THE ART OF WOODWORKING Vol 11 cabinet making

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THE ART OF WOODWORKING

HOMEWORI$HOP

POWER TOOLS

r Wear appropriate safety gear: safetyglasses. a 'ace shield for extra protect on.and hearing protectors or ear plugs. l fthere is ro dust col ect on system. wea' adust mask. For exotic woods such asebony, use a respirator; the sawdust maycause an al lergic reaction. Wear workg loves when hand l ing rough lumber .

. Do not use a tool i f any part of i t is wornor 0amageo.

. Keep your hands we I away from aturn ing b lade or b i t .

o l ) r a n o l h o n n ' r o r e o r d , n f a n n r r : h l c l n n l

over your shou der to prevent i t fromgett ing in the way and be ng damaged.

SAFETY TIPS. Concentrate on ihe job; do not rush.Never work when you are t ired, stressed orhave been dr rnk ing a lcoho or us ingmedrca t ions tha t i rduce d 'ows iness .

. Keep your work area clean and t idy;clutter can lead to accidents, and sawdustand wood scraps can be a f ire hazard,

HAND TOOLS

. Use t l-e appropriate tool 'or the job: donot try to make a tool do something forwhich i t was not designed.

. Clamp down a workpiece to f ree bothhands for an operation.

. Cut away from yourself rather thantoward your body.

r f )n nn l fn r r o r lnn l tn i rpmnv ino losq

mater ial . or sharpen the c utt ing edge,

. Keep Lhe edges of cutt ing tools sharp.

ANATOMY OF A BOARD

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Aleo knovrn ae band c lamp oreLrap c la rnp : lyp ica ly ava i ab lewith eLra2 15 feeL. tn lenqLh. Forapp ly tnq ?re .aL) r . tn more Lhano - P ) . p r t i o n , - , . c \ ) . e c * ? - o

four cha i r )eqe aL once.

CABINETMAKING CLAMPS

Quick-actionc t a m ?h 6 0 K n o w n a 5cab ineLmaker .ec a m ? : t y ? c a yiae a 2 / lh roa l AepLh anb,a 4 - inch e2an, buL a ao ava i ab letn Ia rqer e izee .

with deep LhroaLe lorex lend,ed c am2inq reach

? ipe o lampSuiLab le fo rc l a m ? r n q a n I e rL h a n 1 2 t n c h e e .Cone ie le o f jawe a l * "ached lo

. o . / . _ - c r _ a r a 1 f i , - ? ? " ,

p ige enqth can be cu .Lorn tzeato f i l a parL icu ar .?an,

Spr inq c lampAva i ab le in a var ie lyc:f eizes f or ci .am.ptnqu2 tC 4 nc l ,e " ' ' . aornemode ". have ? agl ic t . t?.Lc,t prolecL atock.

Doub le-s ided c lampane Eil ,e of clanp eecured"vo tNorL eurface anA cLhereiAe tr: etr:ck; fealuree areach of tp to 5a incheadepenAinq an the rYod,e .

6 a r c l a m pC amge uV tu A fuelin ienq lh ava t ab le ' ,more cornmon e tzeea r e 2 4 , 3 6 a n d48 nchea.

Tr iqger c lampAva i lab le in epaneo f 6 , 1 2 , 1 8 , 2 4 a n d36 inchee: dee i4neAlo be ineLa l led andremoveA vt iLh onehand. TadAed laweproLecL etock,

Handecrewf, ao Kncwn aa acrewc lamp. Comee tnvar io ls e izee w i "vhjawe thaL can o?enu p l o 1 6 i n c h e e w i d e ,

Web c lamp

THEART OF WOODWORKING

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CABINETAAAKING

THE ART OF WOODWORKING

CABINEMKING

TIME-LIFE BOOKSALEXANDRIA. VIRGINIA

ST. REMY PRESSMONTREAL. NEW YORK

THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced byST. REMYPRESS

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THECONSUXTANTS

Mark Duginske, a cabinetmaker who livesin Wausau, Wisconsin, is a contributingeditor to F in e W o o dw o rking magazineand the author ofseveral books on woodwork-ing power tools.

Leonard Lee is the president ofVeritas Toolsand Lee Valley Tooli, manufacturers and retail-ers of fine woodworking hand tools. He is alsothe publisher and executive editor of Woodcuts,a magazine that focuses on the history andtechniques of woodworking.

Giles Miller-Mead has taught advanced cabi-netmaking at Montreal technical schools formore than ten years. A native of New Zealand,he previously worked as a restorer ofantiquefurniture.

foseph Truini is Senior Editor ofFlomeMechanixmagazine. A former Shop and ToolsEdrtor of Popular Mechanics, he has worked asa cabinetmaker, home improvement contractorand carpenter.

Cabinetmakingp. cm.-(The Art of Woodworking)

Includes index.ISBN 0-8094-9904-5. (trade)ISBN 0-8094-9905-3 (lib)l. Cabinetwork.L Time- Life Books. II. SeriesTTt97.C2r2 1992684'.04-dc20 92-11188

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TIME-LIFE is a trademark of Time WarnerInc. U.S.A.

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Trevor LunnRegina HallDonia Ann SteeleBob DoyleMarlene Zack

CONTENTS

6 INTRODUCTION

12 CABINETMAKINGTECHNIQUES

16 CARCASECONSTRUCTION18 Anatomy of a carcase20 Making wide panels27 Carcase joinery39 Edge banding4L Shelving

FRAME-AND.PANELCONSTRUCTIONAnatomy of a frame-and-panelassemblvMaking the frameMaking the panelPuttinq the panel in the frameAssembling a frame-and-panelcaseInstalling a bottom panelShelvingInstalling a topInstalling molding

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48535759

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r00 DooRSI02 Anatomy of a door104 Frame-and-panel doors108 Solid-panel doors111 Glass doors113 Veneered-panel doors115 Hanging a door

I2O LEGSL22 Anatomy of a cabriole legL24 Cabriole legsI28 Thpered and octagonal legs131 Inlays and detailingI33 Leg joinery

I4O GLOSSARY

I42 INDEX

IM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

72 DRAWERS74 Anatomy of a drawer76 Drawer joinery85 Assembling a drawer87 Mounting a drawer95 Drawer stops97 False fronts and hardware

INTRODUCTION

Ian Ingersoll on building a

SHAKERCHEST

f remember when I first came under the spell of Shaker furniture. Wandering theI ha[s of the Shaker Museum in Old Chatham, New York, I was transported toanother time, awestruck at the feeling evoked by those simple pieces. The Shakers werea religious, utopian society that flourished in New England and_the Midrvest in the19th Century. Their furniture designs were born at least partially out of a desire tolead a simpler, more religious existence. In their quest, they achieved a purity of designrivaled onlybythe work created for the Buddhist temples of |apan'_

For lack of a more descriptive term, I have dubbed the cupboard and case of drawersshown here "The Utility Chest." Its prototype, whose original purpose is no-longerknown, was built in Enfield, Connecticut, around 1825-1850. The surprising off-centerplacement of the two small drawers demonstrates Shaker design at its height, pgp$gnot only to a purity of form, but to the asymmetry of human existence as well. Theoriginai function of those two drawers maybe lost today, but it is sure to have beena practical one.-

The utility chest is built of pine and measures 17 inches deep, 31 inches wide and71 inches high. Its construction is relatively simple and can be accomplished usinga combination of standard casework-, door- and drawer-making techniques. For aproject like this, however, attention should be paid to the layout_of the design. I findit trilpm to do a full-scale drawing on either a large piece of cardboard or the frahlysanded top of myworkbench to ensure that the scale is correct.

Finishing this piece was a considerable challenge. Most cabinetmakers are not fin-ishers. It should be pointed out that the trick to any good finish is to build it up grad-ually with multiple thin coats. ln this case, a light yellow paint lvas used first, then steelwool, followed by a wash of pumpkin paint, more steel wool, and an application oforange shellac to warm up the yellow. The finishing touch comes with a light coatingofvarnish or lacquer to protect the shellac.

lan Ingersoll owns a cabinetmakingshop in West Cornwall, Connecticut,sp ecializing in Shaker furniture.

INTRODUCTION

Michael Burns talks about

CRAFTSMANSHIP

he inspiration for this cabinet came from a small billet of Swiss pear given to meseven years ago. I felt that it had taken me at least that long to acquire the skills

to workwith this beautiful, but somewhat difficult wood. The pear was a dark goldenpink and had a soft appearance. I designed the cabinet to highlight the wood's won-derfi.rl surface and its ability to stand up to the shaping of delicate edge profiles. I want-ed to show offthe raw material.

I resawed the pear into veneers, a scnt %-inch thick, bookmatched them, and gluedthem to a plywood core. I then edge banded and shaped the top and bottom. I doweledthe sides to small lYa-inch posts, needing solid wood for the joints with the legs. Next,I doweled the top, bottom and sides together precisely, using one dowel per inch. Ifinished all the pieces before gluing up. The legs, made from jarrah, were then notched,glued and screwed to the corners ofthe cabinet.

Pear is as demanding as it is beautiful. The joinery must be tight and perfect; slightimperfections are very noticeable. I spent a great deal of time sharpening my planesto get the edge joints crisp and the surfaces unflawed. The jarrah, on the other hand,was a pleasure to work with. It planed in any direction, sawed and shaped easily, andtook the light oil finish I applied very well. I finished the pear with several thin coatsof blond shellac, bringing out its color and surface markings.

Inside the cabinet are two drawers, each made of Andaman padauk and camphor.Under the drawers, in the middle of the interior, is a curved shelf. I made the L-shapedknife hinges and door pulls from patinated brass.

My inspiration comes from several sources, including my teacher Jim Krenov, Greekarchitecture, fapanese craft and French cabinetmaker Emile Rutrlmann. What is impor-tant in everything I make is that the influences are balanced, the craftsmanship is thebest I can achieve, and the results pleasing.

Michael Burns teaches cabinetmak-ing at College of the Redwoods inFort Bragg, Califurnia.

INTRODUCTION

Terry Moore and his

WRITINGDESK

eing self-taught, I rely on a very informal approach to design. My furniture tendsto evolve as I proceed through the construction process. For example, seeking

an alternative to the common tapered leg, and inspired by 1920s cabinetmakers Juleskleu and Emile Ruhlmann, I developed a multifaceted fluted leg. To do this, I designeda fixture for my spindle shaper that allowed me to profile and flute the twelve facetsof the leg. After much trial and error, I had one prototype leg and a whole new chal-lenge: Namely, how to attach the leg to a table or desk apron. Eventually, I made amock-up of a desk with a diagonal corner post and attached the leg to the post.Presenting the leg at a 45o angle produced visually pleasing details that became theinspiration for this lady's writing desk.

To construct the desk, I used a combination of mortise-and-tenon and dovetailjoinery. The drawers are also dovetailed. I chose Bubinga-African Rosewood-whichis remarkable for its striking figure and color. The grain pattern in the desk top wasachieved by resawing a plank into %o-inch-thick veneer. A wonderful streak of light-colored sapwood graces one edge of the plank. When the sapwood edges were gluedtogether into bookmatched (mirror image) panels, the results were spectacular.Around the perimeter of the top and where the surrounding frame meets the panels,I inlaid a thin line of curly maple to add visual texture and to emphasize the frame-and-panel effea. Adding curly maple pulls and a cockbead around the drawers furtherenhanced the color contrast. All these features work together to evoke a sense of func-tional elegance.

While this desk is obviously a mmplex piece, you should not feel intimidated; everycraftsman was once a novice. You can, with the right instructional information, alongwith patience and practice, master all of the techniques that you will need. Remember,though, the museums can wait to enshrine your masterpiece, so don't bite offmorethan you can chew right away. Start with simple projects that allow you to practiseyour skills and develop your design sense. A simple project well executed is far betterthan an elaborate piece that has been shoddily made. There will be failures and mis-takes along the way, but this, too, is part of the process of learning. The main objectiveis to enjoyyour work and do the best you can.

Originally fromWales, Terry Mooredesigns and builds fine furniture inN ewp ort, New Hamp shire..

CABINETMAKING TECHNIOUE S-l- h. first step in any cabinetmakingI. project is to select and prepare your

stock. As shown below not all the woodat a lumberyard is free of defects, so itis important to choose boards carefully.

Whether you are building an armoireor a toy box, most stock is readied in

CHO()SING LUMBER

roughly the same way. The proceduresillustrated on pages l3 to 15 cover thebasic techniques. For rough, or unsur-faced lumbet first pass one face acrossthe jointer, then one edge, producingtwo surfaces that are at 90o to each oth-er. Next, plane the second face, making

it parallel to the first. Now you are readyto rip your stock to width and crosscutit to length. For dressed, or surfaced lum-ber, you only have to joint one edge, thenrip and crosscut. Before gluing up a pieceof furniture, be sure to sand any surfacesthat will be difficult to reach afterwards.

COMMON WOOD DEFECTS

Knot, CheakA dark whorl aurcounded by newqrowth ringe; may fall out, affect-inq appearance. Avoid eawing

9plito acroae qrowDhringa, affectinqapPearance

through thia defect.

Pitah

CrookEnd-to-end curvealon4 edge

Kesin accumulation onaurface; can affect

TwiatUneven or irceqular warping;makea board unatable andprone to further warpinq

Selecting stock for cabinetmakingWood is avarlable in two broad categories: hardwood and softwood.Although the terms are botanical rather than descriptive, hard-woods, such as mahogany and cherry, are preferable for mostcabinetmaking projects because they are, in fact, general lyharder. Before buying lumber, examine i t careful ly. Check i tscolor, texture and grain patterns, and select stock that you findvisual ly appeal ing. Lumber is usual ly mi l led in one of two ways:

Quarter-sawed, or edge-grained lumber has a tough surface andis general ly stable; plain-sawed, or f lat-grained lumber, al thoughless expensive, is more prone to warping and shrinking. Whatevertype of wood you buy, choose kiln-dried lumber, and watch outfor defects. Some of those shown above only affect appearance,but others can make the wood di f f icul t to cut, jo int or plane.You can avoid defects by buying "select" lumber when possible.

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CABINETMAKING TECHNIQUES

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JOINTING A BOARD

Maintaining proper pressureon the outfeed tableFor most operations, set a cutting depthbetween Va and lru inch. To joint a boardedge, feed the stock slowly into the cut-terhead, pressing its face against the fencewhi le keeping the edge f lat on the jointertables. Be sure to feed the workpiece sothe kn ives are cu t t ing w i th the gra in .Cont inue feed ing the s tock un t i l yourright hand approaches the outfeed table.Then reverse the position of your handswithout stopping the cut. Gradual ly sl ideyour lef t hand toward the back of theworkpiece, maintai n i ng pressure againstthe fence (/ef f) . Shif t your r ight handfarther back on the stock to maintaindownward pressure just to the outfeedside of the knives. Cont inue these hand-over-hand movements unt i l the oass iscompleted. To joint the face of a board,fol low the same procedures, using pushblocks to feed the stock.

Feeding the workpiece into the cutterheadSet a cutt ing depth up to %e inch. Standto one s ide o f the workp iece and useboth hands to feed i t careful ly into themachine, keeping the edges of the stockoara l le l to the p laner tab le . 0nce themachine gr ips the board and beginspulling it across the cutterhead, supportits trailing end to keep it flat on the table(left). Then move to the outfeed side ofthe planer. Support the workpiece withboth hands unt i l i t c lears the outfeedrol ler. To prevent stock f rom warping,avoid passing only one face of a boardthrough the machine; instead, plane thesame amount of wood from both sides.

PLANING STOCK

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RIPPING A W()RKPIECE

Using the rip fence as a guideSet the blade height aboul r/q inch abovethe workpiece. Position the rip fence for thewid th o f cu t , then push the s tock in tothe blade, pressing i t against the fencewith your lef t hand and feeding with boththumbs (/ef f) . Stand to one side of theworkpiece and straddle the fence withyour r ight hand, making sure that nei therhand is in l ine with the blade. Keeo oush-ing the board unt i l the blade cuts throughit completely. To keep your hands fromcoming c loser than 3 inches f rom theblade, complete the cut with a push st ick.(Caution: Blade guard partially retractedfor clarity.)

CR()SSCUTTING STOCK

Using the miter gaugeWith the workpiece f lush against themiter gauge, al ign the cutt ing mark withthe b lade. Pos i t ion the r io fence we l laway from the end of the stock to pre-vent the cut-off piece from jamming upa g a i n s t t h e b l a d e a n d k i c k i n g b a c ktoward you. Hook the thumbs of bothhands over the miter gauge to hold thestock f i rmly against the gauge and f laton the table, then feed the board intothe blade (righil. (Caution: Blade guardpartially retracted for clarity.)


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SANDING

Using a sanding blockClamp stop blocks to a work surface at both ends of theworkpiece to hold i t steady. Fi t a sanding block with a pieceof abrasive paper and sand the surface of the stock alongthe grain, applying even, moderate pressure (abovd. Uselong, smooth, overlapping strokes unt i l the surface is smooth.Repeat with a f iner-gr i t paper for a smoother f in ish. To pre-vent rounding the edges of the workpiece, keep the sandingblock flat on its surface, and work up to-but not over-the edge.

THE BELT SANDER AS PTANER

Using a belt sanderUse a stop block to keep the workpiece from moving. Instal la sanding belt and drape the power cord over your shoulderto keep it out of the way. With the sander parallel to the woodgrain, turn i t on and slowly lower i t onto the surface, holdingit firmly with both hands (above). Move the machine back andforth with the same type of strokes you would use with a sandingblock. To avoid gouging the surface, keep the sander flat andalways moving; do not let the machine rest in spp snnt

Smoothing a panell f a planer is not avai lable to even outthe surface of glued-up panels, use a beltsander. The diagrams on the left il lustratethe correct sequence of operations. First,s lowly move the sander back and forthacross the surface al a 45'angle tothe wood grain (far left), Be sure to covertheent ire surface, but do not let the sandingdrum run completely off the edges of thepanel; this may round the corners. Next,make a second oass back and forthdiagonal ly across the grain in the oppo-site direction (center lefil. Finally, runthe tool along the wood grain to removeany scra tches le f t by the ear l ie r sand-ing (near left).

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Usingbiscuit joints to assemble panels offers two veryappealingbenefits: strength and ease of assembly. Abiscuitjoiner cuts semicircular grooves into matingpanek. Theslots are filled with glue and biscuits of compressed beech,then the panels are butted together to form a perfea joint.

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CARCASE, CONSTRUCTION

he basic box-or arcase-fea-tured in this chapter has long

been the starting point of manytypes of furniture. The earliestexamples were simple coffers, nailedor pegged together, that served dou-ble-duty as chests or benches. Toduy,there are seemingly limitless varia-tions on that same basic design. Thesmallest examples of carcase con-struction feature delicate pieces ofhighly figured, exotic woods, suchas bird's-eye maple, rosewood orHawaiian koa, that are assembledwith precise joints and delicatehinges to form jewelry boxes and silver chests. Larger but stillcompact boxes provide the framework for drawers.

Once assembled, the type of carcase examined in the pagesthat follow can be the basis for anything from a small dresseror tool chest to a floor-to-ceiling cabinet or a home-enter-tainment center. The later chapters in this book look at thesubsequent steps-adding drawers, doors or legs-so as toturn the basic carcase into a finished piece of furniture.

Although carcases and drawers are designed to withstanddifferent types and levels ofstress in use, there are certain con-struction techniques that are applicable to both. Where appro-priate, a cross-reference to the Drawers chapter will be includedto direct you to a drawer-building technique that could proveusefi.rl for constructing carcases.

All carcases consist of four panels joined together to forma box. A key requirement is that the wood grain of all the

Drawers, shelves and aveneered plywoodback panel transform a typical carcase into anelegant bookcase. The drawers run along fixedshelves set into dadoes cut in the side panels.

assembling the panels. There are a great manytypes of cornerjoints you can use; some of the most common include dovetails,lock miters, rabbets, miter-and-spline joins, biscuit joints, andbox and finger joints. Because dovetail joints are highly regardedfor their strength and beauty in solid wood, one variety-thehand-cut through dovetail-is featured in this chapter (page27).It canalso be cut more quickly with a jig as shown in theDrawers chapter (page 80).In the eyes of many woodworkers,a well-made hand-cut dovetail joint is visible proof of the cab-inetmaker's competence.

For plywood carcases, rabbet (page 34) orbiscuit joints-alsoknown as plate jonts-(page j6) arebetter choices. Both offerpretfymuch the same strength as dovetail joints and, althoughless esthetically pleasing, they are quick and easy methods ofassembly. The convenience factor becomes a major consider-ation if you are faced with producing a large number of carcases.

panels run in the same direction.Since wood expands and contracts,especially across the grain, the pan-els will expand and contract togeth-er at the same rate, preserving thestructural integrity of the box.Assembling a carcase with the grainofadjacent panels at right angles toeach other virtually ensures that oneof the panels will eventually split;when wood is ready to move, it isalmost impossible to stop.

Much of the character and indi-viduality of a particular carcasedesign derives from the method of

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hether it is a box that will housea couple of drawers and a shelf or

ment is that parallel panels must havethe same dimensions.

Although a panel can be made froma single piece of lumber, it is generallyless expensive to glue narrower boardsedge-to-edge to form the wide surface(page 20). Once glued up, the panels areplaned, jointed on one edge, cut to size,

funelUaed to form the top, bottom andsidea of the carcaai, May be a ein-6le piece of plywood or eolid lumbenbut panela are more commonly madefrom amaller boarda qlued edqe toedge; dowela may be ueed to helpwith alignment. Individual boardscan be of varyinq widtha, but areuaually 2 to 5 inches wide.

and then their surfaces are sanded. Athird option-one which combines theeconomy of glued-up panels and theease of solid lumber-is to use hard-wood plywood, which can be made tolooklike solidwood, bythe addition of abanding along exposed edges (page 39).Constructing carcases from plywood

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a china cabinet destined to grace yourdining room, the carcase you build willfeature many ofthe basic elements illus-trated below. First, it will have four sides,or panels, which are usually the samewidth and thickness. Another require-

CornerjointSecurea the ende of thepanele together: rabbetjoint ia ahown, but dovetailand plate jointa are aleopopular choicea.

This simple carcase-framed cabinetfeatures edge-glued paneh of ash andrabbeted corner joints cut on a table saw.A fixed upper shelf is set in dadoes cutinto the side panek; alower adjustableshelfrests on hidden supports.

BackUaually I/+-inch plywoodpiece nailed and'glued intoa rabbot routed alonq baoked1e of the panela.

thelvingMay be plywood or ein7lepieae of wood, but often madefrom edge-qlued boarda. Fixedahelvea are qlued in dadoesrouted on the inside surfacesof aide panele; adjuatableehelvea regt on aupporta.

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does have its disadvantages, however.It reduces vour flexibiliw when it comesto the joinery; dovetaiis, for example,simply will not work. It also rules outsuch esthetic possibilities as creating

attractive grain patterns on thepanels byedge gluing careflrlly

matchedboards.

CARCASE CONSTRUCTION

Ifyou plan to add edge banding orinstall shelves (page 4 1 ), youmust antic-ipate those steps before gluing the panelstogether. For shelves, you will need torout dadoes or bore dowel holes on theinside surfaces of the side panels.

For more detail on the cutting, joint-ing, sanding and other procedures

necesssary to prepare boards and panels,refer to the Cabinetmaking Techniquessection on page 12. Of the many joinerymethods that can be used to connect thepanels ofa carcase, this chapter focuseson three of the most common: thehand-cut through dovetail joint, theplate joint and the rabbet joint.

CORl{ER JOINTS

Through dovetail jointTapered pine on one panel interlock withanqled taila of the other: offera lar1eqluing aurface. For best appearance,pino are ueually cut at the enda ofthe top and bottom panela; taileare aawn at.enda ofthe eide panele.Stronq, decorative joint for eolid lum'ber; not recommended for plywood.Good choice when featurinq joineryae an element of deoiqn.

Plate or biocuit jointDiecuits of compreaaed wood fitinto slote in the matinq boarda;qlue owello the biacuite, atrength'eninq the joint. To conceal end1rain when viewed from the aideof carcaae, alots are uaually cutinto end 6rain of top and bottompanela and into mating facea ofoide panele, )tronq joint for aolidlumber or plywood. Not decorativebut quick and eaay to make.

Rabbet jointEdge of one board fita into rabbetcut in the matinq board; offerslarqe gluinq aurface. To concealend grain of top and bottompanele, the rabbeta are normallycut into the aide panela. )trongjoint for aolid lumber or plywood.Alao uaed to join carcaee backto panela. Not ae decorative aaa throuqh dovetail, but muchaimpler to make.

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Edge bandingDecorative veneer commercially available butcan be made in the ahop; glued to expoeededqeo of plywood panela and shelvea.

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MAKING WIDE PANELS

\ 7f ost woodworkers make up theIVJ. wide panels for a carcase by gluingboards together edge-to-edge. Buildinga carcase this way is not a matter of cut-ting costs at the expense of strength.Panels ofedge-glued boards are every bitas strong as a single piece of lumber. Infact, a proper glue joint provides a sturdierbond than the fibers ofa oiece ofwood.

Follow the steos detailed below andon the following pages to assemble pan-els. Apart from a supply of glue and an

assortment of clamps, all you need is alevel work surface or a shop-built gluerack (page 24). To help keep the boardsaligned, some woodworkers also usedowels (page 2S). For more informationon selecting glue, refer to the inside backcover ofthis book.

Selecting your wood is an importantpart ofthe process. Do not buy greenwood or stock that is cupped or ftvisted,and avoid using wood with a high mois-ture content, which can adversely affect

the glue. Instead, buy lumber that hasbeen dried in a kiln. If you are workingfrom rough stock, begin preparingboards by jointing a face and an edge,then planing the other face. Next, cross-cut the boards, leaving them roughly Iinch longer than their finished length,andjoint an edge ofeach piece. Rip thestock so that the combined width of allthe boards exceeds the finished widthofthe panel by about I inch, then jointthe cut edses.

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Edge-glued boards should create theillusion of a single piece of wood ratherthan a composite. Experiment with theboards in diferent configtrations toproduce a pattern that is visually inter-esting but make sure that the grain runsin the same direction on all of the oieces.

EDGE GLUING' l Arranging the boardsI Set two bar clamps on a work surfaceand lay the boards on them. Use as manyclamps as necessary to support the boardsat 24- Io 36-inch intervals, To keeo the barsfrom moving, place them in notched woodblocks (insef). Use a pencil to mark the endgrain or ientat ion of each board as shown,then arrange the stock on the clamps toenhance their appearance (photo above).To minimize warping, arrange the pieces sothat the end grain of adjacent boards runs inopposite direct ions. l f the grain is di f f icul tto read, dampen or sand the board ends tomake i t show up more def ini tely. Once youhave a satisfactory arrangement, align thestock edge-to-edge and use a pencil or chalkto mark a triangle (right). This will help youcorrectly rearrange the boards if you movethem prior to f inal assembly.

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fill tlll llll l]ll llll Ill llll llll llll fill llll llll llll llil llll llll llll illl1HO? TI?Two wayo toopread glueTo soread a alue bead

art oupply elores.To cleanlheroller afler use, roll iI repeaNedly

r) Applying the glueL fo auoid marring the edges of thepanel when you t ighten the clamPs,cut two pieces of scrap wood at leastas long as the boards to be glued, anduse them as pads. Leaving the f i rstboard face down, stand the otherpieces on edge so that the tr ianglemarks face away from you. APPIYa thin glue bead to each board (/eff),just enough to cover the edge com-pletely when the adhesive is spread.Too l i t t le glue wi l l result in a weakbond; too much wi l l cause a messwhen you t ighten the clamPs. Use asmal l , st t f f -br ist led brush to spreadthe glue evenly on the board edges(abovd, leaving no bare sPots. Donot use your f ingers for sPreading;adding dir t or grease to the glue wi l lweaken the bond and slow the dryingtime. Move on to step 3 as soon aspossible to prevent the glue from dry-ing before you t ighten the clamPs.

over a ocrap board. For a ohoP-madealue epreaAer, uee a 6- inch lenqlh ofi/"-inch dowel ae a handle No hold a2-inch eection of a broken or wornhackeaw blade. Use a backeaw orband saw No cuN a shallow slot' in oneend of lhe dowel, makinq it' t 'hin enouqhlo hold Nhe blade eection onu4ly. FiI theblade Neelh-eide-ouL int'o the sloL'


Tightening the clampsSet the boards face down and line

up the i r ends , mak ing su re t ha t t hesides of the t r iangle a l ign. T ighten theclamps under the boards just enoughto but t them together , checking againfo r a l i gnmen t . Avo id ove r t i gh ten ingthe c lamps or the boards may buckleup at the jo ints . Place a th i rd c lampacross the top of the boards, centeringi t between the two underneath. F in isht i gh ten ing a l l o f t he c l amps i n t u rn(left) until there are no gaps betweenthe boa rds and a t h i n bead o f g l uesqueezes out of the jo ints .

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Leveling the boardsFor adjacent boards that do not l ie

perfect ly level with each other, use aC c lamp to ho ld them in a l ignment .Protect ing the boards with wood pads,center the c lamp on the jo in t near theend of the stock; place a str ip of waxpaper under each pad to prevent it fromsticking to the boards. Then tighten theclamp until the boards are level (right).Refer to the manufacturer's instructionsfor the glue's drying time. lf you are shortof c lamps, mark the t ime on the panelso that you can move on to the gluingof the next panel as soon as possible.


