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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

HOMEWORI$HOP

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GUIDE
WORKSHOP

TIPS
SAFETY
. W e aar p p r o p r i astaef e t ey q u i p m e n t :
s a f e t yg l a s s e sa,f a c eo r d u s tm a s kf
y o ua r eu s i n gs a n d i nagc c e s s o r iaensd,
h e a ' i npgr o r e c t i or 'ry o ua r eo o e r a t i n g
dft i m e .
t o o l sf o ra n e x t e n d epde r i o o

. M a i n t a iann dc l e a nt o o l sr e g u l a r l y .
K e e pa l lb l a d easn db i t ss h a r pc,l e a na n d
l a r l yf o r l o o s e
u n d a m a g eCdh. e c kr e g u
p a r t sa n df r a y e cd o r d s .

. N e v ecra r r ya c o n n e c t et odo lw i t hy o u r
. Clamp
y wherever f i n g eor nt h et r i g g e r ,
allworkpieces
secure
possible
freeto operto keepbothhands
. T e b a c kl o n gh a i ' .r o l lu p s l e e v e s .
a t et h et o o l .
Remove
wearing
loose
clothing.
andavord
. B ea w a r e
o f t h ep o s i t i oonf t h e p o w e r r i n g sa n do t h e rj e w e l rtyh a tc a nc a t c h
a c c i d e n t ai lnl ym o v i npga r t s .
c o r da t a l L t i m e s .

r M a k es u r et h a tl i g h t i nagn dv e n t i l a t i o n
e .on o t
i n t h ew o r ka r e aa ( ea d e q u a t D
u s et o o l si f t h ef l o o ri s d a m po r w e t .
o K e e py o u rw o r ka r e ac l e a na n dt i d y ;
c l u t t ecr a nl e a dt o a c c i d e n t s .
o K e e nn e t sc. h i l d r eann do n l o o k e r s
a w a yf r o mt h ew o r ka r e a .

. C o n c e n t r aotnet h ej o b .D on o tr u s h
s .e v ewr o r ki f y o ua r e
o rt a k es h o r t c u t N
t i r e d s, t r e s s eodr h a v eb e e nd r i n k i n g
r D on o to v e r - r e a cKhe.e po ' o p e r ' o o t i n g a l c o h oolr u s i n ga n ym e d i c a t i ot hna t
i n d u c edsr o w s i n e s s .
a n db a l a n caet a l l t i m e s .

. M a k ea l la d l u s t m e nt ot sa t o o w
l i t ht h e
t o o lu n p l u g g e d .

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CORDS
FOREXTENSION
MINIMUMWIREGAUGE
RATING()FTO()L
AMPERAGE

LENGTH
CORDS
FORDIIFERENT
MINIMUMGAUGE

50'

75'

| 00'

o-2.0
2 . r - 34

1B

1B

1B

1B

1B

16

3 . 5 5- . 0

1B

16

T4

5.1-7.0

16

L4

I2

7 . rr 2 . o

I4

I2

l0

L2.r-16.0

T2

10

Crosebar

wiregauge
Choosing
theproper
cordwiththewrong
Using
anextensron
gauge
maycause
a dropin linevoltage,
heat
in lossof power,
excesstve
resultrng
a n dt o o lb u r n o uTt .od e t e r m i nt hee
needed
forthetool
minrmum
wiregauge
t t left.
a n dt a s ka t h a n ds, e et h ec h a r a
l f , f o r i n s t a n c yeo, u rt o o lh a sa 4 - a m p
extenmotorandyouareusinga 5O-foot
g a u g seh o u l d
s i o nc o r dt,h em i n i m u m
ho

IR

Chnnqc

rl
u 6 1J-oi rLaAl zcnt lca U
v6 6
r 1r 1Ji ,1u6r1r 1r p

cordsistedby Underwriters
extension
L a b o r a t o( U
r yL ) .

A SAWHORgE
BUILDING
for build,inq
Thereare manyd,eoiqne
a s a w h o r e ef,r o m c o m p l e xp l a n e
t h a L u 6 ee l i d t n jqo i n l e a n d h i n 7 e o
N oe i m p l eo n e ew h e r ei n e x p e n o i v e
paireof meraljawe qrip 2-by-4eNo
m a k eq u i c ke e N eo f l e q o . Y o uc a n
a l e o m a k ea a l u r d , y , k n o c k - d o w n
wibhjuet'
sawhoreein a few minDt'ee
t h r e e V i e c e oo f w o o d .F i r e l , c u t r
two leqofrom 1/""plywood:oaw a
4-inch-deen
p o N c hi n l h e m l d d l e
o f L h e L o p o f b o l h p i e c e e f. h e n
c u Na c r o s s b a rl o l e n q L hf r o m a
1 - b y - 6a n d s a w a e l o t r o n e f o o l i n
f r o me i t h e re n ab f i L i n t o t h e l e q e .
A n g l et h e e l o l e r o u q h l y5 " f r o m
t h e v e r | i c a le o l h e l e q se p r e a d
elightlyoulward.

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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

PORTABLE
POWERTOOLS

TITEART OF WOODWORKING

POruLE

PO\VERTOOLS

TIME-LIFE
BOOKS
ALEXANDRIA,
VIRGINIA
ST.REMYPRESS
MONTREAL.
NEWYORK

THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by

THECONSUTTAN'TS

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PUBLISHER KennethWinchester
PR.ESIDENT PierreLdveill
SeriesEditor
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PierreHome-Douglas
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Designer Luc Germain
ResearchEditor
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TIME-LIFEBOOKS
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MaryN. Davis
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EliseD. Ritter-Clough
Trevor Lunn
ReginaHall
Donia Ann Steele
Bob Doyle
MarleneZack

TedFuller is the product managerat Delta

InternationalMachinery/PorterCable
(Canada).He is currently working in new
product developmentand marketingfor
woodworkingtools and equipment.He is
alsoan amateurwoodworker,
Giles Miller-Mead hastaught advancedcabinetmakingat Montreal technicalschoolsfor
more than ten years.A nativeof New Zealand,
he previouslyworked asa restorerofantique
furniture.
Mike O'Malley is a Canadianindustrial
designeraswell asContributing Editor,
PowerTools,for Woodcutsmagazine
.
JosephTruini is SeniorEditor of Hoze
Mechanixmagazine.
A former Shopand Tools
F-ditorof Popular Mechanics,he hasworked as
a cabinetmaker,home improvementcontractor
and carpenter.

Portablepower tools
p. cm.-(The Art of Woodworking)
Includesindex.
(trade)
ISBN0-8094-9908-8
rsBN 0-8094-9909-6
0ib)
1. Powertools. 2. Woodwork
I. Time- Life Books. II. Series

TTr86.P671992
684'.083-dc20

92-25ss8
CIP

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pleasecall l-800-621-7026,or write:
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First printing. Printed in U.S.A.
Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada.
TIME-LIFE is a trademarkof Time Warner
Inc. U.S.A.
R 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 r

CONTENTS

6 INTRODUCTION

t 2 CIRCULAR SAW
L 4 Anatomyof a circularsaw
T6 Circularsawblades
and accessories
20 Basiccuts
29 Advancedcuts
32
34
36
38
40
4I
44
46

SABERSAW
Anatomyof a sabersaw
Sabersai,vblades
Straightcuts
Anglecuts
Curvedcuts
Plungecutting
Cutting duplicatepieces

48
50
52
54
58
60
64

ELECTRICDRILL
Anatomyof an electricdrill
Drill biti and accessories
Boringholes
Screwholesand plugs
Portabledrill joinery
Sanding,scraping
and smoothing
67 The portabledrill as
drill press

68
70
72
76
77
81

ROUTER
Anatomyof a router
Bits
Routeraccessories
Edgeforming
Dadocuts

85
88
90
97

Routingcircles
Patternrouting
The router asshaper
Routerjoinery

106
108
110
lI2
I2I

PrATE IOTNER
Anatomyof a platejoiner
Plateioineraccessories
Platejoinery
The platejoiner asgroover
and trimmer

I22
I24
126
I29
135
138

SANDER
Anatomvof a sander
Sanding'accessories
Belt sander
Orbitalsander
Random-orbitsander

I4O GLOSSARY
I42 INDEX
I44

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

-t

INTRODUCTION

JohnLeeketalksabouthis

TOOL
COLLECTION
shop.He learnedwoodworking
f gt.* up workingin my father'scabinetmaking
I fromanEnglishwoodcarver
andmyearlytrainingwasin thatsametraditionwith
planes
Throughthis
plentyof experience
andsaws.
usinghandtoolssuchaschisels,
knowledge
of woodasa materialandhowto workwith
workI gainedafundamental
shop,theuseof powertoolswasa naturalextension
it. Sincethiswasa commercial
of thattraining.
In theearly1970s
I leftmyfather's
shopandbeganto earna livingon myown.I
methodsandespecially
in applyingmy
wasinterested
in theoldhandwoodworking
I quicklylearnedthat
knowledge
of woodin thepreservation
of historicbuildings.
andeffort,
powertools
gavemethesameresults
ashandwork,
butwithmuchlesstime
leavingmewith moretimeto applymywoodworkingskillswith handtoolsto the
detailsthatreallymatter.
myownsetof powertoolsthefirstthingsI boughtwere
WhenI begancollecting
a Trinch drill anda sabersaw.LaterI addeda 3-by-2lbeltsanderandarouterto my
housings
toolshadall-aluminum
kit, and----eventually-an
8-inchcircularsaw.These
toolsthat
thatwerebrightandshinywhennew.Theywereweightyandsubstantial
youjustknewcouldstandalifetimeofwearanduse.And,with regularmaintenance
repairs,
theyhave.I stillusethosesametoolsin myshop,although
andoccasional
theshinypolishhaswornto a dull grey.
Astimepassed,
manufacturers
beganto offerpowertoolswith plastichousings.
myselfwith
havingboughtmytools
At firstI didntthinkmuchofthemandcredited
however,I
beganto realize
stillmadeof goodsolidmetal.Slowly,
backwhen
theywere
makes
whenyodreusingthetools
alot of sense
thattheplastichousingtlighterdesign
alldaylong.SoI boughtanothercircularsaw-thisonewith a plastichousing.
It tookmoretimefidAndthencamecordless
tools.At firsttheywereunreliable.
thanit didto juststretchoutanextenbatteries
andrecharging
dlingwith near-dead
improved
of thechargers
and
sioncordandusetheoldones.But,astheelectronics
developed,
thesehandytoolsbeganto saveenoughtimeto increase
batterytechnology
productivity.Now,I havea cordless
drill, sanderandright-anglegrinder.
theyalso
Something
to keepin mind:Whilethesetoolsallowyouto workfaster,
allowaccidents
to happena lot quicker.It doesn'ttakemuchmorethanonestroke
of ahandsawto knowyouarecuttingyourself.Butapowersawcancutoff a finger
goingwrong.
evenrealize
thatsomething's
in lessthanatenthof asecond-beforeyou
Youhaveto becareful.
asapreservation
consultant,
helpinghomeworl<s
JohnLeeke
maintain
and
understand
owners,
architects
andcontractors
He
lives
in
Sanford,
Maine.
theirhistoric
buildings.

INTRODUCTION

JanHoffinan discusses

THE SABERSAM
andbuildPennsylvania-German
folkfurniture.Theinspiration
for mywork
J design
I comesfrom thepeoplewholivedandfarmedaroundthis regionduringthe
18thand19thCenturies.
Theyproduced
utilitarianfurniturethatwascolorfully
paintedandwonderfirlly
scrolled.
Theelaborateness
haspromptof thatscrollwork
incapable
ed at leastonewagto suggest
thatthePennsylvania
Germans
seemed
of cuttinganythingin a straightline.
WhenI firstexpressed
aninterestin workingwith wood,myfathergavemea 30year-old
tablesawandacircularsawof aboutthesamevintage.
Theywere
followed
shortlybyadrill andagood-quality
sabersaw.Foryears,
thesemachines-plusabox
theextentof mytoolinventory.
frrllof oldwoodenhandplanes-were
In thebeginning,
I usedthesabersawonlyrarely.ButI learned
to appreciate
the
valueof thismuch-overlooked
tool.Somewoodworkers
seemto thinkthatbigger
means
better.Theyequate
thesizeof themachineandthehumit makes
with itsprothatis notavalidequation.
ductivity.Forme,thesabersawproves
My sawcomes
in handyfor everything
fromcleaning
mortises
outtherectangular
in benchtopsto sawingtriangularspoonslotsin theshelves
Butwhere
of cupboards.
is in cuttingtheintricatescrolldesigns
thetoolreallyexcels
in thelargesidepanels
of openkitchendressers
or in thepieces
of furnitureknownasbucketbenches.
Those
arethethingspeopleusedto leaveoutonthebackporchto holdthebuckets
forbringingin waterfromthewell.If I triedto usea bandsaw,thewholeoperation
would
verycumbersome,
requiringa lot of maneuvering
become
or flippingof thestock.
Withthesabersaw,thewoodremains
whileI simplypivotthetool.
stationary
mightchoose
Somewoodworkers
thebandsawif theycouldonlytakeonemachine
to a desertisland.I'd reachfor mysabersawinstead.

Ian Hoffman hasowneda cabinetmakingshopfor

thelast10years.Proudof herPennsylvania-German
lineage,shelivesin EastBeilin,Pennsylvania.

INTRODUCTION

Bob Jardinicoon

NEWTOOL
TECHNOLOGIES
p u.r sinceI builtmyfirsttreehouse30yearsago,I'vebeenfascinated
bywoodI-r working.Nowadays,
I specialize
periodfurniture.
in reproducing
Asmyskillshaveimprovedovertheyears,
sohavethedemands
I placeonmytools.
Tobenefitfromever-changing
technologies,
I havecontinually
updatedmyinventory
of powertoolsin threemainareas:
routers,
sanders
andplatejoiners.
I usetworoutersfrequently:
avariable
speed7z-inchplungerouteranda tilting
baselaminatetrimmer.Theplungerouterisidealfor mortising.With itsthreedepth
stops,I canrepeatthesamethreesetups
overandover.I alsousethismodelto rough
outunusual
periodmoldings
with acombination
of straightandcoreboxbis. Itsnew
variable-speed
featureallowsmeto reduce
panelbit speed
to safely
uselarge-diameter
raisingandmultiple-profilebits.With thetrimmingrouter,I cancutinto a surface
at anyangle-a usefulfeaturefor makingundercutmoldings.It'salsoa nicewayto
gainmoreflexibilityfromcommonlyavailable
bits.
I'verecentlyincorporated
twonewadvances
in sandinginto myshop.Thefirstis
framefor thebeltsander.
a sanding
Thisrectangular
accessory
supports
thesander,
keeping
it fromtippingandgouging
theworkpiece.
Theframeisindispensable
for
levelingglued-uppanelsquickly,aprocess
thatusedto takehourswith ahandplane.
It'salsogreatfor sandingedgingstripsflushwith aplywoodpanel.Thesecond
innovationistheoscillating
triangularpadsander.
It will finish-sand
elaborate
shapes
and
insidecorners
withoutmarringadjacent
sudaces.
Equipped
with adustcollection
system,it notonlymakes
sanding
alessunpleasant
chore;it alsokeeps
thepaperfrom
clogging,cuttingdownsubstantially
on sandingtime.
Platejoinersareessential
in myshop.Likemanyotherwoodworkers,
I boughta
basicplatejoinerforjustoneproject,thendiscovered
howversatile
thetoolis.I use
platejointsfor allthepanelsI glueup;thebiscuitsevenalignslightlywarpedboards,
resulting
in a flatterpanel.I oftensubstitute
platejointsfor otherjointsbecause,
in
manycases,
theyarestronger
andlesslikelyto failasthewoodmoves
in response
to
in humidity.
changes

Boblardinico manages
woodworkingsalafor Colonial
Smu,a machinny sala andseryicecompanybasedin
Massachusetts.
He abo restoraantiquefurniture in his
homeworlshopin Plymouth,Mass.

l';.14
llr"ftJl:,
.
r'
!',tl ,i'+'-'i
' 1

j'

, . . .

r;.'ifi:il;;rii,;

CIRCWSAM
raditionally
thoughtof asonly
a carpenter's
tool,thecircular
sawhas
earned
animportantplacein
shop.It istheidethewoodworking
alcuttingtoolforreducing
largepanelsor longboardsto a manageable
size.Accordingly,
thecircularsawis
oftenthe first tool woodworkers
reachforwhentheyareworkingwittr
heavyor unwieldystock.

big difference,
improvingthe accuracyofboth rip cutsand crosscuts.
jigsandaccessories
will
Shop-made
alsohelp guidethe sawfor miter
andtapercuts,andmostsawshave
a built-in adjustmentthat tilts the
baseplatefor bevelcuts.If youwish
to makedadoesor grooves,a circular sawcan cut awaymost of the
waste(page29)in lesstime than it
Imaginetrying to rip a 4-by-8
would taketo installa dadohead
panelof 36-inchplywood in half
on a tableor radialarm saw.The
job canthenbefinishedwith a chison a radial arm sawor crosscutjig
ting l0-foot-longplanksof 2-by-6
Ridingalongtheedgeof a commercial
el. Portablepower sawscan also
make plunge cfis (page 30), an
hardwoodinto 24-inchlengthson
a circularsawcanmakea mitercutat a
preciseangle.Thejig ensures
a tablesaw.Both cutsarecertainly
that theblade
operationbeyondthe scopeofany
feasible,but in the time that it
keepsto theintendedcuningpath.
stationarysaw.
would taketo set uo the cuts and
Circular sawsare designated
accordingto their bladediameter.Modelsrangefrom 4 to 16
wrestlethe wood onto the sawtable,the circularsawcould
havealreadydonethejob. Theonlylimitationis thatyou have inches,but the 7 1/+-and8 %-inchsizesarethe most popular
to expectits cutsto be relativelyinaccurate,comparedto the
homeworkshopsaws.Somewoodworkerspreferthe smaller
preciseresultsthat a well-tunedstationarysawcandeliver. 5 t/z-and.6-inchsaws.Apart from beinglessexpensivethan
However,in the first stages
thelargermodels,thesecompacttoolsarelightweightandeasy
of a woodworkingproject,you are
to use.Thevalsousuallvhavethe bladeon the left-handside
usuallyonly cuttingstockto roughlengthandwidth. It is only
later,when the pieceshavebeenreducedto a workablesize, of the motor,makingthe cuttingline easierto see.
Poweris anotherfactorthat distinguishes
that you will cut them to their final dimensions.
onemodelfrom
another.Thebiggerthe motor,the longera circularsawwill cut
Still,do not think ofthe circularsawasstrictlya roughcutIf you plan to usethe tool
offtool. Wth a plywoodbladeon its arbor,the sawcanmake without stallingor overheating;
quickwork of crosscuttinga plywoodor hardboardpanelwithprincipallyon hardwood,a sawwith a higherhorsepoweror
out splinteringtheedges(page2a).An edgeguidewill makea
ampereratingis probablyyour bestbet.

Even with its blade tilted to createa bevel.

this 7 t/t-inch circular saw cuts deep to
saw through l-inch-thick stock.

13

ANATOMY OF A CIRCULARSAW
hereareapproximately
40 million
I uortablecircularsawsin theUnited
Statei.Theyvarywidelyin theirdesign,
but all modelssharecertaincommon
features;most importantly,they are

poweredby a motor connected

to an
arborassembly
thatturnsa bladecounterclockwise.
Dependingon the height
or angleof thebaseplaterelativeto the
blade,a sawcanbe setto cut stockof

While the 7 %-inch saw shownhereat right hasbeen

the traditional choiceof most woodworkersbecause
of its generousdepth-of-cut capacity-2 % inchesthe compact6-inch modelat left can alsoslicethrough
a 2-by-4 at both 90" and 45".

differentthicknesses
at a varietyofangles
between45oand90o.
Whenshoppingfor a circularsaw,
keepseveralfactorsin mind. Most tools
rangein horsepowerfromVzIo 2 Vzh.p.
Geta sawwith at leastI horseoower.
For
thesakeofconvenience,
thetoolshould
havea comfortable
handleand a balanceddesign.
Makesurethatthedepthof-cut and bevelsettingsare easyto
adjustandthatthe sawhasa large,stablebaseplatewith both a long straight
edgeand a precisetilting mechanism.
For safety's
sake,selecta sawthat featuresa lock-offswitchthat must be
depressed
alongwith thetriggerto turn
on thetool.Thiswillpreventaccidental
startuDof themotor.
Thire aretwo main designsavailable
for settinga circularsaw'sdepthof cut.
On pivot-foot saws,like the model
shownon page15,the toolswivels
up
or downfrom a pointat thefront of the
baseplate.The angleof the handle
with thedepthof cut.On dropchanges
footsaws,
themotorandbladehousings
areraisedor loweredstraightup or down
relativeto the baseplate.The angleof
the handleremainsconstant,a feature
manyusersfind convenient.

CIRCUTAR
SAWSAFETY
TIPS
o Avoidsteadying
a workpiece
byhandor
propping
it onyourknee;always
clamp
stockto a worksurface
or sawhorses.
lf
t h eb l a d eb i n d sd u r i n g
a c u t ,k i c k b a c k
you
canhurltheworkpiece
backtoward
unlessit is securely
supported.
. To keepa panelfromsagging
in the
middle
a n dc a u s i ntgh eb l a d e
tobind,
support
it all alongits lengthon a platformof 2-by-4s.
. Unplug
thesawbefore
changing
the
bladeor making
anyotheradjustments.
. Donotuseihesawif eitherbladeguard
is missing
ordamaged;
keepthetoolclean
to ensure
thattheguards
remain
ingood
working
order.

r Donotusea sawwithpartsthatare
lnnsp nr d,ameood,

. Keepthe powercordoutof thesaw's

cuttingpath.

o Makesurethebladeis notin contact

withtheworkpiece
whenyouiurnonthe
saw.Allowthebladeto cometo fullspeed
before
feeding
it intothestock.

. Donotforcethesawthrough
a cut;
. M a i n t a ianc o m f o r t a bbl ea,l a n c e d
allowthebladeto cutat itsownspeed.
stance
whencutting;
avoidoveneaching.
. l f t h eb l a d eb i n d sd u r i n a
g c u t ,d on o t
. Always
wearsafetyglasses
whenoperliftthesawoutof thekerf.First,turnthe
atingthesaw;because
it cutsonthe
sawoff,backthebladeup slowly
and
upstroke,
thebladeproduces
a shower
allowit to stopspinning.
of woodchips.
. Makesurethatthelowerbladeguard
. Keepyourhandsawayfromtheundersprings
backoverthebladeat theendof
sideof thebaseplatewhenthebladeis
a cut before
setting
thesawdown.
possible,
spinning;
whenever
keepboth
. Donotattempt
hands
onthesawthroughout
a cutting
to cutthrough
nails;this
operation.
c a nc a u s ke i c k b a cakn dr u i na b l a d e .

I4

t-t

CIRCULARSAW

Loak-off ewltah
Muat bo depreoaedbefore preaain7 triqgar awitch to 6tart motor
Defih adjuatment, lever
Used to set
cuttinq dapth
of blade

Trigger ewitah

Upperbladeguard
Frotecta uaerfrom
too of blade

Remote lower 6uard

retraating lever
Convaniantlyloaated near handle
to retract lower7uard for operatione auch aa plun4ecuttinq

-o
Auxiliary
handle

Lowerguard
retrarting
Iever

Wrench
Forarbornut.
Commonly
stored on 6aw

Eeveladjuetment knob
Allowa base
plate to be tilted for bevelcuta

Lower blade guard

Retracta into upper 1uard
aa blade advances into cut;
aprinqa back ovar blada at
dnd of cut

Line gulde --'/

Can be alianed with

cuttin7 lineon workpiecefor accuratecut

t5

AND ACCESSORIES
CIRCULARSAWBLADE,S
ith thedozensof specialty
blades
on the marketit is entirelvoossibleto transforma circularsawfrom a
job siteworkhorse
intoa precision
cutting tool. Equippedwith a standard
combination
bladeand onesdesigned
to cut soecific
materials,
a sawcancrossthroughhardcut and rip accurately
panels
wood,softwoodor manufactured
suchasplp,vood.
The cuttingabilityof a circularsaw
bladedependson severalfactors.A
blade'shook angle,whichdetermines
how muchbiteit will take,is a keyvariable.(Theangleis formedby theinter-

sectionof oneline drawnfrom the tip

of thearborhole
of a toothto thecenter
and one drawnoarallelto the tooth's
face.)Thewidthof thekerfthatthecutis alsoimportantiso
ting edgecreates
too is the numberof teethper inch
(TPI).A 40TPIcrosscut
bladewill do its
iob moreslowlvthan a 20 TPI combinationblade,for example,but thefinercut.
toothedmodelwilloroducea cleaner
Althoughall of ihe bladetypesillusin high-speed
tratedbelowareavailable
modelshavefor
steel,carbide-tipped
yearsbeenthefirstchoiceof themajorWhiletheyaremore
ity of woodworkers.

expensive
thantheirsteelcounterparts,
aremoreeconomcarbide-tipped
blades
icalin thelongrun.Thesmalltipsof
carbidealloyweldedontothebodiesof
thesebladescanbe sharoened
dozens
of timesandhold theiridge up to 50
timeslongerthansteelblades.
But evencarbide-tipped
bladesdull
with extendeduse.Smoking,burning,
off-linecuttingandfrequentbindingare
allsignsofa bladein needofsharpening.
Thebestwayto keepa bladesharpis to
choose
therightonefor thematerialyou
arecuttingandto avoidcuttinginto fastenersor accumulations
of uitch.

BLADE
TYPES
Combination Blade
The blade type
uauallyouppliedwith
the eaw;a qeneral'
purpoae blade for
rippin4and croeecuttin4.

Crossaut Blade
Forfaet, amoof,hcuta
acroee the qrain; the
btade'eteeth are
aharpenedon the
face and back, forminq oharp cuLLinq
pointo,

Hollow Ground
Planer Blade
For veryemooth rip cuta
"rouu"Ltu and anq'lecuto;
ideal for preciaioncabineLwork."fheblade'abody
ia thinner than the hub
and teeth, reducinqthe
chanceof bindinqin
the kerf.

Rip Blade
Alao knownas a
framin7 blade;the
lar4e,hookedteeth
make it ideal for
faeL cuta alonq
the grain.

Plywood Elade
For amooth cuta in
ptywoodand veneered
stock; amall,pointed
and finelyground
teeth help reduce
eplinterinq.

r,

4r):

,1

>ri

. a'.'rj

:*.t

un'n'

/..J.;

22s

"r

. , F ,

\*?

ryftp:'.'\ ;
{ /4\\
ry

^I.\J

-t,/ll

' i a 2 5 3 3 0{ K 3 9 7 } 4 )

I '/n Hollow
ploner
I /+ ground
w o*

*:,: :lil"r":r.,';tx,$ii:;{ 1*"; s,ff

sun

SHARP
'ls" A' B
WITHorAilo!
r(it0ct(.0uT

0n:

*^

SAFElY

,ffi"l?b

t;'1[h]
trBt st{
W'i"'^V
t6

CIRCULARSAW

CHANGING
A BLADE

Removing
andinstalling
blades
Unplug
thesaw,thensetit on itsside
on a worksurface
withthebladehousingfacingup.Retract
the lowerblade
guardand,gripping
witha
theblade
rag,loosen
the arbornutwiththe
wrenchsuppliedwiththe saw(above).
Remove
the nutandtheouterwasher,
thenslidethebladefromthearbor.
To
installa blade,placeit onthearbor
withitsteethpointing
in thedirection
Install
of bladerotation.
thewasher
and
thenut,andtightenthemby hand.
Holding
thebladewiththerag,usethe
wrench
to givethe nutan additional
quarter
turn.Avoidovertightening.

1HO?TI?
Referenaemarkefor aaauratn eute
Somesaws do not orovidereferencemarksto helpyou aliqnlhe
bladewith a cutlinq lineon a workpiece;olher machineshavelines
Ihat may not be pefrectlyaliqned
for a oarLiculareawblade.)olve
the problemby
addinqyourown
marke.Cutinto a scrapboard,
thenbacktheoawparllyou| of
Nhekefi and unpluqthemachine.
Makea markon'thetoe of Ehe
base plate in linewilh lhe kerf,
then fix a otrip of maokinqlape
on the toe, ali7ninqito edqe
wilh the mark.UeeIhe eame
procedure
to makeaddiNional
markefor anqlecuto.

17

CIRCULARSAW

SAWACCESS()RIES
CIRCUTAR
Miter guide
Guideeeaw for anqlecuto up to 60",
Fits moat aawaand may be aecured
to workpiecewith ecrewaor natls

Clampand tool guide

Ueedas an edqe7uide
fnr

rin

rt i.a

ar

arn66-

cuta; aelf-clamprnq

?rotraator guide
Uaedto guideeaw for
croogcut6 or anqle
cute up to 70"
Kerf aplitter
HelpeprevenLbtndingof
blade in kerf; placed in the
kerf of longrip cute par|'
way throuqh operation

KERF
SPLITTER
Instead
of buyinga kerfsplitterlike
theoneshownabovein the invenyoucaneasily
toryof accessories,
makeyourown.Refer
to theinsetfor
suggested
dimensions.
Choose
%-inchhardboard
forthe
plywood
splitterpieceand3/q-inch
Fasten
fortheshoulders.
thethree
pieces
withscrews.
To use
together
thejig,startthecut,turnoffthe
saw,theninsertthesplitterin the
kerfa fewinchesbehindthesaw.
andconPullthesawbackslightly
(\efl. Forparlictinuetheoperation
ularlylongcuts,keepa fewkerf
onhand,
slipping
theminto
splitters
thekerfaI2-Io 3-footintervals.

l8

CIRCULAR SAW

SOUARING
THEBLADE
Aligning
thebladewiththebaseplate
Afterpullingtheplug,setthesaw
upside
downon a worksurface
with
t h eb l a d ea t i t s m a x i m u m
cutting
depth(below).
Retract
the lowerblade
guard,
thenbuttthetwosidesof a try
square
against
the baseplateand
the bladebetween
twoteeth(ieff).
Thesquare
should
fit flushagainst
the
blade.lf thereis a gapbetween
the
two,loosen
thebeveladjustment
knob
andtilt thebaseplateuntilit touches
thesquare,
thentighten
theknob.

oG

SETTING
THECUTTING
DEPTH

Adjusting
bladeheight
Withthesawunplugged,
retract
the lowerbladeguardand
setthebaseplateontheworkpiece,
butting
thebladeagainst
theedgeof thestock.Whencuttingthrough
a workpiece,
set
thebladeto clearthestockbyaboutr/q-inch.
Formostblades,
onetoothandat leastpartof theadjoining
gullets
shouldprojectbelowtheworkpiece;
if not,sawdust
willfailto clearthe
(above,
kerf,causingburning.Fora pivot-footsaw
left),

release
thedepthadjustment
lever.
Then,keeping
thebase
plateflatontheworkpiece,
holdthehandle
andpivotthesaw
upor downuntilthe bladereaches
thecorrect
depth.Tighten
the lever.Fora drop-foot
model(above,
righil,loosen
the depth
adjustment
knob,thenholdthebaseplatesteady
asyoupull
up or press
downonthehandle.
Whenyouhavethebladeat
thedepthyouneed,
tighten
theknob.

r9

-t

BASICCUTS
anarhetheryouarecrosscutting
rowboardor rippinga sheetof
plywood,alwaysprotectyourselffrom
kickbackby clampingstockto a work
surfacebeforecuttingit with a circular
saw.Whenapplyingtheclamps,protect

withwood
thesurfaces
of theworkpiece
includekeeping
pads.Othersafeguards
sawbladesclean,settingthe cutting
depthno deeperthanyou need,and
makingsurethatthestockyouarecutting is dry andfreeof anyfasteners.

