July/August1987, No.65, $3.75

•

07

Extension Table Design Shopmade Bandsaw Tuning Handplanes Roubo Workbench Faux Finishing

A AA

DELTA

Industrial Quality

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=JUIY/August

___________ DEPARTMENTS

Editor

Paul Bertorelli Art Director

Roland Wolf

4

Jim Cummins Dick Burrows Ass;st.nt Editors

42. The Taunton Press

Paul Roman, publisher; Janice A. Roman, associate publisher; Tom Luxeder, operations man­ ager; Carol Marotti, personnel manager; lois Beck, office-ser­ vices coo tor; Joyce Moran, administrative assistant/secre­ tary; Linda Ballerini, secretary. Accounting: Wayne Reynolds, controller; Irene Arfaras, ger; e Serlo, eY . Roger design director; Ben Kann, art department manager; Elizabeth Eaton, e Feinstein, Heather Brine associa te art ­ tors; W er, asst. art or; ot Knorr, produc­ tion assistan Books: Leslie Carola, publisher; Mark Felrer. managing editor; Scott Landis, tine T ons, associa te edi­ tors; Nancy Stabile, copy/produc­ tion editor;

Sandor

Tinting glue; scribing large circles; two-faced sanding slab

Copy Editor

Barbara Hofmann Jennes Ass;st.nt Art Dire�tor

. Circulation:

circulation coordinator. Data Processing: Richard Benton, system operator/programmer. Fulfillment: Carole E. Ando, subscription manager; Terry Thomas, supe r customer ser­ vice/mail processing; Connie Bar Gloria n, Dorothy Dreher, Anette Kaswer, Peggy LeBlanc, Jean o, Heather Ric­ cardi, Nancy Schoch, MarcheUe Sperling; Ben Warner, mail­ services clerk. Robert Bruschi, distribution supervisor; David Blasko, Mary Ann Costagliola, Timothy Harrington, Linnea Ingram, Sean McDonald, Alice Saxton. Man"fa ring: Kath­ leen Davis, director; Austin E. Starbird, pre press manager; Bar David coor­ tors; Rolland coor­ tor; Carlson, Cole­ man, Cooper, Olm­ sted, production assistants; Swapan Nandy, scanner/system operator; Dinah George, Nancy Knapp. system operators. Mar­ keting: Dale Brown, director; Rosemarie Dowd, trade sales coordinator; Barbara Bu ew, . motion: Jon Miller, manager; Philip Allard, copy/ promotion writer; Claudia promotion/ tion assistant. Video: Rick MasteUi, producer/ direct or. Adwertising and Sales: Rich­ ard Mulligan and Pamela Sigal, national accounts managers; Carole Weckesser, senior sales coordinator; Nancy Clark, sales coordinator; Jill Turek, secre­ tary. Tel.

Questions

&

Answers

Removing Formica; homegrown spalted wood; bog oak

18

Follow-up Bandsaw speeds; mUSical-pitch update; sources follow-up

92

Events

96

Books

1 00

FWWand men

Notes New

Com

t

index; Ryobi planer review; woodturning symposium

Kathleen Creston Editori.l Se�ret.ry

Mary Ann Colbert

rdina Elainmana aminMaryArt:Ames, MariBarnes, Annilliam ,Orescb direc Lambert direct Marg1. Chris Martha Higham, tary Karen Cheli, rviso czak,Odd Denise PascalHam

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July/August

1987

81

Here's a whole new way to learn chip carving . . .

A new Fine Woodworking video workshop

Chip carving is a wonderfully direct and simple way to decorate all kinds of wood· en objects. Once you learn what award·winning chip carver Wayne Barton has to show you, you can create an endless array of decorative borders, rosettes, letter· ing and designs using nothing more than a ruler, a compass and two knives.

