a portable book rack
TRANSCRIPT
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Yeas ao, ie eseacin Ameica
and Crafts designs, I took an immedi
in to gustav Sticeys No. 74 boo
Its sote tan most boocases, it sa
form a V-shaped trough to hold books spine
D-saped andods mae it easy to move.
Ive made a dozen acs based on tat d
fom sma destop vesions to exta-ta on
od compact discs and DVDs. Ive aso mo
Stickleys design. Simple through-tenons repla
eded tenons. I added a second V-saped in the middle to make the rack more function
I tapeed te end panes, efectin te oo
roycoft desins tat I favo. Despite te c
te boo ac etains its Ats and Cafts ca
Tis vesion, made fom quatesan ite
sized to sit beteen a coupe of Mois cai
Make the end panels and router templateSince te end panes ae te foca point, you
boads it maximum fiue. Use sine
boads if you ave tem, o ede-ue naoe boads.
wie te panes ae dyin, mae a oute tempate fom
medium-density fibeboad (MDF) o pyood, ic you
to cut sots fo te sef motises.
The template (see facing page) simplifies construction in s
ways. It locates the shelf mortises, of course. And because I
te tempate to te inside face of one end piece and te o
face of te ote, it ensues tat te motises i ine up.
ayin out te sots in te tempate, a you ave to do is d
dimensions fo te 34-in.-tic seves and cut a sot tat
wen usin tose sots to cut te tou-motises, use a b
A Potabe
Boo racUse a router templafor perfect results
B Y G R E G O R Y P A O L I N I
F I N E w O O D w O r k I N g42 Potos, except ee noted: David heim; tis pae: Jon
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Full-size plans
for this book rack
and other projects
are available atFineWoodworking
.com/PlanStore.
MAKING THE TEMPLATE
Lay out the
slots. Align the
template and the
triangle against
a straightedge
clamped to the
bench to draw
the shelf out-
lines.
Make the cutouts. Use a straight bit and a
fence jig to cut the -in. slots for the shelf
mortises. Use a jigsaw for the other cutouts.
The -in.-wide slots in the template will
guide a router bushing for making the
-in.-wide mortises in the workpieces.
Bottom shelf mortise,
in. by 7 in.
V-shelf mortise, in. by 3 in.
Sides, in. thick by 1112 in.
wide by 29 in. tall
-in.-di
Fence jig
Template
V-shelves,
in. thick by 4 in.wide by 32 in. long
Bottom shelf, in. thick by10 in. wide by
32 in. long
45
trian
134 in
29 in.
21 in.
912 in.
Guideline forslanted side
in.
158 in.
8 in.
1112 in.
218 in.
8 in.
3 in. in.
2in.212-
radi
8in.
3 in.
SIDE TEMPLATE-in. plywoodor MDF
BOTTOM
SHELF TENON
First trim edge of jig w
router, then align jig w
layout lines.
Rout
with
dia. s
bit.
V-SHELF TENONS
Tenons, in. thick
by 314 in. wideby 1 in. long
Chamfer,732 in.
Tenons, in. thickby 734 in. wide
by 1 in. long
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uide busin. Te offset beteen bit and busin equas te
idt of te tenon soudes. I et a motise te it idt, in
te it ocation.
To avoid teaout en outin tou-motises, I o fomone face toad te midde, itout poppin out te ote side.
So I rout the bulk of the mortises with the guide bushing, then use
a fus-timmin bit fom te ote side to finis tem ceany.
Mae te tempate 1112 in. ide by 29 in.
long. Draw the panel side tapers, handle, and
oe ac. Ten da ectanes epesent-
in te fu size of te ends of te nao
V-seves and te ide bottom sef. wit
te tempate dan, da ayout ines 14 in. fom eac end
V-sef ectanes. Fo te bottom sef, da ayout ine
fom te ends. Tese define te statin and stoppin poi
te sef motises. To cut te motise sots, camp a sopfence ji fus it te on side of eac sef outine and p
cut fom one ine to te next it a oute and a 34-in. bit. C
the handle and bottom arch with a jigsaw, then smooth the
and cean up te samas it sandpape.
Mill the oak and cut the mortisesNext, I mi a te oa seves to size a
te ued-up end panes to ent. ho
Secret to clean through-mortises 1
Use a guide bushing for initial cuts.
Clamp the template to the workpiece.
Begin cutting the shelf mortises with a
plunge router equipped with a -in.-dia.
spiral upcut bit and a -in. guide bush-
ing. Use the same setup to make thecurved cutouts. Make these cuts only
about58 in. deep; dont cut through the
work at this stage.
Rout to partial depth
-in. guidebushing
Template
Workpiece
58 in.
-in.-dia. bit
Watch Paolini demonstrate his
router technique. For a video, go toFineWoodworking.com/extras.
OnlineExtra
F I N E w O O D w O r k I N g44 Dains: Cisto
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ont tape te panes unti Ive finised main a te cutoutsit te oute.
I mae te motises and cutouts on one pane at a time. rate
tan campin tem toete and cuttin eveytin at once, I
set up te tempate so tat te panes ae oiented as copies, not
mio imaes. In ote ods, te tempate oes on te outside
face of te eft-and pane but on te inside face of te it-
and pane.
reiste te tempate to te side and bottom of te end pane.
You can use a on scap of ood as a fence to ep ain te
tempate it te side. Camp te assemby to te benc and
ma a sma dot on te bottom of te it foot. You use tat
ma to efeence o you aid out te pane.
