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 Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The Work Sharp Tool Sharpener: Is Super Sharp What I’m After?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I can’t sharpen chisels. For years I’ve fought this inadequacy. I’ve had many different sharpening stones and magic devices all aimed at allowing me to conquer the honed edge.  Here’s the trouble. I cannot lock my elbows. I think it’s a genetic situation. I blame my parents (of course I do). Every time I attempt to pass a tool over a water or diamond-impregnated stone I get such a rounding effect that I’m sure were I to continue, the result would be a new type of tool that could remove wood from around a corner. Please, all you hand-tool gurus don’t write to me with directions on how to stand, where to place my arms or how many times to pat my head as I rub my stomach. It won’t help. I want my chisels sharp like my Dad’s. There were times when Dad was sharpening his tools, that he’d have perfect 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" patches of skin on his arms that had no hair on them at all. I don’t know if he was testing his sharpening abilities – please don’t try this at home – or just showing the young guy a thing or two about woodworking. As a result, I turned to machines. If I can lock the chisel in place or at least hold it square as I move it into the wheel, I can obtain a fairly sharp edge – something that would cut when and where I needed it to. These machines produce easy-to-achieve, consistent results. The water-cooled hollow-grinding appliance became my best friend. Finally, I was able to get my chisels as sharp as Dad’s. But, I wasn’t fond of the messy water and I know that some sharpening experts feel a flat bevel is stronger and holds an edge longer than those that are hollow ground. But with this machine, I could get great results and go back and touch up the edge whenever I felt it was needed.  These past few weeks, Popular Woodworking has had a Work Sharp Tool Sharpener ($200 at many retailers) in the shop for review. Work Sharp is a dry-sharpening system that uses tempered glass wheels and abrasives to put an edge on chisels and other flat tools. And, it has an attachment for sharpening rounded edges, too. It’s a product by Professional Tool Manufacturing (PTM) – the company that delivered the Drill Doctor.  It was time for me to clean up and sharpen my chisels (pictured here with one already through the process). I turned to the Work Sharp and was happy with the results. I followed the methods that the guys from PTM showed us during a demonstration. I started by reshaping my tools. I used a P120-grit, 6" adhesive-backed disc applied to the glass wheel. In a short time, I had perfectly square ends on the chisels and the bevel was a consistent angle (provided by setting the sharpening port). Next, I worked through the P400-grit disc and the P1000-grit disc and finally I reached the Micro-Mesh disc that is graded at 3600. After using the abrasive on the bevel, I flattened and honed the back of the chisel on top of the wheel.  This picture shows the end result of my efforts. I can tell you that the cut of each chisel is very good and I’m well pleased. I do notice a few fine lines remaining after the last phase. I’m planning on pushing sharp to the next level using a 6000 Micro-Mesh. I’ll let you know how it goes. I might even try shaving my arm hair. How about that Dad? (Look for more information on the Work Sharp Tool Sharpener in our August 2007 issue of Popular Woodworking) Here’s a tip: I find it most helpful when sharpening to use a black Sharpie (what else would you use when sharpening?) and color the bevel on the chisel. When you begin the next sharpening phase, you’ll notice the black being removed. This tells you when you’ve worked over the entire surface.
