= Sliding Bevel Gauge = Sharpening Brad Point Bits | =Band Saw Fence System = Abrasive Pads for FinishingMarch 1993 ‘Donald B.Peschke | Doug LHe ‘TheryJ. Strohmar Richard & Posers ‘Tm Robertson Pallp A. Totten ‘Ted Kraliok Gary Christensen ‘Kurt Schultz ‘Yul iape Aafitigon, ‘Crayela England ‘Ken Munkel Jn Hale Svee Kent Welsh Steve Curtis Cielo Divs: Us Breen Subecipion -Monage Pls Jose » iraltion Analy ‘Rod Caine Naver Slee Kes A Bn Associate iltor-Garén .Glapes Sr Graphic Designer Raber Whiter Control Pl Gy »Aneonting La 0" RoartesBookleping: lame Spero. Serices Menage soyce Meare « eure “Ann: Dosglas M. Liter » Administrative “Aare: Cher) Set, Sala Fa » coon eerne Jobnwon= lds Mein Ken Gri Marketing Director: Robes Mary olning drt Director Chuly Sachaon = Proj Sept ‘ins Jansen Sport JefTanessSi- uma Operabr: Lands Morwow « Recepaon: Keilee Serie Suprcinr: Jennie Bios « Customer SoviceRepevenitive: Sonne Morphy “olmscr, Sara Keno, Am Bans, Anca Cos, hess ‘Sepevierlery CaromeFufiinentGari Shee fs Dooce, Cc Garten, Sys Carey Semtetnn cary etd mt tones ee a Soir nelly Ween epee sitenel Soy 8 omer {ni ae Fe Tropa nwa #38 seins Deen hada ee ee 118, Deron To aero ft 9 8 om lawless Fit. Getting pieces to fit together perfectly is one of the most satisfying parts of being a woodworker. Like most woodworkers, it docan’t matter if the project is lange or small, Ifthe pieces fit together well, T'm happy. But getting a perfect fit is easier said than done. ‘Take box joints for instance. Box joints look rather simple and uncompli- ated. So making them should be easy. Allyou have to do iscut a series of slots, on the ends of adjoining pieces. Sounds simple enough. But theres more to making box joints than cutting a bnch of slots. You also have to consider the spacing be- tween each slot (the pin). To make box joints that fit together perfectly, the pins and slots need to “mesh” together like the teeth ona pair of gears. ‘To make good box joints you noed to enttthe pins and slots with machine-like. precision. And that's the idea hehind the Box Joint Jig shown on page 6. BOXJOINTJIG. Like many other box Joint jige, this one attaches to your mi- ter gange and ean be used on either a table saw or router table. And like other jigs it hasa “key” to position the workpiece. But what makes this jig unique is the way the key is designed. ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM. The key is desigmed with a built-in adjustment sys- tem that allows you to do two things. First, the size (width) of the key can be adjusted to fit slots from 14" all the way up to 1%e" (the width of a dado blade), This means youcaneut different size box joints with only one jig. Second, you can change the spacing between the slots with the turn of a knob. This allows you to “dial- fect fitting box joints every time. SLIDING BEVEL. GAUGE. Getting parts to fit together perfectly is also important when making the Sliding Bevel Gauge (see page 22). ShopNotes The challenging part is you're work- ing with two different materials — brass and Wood. This means that typical ‘woodworking techniques don’t apply. For example, gluing brass to wood is a problem. Whether you use yellow gine, white glue, or even epoxy, you wont get a permanent bon. The ree son fs brass doesn't move with changes in humidity —but wood does. So even- tually the hond will break RIVES. The solution to this problem is to mechanically fasten the pieces to- gether whenever possible. One way to do this i to “rivet” them together. Rivets allow you to do something sorews can't —they can “draw” several pieces together from both sides and permanently lock them in place. Basi- cally, it’s just a matter of drilling a hole and using apiece of brass rod as a rivet, (For more on this, seo page 24.) BAND SAW FENCE. Another project in this issue that uses metal is the Band Saw Fence System (shown on page 16). ‘Adding this system is an inexpensive and casy way to improve the accuracy and precision of your band saw. ‘The heart of the system is the rail: ‘The rails are made from aluminum an- gle. It’s inexpensive and easy to work with. And tt allowed me to solve a prob- Jem P'verun into when using othor band saw fences — “drift.” (Drift is the ten- dency ofa band saw blade topull orlead ‘one way or the other during the cut.) ADJUSTABLE RAILS. The two-piece front rail is designed so you can change the angle of the fence. This way you ean compensate for drift and end up witha perfectly straight, precise cut. FENCE ACCESSORIES. ‘To make ac- curate stopped cuts (ike the shoulders of a tenon), the fence is slotted for an adjustable stop block. This slot also al- lowsyoutoattach atall auxiliary fence, The extra support this provides makes rresawing safe, easy, and accurate. 2S No.8PET Le Contents Router Jointer 2 All it takes to get a perfectly straight edge on a work. piece is a hand-held router and this shop-made jig Box Joint Jig EB This precision-made jig produces tigh'-fting box joints. The secret is a micro-adjustment system that lets you ‘sneak up on the perfect fit. Making Box Jointe___________ 12 Professional looking box joints are easy (0 make with this simple step-by-stop approach. Sharpening Brad Foint Bits ___14 Router Jointer A file and a few basic techniques are all you need to Box Joint Jig restore the edge on your brad point bits. Band Saw Fence System ___ 16 ‘Make perfectly straight cuts on your band saw with this rock-solid fence. Itfeatures a buit-n clemping system, an adjustment for drift and two shop-made accessories. Sliding Bevel Gauge 35°22, Brass and wood combine to produce a fine tool that’s. both handsome and functional. Plus, some special tech- niques for working with brass and wood. Shop Solutions _________28 Band Saw Fence Seven Shop-Tested Tips: Dust Collector, Assembly Sur- face, Storing Waterstones, Auxiliary Fence Tip, Keyless Chuck Update, Diil Bit Spacer, and @ Blade Guard for Hand Saws. Abrasive Fads___________———30 Create a mirror. smooth finish on your projects by using abrasive pads in between coals. Souncep ames ttt titi: tedeet ge Haraware, project supplies, and mail order sources for, the projects in this issue. Sliding Bevel Gauge page 22 No.8 ShopNotes 8Creating a straight edge on a workpiece is easy with this simple jig for your router. ‘smooth, straight edge. It’s the first step to.a successful project. To ereate this edge, you canuse a hand plane or power Jointer. Oryoucan do the Job with this simple jig and a router, see photo. ‘AJOINTER. In some ways, this Jigs similar to a power jointer— ‘a Tevolving cutterhead produces aclean, straight edge. Ona power Jointer the workpiece is pushed overastationary eutterhend. But with this jg, the workpizee is sia- ‘ionaryand the cutter (arouter bit) ‘moves across the edge. There are two base parts to this router jointer: a platform, anda sliding earrings. { started by building the platform. Us just a plywood base (A), and two guide rails (B), see Fig. 1. ASE. Thelengthofthe base(A) determines the maximum length of the workpiece that ean be Jointed. Inmy case, it’s 48" long, ‘Ty clamp short or narrow stock to the base, slots are cut in from the front edge, see Fig. 1 er FIRST: CUT BASE FROM Setithex FLrwooD SECOND: CUT SLOTS FOR CLAMPS Set ou 20h0 ((WOLE FOR tor CUT-OFF 48. Nore: GUIbe RAL Ane sarTHloe St0CK GuIDe RAIS. All that’s loft to complete the platform is to add the guide rails (B), see Fig. 1. ‘These rails form a “track” to guide the carriage. ‘The thickness of these rails de~ termines the macimum thiek- ness of the workpiece. Since I do most of my work with ¥4'-thick stock, I made the guide rails the ‘same thickness (94"), see Fig. 1. ‘To make the rails, start by eut- ting two 114"wide blanks to a rough length of 60". Then, trim the rails to match the length of ‘the base (48"), see Fig. 1. Note: Save the cut-offs. CUFOFYS. I used the cut-offs for two things. First, they serve ‘as temporary spacers to position tthe guide rails. Seeond, one piece isused later to make the carriage. ASSEMBLY. The importantstep {in assembling the platform is to get the correct spacing between the rails. This ensures that the 2 a & D> nmaLiaRe Me Blin i ae 4 ShopNotes No.8.a carriage will slide without bind- ing