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Shop-Built Workbench .

Raised Panel Routing Jig

ssue 7 January 1993
EDITOR Donald B. Pesehke
ISSOCI~TE EDITOR Richard S. Peters
coNml eunnc EDITOR Phillip A. Totten
ART DIRECTOR Gary Christensen
SENIOR I L L UMT OR K~l ' t Sch~l t2
Iwusmrrons Will Niskanen
Roger Reiland
Mark Higdon
PHOTOGRAPHER Crayola England
DESlCNEa Kent Welsh
SHOP YLN~CER Steve Curtis
Cimdatim hda r : LizBredem-Su6srriptzOn
Mamger: PhyULF Jessen . Cir&tim Analyst
Rod Cain- Newsstand Sales: Kent A BneMon
Aasoeiola Edito?:Gordon C. Gape. S7 Graphic
D e s i p : Robert H. Whitmer
Conhu1lw:Paul E. Gray. Aecm%biw Linda O'
Rourke - Bookkeeping: Julianne Spears -Z*fo.
Sewices Manager. Joy- Moore . Netwnrk
Admi*: Douglas M. Lidster . Administrative
As&.: Cheryl Scott, Jdja Fish Receptimist
Jeanne Johnson . Bldg. M&t:Ken G a t h
Marketing Di7ector. Robert Muny .ArtD(rec-
tor Cindy Jackon . Customer Sewice MF:
Laura MeNelly . Prqled Supplies: Linda Jones
.Technical Supp&:JeffJanes .Systems apara-
tor: Linda Momow nReeeptionist Keri Lea
S d e Supemisor Jennie Enos = Customer
Sovice Rep7esentative.s Jennifer Murphy, Joy
Johnson, Sara Kono, Ami Blanshan, AnnaCox,
Chris Lo
ha. h Mcvex Chuek~m, Sylvia Csrey
ShopNotee (ImN 162-9696> is pubbhed bimonthly
( J a w , &h, May, July, Septetebebe,Nwemherl by
WoodsmithCornorstlo". 2200 GrandAve.. Des Moinea
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ShopNoteekatrademk of WoodsrmthCorporation.
eopylight 1993by WoodsmithCorporation.All
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PostmS.de.: Sendchange of address to ShopNotes,
Box 11204. Dm Moines, 1A50340-1204
Subseriptioa Buestioas? Cau 1-800-333-5854, 8am
ow many times have you
heard, "that's the way it has
always been done."
All to often woodworkers get "bogged
down" thinking about the way things
should be done, and we don't think about
the way things could be done.
WORKBENCH. A perfect example of
this is the Workbench featured in this
issue. Paditionally the top of a work-
bench is glued up kom several pieces to
form a large, thick slab.
This requires a large amount of wood
(which can be expensive). And a good
deal of time and effort.
What we wanted was the look of a
traditional bench without the work.
Kent Welsh (our Designer) came up
with a different approach. The top of
the bench starts with a plywood foun-
dation. Then thin hardwood strips are
glued on. Less wood, less effort.
probably noticed that a good portion of
this page is taken up by a rather official
looking document. It's called a Publish-
er's Statement. Once a year the Post
Office requires us to print this. Basically
it lets everyone know how many issues
are printed, and how they're distributed.
Now, I'll admit that I sometimes
loose track of time, but when Phyllis
Jessen (our Subscription Manager) re-
minded me to included the Publisher's
Statement in this issue, I was shocked.
Having to fill out the the Publisher's
Statement was like getting a birthday
card. It reminded me that one year had
passed since ShopNotes was '%om."
The past year has been very exciting
(and very husy) for all of us. The re-
sponse t o ShopNotes has been better
than we hoped. We now have over
165,000 paid subscribers.
I want to thank all of you for helping
us through the first year. And to let you
know that we have lots of great pro-
(Requjred by 39 U.S.C. 3685)
1. Title of Publication: ShapNotes. la. Publication No.: 10629696.2. Date of Filing: September
24.1992.3. Freauencvafissue: Bimonthlv. 3a. No. ofissues~ublishedannuailv: 6 (six). 3b.Annual
subscription pri&: $16.95.4. Complete mkingaddress af&own M e e ofpubkcatim: 2200 Grand
Avenue, Des Moines, (Polk County), Iowa 50312~5306. 5. Complete miling address of the
Managing Editor: Terry J. Stmhman, 2200 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50312.7. owner;
. -
9. (Does not a<pl~..) 10. Extent and nature of circulation:
to filing date
A. Total no. copies orinted (net orem run) ................. 184.400 199,000
B. Paid andio&eqiested c&&tion:
D. Free distribution by mail, carrier or other means. samples,
complimentary, and other free copies.. ............ .: ........ 26
F. Copies not distributed
1. Office use, left aver, unaccounted, spoiled after printing 20,849
2. Retmsfrom newsagents.. ........................ 12,245
11. I certifv that the statements made bv me above are m m d and comolete.
(signed) Donald B. Peschke, ~ublishLri~ditor
ShopNotes No. 7
I --
fbised enel Jig 4
Rout a perfect ra~sed panel door or drawer usfng a
route< a strafght b~t , and this shop-made jig
Raised Panel Jig
Block Plane 7ips 8
From planin; end and edge grain to trimming small
pieces, here's a few tips that will provide crisp, clean
cuts every time.
Sanding a 5urface Flat 10
2 it takes to produce a perfectly flat surface is a belt
sander and four simple steps.
Rust Removal 12
Practical solutions for removing rust and restoring tools
to a usable condition.
Keyless Chucks 14
Changing drill bits without a chuck key is quick and easy
wfth this handy accessory for your portable drill.
Workbench 16
This workbench features a solid base that knocks down
easily and a top that's built up of plywood and thin
hardwood strips.
Shop-Made Kse 23
A massive wood face, iron guide rods, and a manufac-
tured vise screw combine to provide even clamping
pressure that holds a workpiece tight.
Four shop-tested tips: Dowel Cutting Jig, Shop-Made
Bench Clamp, Rip Fence Alignment Gauge, anda Glue
Brush Tip.
Board Footage 30
Calculating board feet takes the guesswork out of de-
termining the cost of a project.
Sources 31
Hardware, project supplies, and mail order sources for
the projects in this issue.
Shop-Made Vise Page 23
Al l that's needed to make a raised
panel i s a router, a n o~di nar y
st mi ght bit, and this simplejig.
ometimes a jig works out
even better than expected.
We originally designed this
raised panel jig to rout square or
rectangular pieces. But after
working on it, we found that a
simple modification allows you to panel is passed under the router.
rout curved raised panels as well. This creates an angled border
. , . . .
Regardless of the shape, the around the edges of the panel
principle of the jig is the same. that "raises" a field in the center. . .:
The router is held at an angle BASE. I began work by making -
over the workpiece. Then the the plywood base (A), see Fig. I.
The base can be as big as you like.
It just needs to he large enough - ..
to support the workpiece. (In my , :: ~.
case, the base is 24" square.) ~-
FENCE. Once the base is cut to
size, a hardwood fence is in-
stalled. The fence (B) is serewedin
a shallow dado in the base, see Fig.
la. When routing a curved panel,
the fence is replaced with a "pin."
(For more on making curved
raised panels, refer to page 7.)
The heart of the jig is the &age
assembly.This assembly suspends .a': -
the router at an angle over the
workpieee. Since the router is . ; -
tilted, an ordinaxy straight bit can " . .~
he used to rout the angled border.
GUIDE RODS. The router is held ..-?*
at an angle by a pair of guide rods,
see Fig. 1. These rods are 16"
lengths of 1A"dia. steel rod that I
hought at the hardware store.
(There's also a source on page 3 1 .)
are supported by a guide rod block
(GI. This is two 3A"-thick pieces of
hardwood glued together, see Fig.
2. Then two holes are drilled to
accept the ends of the guide rods.
