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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

HOMEWORI$HOP
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WORKSHO
GPU I D E I
SAFETY
TIPS
I
POWER
TOOTS HANDTOOLS I
. Wearappropriatesafetygear:safety ' Neverworkwhenyou aretired,stressed, . Usetheapproprratetoolforthejob;
glasses, a faceshieldfor extraprotection, or havebeendrinkingalcoholor using do nottryto makea tooldosomething I
and hearingprotection. lf thereis no dust medications
that inducedrowsiness. forwhichit wasnotintended.
collection system, weara dustmask.For
exoticwoodssuchas ebony,usea respi- o A l w a y sk e e py o u rw o r ka r e ac l e a n o Clamp
I
yourworkpiece
to freeboth
rator;sawdustmaycausean allergic
reaction.Wearworkgloveswhenhan-
and tidy; cluttercan leadto accidents,
and sawdustand woodscrapscan be a
handsforanoperation. I
d l i n gr o u g hl u m b e r . fire hazard. o Cutawayfromyourself
towardyourbody.
rather
than
I
o Drapethe powercord of a portable o K e e py o u rh a n d sw e l la w a yf r o m a
powertool overyourshoulderto keep t u r n i n gb l a d eo r b i t . . Donotforcea tool;if possible,
try I
it out of the way. removinglessstockoneachpass.
. C o n c e n t r a toen t h e j o b ; d o n o t r u s h .
. Do not usea tool if any part is worn I
or damaged. . Keeptheedges
of cutting
toolssharp.
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GLUING
UPLEG
BLANKS
Face-gluing I
Formanytableanddesklegs,youwill needthickerstockthanis com-
monlyavailable. Thesolution is to makeyourownlegblanksbyface- I
gluingthinnerstock.Startbypreparing thestockslighilylargerthan
thef inalsizeof the leg.Toensure fit, jointthematingsur-
a seamless I
faces.Thenglueup theboards faceto face,alternating theendgrain
of thepieces andarranging thestockto maximize grainandcolor.The I
process is identical
to edge-gluing boardsintopanels(page93),except
thatC clamps shouldbeused.Asshownat right,space theclamps at I
3- to 4-inchintervalsto provide
constant pressure
across theentireioint.
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J(lINERY
ADHESIVES I
TYPE CHARACTERISTICS USES
I
White
glue
Polyvinyl-acetate
minutes
based;
o Setting
. Strong
nottoxicorflammable
timeabout30 to 45 minutes;
bonding; workingtime3 to 5
curesfullyin 24to 72 hoursr Dries
General
woodworking I
r Doesnotsandaswellasyellow
clearandcolorless glue
Yellow
I
Aliphatic-resin based;not toxic or flammableo Betterimmediateadhesionfor faster General
woodworking
glue grabthanwhiteglue;working time3 to 5 minutes. Settingtimeabout30 to 40 minutes;
curesfully in 24 Io 72 hourso Driesopaque(fadedyellow);moreheat-resistantfor better
I
sandingproperties thanwhiteglue
I
Epoxy Resinand hardener mustbe mixedpriorto use;not flammablebut maybe toxic Bondingacidicwoodssuchas
glue o strong,waterproofbonding;workingtime 5 minutesto 2 hours(depending
r Settingtime 5 minutesto 2 hours(depending
on type)
on type);curesfully in 24 hours
oak;useon exoticwoodsthat I
bondpoorlywithotherglues
Hideglue Protein-based;availablein granular
or liquidform;nottoxicor flammable o Strongbond- Cabinet
construction,
antique I
ing,workingtime 3-5 minutesr Settingtimet hour;cures'fullyin24hourso Sandable, restoration, veneering,
andfine
driesa darkcoloro Notwater-resistant,
gluebondcan besoftened withwaterfor disassembly woodworking T
Plastic Urea-formaldehyde-based,availablein powderedform;not f lammablebut toxic V e n e e r i nl agm
, i n a t i nagn,d
resin ' Strongbonding,workingtime 20 minutes. Settingtime 4 to 6 hours;curesfully edge-gluing hardwood t
in 3 dayso Waterresistance
higherthanthat of aliphaticglues,doesnotstainacidic
w000s,sanoscteanlv I
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THEARTOFWOODWORKING
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I TABTES
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 THEART OF WOODWORKING

TABLES
AI\IDDESI$

TIME-LIFE
BOOKS
ALEXANDRIA.VIRGINIA
ST.REMYPRESS
NEWYORK
MONTREAL.
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THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by THECONSUTIANTS I
ST. REMYPRESS

fon Arno is a consultant,cabinetmaker,and freelancewriter I

PUBLISHER KennethWinchester who livesin Tioy, Michigan. He alsoconductsseminarson
PRESIDENT PierreLdveill6 wood identificationand earlyAmericanfurniture design.
I
Series
Editor PierreHome-Douglas I(am Ghaffari is a freelancewriter and editor. He hashis own
SeriesArt Director FrancineLemieux business in RhodeIslanddesigningand building one-of-a-
kind and limited production furniture. Kam'sbackground
I
SeniorEditors Marc Cassini(Text)
HeatherMills (Research) alsoincludesworking professionallyin furniture reproduc-
Art Directors Normand Boudreault,Luc Germain, tion and fine carpentryand studyingwith furniture patri- I
SolangeLaberge archsWendellCastleof the U.S.and England'sFred Baier.
Designers Lina Desrochers,H6ldneDion,
Jean-Guy Doiron,MichelGigudre Giles Miller-Mead taught advancedcabinetmakingat Montreal
I
Research Editor Iim McRae technicalschoolsfor more than ten years.A nativeofNew
PictureEditor Christopherfackson Zealand,he hasworked asa restorerof antiquefurniture. I
Writers Andrew Iones,Rob Lutes
Research Assistant Bryan Quinn
Cont r ibuting Illu strators GillesBeauchemin,RolandBergerat, I
Michel Blais,Jean-PierreBourgeois, Thbles& Desks
RonaldDurepos,facquesPerrault,
lamesTh6rien
p. cm.-(The Art of woodworking)
Includesindex.
I
Administrator NatalieWatanabe ISBN0-8094-9s12-0
ProductionManager MichelleTurbide l. Thbles2. Desks3. Furniture making I. Time-Life Books. I
SystemCoordinator Jean-LucRoy II. Title: Thblesand desks.III. Series.
Photographers
A dministrative Assistant
RobertChartier,ChristianLevesque
Dominique Gagnd
TT197.5.T3T33
684.r'3-dc20
1994
93-49732
I
Proofreader Judith Yelon CIP
Indexer ChristineM. Iacobs I
For information about any Time-Life book,
Time-Life Booksis a division of Time Life Inc., pleasecall l-800-621-7026,or write: I
a wholly ownedsubsidiaryof ReaderInformation
THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY Time-Life CustomerService
P.O.Box C-32068 I
Richmond,Virginia
TIMELIFEINC.
Presidentand CEO
23261-2068 I
JohnM. Fahey
Editor-in-chief JohnL. Papanek @ 1994Time-Life BooksInc
All rights reserved. I
No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by
TIME-LIFEBOOKS any electronicor mechanicalmeans,including information
I
storageand retrievaldevicesor systems,without prior writ-
President lohn D. Hall ten permissionfrom the publisher,exceptthat briefpassages
Vice-President,
Directorof Marketing
ExecutiveEditor
NancyK. )ones
RobertaConlan
may be quoted for reviews.
Firstprinting.Printedin U.S.A.
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ExecutiveArt Director Ellen Robling Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada.
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ConsuhingEditor lohn R. Sullivan TIME-LIFE is a trademarkof Time WarnerInc. U.S.A.
ProductionManager MarleneZack
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CONTENTS
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I 6 INTRODUCTION 88 TOPS
I 90 Inventory of top designs
12 TABLEAND DESK BASICS 92 Hardwareand accessories
I 14 Wood movement 93 Preparinga top
I 16 Selectingand orderingwood 96 Attachinga top
18 Lumberdefects 101 Adjustabletops
t 19 Preparingstock II2 Decorativeelements
I 2L Designingtablesand desks
22 Tableand deskstyles 116 DRAWERS
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118 Anatomy of a drawer
I 28 DESK CASEWORK I20 Drawerjoinery
I 30 TWotypesof deskcasework 131 Drawerhardware
32 Caseworkjoints 133 Mounting drawers
I 33 Buildinga carcase 138 Drawerstops
I 4L Buildinga frame-and-
paneldesk 140 GTOSSARY
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I 54 LEGSAND RAITS I42 INDEX
56 Legstylesand hardware
t 57 Leg-to-railjoints I44 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I 58 Tiipod table
59 Pedestaltable
I 60 Thperedlegs
I 63 Cabriolelegs
66 Ttrrnedlegs
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68 Pedestallegs
I 69 Octagonallegs
I 72 Leg-to-railjoinery
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I INTRODUCTION
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SimonWattstalksabout
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DESK
I buildingfurniture,houses, andsmall
f haveworkedwithwoodfor ahalf-century,
I boatsandstillI marvelattheendless possibilities of thematerial. However, asI
getolderandthetreesgetfewer,I preferto usewoodthathasalready hada career
asabridge,aboat,or abuilding-two careers, if youcountbeinga treeasthefirst.
Farfroma limitation,I'vefoundthatworkingwith recycled woodstretches the
imagination andtakesconsiderable ingenuity. Usedboatlumberisthegreatest chal-
lengebecause it iscurvedandfull of closely spaced fastenings.
I madethedeskin thephotofor mySanFrancisco apartment usingDouglas-fir
reclaimed froma localwrecking yard.Afterremovingallvisiblefastenings, I wire-
brushed thesurfaces andrantheboardsthoughathickness planer.I madeno attempt
to conceal bolt holes,iron stains,andotherevidence of thetimber'spreviouslife;
instead, I incorporated themintothedesk.
Likemostof thelargerpieces I makenow thisoneknocksdowncompletely. The
fourboardsof thetoparedoweled together withoutglueandthesupporting struc-
tureconsists of mortise-and-tenon jointsanddrawpins.Drivingthetapered pegs
homepullsthejointtogether. Thestretcher istenoned throughthelegsandsecured
with loosewedges.
Unless youhavedelusions of grandeur, thereis no point in makinga working
surface larger than you can comfortably reach whensittingdown.Thatmeansa
maximumof 6 feetlongandno morethanhalfthatin depth-thesizeof thisdesk.
I preferto keeponlytheitemsI associate withdesks in thedrawers: writingmate-
rials,stamps, paper clips,stapler, and so on. Computers, monitors' printers,and
associated equipment are,I think, much better housed in a separate unit. I like
don't
filestorage built into a desk Drawers frrllof files make a piece of furniture monu-
mental,evenintimidating, in aDpearance. Also,a person's filingneedschange, soI
thinkit isbetterto addor change file units than to remodel or replace a desk.
It mayhappen thatthisdeskwill outliveitsusefulness andthewoodagainturned
intosomething else.With no glued joints and no hidden fastenings, thatwouldbe
easy-and perhaps suitable considering the recycled nature of the piece.Thedeskwill
bemygiftto awoodworker in the next century.