and yet not have any side to side play. ‘To do this, first serew one rail flush with the back edge. Then, put thespacers between the rails and screw the other rail in place. With the platform complete, work can begin on the carriage. It con- sists of an ausiliary base for your router anda guide bar, see Fig. 2 AUXILIARY BASE. The avzil- iary base (C) is just a piece of "thick Masonite. One end is serewed to the guide bar. The other end rests on your work- pices, refer to Drawing below. ‘The auxiliary base is 7 long and cut to match your router base, see Fig. 2. To locate the bit and mounting holes in the Ma- sonite, use your original router base asa template, see Fig. 2a. GUIDE BAR The nextstep isto add the guide bar (D) that rides in the “track” of the platform. To do this, eut one of the guide rail spacers to a length of 8". ‘Then center the base on the guide bar SECOND: senor Ano ReUT GUDE FAL, and serew it in place, see Fig. 2. Now insert a straight bit (I use 4"bit) and mount the router to the auxiliary base. ROUTGROOVE. To create a reference for jointing the edge of a board, a shallow groove is routed in the base. (For more on setting up the jig, see box below.) Since there’s no workpiece un- der the router, it ean tip while routing. To prevent this, earpet tape a 84"-thick block to the bot- tom of the auxiliary base. Then set the bit to cut Vis-deep, and rout the groove, see Fig.3. ‘There are two steps to using the router jointer after you've damped it to your bench, First, position and clamp your workpiece to the jig, see Drawing. Then it's just a matter of sliding the carriage to joint the edge. POSITION WORKPIECE. To posi- tion a workpiece, place the rough edge to be jointed soit extends about Ws" (the ‘maximam ent) over the groove in the base, see Drawing, ‘Then clamp the board to the base. ‘Note: Make sure the overhang is the ‘same at both ends. JOINT THE EDGE. Then to,oint the edge, just slide the carriage from right to left. A single, smooth pass along the entire length of the board works best. Using the Router Joinier Thin Stock. | you want to joint » stock that's thinner than 94", you'll ‘need to support the carriage so it doesn't tip. To do this, carpet tape a scrapwood spacer to the auxi- jary base of the carriage. CLAMP.36 10 Bence NOTE: aware: FOR Me" MASIMOM CUT REFERENCE GROOVE <— SS No.8 ShopNotes oA unique miero-adjustment system lets you “tial in” perfect fitting box joints on your table saw or router table. Ihe thing that, impresses me most about this box joint jig isn't the tight-fitting joints you can make witht. After all, that’s what you expect from a precision-made jig. What's unique is how quicily and easily it can be adjusted. Unlike most box joint jige I’ve used that require ‘an almost endless amount of tweaking,” this jig ean be set up in a matter of minutes. The secret is a built-in system that lets you adjust the jig in ex- ‘tremely small increments, ‘MICRO-ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM. This system is Gosigmod to adjust to the desired size and spacing of the pins and slots that make up a box joint, see photo A. By simply turning a knob, the fi ean be A. Micro-Adjustment System. A pair of knobs adjuss the jg to the dosed size and spacing of the pins and slots. 6 ShopNotes B. Key. To out identically spaced pins and slats, two metal brackets form a “key" that posttions the workpiece. set to cut slots that range in size from a width of 14" to 1.6". A second knob changes the spacing of the pins and slots, This tightens (or loosens) the joint which allows you to sneak up on 2 perfect fit. KEY. The adjustment system works by moving two metal brackets, aee photo B.The brackets form “key” that automatically positions the workpiece so each slot is cut a uniform distance apart. ‘This creates a series of pins and slots that fit together like fingers in a glove, LOCKING FEATURE. To prevent the key from “ereeping” once it’ adjusted, a pair of plastic Imobs locks it securely in place, ee photo C. The result is perfect fitting box joints, 6: Lec Fortra Meat to bax joint jg, it can be locked in place with two plastic knobs. No.8rele ees EXPLODED VIEW BACK ADJUSTMENT LOCK, 4-20 TAR INOS Hono \ “ADUOSTENT TOP VIEW tose 7 Rie zerusre e stot nop l arene) ‘STAR RNB tose BACKING PLATE NOS CHANGES REVO FRONT ADUSTMENT BENEENSLOTS. END PLATE! Hardware © (1) Ya" x1" Machine Screw © (2) 10-32 Knurled Krobs (Bra6s) © (©) la"-20 Plastic Star Knobe © (2) 10-52 Threaded Rods - 22" (Brase) © (©) 14" Fat Washers “aleo sold as mending places 2 2) 34x 4"L-Brackotot i a © ©) #6596" Fh Woodacrews Materials List © (1) Ya" x1¥2" Carriage Bolt © (1) Va" x2¥2" Carriage Bolt A Fence (1) 4 x5¥2-18 © (2) #8.x54" Rh Woodscrews B Backing Plate (1) 1¥2 x5¥% - V4 Masonite © @) 10-32 Threaded Inserts © Fixed Material Reot (1) Ya x1¥2- 1840 *# (4) {0-82 Wachors (Brace) D Movable Material Rest (1) 94x3-B¥o Be Bios canes E FrontAduet Block (1) 3442 -6¥e © (2) 10-52 Hex Nuts (Brass) F Back Adjust. Block (1) 4x2 -596 G Erd Pate (1) Ya x2 -2V6 at No.8 ShopNotes 7Techie Fence and Material Rest 1 NOTE: us-20 masne | ‘STAR KNOB. ® FENCE exiey waexr MACHINE SCREW Dann s6r Dia HOLE CENTERED. Jontor cones MovaBLe MATERIAL, Nore: DRL, COUNFERSUNK HOLE MATERIAL REST BACKING PLATE A rence NS whet 7) yese0 Mace ytd Screw Nob Nore: MATERIAL ‘with Back Orvence ‘The box joint jigis designed with tall fence that supports a work- MATERIAL REST piece when you stand it on end. Withthe fence complete, the next ‘This lets you cut slots on the end step is to add a material rest. Tt of the worlggiecs by pushing the _servesas. “shel tornise the end jig through the blade (or bit). of a workpiece above the saw or FENCE. The fence (A) is just a router table. This way, the work- piece of $4'-thick hardwood (ma- piece spans any irregularities in ple) with thetopeomers mitered, thetable insert that eancause the see Fig. 1. To provide plenty of depth of te slots to vary. support, the fence is 516" tall TWOPARTS.'The material rest (wide) and 18" long. consists of two parts. A fixed rest BACKING PLATE. After you've (C) is attached permanently to cutthe fenceto size,thenext step the jig. And a movable material is to add a replaceable backing rest (D) that slides from side to ‘This two-part rest creates an opening that provides clearance for an adjustable “key” that’s added later, Andit lets you slide the jig through the blade without, cutting into the material rest. ‘BLANK. Both parts of the rest start out as a 4"-thiek blank, see Fig. 2. After eutting a rabbet on cone edge to form the shelf, the two parts are ent to final length. Then the fixed rest is trimmed to width and glued to the bottom of the fenee, see Fig. 1. The mov- ablerestis used lateras a platform plate. Theplate prevents the wood side, see Fig. 1. for the adjustment system, fibers around the back of the slot from chipping out as the blade [7p 7 wasre passes through the workpiece. SECOND: cxosscur SG by So why doesn't the fence alone Semen solve the problem of chipoat? Be- cause as the jig passes over the blade, a slot is cut in the fence as well as the workpiece. The prob- lem is once a large slot is cut, you've removed the support. ‘That's where the backing plate (B) comes in. It’s a piece of 1" Masonite that fits in a shallow dado in the fence, see Fig. 1. To make it easy to replace when it gels chewed up, the plate is held in place witha machine serewand knob (or wing nut), see Fig. 1a, THIRD: Teo FED MATERALRESTTOWIOMH 10" as MOVABLE RUOBETEDSE — MATERIAL REST 8 ShopNotesAdjustment System 3 BACK cs ae Pugmic STAR knoe waa b FRONT NoTE:owe pace i ADJUSTMENT ‘ADJUSTMENT BLOCK FLUSH (WT BACK AND END OF Lock MOVABLE MATERIAL REST ‘After completing the material _ ATTACH BRACKETS. Now the ter the adjustment system is as- rrest, work can begin on the ad- brackets ean be serewed to the sembled, the legs will extend in justment system. Basically, this ends of the blocks so the bottom front of the fence and form the system consists of two adjust- “legs” are flush with the front key that's used to position the mont blocks and a pair of L- edgeof the material rest (D). Af workpfoce, refer to Fig. 3a. shaped metal brackets, see Fig. 8, The blocks and brackets