NO.

31

NOTES FROM THE SHOP

$2.50

PROJECTS:
ADJUSTABLE DESK
ROLL-AROUND CADDY
TVVO-TRAY IN/OUT BOX

A BUYER'S GUIDE:
WHICH ROUTER IS gEST?

Wcodsmith
Number

Jan/Feb, 1984

31

Editor
DonaJd 9. Peschke
esslgn Director
Ted Kralloek
Assistant Editors
Sieve Krohmet
Michael P. Scott

AsslstaQI An D1reC1or
Kay Mulder

r echnfcal Illustrators
Oavid Kreyling

Mike Henry

SUbscription Manager
Sandy J.

aeem

Subscription ASSistants
Christel Miner

Vicky Robinson
Jackie Stroud
Shirley Fe11man
Ann Williams

Compule, Oper'alloo1$
Ken Miner

Circulation Manager
Jeff Far'l'ls

AdminIStrative Asslstant
Cheryl SOOIf

Building Ma1ntenanOQ
Archlo Krause
(ISSN 0164-4114) Is published
bfmonlhly (January, Maroh. May, July. Sep
tember, November) by Woodsmith Pubfishing
WDDDSMITH

Col' 2200 Grand Ave" Des Moif\_9~.lowa503 t2.

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NE\" F..\CES. Ann 'Villiams has just.
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all of the problems ljust mentioned. Uyou
happen to call US, Ann's voice is probably
the first one you'll bear.
.PUULlsuelt'S S'rArE~lf;NT. Ever)' year in
the J anuary/February issue of lVoodsmit,.
we're required bl' the Post Office to 1>1:il1t.
the Publisher's Statement shown below.
Last year this statement showed ow' circulatlon at about 74:.000. This year ,vc've
grown a bil- to over 151,000.
Although numbers are nice, I always try
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When I'm working on a project 01' article
for Wood.'IIIitlt, I like to think that I'm
working' for 150,000 friends who enjoy
woodworking. That's the only way .l cal'
make any sense out of the numbers thau

Altom THIS Issue. Two of the projects in

(Jr

this issue were kinel

exciting to build.
Not because of the projects themselves,
but beeause of the [oinery technique used
to build them.
The joint we used is a dovetail tongue
and groove - but not your typical dovetail
tongue and groove.
The adjustable desk (shown on page 4)
uses a slitlillg version of this joint .in the
leg,.. What fascinates me about this applicaLion ts that the IOlts (and tit. joint) nave
to be stu"ly enough to support the desk
tOI>, yet the joint also h as to be flexible
enough to slide up and down to change the
height of the desk top.
\Ve used-another version of the dovetail
tongue and groove on the infout.. box
(shown on Rage 12). This time a dovetail
key took the place. of the dovetail tongue.
AJ}(l 01100 again. it had to serve two pur",

poses. 'Phe ~e~''\'3S, in part, a decorative

bandingstnp. but it also served as a corner
joint to hold the tys together.
It's not often ajointhas to be so versatile
- but it was fun to "put it through its
paces" for the projects in this issue.
INllEX. You may notice that this Issue is
a little thickel' than usual. That's because

we've include-d a special four-page index 'to

all the articles. projects, and information
shown in the first 30 issues of lVoQdsmitil.
I hope it. makes tin(iitlg information in the

seem to grow so fast.

back issues

a more timely schedule for mailing out (he

issues. The next issue (,\Voodsnlitlt No. 32)
will be.in the mail during the week of AIII'il
lOth. (Since it's mailed second el asss postage, please allow \;'\'0 weeks for delivery.)
Again, thank you for your patience.

(1

N&XT lIAILING. Along

little. easier.

S~",,'EI_.()'pE.
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velope in this issu e. Fe.1 fr."" to usc it to

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order a gif't...sub.-

for a flielld, 01' order back issues.

But the most important l'eaS011for in-

~C:liption

STATEMENT OF OIVNERSHIP, MANAGElMENT AND ClIlCUI.ATION

(RtqlllM 1.1)' a9 0.$,(:. 31*.)
1,Tlt!.. ~f~btIt.lotlOrn! \\'~JI.
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BACK ISSUES

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V(OOOSMITli

T_i~s& Technigu_e_s __

__
CUnlNG

RADIAL ARM DENTIL

Arter reading how to cut dentil (using the

table saw) for the Curio Cabine~ in Woo,'
,mill, No. 26, r decidecl to come up with a
method that would also work on my radial

arm saw.
Using my method, ehe first step is to
attach a (ence to the saw that's slightly
higher than the Ihickness of the dentil
itself. Then make a shallow cut through the
fence wtrh a "ado bladesel-oo cut a !to' ~erf.
Finally, m'!Oka pointon the renee \4" to the

REVISED ROUTER TABLE

1 changed the material used for the top

surface of your router table- it may be of
SOmehelp to your readers. 1used "". cabinet grade 7-ply exterior plyweod that has
t\VO extremely thin layers of plastic adhered on both races.
This material is ccmrnenly known as
MOO (Medium Density Ov~rlll.v). USing

this material sa ved me the Lime and

trouble of bonding a separate piece of
Masonite to the surface. And since the
color of the surface is fairly light, penciled
stop lines re~lIy stand out.

Bob Framci
,11i1l"01. To.ta.
GLUING

As I

WaS

Stereo

Cabinet in l~/(Xxls))I,ilII.No, ]7. everything

was ~ing according to plan until I dry

clamped tlie case together to spot any
problems (before it's too late).
len ofthe dado, and additional marks in %'
increments for 4 OJ' 5 inches aloJlg the
length of the rence.
Afler adjusting the deplh of cut on a
scrap piece, make ~he firsLcuLon the workpiece. Then line up the right shoulder of
the dado with the first line, and make the
seoond dado cut.
Each successive cut is made by srmply
lining up the .ight Shoulder of each dado
with tile penciled marks on t~e fence as
shown. Because "lining up" the cuts with
the marks is an ey~-ball procedure, il

works beet if you line up as malty lines as

possible for each cut.

Sf.elJe emmIT/ton

WI<.etRidge, Colorado
DISC SANDERS FOR SHARPENING

TOOLS

I've been re~ding Ihe lI'ood811tith back

issues, anti came across your areicle on

sharpening' in II'q()(lsmith No. 20. But [
was disappointed because tbe article didn't
mention m~favorite method of sharpcuing: u.sing a vertical 8" disc sander freehand (with no tool rest).
One thing that makes this method work
so well is that you can sight down the race
of the plate to assure that the bevel is in
constant, contact- with the disc. All(1 I've
been par~icularly pleased with the results
achieved when llSiJlg this method for
sharpening lathe tools.

Ed'IXl'ti llosen/eld
Gu1'ley, Alaba,,,a

WOODSMITH

-rl
s

DEEP CABINETS

building the Tambour

careful I am, the height is never quite

righL
J l,hink I've fill'llly come up with the
answerto Illy problem. I designed a quick
and easy jig Ihat uses a Sliding dovetail
joint. To use fhe jig, the ftoating block is
1>05ilionedOn top of the blade (or bit) $0 it
can ride up and down the base as the depth
or cut is adjusted.
The key to this system is to be sure that
lhe'block is free floatulg, so it \\'ill adjllst to
even the ,;Iigbtes 1ehange in the position of
the blade.
WAX OO\lETAlll0t~
fOR ROAllNG EfK
SASE,.~."

"A

I~ _;_\;~

1
To make the jig slide easily, r used the
Bosch \4" dovetail glue joint bit (see Source. on l'age24). This bit is .a little different
than a normal dovetail bit - it produces
squared off COI'l1Ol'S
on the dovetail. This
squared corner keeps the two halves from
catching as they slide back and forth. And
with the addition of a good coat of'wax, the
sliding block ,,;11 truly "Iloat,"
To keep the sharp edges on the top edge

of the carbide ..tipped router bilS (rom cutAs in the past, r found that simply positioning clamps on the fron~and back edges
of the cabinet sides won't pull the center of
the cabinet sides tight against the shelf (0.'
web frame). This seems to be problem
ever>' time I use plywood foal cabinet

construction.

ting into the sliding block, I glued a small

piece of plastic laminate (Formica) to the
bottom face of the block,
To calibrate thejijf, I rabbeted the edge
of the base and attached a brass scale Off
an old wooden folding rule. I also positioned the rule I" above the bottom edge or
the base to make It easier to read, Then
mark a pointer on the sliding block so that
it corresponds with the exact height settings 'on the brass scale.

The best method 1\,.found to .keep the

center of the panel snug against the
shelves is to use a clamping board that has
a convex edge. By positioning the convex
Kenneth Gyldclwa1la.
face against the side of the cabinet (di
rectly IIcrOsSfrom the shell), and clamllillg
Des ilfoi-~le8.Imoa.
only the ends of the board, constant pres- 1----------------1
SEND IN YOUR IDEAS
sure can be applied against the eentler of
the cabinet side.
I----------------i
CI,,'u, Stu.rt.

J\1u11ieca, Cali/arniCA
DOVETAIL GAUGE

I've a!\V;_1"Yshad a hard time tJ'lfing to use a

ruler to set the height of a blade 011 Lbe
table saw, or the height of a bit on the
router

table, It. seems.that no matter

how

If you!d liRe to share a woodwori<i.ng tip with othe(

readers of Woodsmilh. send your idea 10:

Woodsmllh, Tips & Technique., 22tlO Grand

Ave" Des Motncs, Iowa 50312
W~pay a minimum oJ S 10 for Ifps. and $15 or
more fOf specfat techniques (thet ace accepted
for'J)ubltcalion). I?lease give e complete exptaneIlcii1 01 yotJrkfea. If sj<etchis nee<lO<l,
sen<lll
ruong: we'll draw 8 neW one,

___

A_djustable Desk
A DESK FOR ALL SIZES

Mostofthe time whenwe setout to build a

piece of furniture, we try to build it to a
standard size. Tab1es- and desks, fot' exam})le, are supposed to be 29" high. But the
problem with standard-size furniture is
that people don't come in standard sizesespeeially kids.
We wanted to build a desk that would

as the pCJ'S011 grew. The solution

was to make the height of the desk adjustable. To do this, we decided to use a sliding
hg1'O\V"

dovetail joint on the desk's leg assembly

(shown in the detail photo, below I.ft.).

This way l,he whole desktop can be raised

to suit the person using it.
While we were at it, we also decided to
make the desk top adjustable. That is,
provide a way so the lop coul~ be lilted up
for coloring (or draftlhg woodworkirig
plans), but also so it could be laid nat for
doing homework (or paying bills).
To accoml>tish this requirement, the top
or t.he desk is h,inged on a "rachet' frame
that can be raised in merements (shown in
the detail photo, below right).
It became quite a design challenge to get
these two adjusl.ablefeatures to work, and
not interfere with each other. But once the
design was worked out. the fun of building
the desk could begin. r started with the
desk top assembly. This consists of a web
frame that supp<>rtsthe solid o""end caps,
the tilting desk top, and the drawers.
THE WEB FRAME
The key to this whole desk top assembly is
the center web Irame. All the other parts
are attached 00 it. I built the web frame by
cutting two long rails (A) and fOUl' stiles (8)
10size, see Fig. I. First, cut the rails to-a
length of 48%" and the stiles to a length of
17%11. Then rip all six of these. pieces to a
common width of 21/,1"'.
JQINERY,

These six I)ieee.'; are joined

with stub tenons and'grooves, see Detail in

Fig. J. To make these joints, cut. V.<-\\ide
by 1f5"~deepgroove centered on the inside
edge of each piece. Then CUt stuh tenons on

the ends of the foul' stiles to filtthe grooves.

(For more information on this l)'pe ofjojnery, see lVoodsmiU, No. 29.)
Next, Y.'cNMasonne panels are
added to the outside two upenings in the
web frame. (These outside I>Al)ei$ COVe.!'
the areas above the drawers. The middle
opening does not have a. )>anel because it
has to 00 open to allow space for the "rachel" frame used to tilL the desk top up.)
PJ\NEJ.s.

To ge.t the measurements for tl\e

L\VO

panel", dry-assemble ~he rrame so the two

inside stiles ure lOr,' f"om the outside

stiles, sec Fig. 2. (This should leave an 18"

opening between the l \\'0 inside stiles.)

Then cub V,," ~lasonite panels to fit the
groove ..to-groove measurements in the
frame.

After these panels are cut, glue and

clamp th~ frame together (gluing the panels in the frame openings).
END CAPS AND APRONS

'I'he basic desk 101' is formed by adding

solid oakcaps to the ends of the web frame,
ami 'I""US along the front and back edges,
ref." to Fig. 4.
SO (:;\PS, Tlle two end caps (J) are cut

from 5/4 stock (lV,.-thick) so theY"'e 2.1!(,'

long and &~"wide, Then two Y-t""-\\';<Ic
grooves are routed on the inside face of
these c<tJ)SSO the)t can bejoined to the "reb
frame.
ROOT GROO\'l:S.

To.rout the first groove

clamp on a fence to guide the router 10cut a

groove I,," fi'om the top eage of the cap,
sec Fig, 3. (Note: This groove is positioned
to allow for the thickness of the web frame
plus the thickness ofthedesk top, which is

added 10>1'.)

Y.

Mark the start and Stop points for this

groove I
from the (ront and back edges
of the cap. ('l'he disw.nee between these

WOODSMITH.

two marks should equal lb. width of the

web frame. plus 14-.) Then plunge the
router in a~ the start point and rout to the
stop mark.
The second groove 0\1 t.he end caps starts
at the bottom edge of the cap and stops in
the horizontal groove, HO\VeVel', to ensure
the grooves en both caps arc in-exactly the
sameposluon. I clamped the caps together
(bottom edge to bottom edge) and routed

one groove across both pieces. Again, use a

fence to Il:',ide the router, see Pig. 3.
FRONT AND BACK APRONS

Af"tcz'the grooves

aJ.'C-

routed on the end

caps. Ihe front and back aprons (C and D)

are cut to size, The width of'the-baek apron
is \'1". and the width of the front, apron is
I~-.
80th aprons are cui, to length to equal
the length of the web frame.
IIOUT' GltOOVt-;5. Te attach the aprons to

FIGUAFl

JO"VIE~

I.-

i--

--

the web frame. a v..~\\idegl'OQVC is routed

on the inside face of each apron. Thi~
groove js positioned so the distance to the
bottom edge of the groove is equal to t,he
thickness of the web frame, see Fig. 5. (If

the groove is in this position, the top or

the web frame will be flush with the top
edge of the apron when these pieces
are assembted.)

241(,Q)IENOS- CUT MOMS}" (111', SJ()(!'I(

ROUT TONGUES

-1!4
STOP

GltooVE

Aner the grooves are cut in the end caps

,
.3~'."

and the aprons, rabbets arc cut. Ql1 all four

ed~s of the web frame. These rabbets
actually produce tongues to fit the grooves
in the caps and aprons. sea Fig. 6. r used a
route" (band-held) with a rabbeting bit and
pilot to rout these rabbets.
It's best 1.0 sneak up on the: depth of cut.
of lhe rabbets. \'1ith each successively
deeper pass, check the filofthe tongues in
the grooves. They should lit snugly.
,I]'O:SGUES ON' APJtON. Next, set up the
router table to rout rabbets on the encl. of
the back apron (D). Again. th,e rabbets are
cut to form tongues to fiL the ve''tical

grooves in the ends cap, see Fig. 6.

A.fu!r the tongues are cut. they have to
be.trimmed to fit the height-or the vertical
groove. Simply trim oft the top section of
the tongue above the groove, see Steps 2
and 3 in Fig. 6.
'l'ltl.\J .'RONT ~\rRON TO LENGTJ~.The
front apron (C) docs not have tongues on
the ends. Instead, it's trimmed to final
length to match the shoulder-to-shoulder
length of the web frame, refer to l"ig. '1.
ASSEMBLY

lit tile grooves,

round the four comers ofihe end ",.p~
to a
o/!" radius, (I di<l this on a disk sander.)
When, all the tongues

Then round over the outside edges of the

end caps with a y,," rounding-over bit.
ASSE'''IlLY. Finally, the e"d caps and
aprons call be glued and clamped to the
edge. or the web frame.
WOODSMITH

STOPGROOVl ~

-,

j
r

-"

'I.

