go 4 iD F “> Leam the ecret to ’ orf e www.ShopNotes.comIssue 62 March 2002 PUBLISHER eDiror ASSOCIATERDITORS Donald, Pesehike ‘Terry J. Strohman Bryan Nelson Vincent Ancona Joel Hess Craig Ruegsegger Cary Christensen Kurt Schultz Roger Reiland Mark Higdon | om anome ostnen eet Grate Diet T0 Ken oft ape Ken Masel Seni Drop Rent Wack yan Ses Pret ‘anne Che Pa» Sup gin Sa a See Toc Ser Ptah: Caio Con toga Ls Art rte Daas. tS ‘Gupte beronce Ghee Glavaaa = Urge Dear Wo Namen Ante Eton Cri Reapers sort Bone Nah Beach rn cemmcuLarion Sitener Sion Diet Say Ba ‘Sener’ ue Gre ty Aire ‘roel Menges Pas Regn = Gc pre Mar Foe. Rain Pend Blog & Calton lige econ Ganinghen «Sadie Pet ps ale itn * ‘Pomafo lp Paes raf Poe ary Serer Cte Sat teas Goce Pre Prat nape Ty Cr, Sams ene per ie Nenane Now age Gra 6 Gap "Atmel es ag Poe Sterlite Spr Cte ges Da | Bee Sie ces eter aang re Medal Sg et: Kets Rees Bea Seme fein ec Cae Weer ‘uaa. oRoER Dine Bo Raker «Customer Serie Mylene Ee Weep Ng Sons Bayer aie ‘Kana Com, Dabrens Biche Cet Sve Raps: Ap Roel, Yess cs ie har Ware Sv arg Ses Rook nuigs Da Lanne Ae: Tin Ten + Sle Sf ‘Nene iat Lary Strum der Rasa Miso locker Oe Years wa Seyi tl ‘ShopNotesbissrogisorel tradanarket Agu Hore Paling Scenes Seen eee ae em ‘Prninater Sn cng a des toh Nae, On 108, Sonne Sepa trieanaaeie crear $0 um to £0 pe, Cantral Tne, wobags. FA 51682407 Hiatt Ege i Woodworking Shop’ Tours PRINTED INU. e SET ee Cutoffs He: you ever stopped in the middle of building project and heard a small voice say, “lf only this joint would fit bette” or “l wish this ig was easier to use?" When this happens Ive found its good idea to ray aitenton to that vice. “The reason is simple. Quite often the inspiration for a new proket comes ahout when you're wishing for a beter, saer, oF more efficient vay of building a project. ‘The Box Joint Jig (page 4) isthe end result of listening to that voice and then making small yet signif cant improvernents Firs to geta precise fit, wewanted to oliminate any racking in the i Second, we wanted 10 reduce the ‘amount of set time involved when making different size box cits. Box Joint Jig—Ournew Box Joint Farkas an easy-o>uild, duakrunner system, which prevents racking and any Seto movement. But what lice best about thisjigis whatyou don? have todo —readust it. A system of replaceable fences means that setup is now a onetime eal —no matter what size box joint you're making project in this issue started out as a ‘simple wish, “I wish I didnt have to Gear my bench to glueup apanel.” ‘The answer to that wish is the WalkMounted Clamping Staton on page 24, Not only did we reclaim workbench space, but we did away with having to wrestle with individual ‘amps — the clamps are builtin. ‘To top it off, the entire project ‘only uses common materials and a sminimum amount of hardware. Heip Wanted One final note, We're looking for an editor to join us here at August Home Publishing. If youre enti astic about woodworking or home improvement and enjoy working as part of team, we'd like to hear from you. Send a cover letter and a resime highlighting your expert ence to M. Sigel, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, 1A 50312, Email: msigel@augusthome com. Be includ a part of the Visit other Shop.Votes subseribers’ workshops and soe photos of the shop projects they've built. It’s all online at ‘Wookiworking Shop Tours on, the ShonNotes web site: wormShopNotes.com ‘We want you to be part of our shop tours! Ty submit photos of your favorite ShopNotes projects or-views of ‘your shop, just follow the instrue- tions you'l find on our web site. No. 62 ShopNotesEYEUEEI e Contents Features ‘Boxee CInt )ig ses sities Iba ee eG Unlike most bex joint jigs, this one uses runners in both mitor slots to make an extremely smooth-working jig. And replaceable fences alow you to make different size box joints without having to “reture"tho fit Making Box Joints ______ 10 Youcan' help but approciate the oratemanship of precision bboxioinis, Learn how easy fis tomiake them wih our siicle step-by-step epproach Carpenter's Toolbox__________14 With its classic lines. solid wood construction, and strong box joints, thie carpenter's toolbox will be around to use (and admire) for generations to. come. Italso features aremovable tray for organizing small tocls and hardware. Gear Glie lps 20 There's more to creating a wide. sofid-woad panel than just gluing a bunch of boards together. Leam the step-by-step process we use to glue up panels that look great ana stay fiat. Clamping Station ________24 ve wpa pane! without taking up valuable bench soace? And without pipe clamps? This shop-buil station makes it possible, Departments Readers (ips ‘Shop tested tvs to solve common woodworking oroblers. Shop igi = ee We share the "secrets" used in our shop fer creating @ smooth, ‘even profiie with a router bit and a hand-held router. Tool Chest = ss es at Unconventional design, great results. Find out about an unusual bit that cuts perfect countersinks in wood or metal e Gotinces wae eee eee ob ‘Mai-order sources end supplies to help you complete the projects featured in this issue. No. 62 ‘ShopNotes 3‘4 Hold-Downs. The toggle bolls used for these shop-made hoid-downs can be found at a local hardware siore. Readers’ Tips bs Toggle Bolt Hold-Downs mi My portable workbench gess pressed into service as a stand for several of my benchtop tools. But instead of breaking out the camps every time I want to attach a tocl to the workbench, I came up with a shopmade hold-down, It's faster and easier to use than clamps, and it can be made from a few pieces of com- monly available hard- ware and a wood dowel. ‘The holi-downs are made using a1/i"oggie bolt, a washer, and a wing nut, see detail drawing at right. The toggle bolt hes a couple of ‘wings that fold up, allowing it be inserted through the holes in the tep of the workbench, Once the wings pass through the hole, they spring ‘open. To keep the togele bolts cen- base on which the tool is mounted {ered in the holes of the workbench, —Allyou have to dois tighten the wing Tmade some spacers forthe bolts by _ nuts to hold the too! down tothe top driling /“dia, holes through short ofthe workbench, lengths of /"ia. dowel stock. Dana Craig ‘The bolts pass through a plywocd Norwood, Massachusetts Pegboard Bit Holder “SERS. WI built the Sliding-Door Wall decided to put it to good use by Cabinet in issue No. 59. Since I had making a router bit holder for one of some pegboard left over from the drawers of the cabinet. The bit ‘making the back of the cabinet, 1 holder can also sit on top of ashelf or ‘workbench for easier