NO.

57

NOTES FROM THE SHOP

$3.50

lth

Number57

June" 1988

Sawdust
J\_BOtrr 1'RJS iSSUE. I'vealways respected

'rh",'(!'s no doubt that tr-dditional Japanese

Editor Donald B, Peschke
homes (and their surrounding gardens)
Design Oirec(or Ted Kralicek
bring man and nature In close harmony
while at the same time being practical and
Managing Edrlor Oouglas L. Hicks
cil'icient.
Assistanl Editor Oouglas M. Lidster
Yet, while I admire the genius of Japanese
architecture, Japanese furniture
Proje<:t oes;gner Ken Munkel
design is not so much to my liking. And
TedmicaJ IIIUslla10rs DJlvid Kreyling
that presents a problem f"om the standCary Christensen
point of a woodworker who wants to parRod Stoakes
ticipste in some W!lY with Japanese d'lsign.
Chris Glowacki
I've been a lo~ more intei'\lSted in building
a Japanese house than any piece of JaCUSlO_ SeI'!Ic<I Sandy Baum, Mgr.
psnese fumiture I've Seen. The solution ill
JackleStroud
simple - build only part of a house.
Pat Koob
That is, I wanted to build the one design
LiSJIThompson
element that epitomizes Japanese architec<lomputerOpe<alions Ken Minar
ture: shoji SCI"'''S, (These' are the sliding
dC)OI'Sthat allow the 'blending of archltecAd_~iveAssIs. Cheryl Scott
ture with nature while still offering some
Jean Carey
privaey.)
&I,ldlng Mail1\onanceArchie Krause
However, 1 will admi~.to feeling. IitUe
awkward about taking on thiS PlOOject.It
The Woodsmith Store
seems best left to a lecture from a visiting
Japanese master shoji maker (tategu-shi).
Operations Steve Krohmer
'Vith a bow to those who have devoted
their
lives to thi~ work, ( decided to tlY
Maf1(ciir>g
Steve Oozier
my hand at this ancient trade. I decided to
l\dminisl1ative As$( Christel Miner
build a folding screen made with lbree
shoji frames.
Slore Managers:
Ai; we got wI<> the initial design 'stages,
St lOOll\, MO Jon Behrle
my
hesitation about the PJ:Ojl'Otresurfaced.
B<irl<eloy. CA Michael OeHaven
What happened was that we wanted to
Des MoInes.IA Kent Welsh
make a couple of changes to the traditional
WOODSMITFI (ISSN 0164-4114) Is ~b- shoji ~ and I didn't feel comfortable about
lished bimonthly (February, April, June, Au- clianging a design steeped in cradieion.
On tl"llditional shoji, the grid that forms
gust. October. !)eGember) by WOOdsmllh
the
center of the frame can be seen only
Publlshir)g Co., 2200 Grand Ave., Des
from
One side; rice paper covers the other
MOines, IA50312.
.'
side.
But
because of tlle nature of the foldWoodsmitb is a registereo trademark 01
ing screen, we wtu1ted to have grids on
Woodsmith Publishing Co.
both sides.
@CopyrlghI1988byWoodsmithPublishing
Since the grids are trnditionally mo rCo. AllRiQhts ReseNed.
Subscriptions: One year (6 issI!es) $12:95, tised into the frames, if the paper were
Two Yeats (12 Issues) S22.95. Canada and damaged, it waul,1 be nearly impossible to
Foreign: add $2 REI' year. U.S. fundS only. replace without dismantling the entire
frame.
Single copy price. $3.50.
Rather than mortise each piece of the
Second Class Postage Paid at Des
Wia into the frame, we assembled all en
Moines, Iowa.
tire Wid that is held into the outside frame
Postmaster:
Send change 01 address
noUce, 10Woodsmith Publishing Co., 2200 with removable stops.
So, 1Il'(!these authentic shoji or are they
Gtand Ave.. Des Moines, IAS0312.
simply
folding screens that look like shoji?
~ACK ISSUES: All baGk issues of
The'talte,
is more accurate. But no mattel'
Woodsmith are S1l11available. For a Iree
\vhat
the
origin
or authenticit)~I've enbooklet dOSO'iblngthe contents and prices of
all back Issues, iost send uS yaur name and joyed building them.
BlttOS.As Ted begins the task of photoaddress to the address ab0ve.
graphy
fo)' each issue, he's always faced
SAMPlE COPY: We willb0l1appy to send a
,,"th
the
p"oblems of how to ~prop" the
Iree sample COPy 01 Woodsmith to anyone
project. This became a 1-eaJ challenge when
you think would enjoy it Just send us his/her
he started wO)'king on the birdhouse.
name, and address.

M._

'1'0 ~t a little realism into the shot, he

Japanese architecture amI Cl"dftsmanship. wanteil to hang the birdhouse on

a tree

limb outside our shop window. Within two

days a family or wrens I)romptly moved in.
'l'l\ey worked on the nest, flying in and out,
and at times Jlen:hing on the roof. It would
have been a perfect shot,
:But every time he opened the window
to get a clear shot, the wrens became
camera ~hy. The only tiroe they seemed
not to care aboul Ted Wid the earners was
in the late. aft.enloon or eveuing ,v'hen the
light was low (too low for phoooJll'apllY
without a .JJash).
WeD, Ted didn't Jle~the shot he wanted.
You'll have to use your imagination to see
a camera-shy wren )lOkingher- head out of
the birdhouse hole. Even with Our peJiodie
interruptions, Ole wrens seem to enjoy

then:

new

nome:

and

\\'C

have enioyed

watching them bu.>ily building it.

NEW FAellS. J usually announce new
members of oun happy gnlilp in this
column, But- last. year, when Kenj Welsh
joined US as manall\)r of the Wl>od$lnilit
Store here in Des 1I101nO$.l eornpletely for.
got to mention him.
1 met Kent as he was helping us witll
the remodeling of an old carriage house behiml OUtt main building, His' work was meti.ulous and caretul - especially on the construction of the mail) staiteaSe \\IC added to
lead to the second floor. (It's a big coni.ge

house.)
Before he could complete.hiswork'cn the
carriage house, \VC were impressed enough
that he was hired to take on the task. of
running ow' home-base sl<>'~. For the past
year he has worked bard to help all who
come in the store. 'V~'l'e all gI;l<l to have
Kellt with us.
MOMS.Four ye'dl:S ago, Sandy, Ohristel
and Vieky walked into my office one day
and announced they were all pregnant.. 1
quickly had tests run on tile water in Lh.
dlillking fountain, and was relieved to
learn that the rest of us were safe.
Since then, however, all three have
added to their ralnilles. And now Christel
and Vieky bave decided I<> leave 115 and
devote full. time tIS moms, \Ve wish them

well,
ANO'I'HER NEW FACll. '1'0 hell) fiU the
gap, Lisa Thompson has joined us to help
with customer se.-vice. She m ab-eadY
working on thefulflilmenL of the lOt olne ...
that come in each aay. r think that witll
h",' help we will be able to turn your order
around \\1thin t\\fO (lays from the time \ve
l~ive it.
N'eXT ISSUE.Th. nest issue of Wood&mitk will be mailed during the week of
August 2.9. 1988.

WOODSM1TI!

T_i~s & Technigu_e_s__

__

fiNE AIlJUSTMENT STOP BLOCK

J l1I3ke lap joinl$ frequenUy and use a

$imple acijU8Ulbl. stop block for my table
saw to aeeurately locate and cut the
shouldel'll. 1'he stop block let.., me fine tune
the location of the cut,
To make the stop, screw a panhead
SCI-ew 1lW"t way into the end of a scrap
block. Then claml) the block to an auxiliary
feneo .,,, .. wed I.Q the miter gauge 0 the
screw head aets as a stop at the end of the
workpiece,

Cut the top panel 8" wide and the bottern panel 9" wide, Then cut both 00 a common length. I found 48" a comfortable

length for accommodating most workpieces, but if you work with longer stock
and have a" outfeed table or support, you
can increase lhe length of the panels.

SCREWGUS
When SCTC"ing two nl1l pieces of wood together, gap ollA!n .ppeanl between the

two mating aurf....... The gap is usually

caused by wood fibcrllth"~ have raised out
of the back beard n.' the serew is driven in.
tr using hardwood, no amount of tighten.
ing will C011"OOt
the problem.

~c_......

AUXJUAlY

....
a

toYTOM Of $HANIC

\,

to CIEATI
-........,

HOt(

l1GH1VI SOlfW UH11t

To solve the Ilrcblem, 1 sIiglIUy eoemersink the shank hole on the .mdnside of the

CUT IS MADE ON

_tUNE

The two panels are held t.ogelber with

%' carriage bol... and wing nuts, To driB
the holes for the bolts, clamp the two pieces

t.ogethel with the buck edges flush. Then

drill two
panels.
Star!. by setting the

"",..,W

l"OW"

head so the

shoulder line. Then make a cut and check

its location. Now sneak lip on the shoulder
line by slowly tightening down the screw
\I,th a screwdriver and cutting again until
the eut is right where you want it. By turning the screw in or out just a titUe, you can
reaDy line tunc the location of the cut.
To l1I3ke Cl'O!<S laps in the center of 3
board. damp another st(ljl block and serew
it te the far end or the auxiliary fence to
control the location of the other shoulder.
ClMlping stop blocks to an auxiliary

of holes 1"' rrom the

back edge so the jig will accept wide

boards. The othor row is located 4~'

i"rom the back edge ror narrow boards. On
the bott.om side of the bottom panel.
oounlerbore each hole ror the head of the

carriage bolt.
......a

fenee prevents the \\'orkpieee from ever

In 1VQ(}(/.'I1l1il"No. 53 a reader recommended cutting atrnight edge on a

crooked bollrd by I<!mporarily gluing a
workpiece to a Ntrnight carrier board with
hot melt glue. Then the carrier board is
TUn along the rip rence to cut a stnlight
edge on the workpie<.e.
Thi.! method works line when eutting

Oat.. smooth boards, but when the work

pie<.e is rough or warped, this can be inef
(ecti,. and even dang<>.rou.<. Instead, I use
a .imple jig that holds the workpiece 6rmIy
in place between two plywood panels.
WOOOSMITH

Jit'l B61tini

Kersey, l'e1l1'.I/I","1i

l"OW

sliding beyond the shoulder tines.

lmcias: H. Broun:
E",.../,,;'1', Mim.68oUl
STRAIGHTLlNE RIPPING JIG

front board. 1biI! creates a void ror any

raised fibel'll to fit iruo, Ir you're aJreruIy
set up to counl(!,..ink the top of the hole,
it's easy to flip the boanI over and eounteraink the bottom.

or hole. through both of the

I 10000Wcl one

cut will be made jO$l a little shy of the

Sf:

PUNCHING TIN

In lV()O(f"'II1'jil No. 55 we featured a

country pie safe and I1l1article on how to
punck the tin panels (or the doors, After
lhe article appeared we heard from a
couple ",,,del'll who have built pie safes and
offered twe more tin-punching methods:
Edu,in Bdl oJ H,,,,,". IIII"oio mounts a
punch in a drill 11Tl'l'i!.Then he sets the
depth gauge on the drill press for the correct size bole when the punch is lowered,
By moving the tin around on the driB press
table and lowering the pWlCh into the tin.
he punch es unir"nn hole&

/Jollg/as Stovall of /Jam'iII., Vily-inia

uses an automatic

To use the jig, cut. couple spacer blocks

the same thicknCAAl~ the workpiece and
slip them between the panels aleng the
back edge of tho jig (sec drawing above).
This keeps the back edge of the t.op panel
from tilling down when the werkpieee is
fit along the front edge. Then stip the
workpiece between the two panels and
tighten down the wing nuts.
Now \lith the back edge of the jig running along the rip rence, eut a straight edge
on the workpiece.
Steve Barrett
ftfiw)ltJA, M07It(lna

cc.nt..er

punch that.'s nor..

mally used (01' metal Il1youl work. A punch

like thi. ileU. ror about $10. It's a singlehand operation and can be acijusted i"rom
shallow to deop penetration. The Ups can
also be ,.. ground I.Q ditTerent hole Shapes.

1--------------1
SINO IN YOU. IDIAS

1----------------1
IIyou'd kkelO"'a .. I _illg
lip wilh_
readers of Wood,mJth. send your idea 10:
WoodSlTllth. TIJ)S & TecI1IUqut1$. 2200 G,and

_ad

Ave,Des _.Iowa
50312We pay amrioom 01S10 lor _
andS15 or
more "" $I>801aI'ect>noQueo (ilia, are

"" pub!ieation). PIe... gwea CC<1lj1IeIoexplana

tion 04 YOU' Idea. If Skelet1 IS needed. send i1

alOng;we'lf draw a new one.

___

F_o_lc_li_og Screen
A DESIGN BASED ON JAPANESE SHOJI

'This folding screen is a sealed-down ve ....

sion of traditional Japanese shoji (proI10IlllCed show-gee). In Japan. shojis are
used as sliding doon< or room partitions
that run from floor to ceiling.
Our version is .horter. It ean be used to
divide offa sectioo of a room or as a dressing screen. 10 addition to the tdze. we've
also made some other ch3nges. Jap.""'''''
shojis have a eenter grid mortised into the
frame with rice paper glued to the hack of
the grid. The paper i. trtlditionaUy
changed every year before New Year's
Day so the how;e can begin the Y<:llT with
a (regh start..