To getaccurateresults,cut with the

bladeiustto thewastesideof thecutting liire.Edgeguidescanalsoimprove
guides
precision.
Althoughcommercial
in varioussizesandat a
areavailable
widerangeof prices,a straightboard
will serve
clampedto yourworkpiece
justaswellfor mostjobs.
Sincecircularsawbladescut on the
occursonthevisupstroke,
splintering
Getin thehabit
iblefaceof aworkpiece.
of cuttingyourstockgoodfacedown.
If you areworkingwith hardwoodor
plywood,whichhastwogood
veneered
faces,scorethecuttinglinewith a utility knifebeforemakingthecut.
Some
mmmtcialgtidesun beactendto rip a
edupto8feet,enabkngyou
4-by-8panelin tvvo.Theoneshown
in thisphotois moresuitable
for
It fmnra chmpsundncrosscutting.
guidethat
thedevice
secure
nmththe
eliminatingtheneed
toa workpiece,
clamps.
for separate

CROSSCUTTING
Cutting
stockto length
Align
to sawhorses.
Clamptheworkpiece
thebladewiththecuttingline,thenclamp
guideto theworkpiece
a straightedge
flushagainst
the saw'sbaseplate.The
guideshouldbelonger
thanthewidthof the
to the edgesof
and
square
workpiece
to set up the
Take
care
also
the stock.
with
not
interfere
that
they
will
clampsso
you
Turn
on
the
make
the
cut.
themotoras
plate
f
lush
against
sawwiththe base
theguideandthe bladeclearof thestock.
firmlywith
Then,gripping
the handles
into
saw
steadily
bothhands,feedthe
theworkoiece.

20

CIRCULAR SAW

JIG
CROSSCUTTIl{G
jig
make,
theshop-built
Simple
to
your
will
that
shownat right ensure
crosscuts
aresquareto theedgesof
the stock.Select%-inchplywood
plyfor the edgeguideand3A-inch
woodforthefence.Thedimensions
onthewidthof the
of thejig depend
stockyouwillbecuttingandthewidth
of yoursaw'sbaseplate.
Maketheedgeguideat leastaslong
and
asthewidthof yourworkpiece
wideenough
to clampto the board
withoutgettingin thewayof thesaw
thecut.Thefence
asyouaremaking
wideand
shouldbeabout4 inches
widthof
longerthanthecombined
theedgeguideandthebaseplateof
thesaw.Screwthetwooartsof the
jigtogeiher,
with a try
checking
to makesurethattheyare
square
perfectlyperpendicular.

To usethejig,clampit to the
workpiece
asyouwouldfor a standardcrosscut(page20), making
surethe bladeis heldin alignment
withthecuttingmarkon theworkpiece.Thefenceshouldalways
be
keptflushagainst
theedgeof the
workpiece.
Runthesawalongthe

2l

edgeguideto makethe cut. (The

f i r s tu s eo f t h ej i g w i l l i m m e d i a t e l yt r i m t h e e n do f t h e f e n c e
f l u s hw i t ht h e b l a d e . )
Forsubsequent
cuts,clampthe
jig to theworkpiece,
aligning
theend
ofthefencewiththecuttingmark
on vourstock.

CIRCULAR SAW

RIPPING

lll lltlllillllrlllllltlllltllltll]illtlll1
illttlllultllllfilllll fiI]
1HO?Tt?
Extendin6
a commercial
edgeguide
Commercial
edgequideeare
oflen Loo ehorl to Vrovide
orL,eoVecially
?ro?er eupV
for lonqrip cuto. )ne
anowerie to makelhe guidelonqer.
Cut
an B-inch-lonqetriVof 3/+-inch
Vlywood,
Drilltwo screwholesLhroughthe edgequide'o
f e n c e , L h eane c u r e t h ea u x i l i a rqyu i d e i np l a c e .

22

Cutting
a longworkpiece
to width
I n s t a lal c o m m e r c i aeld g eg u i d eo n t h e
s a w ,t h e na l i g nt h e b l a d ew i t h t h e c u t t i n g l i n eo n t h e b o a r dB
. u t tt h e e d g e
g u i d e ' sf e n c ea g a i n stth e e d g eo f t h e
. olding
w o r k p i e cteh,e nl o c ki t i n p l a c eH
t h e s a wf i r m l y ,f e e dt h e b l a d ei n t ot h e
b o a r dk, e e p i n tgh e e d g eg u i d ef e n c e
f l u s ha g a i n stth e s t o c k .T o p r e v e n t
t h e b l a d ef r o mb i n d i n gi n a l o n gw o r k piece,turn off the sawa few inchesinto
t h e c u t a n d i n s e r at k e r fs p l i t t e rP
. ull
t h e s a wb a c ka b i t ,t h e nt u r n i t o n a n d
continue
thecut.

CIRCULAR SAW

THICKSTOCK
CUTTING

passes
stockwithtwointersecting
Sawing
Tocrosscut
stockthickerthanthemaximumbladedepthof yoursaw,make
sidesof
intersecting
cutsfromopposite
First,marka cuttingline
theworkpiece.
on onefaceof thestock,thenusea try
s o u a rteo e x t e ntdh el i n ea r o u ntdh e
on
Settheworkpiece
otherthreefaces,
Align
andclampit in position.
sawhorses
withthecutting
line,thenbutt
theblade
t es a w ' sb a s e
a n e d g eg u i d ea g a i n st h
plateandclampit to theworkpiece.
Set
morethan
thecuttingdepthat slightly
of thestock,then
one-half
thethickness
Fliptheworkpiece
makethecuI(above).
over,reposition
theclamps
andtheedge
guide,
thencomplete
thecut.

ffiIItlllllI}llll]llrlllllllllflllllllllfillllllr]lllllrffilllrfill
1HO?Tt?
Avoiding
eplintering
Tlywoodie

parficular-ff
iy pronero \

e?ltnTennq
when cuL with

a circularsaw.
\
AVlywoodbladewill
helV,buL
anotheroolut ionis f,o reinlorcelhe
woodsurlacewilh
aolnp
t aoe.V arkLhe
of maskina
cullina lineonlhe taoe and
makeLhecut . Thet apewillkeep
the edgeeof thekerl clean.

23

N
\.

CIRCULAR SAW

CUTTING
LARGE
PANELS
Ripping
To prevent
in the
a panelfromsagging
middld
euring
a c u ta n dc a u s i ntgh e
bladeto bind,support
thestockon a
platform
of sawhorses
and2-by-4s
as
shownat left.Makesurethattwoof
t h eb o a r dws i l lb ea b o u3t i n c h eosn
either
sideof thecuttingline.Position
thepanel
onthe2-by-4s
andclampit
in place.
Forextraaccuracy,
clampa
guideto Ihe panel@age
straightedge
25).Aligning
thebladewiththecuttingline,cutslowly
while
andsteadily
g u i d i n tgh es a ww i t hb o t hh a n d s .
Insertkerfsplitters
asyougoto keep
frombinding.
theblade

Crosscutting
2-by-4s
faceupontheshop
Setenough
floorto support
thepanelat 12-inch
intervals;
theboards
shouldbea few
feetlonger
thanthewidthof thepanel.
Position
thestockontheboards,
shiftingtwoof themto restabout3 inches
o ne i t h esr i d eo f t h ec u t t i n gl i n eT
.o
makethecut,dropto onekneeand
alignthebladewiththecuttingmark.
Gripping
thesawwithbothhands,
cut
s t e a d iw
l yh i l ec a r e f u lm
l ya i n t a i n i n g
(right).
yourbalance
Asmuchaspossible,keepyourweighton the2-by-4
immediately
to thesideof thecutting
line.rather
thanontheoanelitself.

24

CIRCULAR SAW

Edqeetrip

STRAICHTEDGE
GUIDE
guide
Theshop-built
straightedge
shownabovemakesit easyto rip
panelslikeplywood
manufactured
Referto the
withgreataccuracy.
illustration
forsuggested
dimensions.
Makethe basefrom%-inchplyplywood
for the
wood;use3/q-inch
edgestrip.GIuethestripparallel

its edge
to the base,offsetting
about4 inchesin fromoneedge
of the base.Trimthe baseto its
proper
widthforyoursawbybutting
the
thetool'sbaseplateagainst
jig'sedgestripandcuttingalong
the base.
To usethejig, makea cutting
m a r ko nt h ep a n e lt ,h e nc l a m pt h e

25

stockto a platformof 2-by-4srestingsturdily

atopsawhorses.
Clamp
l , l i g n i ntgh e
t h eg u i d et o t h ep a n e a
trimmededgeof the basewiththe
markon theworkoiece.
Makethecut asyouwoulda standardrip cuI (page22), keeping
the
thesaw'sbaseplateflushagainst
theoperation.
edgestripthroughout

CIRCULARSAW

llllfltlllllltffilllltlltrIttlll|lltl|Illlll]lltl|llltlfll'llll
lll
1HO?Tt?
Carryinglargepanelo
?lywood,particleboard
and hardboardpanelo,Varticulady4-by-bo
and lon1er,can be heavyand awkwardLo carry.A olinqf aehioned
from roVewillmakeLheloadeasierto bear.To makeeucha eling,
Lietoqelher Ihe endeof a 2O-fooLlenqbh
of liqhLl/z-inch
rope.
With NhepanelflaL on
the floor,loopLhe
ropearoundlwo
adjacent,cornero
and qatherLhe
lwo slrandg near
the middle,wrapp i n 7 l h e mw i N h
ducttaVe Noform
. old
a h a n d l eH
onNoIheta?ea6
you qatherNhe
paneu
l punder
yourarm.

MAKING
ANGLE
CUTS
Using
a guideto cutmiters
Clamptheworkpiece
to sawhorses,
then
guideor a miterguideto
seta protractor
theangleyouwishto cut.Alignthesaw
bladewiththecuttinglineontheworkpiece.Placethe protractor
on thestock,
g d g ea g a i n st h
h o l d i n igt sg u i d i n e
te
saw'sbaseplateandits fenceagainst
t h ee d g eo f t h ew o r k p i e cG
e .r a s tph e
s a wa n dt h eg u i d ef i r m l yw h i l ey o ua r e
making
thecut.

26

CIRCULAR SAW

Making
a bevelcut
Loosen
thebeveladlustment
knobon
thesawandsetthebladeto thedesired
angle,
thentighten
theknob.Clamp
the
workpiece
to sawhorses,
making
surethat
n o t h i nw
g i l lb e i n t h ew a yo f t h eb l a d e
d u r i n tgh ec u t .A l i g nt h eb l a d e
w i t ht h e
c u t t i n gm a r kt,h e nb u t ta n e d g eg u i d e
flushagainst
thesaw's
baseplate.Clamp
t h eg u i d et o t h eb o a r dM
. ake
t h ec u ta s
youwoulda standard
crosscut,
holding
thesawf irmlywithbothhands
andkeepingthebaseplateflatontheworkpiece.

Cutting
a taper
Setthestockon a worksurface
withthe
several
inches
off
cuttinglineextending
theworkpiece
sothat
theedge.Position
y o uw i l lb ea b l et o s t a r t h ec u ta t t h e
rather
endof theboard,
thanon rtsedge.
Lineupthebladewiththecuttingmark,
thenclampanedgeguideontopof the
stockflushagainst
thesaw'sbaseplate;
measure,
if necessary,
to makesurethat
theguideis parallel
to theline.Make
the
cutasyouwoulda standard
ripcut.Keep
a f i r mh o l do nt h es a we, s p e c i a n
l le
yar
theendof thecut,whenthewastesecprogrestionsupporting
thetoolbecomes
narrower.
srvery

27

CIRCULARSAW

MITER
ANDCR(ISSCUTTIIIIG
GUIDE
Fora multipurpose
edgeguidethat
is helpfulin making
either45' miter
cutsor crosscuts,
try thejig shown
at right.lt canbe madefroma
pieceof 3/q-inch
plywood.Refer
to the illustration
for suggested
dimensions.
Cuta triangle
withone90" angle
(Tomakea jig
andtwo45oangles,
for30oor60'angles,
thesidesshould
be 12, 16 and20 inches*orany
othervariation
witha 3-4-5ratio.)
Screwthefencesto thebase,oneon
eachside,opposite
oneof the45"
angles.
Thefencesmustbeflush
withtheedgeof thejig base.
Tousethe jigfora mitercut,first
clamptheworkpiece
to sawhorses.
Thenalignthebladeof thesawwith
thecuttinglineon thestockand
buttthelongsideof thejig against
the saw'sbaseplate.Thefence
on thebottomof theguidewill need
to beflushagainst
theworkpiece.
Clampthejig in place,andmake
the cut asyouwoulda standard
miter.Keepthesawflushagainst
thejig throughout
theoperation.
Tomakea crosscut,
usetheother
sideof thejig asyourguide.

28

ADVANCEDCUTS
I little ingenuity-along with the
jigsand setups-can
A appropriate
greatlyexpandthe versatilityof a circularsaw.Althoughthe tool is not a
substitutefor a tablesawor radialarm
saw,it cando much morethan simple
dimensioning
of stock.
Whenit is inconvenient
to usea larger stationarysaw you cancallon your

portabletool to cut someof the joints

projects,for instance.
for cabinetmaking
Dadoes,rabbetsand miters can be
formedwith precisionapproaching
that
ofa stationarysaw For cleanerresults
andlesstearout,usea fine-toothblade
whenperformingsuchtasks.
Althoughthe circularsawmay not
alwayscut wood asquicklyasthe table

sawor radialarm sawthetool'sportability allowsit to work in placesthat are

off limits to the stationarymachines.
The sawcan plungeinto the middle
of a panel,for example,
cuttinga rectangularholeout of it whileleavingthe
edgesintact (page30).You can also
sawarcsor circlesby makinga seriesof
tangentcuts.

DADOES
CUTTING

'l

kerfswithinthedadooutline
Cutting
I Markthewidthof thedadoonthefaceof thestock,then
clampit to a worksurface.
Marka depthlrneontheedgeof
pointandsetthecuttingdepth
theworkpiece
asa reference
of the bladeappropriately
forthedadoyouaremaking(page
19).Align
the bladewithoneof thewidthmarksandclamp
an edgeguidein placeto keepthesawfromcuttingbeyond

thatmark.Repeat
fortheothersideof thedado.Gripping
the
sawfirmly,ridethebaseplatealongoneguideto cutanedge
of thedado.Thenrunthesawalongthesecond
support
to cut
To remove
thechannel's
otheredge(above).
as muchwaste
as possible,
sawa number
of kerfsbetween
thetwocuts,workingat roughly
%-inchintervals.

29

CIRCULARSAW

r) Chiseling
outthewaste
L l,old,ngawoodchiselat a slight
angleasshown,
strikethehandle
with
a wooden
mallet
to splitofftheridges
between
the edgesof the dado(/eff).
Makesurethatthebeveled
sideof the
c h i s eilsf a c i n gu p .A f t e trh eb u l ko f
thewastehasbeenremoved.
oare
awayat thebottom
of thedadountil
it is smooth
andeven.

MAKING
A PTUNGE
CUT
1 Bitingintothestock
I Clamo
theworkoiece
to sawhorses
andaligntheblade
withoneof thecutt i n gl i n e sT. h e nc l a m pa ne d g eg u i d e
to theworkpiece
flushagainst
thebase
plateof thesaw.Maketheguidelonger
thanthecuttingmarkandhighenough
t o g u i d et h es a ww h e ni t i st i l t e du p .
Retracting
thelowerbladeguardwith
onehandandgripping
thehandle
firmly withtheother,restthetoeof the
baseplateontheworkpiece
andpivot
thesawforward
to raisethebladecompletely
clearof thestock.Withtheback
of thebladedirectly
above
thestartof
t h ec u t t i n g
l i n e t, u r no nt h es a wa n d
slowlylowerthecuttingedgeintothe
slock(right),
keeping
the baseplateflush
against
theedgeguide.Oncethesaw
is f latontheworkoiece.
release
the
bladeguardandpushthetoolforward.
Whenthebladereaches
theendof the
cuttingline,turnoffthesaw,letthe
bladestop,andpivotthetoolforward
to
lift it outof thekerf. Makeplunge
cuts
along
thethreeremaining
cuttinglines,
repositioning
theedgeguideasnecessary.

30

CIRCULAR SAW

fllllllIIlllllllll"ill"llll
flllllllllllll}llllIlIl
lll"'llf"fil'1ll-lll
1HO?Tt?
Reducingplungecut,eplintering
Leltinq Lhewaste pieceeaq and finallylall lo the ohoptloor when
Nhelael cuL deNacheeil from your workpieceinvariablyresulls
in oplinlerinqof the cut,edqeo.
Ort cleanerplungecuto by layinq
a boardacrosl Nheslock and nailinait to Nhewaole oiecebefore
makingthe linalcul.YoucanLhenlifL
outlhe waeLepiecewiNhoulmarrinq
the edaeeof the cuXoul.

;-,-:l.-

31

/) Completing
cut
theplunge
I Because
of its circularblade,a
portable
power
sawwillleave
a small
amount
of wasteat thebeginning
and
endof eachplunge
cut.Square
the
witha sabersaw(page32)
corners
ora handsaw,making
surethatyou
keepthebladevertical
asyoucut.

SABERSAM
he sabersawis oftenlikenedto its
newestmodelsfeatureelectronicmotors
largershopcousin,the bandsaw.
thatcanmaintaina constantspeedunder
Althoughfewwoodworkers
wouldconchanging
loadconditions.
And blade
siderusingthe portabletool to resawa
manufacturers
offer a wide varietyof
hardwoodplankor carveout a cabriole
sturdyblades
suitable
for anysituation.
leg,thecomparison
is aptin otherways.
Making precise,splinter-free
cuts
Wth its relatively
narrowblade,thesaber
requiresattentionto severalfactors.A
sawmakesstraightandcurvedcutswith
keyvariableischoosing
thebestbladefor
equaleaseandaccuracy.
Aidedby comthejob athand(page36).Forstraightand
jigs,it cancarve
mercialor shop-made
angledcuts,anedgeguidewill beof great
out a perfectcircle.And like the band
assistance
in keepingthe bladein line.
saw,the sabersawcanbe setup to cut
Sincethe sabersawbladecutson the
identical
copies
ofa curvedpatiern.
upstroke,thereis a tendencyfor splinIn certainsituations,
a portablesaw
teringto occuron thetop faceof a workmayevenbea betterchoicethanitsstaWith thehelpof a commercial
circlepiece.Onewayto counteract
thisproblem
tionarycounterpart.
Ifyou areworking
cuttingjig,a sabersawcompletes
a
is to slowtherateat whichyou makethe
with a long boardor wide panelthat
perfect360"cut in a pieceof r/+-inch
cut.And rememberto buff thebottom
might requirea time-consuming
plywood.Toreducesplinteringon the
setup
of yoursaw'sbaseplateoccasionally
with
on a sawtable,it is sometimes
simplerto
outsidesurfaceof thestock,thispiece
steelwool to removedirt, grime and
carrythe sabersawto the work for a
wasclamped
with itsbestfacedown.
burrsthatcouldscratchtheworkoiece.
oneendofthe blade
cuickcut.Because
Thereis no prescribed
wayto grip a
ii free,the cuttingedgecanbe plungedinto a workpiecefor
sabersaw.The mannerin which you handlethe tool will
interiorcutson whicha bandsawwouldhaveto beginat the
dependon thedesignof yourparticularmodel.Manycutscan
edgeof the stock(page44).
beperformed
with onehandon thehandlesqueezing
thetrigThesabersawhascomea longwaysinceits introduction. ger,whilethe otherhandis seton theworkpiecesafelyaway
Woodworkerscomplainedthat the first generationof saws from theblade.Otherwoodworkers
preferto keepboth hands
wereplaguedby inconsistent
motor speeds
and bladesthat
on thesaw:oneon thehandleandtheotherwrappedaround
tendedto bend,makingit difficult to followa cuttingline.The
thefront ofthe bodyor barrelofthe tool.

The sabersaw'sunicluedesignallowsthe bladeto be

pltmgedinto a workpieceat any point along a cutfing
line. Restingthe baseplateJlat on the stockduring the
cut keepsthe blade squareand will yield cleanedges.

JJ

ANATOMY OF A SABERSAW

On this scrollingsaw, the blade can

be rotated360" by either turning
a knob on top ofthe saw bodyor
by applying simple hand pressure.

I ll sabersawsconvertthe rotary
A actionof anelectricmotorinto the
up-and-downmovementof a blade,
designedto cut on the upstroke.Tool
on
manufacturers
offerthreevariations
this basicprinciple.On reciprocatingthestandardfor
actionmachines--once,
sabersaws-theblademovesstraightup
saws-now
anddown.On orbital-action
the most commonvariety-the blade
movesslightlyforwardon the upstroke,
then drawsawayon the downstroke.
Manymodels,liketheoneshownopposite,featureboth options,permitting
you to chooseeitherreciprocating
or
orbitalblademovement.
Orbital-actioncuttingwasdeveloped
to makesabersawswork moreefficiently. By movingawayfrom theworkpiece
on the downstroke,the bladegenerates
lessfriction.Thebladecutsmorecuickly,but it entersthestockat a slightingle,
increasing
theriskoftearoutandsplintering.Hence,thegreatertheamountof
orbitalmovement,thefasterandrougher
theappropriate
settheresults.
Selecting
ting on your sawinvolvesa compromise
betweenspeedand qualityof cut.
A third type of sawis the scrolling
model(photo,left), wl'rchfeaturesablade
that canrotatein a completecirclewith-

in its housing,makingthesawparticularlywellsuitedto intricatecontourcutting. Aidedby an edgeguide,scrolling

sawsarealsocapableof makingprecise
rip cuts.
one
Whatever
typeof sawyouchoose,
particularlydesirablefeatureis variable
speed,controlledby eithertriggerswitch
pressure
or a separate
dial.This added
controlallowsyou to matchthe cutting
soeedof the bladeto the stock.You
wouldgenerally
usea higherbladespeed
with thickerstock.
Alsolook for a sawwith a solidbase
platethat will keepthe bladesquareto
thestockfor standardcuts,andonethat
canbetiltedup to 45"for bevelcuts.The
tool shouldincludea roller guidethat
supportsthebackofthe bladeasit cuts.
Somemodelsalso featurea sawdust
blower to keepthe cutting line from
and on-toolstorbecomingobscured,
andbaseplate
ageofthe blade-changing
wrench.
adjustment
For fine cuttingwith reducedsplintering,somemodelsincludea removableplasticinsertfeaturinga slotthatfits
snuglyaroundthe blade,By bearing
downon thecuttingline,theinserthelps
to eliminatetearouton the top faceof
thestock.

TIPS
SABERSAWSAFETY
. Donotusethe sawif anyof its parts
areloose
or damaged.

r Toavoidvibration,
support
theworkpiece
ascloseto thecuttinglineaspossible.

. Keepsawblades
sharp,
cleanand
undamaged;
do notusea bladeunless
it is in goodcondition.

o Keeothe oowercordoutof thesaw's

cuttingpath;do notusethetoolif the
cordis frayed.

. Unplug
changing
a
thesawbefore
bladeor making
anyotheradjustments
to thetool.
. Installa bladethatis appropriate
for
youarecutting.
thematerial
. Wearsafety
glasses
anda dustmask
forcuttingoperations
thatgenerate
a
largevolume
of woodchipsor sawdust.
. Always
clampstockto a worksurface.

. Makesurethebladeis notin contact

withtheworkpiece
whenyouturnonthe
saw.Allowthebladeto cometo full
speedbeforefeedingit intothestock.

o Donotforcethesawthrough
a cut;
thiscansnapa bladeor causeit to veer
. Maintain
offcourse.
Allowthebladeto cutat its
balanced
a comfortable,
stance
whencutting;
avoidover-reaching. ownspeeo.
. Always
keepthesawbaseplateflush
against
theworkpiece
duringa cut.

o Turnoffthesawbefore
the
backing
bladeoutof a cut.

r Keepyourhandsawayfromtheundersideof thesawwhenit is operating.

. Makesurethatanykeysandadjusting
wrenches
areremoved
fromthetool
before
turningit on.

. Donottoucha bladeimmediately
afierusingthesaw;thecuttingedge
canbecome
veryhot.

J+

r Stayalert.Donotoperate
thetoolwhen
youaretired.

SABERSAW

Tri4gerloak button
Loakotriq1er ewitch in
depreaaedpoeition for
continuouaaawing

Chip cover
Deflecta wood chioa
and oawduat away
from operator and
auttinq line

Blade clamp

Orbital -aati o n eelecto r

9et6 blade for reciprocatinq
action and three differont
aettinqa for orbital eawing

Baae plate

Circle-cutting guide
Fivot point at one end is driven into center of daaired aircle; other and locka onto
aaw baae plate. Diatance betweenblade
and pivot point equala circle radiua

Edge guide
Guidea saw for
rippinq. Arm locka
onto 6aw base
plate; fenae ridea
along atock

SABERSAWBLADES
I lthoughtheskillyoubringto a
in
A projectwill alwaysbereflected
thesinglemostimportant
theresults,
factorin workingwith a sabersawis
selection
of the properblade.Most
sabersawsaresuppliedwith a combinationbladethatworkswellfor many
cuts.But sincethebladesfor thistool
because
arerelativelyinexpensive-and
they tend to breakfrequently-you
on handin
shouldkeepanassortment
of a varietyof materials
anticipation
Theillustrationbelow
andsituations.
providesa samplingof thebladesthat
for thesabersaw.
areavailable

Whenbuyinga blade,payparticuthe
lar attentionto its composition,
numberof teeth,thelengthandwidth
of theblade,andthemethodof mountin highing.Mostbladesareavailable
speedsteel,but bimetaltypes-with
high-speed
steelteethweldedontoa
flexiblebody-are moredurable.
Blades
with alargernumberof teeth
forfinecutperinch(TPI)aredesigned
nartingandtendto createa relatively
lesstearout;
they
rowkerf,andproduce
alsocutmoreslowlythanmodelswith
fewerTPI.Lenghvariesfroml3/sto12
sizeis 3 to 4
inches.
but thestandard

incheslong.Not all sawsacceptevery

bladelength,soconsultyourowner's
manualfor therangeof sizesappropriateforyourtool.
all sabersawblades
Until recently,
with a universal
weremanufactured
shank-meaningthat they wereall
mountedin thesameway.In aneffort
tangandhook
to extendbladelongevity,
(inset,below).
mountings
weredeveloped
Althoughsomemodelswill acceptthe
shankof anyblade,otherswill not.
checkthemanuBeforebuyingblades,
for your
al for theshanktypessuitable
sabersaw.

TYPES
BLADE
MOUNTING
METHODS
BTADE
Univeraal

Hook

Tang

Combination blade
All-purpoaeblade auitable for
moat atraiaht and curvedcute

Knife-edge blade
AIso knownaa knife blade:toothlesa
cuttin7 edqe deai7nedto cut very
thin wood

Offeet blade
Ita deoi1n allowe blade to out fluah to
perpendiculareurface; wellsuited for
cabinetworkand pocket cute

Grit blade
Toobhleaablade with tunqeten'
carbide particlee bondedto cuttinq
ed6e;ouitable for cuttin7 veneer

Reveree-tooth blade
Cute on downatroke to eliminate
eplinterin7 on top face of workpiece;
ideal for veneer

Metal autting blade

Cuts veneerand thin pWood
with minimalriakof tearout

36

SABERSAW

CHANGING
A BLADE

llltil[lltlllllllllll rllllll]llllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllll
1HO?TI?
Extendingblade life
lf moeLof Nheolockyou cut io
3/+inchor lhinner,Nhetop Lhirdof
your bladewillbelhe onlyportion
ehowinqwear.To makebef,f,eruse
of the full len7bhof lhe cuLLinq
e d g e , i n e L aalnl a u x i l i a rsyh o eo n N h e
baeeplate of lhe 6awoncethe top lhirA
of a bladebeqinoto dul|To makelhe shoe,
lhe eame
cutra pieceof l/z-inchVlywood
lenqLhas lhe baoeplate and eliqhtlywider.
Holdthe woodagainotIhe plateand markthe outline
of the notch cul oul for Ihe blade.)aw ouLLhe notch
and screwLheauxiliaryehoein place,makinqoureIhaN
lhe backof the bladeis fluehaqainotthebackof rhe
nobch.(lf Nhebladeio noLoupported,it may wanderand
breakwhenyou uoethe oaw.J

37

Installing
andsquaring
theblade
Unplug
thesaw,thensetit on a work
Forthemodelshown,
removing
surface.
loosening
theclamp
thebladeinvolves
setscrew
withthehexwrench
suoolied
w i t ht h es a wa n dp u l l i n og u tt h eo l d
(Onsomemodels,
is
blade.
thewrench
attached
to thepower
cord.)Insert
the
newcutting
edgein theclampwithits
teethfacingthefrontof thesawandits
backseated
against
therollerguide.
(left).Useatry
Tightenthe setscrew
whether
souare
to ascertain
theblade
is square
withthebaseplate.lf not,
witha
loosen
thebaseplatesetscrew
hexwrench
andswivel
theplateuntil
thesquare.
thebladebuttsflushagainst
(inset).
Tighten
thesetscrew

STRAIGHTCUTS
t q J ith rr firnrh.rnd,.t slow,steady
1' b' feedrate,rnd a straight
cuninglile
you canmakean
on your workpiece,
andripsusinga saber
crosscut
accurate
Partofthe attractionof
sawfreehand.
quickly
thistool,afterall,is that it cr.rts
andwith a minimumof setuptime.
you canmake
For addedprecision,
useof anedgeguidewith yourtool.Most
sarvbaseplateshaveholesmachinedin
themto aiceptthearmofsucha guide.
The fenceof the deviceis setfor the
cuttingwidth,thenthearn-t
appropriate
thelengthof
is fixedin place.However,
islimited,makmostcommercialguides
for r,irtuallyany
ing themimpractical
andfor rip ctttsin widestock.
crossclrt
As shorvnat right ind on page39,yor.i
canalsoguidethe sarvwith a straight
edge,suchasa boardor a try square.
rvhenmakingstraight
Forbestresults
if
cnts,installa wideblade,especially
thick stock.
you are sirwingthror.rgh
Makesurethebladeis longenoughto
cutthroughthewoodin onepass.
Resistthe temptationto hold the
stocklvith your freehand asyou are
cuttine.Takethe an extramomentto
to a work
the workpiece
clamp-down
avoidingtheriskof a spoiledcut
surface,
or an accident.

CR()SSCUTTING

asa guide
a trysquare
Using
sothatthecuttinglineis
theboard
arranging
thestockto a worksurface,
Clamp
withthecuttingmark,thenbuttone
theedgeof thetable.Aligntheblade
beyond
plate.
of the
Makesurethatthehandle
thesaw'sbase
against
edgeof a trysquare
the
stock,
clear
of
Withthesawblade
theedgeof thestock.
isflushagainst
square
(above)
workpiece
intothe
edgesteadily
Feedthecutting
thetrigger.
squeeze
rillltltlillilllllilliilllllillllllllillllillllillillllllllllllllll

$ ru ru $ u ul ill {Ij liJltl ul ul l$ lil ul l$ ul lii

1HO?Tt?
oplintering
Reducing
I o r e d u c et e a r o u l , y o u c a n e i L h e r
eaw Ef,ockwiLh its good f ace down,
score Lhe cuf'LinqlinewiXha uNili|y
knife or cover lhe cuf'linq line wilh

A pieceo.fnlrskittgtopeopplied alortg
tlrcruttitrgline will reduccsplitttcrirrg
r/ / i, rS.
wI ri Ic S'orr o rt r ipp i rtt (),'('/'o.iscr

a otrip of t aVe.Oneolher oVLionio

Io inslallan anli-NearouL
1iqon lhe
of Ihe baeeplate.Thejiq
und,erside
ehoeshown
is similarIo lhe auxiliary
on ?aqe37, bul Nhenotchtor the blade
io onlyas wideae Nhekertof Lhebladeyou
on lhe
Nhejiq exertrs
preeeure
are ueinq.The
s t o c kw i l lk e e pe p l i n t e r i nNqoa m i n i m u m .

3B

SABERSAW

RIPPING
edgeguide
Using
a commercial
making
sure
Clamp
downtheworkpiece,
theedge
thatyourcuttinglineis beyond
Install
a commercial
of theworksurface.
e d g eg u i d eo nt h es a wt,h e na l i g nt h e
Butt
bladewiththemarkontheboard.
theguideagainst
theedgeof theworkpiece,
Holding
thenlockit in place.
the
sawfirmly,feedthebladeintotheboard,
making
surethatthefencestaysflush
against
theedgeof thestock.

Using
a shop-made
edgeguide
you
lf
arerippinga boardtoo
w i d ef o r a c o m m e r c ieadl g e
orridp rrcpe
- c- .t ,r -: i. ob h. ,i .- p- Jr g e o

b o a r dt o k e e pt h e b l a d ei n l i n e
(below).
Theguidecanbe secured
w i t ht h e s a m ec l a m p st h a t h o l d
the stockto the worksurface.

