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Vol. 28 1 No. I67

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jointer technique; - -3u t6 know ,able

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Tips & Techniques

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Router Bit Revbal .............. .8 Don't toss thme old, sorry-looking router Mts, We'll show you how to make them cut l i k new.

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. ,. tools of the trade designer series project SketchU b ~ G o o g l e * * ~ ~ * ~ *TallflfchenT&b ~~~~.10 22 Ifyou ought a computer design program was the msnpamrrd 5tyEirh dew d&iapt~jm k out of reach, check wt this offering. w h am ~ vwa&hth. kit &h4t ~Wiobk:&E g~&oo;hvakingthat peer into techniques from our shop Quick & Accurate Mortises. .I 2 heirloom project Power and hand tool5 work side-brideto give Dbplay ~ b j w t, , , ,, , , A

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you perfect mortises -fast,

jigs and fixtures

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EZ Smart Guide..

saw into a precisian tool for cutting she& stock.

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MthaMgKthatk taQitliilandpafl contmgamy, puJ Ild thb psnjett will W 'in about anywh~rein your hme.

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I Now>you ran have the best, timesaving secrets, solutions, and techniques sent directly to ytlur computer. Just go to ~.Woedsmihmm and click on "FREE lip by h a i l " to sign up. You'll receive a new tip by email each week.

These two symbols let you know there's maw ifdomati& online at www.Wmdsmith. videosrtechnique nmjecQ

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F o z t b t r a m d o n w h I u s e ~ ~ L o t f a t l ~ r n e %t & ol s p~e t Q s i t ~ @ B t o d % ~ ~ g ~ u g ~ d f s hn & cw es ~ f ~- e k . a s h d m ~ b & w ~ , ~ t , e r ~ m y r o u t a t ~ - $ e t t i n g t h e T Q ~ ~ ~ l & Imdeawadlehrfhebewntu t $ w I d a 'af),% WOk c e to align wetly dght has a& h the miW dot: at om wd [email protected]&m~@ d m j s b e m a ~ f m m e - ~ ~ b f f i e . t o l b ~ ~ ~ I ~ e phecratdkismadetaiititujgiy' thebeam W f s , ~ I W ~ a l i ~~ n f ht e m d k m f i l i ti n~t h e m i b d W . I n t h e ~ p a t pdepepu~h. t & e k n c d f & ~ & h b dthe~i=ide,l&kdh-W Thegaugeisjustahardwood p ~ I d i d e t h e g a q & t o iasertmdathumhs~~. ~~ b e a m t h a t f i k i n t ~ m a d ~ ~enddlfthetabfetomaleesure&e le Analumbum "dl& fib in a cmdk.Thecta$IesUdeein& k q & t h e ~ d i s i a w ~ rroltclhIslthetapprt~fthecra~ &.Urhentheth~~i$

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Thetau& carbidecutting edges on router bits mean ordinary Hes and stones won't do the job. Instead, I turn to dkrnond stones. They come!in fhree styles. TIIEsmall diamondbench stone is p i for larger bits. Its atended h@ allows w u to make longer passes.

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Pmket stones are lexi expensive. You can hold them in your hand or clamp them to the bench for shmpenktgbits.

I€ you'^ honing small bits, you'll need to use a needle file.They m e in d i f k r t t shapes to meet your needs.Sources far all th~s~smlrefudonpage4~.