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f, Removing the excess glue:,f Use a plastic putty knife to removeas much of the squeezed-out glue asoossible before i t dr ies. The moisturef rom g lue le f t on the sur face w i l l beabsorbed by the wood, causing swellingand s low dry ing ; hardened adhes ivecan a lso c log sandpaper , du l l p lanerknives and repel wood stain. Once theglue has dr ied, remove the clamps fromthe top of the boards, and use a paintscraper to remove any squeeze-out thatremarns (/eftl. Remove the lower clamps,then prepare the panel for jo inery byplaning i t , jo int ing an edge and cutt ingthe p iece to i t s f in ished d imens ions .Use a belt sander to smooth the sur-faces that wi l l be hard to reach oncethe carcase is assembled

"llll flt"llJ"llf 'lll $ "lfif"1lr1llf".llr'ffi llll"l$1HO? TI??revenlingclamp otainsThe metal bar of a clampcan be olained by adheeivethal dr ipo durin4 4luingoperationo. Oried qlue canaleo intertere with Iheratchetinq action oteome clamoe.To el imi-nat'e Nhe problem, use ahaoksaw or band eaw to cuta roll of wax ?a?er into Z-inch'wide mini ' rol ls.Then, each Nimeyou apply a clamp,tear ofl a ot'ripof paVer Io wrap over or under Nhe bar.

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III

GIUE RACKA shop-built rack made from twosawhorses provides a convenientway to hold the clamps for gluingup a panel. To build the jig, removethe cross piece from your sawhorses.Cut replacements the same widthand thickness as the originals, makingthem at least as long as the boardsthat you will be gluing.

Use a hand saw or a band saw tocut notches along one edge of eachcross piece at 6-inch intervals. Makethe cuts wide enough to hold a barc lamp snug ly and deep enough tohold the bar level with the top of thecross piece. You can also cut notchesto accommodate pipe clamps, butbar clamps are stronger.

To use the glue rack, seat at leasttwo bar clamps in the notches sothat the boards to be glued aresupported at least every 24 to 36

inches. The rest of the operation isidentical to edge gluing boards on awork surface as shown in steps 3 to5 on the preceding pages.

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DOWELS: AN AID T(l ALIGNMENT

1 Boring the dowel holesI Locate points for dowels on the boardedges (phoito above). To avoid splittingboards with the pins, use grooved dowelsthat are no more than one-half as thickas the stock. Fit a drill with a bit the samediameter as the dowels, then wrap a stripof masking tape around the bi t to markthe dr i l l ing depth, which should be sl ight-ly more than one-half the length of thedowels. Keep the drill perpendicular to theboard edge as you bore eachhole (righ),withdrawing the bit when the masking tapetouches the stock. (Al though the dr i l lpress can also be used to bore the holes,keeping longer boards steady on themachine's table may prove di f f icul t . )

Marry woodworkers use dowels to helpwith the alignment of boards in a pan-el. One of the problems in using thistechnique is that the wood pins haveto be precisely centered on the edgesof the boards to be joined. In the photoat left, location points have been made

for the dowels-one about 3 inches

from each end of the boards and onein the middle. A line is then scribedacross the points with a cuxing gaugeset to one-half the thickness of thestock. The lines intersect at the centerof the board edges, guaranteeing per-

fect placement of the dowels.

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r) Pinpointing mating dowel hotesL lnsert a dowel center the same diameter as the dowelsin each of the holes (above), then set the boards flat on theclamps with the tr iangle mark facing you. Al ign the ends ofthe boards and butt the edge of the second board againstthat of the f i rst . The pointed ends of the dowel centers wi l lpunch impressions on the wood, providing start ing points forthe mating dowel holes. Bore these holes to the same depthas in step 1, then repeat the procedure for the third board.

Gluing up the boardsApply g lue to the board the same way as when edge

gluing (page 21).fhen use a pencil tip to dab a small amountof adhesive in the bottom of each dowel hole. Avoid spreadingglue directly on the dowels; they absorb moisture quickly andwil l swel l , making them dif f icul t to f i t into their holes. Insertthe dowels (above), then tap them into f inal posi t ion usinga hammer. Avoid pounding on the dowels; this may cause aboard to spl i t . Close up the joint , then t ighten the clamps(page 22). Remove the excess glue (page 23).

ilIl llll iltt fill fili llll lll illl filt flt lllJ il[ filt llll illt iltl ljlt llll1HO? TI?lnoerling dowele witha deplh 0au0eTo avoid Nhe risk of oplittin7boards when inseilinq dow-

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els, use thie oimpleehoV-made depthqauqe. Kip a f- inch-long board to a Nhick-

'/ '

neee thal ie exactlyone-halt the lenqth of Nhedowele. Bore a hole thaN isolightly wider Nhan the t.hick-ness of Nhe dowele lhrou7h the gauqe near one end.Then place it around each dowel when you Nap iX inNoits hole. The dowel will be aN T,he correcl deobh wheniN is flush with the Lop of Nhe depth qauqe.

26

CARCASE IOINERYI

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f here are many ways of joining car-J. case panels together. The pages that

follow will examine three of the mostpopular choices: dovetail, rabbet andplate joinery. As shown in the photo atright, the interlocking pins and tailsof a through dovetail joint give bothsolidity and distinctive appearance.Cutting such a joint with the tradition-al hand tools is considered a rite ofpassage for aspiring woodworkers. Itrequires skill and practice to perfect.It also leaves room for creativity, sinceit allows you to choose the width ofpins and tails to give your joints an

esthetically pleasing look. The samejoint can be executed in far less time, butwith equal precision, using a router anda jig; that approach is demonstratedin the Drawers chapter (page 80-81).You may also want to try the half-

blind dovetail, which is examined onpages B2-84.

If you prefer somewhat simplerforms of joinery, try either the rabbetor the plate joint (page 34-37). Bothare ideal for joining plywood pan-els, which are not suited for dovetails.Whichever type of joinery you select,you must plan ahead for the later stagesofyour cabinetmaking projects, such asinstalling back panels, shelving, edgebanding or drawers. Some drawer-hang-ing methods, for example, require youto rout a groove in the side panels beforethe carcase is assembled.

D()VETAIL JOINTS

thoulder line

Half-pin

X X X / \ X X X

' l 0utlining the pinsI Mark the outsrde face of each panel with a big X, then set acutt ing gauge to the thickness of the stock and scr ibe a l inealong the ends of the four panels to mark the shoulder of the pinsand tai ls. The panels that wi l l form the top and bottom of thecarcase wi l l be the pin boards. Secure each one in turn in a viseand use a dovetai l square to out l ine the pins on the ends of theboard as shown rn the sequence above. Start with half-pins ateach edge, making sure that the narrow ends of the pins are onthe outside face of the board. Next out l ine the waste sect ionsadjacent to the half-pins, then mark the center of the board end.

Outl ine a pin at the center mark, then out l ine the remainingpins (above, right), marking all the waste sections with Xs.(You can also use a sl id ing bevel gauge to out l ine the pins;set an angle of about 1:6 for softwood or 1:8 for hardwood.)There are no r igid guidel ines for the number of pins or forthe spacing between them. But evenly spaced pins that areat least one-half the size of the waste sections around themmake for an attract ive and sol id joint . Use a combinat ionsquare to extend al l the dovetai l marks so that they reachthe shoulder l ines on both faces of the boards.


r) Cutting the pinsZ- Secure the first pin board in a viseso that the outside face of the panel istoward you. Use a dovetai l saw to cutalong the edges of the pins, working fromone side of the panel to the other. Somewoodworkers prefer to cut all the left-handedges f i rst , then move on to the r ight-hand edges. For each cut, hold the panelsteady and align the saw blade just to thewaste side of the cutting line. Use smooth,even strokes, allowing the saw to cut onthe push slroke (right). Continue sawingr igh t to the shou lder l ine , mak ing suretha t the b lade is perpend icu la r to theline. Next, use a coping saw (sfep 3) ora chisel (step 4) to remove the wastebetween the pins. Repeat the procedureat the other end of the board and at bothends of the other pin board.

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Q Removing the waste with a coping sawr-J Stand on the other side of the paneland begin cutting away the waste woodbetween the pins. At the side of each pin,sl ide a coping saw blade into the kerf androtate the frame without striking the endof the board. Cut out as much of the wasteas you can whi le keeping the blade about%o inch above the shoulder line. Cut (/efrluntil you reach the kerf on the edge of theadjacent pin. Pare away any remainingwaste with a chisel (step 5).

2B


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Removing the waste with a chiselSet the panel outside face up on a work surface and

clamp on a guide block, al igning i ts edge about %o inch tothe waste side of the shoulder l ine. Using a wood chisel nowider than the narrow side of the waste section, butt the flatside of the blade against the guide block. Hold the end ofthe chisel square to the face of the panel and strike it with awooden mallet (left), scoring a line about 7s-inch-deep. Thenturn the chisel toward the end of the panel about % inchbelow the surface of the wood and shave off a thin layer ofthe waste (below). Continue shaving away the waste in thisfashion unt i l you are about halfway through the thickness ofthe panel, then move on to the next sect ion. When you haveremoved al l the waste from this side, turn over the panel,and work from the other side unt i l the pins are al l exposed.

f, Final paring\, , With the panel outside face up, al ign the edgeof a guide block with the shoulder l ine on the paneland clamp i t in place. Butt the f lat s ide of a chiselagainst the block, and using your thumb to hold theblade vert ical , gent ly tap on the handle to pare awaythe final sliver of waste (left). Repeat the processbetween the other pins unt i l there is no wastebeyond the shoulder l ine.

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Preparing to outline the tailsSet one of the ta i l boards outs ide

face down on a work sur face and c lampa guide b lock on top of i t wi th the edgeof the b lock f lush wi th the shoulder l ine.T h e n h o l d t h e e n d o f o n e o f t h e p i nboards against the guide b lock wi th i tsou ts ide face away f rom the ta i l boa rd .Fasten a handscrew to the p in boardand use another c lamp to hold i t f i rmlyrn position (/eff).

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I Marking the tails/ Use a pencrl to outline Ihe Iatls (rrghil,

then remove the c lamps and use a combi-nat ion square to extend the l ines onto theend of the board. Mark the waste sect ionswi th Xs, then out l ine ta i ls on the otherend of the board and at both ends of theo the r pane l .

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Q Cutting the tails and removing waste(J Use a doveta i l saw to cut the ta i lsthe same way you cut the pins (step 2).Some woodworkers f ind that angl ing theboa rd , as shown ra the r t han the sawmakes the cu t t i ng go eas ie r . I n e i t he rcase, saw smoothly and evenly, and stopjust a fraction of an inch before you reacht h e s h o u l d e r l i n e . R e m o v e t h e b u l kof the waste wi th e i ther a coping saw(step 3) or a chisel (step 4), then pareaway the f ina l b i ts of waste down tothe shoulder l ine (step 5).

Dry-fitting the carcaseBefore gluing up the carcase, assemble i t to check

the f i t o f a l l the jo ints . Stand one of the p in boards ona wood b lock , t hen a l i gn a ma t i ng ta i l boa rd w i t h i t ;support the other end of the tail board with a sawhorse.Press the lo int together by hand as far as i t wi l l go,then tap the two ends the rest of the way into p lace,while protecting the workpiece with a scrap board. Toavoid b inding and damaging the p ins, c lose the jo int

evenly along its whole lenglh (left). Join the other pinand ta i l boards the same way, tapping only on the ta i lboard. The jo ints should be t ight enough to requi re al i t t le gent le tapping, but avoid us ing excessive force.l f the jo int is c lear ly too t ight , mark the spot where i tb inds, then d isassemble the panels and use a chisel topare away a l itt le more wood. DryJit the carcase againand make fur ther adjustments, i f necessary. l f there rsany gap between a pin and a tail, insert a thin wedge tof i l l i I (page 32) . AI th is point , you wi l l need to seeto t he o the r requ i remen ts o f you r p ro jec t , such asinsta l l ing a back panel (page 3& and edge banding(page 39 ) , i f des i red , t hen p repa r i ng the s ides fo rshelves (page 41) or drawers. Once that is done, glueup the carcase (step l0).

3 1


' l f\ Gluing up the carcase

I \J ro apply proper pressure whent i gh ten ing the c lamps , use fou r woodpads specia l ly notched for doveta i l jo ints .

Make the pads the same leng th as t hecarcase panels are wide, and cut awayl i t t le t r iangular notches so that ihe woodwi l l on ly make contact wi th the ta i ls andnot exer t pressure on the p ins. Apply ath in bead of g lue on the faces of the p insand ta i ls that wi l l be in coniact when thejo ints are assembled. Use a smal l , s t i f f -br is t led brush to spread the g lue evenly,leaving no bare spots. Assemble the car-case and insta l l two bar c lamps acrossthe faces of each of the p in boards inturn. T ighten the c lamps a l i t t le at t ime(left) unli l a l i tt le glue squeezes out ofthe joints. Remove the excess glue (page

23), and keep the c lamps in p lace unt i lthe g lue is dry.

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lllt l]ll llll llll lllr lll] lll ilit llil llr lllt lll l[ llll llr lll1 l]lt lltjHO? TI?Dealing with adefeclive dovetailEven a el iqhN errorin cuLNinq doveLailecan resul l in a smal lqaV beNween a Vina n d a I a i l . l t t h e q a p i osmal l , f i l l i t wi lh a thin l r ian-qular chiV of veneer or a wood shav'inq cu t t romthe Vane l o lock .To makeLhewood chip lees obvioue, cut itr so lhat ito qrain will runin the same direct ion ae lhat of the Vino. Use a dovet ai leaw Io eLraighNen out or deepen Lhe gap, if neceooary.AVVIy a l iLNle qlue in Nhe qaV and inserl Ihe chip, whichshould f iN enualv.

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llll lllt lll llll lll1 llt lll1 lll lll l]lt llll illt illI lll illl lll llll ilt11HO? TI?Checking a carcaoe for equareTo Vrevenl clamp Vreooure frompul l inq a carcaae oul of oquare dur-in4 qlue u?, meazure the diaqonalobeNween opposiLe cornerl immedi-ately after IiqhNeninq lhe clampo.The Lwo resulf,s ehould be lheeame. lf Nhey are noL, the carcaeeie outof - equare. To correcN Nheproblem, loosen Nhe clampe, thenolide one jaw of each clamp awayfromthe joint aL oppooihe cornersae ehown.Tiqhten the clampe and check aqain for 6quare,ohifLin7Ihe clampo a6 neceobary unt i l Nhe carcaoe io oquare.

CARCASE-SOUARING BLOCKSUnless you are installing a backpanel on a carcase, it can be diffi-cult to keep the four sides squareduring glue up. A shop-made car-case-squari ng block (right) placedon each corner wi l l help a greatdeal. For each block, cut a piece of3/q-inch plywood into an B-inch

square. Fit a drill press or an electricdrill with a 2-inch-diameter hole sawor circle cutter, then bore an open-ing in the center of the block. (Thehole wi l l prevent glue squeeze-outfrom bonding the block to the car-case.) Next, outfit your table sawwith a dado head that is the samewidth as the thickness of the stock.

Carcaoe-aquartnqblockB " x B "

and cut two grooves at right anglesto one another, intersecting at thecenter of the block.

To use the jig, apply the glueand assemble the carcase, then fita block over each corner (left),center ing the hole at the pointwhere two panels join. Make surethat the dadoes on the blocks fitsnugly around the edges of the pan-els. lnstall and tighten the clamps.

J J


RABBET JOINTS

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1 Cuttine the rabbetst -

I Mark a cutt ing l ine for the width ofthe rabbet on the leading edge of ones ide pane l . Then, ins ta l l a dado headsl ight ly wider than the rabbet and loweri t be low the tab le . Screw an aux i l ia rywood fence to the saw's rip fence andmark the depth of the rabbet on i t ; thedepth should be one-half the thicknessof the stock. With the metal fence clearof the dado head, posi t ion the auxi l iaryfence over the table opening. Turn onthe saw. Raise the blades slowly into thewood up to the depth l ine. Turn off thesaw and l ine up the panel and auxi l iaryfence for cutt ing the rabbet. Clamp afeatherboard to the fence above thedado head to hold the panel securelyagainst the table. Turn on the saw andmake the cut (above), then repeat theprocess for the remaining rabbets in theside panels. (Caut ion: Blade guardremoved for clarity.)

Quick and easy to cut and assemble,the rabbet joint is ideal for both solidwood and plywood carcases. The jointis made up of a board or panel that fitsinto a rabbet cut on its mating piece.The width of the rabbet should be

equal to the thickness of the stock. In acarcase, the joint is best cut into the sidepanels so that the end grain of the topand bottom will be covered. Although

stronger than simple butt joints, rabbetjoints frequently require screws or nails

for reinforcement.

fil illt tll tlll fit ltl l]Ir IIJ lll llll llll filt llrl llt lllt tlll fill llll1HO? Tt?lnvisible nailerTo conceal nailedriven inLo a car-caoe panel, uoea b l ind na i le r .The commercialdevice works likea mini-plane, l i t t -in7 a lh in woodehavinq under which a nai l can be dr iven.The ohavinqcan Lhen be qlued r iqhl back down to hide lhe nai l head.)et up the nai ler tol lowing Lhe manufactrurer 's inslruc-Lions-uou ally f or a 1 /zz-inch-t hick oh avin q, An d p raclioeon a 6cra? board before uoin7 the nai ler on an aclualworkpiece. The ehavinq you raiee musl be lon4 enou4hto leN you drive the nail comforLably. A ebriV of Iape willhold Ihe ehaving down whi le Nhe qlue ie drying.

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! Gluing up the carcase1- Dry-fit the carcase, then make any other necessarypreparat ions, such as instal l ing a back panel or preparingthe sides for shelving. Then, apply a thin bead of adhesivein the rabbets and on the contact ing surfaces of the topand bottom panels. Use a brush to spread the glue evenly,leaving no dry spots. Assemble the carcase and instal l twobar clamps across the top and bottom panels, protect ingthe workpieces with wood pads. Tighten the clamps a l i t t leat a t ime unt i l g lue starts to squeeze out of the joints.Reinforce the joints with screws about I inch f rom theedges of the top and bottom panels; for addrtional strengih,dr ive more screws in the middle. l f you wish to conceal thescrew heads with wood plugs, bore holes in two stagesusing an electr ic dr i l l f i t ted with two di f ferent bi ts. First ,use a spade bi t wide enough to make holes for the plugs;then switch to a twist bi t s l ight ly wider than the screwshanks for making clearance holes. Bore the clearanceholes deep enough to reach the side panels; angle the dr i l lslightly toward the inside of the carcase to increase the gripof the screws. Then, drive the screws into place (right).

? Installing wood plugsr-,1 To secure the plugs, apply a dabof glue to the screw heads, then inserta plug into each hole (/effl, aligning thegrain with that of the panels. Tap theplugs in place with a wooden mal let ,then use a wood chisel to tr im the pro-ject ing stubs f lush with the surface ofthe panels. Final ly, remove any excessglue (page 23).

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PLATE JOINTS

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Although it lack the allu'e of luud-ctft dove-tails, the plate or biscuit joirt hns grownin popularity in recertt years ltecause of itsstrength and sinrylicity. Tlrc joint is ctrt witha plate joiner, showrr irr the photo nt left. Thetool works sorrrewhnt l ike n rrirt iotttrc circrt-Iar saw, with n retractable blade that plungesinto mating workpieces. Glue is npplied andan oval-shaped biscuit of corrtpressed beeclris inserted htto rtntching slots orr each piece.The carcnse is therr ossentbled. Sirtce the bladeprojects front the tool orily while it is ctrttirrg,the plate joirrcr is very safe to use. Guide lineson the base plate of the nnchine rnake it u sir'tr-ple nntter to nlign the slots irr nnting boards.The slots are cut slightly lnrger thnn the bis-ctrits, perntitt ing n small rnargin of errorwhile still ennn'ing a properly aligrecl joirtt.

' l Marking the location of the jointsI _

I ldent i fy the outs ide face of each pan-el wi th an X, then mark locat ion points forthe s lots a long each of the four corners.Star t wi th one of the s ide panels outs ideface down on a work sur face and holdthe top panel at a 90 ' angle to i t . Use ap e n c i l t o m a r k l i n e s t h a t o v e r l a p t h eface of the top piece and the end of theside panel about 2 inches in f rom eachcorf l€r ; make a th i rd mark midway a longthe edge. Wider panels wi l l requi re addi -t i ona l b i scu r t s ; i n gene ra l , t he re shou ldbe one b iscui t every 4 to 6 inches. Marks imi lar s lot locat ion points on the otherthree corners of the carcase.

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36

CARCASE, CONSTRUCTION

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r) Cutting the slotsL Leauinga side panel outside face down on the work surface,set the top piece outside face up on top of it. Offset the ends ofthe two workpieces by an amount equal to the thickness of thestock. Make sure that mating slot locat ion marks on the twopanels are perfectly aligned. Protecting the top panel with woodpads, clamp the two workpieces in place and set in front ofthem a suooort board the same thickness as the stock. This set-up wi l l a l low you to cut al l the slots for one corner of the carcasewithout moving the panels. Fol low the manufacturer 's instruc-t ions for sett ing the depth of cut on the plate joiner; i t usual ly

depends on the size of biscuit being used. Resting the platejo ine r on the suppo r t boa rd , bu t t t he mach ine ' s f aceplate against the end of the top panel and a l ign the guide

l ine on the faceplate wi th a s lot locat ion mark on the stock.Hold ing the jo iner wi th both hands, cut a s lot at each mark( lef i l . fo cut the mat ing s lots in the s ide panel , but t the jo in-

e r ' s base p la te aga ins t t he t op pane l and then a l i gn t hecenter guide l ine on the base plate with a slot location markon the top panel (righil. Follow the same procedure to cuts lots at the other s lot locat ion marks.

Q Gluing up the carcaser-J 0nce al l the slots have been cut, dry-f i t the panelsand instal l a back panel i f that is part of your design, ormake ready for shelves or drawers. Then glue up the car-case: Set the side oanels outside face down on a work sur-face, and squeeze a bead of glue into each slot and alongthe surface of the panels between the slots, inserting bis-cuits as you go @fl. Repeat for the top and boftom panels,this t ime omit t ing the biscuits. To prevent the woodenwafers from expanding before the panels are assembled,do the gluing up as quickly as possible, f i t t ing the stdepane ls on the bo t tom pane l and then add ing the top .Install two bar clamps across the top and bottom panelsand tighten the clamps exactly as you would when gluingup a carcase with rabbet joints @age 35).

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INSTALLING A BACK PANEL

' l Routing a rabbet for the panelI Fi t the panels together and set the carcase on a work surface with i tsbackside facing up; instal l a bar clamp with a support board across the topand bottom panels, as shown. Instal l a 3/s- inch rabbet ing bi t with a bal l -bearing pi lot on your router, then set the depth adjustment to cut %o inchdeeper than the thickness of the back panel you wi l l be instal l ing. Start ingat one corner, rest the router's base plate on the support board with the bitjust clear of the workpiece. Grip the router firmly with both hands and turn iton , gu id ing the b i t in to the pane l . Once the p i lo t bu t ts aga ins t the s tock ,pul l the router slowly toward the adjacent corner, keeping the base plateflat. When you reach the corner, turn the router off. Reposition the supportboard and cut rabbets along the edges of the three remaining panels in thesame manner (above).

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r) Squaring the corners1 tlse a pencil and a straightedge to marksquare corners in the rounded ends of therabbets. Select a wood chisel that is wideenough to finish off the corners wrth twoperpendicular cuts. At each corner, standthe t ip of the chisel on the mark that runsacross the grain, making sure that the bevelfaces the inside of the carcase. Use a wood-en mallet to strike the chisel (above), cuttingto the depth of the rabbet. Al ign the chiselwith the other mark and str ike the handleagain. (Making the cut with the grain f i rstmay cause the panel to spl i t . )

Q Installing the panelr-,f Cut a piece of plywood to fit snugly into the rab-bets on the back of the carcase. Glue up the carcaseand, at the same t ime, apply a thin glue bead alongthe rabbets for the back panel and on the contact ingsurfaces of the plywood. Spread the glue evenly, setthe panel in posi t ion, then use smal l nai ls to secureit at 4-inch intervals (/effJ.

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EDGEBANDINGtIT

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D dg. banding is the usual way of con-Ij cealing the visible edges of plyruoodpanels and shelves; it creates the illusionthat the carcase is made exclusively ofsolid wood. You can choose one of twooptions: Commercial edge banding,shown on page 40, is available in a widevariety of wood types, colors and thick-

SHOP.MADE EDGE BANDING

1 Applying the bandingI Use the table saw to cut thin str ipsof edge banding from a board; be sure touse a oush stick to feed the stock into theblade. Make the str ips sl ight ly longer thanthe panel and at least as wide as the pan-el is thick. Grip the panel at each end ina handscrew, then clamp the handscrewsto a work surface so that the front edge ofthe workpiece faces up. Then apply a thtnglue bead to the edge of the panel and usea small, stiff-bristled brush to spread theadhesive evenly. Center the banding alongthe panel 's edge; to hold i t f lat whi le theglue dr ies, tape i t very f i rmly at 2- inchintervals. Use as many str ips of tape asnecessary to eliminate any gaps betweenthe banding and the edge of the panel.

nesses. Installing it is simply a matter ofcutting offthe lengths you need from aroll, setting the banding in place andheating it with a household iron to meltthe adhesive that bonds it to the surfaceofthe wood.

Although somewhat more painstak-ing to apply, shop-made edge banding

offers several advantages over the store-bought solution. You can make it fromanv available wood species and cut itto whatever thickness you choose;7s-inch-thick banding is typical. Theshop-made variety is also less expen-sive-a consideration if you plan touse a lot ofbanding.

r) Trimming excess bandingZ Oncethe glue has dr ied, t r im any edge banding thatprojects beyond the panel edges. Fit a router with a flush-cuttrng bi t , then rest the machine's base plate on the paneledge with the bi t just c lear of the excess banding. Holdingthe router f i rmly with both hands, turn on the motor andguide the bi t into the excess banding. Once the bi t 's pi lotbutts against the panel, guide the router slowly against thedirect ion of bi t rotat ion to the opposite end of the work-piece. Make sure that the base plate and the pi lot remainf lush with the panel. Light ly sand the edges and ends ofthe banding to remove any remaining unevenness.

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SETF.ADHESIVE BANDING

1 Applying the edge bandingI Set a household i ron on High (withoutsteam) and allow it to heat uo. Meanwhile.apply clamps to hold the panel upr ight,and cut a str ip of banding sl ight ly longerthan the edge to be covered. Set the band-ing adhesive-side down along the paneledge. Ho ld ing the band ing in p lace w i thone hand, run the i ron slowly along thepanel edge, pressing the trim flat. The heatof the i ron wi l l melt the glue and join thebanding to the panel. Keep the i ron mov-ing; resting it on one spot for more thana few seconds will leave scorch marks.

r) Flattening out the trimL Applyingeven pressure, run asmall hand roller back and forth alongthe length of the edge banding tosmooth it out and bond it firmly to thepanel edge. Shave off any excessbanding with a laminate edge tr im-mer or a router (page 39).

lllt llll fllJ fit] IIJ llll lll] llll llll lll] llt llll IIJ illJ llll llll tlll lllt1HO? TI?5 pringb o ard f o r ala m pingedge bandingFor thick edge bandinq, iN maybe neceeoary to clamp Lhe band-inry to a panel edqe whi le theglue dr iee.For atypical panel,you miqhL need Nhree or fourbar clampo; a einqle clampwil l suff ice,howevenif you uee a ohop-made oprinqboard.To makethe device, cut a genble curve-r/+-inch-deep aL iIs cone ed7e of a 2-inch-wide board the eami lenaNh and Nhicknessae the panel. Center Nhe panel on a bar clamp and seNVhe con-cave ed4e ofthe epringboard aqainof, lhe edgebandinq.Uee awood pad lo prolecl the Vanel, Ti

Ihe epringboard againeL the edge bandinq. Ueprotecl the Vanel, Ti4hten the clamp unLil Nhewood pad lo prolecl the Vanel, Ti4hten the

epringboard flatlens aqainel the bandinq.

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40

SHELVING

HIDDEN ADJUSTABLE SHELF SUPPORTS

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I dding shelves to a carcase is one wayf\ to turn a simple wood box into auseful piece of furniture. The simplestmethod for installing shelves is to boretwo parallel rows of holes in the sidepanels of the carcase and insert com-mercially available plastic or metal shelfsupports. The two alternatives shown inthis chapter require a little more prepa-ration, but they have a payoff in thatthere are no visible shelf supports to marthe appearance of the finished piece. Likecommercial shelf hardware, hidden sup-ports (below and page 42) are adjustable;the difference is that they rely on nar-row wood strips recessed in rabbets cutinto the underside of the shelves, andthis makes them all but invisible.

For fixed shelves (page 43),you haveto rout dadoes on carcase sides. Theshelves are then glued permanently inolace when the carcase is assembled. Many woodworkers use commercial shelf-drilling jigs to help with the

job of boring parallel rows of holes. Clamped to the edge of the panel,the jig ensures that the corresponding rows are perfectly aligned. The jigin the photo allows you to bore holes at l-inch intervals any distance fromthe edges of the panel. For most projects 2 inches in from the edges is typical.