– Glen Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:54:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Monday, April 16, 2007
Shop Projects - Part 1
I've spent the last couple weeks working out the details for several projects to improve our shop here at the magazine. It's a nice space, but like many wood shops, quick fixes tend to become permanent fixtures. There are a number of areas we'd like to make more convenient, and we have several machines and work areas that need attention. Keep your eye on this blog and the magazine this spring and summer for a detailed look at how we solve some common shop problems.  This is the material for one of the projects. Being from frugal stock, I tend to look for the least expensive way to build things. Last Friday, this stack was 20 "pre-cut" 2 by 4s from the local Home Depot. At $2.38 a piece, the cost of this stuff is about 45 cents a board foot. The price is right, but the moisture content isn't – it's way too wet to be workable. As this reaches equilibrium moisture content with our shop environment it will twist and warp. If I worked with it right away, my project would bend and twist as the wood dried. I've cut the pieces to a rough length, and I've stacked them with stickers to allow air to circulate around the wood. I'm going to monitor the moisture content, comparing it to pieces that have been in the shop for a long time. In two or three weeks it should be dry and then I'll pretend it's rough lumber and mill it straight and square.  While we're waiting for the lumber to dry, let's consider these questions: What do you use for a bench when you're building a bench? What do you put your machines on so you can use them to build permanent stands for them? Several readers wrote about the stands and beams that I used as a work surface in my last blog post. These were the subject of an article in the fourth issue of our sibling publication, Woodworking Magazine. Drawings and instructions for putting them together are in the article. The idea is that the boxes can be used at any of three different heights. The beams span the boxes and provide a level, straight surface. In the photo above, they're holding our sliding compound miter saw.  Here the boxes have been turned to a lower height to serve as a stand for a portable planer. We also use this configuration as a low assembly table. If the boxes are turned one more time it makes an even lower platform. This works well for putting together larger or taller pieces, or for cutting full sheets of plywood to a manageable size. The boxes and beams provide a level surface, and it takes very little time to set these up. A couple well-placed screws will hold it all together, and when we don't need it, the pieces stack in the corner out of the way.  They're also handy when break time comes. – Bob Lang
Read other entries by Robert W. Lang
Monday, April 16, 2007 4:24:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Use Stop Blocks; They're Dead-on
When you begin a woodworking project and start to move through it, you’ll often come to a number of pieces that need to be cut to the exact lengths. Drawer dividers and shelves are the best examples.
There are a number of ways to cut these pieces. The one that pops into most minds is to cut or trim the end, measure from that end to the size required, then position the stock at the saw to make the second cut.
That works fine for a single piece – but when you do these steps for a number of pieces, you’re apt to mark the measurement incorrectly or miss the layout line with the saw blade at some time. Either problem results in different lengths in the finished cuts. That’s not good.
I also see many woodworkers attempting to group their pieces and make one cut for many pieces of stock. This, too, is not an acceptable method because the chances of any one piece sliding are high. Not only that, but often the pieces won’t be square to the fence or the ends won’t be flush to one another, and the cuts will be off.
So, you need to find a method to make repeated cuts that bypasses these problems. That method is to use a stop block. A stop block is attached to a fence, or some other part of the woodworking tool, so the end of a board can butt to the stop block, which achieves a repeatable, exact cutting length.
What woodworking tool do you choose? For years, I used my table saw and a sliding panel-cutting jig to make this type of cut. Then, I moved a miter saw into my shop. From that day on I have made all my crosscuts – at least those that are less in width than my saw will cut – on the miter saw. It’s a safe tool that was designed with this type of cut in mind.
How is the miter saw safe for this operation? Simple. You’re working with stock that is surfaced on all four sides (S4S) therefore there is a straight edge of stock fitting tightly to the saw’s fence. The blade is above the stock and as it is introduced to the material, the spinning blade pushes the stock down to the table of the saw and also back against the fence. Everything is snug and fit without any movement of the stock, except from side to side – that’s the woodworker’s responsibility.
Now that we know the best tool for the task begin by squaring one end of each of the pieces that you need to cut to the specific length. Even if they are different widths the setup is the same – the length is what we are going for with this method.
Take the first piece and measure from the squared end to the length that is needed. Mark the stock. I like to mark my pieces with the point of an arrow. This stems from my days in the homebuilding industry.
Next, align the point of the arrow with the left side of the miter-saw blade while the majority of the stock is set to the left of the saw. Look at the saw blade. Generally, one tooth will point to the right, one to the left. Pick one that points to the left to set to the mark. If possible, clamp the stock in position or, at minimum, hold it to keep it from moving. Then, slide a scrap (the stop block) against the squared end of your piece and secure that to your fence or table.
Test the setup by cutting the first piece of stock to length. If the measurement is dead-on, you’re ready to complete the remaining cuts. If need be, make slight adjustments to the stop-block position and check the cut a second time. (Of course this can only be done on stock that is too long after the initial cut, so be right or be long.) Once the setup is accurate, it’s a matter of sliding the squared end of each piece of stock tight to the stop block and making the cut.