39

ANGLECUTS
-f

h. baseplateon mostsabersaws
I canbetiltedto eithersideuDto an
angleof 45o,enabling
thetoolto make
both beveland compoundcuts.Some
modelsincludea gaugethat indicates
the bevelangle,but you shouldalways
makea testcut to confirm that the saw
is setfor the angleyou need.
Because
the sawbladewill be in contactwith moreof thewoodsurface,
use
a slowerfeedratewhen makingthese
anglecuts.Forthesamereason,it is generallya goodideato usea widerblade
on the sawia thin bladewill be more
proneto gettingtwisted.Although any
youwill
anglecut canbemadefreehand,
getbetterresultsif you takethe time to
setup an edgeguide.

Thesabersawk capableof maki ng compound cuts-saw ing

through a board with the blade
presentedat anglesother than
90orelative to both theface and
edgeof the stock. Two setup
proceduresare required: The
baseplate has to be tihed to the
appropriatebevelangle,and
an edgeguide has to be clamped
to the workpieceto establish
the miter angleyou need.

GUIDING
CUTS()NTHEDIAGONAL

guide
Making
a mitercutwitha protractor
Clamp
theworkpiece
making
to a worksurface,
certain
that
guideto the
thecuttinglineisclearof thetable.Seta protractor
youwishto cut,thenalignthesawblade
angle
withthecutting
line.Place
therulededgeof theguideagainst
thesaw'sbase
plate;buttitsotherarmagainst
theedgeof theworkpiece.
Gripping
thesawandprotractor
firmly,makethecut.

40

Cutting
bevels
withanedgeguide
Loosen
thesetscrew
ontheunderside
of thebaseolate.then
setthebladeto thedesired
angle,
andtighten
thesetscrew.
Thesetupandcuttingprocedure
arethesameaswhenyouare
guide(page
ripping
lumber
witha shop-made
39.

CURVEDCUTS
-l- h. sabersawisoneof thefewpowI er toolsadeptat cuttingcurves.
However,
you needto keepa fewthings
in mind whenyou aremakingsuchcuts.
\Mhetheryou area cuttinga tight curve
witha scrolling
model,or usinga standard orbital-actionor reciprocating
machineto form a gentlecurve,remember to feedslowly.Cuttingtoo rapidly
canbendor breaktheblade.
A commonnitfallisbladestrain.This
typicallyoccriswhenthe backof the
bladehitsthesideof thekerfasit rounds
a corner.Theresultcanbe a twistedor
brokenblade,or a bladethat simply
bindsin thecut,marringtheworkpiece
or forcingyou to backthe bladeout of
thekerf.Thecauseis invariablytheuse
of a bladethat is too widefor thecurve
beingcut.The remedyis a narrower
cutsrunnins from the
bladeor release
edgeof the workpieceto tlie tightest

Thebestwayto avoidbindingwlrcn
theedgeof theworkpieceis a slrcrt
distnnce
fronr theurttirrypath is to veer
offthecuttirrglineand sawto the
thenconrcltnck
edgeof theworkpiece;
at
andcontinuethecut a gertlerangle.

partsofthe curve.I{atherthantheblade
bindingin thekerfat thesepoints,the
wastewill fall away,givingthe cutting
edgesomeroor.nto maneuver.
Like the band saw,the sabersalvis
Althoughyou
usefulfor cuttingcircles.
both storecanmakesuchcutsfi'eehand,
jigs (pnge43)
boughtand shop-made
will improveprecision.
In eithercase,
makesureyou secure
thestockto a work
Depending
on whetherthecirsurface.
stockrvill be
cle or the surrounding
the finishedproduct,yolrcaugetthe
bladeto the cuttingline by makinga
plungecvt (pnge44),boringa hole(pnge
out of the sur45),or sawinga rvedge
roundingstock.
Beforestartinga cut,makesurethat
thecuttinglineis clearlyrrarkedon the
ivorkpiece.
Check,too,thatanyclamps
thestockarenot in the
usedto secure
pathof thesaw.

FREEHAND
CUTTING
A CURVE

Cutting
a gentle
curve
in thekerf,makerelease
cuts
Tokeeptheblade
frombinding
turns.Beginby
fromtheedgeof theworkpiece
to thetightest
theblade
withthecuttinglineat theendoredgeof
aligning
guiding
Feed
thesawintothestock,
thetool
theworkpiece.
left).Fora cut likethe
slowly
to keepthebladeon line(above,

o n es h o w nh e r e ,s a wt o t h e f i r s t r e l e a s ceu t ; o n c et h e w a s t e
f a l l sa w a y t, u r n o f f t h e s a w .R e s u m ea t t h e n e x tp o i n tw h e r e
the edgeof the stockandworkbetween
thecuttingmarkcontacts
releasecuts (above,right). Completethe lob by sawingback
f r o mt h e o o o o s i t e n do f t h e l i n et o t h e f i n a lr e l e a sceu t .

4l

SABERSAW

lll lllrllrlljlirlltljllfilllltllllllllllltlll llllfllllllllll lll lllr

5HO?TI?
Makingreleaseandtangent aute
DeVending
on Nhecurveyou are cuN"otrrai4hten
tinq, you may needLo
oul" the sabersaw bladedurinqthe
cuL.)therwiee,you riekbindinqlhe
bladein the kerf.Fora curvethat,
willleavea concavearc in a workoiece
(right,above),makea eeriesof otrraiqhN
releaseculs lrom the end of the stock
to Nheculling line.Ae NhebladeroundsNhecontours and reacheslhe releaeecutre,waste Vieceowillfall
away,qivinqtheblade
roomNolurn.Fora convex
arc (ri7ht,
below),beqin
at oneendofNhecutLinqline,buL
ao 6oonaelhe
bladebeqinoto bind,veeroff Io Ihe ed4eor endof the ebock.
Thenreturnto lhe cuttinq line,conlinuinqin Xhiefaehion
unNilthe cut,io comVlebed,

FREEHAND
ARTISTRY
WITHA SCROLLING
SAW
path
Following
anintricate
lf theoperation
startswitha straight
cut,
feedthesawintothestockasyouwoulda
standard
crosscut
or ripcut.Astheblade
portion
reaches
thecurved
of thecutting
line,release
thescroller
lockbutton,
then
usethescrolling
knobto steerthecutting
(seephoto
edgein thedesired
direction
page34).Continue
to theendof thecutg es a wf i r m l yw i t ho n e
t i n gl i n eg, r i p p i nt h
handandguiding
it withyourotherhand
onthescrolling
knob.
Onthemodel
shown,
thebladecanalsobesteered
along
a curved
pathbyexerting
pressure
moderate
steering
onthehandle.

,41

SABERSAW

CUTTING
CIRCLE
guide
a commercial
circle-cutting
Using
downthestockwithasmuchof theworkClamp
pieceas possible
extending
offthetable.Make
however.
lf theareainside
surethesetupis steady,
thecirclewillbethewastewood,makea plunge
cuI (page44) or borea hole(page45) within the
c u t t i n lgi n e i; f t h em a t e r i saul r r o u n d ti n
hg
ec i r c l e
willbethewaste,makea release
cutto thecuttins
linefromtheedgeof thestock.Fita commercial
guideonthearmof thesawanddrive
circle-cutting
the pivotpointintothestockat thecenterof the
circleyouwillbecutting.
Adjust
theguideuntil
thedistance
between
thebladeandthepivotpoint
equals
theradius
of thecircle.
Holding
thesawand
thestockfirmly,cut outthe ckcle(left).Toavoid
sawing
intotheworksurface,
turnoffthesawand
reposition
theworkpiece
asnecessary.

Circle-cuttrnq4uide

CIRCLE-CUTTING
JIG
Tocutcircles
thatexceed
thecaoaciguide,usea shopty of a commercial
foryoursaber
saw.
madejig customized
jig
Theexactsizeofthe canvary,butthe
dimensions
in theillustration
at right
willyielda jig largeenough
to cut a
circleto theedgesof a 4-by-8panel.
Tomakethejig, remove
the blade
fromyoursawandoutlineits base
plateon a pieceof Vz-inchplywood.
Reinstall
the bladeandcutalong
the
marks,
making
thesection
thatwillbe
beneath
thebaseplateslightlylarger
thanthe plate.Streamline
thejig by
of anL,
trimmingit downto theshape
thencutoutthenotchforthe blade.
Screw
thejig to thebaseplate,ensuringthatthebackof thebladeisflush
against
thebottomofthenotch.Next,
usea pencilto marka pivotlineon
thejigthatisaligned
withtheblade.

Ctrcle-cuttin4jiq
71/2"x 27"

+)

Cutintothestockto bringtheblade
uptotheoutline
ofthecircleyouwill
Thendrivea nailor a
becutting.
screwintothejig onthe pivotline
at thecenterof thecircle.
Cutthe
circleasyouwouldwhenusing
a
guide.
commercial

PLUNGECUTTING
tf

h. sabersaw'sdesignmakesit ideI al for thetrickyjob of makinginterior cuts.Therearetwo waysto begin

theooeration.Youcanusea drill to bore
aholi (page45)or plungethebladeinto
the workpiece,asshownbelow.
This secondmethodwill makethe
cut much more quickly,but it is alsoa
little more challengingto perform.It
takessomepracticeto keepthe blade
from skatingon thesurfaceof thestock.
Forbestresults,
work with a short,stiff
bladein the saw.

Makesureyou haveafirm
grip onyoursabersawwhen
makinga plungecut,otherwisethebladewill tendto
jump off thesurfaceof the
woodat thestartof thecut.

MAKING
ANINTERIOR
CUT

r') Completing
thecut
Z Remoue
thesuideblockandcontinuethecut.To relmove
the bulkof the
wastein a singlepass,
sawto oneof the
cutting
lines.
Fortherectangular
outline
followthemarks,
shown,
butdo nottry
Instead,
bypass
to cutthecorners
square.
withcontourculsbelow),
thecorners
yourstarting
continuing
untilyoureach
pointandthewastepiecefallsaway.

'l

Plunging
intothestock
I Aligna guideblockwithoneofthecutting
linesandclamp
it in placeasshown.
Resting
thefrontof thebaseplateonthe
pivotthesawforward
workpiece
f lushagainst
theguideblock,
gripping
untilthebladeis above
thestock.
Then,
thesawfirmly,turnit onandslowlylowerthe
bladeintothestock(above),
keeping
thebaseplatebuttedagainst
theguideblock.Once
thesawsitsflatontheworkoiece.
turnoffthetool.

44

SABERSAW

lltflrrlllfilrllllllllilllllrlllll|lllllrlllllllllllllllJlllllllllll]
9HO7Tt?
6oring aaaesaholee
An allernativeto makin4a plunge
is lo borea hole
cul in a workoiece
in whichyou can ineerllhe blade.
lnstalla brad-pointbit on a drill
?reooor electricdrill:lhebit diam'
eter ehouldbe widerthan the widNh
of the blade,ANeachcorner
borea holetrhaljuot
loucheeNhecul'
tinq lineeon both
sides.Thesaw
bladecanthen
be ineerled in 1tn6-:. '";'-*9:1
holeNocutto the
adjoininqcorner.

45

thecorners
Q Squaring
wastewith
r-,f Cutawaytheremaining
cutsat eachcorner.
twointersecting
f latagainst
Holding
theedgeof theblade
sawalong
theline
oneof thecutedges,
thecorner
untilthebladereaches
hbovd.
ontheadjoining
Repeat
thisprocedure
sideto clearthewastewoodfromthe
firstcorner.
Thendothesamethineat
corners.
theremaining

CUTTINGDUPLICATEPIECES
-f h. sabersawlendsitselfto theproI ductionof multiplecopiesof a
shape.Providedthe stockis not too
thic-k,stacksawingis an effectivemethod
for cuttingduplicatepieces.
Usingthis
approach,layersof stockarefastened
togetherandthepiecesarecut in a singleoperation.Not only is stacksawing
moreefficientthancuttingall thepieces
separately,
it ensuresthat the finished
productsareexactcopies.

Some woodworkersuse nails or

screwsto bond the layerstogetherin
preparationfor cutting;othersprefer
clamps.Both approaches
canbe hazardous,however,if the bladeaccidentally strikesa fasteneror clamp.A safer
wayis to usedouble-sided
tapeto hold
thepiecestogether.
Therearesomelimitationson stack
sawingwith a sabersaw.First,theblade
mustbelongerthanthecombinedthick-

STACK
SAWING

Cutting
through
stacked
wood
Usedouble-sided
tapeto fastenthe layers
of stocktogether
(above,
left),making
surethattheendsandedgesof the
pieces
areperfectly
aligned.
Marka cuttinglineonthetop
piece,thenclampthestackto a worksurface
withtheportionto becutcompletely
offthetable.Alignthesawblade
withtheline,thenmakethecutasyouwouldforanyother
curue(above,right).

46

nesses
of the workpieces.
Depending
on the modelyou have,you canbuy
sabersawbladesup to l2 incheslong,
but do not attemptto usea bladethatis
too short.Youwill alsoorobablvneed
to makethe cut fairly slowly.
Anotheroptionfor repeatcurvedcuts
is to usethefirstpieceyou cut asan edge
guidefor subsequent
cuts.Clampingthe
guideto theworkpieces
canmakea contour cut asstraishtforward
asa crosscut.

SABERSAW

REPEAT
CURVED
CUTS
'l Setting
upanedgeguide
c u r v ei n
I T oc u ta r e l a t i v egl ye n t l e
workpieces,
sawthefirstpiece
several
freehand,
thenuseit asanedgeguidein
making
theothers.
Cuttheguideslightly
pieces
to help
longer
thanthesubsequent
in aligning
thesaw.Sincethetool'sbase
platewillberidingalong
caretheguide,
edge.Setthenext
fullysandthecurved
pieceof stockon a worksurface.
Marka
edge.
Thenalign
cutting
lineon itsleading
withthemarkandbutttheedge
theblade
guidef lushagainst
thesaw'sbaseplate.
Measure
thegapbetween
thebackedges
at bothendsto make
of thetwooieces
parallel,
thenclamp
suretheyareperfectly
theguidein placeasshown.

Edqe 4uide

r) Making
thecut
g es a w
L l o h e l pi n k e e p i nt h
path,place
directly
on itscutting
a smallstripof masking
tapeon
t h eb a s ep l a t ei n l i n ew i t ht h e
blade.Tostartthecut,buttthe
baseplateup against
theedge
guide
withthe
andaligntheblade
cutting
mark.Feed
thebladeinto
thestock,
keeping
thepartof the
tape
baseplatewiththemasking
flushagainst
theedgeguide(left).

47

.-:,.
lg{t

"**
9;

ELE,CTRICDruLL
espitethefactthatit iscapahandsto manipulate
theworkpiece.
ble of one basicactionA standwill alsogiveyourdrill a
rotatingwhatever
is clutched
in its
levelof precision
approaching
that
jaws-the electricdrill is probably
of a drill press.
themostfrequently
usedportable
Portable
drillsareclasified
accordpowertoolin awoodworker's
shop.
ing to the maximumbit shank
Thebetter-quality
modelsaresuited
diameterthat canbe fitted into
for morethansimplyboring
holes;
theirchucks.
Themostcommon
theyaretruemultipurpose
tools.
homeworkshop
sizesareV+-,3/a-,
Youcanrely on your drill to
andVz-inchdrills.
A system
of gears
makeprecise
holes,rangingin size
between
a drill'schuckandmotor
from tiny r/zz-inch
incisionsto 4rotates
thechuckata certainspeed
inchcavities
cut with a holesaw.
andwithacertainamountof toique,
With a stopcollaror shop-made
or twistingforce.Depending
onthe
job at hand,eitherdrill speedor
depthguidefastened
to thebit,you
havetheabilityto precisely
control
torquewill be the crucialfactor.
thedepthof theholeyouaremakCoupledwith a commercial
dowelingjig
Higherspeeds
areneeded
forsmalling.Certainspecialized
bitsfor the
thiscordless
drill canboreholesfor dowels
diameterholesand for jobslike
powerdrill letyoucontroltheshape
at any interval.Thedepthcollaron thebit
sanding
or scraping;
highertorque
of theholeaswell.A counterbore
controlsthedrilling depthprecisely.
will helpoutwhenyouaremaking
bit,for example,
makes
threesizes
of
largerholes.
holesin a singleoperation:
oneasa pilotholefor a screwtip,
In general,
thehighera drill'smaximumspeed,
theless
a slightlylargeropeningfor thescrewshank,anda holelarge torqueit cangenerate.
A typical7a-inch
drill ratedat3 ampscan
enoughfor a woodplugto conceal
theheadof thescrew.
produce
speeds
up to 4000rpm,but it will lackthenecessary
greatlyexpand
Otheraccessories
theportabledrillt capa- powerforboringlargerholesin hardwood.
A %-inchhammer
bilities.Depending
ontheattachment,
a drill candrivescrews drill ratedat4.5ampsdevelops
enough
torqueto punchahole
andnails;shape,
sandandscrape
woodsurfaces;
andpowera in concrete,
butthetoolwill notrun fasterthan850rpm,insufgrindingwheelfor sharpening
bits.Attached
to a guide,the ficientto spina sandingdiskrapidlyenoughfor smoothing
toolgainsenoughstabilityto cutwoodplugs,ataskthatwould wood.Between
thetwoextremes
isthe7s-inch
drill.Withtypbedifficultto performwellwith ahand-held
drill.Mountedin
icalspeeds
ashighas1200rpmandampletorque,it isconsida stand,the drill becomes
a stationary
tool,freeingyour eredthebestall-purpose
drill for mostwoodworkers.

A l/t-inchbrad-pointbit boresa series

of overlappingholes
for a mortisein a cabrioleleg.
Aftera chiselhassquaredthemortisecorners,
thelegwill bereadyto accepta rail tenon.

49

DRILL
ANATOMYOF AN E,LECTRIC
in
,,\ lthoughallelectlicdrillsoperate
r.\ esserrtially
the sanreway,woodworkersoften keep severaldifferent
modelson hand t-otake careof any
For mostapplicadrilling operatior-r.
tions,a corded7e-inchvariablespeed,
drill, suchasthernodelillusreversible
A
tratedon page51,is thebestchoice.
uses.
7+-inch
drill alsohasits special
A l t h o u g hi t l a c k st h e p o w e ra n d b i t
modof a largerdrill,a 7.r-inch
capacity
morerpm,enablingit to
el cangenerate
holes.
borecleaner
smalldiameter
A third choiceof manywoodworkdrill. Earlymodels
ersis the cordless
powerfor portability,
oftensacrificed
havesolvedthis
but morerecentversions
problemand can produceenough
torquefor mostdrillingjobs.A comslip-clutch
mon featureis an adjustable
designed
to makedriving
mechanism,
and removingscrewseasyand precise.
Theclutchallowsthebit to spinonlyas
fastasthe screwturns;whenthe screw
stopsrotatingso too doesthe bit. This

prevents
thebit fromstrippingthescrew
heador slippingoff thescrewandposFormaxisiblymarringtheworkpiece.
drills
mum flexibility,manycordless
settings.
olfera rangeof slip-clutch
\Ahateverthe type or sizeof a drill,
there are severalother featuresyou
switch
shouldkeepin mind.A reversing
it can
for removingscrews;
is esserrtial

alsobeusefulforwithdrawinsa bit that

isstuckirra hole.A chuckkeythatcan
bestoredon thedrillor theoowercord
convenience.
is a smallbut sisrrificartt
Forprolongedo!erationssuchassandingor scraping,
makesureyourdrilihas
a lockingswitchthatwillkeepthemotor
runningwithoutrequiringthatthetriggerswitchbe depressed.

This cordlessdrill/driver takes

tlrc portoltility of the electric
drill onestepftn'ther.Powered
lty r echargealtIe ri ckel- cadni trnrltatteries,the tool carrbe
tokt'rtnrrywlrcrcin tltcshop.

ELECTRIC
DRITLSAFETYTIPS
. Alwayswearsafetyglasseswhenopera t i n ga d r i l l ;a l s op u t o n a d u s tm a s k
i f y o ua r eu s i n ga s a n d i n o
grscraping
access0ry.
. D o n o t u s et h e d r i l l i f a n y o f i t s
p a r t si s l o o s eo r d a m a g e d i;n s p e c t
y o u rd r r l lb i t s a n d a c c e s s o r i e s
b e f o r ed r i l l i n g .
. Keepall cordsclearof thecuttingarea.
r Disconnect
the drill f rom its power
sourcebeforechanginga bit or accessory,or makrnganyotheradlustments
to the tool.

. Keepyourhandsawayfromthe underwhenthe bit is cutsideof a workpiece

t i n g i n t oi t .
. W h e ni n s t a l l i nag b i t , m a k es u r ey o u
i n s e r itt f u l l yi n t ot h e c h u c k
. Do not tightenthe chuckby hand;
insertthe chuckkey in eachof the three
h o l e si n t h e c h u c kt o t i g h t e n .
o Remove
the chuckkeyafterinstalling
a brt or accessory.
. Keepthe drill'sair ventsclearof sawthe motor.
dustto avoidoverheating

50

r Avoidsteadying
a workpiece
by hand;
clampyourstockto a worksurfacewheneverpossible
to keepbothyourhands
freeto operatethe tool.
. Maintaia
n c o m f o r t a b l be a, l a n c e d
s t a n c ew h e no p e r a t i ntgh e d r i l l ;a v o i d
over-reach
Ing.
o D o n o t f o r c et h e d r i l l ;a l l o wi t t o b o r e
a t i t s o w n s p e e d ,w i t h d r a w i n tgh e b i t
y c l e a ro u t
f r o mt h e h o l ep e r i o d i c a ltl o
iha

rrracto

if nonoccarv

o Do notwearloosejitting
clothingor jewelry.Theycan be caughtby a spinningbit.

ELECTRICDRILL

Chuck collar
Looeenedor tightened to open or
cloae chuckjaw6; may be removable to allow inatallation of certain
accessoriee,auch aa a drill 1uide

Trigger awitah
On variableepeeddrills, motor
apeed variea'with preaeure
applied to awitch

Chuckjawe
Hold and rotate
bit or acceaoory

Reveraing ewitah
Chanqeadirection
of motor rotation

Locking awitah
Keopamotor runninq
whentriqqer switch
ia releaaed: can be
ueed to lock motor
at.any apeed

Chuck keyr
Fitted into holes
of chuckcollar to
open or cloaejawo

DRILLBITSAND ACCESSORIE,S
islimit\Z our electricdrill'sversatiliry
J' edonlybytherangeolbis andaccesin the shop.With
soriesyou accumulate
theappropriateattachmentin its chuck,
the drill canbe an idealtool for a great
manyjobs,makingit invaluable
at many
stages
ofa project.A flap sanderand a
stand,for example,transformthe drill
into a stationarytool for smoothingwood.
With a rotaryrasp,thetoolcanshapedecorativecontours.A righrangleheador a
flexibleshaftwill geta bit into tight spots.
will
Oncethejob is done,a bit sharpener
restoresharpcuttingedges
to ensurethat
youborecleanlydrilledholes.

preferbrad-point
Nevertheless,
Mostwoodworkers
bits arelikelyto be the
you usemost.As shown bits.Available
with eithercarbonsteel,
accessories
steelor carbide-tipped
cutbelow,a widearrayof theseimplements high-speed
from twist andbrad-point ting edges,
thesharpened
centerpointof
is available,
posibits for boringholesof differentdiamea brad-pointbit allowsaccurate
tersanddepthsto counterbore
bitsfor
tioning.Better-quality
bits featuretwo
drillingrecessed
screwholes.
spurson theperimeterthatscorethecirThe populartwist bit boresholes cumference
of theholebeforethechipping bevelsclearawaythe stock.Twist
from Vtzto 1/zinch in diameter.Originally designedfor drilling into metal, bits,however,area betterchoicefor
trvistbits havea tendencyto skateon a
angledholes.
Althoughdrill bitsarevirtuallymainsurfacebeforepenetratingit. Youcan
improvetheir performance
by punch- tenance-free,
rememberthat theywill
ing a startingholein your workpiece only work properlyfor aslong asthey
with an awlbeforeborins a hole.
arekeptsharp.

A RANGE
OFBITS
Twist bit'
The leaat expenaiveof commonly
uaed drill bita: flutea expelwood
chipedurin4drillin6

Brad-point bit
Troducea amooth, preciae holeafrom 1/oto 3/+inch in
diameter, Features a eharpenedcenterpornt to quide
bit and two epure whichecore the circumferenceof the
hole before the chippinqbevelabeginremovin7atock

5crewdriver bit
For driving aloLted, ?hillipa
or Kobertaon acrews of
variouadiametera.

Adj uata bIe combinati on

bit that oimultaneouoly
boreapilot hole,acrew
ahankclearanaehole,
countereinkinqhole
and counterborehole
for acrewa

1pade bit
Boree lar4e holea up to 1 1/zincheain diameter;
eharp centerpoint quidee bit whileflat blade
aliceainto atock.)ome bita have6pureon
ahouldersfor cleanerholea

ffiE

plr

Extraator bit
For removin4acrewa with
atdpped heada; featu rea
revergethreado

t Hole saw
inchea
Dorea lar4e diameter holee-typically, larger than 11,/z
in diameter. A pilot bit, or mandrel,guidee cuttin4 ed4ee

52

ELECTRIC
DRILL

A SAMPTE
OFACCESS(IRIES
Drill 6uide
For keepin4dritl at
fixed an4le to flat
or round atock.
Buahin4oaccommodate varioua bit
diametere,

PIug cutter
Cuta woodpluqa up tol/z inch
lonqto concealcounterbored
screwg;chamfera one end of
pluq for eaoy inotallation

Wro@w

Stop aollar
Also calleddrill atop or depth qauqe;for drillinqto an exact
depth. Availabletn eeta matchinq bit diametere, typically
froml/a tot/z inch.Hex wrencheuppliedfor inotallinqon bit

Right-angle head
For workin4in ttqht cornere:
allowaacceaaoryin chuckto
operate at 90" an7le to body
of drill. Inatalled between
chuckand drill body

Nail apinner
Driveafiniahin4
naila from 1to 3
inchealon7int'o
hardwood without
predrilled pilot hole

Eit'sharpener
Honesdull bita: has
4rindin4wheelaand
chuckto hold bita

Flexible ahaft
For drillinq in tiqht areao;
eleevecan bend up to 9O",
Chuckaccepts moet bita

Flap aander
For aandinq curved
or contouredaurfacea; featurea alu'
minumhead which
apineaandingetripe

Clutch adapter
Driveascrewa without havingto drill pilot
holee:holdeocrewsecurelyuntil head ia
flueh with aurface,then clutch diaenqaqea
to avoid atrippinq acrew head

53

BORINGHOLES
jigs
A coupleof simpleshop-made
shownin thischaptermakeit easyto
drill bothstraightandangledholes.
If youareusinga t'wistbit, puncha
startingholefor thebit with anawl.To
preventsplintering
asthebit exitsfrom
clampa supportboard
a workpiece,
between
thestockandtheworksurface.
Forbestresults,
avoidstartinga hole
with the drill runningat full speed.
Instead,
beginslowly,thengradually
increase
thespeedasyoudrill. Control
thedepthof a holebyinstallinga commercialstopcollaron thebit or using
theshop-made
alternative.

JJ oring a holeinto a pieceof wood

I) may seemlike a simpletask.But
when you considerthat somewood
thanothspecies
areharderto penetrate
ers,andthat holesfor woodworkingprojectssometimes
needto be drilledat
preciseanglesand to exactdepths,it
becomesclearthat this deceptively
easy
operationholdsthe potentialfor error.
Precisionis asimportantin drilling as
in anyotherphaseofa project.A dowel
hole that is off-centeror too deep,or a
pockethole drilled at the wrong angle,
canmar a projectasbadlyasan inaccuratesawcut or a poorly appliedfinish.
For mostoperations,
accurarybegins
with the propersetup.While you can
dependon a steadyhandto borea perfectlystraighthole,therearea widevariety of commercialguidesto ensurethat
your drill bit will not wanderoff-line.

guidesteadies
A commercial
a drill
precise
angled
hole.
This
model
a
for
percanalsoholdthedrillperfectly
to
a
surface.
oendicular

STRAIGHT
ANDANGLED
HOLES
Boring
a straight
hole
A trysquare
or a shop-made
blockwill
helpyoukeepa drillbit perpendicular
to a workpiece
whenyouborea hole.
Tousethesquare,
lineup its handle
withthemarkforthehole,withthe
bladepointing
up.Centering
thebit
overthemark,alignit withtheblade
andborethe hole(farleft).Besure
to keepthebit parallel
to thesquare
throughout
theoperation.
Tomakethe
guideblock,
out
cuta 90'anglewedge
of onecorner
of a board.
Center
thebit
overthemark,thenbuttthenotched
it.
corner
of theguideblockagainst
Clamp
theblockin place.Keeping
the
bitflushagainst
thecorner
of theblock
(nearleft),borethe hole.

54

ELECTRICDRILL

hole
Guiding
anangled
witha bevelgauge
Seta sliding
bevel
to theappropriate
beside
angle,
thenlineup itshandle
the pointwhereyouneedthehole.
thebit overthemark,then
Center
keeping
thebit
borethehole(above),
parallel
to theblade
whileyoudrill.

llllllllllllllrlllllllll]tlllll
fl|lI]I1
tllll[trll}Illlrl|lfill]ll'Illl
9HO7Tt?
Ouide bloakfor angled holee
To makea quideblockfordrillinginto
a workpiece
aNan anqle,boreal
a 90" anqlelhrou4ha smallwood'
blockwibhlhe eamebil vou willbe
make
ueinqfor Nheanqledhole.Then
a mihercuNal oneend of Lheblock
wooda|Lhe oameanqle
IrimminqNhe

55

ELECTRICDRILL

WIDE
ANDDEEP
HOLES
Using
spade
bitsandholesaws
DrrllholesuploIVzinches
in diameter
with
a s p a d eb i t ;f o rw i d e h
r o l e su, s ea h o l e
saw.In either
case,puncha starting
hole
in theworkpiece
withanawl.Forthespade
bit,putthecenterpoint
in theindentation
leftbytheawl.Holding
thetoolsteady
as
shown,borethe hole(nearright).lf you
a r eu s i n ga h o l es a w i, n s t a a
l l na u x i l i a r y
possible
handle
whenever
to givethedrill
morestability.
In anycase,center
thepilot
point,andholding
bitoverthestarting
the
drillwithbothhands,
startdrilling
slowly.
gradually,
Increase
thespeed
feeding
with
pressure
onlyenough
to keepthe bit cutting intothewood(farright).

Boring
a deephole
Toborea holethatisdeeper
thanyourbit is long,
makeintersecting
holes
fromopposite
endsof the
workpiece.
Beginby punching
starting
holesat
thesameoointon bothendsof thestock.Then
secure
theworkpiece
in a handscrew
andclampit
points
to a worksurface
withoneof thestarting
facingup.Centering
thebitoverthemark,bore
a holeslightly
morethanhalfway
through
the
s t o c kF. l i pt h ew o r k p i e co ev e a
r n dc l a m pi t i n
position.
Center
the bit overtheotherstarting
(left).
pointandcomplete
the drillingoperalion

56

ELECTRIC
DRILL

Widening
a hole
Towidena holethathasalready
been
boredbya brad-point
ora spadebit,you
willneeda solidsurface
to brace
thecenterpoint
of thebit against.
Firstplugthe
holebytappinga dowelintoit. Usea
dowel
thesamediameter
astheholefor
a snugf it andmakesurethatit isflush
withthesurface
of theworkpiece.
Mark
thecenter
of thedowel,
theninstall
the
appropriate
bit in thedrillandborethe
widerhole(inset).

A HOLE-DRILtING
TEMPLATE
To borea rowof equallyspaced
holes,
usea hole-drilling
template
madein theshopfrom7+-inch
plywood.
Thedimensions
of the
jig willdepend
onthesizeof your
workpiece.
Tomakethetemplate,
marka
lineontheplywood
to alignthe
you
holes,
thendrillatthespacing
piece
require.
Cuta
of 1-by-1stock
to thesamelenghasthebaseand
routa %-inch-deep,
7a-inch-wide
groove
alongoneedge.Gluethe 1by-1to thebaseto serveasa fence.
Setyourworkpiece
on a support
board,
thenclampthetemplate
to
thestockwiththefenceflushagainst
itsedge.Usetheholesin thetemplateto guidethebit intotheworkpiece(left).

57

PLUGS
SCREWHOLESAND
thesurface,
hole.
borea countersinking
If you wishto concealthe screwunder
a wood plug,add a counterbore
hole.
Therearetwo waysto boreholesfor
screws.Youcan usea differentbit for
eachholeor, asshownbelow,borethem
simultaneously
with a counterbore
bit.

f--\ riving a screwinto hardwood

l-,,t withoutpredrillingtheholerisks
splittingthe workpieceor breakingoff
the headof the screw.Dependingon
how deeplyyou needto sinkthescrew,
you mayhaveto boreup to four overlappingholesof differentdiameters,
one insidethe next. If you want the
screwheadto sit on the surface
ofthe
wood,borea pilot holefor thethreads
holefor the shank.For
anda clearance
the bestgrip, a pilot holeshouldbe
slightlysmallerthan the threadsof
the screw.To setthe headflushwith

Thznksto their variablespeedand

reversiblemotors,electricdrills are
idealfor driving or removingscrews
rapidly with a minimum of effort.

