January/February 2018 Archives - Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/magazine-issue/januaryfebruary2018/ America's Leading Woodworking Authority Mon, 22 Jan 2024 19:06:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.7 VIDEO: Resawing with a Band Saw https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/video-resawing-band-saw/ Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:00:22 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41571 We show you the best types of blades for resawing, the best type of fence for resawing, and the best band saw features to look for when you want to make resaw cuts.

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Resawing is the technique of cutting a board to a thickness. The best tool for resawing is the band saw. How do you set up your band saw to make resaw cuts? We show you the best types of blades for resawing, the best type of fence for resawing, and the best band saw features to look for when you want to make resaw cuts.

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Scroll Saw 101 https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/scroll-saw-101/ Wed, 22 Aug 2018 23:16:07 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=46928 Expert scroller Carole Rothman introduces a new series with a spotlight on the scroll saw: Here’s what you need to know about buying, using and being safe with this tool.

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Using the scroll saw has been part of my daily routine for quite a while, yet my introduction to the tool occurred quite by accident. When the board of a community woodshop asked me to teach how to make collapsible baskets, I found that the shop’s band saw was in such poor repair that its use would have posed a danger. Needing a safer alternative, and aware that these baskets could also be made with a scroll saw, I prevailed upon the board to buy a mid-priced saw of reasonable quality as a substitute.

I bought an instructional book and an assortment of blades, and started teaching myself how to cut. As I worked my way through the exercises, I was impressed by the range and beauty of the projects that could be made with this versatile little tool. From that point on, I never looked back.

What Can a Scroll Saw Do?

Smaller than most shop tools and deceptively simple in appearance, the scroll saw is the hands-down winner for “most underestimated and unappreciated tool in the workshop.” Because of its association with simple, pattern-based projects (think sewing machine!), woodworkers often fail to appreciate its capabilities and therefore don’t utilize it fully in their shops.

You may already be familiar with some of the better-known uses of the scroll saw. They include:

– Puzzles of various types

– Fretwork, in which a blade is inserted into the workpiece through small entry holes to permit the removal of pieces of varying sizes and shapes

– Intarsia and segmentation, which use many small pieces of wood glued together to form mosaics

– Wooden toys of all types, from simple pull toys to realistic, detailed models You’re less likely to know that with the scroll saw you can also:

Bowls made with the scroll saw can resemble those that are carved or lathe turned.

– Make bowls and vases that appear at first glance to be lathe-turned

– Create unique boxes of many kinds, free from the constraints and demands of conventional joinery

– Make projects usually associated with the band saw, such as “band saw boxes” and collapsible baskets

Compound cutting is a versatile and popular scroll saw technique.

– Use a technique called compound cutting to create three-dimensional objects

– Decorate projects with inlay and marquetry without using a router or chisel

The tiered cake box, above, is decorated with ribbons and loops cut from laminated multicolored blanks.

– Cut a variety of materials: softwood, hardwood, particleboard, Corian®, acrylic, melamine, aluminum, copper, silver, brass, gold, horn, antler, bone, glass, ceramic tile and stone

Through use of a specially glued-up blank, a stacked ring bowl can simulate the look of open segmentation.

– In conjunction with other tools, cut dovetails and tenons, and make templates to use with bearing-guided router bits

A pretty impressive list for an unassuming little tool!

Choosing a Scroll Saw

This scroll saw features a lever that clamps and tensions the blade in a single operation.

To get the most from a scroll saw, you’ll need to find the features that make a particular saw, or model, most appropriate for you. Some things to look for, overall, include: minimal vibration; vertical or near-vertical up and down movement of the blade; conveniently located speed controls and tension adjustments; and easy-to-use blade clamps.

Some scroll saws have matching stands. Some are adjustable; others areavailable in different heights and configurations, including wheelchair accessibility. A foot pedal, which serves as an On/Off switch, may be included. I strongly recommend one, since it frees up your hands to control the workpiece. I’ve found low-profile foot pedals the most comfortable to use.

This saw makes beveled cuts by tilting the saw table. The blade remains vertical.

The throat size of the saw table — the distance between the blade and the rear of the saw table — determines the size of the wood you can cut. It typically ranges from 16″ to 30″. The saw table itself can vary in size, shape and distance from the blade to the front of the table. As with table saws, those with more saw table surface area provide more stability for larger workpieces.

