 2V. 54.1/.
"hx2'hl11h
IV, :I 2'h .. 54%
1'h :II 2Yt 12
l'!.tx2'/j.l1
l'lt x 2th - 51..
1 Y, x 2Y:t - 56Y..

v. It 2~

- l"V,

V.... 2'h" 13V.

. JC 2'h .. 70/.

I c...

REOWOOO 11,. 5'..,. _ 96

I""! ' L 1 + ~ _'= -~ 1

.,
-8
~

'r
EJ

.-.

EEDWOOO

'1,,

:It

..@iJ

S~- ..60

_,:;t@

t:Jr..;.l 'r. 1b~J

ClOAJt'r

S'II .11"

ri-+..l.Ll t
L.

t-

t~

l..-t=! ~ Et.r;~

[: Ell:
IJI~Itrn.I}J]J
13

Outdoor Finishes

FIGHT BACK AGAINST MOTHER NATURE

The outdoor furniture in this issue got me
lO thinking about the irony
trees - they
spend their entire lives outdoors. planted
in the dirt, and under constant. attack from
the weather and all sorts of bugs. As long
as the tree is alive it manages - for the
most part - to f.nd off "II comers.
But the minute you turn 8 tree into
lumber, Mother Nature's protection disappe<lrs and it's up to us mortals to supply
artifidal pretcction.
Left outside and unprotected, all woods
(with the exception of the I'1U"(' Arizona
hardwood. Petrified) are, sooner or later,
turned to mulch. The insects and fungi
which find a C07.y home inside the dark.
moist lumber eat the wood into oblivion.
Some woods, Redwood and Cedar for
instance, have considerable natural resislance to ret, deeay and Insects. The heartwood (but not the sapwood) crthese woods
contains chemical extractives that give the
wood immunity to decay.

or

There are several other woods with

natural resistance to decay. The U.S. Department of Agriculture'S Ferest Products
Laboratory classifies Bald Cypress (old
growth). Black Cherry, Black Walnut,
several kinds of Oaks, Chestnut. Pacific
Yew. and Catalpa as "rcsi$tant" or "'very
resistant. .,
When it came time to select the wood to
U$C for the outdoor projects in this issue. it
was pretty easy \.0 narrow my choice to
Cedar and Redwood because of their general availability and their natural resistance. But Cedar and Redwood have another thing going for them: dimensional
stabliLy - their tendency not to shrink,
warp, or cup.
There is one other kind of wood to think
about: pressure treated wood. Pressure
treatment involves saturating wood (of a
variety of species) with water-borne salts
(CCA - chremated copper arsenate. for
instance) applied under extremely high
pressure. (\Volm~nized is one brand
name.) This pressure treatment is effeetive, long lasting, and the protection is
about as good as anythinlt Mother Nature
could have come up with.
Some woods claim to be pressure
treated, but are really ollly stained to look
that way. It'sbest tceheckfcr tbe etamp of
the American \Vood Preservers Bureau
(A\VPB). Their stamp assures that tbe
wood really has been pressure treated (and
not just surface applied).
There's also another drawback to using
pressure treated woods - the treatment
leaves the wood with an unsightly greenish

14

or brownish cast. but ["U deal with that

later.
In spite of the advantages ofusinlt pressure treated wood, I still like the idea of
traditional Redwood or Cedar for outdoor
projects, and since combining the two
woods creates a nice visual effert- r decided to use them both.
FOOLING MOTHER NATURE

Ir I lived in a place where the SWI never

shone and it was dry and there were no
insects, I wouldn't have had to think any
more about. proteeting my outdoor furniture. However, most of us don't (thank
goodness) live in places like that so we're
faced with the task of fooling Mother
Nature.
Because the sun fades all woods (including those with natural resistance to weather) I wanted to add some color back to
the wood - which meant using a stain.
Then I wanted to keep the water away
(rom the wood - that called for a water
repellent. To preserve the wood. a preservative: and finally a mildewcide to arrest
the growth of milde -.
I found out that the oil-based semitransparent or solid stains sold today come
with or without additional preservative s,
fungicides and water repellents.
Note: Avoid the really heavy-duty preservative compounds which contain Pentacltlorophtlwl which is highly toxic. 1I1any

outdoor finishing products contain other

chemicals that work just as well and are
much safer for use around plants, animals
and people.
One other tip: when applying these
preservativesrstains. be sure to follow the
manufacturers specific instructions for
preparation, application. coverage, and
safety.
STAINS.
All wood discolors (turns grey or
black) when exposed to the double
whammy of the sun's ultraviolet l'a)!:; and
water (which leaches the color produdng
exiraetives frem the wood). Some people
like this natural look. and there nrc even
some wood preservative/stains designed
to speed up this "aging" process.
But to defeat the elements and retain
the look offresh cut Redwood or Cedar, it's
neeessary to add color to the wood \lith a

stain.

Semi-transparent stains contain fe\\'er

pigments and come closest to approximating the natural look of freshly cut wood.
Solid stains, on the other hand, contain a
higher concemration of pigment which can
rub off on clothing. shocs- and you. Solid
stain. are not recommended for outdoor
furniture or decks.
WATERREPELLESCY: The oil base of preservatlverstains aCI$ as a water repellent,
but some manufacturers add parafin wax
as additional protection from water.
INS!l(."'l'PROTECTION: The extractives in
WOODSMITII

lhat'~ mlly need.. 1because of the durabllIt); of the \\ OO(J~, S(rni*lra.Jl:.parenl stains
that f,'('<1on '''''MI, (r~"u~
treated ,,00.1 "ork "ell on treall'<llumberifthe~
aren't
I, pmbabl,)" f"\ en morE' mseet resistam.) an)' \"Uual d ~trac:tlon.." such ~ mill stamps.
additiOnal comb",alion of aU the dlemor other markings on the wood. If there
1C3T
.. (,\'ntalr~'1lln ..tatn:. and preservatives,
are, ~J'l(t them off. or pesu.on the board.....
plu- k'1:I'mK lh~ mcol>tureout, will make so the m.'rkln),... are hidden.
.tain.-d wood an unUkely and inhospitable
'I'hen you get around to appl)ing the
finl.h.
mak, .u", the wood i.. a. dry ..s
home (or in....ects, In an)' case. termites and
other In,,'<t8 Ilk" to do their damage in po",blr. lf ycu put an oil-based preservedark. damll. undisturbed place so if li\,('j~tain on \I,'4!llumber, you're just askyou're u.ing your outdoor furniture a lot. ing fur trouble,
you'll di.turb l he ('ritl('rs more than thpy'li
How many cOllt, of stain do you put on'r
Th, answer depend. on wmeh product
disturb tlw furniture.
If lennil"- an' a r..al problem. you'll you're u.mg. Most manufacturers recomwant to check "'ilh ~11exterminator for mend pUlling II .;('<'<,n<leoat on righ~ after
uvatmem llc1viCto tailored for your area.
the lin<t,
Ii...t treatmems usually
lrt.
.
.
t
(or
al)()ut
lc.ur
),eartl. \~ou may have to
PRf ...'iEN:\"Tl\ t:,..... 0\ er the ~.'e.a~.a number of products ha'e been used to protect
alll,l)' interim ('O&tAsooner, depending on
.. ood from ,k..:ay .. nd rot - creosote and the climate and amount of wear and tear
other Ial">. fcor 1tl.<UIIl<.. Ob,;ou.ly they your fum tun' 15 fUbjl'Ct<-dto.
aren't IUltable for 3 P","ICtable. beneb, or
WHAT W[ USED
chai,.,.. Other 1'....... rvanve elements such
.- Prnlach/"",plo,, "I are toxic and .boold We tried out seven diffe~nt variene- of
...tain pre~~r\:atl\'r~ manufactured by
be a\'olo,.I.
Thl oils 11\ oil-based ~tajn", aL..;o act as
Olympic Suun and the Darworth Compan~'
pn:-~(nati\t.'"" hut ~me manufacturers (Currinoll only to end up ""mil: OI)'tlIpk
aud TBTO(Trihulyltin Oxide). 8 pre:'en'aWood Pn-,.rvati," (CleM) beeau._"" we lith'. which is 1I01ltoxicaft.:r it has dried ked Ih. "oy the picnic table, chairs and
and "bollcl('(I"to th .. wood
boneh look.d In the photographs.
t't:<C;Il'UI!:S' I'rotpctive stains on the
Naturally, II'. nlwuy. a mlltter of !l<'rmarket t"'ln.v on~1I contain chemical. to ""nal opinioll when it come~ to ,:electing
ju.~tht, "right" fini.h
mak~ thl' "t'(~wJrt,'-";l"tanl to milde\\'.
FollI'" I..~I (,Mort/pha/all;1 are fungi.
80th the OI)'tlIpic and CuprillOl stains
cides In('(,,,..,rat.'<I III ""m.. preservau,\<
worked well un SIImpl,. of Redwood and
.tains, bUI th, nll<l1ufaeturers point out C~dllr. Both coml'anie, feature oolors
that tht ch.mkal. are there only to k'~ whJch approximate the natural eoIor of
mildr., (lui 0J'I r (f/'P[ rolllJ,t_ So itthere'$: Red" rod and rl-dar; both companies make
oil-ba..~d .lain!' Yo ith presen.ti,-e~in
mildp" on Ihe ""')11 "I the lime of applicaIhem.
tion ,t'.liktly to l(ro" throuRh thematin!!:
o( <tam .PI'U...t o"er It. If milde" i< 1""""
H.... what \\e tri ..-d
ent. ~mo\'e It by ....rubbing the wood \\ith
OL\'U'I(: '["J.'I'R.""P'Rt'"
LVo'SEED
OIL
a ... Iullon of houo<hoklbleach and "'liter
Red"""d,
lil).l
bt'fore "I'plyml( the .lam.
C<'<Iar~.tu,,1) T,,"~. #i16
APPLYING THE STAIN PRESERVATIVE
Rl-dwood Nutuml Tone, #7Ii
There', a mUlOr"Caleh 22" to appl;ing
1(.; "t~
\TII ..:tt ~I(J.:t;'
oil-bas('(1 Iln',,,,,atlv,,,.tains: The;' pene- ()I.l!\ll
Cedar
NatUl'llI Tone . .+'i16
trate lhp .urflle<'ofl'l)ugh wood better than
the .urf"cc of .moolh wood, But to elimi Ol.\ ~IPI(' (I~.:ARWOOl) l'tlESER,'A,TJ\'.,;
nate unrortuml' .urpli .....~ I"plinters). the
(l~pnr~(.I.:-.1-; r.ll1'R.\~1$PARESTSTAIS J\SI)
furniturt' nlNI. to be sanded smooth,
\\'()(lD I)RF.:O:ER'ATI\ t;, \'ATl;.K ("LEA.X t-.,
'Vllat to d01
There :U'I' t\lO ,"IUllons: Go ahead and
Nc" r<~lar, #\\'67
apply the lim.h to the "mool h wood, and
SierrA Rt'<l.. ood. "lI'il
re-apl,ly II mol\: f""luently 11.< time and tbe
TEST RESULTS
element.; bellln to ,,~ather the wood. Or
He~ ai'l' som, of our g~neral commen~
you can I..
tth, furniture " ..ather nat:nrallr
about
I"""" pmcflk'Ul.
""uide for a coupl{' of "eeks - maybt'
'en a month or two - to open up the
Th,' OlympIC:iemi-transparent
pore> SO Ihe "ood .. ;0 aeeepl tbe lini.odl lin.~ oil 'talllll "e'" more complicaled 10
bt'tter.
mix ""rore u.. ng. The in.!trllctio,," call for
TIwre. hili, chane<' that the relath<eh
pouring orr the oil,. and then jO'3dually
f." weeks of untreated weathering will adding them back .. you stir up the pig.
mento, Olympic', \Veather Screen and
ad\'el'>oelyafT""t lh" ""lor of the wood.
.Voll'; \\'ith pre"ure treated wood, if.
CleaT \Vood Prc.ervallve. and the Cu
l"'ll<",i"l), imllOrlant to let it weather for a prinol Scmitran'palent stain 'preservawhile bt'fore applyinl( a 'lain (which is aU tlves were IC.A complicated to mL~,
Redwood and cro..r provide natural pro-