Each of !be sect.ions in our folding l5Cree n

has tioo grids with a translucent "I.. per"
sandwiched bel ween the grid" (We used
tough fibergl<lss material, but you could
also use rice paper. see Soure..... l'lj(e 24.)
Instead of being mortlsed into the frome.
the grid. are held in ptaee with stop. (strips
that fit in grooves in the f....m e.)

CUT FRAMES TO SIZ

The Iirs l .tep in making the se'.... 00 ts to

cut aU o( the frame pieces I W' thick.
(Note: See l"lgC 22 1'0" a dL<culI-,lon or
wood.. to Ul!<J.)
obtain the IWthick
stock, you C;Ul resaw 814 stock (10/.1"
thick). glue up two piece. of 'y,. stock. or
usc ''2 by" (lW' thick) materinl,
STILES. Eueh (rome
of two stile><
(vertical pieces) and three ",il. (hOl;7.on~t1
pieees), To make enough part. for each
frame. cut two stil es (A) to a width of t'
and a length of 6IOW, see F'ig. I. (Thu.
length is based on the ""Ilcing of tbe grid.
If you W3I1t a diff.rent height lICf'C(n.increase or decrease in increments of aM,"
- the ~igl!t of one grid section,
RAIlS Aner the stiles .... cut to .iw.
eet three roils (8) for each frame to a width
of 2" and a length of 16" see FiJ:. I. (NotA!:
The rails start out at l~" thick and are
later resawn to IV'- thick.)

"0

""""ls

fIGURE I

..
!-,

~~

104 .. _

1'' '-l.

__

"

..

GROOVS

Once all !be I'rarne pi<..........

<Ilt to width
and length. cut two "'- grooVl.. on the in
side edge of all the pie<:<:l;.Th.,.., ~'l'OO"'s
sen'. two purposes: First, they hold the
stops that keep the panel arMI I(rid. in
plaee, refer to Figs. 22 and Zl on 11'11."'"II
and 9. Second. they hold SI)Un... to join the
stiles to !be rails. refer to Fig. 6.
CI1rI'IXG nu: (JROOVf;ij,To cut th( .".
deep grooves. set up the ril) fenee so it's
y,... (rom the saw blade, S(."4.! f1'ig. 2. 1'0 hold

NOTE:

AU. flAME ...ECES

STAIT OUT 1 '..'lo' TtflCK.
aAJU AItE RESAWN LAI'E.
fO I \I niICK. SEE fIG 4,

2'

the workpiece light. agllin~t the fenee, I

clamped a fe.lhcrooard to the saw ~rble.
WOODSMITH

4
-

-------

_,

Then rut two grooves on the inside edge

of all of the stiles and r:dls. On the middle
r:dl OI~Y,cut !be groove.! on iloilo edges. To
CIIt the second groove, tum the piece endfOI'(!nd. (Note: If the stites are at all
bowed, eut the grooves on the convex side
so it bows in toward the center of the
frame. Then !be grid wiU force the pieee

FEATHER
80'"'"

8U':IighL)
END GROOV8S. NexI,

to aeeept the
splines, cut matclUng grooves in the ends
of the r:UIs. To do this, don't change the
saw lIett.ing, but stand the raiL~on end and
cut the end grooves, see Fig. 3. (Shop
Note: r supported the workpiece with a
wood block. A tenon jig would also W011<,
but that require! """,Uing the fenee.)
CUT TO TWCKl'IESS.After the end
grooves are cut, tbe rails (8) can be cuI to
final thiclmess. Traditional Japanese design C3lJs fer the rails to be thinner than
the sllles. To do this, cut Vt off each rail
USing a two-step method, soo Fig. 4.
First, set the rip fence 1%' from the
blade and cut \olI' off one side, see Step 1
in I'~g.4. Then move the fence in and cut
\0{/' off the other side, see Step 2.

-,

lfAVE 'NeE ./

"',t"'"

,.........

"''::.,.

_.
CHAMf'1 AU fDGfS
OF SfllI$I!XCEn
WH~RfENDSWET tAil

SPL.INES
The frame is held together with aplinea
thot fit in the grooves. 51.'111.by resawing
stock to thickness to match the grooves.
CUT TO WIl>'J'fI. For strength, the grain
on the splines should ""' perpendicular to
the joint line. This makes the splines wider
than they are long, note grain direction in
Fig. 6.
1'01' the splines (C) on the Lop and bottom joints, cut them to width to 6t from
the edge of !be rail to the boUom of the
Bpline groove (1 ~"), $00 Fig. G. Since
there are grooves 011 both sides of the
middle rail. the middle .plines (0) are cut
to fit between tlte spline grooves (lV,t
wide).

WOODSMITH

,_~-

WASTE
ONO'

CHAMFERS
Before assembling the frame. I chamfered
the edges. On the stiles, chantfer all of the
edges except where the end of the stile
meets the rail, see .'ig. S.
On the rails. chamfer only the top edges
of the top rail and the beuem edges of the
bottom rail. Oon't chamfer the inside edges
or the middle rail.

ASSEMBLY
Once all of the sptill<)l! are cut to size, the
frame can be "'<Sembled, see Fig. 7. I
started by gluing the spUnes into the end
grooves in the ralls, Keep the spline$
centered on the middle mil mid flush with
the tQp and bottom edges of Lhe top and
bottom rails, see .~g. 6.
Next glue and clamp the f\'tIme $0 the
botlom edge of the mi(klJe rail is 10" up
from the bottom end. Cheek that the pieees
tie IIai and !be ends are Ou..<I>.

Y.~

AHD IlAO[
SlmNOTHl
$AMI! ,

MIOIlIf
SPUNES
@

S'IILE

NOTE:
AU snl,l$ I 'I.- l'}1:lat

All RAILS I',,"" THICK

r....., ..
NOTE:

C'HEC", THAt

ALL "EGIlS t,AY

FIAI AGAlNSJ ClAMI'S

...

_.

SIDEAND TOPIBOTTOM GRIDS @(l)

cumNG

After the fnun"" are complete. work can

begin on the grids that fit inside the
frames, AU of the grid pieces are '!low thick
tin" held together with lap joints, Tho
border picee" nro .t" wide and the center
pieces are o/,,~wide.

1
12 Nf(O(O AT
49'".OooH LENGTH
12N(lOEDAT

'; tOUGH LENGTH

........

r..-

I
,,

NOTE:CUT..as \1),.

WOE.nw< ""ISHCOS.... "._'"

"

"f ,

Of' "'"~

THEN !'lANE

, k/
,

_,.

camRGRIDS

GRID PIECES

"

2
1

y..

-e
6N[[OEOAf
..rIOUGH lINGnt

I-

7.NUDOAI

I rlOUGH LENGn(

CUT TO wreru. Start by ripping 814(or

l.t.thick) stock into strips for the side
grid ploees (E) and the top and bottom grid
pieces (F), see Fig. 10. To allow for plan.
ing, rip these strips a tittle (1(,,") more
!han W' thlclc, _ Pig. 8.
If yOUTe making three screens, cut at
least four Y"wthickstrips to a rough length
of 4!r for the Ie grid pieces (E), see Step
I ill Fig. 8. Also cut four y,-thick strips
to a rougll length of 1'7" for the toplbottom
piece. (P), (I cut extra strips of every .i,.4)
as j<test" pieces 1Ift(1 so I'd have extras in
esse !lily of the strips warped.)
CUT TO '1'IUCl{Nll$S. Alter the .tthick
strips are cut, reset the rip fence to Uttle
more than ...,." from the blade, see Step 2
in ~lg.8. Lay the workpiece down on its
side and rip twelve sides (E) from the four
49" strips and twelve topIbottoms (1') from
the four 17".trips.
Ct:l<I'ER CRW. With the rip fenee stiD at
the 'ISo' + setting, cut the center grid
pieces (G nnd H) using the same two- step
method, He(! Fig. 9. First, cut two %'.
thick ~l.ips 49" long for the center pieces
(C), and lit 1.:lIIt 26 .bips 1'1"long for the

I~
I' :

I~

center

,,:

hori,.on"'~ pieces (H), Then lay

these suips down and rip six center grid
pieces (C), and 73 horizontal pieees (H), see
Step 2 in Fig. 9.

(l)

IOPiBOTTOM

;><..__ HORIZONTAl GRID

CI')

'''''''!l1
RAISE BLADE ro
QiJAU.
H.Al' TH! tHICKNESS,
~o.IOPIKE

"..r-

-,

DADO JIG

'1

..."

AoUGNM(NT

SlOT

NOTE,

DOH" SCl.EW IN
MYH OfIAI)(;

PUN!! TO SlZE. Once all of the p;..,.,.

were cut to rough size, I planed the border
pieces (E and F) to exactly ~. wide by

W' thick, see t'ig. 10. Then plane the eenter piece! (C (.nd H) to W' by %'. (1"01'
more on pinning these pieees to exact. size,

see the tipo! on pages 22 and 23.)

CUT TO "'~NG'J'Il, To detilrmine tile nnt~

U,.

length to Cllt the pieces, measure

inside dimensiollll of the assembled framo

and cut the pieces to match. In my case,

the vertical pieces (E, C) were cut 471/,."
long and the horizontal pieces (F, H) were
cut 16" long, see Fig. 10.
ALIGNMENT &.&Y. Before setting up to
cut the lap join"" cut an S"long alignment
key from on. of the .:<Ira W square

pieces, Resaw this piece to 0/",- thick.

(This key is needed later, refer to Pig. t6.)
DADO JIG

Once .11 tho pieces

IU-e

cut to size, I built

a simple jig to help whee cutting the

dadoes, see Fig. IJ. Start with a "". Illywood base and sere w 2~'-high front lind
back fe"""" to the base.
A'M'ACH MrreR GAUGE. Next., set. the
taltIe saw miter gauge to 90F and check that

it's cutting perfectly square. Then pOSition

WOODSMlTH

~
i

the jig so the blade cuts about in the eenter oC !.he jig, WId screw the miter gnuge
to the back fence oC the jig.
GUARD.To keep fingers away from the
blade. I made a guard from a couple pieces
of scrap and screwed it to the bad< fence.
ser DADO. Now mount a 'K.' dado blade
on the saw. Then nIi5e the blade so it projeels above the plywood and cut a ~'''-wide
alignment slot in the bottom of the jig.
CUnlNG THE LAP JOINTS
Aller the jig'" complete, raise the blade
so it's =dly one half the thickness of
%'-tlUck grid pieee, see Detail in Fig. II.
Then cut the lap joints. Start by cutting
'h'-wide rabbets on the ends of all pieces
to 181) over the Ytr;wide bonier pieces.
(IABBETS. 1'0 ""t up for the rabbets,
clampa squared atop block on the right side
of the jig. The du.tance from the stoll bloek
to the left side of the alignment slot is ~'.
(Check this setting with one of the ~'wide grid pieces, see Fig. l2.)
Note: Don't, switch to a \4' dado blade
to cut tbose rabbets - you'll lose the'll<"
alignment slot in the jig. lnstesd, cut the
I','-wid" rabbets with a 'W dado blade,
in two passe . Start by cutting the
llhouJders with the ends tight agninst the
stop block I cut a number of pi"""" at the
same tinle and held them down flat against
the jig with " scrap block. see Fig. 13.
Aller cutting the shoulder, move the
pieces slightly away from the stop bloek
and finish the rabbet with a second pass.
DADO t.AYOlll". Next., lay oot tbe 10(,'wide dadoes on one of the center strips and
one of the side strips (E and G). sec Fig.
14. Sp3ce out 13 dadoes (for 14 openings)
elJ~mJybetwoon the rabbet. on th~ ends.
(This should be un even 3' bot ween
dadees.) AIl!o, 011 one of each of the shOl~
pieces (F and H). lay out the %'-\\;do dado
so it's centered on lhe length, see Fig. 14.

FlGUIE 1.
kP$f'ACINOerrwuN

AU.t3 DAOOlS eVEN

SlOE
GIlD -

c"",.

_GRID

cor THE DADOES. To rut the dad_.

tine up tho first dado (on one of the layout,
pieces) over the alignment, slot in the jig.
Then clamp the stop bloek in plllA.~IW) it
butts against the end of this piece, Now
butt. all the other pieces against tho block
and clamp them together, see ~'ili.15.
Aller rutting the Iirst dado, slip the
alig)lJ1>entkey (!hal was cut earlier) into
the fir>"t dado, see Fig. 16. Now remove
the clamp and cut the remaining dad oes by
aligning the Jayout Jines with tho slot in
tbe jig. (Keep the key in the dadoes. 1)0ll't
fasten it to the jig as an "indexing" pin
since any slight mistake in laying out the

dado will multiply.)

Before taking the pieeesapart. mark the
ends so you tan keep common ends the
first.

same direction when the grid is assembled.