Some saws require a tool to secure the blade into its clamp; others use knobs that are hand tightened. Sometimes several options are offered, or a combination of methods is used. Regardless of specifics, a well-designed system of any type will be easy to use and provide a secure, reliable attachment.

You can easily tighten the lower blade clamp of this saw by hand, but placing it into a built-in holder is required before insertion or removal.

Blade clamps — upper, lower or both — can be either attached to the saw or removable. This feature is relevant for those who do fretwork, which involves feeding the blade through small holes drilled in the workpiece. Those who prefer to insert the blade from the top down, or “top feeders,” need a saw whose lower clamp can remain in place when the bottom of the blade is detached. To “top feed,” the scroller detaches the bottom of the blade from its holder, leaving the top end attached, and feeds the blade through the drilled hole in the workpiece and the opening in the saw table. The blade is then reattached to the bottom holder. “Bottom feeding,” done in the opposite direction, can be done with all saws, since the upper end of the blade is always detachable with its clamp in place.

This saw makes bevel cuts by tilting the arm and blade. The saw table remains level.

All scroll saws can make beveled cuts, typically up to 45°. Making cuts of this type usually requires tilting the saw table. However, some saws are designed so that the arm tilts and the table remains level. While this might seem a major advantage, even the steepest cuts can, with practice, be cut successfully with the table tilted. Some tables tilt fully in only one direction. This poses no problem, since cutting clockwise with the saw table tilted one way gives the same results as cutting counterclockwise with the table tilted the other way.

“Bottom feeding” (inserting the blade from under the workpiece) is possible on all scroll saws.

Ease of maintenance: although all scroll saws are easily maintained, some may have fuses and brushes that need periodic replacement, while others require only the oiling of a few moving parts after a specified number of hours of use.

Selecting Blades

Scroll saw blades are typically 5″ long and vary in width. Even the largest, however, are tiny when compared with blades used on other tools.

Choosing scroll saw blades can be confusing, even for experienced scrollers, since several companies manufacture quality blades that vary in type, tooth configuration, teeth per inch (tpi) and other characteristics.

It requires considerable practice to use spiral blades like these, but they are invaluable when working on projects with limited access.

The most commonly used blade is the skip tooth, a blade with widely spaced teeth that cut on the down stroke. Reverse tooth blades are skip tooth blades that have a small number of teeth, usually at the bottom of the blade, which cut on the upstroke. This gives a smoother cut on the underside of the wood. However, this type doesn’t clear away sawdust as effectively as the skip tooth and may cause the wood to bounce slightly. Spiral blades have teeth that spiral all around the blade so you can cut in any direction. Controlling this type of blade takes practice, but the ability to cut in any direction without moving the workpiece is especially important for those doing large, intricate fretwork projects, involving many tiny cutout areas.

The three basic types of scroll saw blades are, from left to right: spiral, skip tooth and reverse tooth.

Even blades of similar types differ in how aggressively or smoothly they cut. As you gain experience, you’ll be able to select the blades that work best for your cutting and project preferences. For starters, however, make your best guess and buy a few dozen blades of types and sizes that seem appropriate. As you try them out, keep notes on their performance, and before long you’ll know just which blades are best for you.

Beyond the Basics: Cutting at an Angle

Once you’re comfortable making beveled cuts, new types of scroll saw projects become possible.

You can easily and economically make bowls and vases of different shapes and sizes from angled concentric rings that are glued together, then sanded. Online design tools such as PolyDraw offer myriad shapes and profiles.

Collapsible baskets, formed from a long, angled spiral, are often done with a band saw, but it’s far safer to use a scroll saw. The scroll saw can start the blade at the center by inserting it through a small, drilled entry hole. The cut then moves outward, away from the spiral area, to the stable perimeter of the workpiece. Once the pieces are cut, the assembly and finishing are simple and straightforward.

Double-bevel inlay refers to a scroll saw technique in which two equally thick (usually between 1/4″ and 3/8″) pieces of wood are attached temporarily. When the piece to be inlaid, with pattern attached, is placed on top, you drill a blade entry hole on the pattern line and cut out the pattern in a clockwise direction. Downward pressure on the upper piece forces the matching lower piece to drop out. The upper piece takes its place, creating the inlay. Multiple pieces can be inlaid sequentially, enabling the scroll saw user to create attractive designs with relative ease.