There are a couple pitfalls to watch for while cutting with a stop block. First, always make sure that the stop block is firmly attached to the fence or table. If the block slides even the smallest distance, your cuts will vary in length. Second – and this one’s the hardest to remember – as you continue to cut pieces there is a possibility that sawdust will gather at the stop block. If that dust prohibits your stock from making contact with the stop block, there will be variations in the cut lengths. Make sure to keep the area clean and free from dust or chips.
Also, after you make the first cut there sometimes are small fuzzy ends of wood still attached to your stock. If these ends get folded back against the stock and get sandwiched between the stop block and the stock, it will affect the cut as well.
From the first cut to the last, no matter how many pieces are in between, you’ll get consistent lengths if you adopt this method.
– Glen D. Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 3:38:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, April 09, 2007
Workbenches: Rule 5 of 10
 This English-style workbench (shown in Peter Nicholson’s “Mechanic’s Companion” (1831)) is uncommon today, but it is still a sound bench because it allows you to perform all of the critical workbench operations with relative ease. Benches are a triumph of function over form.
During the last 10 years, I’ve built a number of classic bench forms, and I’ve worked on craftsman-made and commercial benches of different stripes. I’ve been stunned by how awful some workbenches can be at some tasks, and I’ve also seen brilliantly realized designs.
And now, after all this work, I’ve concluded that it doesn’t matter what sort of bench you have as long as it performs a set of core functions with ease. For the June issue of Popular Woodworking (on newsstands during the first week of May) I’ve boiled down these core functions into 10 rules for building (or buying) a workbench. Below, you'll find Rule No. 5
Rule No. 5: The Overall Dimensions of Your Bench Are Critical
Your bench design cannot be too heavy or too long. But its top can easily be too wide or too tall. I think your benchtop should be as long as possible. Find the wall where your workbench will go (hint: Pick the wall that has a window). Measure that space. Subtract four feet from that measurement and that’s a good length for the top. Note: The benchtop must be at least 5' long unless you build only small-scale items. Furniture-sized parts typically range up to 48" long and you want to support these fully with a little room to spare. I’ve made tops that are 8' long. My next bench will be a 10-footer, the maximum that will fit in my shop. It is difficult to make or imagine a workbench that is too long. The same goes for thickness. It is the thickness that allows the top to be that long. If you make the top really thick (4" or more), then it will offer unerring support and allow you to build your bench without any support system beneath. The top can perch on the legs and will not sag under its own weight.
This early 20th-century airplane factory had the right idea when
it came to workbench length. With a long bench, you can work on one end
and assemble at the other – no need for an assembly bench. Thus, a big
bench actually saves floorspace.
The width is a different matter. You can have a bench that is too wide for a one-person shop. I’ve worked on benches that are 36" wide and they have downsides. For starters, if you park them against the wall you’ll have to stretch to reach the tools hanging on the wall. If you assemble projects on your bench, you will find yourself dancing around it a lot more than you should.
But there’s more. Cabinetwork is sized in standard chunks. These sizes come from the human body; they aren’t arbitrary. A kitchen’s base cabinet is generally 24" deep and 34-1⁄2" high. This is important for a couple reasons. First: It means you don’t really need a bench that’s much more than 24" deep to build cabinets. With that 24" depth, you actually get some advantages, including the fact that you can clamp the cabinet to your bench from as many as three sides of your bench. That’s dang handy. A deep bench allows you to clamp your cabinets to the bench on only two sides (with a couple exceptions). Here’s the other thing to keep in mind: Kitchen cabinets are themselves a highly studied work surface. There’s a good reason that kitchen cabinets are 24" deep. And it’s the same reason you don’t want your workbench much deeper either.
Now I’m not going to argue with you if you build really big stuff or have a bench that you share with another woodworker facing you; you might need more depth. But if you are like the rest of us, a 24"-deep bench is a powerful and right-sized tool.
On the issue of workbench height: Many bench builders worry about it and there are a wide variety of rules and advice. The bottom line is the bench must fit you and your work. And in the end, there are no hard-and-fast rules. I wish there were. Some people like low benches; some like them high.