Barton's tape begins with the basics: how to lay out fundamental designs, sharpen your knife to a razor edge and use it to carve borders, a rosette and a free· form carving. He then turns to some common questions and problems, showing you how to maintain a crisp edge on swirl and other large·chip designs, how to apply the same chip technique to a variety of deSigns, and how to carve letters in sever· al different faces. There's also an illustrated booklet that offers plans, technical highlights and sources of supply. It's a great new way to learn the simple intricacies of chip carving from a master craftsman-in your own home, at your own pace.

60VHS:

minutes, $29.95 postpaid (21 -day rental: $14. 95)

Publication #61 3

Beta: Publication #6 1 4

To order from The Taunton Press, use the attached insert . 82

Fine Woodworking

· . . and a shopful

of carving classics

How to CarveWood

by Richard Biitz

Whatever you want to carve, Richard Blitz will show you the techniques you need. Chapter by chapter he teaches you whittling, chip carving, wildlife carving, relief carving, lettering and archi­ tectural carving. In each case you learn by doing, working your way through progressively more chal· lenging exercises and different projects. SojtcO'Ver,

224 37 pages,

.J

813.95 postpaid, Publication #30

Fine Woodworking on Carving

There's an astonishing range of carving information in this collection of articles from Fine Wood· working. You'll learn about everything from select­ ing basic tools to creating fancy raised panels. There's also information about linenfold carving, incised lettering, the elegant shells and fans of peri­ od furniture, wildlife carving and much more.

40

Sojtcover,

12

pages,

87.95 postpaid, Publication #50

Carving Techniques and Projects

wiAandFithnMack Sam Bush e WoodworHeadlkingey,VidJr.eo Workshop

Here's a chance to learn many of the basics of carv­ ing from two noted craftsmen. Sam Bush uses let­ tering to demonstrate gouge and chisel techniques. Mack Headley shows you how to carve that hall­ mark of 1 8th-century furniture, the classic scallop shell. A supplemental booklet provides shell de­ signs, a list of tools and technical notes. 90 minutes, 829.95 postpaid (814.95 to rent)

VHS: l Loweking Video Workshop AwiFithnePhiWoodwor Pub. #6 1 7

Beta: Pub. #6 1 8

Carve a Ball-and-Claw Foot

A period-furniture specialist, Phil Lowe shows you how to make the Colonial Philadelphia-style cabri­ ole leg and ball-and-claw foot. You'll learn how to scale the piece to your furniture plan, bandsaw a graceful cabriole, lay out the form of the ball-and­ claw, cut in the ball using a mallet and gouge, and shape the dragon's claw for a vigorous-looking grip.

1VHS:5

minutes, 839.95 postpaid (81 4 . 95 to rent)

Pub. #605

Beta: Pub. #606

Or call 1-800 -243-72S2 and use your credit card. July/August 1987

83

1IlI="'••I00: ..'' . .

LENEAVE-QUALITY

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••• •• •

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• •

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•

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St.

•

Freeborn and Freud Shaper Cutters availble

IF YOU VALU E YOUR FING ERS ..... YOU NEED A

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Zip

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4:30

July/August 1987

99

Notes and Comment

Photos above &. helow right; Andrew Dean Powell; �Ibon' rlghl: Eric Shamhroom

Unique: Part

II

The "Unique: Part I I " exhibit hosted at the Clark Gallery in Lincoln, Mass. , last January featured some of New England's best and best-known furnituremakers. Among them was Dale Broholm's drop-leaf table, above. The five-foot-Iong top, made of two elon­ gated satinwood triangles, changes to a rectangle when its gate-style mahogany leg is hinged out. Fine enough for even the rarest of tropi-

