Mi PopularaT tC IJ MBI AAlLIPSI/s/s; 800-523-4777 #GRIZZLYTOOLS ° Erica a aPurveyors of Fine ee ened Pen ree Buy Direct & Save 40" 3 HP 240V Cabinet Table Saw ‘The centerpiece of your shop + 3 Ripcapty + Po seein tat sem + 40"x77 Pisin goed astontbe + Beltane + tk change betnee ing feandspter aad \s & Ha ¢. G1023RL OnLy 2350 16" x 42" VS Wood Lathe Large turing capacties + Van 2 tase trot ‘aicri ‘ont posting + Lorain caloks + Batdvewh speed + Dial pine spent "ange + Maal easa Gosszz ony 1825, 15" Floor VS Drill Press. Compact option for precision driling, + Ajette as ase gue pn sped dle + Rakant por ableton conta i + Bun ED NK 733960 OnLy °695, 14" 1HP Bandsaw Perfect forsmall workspaces His ¢. Goss ony *795, 8" x13" Benchtop Wood Lathe Ideal forpen turning + Vaated pa, 150-2008 + uk adustig ton etiae + Pron yord cast + Koaledbxsuckand tacks raed 9 + Sale pie stch thence key wr7oa onty $322 6" x 48" Belt / 9" Disc Combo Sander Designed for heavy-duty projects Comet tage ade + Excise quiche eae + Castaontatcand too oe: + Gaptecoeépaten Dass (1 G1014zx onty *595 6" Jointer w/ V-Helical Cutterhead Exceptional cutting power + Wideatecaetans + Pcie grand cs.on et dtr eset as + Fences {5.90 sty unease ea Sh Gostax onty 1195 21" VS Scroll Saw ~ Saw titsinstead of table New!) «Yi le el 0-5 2 eae + Pte + octets 1 aise et Go969 onty *629 ‘Scroll Saw Stand 733905 onty °89°° ‘Saw/Stand Bundle 133006 onty °689 18" /36" 2 HP Open-End VS Drum Sander ‘Sand beards up to 36" wide ‘G0asazx ony 1095 Ba + Bean rablesged cane + Muminn and un pcm tek + fajacestorsdpqer changes fContents AUGUST 2024 | VOL. 44, NO. 4 Build 28 Smart Phone Amp ‘This litele project is the perfect project to make in batches, so you always have one on hand as a gift. BY CHARLES MAK 34 Live-Edge Bow! Showcase that extra special piece of wood buy turn- ing a beautiful, live-edge bow BY JIMMY CLEWES 42 Torsion Table ‘This table is inspired by the torsion sprigs out of a vehicle, and boasts some interesting techniques, BY DOUG STOWE 48 Tool Cabinet ‘This Heirloom tool cabinet was designed and built for ‘our new issues of ShopNotes Magazine. In this article, ‘you'll se all the steps to building this cabinet. BY ERICH LAGE 2. m POPULAR WOODWORKINGHPopular Woodworking POPULARWOODWORKING.COM i Connect 04 From the Editor relaunch ofa beloved ttle, and a sneak peak at its contents. BY LOGAN WITTMER 06 New Tools Whar’s new in power tools, accessories, and hand tools. BY PWEDITORS 14 Workshop Tips ‘Tips from our readers on finishing, gluing, and more BY PW EDITORS i Craft 18 Dust Collection All you need to know about dust collection ductwork. BY LOGAN WITTMER 24 Shop Flooring Give your shop floor some love and make it more comfortable towork in, BY LOGAN WITTMER 58 Tormek Sharpening A spotlight on the Tormek Sharpening Sytem from an issue of ShopNotes Magazine. BY LOGAN WITTMER ner 270 age 2024 Ptr sci PST fate mes ayex Fama Spt re ust Osa Bromo ty Fo ame xp Si is aa 04 fr Mewean afte! pola sors 3 2143 Gas run eens S12 Pee aaa 1 POPULARWOODWORKING.COM 3== Connect IN FROM THE EDITOR Yes, We’re Probably Dumb By Logan Wittmer Some of you are probably aware that I got my start in the woodworking publication world as an assistant editor at Woodsmith Magazine. Heck, even after taking over here at Popular Woodworking, these fools still can’t shake me (or is that the other way around?). I still collaborate with them on various things, including our ‘TV show on PBS (‘The Woodsmith Shop), as well as our podeast (The ShopNotes Podcast). About a year ago, we collectively decided to re-launch the magazine that our podcast is named after—ShopNotes Magazine. Some of you may be familiar with the former Shop- [Notes magazine that was discontinued in 2014. Believe it or not, many of the same staff that were behind the original magazine are still here, working on this new version. ShopNotes, as the name implies, is a magazine dedicated to your shop. It’s loaded with pages of proj- ects, techniques, and ideas for you to use in your shop. Shop-made tools, jigs, tool cabinets, and the like are all projects that you'll find in ShopNotes. Now—we did decide to bring ShopNotes back as a digital-only maga- zine for now. Launching, or relaunching, a magazine in a print format today would be nuts. (That’s not to say it won't ever be available as print — in fact, we do have an end of year print version available.) So, why am I saying that we're probably dumb? Ym saying that because we asa staff, decided to bring this title back. ‘We did it because we loved the content. It’s much, much more work for us. This means that we produce four extra magazine issues per year, on top of everything else we do, We receive zero incentive to produce