Scroll Saw Safety

The scroll saw, with its tiny blades, is a relatively safe power-cutting tool. To prevent cutting yourself, keep your fingers to the side or back of the blade, especially when working with small pieces of wood. Eye protection is a must, since small fragments of wood can occasionally go flying. Sawdust is produced both above and below the table, which means a dust mask or respirator is essential, even if you’re using a vacuum or dust extraction system. Hearing protection is always recommended.

Prepare a Successful Cut

Tensioning a blade correctly is more of an art than a science. The author finds degree of deflection an adequate indicator.

For accurate cutting, the blade must be properly tensioned. Too much tension and the blade will snap; too little and it will wander. I tension mine so that there is a slight deflection, no more than 1/8″, when the blade is pushed sideways, being especially careful not to over-tighten fragile, wire-thin blades. Blades are routinely de-tensioned when not in use, and the better saws have a quick-release mechanism at the front of the saw that lets you de-tension the blade without losing the setting.

An aftermarket digital readout can provide more accuracy than a scroll saw’s angle gauge.

Vertical cuts require that the saw blade and table be perpendicular to each other. I check this by tensioning the blade and placing a small square next to it to see if the blade and the vertical edge of the square are parallel. If not, depending on the type of saw I am using, I adjust either the arm or table until the blade and vertical edge of the square are aligned, then tighten the knob fully to keep the adjustment.

You can use a digital readout on any scroll saw by mounting it on the tilting arm, table or saw blade.

It’s a good idea to check your saw’s angle gauge at this time, to be sure that it reads zero, and to adjust it if it doesn’t. This lets you use the gauge when adjusting the table or arm for angled cutting.

An engineer’s square is a quick, easy way to check that the blade and table are perpendicular.

However, when precision is critical, a small digital readout with magnetic base may be preferable. It can be used with either a tilting arm or table; it’s easy to read; and it avoids the problem of parallax when viewing the scale.

Making the Cut

There’s no substitute for practice, whether with a prepared practice sheet or one you’ve drawn, when learning to control the scroll saw blade.

There is no “shortcut” to learning how to cut: you learn by cutting until you get the feel of guiding the wood smoothly into the blade. Practice the major types of cuts: straight, curved and pivots, which are used to make sharp corners or to reverse direction. Although your first tries may look ragged, you’ll soon find it easy to follow a line accurately. Use a soft wood like pine or poplar, 3/4″ thick, and a #5 skip tooth blade, which is wide enough for stability but narrow enough to make most types of cuts.

Just don’t make the common mistake of continuing to use a dull blade for “those last few inches.” You’ll recognize dulling most easily by the need to increase pressure on the wood as you cut. If you continue to use the blade, burning may occur and the blade may deflect sideways. Eventually, the blade will break. Change the blade as soon as you notice a change in your cutting.

Look online for more of my troubleshooting tips for situations you might encounter during cutting as you move through the variety of projects you can make with a scroll saw.

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How to Turn a Natural Edge Bowl https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/turning-a-natural-edge-bowl/ Fri, 06 Apr 2018 16:06:30 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=43861 Highlighting natural features like bark and organic shapes, natural edge bowls are a fun way to expand your woodturning skills.

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While a household circa 1800 expected a wooden bowl to be oval because it was turned from green wood, a similar denizen of the 20th century was put off by an oval shape. By the 1950s, Tupperware® was well established and inexpensive glass and ceramic bowls abounded, helping to create such expectations.

In the mid-20th century, many well-known woodturners, including James Prestini, Bob Stocksdale and Rude Osolnik, created natural edge bowls when they started experimenting with the traditional bowl’s form to create art to sell in craft galleries.

I suspect that the above-mentioned turners latched onto various natural edge forms because they represented something new and different, but the natural edge also hid the out-of-roundness caused by the shrinkage of green wood. They could turn unique, artistic, but above all: saleable items fast. Additionally, finish did not have to be as good as a traditional bowl required.

Predominantly, natural edge bowls are small. Part of this is that smaller diameters negate the wood shrinkage problem. Also, smaller items sell better in craft galleries because they are priced more reasonably and fit into the buyer’s décor more easily. This makes them perfect for mini and midi lathes.

Art Over Utility: Natural Edge Bowls of Varying Size

This 1985 poplar burl piece by Rude Osolnik is an exceptionally large natural edge bowl. Rude first turned the outside between centers, then chucked the base in a four-jaw metalworking chuck. He then wrapped the piece with duct tape and hollowed the inside, leaving a uniform 1/4″ wall. Very fragile, it is art and not utilitarian in the least.