SimonWattsis a woodworker, He nowlivesin

writer,and teacher.
SanFrancisco whereheoffersnationallyrecognizedclasses
in wooden
boatbuilding.He isalsotheWestCoasteditorfor AmericanWoodworker
magazineand lastyearpublishedthreeboat-buildingmanuals.
 INTRODUCTION

Kam Ghaftaridiscusses

DESIGNING
TABLES
I nu* built practically everytypeof furniture,fromdecorative high-sryle chairs
I to kitchencabinets, but I'm fascinated bytables. Boththefirstpieceof furniture
I madeandthefirstoneI designed weretables. It'sanundeniable challenge to cre-
atea beautifulchairthat is alsocomfortable, or anelegantentertainment center
designed specifically
aroundthesizesandfunctionsof its contents. Butfor sheer
simplicityanddesignfreedom, youcan'tbeata table.
Sooneror later,manywoodworkers wantto startdesigning theirownfurniture.
It'ssomething I stronglyencourage; designing greatlyincreases thesatisfaction
derivedfromwoodworking. A tableis a greatplaceto start.A tablehasrelatively
fewstructuralelements andtechnical requirements: If you'vegota flattop anda
solidsupportsystem to holdit up,youhavegota functional table.Therestisup to
you.Takeintoaccount strengthrequirements, use,andsizewhenplanning thepiice.
Will thisbea heavy-duty kid-proofkitchentableor a delicate decorative halltable,
for example? Thenbringin formsandshapes thatplease you.Subtlepointssuchas
a delicatelyshaped leg,decorative joinery,a cleverhandmade mechanism, or a par-
ticularlyhandsome pieceof woodcanbeshowcased in a table.
Yourpiececanbesimpleor complex, asaustere asShaker or asostentatiousasroco-
co,basedon designs of the1930s or the1730s-orsomething uniqueandimagi-
native.Itsdesigncanalsoaddress aparticularneednotmetbycommercially available
furniture,likea telephone table,or abackgammon or chess table.
Thetablein thephotowasinfluenced by theclassic Danishdesigns of Hans
Wegner, aswellasbymyappreciation of theaspen leaf,hence thename, AspenThble.
Thiswasdesigned for streamlined productionwithoutsacrificing its handcrafted
look.I wanteda tablethatknockeddownflat for shipping,yetwassturdywhen
assembled. A light-durythree-legged tableisstable if thelegsareevenlyspaced and
farenoughapart.It alsodoesn'trequireleveling on uneven floors.
I tenoned theturnedlegsintotheshaped rails,thendevised aremovable grooved
metalplatethat,with screws goinginto threaded insertsin therails,tiesthemall
together.Therailsarealsocountersunk for screws thatfit intothreaded insertsin the
stable multi-plytop.Theinlaysin thetopsareroutedwitha collarridingin a female
template. Theivory-colored material istintedpatching resinfor solid-surface coun-
tefiops.Thegreenaluminumveinsarecomputer milledto ensure a precisefit time
aftertime.Fora singleinlay,thispartcouldbecutwith ajeweler's sawandfile.

Kam Ghaffaridesigns, builds,and writesabout

furniture at hisstudioin Westerly,
RhodeIsland.
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 TNTRODUCTION

Tory Seareron

ASPANISH-STYLE
DESK
\ A f henyourun a commercial furnitureshop,creatinga uniqueandpleasing
Y V designcanbeaninvigoratingchallenge. Foremost in theprocess islistening
to thecustomerandbalancing practicalandestheticconsiderations.
Thebuyersof thedeskin thephotowanteda handsome sculpturalpieceof fur-
niturethat wouldalsoallowthemto displayart objects.Otherdesignconsidera-
tionsinvolvedincorporatingthreehangingfile drawersaswellasnumeroussmall
drawersandcubbies with a self-contained light source.
Thedrop-frontdesignwasinspiredby the originalvarguefio travelingdesks
broughtfromoldSpainto thefrontierof NewMexico.Thecarvedmotifsandturned
legsarederivedfrompieces thatsurvivedfromtheSpanish Colonialera.Theentire
pieceis madefromsugarpine,awoodnativeto thewesternUnitedStates.
Thereisanenduringandrichtraditionof carvingandfurnituremakingin north-
ernNewMexico.RamonMartinez,sittingat the desk,exemplifies this centuries-
oldHispanictradition.Thirtyyearswith thecompany, mostasashopforeman,have
shaped himintoatruemaster crafsman. In buildingthispiece,Ramonmadethedesk
asauthenticaspossible within thecontextof thedesign.All theprimaryjointsare
mortise-and-tenon, whichis historically appropriate. Theraisedpanelsfloatfor
expansion andthedecorative hardware is hand-forged. Thedeskfeaturesan inset
leatherdeskpad.Theknobson theoutsideareconnected to concealed boltsthat
holdthe leatherpad in place.The boltscan be released
so the leathersurface canbe
easilyreplaced.
Theendresultisa compactandfunaionaldeskthataddsaverywarmandpleas-
ingdesignelementto theuser'shome.Thedeskhasbeenin usefor someyearsnow
andtheantiquedfinishweapplied-a combination of varioushand-rubbed oils
andsprayed lacquers-hasonly improved with age.

TonySearerownsSouthwestSpanishCraftsmen,a furniture shopin

SanteFe,Nm Mexico,that specializes in SpanishColonial.Spanish
styles.Previously,he
Provincial"and its own classicsoutlr,vestern
designedandbuilt exhibi*for theMuseumof Nnv Mexico.
 F
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t TABLEAI\TDDESKBASICS
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I tttroughthefollowingchapters of mationyouwill needto purchase the
I ,t \ thisbookfocuson thenutsand woodfor yourproject.
boltsof tableanddeskconstruction, With vourstockin hand,onecrucial
I thereismoreto buildingapieceof fur- stepremainsbeforeyou canstartto
niturethancuttingjointsandassem- put yourworktogether: preparingthe
I blingcomponents. Beforeanyof this stock(pagel9). Thisprocess includes
canhappen,sometimemustbespent jointingandplaningroughwoodsoit is
I designing thepiece,andselecting and smoothandsquare, andcuttingstockto
preparingthe lumber.This chapter lengthandwidth.Forrough,unsurfaced
I focuses on the skillsyou will needto lumber,firstpasonefaceacrosthejoin-
carryout thesepreparatory steps.For tet thenoneedge,producing two sur-
I somecraftsmen, thepreliminaries are faces at90oto eachother.Next,planethe
amongthemostenjoyable aspectsof a otherfaceof theboardto makeit paral-
I project.Hand-pickinga mahogany lel to thefirst.Whenthestockis square
boardat thelumberyard, or unwrap- andsmooth,youarereadyto rip it to
I pinga package of exoticwoodfrom a Lumberqualityvarieswidely,even widthandcrosscut it to length.If you
mail-ordersupplier, for example,can within thesame grade. Takingthe time buy S2S stock, which already hasboth
I berewarding experiences. to examine and selectboards carefully faces surfaced, pass one edge across the
you
First, need to selectthekind of at alumberyardwillhelp you obtain jointer, then rip and crosscut it to size.
I tableor deskthatsuitsyourneeds.The thebeststockfor your project. S4Sstock,whichhasall itssurfaces pre-
illustratedgalleryoftableanddesk styles pared, can be ripped and crosscut imme-
I beginningon page22 canprovidea startingpoint in your diately.Onlyedges thatwill bejoinedtogether, suchasboards
search for a suitable The
design. dimensions you incorporate being edge-glued to make a tabletop, need to be jointed.
I will affectboth theappearance andsuitability of the piece. Finally,remember that it is important to tackle yourproject
Standard dimensions arediscussedin detailon page 21. methodically. For greatest efficienry,lay out your toolsin the
I Onceyou haveselected (or
a design sketched one your- shop so that your wood follows a relativelydirect routefrom
self),it is time to buy thelumber.Thesections on wood rough stock to final assembly. When you have jointed your
t movement (page 14),orderingwood (page16), andderiving stockandcut it to size, fashion your jointsand sand all com-
a cuttinglistfroma sketch(page17)providethebasicinfor- ponents beforeassembly.
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smoothes thetopofa double-
pedestal
desk.Afterafinal passwithafine-
I gritpaper,thedeskwill bereadyfor afinish.