it and added no staff. We put extra time in to produce it. All because we had a soft spot for ShopNotes content and we knew that our sub- scribers did as well. Yes, Ido believe we're dumb. With that said, I wanted to give you a look at the new ShopNotes. In this issue, you'll find a tool cabinet from one of our re-launched issues, as well as an article 1 wrote on the Tormek sharpening system. If you like it, consider supporting us at ShopNotes.com. Cheers, ABOUT THE AUTHORS DOUG STOWE: Torsion Table—pg. 42 Doug Stone started his career in woodworking in 1976. Since then, he's published thirteen books on woodworking, andteaches atvarious venues across the United States including the Mare Adams School of Woodworking. Doug has often been referred to as the Master of Boxes, but his work expands far beyond these little beauties he makes. Doug resides in Eureka Springs, Arkansas vith his wife Jean and golden-doodle Rosie. CHARLES MAK: ‘Smart Phone Amp-pg. 28 ‘self-taught woodworker in Canada, Charles has boen awriterandteacher or some 15years, is key inteestlies infuiture& cabinet making, and making things in a production manner ike the batch of ampitiers featured inthe curent issue. He uses hand tools whenever they are ‘the best tals for the job, wile leaving the heavy milling tasks forthe power tools. Charles is aso a prolific tipster, sharing his shop tricks and soltions in various magazines, including Popular Woodworking. He published "Woodworking Tip and Tricks" (Algrove Publishing) in 2022, ‘collection of some of his unorthadox shop wisdom, JIMMY GLEWES: Bowi-pg. 34 Hailing from England, Jimmy Clewes now resides in Las Vegas with his wife Mary and dog Seamus. Jimmy has spent the last thit- ty-five years traveling the world teaching and demonstrating woodturning. His quick vwitand straightforward approach have made him a favorite of students from across the globe. When not hosting students at his home in Las Vegas, Jimmy's often found witha gold an in hand, prospecting in the Vegas desert ERICH LAGE: ‘ShopNotes: Tool Cabinet-pg. 48 Erich Lage loves building stuff For the past 29 years i's been mainly focused around the world of publishing. During his time at Wood ‘smith, ShopNotes, and Workbench magazines, Erich’s done everything from writing articles and projects, to hand-drawing illustrations and pictures, Of course Erich's been known to let alittle saw dust flyin the shop — it's all ood to him, “I'm grateful that | can provide for my family, hang out in the shop, and help others onthe journey ‘of woodworking.”HPopular — king EDITOR IN CHIEF = Logan Witmer ‘SENIOR DESIGNER ® Daniele Lowery DIGITAL EDITOR # Colin Knot PROJECTS EDITOR » Dillon Haker TECHNOLOGY EDITOR « Cis Fitch COVER PHOTOGRAPHER» senna SET STYLIST » Becky Krlick ‘CONTRIBUTORS » Charles Aa, Doug Stowe, rich Lage, Jimmy Clewes PROOFREADER = Rik Van Schoick August 2024, Vo. 44, No. 4 ADVERTISING SALES COORDINATOR = dale Dillon illon@®aimmedincom ‘ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER » Jack Christiansen; Tel: (847) 724-623, ‘ehristiansen@aimmediacom caw HOME GROUP ‘SEMOR VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT Rob Yagi DIRECTOR, SALES OPERATIONS» Heather Gynn Gnizadowsk MM CHAIRMAN & CED Andrew W. Clurman CHAIRMAN EMERITUS # Bérem Zimbalise I CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER » Bran Van Hewverswy (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER» Adam Sich CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER « Gary DeSancts SEIIOR VE, MARKETING Erica Noyninan VR,MARKETING # Amanda Philips VRLCIRCULATION® Page Noxdmeyer VPISALES OPERATIONS » Christine Nsen VREVENTS Jule 25 \P.DIGITAL pRooUCT DEVELOPMENT = Ashley MacDonald \VP,STRATEGY & RESEARCH Kristina Swindell DIRECTOR, HUMAN RESOURCES » Scot Rooder DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION » Pi Graham DIRECTOR, RETAIL SALES ® Susan A. Rose DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY = Andrew Shattuck EDITORIAL CONTACT: Goan Wee ner airman ‘SUBSCRIPTIONS: Foestserolin msn ahaa laos, ‘spanning oman cat (E77 ae0-0140 0 on US stserpen ats $2085, Sige rc 898 cand seo ate 3495 {S0-Chatin Aeon 402536. ‘CUSTOMER SERVICE: .0,Box 42, Des aes, 5000-0882, ‘utzerptonsBammeiacon COPYRIGH ay Ate est ed nes Mes ou ‘spb uy eee eter ae Far.naryom wee pense else Making Money shouldn't be just a Hobby Turn passion into profit with the Fusion Maker from Epilog: - Up to 60-inches-per-second engraving speeds + IRIS™ Camera System for artwork placement + No Internet connection required + 2-year warranty - Direct US-based support via phone, chat, & email Contact us for more information & free samples! Starting at E epitogiaser S9995 *US. Pricing Only 888.437.4564 | sales@epiloglasercom epilogiasercom/popwoodHConnect Tames mTURBOT-60S HARV HarveyWoodworking.com Price: $4999.00 Harvey’s TURBO T-60S ‘The first time I heard of Harvey International was in 2018, when it was announced they acquired Bridge City Toolworks. Within the year, I started to see an offering of power tools from Harvey that, on the surface, seemed to be priced very reasonably for the features they included. Last year, at AWFS in Las Vegas, I got to visit with their founder, Mr. Jack Xu, and that’s when I came to ap- preciate the backstory and reason behind Harvey. ‘Mr. Xu had been in the manufac- turing industry for years, building machines for nearly every manu- facturer in the United States. Over the years, tool companies kept asking for cheaper tools, requiring compromises during the manufac turing, With the end-user’s interest in mind, Jack said “that’s enough” and decided to manufacture tools to his own standards and sell directly them to woodworke1 lower price point. ata 6 m POPULAR WOODWORKING ‘When Thad an opportunity to add a Harvey T-60 $ lathe to our shop, I knew it was one I wanted to test out. In Short, the Harvey (at nearly half the price of the other high-end lathes) is every bitas .g004, if not better, than the others. Keep in mind, I've turned on almost every lathe that’s out on the market. ‘The design, fit, and finish of the ‘T-60 are impeccable. The indexing system on the headstock is the tightest of any I've used. While not the heaviest lathe, its 726lbs is plenty for out-of balance blanks. ‘The 2 H.P. servo motor is small, quiet, and powerful. Even with big blanks and heavy cuts, [haven't been able to bog it down. Harvey even includes a convenient swing- away for the tailstock (right) as a standard accessory. T'ma huge fan of the Harvey Big Bye fence (that video is on our YouTube channel), and I'm glad the same quality and thoughtful- ness carries over into their power ‘You couldn't ask for a better head stock/talistock alignment out of the crate (above). tools. I think we're going to see the Harvey's presence continue to grow in the foreseeable future. = Logan WittmerUSE A WAGNER MOISTURE METER BECAUSE: FORTISCLAMP vh ese are Sami heir! coms GREATER FUNCTIONALITY THAN TRADITIONAL CLAMPS Versatile Strong yy < VENEER PRESSES GLUE UP STATIONS 9 repaaten,Ca rs retry led Onn important too fe GET 15% OFF USE CODE Pwos ‘ EXPIRES 6/31/24 WWW-FORTISCLAMP.COM The Last Dust Collector You'll Ever Need ORR Eee oe LC fixed RPM collectors with the Dust Gorilla Pro. Its unique Smart Boost technology ensures the motor is always working at full capacity, with a constant amp draw, by increasing fan speed as needed. Truly revolutionary! a AreeHConnect NEW TOOLS IRWIN Quick-Lift 1's on a regular basis that we need a helping hand inthe shop, Often time, it’s something simple, like holding a door in place while installing hinges. With this in mind, Invin recently released their Quick-Lift lifting jack to lend a helping hand both inside the shop and on the job. ‘The Quick-Lift will appear familiar to people that have used the “trigger” style quick clamps. Instead of having pads, this lift has a steel foot on the bar and a small platform on the trigger assembly. The squeezing action of the clamp spreads the two pads apart, while a small secondary trigger lowers the pad slightly. I think you can see where th ‘As you can see in the photo to the right, this action allows you to lift up and hold items in place while you work on them. (Here, I've lifted up one end of my athe —much heavier than I can lift by myself) ‘The Quick-Lifts are sold individually, but work best in a pair. Both the lifting pads and feet have counter sunk holes so that you could mount them on a base and install a stretcher between the two Quick Lifts. s going. Each lift can lift (and hold) 330 Ibs. In the month that 1’ve had them in the shop, P've used them at least half a dozen times to lift and hold items in place while I've driven screws or attached hardware. —Logan Wittmer Melbourne Tool Company Planes If you know a woodworker that uses spokeshaves regularly... really uuses them, then you know that they don’t have one. They have 10. Spoke shaves are like rabbits. You start with two, and all of a sudden, you have 20. In the past, getting a high-end spokeshave was a pricey task. Today, thanks to Melbourne ‘Tool Company, you can get a high-quality spokeshave at what I consider a very reasonable cost. ‘The spokeshaves from MTC come in two flavors —a fiat sole and a rounded sole. The body of the spokeshaves are cast stainless steel, which add a great weight to them. I ove my handmade, wood spokeshaves, but there’s some- thing comforting about the weight of acast tool. Now, speaking