Read This Important Safety Notice To prevent accidents, keep safety in mind while you work. Use the safety guards installed on power equipment; they are for your protection. When working on power equipment, keep fi ngers away from saw blades, wear safety goggles to prevent injuries from fl y- ing wood chips and sawdust, wear hearing protection and consider installing a dust vacuum to reduce the amount of airborne sawdust in your woodshop. Don’t wear loose clothing, such as neck- ties or shirts with loose sleeves, or jewelry, such as rings, necklaces or bracelets, when working on power equipment. Tie back long hair to prevent it from getting caught in your equipment. People who are sensitive to certain chem- icals should check the chemical content of any product before using it. Due to the variability of local conditions, construction materials, skill levels, etc., neither the author nor Popular Woodwork- ing Books assumes any responsibility for any accidents, injuries, damages or other losses incurred resulting from the material presented in this book. The authors and editors who compiled this book have tried to make the contents as accurate and correct as possible. Plans, illustrations, photographs and text have been carefully checked. All instructions, plans and projects should be carefully read, studied and understood before beginning construction. Prices listed for supplies and equipment were current at the time of publication and are subject to change. Metric Conversion Chart TO CONVERT TO MULTIPLY BY Inches Centimeters 2.54 Centimeters Inches 0.4 Feet Centimeters 30.5 Centimeters Feet 0.03 Yards Meters 0.9 Meters Yards 1.1 About the Authors age of eight when his family built (Popular Woodworking Books), their fi rst home on their farm outside Chris and a partner established Lost Hackett, Arkansas, using hand tools Art Press LLC, a business that pub- because they had no electricity. After lishes books on traditional wood- studying journalism at Northwest- working techniques, including “The ern University and The Ohio State Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” “The Joiner University, Chris became a newspa- and Cabinet Maker” “The Essential per reporter, while studying wood- Woodworker” and, most recently, working at night at the Univeristy “To Make as Perfectly as Possible: of Kentucky. He joined the staff of Roubo on Marquetry.” Popular Woodworking Magazine in Chris remains an avid wood- 1996 as managing editor, worked his worker, building projects for his Lost way up to editor and helped establish Art Press books, Popular Wood- Woodworking Magazine in 2004. working, his family and occasionally Christopher Schwarz is the pub- He’s also hosted numerous for sale. When he’s not woodworking Steve Shanesy was one of the found- lisher at Lost Art Press, the former DVDs on hand tools for both Popu- or teaching others about the craft, ers of Woodworking Magazine and editor of Popular Woodworking lar Woodworking and Lie-Nielsen he’s cooking or editing. part of Popular Woodworking’s staff Magazine and Woodworking Maga- Toolworks. He lives in Fort Mitchell, Ky., for 19 years, serving as editor and zine, and he teaches hand-tool wood- After writing his first book, with his wife, Lucy, who is also a publisher during that time. Steve is working at schools around the world. “Workbenches: From Design & journalist, and his two children, an avid woodturner and also likes He began woodworking at the Theory to Construction & Use” Maddy and Katy. to make contemporary furniture. In his retirement, he’s spending as much time as possible in the shop with his son. Megan Fitzpatrick is the editor of Robert W. Lang is executive editor Glen Huey has been associated with Popular Woodworking and was a of Popular Woodworking and was a Popular Woodworking for 13 years contributor to Woodworking Maga- contributor to Woodworking Maga- and now serves as managing editor. zine. She has been a mamber of the zine. A lifetime professional wood- In addition to his work as an editor, David Thiel was a senior editor with Popular Woodworking staff since worker and noted author of books on author, video host and woodworking Popular Woodworking Magazine for 2005, when she joined as manag- Arts & Crafts-style furniture, he also teacher, Glen is a long-time profes- 12 years