work [4] together to form a “key” thet ad- justs to the desired size and spac- ing of the slots that make up the ‘box joint. ADJUSTMENT SLOTS. To make the key adjustable, slots are eat in the front (B) and back adjust- ment blocks (F), see Fig. 4. Then the back block is glued to the movable material rest (D) that was made earlier to ereate an L- shaped assembly, see Fig. 3. BY. When the glue dries, the nextstep is toadd the adjustable [5 kay. To do this, the L-braekets are attached to the ends of the x TO FIT BLOCKS blocks. These brackets are just 4" | _reont | REND on mending plates that I picked up | "i500" fF rowers at the local hardware store. (See Boe page 81 for other sources.) : ~ ‘The only unusual thing is the ~& ) brackets need to be modified = slightly to fit the adjustment | MOVARE blocks. ‘This requires trimming | "tes" the ends and drilling an addi- f tionsl mounting hole in each TEM orT0K BA were nove bracket, see Fig. 5. SOLER, No.8 ShopNotes 9Locking System ‘The two adjustment blocks allow [G you to set the size and spacing of the key. To prevent this key from moving onee it’s adjusted, I in- stalled a special locking system. ‘This system has two separate “locks” — one for the size of the key, and one for the spacing be- tween the key and the blade. SIZE LOCK. To lock in the size of the key, the adjustment blocks POSITION FRONT BLOCK MATERIAL REST Aouustment stock | 7 Ffoeu seo are held together with a carriage Fine, |e mma iccgmrennams holt and knob, refer to Fig. 5a. pice A eee ONT _ ‘Tho bolt passes through a hole drilled in the front block (5) and FIRDT: ouve o1oex A 7 through the shortslot in theback [7] "Rea o ner Bs block (F), see Figs. 6 and Ga, SECOND: warcvoue | | | CouvreReone "TEMPLATE. To ensure the hole in the front block aligns with the slot, I used the back block as a template, see Fig. 6. Withtheends of the blocks flush, a 14" brad point bit can be used to mark the center of the hole at the end ofthe slot, see Figs. § and 6a, DRILL HOLE. Afterlocating the centerpoint, drill a shank hole for the carriage bolt. Then to recess ‘ATEND OF S10 beer the head of tie bolt, I used a Forstner bit to drill 2 counter- bore. Now the carriage bolt ean he installed and a washer and knob (or wing nut) threarled on, SPACING LOCK. The next step is toprovide a way to loek in the spacing between the key andthe blade. Here again, a carriage bolt is used. But this time it passes through a hole in the fence and the long slots in both block: ‘To locate this hole, place the assembly under the fence. ‘Then slide the blocks to the left as far as possible, and mark the hole at the ond of the slot, see Fig. 7. All that’s let is to drill a coun- terbored shank hole in the fence, see Fig. 7a. Then install acarriage bolt, washer, and knob as before. Vertical Drilling Jig Holding a long workpiece (ike the box joint jg) steady when drilling holes in end grain ean be a challenge. So when I drilled the holes forthe adjust- ing rods, T used a simple jig, see photo. it's just a couple of pieces of wood held together at a right angle and a ‘triangular support piece, see Drawing. To center the hole on the bit, the base is clamped to the drill press table sothe upright extends over the edge. "Then, with the work damped to the upright, loosen the table and swing | the workpiece under the bit. A vertical drilling jig holds long wortpieces securely in pluce when drilling holes in end grain. 10 No.8 ShopNotesere Micro-Adjustment System ‘The most unique feature of the [™ box joint Jig is the micro-adjust- ment system. This system lets you fine tune” the key to the de~ sired size and spacing of the slots, ADJUSTING RODS. The secret is a pair of adjusting rods. One rod threads into the end of the ‘backrblock,and the other into the fence, see Fig.8. By turning the adjusting rods you slide the blocks from side to side which positions the Key. (Por more on using the micro-ad- BeloNG O32 ‘Fieeade 662. eu 2 DEEr ROLE ort INSERT — justment system, see page 12.) ADJUSTMENT ASSEMBLY. ‘To make this work, an adjustment assembly is attached to the front lock (B), see Pig. 8. This assem- bly consists of a thin wood plate and several pieces of hardware. END PLATE. Before installing the hardware, I made the end plate (G) froma piece of Y4"-thiek hardwood, see Fig. 98. After drill- ing holes for the adjusting rods and two mounting serews, the plate can be used as atemplateto mark the corresponding holes in holes are drilled, the micro-adjust- the end of thejig,see Fig.8. ment system can be assembled. DRILLING JIG. Marking the ‘The 244"-long adjusting rods holes is easy. The trick is holding are cut from a piece of threaded the jig steady todrilltheholes. To rod. To accept the rods, threaded do this, I used a simple drilling inserts are installed in the fence Jig, see box on page 10. Once the (A) and back block (F). The actual 10} Enon Sie SECOND: POSITION END OF. [RED MATERAL REST "AGAINST BLADE THIRD: ‘screw TER SRUGE TO FENCE, adjusting pressure is ereated by a “stop” on each side of the plate. ‘The stop on the inside of the plate is a washer and lock nut, ‘Another washer and a knurled ‘knob that’s tightened against a nut forms the outside stop. MITER GAUGE The last step is to attach the jig tothe miter gauge. The ideais to position the jigso youcan cut the largest possible slot without eui- ting into the material rost. ‘This requires mounting: your widest dado lade (or largest bit). In my case, this was 2 146" dado blade, see Fig. 10, Note: Since I don’t like to remove that much material with arouter, the largest router bit Tuseisa 1" straight bit. ‘To complete the jig, check that the miter gauge is square to the blade. Then position the fixed rest against the blade and serew the gauge to the fence, see Fig. 102, iMaking Box Joints Basically, there are only two re- quirements for making box joints. Perfect spacing between the pins andslots. And getting the ends of the pins flush with the side of the adjoining plece, see photo above. Step 1: Raise Blade. To produce @ box joint with the ends of the pins flush with the side of the adjoining piece, raise the blade to match the thickness of the workpiece. Note: This isthe distance from the material resto the top of the blade ‘Using the micro-adjustable box joint jig shown on page6 solves the first problem — cutting identi- cally spaced pins and slots. (For more on adjusting the box joint Jig, refer to Steps2 and 3 below.) RAISE BLADE ToMAICH “THCKNEES OF WORPece FLUSH PINS. But to solve the second part of the problem (get ting the ends of the pins flush with the sides) there are two ‘things you'll need to take into ac- count: the length of the pins and Step 2: Set Width of Key. Using a sit cut in a test piece, the key is adjusted fo match tho width of the slot. To do this, loosen the locking knobs and tum the back adjustment knob key. Then tighten the out- side locking knob. FIRST: cur stor Test lace ‘SECOND: Apsusr FEV TDF BLOT (TUN TO ADLUST SIZE OF KEY TIGHTEN KNOB 10 LOCK KEY Step 3: Adjust Spacing. Now turn the front adjustment nod to set the spacing between the slots. After positioning ihe key the width of one slot from the blade, tighten the inside knob. Just if necessary. Moving the key closer tothe blade loosens the joint. Moving it away tightons tho ft 12 ShopNotes Aa Sia a \\“"tuen To aouust sac =f@ ve thickness of tne workpieces. Ideally, the length of the pins matches the thickness ofthe work- pieces. So start by checking that all the pieces are the same thiek- ness. Note: While you're at it, “thldkness''a few test plevesto use when adjusting the jig. ‘The next step is to determine the length of the pins (depth of cut). To do this, Tuse a test piece as a set-up gauge and raise the blade tomatchtthe thicknessof the PTE piece, refer to Step 1 on page 12. APPEARANCE. While it doesn't ‘snake or break” the box jcint, I like the look of a full pin (or slot) on the end of each piece. So after catting each piece tolength, Istart with a board that’s witer than -whatisneeded. Then, after complet- ‘ng the slots, the extra width is ‘rimmed toleave afull pin (ors). Note: The “waste” also comes in handy for keeping track of which edge to position against tote ON OTHER END