of 8 m POPULAR WOODWORKING comfort, the cast iron body has cork inset into the handle section Itprovides a great feel as you're using the spokeshaves. ‘On the business end, the spokeshaves are equipped with M2 blades —this steel alloy is high- speed steel with high abrasion resistance, so it will hold an edge fora long time. In addition, youd be hard-pressed to find any other spokeshaves with a blade as thick as these. The thickness helps reduce chatter during a cut. ‘The blade is adjusted with a pair of knurled knobs, Having an ad- justment knob on each side of the blade allows you to slightly skew the blade, allowing a heavier cut ‘on one side, while the other side can be a finer finishing cut. Collin KnogLearn more AY shapertools.com/origi YOUR'E NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN NEW TRICKS No computer programming required . Design joinery directly on-tool theneut using Works alongside other shop tools "irises Portable and easy to stow @ SHAPER PRECISION CUTTING SIMPLIFIEDConnect MINEW TOOLS Multi-Purpose Caster Set Mobility. It’s the key of maintain- inga small shop. The ability to move tools, workbenches, and carts around are key to working efficiently. And, to getting your significant other's car in the shop . Imean garage. Many manufacturers offer bolt- con casters. The thing that makes CASTER SET sessém JessEm.com Price: $161.99 the Multi-Purpose Caster Set ‘The key to the weight rating For use on a workbench or cart, from JessEm different is the weight _on the JessEm casters is the you can attach these casters with capacity. While other casters construction. Immediately, you stout wood screws. However, for are rated for up to one hundred can tell these casters are built to attaching them to a tool, like the pounds each (400 Ibsforaset), handle heavy loads. The steel is__lathe shown here, you'll need to the JessEm set of casters is rated thick and the hardware stout. The drill the cast iron and tap it. ‘The for a whopping 2000 lbs! This caster set comes with a pair of casters include stainless socket means that you can add casters _ fixed wheels and a pair that swiv- 14-20 thread head screws, along tomachines that were otherwise el. Meaning, the item will steer __with nuts for sheet metal applic hard to move. like a shopping cart. tions. —Collin Knot Work IQ Vise Apicture can be worth a thou sand words, but I was recently reminded that it’s no substitute for hands-on experience. When I first saw pictures of the Work IQ Vise, I assumed it was exclusively for lightweight tasks. Any sort of aggressive sawing or planing would surely cause it to shake or shift out of position. This was a rather incorrect assumption. In Work IQ’s own words, thi a medium-duty vise. And in the world of metalworking, I'm sure itis. But for woodworking tasks, especially the type of tasks that would involve holding some- articulating ball in any position ‘The icing on the cake is the thing above the workbench like _ held it solidly in place despite _replaceable jaws, with several this, [can’t think of anything! _our best efforts. If I wanted to re-__variations you can purchase for wouldn’t feel comfortable using ally apply some torque (up to 130 _ different tasks, including two it for. Using the Quick Cam on _ft-Ibs), there’s the IQ Lok with 8 different ones for woodworking. the bottom of the vise to lock the different positions. Collin Knot 3 10 m POPULAR WOODWORKINGUCL Tl Chea Cy fey ecm Dn Wacky WT iy f Ds Buy a quality, accurate moisture meter at Lignomat's low prices. Pin or pinless. ‘Scan for information or BESSEY EHKL360 Trigger Clamps... with a Twist! BESSEY"S NEW rotating tigger clampis unlike anything youhave seen! Thisinnavative clamp has a handle thatrotates 380° around the rail The EHKL360 can beusedin clamping situations where a normal trigger clamp handle would getinthe way! Move the handle tothe postion that works best for you whetheritis intight spaces, above yourhead or across a ‘work piece. Nominal clamping pressure upto 300Ib,3-1/8inch throat depth, to 36inch lengths. BESSEY. Simply better.Connect MENEW TOOLS MULE 18-inch Garage Fan With summer looming upon us, I know a lot of us will be looking for ways to stay cool in the shop. One product that caught my eye recently was from a company called MULE, and it’s their 18" garage fan that you see here. ‘The thing that I appreciate about this fan is the fact that it can be mounted from the ceiling. This means that it’s up and out of the way. The pivoting rod allows ‘me to turn and angle it to direct the air right where I'm working, The fan has three speeds and has flip-out work lights that help illuminate where you have the fan focused, Don’t think that the fan isjust for the summer either. During winter, I point the fan straight down, and it helps push the warm air from the ceiling downto the floor. MULE offers the fan both with and without remote.