So consider the following as a good place to start. After taking in my crackpot theories, your next stop should be a friend’s house or a woodworking supply store to use their benches and get a feel for what is right (it could be as simple as having a bad back that requires you to have a high bench, or a love for wooden handplanes that dictates a low bench).
Here is my experience with bench height: I started with a bench that was 36" high, which seemed right for someone who is 6' 3-5⁄8" tall. And for machine woodworking I was right. The high bench brought the work close to my eyes. I loved it. And then my passion for handwork reared its ugly head.
If you get into hand tools, a high bench becomes less attractive. I started with a jack plane and a few smoothing planes. They worked OK with a high bench, but I became fatigued quickly.
After reading the screed on bench heights, I lowered the height of my 36" bench. It seemed radical, but one day I got the nerve up and sawed 2" off the legs. Those two inches changed my attitude toward planing.
The 34"-bench height allowed me to use my long leg muscles to propel the plane forward instead of my arms.
Now, before you build your next bench at 34" high, stop for a minute. That might not be right for you. Do you use wooden stock planes? If so, you need to consider that the wooden body planes can hold your arms about 3" to 4" higher off the workbench than a metal plane can. As a result, a wooden plane user’s workbench should be lower.
This is as good reason as ever to get to know someone who has a good shop you can visit and discuss your ideas with. It is better not to make this decision on paper alone.
But there are other factors you must consider when settling on the bench’s height. How tall are you? If you are over 6' tall, you should scale your bench a bit higher. Start high and cut it down if it’s too high. And prop it up on some blocks of wood if it’s too low. Experiment. It’s not a highboy; it’s a workbench.
Here are other things to consider: Do you work with machinery? If so, a bench that’s 34" from the floor – or a bit lower – can be good. The top of a table saw is typically 34" from the floor, so a workbench could be (at most) a great outfeed table or (at least) not in the way of your crosscutting and ripping.
Of course, everyone wants a ballpark idea for where to start. So here it is: Stand up straight and drop your arms against your sides in a relaxed manner. Measure from the floor to the place where your pinky joins your hand. That has been the sweet spot for me.
— Christopher Schwarz
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Monday, April 09, 2007 8:31:34 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Lathe Sanding Eureka
As I joined the staff at Popular Woodworking magazine, I was handed a stack of information gathered at the 2006 International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair (IWF). In the mix was a packet from Mirka Abrasives about a new sanding product called Abranet.
I was encouraged to bring Abranet into our shop to review, and an initial call to Mirka in Twinsburg, Ohio, hooked me up with Pete Kern who is very excited about this new product. Pete, a cabinet specialist and territory manager, and Rich Ionta, business development manager, came to our shop to make a presentation. They also left samples of Abranet.
Abranet looks like a sanding screen but is a better sanding solution (see our “Tool Test” review in the upcoming June 2007 issue, on newstands the first week of May.) For the most part, I’ve used a 5"-Abranet disc on a random orbital sander (ROS) and the results have been great. Senior Editor Robert W. Lang has used Abranet on an ROS, as well as on various pad sanders. We’ve had a chance to use Abranet for a while and I can tell you we’re all impressed with its abilities.
In addition, I found Abranet most impressive when used at the lathe. I had to turn 24 legs for a class I’m teaching in which we’re building a Shaker-style end table using a classic Shaker leg design. There is 18-1/2" of turned leg that needed to be sanded.
After using a Minimax T124 copy lathe – Dad has one in his shop – it was on to the sanding. I started sanding at #150 grit, moved to #180 grit, then to a woven abrasive to finish the task. I sanded 19 of the legs before remembering that I’d brought a few Abranet discs home in hopes of trying them in different applications. I thought this would be a good test to compare traditional sanding methods with Mirka’s new product.
When I began sanding with the Abranet discs I noticed the dust was coming through the product. The idea behind Abranet is the efficient extraction of sanding dust. Using the product on the ROS didn’t allow the dust to be seen as it was pulled away from the surface, but here, sanding at the lathe, it’s easy to see just how Abranet works. I was amazed.
The dust filtered through the Abranet and dropped from the turning. Therefore, no sanding dust was being sanded over and over. No pilling of the dust was evident. This results in better, quicker sanding and possibly less airborne dust for woodworkers to breathe.