The trick is to tilt the rods at a 8
slight angle. This angle eventu-
ally determines the angle of the
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border on the raised panel. To
create theangle, the bottomedge
of the block is beveled before glu-
ing and screwing it to the base,
see Fig. 2a. Then the rods are
epoxied in the holes.
s LmmG PLATFORM. With the
rods in place, the next step is to
add a sliding platform. The plat-
- . .. . .. .
fonn carries the router back and
. -. - . forth on the guide rods to in-
. ..
crease the width of the border. It -.
. . .~
& consists of three parts: a mount-
- - . ~ ing plate, a pair of rails, and a
. finger guard, see Figs. 3 and 6.
-. ivqplate (D) is a piece of V4" Ma-
sonite that replaces the original
base of the router, see Fig. 3. (I
used the original base as a tem-
plate to locate the mounting holes
and the opening for the bit.)
WS. After marking and drill-
ing the holes, a pair of hardwood
rails (E) is added, see Fig. 3.
Holes at each end of the rails fit
over the guide rods and allow the
platform to slide back and forth.
To keep the platformhm bind-
ing, the holes need to align with
the guide rods and with each other.
To do this, I taped the rails to-
gether with double-sided tape and
thencentered the holes 71ht'apart,
see Fig. 4. Note. Sand these holes
lightly so the rails slide easily.
Before attaching the rails,
there's one more thing to do. And
that's to cut a kerf at each end of
om rail, see Fig. 5a. Later, this
rail ads as part of a clamping sys-
tem that locks the platform in
place. After cutting the kerfs, the
rails are glued and screwed to the
mounting plate, refer to Fig. 3.
CLAMP. NOW the clamp can he
completed. What makes the clamp
work is two carriage bolts that
pass through holes drilled in the
ends of the kerfed rail, see Fig.
3a. By tightening wing nuts on
the bolts, the kerfed ends of the
rail pinch against the guide rods
and lock the platform in place.
FINGER GUARD. The last step
is to add a finger guard. The
guard is a piece of V4" plexiglas
that's screwed loosely to the h n t
rail, see Fig. 6. Two slots and abev-
eled bottomcornerallowthe guard
to "rideup"ontop of the workpiece
as it's passed under the muter.
Slip a thin piece of
wood in the kerf to
prevent the drill bit
from binding.
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No. 7
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ShopNotes 5
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Raised Panels
Rout i ng a n arqled bordel- around
the edges of a panel creates a
'%aised"field in the center
One way to turn an ordinary pro- RABBET Since most panels are rahhets fonn a tongue that fits
jeet into something specialis with surrounded by a frame, the first into a groove in the h e .
a raised panel door or drawer. step is to fit the panel to the h e . Before routing the angled bor-
Making these panels is simple us- This requires rabbeting the edges der of the panel, there are two
ing a router and the raised panel on both sides of the panel (I use a things to consider: grain direc-
jig shown on page 4. hand-held muter), see Step 1. The tion and feed direction.
Raised Panels Step-by-step
A Step 1: Using a ?a8" rabbeting
bit, a rabbet is routed around the
edges of the panel on both sides.
A Step 2: After mounting the depth of cut so the edge of the bit
routeron theslidingplatform, po- is at the shoulder of the rabbet.
sition the platform and adjust the Then clamp the platform in place.
A Step 3: Make the first pass by making a series of passes, mov- A Step 4: Now sand the border
sliding the panel from left to right ing the slidingplatform in V4"incre- smooth and square up the shoul-
Then complete the border by ments between each pass. der with a beveled sanding block.
6 ShopNotes NO. 7
the amount of chi~out. the ends Curved Panels
(or end grain) of the panel are
routed first. Then, any chipout
can be cleaned up by routing the
sides (or edge grain).
F E ~ DIRECTION. Whether
you're muting ends or sides, each
pass is made by sliding the panel
Prom left to right. This way, the
clockwise rotation of the bit pulls
the panel against the fence.
SET-UP. Now you're ready to
"raise" the panel. After mounting
the muterto the slidingplatfonn,
the shoulder of the rabbet is used
as a guide to set up the jig, see A Step 1: After remov~ng the The dowel IS screwed in a
Step 2 on page 6. fence, ~nstall a short length of stopped hole that3 centered on
'Rmrra ox BORDER. When the %'-dla dowel as a rub block. the dado in the base.
first pass is completedaround the
entire vanel. the width of the bor-
der can be increased. To do this,
slide the platform up the guide
rods, tightenthe clamp, andmake
another pass around each edge.
Then just repeat the process until
the border is the desired width,
see Step 3 on page 6.
The beauty ofthisraisedpaneljig
is it can also be used to rout
noved panels.
RUB BLOCK. Qince the curved
edge doesn't conform t o the
straight line of the fence, the
fence is replaced with a ''rub
block," see Step 1. (I used a short
piece of 3A"-dia. dowel.) The
dowel is screwed in a hole that's
centered on the dado in the base.
rub block in place, the curved end
of the panel is routed in a series of
passes. The idea is ta pivot the
panel slightly as you slide the edge
against the rub block, see Step 2.
Ideally, you should end up with
a consistent width across the en-
tire border. If the width varies,
just make additional passes until
the border is a uniorm width.
A Step 2: With the curved edge slightly. To ensure thatthe border
of the panel r~ding against the is a conastent w~dth, make an
rub block, pivot the workpiece additional cleanup pass
lb complete theraisedpane1,re- A Step 3: Complete the panel by nal pass should create a border
place the rub block with the fence replac~ng the fence and routlng the same width as the border on
and rout along the straight edges. along the straight edges. The fl- the curved end of the panel
No. 7 ShopNotes 7
- -
Block Plane
Although small
any block planes spend
in size, a block
much of their life sitting
on a shelf. They're only called
plane can upon occasionally to plane some
tack le a large
troublesome end grain. But I find
variety of wood-
myself using a block plane all the
working tasks. time. 1 use it for planing both end
and edge grain, fitting joints, and
trimming small pieces.
SMALL SIZE. One reason why
I'm always reaching for my block
plane has to do withits size. Most
are small and light enough to slip
comfortably into a tool pouch or
apron pocket.
ONEHAND. Their small size and
light weight also makes the block
plane very easy to use. In fact,
they're designed to be used with
just one hand.
~CHNIQUE.AS with any hand
plane, you'll get better results
with a block plane if you follow a
few basic rules.
First, always keep the blade
razor sharp. And take a very shal-
low cut with a tight throat open-
ing, see drawing at right.
Second, to produce a shearing
cut that slices the wood cleanly, it
helps to skew the plane at an an-
gle to the workpiece, see photo.
TIPS. In addition to these basic
rules, there are a number of sim-
ple tips you can use to make a
block plane do more for you.
A To use a block plane, adjust
the throat for the narrowest open-
ing and take a very shallow cut.
Planing End Grain
H Planing end grain presents a
special problem. When a plane
blade passes over the end of a
workpiece, it can dig in and cause
the end to break or chip off.
There are however, a couple of
ways to prevent this.
TOWAIIDCZWmR. One simple
method is to plane from either
end of the workpiece toward the
center, see Fig. 1. This avoids the
problem by not allowing the
blade to catch on theunsupported
ends of the workpiece.
The only problem with doing
this is it can be difficult to plane a
straight edge that's both smooth
and flat.
ADD SUPPORT. The solution I
prefer is to clamp a scrap piece of
wood to the end of the workpiece,
see Fig. 2.
This way as you plane toward
the scrap piece, the scrap piece
supports the end fibers of the
workpiece so they don't break or
chip off.