teeuon ~lntlnst l4:rmllf'S and other irL-..ecL....

n,..

Th...,.,

""1'(;

-------

\VOODSMITH

VRl:..~l-R.~YR.;\T.:I.,

~one

or the stains

we triedw ould adequately cover the markinp which

up on pre-sure treated
.. ood, bUI th.y .... m,t de"gne<i to do so.
The only pressure treated wood we had in

.110"

the .hop "a' "frc-h- and hadn't been

"w rath.r,'<I." f:ven so, the stains did a
fairly I(ood Job or covcrinl( the weenish
tint. but \1,(' Ut..'1't."t.' with the manufacturers
about letting prtlsl'\ure treated wood
weath~r (to rade the green) before ap-

plying stain.
('Lt:ANlfl' 'l'h~ ('uprinol Semi-transparent ~ulin.
even though the),'rt! oilbased - ar'(~\\ul",r clean-up, and that's a
definlt. plu
AI'f'P-AItA
"fE. In our I"'U<, both the Cu.
prinol Serni-tran parent ~tain and Preser'ali, e and the Olympic Weather Screen
(both of th.!ICproducts <OIlt.. tn water repcllent$) It'l\ mono l"In'1"nt on th.. <Urf"",,
of tbe wood than did the Olympt~ Semi.
transparent hn seee1oD .UUn.' \whieb don't
have an ad,htlonal water repellent or '"
many pre... rvau".').
('0\ f:ItA,a. A gI&Ilon"ill mo.... than tovcr aUth, proJt'('U<,,~ built-e"en
applying two couto. The 01) mpic Semitransparl'nt
Iin.eed oil stain came in
quarts; th~ re.t you ha"c to bu~'in gallon~.
C01,O"~.The manllracturer~ of both
prodUctR 1"t"<!ommt1ntJtctcling their stains
on a """'pie of wood berorehand. At the
locallumbt'r yard" he",' we purchased the
stain. we ul4'<l. the)' had ..om" sample>
(kind of like p:,int ." RIch",. only on wood)
of difft'rent stain. applied to different
wood, The", '" Btehl'" didn't produce an
exact match ,,"h th., lini.bed pl'Uduct, bot
they .. ere p""IIY rl.......
\\',nR R&I'I.1.t'(\. The differen<e bet"'~nthe :o\laln..,",S('natJ\~ "ith water
re!l<'U.nt. add,..! anol the 'plain" stain.,
,,-as n-alJ)" Ob"IOU, _. t'"!'pecially ,,-hen \\:(:
dnpped w.,,r on Ih" .ample . Ifyou want
extra prolection Str...n"t "aler - buy One
of the product. with a wllter repellent
added,
Alld the I".t thinlt We did before Wlling
the fumitu", out.lidt' was to give it alibernl
coating of clear furnitun. wax - nothinll:
like a little "xtra" proWi:tion.
WHERE TO BUY PRESERVATIVE STAINS

The

1)rt"Stn'atl\'(!

1lt.aIl\..toI
\~;(' u!\.Cd are

gen-

erally a\'allabl~ throujlhQut therountry. In

the ca..-e o(Olymplc .tain:<, (Olympic Stain,
Belk,'U,. \\'A 9IlI.1Olithequickest way to
Iotat .. a d<-al, r is b., Iookinjt in the Yellow
Page. under Pamt .
Cuprlnol pl'Udu.to lThe Dan<orth C0mpony. A\'on, CT Ot~~111are :;old III all 50
Slate" through dl"tributor<hip,;. If you
can't lind 8 .uppli .. r. call Darworth
(2!)3.61717'lll and I\lOkror the name of a
di_tributor ne~r you. A l;OCOndcall to the
distribut.Or will get you the name of a retail
oUllet for Cuprino!.

15

Tools of the Trade

A REVIEW OF CARBIDE-TIPPED SAW BLADES

I ean still remember th,' day I
purchased my Ii""t table saw (a

p"rlnr the "eel (alternate

healinll and cooling), The care
taken in thill procedure can
milk. the diffel'('!IC('between a
hi~'" (jU8Iit~sa w blade, or just
round piece of steel.
011 high('r quality blades. the
plot, I. ofu-n tempered twice to

dream come tNC). 1 was so excited I could hardly stand it,

After making a cut on the
closest pil'C(' of wood, I examinl'd thePI(":('~xl"'f.'tinl':to find
ti" perfect t'rlll", SII,' WIUI I
surprl~f Tht- f'ini:-.h was t"oO
poor I .. ould have l.... ,1 better
orr U'ln~a h.nd "'""
I double eheeked .\"'1')' I"""
'Ible &ilJUlitmenl on the table
saw, only to di!ro\'cr that the
culprit "115 the blade, 001 the
,.... So I d.'cidcd til 'U'l'tch m)
aJnoad) taxed bu<lllt't. And buy
39,>00 sa .. hi",Ie,
Aftt'r II"tl~nln)( t~)a sales
pitch on tht '"lrtUlS of u~int:t
tarbid("tipp",1 blad es , I de'Critk"fJ til the 681c:..person the
typ" ofcutttnlli wOlildI.w doing
n10~1often ." I'd be .ure (0 get
the rillht hl"tie. "1'(0 problem."
he Mid. "h"re', the SIlW blade for vou."
"y""
bob, !hilt sur,' 100"" like niet'
hlade." I Ihou~ht.
So much for I,M.k., I found out (100 late)
that the hlade "11.< dC"lm<odfor a totallv
d,m'ronl purpose than I \\ anted TIl<- end
re-ult "L' that I had wasted $.JO on a blade
which n,," h.'n~ on the wall coUec:tinj1
", w ,lust r-dther lhan makinjt II,
I d,,,,,,I,,d there had to he bvner """""""
ur informall(.n , n ho.. to rh..,.. the correct
sa" blad .., but .fttr looking, I really
couldn'l find 1111(' Th.C ... hen I decidl'd It>
(."Onlact~I)m{' 11""rt'~ionals: (~arl0\'endiuo. f:,,",,utiH' Vice Pm-idenl of Freud.
O"h Pimllll' of Fnrrc"t.M3nufacluring Co,
Iboth carbide-tipPNI w blade manufacturel.,.). I'llul Naylor. Preoident of Keo
Sa.. (II ,,!"Of
...-Ional ,harpenin!?; sef\1ee).
and t\\'o m"18lurltl"(.o T figured if anyone
roulrl ("II m(' hOI< 10 both determine the
quality of a 'R" hl.d~. 311d how to choose
one, tht ('c)ulcl.

'1"'('

O).

WHYCA."Of.npPfO?

:;... bl.d~s taU Into t .. 0 general cal

e(ori,~, .I<rl N\\ blad"", and ,oro-d"
t.pp.d "".. billd.. , The only differe~ Ot>tween the two i8 that carbide-tipped
blad.. ha., .mall p,ece> of luogblen carbide bl'llU'Clto the 'teel botly to form the
cutting crill"', The err...,t thi, has on per-

(orma.rtee i~
(Jratn3tic.
RV-T"'I)\(; \" t:.)(;I: Retaining an edge

longer than a ste.1 blade (usuaUy al least

10 timeR long,'r) I. one of the biggest ad

16

achieve

.3ntal(e, (If II carbide-ripped blade, That

abilit) ,,sult. from tho extreme hardness
of!h~ tunjlSten carbide.
Qt urn ,n nu, err The I!uality of cut
produced hy R.,'" blade relates dirl'etJy to
the fharp.r.u ..f the til" This L< where
carbide-t,pped Mad"" <an make a bilt differenee, ., nc.., the) 1I{','m 10 .ta}' 'hal'!'
r(lr'\"\\r.

