Popular Woodworking Magazine » November 2010

Online Extras: November 2010 Issue

Article Index — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:48:03 +0000

Online Extras for the November 2010 issue include the free SketchUp model for the Hanging Corner Cupboard, the free SketchUp model for the Contemporary Shelves, the complete SketchUp model for the William & Mary Bookstand and more. Read more »

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End Grain: Repurposed, Reimagined

Article Index — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:45:12 +0000

Morgan library pieces get extended shelf life. By Brendan Isaac Jones Page: 64From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowThe call came as monumental calls do – in the middle of hanging upper cabinets.“My name is D—, and I need you to build me two walk-in closets using J.P. Morgan’s Library.”I sent a tack into the cabinet, stepped onto the porch, and asked D— to please repeat herself.“I’m purchasing about 20 pieces of J.P. Morgan’s Library – the financier, who lived at 36th and Madison in New York? I need you to rebuild it into closets.”Web site: Visit Brendan's blog and web site. Web site: Read a history of the Morgan library. Read more »

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Flexner on Finishing: Wiping Varnish

Article Index — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:38:45 +0000

A method of brushing onto a complex surface. By Bob Flexner Pages: 54-56From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowWiping varnish might be the most popular hand-applied finish used by woodworkers. It’s popular because it’s just as easy to apply as oil finishes but much more moisture, scratch, heat and solvent resistant.You can make wiping varnish yourself by thinning any oil-based alkyd or polyurethane varnish about half with mineral spirits (paint thinner), or you can buy it from a large number of manufacturers.Unfortunately, these manufacturers create confusion with their labeling. Most use uninformative names with the intention of making you think you’re buying something unique. The variety of names used also puts up barriers to the treatment of this fi nish as a category, similar to lacquer or water-based fi nish, with application instructions that apply to all brands.I’ve written about wiping varnish a number of times because I believe it’s the best finish for most of those woodworkers who just want a fi nish that’s easy and foolproof, it and produces great results.Article: Read more about Bob's method for cleaning and storing your brushes. To buy: Bob's new book, "Flexner on Finishing," is available at shopwoodworking.com. Web site: Read more finishing articles. Article: Read Bob's story on applying gel varnish. Read more »

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Aging Your Projects Gracefully

Article Index — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:32:26 +0000

Part 1: Adding wear and tear to a piece is like writing a convincing tale of fiction. By Michael Dunbar Pages: 50-53From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowIt’s your day off. So, you go into your shop to make a new piece of furniture. How do you want it to look when you’re done? Well, it’s a new piece. So, that’s how it should look – new. You gently sand out every blemish from the raw wood. You carefully apply the fi nish. You rub it down until it is so perfect it gleams. There it is. Not a flaw.A growing number of woodworkers have a different impulse. When they complete a piece of furniture, they want it to look like it has been kicked around for a couple hundred years. They want their furniture to look worn and used. How did this trend get started? Follow the money. These furniture makers discovered that well-heeled customers are willing to pay for this look.Article: Read Michael Dunbar's blog. Web site: Visit the web site of The Windsor Institute. To buy: "American Windsor Furniture: Specialized Forms," by Nancy Goyne Evans. In our store: Our new "Flexner on Finishing" book will help you try different finishes to age your pieces. Read more »

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Fit Doors with Ticking Sticks