1 Making and installingI ttre stretf supportsBore holes for the shelf supports using acommercial jig. After the carcase is assem-bled, make two supports per shelf . Foreach of them, cut a thin str ip of woodabout I inch longer than the gap betweenthe rows of holes; make the str ip wideenough to hold a dowel at each end. Tomark posit ions for the dowels, insert adowel center into each of two paral lelholes, then press the wood strip againstthe ooints. Use the indentat ions for thedowel centers as starting points for boringthe ho les . Make the ho les in the she l f -support pieces the same depth as theho les in the s ide oane ls . G lue dowelsinto the shelf supports, and when theadhesive has dr ied, instal l them on theside panels at the height that you wantthe shelf to rest.

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r) Making and preparing the shelvingZ- Use sol id lumber, plywood or edge-gluedboards (page 20)to make the shelving. Cut eachshelf to the same width as the carcase oanelsand to a length equal to the distance betweenthe side panels. Add edge banding to the vis ibleedge of the shelf (page 39), if desired. To con-ceal the supports, rout stopped rabbets in theshelf . Start by posit ioning the shelf on the sup-ports and out l in ing their locat ions on the under-side of the shelf . Using a wood pad to preventany marr ing, c lamp the shelf to a work surface.Fit a router with a rabbet ing bi t , then set thedepth of cut to the width of the shelf supports.Gripping the tool firmly with both hands and rest-ing its base plate on the shelf, rout each rabbet(abovd, making as many passes as necessary tocut to the marked out l ine. Square the ends ofthe rabbets using a chisel (page 3B).

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Q Installing the shelving\Jt With the shelf supports at the desired height on the side pan-els, test-fit the shelf in the carcase (above). Use a chisel to adjustthe length, width or depth of the stopped rabbets, if necessary, toensure a perfect f i t that completely hides the shelf supports.

/1 )


FIXED SHETVING

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r) Making and dry-fitting the shelvingI tlsesolid lumber, plywood or edge-glued boards(page 20)to make the shelving. Cut each shelf tothe same width as the carcase panels and to alength equal to the distance between the side pan-els plus the depth of the dadoes. Add edge bandingto the visible edge of the shelf @age 39), if desired.To check the f i t of the shelving, jo in the top andbottom panels of the carcase with one side panel,then fit the shelving into the dado tighD. FiItheother side panel on top. Adjust the length or widthof the shelving, if necessary, to ensure a perfect fit.

1 Preparing the carcase side panelsI Set the side panels one on too of the other on a work sur-face, edges and ends al igned, and mark cutt ing l ines for thedadoes on the leading edges of both panels. Make the widthof the dadoes equal to the thickness of the shelf ; the depthshould be one-half the thickness of the side oanels. Instal l adado head on a table saw and al ign the cutt ing l ines on oneside panel with it. Crank the blades to the proper height forthe depth of cut, then position the rip fence flush against thepanel. Cut a test dado in a scrap board and adjust the widthof cut if necessary. Clamp a featherboard to the fence abovethe dado head for added stabi l i ty. To make the cut in eachpanel, turn on the saw and feed the panel into the dado headusing the miter gauge and both hands (/eft). (Caution: Bladeguard removed for clari$.)

Q Gluing up the carcaser-J Apply a thin glue bead into the dadoes in the srde panelsand on the contact ing surfaces of the shelving whi le gluingup the carcase. Spread the glue evenly and then assemblethe box as when dry-fitting (step 2). Clamp the corners of thecarcase for dovetail joints @age 32) or for rabbet or platejoints (paEe 35). For the shelving, install a bar clamp acrosseach edge of the shelf , protecting the side panels with woodpads; place a %-inch-thick wood chip under each pad tofocus some of the clamping pressure midway between theedges of the shelving. Tighten each clamp a l i t t le at a t imeunt i l a thin glue bead squeezes out of each dado.

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This clamping setup focuses pressure on thecorner joints to lock together the componentsof a frame-and-panel assembly. While gluebonds the corners, no adhesive is applied inthe grooves that hold the panel, allowing itto move as the wood exDands and contracts.

The opening in the frame is filledby a "floating" panel, which sits ingrooves cut in the rails and stiles.The panel is said to float becauseit is not glued in place. Rather, itmerely fits in its grooves with roomfor movement. If the panel wereglued in place, the assembly mighteventually split.

Panels are set into their sur-rounding frames without glue tominimize warping. But in additionto their structural function, panelsalso serve an esthetic role. They areoften "raised"-that is, they havebevels cut around their edges. Thisnot only makes them easier to fitinto grooves, but also gives themdecorative interest.

Mounted upside-down in a table, a router fltted with a coping bitcuts a tongue at the end of a rail. Another bit will cut a matchinggroove into the stiles, making a solid and attractive cope-and-stickjoint, one of the hallmarlcs of frame-and-panel construction.

II

FRA4E-AdD-PN\TELCONSTRI.ICTION

rame-and-panel joinery wasinvented about 500 years ago)

probably by a frustrated medievalcraftsman deterrnined to find a bet-ter way to build cabinets than simplyfixing boards together. A majordrawback of wood as a buildingmaterial is its tendency to warp andsplit. Frame-and-panel offers a solu-tion to these oroblems.

Ever-changing moisture levelsin the air cause wood to move, espe-cially across the grain. As relativehumidity rises, wood swells; asthe moisture content falls, woodshrinks. The central heating foundin most modern homes compoundsthe problem. In a heated hbme inwinier, the relative humidity candrop as low as l0 percent; in summer it can soar to 85 percent.The difference between the two levels can significantly changethe cross-grain dimensions of a piece of wood.

Frame-and-panel construction is designed to accommodatethe movement of swelling and shrinking wood, resulting in fur-niture that is both strong and stable. In the typical piece shownon the two pages that follow, individual frame-and-panelassemblies are joined together to form a four-sided cabinet.Each assembly comprises two vertical members-stiles-andtwo or more horizontal rails, all locked together by any one ofa variety of joints. These can include dowel, plate, miter-and-spline and lap joints. This chapter will show you how to use thehaunched mortise-and-tenon (page 48)and the decorativecope-and-stick joint (page 51 ).

Wth one frame-and-panel assembled, you need onlyrepeatthe process and vary it slightly to build a cabinet (page 59).Usually, tlvo assemblies are joined together with side rails andpanels, with the front assembly left open for a door.

As you will see in the pages that follow, frame-and-panelconstruction is a versatile furniture-building system. You canadd a bottom panel to a cabinet (page 60), then a top (page &)and either fixed or adjustable shelving (page 61).lnstallingmolding (page 69) hides the connection between the frame andthe top; it also adds a decorative flourish.

Although this method of construction is more difficult tomaster than building a simple carcase, the result is a sturdy,functional and attractive piece of furniture, which makes all thetime and effort worthwhile.

45

I

IANATOMY OF A FRAME-AND-PANEL ASSEMBLY

espite their differences, the frame-and-panel assemblies that make up

a typical cabinet have elements in com-mon: Namely, frames made from railsand stiles, and panels that fit into groovesin the frame. Bottoms and tops are usu-ally added, along with shelving in manycases. These components are typicallymade of edge-glued boards of the samestock used for the frame.

Individual cabinets will feature vari-ations. In some instances, the sides willshare stiles with the front and backassemblies with rails fitting into both theedges and the faces ofthe stiles. To pro-vide access to the inside of the cabinet,the front frequently has a frame butno panel. Sometimes, a median rail isused to divide the opening into twodiscrete sections.

The two most common ioints in frame-and-panel cabinets ate ihe haunchedmortise-and-tenon and the cope-and-stick The haunched mortise-and-tenonoffers greater gluing surface than thestandard mortise-and- tenon, making ita very strong joint. The haunch alsofills in the end of the groove cut intothe stiles, eliminating the need forstopped grooves. The cope-and-stickjoint provides comparable strengthand adds its own decorative touch.The router bit that cuts the groovesfor the panel also carves a decorativemolding in the inside edges of the frame.Whatever the joint, cabinetmakers usu-ally build frames from %-inch stockthat is at least 2 inches wide; largerstock may also be used to suit the dimen-sions ofa particular project.

RailFrovidea horizontalaupport at top andbottom of cabinet

StileVerticalcomponentof frame

)olid wood piecethat fit6 into4roove-typically1/z-inch-deep- inframe; can be flat

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center of the panel

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II FRAME-AND- PANEL CONSTRUCTION

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ToPUoually overhanqa outaide edqea offrame; attached with wood buttona,ae ahown, or with metal faetanera,led4er etripe or pocket holea. Edqecommonly haa routed decoration

Wood buttonUsed to faaten top to frame. One end fitsinto 1roove cut into frame, permittinq ali4htmovement; other end acrewed to top

thelf eupportCan be pooit.ioned in dadoeaat any heiqht inaide cabinatto provide adjuatable ehelving

MoldingConceala joint between topand frame; can be purchaaedor made in the ohop

This frame-and-panel cabinet is heldtogether by haunched mortise-and-tenon joints. The front has rails andstiles, but no panel. Instead, a medianrail serves as a dividingline benveenthe openings for a door and a drawer.

ShelfMay havedecorativedetail rout-ed alonqfront edqe

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EottomAttached to frame by ledqeratripa or 1lued into 7roovecut in inaide edaee of frame

Led4er etripUaed to faaten bottom ortop panel to frame; oneedqe acrewed to frame; oth-er ed1e screwed to panel

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47

MAKINGTHEFRAME

f his section of the book examinesI the framing techniques for building

a typical frame-and-panel case. Remem-ber, however, you need a careful designfor the whole piece of furniture beforeyou make the first cut on a project ofyour own.

Whether you will be using the stan-dard mortise-and-tenon joint, thehaunched version ofthat joint (right,top), or the cope-and -stick joint (right,bottom), calculate the number of railsand stiles you will be needing so you cancut them all to length and width at thesame time. This permits you to use thesame tool setup for all the cutting.

For the haunched mortise-and-tenonand the cope-and-stick, you must cut a

H a unched mo rtiae- a nd -tenon ioint

Cope-and-etick joint

groove for the floating panel along theinside edges of the rails and stiles. Thegroove is typically Vq inch wide andVz inch deep, and the panel is cut todimensions that allow /+ inch of its edgesto sit in the groove. If you opt for mor-tise-and-tenon joints, you also need tocut a haunched---or notched-tenon atthe ends of each rail to accommodate thepanel. For frames with no panels, such asthe front ofthe case shown on page 59,you have to cut standard mortise-and-tenons. To produce this joint, follow thesame procedures used in making theframe of a frame-and-paneldoor (page104).Whatever type of tenon you decideto make, cutit3/+ inch long and the samethickness as the groove in the stiles.

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HAUNCHED MORTISE.AND.TENON J(lINTS

1 Cutting the tenons in the railsI Install a dado head slightly wider than the length of the tenonson a table saw, then attach an auxiliary fence and raise the bladesto cut a notch in i t . Set the width of cut eoual to the tenonlength. To cut the tenon cheeks, butt the stock against thefence and the miter gauge, then feed it face-down over the blades.Turn the rai l over and repeat the cut on the other side. Testthe tenon in a scrap piece of wood cut with a dado the samesize as the grooves in the st i les; adjust the height of the dadohead and repeat the cuts, if necessary. Next, cut the tenon

cheeks at the other end of the rail (above, /eff). Position thefence to leave a haunch equal in width to the depth of the groovefor the panel; set the height of the dado head to cut aboutVz inch into the tenon. With the stock on its edge, use thefence and the miter gauge to guide it over the blades. Repeatto cut the haunch on the other side of the tenon (above, right).For the rails of an assembly with no panel, cut standard tenons(page 104), making the shoulders equal to the width of thenotch you cut into the haunched tenons.

48

FRAM E-AND - PANEL CONSTRUCTI ON

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-) Outlinine the mortises<.

r - ,1 Clamp the st i les together face to face, ends a l igned. Tomark the length of the mort ises, use a ra i l wi th a standardtenon. Hold the cheek of the tenon f lush against the edge ofa st i le so that the edge of the ra i l is a l igned wi th the end ofthe st i le . 0ut l ine the width of the tenon (above, le f t ) . Thenuse a try square to extend the marks (dotted lines in the illus-t rat ion) across a l l the st i les. Repeat at the other end and forany marks for median ra i ls . To mark the width of the mort ises,remove the c lamps and ho ld t he edge o f t he t enon f l ush

against the edge of the sti le (above right, fop); repeat for theo the r s t i l es . Ex tend the marks a long the edge o f t he s t i l ef to t ted I ined. fo out l ine the mort ises on the faces of thest i les, f i rs t mark the length by extending the l ines across theedges of the st i les to the faces. For the width, hold the edgeof the tenon f lush against the marked face of the st i le andout l ine the cheeks of the tenon on the st i le (above r ight ,bot tom). Extend the l ines a long the tace (dot ted l ines) .Repeat for the other s t i les.

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r) Planning the mortises in the stilesL fust, evaluate the appearance of the boards for thest i les and arrange them on a work surface with their bestsides facing down. For a four-sided cabinei, such as theone shown on page 59, set the st i les in their relat ive posi-tions-one at each corner-and number them in sequence,beginning with the front lef t st i le. This wi l l help you rear-range the st i les should they get out of sequence. Next,mark the approximate locat ions of the mort ises, putt ingXs on the inside edges and the inside faces at the topsand bottoms of the st i les ( lef i l , For st i les with a medianrai l , mark an addit ional X at the appropriate locat ion onthe edse of the stock.

49

F RAM E-AND - PANEL CONSTRUCTI ON

,{ Routing the mortises-t Secure a stile in a vise. Install a commercial edge gurde ona plunge router, then screw onto the guide a wood extension aswide as the edge of the stile. Fit the router with a straight bitthe same diameter as the width of the mortise you will be cut-ting, then set the cutting depth. Center the bit over the marksfor the mortise and adjust the edge guide to butt the extensionagainst the st i le. Gripping the router f i rmly with both hands,

turn it on and plunge the bit into the stock (above, left). (lf youare using a conventional router, carefully pivot the tool's baseplate on the stock to lower the bit.) Guide the bit from one endof the mortise to the other. Make as many passes as necessaryto cut the mortise to the required depth. Then, square the endsof the mortise using a chisel. Cut with the beveled edge of thechisel facing into the mortise (above, righil.

f, Cutting the groovesr, f On the rai ls and st i les, mark loca-tions for the grooves that will hold thepanel. Then set up your table saw withan auxi l iary fence and a dado headthe same width as the groove. Place theedge of a rail or a stile on the table withthe dado head aligned to run right alongits middle, and adjust the fence to buttagainst the stock. Use featherboards tohold the workpiece against the fencewhi le mak ing the cu t . To cu t g rooveson the faces of the stiles, keep the fencein the same position: use featherboardsboth above and to the s ides o f thestock (left), and complete each passwith a oush st ick.

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50

FRAME-AND - PANEL CONSTRUCTION

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C()PE-AND.STICK J()INTS

1 Making the cope cuts in the railsI Insert a coping bit-also known asa rai l cutter-with a bal l -bearing pi lotin a router, and mount the machine in arouter table. You will be cutting tongues inthe ends of the rails to fit into grooves in thest i les. Butt the edge of the rai l againstthe bit and adjust the router's depth settingso that the top of the uppermost cutteris slightly above the stock. Position thefence paral lel to the miter gauge slotand in l ine with the edge of the bi t pi lot .Make the cuts with a miter gauge f ittedwith an extension and with the end of thestock butted up against the fence (/eftl.

r) Adjusting the height of the sticking bitL lnstall a sticking bit---or stile cutter-with a bal l -bearing pi lot . This setup wi l l ,in a single procedure, shape the edgesof the strles with a decorative orofile andcut grooves for the rails and the panels.To set the cutting height, butt the end ofone of the completed rai ls against thebit , then adjust the spindle sett ing onthe router so that one of the teeth on thebit is level with the tongue on the rai l(right). Align the fence with the edgeof the bi t pi lot .

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FRAME-AND-PANEL CONSTRUCTION

Q Cutting the stilesr-,1 To secure the workpiece, clamp afeatherboard to the router table againstthe outside edge of the stile; for extrasupport, secure a second featherboardto the fence above the bit. When feed-ing the workpiece into the bit (above),use a push stick to complete the pass.

Il[ lllt llll lll flfl llll llll llll tl|I llll lll tlll lll ljll llll lll lllt llll1HO? TI?A ohop-built miter gaugelf you do nolhave a 65_miler qauqe or ifyour rouLer lableio mieeing a sloI ,you can u?e aohop-made j iqLoquide etock accu- ,aralely acroeo lhetable.WiNht,herouler Lable'e fencealiqned wiLh Nhe edgeof the bit pilot, cuL aboard IhaI will over-hang Lhe edqe of Nhe tableby an inch or Lwo when it iebu|Ied aaainst the fence. )crew a

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ohort eu??ort piece to Nhie board, counNersinkinqlhe ocrew6.Then, ecrew a Lhird board to the undereide of lhe oupporL piece.Thielael addibion will serve ae a guide, running alonq the edqe of Nhe table.Oefore ueinq the jiq, cuN a nolch into it by runninq it paeL Nhe biL.

52

MAKINGTHE PANELIIItI

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p anels to fit inside your fi'antes can beI made of ei ther ply 'wood or edge-glued boards (page 20). To ensure that apanelwill fit snugly in the grooves on therails and stiles, but stillhave a little roomto move as the wood expands and con-tracts, it is made substintially thinneron the edges than it is in the middle. Theshape ofsuch a so-called raised panel isachieved not by adding material at thecenter but by cutting away thicknessat the edges.

There are several ways of making araised panel, depending on the visualeffect you wish to achieve. A commonmethod, examined in this section of thebook, involves beveling the edges ofthepanelwith a table saw (page 54)or router(page 56). Raised panel cutters for the

router are availabe in several designs,including cove and ogee, and in variousdiameters. Make sure your router has atleast 2 horsepower to make such a cut.

Before raising a panel, cut it to size. Asshown below, this demands precision,since there is little room for play in thefit between the panel and the frame.

Akhough the design is different, beveling a panel's edges witha router (top) or a table saw (below) achieves the sanre ffict:The center of the panel appears raised, while its edges aresfficiently narrow to fit into a groove in the frame.

CUTTING THE PANEL T() FIT

Cutting a panel to sizeTest-f i t the rai ls and st i les of the frame,then measure the opening between them.For a frame assembled with cope-and-stickjoints, measure the opening from the back,since the molding cut into the front of theframe makes precise calculat ion di f f icul t .Add Vz inch to each of the dimensionsfor the opening to allow for Ihe r/q inch ofstock along the edges of the panel thatf i ts into the grooves in the rai ls and st i les(inset). (The dotted lines in the illustrationrepresent the actual edges of the panel;the sol id l ines represent the frame open-ing . ) Cut the pane l on the tab le saw,r ipping f i rst , then crosscutt ing. For thecrosscut, screw a board to the miter gaugeas an extension, then hold the panel f i rmlyagainst the extension and push them together,feedins the stock into the blade (left).

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FRAME-AND _PANEL CONSTRUCTION

MAKING A RAISED PANET WITH A TABTE SAW

r) Cutting with the grainL Setthe panel on edge and feedi t in to the b lade, keeping the backf lush against the fence. Turn thepane l ove r t o cu t t he rema in ingedge (right). Cutting into the endgrain of the panel f i rs t -bevel ingthe top and bo t tom be fo re t hesides-hel ps red uce tearout.

1 Cutting the end grainI To set the blade angle, begin by mark-ing a cutt ing l ine: Draw a 7a-inch squareat the bottom corner, then mark a l inefrom the front face of the panel throughthe inside corner of the square to a pointon the bottom edget/a inch from the backface ( inset). Rest the panel against anauxiliary wood fence and adjust the angleof the blade until it aligns with the markedl ine . Ad jus t the b lade he igh t un t i l onetooth just protrudes beyond the front faceof the panel, then clamp a gurde block tothe panel to ride along the top of the fence.Feed the panel into the blade, keeping i tf lush aga ins t the fence w i th your r igh thand whi le pushing i t forward along withthe guide block with your left hand (left).Test- f i t the cut end in a groove. l f lessthan l/q inch of the panel enters the groove,move the fence a little closer to the bladeand make another pass. Repeat the cut atthe other end of the panel.

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Auxiliary fence

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FRAM E-AND - PANEL CONSTRUCTI ON

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Anqledfence12" x 3O"

Auxiliaryfence9" x 30"

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A JIG F(lR GUTTING RAISED PANETSTo raise a oanel on the table saw with-out adjust ing the angle of the blade,use the shop-bui l t j ig shown at lef t .Refer to the illustration for suggesteddimensions.

Screw the lip along the bottom edgeof the angled fence, making sure toposit ion the screws where they wi l lnot interfere with the blade. Prop theangled fence against the auxiliary fenceat the same angle as the cutt ing l inemarked on the panel (page 54I (Use asliding bevel to transfer the angle.) Cuttriangular-shaped supports to fit precise-ly in the space between the two fences,then fix them in place with screws.

To use the jig, position it on the sawtable with the joint between the lip andthe angled fence directly over the blade;ensure that the screws are well clear ofthe table opening. Slide the rip fence tobutt against the jig's auxiliary fence, andscrew the two together. Turn on the sawand crank the blade slowly up to cut akerf through the lip. Next, seat the pan-el in the jig and adjust the height of theblade until a single tooth is protrudingbeyond the front of the panel. Makea test cut in a scrap board the samethickness as the panel, feeding it intothe blade and then testing its fit in agroove. Adjust the position of the fenceor blade, if necessary. Then cut the actu-al panel, beveling the sides with the endgrain tisl (lefil.

55

FRAME-AND - PANEL CONSTRUCTI O N

MAKING A RAISED PANET WITH A ROUTER

r) Raising the panelL Lowe, the guard over the bit andturn on the router. To minimize tearout,cut into the end grain of the panel f i rst ,beveling the top and bottom before thes ides . Whi le runn ing the s tock pas t thebit, keep it flush against the fence withyour left hand and push it forward with yourrighl (right). The outside face of the pan-el must be down on the table. Turn offthe router, then test- f i t the cut end ina groove. lf the panel sits less than t/qinch deep into the groove, increase thecut t ing depth by 7e inch and makeanother oass.

1 Setting up the routerI Fi t a router with a panel-raising bi t ,then mount the tool in a router table. Toensure that the cutt ing width is uni form,posit ion the fence paral lel to the mitergauge slot and in l ine with the edge ofthe bi t pi lot . With the router turned off ,place a scrap board along the fence andacross the bi t to check the posit ion ofthe fence. The bit pilot should turn as theboard touches iI (left); adjust the fence'sposition, if necessary. Set the router fora Va-inch deoth of cut.

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PUTTING THE PANEL IN THE FRAMEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

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f) efore gluing up the rails, stiles andI) panel, take the time to dry-fit theparts. Ifthe pieces do not fit perfectly,make final adjustments, as necessary. Aslight shaving with a wood chisel willusually do the trick.

Since the individual frame-and-panelassembly is only one componeni of apiece of furniture, some further planningis required at this stage. You need todecide which methods you will use toinstall a bottom panel (page 60) and arop (page 64). Some of the methods ofinstalling those components require you

ASSEMBLING THE FRAME-AND.PANEL

to bore oocket holes in the rails or routgrooves in the rails and stiles. In eithercase, the stock will have to be preparedprior to gluing up.

A belt sander provides a quick andefficient start in smoothing the sur-

faces of a ftame-and-panel. Here, theglued-up piece is clamped to a worksurface for sanding the faces of thestiles and rails. The panel and theinside edges of the raik and stilesshould be sanded prior to glue up.

'l Test assembling the piecesI Join a rai l and a st i le. then seat the panel between them. Set the st i le on a work sur-face, and add the second rail and stile (abovd. Mark each of the joints using a penciltohelp you in the f inal assembly, when you apply the glue. l f any of the joints is too t ight,mark the binding spots, disassemble the pieces and use a wood chisel to pare away somewood at the i l l - f i t t ing joint . Assemble the frame again. Once you are sattsf ied with the f i t ,d isassemble the frame and sand any surfaces that wi l l be di f f icul t to reach once theassembly has been glued up.

57


r) Applying the glueI VtaV,e four clamping blocks, cutt ingthem as long as the rai ls are wide and aswide as the st i les are thick. Lay out al l ofthe components in their relat ive posit ionswith their outside surfaces facing down.For mor t i se-and- tenon jo in ts , squeezeglue into the mort ises and on the tenoncheeks and shoulders; for cope-and-st icklo rn ts , app ly g lue to a l l the contac t ingsurfaces. In ei ther case, use just enoughadhesive to cover the surfaces completelywhen it is spread out evenly (right). Donot insert glue in the panel grooves; thepanel must be free to move within thesejoints. After applying the glue, assemblethe f rame-and-panel.

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Q Tightening the clampsr-,1 Lay two bar clamps on the work surface and place theglued-up assembly face down on them, al igning the rai lswrth the bars. To keep the clamps from fal l ing over, propthem up in notched wood blocks. Place clamping blocksbetween the stiles and the jaws of the clamps to avoid mar-ring the stock and to distribute the pressure evenly along theloint. Tighten each clamp in turn just enough to closethe joints (left), Ihen use a try square to make sure that thecorners of the frame are at 90' angles. Continue tighteningthe clamps unt i l a thin bead of glue squeezes out of thejoints, checking for square as you go. 0nce the glue hasdried, remove the clamps. Protect ing the surface witha wood pad, clamp the assembly to a work surface. Use apaint scraper to remove any dr ied glue that remains on thewood, pulling the scraper along each loinI (inset).

Notchedwood block

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ASSEMBLING A FRAME,-AND-PANE,L CASE,I

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ith a few variations, you can repeatthe procedures shown on pages 57

and 5B to join individual frame-and-panel assemblies into a piece of furniture.A single frame and panel make up theback of a small cabinet. The front is puttogether in roughly the same way usingmortise-and-tenon joints. On this side,however, there is no panel in the frame,but a median rail runnine between the

stiles. In this situation, the rails and stilescan be joined with standard mortise-and-tenons (page 104), rather than thehaunched variety used for the otherthree sides.

The side assemblies are identical tothe back, except for one feature: Insteadof having stiles of their own, the sidesfit into the stiles of the front and backassemblies. Ifyou are using mortise-and-

tenon joints, as in the piece of furnitureshown below and on the following pages,the tenons of the side rails fit into mor-tises cut into the inside faces of the stiles;ior cope-and-stick joints, tongues cut inthe rails fit in grooves routed in the stiles.In both cases, the panels fit into groovesrouted along the inside faces ofthe fiontand back stiles and the edees ofthe railsbetween them.

GLUING UP A CABINET

Putting the case togetherTest-f i t the case as you would when dry assembling a singleframe-and-panel side (page 57), then sand the inside surfacesof al l the pieces. Apply glue to the joints-wtth the excep-tion of the grooves that hold the panels-and make your finalassembly: Set the back of the cabinet face down and f i t thefour side rai ls into i ts st i les. Instal l the two side panels in thegroove in the back st i les and the inside edges of the side rai ls,Final ly, put on the front, placing the mort ises in the st i les overthe haunched tenons on the side rai ls. Set the case upright andinstal l four bar clamps running from front to back over the rai ls,protecting the surfaces of the stiles with wood pads. Tighten theclamps euenly (right) until a thin glue bead squeezes out of thejo in ts . Use a measur ing tape to check whether the case issquare, measuring the distance between opposite corners;the two measurements should be equal. l f not, instal l anotherbar clamp across the longer of the two diagonals, sett ing theclamp jaws on those already in place. Tighten the clamp a l i t -t le at a t ime, measuring as you go (below) unt i l the two diago-nals are equal. Once the glue has dr ied, remove the clamps anduse a paint scraper to remove any dried adhesive.

INSTALLING A BOTTOM PANEL

''l"t here are several ways to install a bot-I tom on a fi'ame-and-panel case. One

method that is popular among ctrbinet-makers calls for grooves along the insidefaces of the bottom rails and the stilesprior to gluing up the individualfrarre-and-panel assemblies. The grooves can bemade with a dado head on the table saw,and they should fall about 1 inch from

the top edge of the bottom rails. Theyshould be about 7z inch wide and half asdeep as the thickness ofthe stock; stopthe groove in the stiles at the point wherethe side rails butt up against them. Toinstall the panel, narrow its edges slightlywith a plane, allowing the piece to fitsnugly in the grooves, but not corrpletelyrestr ict ing i ts movenrent.

Another type of installation, shownbelow, relies on ledger strips, which arescrewed to the bottom rails. With thisapproach, the bottom can be installedafter glue up. Using either method, thebottom is made from the same stockused for the rest of the case. Make thewidth of the panel slightly narrower thanits opening to allow for wood expansion.