DRIVING
SCREWS

Preparing
screwholes
Toscrewtwopieces
of stocktogether,
fit yourdrillwitha counterbore
bit of a sizeappropriate
to thesizeof yourhardware.
pilot
holeandhasa stopcollar
Sucha bitwillborea
thatslides
up anddownto adjustit for making
eithercounterbore
or
holes(above,
left).Clamptheworkpieces
countersinking
oneatop
theotherona worksurface,
thenborethehole.lf youwillbe
usinga screwdriver
to install
thescrew,
coatthethreads
with

candle
waxto makethefastener
easier
to drive.
To usethe
drill,install
a screwdriver
bitandsetthescrewin theholeby
hand.Fora slottedheadscrew,
slipa shortlength
of copper
it to prevent
tubingaround
thebitfromslipping
offthehead
andmarring
thestock.Fitthebit intothescrewheadandapply
lightpressure
asyouslowly
startthedrill;gradually
increase
pressure
thefeed
anddrillspeedasthescrewtakeshold.

58

ELECTRICDRILL

W(l()D
PLUGS
CUTTING
a plugcufter
Using
gLiide
Fityourdrillintoa commercial
instructions.
following
themanufacturer's
youmustremove
Onthe modelshown,
thechuckfromthedrill,attach
thecenterspindle
of theguideto thetool,then
replace
thechuckonthespindle.
Next,
i n s t a lal p l u gc u t t e irn t h ec h u c ka n d
s l i pt h es p i n d l e
o n t ot h eg u i d er o d s .
Adjustthecuttingdepthwiththelockingcollar.
Keeping
theguidesteady
on
theworkpiece,
raisethetoolto holdthe
cutterjustabovethestock.Turnon
the oower
andoushthedrilldownto
feedthecutterintothewood.Release
whenthecenterspindle
the pressure
h i t st h el o c k i ncgo l l a rF. r e et h ep l u g
fromthestockwitha chisel.

Center
apindle
9upport
board

'flt$rllttlf1[l"1tf'1lf1lr-fir1lffiIf$ffiIffiffiIl1
trlIfll
5HO?TI?
$oring pilotholes
for finiehing nailo
Likeecrews,
finiehinqnaileneed
oredrilledholesto orevenLhard'
woodfrom opliltin7.KaIherthan
eearchinqtor a verysmalldiameter
drillbiL,ueea nail.1nipoff iNshead
with pliereand ineerLbhef astenerinlo
Lhechuck.Sharpenthe Lip wibha file,Nhen
uselhe naillo boreholesae vou wouldwilh
an ordinarybit.
I

, . .

59

PORTABLE
DRILL IOINERY

Mor tise- and - tenon i oint

-l- h. portableelectricdrill maynotbe

I the firsttool that springsto mind
when you think of joinery. Only the
most innovativewoodworkerwould
contemplateusingthe tool to makea
dovetailor fingerjoint, for example.
for anymethodofjoinery
Nevertheless,
requiringa cavitycut to an exactdepth,
the drill is a workablechoice.It is especiallypracticalfor mortise-and-tenon
anddoweljoints.

Doweljoint

For the mortise-and-tenon,

the tool
will roughout a mortise,althoughyou
will needto souarethe cornerswith a
chisel.A stop collar or a depth guide
(page61)wllguaranteethatthebottom
of the cavitywill be evenandlevel.
A brad-pointbit will producethebest
results.Chooseone with a diameter
equalto thewidth of themortiseoutline,
ratherthan relyingon overlappingcuts
with a smallerbit. Most woodworkers

preferto cutthetenonfirstandthenuse
it to markthedimensions
ofthemortise.
A drillcanperformallthesteps
neededto prepare
stockfor adoweljoint.The
kevto an accurate
ioint is to center
thi dowelholeson theworkpiece;
otherwise,
thetwopieces
beingjoinedwill
yourbit on
beoutof alignment.
Center
theedgeof a workpiece
with a comjig or buildyourown
mercial
doweling
center-drilling
device(page63).

A M()RTISE
MAKING
Cutting
themortise
Clamptheworkpiece
in handscrews,
thensecure
thestockto a worksurface
asshown,
withthemortise
outline
facing
up.Marka linethrough
thecenter
of the
outline
to helpyoualignthebit.Install
a stopcollar
andadjust
thedrilling
depth
to correspond
to the lengthof thetenon.
Withthebitdirectly
overthecenterline,
borea holeat eachendof the mortise
holdthedrillwithbothhands
outline;
to
keepthetoolperpendicular
to theedge
of thestock.Thenmakea series
of overlapping
holes(far/eft)toremove
asmuch
wasteas possible.
Square
the mortise
witha chisel,
keeping
thebladeperfectly
vertical
andits beveled
edgefacingthe
insideof the mortise(nearleft).

60

ELECTRICDRILL

llllIl11
llllilItlllrilllillllllllllltlllilllillttllllllllllllll]Illlflrl
1HO?TI?
Depbhguideo
Toboreaholelo an exact,
t
depLh,ueea maekinq
la?e
I
llag or a depth etop block.lf L
you are ueinqthe la?e, measureNhedrillinadeoth from
NheNiVof the 6it,ihen *rap
a etrio of Laoearoundite
shank.Wibhdraw
the bil when
the Naoeiuel toucheslhe
stock.'To-uee
a block,eubLract the drillinadeolh from
lhe lenqbhof the bit protruding
from lhe chuck.Cut a pieceof
1-by-1
eLockLo this lenqth,then
borea holethrouqhits middle.
)lip the bit throuqhNheblock
and boreyour hole.WhenNhepieceof woodtouchesNheworkpieceand eto?e opinninqwibhthe bit,,retractrLhetool.

DRILLING
A D()WEL
JOINT
thedowelholes
1 Boring
I Secure
oneof the boards
to be
j o i n e dw i t hh a n d s c r e awssy o uw o u l d
whendrillinga mortise(page60).Clamp
jig ontotheedgeof theworka doweling
piece.Themodelshowncenters
thedowel holes
onthestockandspaces
themat
youchoose.
theinterval
Toavoidsplitting
the boards,
usegrooved
dowels
thatare
nomorethanhalfthethickness
of the
stock.Fityourdrillwitha bitthesame
diameter
asthedowels,
theninstall
a
s t o pc o l l atro m a r kt h ed r i l l i n d
ge p t h ,
whichshould
beslightly
morethanhalf
thelength
of thedowels.
Slidethebushi n gc a r r i earl o n g
t h ej i g a n di n s e rt th e
appropriate
bushing
in theholethrough
g d r i l l .( T h e
w h i c hy o ua r ep l a n n i nt o
bushing
ensures
thatthebit is keptperfectlysquare
to theboard.)
Holding
the
drillfirmly,borethehole.Make
theremainingholes
forthedowels.

6l

.t
ELECTRICDRILL

r) Gluing
uptheboards
L Applya thin beadof glueandspread
it evenlyalongthe edgesthatwill be
joined.
Alsodaba smallamount
of adhesivein the bottomof eachdowelhole:a
pencilcanbeusefulin getting
theglue
gluedirectAvoidspreading
in theholes.
ly on the dowels;
theyabsorbmoisture
quicklyandwillswell,making
themdifficult to f it intotheirholes.Insertthe
thentapthemintofinalposition
dowels,
which
witha mallet.Avoidpounding,
cancausea boardto split.Closeup
thejoint,thenusebarclampsto holdthe
piecesin placeuntiltheglueis dry.

62

ELECTRICDRILL

Duehin4

CENTER-DRIttIiIG
JIG
To boreholesthatarecentered
on
thesurface
of a board,usetheshopm a d ec e n t e r - d r i l l ijni ggs h o w n
provides
above.
Theillustration
suggested
dimensions.
Usea straightpieceof 1-by-1
stockforthejig arm.Youcanmake
sucha deviceanylengthyouchoose,
butcuttingit to the lengthshown
allowsit to accommodate
eventhe
wideststockusedin a typicalproject.Markthecenterof thetopface

of thearmandborea holethrough
it fora guidebushing.
Theholeshould
be7einchlargerin diameter
than
thebushing,
whichshouldbeslightly largerthanthe holesyouwish
to makewiththejig.Press
thebushingintoplace.
Next,turnthearmoverandmark
a linedownthemiddle.
Markooints
on the line3/qinchfromeachend,
thenboreholeshalfway
through
the
stockat thesepoints,making
them
largeenough
to holda %-inchgrooved

63

dowel.Dabsomeglueintotheholes
andinsertthedowels.
To usethejig, position
it onthe
stockandpivotthearmuntilthedowelsareupagainst
theopposite
edges
of theworkpiece.
Holding
thejigwith
onehand,fit thedrillbitintothebushingandborethe holebelowl
Fora holecentered
ontheedgeof
a board,firstsecure
theworkpiece
in a vise.Thenposition
edge-up
thejig
ontheedgeof thestockwiththedowelsflushagainst
itsopposite
faces.

SANDING,SCRAPINGAND SMOOTHING
oupledwith a sandingdrum,flap
f
or rasp,your drill canperU sander,
form manytasks,from smoothingstock
As illustratto shapingcontourededges.
you
the
drill to the
ed below,
canbring
job or,ifyou preferto feedthestockinto
the tool, mount the drill in a stand,
transformingit into a stationarysander.
Ifyou areholdingthetoolby hand,make
surevou clamothestockto a work surfaceio keepif steadyduringthe sanding operation.
Sandingdrumsareidealfor smoothing curvededges.
Oftensoldin sets,the
drumstypicallyconsistof replaceable
that fit tightly around
sandingsleeves
solidrubberones,rangingin diameter
fromVzinchto 3 inches.
Flapsandersaremadeup of abrasive
stripswith pliablebrushbackingthat

Mountedin a standandfined with a

a
flap sander,an electricdrill becomes
idealfor smoothing
stationary
sander,
thecontoursof a cabrioleleg.

andsmall
canbeforcedintocorners
stripsarebestfor
openings.
Unscored
flatsurfaces,
whilescored
stripswork
Whichever
sanding
wellon contours.
youinsertin yourdrill, usea
accessory
fastdrill speed
alongwith a lightfeed
pressure.
Thefinerthegritoftheabrashouldbe.
sive,thefasterthedrill speed
Forquickstockremoval,
usea rotary
of rasp
or diskrasp.Thetypeor shape
youchoose
will depend
on thejob at
hand.Cvlindricalrasosareidealfor
whileconiformingedges
andcorners,
Disk
workbestin tightspots.
calrasps
raspsarefor useon flatsurfaces.
Aswithsanding
drums,rasps
should
beappliedonlywithlightfeedpressure.
Toomuchforcewill cause
a buildupof
heat,possiblyburning
thesurface
ofthe
rasp.
the
teeth
ofthe
stockandclogging

ANDSMO()THING
ST()CK
SANDING

Using
a drumsander
andmovethe
Holding
thedrillparallel
to thesurface
to besanded,
turnonthepower
(above,
lef).fo produce
a
lightpressure
sanding
drumfromleftto rightwhileapplying
reverse
of the
thelifeof thesanding
sleeve,
thedirection
moreevenfinishandprolong
thejobsanding
fromrightto left.Fora
drill'smotormidway
through
theoperation;finish
to usea commercial
drillstand.
workpiece
thatis awkward
to clampdown,youmayprefer
Screw
thestandto a plywood
base,
thenattachthedrill.Lockthemotorin theOnposi(above,
of drumrotation
thesleeve
against
thedirection
tion,thenfeedthestockacross
right).Onceagain,
switchthedirection
of themotorat somepointduringtheprocess.

64

ELECTRIC
DRILL

rf*g:*g:tl:::liffi::r::trj::::iY::::ffi

SANDING
DISK
TABIE
To useyourdrill as a stationary
sander,
construct
a sanding
disk
tableforyourtoolfrom%-inchplywood.Thetablewill allowyouto
feedstockintothe rotatingabrasive
surfacein a controlled
fashion,
keeping
theworkpiece
squareto
thetool.Referto the illustration
at
rightforsuggested
dimensions.
Cuta notchin the edgeof the
jigtopthatwillsit nearest
thesandingdisk.Temporarily
affixthedrill
standto the base,thenmountthe
toolin thestandandinstallthe
d i s ki n t h ed r i l lc h u c kT. r i mt h e
twosidessothatthe uppersurface
of thetabletopsitsjustabovethe
levelof thewasher
onthedisk.
Screwthesidesto thetop;lf you
wishto conceal
thescrews,
counterborethemandcovertheirheads
withwoodplugs.Screwthe sides
to the base.
Position
thestandsothatthedisk
will rotatefreelywithinthe notch
in thetop,thenscrewthestandto
the base.
Before
beginning
to sand,boltor
clampthetableto a worksurface.
Lockthe motorin the 0n position,
thenfeedtheworkoiece
at a uniformspeedacross
thedisk,working
against
thedirection
of drillrotation
(right,below).Avoidburningor
gouging
thewoodbyfeedingthe
stockwithonesmooth,
continuous
motion.To evenoutwearof the
sanding
disk,reverse
thedirection
of thedrillmotormidway
through
the operation,
andfeedthe stock
fromthe othersideof thetable.

ToP
12"x 131/2"
9ide
3 3/a"x 12"

65

ELECTRICDRILL

STOCK
ANDSURFACING
SCRAPING
rasp
Working
witha rotary
toolfor roughA rotaryraspis an effective
curves
alongtheedges
ingoutdecorative
hold
Tocuta tightcurve,
of a workpiece.
t h ed r i l lw i t hb o t hh a n d as n da p p l ym o d e r a t en r e q q r rt n
r et h es r r r f a cuen t i tl h e
raspcutstheshapeyouneedtighil. fo
moreltghtly
roughouta gentlecurve,press
andmovetheraspalongthewoodsuropposite
thedirection
face,proceeding
o f d r i l lr o t a t i o n .

Using
a diskrasp
lf youwantto remove
stockmorequickly
p
e
r m i tu, s ea d i s k
w
i
l
l
t h a na s a n d e r
g
r
i
p
f
i
r
m
o
nt h ed r i l l h
, old
r a s pW
. i t ha
p
e
r
p
e
n
d
i
c
u
l
a
r
t
h
e
s
u
r
face,
t h et o o l
to
pressure
to
allow
applying
onlyenough
theraspteethto cut intothewood.(Too
muchpressure
maycause
thedrskto
w
o
b i t et o od e e p liyn t ot h e o ds, t a l l i n g
Move
thetoolacross
the
the drillmotor.)
surface
following
thegrainof thewood.

66

THE PORTABLE
DRILLASDRILLPRESS
f fyour workshopdoesnot includea
I drill press,
andyou haveno immediateplansto buy one,mountingyour
portabletool in a drill pressstandcan
providesomeof the capabilities
of the
stationarytool. Naturally,sucha compromisesolutioncannotrival the real
thing when it comesto precisionand
versatility.Dependingon your needs,
however,a drill pressstandmay serve
youjust fine,andyou will probablyfind
that it allowsyou to do somejobsmuch
betterthanif you hadbeenholdingthe
drillin your hand.
With the addedstabilitvaffordedbv
thestand,you caninstalla small-diameterForstnerbit in thedrill andoroduce
perfectlyperpendicular,
flat-bottomed
holes.Most standsincludea depth
adjustmentfeature,usefulif you want

to bore a uniform seriesof holes.In

selectinga stand,keepin mind that some
modelscan accommodate
any make
of drill while otherswill onlv acceDt
certainvarieties.
Forconvenience
andmaximumstability,bolt your drill pressstandto a base
of 3/+-inchply,vood,
thenclampthebase
to a work surface.

With q tiltableworktable,thisdrill
pressstandenables
a portabledrill
to borepreciseangledholes.The
V-groove
in thetableis designed
to
holda cvlindersecurelv.

B()RING
HOLES
Drilling
witha commercial
stand
Instaa
l l b i t i n t h ed r i l la n dm o u n t
thetoolin thestandfollowing
the
manufacturer's
instructions.
Setyour
stockonthetableof thestandand
a l i g nt h ed r i l l i n m
g a r kd i r e c t luyn d e r
t h eb i t b e f o r e
c l a m p i ntgh e w o r k p i e c ei n p l a c el.f y o ua r eb o r i n g
a
stopped
hole,setthedrilling
depth.
LockthemotorintheOnposition,
then
rotatethefeedleversteadily
to feed
(/eff).
the bit intothe workpiece

67

ROUTER
perfectresults.
Bothtypes
ensuring
ofguides
canbepurchased,
butyou
canalsomakethemin theshop.
Mountingtherouterin a table
transforms
it intoa stationary
tool
andfreesyourhandsfor feeding
stockinto the bit. Youcanalso
installcertainbitsin atable-mountedrouterthatofferprofilesyoucannot usewhenoperating
therouter
by hand.A tablealsomakesthe
routeranexcellent
toolfor cutting
joints (page97), including the
tongue-and-groove
andthesliding
Butwith oneof themany
dovetail.
jigson themarket,you
commercial
canproduce
accurate
mortise-andjointswith
tenonjointsanddovetail
a hand-held
router.

omprisinglittle more than a

baseplateand a motor that

spinsa cuttingedge,therouter's
simplicitybeliesitsversatility.
Unlike
otherporablepowertools,therouter
hasno stationary
counterpart
that
canoutperformit. As such,the
routerisa must-have
toolfor most
woodworkers;
someclaimthatit
is thesinglemostimportantshop
tool inventionof the twentieth
model,develcentury.
Theearliest
opedduringtheFirstWorldWar,
featured
fromthe
a cuttercreated
wormgearof anelectricbarber's
morethan
A routercanfashionmorejoints thanany
.hpp.r.Wthin 10years,
"ElectricHand
portablepowertool.Here,oneis used
100,000
other
Shapers"
produced.
hadbeen
to shapea tenonat theendof a board,aided
jig.
workpiece
Shaping
theedgeof a
by a mortise-and-tenon
profile
probawith a decorative
is
routersrauinb?;:ptTJ::Jffi
:n*:;rl',i
blytherouter'smostcommontask.It candothejob asreliably rerences,aif
asona straight
board.Thegreatnum- andplungemodels.Themaindifference
between
themhas
ona circularworkpiece
cuttersto
to dowith thewaythebit bitesintothewoodatthebeginning
berof bitsavailable-fromrabbetandchamfering
dozens
of
of a stopped-groove
cut.Thebaseplateof a standard
router
cornerroundandbeading
birc-allowsyouto create
profiles.
Therearealsoa numberof accessoriesmustbeheldat anangleto thesurface
distinctive
sothatthebit canbe
fromthebeginningof a loweredgradually
into thewood.Theplungeroutercanbe
designed
to keepthecut consistent
passto theend.Forstraightcuts,anedgeguidekeeps
heldflat on thesurface
thebit
beforethecut sincetheentiremotor
fromveeringoff thecuttingpath(page79).Forshaping
the asembly,
alongwiththebit,ismounted
above
thebase
on springguides loadedcolumns.Downwardpressure
on thehandlesfeeds
circumference
of a circle,or cuttingouta circle,special
will holdthebit auniformdistance
fromthe center(page85), thebit intothewood.

A dovetailbit carvesa channelin a hardwoodpanel.Running therouterbaseplatealonga guidekeepsthecutsquare

to theedges
of theboards.Thejoint is a goodonefor installing shelves
in a bookcase.

69

-,!

ANATOMYOFA ROUTER
to spin shanks.
Largermodelscanalsoaccom\ A f hileallroutersaredesigned
Y Y bits.notwomakesormodelsshare
modate3/sor %-inchcutters.
Toolpowexactlythesame
features
or design.
Some er andbit capacitytypicallygohandin
hand.Smallerroutersstartat %horseof thedifferences,
suchasthelocationof
the On/offswitch,arestrictlya matter power,whilemanufacturers
claimas
preference; muchas3 horsepower
for somelarger
of convenience
or personal
models.Greaterpowerenables
othervariationsdeterminethekind of
a router
workyoucanperformwith thetool.
to turnlargerbitsandmakedeeper
cuts,
Thecolletsof manysmallerrouters so it is worth buyrnga tool with at
only acceptbits with %-inch-diameter leastt horsepower.

Manyroutersfeaturevariablespeed
control,whichenablesyou
to matchthe
bit speedto thejob athand.Depending
on themodel,you cansetthespeedat
levelsbetween8,000and24,000rpm.
Slowspeeds
arebestfor deepcutssuch
aswhenyou areusinga panel-raising
bit; veryhighspeeds
comein handyfor
jobssuchastrimminglaminate.ln general,high speedwill producea cleaner

ROUTER
STANDARD
Onloff ewitah

Ease plate clamp acrew

Looaenedto 6et cuttina
depth of bit o, ,emovebase
plAte from body; tiqhtened
to lock plate in poaition

Depth adjustment ring

Uaedfor aottin7 cuttinq
depth of bit

Baae plat'e
)up?orte motor. Kemovable
for bit chanqinqor for mounting router in table; adjuatable
for oettinq cuttin7 depth

Collet
Jawa accept ahank
of router bit; nut
directly abovecollet
is turned to open or
cloaejawa to aecure
cutter in place
9ub-baEe
)crew holeaallowaccesaoriea to be attached to
router; can be unacrewed
from the baee plate.

70

ROUTER

is theincreased
cut.Its onedrawback
riskof burning.
Whilesomerouters,like
theonefeaturedon page7},includea plungebase
(below)
thatcanbeaddedto thestandard

youcanalsobuyatoolspecifimachine,
forplungerouting.Pressing
callydesigned
downon the handlesplungesthe bit
directlyintothestock-idealifyou have
to startacutin *remiddleofaworlgiece.

TIPS
ROUTER
SAFETY
. Keeprouterbitscleanandsharp;
replace
anydamaged
cutters.
. Unplug
therouterbefore
changi n ga b i t .
. Wearsafetyglasses
anda dust
maskfor cuttingoperations.

PTUNGE
BASE

Depth scale atop clamp

Looaenedto releaeedepth
etop bar; tightened to oet
cuttin1 depth

Depth atop bar

Usedto eet cuttinq
depth; gap between
bar and turret etop
acrew equaladepth
of cut

Dept'h saale
lndicatescuttinq depth

7LOP?Crew
underdepth
otop bar

r Switchthe routeroff beforeplugg i n gi t i n .

. Griptherouter
firmlywhenswitchingit on;thestartup
torque,
ortwistingpowerof thetool,canmakeit
difficultto controlat thestartof
a cut.
. Allowthe motorto reachfull
speedbeforefeeding
the cutter
intotheworkpiece.
r Donotattemptto makea deep
cut in a singlepass;maketwoor
morepasses
at intermediate
depths.

Plunge baae
plate
Keplacea
atandard baee
plate to con-

Turret atop
Kotateato poaition appropriate

. Always
clampstockto a worksurfacefor hand-held
routing;
do not
useyourhandsto supporta workpieceunless
therouteris mounted
i na t a b l e .

. Keepyourhandsawayfromthe
underside
of theworkoiece
when
the routeris operating.

Plunge loak knob

tsit can be plunqed
whenknob ia looaened;
tiqhtened whencutting
depth io reached to
lock in place

o Donottoucha bit immediately

afterusingthe router;thecutting
veryhot.
edgecanbecome
. Turnoff the routerassoonas
a passis completed;
do notset
thetooldownuntilthebit has
spinning.
stopped

Turret etop acrew

Height ia adjuatable to
vary cuttin7 depth of
intermediatepa6aeo

Edge guide
Keepabit aquare
to board ed4e for
dado cuta. KodaattacLt
to router baae plate; fence
ridea alon7 workpieceed7e

Wrenahea
9upplied with
router for changinq
bita, Onewrenchturna
collet nut; other wrench
holdaahaft atationary

7I

BITS
p ittedwith therightbit for thejob at
I hand,a routercancutanythingfrom
a rabbetto an intricatemoldededge.
Theselection
of cuttersavailable
todayis
verybroad.Sometool andhardwarecatalogsboastpageafterpageofrouterbits,
with scoresof differentprofiles-each
available
in several
cuttingdiameters.
No matterwhatkind of cut you havein
mind, you canalmostalwaysfind the
appropriate
bit.
Standardbits for portablerouters
consistof a steelbody with one or
more cutting surfacesand a shank
that fits into the collet. Cuttersfor
this tool aregenerallyavailablein two
materials:
high-speed
steel(HSS)and

high-speed
steelwith carbidecutting
edges.Althoughcarbide-tipped
bits
are more expensive,
they staysharp
longerand cut more easilythrough
toughmaterials.Onedrawback,however,is that they tend to chip ifthey
strikea hard surface.
Routerbits fall into two categories;
thosefor shapingedgesand thosefor
cuttinggrooves.
As theirnameimplies,
edge-forming
bitsareusedto cut decorativeprofilesinto stockor prepare
boardedges
for joinery.Thesebitsgenerallyhavea pilot locatedbelowthe
cutter to ride alongthe edgeof the
workpiece
andguidethebit. Ball-bearing pilotsarepreferable
to fixedpilots

because
theydo not generate
heatfrom
friction and thuswill not causeburns
markson your stock.
or compression
Groovingbits are used for making
dadoes.If the dadowill not run to the
edgeof the stock,a plungerouteris
thebestchoice.
Your router'soerformancewill
benefitfrom properstorageand careful maintenanceof your bits. Usea
cleancloth to wipe off dust and dirt.
Protectbits from damagein a simpleto-makeholder (page74).Keepthe
edgessharpand avoidusingcutters
that aredirty,rustedor damaged.
Be
sure to unplug the tool whenever
you changea bit.

EDGE-FORMING
BITS

Romano4eebit

Chamferbit

Koundin4-over
bit

Fluoh-cut.tingbit

Kabbet bit

GR(l(lVING
BITS

lt R tl I
H l I I

IJ H L] D]
9traiqht bit

Dovetail bit

V-1roovebit

Core box bit

72

Three-winq eIotti n4 c utte r

ROUTER

1HO?TI?
M aintainin g an d replaaing
pilotbearings
AccumulaleddirL willevenlu'
allyjam the piloLbearingof a
rouf,erbit.Thi6may leadto
burningof the ehock.Toeer- .;
vicea pilol bearin6,eecure
up in
the bit bearinq-end
a viseor handscrewg.
Wipeoff burn marks,
piich and 6um wiNha
clolh and an oil'free,
lubricant,lflhe pilol is
non-silicone-baeed
damaqedor worn-or if you want'io alter Nhebif s
its selscrew
cutlinq profile-replacelhe pilof by loooeninq
wilh a hexwrench.Remove
the oiloLand installa newone.

A BIT
CHANGING
Removing
andinstalling
bits
Settherouterupsidedownon a work
theclampscrewto
surface
andloosen
bitsusing
remove
thebaseplate.Change
withthe
thetwowrenches
supplied
machine.
Toremove
a cutter,holdthe
withonewrench
andloosen
shaftsteady
thecolletwiththeothertool.Forextra
position
sothat
leverage,
thewrenches
(left).
youcansqueeze
themtogether
P u l lt h e b i t o u to f t h ec o l l e ti;f i t i s
s t u c kg, e n t l yt a pt h ec o l l e w
t i t ht h e
wrench.
Donotstrikethe bit or try to
extractit fromthe colletwith pliers;
t h i sm a yd a m a gteh e c u t t i n ge d g e .
Before
installing
a newbit,cleanany
s a w d u sf rt o mt h e c o l l e t l.n s e rtth e
replacement
allthewayintothecollet,
t h e nr a i s ei t a b o u %
t oi n c h T
. hen
retighten
thecollet.

73

ROUTER

lllllltll|lfilllllllllllltlllllltlIIttlllut]llltl]lll]ll'Illlllllll
1HO?TI?
9torin6 router bits
ThecuNbing
edqeeof rouNerbite, parLicularly
Nhoeemadeof carbide.can be nickedif
lhey are lhrown Nogetherin oloraqe.
Trotect,your bibewilh a oimple
ehoV-made
holder,lna
b l o c k o f w o o d , b oar e
serieeof holeeNhe
sizeof Xhebil
ehanke
and store
Nhemwibh
NhecutNinq
edqeuV.

THECUTTING
DEPTH
SETTING
Adjusting
router
a standard
Loosen
Settherouterontheworkpiece.
t h ec l a m ps c r e ww i t ho n eh a n da n d
rotatethe motorto raiseor lowerit, also
raising
or lowering
thebit.Forthestraight
bitshown,
alignitstip withthedepth
line,thentighten
theclampscrew.
An
alternative
methodis to settherouter
loosen
upsidedownon a worksurface,
thebase
theclamoscrewandrotate
p l a t eu n t i lt h e b i t p r o t r u d ebsyt h e
youwanl.
amounI

74

ROUTER

Depth
etop bar
?lunqe

Depth 6top
alamp acrew

Adjusting
router
a plunge
Settherouter
ontheworkpiece
and
rotatetheturretstopto position
the
shortest
stopscrewdirectlyunderthe
d e p t hs t o pb a r .L o o s etnh ec l a m p
screwto release
the barandseatit
ontheturretscrew.
Thenloosen
the
plunge
lockknobandpushthemotor
theworkdownuntilthebit contacts
piece.
Tighten
theknobandraisethe
stopbaruntilthegapbetween
it and
theturretstopscrewequals
thedepth
of cut.Tighten
thedepthstopclamp
screwandloosen
theplunge
lockknob,
a l l o w i nt gh em o t oar n db i tt o s p r i n g
backup hbove,/eff).Whenyouplunge
thebit intothestock,it willpenetrate
untilthe barcontacts
theturretstop
s c r e wF. o rd e e pc u t s ,i t i s g e n e r a l l y
preferable
to reachyourfinaldepth
youcan
in stages.
0n themodelshown,
setthe heightof theothertwoturret
stooscrews
to makeoasses
at intermed i a t ed e p t h sl:o o s e tnh e n u tw i t ha
wrench
a n dt h e nr a i s eo r l o w etrh e
(above,
right).
screwwitha screwdriver

llililllillllllllllllltlllllllllIIlilltlll}lll fi[filtllllllltl1|l
illl
1HO?TI?
An auxiliaryEub-baeefor wider aute
To makea cuI Nhat is widerNhana parlicular
rouler biL,youwouldnormallymake
o n e ? a e o , m o v e y oeudr q e
quideand makea
secondVaoo,lnotead,
uoean off-oquareoub'
base.Cut a pieceof 1/+inchplywoodinNoan
b -inchoquare.Kemovetrhe
router'esub-baseand
boreNhescrewholeeand
clearanceholelor Nhebit
lhrouqhthe auxiliary
sub-base,
Next,shave1/rcinchof woodfrom
oneed1eof the plywood,l/o
inch
from an adiacenledaeandl/cinch
from a lhiri ed6e.Virk lhe amounf,s
you removedon eacheide,)crewlhe
auxiliarybaselo Ihe roulerand makea paobwilh the
unehaved
edqeridinqaqainetthe quide.Kolate lhe base
and makea eecondpaoethat is \Aa,1/a
or 1/+inchwider
Nhanthe fireN,dependinq
on whichedqeyou uoe,

75

ROUTE,R
ACCESSORIES
incethedevelopment
oitheportable
Q
anerrtire
J router,
seglnent
of thepowertoolindustryhasburgeoned.
Thepurposeof the new activityis to design
accessories
thatwidenthe router'suseftilnessandenhance
its capabilities.
The
a fewof themore
uhotobelowillustrates
populardevices.
Someof theseproducts,likethefoot
switch,maketherouterrnoreconvenient
to use.The switchis esueciallv
handv

with routerswhoseon/off controlsare

not closeto thehandles.
Ifyou usesuch
a device,be sureto disconnect
it from
thetoolwhenyouarechanging
a bit or
performinganyothermaintenance
operation.Thiswill oreventaccidental
startuo of themotoi.
Theedgeandcircleguideenables
a
routerto cut qrooves
a setdistance
in
from theworkpieceedge,rout a molding or followthecontoursof curves.
As
-

shownon page86,thejig alsocanbe

usedto keepa routerbit a uniformdistancefrornthecenterof a workpiece,
ensuring
accurate
circlecuts.
Thedovetailjig isoneofseveralaccessoriesdesigned
to maketheroutera key
part of thejoint-makingprocess.
The
modelshownbelowfeatures
adjustable
fingersthatallowyouto createyourown
dovetailpatternby varyingthe widths
andspacing
of thepinsandtails.