Set up te oute and busin. Te 34-in.-ide sots in te tem-pate i poduce a 12-in.-ide motise in te oa, usin a 14-in.
spia bit and a 12-in. busin. You coud aso use a 38-in. bit
and a 58-in. busin. hoeve, te smae bit eaves a tiny ide
dead-cente in te oove, ic comes in andy ate on.
rout te outines fo te D-saped ande, te oe ac, and
the shelf mortises in several passes. Dont cut all the way through.
wen te cuts ae about 58 in. deep, stop and emove te tem-
pate. Use a jisa to emove most of te aste fom te ande
and te oe ac.
Di a oe tou eac sef motise. Tis is ee you can
use tat ide eft by te 14-in. bit. I ie to use it to cente a116-in.-dia. piot oe. Ten I fip te pane ove and enae te
piot oe it a13
32-in. bit. Tis ives me a statin pace fote oute bit I use next.
Fip te pane ove, and finis a te cuts it a 38-in. fus-
timmin bit. I cuc te bit in a aminate timme. Its easy to
conto and ets me easiy see at Im doin.
Tese exta steps uaantee tat you ont ave any teaout.
Squae up te motises it a cise, oin fom eac face
toad te midde to avoid teaout. Finis te panes by tapein
te sides on te bandsa, cuttin just to te aste side of te
Square up t
corners. Cu
the waste in
corners with
chisel. Chop
halfway dow
flip the work
finish by par
from the opp
face toward
center.
Starter holes for the next step. Drill a hole to allow the flush-trimming
bit to enter the mortise. Start with a small pilot hole to locate the center.
To prevent blowout, follow with a larger bit from the other side.
Flip the work an
finish with a flutrimming bit. Fi
the mortises and
other cutouts wit38-in. flush-trimm
bit, working from
opposite face. To
up the D-shaped
and the cutout a
foot, cut away m
the waste with a
then use the sam
to smooth the ed
Drill, flip, and clean up2
38-in.-dia. flush-trimming bit
Workpiece
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Define the shoulders. Use a combination blade to make the initial cuts
for the tenon shoulders. Make these cuts about132 in. deeper than the
tenon, to define the shoulders cleanly.
ine. I cean up te cuts it a oute, usin my sopmad
uide and a stait bit.
Cut the tenons on the tablesawTe tou-tenons on te seves poject 14 in. fom t
panels. They have narrow shoulders on their wide faces, and
soudes on te sides. Te soudes ide some impefe
and mae ue-up muc easie. I cut te tenons on te tab
definin te soudes it a combination bade to min
teaout, ten sitcin to a staced dado set to finis.
You soud puposey mae te soude cuts a ai too
ic pevents a ide at te inside cone tat youd
cean out ate.
Tade te combination bade fo a staced dado set to
te tenons. Cut te ide cees fist. Set te bade o an
it aduay tou a seies of cuts to snea up on te p
tenon ticness. Test te fit afte eac cut. Once tat fist
fits te motise just it, cut te est. Foo te same poc
to cut a te sot cees.
Next, camfe te ends of te tenons. Ma a ine 732 in
te ends, ten pane to tat ine at ouy a 45 ane. Pa
on edes fist, ten pane te sot edes.
Finally, soften the remaining sharp edges of the shelves an
panes it a 14-in. oundove bit in te oute.
Fit and finishDy-fit te piece. Te tenons soud sip into tei motise
and pessue. If you need a maet, te joints ae too ti
Finish with a
dado set. Use
a stacked dado
set to cut away
the waste on
each tenon.
Check the first
tenon often
against its mor-
tise to creep
up on the right
blade height.
The result. You
should have
tenons with
even shoulders,
smooth cheeks,
and a nice fit.
Chamfer the tenon ends. Use a block plane to chamfer the port
each tenon that will be proud of the side pieces, working to a layo
To minimize tearout, plane the wide cheeks first, then the narrow e
Cut tenonson the tablesaw
F I N E w O O D w O r k I N g46
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Fine-tune th
The tenons s
fit into the m
with hand pr
At the end, y
need to remo
small amoun
excess with a
coarse file (l
a shoulder p
Dye, then stain. A brownish
dye, followed by a darker oil
stain, produces a finish thats
very close to fumed oak. Mask
the tenons to keep finish off
glue surfaces (above). When
applying the finish, work care-
fully to keep the stain out of
the mortises (right).
Glue, then shellac. To reduce squeezeout, put most of the glue on t
ons and only a dab in the mortises. When the glue has cured, apply
coats of thinned shellac. As a final step, rub out the finish.
you need to pae don te tenons it a soude pane o a
coase fie.
Smoot te pieces it a andom-obit sande, finisin itP180-it. Ten and-sand a te pieces it P180-it pape,
oin it te ain, to minimize any sandin sis.
I ie to do some of te finisin befoe assemby, en te
pieces ae easy to ande. To eep finis off te tenons, I ap
tem it 12-in. masin tape.
To simulate the look of ammonia-fumed oak, I follow Jeff Jewitts
tecnique fo usin dye and piment stain (Safe and Simpe Ats
and Crafts Finish, FWW#157). For a simpler finish, I like Minwax
Eay Ameican 230 stain fooed by cea seac o vanis,
ic oos emaaby ie one of Sticeys oiina finises.
Afte te stain as died, ue up te piece. If you et any
squeeze-out, et it dy, ten pee it off.
In eepin it te Ats and Cafts tadition, I use seac
as a topcoat. I typicay bus on six o seven coats of Zinsse
SeaCoat tinned to a 1-b. cut. Afte te seac as cued, I
ub out te piece it minea oi and 0000 stee oo, ivin
te piece te satin seen typica of tis stye of funitue. Te
finis soud povide penty of potection fo a fe eneations
of eades.
Gregory Paolini makes Arts and Crafts furniture in Waynesville, N.C.
Fit, finish, and glue-up
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