I finished sanding the remaining legs in a short time. Why? Because I was able to cut out the last step in the sanding process and greatly reduce the time spent on the second step. I began with #150-grit Abranet which when complete was very close to the smoothness achieved with standard #180-grit paper. Sanding with #180-grit Abranet resulted in an even smoother surface than the abrasive pad I’d used before switching.
Not only was the surface smooth, it’s almost impossible to burn the turning when sanding with Abranet. That’s a big deal and a vast improvement from standard sandpaper. I don’t use the lathe that much, but I can tell you I’ve found my new favorite way to sand turnings. From now on, if I’m at the lathe, I’m sanding with Abranet. Watching how this product works at the lathe makes me think that using it in other scenarios must be better, too.
You can find Abranet online at a few suppliers as well as in the Woodcraft stores. Woodcraft has 10 packs designed especially for the retail trade. The cost per disc is $.66 to $1.60 depending on how you buy them – and I think it’s a great value.
–Glen Huey
Read other entries by Glen D. Huey
Wednesday, April 04, 2007 3:42:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, April 02, 2007
Top-level Management Strategies
One of my favorite tasks in the shop is making solid-wood tabletops. Over the years I've made quite a few, and I've developed some methods that remove most of the risks and drudgery that spoil the fun. If you're not careful, it's easy to make some mistakes that will leave you wishing you had used plywood instead. We hear from a lot of readers who struggle with this, and it's a hurdle worth clearing.  My first rule is that to end up with a flat top, start with flat boards. I'm pretty careful in choosing and milling the pieces. Wishful thinking might tell you that warped, cupped and twisted pieces will magically become flat with the application of glue and clamps, but that won't happen. The only irregularity you might be able to correct is a slight bow along the length of a piece. My second rule is to do the assembly on a flat surface. The setup shown in the photos is one I've used for a long time, and I wrote an article about it in issue #4 our sibling publication, Woodworking Magazine. The I-beams stay nice and straight, and the boxes they are sitting on can be arranged several different ways. The top will be a reflection of the surface you glue it together on – put it together on a twisted surface, and you'll end up with a twisted top. The smaller sticks going across the beams are from the scrap bin, but I take the time to joint an edge of each, and to rip them all to an identical width. This top uses splines to keep the edges aligned, which was the subject of an article in issue #6 of Woodworking.  Rule three is to do as much work as possible on individual boards and to arrange them for appearance first. This may sound like a repeat of rule one, but if there are any defects or rough patches, get them fixed so you don't have to lean over to reach the middle of the top. When you run the boards through the planer, send them all through at the same setting so they are a consistent thickness. I had a small drum sander available when I made this, and I sent each board through it before gluing. The oft-repeated advice of arranging boards with the growth rings in alternating directions is nonsense. If your stock is stable and flat at the begining, it will tend to stay that way. If it is still gaining or losing moisture when you assemble it, it will likely warp. Rule four is to get the glue-up right so you don't have to work hard after gluing. In the picture above, I'm putting the first three of five boards together. This extra step lets me make sure I have good seams and a flat top to start with. When the glue from this stage has had an hour or two to dry, I add the remaining boards.  The splines keep the edges even, and if you're not using them, take care to keep the edges aligned as you clamp. I usually keep a rubber mallet handy for this; if an edge raises up somewhere, a few smacks with the mallet can put it back where it belongs. I put all the boards next to each other and mark their relative positions by drawing a triangle across the surface. I gather clamps, glue, a wet rag and an old paint scraper before gluing. If you've never done this before, I'd recommend a dry run – arrange all the boards and clamp them together just to get a taste of what the process will be like. When I put the glue on, I stand each piece on edge and try to get just enough glue on an edge so that it almost squeezes out. The easiest mess to clean up is one you don't make. When you set and tighten the clamps, be sure they are in a position where the force of the clamp is centered on the edge of your board. With fancy clamps like the ones pictured, you don't have to worry about this so much, but if you're using pipe clamps it can be an issue. When I use pipe clamps I alternate them so that adjacent clamps are above and below the panel.  If some glue does squeeze out, I remove it immediately with the paint scraper or the back of a wide chisel, then I wipe the glue off the tool with the wet rag. If any glue remains on the surface of the wood, the wet rag will remove it. If all goes well, there won't be much work to do when the clamps come off. Yellow glue will set up enough to take the clamps off in an hour or two, but it can take 10 or 12 hours to completely cure. After the glue is dry there will be some slight planing and scraping to be done – mostly cleaning up the seams and getting the entire top ready to finish. Being careful while putting the top together will keep this as pleasant finishing work, not major aggravation. – Bob Lang
Read other entries by Robert W. Lang
Monday, April 02, 2007 3:26:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, March 30, 2007
True Grit: Understanding Sharpening Grits
Once you get serious about sharpening, two things happen. Your edges get keener but you get more confused about the "grits" used in the process. A #1,000-grit waterstone isn't the same grit as #1,000-grit sandpaper. (Heck, #1,000-grit sandpaper in the United States isn't the same as #1,000-grit sandpaper in Europe.)