Okay. '. carbid,,,ul'J'('d blade. outshine

.t",,1 h!;.ul"" In every lI<ol"'<'t.rij1ht~ \\'.11
nul quue, The m.'~l ob"ious dra"'bac.k to
carhid('otiPI".1 bla.lc. 1$ their initial to:;t u.ually $:.. to $17(). \\'hpre ... steel blades
run:s.; to $211,
But comparinl( onl)' the initial.""t~ can
be drc('ivinlf, Carbide, lipped blade$ re
quire .horp(ninll I~.s oftell than gtecl
billde" So. in th, lunl( run, the cost ot R
carhid..tiI1Ilf,1hlade i~
"ften no more than
a _teel blade when you fillUre in the co.t of
n;'IK'Rted~h"rpclllnjC,
QUALITYVAlUATIONS
On"" you\'~ decided to take the plunC(eand
bu)' a carbi<i('-uPl'ed blll"~, tilt, I'ir>t thinj1
~'ou'n: f"",,1 .. Ith .' d.t~rmining the jlCneral quality (of th. blade _ , , while it'.
.itting on otore &hdf. Althouj1h many of
the qURlity controls taken during the
manufacturinj! proceo, can't be seen. luckily lh~1'('ar, 8 f." teU-tale sij!llSthat indieate the level of workman,hip.
Tin; PL.\T~. \\'hen a !IIIWblade is born, it
statU out as " .''''lIlAr piece of very soft
st 1. 1'hi. "teel plate i.hanlened by tem-

It

hardness ranging

from C 12to C-16 on the Rock",'11 C hardness seale. On lower qualit) blade s, the plate ;,
Mlmcllm(,5 made with coldrolll'd ",oclthat', not tempered
to the Correct hardness. or Ml
temp.........tat all,
Th~ qualit) ot lhe tempering
pr""~",, can not be detected
Ju,t by looking at a blade.
However. there i~a \\"a~'to
mUKhly determine the quality
,If th" H'I u.<ed in the plate,
Simply grasp the blade with
both hand and try to bend the
piau' hy appl)'ing moderate
pressure with your thumb. near the center
of the blad,. If th, blade has been temperM eorreetly rin the range of C42 to
C-l61, th,' plalt' will be rigid enoul!!> to
re-iet an) att~ml}t at b< ndinlt.
PL.,TE TnLt.II' '( I'
The plate telen..nee. or the "runom" (Ofthe <aw blade is
one of tho ke) tcsl& of qualit)- Cor any
individual blad(' Plate to cranee is important because It 'hl'l'Cll) Influence:; the qualIty oi tilt, Imlldul~ on the teeth, U 8 blade
\\obhlt...(rum 81th.'to"'lfl<:, it'..impo.<;$:ibleto
grind the ttdh ,)",,,,,,,1),,
Plate wh'"""" .Ibo become. a quality
('I"tor Il.;",.. u.e of th.. rffl'Ct of harmonie<.
or high 'I)C,<I"nutt,r ... Thi. phenonemon
pl'Oduce, \'ibl'3Iilln" III a blade running at
full '1",,,,1 that <lIn transfol'll! a ,QOijo plate
t"lcruner Into" .Oltl to ,015 wobble,
Mo.t hi!:h (I'Hllit)' bI8d." have plate
tol~ranl"" of 1"1" than .()(J3", and there
Ill'\' .. fe.. M.d,>, on the murket that ha,e
,,18t, tol<ranees bdo .. ,(MHO_ Th ..... ne\\
blad< run "'t""nwly .mnoth - and aLo;o

\'el')' quu.'t

To d.t~nrunc a bbW,:, plat .. tolerance,

Ch('('Kthe promotl()na1 literature on the
blade. U,uall,. J the bhde J.; manufactun.-d 11-' hll:h qwwt) product. :he com,"n~ \\ll1touL i\J! dcmllllding tolcntIlCe$,
\1\\I\tl't Rt.c,_"C)\I\I1:'OEU ttl"'t~The

ma..\_lmumRI'~ ralnlle lS tn'portant because

it delin'" th" 1II".'\Jmum'P<'<'d at ",hich
each blade n be operated ""fely. without
.uccumbing to th~ ('('ntrifugal forces that
are created within th" >pinning blade,

WOODSMITH

To g~t a pteture of the amount of

de>truc:t" e foree on a blade, ,;,;uaJize the
outer rim on a ICY blade traveling appro'"nat(I~ 100 )II'" , in 10 c:irde.
Then Imajl1ne mtroducinj!: this spinninlr
steel blade to " pteee of hard maple - it's
really fUl"rulng that it doesn't fly apart
immedIately.
Moot blades have the maximum NfM
rating stamped on the plate, or listed in the
product ht.fllture thaI com.. with the
blade. On hij(h~f (lUshly blades. the maximum Mltin~ will be 7000 RP~I. or even
hil!her. And on a lower quality blade, this
rating can 11<' rl.' Inw ... 3-1000 RPM-which
is bela" lhe .",,,od of some 10' table saw s.
LXPA'SIO'< SI.UTb. Mo.t blades have
"expansion .Iots" cut in the body of the
blade. runninll !'rom th, rim IOwan! th~
arbor hoh The purpose of the expansion
No", '" to '" the blade some -room" to
expend .,. 11""01.' up durinj!: 11"". A blade
with no .'pan'lOn .Iots is more susceptible
to .. arpin!: .. It heats up, A-, a general
rete, the more e\pan ...ion slots (8 t;lo~IJ'('
about the maximum on a 10" blade), lhe
hijlhcr the quality of the blade.
Ctt,u:nt The main pUTpOWof agullet is
10 provid(' elearaneo for the chips being
removed. Even though their purpose is
simple, everyone seems to have their O\\1'Jl
opinion on what shape to use,
The only gullets that should be avoided
81"(> on(_'!oiiwit h :"h8J1>. or square
comers.
These sharp POlO'" can actually cause the
blade to crack I:-;"'eTalking Shop. lI"ood~t~tltltxe. 2fi). b)' concentraring stress
at a ","gil' pomt. And on top of tbat. they
also inhibit (hIp, from being projected
rom the bu.rl,. which causes tbe blade to
clof! ea.lly.
nil: n 'C;'TI;' r 'ROIDE,And finallywe
gel to the "hole point of the saw blade
- the carbide lip.'. There are more than
30 different grade, of lun{1;l!tencarbide
used to make CUlling tips for saw blades,
each grad., with iu; own characteristics.
Trying 10 determlno the quality differences bel ween the different grades is
really more oflljob for a meialurgist, than
for a woodworker
The most apparent different"e between
th. carbide tip> Oil clifferent saw blades is
their .i%(', Th(' .iuo of the carbide tip can
range f"'om ~. toll.'
long. and V,." to
about ~Ih,ck. Larger lips simply e.~end
the life or. blade by extending the number
of s~nml!'
that can be performed befon> the til'<' w,'u out.
8IU.z"GTHI.l'\KHIULTI,.". The process
of bruing (hif(h temperature soldering)
the tipo 10 the otl'l'l is one of the more
mtiea! ..
m the construction of.
rarbide.tip""d blade. Two methods are
commonly u.'Ied to braze tungsten carbide
to -teel: machine induction brazing, and
hllnd brazing "ith an acetylene torch.
Thcno's a queRtiollllaboul which method

,,,,"l"l.

usxn

can produce
du...to Inco....... nt heating .

MA(.'II''': .IRAJ:I'('. Con ..i"ttnl joint with--

IO\fI>i. Grin<l1D1(rnartc. indicate only a

008J"!ie"heel "8:1 l1,ed to sharpen the tip..

fL"E Shinny. mirror-like fini.<hde.ignates

sharpness obtained by very fine grindinj!:.

produce. the be"l bond between the earbide lip and th(' blade. The answer seems
to de""nd on who you're talkinj( to. So I
contacted an (iml'Qrtlal) engineer special.
izing in Ilwtalw'l!:I', and Coundthat either
method can produce a very secure bond, if
done pro""rly.
Evidently, th~ bil!gest danger i~ in
overheating lho blade and de.;tro~ingthe
temper. O\,erhcaunl! can also cause gas
po,...,.. or pin holes in the brazing eompound, U.ually tbe,~ pores art! only on the
"ery ,"rfllCt' of th. alloy. but oe<asionaUy
they dc I,,"':trate further into the joint.
"eakenmlt tlw>b"nd.
Saturally,temperalUn> can be mono aeeurately controlled "ith automarie rnachinery than with a hand ton:h. This is
supported by Ihe ract tbat lhe only pinhole~ we found WI''''' on a blac1. which was
b.,..U'd by hand. But as long as the tips
don'~ actually falloff, the br8Zing is doing
its job.

T11TOOTIIGRI'<llI"(;.
How well the car-

DR.UH'. Hand brazing

pin "'...

out pinhol, .. du, to total heat controL

bide tip. are ground is another way to

cheek ovrrnll qualily of a carbide-tipped
saw blade, To achieve the highest level of
quality, lhe tiPS6houid be ground with two
different grad.R of diamond wheels (dia
mond. are about the only material that can
be used to grind tun ..rsten carbide).
The 1il">1. or rou>ing~uI pass is made
with a COlIne (I)'I)griO diamond wheel,
Then a M-rond p""" i. made using a fin.
;"hin~(ItJO.gnt or finer) diamond wheel,
To determine whether or DOta blade bas
been lini.h ground, check the top. face.
and .idt ... of th(, c-..rbide lips for a shiny,
mirror-like smeothn ess, IV.ing a small
hand lell> can be hig help in .ceing the
diffenonee,)
If the lIPO .ho" any sign., of grinding
marluo, it m.ans the manufacturer hasn't
takenthelimelou.<etheveryfinediamond
wheel on the final I).~ - and that the
blade i~n't ~h.rp Ill! i~ could be.