8 ShopNotes No. 7
Squa* an Edge
@ . Traditionally, block planes have pull it toward you, see Fig. 1. This
been used for planing end grain. allows your fingers to wrap
But they can also be used to around the plane and form a
square up the edge of a board. The fence. Note: This method is quick,
idea is to stabilize the plane so it but it does take some practice.
makes a cut that's 90' to the face WOOD FENCE. An almost fool-
of the workpiece. proof way to get a 90" edge is to
FINGER FENCE. An easy way make a wood fence and clamp it
to do this is to wrap your fingers to the plane, see Fig. 2.
around the front of the plane and Note: For this to work, you'll
first need to make sure that the
side of the plane is 9Ooto the sole.
The only problem with using a
wood fence is the blade of the
plane doesn't extend all the way
to the edge of the plane body.
So to plane the entire edge of
the workpiece, you'll need to cut
a shallow rabbet in the face of the
fence, see Fig. 2a.
Tdrnrning 5rnall Pieces
w Small workpieces (such as trim
for a picture frame) have always
been a challenge to plane. Be-
sides being small, the trim is
often routed with a decorative
edge. And this makes them dif6-
cult to clamp in a vise.
Instead of trying to clamp the
workpiece in a vise, I hold the
plane stationary and draw the
workpiece over the blade to take
a the, controlled ''parin@ cut.
to do this is to hold the plane in
one hand tight against your body
with the blade pointing away
from you,see Fig. 1. Then holding
the workpiece in your other hand,
draw it slowly over the blade.
%INP JOINTER The other way
to do this is to simply clamp the
plane upside down in a vise.
This converts your block plane
into a "mini" jointer, see Fig. 2.
Then just push the workpiece
slowly over the sole of the plane
to trim it to size.
1 No. 7
t happens to every wood-
worker. You're gluing up sev-
eral pieces to make a table top or
panel. Then as you apply the
clamps, the pieces shift up and
down. And no matter how hard
you try, you end up with a work-
piece that isn't flat,
One of the fastest and most ef-
fective ways I know t o quickly
flatten a glued-up top or panel is
to use a belt sander.
Leveling a surface is a simple
four step process. The first step
is t o mark the high spots with a
pencil and a straight edge, refer
to Step 1. Note: A light will help
highlight the highs and lows.
REMOVEHIGIt9. Now load an 80
grit belt on your sander and ' hock
off' the high spots, refer to Step 2.
But don't sand with the grain. In-
stead, sand m s s the grain.
The first time someone saw me
do this, they thought it was amis-
take. But then I explained why it
works so well.
Basically, the sander rides on
top of the high spots and quickly
grinds them down. If you sand
with the grain, the sander rides
on both the highs and lows. This
results in a smooth surface-but
it's not flat.
The secret is to keep the belt
sander moving. If you don't, the
sander can gouge the surface and
Sanding a
Surface Flat
What's the quickest way to get a
surface flat? Use a belt sander and
this simple four-step process.
leave ridges and hollows. So keep
it moving at all times.
COMFORT. In order to do this,
you need to be as comfortable as
possible. There are two reasons
why this is important. First, lev-
eling a surface takes time. If
you're not comfortable, you may
rush the job and ruin the surface.
And second, you won't he able
to concentrate on controlling the
sander. The trick to concentra-
tionis to remove asmany distrac-
tions as possible.
DISTRACTIONS. The constant
whine of a belt sander can be very
distracting and even harmful.
Hearing protectors solve the
problem and allow you to concen-
trate on the job at hand.
Belt sanders also create a lot of
dust. A dust mask allows you to
sand for a longer period of time
and still breathe without choking.
Also, a belt sander cord has a
nasty habit of getting in the way.
To avoid this, just drape the cord
over your shoulder, see Fig. 1.
sand, use your hands and arms to
guide the sander. Most belt sand-
ers are heavy. They don't need
any more downward pressure
than the weight of the sander it-
self. The idea is to hold back on
the sander, not push down.
10 ShopNotes No. 7
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sAND~c~oss SURFACE. Now,
sand the entire surface across the
grain, refer to Step 3. Move the
sander up and back at a slight
angle -like a long, tall 'W."
In order to sand to the edge of
the workpiece, you11 need to ex-
tend the sander past the edge.
That's because theplaten(themet-
al plate the belt rides on) is only
four to five inches long - not the
full length of the sander, see Fig 2.
The tricky part is knowing
where this platen starts and
stops. To give yourself a visual SAND WITHGRAIN. Now load When the scratches are gone,
reference, try putting strips of on a fresh 80 grit belt and sand switch to a 120 grit belt and keep
tape on the top of the sander to the entire surface with the grain, sanding. The idea is to leave finer
mark the location of the platen, refer to Step 4. The goal is to scratches that can be removed
see Figs. 2 and 2a. remove the cross grain scratches. with a finish sander or by hand.
Step 1: Mark High Spots. Hold a straightedge
across the workpiece. Then mark the high spots.
Repeat every 2" for the length of the workpiece.
Step 2: Remove High Spots. Hold the sander 90"
to the gram and gently move the sander back and
forth over the marks. Don't stop m any one place
Step 3: Sand Across the Grain. Working right to Step 4: Sand With the Grain. Switch to a finer grit
left in a long " W pattern, move sander forward (or sanding belt Then remove all of the cross grain
backward) and slightly sideways at the same time. scratches by sanding with the grain.
4 Rust
wsty tools don't need t o gather
st. A few r ust removal products
restore them to a usable condition.
&.That's rust and dried to a paintable sur- ping pad, see Photo B. (I buy these
&end of mine face l i e the primer coat on a car. pads at the local hardware store.)
thought when he bought a rusted
table saw at a local farm auction.
But after surveying the corroded
top, I wasn't so sure.
To get a better look at the con-
dition of the table, we removed
the dirt and loose rust with a wire
brush, see photo A. This revealed
a coat of surface rust. And I sus-
pected some pitting underneath.
Like many rusty tools, the ta-
ble looked worse than it actuaUy
was. Still, restoring it to a usable
condition would require a combi-
nation of chemical rust removers,
abrasives, and some old-fash-
ioned elbow grease.
cided to try the e w way Erst -
a chemical remover. A trip to the
hardware store turned up two
types of removers for dealing
with rust. Some neutralized the
Others dissoived the rust.
R U ~ T DISSOLVER. Not wanting
to paint the top, we settled on a
rust dissolver. Onecommonly avail-
able type is Naval Jelly. Although
it looks like something you'd take
for a queasy stomach, Naval Jelly
is anything but medicinal.
The key ingredient is phospho-
rie acid which is &ed in a pink
slime.This solutionis easy to apply.
Just brush it on and let it sit for ten
minutes.Note.Be sure toweareye
protection and rubber gloves.
Now comes the messy part -
wiping it off with wet rags. This
not only leaves a pile of dirty rags
to dispose of, but the amount of
rust removed is disappointing.
STRIPPING PAD. To speed up
the process, I spread on another
coat of Naval Jelly and worked it
in with a coarse furniture strip-
The reason the pads work is be
cause they're made of fibers that
stick out like a shaggy beard. So in
addition to hitting the high spots,
they also work the chemical into
the pitted areas t ol at he rust out.
The combination of the pads
and the Naval Jelly removed
most of the rust. But the Naval
Jelly left behind a protective
coating that's a battleship gray
color. Not the polished look you
expect on a machined surface. To
return it to its "origina1~'polished
surface, I sanded the top.
to avoid creating an uneven sur-
face by applying too much pres-
sure in one place and not enough
in another.
One way to do this is to use a
shop-built surface sander, see
photo C. The one I built is a piece
A. Remove Loose Rust. To get a better look at the B. Rub in Chemic~l with Sttipping Pad. A combi-
condition of the top, a wire brush is used to remove nation of a chem~cal d~ssolver like Naval Jelly and
most of the d~r i and loose rust a furn~ture strlpp~ng pad removes the rest of the rust.
12 ShopNotes No. 7
of particleboard with
plastic laminate glued
to the top and bottom to
ensure a flat surface. A
piece of Wet-or-Dry sili-
con carbide paper is
glued to the laminate.