The reason is that sandpaper, waterstones, oilstones, diamond stones and silicon carbide stones all use different systems to tell you how coarse or how fine the material is. If you stick with one system and one brand (say, you use Norton waterstones exclusively), this isn't a problem. Just start with the coarse media and proceed to the fine one.
But if you start mixing brands or systems, you can get in trouble. Here's an example: Say you want to use a soft Arkansas oilstone as your coarse stone and an extra-fine India (aluminum oxide) stone to finish things up. Well good luck – both of these stones are the same grit (22 micron). Your edge won't improve when you move to the extra-fine stone.
The good news is that you can convert all sharpening media to microns and get a better picture of where your sharpening stone or paper is in the continuum from cinderblock (coarse) up to baby's behind (very fine). Now I don't want to bore you with a discussion of microns, but here's the short explanation. A micron is a measurement of the diameter of each particle of grit in your stone and paper. Micron is sort for micrometer. One micron is one-millionth of a meter (hey, I just used the metric system). So the smaller the number in microns, the finer the grit.
So with the help of readers and published statistics, I've put together a spreadsheet of common sharpening media and converted them to microns for you. The chart covers:
• Man-made stones (silicon carbide and aluminum oxide)
• Oilstones
• Diamond stones
• Waterstones
• Sandpaper (both CAMI and FEPA)
• Other stuff (diamond paste, green compound, ceramic diamond media)
Please keep in mind that these are published statistics; I have no way (or desire) to measure the actual particle size or consistency of the media. I'll be adding to this chart as I get more statistics, but this chart is a good first stab.
Below you can download an Excel spreadsheet (and modify it if you please) and a pdf of the chart for those readers who aren't chartered accountants.
— Christopher Schwarz
Read other entries by Christopher Schwarz
Friday, March 30, 2007 12:21:14 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Dovetails: My Journey
We’ve spent a week or two in the blog discussing dovetails. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to share a story (and not knowing when this chance may surface again), here’s my tale on dovetailing.
When I began making furniture I hated dovetails. Yes it’s true. I didn’t understand how to cut them; I did, however, know that knowledgeable customers wanted to see them.
I bought a dovetail jig and decided that the jig would be my method. I used the jig when needed, all the time cursing the blessed joint. Because of the jig, or how I was using it, I wasted material. I made the drawer backs the same width as the drawer sides then after the routing was complete, I’d rip off the unnecessary width on the back to allow the solid-wood bottom to move.
Use a Forstner bit to remove a large portion of the waste material cutting some of the time needed to complete the pins in half-blind dovetails.
I also found that the jig, although the best on the market at the time, had a few shortcomings in my eyes. Primarily, it was difficult to make half-blind dovetails – too much setup time. So, being the “look outside the box” guy that I am, I came up with a plan. I would mill the material for my drawers at ½” thick, make the through dovetail at all corners, then glue an additional ¼” of material on the front to create a half-blind look for the drawer fronts. It worked for a while, until a customer noticed and asked about it. I felt woodworking weak.