"'_~/i"GROOVf, ""- OEIEP

FOIWEe
~E

~
~~~
.. ~
~

CLAMP
"""'_BOTTOM

USf ROUTER ANO f~C.E

TO CUT GROOVE

(OGl5 JOGElNESt

WE8 FRAME

,r
seees

II:OUND O""(R All

Of ENOS WITH
'/4" COJlNl:ft [lOU~O

E.
_leV,

f--

AUGH TOP OF WEB FRAME

WtTH TOP OF APJlON

y,-t--

~,
r;.~lr.~.I:t,-0..<:~
~.}/

-- ltl ~

14.v}~r!'NO:7
.. ~./n
~.

APII:0N

RAfl.8'ET 80TH ENDS TO PJtQDUC.E

V.,LONG rONOOf; v,." ntlCK

rONGUf ON
,vIN51 IACE

f.lGut 7

1 T

.' RADIUS

-~_.--

THE TRESTLE LEG ASSEMBLY

....

II' ,

16'h'

.J

OOV",.I" 0R90VE O~J~_I!

s'

IOUNOovtt
OUr~O[ (OGIS
WITH' .' COtNtt
lOUNO I,r

'",' 00VItA1\ III

)',

'if~~
1'"-

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t

.J
I

__ ._

--

CUT OOVf1An KEY

TO feT OOVETAlt GlOOVIi
ON UPRIGH'

16',.,-

HAlF LAP Of tAil

ft

CItO$$ Sl(1'ION

\
0:>
CUT 0f9tH Of H411 lAI'
RUSH wtTH DEPTH Of' oovttAn

I,,,

...

DOVfTAll

OIAWtl GUIOf ClOSS SleTKIN

,..;..., ,
,.

10' ,
Off'TH OF NOTCH EQUALS f.. tCtlHfSS...

1~,

__

clIfOIt/lWEIt tUNNElS TO fir SNUGO\Y

flfTWffH fRONT AND BACK APRONS

10)
IACI( A'ItON ,

4'\-..

The desk tOP i. mounted to a trestle leg

assembly which can be adjusted in height
by means of ,Iiding dovetail,
~PRIGHT ,,~l)
tUSE. To build the 1"1:>. I
started with the uprights (Kland the hoses
(Ll, see rig. 7. Cutthe uprights 10size and
locale the po.ition for the dowel holes.
(Later. pegs are inserted in the se holes as
stops to hold the de.k at the height you
want.) 0,,11 the V," dowel holes y,' deep,
spaCing them 1loft'" apart, as shown in ~"'ig.
7. (It'S best to USC" Forstner bit to drill
flat-bouomed holes.)
JOII("ln. To join the upright to the base.
out a mortise in the base, see Detail in }'ig.
8. a]1(1then CULIImatching tenon 011 the end
of the upright.
OO"RTAt~ CROO'E. Befol'" joining the
UprighLand base together. a wide dovetail
groove is rout(od on the inside face of the
upright. tThi.I(I'oO'' will hold the sliding'
dovetail key.)
I routed thi~ grocve on the router table,
starting \\ith a 4'." I'.itraight bit to clear out
most orthe waste .see rig. 9. Set thefence
on the router IlIble to cut" I(I'oOvece ..I.rtd
on the width of the uplight. The bottom
(depth) of this ltl'Ooveshould be flush "ilh
the face of the tenon.
Move the fence lind milk. 1'.,;$ on both
sides of the center groove, until It.'s 2.0'
wide, Then 6\vil.eh to n ~" dovetail bit to
I'OUL
l.he halfdovN:lil profile on the outside
edges so the final width (from point to
point) i.3'Y,o.
ROt,);Jlerx.es. Aftet the dovetail groove
is rout.ed. glue and claml' the upright and
base together. Then CUta 0/,.' radius on all
eerne rs, and round over the edges with
Y," rounding-ever bit. -ee ~'ig. 10.
O()\'ETAIL !iF-V. Next. a large sliding
dovetail key (F) is cut to fit the dovetail
groove in the upri!!ht. Cut this key 1(,.wider than the "~(Ie~ldimension or the
groove. Then rout the h31f-do"etail profile
on both edges of the key. sneaking up on
these cuts until tho k"y slides smoothly in
the groove, see fill. 1I.
The top end orthi. key is attached to the
end ca ps on the desk tOil ass embly, To do
this. cut" halr.lap to the depLh of the
dovetail lit tho top MU,e key. AILetit's cut.
the shoulder of the half lap should rest
firmly on the bottom edge of the elld cap.
and the top end should butt .gains~ the
bottem oft.he web frame, refer 00Figs. 12
and 13.
DRAWER RUNNERS

c
, fON' A"ItOH

-------s...
--

B.fON; attaching the leg assemblies to the

desk top. the drawer runners (C) have to
be eut. The-e runners serve t\\'O purposes:
they support and guid~ the drawers, and
the l\\IO outside runners also support the
dovetail key.
This was th~ biggest design problem we
WOODSMITH

had with this-desk. Th.e large dovetail keys

(that ride in the uprights) bad to sUllllOrl
lhe entire desk top assembly. Since lhe
weight of tbe desk top is not centered on
the legs, there is bound to be an undue
amount of racking pressure. To solve this
problem, we built the drawer runners
around the keys to support them and prevent racking.

'The drawer runners

are cut lo/ir." wide 31Id long enough to fit
OR.\,\\'Elt RUNNERS.

tight between the front and back apron,

see Fig. 12.Then %"..wide gJ'QO\'~Sate cut

y,.'

from the bottom edge of each runner.

(These groove. will interlock with glOO\[es
on the drawer sides.)
After 811four runners are cut. the t.\\IO
outside runners also have wide notches cut
in them 10 male with the half lap on the
dovetail key, see Fig. J3. (1 cut these
notches on the table saw, making multiple
passes to clean out the waste.) Then screw
the outside two drawer runners to the 0n(1
caps. countersinking
and screwing
through the grooves, see Fig. 13.
,,$SEam).Y. To mount the dovetail key,
<bill two :n' eounterbores
deep -in the
half-lap at the top of the key. Then drill 0/","
pilot holes through the remainder of the
key for pan-head screws, see Fig. 13.

*'"

'i''lount. the dovetailkey itt the notch in

the runners and mark the position of the
two pilot boles in the end cal). Remove ohe
key and drill %" holes, %" deep 'in the end
cap for threaded inserts, (Threaded inserts are used here so the keys can be
mounted and removed to complete the
construction of the trelitre leg assembly.)
To mount the two inside runners, drill
countersink hole. through the top of Ihe
web frame and into the runners. then
screw the runners in place, see Fig. lil,

f -tS"

0:-

..

1~

HOLE fOR
G

MORTIS,;

....L

,7

.,0

(!)

1-.,-- -''''-~

FIGURE 1

W DEEP

,<>

HOLES FOR

OOVElAtllCty
SHOULD $UOE AlEflY

fiGURE 17

TRESTLE ASSEMBLY

To complete the trestle leg assembly,

stretcher (E) is added between the two
sliding dovetail keys. Measure the disranee between the keys to get the length of
the stretcher. (Make sure the keys are

FIlOjoIT
~'~()N

&ACXAPJl:ON
PANEL

(j)

exactly perpendicular when this mea-

END CAP

surement is taken.) 1'hen add 1Y,' to this

measurement to aJIO\\Ifor the t\VO %" ..long
tenons on each end of the stretcher,
JOINERY.Cut thestl .. tcher to length and

srateHEJI:

width, Then cut %"-deep slol! mortises in

the keys, and cut matching tenons 011 the
ends of the stJ.. tcher, See Fig. J6.
Also, (hill a y,' hole in the dovetail key
for the pog that's used to adjust the height
of the desk. (To make this peg, I chucked a
14"dowel in the drill press and used a file to
"carve" a knob on the end of the peg, see
Detail in Fig. i6.)
AliSE"UbY.F,nally, mount the stretcher
between the dovetail keys to make su re it'.
the .ightlength (so the legs don't splay in
or cut). lJ this cheeks out, glue and clamp

$l@gSiHfR

DETAil

ROUND OVER TfNON

TO m SlOT MOStTIS!

I/.~eORNESt flOUND

the stretcher intothe mortises in the keys.

WOODS~.lJTH

"GUO. 1_'

,.._.,

13',11

.--

'.I ir---- -'.

10 OITEJlMIN( WlOTH 0'

DRAWl.,

0100'11$

Ill]

- .iT

wla FRAME

I, '.

'..::J
FRONT
APRON

,.I--t-f..,r.-'---:-:.::._----rT-,~--I

Olf' ,

MEA$UItl'OlirAHCf tOWIIN
A.NO SUltlACl
'.

'<'

Q}~Y{"~YNN'
!!All

.UNNI.

tJ~.
1-

'0)
O!tAWljII

.... Wlt"
SIOf

L....

(,_.IL,~
~.

',.

<,'

.,.

I,~

I',

_~-I

""!-r~
,

ALthiS point the d~$k is almo.t complete.

All that's needed are the drawer" and the
desk top. I started with the drawer .
ORA\vtk fRO_'iT.

To get the

mC3I'UI'C"

mems for the drawer front (H). measure

the distance between the t)utsidt lodgel'!of

1'.~
, .]\(
1~1o

Ir~'Of"

THE DRAWE~S

' MASOHITl DRAWl' aonOM

RGlJItE 18

, the runn ers, see Fig. 17. Then cut the

drawer front to mi. length. and to a width
of3~.
D.... WER SID~ I u>'cd dovetail tongue
and groove joints to assemble the drawer
sides (P) and back (Ql. (A detailed d.....,ripbon ef this type ofjoinery;'; gh-en on page<t
20 to 22.)
To do this, cut HOPped dovetail groove.

on the inside face or the drawer fronts \0

attach

the drawer

sides. The dovetail

$0 "'hen the drawer
sides are attached. the distance between
the olC,ttide faces of the drawer sides is Vtll"
less than the distance bet ween the botto",~
of the grooves on the drawer runnel'S. see
Fig. 17.
After the dovetail grooves are eut on I he
drawer front, cut the (iJ"a\\I4l1' sides to tIoite.
Then cut y," grooves on the outside faces of
the drawer sides to mate "lith the long-tieR

grooves are posltioned

,,'

i-..

....

'IQU" ,.

on the runners, see Fig. 17.

I
""'."
I

BACK ANIl UOTIO~t.

DISTANCI!TO BOnOM OF GAOOVE (QUAlS

lH!C!I(NfSS OF 'ARTICLE 10.10

"'''~.

PlUS fORMK:A

..J
-------....,.,,dl_,_
'lY."

:.....::=:=::;;&;;:=~T
fi
'." O.OO\lf, '. 01('

10' "

After the side. are

cut,joiil the back between them \vith dovetail tongue and groove joints, unci CUl the

Masonite bottom to slse, see FiJi. J8.

DRAWI-:tIIlANDL~, Before assembllng thc
drawers, I made a notched "handle" on the
drawer fronts, see fig. 19. Cut out the
notch and smooth the edgeswith u ~(\nding
drum on the drill )rCI:iS. rfhen cut n :YII"
radius on the four corners of the drnwer
front, and round overall theedge8 with a Yo'

rounding over bit.

i'-"iSE~IULY. No\\the drawers can be

;tg ..

sembled and mounted to the runners,

('Ur STUa 'IHON TO 'IT ClOOVt -

THE DESK TOP

After me drawers are installed. Ihe desk

top is built. The top consists or a particle

board panel with formica laminated to it.

@fORMKA

and an oak frame around me edges.

FRAME. I started by building Ihe" J o.1k
frame. The rails (~1)and stiles eN) for Ihi.
frame are ripped to a width of 2't.. _
Fig. 21. as for me length of lhese pieees.
metre wI to fil me desk top a..,,-~mbly.
(This assembly consist>, of the web frame.
end caps. and aprons, ref er to f'iSt. 17.)
The top frame's rails (M) are cut to
length so metre y.' It'" than the dlstanee
between me end caps (J). Then the .til es
(N) are cut to length so when Ihe f"ame"
assembled me size from front to back is
1v,'/a'l'lqr man the web frame and aprons.
see Fig. 21.
f"O(l)IICA I)A.sEL. Before culling the
joinLS to a emble this frame, I made the
Formica panel insert. 1'0 do this. laminate
a piece of Formica (I used dark henna.
\VOOI)SM1T~1

#935) to a piece of%" particle board that's

cut to a rough size of 21" x 45".
-ApJ)ly a coat of contact cement, to both
the Formica and the particle board. When
the cement is dry to the touch. lay dowel
rods over the particle board and put the
Formica on top of the dowels, see r'ig. 22,
Then slowly pull the dowels out, and press
the F ormica in place.
GROOVES. This laminated panel is used
to locate the position of the V"'-wide by
'Yo"deepgrooves on tbe inside edges of the
foul' framemembers, The bottom edges of
these grooves should align with the bottom
of the J>ru~icleboard panel, see P'i\,:' 20.
After the grooves are cut, cut *tub
tenons on the ends of the stiles (N) to fit
light in the grooves, see Fig. 2].
TONCUES. Dry-assemble
the f"ame
members to get the measurements for the
panel, and cut the: panel to this final size.
Next, "out rabbets on the edges of the
Formica panel to create tongues that lit
tight in the greoves, see Fig. 22. (Sneak up
on the depth of these ra bbets so the
tongues fit snuglyin the grooves.)
,\55"OL Y. Before final assembly of the
frame, I routed a pencil groove on theface
of the back rail of the frame, see Fig. 23.
Then glue and clamp the n.. me members to
the edge. of the panel.
Aft.1' the desk top frame is assembled,
it's mounted to the web frame with IJh"
hinges, see r'ig. 24.l'osltion the front.edge
of the desk top sc it's Ilush with the fronts
of'the drawers. refer tol'ig. 27. 'Phen i:out

fIGUru: 23

y,- ..

FtRST ROU) CENTER

WItH -\'t" STIIAlGKT BIT

a",4'!!,'l!Jf:;:;;:;;
fI' _~ ,y."

PENClt G~OOVIi

fLUSH

KNUCklE ClNfEII:(,D

ON (RONT (,OGt ~

I"

I.l

~-

r''''~\

I";" HINCt

MOUNtED ON lO"

SECOND ROUT EDGES

WITH .,," C;:O~EBOX BIT

I.

~
~

ROUSIE 2"

fi
UNI:'E!-'U""''''''Il"o,!,
..~/J
SHOUlDERS Of. GROOVE
-GROOVE- $I'UNS END1'O END

fiGURE 25

"

r.} ,

I.ii:.
L"

,<~,

.','

CUT MORTISf
ro
~~'~"-._/

THICKNESS
OFHU~GE /ON WE' FJlAME
.--./'

.7

l --..,
END C:AP

_r_

FIGU'E 26

Ih~OOWEl

I~

KEEP FRAME SQUARE

~~1
J,

nUSH M.OUNT KING~S....__

FIGURE
21

_.../

. _

._r-.V.'
!'., ~

_HI,ES

nusa

MOUNTED <f0 10P

out mortises for the hinges in the web

frame, (Th~

mortises should be as deep

as the total thickness of tbe hinges so the
top frame rests nat On the web frame.)

._.,,_

8ASE

RACHEl ASSEMBLY
The last step is to make the rachet assembly that's used to tilt the desk-top up.
Tll\S frame consists of t\VO notched arms
(0) that fit OVerdowel pegs, see Fig. 26.
Cut the arms Irom one piece.of5l4 stock.
see Fig. 25. 0 r-;1114"holes along the edge,
band SA\V out. the notches, and resaw this

piece to get the two arms, Then join the

arms at the bottom with a V!'!" dowel rod,
and a crosspiece (I) half-lapped at the top,
see Fig_ 2G.
Q'hen the rachet frame is hinged to the
bottom side of the desk top and W' dowel
pegs are mounted to the inside drawer
runners, sec Fig. 27.
FINAL STEPS
To complete the desk, r added a "pencil
catcher" to the f,'Ontcdge of the desk top so
pencils or paper don't slid. orr when the
desk top Is tilted up, see Fig_ 29. Also, I
-added adjustable pads to the base Of the leg
assemblies, see Fig. 28.
The last step was to finish all lhe wood
parts of the desk with Sutherland Welles
Tung OilWOODSlvllTH

CENTER~G lEYElEfI;S
I"IN ~OM 80lU &ND~....er

MATERIALS LIST
OvOf'Q1IOimcnflon SOy,"w x 24,,"d)f 26"34~h
A Web From!!Rail. (2) 1.1/i. x 2'/. . 48'1..
8 W~b FtCU""~Stiles (2) 'I. x 2'1 170/.0
C
D

f
G
H

"Front Aprof'l (1)

Bock Apron (1)
StretMer (1)
Dovetail Ke)' (2)
Drower Runnel'$ (4)
Drawer Fronts (2)

I
J

Ralchel Ftome-Top (l)

End Cops(2)
Uprights (2)
Base-{2}
Top Frame Roils:(2)
Top Frome.Stiles (2)
Ratchet Frome Arms

l
M

N
0
P Otawer Sides (4)
Q Drawer 8oc".. (2)
R Web Frome Ponels
S Drawer Bottoml (2)
T Top F"ornePanel
U Fon'pica

1:J/i. x ,Ih 48
'0/,,. x 4 480/.
1:J1i~x S~/
4a~/,,.
1:V,,. It 3Y.i. 16'/a:
x llt/ 20ilY'.
10/1. x 31h 1S
10/',. x 1'/ 17"1.
1'/,. x $l/, 240/.

CUnlNG

I
I
I

DIAGRAM

"
J

1- B Ilm
I I. ."M
'I .' ~u~~
~!"'!I'_I

'0/1,.

"/,. x 50/ 17%

lY,.x3Vi19
I '/,. ~ 2'/ ... 47"1"/,. )t 2'/" 20Y-i
lV,.x Iy... 15
'h x 2'/ 16
'Ill x 21/ 13V,t

Y.
Mcs\onilo
r-;..~ Moionifo

'II" x $'1.1" 48"

H"I,~

IB!d

x 20'.4 44't.
20'1" x 44~
V,

In/Out Box
THE INS AND OUTS OF SLIDING DOVETAILS
"'Th;-.-re-;-'s-an-o""ld;--"'tim-e""jo-:i;-n-tl"h-.-:t';-.
not u~ed much anvmore: a
I dovetail groove andkey. Thi,
joint was used to hold several
I boards togelher, edg'lt ...edge
, (as on a table top),
But Ted Kralieek (our Design Director) ""'" dlseove re'"

same depth of eu; II. on the

grooves, rout the half-dovetail
profile on the edges of Ih.
support arms by making shallow passes on both edgeo, see

Fig. 2. Sneak up on these c."Ut!"

and
the fit umil the .upport ann slides t'n\oolhl~' but not too loosely
in the
J1'OO\e.

,e,;'

a new applicarien (or thi~

joint. The do"etail key ean be

used to make a
joint to
hold 'he .ides of a box to.

("Qr,,"

PEG SI-I)"ORl'S. To complete

the support arms, round over

the outside edges And ronan)"
to keep the l.oJ>Ira>' in position
(refer to Fig. 8), mount pel(>'
centered 2)1. from the lop of

gether,
Maybe tha,',

no big deal,

but building this inloul box

was kind of exciting because I
got to useajoint that l 'dnever

the support arms, see Fig. 2.

even seen 00[01'0,

We also used anorher variation on this jolnl (a .liding
