Building the Housing

Study the Exploded View Drawing, and you’ll see that this project consists of a main housing with grooved and mitered sides that hold a pair of top and bottom panels in place. A center support helps keep the 1/4″-thick panels flat. The pullout trays slide in and out on a pair of grooves in the sides, and they are held open or closed with magnets recessed in the housing bottom panel and on the bottom inside ends of the trays.

Start by cutting your top (piece 1) to size, according to the Material List dimensions. I used Baltic birch plywood throughout. Cut two edging strips (pieces 2) from solid wood to cover the ends of the top panel and dress it up. I made mine 1/4″ thick by 3/8″ wide before centering and gluing the edging in place. When the glue dries, trim the edging flush with the plywood using a small router and a flush-trim bit to reduce it to its 1/4″ x 1/4″ final size. Now measure your top panel’s overall length, and cut a bottom panel (piece 3) to match it. The bottom panel has no wood edging.

Next, mill a 32″-long piece of 1/2″-thick, 4-1/8″-wide stock so you can make both side pieces (pieces 4) at the same time. (You’ll split them down the middle when you’re through.) Notice in the Drawings that the top and bottom panels fit into 1/4″-deep grooves in the sides. Since plywood is undersized in thickness, even a 1/4″-wide dado blade will be too wide for cutting these grooves. So, I just used a standard ripping blade with flat-topped teeth for this task. Start by setting your rip fence 1/4″ away from the blade and cut the outermost grooves for the top panel first; flip the workpiece end-for-end after the first cut to make a matching cut along the other edge (it will become the second side piece). Shift the fence and cut again to widen the first cuts until the grooves fit the top panel snugly. When you are satisfied, reset the rip fence 1-1/2″ away from the blade and repeat the process for forming a pair of grooves to accept the bottom panel. Then finish up the sidepiece grooves with enough side-by-side passes to create two, 1/2″-wide tracks for the tray side pieces. Start these wider grooves with the fence set 3/4″ from the blade. I recommend carrying out this grooving process on a matching test piece before you cut each of the grooves on your final workpiece. That way, you’ll have your fence settings dialed in and know exactly where each of these grooving cuts will land.

Now head to the router table with your side workpiece so you can rout a channel through the middle of it. We’ll use a 1/2″ straight bit here as a nifty way to create the curve-ended profile for the feet on the bottoms of the side pieces.

Mark your fence so you can start and stop the cuts accurately to rout a centered, 24″-long channel. Start the milling process with the bit set low, and raise it with each pass until it pops through the top of the workpiece. Flip the wood end-for-end after each pass to keep the channel centered. Then, widen the slot to 5/8″ by shifting the fence 1/16″ further away from the bit and making two more passes. Finally, chuck a chamfering bit into your router, and form 1/8″ chamfers along the outside edges of your “sides” workpiece. Rip it in two back at the table saw with a standard 1/8″-kerf blade.

You’re ready to miter-cut the ends of your side pieces to 45°, but measure the length of the top and bottom panels carefully to verify where to make these cuts. The inside corners of the miters on the side pieces should just intersect the ends of the top and bottom panels when they’re installed in their grooves.

Once the miters are cut, set the sides aside and prepare a piece of 1″ x 1″ stock for the center support (piece 5). Cut a pair of 1/4″-long, 1/2″-thick tongues on its ends, either with a standard blade or a dado set. These tongues should seat neatly in the wider tray grooves on the housing sides. Glue the center support across the middle of the bottom panel’s top face.

Round up four rare-earth magnets (pieces 10) for the bottom panel. They will keep the trays closed during transport or from falling out of the housing when pulled open. Locate them according to the Bottom Drawing. Use a 3/8″ Forstner bit to drill shallow holes that will sink the magnets until they’re flush with the panel’s top face. Attach them with dabs of epoxy, but first, make sure their “face up” polarity matches, before gluing them in place.

Final-sand the housing parts, and apply a coat of finish onto the top face of the bottom panel and the bottom face of the top panel. When it dries, go ahead and glue the panels into their grooves in the sides to complete the housing. I glued the panels to one side piece at a time — it made the assembly process easier.

Making the Trays

Form the tray frame ends (pieces 7) the same way you made the housing sides: start with a double-wide workpiece plus an eighth inch for blade kerf, mill a 1/4″-deep groove for two tray panels (pieces 6), and cut a centered channel at the router table to create feet on these two parts. Split the workpiece to bring the tray ends to final width. Don’t forget to add the top chamfers. They should match the chamfer proportions on the housing sides. Then miter-cut the tray frame ends carefully, “nibbling up” on a good fit against the housing’s side miters.