I t3
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WOODMOVEMENT
\ [ f ood gainsandlosesmoistureas
V V therelative humidityof thesur-
rounding air changes.And as the
wood'smoisturecontentchanges,so
do its dimensionsand weight.These
changes cancauseproblemsfor a piece
of furniture,somemerelyirritating,
othersmuch more serious.Knowing
how moistureaffectswood and mak-
ing the appropriateallowances will help
vou
' avoid difficultv.
The watercontainedin a pieceof
wood is measured asa percentage of
the wood's oven-dry,or water-free
weight.For example,if a 50-pound
pieceof woodweighs40 poundswhen
it is oven-dry,the weight of the shed
water-10 pounds-divided by the
wood'sdry weight---4O pounds-is the
moisturecontentof the originalpiece:
in this case,25 percent.
Wood containswaterin two ways:
asfreewaterin its cell cavitiesand as
bound waterin its cell walls.When
wood is cut and exposedto the air, it
shedsits freewaterfirst. When all free
wateris expelled,the wood is saidto
be at its fibersaturationpoint (FSP),
which is typicallybetween23 and30
percentmoisturecontent.Up to this
point, asshownin the illustrationat
right, therehasbeenno changein the
dimensionsof the piece;it simply
weighsless.Aswooddriesfurther,how-
ever,water is removedfrom the cell
walls,and the boardshrinks.
Undernormalcircumstances, wood
neverregainsits freewater,but changes
in humidity in the air do affectthe
amount of moisturein the cell walls.
At 100percentrelativehumidity,wood
reaches its FSBholdingasmuchbound
wateraspossible. At 0 percenthumid-
ity, wood is devoidof all moisture.
Usuallv,becausethe watercontentof
wood reflectsthe moisturepresentin
theatmosphere, themoisturecontentof
mostwoodsrangesbetween5 and20
percent.The fluctuationin relative
humidityof nearly80 percentbetween
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typicalNorth Americanwintersand allowances for wood movementin the I
summerscan causesubstantialwood constructionof your work. With an
movementoverthe courseof ayear. extensiontable(page90),for example, I
Becauseof their size,tabletopsand orientthewoodgrainof thetop to run
desktops areespecially proneto move- acrossthewidth of thetable,not along I
ment.A 3-foot-widetouwith thewood its length.This way,wood movement
grainrunningalongits lengthcanexpe- will not affectalignmentof the pieces. I
rienceannualmovementof morethan The methodyou useto attacha top is
I inch acrossits width. This cancause equally important. Severaleffective t
seriousdifficultiesfor anextension
table, methodsareshownstartingon page96.
for example,which relieson the per- Usingframe-and-panel construction
I
fectalignmentof variouscomponents. (page31)for thecasework of a deskwill
You can do severalthingsto com- allow wood to expandand contract I
pensatefor the effectsof humidity without affectingthe stabilityof the
changes on wood.In your shop,usea piece.Somewoodstend to swelland I
humidifierin winter and a dehumidifi- shrinkmorethan others.Yourlumber
er in summerto keepthe humidity lev- dealercanhelpyou selectdimensional- I
el asconstantaspossible.Also,make ly stablespeciis'foryour projects.
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Moisture content above
30% (no chanqe)
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Moiaturecontent at FOF-
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26% (no chanqe)
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Moist.urecontent at 17%
(1" ahrinka7e)
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Moiaturecontent.at. 13%
(/o" ehrinka1e) I
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Moiature content at B%
(h" ehrinkaqe)
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Vhen themoisture contentof a 2-by-10plain-sawn plankof softwoodlumber
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dropsbelowitsfrbersaturation point (FSP),thewoodshrinks. At 17percent,the
inchnqrrowerthan it wasat lrsFSP;it losesqnother%inch of width
boardis',/o
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whenkiln-driedto 8 percent.Shrinkage dependspartly on thedensityof the
wood;generally,a denserspeciesshrinksand swellsmorethana lessdenseone.
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I WOOD
SHRINKAGE
I Tangential andradialshrinkage
Wooddoesnotshrinkuniformly. Asshown
I bythethedottedlinesin theillustration
at right,tangentialshrinkage-roughlyparal-
I lelto the growth rings-isabouttwicethe
radial shrinkage, whichoccurs across the
t rings.Thisdifference causesboards and
panels to warpwhentheyshrinkorswellas
I relative humidity changes.Shrinkagealong
thelength of a boardis usually
insignifi-
I cant.A Z-by-IOplank,forexample, which
shrinks %inchacross itswidthmightlose
I lessthan%einchalongan 8-footlength.
Whenbuilding topsfortablesanddesks,
I orient thegrainin thedirection thatwill
causethefewestproblems. Quartersawn
I stock,whichhasgrowthringsthatareat
rightangles to theface,haslessof a ten-
I dencyto cupandis a goodchoice fortops.

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I WOOD
GRAIN
ANDJOINERY
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I Tanqential

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I 0ptimizinggraindirection
Woodmovement canhaveaneffecton
I thestrengthof a joint.Orient thegrain
of themating pieces of a jointsothey
t willmovein thesamedirection. ln the
mortise-and-tenon jorntshownat left,
I theboards'tangential planes areparal-
lelto eachother,Consequently, the
I woodmovement thatoneoieceexoeri-
enceswill beclosely matched bythe
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Tan7ential
otherandthejointwill notbeweak-
ened.Assembling
gentialplanes
a jointwiththetan-
of thetwopieces at right
PEne
angles couldweaken thejointor even
I forceit aoart.
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SELECTINGAND ORDERINGWOOD t
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T umberfor yourtableor deskproject woodsusedfor fine furniture.Youwill tivelyinexpensive and,becauseit often I
l-l cancomefrom several sources,
each usuallypaymore,but the qualityof the comesfrom old-growthtimber,it can
with its own advantagesanddrawbacks. woodshouldbehighertoo. be visuallyandstructurallysuperiorto I
The locallumberyardis the mostobvi- Thereareotherlesscostlyootionsfor recentlyharvested lumber.Regardless of
oussupplier,andoftenthe mostconve- finding the wood you need.A lumber your chosensupply,defineyour needs I
nient,but the selectionmaybe limited mill maysellyou boardsat a reasonable carefullybeforeorderingwood.Thetips
to constructionwoodssuchas pine, price,but thewoodwill mostoftenneed that follow will help you get what you I
spruce,and other softwoods.Though to be seasoned and surfaced,which needat a reasonable cost.Beingwellpre-
you may find the occasionalcacheof meansthatyou mustown a jointerand paredwill alsospeedthe processcon- I
hardwood,moreoftenthannot youwill planer.Also,largermills areoftenreluc- siderably.
haveto venturefartherafield,consult- tant to fill smallorders.Rerycledboards . Species:Ask for the specificwood I
ing the YellowPagesor woodworking arebecomingincreasingly popularwith species,ratherthana broadfamilyname.
magazines to find dealerswho special- woodworkers,a resultof the scarcityof For example,orderWesternred cedar, I
ize in someof the lesscommonhard- certainwoods.Salvaged wood is rela- not simplycedar.Tobesureyou getwhat
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CATCULATING
BOARDFEET
Orderinglumber bytheboardfoot
l" x 12"x 12"= I 572111urd
board foot I
The"boardfoot"is a unitof measurement
usedto calculate thevolume of a given
I
amountof stock.lt is commonly usedwith
hardwood lumber. Asshownin theillustra-
I
tionat right,the standard boardfootis
equivalent to a piecethatis 1 inchthick,
12 inches wide,and12 inches long.To
calculate thenumber of boardfeetin a
pieceof wood,multiply itsthreedimen-
NUMBER OFBOARDFEETIN
sionstogether. Then,dividetheresultby 8 tINEAtFEET
OFDIFFERENT
144 if thedimensions arein inches, or by SIZEDBOARDS
12 if iustonedimension is in feet.