----~----------------~--------------------

\VOODSMITli

17

beveled to one side of the blade or the

other. so each tooth cuts only o,~
side of
Beyond the quality of the saw blade. you11 the kerf.
Using the ATB profile, each tooth is
also need a blade specifically designed to
achieve the highest quality results for the removing only very smaU chips. This is
type of cutting being performed. To why an ATB profile produces such a high
achieve the highest qUAlity results while quality finish, and why it's the most common profile for circular saw blades. ATB is
ripping, you need a blade that's designed
specifiealJy for ripping. Crosscutting is the found on rip. crosscut, and combination
same - only 3 true crosscut blade can blades. and is also common on finish blades
produce the highest quality results. In that use high numbers of teeth to produce
other words, there's no such thing lIS a an extremely high quality finish.
One drawback to this design is that it
universal saw blade Cor making the perfect
fonns an inverted V. when cutting grooves
cut every time on everything.
Finding a saw blade that's designed to and dados (a nat top profile produces a flat
bottom). The very tip of the cutting edge
match the type of cutting you do most.etten
is probably the most important part of on an ATB profile dulls quicker than most
choosing a blade. The first step is to know other blades because this is the area that
how the different variables are used to does most of the cutting.
TRIPLE CHIP. A triple chip tooth config
fine-tune carbide-tipped blades to perform
urstion
uses two different tooth profiles,
different cutting actions.
The most common variables are: in.. one for the "chipper" tooth, and another
dividual tooth configurations. number of for the raker tooth. The chipper tooth
looks Ukea tooth ground to a nat top profile
teeth, and the hook angle of each tooth.
Understanding the way these three fae- with both outside corners chamfered off.
tors work together de-mystifies the type of The purpose of the chipper tooth is to
cutling a blade is designed for. and what "score" the material in the center and
along both edges of the kerf. Then the flat
you can expect of it.
top raker tooth follows through and deans
TOOTH CONfiGURATIONS
everything up.
This tooth configuration is normally
Choosing the correct tooth configurstion is
important because it's what determines
used on saw blades designed for very high
how. and how well the teeth actually, ... quality finish, and are used to cut lamimove material. The tooth configura lion is nated counter tops, particle board. plastic
nothing more than a profile ground on the laminates,
CO~IBlliATIOI'. Finally. there's a comlOP surface of the carbide tips. The other
two surfaces (the sides and the face) of bination tooth configuration that's really
each carbide tip are usually kept flat. 0" nothing more than a hybrid of the alternate
top bevel profile, and the nat top protile.
slightly tapered.
There are four common profiles used in It's usually used on blades that are degrinding the tips of circular saw blade signed to both rip. and crosscut hardwoods
teeth: flat top, alternate top bevel (ATB), and plywoods.
Nonnally the teeth on a eomblnation
triple chip. and a combination profile. Each
of these profiles has its own personality.
blade are grouped together in sections of
including - pardon the pun - some good five teeth - four are ATB. followed by a
flat top raker tooth to speed up removal of
and bad points.
the material during ripping operations.
FLAT TOP. On a flat top tooth configura[ion. the top of each individual tooth is The combination of both profiles helps
ground square, perpendicular to the sides keep the blade from becoming clogged
with chips, yet keeps the high quality of
of the blade.
This style ofgrinding offers two distinct
finish.
Another aspect of the combination blade
advantages. First. it provides the most
that helps keep the rate of feed fairly high
support for the cutting edge of the tooth.
since the entire width of the tip is being for ripping is the large gullets in front of
used. Secood, the cutting edge will last Ihe raker tooth. This gullet JUSthelps e1ear
longer because the teeth wear out evenly out the chips a little quicker.
along the entire width, not just on one
TOTAL NUMBER OF TEETH
point.
The most common drawback to using a The total number of teeth can be the one
saw blade with a nat tOPprofile is the finish variable tbat has the most noticeable effect
it produces. The blade takes bites out of on the cutting action of a carbide-tipped
the board that are as wide as the entire saw blade.
As the number of teeth on a saw blade
width of the kerf. Because the chips being
removed are large, they have a tendency increases, the distance between teeth is
decreased. 'rbi. reduces Lhe sise of the
to tear out. leaving a rough surface.
guUetsofthe blade and makes chip ejection
.u.TRNATE TOP BE\'l:L. The alternate
top bevel (ATB) profile is almost self ex- from the kerf more difficult. A blade with a
planatory: the tops of alternating teeth are higb number of teeth also requires more
CHOOSING A BLADE

18

FLAT TOP

This style of tooth uses ol)iy

one grinding profile - flat
across the top. and produces a
Ilat bottomed kerf.

ALTERNATE TOP SVU

This prome produces a fine finish (and It kerf in the shape or a

Vl. and can be used on any
. style of blade.

TRIPLE CHIP

The triple chip profile ineorporates two styles of teeth, a

beveled chipper, and a Oat
topped raker tooth.

COMBINATION

This multipurpose grind com-

bine. the flat top. and the ATB

profiles for ripping and crosscu\tin~ hardwoods.

\VOODSMITH

power to operate, more feed pre ssure, and

slower rate of feed,
linder ideal .. tuauons, only three teeth
should be cutting at one time, One should
be le."ln, the pieee, one cutting in the
tenter. and one jWlt entering the piece, To
mainwn thil< optimum cutting situation.
the total number of teeth should decrease
as the thickne ... of the material increases.

OUUIT.

HOOK ANGUS

The hook angle on each tooth is another

key faclor in determining the characteristies of a saw blade, The hook angle is
nothing mere than the amountofCorward
lean each tooth hruI,
Ba;ically. the more hook angle a blade
has, the more pull, or j{n\b the blade will
have on th~ workpiece, One effect 0( this
pulling action i. that the rate of feed tends
to be fa.'t~r whenever the hook angle is

RIP ItADE

il'lC'eL~

===::::

:====C=R=O=SS=C=U=T=B=l=A=D=E

R~ucinl( the hook angle also reduces

both the amount of gnb the blade exhibits,
andtherat('ofre"d
Cutolfsawbladesare
a good eumple of when a SlIiaIIer hook
angle woukl be used to prevent the blade
from gr1lbblDg. or "running" through the
piece being cut.
In raet, AS the hook angle approaches.
and eve n exceeds (1" (producing a nega.
live hook angle - or when the teeth lean
backwards), the blade exhibits no grabbing effect at 811. Thi. il! extremely important when euuing' metals. where total conlrol over the rate of Ieed is needed.

R" BLADES

COMBINATION BLADE

__

..:==========~..:m::o:n::I~:.'

\\'()()I)SMITH

\\lwn eh_ing a blade for ripping, the

high",! eol~m It< u.uaIly with the rate of
feed. and not the quality of the finish. To
provide. rip blade ,,;th the highest rate of
feed. oe"eral different
aspects are
add~~,
First. the hook lInllle on each tooth is
increased to about 2CY to help pull the
workpiece into the blade. Unfortunately.
thi~exu ...me forward lean also increases
the impaet on each tooth during Ihe eultinjf
procc~..
To prevrnt the carbide from breaking
under thi. added load. many manufactu rers use a .lightly "'fter carbide on their
rip blades (Frt'ud u"" s a softer C2 grade.
rather than the ir normal C-I. whieh is
harder and mort' brittle), A flat top tooth
configurati"n i, also the most popular becau..... u prond(1l the maximum support for
the tip,
Seeend, to pre' em tbe high rate of feed
from overlnading the blade with weed
chips. th, number of teeth are kept to a
minimum, In fact. some people believe
that "hen It come. to a np blade. the
number ot u-eth L, more important than
the tooth configuratIon. The maximum
number of teeth on a 1(1"rip blade is <om-

:co:n~i_d_('r_('(_I_to_be_2<l_l_ce_th_.

CROSSCUT BLADES

The main dlfTerellCel>between a crosscut

blade and rip blade are the number of
teeth. the hook angle. and the tooth configuration-', In other words, they're <ompletely dlfTerent,
Cl"Ol<SCut
blade, IU'~""ually used for obtaining a hi> quality finish when doinlt
cutoff work, To produce a higher quality
finish. cutoff blade" use a higher number
of teeth (40 piUll) in comparison to a rip
blade (2<1 Or less),
If this many teeth were used on a lip
blade, they would create an instant clogging problem, But when used on a crosscut
blade. lhert' 8l"i' several reasons why they
create no problem. at aU.
Fim of all. the hook angle on a <1'OSSCUt
blade i. u.ually kept \\;thin (1" 7'. By
keeping the hook anllie in this range. the
amount of gnblMng i. kept to. minimum.
or even rompletely eliminated (a necessity
for U>(' on the radial arm saw l. The real
advantage to this i> the total ronlrol it
gi,'e. over the rate of feed.
Mo.t material being trimmed with a
crosscut blade I~
rAlMYnarrow, This helps
eliminate any problem. associated \\;th
using a higher number of'teeth 00eaU>(' lhe
blade u.uaUy i~n't in the wood long enough
for the chip. to clog up the smaller gutlets
between tho teeth.
Using a different tooth configuration
also help. a Crtl>HCIlt
NlW blade produce a
finer fini"h than a np blade. The most
oommon profile " the Alternate Top Bevel
for all-purpose cn""CIlttinlZ of solid wood,
Another profile thaI', usually used for
cro..cuttinjf pl."tlc laminates, or par.
tideboard;" a Tnpl~ Clup profile.
COMBINATION BLADES

Obtaining pt'",'Ction on every cut is impo......ible With anyone bind,', But there ;.. a
type of blad(' that ean achieve a Iairly high
level of quality over a "ide range of CUll'
... comhination blades.
There are two distinct characteristics
that make combination blades unique .
First. of nil. combination blades use a
hyblid tooth .onfi~\lration that'. simply
called 8 "eombination"I,rofile. This profile
allows the blade to either crosscut or rip
without any mll,jor drawbacks to either
operation.
The second mllior di>tinction of a eombination blade i, the large !lUlIet ID front of
the raker tooth. Th., oversued gulJet helps
improve chiP rem,,,a] dunnjf rip operatiens, thu' lD<re""lOgthe rate of feed.
Combination blad .. are usually available with 40 to 60 teeth. Natural!y. the
higher tooth count will create more resistance while lippinl(. and the rate O({eed will
be slower, But the finish achieved while
crO$."CUtlingwill be improved Ill! the num-

be_r_ot_l_ce_th_in_r_re_Al'_C8_,

--:'"