before moving to our book ing editor. Already an avid DIY car- is considered a foremost authority sional woodworker, who specializes division. He new serves as editor for penter, she quickly began learning on Google SketchUp and a power in period reproductions. the woodworking books and is also everything she could about building user who Google consults regularly. responsible for our woodworking fine furniture and now gravitates video products.. toward hand tools to build 19th and early 20th-century pieces. She is fi n- ishing her Ph.D. in English literature and teaches journalism, composition and literature part time, in addition to woodworking. Contents CABINETS BOXES CHESTS 8 18th Century Dry Sink 57 The 1839 School Box 66 A Better Blanket Chest Design 16 Enfi eld Shaker Cabinet 63 Sliding Lid Box 73 Better Finger Joints 24 Adding Age to Cherry 79 Best Crackle Finish 26 Understanding Wipe-on Finishes 81 A Simple Sea Chest 28 Shaker Hanging Cabinet 37 Making Stub Tenon Doors 41 American Wall Cupboard 48 Build a Better Cabinet 52 Fitting Inset Doors SLIDING LID BOX: PAGE 63 A SIMPLE SEA CHEST: PAGE 81 AMERICAN WALL CUPBOARD: PAGE 41 A BETTER BLANKET CHEST DESIGN: PAGE 66 TABLES STANDS THIS-AND-THAT 86 American Trestle Table 142 Stickley Magazine Stand 163 Whitewater Shaker Bench 94 Understanding Splines 148 A Simple 167 Arts & Crafts Mirror Arts & Crafts Finish 98 Paint Furniture 173 Properly Pegged Joints Like a Professional 150 Gustav Stickley 176 Authentic Plant Stand 100 Why Wedge Tenons? Arts & Crafts Finish 158 Making Clean 104 Stickley Sideboard 177 Circular Cutting Board Through Mortises 112 Simple Shaker End Table 179 Tool Tote 118 Gluing Up Flat Panels 181 Dining Room Tray 120 Mortise & Tenon 183 Tile Trivet for Tables 185 Hanging Shelves 125 Simple & Fast 189 Floating Shelves Rabbeted Drawers 129 A Tale of Two Tabourets 137 Cutting Circles CIRCULAR CUTTING BOARD: PAGE 177 A TALE OF TWO TABOURETS: PAGE 129 STICKLEY MAGAZINE STAND: PAGE 142 TOOL TOTE: PAGE 179 18th-century Dry Sink This vanished furniture form is still useful. It can teach you a few lessons about wood movement and still fi nd work in the modern home. T he concept of building a reproduction of a dry sink seems – on its surface – ridiculous. It’s on par with building a set of Egyptian canopic chests and jars – the vessels that held the internal organs of mummifi ed royalty. Dry sinks were the kitchen cabinetry in early American homes until plumbing became com- monplace. The dry sink would hold a bowl and pitchers of water so you could do the washing. The oversized rim around the dry sink’s top (some- times lined with metal) was called the splash, and it kept the water from running everywhere. H This form of cabinet evolved in the 19th cen- RIS R A tury to include drawers, frame-and-panel doors L P A and even sets of additional cabinets above the Y B splash. In other words, it started looking like a TO O modern kitchen cabinet. PH So why build one today? There are a couple Early dry sinks, such as this one, seem to be a lesson in what not to do when building a carcase. You can good reasons. From a woodworking perspective, journey down the same path as the maker or alter the plan to use modern construction methods. building a dry sink is an interesting journey into the mind-set of the early woodworker. The form will cause you to question a lot of the woodwork- Curious Construction Details Begin With the Panels ing dogma that permeates the magazines, books, In many ways, this cabinet is a simplifi ed ver- Unlike later examples of dry sinks that used schools and web sites that deal with the craft. sion of a modern face-frame cabinet. There is a frame-and-panel construction, this example uses The best reason to build one, however, is that primitive face frame on the front. The carcase is wide solid-wood panels. The original was built your family members will fi ght about who gets assembled with the bottom and two rails nailed with Eastern white pine, which is what I’ve used to own it (my wife and sister-in-law are at odds into dados and rabbets in the side panels. The for this project. about the one in this article). back of the dry sink is a traditional shiplapped This species of pine is easy to work with hand There is something inexplicably appealing back that is also nailed in