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ATTACHING THE PANEL

Install ing ledger stripsSaw four 1- inch-square ledger s t r ios to f i t a long the ra i ls at thebot tom of the cabinet , cut t ing them s l rght ly shor t to make themeas ie r t o i ns ta l l . Bo re two se ts o f ho les i n each s t r i p : one i nthe center a long one edge, for screwing the st r ip to the case, andanother to the s ide of an adjacent edge for at taching the bot-tom panel . Bore the holes in two steps wi th two d i f ferent brad-point b i ts : one b i t s l ight ly larger than the d iameter of the screwheads for recessing the fasteners and another b i t s l ight ly largerthan the d iameter of the screw shanks to prov ide c learance

ho les . (The w ide r ho le w r l l a l l ow fo r movemen t . ) Pos i t i on t hestr ips on the ins ide sur face of a ra i l about 1 inch f rom i ts topedge and mark the posi t ions of the screw holes wi th an awl .Bore a p i lo t hole for a No. 8 screw at each marked point , thenuse a dr i l l f i t ted wi th a screwdr iver b i t to fasten the st r ips tothe case (above. le f t ) . fo insta l l the bot tom panel , set the caseon i ts back. Hold ing the panel f lush against the st r ips wi th onehand, screw the bottom panel in place (above, rrght).

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SHELVINGIIIIItIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

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tf h. number and placement of shelvesI in a frame-and-oanel cabinet will

depend on the use you have in mind forthe furniture. If the cabinet will holdbooks, for example, you may need fewershelves than if it will be the nlace for vourcomoact discs.

eithough some shelf-support systemscan be put in place after the cabinet isglued up, a little advance planning willmake the installation easier. First, choosebetween fixed and stationary shelves;each has its advantages.

Fixed shelves can add to the structuralintegrity of a case, but once installed theycannot be moved. One way to install per-manent shelves is to mount cleats on theframe inside the cabinet and then screwthe shelving to them. Fixed shelves can

I NSTALLI NG ADJUSTABTE SHELVES

1 Making the corner stripsI Rip a board to a 4-inch-width and then cut it to lengh toreach from top to bottom inside the cabinet. Instal l a dadohead on the radial arm saw, sett ing the blades to a width toaccommodate the thickness of the shelf supports @age 62)Start ing at the end that wi l l be at the bottom of the cabinet,cut a dado across the board for the lowest shelf . Sl ide theboard alons the fence to cut the second dado at the next

also be glued into dadoes routed in theframe before the cabinet is assembled.

While adjustable shelves do not addstrength to a piece of furniture, theyallow greater flexibility. As in simple car-case construction, adjustable shelves arecommonly held in place with woodendowel pins, plastic or metalshelf pins, oradjustable shelf standards. The methodshown below and on the following pagesuses corner strips and wooden supports.

Notched corner strips allowshelf supports-and the shelvesthat rest on them-to be shift-ed easily to different levels.

shelf posi t ion. Before making the cut, to make dadoes thesame distance aoart . dr ive a screw into the fence with thehead of the fastener against the left edge of the first dado.Then cut the second dado and sl ide the board along untr lthe lef t edge of this dado is up against the screw head. Cutthe remaining dadoes in this fashion (abovd, then r ip theboard into four equal str ips.

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FRAME-AND - PANEL CONSTRUCTION

r") Installing the corner stripsZ Cut a rabbet at the bottom end ofeach corner str ip to al low i t to si t on thebottom of the cabinet while fitting aroundthe rai l . To mount the str ips, bore twoscrew holes in each of them near the ends.Make the holes on a dr i l l press in a two-step procedure as for ledger strips in thebottom of a cabinet (page 60). Positioneach strip in a corner of the cabinet, mak-ing sure that the dadoes face the inter i-or as shown. Mark the screw holes inthe st i les using an awl, then bore a pi lothole for a No. 8 screw at each ooint. Usea screwdriver to fasten the strio to thecabinel (lefl.

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Inserting the shelf supportsMeasure the distance between the

front and back stiles on both sides of thecabinet. Cut shelf supports to f i t the gapsbetween matching pairs of dadoes. Makesure that the supports are wide enough tobuttress the shelves properly, and test-fitlhem (right) to ensure that they fit snuglyin the dadoes.

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FRAME-AND -PANEL CONSTRUCTION

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Cutting the shelving to fitUse plywood or edge-glued boards

to make the shelving, cutting each piece tosize on a table saw so that the ends wi l lbe f lush against the cabinet sides andthe edges will butt against the stiles. Addedge banding to the vis ible edge i f youare using plywood (page 39). To make ashelf f i i , set i t on top of the corner str ipsand out l ine their shape on the undersideof the she l f . Then, secure the she l f ina v ise and cu t ou t the corners w i th abacksaw (right). With edge-glued shelving,you have the opt ion of rout ing a decora-t i ve mold ing contour a long the f ron tpd,oe< (c . tpn 5)

f, Routing a moldingr.,f Place the shelves momentarrly insidethe cab ine t , and mark two l ines on thefront edge of each one to indicate the begin-nings and ends of the moldings. Draw ath i rd l ine fo r the des i red depth o f cu t .Pro tec t ing the she l f w i th a wood pad,clamp i t to a work surface. Fi t a routerwith an edge-shaping bi t , ihen set thedepth o f cu t . Gr ipp ing the rou ter f i rm lywith both hands and resting its base plateon the shelf , turn on the tool . Move thebit pi lot up against the edge of the shelfand guide the router against the direct ionof its bit rotation to cut the moldine 1efil.

63

INSTALLINGATOP

T ike the bottom, the top of a frame-I: and-panel cabinet is made from thesame stoik as the rest of the piece, usu-ally individual boards edge-glued togeth-er. To determine the size, measure theframe and add the width of any moldingyou plan to install under the lip. Alsotake into consideration a small amountof overhang at the front and sides. Unlessthe cabinetwillbe featured in the middle

of a room, make the top panel flush withthe back ofthe case.

Four common methods of attachingtops are illustrated below One techniquefeatures rabbeted blocks. called "but-

tons," which fit into a groove cut aroundthe top rails. Metal fasteners can be usedin the same way. Ledger strips, such asthose used to attach a bottom panel tothe cabinet, will work equally well for

securing a top. Another method calls forthe creation ofpocket holes in the railsbefore the case is glued up.

Whatever approach you choose, allowsome play in anticipation of wood move-ment; otherwise, the top will buckle,warp and force the frame apart. Also,remember to install any drawer-hanginghardware (page 92) before putting thetop on the cabinet.

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TOP-FASTENING ()PTIONS

Wood buttons Metal faatenera ?ocket holea Ledger eti lpa

WOOD BUTTONS TO LATCH ()N A T(lP

1 Cutting a groove in the top railsI Fi t a router with a three-wing slot-t ing cutter and set the tool 's cutt ingdepth for abouI3/t inch. Protecting thesurface of the cabinet with wood pads,use bar clamps to hold a guide boardflush along the edge on which the routerwi l l be r iding; this wi l l provide a surfaceto brace the tool as you cut the groove.For each rail, guide the router along thetop edge, moving from left to right (lef\.Reposition the edge guide before cuttingsubseouent sides of the cabinet.

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FRAME-AND- PANEL CONSTRUCTION

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r) Making the buttonsL you will need to produce a series of 1-inch-square buttons-at least three for each side and one for about every 6 inches forlarger tops. You can mass-produce these pieces from a singleboard, but choose stock of a thickness equal to the gap betweenthe bottom of the groove cut in step i and the top of the rai ls,less %o inch. Cut a3/r inch rabbet at each end of the board.Then r ip the board into 1- inch-wide str ips and cut of f the but-

tons about l% inches from the ends (lnsef). To make holes inthe buttons for instal lat ion, use a 3/ro- inch bi t and a corner j igfashioned from a scrap of 3/rinch plywood and L-shaped sup-port brackets. Clamp the j ig to the dr i l l press table and steadythe buttons with a push st ick. Bore through the centers of thebuttons on the unrabbeted nortion (ahove)

Installing the buttonsSet the cabinet top face down on a work surface, and

posit ion the case upside down on top of i t . Al ign the backof the cabinet with the back edge of the top and centerthe case between its sides. Fit the rabbeted ends of threebuttons into the groove in the rai l at the back of the cabi-net, posi t ioning one in the middle and the other two nearthe ends. Leave a %o-inch gap between the l ipped endsof the buttons and the bottom of the groove to allow formovement of the wood. Drive screws with a dr i l l to fastenthe buitons in place (left).

Wood button

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FRAME_AND_ PANEL CONSTRUCTION

Squaring the toplnsta l l a bar c lamo across the f ront of

the case a l i sn ins the har w i th the f ron trai l . Using wood pads to focus pressureon the corners, butt one jaw of the clampon the edge of the top and the other jaw onthe front stile. To test for souare. measurethe gap between the edge of the cabinetand the edge of the top at several pointson both sides. The gap should be uniform.lf it is not, tighten the clamp (right) unlilthe top is correct ly posi troned on the case.lnstall the remaining buttons (page 65), atleast three ner side. The buttons on thesides should be firmly seated in the groove;the buttons on the front- l ike those onthe back-should be backed off s l ight lyfrom the bottom of the sroove.

P()CKET HOTES

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1 Boring holes with a commercial j igI Use a dr i l l to bore holes in two stepswi th two d i f fe ren t b rad-po in t b i ts : ones l igh t ly la rger than the d iameter o f thescrew heads, so they can be recessed, andone a little larger than the screw shanks toa l low a l i t t le movement . C lamo a s toob lock to a work sur face , then f i t the f i rs tb i t on the dr i l l . Wrap a s t r ip o f mask ingtape around the b i t to mark the dr i l l i ngdepth. Butt the top edge of an upper rail forthe cabinet against the stop block, insidesurface up, and clamp a commercial pocketho le j ig c lose to one end. Ho ld ing the ra i lf i rmly, bore the hole, stopping when thestr ip of tape touches the j ig. Reposit ion thejig to bore another hole at the middle (/eff)and a third one near the other end. Fi t thesecond bi t on the dr i l l and bore the clear-ance holes in the same manner.

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FRAME-AND_ PANEL CONSTRUCTION

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t') Aftaching the topL Once the cabinet has been gluedup (page 59), set the top face downon a work surface, and posit ion thecase upside down on i t as you wouldwhen installing wood buttons (page65). Fi I a dr i l l wi th a screwdriver bi tand dr ive screws to attach the backrai l of the cabinet to the top ( /ef f) .Square the cabinet top the same wayyou would when instal l ing wood but-tons (page 66), Ihen drive screwsthrough the remain ing ra i l s .

SECURING A T()P WITH LEDGER STRIPS

Installing the wood stripsCut four ledger strips and bore two setsof holes in them for mounting (page 60).To instal l the top, f i rst screw the str ips inplace flush with the top edges of the upperrails of the cabinet (right). fhen, set thetoo oanel face down on a work surface andplace the cabinet in posi t ion on top of i t .Screw the too to the strio attached to theback rail and square the top (page 60. Runscrews through the remaining ledger strips.

Ledqer etrip

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FRAME_AND _ PANEL CONSTRUCTION

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ti o.^

9upporl; bracket1 1/2" x 1t /2" x 4 ' /2"

Jig baee

A POCKET H()IE JIGUse a pocket hole j ig, shop-bui l tfrom %-inch plywood, to bore pock-et holes on a dr i l l press. Refer tothe illustration at left for suggesteddimensions. For the j ig, screwtogether the two sides of the cradleto form an L. Cut a 90'wedge fromeach support bracket so that thewide side of the cradle is angledabout 15" from the vert ical whenit s i ts in the brackets. Screw thebrackets to the j ig base and gluethe cradle to the brackets.

To use the jig, seat the pieces tobe dr i l led in the cradle with theirinside surfaces facing out and theirtop edges in the V of the cradle.Bore the holes in two steps withtwo different bits as described instep 1, page 66. In this case, usea Forstner bit and a brad-point bit.

With the brad-point bi t in thechuck, posi t ion the j ig on the dr i l loress table so that the bit will exitin the center of the top edge of therai l . Clamp the j ig to the table andinstall the Forstner bit in the chuck.

Holding the workpiece f i rmly inthe j rg, feed the bi t s lowly to borethree holes into the rai l just deepenough to recess the screw heads.Then, instal l the brad-point bi t inthe chuck and bore through theworkpiece to complete the pocketholes (/efi, bottom).

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6B

INSTALLING MOLDING

PREPARING AND INSTALLING MOLDING

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1 .

'hethel i t is store-bought or shop-" ' rnade, rnoldirrg ful f i l ls a key role

for the cabinetmaker. On a frame-and-panel cabinet, i ts pr incipal funct ionis to hide the joint between the top andthe rails, creating the illusion of a seam-less connection. But molding also givesa piece of furniture a decorative anddistinctive look.

By shaping the edges of a piece ofhardwood with a router or-as shownbelow and on the following pages-witha table sau you can transform some ofthe same stock used for the cabinet intoattractive moidings. Crown, cove, bead

and ogee curve are just a few of the com-mon profiles used in cabir-retmaking.

Wren cutting the moldings, make thefinal oass a verv shallow one at halfthespeedof previoirr pos.r. Such a finishingtouch should produce a smooth finishthat will requiie only minimal sanding.

The rr t old i r t g .fo r ilt i s .fitt t r r c- a r rcl-pttrrcl cctltinet wos ctft ort a taltle sttweryipped witlt o set of ogec krrives.

1 Cut t ing the mold ing on a table sawI Select a board long enough to y ie ld mold ings for two s idesand the f ront of the cabinet . Af ter f i t t ing out a mold ing headwi th the appropr iate cut ters, screw an auxi l iary fence to theme ta l r i p f ence . W i th t he me ta l f ence c lea r o f t he mo ld inghead, posi t ion the auxi l iary fence over the table opening andturn on the saw. Crank up the head to cut a notch in the wood.To secure the workpiece, c lamp featherboards to the fenceabove the mold ing head and to the saw {3[ ls [s3r ino aoainc i

the edge of the stock. Then, ra ise the cut ters 7s inch above thetable and feed the workpiece in to the mold ing head. F in ish thepass wi th a push st ick. For a deeper cut , make addi t ional pass-

es, ra is ing the cut ters r /a inch at a t ime. Repeat the procedure toshape the opposite edge of the workpiece (above). Install a com-binat ion b lade on the saw, then r ip the mold ing f rom the edgesof the stock. Cut the mold ing to len$h for one s ide of the cabi -net , making a 45 'mi ter at one end of the p iece.

69

FRAME-AND- PANEL CONSTRUCTION

Q Tightening the clampsr-J Protecting the opposite side ofthe cab ine t w i th wood pads , ins ta l ltwo clamps across the top of the case.To hold the molding f i rmly, place theclamping block between the moldingand the wood pads . T igh ten eachclamp a little at trme (right)unIil athin bead of glue squeezes out of theloint. Remove any excess adhesive.

r') lnstalling the molding on one sideL Cutfour wood pads and two shortpieces of molding to serve as specialclamping blocks. Turned upside down,the blocks wi l l mesh with the moldingbeing glued in place. Apply an even layerof adhesive to the back of the molding,being careful not to slop any glue on thetop edge. The decorat ive tr im shouldbond to the rai ls, not to the top of thecabinet. Posit ion the molding on theside rail (left), makingsure that it buttsagainst the cabinet top and that i tsmitered end is flush with the front stile.

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70


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Instal l ing moldingon the cabinet front

W i t h t h e p i e c e o f s i d e m o l d i n g s t i l lc lamped to the cab ine t , measure thewid th o f the f ron t o f the case. Cut ap iece o f mo ld ing s l igh t ly longer thant h i s w i d t h , m a k i n g a 4 5 ' m i t e r c u ta t the end tha t w i l l bu t t aga ins t themolding already in place. Hold the newp i e c e i n p l a c e a n d u s e a p e n c i l t omark a cutt ing l ine on the unmiteredend (above), angling out from the cor-ner. Cut the piece of molding to length,mak ing a 45" mi te r in l ine w i th yourcutt ing mark. Once the glue for the sidepiece has dr ied, remove the clamps andinstal l the piece of f ront molding (page70). Repeat the process to cut and installthe remain ing p iece o f mo ld ing .

llll l.lt illl llt llll ilIl llll illt lllr rlli l1ll llll lllr llll r]lJ lltl l]11 lllt1HO? Tt?An alternalive mei'hodfor alamping on moldingoTo oimVli fy Nhe clampinqoperalion, maKe twoNriangular wood Vado,which wi l l enable you touoe C clamVs to holdlhe moldinq in place.Glue a ebrip of oandpaperlo the edqe of each padto Vrevenl it ' from elipVinqwhen clampinq ?reeoureie aVVl ied .

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f n.rr.n.., a drawer is nothing moreI than a boxwithout a top-a front, abach two sides and abottom. Individualexamples, however, belie this simplicity.They run the gamut from the modernkitchen drawer slamming shut on metalslides to the drawer of a well-madeVictorian desk whispering home with anearlyairtight sigh. The former is oftenan anonymous, interchangeable unitwith a false front. The latter may be afinicky individual precisely fit to anopening in a particularpiece offumiture,its unique face blending beautifrrlly withthe grain of the wood surrounding it.

Pulled open, a drawer reveals more ofis personality. Each of is five pieces maybe cut from a differentwood. The front,which shows most, is chosen for its

D

Sized to fitbetuveen grooves cut inthe sides of a drmuer, a plywoodbottom panel slides into position.The panel will bottom out in a

groove in the front and be nailed tothe back to secure it in place.

jamming or chattering. As with joinerymounting a drawer offers many choices(page 87). Every method must supportthe drawet prevent it from tipping as itis pulled out and stop it as it slideshome. The perfect drawer will glidenearly out, then hesitate a bit; drawerstops (page 95) prevent the unit frombeing inadvertently pulled all the wayout or pushed too far in.

Different types of furniture demanddifferent methods of mounting drawers.In carcases, drawers can be side-mount-ed: grooves routed in their sides slideon thin strips of wood attached directlyto the cabinet sides. They can also besupported by a U-shaped frame withrunners at the sides and a rail at thefront. Here, the drawer slides on the bot-

species, color and grain; the thinner sides for longwear; the backfor strengh; the bottom for stability.

Not only is the front the most visible part of a drawet it alsotakes the most abuse. As you will discover in the joinery sec-tion of this chapter (page 76), keeping it attached to the sidesrequires a durable, solid joint. Front-to-side joints range fromthe utilitarian rabbet joint to the handsome, hand-cut half-blind dovetail. The rabbet is quick and easy to cut; producingthe dovetail can be an art form in itself.

The joint between the back and sides also requires strength,but it shows less, so simpler joints such as dadoes suffice. lastly,the bottom slides into grooves in the sides and front.

A drawer's most basic function is to hold things. But it mustalso slip in and out of the piece of furniture housing it without

tom edges of its sides-a traditional technique called bottom-run. In frame-and-panel cases, drawer supports sit on stripsattached to the frames only.

Commercial metal drawer slide runners-like those foundon file drawers-provide a wheeled side-mounting option.One-half of the hardware attaches to the carcase and the otherhalf to the drawer sides. Used extensively in kitchen cabinet-work, meal slides can support great weight and provide accessto the very back of the drawer.

Whether meant to hold pajamas in a quickly made child'schest or nightgowns in an heirloom highboy, drawers will forman integral part of many ofyour cabinetmaking projects. Eachof the thousands of times someone opens one of these drawers,he or she will be reminded of the care you took to build them.

Set offby the simplicity of ametallic singJe-pullhandle,a solid wood drau,er glides smoothly in and out of a frame-and-panel cabinet. Grooves routed into the drawer sidesrun along supports attached to the frame of the cabinet.

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73

ANATOMY OF A DRAWTR

rruvcl nrrrl i inq corrsists o1'tl l 'ce tl ist inct s tcps: jo in inu l loarc ls togcthcr '

lo l i l rnr r t bor , nroLurt ing thc c l r r rn 'cr in, r p iccc o1 ' f i rnr i t t r rc and ins l i r l l ins h i l rd-n'rrrc. Each stcp ntLlst [rc pcrfir lntccl pre-cisclv if .r cl larvcr is to contbinc qlacc ancls t rutqth, g l id ing snrooth lv in a p iccc o l 'f i r rn i tu lc ivh i Ic [ rc inq stu l t lv cnoLrqh tobcal thc rvc ight o l ' i ts contcnts.

. \ l thoLrsh v i r turr I lv a l l t l r . r rve ls shIrcthc basic lcirturcs of thc onc slrtxvn bclorvIar/i f i ./, the lc rrrc irn i lrritv ol 'r ' irr iations.

DRAWER FRONTS

l lc l i r rc nrr r l i in{ \1)ur l l rs t cLr t , consic ler 'thc opt ions f i r l cach stcp. I ror cr i rntp lc ,i ' r 'or r i r r lonq thc jo ints i l lust r r r tcc l a tr isht , thcrc is onc to sat is l \ ' r ' i r tLr r r l l r ' . rnyl c t l L r i l cn rcn t . F .ach i o i n t h . t s d i l - l c r cn tchrrrrtctcristics in trrnts of stt 'cngth .ltclclLrrrrbil i tr, lo'cl ol ' d i l l lcLrl tr i anii .rppcil r-ancc irnd suitirbiI itv t irr dif lcre nt tvpcs ofstocli irncl l irrnitLrrlc. \ i lu can .rl lori pcr-son.rl prclcrcncc to guicic vour sclcction,l r t t t t t t . t ] i . ' \ U l ' L ' \ o l l . 1 t , , , ' r . , J : l t o I l i r r i t t l

to ittt i tch thc cllau'cr l l-ont to thc sit lcs.

' l ' h i s i s t h c p . u ' t o l ' t h c d l r t r v c t ' t h i t t

cndulcs thc nrost s l rcss.' l

hc sLrcccss o l ' thc c i r i t ivcr ntoLrnt ingopct'ation hinqcs on horv rvcll thc clran'crhrrs bccn pu1 toqcthcr ' .

' l 'hrcc d i l ' l t rcnt

Inethocls tirr ntoLrntinq rr rlrarr'cl in ir cirrcr lsc arc shon' i . r rn th is chaptcr {1re/orr lr . iq / r t ) i rs n 'c l l i rs onc tcc l tn iquc sui tablcf i l r i ranrc- i rn i l -pancl cr ib incts. ' \ I thoushcach nrcthot l pernr i ts sorrc i rc l jLrstntcnt ,ir driuvcl out ol stprirrc lrv it u' idc nr.rrginrv i l l [ rc a lnrost i r rp l r55jb[ ' to inst . r l l .

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False front: '\ .sr'lrrltt/t'

l ro r r l i s t tL r i l t ' t l o t ' t ' r t l r t '

s l r t r t l t r r t t I . l ) o tr l ; crr lrr t i /-s

ctt t l l t t t i t t of r l i ' r t tr t ' r ' -sir / t ' -s

Lipped frorrt: ,\ rttblrt'tt'dl r o t t l L ' t ( o l r s t r l i p t l t t r t. \( ' i ' j 'c- i . /- \ Lt t l o t ' t ' r I t t t t t ! ;t r sc.l t r I .lit r co r t t't'Lrl i r r! t'o r r r -

t t t t'rt' i tt I r t l I I t t(' t : tt'l t c t t l I tt'

t l r t trcr i .r cio,st 'r / ; l ip ptr-

I o r t t rs t l t t t r l t l c t l t t I t ' t t s

{ / i i i l 1 t ' i -_ \ / ( ) f ) .

F l ush f ro n t : , ' \ /h r r ' -s / / r r '

t l t t t t t ' t ' r t t t . l i t t ' t t t i rr : lv

t t ' i t l t i r t l l t c c t rb i r t t ' l ; r t l so/ ' i i , , r r ' i i , i : r 1 l l i / i i ( ' 1 { / / , / l l i l

Drawer alide?ita in qroove routedin drawer side; Ecrewedto carcaae aide panel

Bot'tom panel /Ty pically' /. - i nc h plywood :fiLa in 4roove rauted indrawer aides and front

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DRAWER JOINTS

RabbetFor back-to-eide

jointa on moat draw'ers; alao etron4

enough for joininq thefront to the aidee if

reinforced with screweor naila; auitable for

aolid wood or plyvvood

Through dovetail1tron4, decorative jointfor any drawer corner;

end qrain of draweraidea can be concealedwith fal6e front; appro-pdate for aolid wood

but not plSwood

DRAWERS

Half-blind dovetailThe traditional jointfor connectin4 thefront to the aidea;

conceala end qrain ofeidea; euitable only

for aolid wood

DadoCan be uaed to

join the front to theaidea and the back

to the sidea; for aolidwood or plywood

Double dadoFor any corner ofematl, liqht-duty

drawer; conceala endqrain of aideo andfront; auitable only

for aolid wood

Drawerback

Drawer frontTypically thickerthan eidee, backand bottom; maybe covered by afalae front

Drawer eideJoined to frontand back withany of a varietyof jointe; qrooveahown mesheawith drawer alide

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DRAWER-MOUNTING METH(|DS

5ide-mountedWooden slidee acrewedto carcaae oide panelarun in 4roovee routed indrawer sidea

Eot'tom-runDrawer slidea on rail and runneraaaembly. Twin tenone at endaof rail are glued into double mor-tiges cut into carcaae panelg:one ed4e of runnera ia iabbetedand fita into groove cut into panele

Commeraial sliderunner5Metal alidea acrewedlo drawer aidee meehwith runnere acrewedto carcaae

75

DRAWERIOINERY

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'-,' he first step in drarver-making is tothink the process throLrgh fron-r

beginning to end. The r,arious stages ofthe operation are related; the finisheddimensions of a draler f ront, forextrmple, can depend on the joinerymetl-rod you choose. And drawer hang-ing methods can inf luence the way adrawer is br,rilt.

Once you have settled on the size ofdrawer, choose a joinery method (pnge75), a method of hanging and the sryle offront yon will r-rse; then size your stock.Cut the front, back and sides to fit theopening, choosing the ntost v isual lyappealing piece for the front. The grainof the drawer should run horizontallywhen it is installed. Make sure that thebest side of each piece firces outward;mark it with an X as a reminder.

Not allthe parts of a drawer undergothe same stresses. The front takes thehardest beating, the sides a iittle less, theback less stil l. Cabinetmakers take thisinto accourrt wl-ren they br,rild drawers.Many will plane the parts differentlydepending on how sturdy they need to

be. Thus, the front can be thicker than thesides and the sides thicker than the back.

Woodworkers often use differentjoints at different corners. The choicedepends not merelv on the desired visualeffict, but also on the stresses the jointwill face. A joint that might be adequateto connect the sides to the back of adrawer may not be strong enough to jointhe front to the sides.

The following pages present anassortment ofjoinery methods. Some aresuitable for front-to-side joints, others arestrictly for back-to-side joints, while stillothers can be used at any corner. You alsoneed to keep in mind the rype of woodyouare using. Some joints, such as the dove-tail and the double dado, can be usedonlywith solid wood, while others-therabbet and the dado, for example-workeqrrally well with ply.rvood or solid wood.

For the stronsest and most attractivejoint, choose ihe through dovetai l ,which can be cut quickly and accuratelyusing a jig (page B0). You can also sawone by hand as you would to join car-case sides (pnge 27). Unless you will be

installing a false front (pnge 97), ahalf-blind dovetail (pnge 82) nay be a betterchoice. Also called the lapped dovetail,the half-blind dovetail conceals the endo r r i r r n f t hp c i dpcb ' " , ' ' " '

Rabbet and lipped rabbet joints (pnge77) are easy to cut and are strong enoughto use at any corner ofa drawer, partic-ularly if reinforced with screws or nails.The main difference between the twojoints is that the drawer front in a lippedrabbet joint overhangs the sides. As aresult, the front must be cut larger thanthe opening.

Simple to constmct, the dado anddouble dado joints (pnge 78) are idealchoices for small, l ight-duty drawers.The double dado conceals end grain,rnaking it a visually appealing alterna-tive to the dado.

Like other operations in cabinetmak-ing, drarver-building demands accuracyand patience. Make test joints to fine-tune your tools and nteasllrementsbefore cutting into stock, and periodical-ly test-fit a drawer to eusrlre it will fit itsopening perfectly.

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Diftbrettt .joints for diflbrerrt ptu'p()ses:A sinrple dado joiltt is suJficiert to.joirr tlrcback to tlrc sides of n drat er. But the .fi'orrtreqtires n strortger .ioirrt-irt tltis cnse, adoultle dndo, also krtotvrt tts tt concenleddado-arrcl-tortgtrc.

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DRAWERS

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RABBET JOINTS

Using a dado head on the table sawOn your table saw insta l l a dado head s l ight lywider than the th ickness of the drawer s idesand crank i t be low the table. At tach an auxi l -iary fence and set the width of cut equal tothe th ickness of the s ides. Turn on the sawand ra i se t he b lades to no tch the aux i l i a r yfence. Set the cut t ing height to no more thanone-half the thickness of the drawer front. Tocut the rabbets, but t the edge of the f rontaga ins t t he f ence . Ho ld ing the wo rkp iecef l ush aga ins t t he m i te r gauge , f eed i t f acedown into the dado head. Flip the board aroundand repeat the cut at the opposite end (right).

LIPPED RABBET JOINTS

Cutting a lip in a drawer frontTo cut lipped rabbets around the edges of a drawerfront, mark l ines on i ts inside face to al low for an over-hang of at least % inch. Also mark the rabbet depth onits edges-up to one-half the thickness of the drawerfront. Cut the rabbets in two steps, f i rst notching theinside face of the front, then feeding the stock intothe blade on end and on edge. To make the f i rst cuts,set the blade height to the depth of the rabbet. Thenfeed the stock inside face down into the blade to cutalong the marked l ines ( insef). To make the remainingcuts, set the blade height to the width of the rabbets.Al ign the blade with the marks for the rabbet depth,then butt the fence against the stock. Keeping thedrawer front f lush against the fence, feed i t on endinto the blade to complete one rabbet. Turn the boardover and repeat to cut the rabbet at the other end (left).Then feed the stock into the blade on edge to cut therabbets on the top and bottom edges.