19

SPlClflCS

At thls point, all of th.. information is

basically just lot of talk. The true test o(
the quality of a bla<1~ k' getting It in the
shop, and maldng >01114.' sawdust. So I pur.
chased a ,'anety of carbid .....tipped blade,
and put t~m thro~h the lfood.,llith shop
test.
I "'!",rated the billde:. bemg tested into
two cDltRorlts: .tandard carbide-tipped
saw blades. and lhe new generation of
"super" carbid~-tip""d blades, For l.esLing
the sLal1dardblade~.1 purchased two commonly a"ailable and reasonably priced
b...ands: &'lU'>< anrl Freud.
Th e new "super" carbid .....tipped blades I
tes ted "en' th. Ifr So"vJ".181ad~manufactured by Forr t Manufacturing
($162). and I Teflon coated. -anti1Mp"
cutoff blade ($110 manufactured by
freud
'The chart on page 21 gives the results of
the qualily t",na on the blade. tested. Al>
for our opinions and reeommendaticns,
here goeR
The standard "'''' blad es can be di\ided
into three ""t.-gone,: RIp blades. Crosseu;
blodts, and Combination blades. In each
category C'Ira) blades were tested. In
some CBIII'K. tho blade. being tested were
technically id..ntical, and in ethers, the
blades we'" .lij(htly different.
COMBINATION

IlLAOE5

S~.AR" .aTOOTH(O\lB.,'TIO\
BLAI>L.
The Sta" I().toolh eombinauon bladl>uses
an ATB tooth ronfil(Uration. IS oppc>Sedto
the eombinauun profile of tbe Freud

bIad.~.
One err""l of ""in, an ATB tooth profile
on Ihe~
blade is that the rate offeed is
much slower, Th", '" due to the lack or any
larj{c 1(U1I.1lI. which arc part or the "com
binatlon" tooth configuration.
But what really surprised me W35 how
the fleatK bladp compared to the Freud
blnde when rrppi ng' hardwood
and
plywood. The quality of cut produced by
the ATII profile Se.... blade was definitely
lower than the Freud blade. And considering thr only real difference between the
tooth configuration. on these two blades is
the additJon of. ralwr tooth on the Freud
blad es, th,' overall quality of the Sear.,

blW beeom es <uspeet,

On the other hand. lhe cresscutring
quahty of the AT8 profile on the Sean,
blsde w.... e<IUl\aJ~nttothe.jl).toothFreud
blade. and it lICluaJlyhad I.,~ clUpout on
the .urf..,e of the piece being cut.
('():-'(,U slll\,. The bigg.$l advantage to
any eembinaucn blade i- it. ability to both
rip and eresseut. But they also have.
reputation of being 3 jack of all trades, . ,
and ma.,Ler of none.
Of lh,' thrN' combination blades tested.
I felt the 5Otooth Freud combination W4>
the best all-round blade. Although the rate
offeM i. ,lil{htly slower when ripping, the
improved quality of the edll(' produced
makes thL' blade the clesest to a "do allblade of any I tested.

The three combination blades I rested

"ere: a ~O-tooth ~ .... blade that uses an
AT B preflle, and 41). and 5O-tooth Freud
bbde' Ihat use the combmation profile.
CROS5CUT IlLAO5
THE Htf.1 II C'O)lBt"TIO:< BLAlIES. Both
tho: ~I).and 5O-tooth .'reud combination The c~t
blade' I te.,ted included a
blad<-ha,~ (our ATB teeth and one raker
Sears Tllooth ATB blade and a F....ud
tooth ... h",h is the t)'piral "combination" 6O-tooth Tnple Chip blade.
\\lIen <"",<CUtllng hard"ood, \be ATB
tooth confillllrallon. The only difference
between the t"o blade. '" the nwnber of profil. on the $ears blade produced a fair
teeth - the I().tooth bemg the mosteom
amount uf chlpout on the top face of the
monly ......,mm~nded
pi,~e. and a very larj(e amount on the back
Ripping W38 one operation where the edge, Th. Triple Chip profile of the freud
combination
perfonned betLer than bind. also produced n bmall amount or chip rill blrtde in une .~I>tlt'l. and worse in ping 011 Ih~ top face. but Ihere Wall no
8110ther, The combination profile l'e<Juires where nrar the amount of ChiPOUL
on the
aslo ... r rat" O(fl-ed. but in the proces.<. it hack I'dI' compar~d to the Scars blade. A.
aJ.o produced " cun.iderably impro\'ed
far ... the quality of the cul, both blade..
pl'OIlu<-edan ('xtl"('mely .mooth finish, and
CUli.,h,
As e'J'('<'ll-d, the extra 10 te<!\b on the neither >'(.. med hearr than the other.
5O-tooth blade .Iowed 1M rate of feed e\'en
\\'hen both blad(:~ "ere u<ed (or cutting
more than the 100lOOthmodel. but it also ply"ood. the o"I:ra1! performanre of the
produced an c"en hil'n.,r quality finish. In ATB prolileon the Sean< blade cameoul on
Cart the 5O-toolh ,""ion produced a finish top. a1thouSChthe quality of the cut still
n't up to the le,.1 produced by the
that I con'id~rM j[OOd eoou,gh for edge
glUlnlt (.. ithoul bemg run through a rreud 5O-tooth combination blade. \\nen
jCtlDtfr),
thl' freud IlO-tuothTnpJe Chip blade Wag
On plywood. the 40tooth blade pro- u-ed for CUlllllltplywood. it produced an
duced more ch,pout on the face and the exce.. ive amount of chipout on the bonom
back edge than the 5O-tooth blade. Also. r.~.
Even though both blades are designed
the 4().lOOthblade pr.xluced a rougher cut.
while the OOloothblade produced an ex- for cro.sculling, they can be used for final
tremely high quality finish.
ripping of stock when an extremely fine

prom,

w,..

20

RIP IlLAOlS

Blades (or ripping are gt:Mrally limited w

no more than :!4 teeth (for a 10- blade). Of
the blade> I tested, only nne 1$this mold
- a Freud 24-tooth rip blade. The ....,.,00
blade I tcsted "a.. a :Jo.tonth Sears model.
The reason this blade """ included in the
lest. even thoUllh it had more than 2-1
teeth, i, because it', lhe blade Sears
n>eommpnds for ripping,
PIIt I) %"TOOTIIIIII'I'IN(;RLADE. It onlv
look olle CUtto realize thai thi.. blade wis
genuinely dpsignt,1 for ripping. The first
thing that'~ noti'<I,. the fast rate of feed.
Thi. wa.' wmrwh.t expected. considering
the 20 hook anj!'le on th, blade.
The quality of tho cut produced by the
nat top tooth c()nflgllration en the Freud
blade " .. n't lW'arly a., poor a:, Ihad been
led to expect. In f3('l. "hen cuttinj!' hardwood. the flattop prome produced an edge
aImo.t a.. <lean as the I(}.toothcombination
I blade,
Cutun, plywood wu another story.
RefllU"dI"Mof the rate of feed, when cuttinR a~
the ~'Tain of the face veneer,
U>aruut on thl' bottom was unacceptable
for anythinl1 except I',rl/ rough work
S~;AR.~
so-room RII' IlLADE, Alter using
the Freud rip binde, I was anxious to give
the S<>ars blade II try. c'lX'ciaJly since the
tooth configuratIon on both blades \\'3$
identical. Unfortunately. as soon as I made
a cut. my e~c'tem"nt abated. The finish
produced by the :JO.lOOthSears rip blade
\\..... wuhout a doubt. inferior to the fini..JI
obtained with the Freud blade.
And "h,'n you col""der thaI the Sears
blade ha.' 30 I~th. ralher than U on the
fl'(:ud bJa.le, it was hard to 1Ifllkon,'t3Dd
ho.. lh<'re could be thia much deterioration
in qualit) ,
COlort.t'lll"
There really ...a.' wide
range of quality difference in the finish
produced by the two blarle". The floeud
blade not only produ, ...~1a better finish. it
olso CUtat faot"r rate. Although some of
the discl'<')l<U\cy in th.. rate of feed can be
attributed to tlw higher number of teeth.
the dele,ioration o(the quality in the finish
tinishi. needed. U fOl'glue joints, Used tor
ripping. any cro.-cut blade \\ill ha"e a
\'ery .I~" rale of ('('<I. and produce a very
fine fini,h, In fact. the quality of the finish
produC! by tl.l' IlO-t(lothFreud blade was
the h,jlh.,. of MY o( the ,tandard blades I
Le>ted. TIKiZtooth Sear. blade. on the
other hand. "IS really no betu>r than the
freud IO-tooth combinatil>n blade.
CO'tLI sIO" f'rom the "",Wl> of thl>
te." bel ween the Freud and the Sears
blad~. ilappea" that th~y're about equal
in the quaJit) of th.,r performance. with
the Freud bl...l... Ilj(htly In front. But when
lOU factor in the qua.lity of the blade. the
~reud blnde com,', oul on top by a signifi'

cant margin.
\VOODSMITH

can only be attributed to the quality of the

blades themselves.
By itself. the results of this test could
possibly be dismissed as a nuke. BULwhen
Lhey'Tecombined with the problems found
with the other Sears blades I tested. I
think a fllirly clear picture tan be drawn on
the quality. or lack of it. in the Sears
blade s.
On the other hand, the Freud blades
eontinually performed at, or above the predieted norms in aU three categories. And
wben the heavily diseeunted prices of the
Freud blades are taken into consideration,
it becomes clear to me that they not only
represent higher quality, but they also
represent a better value in the long run.
THE"SUPER" BLADES
I've grouped two different blades under
this classification because they've been
manufactured with exacting' standards exeeeding the indusu'y norms, or they have
incorporated a new type of technolOJ!:Yin
their design.
MR. SA\\'Ilt:~T. The Mr. Sawdust Signature line sa" blade manufactured by forrest Manufacturing is advertised rut "the
only saw blade you'll ever need." That's a
srrong claim.
One of lbe reasons the people at Forrest
boast about thclr blade with ouch zeal is
that it's manufactured to very specific toleranees (its plate tolerance is within .001").
Then to top it oIT. they've put an exceptiona! edge on the carbide tips using a
super-fine 600-grit diamond wheel.
AU in all. the blade is t he finest example
of qualit)! we've seen, with one exception
- the pin holes in the brazing alloy.
According to Forrest. this isn't a problem.
But according to everyone else, the pin
holes shculdn 't be there ... especially on a
SI60 saw blade.
Because of the high number of teeth.
this blade performs at its best when used
as a cutoff blade. But it can also be used as
a rip blade, although the quality orthe cut
,