Rip thin strips of solid stock to create four side pieces (pieces 8) for the trays. The last parts yet to make are the 3/4″ x 3/4″ inner ends of the trays. Take two 20″ sticks and plow a 1/4″-deep, centered groove along one edge of each piece to fit over the tray panels. Then recess and glue a single magnet into the bottom faces of these two parts, centered on their length and width. Make sure their polarity will attract the bottom panel magnets first, before attaching them.

Finish-sand the tray components and assemble them in this order: Glue the mitered ends to the panels, making sure the parts are square. When the glue dries, add the inner ends. Then miter-cut one end of the tray sides to fit against the tray end miters, and glue them in place. Align their bottom edges flush with the bottoms of the panels. A few 23-gauge pin nails were a big help for me to keep these thin, narrow parts aligned.

Slip the trays into their openings to check their action in the housing grooves. If there’s resistance, hand-sand the tray sides as needed to loosen their fit a tad. Then, topcoat the remaining bare surfaces, and your new Jigsaw Puzzle Tray is ready for many hours of puzzle making to come. I hope it’s a holiday hit!

Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Hard to Find Hardware

Rare Earth Magnets (6) #44833

The post Project: Jigsaw Puzzle Tray appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

In order to make the desk more stable and accommodate a typical laptop, I increased the depth to 16″. I added a second tenon to the bottom shelf to stiffen the desk, and included a cutout for more leg room under the desk, along with some other minor changes.

Not every woodworker has a shop equipped to easily handle sizing and flattening large glued-up panels, so I decided to order two sets of panels from online sources to see how much they would cost and to test the quality of panels bought this way. You certainly can lay up your own, but if large, flat solid-wood panels are hard for you to deal with, ordering your panels pre-made may be an option.

Large Solid-wood Panels

If you decide to glue up your own panels, make them just over the actual part sizes shown in the Material List. Not knowing exactly what I would receive in terms of quality, I ordered the pre-made panels well oversized. The panels for the middle and upper shelf were sized to include enough stock for the door frame, so I did not need to buy and size rough oak lumber. This also helps ensure that the door will match the color and grain of the desk. You will also need a half sheet of 1/2″-thick oak plywood for the door panels and the back of the desk.

The panels were delivered from both vendors in multiple packages. They were very well wrapped and protected, and none of them suffered any damage in shipping. One vendor provided me with quartersawn white oak, and the other with plainsawn. I unpacked the panels and laid them flat with stickers in between for a couple of days to allow them to acclimate. Both sets were uniform in thickness and sanded to what looked like about 80-grit. There was some minor bowing in the plainsawn panels not seen in the quartersawn stock, but that is as expected, and none of the bowing was enough to worry about. I was very pleased with the quality of what I received. The quartersawn set was $409 with shipping and the plainsawn ended up at $337.

The Side Template

In order for the desk to come out square and straight, the two sides must be exactly the same, so taking the time to make a full-scale template pays off. I laid out the dimensions on a quarter sheet of 1/2″ plywood. I cut and sanded the profile and mortise locations. Make sure that everything is true: any flaws in the template will be repeated on the parts. Also be sure that the mortises are sized properly for the thickness of the panels you are using. You want the tenons to be a bit loose in the mortises. And do not forget to drill the hinge location hole as well.

When the template is ready, clamp it in place and mark the outline of the sides on both larger (18″ x 50″) panels. Removing the template for now, use a jigsaw or band saw to cut out the side shape, being careful to leave about 1/16″ extra around the outside edges in case of some splintering here or there.

Once again, clamp the template to the side, making sure it is within the rough cut just made. Chuck a 1/2″-diameter flush-trim bit into a handheld router, then trim the side to the template, being careful that the template does not shift as you are working. Before removing the template, you can also rout out the mortises. Use a 1/16″ pilot bit to drill through the center of each mortise location on the template, then drill a 5/8″ hole with a Forstner bit, using the pilot hole as your guide. Drill halfway through with the Forstner, then flip the part and drill through from the other side. This prevents tearout as the bit cuts through the other side.

With the router turned off, set the flush-trim bit through the hole, ensuring that the bit is not touching the wood. Hold the router steady as you turn it on and remove the waste inside the mortise. Now the template can be removed and the mortises squared up with a chisel. If you try to chop through from one side, the grain can break away as you reach the bottom of the mortise. Work through from both faces toward the middle for the best results.

Next, mill a groove to accept the back. This is the point where the sides become left and right, so lay them out carefully. The important thing is that the sides are mirrored to each other. Use a straightedge and rout a 1/2″ groove from the top of the part to the mid-point of the bottom mortises. The groove should be 1/2″ in from the back and 3/8″ deep.

The last step is to drill the pivot hole for the hinge. Lay the template on each inside face and drill the 9mm pivot hole 1/2″ deep into each side part. Be careful not to drill all the way through the sides.