SA.OR't P(ECHS. To cut the center dndoes
on the shOlt pieces, locate the layout line
over the slot and clamp the stop block to
the jig, see .Fig. 17. Again. mark lhe ends.

WOODSMITH

ASSEMBLING

THE GRID

After all the dadoes are cut, tho grid C8n

be assembled, Since e.lCh grid has 45 lap ~
joints, I started by making some !!hoI>made clamps. (Or you can use spring
clothes pins.)
lImO ClAMPS. To make the clamps. start
by rai.,ing the OW dado blade to 1Yo..
above !he table. Then stand a piece of 114
hardwood on end and cut dodo through
the end grain, see Fig. 18. Next, cut a piece
2W'.long off the end and then rip off some

QNlIll

1wide clamps.

ASSEMBLY. To assemble a grid. lay one

'II;."ide center vertical piece (C) down between two I(,wide side pieces (E), see
Fig. 20. Then put a smaI1 drop of glue on
eaeh dodo and rabbet, and clamp the hori
zontals (F and H) in place ".th the marked
ends facing the same direction.
After the glue dries, test fit the grid into
the frame. U its a little tight, plaoo the
edges to make a snug fit. l( it'S 3 little
loose, that's ol<ay.

STOPS

<D

HORIZONTAL

STOPS

The grid is held in the frame with stops. I

started by cut.ting t.he $tops a lit.t.le thicker
than the widt.h of the groove and t.hon
planed them to lit. (again. sec 1>OK"22).
CUT TO ,'UJCI<NESS AND wioru, To cut.
the stops, I used the two-step eut.til'g technique shewn in Fig. 21.
~
CUTTO L&NG'm. The length of the 24 J I"!,
horizontal stops (L) equ(ll. the widt.h of the
grid (l6'~plus the depth of t.wo %"-deep
grooves (a total of 16'Y.',).
There are two different. vertical stops.
The vertical stops (3) for the tol> grid are
longer than the vertical stops (K) that hold
the panel in place. Since the vertical pieces
butt agdillSt (inside) the horizontals, cut
them to fit alter temporarily putting the
horizontals in place. see Figs. 22 and 23.
BonOM

VERTICAl
STOf'S

PANEL

The bottom panel (called hipboord on a

shoji) can be either plywood or solid stock.
Since 1 wanted the bultom panel (I) to
match the rest of the screen. I glued up
three pieces
%. pine to make eaeh of
the three panels (1). see Fig. 22.
After the panels are dry. tut them to fit
the boU.om opening. Ifyou use eoIid stock.
and you're building in a dry season. you
may want to make the width sIigt1t1y (Yo,,)
narrower to allow for any .xpaMion ",th
an inerease in humidity.

or

FINISH

Traditional Japanese shoji, rnrely rec:eive

finish. But 1 wanted some protectlon 80 1
applied two coats of Deft; Clear Wood Fin
ish (semi-gloss). It's a durable finish. but. 1
found it diJlicult to brush on the grid pieces
"ithout runs. Another li.me 1 might "'PC
on tung oil or Mlnwax Antique Oil.

WOOOSMITH

ASSEMBLY

After the finish is dry, all of the pieces can

be assembled. The sereen is designed to fit

into tho Cra me witJlOut glue.
ASSI(MBLE BOTI'OM. To assemble the
bottom (panel) area, insert the two borizontal stops (L) then the two vertical stops

SECOND,
YttnCA1 STOPS

_CUT

10m

into the grooves on one side, see Fig.

22. Next, set the panel into the Ollellil1g
and insert the stops on the olher side.
(K)

ASSP.MBLE TOP. To as..--embie the top

(grid) area, start by euUing the fibergb..s
sheet to the same si7.e 'is the grid and
staple it to the back of one grid. see Fig.
23. I drove th_ staples into the top borizontal on the grid with a staple gun and allowed the sheet to hang down. (Note: J f

you use narrower rice paper, join and glue

it behind the center vertical)
The n.<sembly process for the gri<h; is the
same as for the ~I,
see Fig. 23. Make
sure that the grids are facing (lilt on both
sides- that;s, with the verticalpieces running through from top to bottom.
Shop Note: The paper adds u litUe thick..... between the grids. l( IMre's DOl
enough room to I.'CL the stop. in, plane
around lhe edges on the back of the grid,
or pilUle the stops thlnner.
HINGES

The three frames are connected with 1\<;'long by 2"-wide hinges. To lay out the location of the hinges, clamp two of tho
frames together and mark around th.
binge with an X-Acto knife, see Fig. 24.
Locate one hinge 3V. from c;1Chend and
center the third hingo on the length.
ROlTrMORTISES.Next, 1 routed out the
IJl:Iiorityof the waste freehand. To do this,
set a t<tmigbt bit to the same depth as the
thickness of one hinge flap and rout out the
mortises stopping short of U,Oknife line,
see Fig. 25. Then come back and clean up
to the line with a chisel, see Detail.
MOllNT BlNCIlS. Finally. mount the
hillgll8 in the mortises, see ~'ig. 26.

MA"RlAlS

c>terollOi.ment..iom

C ToplItm SpliMl (24)

'I. :I 1'h, -

1'/,,, 2 -

:v.

GRII>SIPANBS
E Sides(12)
, Top/elm Horilo "2)
G c.nten (6)
H Cent.,. Hom. (71)
I Bottom Pont'lt(3)
STOPS
J arid Vertical, (12)

'I,

'h - 4771.

:an"

'h - 16

K ranel Venicoh (12)

y. 1,1, -

:1,,-

.-:r

HINGE

]llPYJEW

DETAIL

CUTTING DIAGRAM

61'1.
1'/.&.2-16
'I I%-.

Midcb. SpIinb (12)

I:IIliG~eg~mQtj&

LIST

lila- d x 6t1' W:I 61~h

A 51110$(6)
B Roll! (9)

ffGURE26

'I ". - 4PA.

-% " V. - 16
%.16-8

1~.".7.~_rr
'~

~
IV ..-. 7""0" _

rn

1.1

K~

'1::::!

~
lV.-.7'11'_7T

W ! .il I ;1 I
E
i
.

lt~

,
H

Ilf.."'.:_7T

V ',1,-47%

rr

~..~

a:
H

"

Komonlob. (24)
y. " I)) _ lW.
Edfe $Ilue N<h paMI from th,.. pie:s.

WOODSMITH

Wall
A PROJECT THAT REFLECTSTRADITION
glued tottCther. To hold the joints
tight while the glue dries, clamp
the Iapp<.~1 come." with Cclamps, see I'ig. I. (Chock the inside corners with a square before
oMI tlRI>tening of the clamps.)

Building a !mme is one of the

b3sio procedures in woodworking. But il.'. not necessarily Doe
of the easiest. On light
for
pictures and photos that don't
have to he strong, Ijoin the parts
with mioon.~1comers. But when
the framo hM to he strong (for

rrnn,.,.

TRIM STRIPS
A(\(tr the glue on the frame is dry,

large artwork or a mirror), r usually Ul!Oa mo!'til!(>and tellon joint.

Another choice is a lap joint.

bim stril)S lire cut to cover the inside and outside edges of the
rnune. These trim strips serve
two purposes.
First, their halfround forward
edges add depth to the face
frame, making it look molded
(refer to Fig. 6). Second, tbe
strips on the outside conceal the
end gTlIinof the lap joints.
CUTSTall'S. To cuI tbe strips,
begin by cutling three 414 strips
to rough width of I~' and to
rouRl>length. of 29'". 26". and 00'".

Tho biggest problem with this

joint. is a ~ua1 Ol\e - it. aUO\\!S
pari of the end gTlIin to he soon
on the edges of the frame (refer

to Fig. I).

However, beeause the design

of this frame indudes molding
strips that cover the edges (and
the end grain areas of the lap
jointa), I decided to we lap joints.
8UILDING THE FRAME

To build the mime, the four sides

are cut to size nnd joined with half
laps. Bellin by ripping 414 stock
("y,,' actunl thickness) 1Us"
wide. Then cut tllC fr-dIlle sides
(A) ?:IV,/' long and the top and
bottom frame I)ioccs (H) 21"'"
long, sec ~~g. 1.
HALf' I..AI'S. AJl.er the frame pieces are
cut to length, half laps are cut 00 the end$
to join the come .... of the frame. There are
two critical measurements for these lap
joints, First, the distance from the end of
the workpiece to the shooJder must be
equal on all pieces,
To e"'!llre this, I used the rip fence as 3
stop. Lock the rip fenee down so it's Iy,'
(the width of the stock) from the far side
of the dado blade, see Detail. Fig. 2.

Ne.xt., each strip is

1"'CSa\\'D

to

produce two V,'-thick molding

stril)S (C. 0 and E). (To resaw
those pieces. I used a Ulin push

SET HEIGHT. The

second critical
measurement is the thickness of each "lap."
A<ljllSt the heiRl>lof the dado blade so it
wiD cut nattly h"lf way through the stock.
('!'his win take ... me trW and error cuts on
some test pieees.)
When the height of the blade is sa form
the laps by making multiple passes o'er
the blade.
GLUE PRAM&. AJl.er l1PS are cut On the
ends of all four pie,:cs. the frame can be

A'mf

"tick made from V,/' Masonite.) JI"li

Now they can be ripped to final
width, The two outside strips (C)
are ripped to 10/0," wide. see
Fig. 3. The inside trim .trips (0) and the
toplbottom strips (E) ru-e ripped down to
''''' ... wide ....
Fig. 4.
eDGE PROPlJ,.. The front edges of all six
strips are rounded using a \1,' rouncH>vcr
bit. see Detail. Fig. 3.
OlJ1'Sm& !l'rn1l'S. After rounding tbe
edges, the ou",ide strijlll (C) can be glued
to the frame. The key here is to glue them
Oil so the rounded edge (at its full diameter) extends above the level of the frame.

"R~GrnUH~I------------------~==~~~--~~~U'~A~N=.'
r.~..,~----------------~~~-------------,
NOTE:
ust ~4

CUM

H.... W'S
Mlfl. GAUGf;
AUXIUARYfNC~
PtiVlNTS CtilPOUl

C'Vl_'
$lOCO

DETAIk

HAIl...,

..j

""NT

1Y. ---)

.........

WASTEIN
A SUIfS
Of 'ASSES

FAAME BOTTOM

10

an OfPTM HAi.ItHf
TMtcICN(SS Of STOCI(

"'"He,

OADO

'9
WOODSMIT'H

GAUG&.To keep the rounded edge uni-

fonn for the length of the I'rame. I made a

simple gauge. The gauge is two strips of
~" Masoni~ glued together v.;th the

edges olLlet about Yo". see DeWI. Fig. 3.

MOllNT S11Uf'S.To mount the outside
strip" (C). apply glue to the strip and Crnme
and put three C-elamp" loooeIy in position.
see Fig. 3. Next. use the gauge to align
the top (rounded edge) of the strip, see
Fig. 3. Then tigh~n the clamps.
TlUMENI)S.Aller the glue dries. remove
the clamps and trim the ends otT the outside strips flush with lhe tol> and bottom.

AGUU,

@
OUTSIDE
TRIM PIECE

-,

@
OUTSIDE
TAIM PIECE

INSIDE!nltIl'S. Now the inside ships (D.

E) can be glued to the inside of the frame.

This is done in two ~tel'" First. carefully
cut the strips to fit the inside dimellljions
or the fr.une with 45- miters on the ends.
Next. apply glue to the strips and frame.
and usc the spooer gauge to position the
strips and clamp them in place. see Fig. 4.
BACK. Aller the stJips are glued in place.
the
plywood back (L) is cut to size. Cut
it to width to fit between the out.'1ide strips
(C). Then cut it to length SOit's nush with
the top .nd bottom edges of the frame. see
Fig. 4. (Wait until law to attach it.)

Y.

8.QUIUiCLOml\
@
0IIfS101

Flroc"

'~PI((:E

_.

.,.

_en

CUI

MIRROR MOLDING

NC($

,om

The mhTOI' is held in the frame with profiled mokling strips (F. G). 1 made these

moldinga on the router tabte fl'om a 2"-wjde

piece of \O(.'~hickstock, ReG Stell 1. Fig. 5.
CUT PIIOFIJ.E, 'l'he proHle is cut with.
Romnn ogee bit. Begin by practicing
on a piece of \~"-thick scrap lind adjust the
height Of the bit until the top and bottom
shoulders are equal. see Step 2, Then rout
001/0edges of the 2"-wide blank,
IU.P MOLDINGS.After routing the pro~,
the ~"-\l;de molding strips are
ripped oil the edllC'ti.see Step 3.
CUTTO SIZE. To fit the moldings inside
the frame. begin by mitering the end., of
the side moIdinWO(F) so they fit tight between the top lind bottom of the Crnme,
Then miw the ends of the top and bottom
moldings (0) for a tight fit between the side

,-

tQUIU

'1(."

@)
INNER
SIDE
TRIM

PUAll

<D
'f."anPlYWOOD
BACK
TO HI' 0f'lH1HO '-_.-'"
fIGURE 6
MfTtl( (HOS

moldings.

