Home Archives for Education
June 16, 2012 By

Woodworking Editors and Authors in Google+ Hangouts, Episode No. 1

Getting back is hard to do.

This episode aired on Google+ and YouTube on June 14, 2012. I am getting back into woodworking, following a seven-month hiatus. Please read on.

#woodworking #hangoutonair +Fine Woodworking #magazine #Editor #Author #blogger

This is the first episode in a new series in Hangouts on Air. It was important to me, as I start preparing mentally to re-enter the shop after a seven-month absence. And avoiding injury has been on my mind; as a result, this was a perfect opportunity to kick off this series, and to get answers to the source of my anxiety – *safety in the shop.* Many of you know I have been preparing to become a Certified Court Interpreter (English < > Spanish) in Missouri, USA – thus the reason for my absence.

I hope other woodworking magazine Editors, book authors, and woodworking bloggers will accept my invitation for a chat in the near future, to talk shop, tools, safety, process, design, etc.

Today I invited the following woodworking colleagues into a hangout:

+Asa Christiana, Editor of Fine Woodworking magazine,

+Matthew Kenney, Senior Editor, Fine Woodworking magazine, and

+Dyami Plotke, of the +Modern Woodworkers Association

to chat in a Google+ hangout about safety, upcoming events with Fine Woodworking, and hand tools vs. power tools in the shop.

My thanks to all participants. Please stand by as I announce additional woodworking hangouts!

Audio-only file: For portability I have split the audio portion of the video, and uploaded it to the Internet Archive. Download it to your portable device, and enjoy listening to the chat while on the move: Click here.

Filed Under: Blog, Education, Google+, Hangouts, Video Tagged With: , , ,
August 8, 2011 By

Keeping things straight when cutting joinery

 

Joinery. Dovetails. Finger joints. Mortise and tenon.

George asked a question

How do I keep the board orientation throughout a project, to make sure the project comes out right without redoing any part of the joinery?

It is extremely helpful to know which side of a board will be oriented to the inside of a box, once the box is assembled. When finger joints are the joinery, it is not critical, as the boards will fit no matter how the boards are assembled; the only requirement is that the finger board match the socket board. On the other hand, the craftsman must be vigilant when dovetails are the joinery. This is why properly marking the surfaces is critical.

For example, I clearly mark the outer surface of the pins boards, to ensure I place the board on the jig properly:

Marked side of board when cutting dovetails

See the little square with the funny little triangle “below” the square? That is the way I learned to mark the boards — it is the icon recommended by Leigh in their User Guide. I learned to use this little icon on the first day I used the old D4 dovetail jig, close to ten years ago. And I still use it today, as I respond to it immediately when reading the side of the board. But about 5 years ago I also started writing the board orientation. If you thought I miscut that a board, you are correct; I started writing the orientation, because I had erased the little icon almost completely, and inserted the board wrong-side-out. Fortunately, I was able to cut off the pins off that board, and the result was a slightly narrower box (a blanket chest).

The following image will give a more complete picture (pardon the pun…) of the complete markings I use on a project — and how I re-mark the boards as I handle them, to ensure I execute the joinery properly:

Marking sides of boards when cutting dovetails

I hope this helps other woodworkers as they use their jigs. And I thank George in South Carolina for asking how I do it.

Now, YOU

What precautions do YOU take to make sure the boards stay oriented properly?

 

— Al Navas

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, D4R Pro, Design, Dovetails, Education, Jigs, Joinery Tagged With: , ,
June 9, 2011 By

Small cabinet in curly maple and black walnut

Breaking the rules

I spent some time playing with a cabinet design concept, and also trying to break some design rules.

Dimensions:
Box: Symmetrical finger joints, 12-1/2″ wide x 14-1/2″ tall x 7″ deep
Drawer: Asymmetrical finger joints, Width: 11-3/16″ Height: 2-1/2″ Depth: 5-13/16″
Cabinet back: Shiplapped, book-matched black walnut
Hinges: front/on door: 3″ long ; claws/sides: 2-3/4″ long
Materials: Curly maple and black walnut, both local to NW Missouri
Finish: Sanded to 150 grit, and applied three coats of Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish using a tightly wadded lint-free cloth

Equipment used: Leigh D4R dovetail jig with the F3 finger joint template; and the M2 multiple mortise and tenon template

Photos of the box — make sure to click on the images to enlarge them, and to navigate from one to the next:

I hope you enjoy seeing this little cabinet — I had a great time implementing some ideas, and breaking rules. For example:

  • Joinery: It is unusual to see finger joints in fine pieces. The more traditional joinery is dovetails; and it seems that contemporary thinking leans toward very skinny dovetails. But I love the “zippered” look of finger joints, especially when contrasting woods are used.
  • The shelf: It is held in place using through tenons. I wanted the rounded ends of the tenons to play with the zippered look of the carcase. Further, I wanted to capture at least one of the through tenons in some way (see “Hinges”, below).
  • Drawer: The finger joints are asymmetric — the human eye likes to see symmetry. I decided on asymmetric finger layout; this means that the top fingers are curly maple, and the bottom fingers are black walnut. Convention normally dictates that both top and bottom should be curly maple in the drawer.
  • Hinges: Over the last several months I have been experimenting with finger joints. This project summarizes those trials. My wife, Sandy, designed the basic shape; I traced and shaped the hinges using rasps and files, and an oscillating sander. The shape of the hinges on the doors are reminiscent of a large shark’s tooth, while the other half of the hinge reminds me of a crab claw trying to catch the through tenon.
  • Glues used: For the finger joinery I used liquid hide glue; it is repairable, and it also has superb lubricating qualities that allow easy assembly of joinery with a relatively tight fit. For the hinges I used epoxy.

I welcome your comments on this cabinet.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Box making, Design, Education, F3 finger joint, Finger joints, Jigs, Joinery, M2, Tenon