Run the saw blade against a sharpening stone at low speed to grind away the “set” (tooth protrusions) on the blade’s bottom face. It will take a few minutes of grinding to remove all of the tooth set.

Once the set is gone, this blade will still flush cut dowels quickly but won’t mar the surrounding wood surface.

The post Oscillating Tool Flush-trim Saw Blade appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Cutting, Clamping and Sanding

I used padauk for the center board and made the two outer boards from black walnut. My plan was to use a food-safe oil finish, and those species looks great together when finished this way.

I cut the center and outer boards to length and then mitered two corners of the outer boards with a handsaw. Then I edge-glued the boards together. When the glue cured, I sanded the tray flat by hand, but a random-orbit sander would certainly speed that process along!

Grabbing the 1/4″ walnut board, I cut the handles to length and then mitered their corners as shown in the Drawings. Sand the handles smooth and soften their edges. Now lay out the peg holes in the handles and use a 1/4″-diameter bit to bore through them. Transfer the hole locations to the tray using the handles as guides. Drill those holes. Cut the handle peg shafts to 1/2″ long and then install the handles on the tray with glue and pegs. I put a weighted board across the top of the pegs to clamp the parts.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

Padauk by the Piece 3/4″ x 5″ x 24″ (1) #39769
Walnut by the Piece 3/4″ x 3″ x 24″ (2) #30006
Walnut by the Piece 1/4″ x 3″ x 24″ (1) #65100
3/8″ Hole Maple Pegs (2) #75929

The post PROJECT: Simple Serving Tray appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post PROJECT: Modern Farmhouse Dining Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Mounting the Blank, Roughing into Round

Let’s get this little beehive knob underway by crosscutting a 1-1/2″-long piece of resin from a longer block at the miter saw or table saw. Mark the centerpoint on one face, and drill a straight hole into the blank about 7/8″ deep. Use a 5/16″ or 19/64″ twist drill bit to bore this hole.

You need to thread the hole with a 3/8″-16 tap in order to mount it on the mandrel we’ll use for the turning process. Insert the tap carefully when starting the threads — it needs to be pressed and turned into the hole as straight as possible, because adjusting the tap for an out-of-straight start by prying it while you twist it in can cause the surrounding surface of the resin to chip and flake. (Don’t ask me how I know this…)

Rockler sells a steel turning mandrel specifically for making handles and knobs for honey dippers like this. Remove the larger steel sleeve that comes with it, and install the smaller of the two included plastic washers onto the threaded end. Screw the resin blank onto the threaded end of the mandrel until it’s snug against the plastic washer. Now insert the mandrel into your lathe headstock’s #2 Morse taper spindle, and tap the end of the resin blank with a rubber or deadblow mallet to seat the mandrel in the spindle.

Bring up the tailstock with a live center installed in it to secure the “outboard” end of the resin blank. This will help reinforce the turning when bringing the square resin blank initially into round. Raise the tool-rest on your lathe’s banjo so the edges of your carbide-insert turning tools will be even with the lathe’s axis of rotation. I used negative-rake cutters for all of the steps to follow, and the reason for that is very simple: their top edges are beveled slightly downward to turn chip-prone resins like these smoothly and easily. Incidentally, Easy Wood Tools also recommends these cutters for turning hardwoods to help minimize tearout on tricky end grain.

I used a carbide-insert turning tool with a gradually radiused square cutter to turn my square-edged resin blank into a 1-1/4″-diameter cylinder. Keep the handle of the tool held level with the floor when carrying out this roughing work. Be sure to wear eye protection — or better yet, a face shield — to protect your face from shards of flying resin as you carry out this step. They will be plentiful. When you reach the final diameter, go ahead and remove the tailstock. Score a line with a diamond-shaped or thin parting tool to mark the blank at 1-3/8″ long.

Shaping the Beehive

Now turn the cylinder into an ovoid shape, and reduce its length to 1-3/8″. Imagine the form of a hot-air balloon or a guitar pick when carrying out this shaping step, and taper the end that’s threaded into the mandrel until it’s nearly flush with the plastic washer.

Once round, the resin blank will turn with thin, ribbon-like shavings and tiny flakes instead of shards. Resin isn’t terribly hard, so it doesn’t require much force to shape it with sharp tools. But their cutting edges will load quickly, so dust collection helped whisk away the debris while I worked.

Next, with a round cutter, turn a small cove that flares out from the threaded end of the knob. Make the end of the cove flush with the mandrel washer. At this point, I used the tip of a diamond-shaped cutter to score a series of lines into the turning, stepping it off evenly from the coved to the bulbous end.

I scored each of these lines about 1/16″ deep. They’ll establish the ends of each bead that create the beehive’s outer shape. Use the corner of a square cutter, or the tip of a diamond-shaped cutter, to cut a small V-shaped notch at each scored line down to its depth.

