Top-Notch I TOUR A ONE-OF-A-KIND COUNTRY SHOP wvyw.ShopNotes.com Vol. 10 Issue 58 mm/ Tool gf# Storage A must-have organizer for all your cordless tools Molding Head Cutters Make your own unique moldings on a table saw EDITORS NOTE ShopNotes July 2001 PUBLISHER EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS ART DIRECTOR SR. GRAPHIC DESIGNER SENIOR ILLUSTRATORS Donald B. Peschke Terry J. Strohman Bryan Nelson Vincent Ancona Cary Christensen Kurt Schultz Roger Reiland Mark Higdon CREATIVE RESOURCES Creative Director. Ted Kralicek • Project Developer. Ken Munkel • Sr. Project Designer. Kent Welsh • Project Designers : Chris Fitch, Craig Iseke • Shop Craftsmen: Steve Curtis, Steve Johnson • Senior Photogiapher. Crayola England SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS Corp. V.P.: Douglas L. Hicks • AH Director. Douglas A. Flint • Sr. Graphic Designer. Chris Glowacki • Graphic Designers: Vu Nguyen • Associate Editor. Craig Ruegsegger • Asst. Editors: Joel A. Hess, Joseph E. Irwin CIRCULATION Subscription Services Director. Sandy Baum • New Business Dir. : Wayde Klingbeil • Circulation Marketing Analyst : Kris Schlemmer • Assoc. Circ. Marketing Analyst: Paula DeMatteis • Renewal Manager. Paige Rogers • Sr. Graphic Designers: Mark Hayes, Robin Friend • Billing & Collections Mgr.: Rebecca Cunningham • Multimedia Promotion Mgr.: Rick Junkins • Promotion Analyst Patrick Walsh V.P. of Finance: Mary Scheve • Controlle)': Robin Hutchinson • Sr. Accountant: Laura Thomas • Accounts Payable: Mary Schultz • Accounts Receivable: Margo Petrus • Prod. Dir.: George Chmielarz • Electronic Pub. Dir.: Douglas M. Lidster • Network Admin.: Cris Schwanebeck • Pre-Press Image Specialists: Troy Clark, Minniette Johnson • Office Mgr.: Noelle Carroll • New Media Mgr.: Gordon C. Gaippe • Multimedia Art Dir.: Eugene Pedersen • Technology Analyst: Carol Schoeppler • Web Content Mol's.: David Briggs, Sue M. Moe • Web Designer. Kara Blessing • Professional Dev. Dir.: Michal Sigel • H. R. Asst.: Kirsten Koele • Receptimist: Jeanne Johnson • Mail Room Clerk: Lou Webber MAIL ORDER Operations Director: Bob Baker • Customer Service Mgr.: Jennie Enos • Warehouse Supr.: Nancy Johnson • Buyer. Linda Jones • Admin. Asst: Nancy Downey • Tech. Rep.: John Audette • Cmt. Serv. Reps.: Anna Cox, Tammy Truckenbrod, Deborah Rich, April Revell, Valerie Riley, Linda Stepp, Eddie Arthur • Warehouse: Sylvia Carey, Dan Spidle, Sheryl Knox, A1 Voigt Manager: Dave Larson •A&st.Mgr.: Tim Thelen* Sales Staff: Wendell Stone, Jim Barnett, Kathy Smith, Larry Morrison, Harold Cashman, Gregory Kauzlarich, Mark Johnson, Joe Kucera • Office Manager. Vicki Edwards ShopNotes® (ISSN 1062-9696) is published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.) by August Home Publisliing, 2200 Grand, Des Moines, I A 50312. ShopNotes® isaregistered trademark of August Home Publishing ©Copyright 200 1 by August Home Publishing. All rights reserved. Subscriptions: Single copy: $4.95. One year subscription (6 issues), $27.95. Canada/International add $10 per year, U.S. funds. Periodicals Postage Paid at Des Moines, IA and at additional mail- Postmaster: Send change of address to ShopNotes, P.O. Box 37103, Boone, IA 50037-2103. Subscription Questions? Write to: ShopNotes Customer Service, P.O. Box 842, Des Moines, IA 50304-9961. Or call 1-800-333-5854, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Central Time, weekdays. FAX 515-283-0447 Internet: httpd/www.shopnotes.com PRINTED IN U.S.A. Cutoffs N ot too long ago, the only people who owned a power miter saw were professional cabinet- makers and trim carpenters. And their choices were limited to just a few models. Not any longer. Take a trip through the tool aisle at your local home center, and you’ll probably find a dozen different models of power miter saws. Some tool catalogs have even more. And I counted over 35 different models on a large tool retailer’s web site. It’s easy to see why these saws are so popular. They make fast, accurate miter cuts, and they’re becoming more affordable all the time. If there is a drawback to these saws, it’s that the table is relatively small. Which makes it difficult to sup- port long workpieces. To solve this problem, we designed a new miter saw station with sliding support blocks that can be locked into position wherever you need them. Then, we added a quick- release fence system with a sliding stop block for accurate cuts time after time. And best of all, the whole system works just as well outside the shop on a pair of sawhorses as it does in the shop. Check out the article on page 16 and see for yourself. Help Wanted. One of the reasons that we’re able to feature projects like this is we have talented designers that turn ideas into great projects. And now we’re looking for another project designer to join the August Home team here in Des Moines. This position requires an in-depth knowledge of furniture design, wood- working joinery, and home construc- tion. And the ability to generate com- puter-aided drawings and supervise project construction. If this sounds right for you, please contact: Ted Kralicek, August Home Publishing Co., 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312 Fax (515) 282-6741. For more information see our job openings atwww.augusthome.com. Be included, as a part of the Woodworking Shop Tours Visit other ShopNotes sub- scribers’ workshops and see photos of the shop projects they’ve built. It’s all online at Woodworking Shop Tours on the ShopNotes web site: www.ShopNotes.com We want you to be part of our shop tours! To submit photos of your favorite ShopNotes projects or views of your shop, just follow the instruc- tions you’ll find on our web site. 2 ShopNotes No. 58 ISSUE FIFTY-EIGHT • Contents Features Cordless Tool Storage Cabinet 6 Here’s a project to help you keep it all together. It’s the perfect solution for keeping your cordless tools, chargers, and accessories organized and ready to go. Polyurethane Glue 10 If you think that wood and water don’t mix, you’re in for a surprise. In this article, we give you a few tips and techniques we’ve learned in our shop about working with polyurethane glue. Country Shop 12 Take a tour of a country dream shop. It has plenty of wide open space, an impressive collection of power tools, and ideas you can put to use in your own shop. Miter Saw Station 16 Whether you’re working in the shop or on site, this miter saw station offers both accuracy and portability. Plus, it has a movable fence system that quickly adjusts to match the length of your stock. Molding Heads 24 Your table saw is already a workhorse in the shop. Adding a molding head makes it even more versatile. Here's how to get the most out of a molding head and a set of cutters. Molding Head Fence 28 Attach this auxiliary fence and guard to your rip fence to make smoother, safer cuts with a molding head. Cordless Tool Storage page 6 Miter Saw Station page 1 6 Molding Heads page 2k Departments Readers’ Tips 4 Shop-tested tips to solve common woodworking problems. Sources _ .31 Mail-order sources and supplies to help you build the projects featured in this issue. Molding Head Fence page 28 3 No. 58 ShopNotes Readers’ Tips Folding Sawhorse ■ Sawhorses sure come in handy for a lot of tasks around the house. But since I have a small shop, I needed a sawhorse that wouldn’t take up much storage space. So I came up with this design for a folding sawhorse. It’s plenty strong and sturdy, but when if s not in use it folds up flat and can be stored against the wall, see inset photo. I used “two-by” stock to build the sawhorses. Start by making a tem- plate to help lay out the angles on the legs, as shown in the detail drawing below. Then you can cut out the four legs and lay out the miters on the ends using the template. After mitering the legs, cut a couple of notches in each leg to hold the rails and stretchers. To complete the legs, drill a 3 /s"-dia. hole near the top end of each leg for the mounting hardware that will be added later. The rails of the sawhorse are beveled along the top edge to create a flat surface when the sawhorse is opened, see detail ‘a’, lhe stretchers are simply cut to length. But notice that they are both a different length. Thus allows you to offset the legs so the sawhorse will fold up flat Once the rails and stretchers are cut to finished size, they can be attached to the legs with screws. The stretchers are positioned so that their ends are flush with the side of the legs. To determine the posi- tioning for the rails, see detail ‘b\ Finally, the two halves of the saw- horse are connected with carriage bolts, washers, and lock nuts. Scott Benjamin Lakeville, Minnesota 3V2" X 33V2" rgH.