Article Index — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:27:18 +0000

A traditional trick used by carpenters can help you fit doors into almost any irregular opening. By Carl Bilderback Pages: 48-49From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowFitting inset doors into a face frame cabinet is a task that even veteran cabinetmakers would rather avoid. Unless the corners of the face frame are perfectly square, and the door’s rails and stiles are straight, the usual procedure is often time consuming and frustrating.You know the drill: Check all the corners of the face frame with your square, put a straightedge on the door’s rails and stiles to check for any humps or hollows. Typically you discover that the frame has some problems. So you make the door with enough extra length and width to allow for fitting the door to the frame. At this point there are different ways to advance the process, but the bottom line is that with enough trying and fitting with a handplane you end up with a door that fits the frame with a nice equal margin on all four sides – maybe.Some 25 or 30 years ago I read about a procedure usually used by carpenters called “The Ticking Stick Method” for fitting countertops and the like into spaces with irregular shapes and angles. This method is simplicity itself because it allows for a near-perfect fit using only a stick that has a long taper and a sharp point on one end, a piece of cardboard and a pencil. That’s right – no square, no sliding bevel and no tape measure is required.Although this article deals with fitting flush cabinet doors to the face frame, this system is adaptable to solve many other problems that you may encounter.Article: Read Carl Bilderback's article on how to install a Dutchman. Web site: Visit the web site of the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association. Video: Want more explanation of how ticking sticks work? Watch this free video from the editors. In our store: Our "Cabinetmaking Essentials" DVD will get you started building cabinets. Read more »

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Cut, Glue & Sand Veneer

Article Index — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:53:46 +0000

Part 2: Simple and inexpensive tools are the core of a successful veneering job. By Marc Adams Pages: 40-47From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowFor nearly 30 years I have worked with veneer as one of my principal materials in all my furniture pieces. What I enjoy the most about working with veneer is that it’s a form of “silent” woodworking. It can be done without the running of loud machinery. It offers more design opportunities, is forgiving and offers a great way to embellish any type of project. I love the challenge of cutting, arranging and pressing veneer. Even today there is a thrill of taking a finished panel out of the press to see the results.The darker side of veneer is taking that finished panel out of the press and finding that it has some kind of failure, especially after all that effort.Working with veneer involves skill – not talent. Anyone can do it. The process involves cutting veneer, arranging it, taping, choosing the proper glue and core, pressing, removing the tape, sanding and preparing it for finish. Each step is a process of its own that will make the next step easier and more successful. Blog: Read Robert W. Lang's blog entries about his visit to a veneer mill. Web site: Visit the web site for the Marc Adams school of Woodworking. To buy: Get veneer from Certainly Wood. In our store: "The Woodworker's Guide to Veneering & Inlay," by Jonathan Benson. Read more »

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The Forgotten Miter Box

Article Index — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:43:15 +0000

Once common, the miter box has been relegated to garage sales. Here’s why you should find one for your workshop. By Ron Herman Pages: 36-39From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowI build houses for a living, and I have a full array of power equipment at my disposal. Yet, when I trim out a house or construct built-ins, I almost always turn to one of my manual miter boxes.These nearly forgotten tools are more accurate than power saws. They can handle stock and mouldings that many power saws struggle with. And they are cheap, rugged and are hiding under every rock (if you know where to look).In fact, miter boxes have always been a staple of my family’s construction business, and I think they should be in your workshop as well. So here’s an introduction to one of my favorite tools.Web site: Read about backsaws and other saws on our site. Web site: Visit the web site of the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association. Join and attend a tool meet. To buy: Lie-Nielsen Toolworks makes replacement miter box saws in custom sizes. In our store: "Handtool Essentials" contains lots of great articles on saws and getting started in hand work. Read more »