dovetail key) to hold the ."1"
port arm on the sides
tho
upper and lower traytl.
All in all, this i,\{out box

FRONT/BACK

Next. I worked on the front

and back pieces, Thi. io where
a dovetall key is used to make

or

turned out to be quilt>

projeet ...

a CQ1'nCt'[oint.

ROU1' ouooves.

0'1 i1t\cr("\NtillJ{

at leust from a woodworking

standpoint.
THE SIDES
1 started this project by .uUinl( Vt oak
stock to size for the .ide piee.:., 'fh.""
pieees are 0111to u final length of 13Y,' and
to width 80 they're a lillie mere than
double wide, see Fig, I. (It', much easier
to cut the dovetall grooves on these picc.'C~
if they start OUI wider.)
DOVTJ\II. csooves. The duvetnit
grooves that hold the support ann, in Ih.
tray's ~ide pieces are routed first. t used
the router table with a ".. ",mighl bil 10
clean out most of the waste ill lhiti groovc,
Adjust.. the router table'to r(lnC\' t'O the
straighl bil is crlllrrnl on the length ofth.
sid~. Then roUt ;t 1,.'1"" (Icep dado ac~
the-

center W'oove by moving the fence toward

the bit abeut Vi' and make another pass,

Then nip the workpiece end for end and
rout an cClunlamount off the opposite. side
of the center greovc. Keep moving the
renee and routing until the groove is lo/l""

wide.
Next. in!\t,ulln Y:/' dovetail bit {also set
rout the edges of the groove
to it~finnl width of2'1~",see Detail 2 in Fig.
I, Then the double wide side pieces can be
ripped in half - 10 a final width of 2'y....

f"r d<'Cpl.nd

SUPPORT ARMS

Next, the support arms are cut 6~" longand v,," wider than the widest part of
the do\("tail groove in the si(le pieces. see
Flit, 2, Th.n, \\;,h the dovetail bit at tbe

'ro

milk.

this joint, the first step is to ,'<)utdovetail

grooves Oil the face
the n'<)nl and back

or

pieces. However, since cluvet.ail l.il$ eun

not. be raised in increments

to rout n

groove.I started with a V' straight blt to

a,

clean out most of the waste, see I"ig,

For the flrst pass, set the Ience to cut u
Y.!"..wide grOO\'C celli(','ea ~"" fl'0111 ~h('
edge, For this cut, the slmighl bit's depth
should be slightly le... tban Ihe finiohed
depth
greeve 50 the final J)M~with the
dovetail bit will create a reaUy clean eut.
After the straigh; groove is routed on
one edge. turn the piece end-for-end and
rout a second straight WOO\''!on the 01)0pesite edge,
Then convert the 1\\'0 $trailtht gtOO\'C"

or

into dovetall grooves. Leave the router

v,

table's fenee in the same Im-ition, and in.talI a

dovetail bit set for. 'Y depth of
AGUII2

O(tAJl 1

1',

.,.

entire \\'i(lth of the side piece, see Detail I

in ~'ig, I. After the first pass, widen 'his

lour SH"OfD

I '.

S'

.t...

.......sa..,GHr

""
"

'. - -

-_

~.

,t, ~

1\ ISTPASS
2ND PASS

f[Ne[

r,-,---.,---.-J

l
alP TO FINAl
WIOTHAfftR
AOUl1NGG~OOVE

'.'

aourta

TAllE:

~..,.ooVltA.l "r

10

WOODSMITI1

cut, and rout, the dovetail prom" on both

grooves.
DO\'ETAJl. $(.OJ(f:TS. \Vith this same
setup on the router table, "OUtthe sockets

RGUR'E 3
6L._OCKGUlDf
sloe PIECE

in the cllcf!$ of the side pieces, see Fig. d. rro

_SUI>p0n.the side pieces and prevent chip
out while they're on end, use a scrap 2x4

fENCE:

block behind the workpiece,

DOVETAil KEYS

Now the dovetail keys are cut't<) fit the

groovesln the f,'onVback pieces, The keys

are ,nla<le by routing dovetailtongues on

two strips that $LaI'I OUI~" wide and IV,"
longer Ihnn lhe length of the fl'ontlbuck
pieces, 11'hi8'extr a length is to Co.m ,he
"pins" that make lhe corner joim.).
Rout lhe dovetail tongues on both edges
of both ships, see .'ig, 5, ;\.$ you're routing, keep testing rhe fit in the grooves ill
the fronVb.ck pieces - it should be snug,
After the tongues are routed, simply rip
the keys olTlhestrips, see Detail in Fig. 5.
Although you tan to cut the keys flush with
the surface of the-trays, 1cut them a sliver

thicker than necessary, Then later.

CUT kEYS f-ROM

tONTfj:ASnNG

.,,<1 .,~ ..") srocs ,-_,

OOVfTAll
k,EY STOCI(

FfNce
,

F1GURE S

;rresve

SUVER

f.OR S'AND1NG

ROUTEA'
fABLE

RIP
"E'( OfF
SOARD

UNCE

the

whole assembly can be sanded flush.

After the first fOIl,1' keys are cu~ off the
two strips. ''eIJe.t this whole process to get
four more keys. Then 'appl)' glue to the
grooves and tap the keys in place. (Tap
qUickly here because the keys absorb
moisture from the glue and swell.) Tap the
keys in place until ')I.- extends on bott.
ends, see Fig, 6. (Be sure to clean off any
excess glue from the ends of the keys.)
CUTOI'ENlN(;S. Before r assembled the

'II" OOVE:TAI_l BIT

.lAO.

SAW TAa",

fiGURE 6

trays, 1 cut openings in the fl'ont pieces.

Dri]] t\VO II' holes 4" on center and %" up
from the bottom edge. see Detail in Fig. 6,
OJ\ a band saw, and
smooth "I) the opening with. small sanding drum on the <Irill press,

Then cut out the waste

ASSEMBLE TRAYS

After the openings in the front 'Pieces are

smoothed out, glue the t\VO sides and the
front/back pieces together, Then trim the
excess off on the ends of the keys so the
corners can be rounded over later.
R~WO.xrFOR aOT1'O~t.Next, rout 3' rabbet on the bottom of each tray for the
plywood bottom, see Fig. 7, (I did this 0.\
the router table with" rabbeting bit and
pilot.) Then cut the plywood bottom to fit
the rounded corners of the rabbet.
Before gluing the bottom in place, finish
sand the top side of the plywood. (It's
easier to sand before it's installed.)
llOUN,D O\'ER

CO;RNEI~S. Finally.

RGutE 7

fiGURE 8

rounded over the four' outside corners on

each ll"ay with a ~ rounding over bit on
the router table. Then I switched to a 11.rounding-over bit to round over all the
edges of each tray.
FINISH,To finish the trays, I sanded all
surfaces smooth. and then applied Sutherland Welles Tung Oil (lIledium Luster).
WOODSMITH

rA,lM ENO$ Of OOVfTAJlKEYS

AFlf'R ASSEMBLY

r.!lJo,-

USE ~ ..
ROUNOJNG
OVER 81f ON

AU fOOlS

\ . RADIUS ON All OutSIDE CORNERS

I1

Two.-Drawer Caddy__
THE BEST PARTNER A DESK CAN HAVE
As ...ve were "'orking on the design of the
adjustable desk (shown on page 4), we
knew there would be a problem with storage. Rather than try to build a lot of extra
storage drawers into the desk, we thought
the best solulion would be to build "1>orate, roll-around storage <addy.
As happens with a 101er projts, th.
caddy was built for one U~(a.~a. companion
to the desk), but it turned eut to be nice
proj""t all by itself.
THE CADDY'S SIDES

To build this ca ddy. I .wrt",1 with the

solid-wood sid.. (A). Both sides lII\! made
o( ;;'4 (1Yo. thick) oak.
To make the sides, np .i!!ht pieces of
steek i) x IT' and edge-glue the pieces to
form two sides with rouR'h (limension~ of
20- wide by IT long. Ane r lhe side. are
glued up, plane them 0.1. (Note: The "inside" (a.. o( the sides should be M Oal :J8
possible so the drawer .. operate 611l00thly.)
Then trim the sides to their On,,1.iw of
1S" x 16". (1'0 avoid expansion/cont"action
problems, the grain on the sides milo, run
the 16" direction, which means it will be
horiZ(lntal when the caddy I. assembled,

sec photo.)
HOU" GROOVE. After both side. sre
trimmed to size, three V......wtde gr'oovcs
are routed on the inside (acc to attach Ihe
top, bottom and back, f'in!t, I marked each
piece to indicate which edge would be (or
the lop, bottom and back, Then I marked
the start and stop points o(the grooves 00 I
could eas lly see where to begin and end the
routing pMS.
To guide the router. clamp a fence to the
side piece. I started with the groove for the
lop, then moved the (ence to rout the
groove [or the bottom, and finAlly, rout",1
the groove for the back so it start. and
stops in lh~ first t\\'"O grooves. see Fig. I.
Each time a groove i~
routed. make sure
the dire<tion o( wt is (rom lert to right SO
the rotation of the bit (0""'" the router
against the (enee.
RO~:<I) COR:<&RS. A(ter the three
grooves are routed on each side piece. use

a compass to mark a ~.radiul' at each

eomer, and carefully round the eomerll off.
Then round over aUthe edges (on bolh the
inside and outside (aces) using a Yo- rounding over bit.
THE END CAPS
At this point, the sides are complete, Tho
next step is to build the caddy'. top alld
bottom (C). Both or these piee lire mad.
out, o( W particle board wilh 614 (I

y,,'

12

thick) oak capa (B) 011 the front and back

edges. The top also has a piece of F ormien
laminated to it.
CIlT PARTlel.': BOARD, Start by cutting
two pleces of particle board to a rough size
of II x 12".Then laminate a piece ofFormiea to the piece (01' the top. (I used Formiea brand Iaminate. The eolor is Dark
Henna '935, matte finish.)
ESOC.'PS. Next. the end caps are cut and
added to the front and back edges. Rip four

caps 2Yc" wlde

16"IOI1g. Once agnin, so [

eould keep things straight in late,' steps, I
marked each end cap's po!!ilion (toplfrollt
and back, bottom/front and back).
GROOI'S ix CArs. The end cap$ are
joined to the particle board with tongue
and groove joints. To keep this joint O""h.
the location of the groove. in the end cops
is critical (especially on Ihe top).
The cops on the top have to fit so they're
perf""Uy Hush with Ihe sunace o( the For
CUnlNG

MATERIALS LIST

DIAGRAM

20"

Ow.roll Oimen"CH"I~ 17V."., x 16"" x

A Side (2)
,1/'6 x 1. - 16

End CoP' ,.)

C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K

Top' 8ottom (2)

O.rowo.. tunners (6)
19. Dtow., Front el}
Sm.Dto~,Front(l)
19. Dmw., Sid" (2)
Lt. Drawer Boc.k(I'
Sm. Orow" Sid" (2)
Sm. DtOwor Bock {I'
Dl'Ow.r Bottoms (2)

L Coddyloclc(l'
M Formi(O Top (1)

l' ,.~ .. S..,". 72'

11/ x 2Y.. x 15'h

-n x

1,/. _15'.r.

V. x If... 13"1.
~'I

12'/. - 15
'lY,.x3V,.IS
I/) 9 131Y'.
'h lt 9 13Y..
'At 3 13%
v,. 3 13Yt
'I." ply. (wi to Fit)

1;'''.15'''.161,4
lilA x 15'/.

I
I

1''',."' '" 5' ..,," 4,"

'-. 5'h- CI'

I

tit" II 111'/." 48'

WOOOSMITH

Index of Contents
Thib index cove... all of the articles tinclllding projec" and techniques) contained
in the fin-t 30 il":--ut.:-. or l,ood$)),itp. The
numbe.. (ollowlOgeaeh listin!(l"<)ierto the
issue and I"'g~~ where you can find informarion 011 tbe Ii"ted subject.. Fer example,
20:47refers to infol'mation in I\'oodsmitll
issue No. 20 on l)tlg~s1through 7_

I"

Angle
Cutting odel20:211
DrlJlinl(,1:10
Antique Willi mllTOr26:18-19
Band saw
Blade 10::1
Cutllnj( duplicates 2ll:3
BlIlTistcr'. bookca....,29:16-21,2-1
Bead ouuing jig 16:3
Bed.ide stand UscI-7
Belt buckle 10:6
Belt sander 1;':7: 10:10
Bench
Garden :1:89:27:1213
Trestle 2:1:24
Bevel/rip 3:3; 7:5: 25:8-9
Bind.. , WOOCINI
I"""cle.f 7:4
Bil.!!,morti.ing 2(;:2021
Blanket ChCKt16:1215
Blind dOl'ctnil 12:7
Bookcase 7:67:29:16-21,2<1
Bookrack 7:12
Boring jig. hori1.ol1taJ12:13
SO\\' saw 6:5
Bowl
fruit 21:18-21
Popeorn ~:2-I
Box
Ch;_'el2.1:20-22
Display 9:11
End f[Tllin15:18
Jewetrv 9:;;: 2-1:20-2'2
Ml1$ic6:6-7:28:1-7,2-1
Recipe 10:8
Routed 13:1213:28:10-11
Shop storage 1;;:11-15
Slide-top (flngel'-joinledJ 17:14-15
Ti~suc 2:5; 19:24
~r()y 29:~JtI.24
Box col1.11'UcliQn
3:0; ,1:1-5:26:4-6
BoxjoinI2:,15: 17:1213
Drawer. 17:1619
.Jig 2:4
Branding Iron. 10::1
Bread beard 20:2-1
Bread box, roll-top 4:6-8
Buckle. belt 10:6
Buffet tablc,ll8ll~I"K 2O;U17
Bullel catch 19:12,17
Butler', lray table 11:10-11.16:16:3
Cabinet
Banister'. bookcase 29:16-21,24
Bed-side 'land 18:17
Caned-panel cabinet and hutcl122:18-22

I~

WOODS~lITII

Cabinet, roPiI.
Chair-side 2.1:11-17
Colonial dry .ink 18:12-15
Colonialwall hutch 18:16-19
Contcmp<Jrm'Yhutch 13:17
Curio 21:12.15:ill:1217
Oi'I>I.y!):Il: 26:4-6
Europenn cabinet lind hutch 22:1822
~'I'l"ne and panel 8:S-11
Modular 8tOI"1(0H)'Hlem22:1215
Raised-panel door 8:7
Shop gtol'l'gc 25:,17
SpocI26:,j6
Tambour stereo 17:6-9
'Tambour 'TV 25:1119
Tambour wall 17:11).11
Cabinet sera""r J 1:1213:15:7
Camp 61.001
3:7
Candle .tand t.bl~ 11:6-7
Caned-panel cabinet and hutcl122:I8-22
Canister, turned 14:11-15;25:8-12: 27:3:
30:23
Car, loy 1'lIC(' 6:12
Carbide-tipped
Router bit 21:S-!!:2.~:23
Table saw blade. 27:11;'21,2'1;28:19,23
Carpenter's lI'ianglp 1:1;:15:6
CllrI, mierowav~J8ervinj(23:8-11

Clock. rout.
OttajtOnaI12:8-9
Round 3:10-11
SChoolhouse 21:1-7::1O:2.~
Clubs, woodworking 27:21:28:2-1;29:24:
30:2-1
Coffee table 19:14-17;25:202'Z
Coin sorter
Columns 16:9
'111'.Y10:6
Colonial
Dry sink 18:1215
Wall hutch 18:16-19
Compass 7:3: 26::1
Cookbookirecip"shelf 8:15
Cootingrack 1:2
Corner
I
Joint, plywood 22::1
' Template 29:~
; Cove outting 12:16:2It23
Curio cabinet 21;12-1S:26:1217
Cul-off jig. rudi;tl :tnn gO'" 22:8
Cutting board 1:1
Dado b4,de, "tlju.'table 17:20:23:23
Danish oil finish 1IO:1215
Deck
Chair 3:6-7
Squares 3:10
Ohair
Dentil 2G:J2-IIJ.22:29:a
ConlemllOl'(lI'Y
2:6-8, 16:8-11
Denis 15:3
Dcck 3,67
Desk
Oak, dinilll( 15:8-11
Lap 9:6
Patio 27:8-11
Shaker-style wriling 12:.1-7
Scat 25:23
Diamondstone. 21:7
Chairside cabinet 2.1:1417
Dining table
Chest
Circular with leaf :10:11;"21,24
Blanket 16:1215
Contemporary oak 15:15
Six-drawer (boxjoint drawers) 17:Ui--19 Drop-leaf 11:8-10
Sweater 9:8-9
Picnic 27:47
Toy 29:19.2-1
Trestle 1::1-.;:23:1215
Cheval mirror 30:4-8,2.1
Di.play case 9:11;26:1-6
Cbi>.eiJ;19:5:20:8-11:25:3
Door
Chisel ease 24:20-2'.1
Caned'panel23:I!t-2'Z
Chri$tmas OTlI"IO,'nIS
6:10-12
Glass 13:1l9; 22: lM-22; 24:9; 25:19:
Circles. routing 20:13:21:I(J.II; l)O:9
26:1517:29:1920
eil-culn'
Hinges 13:8-9:25:19
CIoek 30:10-11
~funtins 1:1:1l-1)
[nlay I'outinl( 26:22
R.i~C(I.pllnoI2:1O.11:18:419:24:1"17
Mi""or frome 12:1011
Techniques 1:1:89:29:2(J21
Tabl. tOI'19:3; :10:1215
DOvetail
Clamping
Blind J2:7
Stops 9:12
Drawers 19:1G~18
Table top 15:7
Fixtures 2'l:6-10: 2:1::1:27::1
Clamps
GnJO"~ 11:6-7
Hand
15:7;211::1
Half-blind 22:1-9
Hold-down 1:6
Hand-cut I;&p22:15:23::1
Pipe 15:3,7;2l!:3
l.amp 2:!:Z,1
Table lop 17::1
llachioc-<:ul 1,,1' 22:6-9
\Vedge ';:3
Plywood 22:8-9
Clock
Rabbeted 21::1
Circular' 30:1011
Routed 22:1;'9
Desk 10:4
Saw. 19:5
Manlel24:811; :10:2.3
Through 12:7;(i.,uo I!J)

'CI~""

Dovetail,

t;Q'll.

Frame, cout,
Rabbet routing 26:22
Round clock :)0:10-11
W(.b constructlon
s.s.n: 14:10-11:
22:I~-22; 2-1:101-17:25:14-17:
'~-I'17'. .07.
..u.....
"'I-?I
_
Frame and p:Jnel eonsrruction 8:6,8-11:
16: 121;;; 18:1-19; 24:14.17.20-22:

Tongue and grC>O"e 9:7; 20:20-22.2$

Dowels
ChamfeMng 10:~
Cu~ting 16:3
Groov"" 16:~
llaking 19:3
Sanding 9:12
Use 24:23; 29:16-21; :~:2
Callery clock :)0:11).11
Orower
Con.lnlttion 1:5: 6:3; 15:11-15; 17:11-9_ Gatl,leg bulTet table 20:1117
16-19: 18:7.19-22: 19: 15-19: 20: I~: C;!a_<.<
Cutting 13:16: 17:20
21:15: 22:11-15.21-22:
2.:1-7:
Door 13:8-9: 22:18-22: ~:9:
25:19:
29:5-9.14-15.2-1
6:15-17;
29:19-20
Plywood 22:H-I';
~Iountinj! 11:3
Routed Cront 21:3
Sanding 13:3
Drill bits, morti>inlt 26:20-21
Gluinl( 7:3; 9:3: 10:;l,9; 15:7: 11:4"';: 18:3:
Drill guide. ('orlaligll 12::1.1:1
19:2:1:20:23: 21:9; 23:22; 24~.l3:26:1l:
Orin prc:-.....
27:23: 28:9.:M
c<>net chuck 12~1: 26:28
End grain 2,1:2:1
Cuidu 1:6
Frame 26:11: :)0:9
Hole boring jig 22:3
Inlay 28:9
Morti>e. 18:23
Jig 25:18
Morti$ing bits 26:20-21
Mil;'n; 21:9; 30:9
f're$lt"Ulle table elevator 16:20
Tnrnbou
rs 17:4-5
Route.' chuck 12:3
Goblot
s,
turned
23:4-7: 24:23
Table "uPPOl~ 19:3
Grinde.' 1001 res~20:1; 24:3
Drilling
G.inding wheels 20:4-6,12: 23:23
Guide 1:6

Jig 25::1
Horizontal bo.ing 12:13
SIIOI"/IIilir Mnrk V 2!i::l
,.eml)latc 22:12-13
Drop-leaf
Hinge 11:10; 14:8
.Joint 11:10: 14:78
Pembroke table 14:4-8