()FACCESS()RIES
A SAMPLING

?late joiner convereion kit

Allowa router to cut slota for
plate or biocuif,jointa. Eody
ofjiq attachea to router baae
plate; kit includeecompresaed
'wood
biscuits and thr;e-wina
elottinq cutter

Clampin7zyotem permita pin and tail

boards to be cut wiLhoameeetup

Foot awitch
For turnin4 router on
and off without uainq
tool'a awitch: allowa
operator to keepboth
handaon router handlea

Edge and airale guide

Adjuotable4uideroda
attach to router baae
plate. Ed4e6uide holde
bit a aet.diaLancefrom
cutter for etraight cuto;
fulcrum pin alloweji4 to
pivot around a centerpoint for cuttinq circlee

Dovetail and boxjoint jig

lnataltedon router table to
replaaeatandard fence; featurea
fine adiuatments that allowfence
to be shifted by precioeamounte

76

E,DGEFORMING
hetheryou arecarvinga decorativemoldinginto a workpiece
or
preparing
boardsfor a joint,shaping
will probablybeoneof yourmost
edges
commonusesof the router.As illustratedin thepages
thatfollow,themannerin whichyouguidethebit alongthe
stockdepends
on thetypeofcutteryou
areusing.With pilotedbits,the pilot
ridesalongtheedge,keeping
penetraWith
tion of thecuttingedges
constant.
non-pilotedbits,the routerbaseplate
runsalongan edgeguideclampedto
theworkpiece,
achieving
thesameresult.
Eithermethodwill work on a straight
edge,but for a curvedcllt youwill need
a pilotedbit. One note of caution:
Kickbackcanoccurat anytime until
the pilot contacts
the stock.So maintaina firm graspon therouter.
Foranyroutingoperation,
be aware
of thefeeddirection.
Asillustrated
below,
it shouldgenerally
be counterto the
directionof bit rotation.Beforestartins
Arredge-fonrtfugbitetclrcsa decorntiveprofile
a cul.,clarnpvourstockto rrworksur'l on tlrc circturrfererrcc
of o tabletop. TIrc crrtter's
faceandmike s,.r.e
pilot ridesnlortgtlrcstockto keep
thattheclamoswill
Itall-bearirrg
notgetrn thewayof therouter'.
tltc cttt ot a wri.fonrrdepth.

R()UTER
FEED
DIRECTI()N

lr-=

t__.__ll

77

Feeding
the router
Moving
t h e r o u t e ri n t h e w r o n gd i r e c t i o n
c a n m a k et h e t o o ld i f f i c u l t o c o n t r o l ,
r e s u l t i n ign k i c k b a cak n dt e a r o u tF. o r
m o s to p e r a t i o ngsu, i d et h e b r t r n t oa w o r k p i e c ea g a i n stth e d i r e c t i o on f b i t r o t a t i o n :
t h i sw i l lt e n dt o p u l lt h e b i t i n t ot h ew o o d .
0n anoutside dgem
, o v et h e r o u t e irn a
c o u n t e r c l o c k wdi si ree c t i o no;n a n i n s i d e
edpe feedthe tool clockwise(/eft).Start
w i t hc u t st h a ta r ea g a i n stth e g r a i n t; h i s
w a y ,y o uw r l lb e a b l et o e l i m i n a t ae n y
t e a r o uw
t i t ht h e c u t sa l o n gt h e g r a i nt h a t
f o l l o w .P o s i t i oyno u r s e sl fo t h a ty o uc a n
p u l l t h e r o u t e rt o w a r dy o u ,r a t h e rt h a n
h a v i n tgo p u s hi t : t h r sw r l le n a b l ye o ut o
s e et h e b r ta t a l l t i m e sT
. h r o u g h o tuht e
operatiom
n ,a i n t a i an f i r m h o l do n t h et o o l
a n da p p l ym o d e r a tper e s s u rteo k e e pt h e
b i t b i t i n gi n t ot h e w o o d .

ROUTER

ANDCURVED
STRAIGHT
CUTS

Koundedcorner

Routing
witha pilotedbit
Clampyourstockto a worksurfacewith
t h e e d g ey o uw a n tt o s h a p ee x t e n d i n g
. olding
o f f t h e t a b l eb y s e v e r ai n
l c h e sH
t h e r o u t e rw i t h b o t hh a n d s r, e s ti t s
b a s ep l a t eo n t h e w o r k p i e caet o n ee n d
w i t h t h e b i t c l e a ro f t h e w o o da n dt u r n
o n t h e t o o l . E a s et h e b r t i n t ot h e s t o c k
u n t i lt h e p i l o tc o n t a c ttsh e e d g e k, e e p i n gt h e b a s ep l a t ef l a t o n t h e w o r k p i e c e
(above,left).Fordeepcuts. maketwo
o r m o r ep a s s e tso r e a c hy o u rf i n a l
d e n t h O n a c r r r v ecdr r t t h e r o u t e b
r it
w i l l r o u n do f f a n yi n s i d ec o r n e ras l o n g
the edgeof the workpiece
bbove.right);
s q u a r et h e s ec o r n e r w
s i t ha c h i s e l .

lnlillJilllllllllllilIlultilt1
llrlillllltlllllllulttllJ
llllllllll
5HO7Tt?
5teadying a router for ourvedcuts
A euVVorN
boardwillhelpkeepyour
rouNerflat,on a workViece
durinqan edqe-forminq
Forcontour
oVeralion.
cuLo,youcan useNhe
. ,/
/ ,/
'
-'
w
v v aa
? z
v vl e p i e cv tet at h
v a|
Ytvvv
' /.' '
remain's
alLer eawing
lhe curve.ClampLhe
workpiece
lo a worksurface,then tack-nailthe
waotepiecealonqoide
iL,far

N
f:,
:I2Y,20,,![iT"'!,i"f
3i3'
clearance
of LhebiL.When
vou makeIhe
cut, lhe rouler willbe ouVVorNed
by boNhNheworkpiece
and the eupportboard.Theonlylimilationie Lhat Nhebi|
piloLcannot prolrudebeyondLheboNtomof NheeIock.

7B

ROUTER

lllfilrllllllltillllltljlllllillilllllllllllflltllltllltillll|llllt
1HO? TI?
Wobble-free
edge rouhin7
lL can be diffi'
-',lt

ta

nno-

vent a router
from wobblinq
whenyou feedthe
Iool alonqNhetop edqe
of a workpiece.
OneeoluIion ie to clam?a oupporL
boardNoyour elock, makinq
eureIhal NheNooedaesof the
Lwoboardeare eixacilylevel.lhe
ou??orl Viecewillcreale a wider
surlaceon whichIo reet Nhe
router ao you maKeIne cut,

79

Using
a non-piloted
bit
Toprepare
forthecut,installa commercialedgeguideontherouter.
Setthe
tooluoside
downona worksurface
and
inserttherodsof theguideintothe
predrilled
holesin therouter
baseplate.
Holda scrapboard
onthebitto help
youposition
theguideforthewidthof
cut,thenbuttitsfenceagainst
the
board.
Tighten
in therouter
thescrews
baseplateto fixtheguidein position
hbove,lefl. f o makethecut,clamp
yourstockto theworksurface.
Then,
keeping
theguidefenceflushagainst
theedgeyouwishto shape,
startthecut
at oneendof theworkpiece
andfeed
therouteralongtheboardedge(above,
right)unlilyoureachtheotherend.

ROUTER

MAKING
A STOPPED
RABBET
Cutting
witha piloted
bit
Setyourstockona worksurface
and
marklines
forthebeginning
andendofthe
rabbeton theedgeyouwishto
stopped
cut.Aligntherabbetting
bitwithoneof the
marks
andclampa board
asa stopblock
flushagainst
to theworkpiece
therouter
baseolate.
Thenlineuothebitwiththe
stopguide
othermarkandclampanother
f irmlywith
in place.
Gripping
therouter
one
bothhands,
buttitsbaseplateagainst
stopblockandgurde
thebit intothestock
at therabbet
startline.Continue
thecut
along
theedgeuntilthebaseplatetouches
theotherstopblock.

Using
a non-piloted
bit
then
Clampyourstockto a worksurface,
marka linefortheendof thestopped
r a b b eot n t h ee d g eo f t h ew o r k p i e c e .
(Therabbet
is
shownin the illustration
s t o p p eadt o n l yo n ee n d . A
) l i g nt h eb i t
onthetoofaceof thestockforthewidth
of therabbet,
thenclampan edgeguide
flushagainst
therouter
to theworkpiece
baseplate.Witha f irmgripontherouter,
feedthe bit intothestockat thestarting
endof therabbet,
butting
therouterbase
plateagainst
theedgeguide.Thenfeed
the bit alongtheedgeof theworkpiece,
keeping
thebaseplateflushagainst
the
guide?ighil.Stopthe cut whenthe bit
r e a c h et hs er a b b eetn dl i n e .

80

DADOCUTS
A lthouqhanyroutercanbe usedto
A make'dado
cuts.it is mucheasier
to cut channels
thatstopin themiddleof
a workpieceif you haveaccess
to a
plungerouter.With thetool flat on your
workpiece,you simply pressthe bit
straightdown into thewood andfeedit
to the end of the cut. With a standard
router,you needto raisethebit clearof
thestockandpivotit into thewood.In
eithercase,
theendofthe stoppeddado
or groovewillbe roundedandwill have
to be scuaredoff with a chisel.
Mosi dado cuts are made with
straightbits.The maximumdepthof a
singlepasswill dependon thehardness

A grooving bit carvesa dado in a

board.Ridingthe router baseplate
along an edgeguide producesa cut
perpendicularto the board edges.

of the wood you aremilling and the

powerof yourrouter.Asa ruleof thumb,
makeseveralpasses
for deepchannels
in hardwood.For cuts whosewidth
exceeds
thediameterof thebitsyouhave
on hand,maketwo or more passes,
repositioning
your edgeguideaftereach
passby an amountequalto thebit diameter.Threeadjacent
passes
with aVq-tnch
bit, for example,
will yielda %-inch-wide
dadoor groove.
Asshownbelow,theedgeguidesuppliedwith routersis a handyprop for
cutscloseto theedgeor endofa workpiece.But you caneasilysetup a guide
for cutsthatarefartherin from thesides.

MAKING
A DADO
CUT

Cutting
a groove
Makea cuttingmarkforthegroove
onthefaceof theworkpiece,
thenscrewa boardto a commercial
edgeguideto serveasan
extension.
Alignthebitwiththecuttingmarkandinstallthe
guideonyourrouter
sothattheextension
isflushagainst
the
edgeof theworkpiece.
Starting
at oneendof theboard,
feed
thebit intothestockwiththeedgeguideextension
f latagainst
theedgeof thestock.Continue
thecut untilyoureachthe
yourclamps
otherend,repositioning
asnecessary.

81

Routing
a dado
Setyourstockon a worksurface
andmakea cuttingmarkfor
thedadoon itsface.Alignthebitwiththemarkandclamp
a board
asanedgeguideto theworkpiece
flushagainst
the
router
baseplate.
Theboard
should
belonger
thanthewidth
of yourworkpiece;
makesurethatit is square
to theedges
of
thestock.
Griptherouter
firmlywithbothhands
andbuttits
baseplateagainst
theedgeguide.Feedthe bit intothestock
at thecuttinglineandmakethecut.

ROUTER

"flt-1flf'1ll1ll"ffi1nll-1Ir.ffiIll1lll
lllllllllfilllllll"lll
1HO?TI?
Eliminatinglearout
and
Rouberbits can aau6eLearouN
oplinLering
aa they exil a workpiece
allhe end of a croooqraindado
c u L T oh e l pq u a r a n '
Iee oplinter'
free resulNs,
oet up
the
,for
?roceaure0y,
ctam?tnq
an eaqe
quideNoNhe

workpiece
(pa6eB1).
Ihenclamp
a
woodblockf,hesameIhicknessa6 your
alonqlhe edqetrom which
workpiece
Nhebit willemerqe.Thepreooureof the
blockaqainol your ebockwillkeeV
tearouf,loa minimum.

DADO
CUTS
T.SOUARE
JIGFOR
TheT-square
at rightwill make
quickworkof dadoes
andgrooves.
plywood,
the.lig
Builtfrom3/+-inch
thatdadocutswill be
ensures
squareto the edgesof yourstock.
Thedimensions
of thejig
onthewidthof thestock
deoend
youwill be usingandthediameter
of yourrouterbaseplate.Make
the edgeguideat leastaslongas
iswide.Thefence
theworkoiece
wideand
shouldbeabout4 inches
longenough
to clampto thestock
withoutgettingin thewayof the

82

w;

77
',/t

,,/

ROUTER

MAKING
A STOPPED
GROOVE
thebitintothestock
1 Plunging
I Setthestockon a worksurface,
then
alignthebitwithoneedgeof theoutline.
Clampa boardasa stopblockto theworkpieceflushwiththerouterbaseplate.
Repeat
ontheotheredgesuntilyouhave
a stopblockonall foursidesof theoutline.Tostartthecutwitha plungerouter,
setthetoolf latontheworkoiece
with
thebitabove
theoutline
andclearof the
stock.Thenloosen
the plungelockknob,
turntherouteron andusebothhandsto
plunge
the bit intothestock(right).
Once
the bit reaches
therequired
depth,lock
theknob.Tostartthecutwitha standard
router,
restitssub-base
ontheworkpiece
withthe bit clearof thestockandabove
theoutline(inset).
Then,gripping
the
toolfirmly,turnit on andlowerthebit
intotheworkoiece
untilthesub-base
is
flatonthesurface.

router,Screwthetwopartsof thejig
together,
checking
witha try square
to makecertainthattheyareperfectly perpendicular
to eachother.Then
clampthe T-square
to a worksurfaceand routa dadoacrossthe
fence.Keepthe routerbaseplate
buttedagainst
theedgeguideasyou
makethecut.
To usethejig,clampit to the
workpiece
withthedadoin thefence
aligned
withthecuttingmarkonthe
stock.Makethe cut, pressing
the routerbaseplatefirmlyagainst
the edgeguide(right).

83

ROUTER

/) Completing
thegroove
L Cuiaetherouterin a clockwise
edges
of
direction
to cuttheoutside
keeping
the baseplate
thegroove,
f lushagainst
a stopblockat alltimes
(abovd.
rout
Tocomplete
thegroove,
feeding
waste,
the
outtheremaining
of bit rotatoolagainst
thedirection
tionasmuchasoossible

lllllllillllllllllllll|llllrllltilIlllllllllllllllllillllllllltllll]ljl]
1HO?Ta?
Roulin1two dadoee
in a oinglepaoo
Fora shelfNoei|
levelin a carca6e,
ilmusl resNin
dadoesaNI'he
oameheiqht,in
bolh oidepan'
elo.Oneway
to ensureLhaN
lhe cuLewillmalch uo is to roullhe Lwo
dadoesat,the eamefime.Clampyouretock
to a workeuriace,makinqsurelhal Lheende
ThenlineuVthe
ol Lheboardearealiqned.
dadoeeyou wieht o cuLwilh t'hepre-cuNchannelin Nhefenceof a I-oquarejiq (paqeB2),
job in a einqlepaee.
and comVletelhe

84

ROUTINGCIRCLES
I idedby a guidethat keepsthebit a
A set distancefrom a centerpoint,
your router can cut arcsand circlesor
add a decorativeflourish by carving
ringsin a workpiece.
Differentstylesof
you
guidesareavailable,
but sometimes
canmakedo with the edgeguidesupplied with your router.Somewoodworkersevenimprovisewith a chain
tetherattachedto the tool'shandle.
While commercialguidescan be
adjustedto cut circlesof varyingdiameters,thelengthof someguideswill limit thesizeofyour circles.Youcanalways
usea shop-builtjig, however,to rout
largerdisks(pages
86 and 87).

plunge
Aswiththecuttingof dadoes,
thantheir
routersaremoreconvenient
for circlecutting.
standard
counterparts
Forthroughcuts,to preventthebit from
marringyourworksurface
whenit finishessevering
thecircle,workatopathin
sheetof scrapwood.Youcanalsoshift
theworkpiece
sothat thepartbeing
routedsticksovertheedgeofthework
surface
asyoucomplete
thecut.
Attached to a commercialguide,
a router can severcirclesfrom
stock-ideal for forming tabletopsand stool seats.

A CIRCLE
CUTTING

routel
Using
a standard
Buttwoodscraps
against
Setyourstockon a worksurface.
thennail
theedges
of theworkpiece
to actasstopblocks,
Toattach
the
themin place.Install
a straight
bit in therouter.
guideshown,
remove
thetool'ssubcommercial
circle-cutting
base,
thenscrew
theguideto thebaseplatethrough
thepredrilledholes.
Determine
theradius
of thecircleyouwishto
between
thecircumference
andthecencut-the distance
fromthe
ontheguide,measuring
ter-andmarkthislength

theguideat thecenter
center
of thebit.Drilla holethrough
of thecircle,halfway
between
theedgesof thejig.Thenscrew
butstillableto swivel.
it to theworkoiece
untilit is secure
Gripping
therouter
firmly,tilt thetooluntilthebit is clearof
thestock.Turnit on andlowerthecutterintotheworkoiece
Movetherouterclockuntiltheguideis flatonthesurface.
wise,readjusting
thecuttingdepthasnecessary
untilyoufinishrouting
thecircle.

85

ROUTER

Working
witha plunge
routel
Setup yourstockandrouterasyou
wouldforworking
witha standard
router
(page85),thenmarktheradiusof the
circleandmarkitscenterooint.
Fora
deepcut,setthecuttingdepthsothat
youcangradually
reach
thefinaldepth
withtwoor morepasses.
Fixthe pivot
pointof a commercial
circle-cutting
guideto thecenter
of thecircle,
then
install
theguideontherouter
sothat
thebit is aligned
withtheradius
mark.
Withthecutterclearof theworkpiece,
griptherouter
f irmlyandplunge
thebit
intothestock.Feedthetoolsteadily
in
a clockwise
direction
untilthecircle
iscompleted,
keeping
therouter
flaton
theworkpiece
throughout
theoperation.

ADJUSTABLE
CIRCTE.CUTTING
JIG
Forcuttingcirclesof different
sizes,
jig shownat
usethe shop-made
righi.Referto the illustration
for
suggested
dimensions
of thecenter
block.Thediameter
of thedowels
depends
onthesizeof thepredrilled
slotsin the baseplateof yourrouter;
makethewooden
rodsat leastas
longastheradiusof the largest
circleyouexpectto cut.
To assemble
thejig, insertthe
dowelsintotheslotsonthe router,
thensetthetoolflat on a worksurface.Buttoneedgeof thecenter
blockagainst
theendsof thedowels
andmarkthetwopointswherethey
touch.At eachspot,borea holeat
leasthalfway
through
the blockwith
a drillbitthesamediameter
asthe
dowels.
Dabsomeglueintothe
holesandinsertthedowels.
then

Centerblock
3/q"x3"x6"

fixthemin olacewithsmallfinishingnails.Next,markthecenterof
theblockandborea holethrough
it for a screw.
Usethejig asyouwoulda comguide(above).
mercialcircle-cutting

86

Screwthe blockto thecenterof the

circleandslidethedowels
along
therouterbaseplateuntilthebit is
aligned
withtheoutline.
Thenrout
thecircle,feeding
therouterin a
clockwise
direction.

ROUTER

COMPASS
JIG
jig at right,shop-made
Thecompass
plywood,
willenable
from7a-inch
youto cut larger
circlesthanis poscirclesiblewithmostcommercial
guides.
The
dimensions
of
cutting
jig
size
of
the willdepend
onthe
yourrouterandthe radiusof the
largest
circlethatyouplanto cut.
partof thejie
Makethecircular
slightlylarger
thanyourtool'sbase
plate.Thearmof thejig shouldbe
wideandlonger
than
about2 inches
theradius
of thecircleyouwillbe
cutting.Cutoutthejig witha band
sawor a sabersaw,thenborea hole
in thecenterof therounded
end,
making
it largeenough
to accommodatetherouterbit.
Tocustomize
thejig foryourrouter,
remove
thesub-base
of thetooland
section
of the
setit onthecircular
jig. Withthe bit centered
overthe
hole,markthepositions
of thescrew
holesin the base.Boretheholes
andattachthejig to yourrouter.
Thendrawa linedownthecenter
of thejig arm.
the
To usethejig,determine
radiusof thecircleyouwantto cut
andtransfer
thislength
to theguide,
measuring
fromthecenterof thebit
drawn.
alongthelineyouhavealready
Marka pointonthearmforthecenterof thecircle,thenborea hole
andscrewthejig to theworkpiece.
Lowerthe bit intothestockasyou
guide(page
wouldfor a commercial
85)andcutthecircle,moving
the
routerin a clockwise
direction
(right,bottom).

87

PATTERNROUTING
p attern routing is a timesaving
I methodof routingmultiplecopies
of the samecontouredshape.Thetechnique involvesmaking a templateof
thepatternyou wishto reproduce,then
using the cut-out shapeto guidethe
routerbit during subsequent
cuts.
The exactprocedureyou follow will
dependon thetypeofbit youareusing.
With the non-pilotedvariety,you need
to attach a templateguide-a metal
collar that surroundsthe bit shank.
Ieavingthe cutting edgesprotruding.
With the pattern clampedatop the
workpiece,the guideridesalongthe
edgeof the cut-out while the bit bites
into the stock.
Wth thepilotedbit shown,you need
only to clampthe templateatopyour
workpiece,sincethe pilot of a pattern
routingbit is abovethe cuttingedges.
The pilot will follow the template,

enabling
thecuttingedgeto reproduce
thepatternon theworkpiece.
Whichever
methodyouuse,makethe
fromdurablewood,suchas
template

A pilot bearingfollowsthecurves
of a paxernwhilethestraightbit
underneath
it reproduces
thedesign
on a workDiece.

plywoodor hardboard.Cut the pattern

with a band sawor a sabersaw,then
carefirllysandtheedgesthat will beguiding the router.The templatemust be
smooth sinceany imperfectionswill
be transferredto your stock.Makethe
templateslightlythickerthantheheight
of the templateguide.
One advantageof usingpiloted bits
is that you canmakethe templatepreciselythesamesizeasthefinishedpieces
you wishto cut.With a templateguide,
youwill haveto compensate
for the differencebetweenthe bit diameterandthe
diameterof the templatecollar.
Patternrouting can be done with
either a plungerouter or a standard
router.If you areworkingwith a plunge
modelyou will needto lock the tool at
its propercuttingdepthbeforeswitching
on themotor.Forthestandardrouter,set
thedepthof cut in the regularmanner.

ROUTING
WITHA TEMPLATE

guide
Installing
andusinga template
plunge
To installtheguide,loosen
theclampscrewontherouterbase riorcutshown,
thebit intothestockasyouwould
plateandremove
partof the
the plate.Insertthethreaded
whenmakinga dadocul (page83),thenfeedthecutterin
(above, a clockwise
guidethrough
theholein the middleof thesub-base
direction
untiltheguidecontacts
thetemplate.
/eft),thenscrewit to the ringto holdthetwotogether;
reassem- Complete
thecut (above,
righil,makingsure
thatthe guideis
bletherouter.
Setyourstockon a worksurface
andclampthe alwayspressed
flushagainst
the edgeof the patternthroughposition.
templateon top of it in thedesired
To makethe inte- outtheooeration.

88

ROUTER

Working
witha piloted
bit
to outline
thepattern
Usethetemplate
thencutoutmostof
onyourworkpiece,
thewastewitha bandsawor sabersaw,
leaving
the
about% inchof stockoutside
line.Place
ontop
cutting
thetemplate
thetwoto a
of yourstockandsecure
worksurface.
Cutthe patternasyou
wouldwhenedgeforming(page78),
keeping
the pilotpressed
upagainst
(above).
theedgeofthetemplate

rllllllll[ rlllflltllllllllltr]llfifiilltllllfilItlllfiIlrlliilIlfirl
k

1HO?TI?

ffi

Atemplatefor mortioing door hingee

iTfri;;,,
fu$

l"

an excellenf,
lechniquefor
cuNtinqmorlises
for hinqeo.Vake
NheNemplatefrom
a boardthaLiswide
e n o u 4 hL o o u V p o r tl h e
rouler.)ulline the hinaeleaf
lo
on the template,rememberinq
comVeneaLe
for the templaNeryuide,
if
you are uoinqone.CULoutNhetemplate,
then outlinethe hinqeleafonLheedgeof Lhework'
Clamplhe workViece
lo a oupporl board,Lheneecure
piece.
boLhpieceeedqe-uVin a viee.)crew the templabeNolhe eupporLboard,aliqninq
NhecuL-ouIwiLhlhe oullineon Nhedoor
edqe.lnelalla elraiqhNbiI in NherouNerto makelhe cuI,
Ihen ueea chieelto equareNhe
cornere.

89

THE ROUTERASSHAPER
ith its bit whirringat 20,000 for instance-can also be used in
rpmor faster,
theroutercanbe hand-heldwork, routertablebits are

you much greaterflexibilitywhen

preparing
stockforjoineryor cutting
decorative
shapes.

generallysignificantlylarger,giving
somewhatintimidating.Amongthe
manybenefits
of installing your routerin a table
is the extra margin of
safetysuchan arrangement provides.Solidly
mountedto a tablewitn
its bit barelyprojecting
abovethe work surface,
the routerseemsmuch
moremanageable.
The routertableadds
a rangeofversatilitythat
no othersingleaccessory can provide.Among
other things, it frees
your handsto feedstock
into the tool, allowing
you to exert greater
controlon the cutting
operation.In addition,
thereare bits that can
only be usedon a tablemountedrouter.While
some of the cutters
Fittedwith a chamferingbit
andsuspended
upsidedownin a speshownin theillustration
ciallydesigned
table,a routerbecomes
a stationarytool-in this
joint.
below-the beadingbit,
case,cuttinga decorative
V-groove
for a tongue-and-groove

Commercialrouter
tables are availablein
manysizesandconfigurations.All modelshave
a guardto coverthe bit;
manyfeaturean adjustablefenceand a groove
for a miter gauge.Cutt i n g d e p t ho n a r o u t e r
tabledepends
on how far
the bit protrudes;the
width of cut will depend
on how much of the bit
extends
beyondthefence.
On commercialtables,
the fenceis commonly
split.The two halvesare
n o r m a l l yl e f t i n a l i g n ment for shallowcuts;
the outfeedfencecanbe
set behind the infeed
fencefor moreaggressive
removalof stock.For a
routertable,
customized
you canalsobuild your
own (page94).

ROUTER
TABI-E
BITS

t
t

tl

&
,--)

Deadingbit

l_1

-6 riH

rq-

-:

t-l
t l

t l

l
[-

Ntffit

-d.

tr-cl

r*

-- 'It

drc*
-

Elx,l

t_l
l*;D

ffi

tl

ffi
t-l

L___?

l---_l
Fanel-raiainqbit

r-l

Coprnqbif,
(Kailcutter)

1f,ickin7 bit
lC+ila

90

rt t+ar\

Door lip bit.

Gluejoint
bit

ROUTER

SETTING
UPA ROUTER
TABLE

therouter
inthetable
1 Mounting
yourrouter
I Install
in a tablefollowing
themanufacturer's
instructions.
Forthemodelshown,
loosen
theclampscrewon
the routerbaseplateandremove
the platefromthe body
of thetool.Unscrew
thesub-base
andfastenthe baseolateto
t h e u n d e r s i doef t h e r o u t etra b l e a, l i g n i ntgh e p r e d r i l l e d
holesin theplatewiththosein thetable.Install
a bit in the
router,
thenscrewthebodyof thetoolintothe baseplate.
Tightenthe clampscrew(above).

r) Adjusting
thefence
Z. Loosen
the fouradiustment
screwsandmovethe two
halves
of thefenceascloseasoossible
to thebitwithouttouchingthecuttingedges.
Tighten
thescrews,
thensetthewidthof
cut,moving
thefencebackfromthe bit for a widecut and
pass.Fora cuttingwidthequalto the
advancing
it fora shallow
diameter
ofthepilotedpanel-raising
bitshown(page90),loosen
the fourthumbscrews
behindthefence.Thenholda straight
boardagainst
thefenceandmovebothhalves
together
untilthe
boardcontacts
thepilot(above).
Tighten
thethumbscrews.

ROUTING
A M(ITDING
Making
thepass
Toholdtheworkpiece
in place,
clamp
twofeatherboards
to thetableasshown.
Besureto feedthestockintothecutter
against
thedirection
of bit rotation.
With
yourworkpiece
clearof thebit,turnonthe
routerandslowlyfeedthe stockinto
t h ec u t t i n ge d g ew h i l eh o l d i n igt f l u s h
against
the fence.To keepyourhands
safelyawayfromthebit,finishthepass
witha pushstick.Position
thesafetyguard
overthe bit whenever
oossible.

9I

ROUTER

ROUTER
TABTE
MITER
GAUGE
lf youdo nothavea mitergauge
or
if yourroutertabledoesnothavea
jig
slotforone,usetheshop-made
shown
at rightto guidestockaccurately
across
thetable.Thisdevice
i s e s p e c i a lhl ye l p f uf lo r k e e p i n g
perpendicular
long,narrow
boards
to thefencewhilecuttingintotheir
ends.Sincethefencebuttsagainst
theworkpiece,
thejig alsohelpsto
reduce
tearout.
T h ed i m e n s i oonfst h ej i g w i l l
depend
onthesizeof yourtable,but
thosesuggested
in theillustration
are
suitable
formostcommercial
models.
Thelengthof thegauge-less
the
thickness
of theguide-should
not
exceed
thedistance
between
thebit's
pilotandtheedgeof thetable.
Toassemble
thejig,screw
togetherthegauge
andsupport
board,
makingsurethattheyarealigned
at one
end.Countersink
thescrews
into
thefaceof thegauge.
Thenscrew
t h i sa s s e m b il n
y t ot h et o pe d g e
of theguide.
position
To usethemitergauge,
rt ontheinfeed
sideof thebitwith
t h eg u i d ef l u s ha g a i n st th ee d g e
of thetable.Thenbutttheendof
t h ew o r k p i e caeg a i n st h
t ef e n c e
whileholding
itsedgeflushagainst
Withthethumbs
thegauge.
of both
hands
hooked
overthejig, pushthe
workpiece
andthegauge
together
to makeIhe cut (right).

shtt

x 2tt x 11

t/:tt

9upport board
3l:"x13/.i'x10t/2"

92

ROUTER

MAKING
A STOPPED
CUTONA ROUTER
TABTE
'l

Setting
upthecut
I Marka cuttinglineontheface
of theworkpiece
fortheendof the
cut.Aligntheendof thestockwith
t h ec u t t i n e
g d g eo f t h eb i t ,t h e n
d r a wa l i n eo n a s t r i po f m a s k i n g
tapeto marktheposition
of thecutterwhenit is hidden
bytheworkpiecetight).

r) Feeding
thestock
L Wttntheworkpiece
clearof the
bit,position
theguardandturnon
therouter.Press
thestockflush
a g a i n st ht ef e n c e
w h i l ef e e d i nigt
i n t ot h eb i t .S t o pt h ec u to n c et h e
lineof theworkpiece
cutting
meets
the bit location
mark(left).

93

ROUTER

'iill1-i!if1151,1.',
; ir "+r.l
),al?.:
.

gccepttfie
:.

94

ROUTER

sub-base
fromthe baseplate.Remove
theolatefromtherouterandusean
awlto markitsscrewholeswithinthe
recess(right,top).Boreholesfor the
screws,
thenfit a drillwitha holesaw
or spadebit widerthanyourlargest
routerbit andcut a holethrough
the
centerof thetop. Mountthe base
plateunderneath
thetabletop.
Usescrews
to assemble
thepartsof
thetable.Youcaneithercountersink
thefasteners
or counterbore
the holes
forthem,andthenconceal
thescrew
heads
withwoodplugs.
Tomakethefence,cut a notchout
of its bottomedgeto accommodate
yourlargest
bit. Next,cutslotsfor bolts
(Theslotswill
in thefencesupports.
you
allow to movethefenceto setthe
widthof cut.)Thenscrewonthesupports.Boreholesfor boltsandsecure
the fencesupports
to the tabletop
withwingnuts,boltsandwashers.
Attacha clearplasticguardwitha
hingeto allowit to be raised
outof
(right,below).
the wayif necessary
Fasten
a combination
switchreceptable
to oneof the legs.Wirea
powercordlongenough
to reacha
nearbyoutlet.Whenyouusethetable,
plugintherouter
and leaveits motor
on.Usethetable'sswitchto turn
thetoolon andoff.
Theroutertablecanbeusedthesame
wayasa commercial
model(page91).
Tosetthewidthof cut,loosen
thewing
nuts,slidethefenceto theappropriate
position
andtightenthe nuts.

