Dan Cary, Author at Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To

PROJECT: In-Drawer Knife Block

Dan Cary — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 20:57:41 +0000

The best way to store kitchen knives is in a knife block. It will keep them organized and protect the blades from both getting damaged and perhaps even injuring you! While countertop knife blocks often serve as decorative accents in a kitchen, not everyone wants their cutlery on display. Or maybe you just don’t have room for another object on the countertop. A knife block that fits inside a drawer is a great space-saving alternative.

Face-glue and clamp three pairs of bottom inside dividers together, and do the same for the handle rest halves. Be careful to keep the part edges and ends aligned while the glue is still tacking up.

The two-level design I’ve come up with here is relatively easy to build and offers a wide range of customization options. The dividers are made from a combination of 1/2″- and 3/4″-thick solid walnut and mounted on a 1/4″-thick Baltic birch plywood base. But you can choose just about any species of wood, mix and match multiple species or even use Baltic birch plywood for all the parts, if you like.

Cutting the Parts

Look at the the Drawings and Material List to familiarize yourself with the knife block’s design and pieces. Start construction by ripping enough 2-1/4″-wide stock to make the bottom inside and outside dividers.

Then rip 1-3/8″-wide pieces for the top dividers and handle rest. Crosscut the bottom dividers, top dividers and handle rest parts 1/4″ longer than necessary for now.

Shaping the Dividers and Rest

Draw a 3-3/4″ radius on the top front corner of each of the bottom inside and outside dividers. Mark the four top dividers with 1-5/16″ radii.

Face-glue three pairs of bottom inside dividers together, and do the same for the two handle rest parts. Carefully align their edges and ends flush. When the glue dries, unclamp and crosscut the parts to final length.

Cut the divider curves to rough shape at the band saw or with a jigsaw. Saw just to the waste side of your layout lines.

Now grab your compass to lay out a 1-5/16″ radius on the sides of the top dividers and a 3-3/4″ radius on the sides of the bottom dividers. Then, use a band saw or jigsaw to cut just outside the layout line on each divider.

For both consistency and effi ciency, the author clamped the top and bottom dividers into groups so he could gang-sand their curves to the layout lines.

I clamped the top dividers into a single group and did the same for the bottom dividers so I could sand their curves to the layout lines all at once. Next, use a hand plane, file or sanding block to shape a slight radius on the top of the handle rest. When that’s done, sand all the knife block parts to 180-grit.

Assembling the Knife Block

Mark the top edge of the handle rest with a slight radius, and shape it with a block plane, file or sanding block.

Cut the plywood base to size as well as seven spacers for the top and bottom dividers from 1/4″-thick scrap. Place the bottom dividers upside down and insert spacers between them, aligning the back ends of all pieces. The spacers are narrower than the dividers to prevent them from contacting the base when the dividers are installed.

Arrange the inside and outside bottom dividers together, upside down, and insert 1/4″-thick scrap spacers between them. Align the parts so the back ends of the dividers are even.

Clamp the dividers and spacers together. Apply a thin layer of glue to the bottom edges of the dividers only. Then flip the divider-and-spacer assembly over and clamp it to the base.

Clamp the bottom divider assembly to the knife block’s base so the back edges and sides of the parts are flush. A scrap caul can be helpful for pressing each divider down with clamps, as needed.

When that glue-up dries, remove the clamps and spacers. Repeat the assembly process to install the top dividers. Glue and mount the handle rest to the base where it best suits the handles of your knives.

Glue and install the top dividers on the bottom dividers with spacers in between. Mount the handle rest on the base with glue and clamps.

Finally, lightly sand all surfaces with 220-grit paper and apply a wipe-on poly finish to all surfaces. It will be foodsafe once the finish completely cures.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

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Powermatic’s ArmorGlide Table Coating

Dan Cary — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:00:08 +0000

Powermatic’s new ArmorGlide table coating creates low-friction, maximum rust-resistance and no need for maintenance with messy waxes and sprays. It’s available on Powermatic’s larger professional-grade table saws, band saws and jointers.

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VIDEO: Slab Flattening with a Jig

Dan Cary — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 16:00:38 +0000

Dan Cary tests out Rockler’s slab flattening jigs and demonstrates how they help make large rough-edge slabs ready for your next project.

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Vote for Your Favorite Honey Dipper

Dan Cary — Thu, 13 May 2021 16:51:12 +0000

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Wouldn’t Change a Thing

Dan Cary — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 18:08:53 +0000

This week Rob and the crew invited me to share one of my past favorite projects to continue our celebration of National Woodworking Month.

I’m sharing this dining table that I designed and built for my home eight years ago. I chose it because it’s a rare example of a project that if I wouldn’t change at all if I were to build it again (something I almost never say about past projects). After enjoying countless meals and games around it, I can say I have no regrets.

There are several things I like about it. First, I like the style — it’s inspired by the furniture that came out of the Danish Modern design movement. It’s clean and features a few simple details that make it unique, including the slightly curved side edges on the top, the undercut deep bevels on the ends and the legs that feature tapered inside faces and a 1″ radius on the outside faces.