Table 11:8-10
Ellip'll!6:8: 11:3:16:3: 19:3: 2-1:a
End board. 9:7

End grain
Box 1.:13
Gluing 24:2:1

Sealing 9::1
f-il. cabinet 7:8-9
Filler
Nail hole 1.::)
Sawdust glue 17:3
Finger joint 17:14-1';
Fini.'\he~

N"on-loxic 19:23: 25:~:28:2J

Oil ;)0:12-15.24
Outdoor 27:1415
Turning 20:23

Finishing techniques 11:9: 28.1: :10: 12-15

Fixtures
l)o\etail22:610: 23:3: 27.1
Nailing 15,1

Frome
Ci~ular 12:11).11::10:11).11

Callery clock 30: 10-1I

Gluing 26:11: 30:9
Molded edge U:R-17.20-22: 29:2()-21:
:)0:4-8
Mortise and tenoll'$:711
Octagonal clock 12:8-9; 21:-1-7
Octagonal. jig 21:17

Ov.1 b:9

Holf-blind dovetail 22:49

Halr.lttl> 1:4,7.8: 2:11: 15:8-11; 16:6-7;
22:18-22; 27:4-13.22; 29:23
111111mil'"'' 21:) 6
Hand-cut, dove(jlils 22:4-1); 23:3
llnnd RCI'C\\!:; If>:7; 2S:S
Hexagon 16:8-9: 18:8
Hinges
Butler's tray table 14:16: 16:3: 20:23
Dado 18:8
1)001' 13:8-9
Drop-leaf 11:10; [.1:8
CIMS door 2,;:19
Knife 1:1:11-9
Wooden (issue 14'9)
Hold-down jig 28:3
Holding' jig. vise 29:3
Hole bOling jig 22:3
Horizontal horin, jig 12:13
HUl<h
Contcmperary 13:4-1
European caned-panel cabinet and
hutch 22:18-22
Inlay 20:17: 26:6.22: 28:8-15.24
Jack pI.n. 15:7
Japanese water stones !4:+-6: 26:23
Jewelry box 9:5: 2-1:20-2:!
.Jill"
Angle drilling -1:10
Bead cut 16:3
Box joint 2:4
Dcntil molding 26:22: 29:3
Dowel making 19:3
Drilling 25:3
Finger joint 17:11-15
Gluing 25: 18
Hold-down 2:1:3
Hole boring 22:9
HOMMlllal boring 12:13

Joinery
Blind dovetail 12:7
Box 2:45: 17:12-13.16-19
Corner. plywood 22:3
Dovetail 19:6-11; 22:49: 2:1:3
Dovet ail tongue and groove 9:7;
20:20-22,24
Drop-leaf 11:10: 14:7-8
Finger 17:1-1-15
Frame and panel 8:6.8-11: 16:12-15:
18:4-19: U:U-17.20-22: 29:4-22
HaIr-blind dovetail 22:4-9
Half.lap 1:4.7: 15:8-11: 16:6-7: 22:18-~;
27:413.22: 29:23
Hand-cut dovetail 22:4"';: 23:3
Haunehed mortise and tenon 14:11).11:
18:4-19
Keyed mortise and tenon 1:4
Lap dovetail 22:4-9
Locked miter 9:10
Locked inngue and dado 13:7
Machinc-cut dovetail 22:6-9
)liter and spline 1:11; 21:8-9,12-16:
22:20-22: 30:2.4-11.16-22
Mitered half-hlp 2:11
Mitered mortise and tenon 16:16-17
Molded rnortlse and tenon 24:12-13.24
Mortise and tenon 1:<1; !!-:3-5: 12:4-7.12;
13:10-11;
11:5.10-11:
15:8-12:
16:4-7.12-17; 17:16-18; 18:419.2'1:
20:14-17;
21:12-10:
22:18-22;
24:9.12-13.18-22.24; 25:22; 26:7-11
Open mortise and tenon 24:18-22
Parallel spline 9:9
Plywood dovetails 22:8-S
Rabbet and groove (also called ,.bbeV
dado 01- rabbeted tongue/d"do) 6:8;
10:9: 13:'1-7: 18:12-15,1921: 21:4-7.16;
22:12-15: 26:<1-6

Routed dovetail 22:6-9

Rule 1l:10: 101:7-8
Sliding dovetail longue and groove
20:20-21
Stave eonsrruction 20:8-9: 27:3: 30:23
Stopped dodo 2:6.11
Stub tenon and greeve 29:22
Through dovetail 12:7: 19:6-11
Tongue and groove 1:5: 13:-1-7;18:12-19:
24:1-1-17
Jigs. COlli.
Miter 12:15: 24;1213

Molding 26:22
Mortise cutting 16:IS: 18:23
Octagonal frame ~1: 17
Panel cut~1T2O:13; 27::1:21<:3
Panel eutting 18:23: 22: II

Pin-routing 28:20-22
Radial arm saw cut-olT 22:3
Radial ann saw router 20-.3
Raised panel 20:3
Rcsawing6:9
Ripping 20:13

Router-cut mortise 26:3

Routing round blanks 21>:3
Shelf support 18:3

Taper 1:6: 5:4: 11:3

Tenon 16:18; 24:18-19: 28:3
Vise holding 29:3

WOODSMITH

Joiner)". ('0111.
Twin tenon 12:12
\Vedged mortise and tenon 15:8--12
Knife

Hinge. 1:1:8-9
Holder 10:7
Lamp
Dovetail 22:2-1
Hangin)l2:9
Lap
De.k 9:6
Dovetail 22:'I-!I
Lazy Su~"" 21:10-11

Open 21:18-2"2
1\\;" tenon 12:12

Leg'S
'I'apored 11:11; 1,1:4-8; il8:12-13
TUJ'ue<1 12:6

Letter opener 10:7

Light bracket. swivel 9:4
Linseed oil finish 30:12-15
Locked miter 9:10
Locked tongue and dado 13:7
~18chin~-cutdovetail 22:&.9
)Iantel clock 24:8-11; 30:23
ltarking gauge 19:12-13; 21:3
Marquetry. inlay 20:17: 26:6.22; 28:8-15.24
lIemo board 18:24
llierowa\'.,,,,,,,ing cart 23:8-11
ltirror
Antique wall 26:18-19
Cheval :lO:I-8,24
Circular- Irnme 12:1()..U
Hal! 21:16
\'anitl' lO:5i ~1:24
Mite,'
Cutting 21:8-9,17; 28:S; 25:23; 30:9
Gauge, table MaW 2J;:8, 27:22; 29;23
Gluing 21:9; 30:9
Jig 12:15; 2-1:12-1:1
Locked 9:10
Mathematic< 12:14-15
lUter and .pline join.ry 7:11; 21:49.12-16:
22:20-22; 30:2.1-11.16-22
lUt.red half-lap 2:11
lIitered mortL,. and tenon 16:16-17
lloduJar .torage system 22:12-15
Molded edlte frame 2-1:8-17.20-22;29:19-20:
30:48
)Iolded meruse and tenon 24:12-13
Moldings 24:1013; 26:1219.22; 28:47;
29;3,1720
Mortise

Anglt~115;8-1l
Bits 26:2021
Cutting Jig 16:18: 18:23
Double dado 16;7
Dril! press 18;28
Roulel'clIl, jilt 26:S; 30:22
Slo( 8:,1; 10:3; 13:IQ-)I: 14:5,1011;
16:45: 26:8-9
Through 15:8-11
'r\\;n 14:5; 18:1.7,12.15; 20:1417
Slortise and tenon 1:4: B:a;;: 12:47.12:
13:11).11: 11:5; 15:8-12; 16:-l-'i.12-18:
17:16-18; 18:4-19.24; 20:14-17; 21:12
1.-' 2.'18.'"
""9 19.13 189? 9"
2J;:22: 26:711
~lort_l!!ieand tenon
Fnun,' 2G:7-11

....

\VOODSMll'U

__

_ ...

Mortise and tenon. fOnt

Haunehed J.I:IOII; 18:1-19
KevL'<11:1
~Iojded 24:12-13.2-1

'"

--.~.

\\'ed"ed 15:8-12
Muntin. 13:8-~
Music box 6:6-7; 28:1-7.2-1
Nailing fixture 15:3
Nestled table. 28:12-1.
Nole board 18:201
Oetallon 12:8-11;16:10; 21:4-7
~'r.me jil( 21:17
Oil Jinil!hes :)0:1215,211
Ornaments. Ch,i.tmus 6:11)12
Outdoor
Furniture (i ue *3); 27;,1-13
'-inisheN 27:1,115
Panel cut-on' jig 25:13; 27:3; 28:3
Panel cutling 8:12: 11:3; 18:23; 2'1:11
Parallel spline 9:9
Patio chair 27:li-1I
Pembroke table 14:1-8
Pencil and card holder 2:12
Picnic table 27:1-7
Pictur. frame router bit 9:3: 10:3
Picture and Ill..... mounting II:S
Pin routing 28:1011.16-18,2022
Pipe clamp 1&.~.7:28:S
Plane
Adjuslments 2:1:2()22:25:28
Bench 23:16-22
,'lnUeninA' 28:22: 25:3: 29:23
Jack 11;:7
Sharpening 211:1819
Planer, \VIIgIIC" S.feT 10:10; 15:7
Planing. table lop 2:1:21
Planter

Cedar plllars 3:-1

Rangin)l3:12
Redwood tub 3:3
Tapered -side. W: 10-11

Plunge routers 28:23

P*'wood
Buying tips :lO:t)
Comer joint 22::1
Dovetails 22:ti-9
Drawer construetiou 22:14...15
Splintering 22:11
Popcorn bowl. turned 25:24

Poria/i9"

D,;I! guide 12:a,l$

Shaper bit 12:1011
P''68$lI1ate drill press tnble clevntor 16:20
Rabbet und groove joint (also called
rabbet/dado or rnbbetcd tongue/dado)
6:8; 10:9; 13:'1-7; 18:11).21;
21:17.15; 22:1215: 2(;:46
Rabbeted
Dovotail.21::1
Drawer (ront 22:9
Frame. routed 26:22: 36:9
Radial ann
Cut..,fl' jig 22::1
Router jig 20:3

~a'"

Tabl.20:3

Technique" 15:1G; 16:16-18; 17:3;

arm
t""hniqu",
18:11.23
I Radial
Raisedp"n.12:1~11;
8:7; 18:1.19.2:1:20:3;
23:23; :J.I:I'17
"3W

<0111.

Rasp 26:23
Recipe box 10:~
Resewing 6:9: 28:4-7
Rip/bevel 16:8
Ripping jig 25:1:1
RoIllop brt'lld box 1:6-8
Resan inserts 22;11.1115; 24:3: 27:24:
28:24: 30:3
Routed
Box 13:12-13; 28:10-11
Dovetails 22:6-~1
Drawer front 2J :!i
Snack tray 28:11;18
Router
Bit. catbide tipped 21:~9; 23:23
Bit. mortising 26:20-21
Bit. picture from,' 9::1: 10:3
Bit, raised panel Z:l:2:~
Case ~:3
Chuck with drill p",', 12:.1
Debris 24:21
Dovetail flxturvs 2'1:6-9: 2:1:3
Guide. multi-purpose 17:20
Jig. centered j..ITOOV(.'N :~:22
Jig, dentil molding 29::1
Jig, mortise cutting 26:3
Jig, radial :\I'DI saw 20:3
Jig, round blanks 25::1
Pin 28:1011.16-18.2022
Plunge :lS::!:!
Technique. 10:11-12; 13:3; 20:13; 21:S.
8-11; 26:la; 26:22: 28,10-11,16-18.

2022; :lO:4-11.1G22

Trammel attachment 80:4-8.10-1 ~.1621

Reuter tabl.
Cunstruction 2O:18-HJ:22:16-17
I nserts 3O~1
Pinrouting attachmenl 28:20-22
Planing on 18:3
Sabre ,,"W setup 30:3
Stand 22:16-17
Table N\'''' l'xwnl'llon 2-':3
Rule joint 11:10; 11;78
Safety 15:3
SaIe-TPlaner. Waf/tier 10:10; 15:7
Sander

Belt 15:7
ROCKwell S""cclIJIO<' orhil<ll 14:12; 15:7
Sander stand, belt 10:10
Sa,'~ing
Circle. 11:12
Di.k 13:!I; 15::1
Dowels 9:12
Drum 13:3: 15:3: 2J;::1
Glass 13:3
Pad 15:3
Table top 15:7
Saw. dovetail 19:5
Saw blade
Band 10:3
Table. earbide-t ipped 27:1621.24;
28:19.23
Cleaning 17:3: 21:23
Schoolhouse clock 21:4-7: :10:23
Sconce. candle 6:5

Scrap weed projects :1:12: (;$'u. #10):

14:1'I-l~
Scraper. cabinet 14:1213: 15:7
Screws

Brase 18::1
Sheet reek 18:~: 19:23
Serv ing
Cart 23:S-1!
'i'ra,)' 19:19
Shaker-style

Pelt rack 2:3

Step :'!Ulnti 19~)..22
Table. (l",,"e .. I!)
Writing de$k 12:4-7
Shaper-

Bit 12:3.10-11
Guide.- 19:23
Sharpening
Aids 20:7
Carbide-tipped table saw bladt. :!II:!!I
Cbi.el. 20:8:11: 26:23
Diamond .wne. 24:7
Japanese water stones ~:1-6;26:i!3
Plane irons 23:18-19
Scraper blade II:I:!
Stones 20:4-7.1:l-1~: 21;2:1
Table sow blad cs 28:19
Shelf
Aligning brackets 1I:3
wsn 20:2021
Shooting board 13:3
Shop storage
Box 16: 1415

Cabinet 25:17
Cart )3:)<1-15
Side table 11:45
Sliding do"etail lonl(ue and gl'oo"e
20:20-21
Snack tray. routed 28: 16-18
Spalted wood 28:23
Spice box 6:3
Spindle turning 26:3
Spline
Cutting 10:3: 15:11)::!I~ll
ParaDe19:9
Routed groove 21 :s.n
U>e 23:22
Spool di>play case $:16
Stave eonstrucuen 2.;:8-9.21; 2'7::J: ;W:2;{
Stereo cabinet .... mbour 1;:609
Stones

Diamond 21:7
Japanese \\ arer 2.l:-I..6: 2f_;;2:~
Sharpening 20: 1-, .It!!l: 21:2!l
Stool
Camp3;i
Shop 4:11
Stopped dado 2:5.11
Storage
;\1oriular system 22:121.')

Shop 15:14-15
Tabl, saw 13:11-1.;
S,,'eat(')" chest 9:8-9

$\\'l\,.:lliJrht

bracket

11:'

Table
RtlffCllt"Ie-le~:II-17
Butler's tray 14: 10-11.Hi
Candle stand II :6-7

Tnbl e, C,'l)lIi.
Coff~e 19:1117: 2,,:ZO-Z!

Contempol'aryoak 1;;:1-;;
Uining aO:I(;'21.21
rx.ubleduty 1:7
Ol'1ll>'lear 11:8-10; 1l:I-8
Gall,-III\' buffet 20:1-1-17
1.(M !lO: 18-1\)
N,stl.d 2><:12-15
Picnic 27:47
Pembroke 11:4-8
Radinl.rm saw 20:3
Router 20:18-19: 22:1(;,17: 24:3
Shaker-style side 11:1-5
Top 15:61; li:3: 19;3: 20:17: 21:23;
2:~:1:!15.21

Tn->lle 1:3-5; 2.3:12-15

T\' t ....y 16:4-7; 17:20
Table <ow
Blatlci'i, earblde-ripped

27:16-21,24:

2I!:I!I.2:l

Dad. blade. adjustllble 17:20

Miter !(auge 25:3
S<>IUP 20::1:23:3
S"'I1\I(" 1:1:1415
Techniques 15:15: 12;16: 16:8.1011:
1~:I1.2.~: 20:2a
Tambour
nollwp bread box 4:6-8
S\(>"Co cabinet 17:69
'I'('<hnique. 1:(!-8:17:-1-11:20:3; 25:1419
TV cabinet 2f,:1419
W"II cabinet 17:10.11
'l'''pl'r!bcvel 16:IOU
I'"po. JII( 1:(1;5:4; 11:3
'I'III)('...ed IeI:>' ll:lI; 1.1:4.8;28:12-IS
Template, C4)I'n(tI' 29::3
Tenon
Culling 2(i:IO-11
Huunehed 11:10-11
Jig 2-1:1S-1\1;28:3
Mit"red ,I>oulder 16:13.16-17
Rttpniring round 2:3:3
Stal(ger<:<I-.houlder haunched 1:1:10-11
Stub 2'2: 18-:12: 2-1:1417; 29:~-22
Twin 12:12: 17:1(;,18; 20:11-17
Threaded insert. 22:11.1415: 21:3: 21:24:
28:2-1; :J,O::~

Trestle table 1:3-;;; 2:3:1215

Trivet, tiled 21:24: 22:23
Timg cil Iinish 30:12-15
Turning

Bowl 21:18-21: 25:2.1

Canister H;14-15: 2.';:8-12: 27:3: :10:2:1
Fruit bowl 21:18-21
Gauge 21:3
Goblets 23:4- i: 24:22
Gouges 21:22: 24;23
Legs 12:5
Popeom bowl 25:2-1
Scraper 21:22; 22:22
Spindle 26:3
1'001$21:13-22: 22:23: 24:2!l
n' rrav tabl es 16;4-7: 1i:20
v anitv'mirror 24;24
Veneer 14:1011
Yeneer tape 17:8: Z!:11-14
\'is.e
Dogs z,;:3
Holding jig 29;3
Waglwr SafeTPJ8ner 10:10
Wall shelf 20:2021
'VaSte basket 7:.
\,rater stones .. Japanese 2<1:4-6; 26:'23
\Veh frame construction 8:8-11: 11:1011:
22:1822: 24:1417: 25:).117; 26:12-17;
29:4-21
Wedge clamps 5:3
\VQod
Dimensions 22:23
Movement 9:7
'Outdoor use 3:11;27:11-15
f:ipalted 28:23
Storage 19:2.1:30:3
Wooden hinges (issue ;(19)
Woodworking clubs 27;24: 28:21; 2~:2-1;
30:24

Through dovetail 12:7

11. r:k 1:2

Til':' and techniques (issues 7.-30:page 3)
Ti"l'Iu(" bcx 19:24
Ti-sue box cover 2:5
Tungut_~
and groove joint 1:5: 9:7: 1:l:4-1~
"':12-19: 20::.'0-22.24: 24:14-17
Tool rest, grinder 2O:i; 24:3
Tool.torag, 1:9.12
'rO\'

('he>! 29;19.2-1
Race car :):1~
Train &: Ill-II
'l'rav
C~)insorter 10:6
l(out,~1snack 28:16-18
S<-r"ing 1!r.I!i
SImekU:IIl-IS
T\', tables It1:t~7:17:20
'rl't:~tl("bench 23:24
WOOOSMITH

mica. (If the cap is too high, it'. difficulL to

sand down without ruining the Formiea.)
To get this perfect alignment, 1 didn',

nOURE 1

a ruler or measurement. Instead, J

used the actual laminated piece to ~ot up
US{"

the router table to rout the groG"e. Hold

the laminated piece agllillSt the fence of the
router table and adjus; the fence until the
full thlckncss of the piece touches the outoidt edge of a ~. straight bit. (This same
preeedure ean be used on a table saw.)
Then rout a. ~"'~d(!_('p
groove in both C:~IPS
for the top. When completed. the bottom of
the groG"e should meet the bottom of the
particle board, see cress section, Fig. 2.
("II'S "Oil flO'I'JOM.Although the bottom
piece of particle board is actually thinner
(because it'to not laminated with Formica),
J used the sume set-up on the router table
to rout the groove. for the bottom caps.
(These ca"" will be completely hidden from
,tit"" b)' the bottom drawer, Perfection
here is not so importnnt.)
I'NCII. (:ROO'fo:S.The <:3)$ could be
added as they are now. but I though! it
would be nice to rout peneil grooves in the
caps on the top. Il takes three passes on
the router table \\;th two different bits to
create this wide groove profile, First, use a
'VII" :\traight bit LOrout a ~",IIf~(leepgroove
down the center of the caps, see Detail! in
Fig. 3.
'Then swltch to a Yl:" core box bit, center
it on one of the shoulders created by the
straight bit, and rout the eeve profile V,,r
deep, see Detail 2, Then repeat, this proet.1AA on

TONGUES fOR END CAPS

After the .nd cap> are complete, cut the

0/." particle board for the top and bottom to
finnl si?..eof 16"x II~". see I-'ig. 5.

>\

aA:]jl r
II

WXlUAIt'( FENCl

11

~-

' ,.
aonoM

,,-- --ftl#Ulf 2

2'. -I

:~

I',.

I'lACfMlNt 0' GROOvE

ontl.MrNl:D., ,..tcKHfSS
Of PAIlKU 10...0

CUI fOUR NO CAI'S

TO 'HISE DlMfNSIONS

flGUlf ..

__
~

'- t'.

i:'! '.' COtE

1' ...

~_l

2' ..

';,

3 1-',"'1

I-

_!=-:,

DO HOl ROUND
COftHIIS UN'n..
AfTtt GlUING
IHD CAP
caoss S!(fION

~IR

-1

--

r--- ---1

"

STIAJOKT

""

TOP

2'/.

~J
- h..'.
GlOOV( ~ fOlt
PlYWOOD BACK

"

2N~

.........."

--'

UNe UP BIT

ON SHoutOtl

<,

ANAL MEASUREMmTS

1... -

TOP.,,-xuDonO.'I. Then to join

the particle board to the end caps. rout
rabbets on the two long edges of both

800'0M

CUT rOUGUE TO ffl GItOOVE

,I

pieces to form tongues

in the end eaps. Here
,n.ak up on the depih
the longue fiL~snugly

WOOOSMITH

"

R.-\801:-r

that fit the groove.

it's best to slowly
of the rabbet. until
in the grooves.
S.\:-/OENI)(APS. Because the face of the
end caps "ill be butted again st the Formica to), finish sand the two LOPenps
before gluing them to the top.
ATrACY tSJ) CAL'S. Pinally. glue and
clamp the end caps to the tOP and bottom.
When the glue is dl'Y, (lim the two edges
that will he joined to the caddy'. sides. and
reduce the total width to 15'1".

~~-~

the other shoulder,

cnoovss FOR BAt'K. Before the caps are

joined to t he top and bottom pieces, I
routed the ~'1'00\'''used to hold the caddy's
plywood buck in place. rrhcse V,"..wkle
grooves are located ,." from the back edge
of the ea .... see Fig. ~.
Then one last stop. The bettcm/front
eJl(1cap is to be trimmed to u width or llA"
(see Fig, I) to allow space for the front of
the bottom drawer.

'.

tOUT"

OIIKnON

lOP

ROUGH DiMlNSIONTAIM TO 15~.

~"f.Gt,.UING

...

--

Ifill) CA' ASS(.MalY

I.

. .'

t4;'~~
c
I ~ f. I,
t

1',-.

I' I.

13

AnACH TOP AND 80nOM

- TltlM TONGUE lACK

To join the top and bottom to the ""ddY'8 ",.1

sidos, a rabbet is routed on the edges orthc
top and bottom to produce a tongue to fit
the grooves in the sides. see Det"il in Fig.
6. The fit here should be .nug. Al(8in.