Forming Beads, Finishing Up

You’re ready to shape the beads with a square or slightly radiused square cutter. It’s an easy process: simply swing the cutter from the top center of each beaded area down to the “V” as you apply the cutting edge to form each half of a bead. Use a very gentle touch to prevent shortening the height of these beads — the goal here is simply to form smooth radiuses. And remember, the resin is pretty soft so changes happen fast.

Once the beads are formed, clean up the lines between them with light touches using the tip of a diamond-shaped cutter. If the beads aren’t as pronounced as you would like, you can also use the point of the tool to cut deeper valleys, then use its sharp edges to help transition the curves again. Resin isn’t wood, but that doesn’t exempt it from needing a good sanding. So, starting with 600-grit sandpaper I bought at an auto parts store, I sanded away any scratches I could see on the knob. I cut the sandpaper into narrow strips, folded over on themselves, to help “sneak” the paper down between the beads. Then I switched to foam-backed abrasives and sanded up through the grits from 1,500 to 12,000. Check your progress by wiping the turning periodically with a clean rag as it spins. You’ll see any evidence of scratches that remain as tiny white lines in the surface. Once done with that step, I polished the surfaces with Novus® #2 Fine Scratch Remover for Plastics and a clean rag, which quickly buffed the resin to a glossy sheen. If you’re satisfied with the look of the knob, carefully unscrew it from the mandrel. Thread it onto the honey dipper hardware to finish up this portion of the project.

The post PROJECT: Beehive Honey Dipper appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Some of my favorites were a photo of my grandpa and “woodworkers’ coasters” using screws and washers … plus, of course, various holiday themes.

Prepping for Pouring

Make sure your work area is set up for measuring, mixing and pouring epoxy that will stick to nearly everything, such as your workbench and clothing. I recommend using a silicone mat or plastic sheeting to protect work surfaces. And if you’re working in a kitchen or small workspace, covering the floor with plastic sheeting or a painting drop cloth is also a good idea. Drop cloths from a big box store are cheap, and you can reuse them. They’ll protect against spills and make cleanup easy.

When using these gray silicone molds, mold release is not required, but I highly recommend it for prolonging the life of your mold. Mold release is a spray that allows cured epoxy castings to pop out of the mold more easily.

Open Time and Mixing

Epoxies have different cure times. The epoxy I’m using here cures in about 30 to 40 minutes at 70°F. Larger pours and warmer room temperatures will shorten your working time.

This epoxy’s mix ratio is 1:1 by volume. Using a graduated mixing container, measure out equal parts. If the ratio is off even a little bit, you could end up with tacky, uncured surfaces.

Make sure to mix thoroughly; keep the stir stick in contact with the bottom of the cup to reduce air bubbles in your resin. Mix for approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing cup, and continue to stir until no swirls are visible. Once the fluid is clear, mix it for an additional two minutes. Because of the differences in viscosity between the two parts, mixing does take some time.

Pouring, Layering and Embedding

At this point you could introduce a pigment or mica powder to the resin. When you’re ready to pour, do it down the side of the mold to avoid making air bubbles.

Allow the resin to cure for 18 to 24 hours. Heat and mass will dictate the amount of cure time required; the more mass, the faster it will cure. And the warmer the room temperature the faster the cure. Thin areas take longer to cure.

I found that to create interesting layers, a good technique is to pour just enough epoxy to fill in the lip of the coaster. After the first layer cures, it’s a perfect time to add objects and pour another layer. This layer could be of a different color.

If bubbles form in the uncured resin, wait about 10 minutes, then lightly heat the surface with a torch and watch them disappear — it works like magic!

Cleaning Up Liquid Resin

To clean up drips or spills on hard surfaces, use rubbing alcohol (even hand sanitizer works) on a clean rag, wiping up the epoxy immediately. Once cured, epoxy resin is nearly impossible to remove, but it sure makes a great coaster!

Here’s wishing you a creative and happy holiday season!

The post PROJECT: Pouring Resin Coasters appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

All versions require one center module and two end modules; the number of side modules linking the center and end modules can vary as you wish. The modules can be arranged and glued to form either straight or curved arms.

Cutting Components from Patterns

Each module consists of two 3/8″-thick pieces: a top piece that is drilled with holes for the candles and a bottom piece that allows the convex and concave ends of adjacent modules to slide into each other. Additional pieces of 3/8″-thick stock are used for the lower center support and the collar for the center candle.

While all of these parts can be cut out with a scroll saw, you can expedite the cutting process for the side and end modules by first using a table saw to rip that stock to 1-7/8″ wide.

We’ll build the nine-candle menorah shown here. Start by downloading and printing out the free PDF patterns, cut them out and attach them to your 3/8″ stock with repositionable spray adhesive.

Prick all drilling points with an awl, then cut and sand all pieces labeled A through E to shape. Trim the sides where indicated from two of the C pieces. Then remove the paper patterns and any adhesive residue that remains.