access. To make the holéer, [simply cuta couple of pieces of the 1/;"" pegboard tofitinsidethe drawer. Thea Igiueda pair of spacers in between the peg- board layers, taking care to keep the holes lined up, see drawing at right. Finally, 1 glued a piece of 1/,! hard- board to the botom. ‘Theholes in the pegboardare just the right size formy 1/i"4ia. router bits, see detail drawing atright Deborah Vogt Douglas, Alaska 4 ShopNotesA To kop track of his pencils, Robort & Scott Roiohort, of Pittsburgh, PA, uses To quickly adjust his outfeed role, Jon Phardel, of Ortonville, MI, uses Velcro to short lengths of rain gutter material 1o Philips, of Fridiey, MN, marks the arm to atiach the penciss to his dill press and make convenient shelves for holding indicate the covrect height forthe difforont other power tools around the shop. spray paittand other aerosol cans. power toois in his shop. Squaring Box Corners for Gluing Whenever I'm assembling box ga fkeceowe ordraver, feel like [need two pairs “SUNDA ofhands—onetohold the assembly S05 ans scquare and another to apply the clamos ‘To make things alte easier, Teame up with come squaring bods @ obephot the pieces severe whe clamp them together. T made my squaring blocks out of plywood. The base is just a square piece of /" plywood. The toplayer is actually made up of three separate pieces of plywood, see deta drawing To use the squaring at right. The trick is to glue these locks, simply place one under Get more wood! working tips free fuee ites ceva surely te exh carne of the ssenby Dele 7 ae gees Roe ee tier cairns eae eH aes eee Boy Haan ae Oe ‘workpieces you are clamping up. Las Veous, Nevada z peer ‘email every week. Faint Can Lid Whenever I use 2 can of paintor "Send in Your Shop Ti fash Gelgiiduvaccectene, send in Your Shop Tips rush into the groove around the rim _Hfyout have a unique shop tip, weld like Bethe a nene meee wher} seaside featuring tin oneor more of replace the lid. To prevent this from Uf into eletronic publications, happening, | cut a “donut” out of 1" pila ape, aa eae Ya aboard and simply taped ® down HSH Juste down the dan malt to the top ofthe can, see hot. Ronee DeaLE GR Tie domes ef oof ite soz or sr a he rove ofthe can and abo pro, email at [email protected], vides a convenient place to wipe off Pease indude your name, address ‘the excess finish from my brush. and daytime phone number incase we | Melvin Kessler have any questions. i Linden, Michigan : : nae ‘ShopNotes 5curacy. Thats the key to suc- bat Perfect box joints particularly for a box jcint jig. So every time? With when we were coming up with the this jig, now Seen rhe oxi je ed - ate as many ofthe variables as, it's possible. sible that eould relic accuracy. And we did this by trying to “build in” as much of the accuracy as pas- sible rom the start. Take the runner system, for examole. Most box joint jigs are miter gauge slots of your table saw. 6 simply attached to a miter gauge. If there is any slop in your miter gauge bar, itcan throw off the accuracy of the jig. But instead of using a miter gauge, this fig fits directly into the miter gauge slots of your table saw, see leit photo below. The sides ofthe jig serve 2s runners. And since the jig travels in both slots, there isn't any chance of racking. Some box joint jigs use an adjustable index key to space the fin- ShopNotes gers of the box joints. The problem with this is that you have fo fine-tune the adjustment everytime you want to switch to a different size of box joint. Instead, this jig uses a system of remorable fences with separate keys for different sizes of box joi A simple stop om the end of the fs allows you to return each fence to the exact postion it was inthe last time you use it, see ight phot. Carriage = These. removable fences all bolt on to a common base ‘or “carriage.” The carriage is the part of the jeg that will ride in the miter gauge slots of your table saw. I ‘A Two are Better Than One. The sides Having two runners aives the lig more & Stop. A screw in the end of the of this jg form runners that ride in tho stability and offers less possibilty for ror due to racking of the jig. fence contacts a hardboard stop for accurate setup every time. No. 62sarted by making this assembly. ‘As you can see in Figure 1, there are oaly three parts io the carriage of the jig — a base, a pair of sides, and a fixed fence, Making the sides (A) is. Sreightfor ward. They are cut to size ‘ut of 24" Baltic birch ply- ‘wood. The top edge of each side is tapered and then a couple of coun tersunk screwholes are crilled in each one (Figure 3). Base Making the base requires alittle more attention to detail. You ‘can socin Figure 2 that the base (B) is nothing more than two layers of rlywood. But it has to be sized to fit in betweea the miter gauge slots of go wee your table saw. And since this dis- TER oA eae. tance will vary from saw to saw, ‘you'll have to custom ft the base. made my base by catting the two layers to width first. Then cut them ‘a hair longer than the distance between my miter slots. (Thisallows ‘you to sneak up on the final length.) ‘The two lavers of the base are screwed together. Just make sure that you locate the screws close to the ends of the base, so that they ‘won'tbe in the path ofthe saw blade, = es bs weobbeten ‘To determine the final length of the base, Isotit on my table saw and _ to have the ft be a litle too saug than ‘clamped the sides in place, ust like too loose, since you can always sand you see in Figure 4. This allows you down the sides alittle after the car~ to test the ft of the jig on your table riage is assembled. saw, You want the carriage to slide My base was a little to0 long to freely, but thore shouldn't be any begin with, so trimmed offa hair at side-to-side play in the jig. I's better a time and tested the fit after each eee ne weotpesew — No. 62 ShopNotes ‘pass, Once you are satisfied with the fit, the sides can be glued and screwed to the base. This is also done with the help of the table saw. Aiter applying the glue, simpiy ‘clamp the base in between the two sites, making sure that allthe pieces are flush at the front. (The sides should be resting on the bottom of the miter gauge slots) Then drive a few screws through the holes in the sides and into the base. Fixed Fence ~ he fied fence (C) provides a means of attaching the removable fences that you will be making later. If you take a look at Figure 1, you'll see that it's just a piece of 3/1" plywood. A hole is drilled at each end of the fence for the carriage bolts that will be used 10 attach the removable fences to the jig. The fixed fence is then