The author turned this average-sized natural edge bowl, with bark, from white oak. Well-meant but klutzy dusting resulted in the removal of the bark from a section: proof that natural edges are more art than utility. Turned green, the shape has warped to oval, but the natural edge largely hides this.

The Greener, The Better!

Natural edge bowls are best turned from green wood — the greener, the better! A common motif is to leave the bark on the natural edge. This requires harvesting the tree, or the limb of the tree, in the cold months if the bark is not to fall off during drying. While this varies regionally, here in northeastern Ohio, December to February are safe bets.

You can somewhat combat the “bark falling off” tendency by treating it with thin cyanoacrylate “super” glue as you turn to increase the bark’s bond to the piece. The cyanoacrylate becomes indispensible for beginning and experienced turners alike if you attempt to turn a natural edge piece from wood harvested in the warmer months.

The concept of a natural edge bowl is simplicity itself; however, the execution, not so much. Cutting through the uneven edges requires precise tool control. Lack thereof results in an unnatural edge.

If you can use a bowl gouge handily, the process is straightforward. (If not, read on for a solution.)

Natural edge bowls benefit artistically from a straight wall design with good heightto- width ratios, which shows off the edge and lends a modern look.

Mount Your Workpiece

A two-spur center is the best drive method for natural edge work because you can align both prongs to drive equally on the uneven surface.

The best way to turn the outside of a natural edge is between centers, or on a screw chuck with a live center in the tailstock supporting the area that will be the base. Although we are chucked between centers, this is still faceplate turning because the grain of the wood is running across the lathe and not the length of it. (It is the orientation of the grain that separates face from spindle work.)

Chuck your blank between centers to turn your natural edge bowl. Unlike level rim bowls, when you turn a natural edge bowl, the outside of the tree is the rim for your piece.

The best drive center for this type of work has only two prongs. Because the outside of the tree is uneven, a four-prong model will often only drive on one prong. This makes the center drift until three prongs engage. You can buy two-prong centers, but an easy solution is to simply grind two prongs away.

The orientation of the wood for a natural edge bowl is generally the opposite of the orientation for a level rim bowl. Instead of being the base of the bowl, the outside of the tree is now the rim.

Turning Process

You can create a fairly smooth piece by using sharp tools. You may want to do some minimal sanding, but the idea behind natural edge bowls is to emphasize nature’s work — no excessive sanding or finishing.

Create the form of your bowl by turning a relatively tall, slender form with a bowl gouge and creating a stout tenon for chucking. The tenon should be about 1/8″ smaller than the base of the natural edge bowl and between 1/2″ and 1″ long.

The author scraped a mortise in a block of hard maple, coated it with cyanoacrylate, and applied an accelerator to speed the glue set when he mounted the exact-fit tenon on the end of his workpiece.

Sand the outside and now mount a 1-1/2″-thick glue block on a faceplate. In the glue block, scrape a straight-walled mortise that is a slide fit with the tenon. Scrape the area around the mortise flat so that the shoulder of the tenon on your bowl registers and brings the piece square.

If your gouge skills are tentative, scraping past the uneven rim and then
picking up the cut with a bowl gouge is the answer.

Turn the sides of your piece to a thin wall, in the range of 1/4″ thick. You can make this easier by shining a strong light on the left side, where you are cutting.

The author uses his Thompson Tool Handle, wrapped in foam rubber with sandpaper taped to it, as a safer sanding option for the interior of his natural edge bowl.

As the wall becomes thinner, it will become translucent. You can make an accurate judgment of the wall thickness by the intensity of the translucence.

To find the cutoff point, place the eraser of a pencil against the bottom and place your thumbnail even with the high point.

If your bowl gouge skills are tentative, scraping past the uneven rim with a scraper, then picking up the cut with a bowl gouge, is the solution. (I learned this technique from Rude Osolnik.)

Now, with the pencil outside, sight with your nail against this high point and cut below the eraser.

In addition, a bit of speed — in the 900 to 1,200 rpm range — is very helpful. Speeds above 1,200 rpm, however, do not improve faceplate work.

Part off at an angle so as to undercut the base. Hand sand the base, apply finish and admire your newly minted art.

It’s very difficult to get the shape of the bottom of a natural edge bowl to be perfect with a bowl gouge. A big round-nose scraper can be of help here.

Finishing, Naturally

When it comes to sanding and finishing a natural edge piece, it’s best to keep in mind that the overall idea behind these types of turnings is to mimic Mother Nature. Opting for minimal sanding and little to no finish is A-OK.