- 5" HARDBOARD) 4 ShopNotes No. 58 TIPS & TECHNICl Air Compressor base ■ I use a small “portable” air compressor in my shop. But despite the name, I find it cumbersome to carry this com- pressor around where I need it So instead, I built a small, roll-around base for the compressor, see drawing. The base is nothing more than a square piece of %" ply- wood with a caster mounted at each comer (two swivel casters and two fixed). A small block of wood in each corner of the base provides a mounting surface for the caster. To keep the compressor from vibrating off the plat- form, cleats are added around the edges to create aframe. J. Thomas Timpano Round Hill, Virginia Vise on Lathe Stand ■ In order to make room in my small shop for a wood lathe that I recently purchased, I had to get rid of an extra workbench. While I didn’t use the bench all that much, I really missed the machinist’s vise that was attached to it But then it dawned on me that I could still use the machinist’s vise by simply mounting it to the tailstock end of the lathe, as shown in the drawing at right Not wanting to drill holes in the lathe bed, I mounted the vise to a plywood base and then fastened the base to the lathe with carriage bolts, knobs, and a couple of clamping blocks, see drawings at right An alignment strip positioning die vise on the lathe bed. Most of the time, I can just leave the vise attached to my lathe. When I need to use the full length of the lathe, it takes only a minute to undo the knobs and remove the vise. Anthony Diodoti Imperial, Pennsylvania Quick Tips A To prevent his shop vacuum from ''sticking" to the floor, William McKinney of Richmond, KY attaches a couple of wood blocks. A To help find cutoffs by length, Crayola England, of Des Moines, IA affixes a measuring tape to the front of her cutoff bin. Send in Your Shop Tips If you have a unique shop tip, we’d like to consider featuring it in one or more of our print or electronic publications. We’ll pay up to $200 for a tip we pub- lish. Just write down the tip and mail it to ShopNotes, Attn.: Readers’ Tips, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. Or FAX it to 515-282-6741, or send us an e-mail at shopnotes@shopnotes.com. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number in case we have any questions. No. 58 ShopNotes 5 SHOP PROJECT Cordless Tool Storage Cabinet T here’s no doubt about it. Cordless tools are pretty handy to have around in the shop. Just grab your tool and go. But as convenient as they are to use, cordless tools don’t completely eliminate the hassle of dealing with power cords. Thafs because they all come with a battery charger that still has to be plugged into the wall somewhere. And if you have more than one cordless tool, pretty soon your benchtop is strewn with batteries and chargers. The idea behind this storage cabinet is to get the bat- tery chargers off the top of the workbench and out of the way. It also provides a storage place for the tools so that you can find them when you need them. (Without a NOTE: CUT SLOT IN BACK FOR CHARGER CORDS power cord to actas a leash, cordless tools seem to have a habit of “walking off” on their own.) This cabinet is designed to hold a pair of drills and a couple of cordless saws, along with their battery chargers. But you can easily customize it to fit your own cordless tool storage needs. A wide, shallow drawer in the middle of the cabinet provides the perfect place to keep saw blades, drill bits, or other accessories. Case - As you can see by looking at Figure 1, the case of the cabinet is constructed entirely of V 2 " plywood (I used Baltic birch). Start off by cutting all the plywood panels that make up the case to size. You’ll need two sides (A), two shelves (B), a bottom (C), and one large panel for the back (D). The sides will be joined to the shelves and back of the case with dadoes and grooves. But to avoid cutting a dado in the wrong place, I labeled the inside face of each side (left and right). Then I cut away the corner at the top of each side, as shown in Figure 2. ShopNotes SHOP PROJECT To cut all the dadoes and grooves in the sides, I used a dado blade. The trick here is to set up your dado blade to match the thickness of the plywood you’re using. I made a few test cuts in some scrap pieces to get the width just right This way the shelves will slip into place perfectly when it comes time for assembly. Once the dado blade is in place on your saw, you can start cutting the joints. A groove is cut near the back edge of each side for the back panel (Figure 3a). Then the dadoes and rabbets are cut for the shelves and bottom, as shown in Figures 3 and 3b. There are a couple of points to be aware of when cutting these joints. First, keep in mind that there will be a left side and a right side, so make sure you are cutting the joints on the inside face of each side panel. Second, if you look at Figure 2, you’ll notice that the left side has an extra dado near the top. This is to hold the drill rack that will be added later. Make sure you cut this extra dado only on the left side panel — not on the right side panel. Shelves - The only joint you’ll need to cut in the shelves is a single dado in the top shelf. This will hold the drill support You can use the same dado setup you used when cut- ting the joints on the sides. Openings - There’s one thing left to do before assembling the case and that is to cut a couple of narrow openings in the back and bottom. The opening in the back is for the cords for the battery chargers. And the opening in the bottom is to allow you to store your trim saw. (This opening can be altered or omitted to fit the tools you own.) To make these openings, I simply laid them out and then drilled a hole at each end. A sabre saw can then be used to remove the waste in between the two holes. After a little sanding to smooth the edges, you’re ready to assemble the case. Assembly - Assembling the case is just a matter of gluing and clamping all the parts together. Once you have the clamps in place, measure diagonally across the cor- ners to make sure the case is square. / GROOVE 01 -« w — y z " :TAIL a 1 Jy. , j pu>> -J L~7j r \ u - 1 n i m m i - Vz" AUX. FENCE ^ RABBET 1 PETAIL H — Lu ! J No. 58 ShopNotes 7 SHOP PROJECT Prill Rack- With the main case completed, all that remains is to make a couple of add-ons for the cabinet. The first of these is a rack to hold cordless drills. This rack is made up of two pieces — a plywood support (E) and a small platform (F). The platform serves as a "holster” for the drills, cradling them in a couple of slots. As you can see in Figure 4, both of these pieces are cut from V 2 1 ' ply- wood. The support is simply rab- beted along the top to hold the plat- form (Figure 4a). But the platform requires a little more work. After it’s cut to size, you’ll need to create the slots that hold the drills. Slots - 1 ran into alittle bit of a snag whenitcameto making these slots. At first, I thought a simple narrow slot would work justfine for holding a drill. But I discovered that on some cord- less drills, the reversing switch is PLATFORM CUTTING DIAGRAM located right where the drill rests on the platform, causing the switch to be pushed out of position. To solve this problem, I just made the slots wider in the middle to accommodate the reversing switch. To do this, I drilled a series of holes to locate the outlines of the slots, as shown in the diagram at left. Then I cut away the waste in between the holes with a sabre saw. After the waste is removed from the slots, the edges can be sanded smooth. A good way to get into the curves inside the slots is to wrap some sandpaper around a dowel that matches the radius of the curve. To soften the edges of the slots and prevent them from splintering and chipping, I rounded over the top and bottom edges of the open- ings (as well as the front edge of the platform). Then the platform and upright can be glued and clamped in place. The dadoes in t the side of the case and the upper ' shelf should help hold the pieces in place while you clamp them up. ShopNotes No. 58 SHOP PROJECT Drawer The center section of the shelf con- tains a shallow drawer for holding small items like drill bits, blades, wrenches, orchuckkeys.The drawer is constructed from V 2 " plywood with a y 4 " hardboard bottom. It’s sized to fit in the opening with a slight (Vie") gap atthe sides and top. To make the drawer, start by cut- ting two drawer front/back pieces (G) and two drawer sides (H) from y 2 " plywood. The dim ensions for these pieces can be found in Figure 5. After cutting the pieces to size, the ends of the drawer front and back are rabbeted to hold the drawer sides, just as you see in Figure 5a. Once the rabbets are cut, a groove can be cut or routed on the inside face of each drawer piece, near the bottom edge (Figure 5b). This groove will hold the drawer bottom. Hand Opening - The front of the drawer has an oval-shaped opening that serves as a hand-hold. This opening is centered on the width and height of the drawer front To make die opening, I just drilled a couple of l"-dia holes and cut away the waste in between. Then I rounded over the edges of the opening on both sides. Drawer Bottom - The last step is to add a bottom to the drawer. This drawer bottom (I) is just a piece of Vi" hardboard. Once it is cut to size, the drawer can be assembled with glue. Wall Mount After applying a finish, the storage cabinet is complete. All that remains is to hang it on the wall. I used a couple of interlocking cleats to do this. A 45° bevel is ripped along one edge of each cleat Then one of the cleats is glued to the back of the cab- inet while the other is screwed to the wall. (Make sure you screw the wall cleat to studs to provide plenty of support for the cabinet.) Once the wall cleat is mounted, all you have to do is set the cabinet on the cleat Then you can place your cordless tools and battery chargers on the shelves. The space behind the back of the cabinet pro- vides a “raceway” for the power cords, see Figure 6a. fL. No. 58 