ItOIlT OUT &0"010\

0' 'NO CAH

sneak up on the cut to make sure t-he

"

ClOSS SlcnoH

..

orr

~
SIC<

''- TOHGUf:"

FlGUlf 7
TOP DRAW(l

1'4

"

,f

GltooVE.
I. '.

I.

tongues fit the groove s,

Also, the bottom side o[ the end caps
must.be routed nu.;h with the bottom o[the
part ide board. see Fig. 6.
When the thickness oft he tongue filS the
groove. trim about V.
the front and
back edges so the length o[ the tongue fiLS
the length of the groove, see Fig. 6.

DClI

'.

ftYWOOO

.. ex

ROl'!'U

fi

nOM IOnCM ......

OOVIETAIl
JOINT OffAl\.

O\~REOCoES. The w.t step is to

round over the edges on the end caps with

a ~- rounding over bit. (Shop Note: I
saved this rounding-over step unul last to
remove any evidence of chi pout that might
occur when the tongue. are routed on the
edges of the top and botlom.)
Round over the edges on both .01" on
the lop, but only the bl'ck cal>on the bottom. (The front "I' on the bottom will b<o
hidden by the drawer.)
THE HACK. The only olher piece needed
for the ('addy is the plywood back. Dry
clamp the top. boltom. and .iel of th
caddy together .nd measure the grooveto-groove opening. Then cut the Vt oak
plywood back about Y"'le8~ in both dlmcn-

sions to allow

(01'

eXI)an~ionleontl'fiction of

the solid-wood sides

or lhe

caddy.

THE DRAWERS

Normally. I would assemble tho caddy at

TOPVIEW

this point, But because the back is sol into

grooves when the caddy i$ assembled. il
would be difficult to get inside to mount the

drawer runners.

fiGURE-I

",
"4

Oltoovt

-, Off'

I.

fltOM 10noM

~I

12"

This measurement

/'
IOn~cUl

Tom

"
etoSs

stenON

Instead, I dry-elamped

the caddy together and started work on

the drawers,
The caddy shown here has a small
drawer on top. and a larger drawer at the
bottom that's sized to hold file folde rs,
However, this bouom drawer could ... ily
be changed to two $maUer drawers, i(
desired.
DR.-\\\,,&R FRO~"TS.To determine the tiiz.e
of the drawer fronts. dry-clamp the ea <ld.)'
together and measure the front opening.

aonOM OIAWE.

~,

1"

!!

""

/'

runs from the bottom

edge of the top cap all the way to th.

bottom edge o[ the caddy'$ side s. (The
bottom drawer does not end at the bottom
shelf, it goo> all the way to lhe bot torn edit.
of the caddis side.)
The combined height Of the drawer
fronts ohould be a total o[ ~-I<osthan this
measurement to allow a YfI" SI)Il("C at the
top and 1'.- between the drawers .
\Vhe.n the measurernems of the drawer
fronts are determined, enl the pice" [or the

top drawer from,

to size. 'then

glue lit>

enough stock fa" the bottom drawer front

and trim it to size.

14

WOOJ)SMITJ.I

~
,,';1,

1)ll.\\\'f;n Sll) .....

-; AND BACK. fro complete

the drawers, 1 used ~,. stock

the sides

1'01'

andhaok ofthedrawersandjC)ined them to

the fronlS with dovetail .ongue nnd greove

Next. do\!cl~ailgrooves for the drawer

thE' greoves, Also, Y,"-y:idc ~"es

are

routed for the drawer bottom. and

:Y,l',vide ffrOO\'eR nrc routed in the outside

After the

OllA\\, ..;R .'RQ,ST IIA'sIJI_.t:;,

front to 8 +'.01" radius. and usc a

'IOURe 10

CASTl. PUCIMINT

"

P'

...,.INDCA' ~

',.

CAml! 'LAfl

aonOM VIM
0' CAOOY"

-,~

~==~D:""A~W'.

fltONT tNO C_A_' __

IIt-ONt

._

IJ

FIGURE 11
tUNNEl!

OftAtL

face of the 'Side$ fo), the runnel'S.

drawers sides, back and bottom 81'<'done.
I went back to work on the drawer front.o
make the no.ched openings thaI serve as
handles. To make these notch , 'hill 'wo
I holes 4' "I).,t. see deta il in f'll(. 7. Then
cut out the notches on a band !41l\",
Arter they'1'<'roughed OUI. smooth the
edl(eS \\;th a :<andingdrum ona drill press.
Then round all the corners of tbe drawer

"1

joinery.... Fi!t>. 7 and S.

We've PUl nll the step-by-step inforIllation for tnnking this kind or drawer in a
separate article on pages 21 to 23. But
briefly, the ~ide. are joined to the fronlS by
routing Stol)J,X."(1 dovetail grooves in the
drawer front... These groove" are pesi.
joned so the sides are set in W" from the
edge of the front, see Fig s. 7 and 8.
back are routed on .he i'lSide rnt'" of the
drawer's ~idcJl;.Then dovetail tongues- are
cut on the dra\\'cr sides and the back to fit

, ..j...

OACK

..L

'.

... S1",HOAlO

alT

@-

',. WASHER

_ ,

v.- rounding

0"." bit (on the router table) to ,'Otll1<] ovei

ROUAE 11

all the edges,

4\SSf:~18Lt-: l)ltA\f"F.It$.

Now the drawers

can be assembled. Apply glue to the

tongues on the drawer's 'ides and baek and
,lide them into the grooves. Then glue rhe

Rtomv((W

I.

bottom in place nn(1 elamp the drawer

logether.

,...

DRAWER RUNNERS

The drawers are mounted in the cadd~'

v.ith wooden runners that aN: serewed to
thecaddj~s5ide$. Cut. these runners [0 size

so they extend into .he groo,"'. in the

drawer's ~ides. ~1I0\\tingabout Vu'" clear nee between the runner and the bottom of

the groove. see cross-section in f"ig. 12.

Then to moun he runners to the caddy.
cou"",rhore and drill !<lightlyover-sized
holes for round-head screws and washers,

see

I";g. J 1. (These

holes are

over-sized

so

the,.. 'a enough flexibility to ndjust, the

drawer runners as they're instAUc(i in the

caddy.)
.I.SSE)'UI.EC.,nINT. At last

he caddy

can be glued and clamped toget her. As tlte

top and boucm tire mounted bel ween the
sides, also be sure U'I)lIt the buck in place.
(Note: Do not glue the plywood back in the
grooves, The caddy's si<les must be (.tee to
expnndl com raet.)

FL"AL STEI'S. After

the

caddy

was as

sembled, I in,t.lled 2" casters 10lhe bot-

lorn, see Pig. 10. Then I fini.hod tho caddy

two coats of Watco natural Danish Oil
Finish.

",,11

\VOODSMITIi

15

Tools of the Trade

A BUYER'S GUIDE TO ROUTERS
"You guys at Wood$mit/'$ul-edo like to use
routers. \Vhen YOU'l'enot using it handheld to "out grooves or cut circles, you've
gOt it mounted to a router table. N'ow that
you've got. me convinced that I've got to
have one, which one sheuld L get.?"
Our love affair with routers is no secret
- almost. every project we show in 'food
$"IiJ.J" uses a router in one way or another.

Changing, and includes the method used

the switch before plugging tn the router!

to change bits, and the stse and style of

wrenches proyided with the router,
'The third group is Deptk Ailj1<3ting,
which l"evie'\!$ features such as the method
for a<ljusting the depth of cut, the method

the motor could start instannly. That's

of securing' the motor in the base, toe

amount of clearance in the base for bits,

and the aljility to keep a bit centered in the'
And since we use routers and the 1'0liOOl' bllSe at (lin:e':ent height "oltinga,
table so often, we receive a lot of requests
The fourth category is called Router
asking which router we use, and more to T~ltOottt.pa.tibilit!.(, and reviews any
the point, which we recommend.
problems with mounting the router to a
That's really a tough question. There are
router table, any problems with obstrucover thirty models of routers on the martions, and Lhe limits on the depth of cut.
Then finallY, we included a short-review
ket to choose from - ranging' from expensive heavy-duty industrial models to of the accessories ofie.-ed for each ,-out .
TOE ItA'T1NCS'l'S"J""':~l,I}'o provide both
inexpensive (and underpowered) toys.
consistency in our opinions, and to allow
So we decided to buy a selection of these
direct comparisons, we I'(}ted ea,eh router'
routers. andreview.the merits of each. But
since we couldn't review every model, we on the four milior areas listed above by
reduced the field by setting some guide- assigrting' a numbered grade from 1 (poor)
lines,
to 5 (excellent). b'or a summary of the
First, of an, we decided to review only rating, see the chart-on page 19.
standard (not plunge-type) routers in a
ROUTER 8.ASES
I H .P. to Iy, H. P. range (19 provide ample
As we began choosiljg our initial group of
power for cutting hardwoods). Then we
put a ceiling on the retail price at $200. I 1"01.1tel:'S,we.found ourselves $skjng s-elioua
k..IOW that seems like. lot of money (OJ'
questions about the ball-handled bases
a route.', but it's the upper limit we set. so
that include on/off toggle switehe~ on the
motor housing. cr~il;
style is shown on the
we could include some of the 'industrialBlack
and
Decker
#3310,
see photo 1.)
quality reuters. Seve,..l routers we reIt was clear that there were two safetyviewed cost much less (one mcdelretails
related problems with this style base and
for less tban 3(0).
switch. First, i11 order to turn on the
Tue CRI"J,-;Itl~, After set-ting these
router, )'OU have to take one hand off the
guidelines, we decided to look at four
handle to engage the switch. leaving only
groups of featl!les. The first group is the
one hand to hold the router, 'I'hia oneControls, wbieh includes ad.anta~es and
handed control is awkward ,a~best, espedisadvantages to the style of base and
eially when you're (J'ying to hold onto a
handles; the type of switch and its location;
the amount of starting torque (twisting
small ball handle.
The other problem has to do ,vith theforce); and the ability to keep the router
under control during start-up
and
toggle switch. This type of switch can aecid_entlybe turned to the "on" pesiticn while
the routeris
If you den'tcheek

dangerous.

Because of these

t\VO

safet,}, aspects, we

decided to review routers with this tl1'. of

base Imly if they weren't offered with a
different style of'bas e. With this additional
criterion, we chose a group ofsix routers to
l"e-\rie",',

The first, four routers in the follo'ving

review are industrial quality - designed
fo,' long-term heavy ..duty lise. The)' include the Black and Decker #3SI0, PorterCable #675, 1II.kita #8601B, and the
Bosch #161)8. The last two routers we
reviewed, Sears #9-1:l'l'-1749 and the
Black and Decker #7614, are soleifor home
use, and are not built for the heavy-duty
use associated with industrial routers.
BLACK AND DECKER#3310

The Black and Decker router modeL33l0 is

a basic, no-frills workhorse, that's designed for serious full-time routing,
CONrnOLS. Although th~ model 3310
comes with two ball handles that are very
easy to grip, when they're combined with a
toggle switch, they stiD present the safety
problems mentioned above, In defense of
the motor on the model 3310, it produces
\tCIOY little starting torque, whieb reduces
the problem of control associated with the
ball-handled base.
BIT CU..,.,GING. We found changing bits
on the 3310 to be relatively ~)'. ~'i1'Stof
all. )IOU call stand the router upside <IO"tJl
(on its "head") to change bits. Then to help
simplify things, the 3310 uses \,\\'0 tdentieally-sized wrenches for- loosening the
collet nut from the spindle.
The only real problem is with the 5"-10111$
stamped-steel wrenches supplied with tlie
router. They extend less than 2" beyond
the base - not enough 10 get a ~oodgril).
')~I'THAI)J~'STING.
The depth atljustillg

,8LACK AND DECKER

16

3310

PORTER-C:A8LE

615

MAKITA

36018
WOODSMITH

system on tne model 3.310 use, a rack (lnu I (R.. kwell) 675 is a hybrid: "0" handle on
pinion gear. Although this system works
one side with a ball handle on the other,
f>moolhl~', making adjustments in vcr~v (The on-off trigger .",itch is in the 0small incl(mt'nt...~is difficult. And the cali- handle.) On. f ture not usually found
bl";lt(."(1knob on the 3310 is very small, nne. with t.his handle arrangement is that the
:.dlnost.impossibte to read accurately.
ball is at 120' to the "D" handle (Instead of
onee Il (Ii.il~tl\adjWiCtnent. is 111:.1(1(\,
the
180~,straight across), KO it run be switched
motor i~
h('lcl in place l)y tllrning all (lnR~'- fa., right- 01' len, hand ",C,
to-~lil~ \,!ing ntl~ that lightens n SlJlIl-l\l'Jll
Initially this appeared as n ntce feature.
~lSscmbly(withln the soli(1 base).
BUl as \\'C began to UI(' it, we foun(1 the
'rhit't :\plit. arm tightening system works handle position made il (lit'fitldt t.okeep the
well, On(1 probably accounts for thi:.
router from teetering when routing the
router's abilit~' to keep bits centered in tht'
edge of a work surface.
base at various height settings better than
BIT CfL-L~CISC, Another problem with
an)' other router we tested.
this handle arrangement is that it barely
But when we tried using a Vel- rounding provides enough room to gel the thin
over bit with lhe 3310, the collet hole in lhe stamped-steel wrenches in the opening of
plastic sub-base was so small that it pre- the base. let alone enough room to Lighten
vented U~ Irom USillg even this commonly the coUet nut.
use d bit.
Although the model 675 enn be stood
It()l""":I~T<\nl~tjCOiltPATJUI1.l'ry,when
upside down to change bits, it'a sometimes
it CIIIlletime to attach the 3310 to ''OUIer' nearly impossible to get the collet nut to
table, we had some problems,
release, 1 don't, know what the problem is,
~~i~t.
the screw holes in the base (IOn'l but it can be a real knuckle buster if those
penetrate completely through the base,
thin wrenches slip.
This means the screws must be a spt."Cific
DEPTH AJ}JLSTl"(:. On to a brighter sublength to attach the router, If the SC1"'e\\'S ject. The depth of cut on the model 675 is
adjusted by rotating the motor within the
3J"'(I jU$l R h:lir too long. the)' ean ~~iI:,'
base. This system works well, and allows
>lril> out the threads in the base.
However, once we got it mounted to the very small depth a(lju~tnlentA. However,
router table, we soon found its Aehill('~' the calibrated ring' (used to gauge the
heel, When it's mounted on " V,-lhlek
depth of cut) is alm os t lIsclcll.<,
.'out('.. table top (as on the lI'ood$mitil
To secure the InQto.' in I>IIICC,the nlode}
vc .. ion), IhecoUet's highest s<!UingI. still 67() uses a split bl~C nn(1 thumb SC1'C\\',
0/,,' bolow the surface of the table, This Even though the thunlb I:'}'(,'\\' is cOlnfort.
CI'calC~ l)roblcms \\i.th some 1"OlllCI' bils.
able and easy to tighten, Ihe split bose
~'or eXnlnl)le. \\'e coul<ln'trout a full profile ")IlIt.m does a rat he.. poo.. job of keeping
\\'ith a V.... rounding over bit.
the bit consistently ccnt(!re<1 at various
\C('t;SSORJIlS, Black and Deekor orr...
height setiin!!",
an edge jtUide and tramm.1 poinl a. (wo
There is one other problem. Porter
st.'1)3J'ateacee~~ries that are both diffit1llt Cable just plain goof.d when they deto adjust, and similar enough that they signed the router's sub-base, The opening
{'Out1hnvc been designed as one (CO!\t4 in tne black plastic sub-b""e i. w.o small to
tla\'in~) Attachment,
accept a Y.=:. comcr ..rollntl bit.
PORTER-CABLE
A couple or yea~ ago, Rockwell sold its
hand helel f)o\ver tool (li\'ision to l'ollC"
Cable, And allhougb
the nal11e I","
changed, the new Porter-Cable ,"od.1675
is identical to the old Rockwell model 675,
COl'TROI.>l, The base of the Porte .. Cabl.

BOSCH

\VOOOSMITH

1603

ROti'TER TABLE CO~lfA"IUff,ITY.

vert the m{)(iel 675 (or UtlC Oil

To eon ..
(t

I'Olltcr

table, first )'OU ha\'e ~(J l'(lnlC)VC

the "D"
hondl . This isjust ft mftttc" ,,(unplugging
the cOl'tI_t'romthe rnoto .. unci llllSCl'C\\~ng
the "D" halldle. Then plug the cord into the
allxiliary s\vitch on the router lable.
The depth of cut and ranl(e of adjust-

SEARS

9-Hl-1749

ment pro\id1 by tne model 675 is exeellent. and mee the sub-base is removed for