If you do choose to sand the interior of your bowl, please keep this safety note in mind: it is unsafe to put your hands inside a natural edge bowl while it is on the lathe and the lathe is running.

You can turn a 1-1/2″-diameter dowel with a rounded tip, glue foam rubber around this, and then tape sandpaper to that to use a safer sanding option.

When you have finished turning your piece, part off at an angle so as to undercut the base. Hand sand the base — you can remove a nubbin with a carving gouge and some hand sanding — apply finish, and admire your newly minted art.

Although not terribly useful, natural edge bowls can be a lot of fun. Once you get past struggling with the techniques, you can concentrate on unleashing the hidden beauty in pieces of wood that would otherwise end up in the woodstove.

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PROJECT: Classic Coatrack https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/project-classic-coatrack/ Wed, 10 Jan 2018 19:38:38 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41877 A technique made for tricksters: reverse inlay makes it appear that the thinner, light-colored strips are inlaid into a walnut column — but, in reality, it’s the reverse.

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Whether you’re a party animal who needs a better place for your guests to pile their wraps than on top of the nearest bed, or an outdoors aficionado who owns outerwear galore, a coatrack can be a handy addition to your household.

This hall tree style option is a bit of a blast from the past: it originally appeared in the April 2005 edition of Woodworker’s Journal. Ten-plus years on, as we shiver our way through yet another Minnesota winter, we decided to reprise the warm memories of the “Hexagon Hall Tree” (and, that additional coat storage is always a bonus!).

Despite the “impress your guests” vibe of elegance and quality this coatrack gives off, in actuality it’s a pretty simple project to build. You should be able to get it built in the timespan of a long weekend, plus another day or two of drying time to allow your finish to completely cure.

Reverse Inlay

Much of the visual interest on this coatrack comes from its “reverse inlay.” It’s a bit of fancy trickery in which it looks like the lighter-colored wood (we used maple) is inlaid into the darker wood — in this case, walnut. In truth, though, we achieved this effect by gluing thin and comparatively wide strips of walnut into the center of each facet of the hexagon- shaped column — which, in reality, has a maple core.

The legs are glued up with two 1/2″ laminations of walnut. I added this simple lamination approach to help offset the weakness in the “short grain” area of the narrow ankles.

Start with the Column

Layout of coatrack central column
Column with walnut inlays.

You’ll want to start your construction of this coatrack with the column (piece 1). Our choice for light-colored lumber was hard maple, and back when I built the original coatrack, I had a sizable piece on hand that I could mill to the 3″ x 3″ x 66″ dimensions found in the Material List. This time out, I needed to laminate some thinner pieces of maple together. That meant that I needed to take an extra minute or two during the next step to keep the glue joints from bisecting one of the hexagon’s corners. (That just wouldn’t look classy at all.)

Diagram of coat rack assembly
The coatrack looks as if it is made from solid walnut, but the core is hard maple, exposed only at the corners to create the illusion that the maple is inlaid.

After you’ve milled your column to size, you’ll need to mark the ends of the column with pencil lines set at 30° from each face to form a hexagon. Take your time with this step. Each facet has to be of equal width for the reverse inlay technique to work properly. I recommend adding a few inches of extra column material so you can trim off the end of your stock, mark the cutoff and use it to get a perfectly setup saw. In fact, you might even make a short test blank if you don’t have some drop-stock to work with.

Cutting grooves in coatrack support with router
The two-step plowing technique for the grooves in the hexagon (make one pass, flip the workpiece end-for-end and make a second, widening pass without moving the router table fence) is a sure way to keep the opening in the exact center of each facet.

Once you have the end marked, step to your table saw, tilt the blade to exactly 30°, and set the height. If your table saw is a traditional right-tilt version, you will need to move your fence to the left of the saw blade. Carefully align the saw blade to the layout line on your test blank (or your actual column, if you are either brave or a confident gambler) by adjusting the fence.

Trimming hexagonal pole at table saw
Although it’s removed for clarity here, when cutting the hexagon to shape, the author highly recommends using a properly placed featherboard to keep the column from wandering away from the fence during cutting. Install it in front of the blade on the infeed side so the offcuts can fall away freely.