DRAWERS

DAD() J()INTS

Cutting dadoes in drawer sidesA dado cut about r/z inch from the backend of each side serves as an effectiveback-to-side joint. On your table saw installa dado head the same wrdth as the drawerback. Position the rip fence about % inchfrom the blades and set the cutting heightno higher than one-half the stock thick-ness. Butt the drawer side against thefence. Then, ho ld ing the board f i rm lyaga ins t the mi te r gauge, make the cu t .

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DOUBTE DADO J()INTS

1 Cuttins dadoes in a drawer frontt -

J- Mark one end of the board to d iv idei t s t h i ckness i n to t h i r ds . Then , on you rtab le saw a t tach a dado head whosew id th equa l s one lh i rd t he t h i ckness o fthe drawer f ront . Next , insta l l a commer-c ia l t enon ing j i g ; t he mode l shown s l i desin the miter slot. Protecting the stock witha wood pad, clamp the drawer front to the

.1rg. Move the j ig sideways to align the markson the stock with the dado head to cut outthe dado i n t he m idd le t h i r d o f t he boa rd .Sl ide the i is a lons to feed the stock in tothe blades. Turn the drawer front over andclamp i t to the j ig to cut the dado at theolher end (right).

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DRAWERS

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/) Trimming the dado tonguesL lnslall an auxiliary fence, then marka cutt ing l ine on the edge of the drawerfront to divide one of the tongues on i tsinside face in half . With the stock f lushaga ins t the mi te r gauge, ins ide facedown, al ign the marked l ine with the dadohead. Butt the fence against the stock.Notch the fence (page 77), then set thecutt ing height to tr im the half- tongue.Holding the drawer front f i rmly againstthe gauge, feed i t into the dado head.Turn the board around and reoeat theprocedure at the other end (right).

Q Cutting matching dadoes in ther-,f drawer sidesTo join the drawer sides to the front, cuta dado near the front end of each side. Thedadoes need to mesh with the half-tongueson the front. First, set the cutting height tothe length of the halftongues. To set thewidth of cut, butt the drawer side againstthe f ron t and use a oenc i l to ou t l ine theha l f - tongue on the drawer s ide . A l ignthe marks with the dado head, then butt therip fence against the stock. Holding the boardflush against the miter gauge, feed it intothe blades. Then reoeat the cut on theother drawer side.

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DRAWERS

THROUGH DOVETAIL J(|INTS

Cutting the tailsWith the tail board stil l clamped to the jig, loosen

the scale thumbscrews. Turn over the finger assemblyand sl ide i t along the support arms unt i l both scalesindicate the ALL posit ion. Loosen the lock knobs onthe side of the j ig, lower the f inger assembly on thespacer board and t ighten the knobs, making surethe assembly is si t t ing squarely on the spacer board.Use a pin board as a guide to scr ibe a l ine across thetai l board marking the cutt ing depth. Then, posi t ionthe router on the jig, its base plate restrng on the fin-ger assembly, and set the tip of the bit %a inch belowthe marked l ine. Turn on the router and cui out thewaste between the tails (right). Rout from right to left,keeping the tool flat against the finger assembly. Turnthe board over, secure it to the jig and cut the tailsat the other end the same way. Follow the same pro-cedure to cut the tai ls of the other drawer side.

1 Setting up the router jigI Set up a router j ig for cutt ing dovetai ls fol lowing the manu-facturer's instructions. For the model shown, adjusting the tailson a finger assembly automatically sets the proper width for thepins on the opposite side of the same assembly. To begin, cuta piece of 3/a-inch plywood to fit across the top of the jig as aspacer board, then clamp the board between the j ig body andthe finger assembly. The spacer board serves as a solid basefor the assembly and helps reduce tear-out. Make sure that theassembly lock screws face up; if they do not, loosen the scalethumbscrews, remove the finger assembly from its support armsand f l ip i t over. Fi t a router with a dovetai l bi t , then set the pinscale on both ends of the f inger assembly to the bi t diameter(inseil. fighlen the thumbscrews. Clamp the tail board (one ofthe drawer's sides) to the jig, outside-face out. Loosen the lock

knobs on each side of the j ig, then sl ight-ly raise the f inger assembly and t ightenthe knobs. Lay out the fingers across theend of the tail board to set the size andspacing of the tails. Leave a few fingerson each side of the tail board to keeo therouter steady when it is cutting. Thereshould be one f inger at each edge ofthe board to make half-tails. Once youare satisfied with the spacing-symmetri-ca l o r asymmet r ica l , depend ing on yourpreference-tighten the lock screws (/eft).

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80

DRAWERS

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Q Cutting the pinsr-,1 Remove the tail board and turn overthe f inger assembly. Set the pin scaleto the diameter of the dovetai l bi t as instep 1. Then fit the router with a straight-cutting bit and clamp the pin board-thedrawer front-to the jig, outside-face out.Use a tai l board butted against the pinboard to mark a line for the cutting depth.Place the router on the j ig and set thet ip of the bi t %o inch below the markedl ine. Cut out the waste between the pinsthe same way you routed out the tails (/eff).Then, remove the pin board and test- f i tthe jo in t . l f the f i t i s too t igh t , loosenthe sca le thumbscrews and s l ide thefinger assembly about 7e inch toward theback of the jig. Tighten the thumbscrews(belowl Make another pass with the routerto remove more waste between the f in-gers, Test-f i t the joint again, and makeany necessary adjustments. Once youare satisfied with the fit, turn the boardover, secure it to the jig and cut the pinsat ihe other end. Cut the pins at bothends of the drawer back the same wav.

8 1

DRAWERS

HAIF-BLIND DOVETAIL JOINTS

' l Marking the pin boardI Mark the outside faces of the boards with an X. Then set acutt ing gauge to about twothirds the thickness of the pin boardand mark a l ine across the end, closer to the outside than theinside face (above), Adjust the cutting gauge to the thickness ofthe stock and scr ibe a l ine around the ends of the oin boards tomark the shoulder l ine of the tai ls. Next, use a dovetai l squareto out l ine the pins on an end of the pin board; the wide partof the pins should be on the inside face of the stock. There areno str ict guidel ines for spacing dovetai l pins, but for most draw-ers, start ing wrth a half-pin at each edge and adding two evenlyspaced pins in between makes for a strong and attract ive joint .To complete the marking, secure the pin board in a vise and usea try square and a penci l to extend the l ines on the board endto the shoulder line on its rnside face (right). Mark the wastesect ions with an X as you go.

The half-blind dovetail makes anideal joint for building drawers:

The taik on the side piece qre visiblebut their end grain is concealed by

the drawer front. The joint can be cutby hand, as shown in the following

page5 or by a router in contbinationwith a tenrplnte or a jig.

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Try oquare

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r) Cutting the pinsZ. Secure one oin board in a vise withthe outside face of the stock towardyou, then cut along the edges of the pinswith a dovetai l saw, working your wayfrom one board edge to the other. (Somewoodworkers prefer to cut all the left-handedges of the pins f i rst , then al l the r ight-hand edges.) Hold the board steady andalign the saw blade just to the waste sideof the cutt ing l ine; angle the saw towardthe waste to avoid cutt ing into the pins.Use smooth, even strokes, al lowing thesaw to cut on the push stroke. Cont inuethe cu t jus t to the shou lder l ine , thenrepeat to cut the pins at the other endof the board.

-) Removins the bulk of the waste<'

r . , l Set the panel ins ideface up on awork sur face and c lamp a guide b lock toit, aligning its edge with the waste side oft he shou lde r l i ne . S ta r t i ng a t one edgeof the stock, hold the flat side of a chiselaboulrAa inch f rom the guide b lock; thetool should be no wider than the narrow-est par t of the waste sect ion. Wi th thech i se l squa re t o t he f ace o f t he boa rd ,use a wooden mallet to strike it, scoringa l ine about 7a- inch-deep into the wastesec t i on . Then ho ld t he ch i se l f l a t s i dedown and square to the end of the boardabou t % inch be low the top su r face .Str ike the chisel to remove a th in layerof waste. Cont inue unt i l you reach thesc r i bed l i ne on the end o f t he boa rd ,then pare away any excess btep 4) .Repeat the process wi th the remain ingwaste sections.

B3

DRAWERS

Final par ingWorkins on one waste sect ion at a

t ime n ress t he f l a t s i de o f t he ch i se l! , i , i v ' Y i

against the wal ls of the sect ion with thethumb of your lef t hand; with your r ighthand, push the chisel toward the shoul-der l ine, shaving away the last s l ivers ofwaste (left). lf necessary, tap the chiselgent ly with a wooden mal let .

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f, Marking and cutting the tails.-,1 Set a tail board inside-face uD on awork surface. Hold one of the oin boardsend-down wi th i t s ins ide face a l ignedwi th the shou lder l ine o f the ta i l board .Use a penc i l to ou t l ine the ta i l s on thetai l board (r ight) , Ihen extend the l ineson the board end using a try square. Markthe waste wrth Xs, then out l ine the tai lson the other end of the board the sameway. Remove the waste as you would whencutt ing dovetai l jo ints for carcase panels(nape .30) Reneat thp nrocedure for theother tai l board.

84

ASSEMBLING A DRAWERI

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DRAWER ASSEMBLY

1 Preparing the drawer for a bottom panelI Dry-f it the parts of the drawer, thenclamp the unit securely, al igning the barsof the clamps with the drawer sides. Usea pencil to identify the parts that fit togeth-er to make reassembly easier later whenyou g lue up . To ins ta l l a bo t tom pane l ,rout a groove along the inside of the draw-er. First, mark a line r/z inch from the bot-tom edge of the front, back and sides.Then, f i t a rou ter w i th a %- inch th ree-wing slot t ing cutter and mount the toolin a router table. Set the drawer right-sideup on the table and al ign the cutter withthe marked l ine. Start ing at the middle ofone drawer side, feed the stock into thecutter. Keeping the pi lot bearing buttedagainst the workpiece, feed the drawerclockwise tight). Continue pivoting thedrawer on the table unt i l vou return toyour start ing point.

r) Making the bottom panelL anl preparing the backFor the bottom panel, cut a piece of %-inchplywood to f i t the opening, adding the depthof the grooves to its width and the depth ofone groove and the thickness of the back toits lengh. Next, remove the clamps and trimthe bottom of the drawer back with a tablesaw to al low you to sl ide the bottom panelinto posit ion. With the back inside face upon the saw table, al ign the top edge of thegroove you cut in step 1 with the blade. Buttthe r ip fence against the stock, then feedthe back in to the b lade to make the cu t ,straddl ing the fence with the f ingers of yourright hand. (Caution: Blade guard removedfor clarity.)

B5

DRAWERS

Q Gluing up the drawerr-,1 Before gluing up the drawer, decidehow you will mount iI (page 87), sincesome methods require you to prepare thedrawer sides before final assembly. Then,sand the surfaces that wi l l be di f f icul t toaccess after glue up. Squeeze some glueon the contact ing surfaces of the jointsand spread the adhesive evenly with abrush. Assemble the drawer, then arrangetwo bar clamps on a work surface and laythe drawer on them, al igning the drawersides with the bars of the clamps. Instal ltwo more c lamps a long the top o f thedrawer and two more across the backand front. Place a wood pad between thestock and the clamp jaws to avoid mar-r ing the wood. (Do not place a pad on al ipped drawer front, as i t wi l l prevent thejoints from closing.) Tighten the clampsjust enough to fully close the joints (/eff,),then use a try square to check whetherthe corners are at r ight angles. l f theyare not, use a bar clamp placed diagonal-ly to correct the problem (page 59).Finish t ightening the clamps unt i l a beadof glue squeezes out of the joints, check-ing as you go that the corners are square.Once the adhesive has dried, remove anydr ied g lue w i th a pa in t sc raper . S l idethe bottom panel into place, then dr ivea few f inishrng nai ls through i t and intothe bottom edge of the drawer back tof ix i t in posi t ion.

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ilfl iltl llt lllt llll lllt ]llt llll illi fifi llll llll fiu tlll lll fili llll tll11HO? TI?Fixing a loooe drawer bottomIf a drawer bo|tom is looee, uoe ohop-made wedgeoto ̂ tighhen Nhe fit. Deqin by uoing a t able oaw No ripa few thin otripe of wood from a board, anqlingbheblade No produce one narcow edge. Then, cuI theelr iVo into smal ler piecee.1eIthe drawer upeidedown on a work suflace and install a wedqeinlo any qap between lhe bottrompanel and the sides or fronL ofT,he drawer. CoaL the eLripowi lh qlue, Nhen inserN theNaVered end inlo Nhe qap; uoea hammer No tap them enuglyin|o place. Once lhe qlue haodried, uee a wood chisel Nooever any part of Lhe wedqeeprotrudinq from Nhe qroovee,

B6

MOUNTINGADRAWERI

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|| here are probably as many draw-I er-mounting methods as there are

drawer joints. The technique youselect is determined by the piece offurniture in which the drawer will behoused: a frame-and-panel cabinetrequires different hanging methodsthan does a carcase. The followingpages consider both types ofcasework.

A drawer can be supported in oneof two ways: along its sides or alongits bottom. As shown below and onpage 88, a side-mounted drawer hasgrooves routed in its sides before glueup, al lowing i t to run along sl idesattached to the carcase. A side-mount-ed drawer in a frame-and-panel case(page 92) is held in place by the same

SIDE-M0UNTING: CARCASE

A side-mounted drawer is slid intoa carcase for test-fitting. A lipped

front conceals the runners andgrooves when the drawer is closed.

system of corner strips and supportsused to install shelves.

Commercial slide runners (page 93)offer another method for side-mount-ing drawers in a carcase. Althoughmany purists regard them as a pooralternative, commercial runners areactually stronger than wood runners,making them ideal for drawers thatwill bear heavy loads.

A popular way to support a bot-tom-run drawer is by a system of run-ners and rails affixed to a carcase, asshown on pages 90 and 91 . Somewoodworkers prefer to rout a groovein the carcase sides and install a shelf,which serves not only as a drawer sup-port but as a dust panel as well.

1 Cutting grooves in the drawer sidesI Before final assembly, cut a groovein the outside face of each drawer side.There are no r igid guidel ines for thegroove width, but i t should be ableto accommodate slides that are largeenough to support the drawer. 0n yourtable saw install a dado head the samewidth as the groove. Draw cutting linesfor the groove width in the middle ofthe leading end of one drawer side;also mark the depth of the groove-nomore than one-half the stock thickness.Butt the l ines for the groove widthagainst the dado head, then crank theblades up to the depth l tne; posi t ionthe rip fence flush against the stockand make the cut. lf the groove widthexceeds the width of the dado head,turn the board end for end and makeanother pass. Repeat to cut the groovein the other drawer side.

87

DRAWERS

r) Ripping the drawer slidesI lnsta l l a combinat ion b lade on yourtable saw. Crosscut a board so that its lenghis a few inches shor ter than the width ofthe carcase s ide panels. Then posi t ion ther ip fence to set a cut t ing width equal to thewidth of the grooves you cut in the drawersides (sfep l), less t/zz inch for clearance.Cut two s l ides f rom the edge of the board,us ing a push st ick to feed the stock in tothe blade (nghD. SmooIh one edge of thesl ides wi th a hand p lane to make sure thatthey wi l l rest f lush against the s ide panelsof the carcase. (Caut ion: Blade guardremoved for clarity.)

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/ ) Instal l ins the sl ides<'

r - . f Inser t the drawer in to the carcaseand ho ld r t i n p lace whr le l s i ng a pe r - c i lto mark the locat ion of the grooves onthe f ront edges of the s ide panels. Thenuse a carpenter 's square to extend themarks across the ins ide faces of thepanels. To mount the s l ides, bore threeholes for counters ink ing screws; makethe c lea rance ho les s l i gh t l y w ide r t hanthe screw shanks to allow for wood move-men t . Ho ld ing the s l i des back f rom thefront edge of the carcase between themarked l ines on the s ide panels, screwthem in place (left). Test-fit the drawer.l f i t is too loose, add shims under thes l i des ; i f i t i s t oo t i gh t , en la rge thegroove in the drawer s ide. You can a lsorecess the s l i des i n t he ca rcase s idesusing a l ig (page B9).

BB

DRAWERS

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DADO-ROUTING JIGFOR DRAWER SUPPORTSTo rout a ser ies of evenly spaceddadoes in ihe side oanels of a car-case for drawer runners, use theshop-made j ig shown at r ight.Dimensions depend on the size ofthe carcase and the spacing betweenthe runners.

For the jig, cut a piece of %-inchplywood as a base. Make it aboutthe same width as the carcase sidepanels and a few inches longer thanthe gap between the runners. Setthe jig base on a work surface andplace a router on i t near one end.Mark the screw holes in the routerbase plate on the jig base; also drawa spot directly below the tool's chuck.Bore holes for the screws; cut a holebelow the chuck wide enough toal low clearance for the router bi t .Screw the jig base to the machine'sbase plate and install a straight-cut-

ting bit the same width as the dadoesyou wish to rout.

Next, cut a spacer to fit snugly inthe dadoes; make it slightly longerthan the width of the panels. Screw

the spacer to the bottom of the jigbase, making the distance betweenit and the router bit equal to the spac-ing you want between the runners.

To use the jig, clamp a side panelinside-face up to the work surface.Set the j ig on the panel with thespacer flush against one end of theworkoiece and the router bit at oneedge. Gripping the router firmly, turnit on and feed the tool across thepanel to rout the dado; keep thespacer flush against the panel. Turnoff the router, then insert the spacerin the dado, repositioning the clamps,as necessary. Rout the next dado,sl iding the spacer in the f i rst dado.Continue unt i l a l l the dadoes havebeen cut, then repeat the operationon the other side panel.

89

DRAWERS

B0TT0M-RUN: CARCASE

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1 Preparing the railI Crosscut a board long enough tospan the gap between the side panels,adding the thickness of one panel to allowfor twin tenons at the ends of the rail. Forthe tw in tenons , mark the ends o f thestock to divide i ts width into f i f ths. Then,instal l a dado head wide enough to cutout the waste between two of the marks.Set the cu t t ing he igh t a t one-ha l f theth ickness o f the pane ls . Nex t , ins ta l la commercial tenoning j ig on your sawtab le . C lamp the ra i l to the j ig end up ;shif t the device sideways to al ign themarks on the rai l wi th the dado head tocu t the shou lder in the midd le f i f th o fthe board. To make the cut, push the j igfonvard, feeding the stock into the blades.Move the j ig to cut the shoulders at theoutside edge of the rai l . Turn the stockaround to cu t the remain ing shou lder( lef i l . fhen cut the twin tenons at theother end.

r) Chiseling the double mortisesI Uon the end of the rail against each carcase side panel atthe desired height of the drawer bottom and outline the mortis-es, Extend the lines to the edge of the panels, then butt the twoworkpieces face to face to make sure the marks are at the sameherght. To cut the mort ises, f i rst c lamp a panel to a work sur-face. Then, start ing at an end of one out l ine, hold a mort is ingchisel square to the face of the panel and str ike the handlewith a wooden mal let . Use a chisel the same width as the mor-t ise and be sure that the beveled side is facing the waste. Makeanother cu t % inch f rom the f i rs t . Cont inue un t i l you reachthe other end of the out l ine, using the chisel to lever out thewaste to the required depth. Chop out the adjacent mort iseand the doub le mor t i se on the o ther pane l the same way.Tes t - f i t the tw in tenons : w iden or deeoen a mor t i se w i ththe ch ise l . as recu i red .

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Tenoning ji4

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90

DRAWERS

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llt llt llll llll lllt llll llll llll lllr llll lll llll llll llll illl llll llll llll1HO? TI?Fixing a bowed drawer sideA bowed eide can ?revent,a drawer from ol idinqproVerly: a ohoV-madeqlu e bl o ck will c o rre ct, theproblem. Cutthe blockeliqhtly narcowerlhanNhe gaV between thebottom Vanel andthe botlom edqe of r,hedrawer eide. )Vread oomeqlue on Nhe eurfaces of Nhebl o ck th at, co nLa ct the d r aw e r,Lhen butf, the piece of wood aqainet,Nhe bot lom panel and drawer e ide asehown, cenLerinq it beNween Nhe front' and back. lnelall a clamVacro;o the mid,Ale of lhe drawer, t iqhleninq iX unt i l Ihe eideoLraiqhtene ouL, Once the qlue has dr ied, remove Nhe clamp.

n Instal l ins the rai l and runners<'

r.,f Cut two runners for the side panelso f t he ca rcase ; make them the samewidth and th ickness as the ra i l and aslong as t he w id th o f t he pane l s , l essthe width of the ra i l . Cut a tongue in themiddle of one edge of the runners aboutoneth i rd the width and th ickness of therunner. Rout a matching groove in the car-case s ide panels; center the s lot on thedoub le mor t i se f o r t he tw in t enons(inseil. f o mount the runners, f irst borea se r i es o f ho les f o r coun te rs ink ingsc rews : t he c l ea rance ho les shou ldal low for wood movement. Then, f i tt he ra i l i n to t he doub le mor t i se i n oneside panel and s lot the runner in to thepane l . Mak ing su re t ha t t he runne r i sbut ted squarely against the ra i l , screwi i i n p lace . Repea t t o moun t t he runne rto the other carcase s ide panel . At thesame t ime that you g lue up the carcase,spread some adhesive on the ra i l 's twintenons and the double mort ises in thec i d p n a n p l c : n d f i i t h p i r i l n t n s p i h p r

The clamping setup for the carcase wi l lhold the rai l in place whi le the glue dr ies.

DRAWERS

SIDE-M0UNTING: FRAME-AND-PANEt

Attaching corner strips and supportsPrepare the drawer sides as you wouldto side-mount the drawer in a carcase(page 87). Glue up the drawer, then holdi t at the desired height in the cabinet andmark the position of its grooves on the stiles.To mount the drawer, use corner stripsand supports (page 61). Make the stripslong enough to reach from the top edgeof the cabinet to the bottom of the drawer.Rout a dado across the str ips, al igning i twith the marks you made on the st i les.Cut two supports to fit between the dadoes,less Vre inch for c learance. Hold thecorner s t r ips f lush aga ins t the s t i leswith handscrews, lining up the dadoes withthe position marks. Fit the supports in thedadoes, then sl ide the drawer into posr-t ion. l t should move smoothly and si tcentered and level in the opening. l f not,loosen the handscrews and adjust theheight of the corner strips, as necessary(above). Screw the wood strips to the stiles.

The same system of corner strips andsupports for installing adjustable shelvesin frame-and-panel cabinets can beused to mount a drawer. Before the cor-ner strips are screwed to the stiles ofthe cabinet, they are held in place withhandscrews. This way, the drawer can betest-fitted in the opening and the stripscan be raised or lowered as needed. Oncethe drawer slides smoothly and is cen-tered, the strips are fixed to the cabinet.

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DRAWERS

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C0MMERCIAL SLIDE RUNNERS: CARCASE

1 Installins the runnerst -

I l n s t a l l c o m m e r c i a l s l i d e r u n n e r sfo l l ow ing the manu fac tu re r ' s i ns t ruc -t ions. The type shown consists of twoparts : runners that at tach to the car-case and slides that are screwed to thedrawer. To help posi t ion the runners,cut a p iece of 1/ , r - inch p lywood to f r tbetween the bottom of the carcase andthe bot tom edge of the runner. l f thedrawer is d i rect ly under a shel f or thecarcase top, trim t/z inch from the ply-wood j ig to a l low for c learance dur inginsta l la t ion, when the drawer must bel i f ted s l ight ly to f i t the wheels in to therunners. Wi th the carcase on i ts s ide,but t the p lywood p iece against the bot-tom of the s ide panel . Then p lace ther r r n n p r e o : i n q i t h p i i q s p t f i n o i t h : r . k

f rom the f ront edge of the panel toal low for the th ickness of the drawerf ront . Mark the screw holes on the s idepane l , t hen bo re a p i l o t ho le a t eachpo in t . Sc rew the runne r t o t he pane l(abovd. Repeat to fasten a runner tot h o n t h o r c i d p n a n p l

r) Instal l ing the sl idesL l ,on the sl ides on the drawer, then test j i t i t in the carcase.l f the drawer is loose, shim the runners; i f the drawer binds, planesome stock from its sides (page 94).fhen set the drawer upsidedown. oosit ion the sl ides and mark the screw holes on the drawer.Bore pilot holes, then screw the slides in place (above),

l i l i l l i | l i l | l t l l l l i l i l i l i i l l | l i l t i l l i l i i l i l l i l l l i l i i l i i l i l l i l i l | i l r i l iut ttl ut ul tu ui ru ru ir tu ui ul i.U ui lil ut ru u

?HO? TI??oeitioning Jig- f ^ t ^ - t ^ , , a , , r a - r a ^ + | , , ^ O g i t i O n| v | | v | Y J v u v v | | v v v | J Y

commercial s l idee ondrawer sides, use aohop-made j ig. Cuta rabbet in a ecraVboard; make thedepLh of Lhe rab-bet, equal to thedeeired dielancebeNween Nhe elideand the boI0om ofthe drawer side.Touoe the j iq, hold i l uV aqainot the bottrom of lhe drawer side asshown.Then sel lhe sl ide onLhe drawer eide,botLom edge buttedaqainot the j ig, Holdinq Nhe sl ide and j iq in place, markNhe suewholee,Then bore oiloLholee and ecrew Nhe elide Io Nhe drawer.

DRAWERS

FINE.TUNING DRAWER FIT

1 Planing the drawer sidesI A drawer may bind in a piece offurni ture even after a thorough sanding.lf the too or bottom of the drawer rubsagainst part of the casework, plane thetop (sfep 2). lf lhe sides bind, removethe drawer and mark any shiny areason the sides-high spots that can beshaved off with a hand olane. To securethe drawer fo r p lan ing , c lamp a w ideboard to a workbench with one edgeextending over ihe side. Hang the draweron the board so that the binding side isfac ing up . Then c lamp another boardto the workbench, butt ing i t against thedrawer; use a bench dog to keep the secondboard from moving. Gripping the planewith both hands, shave off the markedspots with smooth, even strokes (nghf).Test-f i t the drawer in i ts opening peri-od ica l l y , p lan ing the s ides un t i l thedrawer fits perfectly.

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r) Planing the top of a drawerl to hold the drawer in prace, seri t on a work surface and nai l three scrapboards to the table flush against the sidesand back of the drawer. Gripping a handplane f i rmly, make a smooth pass on thetop edges of the drawer sides from the frontof the drawer to the back. Move to theadjacent side of the table to plane the topedges of the front and back. Test-fit andcont inue planing unt i l you are sat isf iedwith the f i t .

94

DRAWER STOPStI

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,\ s the name suggests, a drawer stopf1' controls how far a drawer can slidein or out. There are two basic tvoesdepending on where they are located'orra piece of furniture. Inward stops areplaced near the back and keep a drawerfrom being pushed in too far. Outwardstops are installed near the fiont and pre-vent a drawer from sliding in beyond acertain point or pul l ing r ight out.

There is a drawer stop for every pieceof furniture. Inward stoDs are ideal forcarcases with side-mounted drawerssince they can be mounted at any pointon the side panels. Outward stops workwell for any piece, but they are simpler toinstall on frame-and-oanel furniture.

OUTWARD STOPS: CARCASE

INWARD ST0PS: CARCASE

Attaching an inward stopWith a band saw or saber saw cut a 1- to 1%-inch-diameter d isk f rom apiece of scrap wood the same th ickness as the drawer s ides. Bore an of f -center hole in the stop, then screw the d isk to a s ide panel near the back.Set the carcase on i ts s ide and c lose the drawer. Loosen the screw s l ight lyand rotate the stop unt i l r t lust touches the drawer, then t ighten the screw

1 Preparine the drawerI

I Before gluing up the drawer, cut anotch for the stop on the drawer backwith a table saw. Mark cutt ing l ines inthe middle of the top edge for a 1- inch-wide notch. Set the blade high enoughso tha t the no tch w i l l c lear the s topwhen you instal l the drawer. Screw aboard to the miter gauge as an exten-s ion . A l ign ing one o f the cu t t ing l ineson the stock wrth the blade, butt a hand-screw against the end of the drawer backand clamp rt to the extension as a stopblock. Turn on the saw, hold the stockf lush aga ins t the ex tens ion , and feedthe two into the blade. Turn the work-piece around and cut the other side ofthe notch. Remove the waste in betweenby making repeat cuts (/eff).

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DRAWERS

r) Screwing the stop in placeL Cut a drawer stop from a scrap Doaro:make i t l onge r and na r rower t han thewidth of the notch in the drawer back. Tomoun t t he s too . i ns ta l l t he d rawer andmark the location of the notch on the bot-tom of the oanel or shel f under which thedrawer wi l l s l ide. Bore a p i lo t hole throughthe stop, then screw it in position (rrghf),

a l i gn ing i t s edges w i th t he l i nes on thecarcase. Do not t ighten the screw al l theway. Wi th the long edge of the stop paral -le l to the drawer s l ides, insta l l the drawer(inseil. Once the stop passes completelythrough the notch, rotate i t 90 'so that i tslong edge is para l le l to the drawer back.