SECOND: PosmON AnNG Prece KoaNorEbsE OF Fo PIEGE AND CUT SLOTS No.8 ‘ShopNotes the key, see Steps 4 through 6. ‘TRIAL JOINTS. Once the pieces are cut to “working” size, it's a good idea to make a trial joint. ‘The goal is to slide the pins into the slots with a “ftiction” fit. This may require some readjusting of the jig to get a perfect fit. But the end result is worth the effort. ‘MAKE JOINTS. Now it’s just a matter of eatting matching slois on each workpiece, see Steps 4 through 6 below. ‘Step 4: Cut Slots on End. With the edge of the workpiece against the key, cut the frst slot This creates a pin on the end of the piece. Then position tho workpiece to cut each of the re- maining slots by straddling the key with the slot that was cut last ‘Step 5: Cut Matching Slots. To cut matching slots on the op- posite end, flip the workpiece so the wasie edge is oriented to the same sige. Then, with the work held firmly against the fence and the materiel rest, cut the rest of the slots using the same proce- dure as beiore. ‘Step 6: Form Mating Pins. To form pins that match the slots Con the adjoining piece, use the first piece as a set-up gauge. Just turn it around so the waste edge is on the opposite side and the slot that was cut fst fits over tho key. Aftr cutting thie olet, oot the first piece aside and com- plete the box joint. 3BSharpening Brad Point Bits B= point bits are designed specifically to eut clean, ac- A file and a curate holes in wood. Like any two-step tech- other cutting tool, they work ‘gue, That's best When properly sharpened. nique. That's stehough the “business” end of all it takes 0 brad point bit may look a little sharpen a brad complicated, it's ensy to sharpen point bit. once you know how it works. COMBINATION BIT. Basically, abrad point bit combines the best features of three different drill bits. Its like a hybrid of a spade bit,a Forstner bit, and atwist bit, see box below POINT. Like a spade bit, there's a sharp, tapered point for center- ingthebiton the workpiece. This prevents the bit from “wander- ing” off the centerpoint as you at the hole, LIFTERS. After the point en ters the wood, two eutting edges or “lifters” take over, Like th entting edges on a Forstner bi thelifters ct ikea pair ofrevoly- ing chisols that shear off and lift ut thin wood shavings. SPURS. In addition to the lit- ers,some brad point bitsalso have two kmife-edged “spurs.” To pro- duce a cleaner hole, these spurs score the wooil fibers around the N 14 IY ShopNotes perinatal FLUTES As the el is dite, MD spiral flates in the bit pull up and eject the chips from the hole like an anger. ‘The basic idea is the same as a twist bit. Only the flutes are ground at a steeper en- ale so they eject the chips faster. There's really nothing mysteri- as about sharpening. brad point bit. Infact, youean restore a sharp edge in less time than it takes to drill a hole with a dull bit. All it takes isa few strokes from a file. (For more information on seleet- ing @ file, see box on page 15.) CLAMPING J1G. The first step is to provide a way to hold the bit securely in place while you're sharpening it,'To do this, I use a simple damping jig. This is just a serap block of wood (Iused a2x4) witha shallow V-groove,seemar- gin tip on page 15. SHARPEN LIFTERS. With the & bit extending about 1" above the block, the next step is to sharpen the lifters (cutting edges). The No.8ae secret is to create a dean, sharp [4 line along the edge. This requires filing the angled “Zlat on the end of the bit, see Fig. 1. FILING ANGLE.To determine the correct filing angle, just rest the face of the file on the flat. Once you've “found” the angie, push the fle aerass the flat in a continuous motion. The trick isto file the flat without nicking the RSI RESTFILE ON brad point or the spur. To keep from rounding over the lifter, raise the file off the bit | 2 at the end of each stroke. Then find the angle again and repeat the filing process until the sur- face is shiny and flat, ‘The important thing is not to ‘get carried away. The fea is to hone the cutting edge. Not reshape the bit. T usually keep track of the number of strokes I make on each lifter. This ensures IASAINGT Oru | wood with a holds the bit securely in place when ‘sharpening. Cont ertones that an equal amount of material is removed offeach edge and that bothliftersend updoingthesame amount of work, SPURS.If you have a brad point bit with spurs, the next step is to “dress” the inside of the spurs, see Fig.2. Here again, find the angle with the file. Only this EC ‘There are a numbor of difforont fllos available that ean be used to sharpen brad point bits MILL FILE, Fora largediameter bit without spurs, you ean toueh up the cutting edges with a fat mill file, But for spurred bits, a lange file just gots time, tilt the file s0 the face is against the inside of the spur. ‘Now take one or two strokes until the surface is shiny and flat. A light touch here keeps from damaging the lifters that you've just sharpened. Note: Don't file the outside of the ‘in tho way. . AUGER FILE. One file that's espe- ally suited to spurred bits is anauger file. This isa flat file with two tapered fends, see photo above. One end has teeth on each face while the opposite ‘end has teeth only on the edges, see photo at left. This creates smooth or “safe” areas that let you fle either the spuror thecutiing edge without dam- aging the adjacent surface. ‘The only drawback is an auger file istoo big tosharpen smaller diameter bits.'To getbetween the point and the spur, a needle fileis a handy tool. NEEDLE FILE. This is a small stee! file that notonly givesyou more control diameter of the bit. POINT. At this point, y be tempted to sharpen the point. Bat it's easy to remove more from ove side than the other. Sinee this throws the bit off center; I leave the point alone. ‘when sharpening small its. But it also Jets yousharpen the liters without acci- dentally nieking the spur or point. The problem is these files don’t work with all bits. To resist heat, ‘some brad point bitsare made of high speed steel. As a result, an ordinary steel fle just doesn't “cut” it. DIAMOND NEEDLE FILE, The solu- tionis e diamond needle file, see pho- tos above and at left. The diamond abrasive on the file does an excellent Job of sharpening the hard steel of high speed bits, In fact, if T had to choose one file for all my brad point bits, I'd gowith adiamond needle file. (Por soarces of files, see page #1.) A scrap block of Shallow V-groove No.8 6H many times have you damped a scrap piece of wood to the table of your band saw as a fence! Then spent the next hour fiddling around with it just to get a straight cut. ‘The solution is simple — adda fence system. But this is an expensive option for most band saws. So decided to build my own, sce photo. The fence stam is made up of two main parts: a wood fence and a set of metal rails. FENCE. The fence supports the workpiece and etermines the width (or thickness) of the cut. To make sure it staysin place afterit'sbeen positioned, there's a simple, but effective fence clamp, see photo A. Once t's clamped in place, the fence is rock solid —there's no side to side play whatsoever. ee BAe Band Saw ° Fence tem This unique fence system features a built-in clamping system, adjust- able rails, and a pair of handy ‘fence accessories ACCESSORIES. There's a slot cut in the end of the fence to accept two optional accessories. One acces- imple block that acts as an adjustable stop for repeat cuts, see photo B. The other is a tall aizliary tes ta orien aiied smpgret hen MP resawing. (Por more on this, see page 21.) RAILS. The fence fits into a set ofaluminamangle rails: a two-piece front rail and a single back rail. ‘The two-piece front rail allows you to quickly and easily adjust the angle of the fence to get a straight ent, See photo C. (For more on adjusting the fence, see page 21.) Inaddition to boing adjustable, the rails are also designed so that you can easily lift off the fence whenever it isnt being used. C-Adjusiable Ral The twice ort @D rail is designed co you can adjust the angie of the fence to get a straight cut. B. Fence Accessories: An adjusiable stop biock is one of two accessories that ft intoa siot in the end of the fence. A. Fence Clamp: Built into this fence is a two-piece clamp that pinches the frontrailand locks the fence in position. 