Second, I like the size. The top dimensions are 30-1/2″ x 61″, which is smaller than most typical dining tables. I needed this table to fit in a small space and yet have enough room for my four family members. The size is also consistent with many Danish Modern dining tables.

This table also features an extension mechanism, so it can be expanded to be 2 ft. longer to accommodate a couple guests. This is the third reason I enjoyed this project. It taught me a new skill. It was the first time I installed such a mechanism, and that was an interesting challenge.

Please keep your project photos and descriptions coming in! We’re really enjoying seeing them — and so will other readers when they’re posted to our website soon!

Dan Cary, Woodworker’s Journal

Hands-free Branding Iron Prep

This reader has a tip for making a quick setup for heating your branding iron which is easy and hands-free. Just remember to stay safe!

Five Quick and Easy Woodturning Finishes

Whether you’re finishing spindles, bowls or treenware, here are some topcoat options you may have on hand already.

From Our Sponsor

Staying safe in the shop is always priority number one, and outfitting your shop with the right safety-oriented equipment goes a long way toward keeping your woodworking operations safe. Chris Marshall provides an overview of some shop safety essentials.

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PROJECT: Traditional Spoon Carving

Dan Cary — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 19:01:40 +0000

Follow an expert’s step-by-step procedure to create a wooden spoon in the Swedish sloyd tradition.

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VIDEO: Carving Knives and How to Use Them

Dan Cary — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 16:44:07 +0000

Spoon carving is a traditional woodworking craft. Like all woodworking projects, there’s more than one way to get to the finished project. You could carve a spoon with knives, chisels and hand planes. Or cut it out with a band saw or use power carving tools.

In this case, we visited Vevang Studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to learn about traditional hand tools and carving techniques used to make a wooden spoon. Erik Vevang demonstrates how to properly and safely use a few carving knives to make a beautiful and useful spoon.

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PROJECT: Easy Live Edge Table

Dan Cary — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 16:09:30 +0000

Modern-style live edge tables with metal legs like this one have exploded in popularity in recent years. If you’ve ever shopped for one, however, you know how very expensive they can be at a furniture store or gallery. And building one can be challenging if you don’t have access to slabs or the shop machinery to process them.

But take heart: there’s a simple solution for both the tabletop and legs. Timber-Link pine and maple slabs, available from Rockler, come in both live edge and straightedged pieces that are ready to assemble and finish right out of the package.

Timber-Link slabs are pre-drilled for pocket screws and come in both 4- and 6-ft. lengths. Waney-edged slabs are 5″ to 8″ wide, and straightedged slabs are 8″ wide.

Pre-drilled pocket screw holes make the top as easy to build as applying glue and screwing the slab sections together. The number of pieces you buy determines the top’s width, and you can cut it to any length you prefer.

Combine them to create custom tabletop widths. Start by arranging boards in the order you prefer and marking them.

Arrange the 2″-thick live edge and center sections for a pleasing grain pattern — there will be some variation, especially if you order online and can’t handpick the pieces.

Invert the boards so their bottom faces are up and, keeping them in order, assemble the joints with glue and 2-1/2″ pocket screws.

Mark the boards order, then spread glue on their mating edges and assemble with 2-1/2″ pocket screws. When the joints dry, remove the edge bark with a scraper, drawknife or chisel and sand the surfaces up to 180-grit.

Here, a helper makes minor adjustments to keep the boards flush while the screws are being driven.

Then apply your choice of finish. I used wipe-on urethane for my table.

Remove the bark from the tabletop edges and sand its surfaces smooth. Apply your choice of finish — the author used urethane. Then install the pre-painted steel leg sets with lag screws.

Rockler offers several styles and sizes of painted or unpainted welded-steel leg sets that simply fasten to your new tabletop with lag screws. Then voilà, you’re done. There’s no faster way to build a custom on-trend table than this!

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Pine Timber-Link Slab, Edge Piece, 6′ Long x 2″ Thick x 5-8″ Wide (2) #63608
Pine Timber-Link Slab, Center Piece, 6′ Long x 2″ Thick x 8″ Wide (2) #64197
28″ H V-Shaped Welded Steel Table Leg Set, Black (1) #66014

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VIDEO: Building a Live-Edge Slab Table with Metal Legs

Dan Cary — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:42:22 +0000

Modern-style live edge tables with metal legs like this one have exploded in popularity in the past few years. If you’ve ever shopped for one of these tables you might have been hit with sticker shock. And the prospect of building one of these tables might seem out of reach because the slabs alone can be tough to find and most of us don’t have the equipment to mill our own slabs. Also, welded metal legs aren’t something you can find at every corner hardware store. We’ve found an easier way to build a live-edge slab table.

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PROJECT: Adjustable Mobile Desk

Dan Cary — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 17:37:50 +0000

Here’s an easy-to-build solution for standing or sitting while working, crafting or taking a meal as you binge-watch your favorite shows.

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