The Shelves

Take your panels to the jointer to straighten one edge, and rip them to final width at the table saw. The bottom shelf is ripped to 16″, the middle to 12-1/4″ and the top shelf to 9″ wide. Save the offcuts, especially from the middle and top shelves, and set them aside for now. (This will be the stock for the door’s frame.) Now crosscut the shelves to 14-1/2″ long.

The middle and top shelf get a single tenon on each end, exactly centered. (See the Drawings for details.) Each tenon gets a through mortise for the wedge. These will need to be chiseled out from both faces, just as you did with the mortises in the sides, so be sure to mark both shelf faces before you cut the tenon shoulders to shape.

Since all the tenons are the same size, I made a story stick to speed the layout. Mark the shoulder line and three lines for the through mortise, as shown in the dimensioned Drawings. Cut the shoulders away, being careful to keep them square to the face of the shelf. Once the shoulders are removed, you can cut the outside corners of the tenon at 45 degrees using the layout lines.

The mortises can now be chopped through. You want to cut the mortises 3/4″ across the grain, but only 5/8″ along the grain. The outside face of the mortise is cut at an angle to match the wedges, but for now just cut them 5/8″ wide. Again working from both faces to the center, drill a 1/2″ hole through the waste, and square up with a chisel.

To create the angle for the wedge, choose the best face to be the top of the shelf. With this face up, use a chisel to chop from the outer line of the mortise down to the existing opening at the bottom of the mortise.

The bottom shelf gets two tenons on each end. They are made the same as those on the other shelves, but they are NOT centered. The back panel of the desk sits on top of the lower shelf, so be sure to lay out the tenons so that the back shoulder of the shelf is 1″ longer than the front.

The top shelf gets a 9-degree bevel cut along the front edge for the door to rest against when it is closed. Be sure to orient this cut so that the bottom face of the shelf is wider than the top face.

The bottom shelf gets a section cut out of the front edge for some extra leg clearance. Use a jigsaw to cut this out, and sand the edge smooth. This is a good time to dry-fit the desk and confirm that all the tenons line up properly and fit in their mortises.

The Back

Rip the 1/2″ oak ply to 30-3/4″, then crosscut one end square. Edge-band this end with a thin piece of solid oak, left over from ripping the panels, to hide the panel’s edge plys. After the glue dries, trim the banding flush if needed and crosscut the panel to 36-1/4″ long. The back slides into the grooves in the sides and rests on the bottom shelf. If the fit is snug and the back is square, it will keep the desk square during use.

The Door

The door is a standard frame-and-panel style. The only critical detail is that the back of the door becomes the work surface of the desk when opened. This means that the panels must be flush with the frame in back, and have no real gap between the panel edges and the frame.

Start by cutting two panels, 11-3/8″ x 11″, from the leftover 1/2″ plywood. Next, rip the leftovers from your shelf panels to 3″ wide, and crosscut them into two stiles, two rails and one center stile according to the Material List. Next, set up a stacked dado and cut a 1/4″-wide by 1/2″-deep groove into one edge of the stiles and rails, and both edges of the mid-stile.

If the ply panel were exactly 1/2″ thick, this groove would be centered on the stiles and rails. But you will have to adjust for the actual panel thickness. With the grooves cut, widen the dado stack and cut 1/2″-long tenons on both ends of the rails and mid-stile. Remember, your groove is probably off-center, so you have to cut the tenons in two setups to match any offset.

Once the frame parts fit properly, cut a 1/2″-wide rabbet all the way around your panels. The depth of the rabbet must be the same as the inside shoulder of the frame. This should leave a 1/4″-thick tenon on the panel edge that fits perfectly in the frame groove. Assemble the door and set it aside to dry.

Wedges

You can cut the eight wedges out of the scrap left over from the sides or the bottom shelf. They are 3″ long, 3/4″ thick and taper from 7/8″ at the top to 1/2″ at the bottom. They are small, so cutting them out on the band saw and sanding them smooth is the safest way to go.

Finishing

Since the desk is designed to assemble without fasteners, finishing is easy. All the parts were sanded to 120-grit prior to staining. I used Minwax® Toffee water-based stain to simulate a traditional fumed oak finish. There are large areas to cover, so apply the stain to small areas, wipe it off right away, and keep a wet edge working to maintain as even a tone as possible.

The water base will raise the grain, so sand again using 220 once the stain is dry, then apply your top coat. I sprayed on several coats of Minwax Polycrylic, sanding with 400-grit between coats. I also applied a generous coat of paste wax to all the parts. This greatly helps with assembly and disassembly when the desk needs to move.

Assembly

With the finishing done, the door needs hinges added and chains attached to hold it flat when being used. The hinges mount on each end of the door with the pivot pin 1/2″ up from the door bottom. They are surface-mounted with two supplied screws, and can be adjusted to square up the door when closed.