Note: To make the pa-
per easy to remove, I
use a spray-on adhesive
like 3M's Spray Mount.
To use the sander,
start with a piece of 220
grit paper. Then spray on
a lubricant (like WD-40)
and sand in even strokes
across the top. By using
progressively liner grits,
you can polish the top to
a mirror surface.
C. Sand the Top. Use a simple shop-built surface
sander and a lubricant like WD-40 to restore the
table top to its 'briginal" polished surface.
air away from the tool.
This can be done in a
couple ofways.
WAX.For years I've
used ordinary floor
wax. It's inexpensive
and easy to apply. Just
wipe on a thin layer of
wax, let it dry, and buff
it to a hard film.
Recently I tried a spray-
on coating. (I used Top-
Cote, but there are
several other products
available.) It works by
penetrating into the
pores ofthe metal to seal
out moisture.
Although it costs
more th& wax, Top-
most overnight. Allit takes for a Cote is easier to av~lv. After
There's only one drawhack. A rusty haze t o develop is two spraying the surface, i f okd that
shiny top is an openinvitation to things: moisture and air. it evaporates quickly and leaves
rust. And with the humidity To protect the top from rust, a light gray film that's easy to
here in Iowa, it can appear al- you need to seal moisture and huff out.
There's nothing exciting abont re-
moving rust. But there are a couple
of new products that can make the
job a tittle easier.
WONDERBAR. One of them is the
Wonderbar. (I found it while I was
flipping through a tool catalog, see
page 31 for sources.) This is a small
block of rubber that you rub across
a rusty surface Iike you'd erase a
pencil mark.
What makes i t work are small poll.-
tides of silicon carbide that are em-
bedded throughout the block. As the
rubber wears away, new particles are
exposed. So you're always workjng
with a fresh abrasive surface.
GRITS. Wonderbars are available
in fine, medium, and coarse grits. The
fine grit can be used to polish tar-
nished surfaces like the sole of a
plane, see photo abwe left. For heav-
ier rust, the coarser grits are handy
as "spot removers."
product a friend at an auto parts sup-
ply house told me abont is a rivet
cleaning disc, see photo above right.
It's manufaetared by the 3M Com-
pany to remove rust fromaround riv-
ets without grinding down the headof
the rivet. But this %oR"abrasivefea-
ture makes it agood rust removal tool
for the shop as well.
The rivet cleaner consists of a stack
of flexihle abrasive discs. The discs
are held together with a spindle that
threads onto an arbor. Note: The ar-
bor is sold separately.
'Ib use the rivet cleaner, just chuck
the arbor in a hand-held drill. Even
with therelatively slowspeedofaporb
able drill, the cIisc removes heavy rust
and leaves a polished surface behind.
No. 7 ShopNotes 13
- . -
~ ~
. ,
. ,..
- ' I - - -
3 9 ~
How can you chunge a drill bit
without a key? Replace your old
. ~-
chuck with a keyless chuck.
... ~
.,... ~
- ~~%
. < ~ ~ . .,
.. .~ . ,
4 Jacobs: One of the here's that chuck key? I (See the box on page 15 for re- I:%;;:,,{.;
most common chucks set it down here some- placement directions.) They're 1 : : ' .!:?
on the market. It fea- where ... Sound familiar? Well, not designed for hammer drills or ::: :
tures ball bearing con- there's finally a solution to this - for use on a chi11 press.
.. .
struction, and offers keyless chucks. Now you can re- WORK THE SAME. A11 of the 5;. : : : :
one of the best grips place your old drill chuck with a chucks work basically the same &':'
t for changing bits.
keyless chuck. And never have to
way. You hold the base of the Tic.
search for your key again. chuck with one hand, and spin the
~'?>~ .,
outer body of the chuck with the ; '2
other, see photo above. This <':.:
4 Makita:Although this We shop-tested four commonly causes the jaws to move up or . L : ; :-: ; :~ .
bearing construction, it cobs, Makita, Panasonic, and amazing thing is a keyless chuck
has oneof the smoothest Sears, see photos at left. Prices actually holds the bit tighter than
opening and closing ac- ranged from a low of $11.98 a conventional chuck and key.
tions of any of the chucks (Sears) to $29.95 (Panasonic).
chuck doesn't use ball availablereplacement chucks: Ja-
down to grip or release a bit. The ;F,
we tested. (See page 31 for sources.) TEETH PER INCH
The keyless chucks featured So how does a keyless chuck hold
. .
. .
here will fit most 1A" or3Au drills a bit so tight? The secret has to : ; ~. ' . . ~l
(both battery powered and elec-
do with the threaded jaws inside 1%:
4 htEL90flic: Themost tric) with a 3h" - 10124 thread. the chuck, see Section View.
, +;
3 "~ . . ~.
expensive of the chucks
~. ,.
. - . ~: -
. .~.
we tested, it has a
- ~. . .
. .~
. /
unique ratchet system to . ~. . . . ~. -
help grip the bit. And it
+. I
.. A. ,
fully opens or closes in
. .
.~ -
just four revolutions.
L + ~ ~ . ~ .
&-.-. =
. -.
a -
3' ? u
4 Sears: The least ex-
pensive of the keyless
chucks we shop-tested,
this chuck offers ball
bearing construction,
and the best grip for
changing bits. CHUCK BASE
, :,.
14 ShopNotes No. 7
~~~ -~
There are two sets of matching
threads: one on the jaws, and the
other set inside the adjustment
ring, see Section View. As the
chuck is turned, the threads on
the ring engage those on the jaws
causing them to open or close.
difference is most keyless chucks
have about twice as many teeth
per inch than their keyed coun-
terparts. Increasing the number
of teeth like this gives you a me-
chanical advantage.
That is, a large movement
(turning the chuck one full revo-
lution) results in a small move-
ment (the jaws move about l/l6").
In effect, you're mechanically in-
creasing your own strength.
All the chucks we tested were
well made. But there were some
differences in construction.
(0 chucks (Jacobs and Sears) fea-
tured ball bearing construction.
These chucks have a nice, smooth
action as they're opened or closed.
RATCHET. The Panasonic how-
ever, is notably different - it fully
opens or closes in fewer revolu-
tions than the others (four com-
A One of the important differ-
ences between the chucks we
testedis how far the jaws extend.
pared with twenty). To do this
they cut fewer threads on the
jaws, not more.
Then to regain the mechanical
advantage, they added a ratchet
system that clicks as you turn it.
(But we found the ratchet did too
good of a job of holding the hit -
we oRen had difficulty loosening
the chuck to remove the bit.)
THE GRIP. One difference I no-
ticed right away was the grip
each chuck offered. The large
outer bodies of the Jacobs and
Sears provided the best gn'p. The
Makita and Panasonic have a
smaller base and outer body that
I found difficult to grip.
A On some models the jaws
don't extend out enough to grip a
short driver bit (or Vix bit).
JAW EXTENSION. Another dif-
ference was how far the jaws ex-
tend past the chuck. Three of the
chucks (Makita, Sears, and Pana-
sonic) were almost identical.
But the jaws on the Jacobs
chuck were different. They didn't
extend past the top of the chuck
even when fully closed. This
makes it difficult to use a short
stubby bit, see drawings above.
all the chucks are well made. But
for the money, you can't beat the
Sears keyless chuck. It has an ex-
cellent grip, good jaw extension,
ball bearing construction, and it's
the least expensive.
A To remove a chuck, unplug drM A The nextsfep is to insert the chuck A To remove a keyless chuck,
andopenlaws. Then remove reverse key. Rap it sharply with a hammer to tighten an allen wrench in the jaws.
thread screw by turning clockwise. loosen chuck. Thm remove by hand. Then rap the wrench w&h a hammer.
rn A traditional bench that's sturdu
1' A traditional work-
)en&. Something
every woodworker wants, bui
ieldom gets around to making - usu-
because they're a lot of work to
uild, and buying one is expensive.
idea behind this workbench
to make it sturdy, yet easy to
d. The challenge was to take
the three basic parts - the base, top, and vises, and
come up with simple ways to build them.