()UTWARD ST()PS: FRAME-AND-PANEL

Installing a stop on the lront railCut a drawer stop from a scrap board. l tshou ld be long enough to ex tend be lowthe front rai l of the cabinet when one endis attached to the rai l . To mount the stoo.bore a pi lot hole through i t near one end.Wrth the cabinet top off , screw the stopto the middie of the rai l . Leave the screwjust loose enough so that you can rotatethe stop out of the way. Instal l the drawer.Once the drawer back clears the front rai l ,rotate the stop 90' so that it extends belowIhe rail (right).

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FALSE, FRONTS AND HARDWAREI

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part from their visual appeal, falsefronts have practical applications

in drawer-makins. For the woodwork-er reluctant to diicard a drawer that isnot perfectly aligned with its opening,a properly mounted false front canprovide a simple solution. Centeringthe front on the carcase or cabinet,rather than on the drawer, will salvagean imorecise fit. False fronts can alsoserve is drawer stops, but avoid exag-gera t ing the s ize o f the overhang.Slammins the drawer when it is filledwith wei[hty items risks splitting thefront as it strikes the cabinet.

INSTALLING A FALSE FRONT

Positioning the false frontInstal l the drawer, then set the cabinet on

its back. Cut the false front to the right size, thencarefully lower it into position (right). Onceyouare satisf ied with the placement, press f irmly; thepointed ends of the brads wi l l punch impressions,al lowing you to repositron the false front laterwhen you complete the assembly.

A drawer pull puts the finishing touchon a drawer with a false front.

Installins hardware on a drawer isthe last-and possibly least taxing-activity in an otherwise challengingooeration. Still. drawer handles andoulls need to be mounted with care.The key is to center them on the draw-er front. Aligning a single-pull handleproperly is fair ly straightforward:Mark the diagonals across the frontand install the oull where the two linesintersect. For a double-oul l handle.var ious commercial j igs can providefast and accurate positioning. But asshown on page 99, the job can also bedone using a simple tape measure.

1 Preparing the drawerI Once the drawer has been properly mounted,set i t face up on a work surface and dr ive twobrads into the drawer front, leaving their headsprotruding. Make sure the brads are not locatedwhere the drawer pul l wi l l be instal led. Then snipoff the heads with ol iers.

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DRAWERS

Q Gluing and clampingr-,1 Spread a thin layer of glue on theback of the false front. Avoid applyingtoo much adhesive or you wi l l end upwith too much squeeze out. Place thefront in posi t ion, with the two bradsres t ing in the i r impress ions . Ho ldthe assembly together with bar clamps;al ign the bars with the drawer sides.Tighten the clamps evenly unt i l thereare no gaps between the false frontand the drawer .

llt lll] rll1 llt llt rlll lllt illt lllt llll illl lllt ulr filr ffi llll lril lll1HO? Tt?Faelening a einqle-pull handleto a drawer already built,The screw ouppl ied with a oinqle-pul l handlemay nol be long enou4h lo paoo throuqha d,rawer wif,h a false fronl, )ne rem'

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edy ioto countersinklhe screw,but tri t you have already asoembled thedrawer, a dr i l l may nol f i | inside,lnslead, work from Lhe outside of thedrawer. )Nart by boring a clearancehole Ihrough Ihe cenNere of Nhe f alsefront and lhe drawer front. Theneharpenthe ehoulder of a eVadebit elightly wider Lhan lhe screw headto creaNe a cuNtinaedae.Feedtheehank laf thebt throuqhlhehole{romtrheinside of the drawer andatlach it t o Nhe drill. )wtch on the tool and pull Nhe bff, tnw ardyou uniil the countersinkinq hole io the righN depIh.

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DRAWERS

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ATTACHING A DRAWER HANDLE' l Marking holes for screwsI Place the drawer on i ts back on awork surface, then mark vert ical andhorizontal l ines across the drawer frontintersecting at its center. For the double-pul l handle shown below, measure thegap between its two mounting posts. Thentransfer that distance to the horizontalline, making two marks the same distancefrom the center of Ihe drawer (right).

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r) Aftaching the handleL Bore clearance holes for screws at thetwo marked po in ts , then app ly what -ever f in ish you have selected. To mountthe handle shown, screw one mountingpost to the drawer front. Slip the pull intothe post, then fit the other post on thepull and screw it to the drawer fronl (left).

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I s a fine piece offurniture nears,[ \ completion, the last majortask before finishing the wood isoften constructing and mountingthe doors. A project within a pro-ject, assembling a door demandsthe same care as building the pieceit accompanies. Nothing is morefrustrating than seeing a carefullycrafted cabinet offset by a door thatis warped or ill-fitting.

In addition to providing a visu-al focus, doors serve the simplefunction of protecting the contentsstored inside a piece of furniture.One of the first recorded uses in

DOORS

A brad driver secures a strip of moldingto a door frame, sandwiching a central paneof glass between the molding and a rabbet

cut into the edge of the frame.

door would be most appropriateon a simple carcase, whereas a fineperiod piece normally demands aframe-and-oanel door. Glass doorsare a good choice for a china orcurio cabinet.

Since wood is prone to swellingand warping, solid doors shouldonly be installed on relatively smallpieces of furniture. Wth a largercabinet-a floor-to-ceiling hutch,for example-a broad, solid door,such as the board-and-batten ortongue-and-groove door, would bemore likelyto buckle than would aframe-and-panel, veneered-panelor glass doot whose constructioncabinetmaking of a door as a phys-

ical barrier was the medieval aumbrey, alarge cabinet usedto protect food from vermin. The design of the door was prim-itive: a single piece of wood held in place with simple forgedstrap hinges.

Today's woodworkers have far more choices than theircounterparts from the Middle Ages. This chapter will exam-ine five different door types, each with its own visual appealand application, ranging from the rustic board-and-battendoor to the finely crafted frame-and-panel model. You willalso learn how to build tongue-and-groove doors, glass doorsand veneered-panel doors.

To some degree, the design of a piece of furniture dictatesthe type of door you will install on it. A board-and-batten

is calculated to accommodate changes in wood movementdue to shifting heat and humidity levels.

Another point to ponder is the degree of precision a doorrequires. A flush-mounted door permits little margin for error.A gap as little as 7s inch can spoil the look of an otherwisefinely executed piece. Overlay doors, on the other hand, donot require the same exactness since they are designed toexceed the size oftheir openings.

A vast range ofhardware is available for doors ofall types,from rustic iron hinges reminiscent of the aumbrey to finecast-brass hinges for flush doors. Most of these accessoriescan be purchased with one of several finishes, including blackor polished iron, antique or polished brass, and chrome.

A frame-and-panel door is hung on a cabinetwith detachable cabinethinges, which allow thedoor to be easily removed after installation.

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ANATOMYOFADOORI

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[ frame-and-paneldoormaybebuiltfl, the same way as one side of a frame-and-panel cabinet (page a8). Althoughthe door illustrated below features stan-dard mortise-and-tenons, you can alsouse haunched mortise-and-tenons orcope-and-stick joints. The floating pan-el in the center ofthe door can be raised,as shown, divided into a pattern ofsmall-er panels or inlaid. The rails and stiles

FRAME.AND-PANEt DOOR

have an integrated molding cut intothem; for added embellishment, youmay choose to cut an arch or curve intothe upper rail.

The tongue-and-groove door is apopular choice for modern, European-style furniture. It has stiles with groovededges that accept tenons at the ends ofthe rails. The rails have grooves on theirbottom edges and tongues on their tops,

allowing them to interlock. Should thewood contract and the rails separateslightly, the matching tongues andgrooves will hide any gaps.

The board-and-batten door is assem-bled without glue. Rabbets are cut intothe edges of the boards, which are heldtogether by battens screwed across theback of the door. Wood plugs are usedto conceal the screw heads. The glass

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BOARD-AND.BAfiEN DOOR

TONGUE.AND-GROOVE DOOR

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door is essentially a frame-and-paneldoor with a glass panel rather than apanel between the rails and stiles.Standard mortise-and-tenon joints areshown in the door below. The piece ofglass sits in rabbets cut along the insideedges of the frame; it is held in place bystrips of molding.

The veneered-panel door features aframe joined to the panel. To conceal the

GLASS DOOR

DOORS

plate joints that connect the panel to theframe, rabbets are cut into the insideedges at the back of the frame. The pan-el then fits snugly into the rabbets.

Although a door is always made to fita piece of furniture, it does not have tobe sized exactlyto its opening, as shownbelow in the drawer-mounting meth-ods. A flush-mounted door can be dif-ficult and time-consuming to construct

because ofthe fine tolerances requiredto build and hang the door. Both lip-rabbeted and overlay doors are usuallysimpler to make.

The entire thickness of an overlaydoor projects beyond the front ofa cab-inet or carcase. The lip-rabbeted doorhas rabbets cut around its outside edgesat the bad<so that only a part of is thick-ness is exposed.

VENEERED.PAI{Et DOOR

DOOR.MOUNTING METHODS

h L LFlueh-mounted Lip-rabbeted Overlay

103

FRAME-AND.PANEL DOORS

I fiame-and-panel door imparts styleA to a piece oifurniture without sac-rificing durability or strength. Its solidframe construction accounts for thestructural integrity. At the same time,any one ofseveral stylistic touches canbe added to make it more attractive.These include designing an arched top nilor, ifthe door is large enou$, dividing the

Like the frame-and-panel assemblyused to build the sides offurniture,the frame-and-panel door featuresa sturdy frame of raik and stilesencasing a decorative floating panel.

panel into smaller sections with hori-zontal cross rails and vertical mullions.

You can build a frame-and-paneldoorthe same way you would construct aframe-and-panel assembly, using eitherhaunched mortise-and-tenons or coDe-and-stick joints (page aS). This sectionfeatures a door assembled with standardmortise-and-tenon joints and integratedmolding. The first step is to size yourstock. Make the stiles equal to the doorheight; the rails should be as long asthe width of the door, including twotenons at each end, minus the stile width.The tenons typically are cut about7+ inch long.

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MAKING A FRAME.AND.PANEL D()OR

1 Cufting the tenonsI Ins ta l l a dado head s l igh t ly w iderthan the tenon length on your tab lesaw. A t tach and no tch an aux i l ia ryfence (page 48),Ihen set the widthof cut equal to the length of the tenonto cut the tenon cheeks; adjust thecutt ing height to about one-third thethickness of the stock. Butt ing the rai lagainst the fence and the miter gauge,feed the stock face down into theblades. Turn the rai l over and makethe same cut on the other side of thetenon. Then repeat the orocess at theopposite end of the rail (left, above)and w i th the second ra i l . To cu t thetenon shoulders, set the height of thedado head at about 1/z inch. With thera i l f lush aga ins t the fence and themiter gauge, feed the workpiece edgedown in to the b lades . Turn the ra i lover and repeat on the other side ofthe tenon. Cut the tenon shoulders atthe opposite end of the rai l the sameway (left, below). Repeat the processwith the second rail. To add integratedmolding, f i t a router with the appropri-ate bi t and mount the tool in a routertable. Cut along the inside edges of therai ls and st i les as you would for makinga veneered-panel door (page 113).

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DOORS

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Readying the stilesBefore preparing the st i les for f inal assembly, rout a decorat ive stopped molding i f you wish

(page 107). Then mark a l ine on the molded edge of each st i le the width of a rai l away from theend of the board. With the table saw blade angled at 45' , al ign the cutt ing edge with the markand cut into the molded edge; stop the cut at the point where the molding ends and the face ofthe st i le begins. Next, s l ice off the str ip of molding between the 45" cut and the end of the st i lewith a band saw. Then, smooth the cut edge using the table saw. Moving the r ip fence out of theway, hold the the st i le f lush against the miter gauge and sl ide the stock back and forth along themiter gauge (above, right). Make sure you do not cut into the molded edge of the stile.

Moldinqprofile

r) Preparing the rails for glue upI Re.oue the auxi l iarv fence andadjust the blade angle to45". Make atest cut in a scrap board and measurethe cut end with a combinat ion square,adjusting the blade angle if necessary.To set the width of cut, mark a line onthe molded edge of a rai l the same dis-tance from the tenon shoulder as themolding width. Al ign the mark with theblade where it exits the table opening,then butt the fence against the rai l .Adjust the blade height until one toothjust protrudes beyond the tenon shoul-der. To make the cuts, butt the rar lagainst the fence and hold i t f lushagainst the miter gauge to feed it mold-ed-edge down into the blade. Repeatto cut the other end of the rail (left)and both ends of the second rail.

105

DOORS

Cutting mortisesAl ign a ra , l w i t h each s t i l e and mark

the out l ine of the mort ises as you wouldwhen making a f rame-and-panel assembly( n a o p l Q ) l n c i : l l : m n r t , c i n o : t t : e h m p n f\ r e o e .

on a d r i l l n rpqs end r ^ l amn t hp c . t i l p i n f hp

f ence . cen te r i np t he mor t i se ou t l r ne unde rthe ch i se l and b i t . Se t t he d r i l l i ng dep th t othe tenon l eng th , t hen make a cu t aL eachend of the mort ise before bor ing out thewaste in belween (rrght).

f, Preparing the frame for a panelr . . / Assemble the ra i ls and st i les. Then. p 'otectrng the stockwi th wood pads, use two bar c lamps to hold the f rame togethersecu re l y . F i t a rou te r w i t h a %- inch th ree ,w ing s lo t t r ng cu t te rand mount the tool in a router table. Remove the fence and sett l 'e r rame on the table. Adjust the br t 's cut t ing depth to cut thegroove midway between the bot tom of the f rame 3nd the cdoc

o f t he mo ld ing , Gr ipp i r rg t he ba r c l amps f i rm ly , bu t t t he i ns ideedge of the f rame against the b i t near one corner , then rotatei t c lockwise to cut the groove a long the ra i ls and st i les (above).Keep the f rame f l a t on t he tab le as you feed r t i n to t he b i t .lMake a raised panel to f it the f rame (page 53) and then disas-semb le t he f rame .

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DOORS

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fi Gluing up the door\.,1 Squeeze some glue into the mortisesin the st i les and on the tenon cheeks andshoulders at the ends of the rai ls; also applysome adhesive on the contact ing surfacesof the miter cuts in the rai ls and st i les. Donot add any glue to the panel grooves.Then, assemble the door and set it on twobar clamps on a work surface, al igning therai ls with the bars of the clamps. To keepthe clamps from fal l ing over, prop eachone on a notched wood block. Protectingthe f rame wr th wood pads , t igh ten theclamps just enough to ful ly c lose the joints(riSht), then use a try square to checkwhether the corners of the door are at rightangles. Finish t ightening the clamps unt i lg lue squeezes out of the joints, checkingoccasionally that the corners remain square.0nce the glue has dried, use a paint scraperto remove any remaining adhesive.

ADDING DECORATIVE MOLDING

Cutting molding into the stilesIns ta l l a mo ld ing head w i th cu t te rs to mi l l the pro f i le o f yourchoice; a bead design is shown (above, left). Crank the cuttersto % inch above the table, center one st i le over them, then buttthe r ip fence against the stock. Mark the places on the tableinsert where the molding head starts and stops cutt ing. Thenmark the points on each st i le where the molding wi l l begin andend. For each cu t , ho ld the s t i le jus t above the mold ing head,al igningthe front cutt ing l ine with the mark on the table insert

farthest from you. Keeping the stile against the fence, lower thestock onto the blades. 0nce the stock is f lat on the table, feedit forward whi le pressing i t against ihe fence. Sl ide your lef thand along the top of the st i le and hook your f ingers around thefar edge of the table. Once the back cutt ing l ine reaches themark on the table insert c losest to you, l i f t the st i le off the cut-ters (above, right). For a deeper cut, make as many passes asnecessary, rais ing the molding head r/a inch at a t ime.

Moldingprofile --.,

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SOLID-PANEL DOORS

Q olid-panel doors offer the same com-rJ bination ofstrensth and charm astheir frame-and-paneimunteqparts. Thissection features two styles: tongue-and-groove and board-and-batten doors.

Sizing stock for a board-and-battendoor is a matter of making the length ofthe boards equal to the door height; theircombined width should eoual the doorwidth. Dimensioning stockior a tongue-and-groove door requires making theIength of the stiles the same height asthe door. The width of the door will be

the length of the rails-without thetenons-added to the width of the stiles.

In building a board-and-batten door,some woodworkers use two horizontalbattens instead ofthe standard Z-shaoedpattern; for added strength, the twopieces are recessed in dadoes cut into theback of the door. A more elaboratemethod is to rout a sliding dovetailacross the back and fit the batten snug-ly into it, securing the support piece ofwood with a single screw in the centerofthe door.

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A modern, European-style door (near left) is assembledfrom raik and stiles that interlockwith tenons and tongue-and-groove joints. For the more rustic board-and-battendoor (far left), boards are joined with rabbet joints rein-forced by battens screwed to the back of the door.

MAKING A TONGUE.AND.GROOVE D(l(lR

1 Milling the stockI To prepare the rails and stiles you willhave to cut a series of grooves, tenons andtongues. Begin by sawing a groove alongone edge of each board, except for thebottom rail. Install a 7+-inch-wide dado headon your table saw and set the cutt ingheight at Vzinch. Center a board edge overthe blades, then butt the rip fence againstthe stock; clamp a featherboard to the tablefor support. To cut each groove, feed thestock into the blades, pressing the boardagainst the fence (far left). Then cut atenon at the ends of each rai l the sameway you would for a frame-and-panel door(page 104), but do not make the shouldercut. Final ly, cut a tongue along the non-grooved edge of each rail, except for thetop piece. Install and notch an auxiliaryfence (page 4B). Set the cutting height atVq inch, then clamp one featherboard tothe fence above the dado head and installa second featherboard on the table. To cuteach tongue, use a push stick to feed therai l into the dado head. Turn the boardover to complete the cut (near left).

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DOORS

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r) Gluing up the doorZ fitthe parts of the door together,then number each ra i l to he lp youreassemble the door for f rnal glue up.l f any joint is too t ight, use a woodchisel to pare some wood from theedges of the tenon or the groove, asrequired. Once you are satisfied withthe f i t , take the pieces apart andspread some g lue on the tenons ,Reassemble the door and olace it ontwo bar clamps, propping them upwith notched wood blocks. Protect-ing the stock with wood pads, tight-en the clamps unt i l g lue squeezesfrom the jotnls (abovd. Once theadhesive has dr ied, remove theexcess with a paint scraper.

frame door may \f ,,\\\

cauoe c roee-qra in \ \ ' : \ \ \ iscralchee on lhe raile.An eaey solution ie Nosand Nhe raile fireL, NhenapVly etr ipe of maekinqLape Io the rai ls, al igningNhe edqe of the tape wiLh theioints belween Lhe raile and,-sIilee.

Then eand Lhe etilee.

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ocrat'aheo1and inq thesbilee of a eolid-

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DOORS

BUILDING A BOARD.AND.BATTEN D()()R

Assembling the doorDry-clamp the door inside-face up using the same setup as

for a tongue-and-groove door (page 109).Then cut two battensslightly shorter than the door width and narrower than the doorboards. Position the two pieces of wood across the top and bot-tom of the assembly. Then f i t an electr ic dr i l lwi th a combinat ionbit and counterbore holes for screws and wood plugs at 2-inchintervals along the battens, alternating between the top and bot-tom of each board. Make clearance holes except in the places

1 Cutting the rabbetsI On vour table saw install a dado headone-half as wide as the stock thickness.Attach and notch an auxiliary fence (page48), then set the cutting height-again,one-half the thickness of the boards. Tosecure the workpiece, clamp two feather-boards and a suooort board to the tablesaw as shown. Feed the stock into theblades using a push st ick. Then f l ip theboard over and repeat the cut along thenlhpr pdsp (lpft ' l

where the screw will loin the batten to an outside door board.Then, holding the batten square to the edge of the door, drivein each screw (above, left). Cut a third batten to fit diagonallybetween the two already in place and screw it in position. Toconceal the screws, apply a dab of glue to their heads, theninsert plugs in the holes. Tap them in place with a woodenmallel (above, right),Ihen use a chisel to trim the projectingstubs flush with the door surface.

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f) opular features of large cabinets,I hutches, and shelving units, glassdoors are constructed in much the sameway as frame-and-panel doors (page104).The frame is held together by mor-tise-and-tenon joints; a decorative mold-ing adorns its inner edges. The differenceis that on a glass door the molding is notrouted into the frame; instead, a rabbetis cut, then a separate glass-stop mold-ing is nailed in place. The advantage ofthis design is that the molding can eas-ilybe pried offshould the glass break.

In larger pieces of furniture, the dooris often divided by horizontal rails andvertical mullions into several smaller

GLASS DOORS

panels, each holding its own pane. Inaddition to its aesthetic appeal, thisdesign makes the glass less prone tobreaking and also cheaper to replace.

Glass is available in various thick-nesses and types. For door-making pur-poses, the most commonly used varietyis sheet or window glass, available inthicknesses up to % inch.

Glass doors solve the problem ofshielding the contents of a piece

of furniture from dust while stillallowingthem to be dkplayed.

CONSTRUCTING A GLASS D(l(|R

1 Cufting a rabbet to hold the pane of glassI Clamp the frame to a work surface, using a wood pad forprotection. Then install a3/a-inch rabbeting bit on a router andset the depth of cut to the combined thickness of the glass andthe molding. Hold the tool firmly with both hands while restingthe baseplate on the frame near one corner, then turn on the

router and guide the bit into the inside edge of the door. Movethe router clockwise along the edges (above, left) unlil the cutis completed. Square the corners with a wooden mallet and awood chisel (above, right). Make the cuts with the grain first toavoid splitting the frame.

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DOORS

Routing the moldinglnsta l l a decorat ive mold inp b i t on the

router, then mount the tool In a router table.Choose a board long enough to producethe length of molding you need. To securethe stock, install two featherboards on therouter table-one pressing the workpiecetoward the fence and one pressing downdirect ly above the router. (Here, the upperfeatherboard has been removed for clari-ty.) Turn on the tool and feed the work-piece into the bi t whi le keeping the boardf lush against the fence. Finish the passusing a push stick. Repeat the step to routa second molding in the opposite edgeof the workpiece (left), then rip the twofrom the stock with a table saw. Saw themolding to the proper length, making 45"miter cuts at the ends of each piece. Cutand f i t one p iece a t a t ime, mak ing sureyou al ign the miter cuts with the cornersof the rabbets.

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Q F ina lassemb lyr.,f Set the frame and the glass on a work surface, then place the molding in position.Bore a p i lo t hole every 2 inches us ing an e lect r ic dr i l l f i t ted wi th a smal l f in ish ing nai lwi th the head snipped of f . Then dr ive the brads in p lace us ing e i ther a hammer or abrad dr iver . Wi th the hammer, hold the mold ing f lush against the f rame of the door;use a piece of cardboard to protect the glass (above, Ieft). To use a brad driver, inserta brad in to the p i lo t hole, then posi t ion the jaws and t ighten the lock ing nut . Hold ingthe frame steady, squeeze the jaws to set the nail (above, right).

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Since plywood is not affected byhumidiry no allowance has to be madefor changes in the size of the panel.Therefore, it does not need to have a bev-el cut along its edge to fit into a grooveon the frame. The plywood simply restsin a rabbet cut in the frame.

The panel of a veneered-paneldoor- with its typically dark-

hued wood-offers a visual con-trast to the lighter-colored frame.

r) Cutting a rabbet and sizing the stockL Cuta rabbet just as you would to make a board-and-batten door (page 110).Set the cutt ing height at the thickness of the panel; the width should be one-halfthe stock thickness. Clamp featherboards to the saw table to support the workpiece.Insert a shim between the vertical featherboard and the fence to keep the pressureoff the rabbeted part of ihe stock. Feed the workpiece good-face up into the dadohead (above). Then cut the frame pieces to size, making 45" miter cuts at each end.Dry-assemble the frame, then cut the panel to f i t . ldent i fy the panel edges and theirmating frame pieces to help you correct ly assemble the door for glue up.

VENEERE,D.PANE,L DOORS

I s ornamental as the frame-and-A panel door, the veneered-panel dooris much simpler to make. First of all, itdoes not recuire mortise-and-tenonjoints. In fact, the frame adds no strenghto the door at all;the four sides are sim-ply mitered at each end. The assemblyis held together by biscuit joints thataffix it to a plyvood panel, which servesas the structural backbone ofthe door.

The veneered plyuood is formed byup to nine plies of thin veneer gluedtogether. The outer skin is typically %sinch thick for hardwoods and %o inchthick for softwoods.

'l Routing a molding in the frame piecesI Rip the four frame pieces to width,then crosscut them sl ight ly longer thantheir f in ished length. Fi t a router with adecorat ive molding bi t , then instal l themachine in a router table. For each cut,feed the workpiece good-face down intoIhebiI (abovd, using a featherboard tobrace the stock against the fence and apush st ick to complete the pass.

MAKING A VENEERED.PANEL D()()R

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DOORS

Preparing the frame and panelfor glue up

Mark a l ine across the oanel and theframe pieces about 4 inches from eachedge and at 6-inch intervals in between.D isassemble the door and c lamp oneframe piece io a work surface, protectingthe stock with wood pads. Adjust thedepth of cut on a plate joiner, then setthe tool's base plate on the bottom of therabbet in the frame piece. With a supportboard under the jorner to keep i t level,a l ign the gu ide l ine on the too l w i th aslot locat ion mark. Holding the joinerwith both hands, cut a groove at eachmark (left). Repeat for the other framepieces, then cut the mating slots in thepanel the same way.

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Gluing up the doorOnce al l the slots have been cut, glue up the door. Set the frame pieces and the panel

good-face up on a work surface and squeeze glue into each slot, insert ing biscuits as you go.To prevent the wafers from expanding before everything is put together, assemble the door asquickly as possible, fitting the frame pieces to the panel (above, /eff). Next, set the door ontwo bar clamps on a work surface. With wood pads protect ingthe frame, t ighten the clampsjust enough to close the joints. Instal l two more clamps across the top of the door, placingthem perpendicular to the f i rst two. Finish t ightening unt i l g lue squeezes out of the joints(above, right). Once the adhesive has dried, remove any excess with a paint scraper.

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f ast in metals ranging from wrought-U iron to brass, door hinges come ina wide array of styles to complementvirtuallv anv door. Most fit into one offour basic categories shown at right.Clock-case hinges are best suited todoors that overlay their opening, Com-monly used for flush-mounted doors,butt hinges tipically sit in shallow mor-tises cut into the door and case. Surface-mounted hinges are idealfor impartingan antique or rustic look to a door.Concealed hinges, such as the Europeancabinet hinge, are completely hiddenwhen the door is closed.

Before installing the hinges, read themanufacturer's instructions regardinghinge placement. Ifyou are working withfine woods, tap the stock for brassmachine screws after drilling pilot holesto reduce the chance of splitting. A spotof glue in the hole will improve theholding ability of the screw.

INSTALLING EUROPEAN CABINET HINGES

1 Attaching the hinge bodiesI On your drill press, install a Forstnerbit the width of the hinge body-typical-ly, 35mm. Set the door outside-facedown on the machine's table, then al ignthe bi t with one of the two marks forthe hinges. l f you are hanging severaldoors, c lamp stop blocks against theedge and end of the door. Set the drill ingdepth to the th ickness o f the h ingebody. Holding the door f lush againstthe stop blocks, feed the bi t into thedoor (left), lf you are working with morethan one door, dr i l l the other ones, too.Then al ign the mark at the other endof the door under the drill bit. Repositionthe stop blocks and bore the hole; repeatfor any other doors. Set the door on awork surface and screw the hinge bodyin place Inseil.

DOOR HINGES

Cloak-caae hingeFivota on a pin, whichallowa the door to belifted off

Eutt hingeAvailable in ironor bra99

oprin7-mounted. Can be adjuatedafter inatallation to correat minormountinq inaccuraciea

5utfaae-mounted hingeA decorative hingeinstalled on the outaideface offluah doora

European cabineb hingeCommonly used in kitchen

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DOORS

Q Hanging the doorr-,1 Slide the arms onto the mount-ing plates and screw in place ?ight).Close the door and check i ts oosr-t ion on the case. You can adjustthe height, depth or lateral posi t ionof the door by loosening or t ighten-rng the adjustment screws on theh inse arms.

r) Aligning and attaching theZ- mounting platesHave a helper hold the door in i ts openposit ion against the case. Extend thehinge arms to butt the mounting platesagainst the panel. Mark a reference l inearound the plates, then unscrew themfrom the hinge arms. Place the platesin posit ion on the panel inside the caseand drive in the screws (/eff).