ShopNotes 9 Working with Polyurethane Glue Put it down , “ water ” it, and watch it grow. Here’s the lowdown on polyurethane glue. Uncured Glue A When it’s first applied (top photo), polyurethane glue looks like most glues. But as it cures, it expands like foam insulation from a can. I know. It sounds more like a finish than a glue. And the truth of the matter is polyurethane (or “poly”) glue shares the same type of resins that make up polyurethane finish. But instead of forming a finish coat, the resins join together to create an adhesive film between the materials you’re bonding. Poly glue has a number of great characteris- tics. It’s easy to sand and clean up and it’s resistant to solvents and water. And like epoxy, poly glue will bond dissimilar materials like metal and wood, or wood that’s difficult to work with like exotic or oily woods. But instead of having to mix two ingredients, poly glue is a one-part liquid that you use straight from the bottle. Foaming - The one thing that takes some getting used to is what happens after you apply the glue. As you can see in the margin photos, poly glue doesn’t look much different from most other glues right out of the bottle (top photo). It’s when it begins to cure that it acts a little differently. As it cures, it releases carbon dioxide. This causes the glue to expand, making the glue look like the foam insulation you spray out of acan. Now don’t let the looks fool you. Even though the foam will fill any gaps in your joint, the bubbly foam has very little strength. So it’s not a good idea to count on poly glue to make up for a poor- fitting joint As always, for the glue to form a solid, strong bond, you need to have a tight-fitting joint. Application - To avoid a lot of excess foam-out, it’s best to apply a small amount of glue to the work- piece. I typically use about one-third to one-half the amount I would use if I were using yellow glue (Step 1). And I generally apply it to only one side of the joint As a matter of feet if it feels like you’re not using enough, the amount is probably just about right Spread to a Film - like most other glues, once you’ve applied a thin bead of poly glue it’s a good idea to spread it across the workpiece. The flexible plastic spreader shown in Step 2 makes quick work of this. (Apiece of plastic laminate works just as well.) Add Moisture - With the glue spread to a thin layer, you’re almost ready to start assembling things. But there’s one thing you’ll need to keep in mind. And that’s the moisture con- ' tent of the wood you’re using. Polyurethane glue requires mois- ture in the wood (and surrounding air) to cure properly. (Hie glue works best when the moisture con- tent of the wood is 8% to 20%) . So when I’m using hardwoods which typically have a low moisture content (or when I’m working in the dry air of winter), I make sure there’s enough moisture by misting the mating workpiece (Step 3). You don’t need to flood the workpiece. A light spray is all that’s necessary. 1 Apply Bead To avoid excess squeeze-out and foaming, apply a thin bead of glue along one edge. 2 Spread. Use a flexible piece of plastic or laminate to spread the glue evenly along the edge. 3 Mist. To provide the moisture to cure the glue, lightly mist the edge of the mating workpiece. 10 ShopNotes No. 58 IN THE SHOP But if you’re building an outdoor project from something like cedar or pressure-treated lumber, you can skip the misting altogether. These materials typically have a higher moisture content So you don’t need to add anything extra Assembly Time - At this point, you can assemble the project. And this is where polyurethane glue really shines — you don’t have to work as fast as the pit crew at an Indy race. Poly glue provides more working time when it comes to assembling and positioning the parts of a project before you clamp it up. A yellow glue can set up after only a few min utes. I’ve actually had the parts of a project “seize” before I could get everything assembled and then positioned correctly. That’s not likely to happen when you use a polyurethane glue. Most poly glues have working times ranging from 20 to 30 minutes. So when you have to assemble a com- plex project, a poly glue provides more time to get everything right where it needs to be. Clamping - When it comes to clamping, using poly glue isn’t a whole lot different than other glues. Moderate clamping pressure is all that’s required. As long as the pres- sure spreads the glue into a thin layer, you’ll end up with a strong, consistent bond. The thing to remember is that you’ll need to leave the assembly clamped up for several hours. So don’t get in too big a hurry to pull the clamps off your assembly. Cleanup - Once the glue has set, the next step is to get the dried glue off. Unlike yellow glue which can be a problem to remove, poly glue breaks down into a fine dust when you sand it Or you can simply scrape it away or pop it off with a chisel, as shown in Step 4. As you can see, dealing with cured poly glue on a project isn’t a problem. It’s a different story if the glue dries on your hands — as I learned the hard way. I didn’t give much thought to cleaning up the first time I used poly glue. Once I was done working, I tried to scrub the glue off with a little soap and water — without success. The glue stained my hands and fingers a dark brown. And it was a few days before it started to wear off. To avoid this problem, I find it best to slip on a pair of disposable gloves as soon as I pull the bottle of poly glue from the cabinet Then whether I’m assembling a project or cleaning up afterwards, it’s a simple matter to toss the gloves in the trash once I’m done. Safety Note: Some people can be sensitive to polyurethane glue. So besides wearing gloves, its also a good idea to work in a well-ventilated area or even wear a respirator. Even though it’s almost impossible to clean poly glue off your hands, removing any excess from your tools or workbench is a lot easier. All it takes is a paper towel or cloth soaked in a little acetone or mineral spirits, as shown in the margin photo. (And don’t forget the gloves.) 4 Remove Excess. Finally, remove the dried “foam” by scraping (shown above left) or sanding. Removing glue from hard-to-reach areas like a corner (photo at right) is a snap with a sharp chisel — it “pops” right off. k Polyurethane glue that's stored upright (right) will cure at the top of the container, unlike the “upside- down” bottle shown at left. Shelf life & Storage - Another drawback of poly glue is its shelf life. I’ve kept yellow glue around for over a year and used it without any problem. But poly glues often have a shelf life much shorter than that As soon as you open the container, poly glue can start to cure. So it’s a good idea to close the container any- time you’re not using it And when you put it away, squeeze out any excess air (and moisture) first. Some manufacturers have even designed their containers to store “upside down,” as you can see in the photo above. This way, any glue that does cure will be at the “bottom.” Cost - The thought of throwing out any glue because it s cured in the container is bad enough. But when you consider that polyurethane glue costs two to three times as much as yellow glue, the sticker shock just might make you think twice (or three times) about buying some. But as I mentioned before, you’re only using about one-third as much (and generally, only applying it to one side of the joint). So the actual costs of using it are fairly comparable. Use It or Lose It? - Despite some of its drawbacks, polyurethane glue has a lot more going for it That doesn’t mean I’m going to replace the yellow glue I’ve used in the past. But it will have to share some of the shelf space in my cabinet with a small bottle of polyurethane glue. <1 ▲ Cleaning up uncured poly glue isn't a problem when you use a solvent like mineral spirits (and a pair of disposable gloves). No. 58 ShopNotes 11 Have you ever dreamed about having more shop space? Take a look inside this shop. W hen it comes to setting up a woodworking shop, most of us have to make do with what- ever space we can find that isn’t already taken up by storage, vehi- cles, or living quarters. Whether they’re in a basement or a garage, most shops are put together only after all the other needs of the household are met. Daryl Sullivan went about things a bit differently. He took care of his shop first and then worried about the house. It all started a few years ago when Daryl and his wife decided to move out of town and build a house in the country. Before breaking ground on the house, Daryl had a separate building erected for a shop, complete with an apartment upstairs. The idea was that the couple would live in the apartment while the house was being built And in the meantime, Daryl could use the shop to make all the trim and cabinets for the house. Today, both the shop and the house are finished, and Daryl’s woodwork is evident throughout die house, as you can see in the photos below. But the shop doesn’t sit idle by any means. Daryl spends just about every minute of his free time there, turning out furniture projects for family, friends, and even a few paying customers. Recentiy, I had the opportunity to visit Daryl and his shop. Daryl’s shop is located in eastern Iowa, amid rolling farmland. The first thing that impressed me as I drove up was its appearance. From the outside, it looked more like a guest house than a shop (see photo above). And at roughly 1900 square feet, it’s bigger than many houses. But once you’re on the inside, there’s no mistaking the fact that you’re in a wood- working shop. Even though the shop is huge by most standards, it still has a warm, ▲ Entertainment Center. Working in his shop next door. Daryl built this large combination entertainment center and curio cabinet for the great room of his new house. A A Grand Entrance. The raised- panel entry door and side lights were also made by Daryl. A Custom Cabinets. Daryl's craftsmanship can also be seen in these fine kitchen cabinets. 