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$tiwed. Yq11 e m seWg kdit~4b~if~rmu& p zef I~~ s a t h e b l t ~ ~ m k1'ahaw.tfRi'nanWef+tlm m the dtbdyrnbyaxat-th, @mth&width'dthemW,This lbq slide the p W e $6 +hebiW wap ymll hveephtyof f w m to At tha h€tend d fhe.layout mafic, square up the sdm without k t b q Now you can c1mpa stopbhk to tile h, %'box eplaim the Pmk get tQa wide. I prefer b we FarsAhr$i@ be- Itow to wpIete the d d k g o p m&nby wing a s p a b W . use lmve & l4xJ s4r* SQURRE II WIKL & pQu{ve bMwh In the wtk. But brad g.& bi& will wak tod, Yau just W h e d ddlwghut & holm, t.h~ med to tkw twhiqw Wt's next Wp is fo &or b p , dqm' 15#t for 4he type of bit you de. tke mo& For %&I) I begin by ThE iuu&dms Qnthe o p i b phc,hg the w m k p h in e vise or searing it @ the h c h wi& pw*k'-t-. I f y p u u % a F m h a b f i , ~ dam#$.I like toweik&~@tly~~er M d m d mt h e 2 q 4d tRe drill tl-@rnortiw& 1~ e m g r b n d p ~ ~ m r k ~ b t t i n a n d sw l l~tg b t t o p u d ~ d w x t & i i ~ ~ .

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M ~ H E The . EZ Smart has some other nice features as well. For one thing, the guide rails are available in six Merent lengths. ~ u vou t can connect . . two or three .. ', sections to make a longer guide rail. The rail sections are lhked together by short, aluminum conrtectors (see first photo at right).So you can make up a guide raiI that is just as long as you need. U P S . A lot of strai&tdge guides use hand damps to hold them in place. The problem with this is that the clsmps can get in the way of your saw when m a h g a cut. But the clamps on the EZ S m t slide in a slot on the underside of the w e , so they're always out of the way (second photo). AHIKHlP FEWURE. Ta combat chip ping, the EZ Swrarl b w comes with two stylesof replaceable, zero-dearance inserts -one for use with the guide rail artd one for b h a n d cuts. And both edges of the guide rail are fitted with a replaceable, antidp edge strip. Thtw reduce chipping by supporting he workpiece right up to the blade.

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You can make a longer guide rail by simpty connecting two shorter lengths of rail. ACCESSOIIES. AU these features are great, but what makes the EZ Smart really stand out are the accessories availabIe for it (see box below). After taking a look a t these, you quickly realize that this isn't just a saw guide -it's a precision cutting system for the circular saw. BOTlOM U M Overall, I didn't find much about the EZ Smart to &ticize. The fit and finish of some of the parts Ieft a little to be desired, but ~s didn't affect tlw functionality of the tool. The EZ Smart will

:lamps fit into a slot underneath the rail, where they won't get in the way.

work with most right-blade circular saws, but be prepared to drill some holes in the base of your saw to attach the base. You may also have to enlarge the opening in the EZ Smart base to accommodate the blade guard of your saw. Depending on which "package" you order, the EZ Smart starts at $135 (seepage 49 for sources). Although this may seem hgh for a sbaightedge guide, if you do a lot of work with sheet goods, I ttunk it's money well spent I

Adding Versatilitv: EZ Smart Accessories The basit EZ Smmf Gu& ~ a r k ps a t for cutling plywood and lumber to size. But what really mkes the EZ Smrt system so ap-g are &e acrmmries that are available, wake a look at the phofnsbelow to a few.)

haccessories allow you to use the E Z Srotttrt for a lot more tkan just simple cuts in plywood. You can use it for cutling parts to length, squasing up panels, or mutingjoinery (For mare on all the tasks that the EZ Smvt cart hm-

dle, take a look at t h e videos on the EZ S d website: w w w . ~ m e x o m . ) Like the EZ S m t itself, most of the a r x d e s are u £ f dIn differentsizes and packages depending upan your s p d c needs (see page 49 for murces).

curved-front ofstorage in just a little space. As much as I e j q a challenge, I have to admit that every now arid then it's nice to huild a simple, straightforward pro]*&. And with it's clean Iines and basic design, that's exactly what this b m k is. The ronstmdion is a h straightforward. It uses quick-connect fastmerspm there's no complicated joinery to deal with. And it's made almost entirely out of plywmd, so you don't have to spend a lot of time gluing up solid-woodpm&. But in spite of it4 simplicity, this project will still thrrrw you a m e -two mesIinEdCt.If you U e a look at the photo, you1see that the sides of the bookcase have a graceful curve along the front edge. While these curves add visual appeal to the bookcase, hey create a chanenge when it comes to edging the plywbod. Here again, fhe solution is simple -flexible, itonon edge b&g (photobelow). banding is fast and easy to apply, even to the curved edges of the bookcasle sides. See page 21 for more details.