However, the issue that drove me to hand cut dovetails (a customer pointing out my inabilities didn’t quite do it), came while building a tall chest of drawers. I had the case sides ready to dovetail and they were through dovetails so the jig was pulled into action.
To work on the case sides I had the jig attached to a wooden box (this elevated it to a pleasant working height during normal use). I set the box on top of two five-gallon buckets and the entire setup stacked on my workbench. All that to get a 65”-tall chest case side into the jig for dovetails. But wait, it gets better!
I had all the settings correct, my piece loaded into the jig and started cutting while standing three steps up on a stepladder. As I reached the third finger spacing on the jig, something moved. There’s no way that I’d be able to match the work when I reversed the jig to create the tails portion, so I stopped, pulled the work piece from the jig and removed the first ¾” of material to start again.
An angled platform jig, set to match the layout lines, used at the band saw allows you to leave the saw's table square to the blade. To change the angle, reverse the jig.
My customer didn’t know it, but his chest had just gotten shorter. Back to the jig and back on the ladder. Holding my breath, I moved past the third finger. All was good. Until, that is, further into the adventure when I found another finger was lying in wait for me. Again, the workpiece moved and I was done. I called it quits that very minute. No more jig use.
I pulled the panel from the jig, pulled the jig off the wooden box and down from the two buckets then carried the jig to my basement knowing that from this point on, I was going to hand cut any dovetails made in my shop. To this day, that jig sits in my basement, covered in dust, waiting for a reprieve. It’s not going to happen!
Jump forward three years. I’m hand cutting all the pins and tails. I’m also struggling each and every time drawers are scheduled in my day. I actually looked for projects without drawers. But, you know customers. They want what they want and I had one who wanted a high chest of drawers – a highboy. An 11 drawer highboy!
I’d put off the inevitable for as long as possible. The next day I was faced with dovetails. The chest was complete – as far as it could be without any drawers – and all the drawer parts were ready. No excuses; I had to dovetail.
Driving to the shop that next morning I had an epiphany. I’d been building furniture long enough that I shouldn’t have problems with dovetails. It was crazy not being comfortable with this classic joint. Right then I crossed the line; I resolved I would be “Master of the Dovetail” by day’s end.
Squirreled away in the shop with no interruptions, I buried my head in the task at hand. Cutting. Chopping. Chiseling. When the day was over I had dovetailed the entire set of drawers – they were the best dovetails I’d ever created. I came to a conclusion immediately; If you can see it, you can be it.
I know that sounds like mumbo jumbo, but it’s true. I’ve never looked back. You too can cut dovetails by hand. It’s a matter of following steps. You’ve seen the progress that can be accomplished within the pages of this blog. Do it and believe you can do it.
Removing the waste with a jigsaw, while not cutting the scribe line, allows you to set the chisel directly at the scribe line and pare to that line easily.
Now I spend time trying to figure ways to speed up the dovetail process. These pictures show methods that can make the act of dovetailing quicker without compromising the hand-cut look, but understand the basics first, then build from there. –Glen D. Huey
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007 1:56:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Glen D. Huey’s No-fail Dovetailing, Part 2: The Tail Board
Editor's note: The following is the second part of a three-part series on cutting through dovetails with a combination of hand and power tools. The first part, which involves the pin board, can be found through this link. Below is the second part. The third part will discuss how Glen developed the process for his custom shop.
With the pin board complete (click here for Part 1), it's time to transfer the shape of the pins onto the tail board. Lay your tail board face-side down on your bench. Line up your pin board at the end of the tail board, with the face side facing you (the narrow end of the pins should be at the front edge). Make sure the two pieces are flush at the front and sides.
Now trace the shape of the pins onto the tail board with a sharp pencil, then slide the pin board back and mark an “X” on the tail board directly in front of each pin (which is the waste area). Set the pin board aside. 
Use a band saw to carefully cut along your lines on the waste side up to your baseline, leaving the pencil lines. As when you hand cut the pins, do all one direction first, then go back and change your angle for the other sides to avoid dancing back and forth at the saw. Now trim off the half-pin waste at the edges of the board. Also, make a cut down the center of each waste area (this will keep the waste from getting stuck as you remove it with your chisel). If you don’t have a band saw, you can make these cuts with your handsaw, though you’ll likely have more fitting issues unless your saw skills are dead on.