THE BASE. On a traditional bench, the base is big
and heavy. The weight is good. It helps create a
stable foundation for the top. But the size can make
the bench difficult to move or store. To solve this
and easy to m k e . This workbenih
features a knock-down base
and optional vises.
problem, I used a unique shop-made system that
lets you knock down the base into separate pieces,
see photo A.
THETOP. Just like the base, the tops on most
traditional benches are glued up from large pieces
of hardwood. Not only are these "slabs" a challenge
to glue up, they're also difEcult to get flat. So I took
a different approach. I started with a double layer
of plywood for strendh. Then t o get the same clas-
sicldok, I glued on hardwood strips to the plywood.
To make the top even simpler, you can replace the
wood strips with two layers of Masonite, see photo
B. This way when the bench shows signs of wear,
the top layer of Masonite can be easily replaced.
OPTIONS. You can use the bench without vises as
a sturdy assembly table or work surface. Or you can
add vises and make it more versatile. There are two
ways to do this.
You could buy a metal woodworking vise and bolt
it to the top. Or you can build one or two shop-made
vises, see photo C. They're solid, inexpensive, and
easy to make. (For more on this, see page 23.)
A. Knock-Down System: A nut cap- B. Replaceable Top: The top layer of C. Optional ViserA sturdy vise cam- @
tured in a cross dowel makes a sim- Masonite is held In place wIth carpet bines with a simple round dog system
ple but effective knock-down system, tape so you can replace it. to make clamping a workpiece easy.
16 ShopNotes No. 7
D Streeohers ( 2) W4 x 5 - 4
E Spacer Blocks (3 It" x 3/z -
H End AfXWl6 ( 2 ) 1y4 X 3!/2 - 221/2
I F r Bk Aprons (21 174 x 3Vz - 62v4
1/4 x 1 - 16 Lineal Feet
* (15) Na 8 x tY4" (4) Y6" Washers
Fh wood6crew~ * (4) Y8" Nuts
(41 78" x 5" (4) ? " X ~ Y Z " D Q W~
Hex Head 6ofts * (4) 1/2" x l" Dowel
15/ " x 0"- 86" 11BD. F% lWx5"-60" 70D.H.
No. 7 ShopNotes 17
7he Ba
I began work on
building the base. It consists of
two side assemblies connected by
a pair of stretchers, see Fig. 1.
Each side assembly is made up of
an arm (A) that supports the
bench top. And a foot (B) that
x -
rests on the floor. Then these two 7. . L
pieces are connected with two
legs (C), see Fig. 1.
ARMS &FEET. Both the arms +.
and the feet are made by gluing
up two pieces of 814 (13,"-thick)
stock. The length of both pieces is . -
25" -the only difference is their
height (width), see Fig. 2. The
arm is 2" high and the foot is 3%"
high. To soften the corners of
these pieces, I cut ahevel on each
end, see Fig. 2a.
MORTISES.To make the side
assemblies as strong as possible,
the arms and feet are connected
to the legs with mortise and
tenon joints, see Fig. 1. The mor-
tises in the arms and feet are the
same size and same distance h m
each end, see Fig. 2a.
To make these mortises, I used
a 1"dia. Forstner hit in a drill
press to remove most of the
waste. Then I squared up the
sides of the mortise with a chisel.
RELIEF. After cutting the mor-
tises, a relief is cut in the bottom
of each foot (B). An easy way to
do this is to clamp the feet to-
gether and drill 1"-dia. holes for
the start and stop points, see Fig.
3. Then, unclamp the feet and cut
out the waste on the hand saw.
LEGS. Now that you've com-
pleted the feet, the next step is to
make the four legs (C). These
pieces are glued up from 814 stock
and are cut to a finished length of
26V4", see Fig. 4. (Note the loca- cut earlier in the arms and feet, later, see Figs. 4 and 4b. Second,
tion of the glue line.) see Figs. 4 and 4a. you'll need to drill counterbored
TENONS. After cutting the legs Before gluing the legs in place, holes for connecting the stretch-
to length, tenons are cut on both there are a couple more things to ers to the legs, see Fig. 4h.
ends. The tenons are 1 Q" long do. The first is to cut mortises for SIDE ASSEMBLY. Finally, sand
and sized to fit the mortises you the stretchers that are added all the sharp edges of the arms,
feet, and legs. Then glue up the
two side assemblies.
The two stretchers (D) that con-
nect the side assemblies are also
made of 814 stock, see Fig. 5.
Short tenons are cut on the ends
to fit the mortises in the legs, see
Fig. 5a.
cret to holding the stretchers in
place is a unique knock-down sys-
tem. It allows me to disassemble
the base when I need to move or
store it, refer to Figs. 1 and la.
Theu quickly assemble and tighten
it to form a solid base again.
CROSS DOWEL The heart of the
knock-down system is a cross
dowel that fits in the stretchers,
see Fig. 5. A notch in the dowel
"captures" a nut and prevents it
from spinning when the bolt is
tightened, refer to Photo A on
page 16 and Fig. 7.
NOTCH. To locate this notch,
dry clamp the base together and
insert a 5"-long dowel in the
stretcher, see Fig. 5a. Theu drill
a hole into the stretcher and
through the dowel, see Fig. 6.
At the same time, make amark
on the dowel flush with the bot-
tom of the stretcher (so you can
cut it to length later), see Fig. 6.
CUT NOT&. NOW it's just a is made, cut the dowel to its fin- a screwdriver in the slot and turn
matter of cutting the notch, see ished length. Then, since it'll be the dowel.
Fig. 7a. To do this, I made two difficult to rotate the dowel (and MSEEWH. Finally, assemble
saw cuts, then cleaned out the position the nut) after it's cut to the base by first threading the
waste with a chisel. length, I cut a slot in the bottom, bolts into the cross dowels. Then
KERF DOWEL. Once the notch see Fig. 7a. This way I can insert tighten down the bolts.
No. 7 ShopNotes
7'he Tor;,
A sturdv. stable b -
2 .
top is easy to
make when you
build it up from
several layers.
With the base complete, the next
step is to build the top. It's built
up by first gluing and screwing
two plywood top pieces (F) to-
gether, see Fig. 8. Then, hard-
wood strips are glued to the
plywood, see Fig. 9.
Note: Instead of hardwood
strips, you can use a double layer
of Masonite, see photo B on page
16. The first layer is serewedto the
plywood. The second (top) layer is
carpet-taped in place. This allows
it to be replaced as needed.
STRIPS. To cut the top strips
(G), start with a clear (no knots)
blank of 1%"-thick hardwood.
Then cut $9'-thick strips off the
edge, see Fig. 9a.
TEST FIT. To make sure all of
the strips fit tight together, it's a
good idea to test fit them before
gluing them in place. Note: The
strips are cut long so they hang
over the ends, see Fig. 9.
ADHESIVE. After you've fit all
the strips, the next step is to glue
them to the top. The only unusual
thingis the glue I used - construe-
tionadhesive (such as PL400).
I did this for two reasons.
First, since the strips will move
with seasonal changes in humid-
ity, I needed an adhesive that was
extremely strong, but still flex-
ible. Second, to glue and position
all the strips at once, I had to have
an adhesive that had plenty of
assembly time before it set up.
TRIM STRIPS. We r letting the
strips dry overnight, mu a flush
trim bit in a hand-held router
around the top, see Fig. 11.
(W x lYz" - 5 9 LONG)
No. 7
he Aprons
A The aprons are attached to the
top with a spline andgroove joint.
These splines also lock the cor-
ners of the aorons tooether.