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DOORS

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ATTACHING BUTT HINGES

1 Routing mortises for the hingesI Secure the door in handscrews andclamo them in olace on a work surface.Posit ion one of the hinges on the dooredge, making sure that the pin pro1ectsover the edge. Mark the out l ine of thehinge leaf with a penci l . Repeat for thesecond hinge. Instal l a straight-cutt ingbit on a router and set the depth of cutto the thickness of a hinge leaf. Protect-ing the door with wood pads, clamp aboard to the door as an edge guide. Posi-t ion the router bi t s l ight ly above the dooredge jus t ins ide the ou t l ine . Gr ipp ingthe handles f i rmly, turn on the tool andlower the bit into the stock. Once the baseplate sits squarely on the door (right), guidethe b i t in a c i rcu la r mot ion around theout l ine . Use a wood ch ise l to squarethe edges of the mortises, then screw thehinees to the door.

r) Hanging the doorL Wntl" a helper holds the door againstthe case in i ts open posit ion, butt thehinge leaves against the inside face ofthe case. Making sure that the hardware'spin projects beyond the edge of the pan-el , use a penci l to out l ine the hinge leaf(far left). Place the case on its side androut the mortises, following the same pro-cedures described in step 1. Then screwthe hinges to the case (near lefil.

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DOORS

INSTALLING CLOCK-CASE HINGES

1 Positioning the hingesI Set the case on i ts back and f ix str ips of masking tapeacross the corners of the door opening. Place smal l sandpa-per shims on top of the pieces of tape, then set the door inplace. Once you are sat isf ied with the posit ioning, mark thedoor corners on the tape with a penci l . Next, butt the hingesagainst the edge of the door; use a tape measure to makesure that they are equal ly spaced from the top and bottomof the door (above). Holding the upper half of the hinge inplace, sl ip off the bottom half and the hinge pin. Then markthe screw holes on the door edse (inscf)

r) Mounting the hinges on the doorI Secure the door to a worn sur-face with handscrews and clamos.then bore pilot holes at each markedpoint. Hold the top half of each hingesquare to the door edge and screwtt in place (right).

9andpaper t2,Hinqe

ww/pin-

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DOORS

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Q Hanging the doorr- ) Reassemble the h inge and reposi -t i on t he doo r on the case . Check tha tthe corners of the door are aligned with themarks on the mask ing tape . Ho ld ingthe bottom half of one of the hinges, dis-assemble the h inge and move the dooraside, then mark the screw holes on thecase. Repeat for the other h inge. Borepilot holes, then screw the bottom halfof each hinge to the case (/eff,). Removethe shims and tape st r ips, inser t the p in

in the bottom part of the hinge and thenolace the door on the case.

ADDING SURFACE.MOUNTED HINGES

Mounting the hingesWith the door good-face up on a worksurface, posi t ion the hinges on the door,mak ing sure tha t the p ins ex tend jus tbeyond the edge of the door. Also checktha t the h inges are the same d is tancefrom the top and bottom of the door.Mark the screw holes on the door with apenci l , then bore pi lot holes. Screw thehinges to the door. To mount the hingesto the piece of furni ture, set the case onits back. Hold the door in the case andplace a piece of sandpaper between thetwo to serve as a shim, With the hingepin centered over the edge of the dooropening, mark the screw holes on thecase, Bore p i lo t ho les and dr ive inthe screws (right).

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ike their counterparts in humananatomy, legs in cabinetmak-

ing serve mainly as supports. Butfurniture legs play an equallyimportant esthetic role, comple-menting and setting offfor displayarything from a carcase to a chair.Whatever the style of legs, the chal-lenges of making them are several:shape and proportion must be per-fectly in balance with the rest of thepiece of furniture, and the leg mustalso provide adequate support. Thegoal is to achieve a balance betweenstrength and beauty.

This chapter will show you how

LE,GS

The cabriole leg harkens back to thetime-honored art of shapingwood with handtools. Here, the leg\ unmistakable contoursare revealed and smoothed by a spokeshave,

traditional cousin ofthe hand plane.

In general, legs should beattached to furniture with thestrongest of joinery techniqu es (page133), such as the mortise-and-tenonor the dowel joint. Another optionis leg hardware, which is commer-cially available but can also be eas-ily made in the shop. This alter-native allows a leg to be detached,but it is usually only appropriatewhen the piece is large enough tomake detachable legs an advantageduring moving.

For most leg projects, you willneed thicker stock than is com-monly available. You can eitherorder proper-sized wood from ato make four popular leg types:

cabriole, tapered, octagonal and square legs. Several methodsofattaching legs are also presented. Taken together, these legtypes and joinery techniques offer attractive alternatives for awide range of furniture styles.

Among the most distinctive of designs for legs, the cabrioleis best suited to traditional styles of furniture, such as QueenAnne and Hepplewhite. But as American furnituremakers haveshown since the 19th Century, accomplished craftsmanshipcan keep this design fresh and appropriate. As you will see, thecabriole leg does have certain design requirements that shouldbe respected (page na).The characteristic contours of the legare more than simply random shapes. Incorporating animalprofiles in the design, for example, has always been a feature.The Italian word capriolarq an antecedent of the English term,refers to an animal leaping into the air, an action which manyversions ofthe leg are calculated to suggest.

specialized supplier, or make your own leg blanks from thin-ner stock, using a process called face-gluing. Start by prepar-ing the stock slightly larger than the final size of the leg: Tomake a leg whose finished dimensions will be 3by 3by 29inches, cut three I %-inch by 3 t/rinchby 30-inch boards. Toensure a seamless fit, joint the mating surfaces. Then glue upthe boards face to face, alternating the end grain ofthe piecesand arranging the stock to maximize grain and color.

The process is identical to edge-gluing boards into panels(page 20),except that more clamps should be used. Before cut-ting into your leg blank, joint a face and an edge to create twosurfaces that are at a 90o angle to one another, then use theplanir or the table saw to bring the blank to its final widthand thickness. Lastly, crosscut the leg to length. Refer to theCabinetmaking Techniques chapter (page 12) for informationon these basic woodworking operations.

A router etches a rectangular groove

for an inlay into a square leg.

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ANATOMY OF A CABRIOLE LEGII

"|a h. illustration below shows one ofI the common ways a leg-in this

case, a cabriole leg-is joined to a pieceof furniture, such as a simple carcase.Before attaching the leg to the rails, youwill need to cut a rabbet along the topof the rails. After assembly, the top ofthe leg is trimmed to the level of the rab-bet. Next, glue is applied to the rabbets,the notches and the contacting surfacesofthe carcase, and the casework is seat-ed on the leg-and-rail assembly. Theweight of the piece eliminates the needfor clamping.

There are many ways of joininglegs to rails, including the four tech-niques shown opposite and featuredin this chapter. The mortise-and-tenonand dowel joints are two alternativesdesigned to last the life of a piece offurniture.If you choose the mortise-and-tenon, remember that the tenonsare always cut at the ends of the rails,while the mortises are always chis-eled out ofthe legs.

Whether you buy hardware forattaching the legs or build your ownin the shop, it offers the strength anddurability of traditional joinery,with the added benefit of ease ofdisassembly-an option impos-sible with a glue joint.

Poat block1ection of le7joined to rail;len4th equalawidth of rail;width typicallyone-half to two-thirda aa wideao le7 blank

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RailRabbet cut in toped4e providea lipto cradle piece offurniture

AnkleAt narrowestpoint, about two-fiftha the widthof le7 blank

ToeTypically about3/+ to 1 inch frombottom of leg

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LEGS

LEG-TO-RAIL JOINTS

Rail

Tenon

Rail

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LEG HARDWARE

NotchCUL tn le7 tohold mount- ,-inq plate \

Commercial hardware thop-made hardware

RailFlanqe of mounLtn7plaLe fite tnto groovecut near end

NotahCul; in le7to accePt \corner block -:

RailGroove cuLnear enda r r e n l a a n l i n e

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Mountingplate

Corner blockOroovee cutin ende acceptepltnee

Hangerbolt

Spline

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I l though i ts or igins can be tracedA back to woodworkers of classicalt imes in China, Egypt, Greece andRome, the cabriole leg has become aubiauitous fixture of Western furni-tur i in the past 200 years, The bestknown designs include the staid QueenAnne leg with its spoon-shaped footand the ornate ball-and-claw foot ofthe American colonial design. Due tothe leg's widespread popularity, everygeneration has added its own touchesor varied old ones, so that there is nostandard pattern. Designs range fromlegs with exaggerated curves to othersthat are almost knee-less and virtually

CABRIOLE LEGS

straight. The most common element ofcabriole legs is the S-shaped curve, whichis meant to suggest the grace and ele-gance of a horse's leg.

The design shown below will yieldan attractive, well-proportioned legstrong and stable enough to support apiece of furniture. You can alter thepattern to suit your own project orcopy the design ofan existing leg thatappeals to you. However, do not exag-gerate the curves too much or you riskmaking the leg unstable. Before cut-ting into the block of wood, performthis simple test on your design: Draw astraight line from the top of the leg to

the bottom; the lineshould fall withinthe leg outline atevery point.

A cabriole leg.

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MAKING A CABRI()TE LEG

1 Designing a cabriole legI For a template, cut a piece of st i f f cardboard or hardboardto the same length and width as your leg blanks. To draw theleg, start by out l in ing the post block. Make i ts length equal tothe width of the rai l that wi l l be attached to the leg; the widthshould be adequate to accept the tenon of the rai l (one-half totwo{hirds the width of the stock is typical) . Next, sketch thetoe; for a leg of the proportions shown, it should be about % to1 inch from the bottom of the leg, Then draw a curve on thefront of the leg from the toe to the ankle using a french curve;

at i ts narrowest point, the diameter of the ankle should beabout two-fifths the stock width. Move on to the knee, sketching a gentle curve from the post block to the front edge of thetemplate about 2 to 3 inches belowthe block. Then join theknee to the ankle with a relat ively straight l ine. Complete theout l ine at the back of the leg, connect ing the bottom of theleg with the back of the ankle. Then sketch a curve from theankle to the bottom of the post block (above). Experiment withthe outline until you have a satisfactory design.

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LEGS

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Illl llll llt llll lll lllt illi llt lll] ili lll1 filt llll ll|l I]I1 illl lllt fiIl1HO? Tt?Copyingt'he deei1nof a aabriole legTo Lransfer Nhe contoure of an exieLinqleq ontro a temVlate, uee this ehop-madeIracin7 quide. CUL a 2- inch cube from aocrap block, lhen use your trable saw Notorm aV in one ed4e. 1aw off the bot|omhalf of Nhe wedqe. Remove Nhe catbrid4efrom a ball-point Ven and uoe epoxy qlueNo bond it to Nhe cube juel Io one side of

r) Transferring the designI nme leg blankCut out your template on a band saw,then sand the edges up to the markedout l ine. Hold the template f lat on one ofthe inside faces of the leg blank, mak-ing sure that the ends of the templateand the blank are al igned and that theback of the oost block is f lush with theinside edge of the block of wood. Tracealong the edges of the template to out-l ine the leg . Turn the b lank over andrepeat the procedure on the other insideface (above). At this point, some wood-workers prefer to make preparations forthe joinery before cutt ing the leg. ( l t iseasier to clamp and cut a mort ise in arectangular leg blank, for example, thanto carry out the same procedures in aleg with pronounced contours.) Otherwoodworkers cut the leg first and thendo the ioinerv.

lhe Y; Ia?e Nhe carLrid^e Lo Lhe block while theglue ie dryinq. To uee Nhe quide, hold the iemplatef laL aqainoL one eide ol the leg.Then, quide lhe penalonq the back and fronL of the leg, makinq sure theVoinL of Ihe V rides aqainot Lhe edge of the leg.

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Making the cuts on the adjacent faceTurn over the b lank so tha t the marked ou t l ine on i t s

adlacent side is facing up. Cut along the marked l ines, begin-ning at the foot hbove). This time, complete the cut, lettingthe waste fal l away.

Q MakinS the cuts on one face of the legr. . / Set the les blank on the band sawtable with on. of th. marked out l ines fac-ing up and the bottom of the leg pointingaway from you. Al igning the saw bladejust to the waste side of the marked l inefor the back of the leg, feed the stock intothe blade. Turn off the saw about halfwaythrough the cut and remove the workpiece.Then cu t a long the same l ine f rom theopposite end. To avoid detaching the wastepiece from the blank and losing the markedout l ine on the adjacent face, stop the cutaboul t/z inch from the first kerf, leaving ashort bridge between the two cuts. Retractthe workpiece, then cut along the l ine forthe front of Iheleg (left).

f, Cutting the bridgesr-,t Rotate the blank so that the first face you cut faces up.With the saw off, slide the blank forward to feed the bladeinto the kerf at the back of the leg. Turn on the saw and cutthrough the bridge to release the waste piece (above). Then cutthrough the bridge between the kerfs at the front sf the leo

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4i Shaping and smoothing the leg\ ,1 To f in ish shaping the cabr io le legand to remove any b lem ishes l e f t bythe band saw blade, smooth its surfaceswi th a spokeshave, fo l lowed by a raspand sandpaper. In preparat ion for th issmoothing process, secure the leg in aba r c l amp and f i x t he c l amp to a wo rksur face wi th a handscrew and a C c lampas shown . Ho ld ing a spokeshave w i thboth hands at the top of a curved edgeof the leg, pul l the tool s lowly towardyou, cut t ing a th in shaving and fo l lowingthe grain (/eif). Repeat unti l the surfaceis smooth. Turn the leg in the bar c lampto c lean up the other edges. To smoothan area that the spokeshave cannot reach,use the rasp. The tool works best whenpushed d iagonal ly across the gra in. F in-ish the job with sandpaper, using progres-s ive ly f iner-gr i t papers unt i l the sur faceis smooth.

illl tlll llll lll lll llll lltl rjll tlll ll]l illl ilIl llll lll1 lll ltil tl]l ilil9HO7 Tt?Sanding a aabriole leg)mootrhing lhe curvedeurfaces of a cabrioleleg ueinq only aeheeL of eandpaperor a eand inq b lockr ieke creal inq bumpe orval leye or f laXlening oulIhe curves if excessive?ree6ure io apVl ied, Uee aohoV-made oand inq VadlhaL wi l l fo l low Nhe contoure oflhe leg. WraV a sheel of eandpa-

Ver around a th ick oVonqe lha|you can comfor tably qr ip andho ld the ?a?er a round the sponqe aoyou emootrh Nhe leg. Even wi lh f i rm hand?reboure, lhere is no nek of overaandinq.

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TAPERED AND OCTAGONAL LE,GS

f abinetmakers taper legs str ict ly\-.r for visual effect. A taoer adds nostrength, but neither doei it take anyaway. Its principal effect is to reduce thestolid heaviness of a leg, imparting asleek appearance to furniture as diverseas traditional English and contemporaryScandinavian designs.

A leg can be tapered on one insideface, on two outside faces, or, as illus-trated below and on page 129, onall foursides. Before settling on the amount oftaper for a leg-expressed in eitherdegrees or inches per foot-you canevaluate the visual impact of the finished

product without cutting into your legblank. Experiment with different tapersby simply masking offthe part to be cutawaywith a piece of light-colored card-board. There are no prescriptions for theideal amount of taper, but as a generalrule, the thicker and longer the leg, thegreater the angle.

Another option well-suited to manyfurniture styles is the octagonal leg.Despite its appearance of intricacy, it iseasy to create using a table saw as shownon page 130. For either style ofleg, besure to sand the stock thoroughly beforepreparing it for joinery.

Cut on a table saw

fitted with a mold-inghead and cut-ters, a bead profileadds a distinctivedecorative touch tothis tapered leg.

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'l Setting up and starting the cutI Use a cutt ing gauge to out l ine the taper on the bottomend of the leg blank ( inset). Then mark l ines on the four facesof the stock near the opposite end to indicate where the taperw i l l beg in . Ins ta l l a c lamp on the jo in te r ' s in feed tab le to ho ldthe guard out of the way during the operat ion. Set the depth ofcut for 7a inch and, holding the blank against the fence, al ignthe taper start l ine with the front of the outfeed table. Butt a

stop block against the leg as shown and clamp i t to theinfeed table. To start each pass, caref ul ly lower the blankonto the cutterhead whi le holding i t f i rmly against the fencewith your left hand (above). Straddle the fence with your righthand, using your thumb to keep the blank f lush against thestoo block. Make sure both hands are over the infeed sideof the cutterhead.

J()INTING A TAPERED LEG

LEGS

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ADDING DECORATIVE MOLDING

Cutting molding into a legOn your table saw instal l a molding head with the appropri-ate cutters; a bead prof i le is shown. Mark a cutt ing l ine foreach molding on one face of the leg, then hold the leg againstthe miter gauge. For a tapered leg, you wi l l have to adjustthe angle of the gauge. Use a carpenter 's square to makesure that the square part of the leg is perpendicular to themiter slot . Crank the cutters to 7a inch above the table anda l ign one o f the cu t t ing l ines w i th the mold ing head. Then

r) Jointing the taperL feea the les across the cutterheadwith a push stic-k, pushing down on thetrai l ing end of the stock whi le pressingit flush against the fence (left). Keepyour left hand away from the cutterhead.Make as many passes as necessary untilyou have trimmed the stock down to thetaper outline, then repeat the process toshape the remaining faces.

butt the r ip fence against the leg. To cut the f i rst molding,press the leg f i rmly against the miter gauge and the fence,whi le feeding the stock into the cutters. Repeat the cut onthe adjacent face, then cont inuing in the same manner unt i lyou have cut the molding on al l four sides. For a deeper cut,make as many passes as necessary, rais ing the molding head7s inch at a time. (Caution: Blade guard removed for clarity.)

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LEGS

SHAPING AN ()CTAGONAT LEG

Cutting the legButt the stock against the r ip fence

a few inches in front of the blade. Adjustthe cutt ing height unt i l one tooth justprotrudes beyond the face of the work-piece. To make the f i rst cut, feed theblank into the blade, straddl ing the fencewith your lef t hand. Rotate the leg 90"clockwise and repeat the cut on the adja-cent face. Cont inue in this same mannerunt i l a l l the sides are cut

1 Setting up the cutI Unplug the table saw, crank theblade to i ts highest sett ing and adjustthe cutt ing angle to 45". Move the r ipfence to the left-hand side of the bladeLay one face of the leg blank on theblade with a corner rest ing on the sawtable, then butt the fence against thestock //eff.).

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1 3 0

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I dding inlay to a leg can transformA an easily overlooked square oroctagonal block of wood into the eye-catching focus of a piece of furniture.Whether the goal is to create a contrastwith the leg stock or to complement aleg's outlines, you can choose from awide variety of inlay materials, includingmetals, wood veneers, marquetry and-as shown below and on page 132-solidhardwood. Each tvoe of material can beprepared in the shop, but most are alsoavailable in various diameters at finewoodworking stores.

INLAYSAND DETAILING

Standard practice is to rout a groovefor an inlav from the top to the bottom ofa leg. However, before cutting into yourleg, hold pieces of inlay of different lengthsup against it and select a length or arrange-ment that oroduces the best effect.

Anothei decorative option is to routa molding into a leg. Although it doesnot stand out as boldly as inlay, mold-ing can add its own distinctive touch toa oiece of furniture. You can also installa molding cutterhead on your table sawand carve out a pattern, much as youwould on a door frame (page 107).

An inlay of mar-quetry creates avivid counterpointto the understatedgrain pattern ofan octagonal leg.

ADDING INLAV TO A LEG

'l Cutting and routing groovesI To cut a straight groove, use your table saw wiih a dadohead the same width as the inlay; set the cutt ing height tosl ight ly less than i ts thickness. Make a cut in a scrap boardand test the f i t ; adjust the width and cutt ing height of theblades, if necessary. Next, mark a line for the groove on theleading end of the leg and al ign i t with the dado head. Buttthe r ip fence against the stock, then feed i t into the blades(above, lefil. f o make a groove with more than one straight

cut, use a router. Start by securing al l four edges of the legwith stop blocks. Then instal l a straight-cutt ing bi t on yourrouter and set the cutting depth to slightly less than the thick-ness of the inlay. Outline the groove on the leg, then adjust thetool 's edge guide to al ign the bi t with one of the l ines that runacross the grain. Gripping the router f i rmly, cut the groove,moving the tool against the direction of bit rotation. Repeat tocut the other grooves, then square the corners with a chisel.

1 3 1

LEGS

r) Setting the inlay in the grooveL Cut the inlay to f i t in the groove with atable saw, a backsaw and miter box, or a woodchisel. For the rectangular groove shown, make45" miter cuts at the ends of the inlay pieces.I t is easiest to cut and f i t one piece at a t ime,making sure you al ign the miter cuts with thecorners of the grooves. Next, spread a l i t t leg lue in the s lo t and on the mi te red ends o fthe in lay p ieces . Inser t one s t r ip a t a t ime,tapping it gently with a wooden mallel (right).Once the glue has dr ied, gent ly sand the legto remove any excess adhesive and to trim theinlay perfect ly f lush with the surface of thewood. l f you are using metal in lay, cut i t wi tha hacksaw and sand the surfaces that will con-tact the groove to improve adhesion. Thenbond the str ip in place with epoxy glue.

DETAITING THE SURFACE (lF A tEG

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Routing detailingHold the leg in place with stop blocksscrewed to a work surface. Mark l ineson the leg for the beginning and end ofthe cut. Then instal l a decorat ive bi t onyour router; a cove bi t with a bal l -bear-ing pi lot is shown. Set a cutt ing depthappropriate to the prof i le you want tomake, then al ign the bi t with the startline. Gripping the router with both hands,gu ide the b i t a long the corner o f theleg against the direct ion of bi t rotat ion,stopping when you reach the end l ine.Repeat to rout the detailing on the othercorner of the leg (left).

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LEG JOINERYtItIIIIIIrIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

f his section features two time-test-I ed methods for permanently joining

legs to the rails of a piece of furniture:the mortise-and-tenon joint and thedowel joint. Two more contemporaryways are also featured; both involve usingknock-down leg hardware-suitable forfurniture that must be taken apart andreassembled periodically.

To some extent, the type of leg willdictate the way you join it to the rails.You would be unlikely, for example, touse a hanger bolt to fix a cabriole leg toa fine frame-and-panel cabinet. A mor-tise-and-tenon joint would be a moreappropriate choice.

There are several techniques for mak-ing the mortise-and-tenon. You can usea table saw to cut the tenons (page 104);

The tenon at the end of a rail fi* snuglyin a mortise cut out of a square leg,creating a sturdy, long-lasting joint.

the mortises can be bored with a router(page 50) or a drill press (page 106).Yott,may also choose to use hand tools. Asshown below and on page 134, tenons cutwith a handsaw and mortises choppedout with a chisel are traditional meth-ods that many woodworkers considerparticularly suitable for the cabriole leg.Whatever method you choose, thestrength of the joint will be enhancedby its large gluing area.

As a rule of thumb, the length of thetenon should generally be about three-quarters the thickness of the leg. Thetenon is typically about one-third asthick as the rail, but manywoodworkersbase the tenon's thickness instead on thewidth of the chisel with which theywillchop out the mortise.

HAND.CUT MORTISE.AND.TENON J()INTS

1 Cutting the tenonsI 0u t l ine the tenons on the ra i l s , then secure one o f theworkp ieces end-up in a v ise . Cut a longthe l ines on the endof the rail with a backsaw; tilt the saw forward and cut to theshoulder line of the tenon (above, lefil.fhen complete the cutwith the saw level. To remove the waste from the tenon cheeks,clamp the rail face-up to a work surface, protecting the stockwith a wood pad. Cut alons the shoulder l ine on the face of the

rail; turn over the stock and repeat the operation on the otherside bbove, right).To cut away the waste on the edges of thetenon, secure the rai l end-up again and saw along the edgesof the tenon to the shoulder l ine, Final ly, c lamp the rai l edge-up and cut through the shoulder l ines on both edges of therai l . Reoeat to cut the tenons at the other end of the rai l andat both ends of the other rails.

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LEGS

r) 0utlining the mortisesL lttar* mortise outlines on each legin two steps, using one of the rail tenonsas a guide. First , hold the cheek of thetenon flush against the leg, with the topof the rai l a l igned with the end of theleg. Draw a penci l along the edges ofthe tenon to out l ine the length of themort ise, then use a try square to con-t inue the l ines across the leg. To markthe width of the mort ise, hold the edgeof the tenon centered f lush against theleg (left). Extend the marks along the legunt i l the two out l ines intersect. Repeatto mark another mortise on the adjacentface of the leg for the adjoining rai l .

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Chiseling the mortisesFor each of the mort ises, c lamo the

leg to a work surface, protecting the stockwith a wood pad. Then, start ing at oneend of an out l ine, hold a mort is ing chiselsquare to the face of the leg and str ikei t with a wooden mal let . Use a chisel thesame width as the tenon and be surethat the beveled side of the blade is fac-ing the waste. Make another cut 7e inchfrom the f i rst . Cont inue unt i l you reachthe o ther end o f the ou t l ine , lever ingout the waste to a depth that s l ight lyexceeds the length of the tenon. Test-fitthe tenon and widen or deeoen the mor-t ise as required.

134

LEGS

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Gluing up the leg and rai lSpread a l i t t le g lue in the mort ise

and on the cheeks and shoulders of thetenon. F i t the two together , making surethat the tops of the ra i l and the leg aref l ush . P ro tec t i ng t he l eg w i th a woodpad , ho ld t he j o i n t t oge the r w i t h a ba rc lamp . A l i gn t he ba r o f t he c l amp w i ththe ra i l , t hen t i gh ten i t un t i l a bead o fg lue squeezes out of the jo int . Once theadhesive has dr ied, remove any excessglue with a paint scraper. Repeat the pro-

cedure to fasten the adjo in ing ra i l to the^ ' { i ^ ^ ^ ^ + { ^ ^ ^ ^ + + h n l a a a n d f n o l r r p t r nd u l d L t r i l L r d L U u r L l l t r 1 t r 5 u " -

the remain ing legs wi th the other ra i ls .

DOWEL JOINTS

1 Locatins and borins dowel holesl -

I in the ra i lsFi rs t , mark locat ion points for the dowelholes. Hold ing one of the ra i ls end-up, seta cut t ing gauge to one-hal f the th icknessof the stock and scr ibe a l ine across theend o f t he boa rd . W i th t he gauge a t as l rght ly wider set t ing, etch two marks onthe end of the ra i l that in tersect wi th thefirst l ine (ighil.Io avoid splitt ing the stock,use grooved dowels no more than one-halft he t h i ckness o f t he ra i l s . F i t a d r i l l p ress

or an e lect r ic dr i l l wi th a b i t the same diam-e te r as t he dowe ls , t hen bo re a ho le a teach Iocat ion point ; the depth should besl ight ly more than one-hal f the length oft he dowe ls . Use the same techn ique tobore the dowel holes at the opposi te endo f t he ra i l and i n t he o the r ra i l s .

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LEGS

r) Pinpointing mating dowel holesL lnsert dowel centers in the holes.Then al ign the top of the rai l wi th the topof the leg (right), and swing the rail up sothat rts outside face is flush with the edgeof the leg . Tap the o ther end o f the ra i lwith a wooden mallet. The pointed ends ofthe dowel centers wi l l punch impressionson the leg, providing start ing points forbor ing the mat ing dowel ho les . Repeatfor the other rai ls and legs.

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Boring the mating dowel holesand gluing up

Bore the holes in the leg to the samedepth as those in the rail (page 135).l f you are dr i l l ing in to a tapered leg ona drrl l press, be sure to keep the squarepa r t o f t he l eg f l a t on t he mach ine ' stab le . Sp read a l i t t l e g lue on the su r -faces of the leg and ra i l that wi l l comeinto contact wi th each other , then daba small amount of adhesive in the boftomo f t h e d o w e l h o l e s w i t h a p e n c i l t i p .Avo id sp read ing g lue d i rec t l y on thedowels; they absorb morsture quick lyand w i l l swe l l , mak ing them d i f f i cu l tt o f i t i n to t he ho les . I nse r t t he dowe lsinto the legs, then tap them into posi -t ion wi th a hammer. Remember not topound on the dowels, which can causethe leg to spl i t . F i t the ra i l onto the leg,t hen c lose up the j o i n t w i t h t he samec lamprng se tup used fo r t he mor t r se -and-tenon lotnt (page J35l. Glue up theother legs and ra i ls the same way.

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LEGS

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C()MMERCIAL LEG HARDWARE

1 Preparing the railsT '

I Insta l l commercia l hardware to at tach ra i ls to a leg fo l -lowing the manufacturer 's inst ruct ions. For the type shownin th is sect ion (page 13&, test assemble the leg, the ra i lsand the mount ing p late, then mark the locat ion of the p latef l anges on the ra i l s . To cu t t he s l o t s f o r t he f l anges , a l i gneach mark wi ih the b lade, then but t the r ip fence against thera i l . Set the b lade height to the lengih of the f langes, addingt / rc inch for c learance. Feed the ra i l in to the b lade wi th themiter gauge (/eff). (Caution: Blade guard removed for clarity.)Repeat for the other ra i l . S l ip the f langes into thei r s lots andmark the screw holes on the stock. Bore p i lo t holes at eachpoint and then screw the mount ing p late to the ra i ls .

r) Preparing the legL Fust, cut a notch out of the leg for themount ing p late. Stand the leg up and holdthe ra i l - and -p la te assemb ly on top o f i t ,a l i gn ing the ends o f t he ra i l s w i t h ad ja -cent s ides of the leg. Mark a d iagonal l ineacross the top of the leg a long the mount-ing p late. Next , a l ign the top of the p latew i th t he t op o f t he l eg and mark a l i nealong the bot tom edge of the p late acrossthe i ns ide co rne r o f t he l eg add ing r / r "inch for c learance. To cut the notch, setthe leg on a band saw table and t r l t thetable to a l ign the b lade wi th the d iagonall i ne . Bu t t a boa rd aga ins t t he l eg andclamp i t to the table as a r ip fence. Feedthe l eg i n to t he b lade to make the cu t ,t hen c lamp a s top b lock i n p lace to he lpwith repeat cuts (righil. Complete the notchus ing a handsaw. Tes t -assemb le t he l egand ra i l - and -p la te assemb ly aga in andmark the hole on the stock for the hangerbo l t p rov ided . F i t you r d r i l l p ress w i t h ab rad -po in t b i t and bo re a c l ea rance ho lefo r t he bo l t us ing a shop -made V -b lock

ltg (inseil.