Make the first slice along the length of the piece, then flip the piece end-forend and position your stock so you are cutting the adjoining facet of the hexagon (you will create a point or corner). Measure the two facets to see if they are equal. Adjust the fence if they are not, and try the operation again. Once the setup is correct, bevel-rip all six facets. I highly recommend a featherboard (placed exactly in the center of the width of the column) to add an element of control and safety.

Plowing the Facet Grooves

With your hexagon in hand, move to your router table to plow the grooves in each facet. I’d grab that test blank you made as well, to once again assist in setting up a proper cut.

I used a two-step plowing technique to center the grooves in the column’s facets. I set a 5/8″ straight bit to a depth of 1/8″. The Drawings give you the grooves’ exact dimensions. Verify your setup by using the test blank, then go ahead and plow the facet grooves.

Moving back to the table saw, I ripped 1/8″-thick walnut strips (pieces 2) to fill the voids you’ve just created in the facets. Select the best-looking stock: it will add to your coatrack’s appearance.

Fit the walnut strips to the grooves and get ready for glue-up. I glued and clamped two facets per session and had the walnut in place in short order. You can start on the legs in your downtime. Because there are six sides to the coatrack, it is incredibly simple to attach three legs to the column. As you know, three-legged stools, tables or even coatracks have the advantage of never needing to be leveled.

Although there are only three legs, I used six pieces of wood to make them: it makes them much stronger. Cut the leg laminations (pieces 3) from 1/2″ walnut stock. For appearance’s sake, try to make each leg from stock that matches well. (I cut each pair of leg laminations from the same board.) Glue the blanks together, making 1″-thick leg stock. Use the gridded Drawing on the next page to make a pattern of the leg shape.

If you are not familiar with using gridded drawings, you have a few options. The first is to create a grid of 1/2″ squares on sturdy paper. Draw matching lines on your grid to the ones in the gridded drawing. This will provide a very close representation of the leg shape. Don’t be afraid to refine the shape as you see fit. The second option is to use a copier to enlarge the gridded drawing by 400%. Or, in one of those wonders of modern technology, you can go online to our website and print out a full-size copy of the leg pattern grid.

Once you have your pattern, transfer the shape to each leg blank and use a band saw to cut them out. (Keep these cutoffs: you’ll use them to set up your router table later.) I used a spindle sander to complete the shaping of the legs and smooth out any saw marks left behind.

Go back to the column that you’ve completed gluing the walnut strips into. Scrape off any glue squeeze-out and then use a belt- or random orbit sander to clean up the facets and sand them smooth. Be careful not to round over the flat aspect of each facet. Now you’re ready to do some dovetailing.

Sliding Home

Smoothing Coat hanger legs with spindle sander
The author used a spindle sander to complete the shaping of the legs and to remove any saw marks from the leg’s edges.

The legs are attached to the column with sliding dovetails, which are easier to make than you may think. (You could, of course, use a more basic mortise-and-tenon joint, which would hold up fine, but where’s the fun in that?) Chuck a 1/2″-wide, 14° dovetail bit into your router table and set its depth to 5/16″ deep. You are going to plow the column dovetail grooves 35⁄8″ long, exactly in the center of the facets. Look to the Elevation Drawings for location details. Set up a stop on your fence to register each cut perfectly. Plow all three grooves and then grab the coatrack legs you’ve previously cut out.

This is where the cutoffs that you saved when band sawing the legs come in handy. You need to set the fence of your router table to cut the matching dovetails on the legs, and you can use the drop-stock to test the cut.

Routing joinery for attaching coatrack foot

The first cut on each face of your legs should be a very light initial pass,with the bit barely protruding from the fence. This will precut the fibers (the same as scoring them with a knife) and help prevent tearout. Then, creep up on the cut by moving your fence back in about 1/16″ increments, as you first run one face of each leg through, then flip it around to do the other side. Do this until you reach the correct width of the dovetail, making sure to run both sides of each leg through a setting before moving the fence again. You’ll know you’ve got the width right when the joint slides into the groove in the leg with just a hint of resistance.

After forming the dovetails on the back of each leg, trim the dovetails (down from the top edge of the leg).to match the grooves you plowed in the column. I used my band saw and some chisels for this task, but you could just use a backsaw or similar handsaw. When they fit correctly, put some glue in the grooves and slide the legs home. Stand the column on its top end while the glue cures.

Capping it Off

Finished coatrack in entryway

When I made the first version of this coatrack more than 10 years ago, I chose a two-piece cap style that created a type of “crown.” This time out, I just capped it off with a flat piece that follows the hexagon form of the column. Simple and stylish. I cut the cap (piece 4) from 1/4″ walnut into a hexagon shape. Mount the cap to the top of the column with a screw and a dab of glue.