The easiest way to assemble the desk is to stand one side on its back edge and slip the bottom shelf through the side, securing it with two wedges. Then the middle and top shelves can be locked in as well. The second side is slid over the shelf tenons and the door pivots inserted into the sides just before the second side is seated. Insert the rest of the wedges and stand the desk up. Lastly, slip the back into place.

The final bit of assembly is to attach support chains for the door. Flat-link brass sash chain is a good choice here. Cut two lengths of chain at 18″ long. The chains attach to the door in a small mortise on each side. A 5/8″ Forstner bit cuts the mortise. (I used a roller stand to support the door and hold it parallel to the floor as I attached the chains.) Since the mortise is offset to one side, a block clamped to the door keeps the bit from “skating” as you drill about 1/2″ deep. Attach the chains with a panhead screw driven into each mortise. Center the screws.

Hard to Find Hardware

Pivot Hinges (2) #30007
Threaded Brass Inserts (2) #33183
Brass Thumbscrews (2) #70003

Click Here to Download the Materials List and Drawings.

The post Project: Mission Oak Knockdown Desk appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

It is a practical, attractive and fun gift for the knitters in your life — and I even came up with a way to “take it mobile.”

Knitting Bowl

Depending on your knitter, the bowl should be between 5″ and 7″ in diameter and 3″ to 4″ tall. It can be from green or kiln-dried wood but should be sanded to a very smooth surface and a slippery finish applied. I recommend a shellac-based friction finish. Polish it out nicely with some 0000 steel wool. While it is important that it look nice, it is more imperative that it be smooth. Yarn cannot snag anywhere! (If your knitter uses wool yarn, the lanolin in the yarn will add a smoothness all its own after a while.)

The wall thickness is not very important, but a thinner wall looks nicer and it is much easier to cut the scroll-shaped opening if the wood is not too thick. If you want to keep it really simple, in place of the scroll you can simply drill a hole of generous diameter for the yarn to go through, but your knitter will have a bit more rigamarole in starting the yarn.

In any event, you will need two additional holes near the scroll. They are to store the knitting needles when not knitting. The knitter skewers the ball and then passes the needle through the holes. A 3/8″-diameter hole will allow needles up to Number 13 to pass. The biggest needle is a #19 and will require a 3/4″ diameter hole, but a hole that size may well be impractical for a bowl like this. These holes can also be handy if a knitter is working with multiple balls of yarn (they can put a different colored yarn in each hole to keep them separate but under control).

Base for Use in a Car

My mother always knitted when riding in the car, so a good design addition is to make a base with a long foot that is the diameter of the cup holder.

This allows the bowl to fit in the drink holder, thereby elevating and immobilizing it during travel. Turning the bowl and base from one piece is impractical, so the base is spindle turned as a separate piece.

The extended base needs to be 5″ to 8″ high, around 2″ in diameter at the bottom, with about a 3″ shoulder to stabilize it, depending on your car. Careful measurement of your car’s cup holder is imperative for this scheme to work well — it needs to be a firm friction fit to keep the whole assembly secure.

Carving the Scroll

The scroll for the yarn can be made in a number of ways. I used a coping saw to remove the bulk of the material. I then employed a rotary tool to smooth and fair the scroll and chamfer all the edges. It leaves a superlative finish that needs less sanding. Once sawn and carved, the scroll must be sanded very smooth, especially at the edges, so that yarn slides smoothly at all times.

Pattern for Scroll

On one of the two face grain sides of the bowl, lay out the hole that is the terminus of the scroll plus a hole to either side for knitting needles or more balls of yarn to come through. Do not lay this out on the end grain sides, as this will cause structural problems (the edges of the scroll can easily break when cutting and machining the shape).

Center punch the hole centers and bore the openings. Using a drill with a brad point, drill carefully from the outside until the point just pokes through the inside. Now drill from the inside where the point poked through. The result is a perfect breakout on both sides.

Use a coping saw to follow the outline of the J-shaped design. I use a blade that cuts in any direction, as the frame cannot clear a bowl with a normal blade. Follow up with the rotary tool to refine the shape and smooth the edges. Files are useful here as well.

Getting a good, smooth edge is a bit trickier in practice than it may seem. I am afraid that you will need to hand sand the form as well. Any rough bit of edge will snag the yarn and cause troubles for your favorite knitter. Don’t forget to apply finish to the edge of the cutout scroll.

I hope that next holiday season your effort gets you a nice pair of hand knitted socks or a hat to keep you warm. After all, one good turn deserves another.

Click Here to Download the Drawings for This Project.

The post Turned Knitting Bowl and Stand Plan appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post Making Picture Frame Moldings Flat During Glue-Up appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

The post How to Turn a Knitting Bowl appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.