All that's left to complete the top
is to add the aprons, see Fig. 12.
The aprons wrap around the top
and cover the plywood edges.
They also form the back jaw of
the shop-made vises on page 23.
CUTAPRONS. of the aprons
are cut from 13A"-thick stock and
are 3%" wide. The end aprons (H)
are cut to match the width of the
top (22%"). The front and back
aprons (I) are cut to match the
length ofthe topplus the thickness
of the two end aprons (621A").
SPLINE &GROOVE. To join the
aprons to the top, and to "lock"
the corners of the aprons to-
gether, I used a spline and groove
joint, see Fig. 12.
GROOVES.T~~ first step to
making this joint is to rout a
groove around the edge of the
top, see Figs. 13 and 13a.
Then a matching groove is
routed on the inside face of the
apron pieces (H,I). Note: To lock
the top corners of the aprons to-
gether, this groove "wraps
around" the top ends of the end
aprons (H), see Fig. 14.
To lock the bottom corner of
the aprons together, I muted an-
other groove across the lower
ends of the end aprons (H), see
Fig. 14. Thena matching stopped
groove is routed near the bottom
edge of the front and hack aprons
(I), see Fig. 15.
(1%' ~ 31W - 62V4")
S~I,JNES. After the grooves
are routed, 1"-wide hardwood
splims (J) are cut to fit in the
grooves, see Figs. 14 and 15.
Before gluing the splines and
aprons to the top, there are a con-
ple of things to consider. F i t , if
you're adding one (or two) of the
shop-made vises shown on page
23, the aprons need to be drilled
before they're glued to the top.
Second, if you have a Masonite
top, liR off the top layer before
gluing on the aprons. If you don't,
the top layer will be glued to the
amons and won't be removable.
No. 7 ShopNotes 21
With the top complete, there's one
more step before assembling the
bench. That's to glue spacer hlocks
to the arms of the base, see Fig. 16.
blocks allow you to adjust the
working height of the bench. At
the same time, they provide clear-
ance for the vises shown on page
23. In my case, the blocks are 1%"-
high (thick). This makes the work-
ing height of the bench 34".
You'll need four spacer blocks
(E) (three if you've installed the
shopmade h n t vise), see Fig. 16.
ARer you've cut the blocks to size,
glue them to the top of the arms.
DOWEL PINS. The top is held to
the hase with four dowel pins.
These pins fit in holes drilled in
the front and back aprons (I) and
in the spacer blocks (E).
Locating the holes in the
aprons is easy. Start by flipping
the top upside down. Then drill
W-dia. holes, 9" in from each end
of the front and back aprons, see
Figs. 17 and 17a.
To locate the matching holes in
the spacer blocks, I used dowel
centers, see Fig. 17a. (These are
just round metal inserts with
sharp points. They're available at
most hardware stores.)
DOWELCENTER Insert a dowel
center in each apron hole. Then
flip the hase upside down and po-
sition it so it's centered from end-
to-end and from front-to-hack. To
transfer the hole locations, sim-
ply tap on the hase.
Then flip the hase right side up
and drill the holes. Next, insert
the dowel pins and set the top on
the base, see Fig. 18.
FINISH. The only thing left is to
apply a finish to the hench. I
wanted a finish that was durable
and easy to maintain. Polyure-
thane is durable, but it can crack
under heavy use. So I went with
an oil finish. Imbbed in two coats
of tung oil. Then huffed the bench
to a nice sheen.
22 ShopNotes
'I- ---
0 L---
, - -' 3
L---- *
I Vise
This vise combines a massive wood
face and a double row of dog holes to
provide two separate clamping options.
f there's one feature that chaltges a workbench be clampcd on the benchtop.
from a simple table intoa real woodmorkingtuul, TWO VISES. ' ~~, make the bench more versatile, T
it's a vise. So when we set about building the bench
in this issue, the question naturally came up about
the kind of vise it should have.
After looking at several manufactured vises, it
was obvious that an inexpensive vise with all the
features we wanted just wasn't available. That's
when we decided to build our own shopmade ver-
sion, see photo.
CLAMPING OPTIONS. This vise provides two dif-
ferent clamping options. A massive wood face
clamps work against the front of the bench. And
there are two rows of dog holes (with shop-made
dogs to go with them) that allow large projects to
added a second vise to the other end. (For informa-
tion on building this vise, refer to page 27.) Al-
though both vises are designed t o complement the
ShqnNotes bench, with a few modifications either
of them can be added to an existing workbench.
MATERIALS. All it takes is a vise screw and a few
basic materials. The main component is a 211h"-
long vise screw that I bought from a tool catalog.
(See page 31 for sources of hardware.)
The metal rods that guide the face of the vise are
cut from sections of black iron pipe that I picked up
at the hardware store. And the wood parts of the
vise are made from 4' 4 (13hr'-thick) hard maple.
(0) Y4*x 9' t ag Screw4 (2) #6 x W Fh Wood-
(6) #12 X lv2"Fh 5 ~ - 5 c m (Brass)
C Guide Block (1) W4"x S" - iLP/z''
V Brace Blacks (2) 1%''~ ZYen [rgh.) - lo&"
E Brace Plate (1) 7 x lOYz" - S/a"plywood
F Spacer Blocks (2) 1Y4"x 3'"-2'/s''
G Guide Rails (2) 1%"x2"-22Yz'
1 No. 7 ShopNotes 23
A nail and a
scrap block lets
you file an equal
amount off both
the edges of a
spade bit
This shop-made vise is modeled
after a traditional woodworking
vise. With this type of vise a large
wood face forms the front jaw.
And the apron of the bench acts
88 the back iaw. see Fie. 1.
the corners before gluing the come in. The vise swew provides
pieces together, see Fig. le. the clamping pressure while the
At this point, all that's needed rods keep the jaws aligned.
is a way to clamp the face tightly The key is to get the holes in
against the apron. Tbat's where the face to align with the holes in
the vise screw and guide rods the apron. To do this, I made a
If you plan on addin; vises to
the workbench shown on page 16,
it's easier to work on the aprons
befwe thefre glued to the bench
top. For an existing bench that
doesn't have aprons, you'll need
to make an apron (For more on
this, refer to page 21.)
Note: To allow clearance for
the moving parts of the vise, the
apron should extend at least la"
below the benchtop, see Fig, la.
is complete, a keeper strip (A) is
added to the bottom edge of the
front apron. The purpose of the
strip is to support twometal guide
rods that are added later. To make
it easy to install the vise, the
keeper strip is attached with six
lag screws (no glue), see Fig. Ib.
FACE. With the keeper strip in
place, the vise face (B) is built up
from two pieces of 814 (134"-thick)
stock, see Fig. lc. To give the vise
a traditional look, I cut the out-
sicle piece shorter and rounded
24 ShopNotes No. 7
template that has %"-dia. holes to
mark the centerpoints of the vise
screw and guide rods, see Fig. 2.
By cutting the template the
same length as the face and add-
ing a Masonite lip to the bottom,
all you have to do is hold the ends
flush to mark the holes. (I used a
brad point bit, see Fig. 2a.)
DRILL HOLES. Drilling a 1 V4"-
dia. hole through the apron and
the face for the vise screw is easy.
The tricky part is drilling the
holes for the guide rods so they
slide smoothly without any "slop."
GUIDE RODS. The problem is
the guide rods are made from 34"
iron pipe and the outside diame-
ter of this pipe is slightly more
than lM6". The solution is to file
a 114" spade hit to the corned
size, see margin tip on page 24.
CARRIAGE. After drilling the
holes, the two-part carriage is
added. A p h block (C) supports
the guide rods and houses a nut
that's part of the vise screw, see
* Fig. 3. And two brace blocks (D),
keep the guide rods parallel to each
other as the vise is tightened.