screwed to the front of the carriage,JIGS & ACCESSORIES Fence. cum ES 2 backine SO Ok : S SN (ess eeIeN) SIDE VIEW 1 Fence : wee fg X poy The second part of this ig is the identical, so you all you have to do fence. Or maybe I should say is make multiple parts for each one. “fences.” That’s because youll want Ifyou take a look atthe box oa the to build a separate fence for each opposite page, you'll see that I made 4 size of box joint that you want to 2 total offive different fences forthe A Replaceable make. But this isn't as much work — five most common sizes of box joints Insert. A hardboard asit may sound like. Except for the Tuse (/e!, Va, 54, /o!, andi"). backing insert can size of the index Key, the fences are The fence consists of two main be easily replaced as it gots chewed up through use. 8 ShopNotes parts — a fence plate and a carrier slate, see Figure §. The fonce plate (D) starts offs nothing more than a iece of Y/" plywood, cut to size. A shallow dado is cutinthe frontof this exe to hold a replaceable backing insert that willbe added later. In order to position this dado, 1 installed a?/" dado blade inmy table sav. Then the fence plate is placed aginst the carriage of the jig, rmalcing sure the two are flush on the ends. With a pencil, mark the toca: tion ofthe dado blade on the edge of the fence plate Figure 6). Then with the jg removed trom the table saw, cut a dado that is Yi" wider on each side of the markings ‘igure 6). By using the rip fenceas stop, Iwasableto cut the samesize ado on all ve ofthe fence plates 1 vwas making. Once the fence plates were fim ished, Lmade the carrier plates. The carrier plate (B) is an important part of the fg. not only supports the workpiece while the box joints axe being cut, it abo holds an index key that is used to space the box joints, This key willbe fitted into a shallow slot in the carier plate ‘As you can see in Figure 7, {cut the sltfor the key on my table saw, using the jg to beck up the carrer plate. The width of the slot (nd the ees) hes to match the width of the No. 62Ee kerf cut by your saw blade or dado blade. I made the slot for the 1" index key with a regular (//" kerf) saw blade, Then I switched toa stack dadoset to make theslots on the rest of the carrier plates. In order to position each slat, all you have to do is slide the carrier plete to the left so that the end extends past the left side of the fixed fence, as shown in Figure 7. The amount of tis offset should be twice the width of the sot you're cutting In other words, /i! fora /s! slot, fora ¥7" slot, and so on. ‘After cutting the slot for the key, the carrier plate is screwed to the bottom of the fence plate so the to are flush on the ends. (gain, make sure to keep the screws out of the path of the blade.) Mounting Holes - Carriage bolts, washers, and knobs are used to attach the removable fence assembly to the carriage of the ig. But in order to do this, you need to drill a countersunk mounting hole at eachend of the fence. Thisis done in several steps. In Figure 8, you can see how I used a brad point bit to transfer the hole locations from the carriage to the removable fence. To drill the counterbored holes, [ started by deilling a small @/ “SeANO Ta) ECOND: pat ‘In. COUNTERBORE dia) pilot hole through each end of Index Key and Stop - Once the the fence, right where I had fenceismountedtothecarriage, vou ‘marked! the centerpoints on the can add the final touches. First, a back of the fence (Figure 9). Then hardwood indesr key (G) is cut to it Tused a Forstner hit to make the theslotin the carrerplate and glued counterbore on the front of the in plave (Figure 10). Then astop (H) fence (Figure 2). Finally, | finished is made ont of two small pieces of by enlarging the through hole with hardboard and screwed to the end of 2 Yada, bit (Figure $b). the fixed fence on the carriage, as Backing Insert ~The bucking you see in Figure 11. A serew in the ‘insert (F)iscut irom’/"hardboard, end of the fence plate contaets the (Make up some extrasto have as re- stop and provides a means of fine- placements) The insert is attached tuning the fence setting. (For more to the fence with a single screw on tuning the jg o cut box joints, see through the center (Figure 10) thearticle on page 10.) & ‘The thing that makes this ig uniqueisits use of removable fences. Instead of haviug (© readust the ym cey fence and index key ‘when you want to make a different size of box joint, you simply bolt on a different fence for the size of joint you 1y"Key 4" Koy ‘wish to make. With the exception of the with of the index key and er the slot (see photos at Fight, all the fer08s 5 ey Kop are identical.Perfeet fitting box joints on your table saw — we'll show you how. Bx joints have a lot of things going for them. They're strong. They con't require alot of special skills or equipment. And they look great With theirrows of evenly-spaced pins, box joints have a tradiional, almost fashioned appeal, making them perfect for a project like the clasic Carpenter's Toolbox on page 1. __-— Interlocking Fingers ~ Box joints ~~ are made up of alternating pins and slots, see drawing at lft The pins on ‘mating pieces interlock Eke tiny fin- gers. This ereates a lt of good, face- rain glue surface and makes for a stronger joint. But for the optimum joint you sill nced a snug, accurate ft between the pins and the slots. ‘The trick to getting a good fit with box joints is precision and consistency. ‘The width of the pins has to match the ‘width ofthe slots. And each pin has to besame size as the next one. The best way to achieve this isto use a jig. Once the ig is adjusted propery, cutting the joints is almost automatic. (F you don't already have a box jot size and spacing of the slots and pins. The process is fairly simple. Youcut the first slotin the workpiece, place that slot over the index key to cut the second slot, and ten keep working your way down until you've got a complete row of evenly-spaced slots and pins. But in order to get a perfect fit, you have to spend a litle bit of ime adjusting the position ofthe index key in relationship to the blade of your saw. And the best way todo this is to cut some box joints on a couple oftest pieces before moving ‘on to your actual workpieces. Foetourence 30 i Setting Up the Jig - The first moore step to setting up the jig is to install 9 your sav blade, Whether you are tusing a dado blade or a single saw blade (for Vs! bos joints), the wih arrmoe, of the blade needs to match the eee a _} width of the index key on your jig. If To ocston the removable fence ry Tose: the height ofthe black see it doesn, yout