Clamp the tail board to your workbench (it doesn’t matter which side is facing up. Again, place your chisel just a hair in front of your baseline, with the bevel side facing the end of the board, and angle the chisel a couple degrees to undercut the joint. Strike once to define the baseline, then chisel out the waste. Unlike on the pin board, you won’t be able to remove the waste directly from the end; you’ll have to approach it at an angle at a point about 1/8” from the baseline. And remember, the bevel of your chisel should face up with this cut to help lever up the waste. Continue these two cuts until you’re about halfway through the board, then flip it over and repeat the process on the other face. The cut you made down the center of the waste will help eject. Clean out any remaining bits of waste on both workpieces with your chisel or an X-Acto knife.
Now you’re ready to test fit the two pieces. Place the tail board face-side down on the bench, and hold the pin board with the face side facing you. Walk the two pieces together until they’re about halfway joined. If you have any fitting problems, take them apart and trim away the bits that are sticking. And you’ll likely have fitting problems…even after some practice. It’s better to undercut then go back and refine where necessary than to overcut and cause gaps (as you can see I did on the second tail in the lead photo – oops). Once you have the pieces halfway joined by hand, a few strikes with a rubber mallet should seat the two workpieces together.
Inspect your work carefully, and identify any problems. You can work on those next time. Heck – after three weeks of almost daily practice, I’m still struggling with hitting the baseline perfectly on both sides when hand sawing, and I still overcut my tails from time to time. But as Editor Chris Schwarz keeps telling me, “It’s good enough for 18th-century casework” (because 18th-century woodworkers covered the visible dovetail faces with trim). Despite the wee gap, the dovetails will hold. Nonetheless, I’m going to keep working on those baselines.
– Megan Fitzpatrick with Glen D. Huey
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007 9:30:13 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sweepstakes Winner
Last fall, we announced our $15,000 "All-Star Workshop Giveaway" sponsored by Franklin Adhesives, Porter-Cable, Delta Machinery and Lee Valley Tools. That's our publisher, Steve Shanesy, in the picture below, along with some of the prizes. We received thousands of entries and shortly after the Feb. 28 deadline, the winner was selected by random drawing.  Steve picked up the phone and placed a call to Mike Titsworth of Michigan. Mike's wife took the call and thought Steve was trying to sell her a subscription. She was a bit skeptical to say the least, but eventually Mike got on the phone and received the good news. "I didn't really remember what I had entered," said Mike, "all I did was click the mouse." The good news took a while to sink in, but when the truckload of tools from Delta and Porter-Cable arrived it became real.  Mike retired last July from a career as a machine repairman in the automotive industry. He's been setting up a shop in his garage, and had recently purchased a contractor's saw. Mike's son is also a woodworker, and had talked his dad into putting the new saw at his place, where he is working on building kitchen cabinets. When Mike got the news of his prize, which includes a new Delta Unisaw, he called his son to let him know he wasn't in any hurry to get the contractor's saw back. When the son saw all the new tools in his dad's garage he was speechless. "He just looks and shakes his head," Mike said.  We've had the Lee Valley Tools portion of the prize in our shop for several months; we brought it in before the contest was announced to photograph the prizes. Because we're only a few hours away from Michigan, we asked Mike if he would like to come and pick it up, rather than have us ship it by truck. He called his brother who lives nearby and is also a woodworker, and said "Road Trip!"  Late last week Mike and his brother arrived at our offices and shop here in Cincinnati. In the picture above, Steve and Mike take a break from loading some of the winnings. I may not have gone to journalism school, but I have learned to pick up the camera and act busy when there's a truck to be loaded. Back home in Michigan, Mike is busy unpacking and setting up his new tools. "I really appreciate all the tools, most of all the hand tools, and I'm looking forward to building my skills with them," Mike said. "But first I think I'm going to have to build a new shop building. It all fits where I am now, but I'm limited to working on stuff about two feet long." Our congratulations to Mike, and to all of the monthly winners along the way. If you didn't win, try your luck in our latest sweepstakes. — Bob Lang
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007 2:01:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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