OurBiggestlssueEver!

wwwwoodsmith.com

Vol.26/ No.151

rfr I

Pleasedisplayuntil April 6

inside

Tableof Co departments

tipsf romourshoo

S h oNp o t e b o o k . . . . . . . . . . .2. 4 ....

fromourreaders

T i p s& T e c h n i q u e s . . . .

workingwith toolsNil

GetaGriponYourChisels . . . . . . . . 30

toolsof the tradeNEw

N e w S p0i nnS l o t C u t t e r s . . . . . I. .

Some newdesign innovations make these workhorses even more versatile andeasy touse.

allaboutrrEW

Gettinga Flat-Bottom Dado.. . . . . . l0

Combine thetable sawanda hand-held router perfect to getclean, dadoes. ffHHffi

techniques from our shooNEW

5 Stepsfor Perfect-Fitting Tenons. . . 12

therighttechnique isallit takes to master this essential handtool. ffiffi

smallshopsolutionsNfl

Table Saw- Space-Saving ldeas.. . 46

Make themostof limited shotspace withthese tourpractical ideas forvourtable saw.

f inishingroomNfl

5Ways to Revive a Finish. . .. . . . . 48 Bring back theshine to yourtiredandworn furniture withthese proven techniques.

We'llshow youwhatjt takes togettight-fitting, gap-free tenons ina short r''lEw time. in the mailbox

U s i ntgh eK e l l e r J i g .

........s0

Q&A.

jigsandfixturesNEw

.....14

youbet.lt'sa Through dovetails in minutes? snapwiththissimple jig. router

hardware andsupplies

Sources

........51

MakingLouvers

NantucketBenchpage26 2

LouveredLamp page 20 Woodsmith

G

No. 151

features woodworking technique

Shop-Made Louvered Shutters. . . . . 16

your Here's chance tomake movable louvered shutters. youwhatittakes. We'll show

editor'snote

designers project series

Sawdust

LouveredLamp.. .......Z0

you've Once putthemto builtlouvered shutters, workinthisaccent lamp. Nrw pr$6rm5 Rgr@@@K weekendproject

NantucketBench.. ......26 Thissimple, project country features a unique table saw"mort;sjng" technique. _-

r.rslflBcst@{EE& wryfBB@@K heirloomprolect

Classic OakToolCabinet. . . . . . . . . 32

What more youaskfor?Quartersawn could oak, joinery simple finedeta;ls, andlotsofstoraqe. ilgw egsE@e{sRsN@rgs@@K

F i n e T o o l C h e s t . .. . . . . . . . 4 2

Euild theperfect companion tothetoolcabinet. - iustsmaller. Itshares allthesame details

details NEw of craftsmanship

PuttingYourBestFaceForward. . . 44

Thewoodyouuseina project isjustasimportantashowyouuseit.We'llshare a fewtipson woodselection.

!l I his issue marks the 25th ar-uriversaryo f Woodsmith.AJ-d wlule it,s I I an exciting milestone for the magazine, I thinj< it,s important to remember there wouldbe no Woodsmithwi{hout devoted readers. So it seemsappropriate that we give back something to the people that male this rnagazine possible - all of you. For starters, you'll be getting more in Wnodsmif, than ever before. We've added 16 pages - that's a 44% increase. But what I'm really excited about is what we're doing with thos€ exka pages.If you take a look at the table of contents at left you can seewe,ve added several new departments and features. Now in every issue you'll receive more information on tools, jigs & accessories,small shop solutions, and finishing. \Mhen you add it all up, we have a total of 8 new deparhnents. In addition" we've added a couple of exciting new feahrres. The first is Designer's Notebook. Here you can take a look over the shoulder of a proiect designer and seedifferent ways to modi{y the design of a project to better fit your needs. Second, if you want to leam the secrets that turn a good proiect into a great one, be surc to check out our other new feah{e - Details of Craflsmarship. Since we were adding pages, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make some other improvements as well. The goal was to make Woodsmitheasier to read and easier to use. So we have made a number of changes to headlines, typefaces, and page layouts. All in all, I'm very happy and excited about the changes to Woodsmith.I'm sure you will be as well.

Tool Cabinet page:z No. 151

Woodsmith

from our readers

Tips&Techniques HonneredSrrewPlugs Covering screw heads can be a real p a i n . I u s u a l l yp l u g t h e m w i t h a short pieceof dowel. The problem is, the dowels are rarely the right wood speciesor color.While it isnl a big deal for shop or utility projeets,on furniturethe wrong plugs can stick out. So I came up with a simpleway to make my own plugs in just about any size. In the photo at right, you can see how ldo it. The plugs are made from long, square blanks that match the oroiect- Thev are \ |G_ then hammeredthrough a steel i--GL template to the riqht size. The :,i -.3i-. q6 5 ;: :.plugs can then be cut to length and glued in place,as shown in the margin photo at left. DoWILPlltc IUtlnAn. To make vour & Youcan make own plugs, start with a piece of custom screw %'!thick steel bar stock. lfirst plugs with a drilled a seriesof holes in the steel bar.When drilling, it's a good idea template to set up an auxiliaryfence on the

drill press, as shown in the drawing below. The fence keeps the bar from getting stuck on the bit and spinning it around, lset the drill for a low speed and used a few drops of oil to cool and lubricate the bit while drilling.

Next, I cut some plug blanksfrom a cut off of the pro.iect I'm working on. This way the plugs will match the project exactly. Size the blank to be a little larger tip of the blankto help start it, as in than the final diameterofthe plug. the photo above. The force of the l|lAl(lllcPIUGS. To make the plugs, hammeringand the sharp sidesof set the template over a gap the template cut the dowel to the between your workbench and vise right size.lf you need anothersize, or over a dog hole. Then line up just drill another hole. the plug blank and hammer it FrankCrowe through the hole. | "sharpen" the OslLi