10 BLADE

COMPARISONS
RetGlt Prlco

II of l.o'h
Carbide Qualtty
Pla1. HorclnoSi

II

AlP BLADES

CROSSCUTBLADES

StARS
90T32012
$29.99

f.rUD
LM72M
$64.8S

StARS
9 Gl31~56

30

24

72

60

NlA

Cl

MIA

stiff

niH

'tiff

I'lff

--

Carbide SilO (len9th)

8/32sr

Tip Bro.z'ng

good

Tip Orlndlng

produced the finest finish uf all the blade. I

tested, Freud not only manufactures this
blade to higher tolerances (plate tole ra nee
of less than .001") than their standard
blades. they've also improved on the standard tooth configuration (ATB) by adding
some secondary bevels. Then they coated
the plate with a layer of Tenon to reduce
the friction between the blade and the
wood. (The icing on the cake.)
\Vhen crosscutting, the Freud blade produced a finish equalled only by the finish
the Forrest blade witli the help of the 6"
dampener. And thal's saying' 8 lot. (The
common reaction around OUI' office was '1
can't believe this cut ill straight off the

is only equivalent to about. 4().tooth combination blade.

But one orthe most surprising aspects of
the forrest blade is its ability to rip with
a rate of feed nearly equal to that of
a 4().tooth combination blade. The method
Forrest uses to accomplish this feat is.
according to them, a trade secret and cannot be disclosed, But they did reveal that
it bas a lot to do with their special adapnon to the standard Triple Chip tooth
configuration.
'\lbat isn't A secret is lbe cost of their
blade. At Sl62. it's by far the most expensive blade on the retail market. But the
ke)" question is whether or not it's worth
the eost,
In all honesty, for crosscutting. the Mr.
Sawdust blade produces the fmest finish
you could ever want. And when yOU add
the optional 6" dampener(it'sjusta piece of
very nat steel that fits between the blade
and the outside collar to help stabilize the
blade), the results are incredibly good.
\Vhen crosseuttmg oak. the finish is. as
smooth as gia:;s. It's as close to perfection
BS one can get, without I};ng.
Is it worth an extra $100 when compared
to some of Lhe standard blades? To answer
that. perhaps another question should be
asked fil'st. How good i. good enl}ugh when
il comes to the quality of the finish?
In my opinion. once you've reached a
certain point, any further improvement in
rhe quality of finish is academic, and
usually too expensive to justify.
Whether this blade, or any other
"super" blade CI'O-_5 the line and enters
the never never land of perfection i$ purely
personal opinion. My opinion is that this
blade produces the finish I 've been searching for. but my pocket book says "you\'e
got to be kidding:'
fRF.t'tl Al'o'TI-CRWBLADE. After testing
the Forrest saw blade, Ifelt that, using:my
other blade would be a let -down, I was
surprised again.
Freud's new Teflon-coated cut,off blade

$54.'9

f.LUD
LU82M
$86.44

"

II

saw ...)

Because 1 was so impressed with the

finish the Freud blade produced when
crosscutting. ( decided to try it at ripping
(although with 80 teeth. it's really designed only for crosscutting). The finish it
produced during ripping was of better
quallty than the freud 5().tooih combination blade.
Finally I tried cutting some plywood,
and you guessed it. the Freud blade pr oduced the finest finish again (the Forrest
blade produced a small amount of tear out
on the bottom edges).
WHtCH BLADETO BUY?
If Iwere trying to choose a carbide-lipped
blade that would come do ses t to "doing it
all", without.
doubt. I'd choose the
5O-tooth Freud combination blade. Then to
compliment this blade, the next blade I'd
purchase is a 24-tooth rip blade, and finally
a 60 to i2-tooth cutoff blade.
,u far as the Super blades, not only is
the freud Anti-wil> blade cheaper. but it
alse produce. a finer CULthan the Mr.
Sawdust blade. But honestly, tho only
way 1 could consider purchasing either
super blade would be if I were doing an
awful lot of cutoff work, or had the money
to burn. Otherwise. I'd just use the standard blades and pocket the difference.

II

,.rUD
tU84M
$70.99

M:r. SawduS1

40

40

60

aD

NIA

CA

MIA

I,'H

niH

,tiH

SfARS
9G132S5
$39.99

"IH _

6./:32

$/32

1:'/32"

.,,(el

good

exc.1

good

rough

lmooth

rough

.mooth

roueh

lunout Tolerances

MIA

.003

NIA

.003"

MIA

.003

Moxlmum RPM

5SOO

7000

5500

7000

SSOO

7000

II of [xpan.Jion Stob

\\'OOOSMITH

"

lS/32

II

''32

smooth

UMS

fORREST
'162.00

9/32 "

"

excel

gullet,

SUPERBLADES

COMBINATIONBLADES

fREUD
LU8SM
$110.88

good

exc.1

._!: smooth
-

91:32" .,
smooth

.001

.001'

NIA

7000

--

21

Joinery:
Half
La~s
------

MAKING ENDS MEET

Hllflape are easy to eut ... at least they

appear thaI "a)" on the surface. But the
trick to making a good. sturdy half lap is to
cut it 00 the joining halves are smooth
enough to provide good gluing surfaces.
Also, you need to take enough time on the
initiallle!'up to make sure each half of the
joint i. truly 0,,~1/a1fthe thickness of the
~.
A' far a!o actually cutting the joint is
eoncerned, theno are two wa)~ to go about
It. I) remove the "ute by making multiple
pa.._ over thn blade, or 2) make twa
ind"'idual cul.8 - one cut at the sboulder
and the I('<'OIl<Icut to lorm the cheek.
MULTIPLEPASSMETHOD

One of the e"'l""t waY' to cut a halflap is to

make multiple pao._ over the blade. \Vith
this method. only one set-up IS needed.
However, there i. a drawback - the linish
on the ch....k of the Joint is not as good as
the two-rut method.
CIIOI('&or lIl.ADf:S. Although any saw
blade can be used to make this cut, a rip
blade "illllroduec 8 better surface because
it make, a "atbottomed cut. A dado blade
can also be u:;e.l bUIsome clean-up may be
needed to .mooth the cheeks.
SET 81.'PE IIll(;lfT. To set up this CUI.
(IJ'!'I..,t the ""lltht ofthp blade. Raise the
blade to jU'1 rrud~en Itu than ,"""half

the thicknl'l"of the stock. Tb~~makeaeut

TWO CUT MlTHOD
at the end of a lest piece. ~ hp the scrap
over and make another pass right below The second method for cutting a half lap
the IInu one. 'ev fig. I.
involves making two cuts - one to estabThere should be a thin sliver of wood Iishthe.hould~r,andthesecondtotrimorr
that the blade didn'l cut. Raise tbe blade the cheek. This melhod produces a very
just a touch, and make the same two cuts clean joint, ready for gluing.
again. Then nopeat this procedure, until
SHQlil.llF.R(IT The firsl step in this
the ,liver i. skimmed olf.
' two-rut method I~10 make a cut at the
Sf.T. f;\(E. Once the height of the blade shoulder line. S<>IIhe hcighl of the blade
is
UM.' tht ft,"", as a <top for the final
for the .houlder eut (... described in the
cut atlhe ~houltj"r line. Rather than mea- multiple cut method. above). and use the
<uringthisdisl.llnCt',lu""theoeeondboard
fe........ a >top (lr the lIhoulder line, see
to po!'iti(>I1
the Ie""" (or the shoulder en 00 Fig. I. \\ 'hen the saw i.set up, go ahead
the nr.t board. _ tlg. 2. Hold the right and make the <houJder euts on all piece;.
ed~ofthe.....,ndboard~tthe(enee
see Fig. 1
and 8Ciju.tth. twtting until the left edge is
F\Ct err After the shoulder' cuts are
"ush with tht' oUl.<!ld~
edl(e of the blade.
made. the workpiece mu.t be stood on end
CLE\'1 Ilf'r"""'Tt; Now it'sjust a matter
to make tho fat'l' cut. Ta do this, I use a
of making multiple passes to clean off the shop-made jill', """ Fig. 6. <The directions
",... te. Stan at the end of the piece and for making thi- jij( a....gi\'en in n'oodsmith
work toward the sheulder.
No. 21.1
Although this method is relatively
Mount a le_t pil'C(' in the jig and a<lju.t
quick, it does leave (he face of the joint a the jig "0 the blade euts Bl! close 10 the
little rough. If a cut..(lff or combination center oflhe hOArd... you can get it. Make
blade is used to make the CUI~,the surface a trial CUIto M'e Iftht cheek i. aligned with
can be smoothed by .liding the workpiece
lhe bouom of the k"rf of Ihe shoulder cut..
back and forth over the highesl point of the see Fig. 5.
blade, .('(' t'ig. 3.
Once tho cut 15lruly culting haIfway.
If. rip blade or dado blade was used, a raise the blade 10 the tnp af the kerf of the
tittle touch-up "ith a 'harp chloe) might be shoulder cut. and tnm "Iflhe waste on the
needPd.
f"'" of th, Joint.