1-by-3=2boardfeet

Theformulafor a standardboard: 1-by-6=4boardfeet

I"x12"x12"+I44=I
(or1"x12"xI'+12=I)
Soif youhada 6-foot-long plankthatis 1 1-by12=Bboardfeet
inchthickand4 inches wide,youwould
calculatetheboardfeetasfollows: 1"x 4" x
6' + 12 = 2 (or2 boardfeet).Otherexam-
plesareshownin the illustration.Remem-
berthatboardfeetarecalculated onthe
2-by-4 = 5% board feet
basisof the nominal ratherthanactual I
dimensions of thestock;consequently, the
boardfeetcontained in a 2-by-4thatactu- I
allymeasures lYz-by-3%incheswouldbe 2-W-6=Bboardfeet
calculated usingthelarger dimensions. I
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T6 I
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I
I TABLEAND DESKBASICS
I
I you want,Iearnthe botanicalnameof
the wood you want and askfor it.
I . Quantity: When orderingwood,
specifywhetheryou want the stockin
I board feetor linealfeet.A linealfoot
is merelyan expressionof a board's
t length,regardless of its width or thick-
ness.Theboardfoot is a soecificvolume
I of wood;it is usuallynecesiaryfor order-
ing hardwoods,which areoftenavailable
I in randomwidthsonly.Seepage16for
informationaboutcalculatingboardfeet.
I . Size Woodis soldin nominalrather
than realsizes.so makeallowances for
I stockfor the visiblepartsof your pro-
the difference whenorderingsurfaced
lumber.L2-by-ais actuallyl/"'-by-3Y.".
The thicknessof hardwoodsis often
expressed asan improperfractionin
cuartersof an inch.A 1Z-inch-thick
hardwood board, for example,is
expressed asfl4. The nominal and real
dimensionsof unsurfaced, greenboards
arethe same.
. GradeWthin thehigherhardwood
grades,the primary differencebetween
the variousgradesis appearance rather
than strength.Consideringthe differ-
encein price,it isbestto reserve
thebest
jects,usinglessexpensive, lower-grade
woodfor hiddencomponents. Consult
yourlumberdealerfor achartof thedif-
ferentgrades available.
. Seasoning: Lumberis soldeither
kiln dried(KD),air dried(AD),or
green. Kiln-driedwoodisgenerally the
moststable. It hasa moisture content
(MC)of 8 percent, whereas air-dried
woodhasaMC of 12to 20percent. Air-
driedwoodisoftenpreferred bycarvers.
. Surfacing: Surfacing refersto how
thestockis prepared at themill before
it comes to thelumberyard. Softwood
lumberisusually surfaced onbothfaces;
hardwood is oftensoldrough.If you
haveaplanerandjointer,buyingrough
lumbe.r andsurfacing it yourselfwill
Prove lessexpenslve.

A CUTTING
LIST
Making andusinga cutting list
A cuttinglistrecords thefinished sizesof lumberneededfor
a particular pieceof furniture. lf oneis notincludedwith
theplansyoupurchase, youwill haveto makeyourown
based on a sketchof thedesign. Usetheformula
shownon page16 to totalthenumber of
boardfeetforeachcomoonent of the
project;add20 to 40 percent
(depending onthegrade) to
account forwasteanddefects in
thewood. Alsousethenominal
thickness (indicated in parentheses) C
| l/
of thepieces in yourcalculations.
Forthesimpletableshownat right,
whichtotals25/oboard feet,you
shouldourchase 30 to 35 board
feetof lumber. Assign eachcomponent
a letterfor laterreference.

CUTTING
IIST

26Yr' ash 1.5

29' ash 6.0

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LUMBERDEFECTS I
I
T umberdefects areflawsthat reduce Not all defectsareunwelcome. Some In the end,it is the eventualuseof I
L a board'sstrengthor workabiliryor naturalimperfectionscanmakea piece the lumberthat determines what is an
adverselyaffectits appearance.
Theycan of wood moredesirable for someuses, acceptable blemish.By recognizing the I
resultfrom the way the lumber is pre- particularlywhentheyproduceavisually lumber defectsillustratedbelow and
paredat the mill, the methodsof sea- stunningfiguresuchasbird's-eye.If their inspectingyour wood carefullybefore I
soningandstoring,or,moreoftenthan strengthis not compromised,defective buyingyou canincrease your chances
not, the naturalgrowingconditions boardscanbeusedfor concealed partsto of gettingthe qualityyou want for the I
experienced by thetree. greatlyreducea project'scost. right price.
I
DEFECTS
INW(l()D I
I
CHARACTERISTICS REMEDIES
A tightknotappears asa whorlencircled bysurround- Tightknotscanbecutoutor used, I
ingwoodtissue; a deadknotis encircled bya dark asappearance dictates;
deadknots
ring.Formed asgirthof treeincreases, gradually shouldberemoved beforeworking t
enveloping the branches. Livebranches integrate withstock.
withsurrounding wood;deadbranch stumps cannot I
integrate andformdeadknots.
Gum ----4 Anaccumulation of resinonthesurface of theboard Donotusestockif a qualityf inish I
or in pockets
withintheboard. Usually develops when is required, asgumwillbleed
< a treehassuffered an injury,exposureto fire,or through mostfinishes. I
V2--- insectattack.
Checks-_=------\ Lengthwise ruptures or separations
in thewood,usu- Canbecut off. t
allycaused byrapiddrying. Splitsgorightthrough
I
€=4
Bow
board, fromonefaceto theother.Maycompromise
strength andappearance.
Anendto-end curvealongtheface,usually caused Flattenbowedboards onthejoint- I
/-

V by improper storage.Introducesinternal
thewoodthatmakeit difficultto cut.
stressesin er,or cut intoshorter
usethejointer.
pieces,
then
I
An edge-to-edge
curveacross theface.Common on Cupmaycorrectitselfif bothfaces I
tangentially
cut stock,or boardscutcloseto thepith. areallowed to dryto thesamemois-
Alsooccurs
duringdryingif onefaceof a boardhas turecontent. Cupped boardscanbe I
lesscontact
withtheairthantheother. rippedintonarrower onesonthe
bandsaworflattened onthejointer. I
End-to-end
curvealongtheedge,caused by incorrect Highspotscanbeflattened on
seasoning the pithof a boardcloseto the
or having iointeror cut off ontablesaw. I
boardedge.Weakensthewood,makingit unsuitable
forweight-beari
ngapplications. I
Uneven or irregular
warping whereonecorneris not Boardcanbecut intoshorter I
alignedwiththeothers. Resultsfromuneven dryingor pieces.
a crossgrainpatternthatis notparallel
to theedge. I
Lengthwise of thegrain,usuallybetween Cutoffshake,
separation forpossibil-
allowing t
thegrowthrings.Results
fromimproperdryingof itythatthedefectmaycontinue
woodor fellingdamage. lengthwiseunderthesurface. I
I
I
18 I
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I
I
PREPARING
STOCK
I
t TUMBER
SURFACING
I
I
t
t
I
t
T
t
t
I
t Jointing
a board
lf youareworkingwithroughlumber,startbyjointing
oneface. t h e k n i v e s( a b o v e )a, p p l y i n gd o w n w a r dp r e s s u r teo k e e pt h e
tablea fewinches b o a r df l a t o n t h e o u t f e e dt a b l e ,a n d l a t e r apl r e s s u rteo h o l dr t
t Laytheworkpiece
fromtheknives,
facedownontheinfeed
buttitsedgeagainstthefence,andplacetwo f l u s ha g a i n stth e f e n c e .N e x t j, o i n ta n e d g eo f t h e b o a r dW . ith
pushblocks squarelyon thetopface,centered betweenthe t h e f a c ey o uj u s tj o i n t e dr e s t i n ga g a i n stth e f e n c ea n dt h e e d g e
I edges.(Usepushblocks withangled
handlesto keepyourhands o n t h e t a b l e ,f e e dt h e b o a r dw i t h a h a n d - o v e r - h atnedc h n i q u e .
Next,planethe board(stepbelow)to createtwo parallelfaces.
t fromhittingthefence.)Feedtheboardslowlyandsteadily
across

I
I
I
Planingstock
I Setthe cuttingdepthto Xoinch.Standto
t o n es i d eo f t h e w o r k o i e c a e n d u s eb o t h
h a n d st o f e e dt h e s t o c ki n t ot h e m a c h i n e ,
k e e p i n tgh e e d g e so f t h e b o a r dp a r a l l etlo
I t h e p l a n etra b l e O . n c et h e m a c h i n ge r i p s
t h e b o a r da n d b e g i n st o p u l l i t a c r o s tsh e
I c u t t e r h e a ds,u p p o r ti h e t r a i l i n ge n d t o
keepit f lat on the table (/eff).Thenmove
I t o t h e o u t f e e ds i d eo f t h e p l a n e a r n ds u p -
p o r tt h e w o r k p i e cw
I e i t h b o t hh a n d su n t i l
i t c l e a r st h e o u t f e e dr o l l e r .T o p r e v e n t
s t o c kf r o mw a r p i n ga, v o i dp a s s i n og n l y
I o n ef a c eo f a b o a r dt h r o u g ht h e m a c h i n e ;
t i n s t e a do. l a n et h e s a m ea m o u n o
from bothsides.
t f wood