95

ROUTER

TABLE
JOINTING
WITHA ROUTER
upthetable
1 Setting
I Installa straight
bit in the router,
witha cuttingedgelonger
thanthethickTo remove
7ro
nessof yourworkpiece.
inchof woodfromyourstock-a typical
whenjointing-adjust
theposiamount
tionof thefencefora cutof thatamount.
Makea testcut a fewinchesintoa scrao
board,
thenholdtheboardin placeagainst
thefence.Fora routertablewithanadjustthefencethumbablesplitfence,loosen
(/eft)andadvance
theoutfeedhalf
screws
the cut partof the
untilit buttsagainst
lf your
stock.Tighten
thethumbscrews.
fence,fasten
routertablehasa one-piece
a stripof veneer
on theoutfeedsidethe
of stockremoved
samewidthastheamount
in thetestcut.

Jointing
anedge
Butttheworkpiece
against
the
routertablefencea fewinches
from
feedthestockinto
thebit.Slowly
thecutter(righil,whilekeepingit
pressed
thefence.
snuglyagainst
justto the
Applysidepressure
outfeed
sideof the bit.

96

ROUTERIOINERY

Sixjointsfashionedwith a router:
(clockwise
from bottomleft) a miter-andspline,a tongue-and-groove,
a dovetailspline,
a half-blinddovetail,a slidingdovetail
anda mortise-and-tenon.

-|1 h. router's
abilityto plungeinto
I woodandcutprecise
grooves
makes
it anexcellent
toolforjoinery.Thepages
thatfollowprovidea sampling
of the
jointsyoucancutwith therouter.You
canroughout a mortisefreehand,
as

shownbelow.But manyiobsarebest
executedwith the aid of a special-purposejig or a router table.Commercial
mortise-and-tenon
anddovetailjigs,for
example,canhelp makejoints quickly
andwith unerringaccuracy.

Forthelongcutsrequired
in making
tongue-and-groove
andslidingdovetail
joints,theroutertableis considered
by
manywoodworkers
to bea necessity.
It
will giveyou muchgreatercontrolin
feeding
thestockpastthebit.

MAKING
A MORTISE
Routing
outthecavitywitha plunge
router
Cutthetenonwitha tablesawor handsawanduseit to outline
themortise
on yourstock.Secure
theworkpiece
in
a workbench,
alongwitha boardof the
samewidth.Theboardwillprovide
extra
support
fortherouterasyoumakethe
cut;makesurethatthetopedgesof the
twopieces
arelevel.Install
a mortising
bit in therouter
thesamediameter
asthe
widthof themortise,
thensetthe depth
of cut. Fora deepmortise,
adjustthe
toolto makeoneor moreintermediate
passes.
Center
thebitovertheoutline
and
installa commercial
edgeguideonthe
router
withthefenceflushagainst
theedge
of theworkpiece.
Holding
thetoolfirmly,
plunge
thebit intothestockat oneend
of theoutline,
thenfeedthecutterto the
otherend(/eftl.Secure
theworkpiece
in handscrews
asshown
in theinsetand
square
thecorners
of themortise
witha
chisel,
keeping
thebladesquare
to the
workpiece
andthebevelfacingthewaste.

97

ROUTER

JIG
ROUTING
WITHA MORTISE.AND.TENON
upthejig
1 Setting
I A s s e m bal ec o m m e r c im
a lo r t i s e jigfollowing
and-tenon
themanufacturer's
instructions.
Themodelshownallows
youto cut boththemortise
andtenonwith
thejig to
the samesetup.To prepare
makethecut,fit thestopin thefenceat
of thedevice.
Secure
the
themortise-end
jig in a vise,
to
thenclamptheworkpiece
it withtheendof theboardbuttedagainst
the
thestopandtheedgeflushagainst
Protect
thestockwith
template
asshown.
woodpads(/eff).Installthe bit supplied
Toset
withthetemplate
in yourrouter.
thecuttingdepth,holdthetool'sbase
plateagainst
theedgeof thetemplate
andalignthetip of thebitwiththebotnotch.
tomof thedeoth-of-cut

with
Routing
themortise
router
a plunge
f latonthejig template
Holdtherouter
withthe bit centered
overoneendof
thebit intothe
themortise
slot.Plunge
stock(right),thenfeedthe toolalong
to theotherendof theslot
thetemplate
to finishthecut.Makesureyoukeepthe
theinside
edges
of the
bit pilotagainst
(Router
theoperation.
slotthroughout
removed
for clarity.)Remove
sub-base
t h ew o r k p i e cf reo mt h ej i g a n dt h ej i g
fromthevise.

98

ROUTER

Adjusting
thejig forthetenon
Fitthestooin theslotin thefence
atthetheopposite
endofthejig.Unscrew
t h et e m p l a t ae n ds h i f ti t t o w a r d
the
tenon-end
slotssothatoneof thealignmentpinsonthejig bodyis exposed
as
s h o w nR. e f a s t et h
n et e m p l a t et h, e n
secure
thejig andthetenonworkpiece
in thevise:position
theboardsothatits
edgebuttsagainst
thestopanditsend
(rrghf).
restsagainst
thetemplate

Routing
thetenon
Thetenoniscutintwooasses.
Makethe
firstcutthesamewayyourouted
themortisein step2, ridingthepilotalongthe
insideedges
of thetenon-end
slots(/eff).
Thenturnoff the routerandunscrew
the
template
fromthejig body.
Turnthetemplateoverend-for-end
andrefasten
it to
t h ej i g ,k e e p i nt h
g es a m ea l i g n m e p
n itn
exposed
asforthefirstpass,
thenfinish
routing
thetenon.

99

ROUTER

J()INT
MAKING
A TONGUE.AND-GROOVE
thegroove
1 Cutting
l l na p p r o p r i a t e - st ihzreede I I n s t aa
w i n gs l o t t i ncgu t t eirn t h er o u t e tr h, e n
m o u ntth et o o li n a t a b l eA
. d j u stth e
fenceto makethewidthof cutequalto
(page91).f o setthe
the bit diameter
c u t t i nd
g e p t hp, l a c e
t h ew o r k p i e fclea t
o nt h et a b l ea n dc e n t et rh eb i to nt h e
edgeof thestock.Foraddedstabilrty,
tothetable,
and
clamponefeatherboard
thebit.
a second
oneto thefenceabove
( l nt h ei l l u s t r a t i oonntsh i sp a g et ,h e
forclariis removed
upperfeatherboard
With
the
stock
clear
of
the
bit,turn
ty.)
router
feed
the
workonthe
andslowly
pieceintothecutter(/e/f).
Finish
the
passwitha pushstick.

r) Gutting
thetongue
fromthetable,
Z- Remove
therouter
insert
brtandremount
a straight-cutting
t h et o o l .A d j u stth ef e n c et o m a k et h e
w i d t ho f c u te q u atlo t h ed e p t ho f t h e
groove
youhavealready
cut.Thecutting
of stock
depthshould
equaltheamount
r e m a i n i nogn e i t h esr i d eo f t h eg r o o v e .
F e e dt h ew o r k p i e ci ne t ot h ec u t t e r
a si n s t e p1 .

100

ROUTER

A HATF.BLIND
D()VETAIT
I()INT
CUTTING
'l

inthejig
Securing
theboards
jig
I Setupa router forcuttingdovetails
following
instructions.
themanufacturer's
youto routthe
Themodelshown
allows
p i n sa n dt a i l so f a h a l f - b l i n
dd
ovetailjoint
witha singlesetup.Togetthejig ready,
slidethetwostoobarsonthe left-hand
s i d eo f t h ej i g b o d yo u to f t h ew a yb y
l o o s e n i nt hg es e t s c r e wasn dh e xn u t s
h o l d i ntgh e mi n p l a c eL. o o s etnh e
knobsandremove
the pattern.
template
Install
inside
faceoutin the
bothboards
j i g :t h et a i l b o a r da g a i n st ht ef r o n to f
t/qinch
thejig bodywithitsendprojecting
above
thebody,andthepinboardflat
onthejig buttedagainst
thetail board.
Position
thetemplate
ontheworkpieces
leaving
a gapof te/zz
inchbetween
the
endof the pin boardandthe bottomof
Turntherod
thetemplate
slots(lnsef).
nutsforfineadjustment
of thetemplate's
position,
knobs
thentighten
thetemplate
to secure
thepattern
in place.
Toposition
thestockforthecut,marka line%ainch
fromtheleft-hand
edgeof the pin board.
S l i d et h eb o a r d
o v e tro a l i g nt h em a r k
withthe left-hand
edgeof thef irsttemp l a t es l o t .U s et h ec l a m p i nkgn o bt o
(left,top).
secure
the boardin position
Thenmovethetailboardsothatits lefthandedgeis %oinchfromtheedgeof
the pin board(left,bottom).Buttthe
theboards
and
twostopbarsagainst
f i xt h e mr np l a c e .

r01

ROUTER

Routing
thedovetails
yourrouterto cut %-inch
To prepare
guide
dovetails,
install
a %-inchtemplate
on the tool (page88).Inserta l/z-inch
dovetail
bit andsetthecuttingdepthto
2r/sz
inch.Routthe pinsandtailsin two
passes.
Startthefirstpassat the righth a n de d g eo f t h et a i l b o a r dc; u t i n a
straight
lineto itsleft-hand
running
edge,
guidealong
thetemplate
thetipsof the
slots.Thiswillremove
abouthalfof the
wastewoodfromthetailboard.
Thenrout
backin theopposite
direction,
following
thecontours
Movein
of thetemplate.
a n do u to f t h es l o t sk, e e p i ntgh eg u i d e
flushagainst
theedges
of thefingers
at
all times.Continue
to theright-hand
edge
of the boards(right).Thispasswill cut
thepinsandremove
theremaining
waste
fromthetailboard.

ROUTING
A MITER.SPLINE
JOINT
Cutting
thegrooves
Make45' mitercutsat bothendsof the
workpiece.
Thenmountyourrouterin a
t a b l ew i t ha t h r e e - w i ns gl o t t i n cgu t t e r
andsetthewidthanddepthof cut asyou
wouldto cutthegroove
fora tongue-andjoint (page100).Feedthe stock
groove
i n t ot h eb i tw i t ha m i t e g
r a u g eh,o l d i n g
theedgeof the boardflushagainst
the
gauge
andonemitered
endflatalong
the
fence.Repeat
to cutthegroove
in theother boardend(lefil.Cuta splinefor each
joint,making
eachonetwiceaswideas
thegroove
depth,less%oinchforclearance.Formaximum
strength,
useplywood
o r s o l i dw o o dc u tw i t ht h eg r a i no f t h e
splines
running
across
theirwidth,rather
thanalong
theirlength.

r02

ROUTER

MAKING
A STIDING
DOVETAIL
JOINT
groove
a preliminary
straight
1 Cutting
groove
in twopasses,
I Cuta dovetail
f irstwitha straight-cutting
bit to remove
mostof thewaste
wood,
andthenwitha
dovetail
bitto complete
For
thegroove.
+L^ {:,^r ^^^^ :^^+^il ^ ^tr:iohf_nrrffino
Uttr ilt5L pd5), ilt>tdil d ).,-,o.,,

, e nm o u ntth et o o l
b i t i n y o u r o u t e rt h
i n a t a b l eS. e t h ec u t t i n d
g e p t ht,h e n
position
thefence
forthewidthofcutby
centering
anedgeof theworkpiece
over
thebitandbutting
thefenceagainst
the
faceof thestock.Clamoa featherboard
to thetableto secure
theworkpiece
duringthecut.Feed
thestockintothebitwith
bothhands,
making
sureyoukeepthe
flushagainst
workpiece
thefence(right).
C o m p l ettheep a s sw i t ha p u s hs t i c k ,
thenremove
therouterfromthetable.

r) Making
groove
thedovetail
L for thesecond
a dovetail
oass.install
bit in therouter.
Feedtheworkpiece
into
thebitthesamewayyoucutthestraight
groove,
takingcareto press
theedgeof
thestockflatagainst
thetablethrough(left).
outthe operalion

103

ROUTER

Routing
thematching
dovetail
slide
Withthedovetail
bitstillrntherouter,
l o w e trh e c u t t i n gd e p t hs l r g h t ltyo m a k e
t h e s l i d es h o r t etrh a nt h e d e p t ho f t h e
S r o o v et h; i sw i l l i m p r o v teh e f i t o f t h e
j o i n t .M o v et h ef e n c et o w a r dt h e b i t u n t i l
e x a c t l yh a l ft h e d i a m e t eor f t h e c u t t e r
p r o j e c tb
seyond
t h e f e n c e t, h e ns h i f tt h e
f e a t h e r b o aar d
c c o r d i n g lCy u
. tt h e s l i d e
i n t w o p a s s e sr,e m o v i n tgh e w a s t ef r o m
e a c hs i d ea t a t i m e .l V a k et h e f i r s tp a s s
t h e s a m ew a yy o uc u t t h e g r o o v er.u n n i n g
t h e f a c eo f t h e w o r k p i e cael o n gt h ef e n c e .
T o f i n i s hc u t t i n gt h es l i d e t, u r nt h e w o r k p i e c ea r o u n da n d m a k et h e s e c o n dp a s s
w i t ht h e o p p o s i t fea c eo f t h e s t o c kf l u s h
aoainct lha fonea /laff)

CUTTING
A DOVETAIL
SPLINE
J()INT
'l

Preparing
thejig
p
e
r f e c t lm
y a t c h i n g r o o v eisn t o
I T oc u t
t h e e n d so f t w o b o a r d sf o r a d o v e t a si l o l i n e
j o i n t ,u s et h ej i g s h o w na t r i g h t s. h o p - b u i l t
f r o m7 a - i n c hp l y w o o dR. e f e tr o t h e i l l u s t r a tion for suggested
dimensions.
Beforeassemhlinq thp iiq nrrt ihp nv:l-c.h:npd clnt in tho
" ' ' ' ' b . ' i v l i b ' v v !

m i d d l eo f t h e b a s ew i t h a s a b e rs a w ;t h e
h o l es h o u l db e l a r g ee n o u g ht o a c c o m m o d a t et h e r o u t e rb i t y o uw i l l u s et o c u t t h e
ornn\/pq Thpn

m:kp

45o hpvplc:t

thp tnn

endsof the armsandthe bottomendsof the

s u p p o r bt r a c k e t sF. a s t e nt h e a r m st o t h e
b a s ea n dt h e s u p p o r bt r a c k e ttso b o t ht h e
b a s ea n dt h e a r m sw i t h s c r e w sa n dg l u e .
M a k es u r et h a tt h e a r m sa r ep e r f e c t lpy e r p e n d i c u l at o
r e a c ho t h e r c; h e c kt h a tt h e
j o i n t b e t w e e tnh e m i s c e n t e r e d
u n d e rt h e
s l o t .I n s t a lal d o v e t a ibl i t i n y o u rr o u t e r ,
s e c r r rteh' "eJi ibp "i n
' a v i s e t h e nc u t a c h a n n e l
t h r o u g ht h e s l o ta c r o s st h e m i t e r e de n d so f
t h e a r m s .T u r no f f t h e t o o la n d ,w i t ht h e b i t
s t i l lr nt h e c h a n n e b
l ,u t ta b o a r da s a n e d g e
g u i d ea g a i n stth e t o o l ' sb a s ep l a t e t, h e n
screwit to the jig base(right).

RA
a 9aQ
e
U

o xl?

Arm
51/+"x13"

104

al^+

JIL' D

1,,., Err
I

A .)

9upport brackeL
51/+"x61/2"

ROUTER

r) Routing
thegrooves
45" bevelcutsat the mating
L ltiat<e
thenmarkcutendsof bothworkpieces,
Position
the
tinglinesforthegrooves.
workpieces
in thelig underthearms,
endsbuttedagainst
withtheirbeveled
yourouted
eachotherunderthechannel
in step1. Alignthecuttinglinesonthe
withtheedges
of thechannel,
boards
thensecure
themin placewitha clamp.
To routthegrooves,
repeatthecut you
m a d et o r o u t h ec h a n n efle, e d i ntgh e
bit through
theendsof bothworkpieces.
Besureto keeptherouterflatonthejig
baseasyoumakeIhe cut (right).

Making
thedovetail
splines
Youwillneedsolines
to fit intothe
grooves
cut in step2. To makeenough
joints,routa dovetail
splines
forseveral
dovetail
slideasyouwouldfora sliding
joinl(page104),usingthesamedovetail
Thencutthe
bitthatcutthegrooves.
slidefromtheedgeof theboardon a
tablesaw.Feedthestockwithyourright
handasshown,
making
surethatyour
f i n g e ras r en o ti n l i n ew i t ht h e b l a d e .
(Caution:
Bladeguardremoved
forclarity.)
Then
Cuttheslideintoindividual
solines.
clampthematingboards
to a worksurface,spread
somegluein thegrooves
a n do nt h es p l i n easn dd r i v et h e mi n
p l a c ew i t ha m a l l e tO. n c et h eg l u eh a s
cutandsandtheendsofthesplines
dried,
f lushwiththe boards.

105

PIAEIOINER
supplyof whiteor yellow
opularwith European
glue.(Platejoinersarealso
cabinetmakers
since
platejoiners
known as biscuitjoiners
the1950s,
are
stillanovehto manyNorth
because
ofthe centralrole
American woodworkers.
the woodbiscuitsplay in
Thisis destined
ttrejoinerymethod.)Three
to change,
for althoughaplatejoineris
differentsizesof wafersare
available,
depending
onthe
usuallydesigned
to perform
onlyonetask-joining two
thickness
of thestockthat
youarejoining.
boards-it doesthat job
Platejoinersarerelativeveryquicklyandwell.The
a retractable,
Mountedin a benchtopstand,theplatejoiner becomes
ly safeto use;thebladeprotool features
jects from the tool only
a stationarytool keepingyourhandsfreetofeedstock
spring-mounted
bladethat
whileit is cutting.Theyare
cutsslotsin matingworkinto the cutterfor a seriesof identicalcuts.
pieces.
Glueisappliedto the
alsoforgivingtools.Because
slotsandanoval-shaped
biscuitof compressed
beechisinsert- theslotsarecut slightlylargerthanthebiscuits,a groovecan
edin eachone.Thewoodenwafersrapidlyabsorbtheadhe- beoflcenterbyasmuchas%oinchwithoutaffecting
thealignjoint wouldadd
siveandswell,makinga solidjoint.
mentof ajoint.Thesameerrorin a dovetail
fu thissectionof thebookshows,platejoineryis a simple anotherpieceofwoodto yourscrappile.
(page112)orjoin
wayto fastenboardstogether
Mostplatejoinersareequipped
to cutslotsateither90oor
edge-to-edge
panels
carcase
atthecorners(pagell4),whethertheendsare 45oto thetop faceof thestock.Whiletheseangleswill cover
It isalsoaquickmethodfor installing
youshouldconsider
square
or beveled.
shelves mostjointsyouarelikelyto design,
buy(page116).
ing ajoinerwith anadjustable
fence.It will enableyouto cut
in a carcase
joint, a slotat anyanglefrom 0oto 90o.
Compared
to cuttingadovetailor mortise-and-tenon
Posiblyin response
operating
aplatejoinerisrelativelysimple.
Thetool'sfaceplate
to theimpression
thatplatejoinersare
guidelines
isbuttedagainst
theworkpiece,
onthetoolarealigred strictlyone-dimensional
tools,mostmanufacturers
nowoffer
withcuttingmarls
blades
asanoption.Somehaveevendesigned
onthestochandthemotorhousingisthenwood-trimming
pushedforward,plungingthebladeinto thewood.Theonly theirjoinersto serveasmini-powersaws,
whichcancomfortyouwill needareanassortment
accessories
of biscuitsanda ablytrim a plywoodpanelor cutgrooves.

With a sprayof sawdust,a platejoiner cutsa semicircular

slot
in a taperedleg.A woodbiscuitandgluewill beaddedto thecut
and thenfitted into a matingslotin a rail. Theresultingjoint will
beasstrongasa mortise-and-tenon-andfar easierto make.

r07

ANATOMYOF A PLATEIOINER
: -' ' houghall platejoinerscut slotsin
e s s e r t t i i r ltlhl e s r r r r rrev i r y t, h c i r '
designs
difler.Mostjoiners,Iiketheone
shclrvn
opposite,
hai,emotorsmolrntedin linen ith thecutterlvheel;
to cllta
slotthehousingis pushedfbrnardso
the blacleprotrudesthroughits openingandplunges
intothestock.An alternate designfeaturesa r.r.rotol
and a
handler.r"ronnted
at an angleto thecutterrvheel-eitherrviththemotorcont-

cuta biscLrit
slot.A third,less-common
option is the stationaryplatejoiner
(ltelow,
/ef),a usefuladditionfbr a shop
thatdepends
heavilyon platejoineri,.
Alljoinersharea depth-of-cut
adjustmentfor eachof thethreebiscLrit
sizes.
Somemodelsofferadditionalsettings
to cut slotsfor iiccessories
suchashinges
andknockdownfittings.Otherdesirablefeatures
to look for whenbuyinga
tool includeanadjustable
fencefor cutnlptplrr rrrrriolrl rrr :r( in llrc inirrcr
ting
slots
in
beveled
surfaces,
a fixedr . . . . , / . ' r , . b . . . . , ' . , ] . , , ' ' . '
iliustratedin the photo (below,riglt),
trnglefencethat ref-erences
the cutter
at a 4-5o
angleto theblade.In thiscase, lvheelto thetop faceofa lvorkpiece,
and
thehandlemustbe pivotedfbnvardto
a dustcollection
bag.

PLATE
JOINER
SAFETY
TIPS
. U n p l u gt h e p l a t ej o i n e rb e f o r e
c h a n g i nag c u t t e rw h e e ol r b l a d e .
. K e e pc u t t e rw h e e l sa n d b l a d e s
c l e a na n ds h a r pr; e p l a c a
e n yd a m aopd errftins odsps

. l f y o u rj o i n e ri s e q u i p p e w
d i t ha
b l a d eg u a r d k. e e pi t i n p l a c ea n d
in goodworkingorderwhenopera t i n gt h e t o o l .
. Keepyourhandsawayfrom the
cutterwheelslotof the joiner
whenthe tool is operating.
. Alwaysclampstockto a work
surfacw
e h e nc u t t i n gi n t oe n d
grainor into a miteredsurface.

Tlrorrksto itsdiagonttllyrttotrrrtcd
ttrotortttd lnrulle
osscrrrLtly,
tltis.loirttcr/splirrer
docsrtroretlnrt crrfs/of-s
it cttrtolsoscnle(l-so pltycr saw.litr afttirrg
fitr Itisctrits;
orrtltrirrrrrrirrg
-sfock.
A-stvith tttlrcr.loirters,
it is tt good
ideoto try a cut.t'rrst
itt tt scroppiecco.l'tvood.

7-lris
plotc.loirrcr
statiorrary
ctttsdown ortthc scttrptir,rt
rctlttiredJbr protlttction.ittirrcry.Tltc rrrochirte.fbonLres
n
rrretnl.l'errcc
turd rrritcrgnugcto gtide stockncro-s-s
itstnble
wlrcrrctrttirtggrooye-s,
s lrold-don,rr
chrrtpto scctffe(t
workpiccc
ttrrdo .fo<ttsrvitclr
.fitrplotc.loirtirrg,

r0B

-t
PLATEIOINER

Depth atop
Stopa plunqinqaction of
cutter wheelwhenit touchea bottom of hole in depth
adjuatment knob

5pindle loak
Depreaaed to keep
apindlafrom turnin4
whencutter wheelor
blade ia ahanqad

Onloff awitah
Can be locked
in On poaition

Depth adjuatment knob

For aettinq cuttin7 depth
of cutter wheel.Uaually
haa aettin7a for thraa
d iffe rent- eized bisc uita;
each aettin7 aliqna a hole
of different depth to
acce7t depth atop, May
haveadditional oettinqa
for othar uaea

Locking nut
Seaureabaae plate
to motor houoinq

Blade slot

Teneion epring
Retracta cutter
wheelinto ita
houoinqonce
alot ia cut
Eaae plate

Loaklng lever
)eta adiuatable
fence ai any an7le
from O"to 90"

Adjuatable fenae
Keepofa ceplate perpendic uIa r
to beveledaurface: fence reate
on top of workpieceduring cuY
Fixed-angle fence
Sete qap batweancutter whael
and top face of workpiece;elidea
up and down on adjuatable fenoe

Faceplate
Keepacutter wheelperpendicular to aurface of workpiece;features anti-elip apuro to prevent
faceplate from movinqwhile
wheelia plunqin7into atock

109

PLATEIOINERACCESSORIES
tI- h. mostimportantaccessories
for
I a platejoinerarethebiscuits
used
to join boardsor panels.
Woodbiscuits
comein threesizes(photo,opposite);
as
a generalrule, the sizeof the biscuit
increases
with thethicknessofthe stock
beingjoined.
Beechbiscuitsaremuchstrongerthan
theyappear.Thewoodenwafersarecut
with the grainrunningdiagonalto their
edges,makingthem virtually impossible to snapdownthe middle.Theirsurfacesalsofeaturean embossed
crosshatch
pattern.This helpsglueadhereto the
biscuits,which swell as they absorb
the adhesive.
Othertlpes of biscuitsarealsoavailable.Thereareplastictypesthat helpto
hold ajoint togetherwhenclampingthe
piecesis difficult or impractical.And
therearemetalknockdownfittingsthat
meshtogether,soasto allowfurnitureto
without glue,andthenbe
be assembled
takenapartagain.Thesespecialtybiscuitsareonly availablein the largesize.
The standardcutterwheelsupplied
with someplatejoinerscanbeexchanged
for a wood-trimmingor groovingblade,
transformingthejoinerinto a powersaw
that can makequick work of cutting
groovesfor splinesor trimming thin plywood panelsto width. Althoughthe
teethon the cutterwheelshouldhold a
sharpcuttingedgethroughyearsofuse,
they may needto be sharpenedfrom
time to time.

INSTALLING
A WOOD-TRIMMING
BTADE

Changing
a blade
U n s c r etw
h en u t sh o l d i ntgh eg u a r di n p l a c ea n ds e ti t a s i d eF. i tt h eo p e n - e n d
wrench
supplied
withthetoolaround
theinnerclampwasher
under
thecutterwheel.
Thenloosen
theouterclampwasher
byturningit clockwise
withthe pinwrench.
gloves
yourhandsin caseoneof thewrenches
Wearleather
to protect
slips.Remove
t h ew a s h earn dt h ec u t t ew
r h e eflr o mt h es p i n d l et h, e ni n s t a l l t hwe o o d - t r i m m i n g
bladewithitsteethpointing
in a clockwise
direction.
Retighten
theouterclamp
(above)
washer
andscrewtheguardbackin place.

110

PLATEJOINER

Polypropylene biaauit
A clear plaatic biacuit for
joinin6 aolid-aurfacinqmateriale, auch aa Carian;commonlyuaedin makinqkitchen
and bathroom countertope

Wood bisauite
Made of compreasedwood in
three atandArd aizea: No.O,
No.10 and No.20, ranqingin
len7th from 113l6tlto2316''

^*'

Clamping biscuit
A olaatic biscuit used
instead of wood biecuits
whenclampin7 ia awkward
or impossibleto 6et ug

Metal blEauits
Interlockin4 knockdown bia cuita (near riqht) allow for
eaay diaaooemblyand
reaaaemblyof fu rnitu re.
Cabinethin4ebiecuiLe(far
ri6ht) fit into matin7 oloto
aut into doors and cabinete;
idaal for hanqin4doora

ffiffiffirffi
tu-tt-t:k

Glue applicator
Holda7lue boLLleupeide
down so that adheaive
rematnanear tip, keeping
iL ready for application;
bottle tip ie ehapedto
epreadqlueevenlyon
etdeeof slota

Webclamp aet
For clamptn4carcaoea,eapectally wtLhbeveledcornere.lncludea
brackeLsin vadouseizeeto keep
cornereaquare (pa7e119)

Tilting fence
For cuttin7 elote at an anqle
other Lhan9Ooto the face of
a workpiece;attaches to fixed(
an7lefenceplaLejoinera

Cutter wheel
Teeth are typically
carbide-tipped

lll

Wood-trimming blade
For cutttnq qrooveetn
manufactu red panela a nd
trimminqetock up to1/+
inch Lhick:replaceeelotcutting cuLLerwheel

PLATEJOINERY
likedoveI lthoughnot decorative
A tails,platejointsarea quickmethod
panelstogether,
edge
ofjoining carcase
gluingboardsinto panels,or adding
shelves
to a carcase.
Asstronganddurable
joints,theyarealso
asmortise-and-tenon
warpedboards
idealfor straightening
whenedgegluingthemto makea broad
surfacelike a tabletop.
Thebiscuitsizeyou selectfor a projectwill dependon thethickness
of your
stock.UseNo.0 biscuitsfor woodr/+toVz
inchthick,No. lOsfor %-to 7+-inch-thick
stock,andNo.20sfor thickerboards.For
evenlargerstock,you canprovideadditionalreinforcement
by cuttingparallel
slotsfor two biscuits(page117).
Setthedepthofcut on ajoineraccordingto thebiscuitsizeyouareusing.There
areno prescribed
rulesfor spacingbiscuits,but the closeryou placethem,the
strongerthejoint. As a rule of thumb,
locatethem4 to 8 inchesaoart.Biscuits

areeffectivebecause
theyabsorbmoisture and swell,but humidity will also
makethem expand,so storethem in
sealedplasticbagsin a dry location.
Platefointsdo not demandthe same
orecisioninvolvedin other methods
of loinery.For example,the slotsneed
not be centeredexactly in a board'sedgeor
end. However,avoid
makingthe slotstoo
closeto a boardface.
Althoughit may not

showthroughinitially,abiscuitinserted
within t/+inchof a facemavproducea
dimpleon thesurlace
after'the
stockis
sanded.
Thisunsightly
effectisknownas
"biscuitpucker."
Always
dryassemble
ajointto testits
joints
fit.Plate
arevirtuallyimpossible
to
adjustaftergluing.Thebiscuits
swellso
quicklythattryingto removeonefrom
a slot-evenonlyminutesafterapplyingtheglue-isdifficult.Thethinwoodenwafers
or thesidesof theslotsmay
breakinstead.

A buttjoint with a dffirence:

Onceglueis addedto the slots
in theboards,
thebiscuitwill
swell,filling the slotsand creatjoint.
inga solid,Iong-lasting

EDGE
GLUING
BOARDS
'l

Marking
oftheslots
thelocation
I Marktheendsrainorientation
of
theboards,
thenairange
thestockto
produce
a pattern
thatisvisually
intere s t i n gT.om i n i m i zceu p p i nognt h ef i n ishedsurface,
makesurethattheend
grainof adjacent
boards
runsin oppoDrawa triangle
sitedirections.
across
thefaceof thestockonceyouhavea
satisfactory
arrangement;
thiswillhelp
youquickly
realign
theboards
when
necessary.
Markcenterlinesforthe
slotsacross
theseamsbetween
adjain
centboards.
Startat least2 inches
fromeachendandadda markeverv
4 to 8 inches.

rt2

PLATEIOINER

t') Cutting
theslots
Z. Resting
thefenceontopof thestock,
aligntheguideline
onthefaceplate
with
a slotlocation
mark.Switchonthetool
a n dp u s hi t i n t ot h e b o a r dt o c u t t h e
(left).Repeat
grooue
the procedure
at the
otherlocations.
Withthinstock,the base
platemaytouchtheworksurface,
shiftingthealignment
of theslots.
To prevent
this,position
theworkpiece
at thetable's
edgesothe baseplatedoesnotcontact
thetabletoo.

thebiscuits
Q fnserting
r-,f Onceall theslotshavebeencut,leave
the lastboardface
downandstandtheothersonedgewiththeslotsfacingup.
Squeeze
a beadof glueintotheslotsandalongtheedges
of
theboards,
inserting
biscuits
asyougo (above).
Thegluebottleshown
hereautomatically
applies
adhesive
evenly
onthe
sidesof theslots;if youareusinga standard
bottle,spread
quickthegluewitha thinwooden
stick.Assemble
theboards
prematurely.
lyto prevent
thebiscuits
fromexpanding

uptheboards
1l Gluing
'+
Fittheboards
together,
making
surethatthesidesof the
triangle
arealigned.
Laytheboards
on barclamps-one
for
each24-to 36-inchinterval.
To keeptheclamps
frommoving,placethemin notched
woodblocks.
Protect
thestock
justenough
withwoodpads,
thentighten
theclamps
to close
thejoints.Place
a thirdclampacross
thetop,centering
it
between
theothertwo.Continue
tightening
alltheclamps
untilgluesqueezes
outof thejoints.

