NOTES FROM THE SHOP (LIGHT .. wie SCROLL: SAWN PANELS it O44 HAND MIRROR AND MUSIC BOXNo.71 October, 1990 Ee Pre RS COLUMN GraphiesDirextor Jon Snyder ‘Project Suplics ‘Customer Service Mr. Customer Service Oct., Dec) by Woodsmith Publishing Co.. 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, 1A 50312. Postmaster: Send change of address to Woodsmith, Box 10718,DesMoines,IA30990, ‘Subscription Questions? Call 800-533-5075, ‘0am to 500 pm, Central Time, weekdays, Sawdust Weegiraresingne svn couldn't figure out what was going ee teentetigntgnnsaie arene atone ‘glimpse of what looked like a small TV Be eas ae of the night light we had been working on. Roe eetia corte ia cate eee ee Redan oees Breer eres ah ee St I ee pak ees) sdb had eae aren Res ee ee Be irae as ones Bel pcieenciarercoaoe peta al ne oe Becomes ret SOS clang atin axotiobesvey incense bey pee are ee cis projects that you can build as gifts for kids min eile we macs Seal challenge was the toy box — the one that looks lke a giant block (page 6) ‘You know the toughest part about build ing these correct perspective. By that I mean, ‘Started out building them to adult se ‘That dida’t work for kids. ‘We built the first one big enough to hold lots of toys. But when we gathered up a small herd of Woodsmith kids to test tou itbecameclearthey hada different perspec: tive. ..and shorter arms. ‘Whatweneeded wasasmallbox forsmall kids and a big box for big kids. That's when wwe came up with the dea ofa false bottom that could be moved up so short arms could reach all the way in. Then as the arms (and all the other parts) grew over the next few ‘down. The end result seemed to please everyone. GIFTS. Inaddition tothe projects for kids, ‘we came up with three projects that could be gifts for any age: a music box, a mirror, ‘and apaper gripper. ‘AsIwasabout to complete themusicbox, | found a small piece of burl veneer and some inlay strips and couldn't resist adding them to the lid. Then I decided to make another lid and try my hand at chip carving patter init ‘Although we don't show it, [also experi ‘greatthing abouta small box like this sthat you can experiment with all sorts of tech- niques — and you wind up with very in- ifs. sirvor-ALfirs, Leoncentrated onthe basic techniques — cutting a bank toa crear shape to match the shape of the beveled glass mirror. The next task wast section forthe mirror to rest thought Thad done okay, happened as the mirror was used. Almost everyone who picked it up placed it back down with the mirror side down. All of my attention had been on the side with the ‘or —but the back side is ust as important. ‘Okay, another mirror, this time with a carved intial onthe back: Much better. And. T thought about making a version with a ‘url veneer inlaid ason the music box. Gee ‘what happens when you're having fun.) NEW FACES. One of the most amazing ‘thingsthat'shappenedinthepastyearis the growth of the Woodsmith Catalog, We ‘Slarteditasaserviceto show the projectsin the back issues of Woodsmith and to in- ‘clude some information on project supplies. Itjust keeps growing and now it's all we ‘can do to keep up with the phone calls and ‘themail. Fortunately, wehavea great group ofpeoplewhoare anxioustotake yourorder and help in any way they can. ‘That group is growing again. Linda Mor row (our customer service manager) asked ‘me if she could hire a few more people for the all season. [said sure—butonly iftheir first names begin with the letter“ ‘Wouldn't you know it, she hired Jennie, Janice, Jerry and Jozlyn (who's also known ‘as Josiy. ‘Also, when Archie retired, Ken joined ustohelp outwith the b tenance. (Of course, Ken's wife helps out sometimes too. Her name is Jan. So we're backon those “y's” again.) NEXT MAILING, The December Woodsmith (No. 72) wil be mailed during the week of December 1, 1990 Woodsmith,A | Contents Tips & Techniques LOOK INSIDE [GA Special Tips Contest and six great tips from fellow woodworkers: 1) Contour Boring Jig.2) A Vise Helper 3) Router Table Dowels. 