Use on the rout(lr table, there is no restriction on the 5i7~of router bit.
A(CESSOltll<:S. The combination edge
guide and trammel point attachment
offerod by I'orwr C..ble wor ks weU - if
you have the patience to make ,IUIhe adjustmenls thc)"\,(' al1o\\'ed for, and can
justify its ecst ($40,20),
MAKITA

recent yean.- ~takit.a has joined the

raub with man)' other Japanese manufacturers pJ"O\'iC'lin~qualil-),' products at
reasonable price" ~I.kita has also mad.
the decision of which model t.o review an
easy one, Only the ty,.H.P, model 3601B
(11

fit. within our gui<lelines.

coxruots. 1'h. model 3001B has a "0"

handle base that l)1"O\'i<lesgood control
while hand .'Ouling, 'Phe s econd handle ls n
larJ(l!romforlable knob that serves doubleduty as the locking knob (used to secure
the motor).
HIT lIIA,\,(;I~C. As on several other
route rs, the 3001B requires two separate
wrenches to leesen lhe toilet nut. But
that'. where the ,imilarity ends,
The catit iron wrenches provided with
the ~t'_\kitarouter are i\jo.)I1,.0use. They're
long onoup:h nnd hefty enough to provide a
good 1(';1),
Unfortunaloly,

\",hen it

c()}nes

tilne to

use thenl, tht'I'C's II l.roblem: The 1'0ut('1'

lends to rock on Its slightly domed hend,
But if you CKnget it to stand still, clmnginp:
bits is relati\'ely cas)',
nt;I"TIJ .\lUl~'I:\G,The s_}'::stemfor ad
j\l!iting Ihe depth of cut on the M.kit..,
consist,. o( an adjusting
ring that'~
threaded into th. 1110lOt hou.iqlt. When
lhe ring is tumed the motor moves up or

dO\\'n,Thi~"y~letn "'orks well. and allo\\'~

depth ndju~lInen(,;; in exnemely small
incl"CJTlents.
The ollly ..eal disadvnntllge to thi yo
tern is that \vhen ut)(!(lon the router table,
tbe molor can f!11Iout of the base when tho
locking kllob i, loo.<oned, And ag-.un, the
calibration$- on the threaded ring are

clum~)',and all in all. in!ITecti\'e.

BLACK AND DECKER 7614

17

When thedcpth of cut is set, the motor is

held in ))Osition by a \fel'jl eomforrable,

easy-to-operate knob (which also

scrVC$ as

one of the handles). Initially. we liked the

ease of using this knob. but later found its
fault: It does a rather poor job or keeping
Ule motor (and thus the bit) centered at
various depth settings.
ROGT"~R'TAnl~":(O~lPATIBLIT\'.When

the ~lakita is mounted to the router table,

the biggest problem is that its "D" handle
has to be lel\ dllngling under the tabletop
because it is direct ..wired from the motor.
snd can't be d~
see nnec ted <ompletely.
Anotber potential problem is with the
metal housing on the top of the motor.
when the router is inverted on the router
table, this houshlll acts as a collecticn petn;
fOl'all the sawdust floating around. I t the
Makita is used on the router table, this
housing must be removed and cleaned
regul.r!~ to prevent overheating and pos~jble damageto the motor.
ACCESSONIS.Of aU the accessories we

used, )ll\kitn's were the most disappointing. The c(lgc guide. is very basic, and
they don't even offer a trammel point.
Although a IIs.hOI)made' trammel point can

be used, there's reall,:.no excuse Ior- not

orrering one as an accessory.

BOSCH
The last of the Industrial routers we chose
is manufactured by Bosch (West Germany). who bought out S18nle),,8 old
power tool divislen a couple or years ago.
And to be honest. it doesn't Appear that
an)' improvements were made in the pro-

cess. and overall. we \...ere quite disappointed.

CO~'Tr<os. The Bosch l~ H.P. model
1600 has a "D" ha,idle base with the trigger
switch located in the "D" handle. 'Phis is
especially adVRntal':eous on this router because its starting torque is strongtr than
an). of the other routers we reviewed,
Without lhe two-handed control pro"ided
by the "D" handle system, startinll ~t"bil
Ill' would have been" problem.
HIT CIIANGING. The Bosch rout.r has
several Ulings working again.'l it. bill by
rar the worst is its .ystem for changing
bits. The \\Teneh(>Sare the ",'orsl or an>'
router \\'e fe\ie\\'ed. Not onl)~are the)'lOO
ohort, but they have heads at both ends.
This makes it very hard to grip Ihe .hort.
lY," length ofw"cnch Ih.textend. boyond
the edge of Ule base when chAnging bits.
Bui without. doubt. !be biggest headache a.,'Ocl.ted ,,;th tbe 1603 i. that you
can't Stand it upside down while chAnging
bits. For some ... ason. Bosch d"'ligned the
motOt so the power cord exits at the tOI>of
the motol' housing ... the wOI'.tl)()O!sible
phlce.
DEI'TII "ilJVSTINC. The depth .'ljusting
.ys~
on Ula 1603 i. the simpliest B)'stem
we r<l';ewed. but it's aJ..... good example

18

of when simple isn't necessarily better. To

raise or lowe.' the bit, the motor is rotated
as it rides on top of an angled rim on the
base.
The problem is that the rout(Or must be
either laid on its side, or held in On. hand.
making it rather difficult to set the depth of
cut to a lll>ccific setting.
The lGO:!nlso uses a split arm assembly
and wing nut to secure the motor in the
base, and produced rathel' dlsapllOinlillg
results when it came to keel>inl': the bit
centered at various height seuings. An-

other

disheartening aspect it\ that the

motor ean fallout orUle base when it's used

on the router table.

l~Otrr.~RT.\I)L"; COi\tPA1'llllLltrY, \Ve ran

into more problems t"ying to usc IhelG03

on the router table than on any other
router. r'irst. the screws holding the plastic sub-base 10 the router base are metric
- making it alm os t Impossible to lind !be
longer versions needed to attach the
router to the rouler table.
As with the Porter Cable, the "0"
handle on the Bosch hes to be removed
from the base. But when it .. nne time to
plug Ule cord into an auxiliary switch. it
WlI$ so MOrt tbat the switch had to be
located right next to Ule routermaking
It difficult toge! to and defeating the safety
aspect of an auxiliary switch.
Once the router was mounted. the problems with Ihe depth adju8tin!( system
popped up again. At its highest setting,
the collet is still e" below the table surraee. And again. depending on th~ bit being used, thi. lack of height can be a real
problem.
.]nally, in defense of the BO!IChmotor.
its heavy-dilly fan pushea oil' Ht " higher
velocity Ihon 'Iny of Ihe other -outers we
reviewed, and should be able to ward off
an)' flying debris that come. its way.
ACCP.SSORI&S. Bosch offers.
combination edge guide and trammel point
that's similar to the Porter-Cable system.
but with fewer ,,,\iu"tments to Itet in the
\"tt)', But roj' some .'eason, the steel J'Ods
att.ehing the guide to the bose arc neslled
8l-ound the ball handle. where they're <onstantl)' in the ,\'a~.

which provide excellent two-handed control while starting nnd operating Ihe
route I', For e8SC of usc, we'd rate them n
notch above the "0" handle style.
B'T CIIA)(GI:<C. Withcut doubt, the
most unique feature on this router is a
spindle locking system. By engaging 0
locking switch on the side of the motor
housing, the spindle is locked in position,
unci power to the motor iK disconnected,
Thia locking system eliminates the need
ror two wrenches to change bits. Instead,
all you need is the one cheap stamped-steel
wrench provided with the router. But in all
raime5!t, this system or ehaJlging bits is one
of the best tbat's come along.
IJEI'TII AOJ~STl.~G_When Ihey brought

out lhis new model a couple of years ago,

Sea,', changed ihe depth .,Yu"ting system
from the old rack-and-pinion style, to
Ul.... ded ring system (similar to the one on
Ule Makita)_ It's easy to make very small
&<ljustments in the depth or cut. but the
ealibrating system is not well labeled, no}'
is it vel,)' accurate,
Once you've 3(ljust.ccl the router to the
dCI)th or cut )'OUwant, the loot-or is locked
in 1>1800
with a thumb screw that tightens"
split base. Sears was scoring big poinl.$
with us until we tried to tighten thAl
thumb screw. :-.lot only does the thumb
SCrew have painflllly jaJ!ged edges, the

SI)lit.base requires an excessive amount

or

lightening to hold the 1110to, in pia ee. And

to lop it off, the whole sys"'m docs a poor
job of keeping the bit centered in the base.
If there's a worse, more painful. more irril8tingH)"Stem, itwould lake a ecmmiuee of
politicians to find it,
IlOl'TER TABLt; CO~II~i\TIBIl.IT'''.The
S~nl'Srouter can be ensUy mounted under a
l'OUlCI'

table, (1'hey even offer their 0\"1\

vc....lon.)

But one major problem has popped up.

The ran blades on the motor have a tendency to break off. (Thu. ls apparently the
result of a raulty design that creates a
st.'es~ concentration on tht' blades,)
Although the fan creates. fair amount of
ail' \'e:locit)f. thel"e is U l\tl'ong possibilit~! of
~ignifiCllnt damaJ(e if any d~b"s does find
its \\'a)' to t.he Ol)ening in the motor
hotJ~ing.
SEARS
\CC>~<SORlIlS.Turning to a bright spot.
\Vhocan rc~ijitta router\\'hen it's a)\\'3..\SOO Seo", h.. done an excellent job 0; p....
sale for 00% ofl"1That seems to be Sears'
\fic1ing nccessories fol' their routers. 1'he
,\'ay ofk{'cJ)ing it$)rices in line, ~~ndone of Sen,-. mulli-p11l'pose edge guide and
their ,'oulers in every shOI), Combine this
tJ1UllJnei point is a very gOO(lsystem t11tlt
"on sale" nillwoach with II retail and catalog
allo\\!~ qllick an(1 act'urat.e 3(ljustment.s.
distribution S~'E-lem
that is ~J1{110 none. Without. doubt, this i~ the guide (and
and it':; aln1Chltimpossible \0 rt"~i!'itbu),;ng rouler) \\'e reach ror "'hen \\'e need to rout
~tool
.
a ci~le or cut a rabbet.
But to find out If their route ... nre worth
BlACK AND DlCKlR #7614
ha\'jng - (''olenat 50% off, \\'C d~i(led to
take a c!ose"look at "Sea,'S B.st' tv" H.P.
Blnck and -Decker is the only nlanufacllllocr
model9-H'1'17"9.
Lhat ha. routers Ih.t filII into both th~
CONTROLS. One of th. nicest things
in(lu"lrial and honte use categolies. The
about this router is the-pi$tol.gr;l> hsndles.
1~ H.P. model #;614 i. from Black and

\VOODs~nTH

.til

t, 'U

Decker's "consumer" line or power toolt'l. I small for man~' COmmOnl)'u~

and retails for only SSi .99.
This is a relative))' DC\"router and it's
apparent that Black and Decker hIlSI)"t
lot of thought into this one.
COl'M'1l01.s. The model 7614 uses two
slightly modified "D" handles (with" trig.
gel' _witch) to provide a pistol'grip rccl,
nhd excellent two handed control while
Iouting.
811' ('IIM<eISC. The method used to
change bits on the model 7614 rombincs
some s::ood okl ideas with some common
new problems. First of aU. the Black and
Decker model 7614 uses a spindle lookinll
system l'imilar to the one used on older

router nus.
There

ROL'TF.R TABLE CO)'J.'ATIUILIT\'.

are rwc major problems wirh attaching the

Black and Decker i614 10 a router table.
First, the screw hol.~ do not penetrate
eompletely thl"ugh the I!JI , 80 preeiaelyNiY.e<1
machine screws must be used.
The second problem lUI. to do with the
depth of cut. Like
of the industrial
routers, the 7614 was plagued by the illability to raise the router motor and collet
high enough for practical use when mounted on a router table.
ACCP-SSORrES. Black and Decker off .."
two separate gWd"" for edlte work and
trammel point. work. Thif' in itself Is a
drawback but they added insult to injur)'
by making both gui(lctt awkward to use,

"VOl'"

Scars routers. This s~"Stemmcorporates a

we do it so ollen), and the ability to mount

and usc the router on the router table (a
nece~it) in our shop).
With the emphasis on these two fe.
lures. we had to eliminate three routers
(both Black and Decker's and the Bosch)
because of p r oblem s when thcY'!,(t
mounted to the router ",bl~. This len. th ree
routers to choose from: the Sears, tu"kit.1
and Porter Cable. Among these three,
there is one m~or difference: cost.
If tho choice i.price-dependent, I would
buy the Sean; router (when it's on sale in
the $<iO to $00 range). It works wclJ ror
both hand-held and router table routing.

and ineludee man)' of the best feat-ures we

found on an)' of rhe rOUI.e:l'S we reviewed.

spring loaded looking lever that en!!l'ges
The Scar~ del)t.h adjusting system is
one of six notches in the collar IIUI.
and difficult to ad,iuet in small increments.
very good (with the notable exception
There's Iit~le doubt in lilY
the thumb screw), and 110.
",AKITA 80SCl1 SEARS 8 & D
ROUTER
8&D
P. C.
II I k'
te
I
mind that ju~t like on LIteold
9HT1749
7614
~1)Jh( n O.C1J11{
sy.s m user
RATINGS
~~IO
675
36018
1603
Sears routers, the screw
fu,' changing bits I~ t he best
:I
3
4
4
5
5
that holds this lever in place Con.rol.
(if they would only provide "
will eventually wiggle loose,
decent ...ized wrench). Even
81. Chone1n9
3
:I
4
1
5
never to be found again.
with its faults. the Sear~
The wrench supplied with
router is diffieu1t to Jl* up.
4
Depth AdJustlne
3
1
2
3
the 7614 is, as expected.
when it's on sale.
.
very tohOrl and made of aout.r Tabl.
If you're willing to spend
4
1
3
I
3
1
stamped steel. What'S new. C-ompotlbility
about $150 for a router, 1
I
however, is that the wrench
would definitely step up to
13
7
IS
9
15
13
is sto,'ed In the ba..<e of the TOTAL
the M.kita 3601B. Again,
router (it's held in piaee with
the Makila Isn't without Its
a ,pring). But for me, this is jllst too close
Although the design of the 761,1router is faults. \Vhen it'fi mounted on the router
to the spindle fOl'comf/nt. So I removed
innovative. \VC were Ytt~1 <IIS81>I)Oiltt.ed
table, the handle 100$to be detached lind
thl. enure .ssembly.
\\'ith their accessories.
left dallglinll, 01" trough has to be routed
1)..:1""11I\IUCSTING. Depth atlju~ln1f:nt.i'
out to accommodate it. But over the long
OUR CHOICES
haul. the industrinl.qualily of the Maldt.
on the model 7614 are made using" rack
and pinion system similar to Black and
After rating the fcaturc.:; on each of these
should outhUl.l the Sears several times
Decker's industrial model.
six routers, there's still 011(' quesrion to over,
The depth adjusting system is ali!()ronanswer: Wbicl1 router (10 \Ive recommend?
To be fair. the Porter Cable model GiS
1I('<'Ied to the motor locking lever. Th,.
The rating system we uM.'drevealed two is a close ~nd in thi.<tprice range. It's
lever i~
quirk and e8S)' to use, and \'('1")' routers that are a step ahead of the others:
easier to mount to the router table than the
romfortable. Its only drawback is that
the Makita 3601B and tho Sears 9-HTMakita3601B, but we have totipthe scales
when it's tightened, it tends to change the
1749. BULto connl'ln thitoloutcome. we de- in ltlakita's. favor beeause it's constantly 8
hR.""I. to chunge bits on the POI~'" Cable
depth
eut setting more than an)' ot.heo cicled to spend a littl(.~ lime \\lith alJ six
routel \\1(' l"evie\,ed. The 010<Ie1761,1 ols(I ''(Illters to llet " feol
thent UI,~e,' shop
model 676.
The boLlolll line is tltis: If ~ou\V811lonl)1
did ~ rnther poor job of keeping lhe bit
conditions.
As \\Ie used thcln in the :-tho, ,\Ie all one, high.qu"lity
router fOI' both the
cenlered 'lLdiffel'ent height ""tlinll".
And just like the industrial 3:lJO, lhe
,,,utertnhle And hnnd-held lIJ\e, the M"kitn
3gJ'ced that t\\I'O features cnl'Y the most
opening in the sub-base 011the 7614 is too weight: the ease of ehunging bits (because
3601B i, the one I'd buy.

or

0'

"II'

, SlACK & Ole,,.

ROUTER COMPARISON CHART

, BLACt( & DICKEl

7614

IOseH

S[ARS

3310

675

36018

1603

'HT1749

HotHpower

1V., HP

,It.. HP

,"{_ HP