16 ‘ShopNotes No.8oe ~ ao sue WOODSCREW apts e sige PRESSURE BLOCK ADJUSTABLE RAIL @ r.ovepview ouoronr ee CROSS SECTION ior nis ron oF ERS I P 4] i MOUNTING id sowerhoe besa oun Materials Hardware 4 am) tex5 17% © () Yo" thick Aluminum = (1) He" Wing Nut B Phch Block(1) Wext¥-B Argle- Ho" Vem ° (1) Se" Plate knob C Pressure Block (1) 94 x2%-5 © (2) Va" - 20x 4" Rh Mach. Screw (1) Y2"x Yo" Round Nylon Spacer A D Mounting Rail(1) 12 xt¥e-24" © (1) ¥4"- 20 Lock Nut © (4) #8x 2" FhWeodecrew : E Adjuctable Rall(1) We xt¥2-24 * (1) V4" External Tooth Lock Washer © (2) #Ox 1/4" Fh Woodecrew F BackRai(!) — Nexi¥e-24° *(1)V4!-20 Plactic Star Knob» (1) #854" Fh Woodecren DG iieronce ty — 5e17%4-%py | | *C) V4" Wacher * a eictoot length oFanele cut H StopBlock (i) %xtle-5 (2) 516" x2V2"-long Carriage Bolt into three equal sections pro- "slightly less than 24" * (2) 516" Washer duces rails almost 24" long No.8 ‘ShopNotes TSHOP PROJECT behence ss. Sn es te presoure 1 wey CARRIAGE BOLT (- "ae \ a Aa PINcH NIB. i “BAND a a = L 1@ “d"sshaped m arm of the fence allows you to slide it al the way to the left t0 achieve a maxi- mum cut SLOTIf you're planning on holdsthearminplaceonthefront adding the fence accessories rail, refer to Fig. Ia. shownonpage21,nowisthetime To make the pinch block (B), tocutaslotinthearm, sce Fig.2. start by gluing up two picces of RABRRT Also, to prevent the 2/"-thiek stock to make a long pinch block (B) from twisting blank (about 8"). Then rip this when it's serewed to the arm blank to mateh the width of the later, I cut a Vé"-deep rabbet in rabbet (154°), see Fig. 3a. the front ofthe arm to “lock” itin ATIF. Next, to create a “lip” so place, sco Figs. 1 and2. the pinch block ean ride on the 2 front ral, a rabbet is eut on the ‘The heart of the band saw system PINGH BLOCK edge of the blank, see Fig. 3a. is the fence, see Fig. 1.Iteonsists The next step is to make the After the lip is eut, trim the of three parts: an arm, a pinch pinch block that fits in the rabbet._ pinch block to match the width of block, and a pressure block, you just cut, see Fig. 3. It forms the arm (6")and screw it in place, am the rear “jaw” of the clamp that see Fig. 3. I started work by making the [> arm. Its shaped like the letter FIRST: “a” —wideat the front to provide SE TEs alarge damping eurface,and nar- rowat the end to clear the throat of the band saw, see photo above. ‘The arm (A) ismade by gluing up two 5'-wide blanks of 34"- thick stock, see Fig. 2. (I used maple.) To determine the length of these blanks, measure the length (depth) of your hand saw table and add 5°. (In my case, they're 1744" ng.) After the glue dries, eat the arm to shape and sand the edges smooth, see Fig. 2. SECOND: 18 ShopNotes No.8Te All that’s loft is to aid the pres- sure block (C), refer to Fig. 1. Since it's a short pieee, I once again started with an extra-long blank, Cut this blankto mateh the combined height of the pinch block and arm (244"), see Fig. 4. SHALLOW GROOVE. To help concentrate elamping pressure cn the front rail, ashallow groove is cut in one face of the pressure Mock, see Fig. 4. ‘Afler the groove is cut, txim the block to match the width of the arm (5°), and chamfer the ont side comers, see Fig. 4. CLAMP. The pressure block is attached to the arm with two woodserews, Clamping pressure is exerted by a carriage bolt and 2 Pknob (or a wing nat). (For sources of hardware, see page 31.) ‘The bolt passes ‘through the pressure block and pinch block, refer to Fig. 1a, When the'T- knob is tightoned on the end ofthe bolt, it pinches the guide rail and locks the fence in place, ‘TEMPLATE. The tricky part is getting the serew and bolt holes to align inboth pieces. ‘Ty solve this problem, I drilled holes in the pressure block first, see Fig. 4. Then I used the pres- sure block as a template to drill the matching holes, see Fig. 5. woonscxew Eee PRESSURE BLOCK ‘DRILL COUNTERSUNE SHANE HOLES FOR #9 4" Ph ‘WoobeceN |—wer-oeer uamrer COmNeRS. ASSEMBLY. After the holes are drilled, the fonce ean bo assem- bled. To do this, drive the ear- riage bolt into the pinch block. ‘Then, serew the pressure block to ‘the arm and thread on the Tob (or wing nut), refer to Fig. La, NYLON SPACER, To complete the fence, serew a round nylon spacer to the narrow end of the arm, see Fig. 6. This spacer will rride’on the badks rail and support the fence when the arm doesn’t rest directly on the saw table. CARPET TAPE ASA TEMPLATE FOR ‘CRLUNG Hows SEEFIG.Is, 6 ae e — 2 a woobacRew Nores END OF SPACER, | Soe ecxew No.8 ShopNotes 19STI The Rails 7 BACK RAIL MounTING RAIL nore O- At chawrer — CONES Greans He BELOW TOF STAR eNOS — (oRWINE NT) i With the fencecomplete,work can drilled in the mounting rail (D) BACK RAM. Once the front rail begin ontherails:atwo-pieeefront for bolts. Theso bolts threail into is bolted in place, the only thing An adustable two- rail anda backrail see Fig.7, the pre-drilledholes in yourtable left is toadd the back rail (F), see gjece Fora and AULONUMANGLE.All three tap, see Fig. (Note If your Pig. 7. Ibs totherear ofthe 2 single back rail mail pieves are made from 114" x band saw doesr't- have these table to support the narrow end provide support for 1e"aluminumangle(availableat holes, you'll ned to drillthem,) of the fence, see Fig. 7b. ‘he fance and allow most hardware stores). T used a 'Theimportant thingisthat you All_yet need to do is drill two you to compensate hacksaw to cut the rails from a locate the rail soit's 8" below tne oversized mounting holes and for “art.” single six foot length of angle top of the table, see Fig. 7. This bolt it to the band saw table. (each piece is almost 24" long). ensures it won't interfere with _ CHAMPER CORNERS. Finally, FRONT RAIL. The front rail the bar of your miter gauge, see file othe sharp expesed comer consists oftwo pisces, sue Fig.7. Figs, 7and Ta, on the rail pieces, see Fig. 7 A mounting rail (D) which at taches to the table of your band saw. And an adjustable rail (E) |& that pivotssoyoucan adjust your fonce to got astraight ext. ‘The pivot point is centered on the length of therals. Asloton |, ©>— ‘one end allows you to adjust the eat ratl and “lock it in position. SPACER BLOCK, The triely part a an is drilling the heles in both rail oe BENENALS pieces so they align, The solution is to clamp & spacer blodk be- ‘ween the rails, see Fig. 8. Then lay out and drill the holes. MAKE SLOT Next, to ereste the slot in the adjustable ral (B), drilled a series holes and filed the slot smooth, ee Fig. 8b. MOUNT RAIL. To mount the font ral, twooversized holes are owners DILL = CA HOLE Te PROM ERD ae (eacae Se PE 20 No.8Fence Accessories ‘There are two fence accessories that I find myselfreaching for all the time. One's a tall auxiliary fence that makes resawing safe and simple, soe Fig. 9. The other isan adjustable block that’s handy for making stopped cuts (like cutting tenons), see Fig. 10. AUXILIARY FENCE, The cutil- tary fence (G) offers additional support to your workpiece when resawing. It's just a piece of ply- ‘wood eut to match the length of the arm (1794), see Fig. 9. ‘This fence attaches to the arm with a bolt and a wing nut, see Fig. 9. To prevent your work- AUXILIARY FENCE (Sarma sePLY) ieee from catching on the bolt, counterbore the hole, see Fig. Sa. STOP BLOCK. The stop block (#1) 1s 2 piece of scrap hardwood with a hole drilled at one end for ‘carriage bolt. Locating the hole rear one.end allows youto flip the block and position it either close tothe blade, or back by the endof the arm, see Fig. 10. ‘To complete the stop block, chamfor the two opposing cor- ners of the block for sawdust re- Oo] sewn nor Be WASHER lief, see Fig. 10. Adjusting the Fence ‘The most unique feature of this fence system sits ability tocom- ‘pensate for drift. Drift isthe ten- deney of the blade to “pull? one way or the otter while cutting. ‘Thiscan be caused by using a dull blade, ora blade withnneven set. ‘The solution is to adjust the angle of your fence to mateh the pallor “drift.” ALIGN FENCE. The frst cepts to align the band saw fence to your miter gauge slot. Start by positioning the fence next to the edge of the miter gauge slot and lock it in place. ‘Then loosen the starknob on the adjustable rail (E), see Detail. Next, pivot the adjustable rail until the arm of the fence aligns with the edge of the slot, and tighten the star knob, TEST CUE To check the fence system, I make a test eut. Start bystandingaa serap piece of wood ‘on edge, see Drawing. ‘Then position the fence to cut half it’s thickness and resaw the ‘board, If the eut is straight, no ‘further adjustment isneeded. DRIFT Ifthe ent isn't straight, ‘you have a “drift” problem. To ‘compensate for this, loosen the star knob on the adjustable rail and pivot the rail to mateh the angle of the drift, sec Drawing. ig No.8 ShopNotes sesreur 2 STAR RNOBLOCKS RAIL LAE i TAT DESIRED ANGLE 60 FENCE ALIENS wrt THIRD: MATER GAUGE SLOT ‘ADJUSTRAL AND FENCE aGer Sliding BevelGauge ° TOF TRIM, veer phase How do you get a flawless fit between | brase and wood? All it takes is a serapwood | jig and some simple technique: ano i y B rass and wood. Two tradi- techniques.