have fo shim your for the intial cut through the jg, done of your workpieces on the ig dado bade to makeit match. set it Fush with the end of the fixed and reise the blede so itis sighty Before you can use the jig for \ fence and lock itn place. ('ho')bigher than the workpece. the first time, you need w make 10 ShopNotes No. 62TECHNIQUE an initial cut through the cartier plete and backing insert. To posi tion this cut, see Step 1. To set the height of the blade, I use a piece of the same stock that 1 cut my workpieces from (Step 2), The blade should be slightiy out Yao!) higher than the thick. ness of your workpieces. This way, the pins will stand a little proud, end you can sand them ‘down flush with the sides. Test Pieces — Rather than diving rightin and cutting the box joints on my workpieces, I lke to start with a couple of test pieces. But i's impor. tat that these test pieces be the same thickness ard width as your actual workpieces, Why? Because it your jig is off jase a hair, you probably won't notice iif you only cut one or two slots as a test. Buta small error can acd up to a big one over the width of the work piece. And! the only way to determine this is to make your test pieces the same width as your workpieces. Make Test Cuts ~ Cut the box Joints on the ends of the test pieces, as shown in Steps3 and 4, Once you are done, try fiting the nieces togeiher and compare the results with the drawingsin the box below. If the pieces fit together perfectly on the frst attempt, great. You're ready to move on to your actual workpieces. But chances are that you will have to make an adjustment to your jig by moving the fence (or the index key). On ouriig, this is just a matter of losening the knobs on ‘Set tho first test piece against the key and cut a slot. To cut re ‘maining slots, move the piece overso the slot yu just cut straddles the key. | To cut the first slot on the second test piece, butt it up against the bottom edge of the frst test piece. Then cut the rest ofthe slots Sher rake SEcONG, A kee heck the fit of the joints Gee ‘2’. they are too tight, shift tie ‘box below). If they are too loose, shift the fence andlor index key fur ther away from the blade (ee derail the back and nudging the fence over a bit,as shown in Step 5. ‘The difference between a perfect iting joint and one that is too tight ‘or too loose is only a few thou sandths of an inch, 30 move the Jence in very small increments, After index key Coser to the blade (see detail‘b). Then make more test cuts 1 check the new setting. cach adjustment, make another series of test cuts. Repest this process as many times as necessary ‘until youire satisfied with the it. ‘Then you can tighten the knobs own and edjust the screw on the ‘end of the fence to contact the stop. Checking the Fit Loose fit. If there's a 940 between each pin, simply into the siots at all, then from the blacle towards the blade. No. 62 ShopNotes ‘set toolow, youllend yp A With a perfect box joint, the two side the index key away slide ihe index key wih oinsthatare too short. pieces will ft snug, and the pins So raise the blade slighty. willbe a ittle proud before sanding. WAlthough adjusting the jig for a perfect test fit is usually the most challenging and time-consuming part of the process, there are still ‘some things to watch ut for when i comes time to eut the box jin in your actual workpieces. Fortunately, there are a few simple precautions you cantaketoensure success Visual Appeal — When builling with box joints, I typically shoot for visual accuracy rather than dimen- sional accuracy. For instance, the toolboxon page 14 is supposed to be 8" tall (before the lid is cut off), But whether it ends up exactly this height or not, the important thing is that there's a full pin (or slot) at the topand bottom of each piece Extra-Wide Pieces —To do this, Typically start with workpieces that are extra wide and then tim them down after the box joints are cut, ee Step 6 This way, always end up with a fl pin (esto). Ofcourse, thereare times whena workpiece has to be a specific dimension, like when building a drawer. But evenin these cases [stil start with an oversize piece. simply trim the pieces so the rin (or slot is thesame sizeatthetopand bottom, “nV SeQueNce Label Pieces ~ Another thing I like to do is label the front, back, ard side pieces and number the joints $0 an cut the joints in sequence, see drawing above and Step 4 below. Consistent Pressure - When cutting the box joints (see the steps Reese estetetoefibenst workpiece against the key and told it tightly against the fence and ‘artes plate. Then cut the frst slot RGN arian tae bt stradles the key and cut a second notch, Repeat this process nti all the slots on this end are cut. ‘Alter all the slots are cut on one end, fp the piece end-foxend, keeping the waste edge on the seme side. Then cut the slots on this side Now, rotate the frst piece so the waste is ouside and the frst sot fitsover the key. Butt the mating piece against the first and cut the first slot 12 "Now, slide the slot you just cutin the mating piece up tght t0 the key Continue this procedure until the box joints are cut on all pieces. ShopNotes Before assambing the box mmo & the waste edge off each piece so theresa full pin and slot on the top and bottom of the piece. No. 62below), you still have to think about e consistency. Even shifting the pres- sure slightly can affect the fit of the ‘box joints. So J hold the jig with both hands and perform each pass in cacy the same manner Unfortunately, even if your box joints ft perfectly, you may run into another problem — chipout. Chipout - Our jig takes care of this problem, but there are @ few other things you can do to minimize it. Fist, make sure your blade is sharp. And don’t push the pieces through the blade too quickly. If you're getting a lot of chipout, try slipping a serap piece of hardboard behind the workpiece so that each cut is backed up completely. ‘Smooth Assembly-Aftercutting the slets on all your pisces, you're ready (o assemble the box. Here's where | like to take afew precautions tokcepthingsfrom geting tofrantc: ‘Clamping up a project with box joints canbe @ litle tricky. Because the ends of the box jin: fingers stand proud of the sides, you can't really apply clamps directly on the corners. ‘The answer isto use camping Docks that will allow you to position the clamps as close to the joints as possible, see draw ings below. JORTED END ONLY First, try to avoid slopoing gue all over the box joints so that won't havea big mess to clean up later. To help with this, tape the inside edges Also, to get the ghue on