12 ShopNotes No. 58 SHOP PROFILE inviting feel. Part of this is probably due to the knotty pine paneling. But if you take a look at the floor plan drawing at the right, you’ll see that it also has to do with the fact that the shop is divided up into several sepa- rate areas. This way, you don’t feel like you’re walking into an airplane hangar when you enter. Layout - The building is essen- tially divided into four distinct areas. These include a tool room, an office, a lumber storage area, and a finishing room. The main area of the shop is where the power tools are housed. This is a large, open room. A steel I- beam helps to support the roof and ceiling so that there aren’t any columns to get in the way of the shop floor space. There are several windows to let in lots of natural light And a bank of cabinets lines the back wall providing storage for small tools and hardware. As in most shops, the table saw is located in the center of things. Most of the other tools line the walls around the shop. When he was building the shop, Daryl installed a 4-plex outlet every 32" along each wall so he didn’t have to worry about where he located machinery. A system of overhead ducts car- ries sawdust away to a dust col- lector that is enclosed in a small utility room just off the main room of the shop. Having the dust collector isolated helps keep the noise down when it’s running. Conveniently, he has a hose run- ning to each major power tool, but the dust collection system is the one thing that Daryl wishes he had done differently. “If I was starting over, I’d put the ducts in a channel in the floor, with a removable cover over them for access.” At the back of the main shop area, off to one side, is a small room that serves as an office. Here, Daryl has a desk and shelves full of woodworking magazines and plans, along with some larger items that don’t fit in the cabinets in the shop. In addition to this office, Shop Layout Plan k = View Angle there’s also a bathroom off the main shop area. Originally, this was the extent of Daryl’s shop. But last summer, he put an addition on the hack of the ▲ Lumber Storage. A heavy-duty, welded steel rack holds Daryl's supply of hardwood lumber. building. The addition contains a lumber storage room and a dedi- cated finishing room. Lumber Storage - As you can see in the photo at left, lumber is stored on a welded steel rack that is bolted securely to the wall. But what’s really nice about the lumber room in Daryl’s shop is that it has an overhead garage door at one end. So all he has to do is back his truck in and unload the lumber onto the rack. The overhead door also makes it convenient to move projects out once they are completed. Finishing Room - At the other end of the lumber storage room is a door leading to the finishing room. This is simply an empty, well-lit room, large enough to handle just about any size project Daryl sprays most of his fin- ishes using an HVLP (high-volume, low pressure) sprayer. An explo- sion-proof fan is mounted on one of the exterior walls of the fin- ishing room to exhaust the fumes and overspray outside. No. 58 ShopNotes 13 SHOP PROFILE Shop Tours Want to see more woodworkers’ shops? Or have your own shop featured in ShopNotes? Visit us on the Web at ShopNotes.com a time, trying to keep his craving for new tools in line with his spending budget. Hand Tools - Most of the small hand tools that Daryl uses are stored in a wall-mounted cab- inet (You can see this cabinet in the photos on the opposite page.) And right next to this tool cabinet is a clamp storage area. Pipe clamps, C-clamps, and bar clamps are lined up in along the wa; Equipment When it comes to shop equipment, Daryl has no trouble filling up the space of his spacious shop. He has just about every major tool you would expect to see in a well- equipped shop, including a couple that I imagine some professional shopowners might drool over. You can see most of these in the photos on this page. One of these is a molder, which is capable of spitting out endless runs of crown molding as smooth as glass. (Daryl fired it up while I was there and gave me a demonstration.) Daryl noticed me admiring the table saw in the middle of the shop, along with its after- market, over-arm blade guard. He told me that the blade guard was added after an unfortunate kickback experi- ence that occurred while working late one night Although he admits that it’s a little like closing the barn door after the horse has run out the guard serves as a constant reminder that you can never be too careful. Although his shop is well- equipped today, it wasn’t always this way. Daryl assembled his col- lection of machinery one piece at ▲ Shop Equipment. A wide belt sander, a 15" planer, and a cabinet saw are some of the big power tools that Daryl uses regularly in his shop. storage racks hold the clamps, see box on opposite page. One thing that struck me as I looked around the shop was the absence of a woodworking bench. Aside from the cabinets along the back wall of the shop, the only other work surface was a large assembly bench where Daryl does most of his sanding and gluing up of projects. But there wasn’t a vise of any kind k Shop Cabinets. A long bank of shop cabinets provides plenty of storage for hardware and tools. A miter saw station is built into the long work surface above the cabinets. k Stationary Tools. Daryl’s stationary tools line the walls of the shop. Even with all the space available, many of the tools are on mobile bases for convenience. 14 ShopNotes No. 58 on the bench (or anywhere else in the shop, for that matter) . When I pointed this out, Daryl nodded and admitted that he still needed a good bench. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how many tools you have, there’s always room for at least one more item to be added to the list Climate Control - Of course, having plenty of room doesn’t do you much good if the shop is too cold (or hot) to work in comfort And in Iowa, that’s the case about ten months out of the year. Daryl wanted to be able to use his shop year round. So he installed an electric heat pump to keep it warm in the winter, and air condi- tioning to to keep it cool in the summer. Even in the dead of winter, the temperature inside the shop never gets much below 65°. With the recent spike in energy prices, I wondered how much it cost to heat a shop of this size. I was surprised to learn that the most Daryl paid for utilities in a single month last winter was $120. The answer lies in the building’s construction. Daryl designed the shop building to be energy-effi- cient. The walls are made of con- crete-filled foam blocks that are a foot thick. These act as thermal insulation, helping to conserve heat during the winter and cooler air during the summer. Aside from making for a much more pleasant working environ- ment, controlling the temperature and the humidity has other benefits. Daryl says he doesn’t have to be as concerned with wood movement in the shop or with rust forming on the cast iron surfaces of his tools. Conclusion - It’s easy to get a little overwhelmed when looking at all the space Daryl has for his shop as well as all the equipment that it’s filled with. But having a huge, well- equipped shop doesn’t automati- cally make you a better wood- worker. More important than the size of your shop or the number of tools you own is how well you use them. That’s something worth keeping in mind, especially if (like most of us) you’re working in a modest shop with basic tools. & Hand Tool Storage. A wall- mounted storage cabinet provides easy access to commonly-used hand tools. No. 58 ShopNotes 15 A Portable. A lightweight design and carrying handles make the miter saw station easy to move to the job site. Portable, sturdy, adjustable, and accurate. This miter saw station has it all. M iter saws are showing up in a lot of woodworking shops — and outside the shop as well. And thaf s the main reason for the miter saw station shown above. It’s packed with features that make it a great project — whether you’re in the shop or on the job site. Portable - The station is designed to be portable. In the shop it can rest on a bench or on a fold-out, wall- mounted bracket (photo above). And when you need to move outside the shop, just lift the station off the bracket and use a pair of sawhorses for support (photo below) . Adjustable - But there’s something I like even more about this project — its adjustability. Instead of having the fence and miter saw in a fixed position, they’re mounted to platforms that slide along the base (see inset photo above). So when you need more support on one side of the saw than the other, just loosen the platforms, slide them where you need them, and lock them in place. Accurate - But this versatility doesn’t come at the expense of accuracy. An adjustable stop that slides in an aluminum T-track makes it extremely accurate. Along with a tape measure and hairline indicator, you can set precise, repeatable measurements. Storage - Now you might think this station will take up a lot of space when you aren’t using it But its a real spac&saver. To store the station, just remove the miter saw, slide the fences together, and hang the base (with the fences) on a cleat mounted to the wall (refer to page 23) . 