113

PLATEIOINER

CARCASE
CORNERS
JOINING

\ !

6lot location mark

r

r') Cutting
slotsinthesidepanel
I
Onceall theerooves
havebeencut in
in the
thetoppanel,
aligntheguideline
centerof thetool'sbaseplatewitha slot
in the
mark(right).Cutall the grooves
theclamping
and
sidepanel,
thenrepeat
of
ontheothercorners
cuttingprocedure
thecarcase.

tt4

slotsin thetoppanel
1 Cutting
outsideI Layoneof thesidepanels
andsetthe
facedownona worksurface
up ontopof it,
top pieceoutside-face
letters
to identify
the
addingreference
corners.
Setbacktheedgeof thetop
panelbyanamount
equalto thethicknessof thestock,thenclampthetwo
pieces
in place.Seta support
boardthe
asthestockin frontof
samethickness
theworkpreces,
thenmarkslotlocation
Thissetupwill
linesonthetoppanel.
forone
allowyouto cut all thegrooves
withoutmoving
the
corner
of thecarcase
panels.
Resting
theplatejoineronthe
alignthegurdeline
onthe
support
board,
witha slotlocation
markonthe
faceplate
stock.Holdthejoinerwithbothhands
the
andmakethecut (/eff).Repeat
orocess
at theothermarks.

PLATEIOINER

Gluing
upthecarcase
Setthesidepanels
ontheworksurfaceoutside
facedown.Applyglueand
insertbiscuits
intotheirslotsasforedge
(page113).Onthetop
gluingboards
andbottompanels,
squeeze
a beadof
glueintoeachslotandalong
theedges
between
theslots.Assemble
thecarcase,
fittingthetopandbottompanels
onto
onesideandthenadding
theotherside
(above).
Installtwobarclampsacross
t h et o pa n db o t t o mp, r o t e c t i nt hge
workpieces
withwoodpads.
Tighten
the
clamps
a littleat a time(lnsef)
until
gluestartsto squeeze
outof thejoints.
Tocheckwhether
thecarcase
is square,
measure
thediagonals
between
oppositecorners
immediately
aftertighteningtheclamps.
Theresults
should
be
thesame.If not,rnstall
a f ifthclamp
across
thelonger
diagonal
andtighten
it untilthecarcase
is square.

lllttllllllttl|]lllllltilllllllfiltljltulllttllllltlllllltilltl]11
tlll
1HO?TI?
Woodengauqebloaks
ToseLyour Vlabeloiner'efenceso that sloLewillbe cuL precieelyin lhe cenLerof boarded7eo,makea serieeof gauge
blocks.
Thelhickneeeof eachblockohouldbethe dieLance
belweenlhebaseplateandNhemiddleofthe cuLNerwheel
ofthe workpiece,To
ueea qauqe
Vluoone-halftheLhickneee
block,placelhe joinerllaL on a workourface and adjuet,the
fenceuntriliI reote on NheaVproVriaLe-sized
block.

115

PLATEIOINER

A SHELF
TOA CARCASE
ADDING

)lots for
cornarJoint

theslotlocations
1 Marking
I Cutslotsforthecornerjoints@age
114),Ihenlaythesidepanelonthework
outside-face
down.Drawslot
surface,
location
marksat bothendsof theshelf
.
whereyouwanttheshelfanddraw
Decide
witha carpenter's
a lineonthesidepanel
square
to markits position(lefil.Drawa
corresponding
lineontheothersidepansurethattheendsof thetwo
el,making
pieces
sotheopposite
ends
arealigned
level.
Tohelp
of theshelfwillbeperfectly
youkeeptrackof howthe partsjoin
reference
letters.
together,
usematching

)lot location mark

a
\

r) Cutting
theslots
Z- Position
theshelfatoponesidepanel,
itsedgealigned
line.Place
a suooort
board
thesamethickwiththereference
thenclamp
nessasthepanelunder
theshelfto keepit level,
Tocuttheslotsin thepanel,
butt
theworkpieces
in position.
thetool'sbaseplateagainst
theshelf
theguideline
, aligning

marks(above,
in thecenter
of theplatewiththeshelf's
slotlocation
lineuptheguidelineonthefacebftIfo cuttheslotsintheshelf,
placewitheachof themarks(above,
rghf).Reposition
theshelf
lineoftheothersideoanel,
and
withitsuncutendonthereference
procedure.
repeat
theslot-cutting

116

PLAIE IOINER

Woodchip

upthecarcase
Q Gluing
r-,f Applyglueandaddbiscuits
to the
jointsfollowing
the
shelfandcorner
procedure
without
a
forgluinga carcase
shelf(pagell5l. Assemble
the carcase
withtheshelfin placeandclampit at
topandbottom.
Close
theshelfjoints
withbarclampsat frontandback,prowithwoodpads;
tectingthesidepanels
placea %-inch{hick
woodchipunder
eachpadto focussomeof the pressure
midway
between
theedges
of theshelf.
Tighten
theclamps
a littleat a timeuntil
a traceof gluesqueezes
outof thejoints.

'il1-llflflrflnll"lll-lll
llll"fll-"fir"lll"1fll
ruIllIffill|lllllllll
1HO?Tt?

Do uble bio auit, joining

A oinqlerowof biscuitsmay not,be etron4 enoughto join etock
jointo Iypimorelhan 1 inchthick.VliNered
corneraand le4-No-rail
callyrequirereinforcemenl
with a eecondrowof biscuiLeparallel
Lo Nhefirst.You can cuf,lhe firet elot haltwaybeNween
an edqe
and the middleof lhe eufrace,Nhenflip Nhestock overand cut Nhe
eecondelot. Alternatively,
uoeqauqeblocke(pa1e115)to adjueL
slotslhal are aLleaet,l/+inch
NhefenceNo
cuVNwo
aoarl.

rt7

PLATEJOINER

BEVELED
J()INING
C()RNERS
oftheslots
thelocation
1 Marking
panels
I Placetwoadjacent
ona work
surface,
inside-faces
up.Usea tapemeasureandpencil
to markslotlocations
on
bothpieces(left),StarIaboul2
inchesin
fromtheedges,
spacing
thelinesat 4- to
8-inchintervals.
Repeat
theprocedure
at
theotherthreecorners
of thecarcase.

r) Cutting
theslots
L Clu p a panelto a worksurface
withoneof its beveled
endsprojecting
off theedge
of thetable.Butttheplatejoiner's
faceplate
against
theendandloosen
thelocking
lever
to release
fence.Swivel
theadjustable
thefencedownward
against
thefaceof thepanel,
thenlockit in placewhilethefaceplate
is perfectly
flushagainst
the bevel(above,
lefil.
(page119).
lf yourjoinerdoesnothavean adjustable
fence,useanangledblockinstead
Aligntheguideline
onthefaceplate
witha slotlocation
andplunge
thecutterintothe
stock(above,
right).Usethesametechnique
to cut alltheremaining
slots.

118

PLATEIOINER

upthecarcase
Q Gluing
in the
r.t Applyglueandinsertbiscuits
slotsthe samewayyouwouldfora car(page115/.
casewithoutbeveled
corners
To prevent
the beveled
edgesfromslippingoutof alignment
astheadhesive
withweb
is drying,securethe carcase
clamps.To usethetypeshownhere,
setthecarcase
on its backon a work
surfaceandfit the cornerbrackets
in
place.Thebrackets
will helpto distributepressure
evenlyalongthe lengthof
thejoint.Wrapstrapsaround
theunit
andtightenthemwiththe buckles
beforelockingthemin place(above).

n9

PLATEIOINER

PTATE
'OINER
STAND
Toreduce
thesetuptimeneeded
to cut slotsin a seriesof workpieces,
mountyourplatejoinerin a shopmadestandliketheoneshownat
left.Buildthejig from%-inchplywood,exceptfor the barrelsupport,
whichshouldbesolidwood.Refer
to the illustration
for suggested
dimensions.
Screw
thehandle
support
to the
base.thenattachthe handlebrackets,spacing
themto fit yourtool.
Withtheplatejoinerresting
upside
downonthehandle
support,
butt
the barrelsupportagainst
the motor
housing
andtracetheoutlineof the
barrelonthestock.Cutor borea
holeforthebarrel,
thencutthesupportin twoacrossits width,through
thecenterof thehole.Screw
the
bottomoartto the baseandfit the
otherhalfontop. Boreholesfor
hangerboltsthroughthetopon each
sideof theopening,
thendrivethe
hangerboltsintothe bottomof the
Forquickinstallation
support.
and
removal
of thetool,usewingnuts
to holdthetwohalves
together.
Screwtheauxiliary
tableto the
fixed-angle
fenceof thejoiner.(lt
maybe necessary
to drillholesin
thefencefor thescrews.)
Tousethestand,secure
thejoiner
in it, thenclampthebaseto a work
surface.Setthefenceat thecorrect
heightand,forrepeat
cuts,clampstop
blocks
to theauxiliary
tableto center
theworkoiece
onthecutterwheel.To
flaton
cuta slot,puttheworkpiece
thetable
andbuttedagainst
thejoiner'sfaceplate,
thenturnonthetool
andpushthestockandthetable
towardthe cutter(\eft,belowl

3 1 / 2 "x 1 2 "

r20

THE PLATEIOINERAS GROOVERAND TRIMMER

to do
Q omeplatejoinersaredesigned
The
l) morethancut slotsfor biscuits.
model shown on this page-dubbed
a jointer/splinerby its manufacturercan alsoserveasa smallcircularsaw.
Equippedwith the appropriateblade,it
canmakean accuratecrosscutor rip
througha %-inchplywoodpanel,or mill
a groovefrom oneendofa workpieceto
the other.
The cutterwheelsthat joinersnormally usehave6 to 12teeth.To ensure
smoothcuts,thewood-trimmingblade

(page110)available
for thejointer/spliner hasmorethan doublethat number.
Alwaysattachan edgeguideto the
baseplateto keepthe tool cuttingin a
straightline. And rememberto always
pushthetool,neverpull it.

Equipped
with a wood-trimming
bladeand an edgeguide,thisplate
joiner makesquickworkof cutting
a groovein a harAuoodboard.

A PANEL
TRIMMING

Auxiliaryhandle

Ed4egutde

r) Making
a crosscut
handle,
a commerL lnstall
thejoiner's
auxiliary
thenattach
guide;thetypeshown
features
rodsthatfit intothe
cial
edge
Setting
the
cutting
depth
1
the
tool'sbaseplate.
Alignthebladewiththecuttingline,butt
I Clampdownthepanelsothatitsedgeextends
beyond
fixedto the
thefenceof theguideagainst
theendof thepanel,
andlock
worksurface.
Unscrew
thepinsthatarenormally
yourstock.
Clamp
theworkpiece
withthecuttingline
themfromgouging
theguidein place.
bottomof theguardto prevent
forward
Holding
thejoinerbythe
tilt thebarrel
to lower beyond
theedgeof theworksurface.
Setthejoinerontheworkpiece,
handle,
turnit on.Tiltthebladedown
andbuttthebladeagainst
theedgeof thestock.
barrel
andtheauxiliary
theblade,
keeping
knobontheopposite
sideof the
andpushit intothepanel,
theedgeguidefenceflush
Turnthedepthadjustment
thestockasyoumakethecut.
euarduntilthe bottomteethareaboulr/qinchbelowthestock. against

r2l

:"*.W+;
*:{#wd

SATDE,R
venbeforetheinventionof
powertools,sandingplayed
an integralrolein the process
of transformingrawwoodinto
finishedfurniture.In the 18th
Century,for example,English
cabinetmakers
fashionedtheir
own abrasives
bybondingparticlesof flint, quartzand volcanicpumiceto parchment
with hide glue. Following a
more naturalapproach,some
of their contemporaries
relied
on sharkskinto smoothwood.
While today'swoodworkers
may marvelat suchpainstaking sandingtechniques,
the
processof smoothingwood
has in somewaysremained

Combiningthecompactness
of a sandingblock
with thefficiency of a powersander,theorbitalpalm
sanderquicklysmoothsthebeveled
edges
of a raisedpanel.

unchanged
overthepast300years.
Sanding
a pieceof furnituretoday,asin QueenAnne'sLondon,stillconsists
of three
distinctstages,
whichmustbefollowed
to ensure
aperfect
finplanes
ish.First,themarksandblemishes
leftby saws,
and
othercuttingandshaping
toolsareremoved.
Thenthewood
surfaces
arecarefully
smoothed
to accept
a finish.Andfinallv.eachintermediate
finishcoatisabraded
before
thefinalcoat
is applied.
Typically,
eachstepin thesequence
is peformed
with a finergrade-orgrit-of sandpaper,
diminishing
the

abrasive
effectofthe paperuntil
thefinalsandingdoeslittle more
thandull the glossof the previousfinishcoat.
In spiteofthe importantrole
playedby sanding,it is often
regarded
asdrudgeryandisgiven lessattentionthan it needs.
Yetno stainorfinishcanmaska
hastilyperformedsandingjob.
Usually,theyonly tendto highlight it instead.
Thissectionof thebookfeaturesthreetyoesofsanders:
the
belt sander,'tieorbitalsander
and the random-orbitsander.
Beltsanders
aregenerallyused
to
levelstockandeliminateflawson
wood surfaces.
Their powerful

motors,rigidmetalplatens
andrelatively
coarse
sanding
belts
makethemwellsuitedfor thefirststage
Theorbital
of sanding.
andrandom-orbit
arebothcapable
sanders
of removing
blemishesfromstock,buttheirmainpurpose
isto prepare
surfaces
for finishing.
Withtheirsoftsanding
padsthatrotatein rapid,
elliptical
orbitsandfine-grade
sanding
disk, theyareidealfor
thistask.Therandom-orbit
sander
will evenremove
scratches
andswirlmarlsmadeby thebeltor orbitalsander,
leavinga
uniformlysmoothsurface.

The quality of thefinish on a pieceof furniture

will only be asgood as the care taken in sanding the surface.Here, a belt sander beginsthe
processof smoothing a hardwoodpanel.

t23

ANATOMYOF A SANDER
BELT
SANDER
Duat bag
Collecta duat expelled
from exhauat port; eupplied with moat aandera
Onloff trigger
Eutton on other aide of handle
locka tri44er in On poaition

Auxiliaryhandle
Handle

Exhauatport
Expeladuat into
clip-onduet bag

9anding belt

Rear roller
Rotatea
aandinqbelt

Belt teneion lever

9prinq-operated lever
retracta front roller for
removaland inatallation
of aandinq belt
Platen
Metal eupport plate
for eandinqbelt

r24

Traakingadjustment knob
thifta front roller to moveaandinq belt into the center of rollers

SANDER

a beltsander
I s thenamesuggests,
-f\ rotates
a continuous
sandinsbelt
aroundtwo rubber-coated
rollersand
platen.The rear
acrossa rectangular
rolleris usuallythe one drivenby the
motor.A trackingadjustmentknobthat
swivelsthe front roller is usedto keeo
theloopof sandpaper
cenLered
on the
wheels.The metalnlatenbetweenthe
rollersprovidesa flat,rigidbasefor sanding.Mostbeltsanders
areequippedwith
3-inch-wide
belts;heary-dutyrnodels
loons.
use4-inch-wide
Beltsanders
typicilly haveoneof two
motor designs.
Newermodels,suchas
the oneillustratedopposite,featurean
in-line configuration,with a motor
mountedparallelto the body of the
Thisdesigngivesthetool a lowsander.
er centerof gravityanda morebalanced

feel than the traditionaltransverse

design,
in whichthemotoris mounted
off center.
Thereare alsotwo main tvoesof
i'irnishThetwo-hand
orbitalsanders.
ing" sander,suchasthe one shownin
thephotobelow,holdseithera third or
a halfofastandard
9-by-ll-inchsheetof
sandpaper,
depending
on themodel.The
smallerpalm sander(page123)works
with quarter-size
sheets.

POWER
SANDER
ACTIONS

Comparedto other power tools,

sanders
arereiatively
safe.However,
since
theyproducea lot ofdustandnoise,you
shouldweara dustmaskandearprotection.Beltsanders
warranta fewextra
precautions.
Useclampsor stopblocks
to securea workpiece;
your sandercan
senda looseboardhurtlingtowardyou.
AlwavsoDerate
the sanderwith both
handsand wait until the motor stoos
runningbefore
setting
thetooldown.

Orbital sander

Eelt sander
DelLrotatea at epeedeup
r^

12nn

f aar

nar

mint

Thecirctilarsandingpnd of the
random-orbit
sander(below,left)
makesthistoolidealfor snroothing
woodsurfaces
contoured
without
Ieavingscrqtches
or swirl marks.The
orbitalsander(below,right) rluickly
produces
o sntoothsurfnce
readyfor
finishing.Thetwo toolsowetheir
eccentric
sandingmotiortsto tltotors
that arelinkedto sandingpadsby
an off-centerbearing.

ia

Random-orbit sander
7ad rotatee paper in 12,OOO
randomorbite per minute

$
t2s

SANDINGACCESSORIES
I lthoughyou canbuy a varietyof
f\ accessories
for your powersander
to extendits versatility,only one is
Because
sandpaper.
absolutelyessential:
it no longercontainsrealsandand is
availableon sturdierbackingsthan
paper,sandpaper
is usuallylabeledasan
Today,
it
is soldin sheets,
belts
abrasive.
made
materials
such
as
aluanddisks,
of
garnet
minum oxide,
and siliconcarbide-each with its own applications.
comesin differentgrades,
Sandpaper
from extracoarseto superfine,depending on the abrasiveeffectneeded.Each
gradeis assigneda differentnumber,

knownasgrit, rangingfrom 20 to 600.

Sandingbelts are availablein grits
between36 and 320.Precutsheetsand
disks for orbital and random-orbit
sanders
aresoldin virtuallyeverygrade,
from 36 to 600.As the followingpages
show,selectingthe right abrasivefor
thejob andinstallingit properlyarecrucialfirststeos.
Ifyour orbitalsanderis equipped
with a dustextractionsystem,
usepapers
with pre-punchedholes.Theseare
designedto allowvacuumductsin the
bodyofthe sanderto collectdustparticlesgenerated
by sandingand expel

themto a collectionsystem.
Ifyou canpapers,usethe
not find pre-punched
platesuppliedwith your
hole-punching
sanderto maketheholes.
Mostof theaccessories
shownbelow
aredesigned
for random-orbitsanders.
As a rule,they fastento the sander's
backuppad in one of two ways:the
(or Velcro") systemor
hook-and-loop
(PSA)
with pressure-sensitive
adhesive
disls.Besureto removea PSAdiskfrom
it may
thepadafterusingit. Otherwise,
bondto thepadpermanently.
Storedisks
in a cool,dust-freelocationto keepthe
adhesive
from deterioratinq.

A RANGE
OFACCESSORIES
Presaure eenaitive adheaive (P5A) aanding diaka
)tick to backuppad of ran'
dom-orbit eander by meane
of adheeivebackinq:eaey
to peel off whenworn

Lamb'a wool buffing pad

A aoft pad for poliehin7
and buffinqfiniEhedaurfacea with a random-orbif,
aander;tted to backup
pad with cord
Hook-a nd- Ioop aanding diake
Adhereto backuppad of random-orbit aander with VelcrorM
faetenin4 eyetem

Contour aanding pad

A pliablerubberpad for aandin7contoured
eurfacee with random-orbit aander, Keplacea
backuppad of aander; accepta 79A diaka

Hole-punchin7 plate
Funcheaholeothrou1h oandpaper aheete for orbital
sandera equippedfor
duat extraction;
aawdust ie drawn
up through holee
in oandin4pad and
expelledtnto a duet ba7

r26

Sponge applicator pad

For applyin4finiehin7producta
auchaa paete waxwith ran'
dom-orbit aander; aticka to
backuppad of sander with
hook-and-loopeyeLem

SANDER

USING
SANDPAPER
GRIT
60,80
1 0 0 ,1 2 0
1 5 0 ,1 8 0
220,240
280,320
360,400,600

USES
P r e l i m i n asruy r f a c i nogf r o u g hs t o c kl;e v e l s
deeoscratches
lnitialsmoothing
of stock;levels
shallow
deoressions
andscratches
Finalsmoothing
of stock;prepares
surfaces
f o rf i n i s h i n g
Lightsanding
of primer
or sealer
coats
Removing
air bubblesbetween
coatsof finish
Finesanding
to remove
flawsbefore
applying
finalcoatof lacouer

Choosing
sandpaper
jobs,youshouldprepare
Formostfinishing
thesurface
of
yourstockwithpapers
fromthegritcategories
shownin the
chartat left.Startwitha paperupto 80 gritfor levelrng
a
surface
andaggressively
removing
stock.Moveto a grit
between
100and180forsmoothing.
Usefinerpapers
for
s a n d i nbge t w e efni n i s hc o a t sW
. h e nb u y i n sg a n d p a p e r ,
consider
itscomposition.
Aluminum
oxidepaperis bestfor
usewitha beltsander.
Forgritsabove150withan orbital
garnet
paperistheideal.
sander,
Thehardest
andsharpest
abrasive
material-silicon
carbide-isrecommended
in grits
aboue
220 forf inishsanding
withan orbitalsander.
Buy
paperfor sanding
closed-coat
hardwood
andopen-coat
paperfor softwood.
particles
paper
Theabrasive
in open-coat
arespaced
fartherapart,reducing
clogging.

SETTING
UPA SANDER
Ghanging
a sanding
belt
Setthesander
on itsside,thenpull
t h eb e l t e n s i oIne v ear l lt h ew a yo u t
a n ds l i pt h eo l db e l to f ft h er o l l e r s ;
slidea newbeltin place(right,above).
To avoidtearinga belt,referto the
arrows
marked
ontheinsideof thebelt
t o o r i e nitt i n t h ed i r e c t i ot n
h a tt h e
(some
rollersrevolve
toolsfeature
a
directional
arrowmarked
onthetool
nextto thefrontroller).
Center
the
s a n d p a poenrt h ed r u m st,h e np u s h
thetensionleverbackin olaceto
lockthebeltin position.
Toadjust
the
belttracking,
holdthesander
upside
downandswitchit on.Turnthetrackingadjustment
knobasthebeltrotates
untiltheabrasive
loopis centered
on
thefrontroller(right,below).

r27

SANDER

onanorbital
sander
Changing
sandpaper
on
end
and
retract
oneof
Standthetool
paper
to
free
one
end
of
the
the
clamps
remove
end.
To
sheet;then
theother
install
a newsheet,
retract
a clampand
foldoneendof thepaper
overtheedge
oftheplaten
andtuckit under
theclamp.
Release
theclampto lockthesheetin
place.
Making
certain
thatthepaperiscovpulltheother
platen
completely,
eringthe
(left)and
endtaut
clampit in position.

padfrom
Removing
thebackup
a landom-orbit
sander
sander
Thebackuo
oadof a random-orbit
mayneedto beremoved
to installa finishing
a c c e s s oirnyi t s p l a c eS. e tt h e
sander
upsidedownon a worksurface.
F i tt h ew r e n c sh u p p l i ew
d i t ht h et o o l
around
the motorshaftbetween
thepad
thenturnthe
andthebodyof thesander,
padcounterclockwise
to loosen
it (right).

r28

BEIT SANDER
I belt sandercan perform two
A typesoI smoothingoperations,
dependingon its orientationto the
woodgrain.At a 45oangleto thegrain,
it will removestockquickly from a
surface;
runningparallelto thegrain,
the toolwill smootheventhe roughestboard.
Whateverthe operation,clamp or
nail stopblocksto your work surfaceto
keepthe workpiecefrom moving.Use
straight,smooth,overlappingstrokes,
andavoidsweeping
thesanderin a circular pattern.To preventgougesor
roundededges,do not turn on the
sanderwhile it sitson the workoiece.
Instead,startthe tool abovethi surfaceand gently lay the belt on the
stock,neverallowingmorethan oneForremoving
stock,no toolisasffictive
half its lengthto run off the end or
asa bebsander.Here,it smoothsthe
edgeof the workpiece.
surfaceof a roughmahoganyboard.

FACE
ANDEDGE
SANDING
Sanding
a board
Toremove
stockquickly,
setthesander
flatonthesurface
at a 45'angleto the
grainof thewoodat oneendof theworkpiece(left).Movethe sanderforward
immediately.
Oncethetoolreaches
the
edgeof theboard,pullit back,overlappingyourforward
strokebyone-half
the
widthof thebelt.Tosmooth
thesurface,
usethesamemethod,
butthistime,work
parallel
withthesander
to thegrain,as
shown
in theohotoabove.

129

SANDER

a panel
Sanding
at oneedgeof thepanel,make
Starting
pass
along
thestockasyouwouldwhen
a
a board@age129).Shiftthe
sanding
thewidthof the
sander
overbyone-half
you.
beltandpullthetoolbacktoward
backandforth,folContinue
sanding
pattern
asshownin
lowing
a U-shaped
theillustration.

GUIDE
EDGE.SANDING
a belt
It canbetrickykeeping
perfectly
levelwhilesanding
sander
a boardedge,butthejig shownat
Cuttwo
leftsolves
the problem.
from
%-inch
stock
boards
support
your
workthe
length
of
to about
piece.
and
Thensawbridgepieces
support
boards
nailthemto the
leaving
a gapequalto thethicknessof theworkpiece.
To usethejig,secure
theworkpiecein handscrews
asshown,
jig
position
the ontheedge.
then
alongtheedgeof
Movethesander
following
thewood
theworkpiece
portions
grain.Smooth
of the
the
bythebridge
edgethatarecovered
pieces
witha sanding
block.

130

SANDER

Sanding
a mitered
corner
Toavoidthescratches
created
bysanding
stockagainst
the
grain,
smooth
theboards
thatmeetat a mitered
corner
in two
steps.
First,sandoneof theboards
withthegrain,
sanding
the
otherboard
against
thegrainat thesametime.Thenmakea
passonthesecond
board;
thistimeavoiding
contact
withthe
firstboard.
Slidethetooldiagonally
toward
theoutside
edgeof
thesecond
board,
liftingit offthestockasit reaches
thejoint
(above).
between
theboards
Sanding
a board
end
I n s t a l l y obuer l ts a n d ei nr a c o m m e r c i a l
bench
s t a n do rt h es h o p - b uei lqt u i v a lenl (page132),Ihensecurethe device
to a worksurface.
Drawa linewitha
c o m b i n a t i soqnu a raet t h ee n do f t h e
you
workpiece
to markthe pointwhere
wantthesanding
to stop.Turnonthe
tool.Holding
theworkpiece
withboth
hands,
restit f latonthestand's
auxiliary
table.Slowly
advance
theboarduntilthe
yourhands
endtouches
thebelt,keeping
(above),
clearof thesandpaper
Apply
pressure;
onlymoderate
letthebeltdo
thework.Fora smooth
f inish,f lipthe
board
overseveral
timesduringtheopera t i o nS. a n du pt o t h em a r k eldi n eo n
theworkpiece.

llJIIJl]llr]lll]ltrlllillrljltljlliltJ
t]llultfiIjlllJfillllllliltllll
5HO?TI?
Cleaninq oandpaper belte
Youcan removebuilt-up
sawduetand looseabraoiveqriNfrom oandinq
belts wiNha blockof neop r e n er u b b e ro r a n o l A
runninqshoewith a naluralrubbereole,1et the
sanderon ite eideand
lockthemoNoron.Hoo
lhe

niere

nl

rt rhhen

aqainelthe roLatrinq
belxfor a few eeconde.
Thedust,and qril will
rub off onto lhe rubber.

131

SANDER

SANDER
STAND
BELT
of a
Tosandtheendsandedges
and
aswellasmitered
workpiece
mountyourbelt
surfaces,
beveled
s a n d ei n
r a s h o p - b usi ltta n dT. h e
to consetupwillfreeyourhands
trolstockasyoufeedit intothe
at
belt.Thestandshown
sanding
forthemodel
rightis customized
The
in the illustration.
of sander
dimensions
of yourjigwilldepend
onthesizeof yourtool.
Cutthe baseandtheraised
plywood.
The
tablefrom3/q-inch
to
baseshouldbe largeenough
h o l dt h es a n d earn dt h et a b l e .
poststo fit
Next,cut thesupport
of thesander.
Set
in thehandles
thetoolon itssideonthejig and
thenscrew
slipthepostsin place,
Screw
theraised
themto thebase.
withitsedgejust
tablein place,
belt.Check
clearof thesanding
t h a tt h e b e l ti s p a r a l l et ol t h e
raised
table.Turnonthetooland
smoothmakesurethatit operates
lywithout
moving
aboutin thejig.
Clampthestandto a worksurin place.
faceandsetthesander
endshown,
Tosandthemitered
secure
a stopblockto theraised
t a b l ea t t h es a m ea n g l ea st h e
miter.
Theblockwillhelpyouhold
t h e m i t e r eedn dp a r a l l et ol t h e
belt.Lockthesander's
sanding
Tosand
in the0n position.
trigger
followthesameprotheworkpiece,
youwouldusefora square
cedure
theedge
end(page131),keeping
the
of theboardbuttedagainst
stopblock.

r32

SANDER

Gang
sanding
workTosmooth
theedgesof several
p i e c eosf t h es a m ew i d t hs, a n dt h e m
in a single
operation
known
as
together
gangsanding.
Place
thestockfaceto
f a c ea n da l i g nt h e i e
r n d st,h e ns e c u r e
wnsdc l a m p s .
t h e mw i t hh a n d s c r e a
withthegrain,
sandthepieces
Working
justasthough
theywerea singleboard.

ilil ilr ilri ilil ilil rlll llll ll{l llll llll llll lill llll llll llll llll ilil llll
ut r$ l$ fli ut lu iii ui lil i$ l$
i$ ul lti i$ ul ut ul

5HO7Tt?
Sandinqa aircularworkpieae
To keeVcircularelock from movin4a6 you emoot'hit,ssurlace
oNopblock.Makethe
wilh a belt eander,oecureitrin aV-ehaVed
jiq from a pieceof plywoodNhat,is Nhinner
lhan your workViece,
Cul
and rouahlvNhewidth of the circle'ediameLer.
o u Na w e d q el a r g ee n o u q ht o h o l dN h ee f o c k .
ClampNhejig lo a worksurlaceand VlaceLhe
in the wedgeoo you can work
workpiece
oarallel
withNhearain.1andIhe
Nheoamewayyou
workpiece
woulda panel(paqe13O).