quickly, I of the pieces (Figure 1). This way, use asmall “acid” brush (available at any glue squeeze-ont can be care. most hardware stores). You don't fully pocled away later. Time Savers ‘want much glue though. Even alitle To buy myself bitcreates a strong hold. ‘more time, I use white glue instead When it comes to clamping up the of yellow glue. White glue sets up box joints, there are @ couple of other slower,whichhelps when therearea things to know, See = lotof boxjoints, like on the toolbox. the box below. #& [Clamping Tins @ CHET LT ES Its alco important to malee sure that you have plenty of clamps on hand, Keep in mind that each joint needs to be clamped in two directions in order t> pull the pieces together. So you will need a nminimam of four clamps for even the smallest projet. Bar clamps. work ell because they allow you to concentrate the damping prescure in a ssreight line For small projects that don’t require much pres ‘sure, you can use band clamps. ‘To. prevent the sides of larger projects from bowing ‘under the clamping pressure, I often make a simple squaring | form out of foam or a piece of 4 Squaring Form. A block of partie board, see drawings at wood or foam prevents the ght and below sides fom boning in. BAND CLAMPS Ayo SHAR BESS NEAR CORNERS ONLY No. 62 ShopNotes 13Carpenter's Toolbox Pee SL Tao loaded with features. (C Yer the years, Ive run across a lot of old car- P verter’s toolboxes that look similar to the one you. see here, But there's somethiag different about this toolbox. Mest ofthe old toolboxes|'ve seen were quickly slapped together with nails and butt joints, And over time, the boards had shrunk or cupped znd pulled loose from the nails. You won’ have that problem with this toolbox. Thats because the comers are joined with interlocking box joints. The individual fingers ofthe box. joints provide largeamount of gluing surface, resulting in a much stronger joint that holds up over time. But the box joints arent the only reason to build this toolbox. Its also loaded with other handy festures. To start with, isthe perfect c for toting around an assortment of your favorite hand tools. A sliding tray atthe top of the box has compartments for nals and fas: toners. The underside ofthe Ids fitted with a holder fora hand saw. And a leather handle on top of the lid makes it easier to carry the toolbox around from job to job. If for some reason you don’t want to use box joints, there’s an easy alternative. Weve provided details on our website for building 4 ‘ShopNotes Joints, see photo on oppesite page. While not quite as Strong as box joints, rabbets offer more strength and gue surface than butt joints. And to give the box an old time look, we used copper nails with square heads. ‘Wood = A lot of the older toolboxes I've seen were made out of pine, probably because it was readily avail able end cheap. But I decided to go with Dougias fir cee intend Its alte bit harder than < pine and takes on a nice, warm color over time. SAGA SN wisee EXPLODED VIEW OVERALL DIMENSIONS: BOTA B54" x O147H bo pave. case ane he AA ct wooo Tiatdoaaro rane NSN HERRS ‘Antigen SueAeeS Bano Seb Coe rn Materials & Hardware ‘A Front/Back (2) YexBin(rgh)-20 K Tiny Botton () lox tHe Had © Ends (2) ‘inxOia(rgh)-O L TrayDidero(2) ex le- So G Tray Runners (2) Syx27-"nHided. M TiayHandle()—"axS'e- O% D Lia Stop (1) Wx2ije-B4 (rar) E Base Molding (1) ax P/s-B4(rgh) + (2) Small Brass Trunk Hinges F Bottom Panel (1) ax 264-4 Hebd. « (\) Leather Trunk Handle 6 Lid Molding (1) 84x P%-96. + (2) Bao Plated Draw Catches 1H Ud Panel (1) 5x Ofy-26ly + (16) #6x"" Brave Fh Noodecrewe 1 tray Prom/oack (2) %2x2(r9h)-10 + (@) #0 x9" Brags Kh Woodscrews ‘J Tray Ends (2) ‘exd (rgh.) - Fle No. 62 ShopNotes INTOHANDY ou ae ‘ShopWotes 10 dowload free dravings for the rab- beta version oftheteolbax, 90 15Te Case © cur Whenever I build a box with ec see hhinged lid, {usually find it easier to a lve up the sides ofthe box fist and nasere| then cut the lid from the box. This oe hoon toolbox is no exception. It starts out £HBk Sie) ssa foursided box that gets cut into. {wo sections a ease and a lid. Blanks - I started by A Base Molding ghing up some ¥p'.thick surrounding the blanks for the front and beck bottom of the (A) and the ends (B). There's toolbox creates aa couple of things to keep in base and supports mind here. First, make sure the bottom panel, that the blanks are extra wide, made my blanks about 8'/;" wide to start with,) Second, make up a couple of ‘extra blanks to use as test pieces for setting up your box joint jig. These test blanks shouldbe the same thick: ness and width as your workpieces. ‘Once you have the blanks cut to Jength, you can cut the box joints igure 1c). The fingers of the box. thenextstepisto cutasrooveonthe (GG) sintsare!/:!wide by'/s"long. (Refer inside ‘ace of the iront and back a =o e totheboxjointjigarticleonpageSand pieces, as shown in Figure 1. These y, thetechniqueartideonpage 12) grooves are for a couple of tray run- | After cutting allthe box joints, you nets that will be added later, Malce sel leh can trim the pieces to final width, sure the grooves are positioned in age J ‘The exact width of these pieces will between two pins. This way, you vary depending on the width and vou't see them rom the outside can be sanded smooth so that they spacing of your box joints. The once the case is assembled. are flush with the sides of the box. important thing is that you have 16 Assembly — After cutting the Cutting Lid from Case To ext pins and 1Gnotches on each piece. grooves, you can glue up the case. the ld from the case, [used my table Once the pieces are cut to width, Once the ghte is dry, the box joints. saw to cut through each side of the fey eee we gee HAY = mm || AOS perear | | eee nee Oth ne e ee i 16 ShopNotes No. 62ox. But iT simply cut the lid off with a single cut on each side, the box joints on the lid wouldn't match uup with the box joints on the case. ‘The trick is to cut out a narrow section of the box between the case and ida section equal to the height of a full pin and 2 fall notch. To do this, [first set my rip fence tomake a cut through the front and back of the box, about 542" from the bottom, see Figure 2a. Then, [ lowered my saw blade 20 it was about 1752" lower than the thickness of my stock and made a scoring cat on each end, shown in Figures 2 and 2b. ‘After this was done, | moved the rip fence over fora second set of cuts using the same techingue. Then & utility knife can be used to cut through the remaining material on the ends ofthe box that connects the to thecase Figure3). ‘Tray Runners ~ With the