16 ShopNotes No. 58 NOTE: HARDWARE LIST DOES NOT INCLUDE REQUIREMENTS FOR OPTIONAL 6'-L0NG FENCE (SEE PAGE 21) Materials Base ?| A Panel (1) 13x72- V 2 Ply. S Stiffeners (2) 1'/ 2 x2%-72 f C Guide Strip (1) *Ux2?U-72 P P Miter Saw Platform (1) 15x23- Vi; Ply. E Fence Platforms (4) 15x4- Va Ply. Fence System F Supports ( 4 ) Yh x 4 (Rgh.) - 12 G Fence Face (2) s Ux3-36 H Long Fence Face (1) 3 / 4 x3- 72 (Opt.) 1 Adjustment Slock (1) 3 4 x 2 13 /i6 - 3 J Alignment Key (1) 3/s x 3 - V 4 Hdbd. Wall Bracket K Rails (2) 3 4x4-66 L Supports (2) 24x28- 3/4 Ply. M Cleats (2) 1% x 3 - 48 Hardware • (4) Alum. T-Tracks (36" Long) • (44) #6 x 3/ e " Fh Woodscrews • m #6 x Vz" Rh Woodscrews • (&) # 8 x Fh Woodscrews • (14) #8 x 1" Fh Woodscrews • (12) #8 x 2V2" Fh Woodscrews * (23) #8 x 3" Fh Woodscrews • (4) Toggle Clamps (De-Sta-Co Model 213-U) • (4) 5 he" T-Nuts • (7) s he" x 1 3 U" Toilet Solts * (7) s /i6"-18 Star Knobs • (11) 5 he" Washers • (2) 2" Alum. Angle (36" Long) • (1) 4‘ Right-to-Left Tape • (1) 4‘ Left-to-Right Tape • (2 Pr.)3“x2" Suit Hinges (w/screws) • (2) 5 V 2 " Zinc Handles (w/screws) • ( 1 ) Anti-Skid Tape (1 Ft.) • ( 1 ) IV 2 " x 3" Plexiglas (%" Thick) • (2) Magnetic Catches w/Strike Plates • (4) 5 he" Hex Bolts (Length will vary depending on miter saw) Note: The T-tracks and a hardware kit containing seven toilet holts, knobs, and washers is available. Refer to Sources on page 31 No. 58 ShopNotes 17 When designing the base of the miter saw station, there were a couple fea- tures I knew I wanted. First, it had to be lightweight so it would be easy to move around. But the base also needed to provide solid support for the miter saw, fences, and workpiece. So it had to be strong and rigid. Base - To accomplish this, I made the base by connecting a pair of stiffeners with a plywood panel, as shown in Figure 1 above. The panel (A) is nothing special. It’s just a piece of V 2 " plywood (Figure 2) . But when it came time to make the stiffeners (B ) , I took a little extra time selecting a workpiece and didn’t just grab a couple of ordi- nary 2x4s. Instead, I sorted through a stack of wider 2x stock to find a nice straight-grained workpiece. (I used Douglas fir.) Assembly - Fitting the panel into the stiffeners is just a matter of cut- ' a. ^rj GUIDE ''' STRIP IjLJl ;] - A ~ V " U PANEL — ^ V J WOODSCREW ting a groove along the inside edge of each stiffener and then gluing the panel in place. This groove is posi- tioned 5 /8 M down from the top edge of the stiffener (Figure 2b). Guide Strip - At this point, the base will support the platforms (added later) for the miter saw and fence. But to keep them aligned as you move them around and lock them in place, I added a guide strip, as shown in Figure 2. The guide strip (C) is just a piece of lx stock that runs down the center of the base (see End View in Figure 1). To lock the platforms in place with knobs and toilet bolts, there’s a pair of aluminum T-tracks installed in a groove cut down the center of the strip (Figure 2a). After installing the T-tracks, center the guide strip on the base and screw it in place. PLATFORMS With the base complete, you can turn your attention to the V 2 " plywood plat- forms shown in Figure 1 that rest on the base and will support the fences and miter saw. To keep the platforms | aligned, there’s a wide groove cut in the bottom of each platform that fits over the guide strip (Figure la) . 18 ShopNotes No. 58 FEATURE PROJECT Of course, for this to work, the groove needs to be centered identi- cally on each platform. The key to doing this is to cut the groove in all the parts at the same time. The first thing to do is cut the miter saw platform (D) to final size (Figure 3). But make a large blank for the fence platforms (E). Here’s where I used a little trick to center the groove. First, position the rip fence so the blank is roughly cen- tered over the blade (Figure 4a). Then after making one pass, flip the workpiece end for end and make a second pass (Figure 4b) . Now you’ve got a perfectly centered groove. To widen the groove, slide the fence closer to the blade and make two more passes, flipping the work- piece between passes. Continue this until the groove just fits over the strip. Saw Platform - Now you’re ready to complete the miter saw plat- form. Start by cutting a slot centered on each side of the platform (Figure 5a). The slot provides a way to lock the platform to the base, yet still makes it easy to remove. Then to attach the miter saw, you’ll need to drill a set of counter- bored holes (Figures 5 and 5b) to accept a set of T-nuts. To locate these holes, center the saw on the plat- form, mark each location and then drill the holes. After installing the T-nuts, you can mount the saw with a set of hex bolts and washers (Figure 5b). Mounting the platform to the base is just a matter of slipping a pair of toilet bolts in the T-track and adding a couple washers and knobs. Fence Platforms - There are still two things left to do to com- plete the fence platforms. First, you need to cut them to final length (Figure 3) . And then you can drill a centered hole near each edge for attaching the platform to the base (Figure 5). Finally, mount each plat- form to the base with a toilet bolt, washer, and knob. Handles - If you plan to move the station fairly often, it’s a good idea to add a set of handles to make it easy to carry. They’re attached to the back stiffener (Figure 1). No. 58 ShopNotes 19 clamps make it easy to quickly adjust the position of the supports and fences. With the base complete, you can turn your attention to the fence system. This system consists of two main parts — a set of workpiece supports, and a pair offences. Supports - The supports (F) are nothing more than short lengths of 2x stock cut 12" long. Whafs critical is the height — they need to match the height of your saw table so they keep the workpiece level. The easiest way to establish this height is to start with an oversized workpiece. Then if s just a matter of sneaking up on the final width (height) by trimming a little off the edge of the support To check the height as you’re trimming, place a straight- edge across the saw table and the support (Figure 7). Once the straight- edge rests level on both the support and the saw table, you can cut the rest of the supports to final width. Alignment Notch - One thing I was concerned about was making sure the face of the fence would be easy to align with the miter saw — no matter where the supports and fences were positioned along the base. An easy way to do this is to cut a shallow C/s") notch in the top edge of each support to accept the fence, as you can see in Figure 6a. Here again, I used a straightedge to locate the position of the notch. a. fcNUYlfcW ALUM, —v ANGLE rOGGlE ■ N ( CLAMP } Wm FENCE FACE SUPPORT ¥ V^I Ts Rh WOO x w DSCREW Note: The support will be set in from the front edge of the platform slightly C/2")- To do this, place the straight- edge against the fence of the miter saw and mark the location of the front edge of the notch (Figure 8). With the front edge of the notch marked, you’re ready to cut the notches in all four supports (Figures 9 and 9a). The notches are sized to accept the aluminum angle and solid wood face of the fence (added later) . (In my case, this was 2 3 /4 n .) Attach Supports - The next step is to attach the supports to the fence platforms, as shown in Figure 10. They’re screwed to the platforms so they’re flush with the inside edge 20 ShopNotes No. 58 FEATURE PROJECT them back V 2 ". Toggle Clamps - To make it quick and easy to lock the fence in place, I added a toggle clamp to the back end of each support (Figure 6a). (I used a De-Sta-Co model 213- U.) To ensure the fence didn’t slide around during use, I added some anti-skid tape to the bottom of each notch (Figure 10). FENCES Then all thaf s left to do to complete the fence is to attach the wood face to the aluminum angle. It’s screwed from the back so the face is flush with the bottom edge of the angle, as shown in Figure 6a. Optional Long Fence - If you have to cut a lot of long stock to iden- tical length, you might want to con- sider making a longer fence like the one shown in the photo below. building a long fence is that it isn’t much different than making a short one — just make everything longer. 0 made my fence 6' long to accept two pieces of T-track.) After cutting the groove for the T-tracks and screwing them in place, completing the long fence is just a matter of attaching the face (H) to a longer piece of aluminum angle just like you did before. Optional Long Fence Hardware •(2) Alum. T-Tracks (36" Long) •(22) #6 x 3 /e" Fh Woodscrews •(7) #& x %” Fh Woodscrews •(1) 2" Alum. Angle (72" Long) •(1) & Left-to- Right Tape With the supports complete and toggle clamps screwed in place, you’ve laid the groundwork for the two fences shown in Figure 6. Fence - Each fence is made up of only three parts - an aluminum angle, a solid wood face, and a single piece of T-track (Figure 11).