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#endon to the p v e that runs slZong the b a d edge of each side. These grooves will hold the back panel. Eecause the 4k" plywood used for the back panel is clowr to %6" thick, I cut the groove by making two pasw on my table saw to get a snug fit. aFMG M EllnrL At Ibis poht*all that's left to complete the sides is to cut the curved &ape. You can seehowtofinishuptheairvein the +wo drawings Mow. THkSHEWCS. Now,it's time:to fmus

on &*elves.

As I saidbefore,the topl bottom, and middle ahelves are fixed. In fact, they're holding thebookcase trJgeh with quickconnect hardware. The other two shelves are adjustable and will TES~ on shelf pins. (Sources are lisfed on page 49.) A f t e ~ ~ ~ ~ s (remmbm that the fixed she£veg a~ three Writ widths), you can set the adjustableshlves aside far now WW you m t i n u e wmlung qn the thee fbed shelves. ~ I W I stmkd ~ by W n g the upper and lower fixed shelves over to my table saw. These shelves need grooves to hold the Yfl plywood for the back panel, as shown in details W ahd 'c' at h etop of the opposite page. Qnce the grooves are c u t tab these tw~ shelves and the middle

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first job 4 to drill the h o b for the c ~ m e c t o r hard-. Each connector is made up of two parts: a cam and a pin. The pin is installed into h e side of the bookcase, W& dm cam fits into aholeintPLeshelf. T h e r e s i i t r i c k i s ~ t t Lholes e in fhe shelves ahped with th@ holes in fhe sides of the b k c a s e . To help me with this, I d ajig lihtheoneahowninthebaxat right. S h q Notebook on page 30 shows huw to make the jig. tOE KKR NO TOP IWIL To provide extra suppoft and give the boobase a more fhbhed look, you cm add a toe kick to the bottom shelf and a back p a d to the top. Both are rabbeted to fit into w v e s (see details 'a' and 'c' &n h the e ppposite l ~ &page). ~ ~The panel is "trapped"In t?aep a v e s in the sides, while fie toe kick is glued in the p w e onthebottom side of the battom &If. TOP M L NOTCH& You'Il notice in ,detail 'a' (top of oppposik page) that the t ~ panel p has n o t b in its uppa corners. The mtdw fit mund blocks that will be a d d d to the grooves during assembly to prokt the dge ban*. With all fhis dme, the next step wilI be to add the edging and put thebookcme together*

Dr9UIng the a m Holes* Orill the holes for thecams f m theb & m side of the s h e h . Take a r e so you don? drill through theshe/= (&tail 'a>

Route and Flip Rotate th3 shelf and flip the ji'g81 drill the cam h o b in the back of the s h e h . A sup pofi bJOdc kwp the shelf /MI,

Ddithe C o m e r Hdes, Ling thej$ up &A the a m t~&U the h o b for the btmmrs into the i d g ~ sf t & & h k , spacer bl behveen edge of shelf

Middle H&~WiwMWe& Add a ipcef to &dl fie h o b id &i mtWe Shelf to account for the back pnel t h t i@&@@a$aim.

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ymmf scmchhg* Thkn sbpljr iron t hbanding o n t d t b edge af .the plywood (phuto 2): a n d . ~ s o f w ~ , ~ % u r ~ s rI ~~ nt h a t I ~ t h e ~ t f e s u ~ t s page $9.)me side ofthe banding by &aninga shmofbidis mvwjth a heat-activated ing at a time. FWmW 30 se~snds @ ~ . ~ y ~ t k h Z i v E t ~ d @ k ~b@&~ ful dy i~~ e ~ ~ ~ t $ & t & e # ~

narrow ship of %$'-hickvenm. (It's said ba fm d i k r m t widths

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