I
I I9
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TABLEAND DESKBASICS I
t
CUTTING
ST()CK
T()SIZE I
I
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( - ( I
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I
Ripping a workpiece
Ripstockto widthonyourtablesawusingtheripfenceasa t h e l e f to f t h ew o r k p i e caen ds t r a d d lteh ef e n c ew i t hy o u r
I
guide.Raise thebladeto about%inchabove theworkpiece. r i g h th a n dm , a k i n cge r t a i tnh a tn e i t h ehr a n di s i n l i n ew i t h
P o s i t i otnh er i p f e n c ef o rt h ew i d t ho f c u t ,t h e nf e e dt h e theblade.Onceyourfingers approach theblade,usea push
I
stockintothe blade,pressing it against thefencewithyour stickto complete the pass. (Caution: Blade guardpartially
lefthandandpushing it withboththumbs(above). Standto retracted forclarity.)
I
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I
Crosscutting stock
I
Cutyourstockto length onthetablesaw.
Withtheworkpiece f lushagainst themiter
I
g a u g ea, l i g nt h ec u t t i n gm a r kw i t ht h e
blade.Position theripfencewellaway from
I
thestockto prevent thecut-offpiecefrom
j a m m i nbge t w e et n h eb l a d ea n df e n c e ,
I
andkickingbacktoward you.Hookyour
thumbsoverthemiter gauge, holdthe
I
boardagainst thegaugeandflatonthe
t a b l et,h e nf e e dt h e b o a r da c r o stsh e
I
table(right).(Caution: Bladeguardpartial-
ly retracted forclarity.)
I
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I DESIGNINGTABLESAND DESKS
I
t I crucialpart of buildinga pieceof traditionaland moderntableand desk the floor andthebottom of the tableor
A furnitureis deciding on its final stylesareprovidedbelow.Dining tables deskrail. Remember, however,that these
t dimensions.A deskthatis toohighor shouldprovide24 inchesin width for figuresareguidelines;furniture should
lowwill beuncomfortable; a tabletop eachdiner.Allow at leastl2 inchesfrom fit thoseusingit.
I thatcrowdsits dinerswill makemeal- thetableedgeto the centerfor eachplace A tableor a deskalsoshouldfit into its
timeanaggravating experience. Once setting;an additional4 to 6 incheswill environment.For desksand dining
I youhavechosen a particularstylefrom providespacefor servingdishes.Toallow tables,rememberto allowfor theheight
thegalleryoftablesanddesks starting adequate legroom,leaveabout7 'linch- of the accompanyingchairs.Bedside
I on page22,it is timeto sizeitsparts. esbetweenthechairseatandtheunder- tablesshouldnot risemorethan6 inch-
Standarddimensions forawiderangeof sideofthe top,andat least2 feetbetween esabovethe bed.
I
I TABIEANDDESK
STANDARD DIMENSIONS
t
TABTES HEIGHT [ENGTH WIDTH DIAMETER
I (nighttable)
Bedside 24',-30" 18" 18'
Butler's
table 24',- 36', 36'- 48' 20'
T on use
lytable
Butterf Depends onuse on use
Depends Depends
t Candlestand 2 5 ' -3 1 ' 12"- L7',
Cardtable 25',-29'. 28"- 36' 28',-36',
I Coffeetable 12'- 22', Depends on use 20'
I Conferencetable ?nn on use
Depends Depends on use
table
Console 30' 36',-72', -
16' 20'
t Dressing
table 2 9 ' -3 0 ' 40'- 48', 18' - 22',
table
Drop-leaf Depends onuse Dependson use Depends on use
I 36',- 42',
diningtable
Extension 2 9 "- 3 1 ' 60"
Open:96";closed:
t Gateleg
table 2 9 ' -3 0 ' , Dependson use Depends
on use on use
Depends
Library
table 30" 60'- 84' 24',-36',
I table
Occasional 27"- 29', 24',- 28', 24',- 28', 24',- 28',
I Round
diningtable 29',-3r', At least40"
Tilt-toptable 26',- 28', 24',- 26',
I Trestletable 29',- 31', 48',- r20', At least30"

I DESKS
desk
Computer 20' - 26', 48"- 50' 24" -30',
I desk
Executive 2 9 ' -3 0 ' , 72',- 84', 36',- 42',
t Officedesk 29', 60' ?nil

Pedestaldesk ?nil 30'- 42', 18-22"

t desk
Secretarial 30" 60'- 66' 30"- 32'
Totalheight:74" -86"; 30'- 44' 18'- 22',
I Secretary
29' - 30'
Writingsurface:
I Typewriter
stand ?nr ?nil 18'

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TABLEANDDESKSTYLES I
I

f.f undredsof table and desk I

L I styleshaveevolvedthrough-
out the ages,eachwith its own spe- t
cificpurpose.Thebutler'stable,for
example,alsoservesas a serving I
tray.The secretary(page26) com-
binesa bookcase,a desk,anda chest t
of drawers,supplyingamplestor-
agespacefor books,papers,and I
otheritems,and a writing surface
that canbefoldedup out of theway I
when not in use.The following
pagesillustrate more than two The knockdowntrestletable is a design I
dozentypesof tablesand desksto that tracesits rootsback to the Middle
inspireyour designs. Ages. The example shown above was I
built from cherry by Thos. Moser
Cabinetmakersin Auburn, Maine. I
I
Eutterfly table
An Americandrop-
I
leaf table, uLiltzinqa
Card table prvotinqeupport to I
A aquare table, hold up wideleavee
aomet.imeawith on eiLhereideof a
narrow,central tabletop
I
dishedcornero
for holdtn4coina.
Oneaide ta nor-
I
mally left undec-
orated and placed I
aqainet a wall whenthe
table ie not in uae.Thetop I
folds in half and the aide
raila fold inward to move
Lhe le4ecloeer to4ether
Coffee table
A lowoccaatonaltable
deeiqnedto be uaed
I
with eofa and chaira
I
I
Eutler's table
A portable table, the I
eideeand ende of which
fold up Lo form a qallery,
or fence,and handlea
I
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:

I TABLEAND DESKBASICS
I

I
T
I
:
Extenaion table
t Any table whoaelen7th can
be increaaed with one or
I more leaves;the top eep' Conaoletable
aratea alonqelidee,enablin7 A side,or entry,
a hinqedleaf to ewinqup or a
I aeparate leaf to be added
table with two front
legethat are eet cloeer
Lo7etherthan backleqo;
I 6ome exampleaare
aecuredLo a wall with
I brackets and eupported
by only LwofronL leqe
I
Droo4eaf table
I Kefbra u any of oeveraleLyteeof table
with htnqedleaveethat hanqdownwhennot
I in uae:whenopen,the leavesare eupported
in a variety of waya, includin4qate lego,
ewin4le4a,or bracketo fastened to the raile
I
Gateleg table
I A eLyleof drop-leaf Lable
with extenatonleavee
eupported by ewin1in4
I le4aattached to bottom
Ieqatretchere
t
I
I
I
I
I Handkerahief table
A trianqular drop-leaftable;
whenthe table ia opened,
I the top io equare

I
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I 23

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 I
TABLEAND DESKBASICS t
t

I
T
I
Harueat table T
Any of variouaAmeri-
can otylea of larqe t
diningtableo, often
with leaveeon both
aidee of a narrow top
I
T
I
I
I
Pedeetal table
Nest of tablea
A table with a top I
A aet of occaaional
fagtenedLo a cen-
tablea eizedeo that
they can be etored
tral column;the I
columnie uaually
oneineidethe other
whennoLin uae
mountedon three
(Lripod)orfour le4e
I
I
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I
I

I
I
T
Trestle table
I
A larqe tabletop eupported
by Lreetlea;Luektenonajoin I
leqo Lo aLretcherEallowinq
for eaay disaeaembly I
I
I
I
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I
I TABLEAND DESKBASICS

I 5tand
Any omall table
I deaiqnedto die-
play objecta; a
t candleatand is
one example

I
I Tilt-top
table
I A variation
of the trrpod
pedeatal table fea'
I turin7 a top that
Pembroketable
A type of drop-leaf
pivote verEicallyto table with leavea
I con?erve9Pace oupported by brack-
ete hin4edto the
I table raila;common-
Iy feat.ureoone or
two drawera
I
I
I
I
I Night table
A amalloccaeional
I table uaedto eup-
porElampeand other
t bedaideaccesaorrea;
ofLen with one or
moredrawerqand a
I ahelfor amall ator-
aqe compartment
I
I SeattlecraftsmanHank
Holtzer built the
"Morrison
I table" shown
abovefrom walnut.
Taverntable
I Lowrectan7ularor
The extension table
circulartable with features a S-foot-
I etretchera and diameter top that
turned leqo:occa- opensto 8 feet.
T eionally,the tabte
hae carvedeup-
It will seatfrom
6 to 10 people.
porte at the enda
I connected by a
stretcher
I
I
I 25
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 I
TABLEAND DESKBASICS I
I