(For more onthis, see JIN | onal materials for making the boxes on following pages.) SJ LA hhané tools. And the bevel gauge | )) shown here is the perfect oppor ‘THE RAMBLE e i )) tunity tocombinethesematorisls Istarted work on the bevel gauge yeon—/ to make your own fine tool by making the wood handle, see natn ish All you need are two small Drawing at left. Since brass can pieces of wood anda I"-widebrass stain light colored woods when strip. (Brass is available at most itis flled or sanded, used walnut. hobby stores, crsee page31) But any dark hardwood will do ‘The challenging part is getting To make the handle (A), first an almost flawless fit between cut two'4"-thick blanks to match the brass and wood. To get a fit the width of your brass si like this requires some special and 634" in length, see Fig. 1. 1] NOTE enc Eur Wo DENTICAL SonTHCR BLANKS sal LAE Italaclk * (1) Ne"Bravo r Strip -the12" r © (1) 4" Brass 4 Wing Nut isons © 1) Yat" Base Machine Serew | | 2orromnavoer ()V4" Braco Nuc | |°°* N° © (1) ot Dia pete m| pn Brase Rod 12" sayeaxie too Brass Screws Moot nec cur Sue ete 22 ShopNotes, No.8RABBETS. After these blanks are cut to size, shallow rabbets fare cut on the ends to accept brass trim plates, see Fig. 1. ‘The depth of the rabbotsie the same thickness as the brass strip (As'), The only difference is their length (height). The rabbets on the bottom end of eazh blank are %4" long. But the rabbets on top are 1" long. To ent these rabbets, I at- tached an auxiliary fence to the table saw. Then, to support the ‘workpiece, I damped it to a sim- ple jig, see Fig. 2. ‘TRIM PLATES Once the rabbets are cut, the next step is to fit the top (B) and bottom (C) tritn plates in the rab- bets, see Fig. Allthe brass parts (including the trim plates) aro cut from a single 12* long brassstrip. ‘The unusual thing is they're not all cut at once. Instead, the brass strip is first squared at one end. Then a trim plate is marked cout and cut torough length. Thon the rongh-sawn erige of the strip is squared up again, and the next plate is cut, see box below. Fitting Brass Fitting brass to wood is easy with this simple jig. First, the brass strip is flattened, Then, one end is squared with a smooth rill le. SE St meas cee comers rt = cabo ci ® [elo © ® —— ne ‘Cutting the picses individually ike this ensures that each trim plate will fit tight against the shoulder of the rabbet. FITTINGTHE PLATE. But be- fore you can cut the plates to length, the brass strip needsto be flattened, see box below. Then, ‘one end of the strip is squared and eut to rough length, see Fig. For a brass strip to fit tight ina rabbet,ithas tobe latand square. ‘The problem is they arent mami- iactured this way, see Detail. ‘Tosolve this, Tuse a simple. see Drawing. It's just a block of ‘wood with a shallow rabbet eut:in itforthe brassstrip. FLATTEN FACE, To flatten the brass, glue a piece of 120 grit sil- ‘con carbide sandpaper in the rab- bet. Then slide the entire strip ‘back and forth until it's flat. SQUARE EDGE. Next, to square an end, extend the strip past the end of the jig and clamp it. Then ‘using the end ofthe jig asa guide, file the end square, see photo. 8, Later it will be filed flush with the end of the handle. GLUETRIM PLATE.After the plates cut to rough length, I use “instant” glue to temporarily hold it in the rabbet. Instant glue isn't strong enough to hold the brass strip in place permanently. Later, it will be attached perma- nently with screws or rivets. FIRST: ou FLATTEN OnE wis (wera 097 SECOND: | FILE ONE En square No.8 ShopNotes 23ae Assembly With all the trim plates glued in place, the next step is to attach the two l"-longtop plates perma- ‘ently to the handle blanks, see Fig. TOP PLATES. Each top trim plate (B) is screwed to a handle blank with two #2 x 14" solid brass woodserews, see Fig. 4a. Since I didn’, want the slots of the screw heads to show, I eoun- tersunk the holes slightly so the slots are just above the brass strip, see margin tip at left, and Fig. 4a. Then [filed the heads off [5 flush with the brass strip. BRASS SCREW. The next step is to drill a hole through the top trim plates and handle blanks, see Fig. 4. This hole is for a brass ‘machine screw (added later) that will help hold the blade in place. ‘Tomake sure the holes in both handle blarks align, carpet tape FIRST omni vero HOLES FOR ScREWe. COUNTERS HOLES ee ‘TOGETHER AND ORI Y-DIA HOLE 4 simple way 10 ‘SPLISH WAT PACE keep a counter- sink bit fom chat- tering, is toturn it by hand. them together and then drill a W4-tia, hole, see Fig. 4, (Note: ‘Once the hole is drilled, separate the blanks and remove the tape.) ‘To lock the machine screw in place, it's threaded into a brass mut, see Fig, 5, To create a “pocket” for the nut, I used a Forstner bit to drill a counter- bored hole in the inside face of ‘one of the blanks, see Fig. 5a. ‘Then I epoxied the nut in place. SPACER. Now you can begin ‘work on the other end of the kan- dle, The handle blanks are sepa- rated at the bottom by a spacer, see Fig. 6. The spacer provides clearance for the blade that’s added later. And the mitered end acts as a stop for the mitered end of the blade, La Testy Rivets made from brass rod “draw” the handle pieces tightly together wnen the ends are peened over like a mushroom. Riveting brassis asimplethree step process. All it takes is a brass rod and a little patience. DRILL HOLES. The first step is to drill countersunk holes the same diameter as your brass rod, see Drawing. CUTRIVETS.Then cut two pieces of brass rod to length so they extend about. ‘A6' “proud” on both sides, see Drawing, PEEN RIVETS. Now, to lock the plates in place, peen the rivets. The idea is to “mushroom” the ends so they completely fill the countersinks, see photo at left. ‘When youre done, file the heads flush with the brass plates. Sr otto or beaoo ROD _ We-DIA BRASS ROD SECOND: Eur ROD hes mmovo ox so ses THIRD ——_ 24 ShopNotesFINE TOOLS To make the spacer (D), start L FIRST: iymumigupieediten. <= orien maining length of brass strip. trices ‘Then measure over 44" and cut a Be 45° miter, see Fig. 6. After the THIRD: spacer is eat to size, file the mi- Dora tered edge smooth. GLUE UP HANDLE. To ensure the spacer will giue up tight be- tween the handle blanks, you'll need to flatten both faces of the bbrass strip (you've already flat- tened one side). Sere ein | Once both faces of the spacer HOLES AND ABD RIVES were flat, I glued it between the blanks and used a simple trick for alignment, see margin tip. RIVET HANDLE. Now the bot- tom of the handle ean be joined together permanently. What you have here is basically a “sand wich” of brass and wood. Since serews won't “draw” all the pieces together, you'll need a dif- ferent technique. ‘The solution is simple, Trivet lock the pieces tightly together, 6b and the box below. Note: To the pieces together, see Fig. Ga SHAPE HANDLE. Now that the prevent the“open” end fromflex- a Toalign the top o the handle, inser a machine screw asa simple index ing pin. 1p, Rou OVER 10° OF ANDLE Pe Nets (mg) ver D1A and box on page 24. bottom of the handle is riveted ing, insert