lid set aside for the time being, you can finish up the work on the case. To start with, @ couple of /' hardboard tray runners (C) are elued into the grooves in the front and back, as shown in Figure 4 Lid Stops ~ Next, youll need to make up some lid stop (D) for the inside of the box. These create a lip around the inside of the box opening, aligning the lid when itis closed, These stops are cut from ¥/'- thick stock that has been rounded ae FIGURE Lu stor (aren over on two edges: They are mitered to length and giued in place around the inside ofthe box. Base - The base ofthe tool box is 2 iitle unusual. IPs really a frame made up of four picces of molding. ‘The case fits into @ groove cut in this molding. And a hardboard panel ‘completes the base of the toolbox. To make this base, start by cre ating the base molding (B). This is a threestep process. After cutting the blanks to size, rout an ogee along one edge, as you see in Figures 6 @. _- etRoUNDovER TRAY RUNNER F ve BBoacoy EY ao Canes FOES AEE «4 END cas fiw and 6a, Then cut a groove to match the thickness ofthe walls ofthe case, as shown in Figure 6b. Finally, cut 2 rabbet to hold @ hardboard bottom igure 6). Once this is done, the molding pieces are mitered to fit around the bottom of the case. Then the frame can be ghied together around the case. After the glue on the frame has dried, you can eut a picce of 7! hardboard for the dottom panel (P), This is simply glued into the opening in the base molding frame. ‘ShopNotes WwAud. The lid of the toolbox features a solic-wood pane! that “floats” ina mitered frame. EET Lid and Tray With thelower half of the toolbox fin- ished, you can now turn your atten- tion to completing the Tid ‘The lid is built much ke the bottom of the toolbox. It features a mitered frame surrounding a solid wood panel. To allow the panel to expand and contract with changes in humidity, the panel “loa” in a groove that is cut on the inside edges of the frame. You can see what 'm talking about in Figures 7 and 7a. I started by making the lid ‘molding (G) for the frame. After eut- ting a couple of blanks for the molding, an ogee profile is routed along one edge (Figure 8). Then a roundover is routed along two other edges (Figure &). ‘To allow the frame pieces to fit over the lid section of the box, a "Yslewide groove is cut on the face of each blank. To do this, 1 switched over to the table saw and used a dado blade, as you can see in Fig. &. Then a Y/s"-wide groove is cut on the edge of each blank to hold the lid panel (Figure 84). ‘Once all the profiles anc grooves have been cut, you can start mitering the individual frame pieces to ft over the lid section that you set aside earlier Just cut the miters so thatthe frame pizces fit around the case, but dent glue the frame together just yet. You still need to make the pane. Panel - The tid ponel (1D) is lued up from solid, thick stock, Ite sized to fit in the grooves of the frame, less Yi" on all our sides. sade my panel 66! x26'/) ‘Afier cutting the panel to size, you'l need to cut a groove slong each edge to create a tongue that sts in the groove ofthe frame pieces, as you can see in Figures 7a and 9a. Before assembling the lid frame and panel, chamier is outed slong ‘A Saw Storage. Mount- ‘ed to the inside of the lid, a custom-fitted wood block and turn- bution secures the saw handle. And a leather “pocket” holds the end of the saw blace. Se 18 ShopNotes No. 62the top edges ofthe panel. Then the frame and panel can be glued up around the lid. Note: [ used just a ‘drop of glue on each end of the panel when gluing it to the frame. This holds the frame in place while sill allowing for wood movement. Hardware - To complete the toolbox, sll thats left is to add the hinges, catches, and hanile. Before attaching these items, however, 1 “aged” the hardwace by placing itin a special darkening soon (See 1g 35 for more information), IFyou want to store a hand sew in the lid, you can add a convenient holder and leather “pocket” to the underside ofthe lid. See the photos in the margin on opposite pace ‘Tray -Now thatthe toolboxiscom- ple‘e, you can build the tray that fits inside it Like the toolbox, the trayis aso joined with box joins. Start by cutting out blanks for the tray rowtiboek (I) andthe tray ends (0). “These pieces should be cut a litle wide so they can be trimmed to size attertheboxjointsarecut (Figure 1). After cutting the box joints ont he tray pieces, a couple of dadoes are cut on the inside face of the front and back to hold a pair of dividers, as shown in Figure 10. ‘Then a rabbet is cut along the zeta RY Ore WASTE eee INF. 10) y war XD b. bottom edges of all four tray pieces for a bottom Figure 10b). Bottom ~ Afier youve glued up the four sides of the tray, you can cut apiece of hardboard to serve as the tray bottom (K). This is cut to fitin the openingin the bottom of the tray and simply glued in place. ‘With the bottom attached, you pis raged tear ARE ieorch can cut a pair of tray dividers (L) and a tray handle (M), which you ‘can sce in Figure 10. A dado iscutin each trey divider to hold the tray handle. Then 2 notch is cut on each end ofthe handle to allow ito At into thedadoesinthe dividers Figure11), ‘Tomeketheopeninginthe handle, couple otholes are drilled as shown, inFigure 122nd thewaste in between thems cut out witha ig saw orscrall ‘saw. Then the upper corners of the hhandle are radiused and sanded ‘smooth (Figure 12a). When this is done, the inside of the handle opeaing and the top edges of the han- dle are rounded over on a router table, refer to Figure 10. Then the dividers and handle are glued into the tray. To complete the ‘ray, some small wood plugs ‘are glued into the ends of the tray to conceal the rabbet for the tray bottom (igure 10d). Finally, all the outside edges of the tray are rounded over. TRA AAG 19OE Great Glue-ups ‘aking glued-up panel seems ike such a simple process. Just take a bunch of narrower boards and glue them together into the size you need. But as you mar hhave guessed (or experienced your Take the set), there's alot more to it. Ending up with a pane that’s not eT ea area SUING UP A says fat, iant just ck. Its a deli solid wood erate step by-step process that starts panel by long before you squeeze out that following a first bead of glue. simple step-by- SELECTING & ARRANGING BOARDS step process. Pre Making a panel starts with selecting the boards you'll be gluing together. ‘And unless you have a large supply of lumber in your shop, selecting the boards starts with atrip othe store Selection - When sorting through the lumber pile, it's a good idea to 0 