""I.

MULTIPLE PASS METHOD

AGUIl1
USlSKONO

"ler

fO SfT

ftNC1 fOIl

SHOtJlDIl CUT

TAW

TWO-CUT METHOD
"""It

SKONO
CU'ON

Mel

lLAD[

22

\VOODSMITH

_ __:T:~a~JkingShop

AN OPEN FORUM FOR COfvV\AENTSAND QUESTIONS

GLUING UP NARROW BOARDS

J hal'f a qutl(roll tho/ I hope you can

(I'l.tUttr. lVJirlltt't'J,"',1 f'dge gilU)lga large

,,,'.'tT

pantlfrolll 31n~lif solill stock, I

knoll' whlft width 10(fit the 81ri1l-<,
Are tilt .(rip' rill to dif.fe".,ri wid/Ir.!or
thr diflttfnl '1lfriP3,likrook, u'(lbr~/,lUfh,
or >naplt! And arr tlfPrf (lny rul. of
tlrllllfb 1/"" folio.' .'h,,, gluing up larg,

pa.rtl.,
Bill Pouell
D<1Ir<:T. Colorado
Th<'Or"'lr.lI~. the ",dths of the strips
ollould
u,rding to the species of
...000. The re.....n for tJili. il;that under the

\I",

same eondition,... the amount of movement

(in all Ihn'(' planes - tangential, radial,
longitudinal) ran "cry widely from one
specie of wood to another. By using nar
rower strips with apecies that traditionally
have a tendency toward excessive movement, the ilIeffecI. in some directions
(cupping, for example) can be controlled.
However, Ih('", are two other factors
tluil r('ally have more 10do with determining the amOU1l1
of movement of panicular
board: the 1~'iX'of CUllingpattern lhal was
used to CUIthe log into lumber (Ilal sawn,
rift NI" n, qua1'l~r .. " 0), and the original
posiuen oflh~ indi,;dual pieees in relationship to the pith, or the log's center. (The
.10,,(,1'1m'"it'! " to Ihe pIth of the log. the
more rhaJ'k't> lht'n: i... that it ma~' cup.)
Soin thl'OI')',tht "idlhof each pi_ proJ>. I
ably should vary according 10 the specie.,
it', original po.ition in the log, and Ih.
CUllingpattern u,~-d whon cutting the log.
BUIin pruclic,', I'Vf found that as long as
I keel>th,' width "fl'R.h .trip belw.,'n a"5"
(for all .1~'\'l".I, nol onl~' M" """.t of 111.,
('Uf'plnr pr(1bll'ml( IlNot)(,1nt(.'<i"ittl "'Irlt~
board. "hmin.tNJ. bUI the numbo'r or
:_;itnJ" 8Twi Joint.! 1t1'(' aLw, kt I>l y.Jthin na
""n, iio much for Ihl,ori ....
COLlECTING OLD TOOLS

Weju.-.t ",...,i"ed a !4IIl1p1e

copy otTh. F.."
ToolJown.ot, t\ XMl:Ot~lI"o .. Hood Too"
('oIt'c(Qra ami CrofIs" tn. The be.'1
desoiption oflhe content of the ne..-sleu<:r
Is found in the firol paragraph: Tool ",,1Iet'
lOI'II ha,' ...1"0 primary COncerrL'"
"1Vhat's il
worth'" and "\\110 made iI, where and
.. hen1" Th."" are th, questions The rille
Tool JOII",al add,...,,,,, .
Anyone inlere.ted in antique wooo
""r'k.ing 1001., wh"th.r for their antique
\'111
... , for IlCtu"1u'" In Ihl' 'hop. or just to

,or

\\'llODSMITIi

learn more aboul the history of antique

woodworking 100"' will find tJili. newslel
tel' very helpful,
The iue we received Ceatured article<
on modern loolmakenl, and "Tid-Bits of
U.eful Knowledge rw 1'001 Colleeto rs ," a
cla.<..lfiedad section for antique tools, and a
li.ung of old original tool catalogs still in
prim.
Then ju,t 10 lOY with their readers,
Ih.n". a column called ""'hatsit?" This
column d~bt .... uruque old tool whose
;,t, nlil), and I'u."..... _m to haveeluded
all the expprta. The hope is that a reader
may have crossed path, with the unknown
tool before
-\ OlK" )'nr sub-eription ((or 10 issues: is
$10.00. for more information, contact:
Sallie H. '\lard,
The fine Tool Journal,
RD fl2, Poullney, Vermcnt Wi&!

<,

SPLIT TURNINGS

Wh'I/tl""

l'n: l"rllillY

items 0.' a lallie,

turning stock). The only drawback is thaI

the PEG must be in a heated vat, and the
wood mU~1 b~ totally saturated with
heated PEG. Thi. whole process can sometime, take several months, depending on
the wood and it.>thickness.
ror more information about using PEG,
including how to make" heated vat, time
schedules, and MUI''S, I'd 'U~I
obUlin
ing a copy of lI'orking Grt,,, 11'00<1lI'ilir
PEG, by Pal rick Spielman, $9.2;;. (On.
,;G~ "' "'ooderan Supply, 41 Atlantir
A ve., Woburn, ;ItA 011<>-."1.1
CUnlNG

\\~"f'/rJ/UI' ~lIqrrtJ,l' d"nf'n61C1n&

If'fJ"drr If 1"1*"', a"!1 allo&rOJltt'

mad, fur th~ Icfrl of the 301" blodt! I

ect, I

hOt'll'" :ttt If II". ",,'nfiollfd ", any oj'yO~tr

article, and ,11,.1"( (lrt ocoosim'3 K:hnl I

[eel then: i"

boa'is and Olllf"

('Icrt/ond, Ohio
Splitting or cnu:kinl( of turned project;;
u,.ually i, eaused by lumber thai ha,.,,1
been properly dried. During lhe turning
P"_'_", the \\ ct interior of a semi-dried
p.- of" ood ~<expooed 10 the air, and il
naturally slarts to dry out.l:nfortunately,

dJ')ing lumbrr thIS

"3)"

C3u....;e:.e.xtreme

,In.'lI3 '" th" ,,,, ...t a.< th,' ~Xlerior of th,

I\'ood dn,'s
~hnnk,. and the inlerior
tnay. r.-l!lto\'l'Iy\\ "land ~13blc, And wben
Ih, ~Inu <1"'II\I'd by Ihi. imbalance be"om,... 1rnll~,'r thlill th~ strcnj(th of th.
", llllI<'lf, It .howa up D' .plits or t:nIcks

,II<'

In th(l: lur(a("('.

'rht'rt'

two \\'a)'lC to eliminate the

prol~clll 'I h~ 1i....1 is to &at' only wen dried
Itn'

lumbt-rldricd t(l7~ moj..turecontent) to

elln halt Ih.,anallonmth.mci>lureOODtent !>.I\\ ,..'tl Ih. ,urfate;ond th~ inlA!rior
o(lh, ,,000
Although wing ,,'th, I' kiln dried wood.
or Ih..roughl11l1r dried lumber;_" the be.1
anJ'-'t>r. lhi re
limes ,,hen a ~-pecial
pietl' of ...ood .h ..". up Ihat can'l be
quickl~, or "ff""I".ly l<ir dried. In this
C8..'14!, using a pI'<Jduclcalled PEG mighl be
Ihe a""wer,
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) is. chemical
that's u$ed 10 .tabiliU' .mall quantitie$ of
green or wet lumber (making it ideal ror

"n:-

tlO (l1/"",(llIrt for

kerf widths.

J F. ,IJarllltl18

a problem t!wl
kttp. rropping np, The problt111i.that tl...
Imod kfep8 rl'(rrkillg $ilortly aflat/Ie piece
ROJIBBa",~B

uf "101(

rial in lA, (1<1/"'g drogTO.n.r/or eacb. pro).

t/ltrt!'8

i8111"'cd AIIY.lIoorBhansf

DIAGMMS

\\'ilitlic", ('ali/ornia
\\'c do allow for 311ell~1an Yo. kerf for each
CUI. And ,;Gmt'limes We actually allow for
wider k,rf. because It', often easier to give
each piece I liltle bil extra width, than
ha'ing the art .. l. llj' to draw a vel')' thin
"''1,,1(' _lion on the ed~ of the drawing.
However
e did p;ouf on lhe cutting
dial(l"8m (or I Tool Storage Cabinet in
1\'00<1." lilt :-;0 25 Here we rorgot to
mak~a1Jow.n<e, Cor the kerl$
bnnll" up a coupl" of other poinL<
.bout the malenals Ii.I and culting dia
gram... Tht, mat.rials li'l gives the quantil)" and lini.hl..t .",._.or ,,""h pi_ in a
proj'~l. The CUllingdiagram isn't quite $0
exacting,
Part of Ih,' problem with the layout of
Ihe CUlling diagram i. Ihal hardwood
u.ually i,"'1 availabl. in ".landal'd" sizes,
Thi~ make. il alm""t iml'oN'ible to lay-out
a cutung dlatrJ'&ll1Ihal C3l1be used by
e\'eryone.
\\'hal we do i. laY-OU1Ihe pieces for 8
project '" Ihe mo.1 em..,enl arrangemenl,
,,'hiIe lIthe ..."e ume keepinll' the o\'erall
dimension,. of the lumber needed within
reason (12" .. ide board, make greal CUI
ting diagram:<, but they're ll('any impossi
ble to obtain in m",,1 area..).
\\'hallhi. means i, thai the cutting lay
OUIb only a l(Uide. In facl, if you can'l
purchase lum~r In the .izes listed in Ihe
cullingdiagrtlm, you ma)' need lodraw OUI
your O\\'n \Ien-ion to match the $ize of lum
bel' available,

nu..