TO AT

SPACK >'011 MmROR. \Vhen gluing the

moldin".. in place, Lhey have to be positioned to allow for the thiclOlIl'lSof the mir-

ror. 'ro do t.his, I cut; several spacers the

Same thickness as the mirror. (I used W'
Masoni~for I~',thickmirror).
MOUN'rMOWINGS. Now. to mount, the
mokUnWO.8<Jt the Inune over tbe plywood
00ck and pooillon the spacer strips along
the inside trim strips (D). see Fig. 6. Then
apply glue to the moldinga and press them
against. the in.~.
trim strips and down on
the top of the .pooer strips.
N~:It'.aImoo;i. impossible to clamp the
moldings in place, so I held each pieee of
mokting with my fmgt>rs until the glue
grabbed (about minute). then instalJed
the next pieee of mokling.
WQODSMITH

......
SPAaRJI(i;

@)
TOP/BOnOM
MOLDINGS

ROUTIR
TAILE
KNQ

_ ............
NOn,

so fU.MI ON

PlYWOOD
IIAOC_V
MOUlItOGS

II

H SHElf TOP

1,,-

1-

"GIl

BQIl!ING PETAl~

"""tor

Of_

NOTE:

CEHltI SHill Tot

ON.eoftOM

ItIJ lit 1 'II"

FhwoonSCREW

#81l1')'''

''1>,- ._!)

'" WOOOSC:.EWS

CURVED SHEll
When the I'rrune was completed. I add<!d a
molded cap on the top and lIbelf on the
bottom. I started with the shelf.

'rwo LAYellS. The shelf is laminated

with two piece.. : the Lop piece (H) with n
bullnose edge and the bottom piece (I) with
Roman ~
l""fiIe. refer to Fig. 9. Both
pieces are cut from 414 stoek 5W wide.
Cut the Lop piece (H) 24' long and the bottom piece (I) 23' long, See Fig. 7.
ARcs. AllA>r the workpieees are rut IA>
me. eoncenuic arcs are struck on the front
edges with an an: jig. To make the jig, join
two pieces of stock in a "T' shape, see Fig.
7. Then draw a centerline down the stem
of the "T'.
The arcs are drawn using an ann made
(rom a thin strip o( scrap with three holes
in it, see Fig. 7. Drill a hole at one end for
tho pivot point. At the other end drill two
holell (or the pencil, one 19!1/ from tho
l)ivOI; point, and the other 20" from tho
p!"OL point. (Don't mount this ann. ye!.)
AUGN JlC. AllA>rmaking the jig, draw
n ~nterline .,,_ both shelf pieces (H, I),
centered on tho length. Thon align the centerline on the WI) piece (H) with the centerline on the jig.
DRAW ARcs. To draw the an: on the top
pieee (H), mark point on the .. ui o( the
workpiece 1"". down from the top edge,
sec F~g.7. Now center the 20" l)Cl1CiIhole
over this point, and drive n brad through
the pivot hole at the top o( the swing arm.
(Make sure the brad is centered on the reno
terline on the jig.) Then strike an are along
the fron~ edge of the workpiece.
To bly out the are on the bottom piece
(I). mark 0 POUlt on the end of the workpiece 1%"
from the top edge. Then
put the pencil in the 19~' hole and strike
an arc using the same pivot position.
Note: To make concentric lU"CSt it's im!,orLant to change the position of the pen,
ciI. ,wI the "it"'! point. If you ehaoge the
pivot point, the lines won't he oonc:enuic.
CITr TO SHAPE. AllA>r sui king the arcs,
cut the top and bottom shelf pieces to shape
with. saber .. w or band saw und sand the
edges smooth.
ROUT EOOES.Next. rout a buJloose profile on the curved edge and the ends o( the
shelf top piece (H). I did this with a \!o'
round-over bit oct only 0/,.- high, see
DeUtiI ill Fig. 8. For the shelf bottom piece
(I), rout the curved edge and ends with a
%z" Roman ~
bit, see Fig. 9.
ATl'ACR SHllLVES. The ~helf top piece
(Hl is attached to the bottom edge o( the
Ieume with th1'Ctl No. 8 X l!lt Fh woodscrews, Drill 1)!lOtholes and then glue and
screw this pieee to the frame, see Fig. 8.
To moent the shelf bottom piece (n, center it on the shelf top piece (H) with the
rear edges nu.~h. Then glue and clamp it in
plaee,

do,,"

DETelL
(SIDE VIEW,

C,NTt. $1191eonOM
ON SHfIl' TOP AND......../
GlUt IN PlACE

AGUI'10

DETAIL
NOTE:lEAVI Mel( EDGES
OF aoJH CAP AND

TOP

V,'
ROUNDOvtlt

TO' SQUARE

CAP-

Q)

12

ROUT'ACt!
ANO INO _.,..

aour (NOS RItST

WOODSMITH

CAP MOLDING
The frame is topped with a cap molding
piece made trom two pieces of 414 stock.
cur TO SIZE. ~n
by cutting the top
piece (K) 1'!1o" wide and II!!" longer than
the width of the frame (22y."). 500 Fig.
10. Then cut the cap pieee (J) 2" wid. and
I V" longer than the top piece (24' long).
sour EDGS- To complete the top pice.
round over the front bottom e'dge I.nd the
ends with a \1," round-<>ver bit, see Detail,
Fig. 10. On the cap piece (J), rout the bottom tront edges and ends with a ~.
Roman agee biL (I)on't rout the bad< edges
of either piece.)
FJ,STEN TO FIIAM. After the ed!l'Jll are
routed, fasten the top (K) to the top of the
frame. Center the top piece on the top of
the frame and glue and clamp it in place,
see Fig. 11. After the top is glued in place,
the cap (J) is glued and clamped to the top
(K) SO the bad< edges are Rush.
F1NI$H. Before mounting the mirror, I
applied two coati! of satin varnish and let
it dry thoroughly.

CMON TOI'
ANO GLUt' IN fltACf
WIT.. GAtl( lOOts 'Wsw

CfNTfR TOf' PtIC1

ON TOI" RAlt 0# "lAMS
WfrH lACk EDGES A.USH
wmt 0UT5IDl TIN

cgoss SIDJ9t!
PIlOTfCllV'

PAPfR MlRROl
8ACKlNG

INSTALL MIAIIOR
While the finish is drying, measure the inside dimensions or the rnune and cuta mirror \1," less in width and length than the
opening.
INSTALL MllUtOIl. To install the mirror,
place th. frame race down on a table with
the shelf overhanging the edge, lie. Pig.
12. Place the mirror in the frame and add
a layer of brown paper to protect the retle<tive bad< on the mirror. Now fasten the
plywood back in place with eight No. 8 x
"'1' Fh woodscrews.
HANGING BRACKETS
In order to hang the mirror, J mounted two
hanging brackets. These brackets are
screwed through the baek of the plywood
and into the rnune sides, see Fig. 13.
RECESS ROJ.ES. When using this t.ype of
hanger, Iusually bore a shallow recess hole
in the back of tho fnunc that's direcUy in
line with the hole in the bracket, see I~ig.
18. This hole provides a recess for the head
of the screw used to hang the frame to the
wall, see Fig. 14. Drill this hele " tittle
larger in diameter than the head of the
screw you're going to use.
ROW TO RANG. There are two ways to
hang the mirror. Tho ideal way is with hollow wall driver anchors ("MoDy" bolls), 600
Fig. 14. These fasteners can be located
anywhere between studs and bave large
pen head screw thal provides a linn anchor
for the hanger bracket.
Vou can also bang the mirror on ft wire
strung between lhe two hangers. If you
choose this method, put two wire hooks in
the wall (about B""IOU'l)instead of jll.t one,
([t's stronger and you'D have to spend Iess
time straightening the mirror.)
WOODSMITH

('

,,
,./

,
,
,
MAn RiAlS LIST

~'I

Dimen.ions: S'h"d .24""" x 307/.'"

A
8

Frame Sides (2)

'YI
l'h-27~
Frome Top/Btm (2)
'0/, l'h - 21 '1'.
Ouhld. Trim (2)
'14. lVl.-27~
D I",..
Trim (2)
v.. '..- 26
E InfMrT~Trim(2)t/":IlIV..-20
F ,,,,. $idIt MoIdi.nt (2) 'It .. 'h - 26
G TfIIPII'm Molding (2) ~)I ',I, - 20

e
HANGING
BaACKETS

<'

J
'h"

a[CESS
HOtl

sa.

H Sholf Top (1'

I

ShOlf Bottom (1}

Cop (1)

J
K Top (1)
L lock (Y," PlY)
II. Mirror

'I S'h-24
-0/"4 51,4- 23
'0/, 1.-22%
'. 2-24
21'/, x 27th
Va)( " 2.4

CunlNG DIAGRAM
D.,ll
tECESS
HOtl

IV.....

~1.

,AI<

SCI1WS

S',1o _

.....

h._

1/." and y,. ~

from

0'" t'MOwn

41. (':VI., ,1odt

13

Tools of the Trade

EDGING TOOLS
One of the easiest ways to dress
up a project is to break the
edges, That is, round over or
chanUer the edges to give them
l!Ofter,more friendly feel,
However, once you've deeided to break tbe edllcs, you're
raced with a lot of choices tIS to
how to I.lO about it. Most of the
lime we use a router (on the
rouW table) \\ith round-over
or chamfer bit. But while working on the projects shown in this
isoue, we decided to test eut
some band tools designed
81>ecifit1J]]y
for these tasks,
There's no doubt thnt it's ~"'ier to grab a hand tool and run
it alongan edgethan it Is to take
the time to set up a router to do
the job. The perfect tool is a
molding plane - if you want to
explore the adventures or woodworking in the last century.
ICnot, two relatively new hand tools are
heing marketed as quick and easy solutions
for the task of rounclingover an edge: 0
cornering tool and Radi Plane.
CORNERING TOOLS

Wh(u:s the easiest.. cheapest way to round

over an edge! Well, take bottle opener
and transform it to round edg<!S. At least,
that seems to be the theory behind "comerillg tools." These tooL,look more like bottle
openers than woodworking tools. Despite
their appearance, they're uscd to round the
edJlll" of a board.
It doesn't take a close examination to
recognize that these tools are not precision
inlI1rwnents. Each end of the tool is bent
and a slot is rut.in the bend to form an 0\'81shaped bole, see photo. The rim of this hole
is the cutting edge. And the depth of the
.Iot determines the radius of cut it will
make, Each tool cuts two ';""'S: 'I,. and
'111', or 0/,,' and ';'''.
To use a cornering tool, choose the end
that has the radius you want and place the
oval hole on the edge of the workpiece.Just.
pull or push the tool along the edge and it
will W, .. off a sliver of wood, rounding
the edge as it J.lOCS. When it "bottoms out.'
the tool has cut the full radius,
Cornering tools tend to tear the edge because it's difficult to control the depth of
cut 011 each pass. We wore IIbl. to improve
the initial poor regult. with. little praelire. Sharpening til. ovlll hole also helped.
This was simply a matter of using a small
~lj]l6tonc(or some 320- grit siliron carbide

14

Housed in openings in the brass

plaIA! are two small t!U!cl cut-

ters, e3dl ground to the

__
sandpaper wrapped around a dowel) to
sharpen the cutting edges.
Bu~ does it work? Well ye. and nc, If
you',,, not picky about the quality of an
edge, it's a quick replacement for a router.

1!311>0

radius.
The two cutters work in tandemo Adjust the front cutler
(with an Allen wrench) to trim
n slight round-over off the
workpiece. Th second cutter is
",,( to the full depth you want
to produce the finished radius,
The theory of double cutting
makes sense, but I found the
Radi Plane difficult to a<ijust.
You bave to fiddle with the two
cutters to get both set to the
correct depth for tho roundever you want to cut, 'I'henjust
when they're sot, you realiz.e
one is cocked to the right and
the other is cocked to the lelt.
There are other limitations.
The maximum round-over you
can cut with the ROOiPlane is
Y". And the combination of two cutters
and the ~lI"'ight brass plate makes it impoRSibleto followa curved workpiece.
However, once the Radi Plane is set up
correetcy with sharp euttel'll, it eute
smooth round-over - even in hardwoods.

..
(1(.

RAni PLANE

At r....
t ance. a Rodi Plane look; like a
ninetccnth-century molding plane. Indeed,
it's made on much the same principal.
The selid maple body h:L<a V-.haped
bm~ wear plate along the bottom edge.
,- __

=:-:-==-======:-_-,

GRAIN DIRECTION

CHAMfER PLANE

If you..... looking for an altemauve to a

rounded edge, cutting a chamfer produres
a crisp and formal-looking appearance, To
form the chamfers along the cd~ of the
Japan."","tyle folding screen in this issue .
I 81)prop,iately used 8 Japanese ellanlfer
plane,

All three of these edging tools \\;11 dress

"'IICC"when they're set up correctly. But
they nil f'''''' the same problem - grain
direction. A hand tool should always cut
loill. the !Ira;". That is, 80 it follows the
grain 0/11of the wood.

