Tag Archives: August 2010

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Miter Half-lap Joinery


With a router, straight bit and plywood scrap, turn a weak joint into a superhero of strength.
By Glen D. Huey
Page: 38

From the August 2010 issue #184
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One of the strongest joints in woodworking is a properly fit mortise-and-tenon and the opposite in strength is a simple butt joint. For years I built base frames with mortise-and-tenon joints at the rear and mitered corners at the front. The miters were joined with biscuits. The rear joints were much stronger, so I wanted to add strength to those mitered front corners, but how?

Not with mechanical fasteners; screws were out. I needed something quick to create and when assembled, I wanted the joint to retain a mitered look. The answer was a mitered half-lap joint. With a half-lap, there is plenty of fl at-grain glue surface, and that increases the holding power, big time.

Video: Watch how to build and use another dirt-simple router jig.
Article: Build a jig to make straight, square dados fit exactly where you want them to.
To buy: Pick up a copy of “Danny Proulx’s 50 Shop-Made Jigs & Fixtures.” Read more »

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The Return of Roubo

An 18th-century French workbench is quite possibly the most perfect design ever put to paper.
By Christopher Schwarz
Page: 28

From the August 2010 issue #184
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In the 18th century it was common for the workrooms and living areas of a home to share the same space. A workbench, for example, would not be out of place in the front room of the house.

This small historical fact has me concocting a plan, which I haven’t yet shared with my family.

My workshop at home is in a walkout basement. I’ve done what I can to make it pleasant, but it’s isolated from the rest of the house. This is on purpose: My planer and jointer sound like air-raid sirens.

During the brutal stock-preparation phase of a project, my shop is perfect. I can run machinery all day and bother no one. But when I get into the joinery of a project, I long for a shop with beams of natural light, wooden fl oors and a close connection to the day-to-day of my household.

In other words, I want to claim some space upstairs as a bench room.

Hold tight: This story isn’t just about me. It’s about you, too. A furniture-grade workbench is a great idea for apartment dwellers, or people who need to set up a shop in a spare bedroom of their house. It’s also a fi ne idea for people like me who plan (read: plan to grovel for permission) to do some woodworking in a living area of their home.

Lucky for all of us, one of the best-looking workbench designs is also the simplest to build and most useful, no matter if you have a love affair with your plunge router or your router plane.

Article: See a video demonstrating how to make 4° wedges.
Article: Read a detailed article on how to flatten a workbench’s top.
Blog: Read all of Christopher’s blog entries about workbenches.
To buy: Purchase a wood vise screw from Lake Erie Toolworks.
In our store: Purchase “Workbenches: from Design & Theory to Construction & Use.” Read more »

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I Can Do That: Step Stool

Whether stepping or sitting, this multi-purpose stool is sure to give your youngster a boost.
By Glen D. Huey
Page: 26

From the August 2010 issue #184
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You may not remember when you looked up at the sink, or when you climbed up to the potty – but if you’d had a few extra inches on your legs, things would have been so much easier. This stool can do that for youngsters – and help you clean out your scrap bin, too.

This column generally begins with a trip to buy lumber, but you probably have the needed material – scraps – floating around your shop. This especially holds true if you paint this piece instead of go all wack-nutty with fi gured maple like I did. But if you need wood, simply head off to the store with your cut sheet in hand.

On this project, you can cut the pieces to size at the beginning of the build (most times it’s better to cut to length and width as you need the parts in case things change). Once the parts are cut, the majority of the work is on the sides; they get laid out, drilled and shaped.

Slide show: We took extra step photos while building this piece – though you can build it with what’s printed here. See the extra shots online.
Plan: Download the free SketchUp plan for the step stool.
Articles: All our “I Can Do That” articles are free online.
Read more »

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Arts & Mysteries: Tallow Tales & the Black Handplanes of Britain

Puzzling Lubrication.
By Roy Underhill
Page: 24

From the August 2010 issue #184
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I ran out of mutton tallow this morning! I searched my tool chests, under the benches and in the drawers hoping to find just enough white magic to ease the passage of the big jointer plane up and down the long shooting board. But all the grease boxes were licked clean – the cupboard was bare. Must … find … tallow!

It was a set of smelly black British planes that started me down the slippery slope of the tallow trail. Unlike American planes, British planes are often black from ceaseless soaking in linseed oil and relentless rubbing with tallow – a practice that was perhaps not so good in the long run. Aside from linseed oil turning planes black with age and dirt, the royal armorers at the Tower of London have recently discovered that the walnut stocks of the Brown Bess muskets that they have been rubbing with linseed oil since the time of King George are getting a bit soft. They now recommend that you switch over to wax after 250 years or so.

Video: “The Woodwright’s Shop” episode in which Roy makes his dovetailed puzzle grease box is available free online.
Blog: Kari Hultman (“The Village Carpenter”) makes Roy’s puzzle box.
Web site: Take a class at “The Woodwright’s School” in Pittsboro, N.C.
To buy: Roy’s latest book is “The Woodwright’s Guide : Working with Edge and Wedge.”
Read more »

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Design Matters: Sublime Echoes

Repetition of proportion and shape can create design harmony.
By George R. Walker
Page: 22

From the August 2010 issue #184
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Depending on your canoe route, Little Crooked Lake is about two days of paddling and portaging from the nearest highway. It’s worth it. On a still morning, you can hear the smallest sound carry across the fog-shrouded water and echo off the steep rocky shoreline. A wood thrush pipes its fl ute-like song and the music folds back on itself to transform the solo into a chorus. I fi rst hiked into Little Crooked intending to catch a fi sh dinner. The fish weren’t hungry, but I took away memories of those haunting echoes that I still relish. I don’t know why echoes can capture our imagination. They don’t have to be loud; sometimes it’s the small, subtle echoes that engage something deep within us.

Blog: George R. Walker writes three times a week on the Design Matters blog.
Blog: Read about Editor Christopher Schwarz’s visit to George R. Walker’s shop.
In our store: George R. Walker’s DVDs.
Read more »

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Tool Test: Bosch Solves Your Drilling and Driving Commitment Issues

From the August 2010 issue #184
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If you’ve been slow to step up and spend your hard-earned money on an impact driver because you’re not sure if you would use the tool enough to justify the cash outlay, Bosch has introduced a tool that should ease your commitment issues.

Bosch’s 18v Lithium-ion Impact Drill/Driver (26618-01) offers an ideal combination of torque, speed and control, all within a single tool. It has three-modes: an impact mode, so you can put the tool to use when sinking long screws or when ratcheting nuts and bolts, and two drill modes that satisfy all your standard drill-driver duties.

Article: Impact drivers made the “Best New Tools” list two years running. Read more at popularwoodworking.com/aug10. Read more »