a thin spacer hetween ‘The rivets are justshort pieces together, both ends of the handle _ the handle blanks. of 1s"-dia, brass rod (available at, can be shaped. Finally, the bottom trim plates ‘most hobby stores). The ends of ‘First, a round-over is sanded are filed flush with the bottom of the rivets are “pened” over to on the top of the handle, see Fig. the handle. Shaping Brass ‘There are two basie ways to = shape brass: filing and sanding. basomio onus wouneTe> ‘FILING. Yon ean use a mill file ice reese to shape brass, see photo. This works well, but takes time, SANDING. The other option is to sand the brass. A belt-dise sender works great. But it ean remove stock too quickly and damage your work. DRUMSANDER. I prefer to use adrum sanderin a drill press, EVEL CAUCE see Drawing. It takes the mate- rial off slower, but that’s OK.This Shaping the ends of the handles way I ean sneak up on the shape. easy. You can use a smooth mill Note: When you're done sanding, file (as shown), ora drum sander switeh to a file to smooth the ra- ina dill press. ius at the top of the handle. Teworary| ‘SPACER were earns oan i No.8 ShopNotes 25To countersink a large hole, | insert the bit in a dri press and tum tho chuck by hand, The Blade After shaping and Ming the han- Ale, the next step is to make the ROUND OVER END blade (B) from the remaining brass strip, see Fig. 7. Since the end of this strip is al- ready mitered (irom cutting the spacer earlier) all youhaveto dois file the miter smooth and round over the other end, see Fig. 7. FIT BLADE, For the blade to fit G SE, — BLADE © 4 K wore: \ eccae 1S USE REMANING BRASS in the slot of the handle, you'll need to flatten both faces (just like you did for the spacer). SLOT. After fitting the blade, a slot is cut in one end, see Fig. 7. (The technique Tnsed is shown in the box below.) The slot allows theblade to side and pivot to any angle. brass machine serow will pass throagh this slot and lock the blade in place. ‘COUNTERSINK. With the blade complete, the last step is to coun- tersink the hole in the handle to accept the hrass machine serew, see Fig, 8 and margin tip at left. FINISH, Finally, to get a satin finish on the brass and wood, I use a simple process, see box on page 27. Whon it's smooth, add the blade, serew, and wing mt. Slotting Brass There are two simple stops to cutting a slot in brass — drilling and filing. DRILLING. To rill holes in brass, you'll need asecure way to hold the brass strip. One way to do this is to use the same jig you used for filing, see photo, But the most important thing is that you dill non-cverlapping hholes. If you try to overlap them, ‘thebit ean eaéchand ruin the brass, FILING. After the holes are drilled, Tuse two files to clean out Wr BRASS WING NUT Cutting a slot in brassis as simple as tiling a series of non-over- lapping holes (as shown), then filing the slot smooth, the slot. A round file to remove the “web” between the holes, see Fig. 1. And a flat mill file to file the slot straight, see Fig. 2. NOTE: counreReink FIRST: _-SPREW 1S FLUSH WITH BRASS. SECOND: INSERT BLADE AND FIRSTonut a seas OF 1 | now-overtarrine HOLES 26 ShopNotesA Using a Bevel Gauge LAYING OUT AN ANGLE — [1 | ‘A sliding bevel gauge is fre | yo. quently used to lay out an angle | proreacton directly ona workpiece (suchasa | Caueeto bevel or taper’. ‘APROTRACTOR. A quick and easy way to do this is to use a protractor, see Fig. 1. Just loosen the wing nut, set the blade to the desired angle, and lock it in place. Oneeyou'vesettheangle ofthe ‘gauge, position it on your work- piece and lay ont the angle, see Fig. 2. RERECE DUPLICATING AN ANGLE | 3). “ossfenet 4 | Abevel gaugois also handy whon peeicep nous / E2870 seve A you need to cut a workpiece to ‘ND Ger ANGLE match another. SET ANGLE. To set the gauge, hold the bevel gauge in one hand and the workpiece in the other ‘Then adjust the blade to match @ irene, see Fie. ‘TRANSFER ANGLE. After the gauge is set, you can transfer the angle, Simply position the gauge and set the blade (or miter gauge) a to the same angle, see Figg ¢ GOS TESS Finishing bress to a soft luster is easy. It’s just.a matter of sand- ing with silicon carbide sandpa- per, see photo. I start with 120 ‘gmt, and go to 240,400 ,and 600. ‘Then butf with 0000 steel wool. METAL FILINGS. The ony prob- Jem with sanding brass is it cre- ates tiny metal filings that can serateh the projet, see Drawing PAPER TOWELS. A solution I tosctthe project ona paper towel or cloth. Note: Use a fresh piece we Whenyouturn the projectoverso [82 Wig To get a satin smocth finish on filings won't seratch the brass. PROGREBOWELY @) vorrbeessanc woos fsandwin — rINISH.Finaly, to seal the |?™*"*"* a [pogtescivol ter gute of cand- wood und brats I ive on aco «arate Sue paper Then buff with steo! wool, ple coata of tang ol. Tare mines No.8 ShopNotes 27TIPS & TECHNIQUES Shop Solutions ° Dust Collector mi Thave an older belt sander that doesn't have a dust bag attach- ‘ment. To help reduce the amount ‘ NOTE: TOP AND BOTTOM ARE of dust intheshop, Tbuilt “mini” or SO whe Pou or he ONiTE “Se dust collector that clamps to my workbench and connects to my shop vacuum, see photo. foe VACUUM SLOT. A narrow slot Se ae us in the top of the collector allows. a - the vacuum to pull dust out of the air. The slot creates a thin wall of suction that draws down the dust into the collector as it comes fly- ing out of the back of the sander, ‘CONSTRUCTION. The dust col- spaced 94" apart. Imade one of ning the sander over it. lectoris basically a box with 34". the top pieces oversized go it ean Before you gluethe partsofthe thick sides and ends. And atop be clamped to the end of my collector together, cut a hole in WoreBenen and bottom made of /4'-thickMa-_ bench, see photo above. ‘one of the ends tofit the nozzleon sonite, see Drawing. ‘Thisalso allows the dustcollee- your vacuum hose. ‘To create the vacuum slot, the tor to serve as astop to keep the Harry Svec topismade intwo pieces, thatare workpiece in place while I'm ran- Amos, Iowa Quick Tips Like many woodworkers, Iuse nicked by the conerete floor. __ mf Waterstones noed to be satu- the shop floor when assembling Many Iamberyards and home rated in water to work properly. larger projects. But the floor in centers offer slightly damaged But between use, the stones dry my shops uneven and ean throw solid-eore doors in their seratch ont. So to speed up the time it the project out of square. and dent department. (I pur- takes to saturate a waterstone, I ‘To create a flat assembly area, chased a door locally for $10.) _ store my wet waterstones after Tlay asolid-core door on the floor. Zack Stilwell eachuseinplastic Zip-Lock” bags. ‘The door provides a large, flat Hudson, Wisconsin Since the water can't. evay surface and when notin use [just Editor’s Note: A Hollow-core rate, it only takes a few secon Jean it up against a wall. In addi- door may cost less andbe lighter, to ready astone for the next use. tion, the door protects my pro- but it’ not as sturdy and won't Jon daFlon jects from getting scratched and stand up well under heavy loads. Liberty, Missouri 28 ShopNotes NosAuxiliary Fence Tip TIPS & TECHN nas wacsine [wer eavce Vie For extra support, Loftentem- porarily serew an auxiliary fence to my miter gauge, see Drawing. ‘The only problem with this is the ‘woociserews eventually strip out placed the woodserews with ma- chine serews and threaded in- serts, see Drawing. (Note: This also makes installation and re- moval quick and easy.) Tjust finished reading about keyless chucks in ShopNotes No. 7. In the article you mentioned they're not intended for use ona dill press. But in a entalog I recently re- ceived from Grizzly Imports, I no- tived they offer a keyless chuck just fora drill press. What gives? Jolin Matthews Cave Creek, Arizona. Editor's Note: We weren’ aware of this chuck wntil we received John's letter. So wwe ordered one from Griz~ aly. (We spent $38 for the chuck and $5 for an arbor the ehuek required. Fora source, see page 21.) We've been using the new chuck forabout a month. The chuck seems to be very well maite and is quick the holes in the auxiliary fence. ‘To solve this problem, I re- Drill Bit Spacer ——____ ‘Locating a hole or a slot an ex- act distance away from the edge of a workpiece can be tricky. The probiom is measuring between a ‘rownd drill bit and a flat fence. Toavoid this, Tuse a drill bit as aspacer, seeDrawing. Just select ‘spacer that’s thesame diameter as the distance you're positioning the fence. Then place the spacer between the fence and the bit, and clamp the fence in place. Dennis Detwin ‘New Brighton, Minnesota Christian Sharps Big Timber, Montana |_2”4 easy se. ‘SPACER EQUALS DISTANCE SLOT OR MOLES. tos EDGE OF ‘WORKPIECE ~ Send in Your Solutions mToproicetthetosthonmyhand | te css tka w share original solu: ee you'd like to share original sol saws, Inse plastic binders from | {7.0 wotiome youte mesh cond report cvers,seephoto.