The main body of thii; plane ha; a Vshaped sole. By a<ijusting the distance between the two sides of the -y- you <an cut
a chamfer that J'3l18"S from '1.- up to 0/..
wide. Onee the plane is se t up, it "bottoms
out" when the desired chamfer is reached.
Riding in Ihi. V-sole is a 8,,,,\11plane that
doo.' .11 the work. The plano .lides laterally in the main body which allow. you to
_ _~_]:
move the plane blade over if on< part of
r
the blade dulL.
This plane is not limilA!d to straight
, WIOtIG tines, By tipping the plane at an angle, I
.. 1lCtIC1H CI<II'S was also able to cut a fairly clean chanUer
OUt GIIAIN
around a :r curve.
""'" DlRfCllOH
If you W'dJ1ta crisp chamfer without the
On. w,y to visuallze Uli. i. to think of noise and fU58Of. router. this is the tool
the wood as a feather. If Ihe feather is to usc. However, after cutting the
stroked ill tho same direction Il,. barbs are chamfer, the edges can quickly turn in~ a
pointing (with the grain), lhe fealher feels round-over with just a liUle well-inten.mooth. Stroked the other way, the baI'I>s tioned sanding. To keep the edges crisp,
lin and war - like chippingout woodgrain. sand nil suMaoesbifure clwnfering.
WOODSMITH

Chamfer I!g~__

r)
.

GET A NEW SLANT ON AN EDGE

length of tlw dndo, I cut this slot by drilling
overlapping heles with a ;Yili" bit.
AfWr the slots are cut, tum the plate
over III1d cut u Yo"-wideby 11.. "-deep dado
across the lop to provide a notch for the
plane blade to .it in, To loeate the dado,
set the pl'\llC on the workpiece so it's
centered on the length. Then mark the l0cation of the throat opening on the workpiece lind cut the dado there.
ReFERENCE LINES. To help align the
side bar for difTerellt width chamfel'll, I
drew. series of parallel reference lineR on
the wp side of the a<ljust.1l>lcplate with "
fine-tipped black pen, see Fig. l.

W. eMY 10 chamfer the edge of bonr<1

wilh a block plane - if you're not I\",,,y
about the lII1g1eor the width of the cut. We
decided to add a IitUe more control and precilsion to this type of cut by mounting the
block plane in a "shoe."
This shoe holds block plane predl!ely
at. a 4:;" angle to both sides of the workpiece, while at the same time keeping the
chamfer a unifonn \\idth over the enLire
I<!ngthof the cut. It's similar in function to
the Japanese chamfer plane shown on the
OjJposiw page (but it's a 1011.58expensive).
fro make it, you only need some semp
""- stoek (I used maple), a couple machine
8l'l"llW8, hex nuts, and sheet meW screws.

ASSEMBLY

SIDE BARS

All of the wooden pieces are cut from a

piece of stock that's S' Mde and JIlo"
longer th3n the I<!ngth or your blook plane. see Fig. 2. (The cutout .lrnddles the workAfWr cutting !his piece, rip ofT two ~"wide strips to fonn the side bars.
"""". I

,....

.l

lONG

~i
ADJUSTMlNf
MAJlI( PAIALlfl

REltRENeE UH(S
'Ii'" APAliT

'11'

WIO( .,.

ADJUSTA':';:;
8OnOM PIAtt

'II'"

DADO fOl PlANf ItADE

The two side bars are held together with

Yo" madline screws and hex nuts. The hex
nUls are recessed into the IeIt side bar (A).
('That. is, -Iclt" from your viewpoint ... you
hold the finished chamfer shoe and plane.)
To do this, drin oounterbores \\ith a dilUllCter equal to the distanc:e across the flol. of
hex nut (so the comers of the nut wedge
into the wood). Center the counwrborcs
'Iv." Ihlm each end of the side bar.
All.er the holes are drilled, clamp tlw
side bars together and drill holes lhrough
the eounterborcs for the machine lICroWll.

pi..., edge

so the pL'lIlecu'" a 45 ehamfer.)

FIXED PLATE. I cut the two bottom

plates from the piece of scrap stock that

was left after cutting the side bars. First,
sel the saw to 45- and t'lll ofTthe fixed plate
(Cl 'lit' wide, see Fig. 2.
AWUSTABLE l)LA're. Now, trim down
the SCI'llP piece tha~8 Icn. (wilh the 45angle from the previous cut), so it.'s \4"
\\ider than the width of the block plane.
This forms the a<lj""t.1l>1eptate (D).
There are a couple more ..tops on the adjUSUlble plate. It's held to the right side
bar (B) with sheeL meW serews that are
set in 8 slot. By loosening the screws, the
plat. CIII1 be moved closer or farther from
Ule rcxed bottom plate to vary the \\;dth
of the chamfer, see Fill. 2.
To mount the screws, first cut tWO
dadoes to accept, the heads of the shoot
metal screws, Cut these "adoes ~. wide
by 0;." deep on the bottom (the
side
as the bevel) of the :l(Uu'~lble plale, centering them I" [rom each end, see Fig. L

8."".

AGUItE 2.

BOTTOM PLATES

Next, I made the bottom plates, These

platA>!are eaeh cut at a 45" angle in order
to form a 90' angled cutout between them.
WOODSMITH

Then cut a 1W-Iong slot through the

bottom or eacl! dado so iL'~centered on the

Now thaL .U of the pieces are cut, as_..mbly

can begin. Start by pounding the hex nuts
into the counterbores in the len. side bar
(A). Tben glue the triangular-shaped fixed
plate (C) to the bottom of the IeIt side bar
(A). (Make I<Urethe aI1gIe in the fixed plate
fare. ofJ/lOlfilt the nuts, see Fig. 2.)
scnew ON AI)JUSTA81 PLATE. Next,
push 1".lonlt shoot metal screws through
the .Iot in tile ",Uustable bottom plate (I)
III1d screw them into pilot holes drilled in
the bottom of the right side bar (B).
CUT NOTOH.There's One more .tep
before scre\\ing the tWI)sides of the jig together. Cut a small IlOlch lor the plane
blade on lhe ,nside edge of the fixed pL,te
(C), see Fig. 1. (This noIcl! is aligned with
the dado on the a<liustable plate.)
SCREW TOO~'THeR. Now the two sid es
of the jig C'oU1 be screwed together around
the block plane with V," machine screws.
USING THE JIG

To use the jig, loosen the sheet metal

SCtIlWS and Ol)(>nup the distance between
the two bottom plates to a little less thlll1
the desired ehamfer, (You WlII1tit a litlle
less bec:ause the plane blade sits "lightly
below the opening.)
Now check to ..., that the distanc:e between tbe bottom plates is equal at the
front and back of the jig. (The paraIJel reference lines drawn on the top of the adjustable plate hell) with !his atignmcnt.)
It would seem loWeal to start chamfOl'
ing with ene of the angled faces tighl
against U'e workpiece. But I found it e...
ier- to start with the edge DCthe workpiece
centered in tho middle of the opening.
Start planing III1d :itop when both of the
angled f,\Ct>I -bottom out" on the two sides
of the workpiece, Tbe chamfer will be 45'
from both sid es and a uniform width over
the entire cut,

15

Cabin Birdhouse
WRUSTIC WREN WRETREAT
What'. the bes~time to build birdhouse!
I usually start thinking about it in the
spring - ju.'Il as all the birds have found
homes for the season, Next year, ( always
p.'Omise, I'll start earlier in the spring.
But it tunus out that late spring or

during the 6Ummer .. the best time to build

a bird holll!C. 'rhe .'COSOn: birds usually
don't. like to move into brand new homes.
They prefer e~tablished neighborhoods. So
the idea is to get the house outside for a
season 90 it can weather before the birds
return looking fer real estate next spring.
Most of the birds that are aItraded to
bird houses are those that naturally seek
out hollow tree& So, generally. they're
satisfied with any sheloor "ith a small
opening. But it' lot more fun to build the
house ( would Uke if ( were a bird - a log
cabin with eOO.v shingle roof.
lOG CONSTRUCTION

At first glMce the logs used for this birdhouse resemble the Lincoln Logs L played
with under the ChrlstllUlS tree just a few
yea... back. Bul." e10ile. look reveals that
thelle logs nrc joined with hnlflaps rather
than. nowh on both sides like Lincoln Logs
(or (Ull.i'.cd log cabins). '!'his simplifies log
manufacture,
CUT !!1'OCK TO SIZE. The first step in
maldng the logs is to eut the stock (I used
.thick eednr) into T lengths. Then, rip
these pieces to get 26 (plus a few extras)
individunl stripe '1',' square, see Fig. I.
(Before cutting to Width, ebeek this
measure"",nt with the size of your d3do
blade, see tip on page 23.)
NotAl:20 of these stripe nrc fer the walls
(A), and 6 are for the gable ends (8). Also,
you need one r.long piece at full width
that's used later to make the two angled
eave logs (C).
1MU' LAPS. 'l'he wall logs (A) are joined
by cutting half.lnl> notch es, To c.ut these
nctehea, &It tho dildo blade to cut the same
width as the logs (in my case, %'). Next,
(l(ijust the height of the blade to cut exactly
halfway through the log.
When the dndo blade is set. adjust the
rip fence to """ US a stop so it's ~. from
the dado blade. see Fig. 2. Now, hold the
logs tight against the miter gauge with the
ends bulUd agail'.'" the rip fence and cut
the ~
on both ends of the wall logs.

'f'H1SPIKE US(O
TO MAI(E 'tWO
ANOllD EAV lOGS
FIGURE 2

CUT DADO TO

DETAIL

MA.TCH THICKNES$
Of lOG

.~
I

CHAMfER LOGS

Up until now, the logs are just square

stock. To make them look like logs, I
ehamfered the ends and the edges on the

router L'lbIe,see Fig. 3.

16

WOODSMITH

--

----

")

AD.JUSTarr, To set up the router table.

align the front edge of the router table
f"n"" with the edge of the pilot on the bit,
see Detail. Fig. 3. Then, using 3 scrap 88
a test. piece, a<ljust tile height of the bit
until it cuts a chamfer that's v.,' high.
CIIAM}'SR ENDS. AJWr the router u,ble
is set up, tho ends of the wall 101,'8(A) are
chamfered first.. (If there's ehipoul when
making these cross-grain cuts, chamfering
the edges later will clean them up.)
To guide the ~ while chamfering the
ends, I used a scrap of wood about 4" x 8".
Press the guide block and the end of the
log against the router table fence. Then,
while holding the log tight agrunst the
block, slide them along the fence to cut
chamfer. Repeat on all four sid.. at both
ends of the log. see Fig. 3.
CHAMFER .EOOes. Next, the ed~ of Ill]
tho logs (A. B) are chamfered. To do thiS.
usc a l)llJlh stick to feed the 101,'"from right
to I~ across the chamfer bit, see I"ig. 4.
lIAve LOGs. AfWr the wall log>! arc
chamfered, the eave log>!arc made from
the uncut piece of seoek (C), see F'ig. 5.
To make these logs, begin by cll:unfering the ends and bottom edges of the work
piece. Next. set the table saw to a 45 8Jlgle
and rip one eave log off the outside ed.$tl>.
Then resct the fence and cut IUlOther one
on the opposite side, see Detail. Fig. 5.

DETAIL

WALL ASSEMBLY

1\.

AJW,' the logs are finished. they'I'O ,18sembled to make the walls of the log cabin
birdhou... This is where the hasic differ
enee hetween the double-notched joint.s of
the l.incoln Log>! and the halflaps used on
the logs on the walls bec:omes obvious.
The main difference is that Lincoln Logs
are truly interiocking, so the ends of the
walls stay aligned by design. But with half
lap joints, the logs can slide, so the walls
won't stay aligned of their own 8OC01-d.
WALL SOIlSW8. This sliding is no big deal
beceuse the wall logs have to be screwed
together 'U\Y'vlIy. I used 2YI'long No.8
SCl'OWS
to tie the lower four tiers of 109>!together (screwing up from the bottom), sec
Fig. 6. Then I sank two more tlCreWK
through the top of the front and back walls
to tie the top tiers of logs to the bottom.
see Fig. 6.
Shop Note: The screws join four logs t<>getbcr. Drilling a shank hole through lhe
(Irst three log>!and pilot hole into the
fourth would be a typieaJ procedure. nut
in thja sitnntion there would only be about
thr.!e th'"eads holding each screw in ..,n.
cedar, So I spot glued the 109>!together
first and drilled a '4' pilot hole through all
four logs. _ Cross Section. Fig. 6.
AI)D lIAV BLOCKS. To complete the
walls, nail the angted eave log>!to the top
of the walls, see Fig. 6. (1 pre- drilled the
hole to make it easier to drive the I>rads
without splitting the wood.)
WOODSMITH

'1

"T
v..

.... 2"......

....
~

./~

.::

COUNT[tSIHIC
) SCllW
HfADS

..

"'"'"A~~

IT
It

;:=::.

~P

PIlOT

r-

rF

~~;:;;~~/I
~-'
~

_:!_.lS.