through a mental checcst as you look at each board. Firs, make sure the boards don't exhibit any warp (ike cup, twist, oF bow) There's no point in starting out with problems that might show up later in your panel Color — Once I have a pile of suit- able boards, the next thing I oolefor are boards that are close in color. ‘There’s nothing worse than a panel where one board stands out from all the others because its lighter or darker than the rest = Now that the boards are matched, you'll want to take some time to study the surface grain of ‘each board. This way, you can visu: alize the overall grain pattern the panel will have once the boards are slued together ‘What I look for bere is to match the grain thatruns along the edge of each board so one curve flows into another, ike the photo at the lover Jefi shows. Or straightgrained lines fon one board match those on the board nest to it (right photo). This ‘A Appearance. To get a gooct-lcoking, wide panel, i's best to avoid drawing attentton 0a jointline. To do this, arrange board so curved patterns merge (lot) and straight- grained boards are positioned to create an “invisible” join (ight), 20 ShopNotes. way, the boards will “melt” together 0 form 4 panel that looks like a single, wide board. ‘The one thing you don’t want to dois rush this process. Spend some time turning the individual boards over. I even like to fip them end for end. This way, Il besure to “see” all the possibilities. Wood Movement ~ Like most woodworkers, I try to alternate the end grain of adjacent boards as 1 ‘make up the panel. The thought is that this will minimize any chance of the wood moving and the panel cup- ping after it’s been giued up. But to be honest, iit comes down to making a choice between alter nating the boards or not, I select the Dest color and grain match first. This way, I know Il end up with panel that’s looks good. And as for flatness, Thavent noticed much ofa probiem. What's more important to me is how the edge grain matches. As you ‘can see in Figure 1a, Ido my best to orient the edge grain so each board is going in the same direction, No. 62‘The season is simple, When you ‘alue up. panel, you'll probably have to do alittle smoothing. And whether you use hand plane or planer to do this, having the grain going in the ‘same direction on all the boards will ‘minimize any tendency for chipout ‘on the face ofthe panel CUT TO ROUGH SIZE ‘Once all the boards are selected you're ready to cut them to rough ‘Sze. Ilke to cut the boards 2! to 3" longer than the final length of my panel This way, I don't have to worry about keeping all the ends perfectly flush as Tglue them up, With the boards cut to length, you're ready to size them to rough width. As you do this, you'll need to keep a couple things in mind, First, you want to leave enough extra material to prepare theedges of each beard. And second, the overall width of the panel should be about 1" wider than required, This way. you'll have a litle “cushion” when it comes ‘time to trim the yanel to final Sze. To ‘account for both these things, [leave ‘an extra /s"or so on each board. At this point, you've spent a good deal of time getting things just right. Squaring Edges Abi piece are square to the face. Jointer ~ My first choice for doing, this is to use a jointer Figure 1). A jointer takes auniform amount offeach workpiece. slowly feed the workpiece ‘withthe grain (Figure 1a). Atte a few light asses, the workpiece has a smooth edge that’s ready to be glued. Table Saw ~ Another method for Jointing edges isto useatable saw and a good combination blade. To do this, Luse 2 doublecut method. Start by Fipping the boards straight Figure 2). ‘Then repeat the cut, but only remove about half the thickness of the saw blade (Figure 2a). This second cut results ina very smooth surface. No. 62 -p towards making flat panel fs ensuring the edges of each work: DRAW LARGE VON PANEL, Nove: See E ere {HAN EINISHED LENGTH OF PANEL Nove: Banros i FWDER THAN PhitsHeD MOTH OF PANEL ‘You sure don't want to throw out all that hard work by glaing up the ‘boards in the wrong order. A good way to avoid this problem is to take a minute to draw a large “Y" across the face of the panel with, ‘a piece of chalk, like you see in Figure 1 above. This way, reassem- bling the panel is just a matter of reforming the *V” PREPARE EDGES: AL this point, you're almost ready 10 think about gluing up the panel. But first, you'll need to be sure that the ‘oxesapee SSE seroehe Pane boards will form a strong glue joint. For that, the edges of each board need to be smooth and straight. But toensure the panolis ft, each edge need to be square to the face. To pre- pare these edges, you can use either ‘a jointer or a table saw, a3 you can seein the box below. Regardless of the method you choose, its important to set the machine up correctly. When using a jointer, [ make sure the fence is exactly 90° to the table. And wien musing a table saw, I double check that the blade is 99° to the tableGluing & Clamping With the boards carefully selected and arranged, the panel is going to look great. And with all the edges pre- pared smooth, straight, and square, the boards will ft together just as good as they look. Now's the time to get your work area and clamps ready to glue up the panel Work Area = One thing I've learned over the years is that if you ‘want a fiat panel, you need to give yourself plenty of room to work. So take the time to clear off your work- bench (or even the shop floor). (Clamps ~ When gluing up a panel, Ive always used ripe clamps. But other types of clamps will work just as well. Regardless of the type of clamps you use, the key is 10 have the right number on hand. You'll need enough to space them evenly across the panel about 6! to 8 apart. DRY RUN With everything at hand, you might be ready to grab the glue bottle and 20 to work. But instead of pressing ahead atfull speed, its agood idea to make a“dry run” first. SUC TTS A Qing. A bristo rush s @ quick and sy way to spread noth, even layer of glue along the age of a board, 4 Clamping. A thin bead cf glue indicates good ure along the int ino, B fiGuRE SRF AND BOTTOM A dry run is a simple process of lamping up the panel —without the luc This gives you a chance to pin Point any problems and resolve them —beforeit’s too late Start by laying out a few pipe clamps on your worksurface and set ting the boards in place. To help dis- tribute the pressure more evenly and prevent the panel from cupping, Ike toaltemete the clampson thetop and bottom of the panel Figure 2). Tighten Clamps ~ Now you can tighten the clampsjust enough so any ‘gape