T
I
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I
I
I
l 4 Ml lM M I
Iilt
--
I
Fall-front desk
A desk with a workingaurface that
"falla"
I
downinto the openpoaition,
held up by eupporte that btideout
of receeaeain the deakfront
I
I
9earetary Pedestal deak (kneeholetype) I
A otyle of elant-top deek featurin4a Featurea a top eupporLedon both aidee by drawer
fall-front wriLinaeurfacewith a cheat carcaoeacalledpedeotala:the kneeholeis
cloeedat the backand mav contain a
I
of drawera belo-wand a bookcaeewith
wood or 4laoa doore above I
I
I
t
Writing table
Any flat-topped deak I
with a writinq eurface
and drawere below
the top I
I
Lap deak
I
A amall lift-top deek held on
the lap whilein uae I
I
T
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I
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I
I TABLEAND DESKBASICS

I
Writing deek
I Aleo knownby the
Eriilah term Daven'
porL,thie amalldeek
I 'hau
u, an4led,tifLin4
top wrth etoraqe
T epaceunderit; draw
erq or cuPvoaraqare
I locatedon the Eidee
of the carcaee,rather
than in thefront
I
I Pedeetal deok (partner'e type)
Similar to the kneeholepedestal
desk,but the Lop ie lar4er and Lhegap
I betweenthe pedeotala ta lefL open on
boLheidea-oriqinally to allowtwo peo'
I ple Lo uee the deEkat the aametime

I
t Roll-top deok
A deak wtth a elidinq
cover,or tambour,
I that can be drawn
downto coverthe
I wrrtin4aurface;the
top may be eupporred
I by pedeetaleor lege

t
I
t 5tanding deek
Alao knownae a
I clerk'edeak,thia
ta ll, ela nti n4 |ifL-top
I desk typrcally hae one
or two amall drawera
and may havea shelf
I belowthe wriLin7eurface

I
Suggestiveof an openfall-front
r desk,thepieceshownat left incor-
poratesotherdesignelements,includ-
I inga gracefulcurvealongthefront
edgeof the top. Thedeskwasbuilt
I from cherryand mapleby ludith
Amesof Seattle.
I
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r 27

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I
I
t
t
I
I DE,SKCASEWORK
t
I
I
aseworkis the fundamental andshrinkage. As illustratedon
t buildingblockof most desks. page 31, individual frame-and-pan-
It canbe assimpleasa four-sided el assemblies are joined to form a
I box or aselaborateasa frame-and- case. The opening in each frameis
panel cabinet.Suchelements as filled by apanel that rests in grooves
I dividers, shelves,drawers, face cut in the inside edges of the frame.
frames,and dust panels provide Although the frame pieces are glued
t refinementsthat transform this together atthe corners, the panel is
caseworkinto a pieceof furniture. set into the frames without adhe-
I This chapterwill showyou how siveto allowit to swellandshrink.
to apply caseworktechniquesto Thepanelis oftenbeveled around
t the constructionofa two-pedestal the edges-a decorative touch that
desklike the one shownopposite. Gluingup a largecarcase requires many clamps. also allows it to fit more easily into
I Carcases are easierto build than ln thesetupshownabove,bar clampsare itsgroove.
r frame-and-panel cabinets.Asshown
on page30,all carcases consistof
alignedwith the panek
thedustframesbeing
of thecarcase
joined
and
to thecarcase
with
sides.
The methodyou choosefor
assembling acarcase or frame-and-
four panels joined to form a box. Applyinguniform pressure on all of the joints panel case will influence thechar-
I Make surethat the wood grain of will helpmakethecarcase squareand solid. acter and individuality of your desk.
all thepanelsrunsin thesamedirec- Various joinery options are shown
I tion. Thiswill allowthepanelsto swellandshrinkat thesame onpage32.Therabbet jointworlawellwitheithersolidwood
rateasrelativehumidity levelschange.If you assemble a car- or plyr,vood panels. Throughdovetails aremoretime-con-
I casewith the grainof adjacentpanelsat right anglesto eachoth- sumingto makebut theyaremoreattractive andconsidered
er you risk splittingoneof the panels. asignof finecraftsmanship. Frame-and-panel assemblies can
I The secondtype of casework-frame-and-panel-solves beput together with mortise-and-tenons or the more deco-
the problemofwood movementby allowingspacefor swelling rativecope-and-stick joint.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I Thedouble-pedestaldeskshownat leftfeaturestwo identicalcarcases
r joinedtogetherby rails,whichareconcealed
on moldedbases
by thetop.Thepedestals
and aredividedby dustframesto accommodate
sit
drawers.

I 29
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TWO TYPESOF DESKCASEWORK I
I
I
CARCASE
CASEWORK 9pline I
.)
Duet frame (page 56) I
A frame-and-panelaaaemblythaL adde etrenqth to
the carcaee and oupporLadrawera; frame ia connected
to carcaeeeides by twin morLiee-and-tenon and blind
t
spline-and-qroovejointo. A larger frame eupportoa
middle drawer betweenthe two deak pedeatale I
I
Back
Typically%-inch plywoodnailedand glued I
into a rabbet routed around the back
edgeof panela;can alao olip into qrooveo
routed ineidethe facee of panele
I
I
\-
Rear connectin7 rail Twin tenon
(pase 53)
I
ConnecteLheback
of the two deak I
pedeatalawith blind Cornerjoint (page 33)
morLtge-and-tenon
joinLa;alao hidea
)ec urea panele togeLher.
KabbeLjointia ahown,but
I
backof middledrawer through doveLailand plate
jointe are aleo popular I
choicee:for a aelectionof
joints, eeepaqe 32 I
?topped groove I
Accepto opline
/--l of duELframe I
\
Dovetail Panel
I
halflap Ueed Lo form the top,
joint boLtom, or eidee of a I
\ carcaae.Canbe madeof
---------' plywoodor solid lumber;
if aold, typically made
I
from qlued-upboarde
Frontconnectins
rail (paqe 39)
) I
,/
ConnecLaLhe --/
front of Lhe two I
deokpedeatale: Eaee molding
jotned to the car-
ca9e50y aove-
Qaseao) I
A decorative frame of
tailed half-lapo moldedetock beveledat
Lheende andjoined witn I
plate (or biecuit)joinLe.
-__----f Carcaaeaite in rabbeLa I
routed around top edqe
Eraae
9upporto back
of frame; brace at back
providee oupport
I
of carcaae
I

30 I
I
I
I DESKCASEWORK
I
I
I CASEWORK
FRAME-AND-PANEL Front
Rear aonneatingrail conneating
Dovetail
I rail
Haunahedmortiae-
and-tenonjoint .' \
I twtn mora,oe- \
and-tenonioint
Rail )
I Hortzontalmember A\ // ,/
of frame-and-panel /
I aooembly:bottom ( ) t
railo may feature \ t
a decorativearch
I alon4 bottom edqe

I )
Middledrawerrail
(pase52)
I ConnecLatwo frame-and-
paneldeekpedeataleand
t 9tile eupporto middle drawer;
Verticalcompo- joined to pedeetala by twin
I nent of a frame' mortt ee-a nd -te non I ointe
ana-Panel
I aeeembly;ettle
ehownia parAof Drawer rail
both rear and
I aideaeaembltea Qaqe a9)
Supporte drawere
and 7trenqtheng
I caee;joined to eLilee
fo twin mortiae-and-
I f,enonjointo

I Blind mofiiee-
Panel (page 4) and-tenonjoint
I )olid woodpiece that.
fite into qroovetn
I frame:can be flat.or lnner frame-and-
haveita edqearabbet- panel asaembly
"raiae"
ed or beveledto Featurea lar7er Lop rail
I cenLerof panel than ouLeraoeembly,and
correopondin4ly omaller
I panel:rail te lar7e enou4h
to accept duatframe below
I Decorative center drawer
bot'tom rail
I
I Ledger etrip (page 51)
Bottom (page 51)
Ueed to faef,en bottom
I Attached to caee by
panel to ca6e; one edqe ie
led4eretdpe on raile,
acrewed Lo inatde facea of
or seL into groovecu1,
I around ineideed4ee
bottom raila while the other
edqe ie screwed to bottom
of bottom ratla
t