You’re now at the point where you can go ahead and mount your hooks (pieces 5) — even though you’ll take them off again immediately for finishing. I mounted the hooks 8″ down from the top of the column. And, even though I’ve now built this coatrack twice, I had another thought to improve it even more. (Woodworkers are always tweaking.) What you could do — and I just may go back and add this element — is to mount a second row of hooks further down from the first. This would make it easier for your shorter friends to hang up their coats and could even help you get more storage out of the piece, since a group of bulky coats wouldn’t be bunched up on the same level. You could even jazz things up a bit by using a different style of hook for your lower layer. Some smaller ones, like 1-3/4″ robe hooks from Rockler (item 31710) could even, literally, provide you with a place to hang your hat. You’ll still want to make sure you mount any additional hooks on the same facets of the hexagon where the legs are installed, to ensure the coatrack’s stability.

As for finishing the piece, I recommend taking a good bit of time to do a thorough sanding job, right up through the grits. (I went all the way to 220 grit.) The smoother the wood to which you apply an oil finish, the better that finish will look. It’s as simple as that.

I do have another secret for making walnut look its very best. To combat areas where your walnut’s color may be shifting from brown to something else, I’ll suggest applying a coat of cherry- colored oil stain. It creates highlights and blends color shifts while enhancing the grain. After that coat dries, apply three coats of Sam Maloof® Poly/Oil Finish. Re-mount the hooks, and the coatrack’s ready for the many coats of a Minnesota winter — which tells you why we needed to build more than one.

Hard to Find Hardware

1/2″ D x 1/2″ H x 14° x 1/4″ Shank Rockler Dovetail Bit #91023
Coat and Hat Hook, Oil Rubbed Bronze #34826
Sam Maloof Poly/Oil Finish #32545

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

– Brad Becker works as a woodworker in the Woodworker’s Journal and Rockler shops, as well as making picture frames for his wife’s art

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NFL Super Bowl Committee and Community Partners Plant Trees https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/nfl-super-bowl-committee-community-partners-plant-trees/ Fri, 05 Jan 2018 17:52:40 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41805 The NFL committee plants trees in Super Bowl LII host communities throughout Minnesota.

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As many of you may know, the Woodworker’s Journal home offices are located in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. So some of us are understandably excited about the fact that our community is playing host to the 2018 Super Bowl, Super Bowl LII, on February 4.

A grant from a Super Bowl LII program funded a tree planting in Afton, Minnesota — part of several urban forestry initiatives.

Even we hadn’t known, however, that the NFL and the Minnesota Super Bowl LII Host Committee would team up with corporations Verizon and Anderson Corporation for projects of particular relevance to woodworkers: urban forestry initiatives that added thousands of trees and native plants to local parks and recreation areas.

How many trees at the Afton event? 350.

The National Football League (NFL) has incorporated environmental projects into the management of the Super Bowl for 25 years, in addition to other community events and initiatives meant to leave a positive benefit in each Super Bowl host community.

More than 60 volunteers participated in the Afton plantings.

In the case of the Minnesota Super Bowl, there has been a particular focus on reducing the environmental impact of Super Bowl LII activities and leaving a “green” legacy.

Stillwater, MN, Mayor Ted Kozlowski and his family were at the Afton planting.

For instance, leftover construction materials from Super Bowl events will be donated to local organizations for reuse and repurposing.

The Afton tree planting location was the Lucy Winton Bell Athletic Fields. Local partner was the Belwin Conservancy.

This year’s urban forestry initiatives included planting trees to replace those damaged by the emerald ash borer as well as creating eight large pollinator gardens at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.

Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders and mascot Viktor assisted with planting 31 trees at Western Sculpture Park in Saint Paul, in partnership with Tree Trust and the City of St. Paul.

Additionally, the NFL and Verizon are partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant more than 12,000 trees in Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota. The red and white oaks will replace trees damaged by wind, insects and disease and will provide eagle nesting sites.

Verizon volunteers helped plant 75 trees at Heritage Village Park (Inver Grove Heights) in partnership with Friends of the Mississippi River.