Dill

HOlfS FOR

1/

FlA'
'.,

.~

JI

:;

11

["

I
CROss SECI!<lli

17

FIGUJlf

GABLES

GW'SfAOCtO
GAetC tOGS
TQ fRONT ANO
IlACK Of

AlIGN 0AII1

lOGS ON RAt
SUIfAa

-_.-A

....
,.,

".DHOUSE

GABlE
LOGS

Sf'OTGwt
AND A"ACH
WITM ,.

_NAIlS

CumNG DfTAII

WASTE

RIDGE
DEIAll

C;-CINTtR

~A..

AlDG'
ON

~/<l\;\-

GAIU

UIE 10

,.

ANGLED lOGS

GUlD( IACXSAW

With tlle walls complete, the next step is

to make the gsbIe logs (8) that form the
peak of tbe roof. I found the ea:,"W!st way
to do this was to st.'lCkt.he"Ulree full.length
IOf!8 fll'S!., then eut, them to a trillngular
shnpe as a unit.
GI,.UE LOGS. '1'0 build up the Il1lblC!logs,
glue three logs tq(et.her, keeping til. front
fu<:es parallel To do this, apply glue to Lbe
fllcing edges and lay the logs nat. Then
clamp them tightly keeping tbe faees and
ends aligned, 0100 Detail in Fig. 7.
AIle,' the glued stack of logs is dry, place
it in the notches in t.he angled eave logs.
Then glue and clamp the three logs as a
unit on top of the walls, see Fig. 7.
Note: It does.n'tmatter what kind of glue
is used (watel')roof Or not) because the
gubl. logs will actually be held together
with nails later.)
RIDGE BEAM. Aller Lbe gable logs are
dry, a ridge beam (0) is made to oupport
the roof, see Fig. 8. The easie.'l W'dYto
make this beam is to ""t tbe saw blade at
~5
and cut off one of the edges of n 7".long,
'VI'thick piece Of stock. (This is tl,e same
technique used to cut the eave IOWI,see
Cutting Detail in ~'ilt.8.)
MOlnoT RlOOR BEAM.To mount the
ri<)gc beam, position it so the 9Cr comer
r.'oos up and it's centered on the gable logs,
>ICC ~'ig. 8. Then nllply a couple dabs or glue
arK) Ilftil it in place with 1" finish ntuls, sec
Ridge Det.ail in f'ig. 8.
Cl1T GABu!s' Aller naiIi:ng the ridge
beam in place, the gsbIe logs are cut 00' at
.46angle to form the roof line, To (10this,
llijO the angled sllrf"c"", or the ridge beam
Hndcave logs to align n baeksaw, Ti,.n saw
ort the ends of tllc gable logs, see )o'ig.9.
Note: When cutLing the gable logs, the
saw will aI$O cut oO'the end ofLbe top logs
on the walls, see Fig. 10. This is oby. It
will provide clearance for the roof.
NAIL GAI)~F. LOGS,After the gnbles logs
IIr<' sawn to SIUI[)(!, they, .. nailed down.
(With all the expan .. on and eontradion
that's likely to Ink. place when the bird
hou.oe is bung outolde, nails will hold the
heuse together beuer than glue.)
( drove in (. flnish oails at. 90" angle to
t.he cut ends of lhe gable logs. ('l'h;" is aetuully a 45 angie through one 101(in'"
another, see Fig. (0.)
ROOF

Now the wall .tn,clure of the house is

complete. To top it off, [ rn:.le " cedar
ahlngl. roof. The roof begins by pUlting
down the sheathing to serve 115 the base
for the shingle$.
SllEAnm;c. For the roo( Meathing. I
used ~. te",ptrtd Masonite. l'I'empered
M_nite is moisture resistant). Il<:gin by
culting two pieeos, one fr x 8', and the
olher 6~' x 8", ace Fig. 11. Serew these

18

WOOOS~UTH

pieces to the gable logs, overlapping them

loll' on the peak, sec Detail in Fig. 11.
SHINOLES.The roof sheathing is covered
with genuine ood8r shingle$. After a little
e.<perimenting, I decided to CO\'o. the roof
with two ditrer(!nt styles of shingles:
square buu.ed and rounded, r(!(o. to Fig.
15 on page roo Although you could use dollhouse shingles (they're available mail
order, see Sources, page 24), I decided to
make my own.
5HI1<01.8 STOCK.The stock for the
shingles (E) starts out as two pieces of

FlGUR< I

(OUAl AMOONT
Ofovt-..G
OH 101M (NOS

clear, straight-gl'ained
3/4'-lhick cedar
about 6W' wide and 9" long. (The length

isn'l crlticul: the !Y' minimum provides a

good, safe bundle when cutting the striP'!
that are later sliced lip into shingles.)
ROUND ssos, To prepare the workpiece

to make the rounded shingles, begin by

rounding the ends of the cedar stock with

a %' round-over bit on the router table,

see Fig. 12. Align the pilot bearing with

the front of the fcore and set the shoulder

of the bit a hair lower than the table, see
Detail in Fig. 12. Then round over both
sides of both end. of the two workpi eees,
CUT SWNOt. STRIPS. After both ends
of the two workpieocs are rounded, they're
cut into shingle .trips. To do this, I
clamped a stop block w the rip renee and
locked the fenoo 110when the end of the
shingle stock i. butled agsinst the block,
the blade is aligned to cut off. 1V...-wide
strip, sec fig. 18. Use the miter gauge as
guide to cut orf the stlips.
The fin!t cut oQ'each end of the piece produces u 1V"-wide strip ror the round
butted shingles, see Detail in Fig. ]3.
Then, just make a setond pass on each end
to cut off two .trips for square shingles.
SUCE SIUNOt.S. Aner ali eight Shingle
stripS are eut to size, they are cut into in-dividuaJ shingles. (Old timers would have
used " mallet and froe to split them, but I
cut them to ,.;re on the band saw.)
Although shingle making isn't precision
work, I found I got the best results by
using u'e band RaW fence as a stop and
guide. Set the fence

v. from

the blade.

Then hold the end of the strip agslnst the

fence
1)lIIIhit through the blade to saw
off the individual .hingle., see Fig. 14.
Note: AJ& each new ijhjngle is being <'Ilt
from Ille end or the .tlip, it will push the
pnlviously cut shingle tlelU- of the btade, If
you find u,at the shingles aren't being
pushed clear (and are being chewed up by
the blsde). try using a piece of scrap as a
push block behind the strip, If the shingles
come out wedge.shaped instead of a uniform lhl<:Ic:ne.iI, use a miter gauge on the
band saw to push the shingle strip straight
through the blade.
Making ahingles is tedious work. You
need about 160 of each style (rounded and
square) for the roof. (This amount provides
about 15'l>extra for waste and spoilage.)

"',d

WOODSMITH

DETAIL
ItOUTlt r Ulil

<t_

~ _.. IOUNOOvt. lIT

---9"

TWO"lCU
UOO'R.(O KIA '

$MINGUS

DETAIL

1
v;
"--_-'1
4 $l1Urs .fOUlltO

DETAil

19

RGURE 15

LAY SHINGLES

GlUf SHINGlES TO

ItOOf wm<

WATQttOOf
lPOXY

UNU Sf'ACID
'I,. MAlT

SECOND ROW
afGlNS WIT"
HAIl WIDTH

I\G." UP FItOM
Of $t4AntING

fDGt

EAve BOARD
",.". 'h........lONO

RIDGe CAP'.......

DETAlt B

....
60nOM

20

After all the shingles are cut, tbey're glued

to the Masonite roof sheathing. Although ~
professional roof""" use a shingting hatchet
to align the shingle courses, Iscribed lines
on the sheathing for alignment.
IJNE SPACING. The lines are 6)"10<)<1SO
the roof is two shingles thick at any given
point and three layers thick directly above
where the end of the shingle is glued to the
roof. Since the shingles are 114" long, this
is achieved by s)l<lcing the lines ~" apart,
IlOO rig. 15.
Note: To minlmize cutting, scribe the
rarst layout line Iy." from the edg<! of the
eave. This way the butt of the shingle will
be even with the edge of the sheathing and
all the other shingles will be evenly spaced
above it,.
BAVE BOA.RO. When roofing a 1\li.ISLze
hous, it's general practice to lay u hnlfCOIlnlC of shingles along the edges of the
eav es, This way the shingles are doub~
thick at all points. But rather than try to
cut these tittle shingle. in halt, 1 ripped
two YII~..-thick by Y."wide "eave boards"
to fit under the bottom course of shingles
(along the eaves), see Fig. 15.
Note: While 1 W88 set up for ripping
these strips. 1 ripped t....
o ..xtras to be used
as ridge caps when the shingling "''lIS done,
refer to Fig. 16.
m.UE. To attach the shingles to the roof, A
1 used quick-set epoxy. The kind that ""
.. mes in the double-plunger dispenser is
the easiest to apply (_ Sources, page ~).
Epoxy sets up f..'it enough (less than five
minutes) to keep the jU$l.-laid shingte ... (rom
slipping out of alignment..
Note: We aclually made this birdhouse
last fall and lelt it outside all win~I' and
spring to see how the glue would hold up.
We didn't lose ingle shingle.
GLUING SEQuPJ<C&. To lay the shingles,
begin by applying iI bead of glue on the
e.. ve booed and glue it in place nll~hwith
th~ bottom edge or the sheatJling. Next
apply a bead of glue to the sheathing
centered between the upper edge of the
eave board and the first scribed line.
To lay the shingles, st8rt with n whole
shingle with its lelt edge aligned with the
lelt edge of the .h."thing and its bo",,",
edge even with the eave. Then work from
lelt to right,. keeping the Ielt edge of the
.hmgte tight against the shingle next to it
and the top even with the scribed line. The
last shingle may have to be i.rimnlL<1in hnlf
(I used an X-Acto knife) to make it oven
with the front (!(I~eo( the sheathing,
N&X1' ROW.After laying the first course
of shing!cs along the eave, apply IIIlOtber
bead of glue between the top edge of the
fi....
t shingle row wid the next layout tin e.
Then lay down the second course of
.hingles. But this lime, start with l\ hnlfwidth shingle. Then use fuII-widtll shingles
\VOODSMITH

and wor!< to the right end. lWpeat this

PI'OCOSS all the way up the roof.

1'1UM RIl)CE. '!be Wt course of &tingles
is applied I!O the UlP end of the shingles
sticl<.s up above the rid~ line. see Fig. Ii;'
\Vait for the glue to dcy. then biro o1f the
excess \\ith fine-loothed baek saw. After
biroming the ~,
repeat the process on
the opposite "ide of the roof.
RU)(;& CAl>.AfU>r all the sbingles are in
place the ridge Clip is put on. Nonnally,
the rid):e enp is made or pertions of
.bingles. But, to keep Irom having (0 work
with wlY ,JiC'l!, , used strips.
1'0 make tile ridge caps, trim the two
VI6'truck "trip" (made when making the
eave boards) to 'Mo' wide and 0/,,' wide.
Then glue them to the top course of
sbingles with the W' strip overlapping the
0/, trip, seoe Detail A in Fig, 16.
FLOOR

With the 1'OOffinisbed, the house need, a

Door for the ne.t To make hou:<ekeeping
easier, I mad. the Door rEmOvable SOold
nests and deb';" (whieh pro,ide an off"",
son home for bugs) coold be cleaned out
for a new fnmity of birds next spring.
cor TO S1Zv.. To make the bottom (I")
that's Lhe noor. begin by cutting a piece of
~'-tbickstock to (i" long. Next, rip the
pieee to widtll (4'10<' in my case) 80 i( fit.
between the sida \\!all:\. Then cul 8 'lYt,,"
by .y.' rabbet on eaeh end to fit into the
bottom of the house, S~ De~,il B,
LOCKS.To mak~ it easy w remove the
noor, 1 fa.sten('(1 it in place with panel re"lining buttoM, see tletail C in Fig, 16,
Screw in two buttons, one into the bottom
wall log on each .ide of the Door.
MOUNTING

'!bere are two ways to hang the birdhouse.

It tan 00 hung from a tree, or set on UlP
of a post or pole.
llANO MOIINTING.To keep the bouse in
the tree (even when rocked by gale force
winds), !.he hangcrH have W 00 finnly anchored through the rid):e beam mto the top
gable 1000,see .~g. 17. To get through both
tllc rid!!" ane! gllble, we used IY.'-Iong
scrow eye", (Il00 Sources, page 24),
I'OL~MOU"'~.To pUL up a bird house
whero tho"" '"'" 110 LI'<.'CS
(or to attract
bini. wh" like to be ill the open), mount
the hou"" on pole. I UlICd" length of galvaoizc<1pip" ulld mounled it to the bottom
of the hom,,, with" 'Vo" pipe Oange.
ENTRYHO''':. The last step in making
the birdholl:le habitable i:; boring an entry
hole with a .""de bil. I.'nIe sit<! of Ibe hole
and i", location de.,.,nd on what species of
bird you want to altnlcl, see box at righl.)
PlNJ!jIL Finally, to keep the cedar
shingleo 1U1d logs from absorbing moisture,
I laid on two coal<; of lUng oil. Then set the
house out lo weather for a few months
before the bird. arrive in lhe spring.
WOODSMITH

AGUlE' 17

SCUWInS
A"~

TItlOUGI< lIDG<

_ ..