I 31
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CASEWORKIOINTS I
I
lr
I
Rabbetjoint
(pase33) I
Ueedto join carcaae
panele toqether; end
of one panel fita into
I
rabbet cut in the mat-
in4 panel. Kabbet ia Twin mottiee- and-tenon
Blind mortiee- t
typically routed in carcaae aidee to con- Qase5a) and-tenon
Ueedto join duat panele to
ceal end 7rarnof top and bottom panela
carcaee aides and drawer raila (pase 36) I
to frame-a nd-pa nel etil ee Uaedto aeoem-
Stopped groove-and- epline ble duet framee
and connect
I
(pase 57)
Ueedto join etretchere and duaL deekpedeotala
panele to carcaae aidee.)topped
Stopped tonque-
and-dadojoint toqether; con- I
qroovez are routed in both the An alternative to the etopped necte raila and
edaeof the atretcher or the duat 4roove-and-epline for atilea in frame' I
frame rail and the ineide atta chin7 atretchera to and-Panel
aeoembliee
face of the carcaae
aide; a floatinq
carcaoesidee;a atopped I
tonque cut in edgeof
eplineallowa .....-: stretcher fita into
for wood 1!.e* atopped 7roove cut . .
^s\
q '--\.,.
I
movement in carcage ./
I
I
I
I
Made on connect- Haunahed
inq raile to join mortiee-and- I
deek pedeatalo tenon (page 41)
Eeveledplate joint Uaedto join raila I
(page 4O) and etilee in
Uaedto aasemble
pieceaof baee mold-
frame-and-panel
aesemblies:tenon
I
inq Loqetherybiecuita haunchin rail filla
of compreaaedwood panel4rooveo I
?late (biaautt) joint fit into alote cut in routed tn atilea
Uaed to ioin carcaae panela beveledenda of mat- I
to4ethei without havi'nqto ahape tnq aurtacee
Through dovetaila
the piecee:biacuita of compreeeed
wood fit into (pase 125) I
elotg cub in Cope-and-atiakjoint Taperedpina on top and
the matinq A decorative alternative to blind and bottom panele interlock I
boards. haunchedmortiae-and-tenonafor with an7ledtaile
frame-and-panelconatruction. A aet cut into the eide
Slota are
typically cut of router bile cute matching panela:uoed I
into enda profilea in raila and atilea; wherethe join-
of top and 7roovefor floating ery ie an impor- I
bottom panelie cut srmul- tant element
panela taneoualy of deoi4n I
I
I
32 I
I
I
I
BUILDINGA CARCASE
I
T joinedto forma box:The with several
I ourpanels Carcases canbe assembled
l- carcase isthesunplest andmostbasic typesofjoints (page32).Therabbetjoint
I buildingblockoi furnitureconstruction. is a popularchoice:Thejoint offersa
A carcase providestherigid framework largegluingsurfaceand is simpleto
I for itemsasdiverseasa bookcase anda make.As illustratedbelow the rabbets
drawer.Buildtwo boxesandjoin them arebestcut into thesideoanelssothat
I togetherand you havethe heartof an t h ee n dg r a i no i t h et o p a n d b o t t o m
attractivetwo-nedestal desk.The sec- panelswillbe covered. Theendgrainof
I tion that followi showshow to do this. thesidesis oftenconcealed bv thetoo.
Carcase Danelscanbe constructed Whenplanninga carcase, ii iswiseto
I from plyruobd,but for fine furniture, takeinto consideration thetypeofshelv-
the panelsaremost frequentlymade ing or drawers(page116)that will be
I from narrowboardsedge-glued into The twin mortise-and-tenon joint built into it. For example,the desk
wider panels(page93).The panelsare offersmoregluing surfaceand structur- shown on page 2B fiatures dust
I thenplaned,jointedon oneedge,cutto al stability than a simplemortise-and- frames(page 34)Ihat both supportthe
size,andsanded. To allow the panels to tenon,and k oftenusedtojoin drawersandprovidestrenghto thecar-
I contractand expand with changes in stretchers to carcasesides.Here o case.Theioinervneedsof theseframes
humidirythe grainof all panelsin a car- twin tenon is being test-fittedinto its mustbe takeninto accountbeforethe
I caseis alisnedin the samedirection. mating mortises in the side of a desk. carcase is gluedup.
I
PREPARING
THESIDES:RABBET
J()INTS
I
rabbets in thecarcase sides
1 Cutting
t I T h er a b b ewt i d t hs h o u l e d q u atlh e
thickness of thecarcase top;marka cut-
I t i n gI i n ef o rt h er a b b e tosnt h e l e a d i n g
edgeof onesidepanel. Installa dadohead
I slightly widerthantherabbet onyourtable
saw.Attachanauxiliary woodfenceto the
I ripfenceandraise thedadoheadto cut
a notchin thewoodfence.Setthecut-
I tingheight at one-half thestockthickness
andadlust thefenceforthewidthof cut.
r Clampa featherboard to thefencedirectly
above thebladeto holdthepanelsecurely
I against thetable,thenmakethecuI(left).
Cuta rabbet attheopposite endofthepan-
I el andbothendsof theothersidepanel.

I
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t
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 I
DESKCASEWORK I
I
r) Cutting grooves for the backpanel
I
L Oncevou haverabbetedthe carcase
sides,you needto preparethe four panels
I
t o a c c o m m o d at hee b a c k ,w h i c hc a n b e
set into a rabbetor a groove.Forthe rab-
I
bet, repeatstep 1, but makethe cut along
t h e b a c ke d g eo f e a c hp a n e la n d a d j u s t
I
t h e c u t t i n gd e p t ht o t h e t h i c k n e s so f t h e
b a c k - t y p i c a l l y% i n c h .F o rt h e g r o o v e ,
t
adjustthe dadoheadto a widthof % inch,
t h e np o s i t i o tnh e f e n c es o t h e g r o o v w
e ill
I
b e % i n c hf r o mt h e b a c ke d g eo f t h e p a n e l
(left).CUIthe backfrom %-inchplywood I
t o f i t t h e o p e n i n gi n t h e c a r c a s ea,d d i n g
the depthof the grooves to its dimensions.
I
I
I
I
I
I
MAKING
DUST
FRAMES
I
Cutting twintenons in thefrontrails
1
I Thedustframes thatwillsupport the I
drawers arejoined to thedeskpedestals
withtwinmortise-and-tenon joints(page I
36).Startbycuttingthetenons in each
f r o n tr a i lo ny o u rt a b l es a w t; h e yw i l lf i t I
i n t om a t c h i nm g o r t i s ei ns t h ec a r c a s e
s i d ep a n e l s( s t e p3 ) . E q u i py o u rt a b l e I
sawwitha dadohead%inchwide,then
i n s t aa l l t e n o n i nj igg i n t h em i t e sr l o t . I
Marka twintenonat eachendof therail,
andsetthecutting height at X inch.Clamp I
therailto thejig end-up andshiftthejig
sideways to alignoneof thetenonmarks I
withthedadohead. Tomakethecut,push
thejig forward, feeding thestockintothe I
blades (right). Turntherailaround to cut
theothertenonshoulder. Repeat thecuts I
at theotherendof therailandat both
e n d so ft h er e m a i n i n r agi l s . I
I
I
I
34 I
I
t
I DESKCASEWORK
t
T r) Clearing thewastebetween tenons
I Z . S t r i ttth et e n o n r nj igg t o l i n eu pt h e
dadoheadwiththewastebetween thetwin
tenons?ight).Makeseveral passes until
I vouhavecleared awavtheexcess wood.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
!
I
I
I
I thedoublemortises in thecarcasesides
Q Chiseling
I r - J M a r kl i n e so n t h e i n s i d ef a c eo f t h e s i d e p a n e lf o r t h e w o o d e nm a l l e t U . s ea c h i s e tl h e s a m ew i d t ha s t h e m o r t i s e s
l o c a t i o no f e a c hd u s tp a n e l .P l a c et h e r a i lf a c ed o w no n t h e a n d b e s u r et h a tt h e b e v e l e sdi d ei s f a c i n gt h e w a s t eC
. ontinue
p a n e l ,a l i g n i n gt h e e d g e so f b o t ha n d p o s i t i o n i nt gh e e n d o f m a k i n gc u t sa t i n t e r v a losf a b o u t% i n c hu n t i l y o ur e a c ht h e
I t h e r a i lf l u s hw i t h t h e t o p l i n e .0 u t l i n et h e t w i n t e n o n so n o t h e re n d o f t h e o u t l i n e U. s et h e c h i s e tl o l e v e ro u t t h e
I t h e p a n e l ( a b o v e /, e f f ) .R e p e a ft o r t h e o t h e rr a i l s .T o c h o p w a s t et o t h e r e q u i r e d e p t h .C h o po u t t h e a d j a c e nm t ortise
o u t t h e m o r t i s e sc,l a m pt h e p a n e lt o a w o r ks u r f a c eT. h e n , ( a b o v er,i g h t )a n dt h e o t h e rd o u b l em o r t i s e st h e s a m ew a y .
T e s t - f itth e j o i n ta n dw i d e no r d e e p e nt h e m o r t i s e w r t ht h e
I s t a r t i n ga t a n e n d o f o n eo u t l i n e h
s q u a r et o t h e f a c eo f t h e p a n e a
, o l da m o r t i s i n cg h i s e l
l n ds t r i k et h e h a n d l ew i t h a c h i s e l a. s r e o u i r e d .
I
I 35
I
 I
DESKCASEWORK I
I
Making
thedustframes
I
P r e p a rae r e a rr a i l ,a f l o a t i n g% " p l y w o o d
p a n e l a, n dt w os t i l e sf o r e a c hd u s tf r a m ea s
I
Kear rail y o uw o u l df o r a n o n - r a i s ef d rame-and-panel
Ortroove a s s e m b l y( p a g e4 8 ) , s i z i n gt h e f r a m et o f i t
I
for,r apltne t h e i n t e r i oor f t h e c a r c a s eI .n s t e a d
rabbets, routa %-inch-deep
of cutting
groovearoundthe
I
i n s i d ee d g eo f t h e f r a m et o a c c o m m o d a t e
Groove for ,/
t h e p a n e lt;h e g r o o v ew s i l l a l s os e r v ea s m o r -
I
floaLinq panel
t i s e sf o r t h e s t u bt e n o n st h a tj o i nt h e r a i l s
a n d s t i l e st o g e t h e rA. l s or o u ta g r o o v ea l o n g
I
t h e o u t s i d ee d g eo f e a c hs t i l et o a c c e p t h e
s p l i n et h a tw i l lf i t i n t oa m a t c h i nggr o o v e in
I
9tile Float;inqpanel 9trte
a carcasesidepanel(page37).
I
Gluingupthedustframes
I
f,
r-,f Sandanvsurfacesof the framethat
w r l lb e d r f f r c u lt to r e a c ha f t e rg l u eu p .
I
Spread a d h e s i voen t h e t e n o n sa n dt h e i r
.9Lub tenon m a t i n gg r o o v e sD. o n o ta p p l yg l u ei n t h e
I
p a n e gl r o o v et ;h e p a n e m l u s tb e f r e et o
,r' m o v eG . l u eo n eo f t h e s t i l e st o o n eo f
I
_l