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Hanging Corner Cupboard

Article Index — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:35:24 +0000

Scrollwork and a tombstone panel door add a stylish challenge. By Mark Arnold Pages: 30-35From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowA 7'-tall corner cabinet is impressive, but can be a daunting project for someone with little shop time. Traditional corner cupboards require a commitment – not just of time and resources, but of space in one’s home.Because the eye is drawn to the intersection of two planes (walls), however, the corner of a room is the perfect location to show off a prize piece of furniture. A small hanging cupboard is a logical compromise and has several advantages: It can be just as dramatic as its larger cousin and its dimensions are easily changed to fit in just about any corner.While the project shown here is my own design, variations of this form were built during the 18th century, some having one, two or three pendant shelves, a door with multiple panels and sometimes even a drawer below the door.This is a good beginner project because it presents angles other than 90° and can be built in a relatively short period of time, and usually of scrap material at hand. It also provides experience in tombstone panel door construction, multiple-piece crown moulding fabrication, vector clamping and the cutting and fairing of scrolled edges. The scrollwork on the apron, back and shelves is easily altered for changes in dimensions and aesthetics.Although this cabinet is an amalgam of details seen on other similar pieces, I borrowed some of the scroll elements from the aprons of tables and case pieces. These elements consist of three basic parts – arcs, fillets and ogees (or cyma curves). Arcs give a feeling of lightness to a piece because they require the removal of material. They can also repeat curve shapes, such as a tombstone panel, used elsewhere on a piece. Ogees serve to keep the eye in motion as it traces the serpentine outline. Arranged back-to-back, ogees lend a sense of symmetry where there would otherwise be none. Fillets provide beginning and ending points for the other two elements and are useful when a change in direction is needed. When used in concert, these elements can add visual excitement to an otherwise mundane piece. By scaling or stretching the various elements, virtually any two points can be bridged with decorative scrollwork.Web site: Visit Mark's web site to see more of his work. Article: Build Glen D. Huey's "American Corner Cabinet." Web site: Discover the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM). To read: "Making Furniture Masterpieces" by Franklin H. Gottshall In our store: "Building 18th-Century American Furniture" by Glen D. Huey Read more »

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I Can Do That: Contemporary Shelves

Article Index — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:27:01 +0000

Construction lumber dressed up for display. By Robert W. Lang Pages: 28-29From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowFor sturdy, attractive and affordable material to build these shelves, bypass the fancy stuff at the front of your local home center and head for the back where they keep the lumber intended for use as rafters and floor joists.In my neighborhood the available wood is Southern yellow pine. In other parts of the country you might fi nd Douglas fir, spruce or another species. When logs are milled for construction lumber, this is where the good stuff goes.Three 12'-long 2x12s will provide enough material to build the shelves as shown. You may have to cut them (or have them cut) to get them home, but longer lengths will be straighter and of better quality than short stuff. Pick through the stack and select the straightest, nicest looking pieces.Look at the ends of the boards, and avoid any with a tight circle in the rings in the middle of the board, which tells you that the board came from the middle, or heart, of the tree. As the wood dries and shrinks, this is the most likely part to cup and split. These boards will likely be relatively damp, and you should expect some movement as they dry.You can hasten the drying process by cutting the boards to rough lengths. Let them sit for a while to acclimate to your environment. The parts don’t need to be perfect for this project to be a success, but the straighter they are, the easier it will be to put your shelves together.Plan: Download the free SketchUp plan for the Contemporary Shelves. Articles: All the "I Can Do That" articles are free online. In our store: Read about flush-cut saws in the Autumn 2007 issue of Woodworking Magazine. Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: Bookstand: A William & Mary Rarity

Article Index — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:15:56 +0000

A maximum skills test using minimal materials. By Charles Bender Page: 24-26From the November 2010 issue # 186 Buy this issue nowImportant books have long been a symbol of education and wealth in Western culture since before Gutenberg rolled out his first Bible. Up until the mid-17th century, the fact that someone could read was usually a significant status symbol – and even today, important books often denote elite status. Naturally, if you owned an important book, you wanted a way to display it so everyone could see it. Enter the ever-enterprising cabinetmaker.After you’ve studied furniture as long as I have, you begin to look for pieces to build that are unique and rare. This bookstand is definitely one rarity worth a second look by any scholar and/or woodworker.Bookstands are scarce in any period, but William & Mary bookstands are particularly rare. It’s very possible this is because fine book ownership was rare during the period.The thing that struck me most when I first saw this bookstand was the maker’s sense of style. Whoever made it not only was aware of the latest construction techniques (note that the body of the piece is essentially a dovetailed box instead of a mortise-and-tenon frame), but also had an understanding of William & Mary design. The ball feet and cyma curves of the apron put this piece squarely in the realm of a professional cabinetmaker working in the most fashionable taste.Video: Think you have dovetails figured out? Watch Frank Klausz work his magic. Article: Continue with Frank Klausz to learn to master the mortise and tenon. Web site: Take a detailed and in-depth look at Thomas Jefferson's bookstand. To buy: Learn more about William & Mary furniture in our April 2010 issue (#182). In our store: Pick up a DVD on turning basics to get started in the right direction. Read more »

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