23

Sources
WOODWORKING CLUBS
THIlEADEDINSERTS

The threaded ("r<Jl.an") inserts used to

ttaeh the leg\' on the pi.ni. table in this
issue mlJlI be available at your 10<:81
hardware .tort' but If not. you ean buy them
from:

lI'ood=jl Supply ('1I'71O"lliotl

~1
At/otitic

..t'fI"'~

Il"ol",,,, .. I1A 018/:J~

T./~lw"t: 14I()()U51I5J

In MaSll4C/lltB, 118:617,'.t5"';h'~J
By ordering part number 12KSItr,

In no particular order (except sort of as

they arrived) here's who we've heard from:

ASSO('IATJ("
(l" "(It)'.
\\'ORKERS($A\\), There's n rll'\\' a (.'intIUI)

SAN JOAQl'IV nNE WOOUWORKERS ASSOCIATION. Woodworkers from Fresno to

of woodworkers formin!: in I h. Okloh"",,,

City area .
SA\\"s (nice name. huh1) rn,'onl"'",h'l' u;
currently made up of FNIt'r:d A"oll.n
Administration I f'AAl lR,truew",; And
technieians at th~ Oklahoma Cit)' Aeronautical Center. hut iJi 01)(00 to anYCln(' anet
everyone outside the "~.\A",lll' IPointtr
ested in becoming SIn8c1;'(", Jl;lrll(."l~lln~
member.

Bakersfield (CA) started this club on February 5th. MW'k\\rebster. President, says
there11 be three chapters of the club- in
Fresno, Bakersfield, and Tulare counties.
The club publisho:s a nice looking newsletter, sponsors some woodworking clas"'''', and lhe dues are S20.oo 1"'1' year.
Contact: Mark R. We~'ter, 620 North G
Str ee I, Porterville.
CA 98257 (209
:I!II III'1n.

you1J gee 3 package of25 inserts which lit'<'

I"~'I
8~,,'1IWOOVCRAF'Tt:R'S ci.rs.
Yo" long. require. "'. pilot hole. and ~.C'l:I'1 :-Iorm C .rllodman. President of the
a 1'.-20 threaded boll. Prit't' per 25 it> $lUIb. n~wh' rorn.,,1 1',dlO B,.ch Woodcral'ter's
Club: would tiki 10 henr fmm I)lhcr clubs,
SAW BLADES
They
advice, ""pie. "f application
The Sears blades tested in this issue are (01111:0. byla\\'11nnd th., lik~.
available in most Sears $tOI"CSIUltion\l;de
If you can help NI,nn ~"I hi club .Iartl-d
and in their special tool catalogs.
righl. \I rile 10 hlln ',Th., "olm ".sch
Freud (PO Box 7187, 218 t-eld Avenue,
Woockralh'r'" Club. 1'~lCh.,,,,on Ci",I..
High Point, NC 2726-1) produces a 96-pa~e Jupiter. f'l, 3:~ISb l:lfl[~717 lli"';;).
estaleg' which is svailable for $5.00.The
TI:lE ALAB ..\ 'tA \\'CH)I)Wt.l(ht-;tt~ c.t ,.
cost of the catalog will be refunded to The Alabama \\' oodwurk.,.,. Gull.1 .1 "rt.~1
Wood~mit"readers with their first order. in March. They alre~c!yh:<,t:<111'\\ sletter,
II you already own Freud blade. you can and are planning a show in rnlll.lul)
get free eopy of the caLalog simply by
We think the President (If lh. (;ull.1 hI!
submitting proof of purchase.
an appropriate first name. Sprue e.
For more infonnation about where to
Uyou,. from Alabama. write 10 :-;"I'U<I'
locate a Freud dealer in your area, call one McRee. Sr., PO Box 327. P~lh"m, AI,
of th~e two toll free numbers: 1-800- 35124.
334-2505 or 1-800-334-4107. If you tive in
COLORAI)(' WOOIlWORKl>ltS GlIt,l). Len
Califon.ia, there's a special 'VATS num- Erickson, President of the Colorado
\Voodworkcrs' Guild wants you to know
ber: 1-800-824-0141.
Forrest Manufacturing Co., Inc. only that. if you Ih'e in Colorndo and are inter
~lIs its products by mail order. So ifyou're
ested injoining the Guild, you should write
interested in Ihe Mr. Sawdust blade. other to him.t PO Box 5305, Denver. CO 80217.
blades they make, or a copy of their t-alaTilE WAsnINGTO!\ (DCI WOODWOflKRS
log, call 1~526-7S.';2 (New .Jeluy resi- CI'IUI. Thi.'gI'Oup h..." ita!! together. They
dents caU 1-201-47'.l-5236)or wriu. them 31 bold meetings \\ith eX~l'tspeakers on a
250 Delawanna Avenue, Clifton. NJ 07014. varielY of woodworking subjects, and provide what must be a popular and appreciWOODWORKING CLUBS
at<!dsel'\;ce for member>;:group PUI-clla.,.
Justaboutfiveda)'saflerthe last issue \\'3.5 ing of supplies and equipment.
mailed, we started 10 receive responses in
The latesl issue of their newsletter reanswer to our request for information
ported on a wine and cheese party where
about woodworking clubs.
member Chip Baker (another approllriate
It's not the same as being thel'e, but.we
woodworking name) said the \\;ne W3$
$ure cl1ioy reading the newsletters that somewhat lacking in substance. Later the
are sent tn.
editor reported that "Our meeting\' are
BYOB." \Ve thGughtthal wa:; the kind of
"''hat surprised us - and may .urpri."
~'ou - i. the incredible ,'8J'iety of wood- meeting we'd like to attend. BUI Jelr
working clubs.
quickly shatte",,1 our illusions by e>q>lainOur offer to help with membership re- ing the BYOB for. woodworker:; guild 1m.'
cruiting and publicity for anyone who 10 mean "bring your own 000 m8."
wants to contribute stand. JUSt send any
lfyou're in the \Vashington, D.C" an'1l,
information about your clubs to Steve ""ntact. Ed Mark. Secretary. 1656 DUD
Krohmer, /.Wood8I1litli, 1912Grand Ave- terry Place. McLean, VA 22101 lor IIlf,n'
nue. Des Moines. Iowa 50309.
infonnation.

,,,,,,I

24

!SOt'TH\\IEST

Their meetings center lI1'l.und t~(hlll~

new or different It('hnl''lU~.1 nl:thy I ,

which are based on 1\'001/.", ,II, .rt d('ll (a
we highly reeomm Illh
They're also looking ION Ilnl tl) t'l til
munieatlng and C'xchall.nr,J.t uff',ft \\ It tl
other club. ContRot Il"l -e rt 1', lltnl/Ill
Southwes; A~'WCtalit'JI o( \\"I()I(t\\ ,)., rf'.
1206SQuth Highlknd. ~1u.1110~,(lK 1llO11,
or eall 1!l5-!l76--17';'~.
SQUI'OO

.'L.Ollll)l\ \\'C)OI)\\ ()H.k.l(~ AMI" I "it"

I 'ourt N II ~~

\... B. Keeton, 21U Till''''''

Wliiton ll<:aeh. ~'1.:12:>IK""}

II.. ~ J.1I.I.
thr t JI1 I h'

\VO()fj\\'Urkl'~ Mi('I;ltt tllA

(lit! tlnll aIN;:\d,' h,. "", 11, I.~'....n It 1~
lllt.,\ th{o fil'"l4t Thul'l'otI,,) Ilf tllC foonll, to
",,,ul' Ifl''At liDlI h.I" e.:.()_ .-,\., r
\\ ntt to w, u, ((It mt 1'( iii', nl':Iot n

'\o\C'( (. Th,~tIllItlJtl!1 ""

1h 8(' 11\'1n
(fll'lhi' u'lt!\l U'Ul \Ial" , .... .il kl'r'. Ctf'KtUl
izatlor, \lOt '\,:r h" 1"1
.)t L (urt" tl, n

t"

.nol..t"'('I)n1.~)'11K'

C"","

f',lt nU41II "I&]

\\

nOli.

II

('offi"lralhrnan.
(hllld
\\'h~' ,Ielll'l 11('1f)...'rM J) Got rnl. (Int"'
of th~ found. I'll, t':'y il 1lIll\I' "''lilly
some !l;end$ 3rOun.llh, <oulllry flr(lI ,I.
special club.
lIl'I1J inkl"C"II~1 ill "",kill.
\\'ooden ooffins. 1 knO\\- thi1'i ill a bit 1J11U: 1J1Ll
(yes, we'd agree with that) bul thel'\' hall
been an up.urge in the art of the w..odell
<ofJin and Ihe making 01 it.
"Cun-ently I have a list of 20 pe""'n.
who are con.sponding with each other. II
any or your su~bers
wanl to inquire
about the GuiW. and t'<'e\'ivc all infn"I~'
tion aJ1d lists of perstl.L". hu\',' the,n \\ ril.
to meat soo.5Val ()ri, e, AU,IIII. TX 7l!7'..!J
Send $2.00 (III' I."\H~.1>".1
II.",

r'\'~

"UI'"

T.'K \\()()I'\\4.Kk~:It.' t . tl It t ,.,',.

le),\ \' RlJ.!hl In 4),lr 0\\'1' tmt.k)"an1 Ut. ~
\\'C)Cwl\l,'iJrkinJtclub 411k'n In ,.n~ u,,(' In t 9("11"
lral 1,)\\'8. Tht \V ood\\ orklrfI; t 91ullill 1\1I11'~

JuL' more than 20 m"mbel'l<.1'1..... nit (th.

Ihlnl Tu."" ." of each moolh. "h,,'1(' .00.
.nnu,~ due... and publish n
I.-IU r.
('untacl Loren Za.hary. !'.(rtllU'yf

II.....

Trrnsurer. 4805 Ross: Reta,1 "m...: t

60010. Phone: 51f>..292-lf>67

tp\\'8

\\'(1I111\MITH