133

SANDER

JIG
CIRCTE-SANDING
Thejig shownat leftwillallowyou
of a circular
theedges
to smooth
in a
witha beltsander
workpiece
fashion.
uniformandcontrolled
o sf t h ej i g w i l l
T h ed i m e n s i o n
onthesizeof yoursander.
depend
MakethebaseandthesuPPort
poststhe samewayasa sander
stand(page132), buI without
table.Use1-by-2stock
theraised
andthePivboards
forthesupport
of bar,cuttingthe boardslonger
of yourworkthanthe diameter
pieceandmaking
the barlonger
Screw
the boards
thantheboards.
sotheywill
to theworksurface
nearitscirtheworkpiece
support
cumference.
themiddle
Drive
a nailthrough
of the pivotbarandpressit into
of the
thecenterof the underside
overand
stock.Flipthetwopieces
screwoneendof the pivotbarto
theworksurfacemidwaybetween
leaving
the
the supportboards,
to allowyou
screwlooseenough
to pivotthebar'sotherend.
To usethejig,setthesander
in placeon the base,fittingthe
supportpoststhroughthetool's
and,
Turnonthesander
handles.
readjust
thetracking
if necessary,
to movethe beltdownto thejig
Tosandthe
base;lockthetrigger.
pullthefreeend
workpiece,
of the pivotbartowardthesander
thesanding
untilthestocktouches
belt.Clampthefreeendof thebar
Thenrotatethe
to theworksurface.
thedirecagainst
workpiece
steadily
untiltheedge
tionof beltrotation
periodically
shifting
the
is smooth,
thesander.
oivotbartoward

134

ORBITALSANDE,R
aresometimes
called
rbitalsanders
/\
"finirt
because
theyare
sanders"
\J
finbetween
idealfor smoothingsurfaces
ishcoats.But theirfastandtight orbiting
(thesandingpadmovesonly
movements
3/tz
inchwith eachstroke),make
VtoIo
them equallyhandyfor knockingdown
edgesor smoothingwood prior to finishing.In fact,two-handedand palm
orbitalsanders
do mostof the sanding
in manywoodworkingshops.
Theorbitalsander's
singledrawback
is its tendencyto leaveswirl markson a
Theseareactuallydozensoftiny
surface.
in the wood.To avoid
soiralscratches
usehigh quality
suchimperfections,
whenmoving
paper.Do not skipgrades
to a finerpaper,andsetthesanderdown
on yourworkpiecegentlywhenyoustart
a job. To removeany remainingswirl
marks,usea sandingblock.

at up to 12,000orbitsper minute,
Itspad movingin tightcircles
Here,
at producingsillE smoothsurfaces.
theorbitalsanderexcels
doorfor a coatoffinish.
it prepares
aframe-and-panel

FACE
ANDEDGE
SANDING

face
Sanding
a board
holdthesander
theboard
to a worksurface,
Afterclamping
gently
down
it andturnonthetool.Bringthesander
above
parallel
to thegrainat oneendof the
ontothewoodsurface
preslightdownward
applying
board.Movethetoolforward,
restin oneplace.At the
Donotletthesander
sure(above).
pullthesander
yourforback,overlapping
endof theboard,
theentire
in thismanner
untilyoucover
wardstroke.
Continue
of yourstock,
donotlet
Toavoidrounding
theedges
surface.
extend
offtheworkpiece.
morethanone-half
of theplaten

Sanding
inside
a carcase
of a carcase
thesamewayyou
theinterior
surfaces
Smooth
adjoining
wouldsanda board(steplefil.Toavoidmarring
partsof thesander
panels
suchasthepaper
withprotruding
placea sheetof cardboard
upagainst
the
clamphandles,
vertical
surfaces
hbove),

135

SANDER

Rounding
edges
andends
yourstocksecurely
Holding
onthework
s u r f a c eg ,r i pa no r b i t apl a l ms a n d e r
f irmlyandturnit on.Setthetoolonthe
endof theworkpiece
at a 45" angle
and
moveit backandforthuntiltheendor
For
edgeis rounded
to yoursatisfaction.
bestresults,
makea series
of passes
withprogressively
f iner-grit
sandpaper.

ljllllllllttllllllltfillllllllltljlllllllttlfillllllllllilIlllllilIlllt
9HO7Tt?
Makin1a polishing pad
MoeNorbiLaleanderecan be outfitted wilh variouepoliehinq
and
foldinq
buffinqaccessories.You
can makeyour ownpoliehinq
?ad W
oheeleof cheeseclolhinto a pad oeverallayerothick. lnstall the
makcheesecloth
on Lheoandera6 you woulda eheeNol oandpaper,
in4oureLhat the pad io t auLand coverzIheplatencompletely,

r36

SANDER

IN TIGHTSPOTS
SANDING

Sanding
in a drawer
An orbitalpalmsander
is yourbestbet
in conforsmoothing
interior
surfaces
finedareas,
suchassmalldrawers.
To
bottom,
holdthepiece
sandthedrawer
andturnon
steady
on a worksurface
flatonthe
thetool.Setthesander
thenmove
drawer
bottomat onecorner,
parit alongthesurface
in overlapping,
is smooth
allelstrokes
untilthesurface
(above).
Ridetheedges
of thesander
sides;thedesign
of
alongthedrawer
youto sand
willenable
thepalmsander
rightupto theadjoining
surfaces.

llltfil'illlfltllltllillllllttllllll'fiilIllltlllllllllltfillIIt
1HO?TI?
Theaorner
eander
Foremoobhinq
surtacesin
tighl opoto ouch
ae corner6ana
rabbets,uselhe
cornersander.lI
o?erate6like
an
orbitraloander,bur
h a sa 7 - i n c h - w i d e
trianqularoandinq
Vad inelead of a
reclanqular
one.The
pad can be rolated
to any pooitionrelaliveto f,hebodyof bhesander.Specially
deeignedtrianqularoanAingsheets,from 40 Lo 12O4ril, are
wilh eiNherNhehook'
available
for xhetool.Ihey are f aeNened
andloopor the 794 oyotem,dependinq
onLhemodel.

t37

RANDOM-ORBITSANDER
Q tandardequipmentin autobody
rJ shopsfor manyyears,therandomorbit sanderhasrecentlyfound a wellhomein woodworkingshops.
deserved
Thistool'sabilityto removestockquickly whileleavingthesurfaceunderneath
relativelyscratch-andswirl-freemakes
it a goodchoicefor manyjobs.Its rapid,
randomorbitsaregoodfor removing
old finishesfrom an antiqueor buffing
final coatsof lacquer.Thetool'sround
backuppadalsomakesit idealfor sanding contouredand curvedsurfaces.
For bestresults,keepthe sanding
disk flat on the surfacewhile you are
sanding.Followthe directionof the
wood grain,moving the sanderin a
circularpattern.Whenpolishinga surfacewith the sander,avoid excessive
downwardpressure;
the pad should
"float"
overthe finish.And remember to usethesander's
lowestspeedsetting; high-speed
buffingtendsto wipe
off the finish.

C()NT()UR
SANDING

Smoothing
a contoured
surface
padfromthesander(page
Clampyourstockto a worksurface.
Remove
thebackup
pad;install
128)andreplace
it witha contour
sanding
a sanding
disk.Holding
the
toolwithbothhandsabove
theworkpiece,
turnit onandlowerthe padontothesurpressure
face.Applymoderate
downward
whileyoumovethesander
backandforth
along
theworkpiece
untilthesurface
is smooth;
reposition
anyclamps
andturnthe
workpiece
asnecessary.

Illl'rl|l
ll|l"lll
illl'Il|l'tl}
ffirll'tllllt"rllIIIIlilIIrllllllllllll
1HO?TI?
The random-orbitsanderis an ideal
choicefor smoothingthe rails and stiles
of a tongue-and-groovedoor. Because
its sandingpad rotatesin random
orbits, the tool doesnot leaveswirl
marks or scratcheswhen sanding
against the grain.

A random-orbit
head for grindere
Youcan converLa
variable-epeed
arinderinf,oa random-orbileanderwilh a money-eavingacceeeorythat duplicaNee
the
uniauemoLionof a random-orbiL
too| Thebackuppadfor the eanding
headacce?ts794 abrasivedieke.To
inshallthe'device,removethe qrinder'obackupdiekand ecrewon
lhe random-orbilhead.A variable-speed
7rinderwillqiveyou the
rangeof opeedeneededfor oandinqoperatione,

138

SANDER

POLISHING

Buffing
a finished
surface
Clean
thesurface
to remove
all dustand
m a k es u r et h a ti t i s d r y .S m e aar t h i n
layerof pastewaxoverthesurface
by
padfromthe
hand.Remove
thebackup
(page12& andinstalla sponge
sander
pad.Setthesander
to itslowapplicator
estspeedandturnit on.Lower
thepad
ontothesurface
andmovethesander
backandforthalong
thesurface,
applyinglightpressure
to spread
thewax
(above,
left).Oncethesurface
euenly
hasa smooth
luster.
reolace
anduniform
padwiththesander's
applicator
thesponge
pad,theninstall
wool
backup
a lamb's
pad.Switch
and
buffing
onthetoolagain
repeat
theprocedure
to obtain
a bright
rrght).
anduniformshine(above,

llllllllrll1
lllrill
illlititllllljltfiltiiliillllliltlfit]Ill1
rulll1
9HO7Tt?
Steadying a workpieaewith underpadding
To keepa smallworkVieceeteadywhile
iIs sur'
emoothinq
face with a randomorbit sander,sel il
on an old pieceof
car?etunderVaddinry.
Ihe toam rubberwill
anchorthe otockt o
your worksurface,
keeVinq
Nheworkpiece
from movinqae the
eanderdoeeibework.

t39

GLOSSARY
A-B
Bevelcut Sawingat an anglefrom
faceto facealongthe length or width
of a workpiece.
Biscuit A thin oval-shapedwafer
wood,usially beech,
of compressed
which fits into a semicircularslot cut
by a platejoiner.
Biscuitjointz Seeplatejoint.
Biscuit pucker: A blisteringof the
surfaceof a workpiececausedby
insertingbiscuitstoo closeto the surfaceofthe stock.
Brad-point bit A drill bit featuring
a sharpened
centerpointand two cutting spurson its circumference.
C
Cabriole leg: A type of furniture leg
characterized
by roundedcontours
designedto imitatethe gracefulleg
of a leapinganimal.

Combination blade:A circular saw

bladedesignedfor makingboth
and rip cuts.
crosscuts

Drop-foot:A type of circularsawon

which the depthof cut is changedby
moving the entire sawup and down
relativeto its shoe.Seepivot-foot.

Compound cut Sawingthrough a

at
boardwith the bladepresented
anglesotherthan 90" relativeto the
faceand edgeofthe stock.

Edgegluing: Bonding severalboards

to form a soltogetheredge-to-edge
id panel.

Counterborebit An adjustablecombinationbit for the electricdrill that

hole,
boresa pilot hole,clearance
holeand counterbore
countersinking
holein oneoperation.

End grain: The arrangementand

directionof the wood fibersrunning
acrossthe width of a workpiecewhen
viewedfrom the ends.

Contour cut Sawingalonga curved

line, usuallywith a sabersaw.

F-G
A pieceofwood cut
Featherboard:
"feathers"at one end;
with fingersor
usedin conjunctionwith clampsto
hold a workpieceagainstthe fence
or tableof a powertoo..

Countersink:Drilling a hole that

permitsthe headof a screwor bolt
to lie flush with or slightlybelow a
wood surface.
Crosscut:Sawingacrossthe wood
grain of a workpiece.

D-E

Carbide-tipped blade A sawblade

on which the teeth are madeof a
compoundof carbonand steel;such
bladeedgesarestrongerand stay
sharperlongerthan conventional
high-speedsteelblades.

Dado: A rectangularchannelcut into

a workpiece.

A box-like construction
Carcase:
that makesup the body of a piece
of furniture.

Dovetail joint A method of joining

wood at cornersby meansof interIockingpins and tails;the name
derivesfrom the distinctiveshape
cut into the endsof joining boards.

Chamfer: A decorativebevelcut
alongthe edgeof a workpiece.
Chuck Adjustablejawson a drill for
holdingbits.orothercuttingor sandrng accessorles.
Collet The sleeveon a router that
holdsthe shankof a bit.

Direction of feed:The direction that

a tool is fed into a workpiecewhen
making a cut.

DowehA wood pin usedto reinforce

certaintypesof joints.
Dowel center:A metal cylinderthat
is insertedinto a dowelliLoleto pinpoint a matchingholein a mating
workpiece.

140

Fence:An adjustableguidedesigned
to keepthe edgeor faceof a workpiecea setdistancefrom the cutting
edgeofa tool.
Forstnerbit: A drill bit with a razor
rim and cuttersfor boring flat-bottomedholes.
and direcGrain:The arrangement
tion of the fibersthat makeup wood.
Grit The concentrationof abrasive
particleson a pieceofsandpaperor
sandingdisk.
Grooving blade:A platejoiner blade
that cutscontinuousgrooves.
Gullet The gapbetweenteeth on a
sawblade.

H-I-I-K-L
Hardwood: Wood cut from decidutrees;sometypes
ous (leaf-shedding)
may actuallybe soft and easyto cut.

Hook-and-loop disk A sandingor

polishingdisk with a Velcro" backing; usedwith random orbit-sanders.
fig: Devicefor guiding a tool or
holdinga workpiecein position.
fointing: Cutting thin shavingsfrom
the edgeof a workpieceuntil it is flat
and squareto the face.
Kerf: A cut madein wood by the
thickness
of a sawblade.
Kerf splitter: A devicethat holds a
kerf slightlyopenduring a cut to prevent the sawbladefrom binding.
Kickback The tendencyof a workpieceto be thrown backin the direction of the operatorof a powertool.
M-N-O
Miter cut: A cut that anglesacross
the faceof a workpiece.
Miter gauge:A devicethat slidesin a
slot on the tableof a powertool, providing supportfor the workpieceasit
is fed into the bit or blade.
Molding: Decorativestrips of wood
that canbe carvedon a router.
Mortise: A rectangularor oval-shaped
hole cut into a pieceof wood.
Mortise-and-tenonjoint A joinery techniquein which a projecting
tenon on one board fits into a mortiseon another.
Orbital action: The uo-and-forward
movementof somesa-bersawblades
on their upstroke;replacesthe traditional straightup-and-downactionof
a reciprocating-type
sabersaw.Also,the
eccentricrotationofthe abrasivedisk
on an orbital or random-orbitsander.

P-Q
Pilotholq A holeboredintoa workpieceto preparefor insertionofa
screw;usuallymadeslightly smaller
than the threadedpart of the screw.
Pivot-foot: A circular sawwith a
depth-of-cutadjustmentthat is
madeby pivoting the sawup and
down at a point nearthe front of
the saw.Sie drop-foot.
Platejoint: A methodof joining
wood in whichbiscuitsof wood fit
into slotscut in matingboards.
Plungecut A cut by a sawbladeinto
the interior of a workpiecewithout
slicingin from the edgeof the stock.
Pressure-sensitive
adhesive
(PSA)disk A sandpaperdisk with
an adhesivebacking:for usewith
random-orbitand orbital sanders;
availablein different grits.
Pushblock or stick A deviceused
to feeda workpieceinto the bit or
bladeofa tool to protectthe fingers
ofthe operator.
R
Rabbet A step-likecut in the edge
or end of a board;usuallyforms
part of a joint.
Releasecut: A preliminary incision
from the edgeof a workpieceto a
Iine aboutto be cut; suchpreparations allow a sabersawto cut along
tighter turns by facilitatingthe
removalof wastewood.
Rip cut: A cut that followsthe grain
of a workpiece-usually madealong
its length.

S.T-U-V-W-X.Y-Z
Scrolling sabersaw:A sabersawthat
featuresa bladethat rotates360ofor
easiercuttingoftight curves.
Shoe:The metalbaseon a sabersaw
or circularsaw which restson a
workpieceduring a cut.
Softwood:Wood cut from logs of
(coniferous)trees.
cone-bearing
Spadebit A flat drill bit for boring
holesup to 172inchesin diameter.
Spline:A smallpieceof wood that
fits in mating groovesin two workpieces;servesto reinforcethejoint
betweenthem.
Stop collar: An electricdrill accessory that fits around a bit to stop a
drilling operationat a certaindepth.
Stoppedhole:A holethat doesnot
passall the waythrougha workpiece;
alsoknown asa blind hole.
Stoppedrabbet A rabbetthat does
not run the full lengthor width of a
workpiece.
Thpercut An angledcut alongthe
length of a workpiecethat reducesits
width at one end.
Tearout The tendencyofa bladeor
bit to tearthe fibersof the wood it is
cutting,leavingraggededgeson the
workpiece;a problemespecially
when
makingdadocuts.
Three-wing slotting cutter: A piloted groove-cutting
routerbit.
Tenon:A protrusionfrom the end
of a board:fits into a mortise.
Torque The twisting forceof a drill
or routerbit asit rotatesin the tool.

t4l

INDEX
Paqereferences in italics indicate
anlllustration of subiect matter.
Pase referencesin bold indicate
a B"uildIt Yourselfproject.

A
Abrasives,
126,127
Cleanins sandpaperbelts

jl
(shoFrip),^r

Anglecuts,-ba
ik endpaper
Circularsaws,J2,26,27,28
miterguides,13,18,28
Sabersaws,40
Aneled
ioints,107
"AnsGd
blocksfor beveledsurfaces
Ishop Tip), I 19
Beveledcorners,1 18-119

B
Beltsanders,122,123,124,125
Changingbehs,127
Stands.132
SeealsoSanders
Bevelcuts,12,27,40
Biscuitioints.SeePlateioints
Biscuiti (platejoinery),'170,111, 772
Bits:
Electric drrIIs,48,52
seealsoRouters:Bits
Blades.SeeCircular saws;Sabersaws
Build It Yourself:
Circular saws
crosscuttine
iies,2l
kerf splitter"s,
i8
miterandcrosscutting
guides,28
guides,
25
straightedge
"
Electric?rills"
center-drillineiies,63
hole-driIling t"einjrlates,
57
sandingdis[ tablis,65
Plateioiners
stands.120
Routers
adjustablecircle-cuttingjigs, 86
compassiies,87
routir ta6li miter gauges,
92
router tables.94-95
Sabersaws
43
^ circle-cuttingjigs,
Sanclers

belt sanderstands,132
circle-sandins
iiss,134
edge-sanding-duides,
I 30
T-squirejigs foi dadocuts,82-83
C
Carcases:
P l a t ei o i n t s ,1 1 4 - 1 1 1
51
, 6-117
Sanding,.135
jigs,63
Center-dri'lling
Circles:
Routers,85-86,86,87
Sabersaws,33,35, 41,43
Sandins,134
sandinga circularworkpiece
(ShopTip), 133

SeealsoCurved cuts
Circularsaws,13,14,15
l& l8
Accessories,
edgeguides,18,20,22,28
Anslecuts,12,26-27
Bla"des,
16,17,19
Dado cuts,29-30
Miter guides,13,18,28
PluneJcuts,30-3J
Refeience
marksfor accuratecutting
(ShopTip), l7
Ripping,22,24
Safetyprecautions,I 4, 20
ShopTips, 17,22,23,26,31
SeealsoCrosscuttinq
Clampandtool euidesll8
Cordfessdrills. 5?
Cornersanders(ShopTip), 132
Crosscuttins:
Circulariaws,20, 21,23
avoidingsplintering
(ShopTip),23
larsepanels,24,25
l2 l
Joi"ntdr/spliners,
Sabersaws,38
Curvedcuts:
Routers
circles,85-86,86, 87
a routerfor curved
steadying
cuts(ShopTip),78
Sabersaws.4l
circle-cuttingj igs,j3, 33,j5,
4r,43
freehandctts,4l,42
making releaseand tangent
repeatctts,47

D
Dadoes:
Circularsaws,29-30
Routers,8l-84
routingtwo dadoesin a single
pasi (ShopTip),84
T-squareiigsfoi dailocuts,82-83
Depthiollars,?9,53
Defth guides(ShopTip), 6t
Door hinqes:
Templatesfor mortisingdoor hinges
(ShopTip), 89
Dovetailioints, 101-102,103-105
Dowelingjigs,49
Dowelioints,60,61-62
Usins dowelcenters
(S'I-rop
Tip), 62
Drawers:
Sandine,137

Drillins:
sZ,sO-sz,
sz,Az

Ang-ledho\es,54, 55,67
block for angledholes
luide
"
(ShopTip), 55'
Borineaccdss
hbleslfor saber
saisl (ShopTipl, ts
Boringpilot holesfor finishing
nails(ShopTip), 59
Centerdrillingjigt, 63
Dowelingjigs,4
loinery,60-62

t42

Screwholes.58
SeealsoElectricdrills
Drum sanders,64
EFGHI
Edge-glued
boards:
Plateioints,112-113
Electricdrills:48, 49,50-51
Accessories,
49,52,53
rasps,64,66
san?ers,53,64-65
Bits, 48,52
Depthguides(ShopTip), 6l
Drivine screws,58
ShopT-ips,55,59,61,62
Stands,65, 62
SeealsoDrilline
Extensioncords,front endpaper
Flapsanders,53, 64
Gairgsanding,133
Grooves,81,83,121
Half-blinddovetailjoints, 101-102
Hoffman,Jan,8-9
Holes.SeeDrilling

Bob,10-ll
Jardinico,
Iiss:
-

Circularsaws
clampandtool guides,l8
ji gs,21,28
crosscutting
edgesuides,18,20,22,28
keifiplitters, l8
miterguides,13,18,28
Electricdrills
center-drillingjigs,63
dowelinstiss,49
guide_
b16ik"forangledholes
Shhoop pl lTpiJp, 5) ,55 5
(( S
hole-drilling
nore-orulnq
57
templates,
tem
sliding- bevels,55
Routers
adjustable
circle-cuttingjigs,86
jigs,87
compass
edgegddes,71,76
miter sauees,
92
mortii-aid-tenon iies,69,98
^ .T-squarejigs for dail6 cuts,82-83
Sabersaws
anti-tearoutjigs,38
circle-cuttingjiqs,33,35,43
edgeguides,-isl 39,40
Drotractorsuides,40
Sanders
jigs, 134
circle-sanding
guides,130
edge-sanding
V-ihapedstdfblocks, 133
108,121
Iointer/spliners,
Jornery:
Electricdrills,60-62
Routers,69, 69, 76,97-105
Jointing,96
KLMN
Kerfsplitters,18,l8
Largepanels,24,25
eairying largepanels

-|

(ShopTip),26
Sanding,130
Leeke,Iohir, 6-7
Markins tools, backendDaDer
Measuringtools,backehd'paper
Miter gauges,92
Miter guides,13,18,28
Miter-spline ioints, 102
Moldinis.9lMortiseland-tenonioints,
60,69,97-99
Nails:
Boring pilot holesfor finishing
nailslStropTip), 59
OPQ
Orbital-actionsabersaws.34
Orbital sanders,123,125, 128,
135-137
SeealsoSanders
Patternroutins,88-89
Plateioiners,i06-107,108,109,ll2
Aicessories.
110-111
Ansled
ioints,107
-anel6d
blocksfor beveled
'surfaces
(Shop
-I Tip), Jl9
beveledcorners. l8- I I9
B i s c u i t sl l,0 , I l l , 1 1 2
Edge-glued
boards,I 12-113
Grooves,l2J
fointer/spliners,108,12I
Routers.26
Safetyprecautions,108
Stands.120
Woodensauseblocks
(shopAip),I15
Wood-tiimmingblades,I 10,110,
1 1 11, 2 1
Plateioints:
Cdrcase
construction,I 14-1 15,
1lG117
Doublebiscuitjoining (Shop
Tip),117
Seea[soPlateioiners
PIugcutters,53,59
Plungecuts:
Circularsaws.30-3l
reducingplungecut splintering
(ShopTip), 3J
Sabersaws,32,44-45
boring access
holes(Shop
Tip),45
Plungeroutlrs, 69,70, 71, 75, 81,
86.88
Plywood:
Avoiding splintering(Shop
Tip),23
SeeafsoLargepanels
Polishine.126:1i9
Makii'g a polishingpad (Shop
Tip), 136
Protract6rguides,18,26, 40
R
Random-orbit sanders,123,125,
128.138-139
random-orbit headsfor grinders

(ShopTip), I38
steadyinsa workpiecewith under-

(Shoi,
rip), l3e
^ pqddins

see aLsoSanclers

Rasps,66
Reciprocating-action
sabersaws,34
Ripping:
Circularsaws,22,24
extendinga commercialedge
guidelShopTip),22
Sabersaws.39
Routers,68-69,70-71
Accessories,
76
Adjustment, 74-75
Auxiliarv sub-bases
for wider
cuts (ShopTip) 75
Bits,72,73,90
maintainingand replacinepilot
bearings"(
Shop i ip1,z-lpiloted,72, 73, 80,88,89
itoring routerbits (Shop
Tip),74
Curvedcuts
circles,85-86,86, 87
steadyinga router for
curve?cuts(ShopTip), 7S
Dadocuts,8l-84
routing tlvo dadoesin a
sinfle pass(ShopTip), 84
Edse-formins,77-80
iteadvinei routerfor curved
cuts(ShopTip),78
wobble-freeedgerouting
(ShopTip),7
Edgeguidei, T[,76
joinery, 69,76,97-105
fointing,96
Plungerouters,69,70,7l, 75,81,
86,88
joinery,97-99
precautions,
SafeV
7 l, 77
'fi'
ShopTips,73,74,75,78,79,
82,
84,89
Splintering,.TT
eliminatingtearout(Shop
Tip),82
Table-mbunted, 69, 90-96
miter sauees,92
routeriabfes.94-95
Templates,SS-89
templatesfor mortisins
door
"as
liinges(ShopTip),
T-squareiigs for dadocuts,82-83
S
Sabersaws,9,33, 34,35
Anqlecuts,40
Blaies,36,38
curved ctts,4l,42
extendingbladelife (Shop
Tip),37
installation.37
Crosscutting,
38
Curvedcuts.4l
circle-cutting
iigs,33, 35,41,43
freehandcu{s,41,Ez
making releaseand tangent

143

cuts(ShopTrp),42
repeatcuts,47
Multiple duplicatepieces,
46-47
Plungecuts,32,44-45
bdringaccess
holes(Shop
Tip),45
Ripping,39
Safetyprecautions,
34
ShopTips,37,38,45
Spliirtering,33,34
reducingsplintering(Shop
Tip), 38
Safetyprecautions,front endpaper
Ciriular saws,14,20
Platejoiners,108
Routers,71,77
Sabersaws.34
Sanders,ll,l23
Accessories.
126
Cornersanders(ShopTip), i37
Electricdrills,53,64:65'
Orbitalsanders,123,125,128,
135-137
ShopTips, 131,133,136,137,
1i8. 139
Belt sanders;
SeealsoAbrasives;
Polishine;Random-orbitsanders
Sanding,129-nL 135
Circ'les.134
sandinga circularworkpiece
(Sh5PTiP), l::
guides,l3l
Edge-sanding
Ganssandins,13J
Seeilso Abraiives;Polishing;Sanders
Sandpaper.
SeeAbrasives
SawhbrSes,
/ro nt endpaper
Screws.58
Scrollinesabersaws,34,42
ShopTi[s:
Circularsaws,lZ 22,23,26,31
Electricdrills,55, 59,61,62
Platejoiners,
115,I17, I19
Routers, 73, 74, 75, 78, 79, 82, 84, 89
Sabersaws,37, 38,42,45
Sanders,131,133,136,137,138,139
Slidingbevels,55 backendpaper
Slidini dovetailioints,1Bl1A4
SplintEring:
Circular saws
avoidingsplintering(Shop
TiP\' 2s
reducingplungecut splintering
(ShopTip), 3r
Routers,77
eliminatingtearout(ShopTip), 82
Sabersaws,33,34
reducingsplintering(Shop
Tip),38
Stacksawinl, 46
Stoppedcuti, SO,83-84,93

T.U-V-W-X-Y-Z
Taper cuts,27
Teirout. SeeSplintering
Tongue-and-groove
ioints, I 00
wodd:
Anatomy of a board, backendpaper

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Theeditorswishto thank thefollowing
CIRCULARSAW
AdjustableClampCo.,Chicago,IL; AmericarlTool Cos.,Lincoln,NE; DeltaInternationalMachinery/Porter
MD; GrisetIndustries,Inc.,SantaAna,CA;
Cable,Guelph,bnt.; DewalilndustrialTool Co.,Hampstead,
Makita Canada,Inc., Whitby, Ont.; SandvikSawsandTools Co., Scranton,PA; Sears,Roebuckand Co.,
Works, New
of the Sta_nley
Chicago,
- IL; Skil PowerTools Canada,Markham, Ont.; StanleyTools,_Divisi_on
Britain, CT; Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY
SABERSAW
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln, NE; Delta InternationalMachinery/Porter
MD; HitachiPowerToolsU.S.A.Ltd.,Norcross,
Cabie,Guelph,Ont.; DewaltIndustrialTool Co.,Hampstead,
Ont.; RuleIndustries,Burlington,MA; Sears,
GA; Robirt BoschPowerToolsInc., (Canada)Mississauga,
Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; Skil PowerTools Canada,Markham, Ont.; StanleyTools, Division of the
StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT; Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY
ELECTRICDRILL
ClampCo.,Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln,NE; Blackand DeckerPowerTools,Hunt
Adiustable
'
Valley,MD; belta Internitional Machinery/PorterCable,Guelph,Ont.; Dewalt Industrial Tool Co.,
Hampitead,MD; GrisetIndustries,Inc., SantaAna, CA; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.; Leichtung
OH; Makita Canada,Inc.,Whitby, Ont.; RobertBoschPowerToolsInc., (Canada)
Workshops,Cleveland,
Ont.; SandvikSawsand Tools Co., Scranton,PA; Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; Skil Power
Mississauga^,
Tools ianada, Markham, Ont.; StanleyTools,Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT; Tru-Align
ManufacturingInc., Tempe,AZ; VeritasTools Inc., Ottawa,Ont./Ogdensburg,NY; Vermont AmericanCorp.,
Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY
ROUTER
AdiustableClamp Co., Chicaso,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln, NE; Blackand Decker/EluPowerTools,
Cable,Guelph,Ont.; FreudWestmoreTools,Ltd.,
Hunt Valley,MDi lelta InteriationalMachinery/Porter
Ont.; GrisetIndustries,Inc.,SantaAna,CA; HitachiPowerToolsU.S.A.Ltd.' Norcross,GA;
Mississausa,
LeighInduitries Ltd., Port Coquitlam,BC; LinemasterSwitch,Corp.,Woodstock,CT; Makita Canada,Inc.,
Ltd.,Elie,Man.; RobertBoschPowerToolsInc., (Canada)Mississauga,
Wh'itby,Ont.; Oak ParkEnteryrises,
Ont.; SandvikSawsand Tools Co., Scranton,PA; Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; ShoPsmith,Inc.,
Montreal, Que.; StanleyTools,Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT; Taylor DesignGroup, Inc.,
Dallas,TX
PLATEJOINER
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.'Lincoln, NE;
Blackand DeckeriElu'PowerTools,Hunt Valley;MD; Delta InternationalMachinery/Porter,Cable,Guelph,
Ont.; StanleyTools,Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT; Steiner-LamelloA.G.
SawCo.,Kingston,MA
Switzerland/Coloniil
SANDER
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln, NE; Blackand Decker/EluPowerTools,
Hint Valley,MD; Delta Inteirational Machinery/PorterCable,Guelph,Ont.; Dewalt Industrial Tool Co.,
MD; FeinCanadianPowerTool Company(Que).Ltd.,Montreal,Que.;HitachiPowerTools
Hampstead,
U.S.A.ttd., Norcross,GA; MarshcoProducts,Biooks,ME; RobertBoschPowerToolsInc., (Canada)
Ont.; Sears,Roebuckand Co.,Chicago,IL; 3M CanadaInc.,Dorval,Que.
Mississauga,
alsoassisted
in thepreparation
Thefollowingpersons
'
ofthisbook:
LorraineDor6,DominiqueGagn6,
Bourgeois,
RenaudBoisjoly,Jean-Pierre
GraphorConsultation,ChristianeL'ltalien,G6rardMariscalchi,
JamesTh6rien,JocelynVeillette

PICTURECREDITS
Cover RobertChartier
6-7,8-9,10-11Ian Gittler

r44

I
I
I
I
I
I

t
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

WORKSHO
GP
UIDE
COMMON
WOODCUTS

ANATOMY
OFA BOARD

w+
ltltter

CrosscuL

Compound

Devel

MEASURING
ANDMARKING
TOOLSF()RWOODWORKING

Carpenter'a oquare
For checkin4or meaeurtn49Oo
an7lee on a flaL eufface: can

Try square
For checktnqor
markin490" an7lee.
Dlade availablein
6- Lo 12-tnchlenqth

4150 0e u'ed aa a
eltraiqhte.lqe

9liding bevel
AAit tof o f..

..n\/

antt

Cuttin4 gauqe
)teel knifetn4au4ecuLe

annl.

then Lo Lranaferor meaoure

tt. Dlade etoree tn handle

compaaa

Itnetn Etock:tnvaluablefo,
markin4doveLailaand Lenona
Markin4qau4e ie eimilarbut
featuree a pin LhaL
tcrit2aa lin

b*

For marLtnq
\\\
arcs and cirrlrs \\

Protractor
Uaeful for tetLinq
an4leeof machtne
fencea and bladee

\\

t\

Combination oauare
For checktnqor markin4 45"
or 9a" anqlee:deLachable
blade doublea ae ruler or
eltraiqhtedqe

Dovetail oquare
For marktnqptna of a
d oveLai Ijo int: avaiIable

I
I

:"'i::::::::f"-K-\
l:D for ha.dnood
\-/

Utility knife
Sharpened tip ecoree
llnea an wood mare
prectselythan
a penctl

t
I
I
I

t
I

t
I

Tape meaeure
A 16-foot-lonq blade feaLurin4
' and . . ircn
4.adddt io.o .1:=::=.
;2 .e( ammer)ed f o, mo" I
(. (
)\
aeneralcabinermalinq norl
\-:Za

French curve
itraightedge
For precteionmarktn4
of atratqhL lineaand
checktn4flat surfacee.
Thick meLal ed4ea are
machinedeLrai4hl;