,;-::; ~~-

~~nOM

@l

--....

-::r;.:7
i

.1

1..,7 )'
1

c J..;;;;;;.

"",''7' J.~,T7~
I 7

.1.1

7),

"7777

~~

\,

77..,....,.

MATERIALS LIST

ROOIt

GALVAHIIE'O

PI'"

DIAGRAM

cunlNG
314.115.1;2" :16-

0",1"011 Dlmfn,j.o.ns. Slid x 8~"w It 71/t"h

A W.II log. (20)
Y 0/..-7
B Gablo log. (6)
"I '1,,-7
C e... log> (2)
V..V.-7
D R-'ge ...... (I)
V V..-7
'I,.Jt v. _ 11/..
e Sbiog'" (3001
F "'-(1)
V.x41'A._ 6

at i i~tg
~

I .:
E

r C

[~
1;.
D

ALSONEEDPIta Of

MASONITE"':It t2YJ"

BIRDHOUSE BASICS
Binls are I><'nonick('tyabout the sit<! of
their "ntry (Ioor. ,"".y Wrolt to be able to
"IiI' in ~'()mrort,,,bly, buL they dQn'L want
big, nojsy Jtt'iKhlxl1~coming in uninvited.
And tl\ey like lh. floor level below the
dOOIWIIY'"' tlW.VMil bllild their nl):;( up,

DOOR LOCAflON
'I'he loeation or the (.Intn_net!iR as imper-

DOOR SIZE
P,"1. of making.

bi"lhou>I<lattractive to
the entry door uoattractive to others. Si7A' the hole large
enough for smull bir<l., but .mall CllOIlgb
to d~.
hU'Rer, unwant ed bird; from
making Ufl\\'(.I)\'QtI')('o npJ*artUlCE':::;..
'Ibe rtnit dt'a...ion W makt: is \\-'"hat birds
you dO/,'t \\IWl. ThiJ( is U.'l-uaUl' a prett)short li>t. Sj>aJTO'''' and ,t.arlings .". IISUall,:,' on the un\\'{'lco!1le list,
Keeping "wrl;nJ(ll out is no problem they require an entrance hole at least 'J:' in
diall1<ll.(:r,!;o m:lkillg tho (Ioor 1'1,." would
make the hO"8(' I1rlingproof.
~pecific birds

;:0 mnkil1g

tant. as Ute siu, 'l'he cliliClll tnea....urcment

i, distance from the hdlo to 01. Roell'.
This is bccau~ bir'(IKlhnL are attracted
to birdhouses uro those that ".unlly nest
in hollow \1''''''',They'I'" llHC(1to hopping
down to their living level and having
enoup;h room tc. b\liJd thf'ir nest til) to (or
nearer) the level or the hole.
GUIDfLINES

On this chart, we've li.u'(l ""me of the

most common binlhou se I"nants and their

housing pref.,,.,...,.. Th. dil11<'""""", on

the cbart below ,In' ),'UideJi",,'S,not rules.
A famil)' of wrens I"" il:nored the guidelines and moved uno our I\OU.~ - even
though the hole b iu.t 2~' upfrom the

SI);)l'ro\\ll'I at'P unothc'r stOrj'. They can

Door, (If you want to illCre;6..~the distance,

use more 10..:" to make th" wnlls higher.)
lo a houtlingtth()rta~, bit"tls\\ill seL UI)

illt,) till bu~ the tiniCRt holes, 'fliis

me'IlI. thot ulIl~...< .VOU'l'C
spocifically 111'ing to "C~up II honlt' ('or V~.Y$mall birds
(like ""'0'13), odd8 tl1'(1your tenants lll'e
gQing to be 13r);U1"C)\\'H.

ho_keepinJ(
almo.t IInywhN'(l. Bul if
there are hollow t",('" '
birdhouses
in your "'ighbol'hooll, buUrlins; to t.hC:le dimensions \vUI inCl'elL.~ youI' o<lds or
:ltlrilctinJ( r.nthe"l'd -n"nUl.

gtlL

Bird

Chickad ..",
Downy Woodl>Cclwr
Eastern Bluebird
Nuthatch
TI~
\Vren
AdaiiC(d

(r(,m

.11,0,'

Entrance
Hole

Above
Floor

Floor
Space

Ceiling

Abov.

Height

Ground

1%"

6'loS'
6' to
SO
6'toS'
6'loS'
.j' to 6'

4".4"

8' to 1(1'

4" ;< 4"

8" to

tv...
lY.r:"
IV,
lV.-

!'tolY,'

s-

1(1'

S' , :;- 8'

4' x 4' If' u> 1(1'
4," x 4" If'to 1(r
4' x 4' 6'tog'

6' to
6' to
5' to
12' to

IS'
20'

10'

20'
6' to 15'
6' to 10'

H(ome.(lit Blnb. U.s. Dtpc:. ~ lnttrior. F"1!oh and \\'iIdIa(\. ~

21

____

S_h_o~Notes
SOME TIPS FROM OUR SHOP

WOOO 'OR FOLDING SCRlIN

Every time we buiJd proje<:t there's a

lively diSOlJl!3ion about what's the best
wood to use. 'rhe shoji folding screen was
no exception.
UOIiT OUTSTMlLE.We were looking for
something tbnt, WM light in weight SO it
would be ensy to move around, but still
reasonably .irong. Like allY project that
uses" frome (and in this case a grid of small
pieces inside the frame), Ute wood has to
be fairly stable and warp-fnle.
The final .nt<o rion was that the wood be
light in color. The folding screen is based
on a J"IlMCS<! shoji. and traditional shoji
are made &om a "ariel}, of tighl><:Olorecl,
tight.-grained soft woods. (Sometimes, the
wood is laequered black.)

Walnut and cherry ohlo would make beautiful SC,,*,"", but once again. they anm't
tnliIitio"m (if that's important to you).
A COUPLE NOT '1'0 USE. The two woods
I wQuldn't recommend for this project are

I1UIple lind birch. They are light in color,

but not as ijl"ble 11<1 oth .. choices. I've had
trouble keeping narrow strip!! of maple and
birch straight nne, ';I)ping. '!'hose two
woods also tend to have curly grain that
can be diffieult.1.<>pl.ne ",thout chipouta real problem if you're planing aD the
pieces needed for the shoji screen.
SUBSTITUTE PLANERS

'Ibere are a number of thin pieces in the

projeds in this i"" ue that hav to be pJaned
smooth and to uniform thickness. The
legs for the birdh"""" and mOIStoC the grid
PONI)ROSA PtNE. W. wanted to use pieces on the Colding screen have to be perSitka spruce, but because oC cost. and Cect~square (that i., the sam. t.hiclmess
avaiL'tbility we fin,illy se tiled on Ponderosa and width).
pine. The key .. to choose stock that's clear
If you hnve plllller. this isn't" probof knots and d.fecta and has grain that'o lem. mllming Y(lU sUlrt with one square
ns stmight lUI possible.
edge, you call rl:1110 one side of the workAlso, when buying the lumber, don't get piece, then uun ill)()' lIlId wnd it through
u Ucolistnlction" grndc pine to save money the planer IIgcill nt the SlIme setting. The
- it wiD yield more headaches than result is II square blank.
savln.gs. 'IComlnon" grades (such as No.1
Without.. pinner. you have to rely on a
or No.2) would work, but you may have table MW. MOlILMW blades have II certain
to work around knots and defects so extra amount of runout (bltend movement) that
stock ",II be needed. 'rhe best soft;wood leaves burns a"d swirl marks, It's also diflumber to get is " "select' grade, such as ficult to rip thin pieee to a perfectly uni"D and Beuer" or "C and Better." (For form th~
on a 88.w.
more on pine. see IVood$mi/h 1-10. 55.)
RAND PLANING. There are a couple of
omER
POSSlBlUTIES. What
about other techniques to plane thin pie<es
other woods? We've built. other fuIl-size "ithout planer. All of these methods
shojis Mth Sitka spru<e - an e <ceIIent begin b}, ripping a "'I""'" workpiece overehoi<e for this project. The sapwood is size (~. to V14- in boll, directlons).
creamy whi", in color and, considCling its
SOLE RUNNERS. One oC the simplest
light weight. is extremely strung and stiff. techniques W pL'Ulc down the oversize
One or it 8 most. common uses is for aircraft. strips is to t'1Sten u couple wood runners
COI1$truetion. (Howard Hughes' "Spruce to the bottom of your plane with doubleGoose" ill the classic example.)
.id"" C<lI1)4)ttape. We're shoy,1ng a block
Sinee Sitk" spruce ill commonly quarter
"".
IlnlIlt
sown, it has a straight, tight grain and is
THICKNISS
very sWblc. W" not
available,
though, except where it's grown in the
Pacific Northwest.
PO'I)lnrwould be another good choice. It's
a tittle stronger, heavier, III1dmore stable
than pine, but it can have color streaks
throughout iL IC I were going to paint the
screen, Imight use poplar.
I've seen screens made out of ash. It's
stable Md the light color would fit the design, but ..'" (and oak) are bes''Y. Clear
redwood and mahogany both have aD of
the desired strength Md planing eharae- plane here, but if you're doing a lot of plante,;,.,tics, but I think they are a little dark ing you'D probably want to use a larger
in color Cor a Lrrt<liLionalJapanese screen. smoothing (No.4) or jack (No. 5) plane.

...,..,Iily

22

The distance from the cutting edge DC the

plane blade to the boLtom of the runner
must eqnal the desired fmish thickness of
the workpiece. (Note: 'rhe cutting edge of
tbe plane blade sti.ka out from the plane
sole. BuL since this umount, just about
equals the thickncSII of Illyer of carpet
tape, for all practical purposes you can
make Ole runner thickn.l!3 equal to the
deired workpiece thlekness.)
To use the plane with runners, hold the
workpiece again ..,t. II .top on " Oat surf aee.
Then straddle it with Ille runners and start.
planing. Onee the runners "bottom out."
you've reaehed the d""ired thickness.
SIDE Rl/NI>'I!RS. Another method uses
side runnen< and b!oek pI:me. The run-

ners are simply a couple of l1CI'8ps of ~.thick .-toek that ride along both sides of the
plane. The 1>Iane is pinched between the
runners ",Lh two bolts and wing nuts. The
advantage of this method over the sole runners is that you can il<ljU8t the plane Cor
any thickness.

ROU'flo:R 'rAalJo:. Hand planing

can be

fun, but the tJlOUglll of planing all lOBgrid

pieces ror the shoji screen \vas a Littleoverwhelming. So I used u different technique
similar I.<> II tip we received from Jim Serratore, of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, Jim uses
a router table tike a miniature planer.
The trick hero ill to push the workpiece
&om left to right bdlt'MI a "tmight bit and
the router fence. (Note: IC your router
takes ~-shank biL'. use them. They help
...t ,;bration for 8 smooIheT ... t.)
Sinoe II1<loit l"O<Il.er toblc Cenee. have a bit
opening,

start,

by screwing

lUI

au.<iliary

plywood fence to the refolUlarfeoce to cover

up the opening. Next, iI<ljust the fence so
the distance &om the cutting edge of the
WOOOSMlTH

bi~ U> the atOO1iaey f~ "' equal U> the

de.;i.oo stook I.hickn~. (Note: Don't try
to plane 0(1' more tl,"" IW in one pass,)

To keep from having to mount the dado

oot on the saw every tirne J needed a test
<1:1(10. ( spent. it few Jnin\lt(:s .'11(1 made 3
.ample dndo board from u thick block of
hardwood. 1 cut iIIl or the different. sises o.
it thnt my slal:k dado >!<!t will cut. "hen I
keep it hanging right 11i.'X~ to n,y ",,"W to

page 10) take a ""...-wide cut out of the

edge or " boanI! If it's '1~"bit, why
(IOI.~n'L it 1I1ke a %:t"~\\ridc cuLt
CONCAYl
ItADfUJ

1,.-....~lr1

I
\..

OGEE WItH ALlET

NOTE:
R,.

WOlK flOM
LIlT '0 ItIGHr

There's always 3 dlln((('r of kiekbacl< any

time you push a piece of wood between the
bi~ and the fence (that is, from left to right
into the rotation of the bit), To prevent
thi., and U> hold tll. I,i_- tight against
the renee for a smooth CUt, I clamped two
fcathel'b03l'ds to the router table.
the teatherboarda have to be etamped to
the bench in slight~v on:'lC~poo;itions. The
left (infeed) fcathcrboord hold. the workpiece tight against the fe""" jll,1 be/lYre the
rout<>r bit cuts the workpiece, The right
(outfeed) rcatherboanl is :0 little doser U>
the fence 1.0 bold the finished workpiece
ti,~ against, the fenee a./ltr the cut,

Cklmp tbe featberboards to the table

Md use support blocks to hold them in
pIaoe, see U>p drawing, Then, you',.. ready
to "plane" from left 1.0 right. AI",.).,;:;tart
\\ith a test, piece since ((('tUng the renee and

_i1y test fit any workpieee that's going

to fit. into II dado or groove.
DADO 8EFORE OR AFTER CUTTING?

