Online Extras for the June 2010 issue include a video of the “Dovetail Tape Trick” – as well as a few of our other blue-tape favorites, a video of the trim router and baseplate in action, a free SketchUp model of the White Water Shaker Table, a free SketchUp model of the Queen Anne dressing table, a free SketchUp model of the stool featured in Barnard’s article and more. Read more
June 2010 #183
The cover project of the June 2010 of Popular Woodworking is a Queen Anne dressing table. It’s “high style” on the outside, but the interior is a cinch to make.
Dale Barnard shows you how a simple plywood jig can create accurate Arts & Crafts Through-tenons.
In building a reproduction of a White Water Shaker table, Christopher Schwarz uncovers some details that are atypical for a Shaker piece – and some that are just downright strange.
David Charlesworth shows how to tune up and use scraper planes in the war against tear-out.
Rob Millard outlines a clever technique when banding inlay for curves.
Learn about taming the top-heavy router by replacing your router’s base with a shop-made version.
George R. Walker explains how mouldings emphasize a form and provides techniques for proportions and layout in this issue’s Design Matters column.
Bob Flexner answers 20 staining questions based on the articles he has written for Popular Woodworking.
Using period inventories and other sources, Peter Follansbee helps piece together the puzzle of a 1600s Joiner’s Tool Kit.
We review a new track in routers in this issue’s Tool Test.
The I Can Do That project is a picnic of a build.
Detailed article previews are below. Online Extras (downloads, links, etc.) for this issue can be found inside each article.
[description]Articles from the June 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine[/description][keywords]Popular Woodworking Magazine, Magazine Articles, Technique Articles, Project Articles, Tool Reviews, Finishing[/keywords]
End Grain: Sandpaper Drawer
The lessons I learned from Dad’s crumpled and worn-out abrasives.
By Joe Barnhart
Page: 64
From the June 2010 issue #183
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Whether you’re a professional or hobbyist woodworker, having a keen sense of proper material utilization reduces the cost of projects while extending increasingly hard-to-find resources. Conservation means taking advantage of carefully thought-out plans, cut lists and diagrams, board selection and myriad other techniques – all while avoiding mistakes.
Building Baltic birch plywood drawer boxes the other day, it dawned on me that I’d forgotten to allow space for the full-extension slides. I’m avoiding my accompanying phraseology here; let’s just say I threw an immature tantrum, then trimmed the parts. Later, I wondered what childhood woodworking experience would cause such a negative reaction.
Article: Read “Under the Rope and Into the Doghouse.”
Article: read “It’s OK to Make Mistakes.” Read more
Flexner on Finishing: Twenty Questions
Did I mention there would be a quiz?
By Bob Flexner
Pages: 60-61
From the June 2010 issue #183
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Here are 20 questions, together with the answers, based on my articles from Popular Woodworking. If you have been reading regularly, you should do well.
For more in-depth explanations, go to popularwoodworking.com/finishing, where you’ll find many of the articles, and you can find explanations in my book, “Understanding Wood Finishing.”
Articles: Visit the “Flexner on Finishing” archive.
To buy: Bob Flexner’s book, “Understanding Wood Finishing.” is available at Amazon.com.
Video: Wood Whisperer applies varnish.
Article: Read Bob Lang’s “An Authentic Art & Craft Finish.” Read more
Great Woodshops: Country Workshops
This sylvan school offers a wide variety of classes in woodworking and more.
By Stuart Page
Pages: 58-59
From the June 2010 issue #183
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Country Workshops began when Drew Langsner and his wife, Louise, moved from California to the Smoky Mountains. On their farm, a 15-minute drive from the nearest tarmac, they’ve built a two-story cabin by hand, which took two years (and an infinite amount of patience) to build.
As I drive the path to the Langsner farm, I marvel at their beautiful buildings: the old tobacco drying barn used as a workshop and guest quarters; and Drew and Louise’s cabin farther up the hill, which looks out over the valley below. Nestled in the trees of the surrounding woodlan is a second guest lodge. And just when you think things can’t get better, you eat some of Louise’s home-cooked food (picked from the garden) and watch the sun set over the valley.
I stayed above the workshop in student accommodations, where it is pleasantly cool even in the summer heat. The rooms are Spartan but comfortable, with plenty of craft books for bedtime reading. I found myself diving into tomes about knife-making before falling asleep to the sounds of the forest.
If you’re looking for a five-star hotel, look elsewhere. But if you want simple comforts, healthy food in workingman’s portions, warm fires and good company then Country Workshops is what you’re looking for.
Web site: Contact Country Workshops.
Article: Read about Roy Underhill’s The Woodwright’s School.
Article: Discover John Wilson’s The Home Shop.
Article: Read about the College of the Redwoods.
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New Life for an Old Table Saw
By Steve Shanesy Pages: 54-55 From the June 2010 issue #183 Buy this issue now The dream of a “barn find” looms large in most people’s imagination, whether it’s 1,000 board feet of 18″-wide walnut or a ’67 Mustang (pony interior, of course). Problem is, it rarely happens to you. My turn came last fall … Read more
Jig Journal: Shop-made Saw Vise
A must-have device for sharpening saws.
By Robert W. Lang
Pages: 52-53
From the June 2010 issue #183
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One of the cardinal rules of woodworking is that the purchase of one tool begets the need for several others. Sawing by hand is both easier and more accurate than many people think, provided the saw is sharpened properly. Old saws can be an incredible bargain, and if you’re a frugal sort you likely won’t want to spend a lot on sharpening equipment.
There are three things you need: a triangular file to make the teeth sharp, a saw set to bend the teeth away from the body of the blade and a vise to hold the blade while you work. A file costs about $5 and a new saw set less than $20. But a new saw vise will set you back more than $120 – unless you make your own.
This was the problem we faced a couple years ago when we held a hands-on saw sharpening class at the 2008 Woodworking in America conference. We needed 50 saw vises and we didn’t have a lot of time or money. So we looked at some vintage vises, consulted a saw guru and came up with this design.
Any hardwood will do; we used odds and ends we had in our shop of ash, poplar, cherry and oak. Most of the joinery is simple butt joints reinforced with yellow glue and #8 screws. The jaws sit in shallow rabbets in the two uprights, and should be held in place with screws only. You will likely want to modify the jaws at some point to accommodate a different saw, or tweak the way the jaws hold the saw blade.
A saw vise does two things: It puts the blade at a convenient height and the jaws keep the blade from vibrating as you file. Before you follow our plan, however, give some thought to the type and size of saws you plan on working with, and don’t be afraid to change the size or shape of the jaws.
Lacking 50 bench vises at our conference location, we made the base so we could secure the saw vise to a workbench with a couple Fstyle clamps. The addition of a square block secured below the base will allow you to hold the saw vise easily in your bench vise.
Video: Watch Thomas Lie-Nielsen’s video on “Techniques and Sharpening.”
Web site: Read detailed sharpening instructionsin Pete Taran’s “Saw Filing – A Beginner’s Primer” on VintageSaws.com.
Buy: Shop for saw sharpening supplies, including files, sets and a modern saw vise from Tools for Working Wood.
In our store: Purchase “The Perfect Edge,” Ron Hock’s new book on sharpening.
Read more
Taming the Top-heavy Router
Replace your router’s base with one that is oversized and stable. By Robert W. Lang Pages: 50-51 From the June 2010 issue #183 Buy this issue now The router can be a great friend in the woodshop, but it’s one of those friends with character traits that aren’t welcome in all situations. Like the fraternity … Read more