4) Pilot Hole Marker. 5) Wing Nut Wrench. 6) Hinge Mounting Helper We built this Toy Box with kids in mind. Two adjustable lid supports prevent the lids from slamming down on litile fingers. And to make iteasy to move ‘we put iton casters ] This routed Hand Mirror makesan elegant addition to any dresser Paper Gripper And the carved initial make this a truly personal gift GG] 1) Routing a Corner Radius. 2) Pho ©! tocopy Transfer. 3) Ironing Veneer 4) Hinge Locator Pins, Walnut burl veneer and an inlaid BB) cccent strip hightight the lid of this classic Music Bor. We took a cue from the local diner and designed a Paper Gripper that can be built in short order [Talking Shop Night Light We have information on a self-cen- tering hinge bit. Plus, we look at laying out boards and give a few tips for sanding on a lathe ] Built from solid cherry, this Night I Light adds a friendly glow to any room. And with four interchangeable panels, it will adapt toalmost any mood. [By] Hardware and project supplies BE sera for the prcocta in this tue ‘Woodsmith page 6 Hand Mirror Music Box page 18 Night Light page 26 |“FROM FELLOW WOODWORKERS | When [need to drill accurate holes in contoured legs or any ‘odd-shaped workpiece, Imakea jig to hold the workpiece se ccrely in position on the drill press table, refer to Fig 2. ‘Tomake thejig startby joint | ing one edge of a 2x6 or 2x8 fat and square. (This provides a stable surface to sit on my drill press able.) Next trae the con- tour of the workpiece WI often need to hold long jig, Keeping the edge to be boards edgeup for dowelin drilled parallel with the jig's mortising, or planing. But its jointed edge,seeFig.1.Thencut hard to do this with only one ‘outthe contour onthe ban vise. So, along with the vise at ‘Now place the jointed edge of one end of my bench, I use an thejigonthe drilipresstable,set inexpensive metal sheif bracket the workpiece into the cutout at the other end to hold up the area, and drill, see Fig 2. Tong stock, see Fig. Louis C. Johnson Thebracket hooks intoa shelf ‘Davenport, Iowa standard that's mounted on the Tips & Techniques | CONTOUR BORING JIG VISE HELPER bench leg. These standards come inmany lengths, andallow the bracket to be adjusted up or down to suitthe size ofthe wood ‘being worked. covered the top edge of the shelfbracket witha piece of spit ‘garden hose to prevent marring the wood, see Fig. La ‘Jokn O. MeDonalad Englishtown, New Jersey ROUTER TABLE DOWELS When Ihave a project that re- ‘quires short lengths of hard- | wood dowels, [make my own the router table, see Fig. 1. It | saves money, and the dowels’ | grain and color match therest of the project. | Tstart with a square piece of stock the exact width and thick: nessasthe desired dowel diame ter, but at least four inches longer than the desired length, To make a ¥4"diameter dowel for example, first cut some 34" 44” stock to rough length. “Then, mount" rou bit in the router table. (The radius of the roundover bi tobehalfthe desired diameter of the dowel) It's very important | thatthe curing edgeotthebitbe ‘mounted lush with the table top and with the fence ‘Tomill the square stockintoa the router table and the fence round dowel, press the stock Now turn the stock 90° and rout inst the round-over bitabout the adjacent side, see Fig. 2 2" from the left end, see Fig. 1. Then rout the other sides in the Then push the stock to the eft, same manner. Finally, cut the stopping about 2" from the right dowel to length end, This leaves. flat surface for Steve Barrett holding the stock safely against Kalispell, Montana Editor's Note: This tec nique works fine for /e"diame- ter dowels and larger. On thin nerpicces,thestock vibratest00 much as it passes over the router bit. For a jig to make amaller diameter dowels, see ‘Woodsmith No. 39, ‘Woodsmith