Here again, I used the tem-
plate to locate the holes. The only
difference is the block are
shorter than the temphte. So
you'll need to centw the template
on the length of the hlocks.
After drilling the holes, the
vise nut is screwed in place, see
Fig. 3. Then the bottom edges of
the hrace blocks are trimmed off
to clear the base of the bench.
ASSEMBLY. NOW it's just a mat-
ter of cutting the guide rods to
size (24") and sliding them through
the holes in the blocks, see Fig. 4.
Then a brace plate (E) with two
shallow rabbets is glued and
screwed to the hrace blocks.
PINS. To keep the rods h m slid-
ing out of the hrace blocks, they're
"pkned" in place, see Fig. 4a. (I
drilled pilot holes and then drove
in hardened steel concrete nails.)
A~TACHVISE. Next, the keeper
strip is removed and two spacer
blocks (F) are glued to the guide
block, see Fig. 5. Then, with the
spacers snug against the apron,
counterbored holes are drilled in
the guide block and lag screws are
used to fasten it to the benchtop.
INSTALL FACE. At this point,
the face can he installed by apply-
ing some construction adhesive
(PL 400) in the holes and slipping
them over the guide rods. & h&
fore, the rods are pinned after
drawing the face tight against
the bench with pipe clamps, see
Figs. 6 and 6a.
Finally, the vise screw is
threaded into the nut and the
mounting flange screwed in place.
Front Vise (con%.)
. 6
Before flipping the benchtop
over, the last step is to install a
pair of guide rails (G), see Fig. 7.
These rails solve a common
problem of most vises - the ten-
dency of one end of the vise to
rack or "toe in" when a workpiece
is tightened in the opposite end.
This uneven clamping pressure
can cause a workpiece to slip. And
it eventually enlarges the guide
rod holes in the face.
To solve the problem, the rails
'%arnessn the rods so they can't
move from side to side. This
keeps the vise face parallel to the
edge of the bench.
work, the rails are cut to fit be-
tween the front and back aprons.
Then, they're fastened to the
benchtop. An easy way to locate
the rails is to mark the path of the
brace plate (E) on the benchtop
with the vise in the open and
closed position, see Fig. 7. Then
screw the rails to the top using
the lines as a reference. 8. As the vise is tightened, work to length and gluing the pieces
is clamped between stops or together, the bottom flat creates
"dogs" that fit in the holes. a "spring" that holds the dog in
At this point, the vise can be used BENCH DOGS. The dogs can place. And the top flat forces
to clamp a workpiece against the either be made of metal or wood. work down onto the bench as the
edge of the bench. But to clamp (For sources of brass dogs, see vise is tightened.
work flat on the top, I added a page 31.) To make wood dogs, all HANDLE. To complete the vise,
bench dog system. it takes is a 3A"-dia. dowel. I added a handle (H) and two
This system has two basic com- The dowel is ripped offcenter caps (I). The handle is just apiece
ponents: holes and bench dogs. on the bandsaw, see Fig. 9a. Then, of 1"-dia. dowel, see Fig. 10. And
First, two rows of holes are atapered"fiat"is filedon bothends the caps are beveled wood blocks
drilled across the benchtop and of the thick piece. with holes drilled in the center,
A wooden hand- the top edge of the face, see Fig. After t r i d n g the thin piece see Fig. 10a.
screw supports
the sides of the
cap when drill-
ing the hole for
the handle,
ShopNotes No. 7
t. .A Vise
The end vise is built the same
way as the front vise. It's just
longer. As a result, you11 need to
change the size of a few parts, see
Materials List.
FACE. The most noticeable dif-
ference is the length of the face
(26" in my case). It spans the
width of the benchtop which al-
lows you to clamp longer work.
IUXPER STRIP. Increasing the
length of the face also requires a
longer keeper strip. Like the
front vise, it combines with the
apron to form the back jaw. But
because the side apron fits be-
tween the front and back aprons,
the keeper stn'p extends 13,"
(the thickness of the aprons) on
each end, see Fig. 11.
HOLE LOCATION. Another dif-
ference is the location of the holes
for the guide rods. To distribute
the clamping pressure evenly, the
guide rods are farther away from
the vise screw.
CARRIAGE. With the rods far-
ther apart, the guide block and
brace hlocksalsoneedto be longer,
see Fig. 12. And, to make the
brace blocksmore rigid, the brace
plate is larger.
GUIDE RODS. But a large brace
plate reduces the maximum
opening of the vise - ifthe guide
rods are the same length as the
rods on the front vise. To create
the same size opening as the front
vise, the guide rods are 30" long.
V+" x 3" LAO SCREW
I I * (81 W x Sa Lag Screws I
(4) Y4"x4Yz"Lag Screm
AA Kesperwpff)
00 Face(two pl-)
CC &Me Bla;k(f)
DD Bra# Blo~k6 (2)
EE Bra#Plate(l)
FF Spaosr Black6 {2)
&M Gulde Rail6 (21
WH Handle (l)
11 Cap (2)
. (6) #72 x fYz" Fh Screws
($0) #8 x fY4" Fh Screw5
(4) Y Concrete Nail6
(4) 3" Co n c w NaNs
(2) Y4"LD. x W Black
Iran Pipe
* (12) Y4" Flat Washem
(2 f #6 x 9'4" Fh Wmd-
screws (Brass)
. ( 0) #i DxZWFhScr ew
I Note, lgrte cut horn (I) I W x E%Z" - @6 " p i e ~k (2) 1"-dis. 0-Rings
the rods to length, the end vise is the end apron, see Fig. 13.
installed the same way as the DOGEOLES.Onefinalchangeis
h n t vise. But the guide rails the dogholes. They'restill7"apart.
that ''track" the brace blocks are But they run down the leugth of
longer. I cut them to fit between the bench t o allow you to clamp
the guide rail of the front vise and larger projects.
No. 7 ShopNotes 27
Dowel Cuaing Jig
Her e' s a simple jig that makes length of the dowels, see Fig. 2.
cutting dowels easy. It's just a To cut dowels, k s t clamp the
block with grooves that are sized jig to your radial arm saw. Then
to accept V4", 3h", and %"-dia. set the stop strip to the dowel
dowels, see Fig. 1. length you want, see Fig.2. After
To keep the dowels from you've cut the dowel, slide the
bouncin~ out of the moves, I strip out of the way and push the
used %'-thick ~as on%e for the dowel through. -
top. And used another piece of Andrew R. Swaney Jr.
Masonite as a stop to set the Frederieksburg, Vzrginia
Shop-Made Bench Clamp
.When you plane or sand a
board, it's a good idea to clamp it
down. The problem is the clamps
get in the way. My solution is to
use a pipe clamp and a few pieces
of hardware.
The idea is to mount the clamp PIPE CLAMP
to the side of the hench top. 'Ib do
this, I used eye bolts and threaded
inserts, see drawing. (The inserts
allow me to quickly remove the
clamp.) Then, allo&clearance for
the jaws, I added two spacers.
Since I wanted to he able to
work the entire surface of a %"-
thick workpiece without hitting
the jaws, I positioned the clamp
so the jaws are no more than 3h"
above the hench top, see Fig. a.
Bob Easler
Des Moines, Iowa
ShopNotes No. 7
T I P S & T E C H N I Q U E S
Rip Fence Alignment Gauge _
W I've had a recurring problem
with my table saw. When ripping
a board, it often binds. The prob-
lem was my rip fence doesn't lock
down parallel to the saw blade. So
to solve this, I made an alignment
gauge that allows me to quickly
check that the fence is parallel to
the blade before I make a cut.
CROSSBAR.The heart of the
gauge is a sliding crossbar that
checks if the fence is parallel to
the blade, see Fig. 1. To make
sure the crossbar remains per-
pendicular to the blade and fence
during alignment, I screwed a
support block to a runner that
fits the miter gauge slot.