between the boards disappear This shouldn't take a lot of pressure. Justa little extra turn on the clamp ‘once it’s snug should be enough. Now's the time to give the panel a good going over. For me that means getting down and sighting along the top surface (a siraight- edge offen helps here). What you're looking for is to see whether Occasionally I need litle help to keep the boards in a panel aligned. ‘That’ wien I turn to splines ar bis cuits to keep the ouiside surfaces of the boards as lush as posible. To cut a slot for a spline, T use a hhandheld roater and a slo: cutter Figures and ta). But fTonly need allttiehelphere and there with align- ‘ment, I use a biscuit joiner to cut slots for some biscuits (Figure 2) Regardless of the method you use, ifthe ends of the panel will be exposed, be sure to start and stop the slotforthe spine or biscuit2"-3" hort of he ends ofeach board SPLINE BISCUITS: 2 ShopNotesthe surfaces align with each other. ce yellow glue sets up fast, Ifthe boards area' too far out of you'l need to work quickly. So start. alignment C/e!) you can clarap o¢ by lying all the beards fat on the A Remove Glue. tap any boards back into alignment pipe clamps. Note: A strip of wax A carbide-tppec (GGigures 2a and 2). But cometimes paper or masking tape between the scraper makes quick work that’ notenough.That’s when turn pipes and your boards will prevent of removing partaly-dried to splines or biscuits for alte help the glue from reacting wit the pi Re.” from face of the panel (elinlee is ppensrn cel ceegiicinsianete re yo Besides surfice alignment, [also Tighten Clamps ~Now itsjusta check afew other things. For more matteroftiehzeningthe pipe clamps. What I Tke to do now is wait @ ont, take alooi atthe box below. {Hite to startatthe center and work couple hours until the giue sets up. towardthe ends alternating between ‘This alows you take the ciamps off GLUING UP THE BOARDS he topandbottom clamps. Batdontt and use a scraper to “pop” the gue Wilh a dry run under your belt an overdoithere. You ouly watioapoly ofthe surface (sce photo above). any problems taken cate of, youre enough pressure so there's an even Even though the excess gue is ready o start guing up the panel beadofghiealong hejintlie (btiom removed the glucin the ents needs Glue = To speed things along, margin photooa opposite page). to cure completely before you can squeeze out a bead of zlue on one Align Boards ~ Here agcin, work with the panel, But you don't ceige only ofeach boardand bruchit you arent sing opines or biscuits, want ola it Sat ona beach or floor toan even flm,asyoucanseein the check the surface ofthe panel with at dy. Since ai isa free to circulate tpper margin botoon the apposite staightedge. Then tap (or clamp) evenly aroand both sides of the page. Note Tike to use yellow glue any boards fh (Figures 2a and 25), pane, it could end up cupping. hea making panels. Excess Glue ~ At this pint, | Instead, set the panel on one end ‘What you want here is the “wet? used to wipe away the excess glue and lean it against a wal 20 its as look. Ifthe glue looks dull and a, wih a damp cloth. Bu: this often staightup and dovnaspossbie. This squeeze on a bit more and spread forced the giue info the pores — keeps the panel fat and allows the the glue back along the edge. hing problems later. glue to fully cure from both sides. & Troubleshooting Dry clamping a panel is a great way to cis. ‘cover problems bejore you start applying any szlue. Here area few things I check for. arene saw anes ‘Arrangement ~ One of the first things 1 | _ MA®ENDS sesuirN Weak verify is that the arrangement ofthe boards is. \@. J co correct. A quick check for the “V" makes it easy to see fany boards are outoforder: ——_eturson exo Joint Lines ~ Then I check thejoint ines, Z,bOOseeryeree One thing you might notice is a gap at the -eads of the boards because of snipe, asshown: in detail ‘a’ To solve this problem. it's best to tune up your joint and rejoin the edges. And if I've used a table saw to square up the edges, I check them for saw marks, like the cones in detail‘, An edge with saw marksien't ‘smooth and can result in a weak glue joint. Here again, you'll want to retrim the edges. Flat & Flush — Finally, check that the ‘panel is flat and the surfaces are flash (details ‘¢ and‘). Here again, squaving the edges will remove any cup. And if the surfaces aren't flish, yout can damp theends or tapthem down against the pipe amps. Ifyou need some extra help, see the box on the opposite page. 4 ecocesanent \ Ea AR aes No. 62 ShopNotes. 23Wall-Mounted Clamping Station Gluing up a panel is a breeze with this space-saving clamping station that mounts to the wall of your shop. lamping up a panel is a series of clearing your bench to create a large ‘enough area to work. The next chal- lengeis setting up the pipe damps to do the your bench, you need to wrestle the panel (and clamps) off the bench, and find a place to setit while it dries, ‘Clamping Station — To mect these challenges head-on, I builtthis, vwalkmounted clamping station It combines and drying area into a single loca- tion. So challenges. ‘The first is job. And finally, t0 reclaim s the glucup area, clamps, there's no need to worry in the Exploded View on the oppo- aboutcleaning offaworkbench when site page, the lower camp bar is itcomes time to glueupapanel. positioned to accommadate the ‘You wont have to run around — overall width of the penel. coking for pipe clampseither—the Once you've placed the glued up “clamps” are builtin. As you can see boards in the station, simply tighten — a BE sean paral ‘A Multiple Pane! fs. This wall-mounted shown above) is just as easy. Just ‘clamping station sn‘ust for arge panels. readjust the lower bar ard! then tighton tho Gung up smalier panels (ike the pair clamp heads inalvidually ior each panel 24 ShopNotes the handwheels across the top ofthe clamping station. Finally, you won't have to lugthe clamped upassembly away from your bench and find a place to “store” it until it drys. You simply walk away and wait for the assembly to dry right on the station, Cost ~ Although the clamping station is large in size, building it wont cost you an armand a leg. The mediumdensity fiberboard (MDF), plywood, maple, and few pieces of hharéware cost much less than an equivalent set of pipe clamps. ‘AS a matter of fact, many of the parts could be made using scraps you probably already have in your shop— reducing the cost even more. One last thing, don't get the idea that this chmping station is just for lange ranels, Itworks just as well for gluing up smaller panels, as shown inthe phow at le. No. 62