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LEGS

Fastening the leg to the railsInsert the screw-thread end of the

hanger bo l t in to the c learance ho le inthe leg. Unl ike other fasteners, a hangerbolt has two types of threads: screwthreads a t one end and bo l t th reads a tthe o ther ; i t a lso has no head. Screwnuts onto the bolt lhread end and t ight-en them against each other with a wrench,formrng a temporary head on the bolt .Tighten the bolt with one of the wrenchesto dr ive the screw threads completelyinto the leg, then unscrew the nuts fromthe bolt . Sl ip the rai l -and-plate assemblyover the bolt and screw a nut on i t , mak-ing sure that the f langes are in their s lots.Keeping the top of the rai ls f lush with thetop of the leg, tighten the nut (left).

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SHOP-MADE LEG HARDWARE

1 Cutting the corner blockI To attach the rai ls to a leg using shop-made hardware, first make a corner block. Ripa piece of wood narrow enough to drive a hang-er bolt through i t into the leg. Then make 45'miter cuts at both ends. Next, cut grooves forsp l ines , wh ich w i l l he lp jo in the b lock to therai ls. Instal l a dado head on your table saw witha width and cutt ing height equal to one-thirdthe thickness of the rai ls. Screw a board to themiter gauge as an extension, then align the mid-point of one end of the block with the blades.C lamp the b lock to the ex tens ion . But t awaste piece from the miter cuts against theworkpiece to serve as a stop block and clampit to the extension. Feed the stock into theblades, then turn i t over and cut the groovein the other end (r ight) . Test- f i t the blockaga ins t the ra i l s , then mark and cu t thegrooves. Next, cut a splrne for each groove.Plane the spl ines careful ly to make sure thatthey f i t p rec ise ly in the match ing grooves ,remembering to cut them %e short to al lowfor clearance. For maximum strength, makesure that the grain of the splrnes runs acrosstheir width, rather than along their length.

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LEGS

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r) Boring pilot and clearance holes(- lnsLall a brad-point bit on your drillpress and mark the center of the longedge of the block for a hanger bolt. Securethe workpiece in a handscrew and clampi t in p lace as shown, w i th the centeral igned with the bi t . Then bore the hole.Next, mark two holes on each side of theclearance hole and drill pilot holes (right),reposit ioning the block in the handscrewas necessary.

Q Fastening the leg to the railsr-J First , fasten the corner block to the rai ls:Spread some glue in the grooves in the block andthe rails, then fit the splines into the grooves in theb lock . Press the b lock up aga ins t the ra i l s to f i tthe sp l ines rn to the ra i l s . Then, keep ing the ra i l ssnugly against the block, screw the block to therails (lefil. Prepare the leg as you would for com-mercial hardware (page 137), cutting a notch outof the top for the corner block and boring a clear 'ance hole for a hanger bolt . Fasten the leg to therai ls with the bolt (page 138), s l ipping a washerbetween the nut and the corner block. Tighten thenuI below) until the leg and rails f it snugly together.

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GLOSSARY

A-BAnkle: The narrowest part of a cabri-ole leg, typically about two-fifths aswide as the widest part of the leg.

Auxiliaryfence: A wood fencescrewed to the metal rip fence of atable saw, usually to avoid accidentaldamage to the fence when the bladewill cut close to it.

Batten: A board screwed across theback ofa board-and-batten door toprovide reinforcement.

Bench dog: A pin that fits into a sloton a workbench to help keep a work-piece in place.

Biscuit joint See plate joint.

Biscuit A thin oval-shaped wafer ofcompressed wood, usually beech,which fits into slots in mating boardscut by a plate joiner.

Bow: A defect in lumber character-izedby an end-to-end curve along theface ofthe stock.

Brad driver: A locking pliers-like tooldesigned for driving finishing nails.

Brad-pointbit: A drill bit featuringa sharpened centerpoint and two cut-ting spurs; produces cleaner holesthan a twist bit.

CCabriole leg: A type of furniture legcharacterized by rounded contoursdesigned to imitate the graceful legof a leaping animal.

Cheek In a mortise-and-tenon ioint,the part ofthe tenon perpendicularto the shoulder.

Carcase: A piece of furniture with abox-like construction; made fromsolid panels.

Copingbit A router bit that cuts adecorative molding and a tongue atthe end or edge of a workpiece, allow-ing the stock to be joined to a boardwith a matching groove.

Crossgrain: A lumber defect appear-ing as an edge-to-edge curve, produc-1n8 a concave tace.

Cup: A lumber defect appearing as anedge-to-edge curve, producing a con-cave tace.

Cutting gauge: A marking tool fea-turing a handle, a fence and sharpcutting edge for scribing a line on aworkpiece parallel to its end or edge.

D-EDado: A rectangular channel cut intoa workpiece.

Double dado joint A method ofjoining wood at corners by meansofa tongue in each piece that inter-locks with a groove in the other; alsoknown as a concealed dado-and-tongue joint.

Dowel center: A metal cylinder thatis inserted into a dowel hole to pin-point a matching hole in a matingworKprece.

Edge banding: Decorative veneerglued to the exposed edges ofa ply-wood panel in a piece of furniture.

Edge gluing: Bonding several boardstogether edge-to-edge to form a panel.

End grain: The arrangement anddirection of the wood fibers runningacross the width of a workpiece whenviewed from the ends.

FFace gluing: Similar to edge gluing,except that boards are bondedtogether face-to-face.

Featherboard: A piece ofwood cutwith fingers or "felathers" at one end;used in conjunction with clamps tohold a workpiece against the fence ortable of a saw or a router table.

Fence: An adjustable guide to keepthe edge of a workpiece a set distancefrom the cutting edge of a tool. Alsocalled a rip fence on the table saw.

Forstner bit: A drill bit with a razorrim and cutters for boring perfectlyflat-bottomed holes.

Frame: An assembly of horizontalrails and vertical stiles: used to forma door or one side of a frame-and-panel piece of furniture.

G-H-IGlass-stop molding: Decorativestrips of wood used to hold a pane ofglass in place in a door.

Grain: The arrangement and direc-tion of the fibers that make up wood.

Half-blind dovetail Similar to thethrough dovetail joint, except thatthe pins are not cut through theentire thickness of the workpiece,thus concealing the end grain of thetail boards.

Hangerbolt A bolt with no head;one end ofthe bolt has screw threadswhile the other end features machinethreads.

Haunched mortise-and-tenon:Similar to the standard mortise-and-tenon, except that one edge ofthetenon has a notch cut out ofit.

Inlay: A decorative strip of metal,hardwood or marquetry that is gluedin a groove cut into a workpiece.

I.K-LKerf: A cut made in wood by a sawblade.

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Kickback The tendency of a work-piece to be thrown back in the direc-tion of the saw operator by a movingblade or cutter on a woodworkingmachine or tool.

Ledger strip: A short, narrow pieceof wood used to support the top andbottom of a piece of furniture.

Leg blank A solid piece of woodmade of several thinner boards face-glued together; used as the basis ofafurniture leg.

M-NMiter gauge: A device that slides in aslot on a saw or router table, provid-ing support for the stock as it movespast the blade or bit.

Molding: Decorative strips of woodthat can be carved on a router ortable saw.

Mortise: A rectangular hole cut into apiece of wood.

Mortise-and-tenon joinfi A joinerytechnique in which a projectingtenon on one board fits into a mor-tise on another.

Mullion: A vertical member betweenthe stiles of a frame; also calledmuntin.

O-P-ROgee bit A decorative router bit orstationary saw molding head cutterthat produces an S-shaped profile.

Plate joint A method ofjoiningwood in which biscuits of wood fitinto slots cut in mating boards.

Pocket hole: An angled hole boredinto the face of a workpiece and exit-ing from its top edge.

Push block or stick A device used tofeed a workpiece into a blade, cutteror bit to protect the operator's fingers.

Rabbet joint A method ofjoiningwood in which the end or edge of oneworkoiece fits into a channel cutalong the edge or end ofanotherworkpiece.

Rail A horizontal member of aframe-and-panel assembly; also, aboard running across the front open-ing of a piece of furniture designedto support a drawer.

Rail cutter: See coping bit.

Raised panet A piece of wood thatfits into grooves cut into the insideedges of a frame-and-panel assembly.Beveling the edges ofthe panel cre-ates the illusion that the middle por-tion is "raised".

S-T-UShoulder: In a mortise-and-tenonjoint, the part ofthe tenon perpen-dicular to the cheek. In a dovetailjoint, the valleys between the pinsand tails.

Spline A small piece of wood that fitsin mating grooves in two workpieces,reinforcing the joint between them.

Spokeshave: A plane-like hand toolwith an adjustable cutter for shapingcurved surfaces.

Squeeze out The excess glue that isforced from a glue joint when clamp-ing pressure is applied.

Sticking bit A router bit that cuts adecorative molding and a groove atthe end or edge of a workpiece, allow-ing the stock to be joined to a boardwith a matching tongue.

Stile: A vertical member of a frame-and-panel assembly.

Stile cutter: See sticking bit.

Stop collar: An electric drill accessorythat fits around a bit to stop a drillingoperation at a certain depth.

Tearout: The tendency ofa blade orcutter to tear the fibers of the wood itis cutting, leaving ragged edges on theworkpiece.

Tenon: A protrusion from the end ofa board that fits into a mortise.

Three-wing slotting cutter: A routerbit designed to cut a groove.

Through dovetail joint: A method ofjoining wood at corners by means ofinterlocking pins and tails; the namederives from the distinctive shape cutinto the ends of joining boards.

Tongue In a tongue-and-groove orcope-and-stick joint, a protrusionfrom the edge or end ofone boardthat fits into the groove in another.

Twin tenon: Two tenons at the endof a board that fit into two side-by-side mortises.

TWist: A lumber defect characterizedby uneven or irregular warping.

V-W-X-Y-Z

Veneered paneh A panel with a thinlayer of decorative wood laid ontoor over it.

Wood button: A small, square-shaped block with a rabbet at oneend that fits into a groove; used tosecure the top of a piece of furniture.

r4l

INDEX

Page references in italics indicatean illustration of subject matter.Page references in bold indicatea Build It Yourself project.

A-BAdhesives, back endpaperBar clamps, y'ont endpaperbelt sanoers. -t5, 5,/Beveled panels,' 5j-54, 55, 56Biscuit joints. See Plate jointsBlind nailers:

Shop Tip, 34Board-and-batten doors, 102, 108, 110Build It Yourself:

Carcase constructioncarcase-squaring blocks, 33glue racks, 24

Drawersdado-routing jigs for drawer

supports, 89Frame-and-oanel construction

jigs for culting raised panels, 55pocket hole jigs, 68

Burns, Michael, 8-9Butt hinges, 115, 117Buttons (rabbeted blocks), 47, 64- 65

CCabinetmaker's clamps, /ront endpaperCabinets. See Carcases; Frame-and-panel

constructionCabriole legs, 121, 122, 124-127

Copying the design of a cabriole leg(Shop Tip), 125

Sanding a cabriole leg (Shop Tip), 127Carcases, 17,18-19

Assembly, 3l-32, 35, 37,43Back panels, 38Carcase-squaring blocks, 33Checking a carcase for square

(Shop Tip), 33Toinerv

dovetail joints,17, 19, 27-32plate joints, 16, 17, 19, 36-37rabbet joints, 19, 34-35

See also Edge banding; Edge-gluedboards; Shelves

C clamps, front endpaperClamping:

Carcases, 32,35,37,43checking a carcase for square

(Shop Tip), 33Doors, 107, 109, 114Drawers,86,98Edge-glued boards,22

preventing clamp stains(Shop Tip), 23

Frame-and-panel construction, 45,58, 59

Glue racks, 24Moldings, T0-71

an alternative method for clampingon moldings (Shop Tip), 71

Springboards for clamping edgebanding (Shop Tip), 40

Clamps, front endpaperSee also Clamping

Clock-case hinges, 115, 118-119Concealed dado and tongue joints, 26,

78-79Cope-and-stick joints, 44, 46, 48, 5l- 52Craftsmanship, 6- 1 1

See also Hand-craftingCrosscutting, I4

DDado joints:

Drawers, 75,76,78-79Dado-routing jigs, 89Decorative techniques:

lnlays, 120, 131-132Moldings

aoofs. Lu/legs, izs, i2g,t3t,132shelves, 63

Depth gauges:Inserting dowels with a depth gauge

.(Shop Tip), 26Doors, 101

Board-and-batten, 102, 108, 110Decorative moldings, 107Frame-and-panel, 101, 102, 104 -107Glass, l0l, 103, 1 11-112Hinges, 101,115-119Mounting, 103, 115-119Tongue-and-groove, 102, 108 - 109

preventing sanding scratches(Shop Tip), 109

Veneered-panel, 10i, 1 1 3- 1 14Double dado joints, 76,78-79Double-sided clamps, front endpaperDovetail joints:

Carcases, 17, 19,27-32Drawers, 75,76,8U84Hand-cut, 27-32,82-84

dealing with a defective dovetail(Shop Tip), 32

Dowel joints, 123, 135- 136Dowels:

Edge-glued boards, 25- 26inserting dowels with a depth gauge

(Shop Tip),26Drawers, 17 , 72,73, 74-75

Assemblv. 85 -86Bottom panels, 73, 74, 85-86False fronts, 74,97-98Fitting, 91,94Flush fronts, 74Jolnery, / J , /J , /O

dado joints, 75,76,78 -79dovetail ioints, 75, 76, 80 -84rabbet joints, 75,76, 77

Lipped fronts,74, 87Mounting,86

bottom-run, 75,90 -91positioning jig for slide runners

(Shop Tip), e3

side-mountin g, 75, 87- 88, 89, 92slide runners, 73,75, 87, 93slides,73,74,75

Pulls and handles, 97, 99single pulls for drawers already

built (Shop Tip), 98Repair

fixing a bowed drawer side(Shop Tip), el

fixing a loose drawer bottom(Shop Tip), 86

Stops,95-96Drill presses:

Poiket hole jigs, 68

E-FEdge banding, 19, 39-40

Springboards for clamping edgebanding (Shop Tip), 40

Edge-glued boards, 20- 26Clamping,22

glue racks, 24preventing clamp stains

(Shop Tip), 23Dowels,25-26

inserting dowels with a depth gauge(Shop Tip), 26

Sanding, l5Two ways to spread glue

(Shop Tip) ,21European cabinet hinges, 115-116Face-gluing,121Frame-and-panel constructi on, 45,

46-47,53Assemblv. 52-59Cabinets

alternative method for clamping onmoldings (Shop Tip), 7l

bottom panels,47,60drawers,92,96moldings, 47,69-71shelves, 47,61-63top panels, 64-67,68

Cope-and-stick joints, 44, 46, 48,51-52

Doors, l0l, 102, 104-107Haunched mortise-and-tenon joints,

46,47, 48-s0Raised panels, 5i- 54, 55, 56

GGlass doors, 101, 103, 111-112Glossarv. 140-14lGlue racks. 24Glues, back endpaperGluing:

Carcases, 32, 35, 37,43carcase-squaring blocks, 33

Doors, 107, 109, 114Drawers, 86, 98Edge-glued boards, 21- 23, 24

preventing clamp stains(Shop Tip), 23

spreading glue (Shop Tip), 21

ItIIItIIIIIItttIIIItIIIttIIIItII

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IItIIIIIttItIIttIIIIIttIIIIIIIII

Face-gluing, l2lFrame-and-panel construction, 58,

59, 107

HHalf-blind dovetail joints, 75,76, 82-84Hand-crafting:

Dovetail joint s, 27- 32, 82- 84Mortise-and-tenon joints, 1 33- 1 35

Handscrews, front endpaperHardware:

Doors, l0 l , 115-119Drawers, 74

pulls and handles, 97, 99pulls for drawers already built

(Shop Tip), 98slide runners, 73,75, 87,93

Legs, 121, 122, 123, 137- 139Metal top fasteners, 64

Haunched mortise-and-tenon joints,46,47, 48-50

Hinges, 107, 115-119

I-I-KIngersoll, Ian,6-7Inlays:

Legs, 120, 131-132Invisible nailers:

Shop Tip, 34figs:

Drawer slide runnerspositioning jigs for slide runners

(Shop Tip), 93Drill presses

pocket hole jigs, 68Routers

dado-routing jigs for drawersupports, 89

Shelf-drilling jigs, 4lTable saws

raised panels, 55foinery:

Plywood, 17, 18-19, l13See also Dado joints; Dovetailjoints; Mortise-and-tenon joints;Plate joints; Rabbet joints

lointing, l3

LLedger strips, 47, 60, 64, 67Legs, l2l

Cabriole legs, 121, 122, 124-127copying the design ofa cabriole leg

(Shop Tip), 125sanding a cabriole leg

(Shop Tip), 122Decoration, 128

inlays, 120, 131-132moldings, 128, 129, l3l

Detachable legs, 12l, 122, 123,137-139

Joinery, I2l, 122, 123, 1 33- 1 39Octagonal, 128, 130Tapered, 128-129

Lipped rabbet joints, 7 6, 77Lumber. SeeWood

M.N-OMiter gauges, 14,52Moldings:

Frame-and-panel construction, 47,69-71

Glass doors, 101, 111-112See also Decorative techniques:

moldingsMoore, Terry, 10-11Mortise-and-tenon joints:

Frame-and-panel constructi on, 46, 47,48- 50, 59

Hand-cut ,133-135Legs , 122 , 123 ,133 -135

Nails:Concealment

invisible nailers (Shop Tip), 34wood plugs, 35

Octagonal legs, 128, 130

P-Q-RPanels:

Carcases, l8Frame-and-panel construction, 45,

46,53raised panels, 53-54, 55, 56

Veneered-panel doors, 103, 1 I 3- I 14See also Edge-glued boards

Pipe clamps, /ront endpaperPlaning, 13Plate joiners, l6Plate joints, 16, 17, 19, 36- 37

Veneered-panel doors, 103, I13, 114Plywood:

Edge banding, 39-40Joinery, 17, 18-19, 113Veneered-panel doors, 103, 1 13- 1 14

Pocket holes, 64, 66-67, 68Power tools:

Belt sanders, 15, 57Drill presses:

Pocket hole jigs, 68Platejoiners, l6Safety precautions, front endpaperSee also Routers; Table saws

Pulls and handles, 97, 99Single pulls for drawers already built

(Shop Tip), 98Quick-action clamps, front endpaperRabbet joints:

Carcases, 19,34-35Drawers, 75,76,77

Rip fences, .14Ripping, 14Routers:

Dado-routing jigs for drawer sup-ports, 89

Dovetail joints, 80-81Raised panels, 56Shop-built miter gauges

(Shop Tip), 52

SSafety precautions, front endpaperSanding, 15

Cabriole legs (Shop Tip), 127Frame-and-panel construction, 57Preventing sanding scratches

(Shop Tip), 109Screws:

Concealmentinvisible nailers (Shop Tip), 3awood plugs, 35

Shelf-drilling jigs, 4JShelves, 18-19,41-43

Adjustable, 4 1 - 42, 6 I - 63Edge banding, 39-40Frame-and-panel cabinets, 6l-63

Shop Tips:Carcase construction, 21, 23, 26, 32,

33, 34,40Doors, 109Drawers, 86,91,93,98Frame-and-panel construction, 52, 7 1Legs, 125, 127

Slide runners, 73, 7 5, 87, 93Spring clamps, front endpaperSquare construction:

checking, 33, 59Surface-mount hinges, 115, 119

T-U-V-WTable saws, 14

Raised panels, 53- 54, 55Tapered legs, 128-129Through dovetail joints, 27- 32, 75, 7 6,

80-81Tongue-and-groove doors, 102, 108- 109

Preventing sanding scratches(Shop Tip), 109

Tools:Cl,amp s, fr o nt endp ap erSafety precautions, front endpaperSee also Power tools

Trigger clamps, front endpaperVeneered-panel doors, 103, 1 1 3- 1 14Web clamps, /ro nt endpaperWood:

Anatomy of aboard, front endpaperDefects, 12Face-glu ing,121Grain

carcases, 17,20Preparation ofstock, 12, 13-15Selection, l2

carcases, 20legs, 121

Shrinking and swelling, 101T1pes, back endpaperSee also Panels; Plywood

Wood plugs, 35

r43

ACKNOWTEDGMENTS

The editors wish to thank the following

CABINETMAKING TECHNIQUESAdjustable Clamp Co., Chicago, IL; Delta International Machinery/Porter Cable, Guelph, Ont.; Freud

Westmore Tools, Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.; Hitachi Power Tools U.S.A. Ltd., Norcross, GA

CARCASECONSTRUCTIONAdjustable Clamp Co., Chicago, IL; Delta International Machinery/Porter Cable, Guelph, Ont.; Freud

Westmore Tools, Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.; Lee Valley Tools Ltd., Ottawa, Ont.; Sandvik Saws and Tools Co.,Scranton, PA; Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, IL; Steiner-Lamello A.G. SwitzerlandiColonial Saw Co.,

Kingston, MA; Veritas Tools Inc., Ottawa,Ont./Ogdensburg, NY

FRAME-AND-PANEL CONSTRUCTIONAdjustable Clamp Co., Chicago, IL; American Tool Cos., Lincoln, NE; Delta International Machinery/Porter

Cable, Guelph,bnt.; FreudiVestmore Tools, Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.; Lee Valley Tools Ltd., Ottawa, Ont.;Richards Engineering Co. Ltd., Vancouver, BC; Sandvik Saws and Tools Co., Scranton, PA; Sears, Roebuckand Co., Chicago, IL; Shopsmith, Inc., Montreal, Que.; Stanley Tools, Division of the Stanley Works, New

Britain, CT; Vermont American Corp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville, KY

DRAWERSAdjustable Clamp Co., Chicago, IL; American Tool Cos., Lincoln, NE; Belwith International, Grand Rapids, MI;Delta International Machinery/Porter Cable, Guelph, Ont.; Freud Westmore Tools, Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.;

Hafele Canada, Mississauga, Ont.; Lee Valley Tools Ltd., Ottawa, Ont.; Leigh Industries Ltd., Port Coquitlam,BC; Mohawk Finishing Products Inc., Amsterdam, NY/Montreal, Que.; Sandvik Saws and Tools Co.,

Scranton, PA; Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, IL; Stanley Tools, Division of the Stanley Works, New Britain,CT; Vermont American Corp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville, KY

DOORSAdjustable Clamp Co., Chicago, IL; Delta International Machinery/Porter Cable, Guelph, Ont.; Freud

Westmore Tools, Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.; Lee Valley Tools Ltd., Ottawa, Ont.; Mohawk Finishing ProductsInc., Amsterdam, NY/Montreal, Que.; Richards Engineering Co. Ltd., Vancouver, BC; Sears, Roebuck and Co.,Chicago, IL; Shopsmith, Inc., Montreal, Que.; Stanley Tools, Division of the Stanley Works, New Britain, CT;Steiner-Lamello A.G. Switzerland/Colonial Saw Co., Kingston, MA; Vermont American Corp., Lincolnton,

NC and Louisville. KY

LEGSAdjustable Clamp Co., Chicago, IL; Anglo-American Enterprises, Corp., Somerdale, Nf; Delta International

Machinery/Porter Cable, Guelph, Ont.; Freud Westmore Tools, Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.; Lee Valley Tools Ltd.,Ottawa, Ont.; Richards Engineering Co. Ltd., Vancouver, BC; Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago, IL; Vermont

American Corp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville, KY

The following persons also assisted in the preparattonofthis book:

Renaud Boisjoly, Lorraine Dor6, Graphor Consultation,Josde Laperridre, G€rard Mariscalchi,

Jennifer Meltzer, James Th6rien

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIItIIIIItIIIIIIIII

PICTURE CREDITS

Cover Paul McCarthy/Au Puits de Lumiire6,7 Paul Rocheleau8,9 Robert Holmes

l0,ll Thomas Ames, Jr.

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TtItttItttIIIIttTTItIIIIttttIItI

TYPES ()F LUMBER

WPE

S0FTW00D Pine

HARDWOOD Ash

Birch

Cherry

Mahogany

Maple

0ak

Walnut

EXOTIC W00D Rosewood

Teak

MANUFACTURED HardboardPANELS

Plywood

WORKSHOP GUIDE

CHARACTERISTICS

White to pale or red-brown, with red streaks; fine to coarse, skaight grain r Skong; low shrinkage and warpagewhen dried; light to heavy . Most types easy to shape; holds fasteners well t Glue and clear finish bond well

White to dark brown; coarse, uneven, straight or wavy grain . Strong with excellent bending qualit ies; heavy andhard o Easy to shape; holds fasteners well . Glue and clear finish bond well

White to pale brown; fine, uneven, skaight or wavy grain . Strong with good bending qualities; heavy and hard. Easy to shape; holds fasteners well, but often splits when screwed o Glue and clear finish bond well

Pale to dark red-brown, often with hints of green; fine, uneven, straight or wavy grain . Strong with medium bendingqualit ies; moderately heavy and hard o Easy to shape; holds fasteners well o Glue and clear finish bond well

Brown to dark red-brown; fine, even, straight grain, often with vivid, flecked patterns . Strong with good bendingqualities; moderately heavy and hard . Easy to shape, but tends io scuff when planed; holds fasteners well o Glueand clear finish bond well

White to pale red-brown; fine, even, straight grain, often with bird's eye or burl patterns . Exceptionally strong withgood bending qualit ies; heavy and hard o Easy to shape; holds fasteners well o Glue and clear finish bond well

Pale gray to red-brown; coarse, even, straight grain . Strong with good bending qualities; heavy and very hard. Hard to shape; holds fasteners well, but often splits when nailed r Glue and clear finish bond well

Gray- to dark brown, often with hints of purple; coarse, even straight grain . Exceptionally strong with good bendingqualit ies; moderately heavy and hard o Easy to shape; holds fasteners well o Glue and clear finish bond well

Dark brown to black, often with hints of dark purple or streaks of orange; coarse, uneven grain with highly figuredpatterns o Exceptionally strong with good bending qualities; heavy, hard and very oily r 11ur6 to shape, tending todull blades; holds fasteners well . Glue bonds well; usually f inished with penetrating oil

lVledium to dark brown, often with hints of yellow; coarse, even, straight grain ! Strong with good bending qualit ies;heavy, very hard and oily o 53.t to shape, but tends to dull blades and suffer burn marks from power tools; holdsfasteners well . Glue bonds well; usually f inished with penetrating oil

Britt le; fairly heavy and hard o Easy to cut, buttends to shred; holds fasteners poorly o 61u. bonds well

Strong; heavy and fairly hard r Easy to cut; holds fasteners well o Glue bonds well

CABINETMAKING ADHESIVES

TYPE CHARACTERISTICS

White Polyvinyl-acetate-based; not toxic or f lammable . Skong bonding; working time 3 to 5 minutesglue r Setting time about 30 to 45 minutes; cures fully in 24Io 72 hours o Dries clear and colorless

o Does not sand as well as yellow glue

Yellow Aliphatic resin-based; not toxic or f lammable o Better wet tack for faster grab than white glue;glue working time 3 to 5 minutes . Setting time about 30 to 45 minutes; cures fully in 24Io 72 hours

. Dries opaque (faded yellow); more heat resistant for better sanding properties than white glue

Contact Solvent-based; may be toxic and flammable . Drying time 10 to 20 minutes o After drying, instantcement bond on contact; cures fully in 72 hours . Non{oxic water-based contact cements also available,

with similar bonding properties but slower drying; water-based may cause thin veneers to warp

Epoxy Resin and hardener typically mixed together prior to use; not f lammable but may be toxic . Strong,glue waterproof bonding; working time 5 minutes to 2 hours (depending on type) . Setting time 5

minutes to 2 hours (depending on type); cures fully in 24 hours

Hide glue Protein-based, available in granular or l iquid form; not toxic or f lammable . Strong bonding; workingtime 3 to 5 minutes r Setting time t hour; cures fully in 24 hours o Sandable and dries a dark colorr Not water-resistant: glue bond can be softened with water for disassembly

Casein Milk-based, available in powdered form; nonflammable o Average bonding; working timeglue 15 to 20 minutes o Setting time 15 to 20 minutes; cures in 8 to 12 hours o High resistance to

water and dries an opaque color; sands well, but stains acidic woods

usEs

General woodworking

General woodworking

Bonding dissimilar materialssuch as plastic laminate andveneers to wood and plywood

Bonding acidic woods such asoak and mahogany; other exoticwoods diff icult to glue

Cabinet construction, antiquerestoration and veneering

0ily woods that bond poorly withother glues (teak, yew andlemonwood); laminating

Documents

THE ART OF WOODWORKING Vol 11 cabinet making