SETW. To use the alignment
gauge, first set the distance you
want between the fence and
blade. (Set and check this dis-
tance by measuring between the
blade and fence.) Then lock the
fence in place.
t h e me r i n themitergauge slot
and slide the gauge forward until
the sliding crossbar just touches
the blade, see Fig. 2. Now slide
the crossbar over until it butts up
against the rip fence and tighten
Glue Brush 77p
Recently, I went to glue up a
project and realized I was out of
glue brushes. Instead of driving
to the hardware store, I decided
to try an old tooth brush.
It worked great. The bristles
pushed the glue around well. And
the brush was wide enough to
- @ cover the entire edge in one pass.
Ken Ross
Gmve City, Ohio
No. 7
down the wing nut.
Once the gauge is set up, you
can use it to make sure the fence
is parallel to the blade. To do this,
slide the nmner towards the
front end of the fence, see Fig. 2.
If the crossbar binds, tap the
fence away from the blade. But if
you see daylight between the
fence and crossbar, then just tap
the fence towards the blade.
After the front end of the rip
fence is set, check the other end
in the same manner, see Fig. 2.
Milton L. Stover
Samsota, Florida
ti0pt.o problems you've fated, ~6x18.
themito: SkpiVotea, Attn: shrrf, So-
lutiana, 2280 .Grand Ave.,. Des
' .
Moines, IA 50312.
' ' - Wl l pay up b.&%00 depending on-
-the pu61ished length. Send an.qxpl;r-
nation ahng with a photo or sketch.
Inclde a daytime phone number so
Some lumber stores tag thepnce at the full rough dimen-
of eachfneee ofwood. Others don't. sion. For example, 34"-
Whm they're wt labeled, hovmn thickorl3A6"-thickstock
I calculate the cost ofthe wood? is f i me d as 1"-thick.
Mark Be&
Forest City, Iowa
What's the dif-
The price of hardwoods is usually
ference between
calculated in dollars per board
foot. So in order to determine the
a boardfoot cost of the wood, youll fist need
and a 'quare
to calculate the number of board
foot? It has to
feet in each piece.
do with the BOARD FEET. A board foot is a
thickness. volume measurement that in-
cludes thickness and width as
well as length, see drawing he-
low. This means two boards of the
same thickness can be different
length and widths and still have
the same board footage.
CALCULATIONS. To determine
the board feet in a piece of lum-
ber, start by measuring the piece
in inches (not feet), and convert
the fractions to the next inch. For
example, 5U" becomes 6", and 4
feet 35h" (5154") becomes 52".
In figuring board feet, any-
thing less than 1"-thick is figured
~ f t e r finding the dimensions,
multiply the thickness of the piece
times the width times the length
Say you've got a 34"-thick board
that's 51h" wide and 96" long.
To detehime the board feet,
start by multiplying 1" x 6" x 96".
This gives you a total of 576
square inches. Now divide the to-
tal by 144 (the number of square
inches in a board foot). In the ex-
ample, this would be 4 board feet.
Once you know the number of
board feet, multiply that number
times the cost per board foot to
get the cost of the board. To get
the total cost for a project, just
multiply the total board footage
by the cost per board foot.
For example, the workbench
on page 16 uses about 50 board
feet of 814 (134"-thick) stock. We
paid $2.50 per board foot for ma-
ple. So the hardwood costs $125.
m C K LUMBER Also, be aware
that thick stockmay cost more per
board foot. It's best to calculate the
board feet of 34" stock separately
from the thicker stock.
~WLUMBER Thin lumber can
also get confusing. Remember
that any board less than 1" thick
is figured as if it was 1" thick.
This means that a V4"-thick
board could be listed as having
the same number of board feet as
a 34"-thick board that's the same
width and length - even though
the 1A" board actually has less
volume of lumber in it.
To eliminate the confusion, the
standard practice is to list lumber
that's @"-thick or less in square
feet, not board feet.
Basically, this means you pay
more for less wood. The reasonis,
most lumber dealers have to start
with thick stock. Then pay to
have it surfaced or resawn to
make thinner stock.
30 ShopNotes No. 7
ShopNotes Project Supplies is of-
fering some of the hardware and
supplies needed for the projects
in this issue.
We've also put together a list of
other mail order sources that
have the same or similar hard-
ware and supplies.
I- m
We're offering a hardware kit for
the Raised Panel Jig shown on
page 4. The kit includes all hard-
ware (screws, bolts, and washers)
necessary to build this project.
(You'll need to supply the wood
and the 1A"-thick Masonite.)
In addition to the hardware,
we're supplying two pre-cut 16"-
long steel rods. (This type of rod
is usually available at local hard-
ware stores and building cen-
ters.) Also included are a finger
guard and special wing nuts.
The finger guard is manufac-
tured to our specifications from
optic orange Plexiglas. It comes
pre-cut and ready to install.
Finally, to provide a hetter grip
(and more leverage), we've in-
cluded large plastic wing nuts in
the hardware kit.
56807-100 Raised Panel Jig
ShopNotes Project Supplies is of-
fering the vise screw that we
used to make the shopmade
vises in this issue, see photo
above. (One vise screw is re-
quired for each vise.)
This vise screw has an overall
length of 21%". Each screw
comes with a matching vise nut.
(You'll need to supply your own
mounting screws, rubber 0-
rings, and handle.)
Note: After we built the Work-
bench shown on page 16, the
manufacturer changed the color
of the mounting flange and the
vise nut &om blue to black.
This vise screw is also available
from another mail order source
listed below.
51303-1115 ShopNotes Vise
One way to improve the versatil-
ity of any workbench is to add
bench dogs. An easy way to do
this is to drill 3A"-dia. holes and
use round bench dogs. You can
make your own bench dogs, refer
to page 26. Or you can purchase
metal bench dogs.
ShnpNotes Project Supplies is
offering bench dogs made from
solid brass, so they're less likely
to nick your plane blades or ehis-
els. The face of each dog is angled
to force the workpiece down on
the bench and cross-hatched for a
better grip, see photo above.
Note: To get the bench dogs to
slide smoothly in the holes, I used
a dowel wrapped with sandpaper
to enlarge the hole slightly.
For other mail order sources of
brass bench dogs, see list below.
S1301-618 Round Brass
Bench Dogs (1 pair) ........ $19.95
Szmzlar hardware and supplzes may be found zn the
f ol l mng catalogs. Please call each company for a catalog
or for ordering i nfmat i on.
To order by mail, use the For fastest service use our
ridge City TOOIS Sears Woodcraft form enclosed with a current Toll Free order line. Open
800-2533332 8003665000 800-226-1153 issue. The order form in- Monday through Friday, 7:00
wo n d mk ~ ~ e y l e ~ s chucks
KW1ess Chucks, B m s eludes information on han- AM to 700 PM Central Time.
Garrett Wade Trend-Lines Bac h Dogs dling and shipping charges, Before calling, have your
800-221-2942 800-767-9999 The Wmdworkers'
Wondwbar, Brass Keyless Chwks St ore
and sales tax. Send your mail VISA, Mastercard, or Dis-
~ - h &OS Tr...Ja-- 612a28-2199 order to: cover Card ready.
Highland Hardware 800-667-2986 Keyless Chwkn, h
800-241-6148 Vwe S W ~ , ~ m s ShopNotes
~ e n c h DO^ Waodworker's supply Project Supplies
B m h Dogs 800-645-9292
Keyless Chucks, B m s
P.0. BOX 842
Note. Pnces subject to change
Bench Dqqs
No. 7 ShopNotes 31
Scenes I )m the Sha
w o r e power tools. cabinetmakers reliqd on 1 olze shown above). - of the plane wa
*nes to raise the rport wn of apanel. They ojten to the alesired profile and the sole of the plam
&&d a panel raisir, ,.-ne, or a moldiwgplane (like the the bladefmm cutting as thefinal profile was