1Vt HP

1'.4 HP

I'/' HP

Coil Copaclty

v..",~."

II.", 0/,.

V.", -v,", 1/,,"

'I.

'I."

II....

'I,"

1/.", "".... 'I,"

II."

'I,.'

'I."

1:Y..~

,I'll."

11/."

2 prong

2 pl'()ng

'1 prong

PORTtR.cqll

MAKITA

V.", v....

Collo _ S.andard

-- --

1'1."

lV',."

I'll''''

3 pronG

3 prong

2 ptong

,12.49

Combination

$9.00

$17.50

Combination

$12,49

TroMmel Poln' ($)

$13.00

$40.20

NA

$9.45

$14.99

$13.00

lItetal' Ptfce

$176.00

5166.00

$196.00

$179.00

S119.99

$57.99

Price 'old

$109.99

$139.00

$15$.55

$166.50

$59.99

$51.88

Bas. Oponln9
2 or 3 Prong Plug
(de.

Gl,lld. ($)

\VOODSMITH

19

Drawer Construction
DOVETAIL TONGUE AND GROOVE
Building a drawer is no easy matter. Not
only do you have to construe; it $0 it hangs
together under repeated use. but it has to
fit the opening in the cabinet. and it has to
be mounted so it slides in and out easily,
The problem is that if only One of these
requirements isn't, met, the drawer loses
Its-usefulness.Yet, ifaJl the requirements

are met. nobody \\'ill even notice it because

the drawer simply does what it's supposed
to do. (Little thanks for so much effort.)

80nOM

......._

DOVETAil TONGUE AND GROOVE

BAtt( itS1S

The key to building any drawer is .be

joinery. If t.he joints are strong', the

drawer will slay together under repeated
us.. One of the best joints fot building a
drawer is 3 dovetail jOint. R\lt it'R not the

only one.
The drawers for the d..,k and the caddy
are constructed with a variation of a dovetail. Instead of making do,'etail pins and
tai1~.t.hejoint. we used 011 these drawers is
a.dovetatl tongue and groove. The dovetail
,hape on the tongue and groove provides
good mechanical (interlocking) strengttr,
but it's much easier to cut.than a "normal'
dovelail joint.
However, there are t\VO lirnitations
when using a dovetail tongue and groove,

First, the drawer's sides must be set in %.

to Vi' from the edges of the drawer front to
allow room for the dovetail groove, as
shown In Fig, 1. The problem here is btl.!
the dovetail groove must be positioued farenough from the outside edge of the
drawer front.sc that, the outside shoulder
of the groove doesn't split out.
'rhis is actually an advantage when 1.1sing'
metal drawer shdes to mount the drawer
because Ute drawer's sides have to set. in
anyway to allow sl>4ce for the slides.
The scc:ond rcquirclnent \\,iih thjs joint
WEAK JOINT V/HfN SIDE
IS FlUSH WIT'- ~ONT

ON DRAWEaBonOM

SACK
SCIEW OR

80nOM 1'0

luiS to do with the tools needed to cut the

dovetail shape on the tongue and lhe

drawer front should be cut to

length so it's a rotal of Y", Ie~s
...... '", .. width oC the opening. (This allows
groove. To 110 this, you need a dovetail
router hit mounted in a router table thaL Vi,' on both sides for elearance.)
As for the height of the drawer front, it's
has a reoco- to guide the workpieces.
(We naturally
like the Wood.>nilh
best to trim it-so it's a totaloflh" too/tu"less
router table, lfyou'd like plans for building than the.heighticf'the opening. (Shop Note:
this table, send $1 to WQOdsmith, 2200 The height of the drawer Iront can be
Grand Ave., Des Moines,IA 50312,)
trimmed a little more than the length beTHE DRAWER FRONT
But before tho joints <an b. cut, ea ch piece
fo,' the drawer has to be cut to the proper
siZe to fit the opening in the cabinet, Lstare
by cutting the drawer front to size. (in
what follows, I'm using the dimensions of
the small recessed drawer on the caddy,
shown on page .12, as an example.
') C~T IlRAWER FROWI' TO SIZE, To g~L
the measurements fol' the drawer front,

lneasUl"C the opening ill the ~\binet, 1'he

G1

..,-J.

r.",on

cause the wood wlll expandrcontraet- more

in this direction witb seasonal changes in
humidity),
Ifmore Iban one drawer is going to fit in
the cabinet opening (as on the eadcly), size

the drawer fronts so there's at least

between each one.

)4"

THE DRAWER SIDES

After the drawer

rronts

are cut, the

drawer sides can be cut to site. Here you

have two choices. The heightofthe

d....wer

FRONt

ORAWtil
SIDE

SID
FRONT

SI
'/-

TIle dovetail gI"OOII& must: be poei7'(1 ""t II/.edovetoil g",oves, placoa,W'

liolledJal' 6I(ollgltf",'" tit. edge oftl<_
Ma.oilileJqls. (011 0" IIt.1'OItt.,table.
d''O''''''fi'ollf so tit.ollt.ide shoulder oj Ih. 7'}f,e1I,Cl~tgroOt'C 80 ()'a1(~' siat is set i?, 'hI!
groove d0fJ.81tJt split old,
f1'()'" U,. edge of d,'uwtl' fi'O"t.

20

Olamp a step block 011 thefence to cut

(ltestopped,groo ill III_ drow"'fi'l)I!t.
US" (I piece oJ serap plywood to guide U,.
"'''''k),iece tilrough the dovetail bit..

WOODSMI'rR

sides can eilher be the same height as the 1 If the drawer side is ~et in ~". and the
drawer front. 0)" tl'jjluue(l (10,,"n a little.
tongue is centered on Y<t-thickstock, then
When ['m using a dovetail tongue and the groove must, be eenteretl :Y.a" Irom the
groove. I like to trim down the height of edge of the drawer front, see l1ig, 2,
the sides, and Use a slopped dovetail
ROUT THE DOVETAil GROOVES
groove. 'this keeps the joint from showing
on tI'e top edge of the drawe r front,
In order to set up the route)' table [0 cut.a
Z) OtT OI(;,\VEI{ SlOES '1'0 wurru, For
dovetail groove, it's helpful to have the
most drawers J uw '/:l"-thick stock for the opening in the route.' table (for the bit) as
sides (and Ihe back), In the case of the smaU as possible to provide the mo~t 5UI)drawer in the caddy I lipped this stock to port Ior the workpiece, ('rhis is helpful
width .so the si<les are y~'"narrower than later hen the dovetail tongues are cut.)
the height o[ the drawer front,
On the IV"Qd"mill, route" table I re3) CGTsloes TO LE"GTH, After the
dueed 'he size o[ the opelling by adding a
drawer sides are I;PI>ed to width, rhey C~\I1 false top (a piece of W' Masonite) '\'jtl1 a \ot:'"
be eut 10 length, The final length is deterhole in it for the bit, 'See I>ig, 2, (The
mined by four mesurements: the lotal Masonite should extend under the touter
depth of the cabinet (tnil; is 15' in the table's fence so when the fellc:c'istightened
caddy), les8 the thickness of the. drawer
down, it will hold the false toP in place.)
floonll (to/ttl"'), Ius 8 0/1"" allowance between
6) CHOICE or 811'S. If the drawer's sides
the back of the drawer and the back o[ the aloe more than %'" thick, J use a V~l'dovetail
cabinet, ph<$ the length of the dovetail
bit to cut the grooves.
tongue on Ihe. fl'ont edge (W'), In the case
Untortunately, dovetail bits must beset
of the drawer on the caddv, the drawer ia at full depth to cut the groov es because the

"I

also reeessed

!~'f

into the cabinet, so

subtracled an additional

%" to get tbeJ'inal

shape does not allow fot'l'aishlg it in lneremen's, But a [ull-depth cut with.

Vi' bit

length of the sides,

can put quite a strain on the router.

I) THe ')J{j\\VEI~UACK. As (0.' the drawer
To geL around this problem, I elear out
back, it should be "cut. to tit." after the sides most of the groove by making' a pass with a
are join.A to the O'ont, But we'll geL to iL 11." straight bit first. Then 1 switch to the
later,
LAYING OUT THE JOINTS

After the drawer's

fl'On!.. and sides are cut

to size, the position of the dovetail greoves
can be laid out on tha drawer fi'Onb,
"S) f#OSI1'IQ)J C;1{OO\r~:s.In order to de-

l.el-mi.le l,he I>osition of tbese grooves, ~IOU

have to juml) ahead a little to how the
dovetail tongue is cut. 'I'he tOl1gl.te is cut by
taking-alte"nate p ses on both [ace. oCthe
sides, refe,' to I~ig, 6, This oneans the
longue \\;11 be centered on the thickne&; o[
the side I)ieees, '1'hus, ,he groove on lhe
dt"3\ver rt'Ont ,nus\, be l)osi~ioned to 8CCOtutC
for a .entel'ed tongue,
On the drawer for the caddy, 1 decided
to I>ositioh the <h-a\ver side so the outside

face \V:,l.$set in v.," from the edge of the

(Ir3\\'Cr fI'ont, see ]'-'ig, 2,

$00 if the

outside face of the drawer side Is

\f:" from the edge 'of the drawer ["Onl (see

detail in Fig, 2),
8) Cl.A~1P STOPS IN '-LAG':. A ft.er the
fence is set lip in rhe right pcsition.
there's one more step, As mentioned

above, I trimmed down the height of the

drawer's sides so they're 1f'1' less t,hnn the
drawer front. 'I'his means the grooves (for
mounting the sides) musl be "topped 'W'
from the top of the drawer front-

However,

thel'e ts one other con-

sideration here, I slopped the dovetail

grooves another v.,' less than th.t so no
part of the groove shows above t.he LOP
edge of drawer side, This is done by clamp-ing a slop block to the fence or the router
table so the block is 20/." from the cellter,of
fhe dovetail bit, see Fig. 3,
~lRom' CROO,fES IN DR1",IER f'RONT.

Finally, the-router table is set up to rout

the g.l"~VCS, Before cuttillg the "real"
drawer front_.make-the cuts on a tlial pieca
to get the feol of what's going on,
Place the end o[ the trial piece against
the fence and use a piece of scrap pJy\VoocJ
01' particle board to guide f~thl'ough the
I'Ilut"r bit until tho leading edge of the trial

piece touches the stop. see. l-"ig, 3, Then

carefully pull iL backwards, ouL o~ the

dovetail bit,
\Vhcn one groove is cut, clamp the stop
to the other end of the fence, and make the
second cut, see Fig, 4, (Note: when making
thiscnt, the drawer fl'ontis-being fed in the
wrong' direction. The rotation -of the bit
the groove in one pass,
"till tend to push the workpiece away from
7) ;\l)JUST ,,'ENCE, Next, adjust, the. fence
the fenee, so a finn gl'ip is, needed.)
so the bit is c,mtered 0/," from the fence,
If both gl"OOvescheck out on '~he ,",rap,
(The position of the gl'oove Jnelltiollcd
go shea(} on the "real" dt'a"'er front. (Shop
above,) SiDce it's diflicull to judge th.
Note: It's best..to sand-the inside face of the
center or a dovetail bit, 1 tempol'.uily rc~ d'"nwer front before cutting the I$I'oove5, I r
place it ,,,ith It Vgl'oove bil 811(1use the the sanding i,s done later. it \viU, in effect,
point or the "VIl to positioll th.e fence.
alter the depth of the dov.l..~il gl'oov.,)
When the fence is positioned, pul the
10)ROlfi' GROO\'ES Fon a"')K, BeCOI"
dovetoil bit in 'lid lIBt. its height (11.,. fol' the changing thi.set-up on the I'outer ""bte, go
dl-a,Ve.!' on (he cadclY)t and Inake a trial cut .head and out the ~ov.t.il j..'Tooves[or lhe
dra\ver.'s back. Rei"e., (or the sake of con
on a pi.ce of SCI'llP, Then to check th.
POSilioll of the groove, hold the dt'a"'eJ'
\Ienience .. [used the sanle.selti11~ as 011 the
Vi' dovetail bit, (set to full height) to the
dovetail-shaped groove.
rf the sides are \4" thick (as in the
drawer on the caddy), I use a v.,' dovetail
bit to cut. the grooves, This bit is small
enough so it can be set to full height. to Cut

side so it.'s centered o"cr the groove :u)(l

dra,\'cl' front. That is, the gt"OOve is sel in

SNEAK UP
P'USH 11iROUG.H lIT.
THE"N,"Ull 8ACl(

_-

SlOP 8l00(

ON FINAL

WlO'"

ROUT ONE FACE,

flip AROUNO,..
ROUt OTHER
O,.AWflt
fACE
SIDE

f~Cf

~IO

fRONt'

fENCE

TRIM lONGUf

TO Al STOI!Pto
GROOVE

7'0 cut Ihe stopped g,_tO" Iile otlWl'

To cut the do~elailloIJgl<e, lake light
7'hel.ollgllesho1tldfil tI,egroo"e,ruilil a
4
5
6
loose fricUan jU, Whou it /iI"
",ui,
I/t6 dra,w"jYOtI' mu.t lXi/ed itt
I)(lSli.S on bolh JQCe6 0/ lI,e IiralQ'"
1/,."WYOIIU"<Iirectioll,liold itFtrml>JQ8 ii's side, Theil move ihq j'ell<;t "!llay j'ri>m Ihe !'eel/y, t,.i", the l."gllt Of tJur /.Quglt. 10lit
pI<sl<el/Ii<rol,git tile bit,
tJre/euglh 0/114. st.opped (1''00.6,
00"-

~il
to s11eak"P tI,ic/mess

WOODSMITH

o/tonll"'"

21

oy,." from the end of the side piee . How- grooves. see Pig. 6. I use a:chisel to pare
ever, were's no need for the $tOJ) blocks off enough of the dovetail tongue so the
because the grooves are cut. all the \\'a;y botwmofthe drawer side is flush with the
th,'Ou!;h(trom edge to edge).
bottom of the drawer front.
CUT BACK TO SIZE

CUT THE TONGUES

Afl.er both sets of grooves are cut, the

tongue. can b. cut on lhe front ends of the
drawer sides,
'1) StlT.(;P FOJ< TIIXGUS. 'Co cut the
tongues, leave ehe bit set at the same
height. and a<\justthe fence so the dovetail
bit protrudes only slightly beyond the face
of toe tence, see Fig. 5.
Then make .R trial cut in a piece of scl'a
that's exactly the same thickness as the
"real" side pieces. Hold the scrap against,
the fence and make a cut OD 0110 facet see
Fig. 5. Then flip it around and make a cut
on the other face.
At this point, the tongue should be too
thick to tit in the groove. ~Iove the fence
just a smidgen farther away from the
router bit, and make anotherpass on both
faces. (Make very small adjustments on
rhe fence each time. Each acljustmcllL will
.remove double the amount of material because CIltS are made on both faees.)
When [ get close to the ,ighl..<\just.ment, but the tongue is still a little too
tight. 1 .to~ and start cutting the 'r.ar'
piece. This way I klIO\V l'm close, yet 1 still
have room to sneak up on the cut during
the fina) 1"'lSSOS on the tongue.
'2' TH8R'GHT F'T. Tht1tongue should fit
the {J'OO\TC \\'it.h a loose Iricticn tit, That.is,
it shouldn't be so tight that it has to be
hammered into the gl'OO\'e. Instead. it
should be just 10()Sc enough so when the
tongue absorbs some of the moisture front
the glue, it has some room to expull41,
When the tongue is C1.lt \\tith this kiJl(1 of
Gl. il may ,",em a little. too loose - the
(ll':l\\'et' si<le ma,V \vagal'ouncl in IIhe groove
little. But thars okay. When the longue
C!.xpands from the gille, it \\tiU tighten liP ill
the g"oo\,e.
13),'RIi)1 TONGCf:S, Once the t()ngues fit
p)'()per')', the)T still h~veto be tlinll11ed in
lengill ~othey fit the length of th.,topped

Aftel' the tongues are cut ill the side

preces, the final measurements can be
made for the drawer's back.
"') CUT~ACK.Push the sides into piace in
the grooves in the drawer from, Then
measure the distance bet\vce:n the inside
faces of the drawer sides, nea'r the drawer
Itont, see Pig. 7. Add tile depth of the two
dovehlil grooves (a tot:lll of \(:") and cut a
piece for Ihe back to this length.
For now. cutthe back to \I,dth to match
the width
the drawer sides, Then cut
dcvetail tongues 0\' both ends. once again.
sneaking up on ,the fit.

of

GROOVES

11) RUNNER GltOO\'ES~ rr the drawer is

going to be mounted to the cabinet with
wooden ronnel'S (as were the drawers on
the caddy), it's best to cut the grooves for
the runners in the outside faces of the
drawer sides beI01"C final assembly,
lSi TRllil BACK ro \"II)1'JI. Because. of the
inter-locking natu re of the dovetail tongue
and groove j0i11tS, the drawer cannot be
assembled with the bottom in place. Instead. the drawer's back has to be trimmed
down SO the bottom can be inserted later.
Earlier when I cut the back to size, I cut
itlo the same width as the sides, an<1[ also
cut the g1'oovefo" the bottom. This was
done so the groove could be used as a guide
to trim tha back to final width. Cut light
along the top edge M this groove so tho
back rests directly on the drawer bottom,
see ~'ig. 9.

FOR BOTTOM

FINAL ASSEMBLY

A(t., the back is cue. you also need

grooves in the drawer front and sides to
hold l he bottom in 18'''.

A( this point all four sides of the drawer

are cut and ready for assembly.
19)CUT O(}Tr(J~,T() SIZE. As mentioned

[use the

above, the bottom has to be insened after