place. and power tools, but it blotches horribly if you about the form, especially to Americans. I like The splash, however, is a curious thing. The color it with dyes or pigments. So if you choose to think dry sinks are like leather jackets. Both originals were built in a way that defi ed mod- a pine, you should also consider a paint for the are impractical in many ways, but that doesn’t ern rules for accommodating wood movement. fi nish – or an amber shellac if you just cannot stop you from wanting one. You will have to decide if you are willing to risk bear to paint your work. This particular dry sink is based on an original your project being wrenched apart by seasonal Begin your project by preparing all the wood example circa 1780 that came from a Connecticut expansion and contraction, or if you will apply a and gluing up the panels you need for the sides, estate. It would make an excellent entertainment modern (and more complex) solution to deal with bottom and top of the dry sink. center, changing table or even a sideboard in a the splash. We’ll be discussing both approaches Once the panels are complete, you should fl at- rustic dining room. in this article. ten them before you begin the joinery. I use a 8 ■ Cabinets jointer plane. If you are more power-tool inclined, a hand-held belt sander will also do the trick. Set the panels aside and gather the parts for your face frame. The fi rst struggle between antique and modern is nigh. Face Frame or Forget It? The original of this dry sink didn’t have a proper face frame. The two stiles on either side of the door were independent of the splash rail above them. On the original piece, that rail was only nailed to the other splash pieces and to the top of the carcase. You can build it this way and it will simplify construction – you’ll just nail on the stiles and splash rail after you build the carcase. You can skip to the section about building the carcase if you choose the antique approach. I, however, decided to build a face frame. Why? Because I wanted to be able to get the splash rail and stiles joined tightly and without gaps. The best way to do this is to build a face frame and tweak the mortise-and-tenon joints until the fi t is fl awless. Here I’m preparing the wide panels for the sides of the dry sink. First I plane across the grain of the panel, To build the face frame, fi rst cut a 1⁄4"-thick then I plane diagonally and I fi nish up with strokes with the grain. x 11⁄4"-long tenon on the end of each stile. I used a dado stack in a table saw, a procedure we have advocated since Issue 1. The stiles are too wide to have just one tenon. After tenons gets 6" wide you should split them into two (sometimes three) tenons. This creates a balanced joint – a single enormous mortise will be too weak. I split each tenon into two 4"-wide tenons with 1⁄2"-wide shoulders at each end. Cut your tenons’ edge shoulders with a dove- tail saw, then remove the waste with a bowsaw. Clean up your work with a chisel. Then use your finished tenons to mark the locations of the mortises on your splash rail. Cut your mortises. I used a hollow-chisel mortiser. To make the tenon, I use a dado stack and my Use a dovetail saw or tenon saw to cut the edge In this situation I would usually use a mortising miter gauge. Set the dado stack to 1⁄4" high and shoulders of your twin tenons on each stile of the chisel; however deep mortises in small pieces of set the fence 11⁄4" from the left-most tooth of your face frame. Each tenon should end up 4" wide. pine are a recipe for a heartbreaking split. dado stack. Nibble the end of the tenon, then shift Get as close to the shoulder as you dare and then Before assembling the face frame, it’s ideal to the tenon until it touches the fence and complete stop sawing. the tenon cut. A bowsaw or a coping saw is the perfect tool for Using your mortises to mark out your tenons A cabinetmaker’s rasp makes quick work of the removing waste between tenons. The band saw requires fewer math equations. The only down- curve (especially in pine). Use the fl at face of the can get unwieldy with bigger workpieces. side is that you need to test your tenons in a rasp for the straight section of the foot. Use the sample mortise fi rst. curved face for the curved section of the foot. Classic American Furniture ■ 9