Tree planting projects beyond those previously mentioned and featured in photos include: 15 trees at Currie Park, Minneapolis, with Tree Trust; 25 trees at East Park, Rochester, with RNeighbors; 65 trees at Norwood Park, Brooklyn Park, with Tree Trust. 90 trees near Randolph and Shepard Drive in St. Paul, with Mississippi Park Connection and the National Park Service; 51 trees at the east end of Lake Winona, with the City of Winona and Tree Trust; and 22 trees at the Frog Pond at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul, with Como Park Zoo and Conservatory.

The Afton trees will create a windbreak along fields heavily used by the Saint Croix Valley Athletic Association.

Plus, the urban forestry initiatives also included more than 2,000 native plantings at Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, with Great River Greening; 2,000 native plantings at Coldwater Spring in Minneapolis, with Mississippi Park Connection; and renovations to the greenhouse that supplies plants to the Minneapolis Youth Farm.

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PROJECT: Modern Rocking Chair https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/project-modern-rocking-chair/ Wed, 03 Jan 2018 17:07:47 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41745 An ultramodern take on an American classic: the rocking chair. Beech, cherry and walnut combine in beauty and distinction.

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An ultramodern take on an American classic: the rocking chair. Beech, cherry and walnut combine in beauty and distinction.

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Maker Spotlight: April Wilkerson, Frank Howarth and Matt Cremona https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/maker-spotlight-april-wilkerson-frank-howarth-matt-cremona/ Fri, 29 Dec 2017 17:00:27 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41685 Our latest look into some of our favorite online woodworkers and some of their projects we've been checking out.

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Online publishing has made it much easier for anyone to share their building tips and projects. But as the costs were removed, in some cases, so were the quality filters. To help save you the time of sorting through all the not-so-good sources, we’re shining a light on Internet woodworkers and makers we see doing interesting work of high quality. Here are our favorite online woodworkers and makers this month.

MattCremona.com

Matt Cremona is an active member of the online woodworking community. He not only makes videos about making fine furniture and woodworking tips, he also appears on different podcasts and attends many woodworking events. He also posts photo galleries and descriptions of some of his projects (like this Secretary Desk and Bookcase) on his website along with accompanying project videos on his YouTube channel.

His current ongoing project is a Queen Anne highboy. Here’s one of his updates.

 

Besides his interest in fine furniture making, Matt is known for his love of milling logs and working with large slabs. He even built his own large band saw mill.

 

WilkerDos.com

April Wilkerson would much rather make the things she wants for her home in Texas than buy them. She also shares what she learns while building each project in videos and blog posts. Her projects range in scale from a large chicken coop she recently built to small decorative objects, such as a salt shaker or hair stick. Most of her projects serve a practical purpose in her home or workshop. Like the handy Coffee Table with Storage , pictured above.

Or this Outfeed Table she made for her table saw that features step-by-step design instructions complete with photos and a video.

 

FrankMakes.com

Part woodworker, part engineer and part filmmaker, Frank Howarth makes some of the most interesting projects and videos you’ll find. Many of his projects involve woodturning or CNC machining (sometimes both!). He recently turned a segmented sphere that looks like a giant wood eye.

 

You’re bound to learn something new watching Frank build his projects. Frank’s YouTube channel is the best place to see his latest work, like this sliding door.

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Classic Coatrack Leg Pattern https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/classic-coatrack-pattern/ Wed, 27 Dec 2017 19:52:38 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41666 We've put together a full-size gridded pattern for the legs of our classic coatrack from the January/February 2018 issue of Woodworker's Journal.

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We’ve put together a full-size gridded pattern for the legs of our classic coatrack from the January/February 2018 issue of Woodworker’s Journal.

You can download it here.

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PROJECT: Tripod Floor Lamp https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/project-tripod-floor-lamp/ Wed, 27 Dec 2017 16:46:58 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41631 Our author wanted a trendy lamp — without spending the big bucks to buy one. So, she made it herself.

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Our author wanted a trendy lamp — without spending the big bucks to buy one. So, she made it herself.

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VIDEO: Tripod Lamp Construction https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/video-tripod-lamp-construction/ Wed, 27 Dec 2017 16:45:07 +0000 http://rocklerwj.wpengine.com/?p=41661 Want a piece of trendy furniture, but don't want to spend trendy furniture prices? Kristena Smith and Rob Johnstone show you the hardware, tools and techniques you need to make a tripod floor lamp in no time.

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Want a piece of trendy furniture, but don’t want to spend trendy furniture prices? Kristena Smith and Rob Johnstone show you the hardware, tools and techniques you need to make a tripod floor lamp in no time.

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