router table to cut the grooves for the the rest or the drawer is assembled. Howbottom. ~fount a y,;" slraight bil in the eve,'. if the bottom is cut to fit tight in the
router alld (ijust the heigllt so the bit grooves in the drawer's sides, it can be
makes a v....-de.l) cut, 'l'hen a<ljuse the Inserted just be(o). the clamps are tightr<l11~so it's v.r trom the e<lll"of the bit.
ened to help hold the drawer square.
The groove in tbe drawer r.'ont must be
One other thing about the drawer botstopped at the (wo dovetail grooves (0" [0111. t used 14"' Ma.~onitefor the drawer
else it. will show on t.he edgesof the drawer bottoms because it lits ~nugly in the y,"
f,"Onl).To dothis, place the bottom edge of grooves. Although oak-venee r plywood
the drawer front against the renee, 81Id l"(Iay have tooked nicer, it's actually a 1ittle
holdthe left.lld 111' over the bit, see Fig. 8. W8S than !II'" thick, which means it will
Theil slowly lower the drawer frO)lt so rattle around it'! rhe W'OO\Tes,
the bit engages t:i~hton the dO\fetail
20) ~\S$e:\18t.\,'1'0 assemble the drawer,
dab
a little glue along the dovetail tongues
groove. Slowly feed "he dr-awer front
throl1ghthe bit to muke the groo". along 011the drawe,.ides and push them into the
the bottom edge. When you reel it break groo"es in th~ <11owe,
f,"Ont.Then glue the
through the .econddovetail groove, stop dra\\ler back in place, FilIally, pu.t some
and lift the drawer front off of the bit.
glue in ~he!,....
oov.s fOl'the bottom and slide
16)GR()OV1';S IN SlOES Al.'i'1) IJACK. \Vith
it ill place.
the same set ..up QJl tbe router table, cull the
CI.ml) the d,"wer together with pipe
gI"Oo".s.long lhe bottom'edgeof the sides clamps. ~heckjngfm'square as the clamps
and lhe back. There's no need to stop these a.-etigh(ened. After the glue is dry. put a
gI"Ooves - make the Cllt n.long the entire
little \vax in the I'unnel' groo\'es and it's
,.ead~to mount in the cabinet,
length of the sides and back.
16)C~H:f.x>\'t:S
IN I)l(l\ \\fr~l:r:
rnosr,

FIGUR,(-9

fiGURE 8

STAIT G,ltOOYE

~E.E

STOP GROOVe
H[lIi

TRIM tACK
ALONG TOP OOE
OF GROOVE

ROUf RIGHT TO If.F1

To get tll,e

ltle'a$ltTet}l.e1~tf01'

7draltlCr's ba,ck,

tll-e

aSS8'Jl1ble lIte Bides 01ld

f'YO)li. Jl1easltre di.l$taflu bet:ween lite sides

and add Ih. depth qf tlte two (IIW1le8.

22

To Cit! til_ fI'"O&1M Jor tI~d)",wet bot

t0111 J lower tlte (Wlc,'tr trout riglll over

the crovetail groove. !l'he)l ro)(1...,,1# lite bil

br ks ("' .. "gl, til. 8eco>1l1groove.

Bejore o.. o",hll/, cut ~. 9'wve lor

drawer's I>qtlo".a7tdv," groovB/m' the
rll,1~i'leri')t,draloers sides. TI,e~ltri?~l<bacA'
so it 1"6SI. 0)1 tila drawer bottom.

W00DSMITH

_____ u_a_~_m_gSho~

AN OPEN FORUM FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

Ii happens every year, 'long about De-

cember or J8JIUa11'. 'Vc get quite. a few

letters from readers asking why theh-prejeets are cracking and liplitLing.
The problem is moisture ... or the lack
or it. And even though wood is "dead," it's
constantly adjuating to the amount of
rnoistuze (hllmidity) in the surrounding

nir.
This past winter, the entire nation experienced n quick and very nast)' cold
snap, As this cold air filters into your house
and is warmed (at no small expensel, it>;
relative humidity drops. (Cold air holds

Jess moisture than the sante volume of

warm air.)

This causes problems ,\'ith anything

made of wood. As the humidity in the au'
changes .. the wood absorbs or releases
moisture which, in turn, causes it to
expand or. contract , . . sometimes a lot
more than you'd expect.

Although wood changes dimensions, ill

doesn't do it consistently. Wood moves to
much greater extent across the grain (in
width) than with the ll,'--ain(in length).
This fact was dramatically enacted for us
jus. a couple of weeks ago. Remember the
Trestle Table shown on the cover of Wood.smill. No. 2$?
The top of that table is made of solid oak
boards glued up to width of 30". On both
end. of the top are cap boards that run
perpendicul .. to the grain of the top.

There's no way to stop this movement.

AI! you can do is allow for ib in the design
and ceneuucticn of any project. In the case
of the. trestle table. the end cal' was designe<1 to allow for- this movement. 1( it
hadn't been, the top would have split.
If j!OU would like to know more about
wood movement. 1 highly recommend the
book Understandino 1V00d, by Bruce
Hoadley. (IL can be ordered from: The
Taunton Press, 52 Church Hill Road, Box
3;;5, Newtown, CT 06470. $20.00.)
In this book, Hoadley includes all kinds

KING QUESTIONS

/"1}{) IIltrcflased a 1('''0 /I1.""d S'l Japanese

fi1l;is/~'i'lg stone. tlt~l's ,ttl)U1"ted 0"11 Q,

It'Oocklt. base.. l'nI1(J()1~d6rbl{Jif I i"1111erse
1M stolle and bo.e c/implqt.!y in ioa!....,
wilt Ih. ~.cOmq"ilgl"edfrolll
the stan.?
L. 8. Monlgo",..".!!
,Sa)t A nionio, Texas
All King brand water &ton.&can be kept.In

water constantly withou; damaging the

of charts and formulas showing direct
stone itself. However, when the stone is
comperiscns between temperature,
)'eJa~ mounted to a wooden base, the base itself
tive. humidity, percentage of' moisture in should not be immersed.
the wood. and the combined errect these

factors have on expansion and contraction

of different species of wood.
Although this information tends to be a

bit technical, it's very understandable and well wOI:1;1\ reading. And after spending an evening 01' two '\'ilh this book.
Headley's understanding of wood begins
rub off.

to

SMOKING RAGS?

You. }tladc it cleor ill. YOltr art'ici$ Otl oil

finishes (Woodsmith No. 30), thai oil ""d
oiliresin combi"ations "(1)-11''(solidify) by

oxidat,io)~Wid pO!Y)llmizctti6)),.
1t's importa! to be. al~1(1T61/~{Jt"
thie d}'Y'

The problem isn't; with th~ glue holding

the stone to the base, it'S just tbat the
wooden base, like aJ1l' wooden object,
shouldn't be ke\!" constantly in water. We
keep O\U' water stones upside-down in a
closed eontainer \vlth On1ya v," 01' $0 of the
stone ill watei -. This, keeps the stone saturated, yet prevents the base from g~~ling

'vet,
'Ilhere's anoWer problem with soaking
Japanese water stones. [f they dry out"
after eve)" use, >;all deposits (left when
the water evaporates) can be a problem.

One answer is te keep the stones ill a closed

container to p~e.venttbem (rom drying
out. Another option is to use distilled

-'~Qt water. because itcentams no minerals that

.nOl'~h for onYO"6 II) S6"S. 11'1( U Coled can build UI'on the surface of the stone.
,tll,1fac.c, bt~l.el10ugh W caltS6 olspoJt~(J;tle(llt.S
SI)Caking o(.J;\I~Ul.se water stones, the
CO"tbtlStioll~'ill C'1CI"I,'.ed 1"1) mgs ",alII
Appendix to (~e 1984 Garl'ett Wade eatalqg (161 Ave. of the Americas, New YOI,k,
rowd with tit... J;'~i."
...,
1'1"tny O(U)l 'I.lJorksho}), / 1)I().ke 8"1((J'E' (I,ot
N)' )0013) lists two mew combinasion
tng /JroC(1$$ also (!(J)lcmleS

SQ)}"l.ehea.(

aU (he rogs used for oil sl<l;" s 1111clear

Japanese water stones,

UJipC6" /i."i8hes
(""6 01>t1te</ fI,p ~(1/leu
lhOI/'.,. left 10 dry, ruther t/W.II allowi"g
then: 10 r6)ttai)1 all ~ru.n{l'led'i(lJ. .,411 (!Verl

s(lfer 1"-Clclic6 is

it)

Pl~tIhetn ilt

alid $t;b't~6'1J~
~/11J))1i'11lQOi(jr It'lt/il
I. Ih,-ow Ihe", .W<qf.

When we built tha~ table t"p, the caps

were trimmed and sanded in length to
lIIatch the exact widlh of the main body.
That \vas dur,ing the summer \\'h~nthe
humidity waS high.
This \linter Ted (our Design Director)
took that table home light about the time
the cold "nap hit. The ail' in his house. was
quite dry, and the tabl. tQp began to oon
tract - even though it/s finished \\tith
three coats of po~vw"thane.
The photo above. shows how the width of
the table top contracted t" a much gt"."ter
extent than the length of the end cap.
There1s a J4" v31iation Oll eq,(./t sj(le. mttk
iog a tota] difference of !l.a"'.
WOOOSMITH

116"i.,,'

illlp;et

it's cQ)'~

'For a /0119li",~, I """'Jidcroo thi/$pre

calttion aboul (li.lp08al oj d.l11;nyoilsOflkedroy. asj.,81, anl)tl.e,jinicky war,,
illg. Th." S6"uralll.ms ago. 1YiJil"'e8sed/1

pile of c,.m"pted "P I,my oil soaked, lugS

igl\i~""

if 'O"leolie had wlJ,ch"" a

llIatc"

W 11'11>1,.

_4W,ouyh it's les* lik.l." ta oc~"ri"a C()(,t

The Jit$b is a 250/1000 grit cOlnbillati01J

sOOne($10.;;0); the ~ec_o~dstone cembines
HlOol6000 grjts ($14.85). This second com

llle. ~l}j"~C}t/la i'l

/totoaralle in July, it's
i"tpOssibl~.SQ

bination is ahnost identical to the t,,,ojndi-

"lQltll lake

smitlt No. 2-t). At only $15, this 1000/6000

008BI)t611t ~tJ()'r'kroOJ11ill

<;)ta11cc8'1

""t

,'idual st()lleS 've )-ecommencl in loodcombination stOlle pl"Oducesthe best edge

Sic/ney lAmr."

E~CC1(ti1.'BDirector

for tile mone.y \VC've. seen.

AcoQrding to Garrett Wade. both stones

C0(I.1inURes.o.-alLG,.1(1I can be kep~~nstantJyimmersed in ,vater

Clet-eland. Oll.io "ithou~ lhe two halves separating.

23

Sources
WOODWORKING

CLUBS

The list of woodworlOng clubs continues to

grow. Here 81'(' the latest additions.
TH~ COASTAL WOOOCRAFTBRS GUILD.
This club WM fonned about eight months
ago in Savannah. Georgia, and already has
30 active members. The group sometimes
meets in members' shops - something
President Wayne Welch says is a learning

experience in itself. For more information

contact Wayne at 18309 Chesterfield
Drive, Savannah, GA 31419 or call 912-

925-1380.
S)lAK RIVR wOOOCARVP.RSCLIlIl. Ro..
Darnell says this club got started about.
year ago In Idaho Falls, Idaho. Aecording
to R_, there's a lot of excellent talent in
the group aInlady. If you'd like more informalion. write to Ross Darneli, Roule3,
Box 260, Idaho Falls. ID SMOI or calI20S-

529-8699.
TII~ SAwnvSTtRS.
From Dave Cook
come. word of the founding of a woodworlcing club in Northwest Iowa (in and
around Sac and Buena Vista counties). The
Sawdu6tol'8' membership is around 30 and
they invite any and all to attend.
Dave says he'd like to hear frem other
club. about idea. ;0" programs and
speakers. If you're interested in joining.
or If you have some information to pass
wong, centaet Dave Cook. RR 1, Nemaha,
lA 50567 or cali 7126$.4528.
NEW NA.IIS. In the last issue of lI'ood,mill, we reported about the formati,,. of
two woodworking clubs which were so new
they hadn't had lime to get themselves
named yet. That siluation has been rectified this lime around and we're glad to
introdu~ you 10:
HAW~I'E WOOOClUF"Il:RS is the name
the fellows in Burlington, lA, gave their
club. For more information
contact
Dwight ~Iulch. President, 2636 S. ~fain,
Burlington, IA 5260],
WOODCIIUCKS WOOOWORKNC CLUB is
the name they seuied on in the PortlandVancouver area. Don N/. Sehie is the.person to contact at 62'20 North Basin Avenue, Portlnnd, OR 972]7.
Our orrer to help your woodworkng club

recruit member'l\ is a standing one. Ifyou'd

like U810 mention your club in an upcoming
issue 01 Wood8mith, send the information
(including the name of the person. prespective member should contact) to Steve
Krohmer, AMistanl Edilor.
fiNISHING

'RODUCTS

We finished the projects in this issue \\ith

penetrating oil finishes.
Watco Danish Oil finishes are generally

24

available at woodworking stores, unfinished furnitUl'(' stores, paint and hsrdware

sto res, But if you can't locate a dealer near
you, write or call: Watco-Oennis Corporation, 1756 2'lnd Street, Santa ~{onica,
CA 90404; 213-870-478],
Sutherland Welles products, on the
other hand, lire distributed only by Garrett Wade, 161 Avenue of the Americas,
Now York, NY 10018; Tel: 1-300-221-29-12
(AK, HI, and NY call 2]2-807-1757). Or
you Can ,)I'der directly from the manufacturer: Suthe"'.nd Wolle8, Ltd., 403
Weaver Street. Carboro. NC 27510; Tel:

919-967-1972.
fiNISHING

TIPS "CONTEST-

While I W3$ working on the article on oil

finish~. in Wood.milk No. 3O(and thinking
aboul the one thaI'. planned for the next
issue), it occurred 10 me that the secrets of
wood fini~hinA' are like the secrets of
woodworking, The really good ideas are
those little Ihins,'t', ofWn developed by ac-

cident. thAt mnkc >'OUI' friends

So1.)'.

"\Vh)'

didn'l I think of tll.11"

Over the yc.'~, we've 5h81'"d a lot of
woodwo"kinl{ tips on the Tips and Tech"iq,,~.l>lIge, but. I'U admit to not, paying
<Illite811 much attention to finishing Lips as
maybe I should have.
So, with jusl " uure bit of fear about
getting swamped with matl, here's an official in,it.lion 10 6hUl'Cyour favorite wood
flllishing tip. '<ith olhe"lI'ood$milh readers-and
maybe oven make aUttlemoney
at tbe same lime.
The rule. of this finishing lips "contest"

are simple:
J. Send all entries to Mike Scott, A,;sistant Editor. ~Iik(>"volunteered" to
read, sort and evaluate all the flllii;bing
lips th.t come in.
2. We'll pay a minimum of $10 for lips
we publish, and if Lh~idea is unusual, or

works especially \\'~U, Or makes us say,

"\Vhy didn't we t,llinkof tha~?" we will go to
$25 01' higher,

ishes, 5Ul1'aceapplications - til fair game

for this "conleSI." BUI keep in mind that
we're l oo king for the unique tips. Mixing
your own wood filler out of sawdust, and
varnish is almost common knowledge, and
is not likely to be published.
6. There's no Co,,,,.1 deadline for this
"contest," And, finally. \\lC')J prim a~ many
of your til)S as we can,
GLUING DOVETAIL ROUTER BIT

The dovetnil router bit shown on the right

in the drawing below i.one of a kind. Bosch
Powel'Tool Corpo''lltion manufactures this
special devetail bit wilh a little extra fiule
that ereates an expansion slot for excess
glue.
As far as we've been able to determine,
Bosch is the only manufaeturer that makes
a dovetail bit wilh thi.. profil., and Ihetre
only available in hi,", speed steel (not as
carbide-tipped).
Every other dovetail bit creates a prome
as shown on the len in the drawing. So.
what's the big de811
We like 10 usc the Bosc h bit when making dovetail tongue and g,'oo"e joints beeause normally the ahaI'll corners of this
jOint lit so light th.t even a little bit of
sawdust in the I(rOOV0 makes 't~sembling
the joint difficult at best. 'I'his speeial
Bosch bit IlOIve8th.t problem by creating a
little extra space.
However, when routing "normal" dovetail join", ("ocket and pin) where "every-

thing sho\\'ti" on the $irle of the drawer, we

~tiU use rejlUlar bil Oike the one on the
ieft in the drawing).
The Bosch bil' eome in IWO s;zes #85132, ' .. - ($4.65) and <1'85133, 'Yo<
(S7.40). If),ou w.nt to locate a Bosch disIributor near you. call or write Boseh corporate headquarter . P.O. Box 2217.
Highway 5,; We.t, Ne'" Bern NC 28561:
or call 919-63.'3-4138. The Bosch customer
service department \\;11 give )'ou the name
of. dealer near you.

3. In the case o( dllplicow suggestions,

we'll use the on~s \vith the earliest pestmark s.

4. Be aJ:J complete as you can in explain ..

ing your lip. I r you mix your 0\\'"0 finish 01'
stain, be apcelflc about brand names,
quantities, and mixinginstructlons. Tell us
all we'll need to know to duplicate your

JOtN1 CatAftO I ... IOSCH lit

recipe in our shop. If you have a particular

way you apply the finish, describe it in
detail or include a drawing' or photo (that
doesn't have 10 be returned) to help explain it.
5. Every Mpect of wood finishing sealing, filling, .t(lining, penetrating linWOOOSMITH