—Chris Hennessey Revolution Miter Gauge Last issue, Collin Knoffreviewed angles the miter gauge either left_ At the 1 mark, each detent is one one of SawStop’s new miter gauges or right. As youspin the knob, you degree. At the 1/2" mark, each —the Scale Miter Gauge. The Rev- can eel detents. Cool. Buthere’s detent is 1/2 of a degree. The olution is the second miter gauge where it gets awesome. Revolution goes down to a 1/10 that SawStop released. And have When you change the lower __th degree resolution. I do believe to say, they hit it out ofthe park knob, you'll notice asliding scale that SawStop just changed the with this one. that goes from 0-1/10th marks. game in accuracy. There are more ‘The Revolution miter gauge is ‘That setting corresponds with _ features than I can pack in this unlike any gauge you've ever seen, the resolution the detents are __small space, so keep an eye out ‘The Revolution has two knobs. _ telling you. AtO there are no de-_ for a full video on our YouTube ‘The larger knob (right photo) tents and it’s in free-spin mode. channel. —Logan Wittmer 12 m POPULAR WOODWORKINGUe VU aU Rue ees ruc Er ele CRC es Scant eRS CC cts ere relatl and sand faster. Fold once and the NO-SLIP GRIP” durable backing grips Pee eee a een Ue ati ecu Rees Superior cut durability — from start to finish. TMs Paar oscars Certain aneConnect IEWORKSHOP TIPS Thrifty Square You can’t beat a 12" standard drafting triangle for an extremely accurate and inexpensive set-up tool. It’s particularly useful for adjusting a tablesaw’s miter gauge at both 90° and 45°. ‘This precision tool is superior toa combination square or a framing square for setting up a saw. While a combination square has only one long arm, a drafting triangle has two. A metal framing square is unwieldy and can bang against the fragile carbide teeth of your saw blade. This plastic triangle is compact and can’t pos- your saw blades. sibly damage your blade. Hang itunder the saw or store it with In addition, kid gloves aren’t required when handling this preci- sion tool, even when you're in the thick of cutting on your tablesaw. Unlike a very expensive metal square, this tool can take a beating and is easily replaced. Tape Prevents Black Marks from Clamps Black stains result when ferrous metal, moisture, and. wood come together. If your clamps have untreated steel bars or black pipes, make it a habit to cover their surfaces before you glue. The tape insulates the metal from moisture inthe glue and damp areas on the wood’s surface. ~Tim Johnson ‘14 m POPULAR WOODWORKING Oxalic Acid Makes Black Marks Disappear Nasty stains can occur during glue-up if steel clamp beams are left in contact with wood dampened by glue. Removing them requires sanding or scrap- ing... or brushing on a solution of oxalic acid (two heaping tablespoons of crystals dissolved in a pint of hot water). Let the surface dry. Apply a second coat, if necessary. When the stains are completely ‘gone, flood the surface with water to remove any acid that remains. Oxalic acid is available at paint and hardware stores. The crystals are toxic, so wear gloves when you handle the solution and a mask afterwards when you sand. ~Tim Johnsonepee Naa ud Blea peste BITS ‘Save money and enjoy the performance of premium grad “American Made Ultra Shear Router Bits when you buy cect from the factory in Strengsilla, Oho. CARBIDE INSERT RABBETING ‘Thi 3-Ruterabbetng creates smoother rabbets faster tan ypical 2 designs Inseris canbe rotated four nes USSRAT Cartice Insert 3-Pute Rebbetng 1/2" Shark. $57.05 SALE $49.99 resis Sep at a noabeckcom ie = 4) We? = CARBIDE INSERT SPOILBOARD Perfect for nd-grancuting boards and stabs. Inserts have 4 ees. Rotate when du replace afr all edges used USS1SSF-SET Carbide Insert Spol Board Bt, 3-Fute, 11/2" Dia, 1/2" Shark Sa, w3-PK 58278 SALE $64.99 “FREE” Shipping! 0.47 Square Insets. FLUSH TRIM SPIRAL ‘Wa 2 of cut ong tis 1/2" ameter ot sprit fr tampa rating tunfure parts USS200FTU Sold Carbido Spiral Fush Tim, 1/2" Shank, 12" Ba 2* Cuttng Length, Up-Out 2. Ft B105B6 SALE $89.99 ‘+FREE” Shipping! = — COMPACT COMPRESSION PATTERN & FLUSH TRIM ‘he utmat it for creating tearout-ee a cabinet pats fom thin venoer pywood. 152512UC Sold Cartide Compact Compression Patiom & Push Tim, 212 Fata, 1/8" Shark, 1/2" Da, 1-1/8" Cuting Lenath.. #1874 SALE $98.86, “+FREE" Shipping! JUICE GROOVE USIP ao Goose BFS 114" Shank (78° Nose, 5/16" Leng (Noon 16" Out Lor) (172 Nose, 45° 14" Ct Length) & Temolete Gude Busting St d ($164.09 SALE $149.99 +FREE" Shipping! 