Primrose Center closes Perhaps it's just a sign of the times-people are getting more pragmatic about their careers and are attracted less to the romance of woodworking as a profession. Or maybe a rough economic climate makes for more educational belt-tightening. Whatever the reason, declining enrollments have struck a final blow to the Primrose Center, which formally closed its doors at the end of this year's Spring semester. Established in 1979-at the height of resurgent interest in handmade furniture and cabinetmaking-this small Missoula, Mont., woodworking school's one-year to three-year programs taught everything from basic hand-tool skills and design to advanced construction and finishing tech­ niques. Furniture designer/craftsman Steve Voorheis started the school, partly for the adventure, partly as an income supplement as he ventured into making high-end furni­ ture-a less than lucrative occupation in rural Montana. Voorheis, who acted as both the school's administrator and its chief instructor, has 100 Fine Woodworking

cal birds is Peter Thibeault's "Classical B i rdbath" (above , right ) . Thibeau lt's piece features a 2 0 - i n . -dia. top turned from bubinga, a gold-leaf and sapwood pedestal and a spalted bubinga base. The colorfully painted "Garden Party" combination settee and croquet set by Jay Stanger, right, might appeal to a child's sense of adventure, but neither the scale of the piece (44 in. high by 39 in. deep by 72 in. long) nor its price ( $4,750) make it a kid's toy. always run the school as a private business, rather than obtaining non-profit status as other woodworking schools in the country have done. "I just couldn't imagine adding the task of fund-raiser to my already long list of duties" Voorbeis said. When enrollments began declining sev­ eral years ago, Voorheis stepped up his ad campaign, but failed to gain enough new applicants. He says that it's never been easy to lure new students-95% of whom came from distant locations-to a small town like Missoula. With tuition around $4,500 last year (not including living expenses, hand tools and lumber purchases), it seems like­ ly that many woodworking students opted to attend schools in metropolitan areas, nearer to their monied clientele. Still, isolation probably wasn't the main reason for Primrose's demise. Other wood­ working schools, large and small, have been having a tougher time attracting stu­ dents in the last few years. Bill Sayre, director of the Leeds Design Workshop in Easthampton, Mass., told me that although the stream of applicants to the school's one-year and two-year program remains steady, the overall number of inquiries has

diminished. To solicit new students, Leeds has recently turned to a direct-mail cam­ paign aimed at high school seniors. Sayre says that "students these days aren't as wide-eyed about becoming studiO artisans," but are more serious about receiving a well­ rounded education to prepare them for the job market. Another we l l - known woodworking school, the Rhode Island School of Design, hasn't experienced a decline of interest or enrollment, but Rosanne Somerson-who runs the graduate furniture program there­ says the curriculum has shifted to include classes in business-related topics and mar­ keting stategy, as well as proVide technical instruction. "For furnituremakers to be suc­ cessful, it's no longer enough to just make good fu rnitu re" Som erson says . Small schools like Primrose may now be less able to compete because they can't offer the diverse curriculum of larger institutions. Despite Primrose's closing, Voorheis remains undaunted. He plans to relocate his furnituremaking business to Seattle this summer and continue offering occa­ sional workshops and seminars. -Sandor Nagyszalanczy

It's ferociously efficient. Flawlessly engi neered .

I UT THIS&

IT'S THE PIRANHA® CARBIDE-TOOTH SAW BLADE. FROM BLACK DECKER. The P i ran ha® carbide saw blade lasts u p to fifty ti mes longer than conventional steel blades. And o utperforms both conventional carbide and steel blades alike.

&

CUTS FASTER, SMOOTHER THAN CONVENTIONAL CARBIDE BLADES. Carbide-ti pped blades last longer than steel blades . But they tend to cut slower. Roug her. They' re harder o n the saw, a n d req u i re m o re w o r k o f t h e operator. To solve this problem, Black Decker has engi neered th ree m ajor breakth rou g h s i n carbide blade tec h nology.