^ The T-track accepts an £ stop that’s added later. Unless you’re able to find the alu- minum angle already cut to final length (3'), you’ll need to cut it to size. A carbide-tipped saw blade makes quick work of this. With the angles cut to final length, cut the fence faces (G) to the same length from lx stock, as shown in Figure 11. But before attaching the faces to the aluminum angle, you’ll need to cut a shallow groove near the top edge of each face to accept the T-track (Figure 11). After the grooves are complete, No. 58 ShopNotes 21 FEATURE PROJECT 5top- A To produce accurate results, this adjustable stop combines a sliding wood block with a plastic hairline indicator. A To make the hairline stand out on the indicator, fill in the line with a permanent marker and then wipe off any excess. One of the most useful fea- tures of this miter station is the adjustable stop that works on either side of the fence. Along with a tape measure installed on the top of each fence, it makes cutting multiple workpieces to the same length a snap. Adjustment Block - As you can see in Figure 12, the adjust- ment block (I) is made from a small piece of 3 / 4 n -thick stock. To prevent the block from turning as you slide it along the fence, there’s an alignment key that fits into a groove in the block. But you don’t want to cut a groove like this in such a small workpiece. So to avoid this, I started with an extra-long workpiece that’s cut to width. Then it’s a simple matter to cut the groove for the key (Figures 13 and 13a). Once the groove is complete, you can cut the adjustment block to final length. Then all that’s left to do is to fill the groove with an alignment key (J) cut from a piece of V 4 " hardboard. An adjustable stop isn’t much use without a way to lock it in position. To do this, there’s a toilet bolt that slips into the T-track on the fence and passes through the block. A turn of a knob locks the block in place (End View in Figure 12) . Note: Clamp the adjustment block in a handscrew to hold it steady when drilling the «■« Vs'-THICK PLASTIC) hole for the toilet bolt (Figure 14) . v Indicator - To increase the accu- racy of the stop, I added a hairline indicator made from W'-thick plastic, as shown in Figure 12. What makes this indicator accurate is the hairline scored on the bottom of the indicator. To make ' it easier to see the hairline, I filled it in with a marker (see margin photo) and then screwed the indicator to the top of the adjustment block. Add Tape Measures - The hair- line works with a tape measure installed on the top of each fence. (One reads right-to-left, the other left- to-right) Putting the tape down is easy, the trick is locating it accurately. To do this, I used a 12"-long scrap as a gauge. Start with the scrap resting against the teeth of the saw blade (Figure 15). Then slide the stop against the opposite end of the scrap and lock it in place. After slipping the tape under the indicator, align the 12" mark with the hairline and press the tape in place (Figure 15a). To install the other tape, simple repeat the process. Finally, trim the ends of the tape flush with each end of the fence. 22 ShopNotes No. 58 NOTE: supports ARE % n PLYWOOD; RAILS ARE 3V -THICK STOCK A After removing the miter saw, storing the station is just a matter of hanging it on a cleat and folding the supports for the station against the wall. If you don’t have the room to keep the miter saw set up on a benchtop, you might want to consider the wall bracket shown above. It doesn’t take up any floor space because the sta- tion rests on supports that swing out from the wall. Once you’re done using the station, simply hang the base on a cleat attached to the wall and swing the supports back in place, as shown in the photo at right Rails - I started on the wall bracket by making the rails (K). There’s nothing special about them. Each rail is nothing more than a piece of lx stock cut to final size. Supports - With the rails com- plete, I turned my attention to the supports. The supports (L) are made from triangular-shaped pieces of 3 /4 n plywood with a shallow notch cut in die top edge (Figure 16). This notch is sized to accept the base of the miter saw station and prevents it from sliding off the front of the supports. Installation - The main chal- lenge in building the wall bracket is installing it That’s because its fairly large once it’s assembled. So instead, I started by mounting just the rails to the wall (Figures 16 and 16b) . The only thing that’s critical is the height of the top rail. I wanted the top of my miter saw table about 38" from the floor, which is a comfortable working height for me. So I placed the top rail 32" from the floor and then spaced the lower rail 16" below that Note: Be sure to screw the rails into the wall studs (Figures 16 and 16b). Completing the assembly is just a matter of mounting the supports to the rails. To do this, first attach the hinges to the supports and then screw them to the rails (Figures 16 and 16b). Finally, add a pair of mag- netic catches to hold the supports closed for storage (Figure 16c). Notch Base - As I mentioned before, the notch in the supports keeps the base from sliding off the supports. But to ‘lock” it in and keep if from moving side to side, I added notches to the base (Figure 16a). Cleats - All that 1 s left to do at this point is to make a pair of interlocking cleats that allow you to store the sta- tion on the wall (Figure 17). Each cleat (M) is identical and cut from 2x stock. I planed them to fit between the base of the station and the wall (Figure 17a). To allow the cleats to lock together, there’s a 45° bevel cut along one edge. Finally, glue one cleat to the base of the station and screw the other one to the wall (Figure 16). Here again, you’ll want to be sure to screw the cleat into the wall studs. A No. 58 ShopNotes 23 IN THE SHOP Table Saw Molding Heads Cut moldings on a table saw? This simple accessory can make it happen. B efore routers and router tables became fixtures in most shops, if you wanted to make your own moldings for a project, you basically had two choices. An expensive (and potentially dangerous) shaper, or a table saw fitted with a molding head. A molding head is really nothing more than a cutter head that holds various profiles of knives (cutters). It’s designed to fit right on the arbor of your table saw, see the photo above. But for as simple as it looks, a molding head is quite a versatile table saw accessory. Benefits - You don’t see molding heads as often today, which is too bad really. Because they’re a great tool for making profiles and can do some things a router just can’t For one thing, a molding head allows you to cut a profile in the face of a board, not just on the edge like a router. Second, buying a molding head for your table saw is a lot cheaper than buying a router table and a bunch of router bits. For the cost of three or four fancy profile router bits, you can buy a molding head set that includes the ▲ Profiles. Here's just cutterhead and eight sets of knives a small sampling of with different profiles. the many profiles Finally, a molding head is a good available for your choice whenever it’s more conven- molding head, ient to bring the workpiece to the tool, rather than the tool to the work- piece. Particularly with long pieces, cutting moldings on a table saw is often much more convenient than on a router table, which typically have smaller table surface areas. Cutter Head - Although they may look slightly different, all molding heads work on the same basic principle. The main body, or cutter head, is usually slotted to hold a set of three knives (although some cutter heads may hold only one or two knives). You can purchase the cutter head and knives separately, or as a set containing the head and a basic assortment of knives. Delta and Sears (Craftsman) sell two of the more common molding heads on the market (see page 31 for sources). The Delta molding head is a thick, round, disk, turned out of solid steel, see photo below. The cutters fit into slots in the head and are locked in place with a large set screw. In contrast, the Craftsman head (shown in the drawing on the oppo- site page) is cut from plate steel and is larger in diameter. Because it is thinner than the Delta head, the Craftsman molding head comes with a thick, washer-like spacer that is placed on the saw arbor between the arbor flange and the cutter head. Both brands of molding head work well, but because the Delta is smaller and more streamlined, it’s a bit quieter than the Craftsman head. I also noticed that the Delta knives were ground a little nicer than the Craftsman knives. Knives - The knives are made from high speed steel with various profiles ground on the edge. They slide into slots in the cutterhead and are secured with a socket screw. One downside of molding heads is that because the knives are steel, they dull very quickly if used on man-made materials such as parti- cleboard or MDF. (For a molding head that uses carbide knives, see the box on the opposite page.) DELTA CROSS SECTION 24 ShopNotes No. 58 IN THE SHOP CROSS SECTION Both Sears and Delta offer a ► good selection