7 SOLID CARBIDE SPIRAL (ne ofthe most common used routers. 14° SSS a ie tater, {WS2100U Sold Carbide Up-Cut pia, "V4" Cutting Da. 1" Outing Laat, ‘vat Shank ‘2106 SALE $19.99, ‘Many more sizes & options avaiable at woodpeck.com Sa pS) 40 TOOTH CROSS CUT & RIP youre looking fr blade to ve on your able 2 95% ofthe time, you jst found The ‘aretuy engingered oath gece deters (jias- ° we mser re pe fFoxcizar ® eoie30 Norrie rine *oMoER = ‘nrwo0D at SIDE NOTE: overs ontur viEW trocteara ate ea ceirereDon are Spy if | Gonna) ° hee TOP start with a nl "lee. VIEW het Solid Base ‘The base of the tool cabinet provides storage for the larger tools in your arsenal. As you see in the Figure 1 above there’s a large opening where an adjustable shelf will reside behind a set of doors you'll make in alittle while. ‘The cavity above that space will hold the tool cabinet’s largest drawer. The building processstarts at the table saw. The bones of the base cabinet are all plywood parts Alter you've wrestled the big sheets into the more man- ageabie sizes ofthe sides and dividers, i's time to change ‘out the blade fora dado set. DADOES. The sides of the base have three dadoes The lowest dado (detail ‘a’) holds the divider that is the bottom of base. The upper two that you see above in the ‘Side View are next in line. The one in the middle is for the divider that’s the bottom of the drawer cavity. The upper dado is for the mounting cleats you'll use to attach the top. There are a couple of dadoes left to do in the upper divider for the drawer dividers — detail ‘b’ shows their location. Also, drill the holes for the shelf pins, they're shown in the Side View. 50 m POPULAR WOODWORKING BASE ANATOMY. We're at the point where we can. sglue up the base, so there's something I need to bring to your attention — how the front and back assemblies join to the base. If you take a gander at detail ‘c’ and the Side View, you'll notice that the narrower dividers are centerecton the sides. This is to accommodate the rabbets that you'll cut into the stiles on the front and back assem- blies. This joinery lets the front and back nestle into the body of the case, providing more glue surface ‘The wide stiles — especially on the front assembly, provide extra rigidity to the overall structure. On the inside elge they’re glued to the drawer dividers, creating the opening for the drawer, and a wee bit more rigidity for the base. DEALERS CHOICE. So to address this challenge and. ‘make sure that the dividers are centered on the sides during glucup, youcan do one oftwo things. Youcan cut some 1" shims to act as spacers when clamping up the bbase. Or, you can make the stiles and use them as fillers for the glueup. Either way, when you glue up the base, it’s critical that the dividers are centered in the sides.NOTE: wwe oursive HALVES OF RAILS ONCY © BACKRAIL (@wx20) EDGING | oox20) E leataone ice le * NOTE: even PROMM"THICK ™ PIECES ARE GLUED HARDWOOD. ALL ae eee > [aaa ie FRONT wneowwoo | Naas BACK STILE ome nS ; = » 4 yy ieee ® ® SO 1 € ‘% FRONT & f Movingon tothe parts that will lose up the case, [started with the front. As you see in Figure 2, the front is made of two sliles that ave joined atthe bottom with an apron. Along the top they rest next to some edging that’s glued tothe divider and the mounting cleat. Stat by cutting all. the parts to size MORTISES. Details ‘c’ and ‘a’ show the location of the mortises in the front stiles. If you have a mortising, machine go for it. Otherwise get out your Forstner bit and chisel, head over tothe dil press, and show ts what you can do. Then cut the rabbets along the edge like you. see in detail ‘e The apron isnextin line, Start off by cutting the tenons to oin tothe stiles (detail'd), Then shape the arc along the bottom edge (Figure 2d). For the sake of proper spacing Tut the top piece of edging to size and included itin the slueup of the front frame assembly (do that now). But don’t rely on that union — it won't stand the tost of ime. Itwill last long enough to glue the front frame to the base, ‘which is what you can do when the frame is dry. Apply glue to the rabbets of the stiles and the back side of the top edging, then clamp it to the case. Also add the edging that’s glued to the divider. Now you can make the back FRAME & PANEL. The back is a frame and panel assembly that gives you the visual option of placing it anywhere in the shop and looking good from all sides. Cut the centered grooves in the stiles and rails (Figures 2a and 2b). Then cut the tongues in the center stile and rails. (Don’t fonget those rabbets on the edge of thestiles,) PANELS, The panels are glued-up hardwood rab- beted along the inside edge. Notice in Figure 2b that the