&

CURVED CARBIDE TOOTH "SLICES" THROUGH WOOD. M ost co nventional carbide blades featu re a somewhat � l u msY"block-shaped tooth (see d iag ram ) which c ho ps t h ro u g h wood , resu lting i n a slow, d iffic u lt c ut. The P i ra n ha carbide tooth saw blade featu res an excl usive "cu rved carbide tooth , " which l iterally slices t h roug h wood . Resulting i n a faster, smoother cut than conventional carbide blades every ti me. Also, by sharpe n i ng the tooth t h roug h an advanced process ,

L-"BLOCK-ORDISNHAPED"ARY -LPIRANHA'"CARBICURVEDDE---..l

___ ___

CARBIDE TOOTH TOOTH

Black Decker has ach i eved an edge considera bly sharper than that of conventional carbide blades. The P i ra n h a carbide tooth blade is even resha rpen­ able, for extended l ife.

EXTREMELY FAST CHIP REMOVAL. A nother reason fo r the P i ra n ha blade's ravenous a ppetite is its excl usive "fishhook g u llet" desig n - a conti n uous c u rved su rface with n o break between the carbide ti p and the steel body. This conti n uous c u rved surface prevents wood from wed g i n g beneath the ca�bide ti p, red uces d rag , and assu res faster m o re efficient c h i p removal than conventional carbide blades. THE RESULT: A CARBIDE-TIPPED FEEDING FRENZY. . P i ra n ha carbide tooth saw blades are available now In a Wide range of sizes, from 5 12 " to to teeth , fo r all b rands of c i rcular, table, miter, and rad ial­ arm saws. It's n o wonder m o re and m o re professional Job sites across the cou ntry are making PI RAN H A the carbide blade of c hoice. For detailed tech n ical i nformation , write, Black Decker, N o rth Park Drive, P. O . Box H u nt Valley, M D The P i ra n ha carbide tooth saw blade from Black Decker. It may g ive trees n i g htmares. But to professi o nal c raftsmen , it's a d ream come true.

1 0 21 030.

1 0 ", 1 6 60 21 0 -798' & &

Notes and Comment

(continued)

Two indexes: one paper, one electronic Many readers have phoned or written to ask when the next Fine Woodworking in­ dex will be available. As this issue went to press, our computer was busily crunching away at a data file that will ultimately disgorge a new index covering issues # 5 1 through #65 . The new booklet, available in September for $ 1 .95, updates the old index covering issues #1 through #50. Readers who have no index at all can order both the old and the new for $4.95. I've talked to a few readers who are put out at having to spend money for a separate booklet. Frankly, if it were practical, we'd return to the periodic index we used to bind right into the magazine when we first began indexing seven years ago. But poring over indexes in five or six separate maga­ zines for information on a particular topic is as maddening as having no index at all. Moreover, a bound-in index spanning two years worth of magazines must be greatly condensed to fit into an eight-page insert, so it's necessarily less thorough. Of course, there's a thin line between thorough enough and hopelessly dense. Our indexer, Harriet Hodges, manages to sneak up on that line without crossing it. What makes our index so useful, I think, is that besides being a professional indexer,

Product review

API O 115 fll. 60106 8

Ryobi

A merica,

portable planer, Ryobi of

Tower Lane, Bensenville,

When a friend asked me what I thought of Ryobi's AP- 1 0 portable 10-in. thickness planer, I confessed that my only contact with this machine was through the glossy ads depicting it as unthinkably compact, unbelievably light and ridiculously low in price. It sounded too good to be true, so I thought I'd find out for myself. I came to the Ryobi with a fierce loyalty to the Parks I have at home. The 1 2-in. Parks has been on the market since 1 946, and it serves as an excellent benchmark against which to compare any planer. Shortly after UPS delivered the machine (yup: it's so small it meets UPS size and weight limits), I unpacked it, hoisted the 57-lb. machine to my benchtop, completed 10 minutes worth of setup and plugged it i n . I winked at my prize 300 - l b . , 2 - H P Parks, started the toy Ryobi and ran a hunk of junk lumber through it. Impressive. The next morning, I plopped the little Ryobi on the seat of my pickup and hauled it in to the university woodshop where I teach. Clamping it to a benchtop, I drew a crowd of smirking faculty and students. 102 Fine Woodworking