While I WM cutting the lup juints for the

.hoji screen and birdhouse, n couple folks
"U1lC through the .hOI) and ,,,,ked why I
didn't cut dadoes across (I wi(lc boanIlirst,
and then rip the wide bonn! intc n:IJ'TO\Oo'
pieees,
I'D ,"'mit tha~the "dado firsvthen cut"
method can be an efficient way of making
the pteces, I didn't lise it on the.", projects
beeau se of a problem l've nu into in the
I."t uAlng Ih.t technique,
If yuu start with a wide board, It has to
be 11(r1'ectlyOat, If you dado 0tt00S a
cupped (warped) boanI, the depth of the
dado "ill "ary from the bl'jtinning to the
middle and end of the cut, .. '" drnwing.

""""
Of
DADOYAIIlS ON
'fVI)( WAIf'fI)IOAIO_

"

foatherboanls set up corT<!clly may take

some fine tuning.

SAMPLE DADO 80ARD

ti,.

When cutting
lap joint. for the log cabin
birdhouse and the grid on the shqji screen.
it'. important that the pi~
fit tightly to((('thor. To do this, you have to cut and
plane the pieces U> the exact same "idth
118the eross dadoes tha~they're going to
fit inlO.
The problem is that you usuillly have to
cut and pian. the pi~'<C. to final width
1>1'018 you cot the dlldoo.. 'rhough most
.tack dado sets I\)'e fairly accurate, you
never know exactly how wide U> cut and
plane the wort,piece until you have" dado
1.0 test it in.
\VOOOSMITH

Roman agee bits have two radii (0 00neave 3Jxi :& convex) that are the same :ti:ze.
The nominal size of the bit ('I,,") refers U>
U1esilA.!of ~Ich radius rather than the overall cut of the bit. The re arc two common
$irb of Roman ogee bits: o/.rl' llnd v..".
OTIIt-;n I)ESIONS, The :'IXll" 3Jl{1 VI" radii
are common ~iJoJlS, but there .'" other de
siWl fNllU"", on a Roman ogee bit that
"'31")' from nullluf:1eturer to nuulufacturer,
Manufucturers ususIIy Ii,t the overall

height of the cutting edge from the top of

the .hOllld.r section U> the botu>m of the
bit (1101 counting the bearing). This
nlt.'38Ul"('lnentvaries from one luanufaetUl"CI'

to unother,

ln rculil.y, this measurement isn't lmportanto You tun increase the slze of the
shoulder by lowering the bit 3,,<1 making
repeat pa....ses, What is important (and isn't
uswilly listed) is the location of the ceme rs
of the two radii in relation U> eacll athOl".
Some Roman ogee bits have the \.".0
cenl('~ on the same horizon. sc(' Ute bil on
the Ion in the drawing below. OU1('1'manufncult'Cn\ (.Ic~igll an elongated hit. wlth the
ccnt.tl\l SI)rend apart. as on the rigllt...
'rill. errect.. the finish<:<1appearance or
the ,'lit lind can be criti.ru if you're trying
to match an exi3ting Roman ogt'<' molding.
U's a jlOOCI idea to alway" eht",k that the
cut m:"I~by your bit I.. the """'" 'L< the one
you',.. trying to mAW!.

Ily cutting the strip" nl'llt. the warp dis"1'1"''''' and ,III the strip. "tny ti~ht to the
table.
result is even 1111<1(>(:.,

'rI,.

On u lnp joiut, the depth of the dado 'is

critical. It has to be ",.'acllv half the thickr~.'~ or the workpiece 311fl b)lh l>ieceshave
to be unifonn in thickness. If they aren't,
tll~joint won't go together 01l>lh.
'!'hat', only part of the reason for my apoep.e 1111'S. One Ja..<t note. In addition to
l)I"oneh.The other 1l3l't i:; not 'luite as Iogienl. I've al"'nys felt. .nON comfortable C'IJt. the Raman ogee, there are t",o other bits
tillg joints 011a piece that'. th~ finished sif.e in lhu "OW"c"frunil)r, A "lilJxhu'tl oftce is
1'U[hcl' t.htU~ On &1 ovcrSi7..c(l "ieee,
similar to a Roman ogee, bllt the location
Qr the eoncnve l:l.I\dlhe convex CUI"VCS are
ROMAN OGEE 81TS
",v""""I, """ top drawing. Ir (m cxtr ..
Why does a .t." Roman ogt'<' router bit .boulder i<I ",kled U> the <>gee bit, it is.ruled
(Iikc' the One used on the mirror fr.une on an agee "ith a lillet.

23

Sources
or you can buy Plastic Relai"ing Buuons
epoXY. We used.a two-part, f"st;.'l"tting
from The Woodworkers'
StOl:e (lICtl epQXY to glue on the shingles, It, took two
address and minimum order Information
small I'esin/hardener packages to fasten
above): 0,'del' No. D38O'2, $1.30 pel' 10. down the shingles.
You can ",SO ordel' these buttons from
EDGING TOOLS
lIteisel Hardware Specialties (see address
above): Order No, 214-020, $1.<19pel' 20,
The cornering tools and the Radi Plane
SHINGLES,We e.~plainea in the ,lrUcle shown on page 14 are available through
how to make your own miniature shingles. most woodwol'king mail ordel' catalogs.
To overlap the .bingl"" as we hove shown One catalog that ,has both of these tools,
you will need about 260 shingle. that plus the Japanese chamfer plane is:
GARRETt' WADE COMPANY, INC. 161
~A, SROJl &. IN'rnRlORS. IJ"{c., 109 measure
0/.." x 11~~.
Avenue
of the Americas, New Yorl$, NY
West 17th Stl'eet, New York, NY 10011;
IT you don't want to make your own
212- 243:-6'774. Fi1>erglass, 48" x I yd"
Shingles, try a dollhouse supply store ,01' 10013-)205; 800-221-2942 (Catalog; $4.00).
$10.00 (two pieces are needed). Miya also hobby shop, We fOllna SOme.cale shingles OTf Cornerit~g Tool, Ylli" and Y$' radii,
offers a P/a.,Ii<:wmi.wIiN1Ric," Paper ('J6" for ~.25 per 100, (Note: Though these Omel' No, 461'01.01. $01.25;C'1)2 CO'l7llfY'ing
x 96') for $60,00 and a Pla$li4 ~n;'laliN1 shingles are the Same size lIS ow'S, they TooL, ,)10". and V.i' radii, Order No.
S#kml MaterW.L(48' x 96"), $6.5.00.
don't can for as much ov",illl> in Iheir -in- 4.61'01.02, $4,25 (01' order both Looll; for
IIDiGllS. We used thtee pairs of wide, structions. This affects the "square foo~ $7.95, Order No, 46P01.(J:I), nadi Pttme,
brass hinges to conneCt the three sections coverage" figure given on the package.) Order No. 44P02.01, $19.95 (replacement
cutters, Order No, ~02,
$4,95). Ja
of the screen, They can be ordered Doom: Shingles can also b<! ordered Doom:
THE WOODWORKEIlS' S'l'ORI';, 2l$Ol [no
Cn:F.RRVmEE 'J'()V5, rse .. Belmont, OH panese Chamfering Plane, Japanese red
dustria! Boulevard, Rogers, ~lN 55374; 487H\9989; 61""J84..1360~(Catalog: $1,00.) oak, Large plane (7"0(,," long), Order No.
6~2199
(Catalog: $2,00, Note: Min IVOO<!Shingles, specify rectangular, ectag- 49P01l.0J, $56.9;,; Small plane (4" long),
imum cash ord",' ~.50, eredit card order onal, or fishseale, $4,95 per package of 300. Order No . 19P03.02, $49.50,
$15,00, Add $2.60 handling and lnsumnce.) 1----------------------------1
Desk Bult Hinge, solid brass, Iyt' long x
2" ",ioe, Order No. 01238, $3.10 pr.
fOLDING SCREEN
You can order the fiberglass sh~tsor riee
paper and hinges from 1VQ(J(}"",i/h as a kit,
see box below.
'1'0 make the folding SCI".n you will need
three sheets of Jibergla..ss that measure 16"
x 48'. You can also use rice paper, but it
comes ln nan-ower widths so: you will have
to join it under a grid piece, Shoji screen
matelial can be ordered from:

WOODSMITH KITS

fRAMED WAU MIRROR

You can probably find wall hangers for the
minor at II local hardware store W. found
some for SOli each, Those shown on page
13 are available fl'Oll1 The. \Voodwotkel''''
Store (see address above, note minimum
order), Hanger, brass plated, SCI"WS included, Ord.,' No, 03008, ~.50per 10,
You tan also order hangers from:
MlllS&l. HARI)WA!lE SPIlCIALTIBS. P.O

Box 70, ,MOUnd, MN 55:J64.00'70; 8OQ.4419870 (Catalog: $1,00, Mil\imum order

$25.00, A~d$3.60 shipping and handling.)
Picture Ha>lgers (2), brass plaled, Sl"WS
not included, 1%' long, Order No, 828-20,
$1.48 per 20. He.aVlIHchlgm, niekel-plate<1
steel, 10/," long, screws not inelu~e<I,
Order No. 1246, $1,95 per 20.
MJRROR. I used 'h.'thick mirror cut to
18' x 24' for a loose fit, It eost $IZ.OOat
local glass sb0l"
lOG CABIN BIRDHOUSE
Vou can find most of the hardware lll\d supplies needed for the birdhouse at a local
h:u1lware store. To hAAgthe house from a
t>ee, I bought a pac)<age of ejgh~ 1\1.,"
long screw eyes for 89<!.
For pole mounting, a galv!Il\ized Hoor
llango for %" pjpe costs about $3,00 and a
11).fooLlength of threaded g-.tvani?.ecl pille
costs about $11.00.
RE'I'AlNll<G llU'M'ON5. 'the buttons that
hold the bottom in place can be shop-made

24

IfQoo."IIit/, is offruing kit.. of 6b.. "j(Ia.ss

shooting or riee paper and hing1!Sfor tho
folding sereen shown on p;1go 4:
KIT 67A ($14.95) mcludes.
(3) sheets of fiberglass, lb~, 4$".
KIT~7B($Q2.9S) inclu(les Kjt 57A pills:
(3 pair) Braul.,'d No. Sl.OOXC solid
brass hinges, lW loug, 2" ol)en
width, WiU, 1!I'iiSS screws.
lilT 5'C ($14,95) inCludes:
(1) roll of rice paper U' x :30 11;. 'TN"
is more than enoul(h p;1per to cover
the three sections of the screen,
Kl'l' &1D ($22.95) includes Kit 57C pI1~:
(3 pair) Brainerd No. 8150XC solid
brass hinges, 1%'" long, Z' open
width with br1l$Sscrews.
F1Jlf:RGl.ASS QR Rrc PAPER. We're
offering the kits \ViO, eiU'er fibmgla.ss
"lleeting ("Synskyn")
or rice paper.
TheY're both IxansJuseent and white in
eolor. We made Ollr sereen with the fiberglass sheeting since it's durable, water "esist,"\, and
Lo lteeP elean. l3u~ rice
P!lper is mo,,, tn\ditiolyd and deeol'lltive.
The-nee paper we're offering is an otien ..
tal fiber ~per made itt Japan, Ills act.u;~
name is CUJU'YU'! 01" "cloud-dJ'sgon ~\per"
named fOl' the long swirling fibers that
float throughout U,e p;1per, Though h~e
pape.... nre called rice papen;, very fow
OlieJ,ta] papers are made from ri... The
strong, CGai'sa noon:; in 4iJnryu" are actu ..
ally [rom the KOO'.o
plant,

e.",".,'

Since the riee paper only comes in 11'

widlh,' (an,!l the g'liils are 16' wide), ~ou
will have to glue the paper down to the
back of the grid with joiru-under the centel' vertical 5U;p,
To do this, sLaple the pape,. down to the
back of Ihe 6 at the top (the same as for
$e libe,rgiass sheet), But with the riCe
paper, tine up One edge of th!o J)aper halfway over the cent", .ertlcal strip, Then
fold the paper back and spread thin I.Y81
of white glue down the veltical center and
around $. outside. Nl'xt, li,y the paper
hack down and press it into the glued surface, At'Ulr the paper is glued down, trim
the exeess off along
outside edges With
a sharp knife or .....,.,or blade.
KJ1' l'lUcr.s. The prices listed fOl'the kits
include nostag<! and handling, (Iowa, residents add 4% sales tax.) Prices good
tbrough December, 19&'1.
!lOW TO ORD)l. To 01'\101' a kit, just
writ.! yow' ordol' and name and addl'eSS on
a piece of Impel', Be SUI" to specify whiel'
One of the kits you want (57A , 67B, 1;7C,
or o7D).
Send your order and pa~t
(1\9c~l)I'gI!
eards 01' phone ordcn;, pleMe) 1.0:
Woods",ith Kits

U",

,F:I). 130x 10350

Pes 1I1.i,l!!S, IA 50306

Please I!pe<'ifythe kit number 0)1 tbe OUL'
side of tne envelope. Allow 406 weeks for
delivery.
WOOOSMITH