vertical rabbets are wider than the horizontal versions. Later we'll visit about why the rabbets on the panels are different widths. When gluing up the back, use just 1 dab of glue in the center of the panels, and only the outside halves of the rails. When the back assembly is dry, you can glue it to the baseMacnee HARDWOOD. ALL REMAINING ARE THICK PARTSARE | ay DOOR CENTER ‘OTE (@usx19%) —pooRsmLE (oven 20%) © DOORRAIL (iene) # NOTE: MOUNTING BLOCKS ‘CENTERED ON CABINET trim it out with Simple Style Now it's time to sub-ivide and tidy up the big space that’s the base cabinet. As you see in the figures on these two pages, ths sall about adding pair of coors, a big drawer, anda thicker than normal top that'san appropriate crown for the base. Let's kick off by making the shelf that lives inside the base. The front is edged with the same edging material that you used on the base front. That was easy, now let's move on to the doors. FRAME & PANEL DOORS. If you take a gander at all the visual info above in Figure 34, you'll see the joinery details for the two doors. The joinery of doors, (like the back panels on the base) make for a strong, and appealing accent to the surface of the cabinet. The shadowiline created by the recessed panels that are held in the stiles and rails break up the surface in an interesting way. The process starts atthe table saw by making centered grooves in the stiles and rail. 52 m POPULAR WOODWORKING. TENONS. The next task is cutting, the tenons on the ends of the center stile and the rails. You can see both tenons in Figure 3d. After installing a dado blade in your table saw, itsjusta matter of attaching a sacrificial fence to ‘your miter gauge and using your rip ence asa stop to cut the shoulders of the tenons. Then nibble away the cheek ‘waste by backing the workpiece awway from the rip fence. ‘Cutting the rabbets on the panels are the last detail to be done before gluing up the doors. They are the same configuration as the rabbets you cut on the back panels earlier. When they're cut, you can clean off the appropriate ‘worksurface and gather up the clamps and supplies to glue the doors together. DOOR DETAILS. Afier the glue has done its work on. the doors, you can focus on the details required for integrating them into the base. This starts with attach- ing the hinges — first to the doors (Figure 3b), then to the base cabinet. Drilling holes for the knobs is next up, Figures3 and 3a provides the information needed. Attaching the magnetic catch and installing the mounting block on the underside of the drawer divider isthe last thing to do in this phase, Figure 3c gives you insight on what to do.NOTE: 2orrom is w-FLywoon, FALSE FRONT IS 36" THICK HARDWOOD. ALL OTHER PARTS “ARE We THICK HARDWOOD. FALSE FRONT i texan o KNOB ( l é | TOP VIEW tawrnzon) (cROSSSECTION) >| ABIG DRAWER Now you can tum your attention to the opening in the "upper portion of base cabinet where a big drawer lives. ‘Thisis the biggest drawer in the cabinet and its meant to hold heavy stuff — if you choose to store it there. This is why we decided to attach these to the base with fullexten- sion drawer slides, the heavy-duty kind of slices that can takea beating, Since the slides are going to be doing most of the heavy lifting, we chosea simple, yet sturdy joint to use on the drawer box. TONGUE & DADO. Figure 4a and de shows the joinery ‘employed for the drawer box. After cutting all the parts to final size, you'l start the joinery process on the sides. ‘The sides require a narrow dado cut in the ends to mate with the front and back drawer parts. What follows this is making the rabbet on the ends of the front and back pieces (they are shown in the same details as the tongues). Lastly, before gluing up the box, ‘cut the groove along the bottom edge ofall four drawer pieces for the drawer bottom, Figures 4b and 4a shows where it's located. FALSE FRONT. I's time to install the false front. The eas- jest way to do this is to first install the drawer slides in the ‘ase andl on the sides of the drawer box. Figure dd shows ‘where the set we used attaches to the cabinet and the B FIGURE ——— (CROSS SECTION) “ese DRAWERSIDE (mrs 8) 4 DRAWER FRONT i —— ») drawer. You'll need to confirm the loca- tion specifications of the hardware you have onhand. ‘Once the slides are in place on the cabinetand theside | | of the drawer box, i x you can slide the bbox in the opening (with double-sided tape affixed to the box front). Now it’s time to center the false front in the opening, Figure 4c shows the reveal you're looking for: When you're comfort- able with the spacing, press the false front firmly against the box. Now you can remove the drawer and screw the {alse frontto the box from inside, Adding the knobs is the last bit of work to do on the drawer (Figures 4 and 4b). THE TOP. Making the top is the last order of business for the cabinet base. As you see in Figure 5 below, the top is thicker than normal. We felt the top was desery- ing of a little more prominence so we beefed it up to 1-thick material. It’s attached to the base with screws through oversized holes. a #8110"? wooDscrEW 'W/WASHER, SIDE VIEW (Gross secT0N) NOTE: rors wave oF -P-THICK HARDWOOD.