Hodges is an avid woodworker. Thus, her eye is tuned to catch those indispensable bits of information that a disinterested indexer might pass by. Typically, she'll generate six to eight index entries per magazine page. This level of detail pro­ duces what Hodges considers the ideal index: one that enables you to find what you want in 30 seconds or less. Readers who joined us after our early back issues went out of print will still find the complete index useful. All of the tech­ nical articles from those early issues have been reprinted in our Fine Woodworking On topic book series or in the Techniques book series. Together, the two index book­ lets cover most of the On books and all of the Techniques books. In a couple of years, we'll update the index again, prob­ ably combining references to the back issues and all of the anthology books in a single booklet. Just as we began sorting our latest index, Burr Fontaine, a reader and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, sent me a sample of a computer­ ized Fine Woodworking index he devised and is offering for sale. While scouring his back issues for information on dust collec­ tion, he decided a listing of all the articles dealing with a single topic would simplify his search. Fontaine keyed article titles and descriptions for FWW issues #43 to #63

into his computer, then modified a com­ mercial database program to search the list by keyword. So if you're looking for articles on mortise-and-tenon joinery, you simply key in those words (up to a maximum of ten) when prompted and hit execute. The disk spins and beeps, and onto the screen comes a list of all the entries containing the keywords. A code identifies the entry as article, book review, method of work and so on, and a single-line precis describes its content. To narrow a search, you can type in delimiters i nstructing the computer to match a string of words more precisely. I found Fontaine's index fun to use and reasonably fast, but because it's organized by keyword rather than by subject, it some­ times takes a little doodling to find what you're after. I suspect people who work wood and like to mess with computers will find Fontaine's index useful. Fontaine says indexing all of the back issues will require three separate floppy disks. So far, only one is ava i lable. I t contains t h e program a n d issues # 4 3 through #63, and costs $ 16.95. I f demand warrants, Fontaine will index the remaining issues. His index, by the way, runs on all IBM-compatible machines and requires DOS 2.2 or later. For more information, write Bit-Stream Products, 5302 Burnett Drive, Madison, Wise. 53705 .

Mouths agape, they watched as boards lit­ erally whizzeq through and came out the other end glass-smooth-knots and all. In the short time that we've had it, the Ryobi has become the shop favorite. At a full 10-in. capacity, the AP- 10 lists for $699, but various discounters market it for between $300 and $400. The 1 2-in. Parks runs about $ 1 ,400. Made by one of Japan's largest aluminum foundries, the body of the Ryobi is die-cast aluminum with some steel stampings and a plastiC shroud over the integral aluminum motor housing. This helps account for the

243-lb. weight difference between it and the Parks. Both use an arrangement of tan­ dem bevel gears for adjusting the depth of cut. But-typical of most heavy planers­ Parks adjusts the table height while, atypi­ cally, Ryobi raises and lowers the entire motor/cutter assembly. Disorienting at first, but it's easy enough to get used to. The Ryobi rates itself as 2 H P-the ·same as the Parks. But the Parks has a full-size induction motor requiring a 220v circuit. The Ryobi's universal motor is router-sized and plugs into regular household current. All planers attempt to mesh an efficient feed rate with a top-quality finish. Too fast and the wood tears out; too slow and it glazes or burns. While the Ryobi's two-knife cutterhead spins at 8,000 and feeds at an incredible 26 feet per minute (as op­ posed to the more typical three-knife , 16-fpm Parks), the finish on the lumber appears evely bit as fine. In fact, the Ryobi manages 615 knife strokes per foot to Parks' 750-only an 1 8% difference. At the manufacturer's recommended maximum depth of cUt-%2 in.-the Ryobi lugs down noticeably with wider boards, but at just under in. (admittedly thin for a normal pass), there's virtually no evidence of the machine laboring. The planer feeds so fast that repeated passes take very little time. Ryobi warns against planing lumber

FWW

-Paul Bertorelli

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