of knives (25 and 32 different profiles, respectively). These include coves, beads, flutes, quarter rounds, and ogees. Several of the knives combine two or more different shapes in the same profile, so they perform double- duty. There are also special knives available for tongue and groove joints and glue joints. The straight knives can be used for making rabbets or chamfers. Knives for the Delta molding head cost about $20 per set while the Craftsman knives are around $12 per set The two brands are not inter- changeable. In other words, you can’t use the Craftsman knives on a Delta molding head or vice versa. Check Your Saw - Before pur- chasing a molding head, you might want to make sure that your table saw is capable of using one. The Magic Molder With its bright purple exterior, the new “Magic Molder” certainly stands out from other molding heads. And the differences don’t stop there. It has a lot of features that you won’t find on traditional molding heads. For one, the head is made out of anodized aluminum, perfectly MAGIC MGLPER arbor of the saw needs to be long enough to accommodate the molding head. As a general rule, if you can use a stacked dado head on your table saw, you should be able to use a molding head. Inserts - The other piece of equipment you’ll need is an insert ^ plate for your table saw. You can purchase one or make your own (see the box on page 27) . The insert for the molding head should have a wide opening to provide clearance for the cutters. Note: The opening required for a molding head is usu- ally wider than the opening found on most dado inserts, so you can’t nec- essarily use your dado insert. One thing to note is that the Delta molding insert is designed to be used with the Delta molding head. The opening in this insert isn’t long enough to accommodate the larger- diameter Craftsman molding head. balanced so it will run smoothly and quietly. But the biggest improvements are in the knives. Instead of just flat, steel knives, the Magic Molder uses round “plugs” that have carbide cutters welded on. These plugs slide into openings in the molding head and are mum CRAFTSMAN NUT CROSS SECTION held in place by a steel locking pin and a set screw, making it virtually impossible for the plug to fly out An anti-kickback plug design makes the Magic Molder even safer to use. I tried the Magic Molder, and it worked, well, like magic. The moldings it creates look like they came right off a shaper. The Magic Molder is a bit more expensive than other molding heads. But the cost is offset by the feet that the carbide cutters will last much longer than high speed steel. In addition, there are 70 different knife profiles available. See page 31 for sources. No. 58 ShopNotes 25 IN THE SHOP Using a Molding Head A Honing the Knives. When the knives become dull, they can be resharpened by honing the back (flat) side on a sharpening stone. If you’ve never used a molding head before, it can seem a little intimi- dating (even frightening) at first Part of this has to do with the sound of the molding head. Instead of the high-pitched “zing” of a saw blade, a molding head emits a low-pitched, whirring sound. But using a molding head is really no more dangerous than using a stacked dado set. The key to safety is to follow a few simple rules (see the box below) and to make sure you are always in control of the cut by using featherboards and hold-downs. Edge Molding - Most of the time, I use a molding head for cut- ting a profile on the edge of a board. This is done by burying the molding head in an auxiliary fence so that only the portion of the knives that you want to use is exposed, see drawings at right (This is the same way that you would bury a dado head for cutting a rabbet) If you want to use the left side of the knif e profile, you’ll need to move the fence over to the right of the molding Safety Tips 1 Secure Knives. Make sure the knives are securely fastened in the cutter head. Don't operate the molding head with missing knives or knives with dif- ferent profiles. It will throw off the bal- ance of the cutter head. 2 Check Clearance. Rotate the molding head by hand before turning on the saw to make sure that the knives clear the insert and fence. 3 Multiple Passes. Avoid taking deep cuts. It’s better to cut deep profiles in multiple passes. 4 Stock Size. Don't try to cut moldings on boards that are less than 4" wide or shorter than 12". If you need to make narrow moldings, cut the profile on a wide board first and then rip the molding to width. A Double Duty. Some molding head cutters have two different profiles in one. To use the second profile, you'll need to move the fence over to the opposite side of the molding head, as shown above. head. Safety Note: To avoid an acci- dental kickback, you should never trap the workpiece between the fence and the molding head. The auxiliary fence can be as simple as a piece of plywood clamped or screwed to your rip fence. An arc-shaped cutout along the bottom of the auxiliary fence provides clearance for the molding head. (For an auxiliary fence that incorporates a hold-down feature, see the article on page 28.) Feed Rate - If you’ve never used a molding head before, you might want to make some practice cuts to get a “feel” for the best feed rate. If you feed the work- piece too fast, you’ll wind up with a rough, uneven cut Feed it too slow, and you may have trouble with burning. The key is to find the right feed rate and then push the workpiece through smoothly and continuously. Pressure - In addition to the feed rate, you want to pay attention to the amount of downward pressure you apply to the workpiece. In order to get a straight, even profile, you need to apply consistent pres- sure. The best way to do this is by attaching a featherboard (or two) to the auxiliary fence. Featherboards not only help produce more consis- tent results, they also serve as a safety device to prevent kickback. Whenever possible, I prefer to run the workpiece through the saw lying flat. (I feel like I have more control over the workpiece this way.) But occasionally, the only way to get the ShopNotes IN THE SHOP profile you want is to run the piece through on edge, like you see in Figure 1. To do this, make sure that your auxiliary fence is tall (wide) enough to support the workpiece. And instead of attaching the feather- boards above the workpiece, attach them to your table saw so they hold the workpiece against the fence. Making Complex Profiles - You don’t need to be confined to the stock knife profiles that are available for your molding head. By com- bining multiple cuts using different knife profiles, you can come up with a wide variety of moldings. To do this, start by penciling out the profile you want on the end of your stock. Then cut the molding by making separate passes using different profiles of cutters, as shown in Figure 2. If the molding you’re making requires removing a lot of material, it’s best to cut the profile by taking a series of light passes, rather than one heavy one. This way, the 1 molding head doesn’t have to remove as much material, resulting in a cleaner, smoother cut that isn’t so hard on the knives. The other option is to rip off the bulk of the waste beforehand with a regular saw blade, as shown in Figure 2. Joinery - Molding heads aren’t just for making moldings. They can be used for joinery as well. There are straight knives that will cut rabbets and other knife sets that can be used for tongue and groove joints. One of the more useful knife pro- files is the glue joint knife shown in Figure 3. This profile is symmetrical, so once you set the position of the fence, you can run all your boards through, and they will come out with interlocking edge joints. This profile can also be used for creating inter- locking drawer joints. Maintenance - The only mainte- nance you need to perform on a molding head is to clean out any saw- dust that may accumulate in the slots and periodically inspect it for any damage or stripped-out set screws. The cutters can be sharpened by rubbing the flat side on a sharpening stone, see photo on opposite page. But don’t try to sharpen the beveled side of the cutters. It’s too easy to alter the profile, which can throw the molding head off balance. & To use a molding head, you’ll need an insert with a wide opening. Making your own molding head insert is really a pretty simple task, especially if you’ve made other types of inserts before. Start by cut- ting a blank to match the size and thickness of your regular table saw insert. (I used some V2" Baltic birch plywood, but you could also use solid wood.) After cutting the blank to size so that it fits in the opening in your table saw, you need to make the opening for the molding head. The safest way to do this is to mark out the location of the opening on the blank and then cut it out with a sabre saw. Using a straightedge, mark the front and back of the opening and then the sides, as you see in Figures 4 and 5. After drilling a starter hole and cutting out the waste, check to make sure the molding head will clear the opening before turning your table saw on. No. 58 ShopNotes 27 Molding Head A tall fence, built-in hold- downs, and a see-through guard put you in control of the cut. T he nice thing about using a molding head to make mold- ings is that you don’t have to buy another expensive piece of equip- ment — the molding head attaches directly to the table saw you already own. But in order to cut moldings safely and effectively, you need to have an auxiliary fence like the one shown in the photo above. This fence does two things. It allows you to “bury” the molding head in the rip fence so you can use just a portion of the cutter profile. And it also serves as a hold-down for the work- piece, helping to prevent kickback. But the beautiful thing about this fence is that it’s not just for molding heads. It can also be used for cutting rabbets with a dado head. It’s one versatile fence. The fence consists of two basic assemblies. A long face provides support for the workpiece and a couple of hold-downs slide in tracks TOP VIEW in the fence. The whole thing can be built in just a couple of hours. g Face - To make the fence, start fj by cutting a piece of 3 A" plywood to size for the face (A). The length of this piece should approximately match the length of your rip fence. Next, I trimmed off the front and back corners of the face so there wouldn’t be any sharp corners. An arc is made along the bottom of the face to provide clearance for the molding head and its cutters. To deter- mine the location of this cutout, clamp the face to the rip fence on your table saw. Then with the saw turned off and unplugged for safety, raise the molding head into posi- tion and slide the fence over against it. Now you can mark out the location of the cutout on the face. (I used a sabre saw to do this.) T-Tracks - Once you’ve finished cutting the arc, the next step is to mount a couple of aluminum T-4 tracks in the face for the hold-downs * (see page 31 for T-track sources). The T-tracks fit into dadoes that are 28 ShopNotes No. 58 IN THE SHOP cut in one side of the plywood face. ► To make these dadoes, I used my miter gauge to guide the workpiece over a dado blade, as shown in Figure 3. An auxiliary fence attached to the miter gauge helps to support the workpiece. And a stop block clamped to the auxiliary fence pre- vents the workpiece from slipping. Once you’ve cut both dadoes, the T-track can be mitered to length and screwed in place. Since the T-track is aluminum, you can cut it on a fable saw using a carbide-tipped blade. But if you don’t have a carbide blade, you could use a hacksaw instead. Hold-Downs - The hold-downs are nothing but a couple of hard- wood blocks with a key inset in each to slide in the T-track. The blocks (B) start off as a single, extra-long blank of lV 2 "-thick stock, like you see in Figure 4. A shallow groove is cut down the center of the blank, and then a hardboard key (C) is glued into the groove. . The hold-down blocks will be P attached to the T-track with knobs and 2 1 /4 n -long toilet bolts. So the next step is to drill a hole through each block for the toilet bolt. After this is done, the hold-down blocks can be cut from the blank. The last thing to do is to add a “finger” to each hold-down block. This is the piece that will actually press against the workpiece, holding it flat against the table. I could have made the fingers out of wood. But because I didn’t want to have to worry about them breaking, I used a tough plastic instead — UHMW (Ultra-High Molecular Weight). (Sources for UHMW plastic are listed in the margin on page 30.) In addition to being stiff and springy, this plastic is also very slick, which makes it a good choice for the hold-down fingers. The fingers (D) are cut to size on the table saw. Then after rounding over the leading edge of each finger with some sandpaper, the fingers can be screwed to the hold-down blocks (Figure 5). No. 58 ShopNotes 29 IN THE SHOP SOURCES Lee Valley 800-871-8158 UHMW Plastic, Polycarbonate (Lexan) Rockier 800-279-4441 UHMW Plastic Guard The hold-downs go a long way toward reducing the chances of kick- back when using a molding head. But for an extra measure of protec- tion, I decided to add a guard to the hold-down blocks. This is just a piece of clear polycarbonate (Lexan) that slips over the toilet bolts that are used to attach the hold-down blocks, (Figure 6). For a source of polycar- bonate, see the margin at left. To make the guard (E), all you have to do is cut the polycarbonate to size and make a couple of holes in it. The guard actually hangs from a couple of star knobs that are used to secure the hold-downs. The holes are oversized to allow the guard to fit over the base of the knobs. And one hole is slightly elongated so the guard and hold-downs will slide smoothly in the T-tracks without binding. To make this elongated hole, I drilled two overlapping holes. Once the guard is complete, you can attach the hold-downs and guard to the fence with toilet bolts, fender washers, and a couple of star knobs. Using the Molding Fence Using the molding fence is pretty straightforward. It’s simply a matter of attaching it to your rip fence and adjusting the hold-downs. The first step is to clamp the fence to your rip fence, as shown in Figure 7. Nothing tricky here. Just make sure that the clamps are posi- tioned high enough so they won’t be in the way of your workpiece. (Depending on the design of your rip fence, you maybe able to attach the fence with screws.) Next, you’ll need to position the fence. Depending on the cutters you are using, you may only want to use a portion of the cutter pro- file. The molding fence will cover the unused portion of the profile, just like you see in Figure 7a. Once you have the fence posi- tioned where you want it, clamp the back end of the fence down to the table. Safety Note: Clamping the fence down is necessary to prevent it from being lifted up off the table by the force of the molding head. Adjust Hold-Downs - The final step is to adjust the hold-downs. . This is just a matter of placing your f workpiece against the face of the fence, loosening the knobs, low- ering the hold-downs until the fin- gers contact the workpiece, and then tightening the knobs (Figures 8 and 8a). The fingers should hold the workpiece down firmly, but not so tight that it becomes difficult to feed the stock under them. Sources PRODUCT INFORMATION ◄ Miter Saw Station Parts ShopNotes Project Supplies is offering some of the more difficult to find hardware for the Miter Saw Station shown on page 16. Besides the alu- minum T-track (four required), you can also order a hardware kit that contains the seven toilet bolts, star knobs, and washers required to build the miter saw station. Most woodworking stores and catalogs cany the toggle clamps (De- Sta-Co Model 213-U) and self-adhesive measuring tapes in a variety of lengths that read both left-to-right and right-to-left. Note: The Woodsmith Store (800-836-5084) carries both the toggle clamps and measuring tapes. All the remaining hardware (aluminum angle, woodscrews, hinges, handles, T-nuts, anti-skid tape, piece of Plexiglas, magnetic catches, and hex bolts) is available at many hardware stores and home centers. 36" T-TRACK (Each) 4502-076 $13.95 HARDWARE KIT (7 Each of Knobs, Toilet Bolts, and Washers) 6858-125 $10.95 Polyurethane Glue ► \ You can increase your odds of a successful glue-up by keeping a bottle of polyurethane glue around the shop. The biggest advan- tage is they have a longer open time than your typical wood- working glue, so you’ll have more time to assemble a complex project. But they’re also strong and easy to clean up once they’ve dried. You can find polyurethane glues at woodworking stores, home centers, or the following mail-order sources: • Lee Valley 800-871-8158 •Rodder 800-27 9-4441 •Woodcraft 800-225-1153 • Woodworker's Supply 800-645-9292 Molding Head Cutters ► Molding head cutters can add a whole new dimension to your woodworking, whether you’re adding a unique profile to a special project or creating hundreds offeet of trim- work. In addition, there are a wide variety of cutters available (see margin). Molding heads are available at woodworking stores or the following mail-order sources: ShopNotes Project Supplies | is offering some of the hardware ; and supplies needed to build the s projects in this issue. 1 To place an order for some of the items shown on this page, call: 800 - 347-5105 (Key Code: SN 58) • Sears (Craftsman) 800-377-7414 • Woodhaven (Magic Molder) 800-344-6657 • Woodworker's Supply (Delta, Magic Molder) 800-645-9292 • LRH Enterprises, Inc. (Magic Molder) 800-423-2544 No. 58 ShopNotes 31 Sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co., this Dunlap miter box was used to guide a hand saw when cutting miters. The saw slides back and forth in a cast iron guide which can be adjusted for any angle. Commonly-used angles can be set automatically by sliding a key into one of several notches in a plate attached to the guide. ShopNote Cutting Diagram Cordless Tool Storage 46" x 96" - 1 / 2 " PLYWOOD Also Needed: (1) 10" x 16 15 /i 6 " - VV Hard board (1) 2" x 4" - I 9 V 2 " Hardwood Materials Storage Cabinet A Sides (2) 12% x 24% - % Plywood B Shelves (2) 10% x 20-% Plywood C Bottom (1) 11x20- % Plywood P Back (1) 20 x 24% - % Plywood E Support (1) 10% x & % - % PlywoodPlatform F Platform (1) 9% x 10% - % PlywoodUpright G Drawer Front/Back (2) 2 15 / ie x19 7 / ie -% Plywood H Drawer Sides (2) 2 15 hex 10 -% Plywood 1 Drawer Bottom (1) 10 x 1B 15 /ie - % Hardboard J Cleats (2) 1%x 5 -19% Hardwood Page 1 of 1 ShopNotes No. 58 ©2001 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.