——— SHELE PIN HOLES. Hl NOTE: cveinc ts -THick HARDWOOD. ALL OTHER. PARTS ARE Se" PLYWOOD ® se 9mx37K9 piper © aise SMALL SIDE a SS “ ce < came © zi oO | AE b. Ry 7 = f — i ae VIEW | sa ess ESE up above there's a Sturdy Case While the base cabinet is cooling off in the comer, you can, tum your attention to what's going to live on top — the "uppercase that yousee flowing across these pages. It starts ‘out fairly similar to its older, larger sibling, with the ply- wood construction you see above. But to provide storage for the variety of smaller tools you've gathered over time, the infrastructure is quite different. ‘You see at the bottom center of the case there's an open- ing for a pair of drawers that are slightly smaller than the ‘one in the base. This sa perfect space for your mid-sized ‘gadgets. Justabove these two are five trays that will et you dial in your access to your fine hand-tool cache. Above the trays you'll have more open space for middling size items, Let's jump into the case parts ‘54 m POPULAR WOODWORKING PLYWOOD PARTS. Figure 6 above shows all the parts required for the body of the case. Once you've ripped and cut them to their final sizes, we'll tackle the dadoes where they're required. All the dado locations are shown in the drawings.on this page. The case sides get three for the dividers that form both the case itself and the case within the case. In esoteric ‘woodworking circles this configuration is referred to as the “Russian doll construct,” just so you know. It will either impress your friends, get you thrown out of your own shop, orleave you with being the buyer at the next happy hour. The next set of dadoes are cut into the inside faces of the bottom and middle dividers, Figures 6 and 6a show these. ‘There are centered dadoes that need to be cut in the small dividers, Figures 6b and 6eshow them in detail. Now thatall the dadoes are done, you can focus on the mating tongues Al of them are on the ends of the dividers of both cases.Dailing the shelf pin holes area detail that’s more easily done before the case is glued up —so do that. Speaking, of keeping things easy, we'll tackle the glueup of the case ina couple of stages. TWO-STAGE GLUEUP. For me, keeping things simple ‘means gluing up the nested section of the case first (the section that holds the drawers and trays) then the case sides and top divider. As a reminder, this case, like the ‘base before, has dividers that are narrower than the case sides to allow for the rabbeted front and back assemblies. So all the parts involved in the first glueup are flush. tocach other. It’s when you bring in the wider case sides that you'll need to consider using shims to center the top divider and the glued up drawer tray assembly. Then it’s (on to making the frontand back of the case. ‘The frontand back of the caseare similar to the ones that adom the base, butnotexactly alike. On the front, the location ofthe joined. MORTISE & RABBETS. The marching orders are the same for the mortise in the top of the stiles. After drilling the holes at the drill press, square them up with a chisel (Figure 7c and 74), Nex, it’s. trip tothe table saw to rab- bet the edgesas shown in Figure7c, Then change the setup at the saw and cut the tenons on the rail Figure 7c and 74). Gluing up the front presents the same challenges as before. Youcan temporarily clamp the bottom edging piece in place while the glue dries. THE BACK, The back is a rinse and repeat of the pre- ‘vious panels. Cut the grooves in the stiles and rails, then rabbet the stiles. Cut the tenons on the center stile and the nals. Then cut the rabbets on the panels (Figure 7a and 7b). Glue up the back now, but don’ install ituntil the tray runners are in place. sal eho wo, hates a epee theboter of he base And theback rls sx tsonmanetoen canteen © foe wn ta etc Ta noted, cutall the parts for the front to size. na" AL) orame wena CASERAIL | BACK : eS eee ET ase nSipeo EDGING ! ES, ao oe >) eae, aatege a eo SS | ie enema Sea" ® 1) || NOTE: sack raners ane pdt THICK HARDWOOD. CASE SHELFIS: He | i eoeos at coon | \) |] Setsaciasecssiccsince a ED once eee Aone Eee aa eS | ol ke q SIDE VIEW \}\] (R089 SECTION) @ | (crossstcron) y fy y _ ~ t i a O| = Robt le B