Drilling the Holes

I chose 3/8″-thick stock for a more delicate look than is typical of most tea light candleholders. This, however, will require drilling both through and shallow holes in the modules to obtain the necessary depth for the candles. You’ll use a 1-9/16″-diameter Forstner bit to drill all holes. This size easily accommodates a standard tea light candle without excessive play. (A 40 mm Forstner bit, about 0.5 mm larger, can also be used.)

Before drilling each hole, deepen the awl mark with a center punch to make it easier to position the Forstner bit accurately. Start by drilling a through hole at one end of each of four D pieces, which will become the tops of the four side modules. Drill through holes at both outer awl marks of piece A as well. (The center hole of piece A is shallow and will be drilled later.) Then make the collar for the top center hole.

Begin by using a compass to draw a 1-7/8″-diameter circle at one end of the 2″ x 3″ workpiece. Deepen the center mark with a punch and drill a through hole at this mark. Cut to the outside of the circle and sand to the line with a belt sander to complete the collar; set it aside for now.

Next, compute the full depth of the candle holes by measuring the height of your candles and subtracting 1/16″. My candles measured 5/8″ tall, so their full hole depth is 9/16″. It’s a good idea to drill a test hole to confirm the correctness of your setting. Use this figure to compute the depth for the shallow holes by subtracting 3/8″ (6/16″) from your computed full depth; mine came to 3/16″ (9/16″ minus 6/16″). Drill a test hole to that depth, set the center collar over it and insert a candle; it should seat to the same depth as with the full hole.

The spur of the bit may pierce the underside of the wood when you drill these shallow holes, but it should leave just a pinpoint. Drill a shallow hole at the middle punch mark of piece A and the remaining punch marks of the four drilled side module D pieces. Next, drill shallow holes at one end of two of the remaining undrilled D pieces. These are the tops for the two end modules.

Gluing and Clamping the Components

Glue each of the tops for the end modules to one of the remaining undrilled D pieces. When the glue dries, drill a full-depth candle hole at the remaining drilling point of each of these end modules. These deeper holes will face outward when the end modules are glued into place.

To make the center module, glue the collar into place on piece A, aligning it with the shallow-drilled hole. A toothpick can help spread glue around the rim of the shallow hole to minimize excess. Clamp, carefully remove any squeeze-out, and let the glue dry.

Place a loop of masking tape on the top face of the upper support (piece B) and press that piece gently into position on the underside of piece A, aligning their front and back edges. Slide the shallow-drilled end of a D piece under each end of the A piece.

Adjust the parts as needed until the through and shallow candle holes on both sides are aligned. Press down on A to compress the tape loop and secure this position. Remove the D pieces and mark across A/B to register the glue-up. Then peel off the masking tape and glue A and B together. Clamp the parts, making sure the penciled reference marks remain aligned while the glue dries.

To make the four side modules, glue one bottom side E piece to the underside of each of the four remaining D pieces. Clamp each module, carefully removing any squeeze-out, and let the glue dry. Sand the sides of the modules flush with a vertical belt sander.

Before gluing all the modules together, it’s a good idea to do a dry run to determine the sequence that gives the best fit between adjacent units and the most attractive appearance. Use pieces of 3/8″ scrap to stabilize the modules as you try out your options.

When you’re satisfied with the arrangement, number the modules to prevent confusion during glue-up. If you’re planning a curved version, make a small angle guide to keep the menorah’s overall shape uniform.

Assembling Modules, Finishing Up

Begin by gluing a side module to one end of the center module. Clamp the glued unit, clean away squeeze-out, then attach a module to the other end in the same way. Add modules outward in this manner. Make sure the deeper candle holes on the end modules face out.

The center of the menorah is stabilized from behind by a three-piece glue-up of lower supports (C). Face-glue the two shortened lower supports and let this assembly dry.

Then orient this piece with its curved side up and attach pattern F to the top face. Cut along the pattern’s curved line to create the foot for the stabilizing unit. Sand it smooth.

Now glue the flat face of the foot to the full-length lower support piece, matching their curved and flat faces. Sand this assembly when it dries, then glue and clamp it into place at the back edge of the menorah.

Sand the whole project to 220-grit. I finished my menorah with shellac, then several coats of lacquer, smoothing between coats with 0000 steel wool.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Menorah/Holiday Tea Light Candleholder appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post Video: Making Coasters with Epoxy Coaster Molds appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post Video: Windsor Stool Drilling and Glue-Up appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Wood: Bubinga

Tools: Joint reinforcers, Resin molds

The post Woodworker’s Journal November/December 2021 appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

GreenWood Carving Mallets

Rockler Bench Cookie Storage Rack Master Kit

Festool TSC 55 K Cordless Track Saw

The post November/December 2021 What’s in Store Roundup appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.