(Vouean | oso St nse Aa chop So, purchase theseforunder$i from | pen lo: ShapNawe, Ott Shops ‘most office supply stares) Fenster Ree Just remove the binder (the etperer eu dacuincoa part that pinches the report be- |. he published length. Send an expli- tweentheplastiesheath) andstide |” the PUPLSHED Ich. Sen ane itover the teeth ofthe blade. Bain Siena ne ere een te blade aq_| Inelide adaytime phone number s0_ Port Washington, New York |_We can cal you if we have questions. No.8 ‘ShopNotes 29Abrasive Pads seerets to getting what gives the pad the flexiblity of accidentally leaving behind a smoothfinishon project to conform to irregular shapes. “sliver” that. ean rust when the isto‘sand" in betweencoats,This _ RESISTS CLOGGING. The web finish is applied. liminates any “nibs” that ean be design also prevents the pads SOURCES. Although they look caused by anything from dust in from loading up with dried finish. suspiciously like a kitchen seour- the air to babblesin the finish, As you mub the pad across the ing pad, abrasive pads aren't For years I used sandpaper or workpiece, the fibers wear away found in the grocery store. The steel wool in between coats to and expose fresh abrasive parti- pads I bought were hanging next smooth out the finish. But to the sandpaper at the recently T came seross a ————————-—_________._ hurd ware store. They're new product and decided Abrasive pads don’t clog up like also available in several togiveitatry—abrasive sandpaper or leave tiny “slivers” tool catalogs, see Mell Or- pads, I was impressed. nd Ii der Sourees on yage 81. ‘The pads didn’t clog up behind like steel wool. BRANDS. Regardless of with dried finish like where you buy abrasive sandpaper or leave tiny “slivers” cles. So it’s like havinga new pad pads, you're likely to see a vari- behind ike steel wool. And they with each stroke. ‘The result is a ety of brand names like Seotch- were flexible enough to mold (o uniform surface that accepts the Brite, Bea~Tex or ScuffRite. tho curved parts of the project. next cost of finish evenly. ‘That's beeause several different ‘Tofind out more abouthow the WATER-BASED FINISHES. One companies manufacture them in- yadswork, I gave Mike Virgintino other advantage of the pads is eluding the 3M Company, Nor- fromthe 8 Company acall. they're especially suitable to the ton, and Gerson. wsB.He said that the pads new water-basel finishes. That's COLOR-CODED. In addition to consist ofsmallabrasive particles because the fibers that make up the difference in brands, each that are bonded into a “web” of the web are synthetic. So unlike manufacturer “color codes” the interlocking fibers. This web is steel wool, you dont run the risk pads according to the grit, see photo at left. The problem is the coding isnt eonsistent from one ‘company to the next. To ensure ‘you're getting the grit you want, there's usually steel wool ecuiva- lent in the product information. GarTs. While the color of the pad may vary, one thing you care he sure of is the pads range in grits from very coarse to extra fine. The coarse grits can be used for heavy-duty stripping jobs. ‘And the Finer grits worl well in © Used ior heavy @A green (#0) @To produce a between coats of finish or as a stripping, a blue pad scuffs up the satin smooth fin- . ve ‘polishing’ pad. abrasive ped re- surface of adried ish, ( “for buff For most finishing jobs, 1scut @ piece. #2 oto corre eee eed ¥ the dried finish with a #0 pad and ‘steel wool, enentcoat ish coal. then workup to a#00 pad before applying the next coat. No.8PROJECT SUPPLIES Sources ShopNotes Project Supplies is of- fering some of the hardware and supplies needed for the projects inthis issue. ‘We'vealso put togetherallistof other mail order sources that have the same or similar hard- ware and supplies. BOX JOINT JIG ‘The shop-built Box Joint Jig (Shown on page 6) attaches to your miter gauge and makes it easy to cut perfeet-fitting box {joints onthe table saw. Note:The ‘Box Joint Jig can also be used on the ShopNotes Router Table or any other router table that, has a miter gauge slot. But what sets this jig apart from other box joint jigs is how easily and accurately it can be iica We ted several pines of hardware to ereate a unique miero-adjustable system _ that lets you “dial in” perfeet-fitting box joints. ShopNotes Project Suyplies is offering a hardware kit that in- clades all the hardware needed to make the Box Joint Jig. We've even included the plastic star kxnobs and the metal plates to make the adjustable key. All you MAIL ORDER SOURCES Similar hardware and supplies may be found in the following catalogs. Please call each company for catalog need to supply is the hardwood and a small piece of '4"-thick Ma- sonite. 6808-100 Box Joint Jig Hardware Kil BAND SAW FENCE One sure way to improve the per- formance of your band saw is to add the Band Saw Fence System shown on page 16. This system consists of two hasie parts: a set of metal rails, and a wood fence. ‘The special rail design allows you to adjust the fenee to com- pensate for drift. (Driftis the ten- deney for a band saw blode to pall to one side when making a cut.) ‘The fence locks securely to the front rail and can be fitted with a couple of handy accessories. One is a tall auxiliary fence for added support when resawing. The other is an adjustable stop block. ShopNotes Project Supplies is offering a hardware kit for the Band Saw Fence System. The kit includes all the hardware to build the fence (screws, bolts, nuts, washers, knobs, and a spacer), ‘We've also included the alumi- num angle needed to make the rails. You'll receive three 24" long pieces (two picees far the adjust 17.95 able front rail, one piece for the backrail.) All you need to supply isthe wood tomake the fence, and the correct size mounting bolts for attaching the railsto the band saw table. ‘$6808-200 Band Saw Fence Hardware Kit. $24.95 SLIDING BEVEL GAUGE All you need to make the Sliding Revel Gange featured on page 22 is a small amount of wood and a few brass parts. ‘The brass screws and nuts ean usually be found at local bard- ware store, The 1" x 12" brass strip and the brass rod are avail- able at most hebby stores. Howeverif you can' find these parts locally, ShopNotes Project Supplies is offering a kit that in- eludes all the brass parts (not the wood) to make the Bevel Gauge. 6808-300 Sliding Bevel Gauge Hardware Kit... $4.95 KEYLESS CHUCK UPDATE InShop Solutions (on page 29) we mentioned a keyless chuck (for a dill press) sold by Grizzly Im- ports. As far as we know, it’s the only souree for tis type of chuck, see Mail Order Sources. BY MAIL BY PHONE 07 for ontering information. To onfer by mai, use the Por fastest service use our Constantine's Hlighland Hardware Wonderaft order form that comes with ‘Tull Free onder line. Open 0-22 Soo-s1-eT48 "0-2-1153 the current issue. The order Monday through Friday, 7:00 a Auger BA Fee, Fond. Auger Bt Pls, Dias Abrasive Pads Avyer | form includes information on AM to7-0) PM Central Time, os ond Nedle Me” ‘Il rte i landingandshiopitechages, — Before caling, have your ee ee VISA ‘SteterCad oF Dis Auger Bit File Abrasive Pads ‘Abrasive Pads, Dia~ San eee cal Be aL ‘corer Cant ready: Ginspeccs — metmgeniiegs melted ne en mm oe ‘oozed ‘TheWoodworker’ | free number at the right or 1-800-444-7527 Reena ueeeme Bee nee Re aor na rece Ch ee 0 charges and any appilcable Note: Prices athject tochange sales tax, after May 1, 1998. No.8 ‘ShopNotes al