t h e r a i l s ,i n s e rtth e p a n e lt,h e na s s e m b l e
l
---t
Front dust frame ratl I t h e o t h e ro i e c e sC. l a m ot h e d u s tf r a m e
I
a c r o stsh ej o i n t sw i t hb a rc l a m p sc, h e c k -
i n gf o r s q u a r ea n d u s i n gw o o dp a d st o
I
protectthe stock(below).
I
I
t
a
I
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I
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I
I
I
I
I
36 I
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I
I DESKCASEWORK

I
t UPTHECARCASE
GLUING
I
I
I
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I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
t
I 'l
Grooving thecarcasesides
I E a c hd u s tf r a m ei s s e c u r e d to the
I
drill du'tl lliliiil,illdtlll llilrllliillllii,illllllJllllililli carcasesideswith stoppedgroove-and-
s p l i n ej o i n t st h a t w i l l e n a b l et h e f r a m e
I t o m o v ew i t hc h a n g eisn h u m i d i t yE. a c h

I
)HO? Tt? j o i n tc o n s i s tosf a h a r d w o osdp l i n et h a t
will sit in matchingstoppedgrooves rout-
5 crewing d rawer's uppo rt' e d i n t h e c a r c a ssei d ea n dt h e s t i l eo f
I frames to a carcase
the dustframe.To cut the groovesin the
lf you are ineLalltnqoupporl
framea,woolocrewsoffera quick c a r c a s ei ,n s t a l al % - i n c hs t r a i g hbt i t i n
3 and eaoyway No fix f'hemIo y o u rr o u t e ra n ds e c u r eo n eo f t h e s i d e
lhe eid,esof a carcase,Ueetwo p a n e l si n s i d e - f a cuep t o a w o r ks u r f a c e .
I ocrew;L,osecureeachframesLile C l a m pa n e d g eg u i d et o t h e p a n e sl o t h e
in place.Sorean elongat'ed clear- b i t w i l l b e c e n t e r eodn o n eo f t h e d o u b l e
I ancehole(paqe96) for each mortises youcut for the drawerrails.For
ecrewNhrouqh the etileand inlo eachdustframe,routa stoppedgroove
I lhe carcaEeside,makinq -..' s t a r t i n ga b o u tI i n c hf r o mt h e m o r t i s e s
s u r e N h el w o h o l e s ( a b o v ea) n d s t o p p i n ga b o u t3 i n c h e s
I for Ihe same elile
f r o mt h e o p p o s i t e d g e .R e p e afto r t h e
a r e Ve r -ef c L l ya l i q n e d .
o t h e rc a r c a ssei d e .
I
I
I
I
I
 I
DESKCASEWORK I
I
r) Installing thedustframes I
L Cuttwohardwood or plywood splines
f o re a c hf r a m eT. h es p l i n essh o u l b d ea I
littleshorter thanthegrooves youcut in
step1 to allowforwoodmovement; for I
maximum strength, thegrainshould run
across thesplrne's width.Place oneside I
of thecarcase inside-face up on a work
surface, applyglueto thetwinmortises t
a n dt e n o n sa,n ds e tt h ef r a m eisn p l a c e ,
m a k i n sg u r et h a tt h e yf i t s n u g l oy v e r I
thesplines (/eft).
I
I
t
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Q
Assembling thecarcase I
\,, Withallthedustframes in place and
theremaining splines setin theirgrooves, t
assemble therestof thecarcase. First
a p p l yg l u ea l o n g
t h er a b b e ti sn o n es i d e I
p a n eal n ds l i d et h eb a c ka n db o t t o m in
position (right). Next,setthetopin place. I
Spread someglueontheremaining twin
mortise-and-tenons andcarefully lower the I
othersidepanelontopof theassembly,
guiding thesplines intotheirgrooves and t
thetwintenons intotheirmortises. Install
barclamps across thefrontof thecarcase, I
aligned witheachdustframe, andacross
boththetopandbottomof theassembly. I
Usewoodpadsto protect thestock,Rein-
forcetherabbet jointsandthebackwith I
countersunk nailsorscrews whichcanlat-
er beconcealed withplugs. I
I
38 I
I
I
I DESKCASEWORK
I
I RAII
A CONNECTING
INSTALLING
I 1 Cutting dovetailed half-laps
I inthefrontconnecting rail
I ln a two-oedestal desk.thecarcases are
l o i n e db y c o n n e c t i nr a
g i l sa n da d u s t
I framethatsupports a central drawer. The
frontconnecting railisjoined to thecar-
I cases withdovetailed half-lap joints.To
prepare eachrail,cut it to sizeandsaw
I a dovetailed half-lao in eachendwitha
dovetailsaw(right).
I
I
I
I
I
I
I )pline qroove
for central
I dust frame

t
I
t
I
I r') Cuttingthemating
Z dovetails inthecarcases
I Useoneof thedovetailed youcut
half-laps
in step1 to outline
themating dovetail
I mortise in eachcarcase. Thenusea saw
andchiselto cutthemortise (/eft).Next,
I makea dustframe(page36)to fit between
TwinmorEiaee
for central thecarcases andsupport thecentral draw-
I duat frame er.Routgrooves andmortises ontheout-
sideof bothcarcasesto accommodate the
I joinery.
Alsocui a railto spanthecarcases
at thebackandhidethebackof thedrawer
t (page53).Jointhisrailto thecarcases
withblindmortise-and-tenon joints.Assem-
I bleandclampthedesktogether (page53)

I
I 39
I
 I
DESKCASEWORK I
I
BASEMOLDING I
'l
Makingthebasemolding I
I T h e b a s em o l d i n sf o r t h e c a r c a s ei s
m a d ef r o mt h r e ep i e c e so f m o l d e ds t o c k I
a n da b r a c eT. o p r e p a rteh e m o l d i n gr,o u t
a decorative detailalongoneedgeof each I
boardu , s i n gy o u rt a b l es a wf i t t e dw i t h a
m o l d i n gc u t t e rh e a do r a t a b l e - m o u n t e d I
r o u t ew r i t ha m o l d i n gb i t .T h e nc u t a r a b -
b e t i n e a c hp i e c ea l o n gt h e o p p o s i tsei d e I
o f t h e s a m ee d g e t; h i sw i l l f o r ma l i p t o
s u p p o r t h e c a r c a s eS. a wt h e b o a r d st o I
l e n g t hb, e v e l i n bg o t he n d so f t h e f r o n t
p i e c ea n do n l yt h e f r o n te n do f t h e s i d e s . I
A l s os a wa b r a c i n gp i e c et h a tw i l l f i t , f a c e -
u p , b e t w e e tnh e s i d e sa t t h e b a c ko f t h e I
m o l d i n gb; o r ea h o l ef o r a s c r e wt h r o u g h
t h e b r a c eT. h es c r e ww i l l a t t a c ht h e b r a c e I
t o t h e c a r c a s eT.h em o l d i n gi n t h e i l l u s -
t r a t i o ni s a s s e m b l ewdi t h p l a t el o i n t s T
. he I
boardswill mateend-to-end, exceptat the
b a c ko f t h e m o l d i n gw , h e r et h e b r a c ei s I
l o i n e dt o t h e i n s i d ef a c e so f t h e s i d e sA .
platejoinerwithan adlustable fencemakes I
i t e a s i etro a l i g nt h e t o o lw h e nc u t t i n gt h e
slotsin the beveledends//effl. I
I
I
r) Gluing upthebasemolding I
L Workingquickly, applyglueto allthe
slots,insert onebiscuit foreachjoint,and I
assemble thebasemolding. Secure the
brace to thesides witha barclamp,using I
woodpadsto protectthestock;installa
webclampwithcornerbrackets around I
t h em o l d i nagt t h em i t e jro i n t sT. i g h t e n
thewebclamp,using thewrench provided I
(right),thentightenthe barclamp.Once
theglueis dry,install thebasebyapply- I
ingglueonlyalong therabbet in thefront
pieceandsetthecarcase in place. (This I
willcause anywoodmovement in theside
pieces to takeplacetowards thebackof I
themolding, preventing themiters atthe
frontfromseparating.) Attachthebraceto I
thecarcase bydriving a screw through the
h o l ey o ud r i l l e idn s t e pl I
I
40 I
t
I
I DESK
BUILDINGA FRAME-AND.PANEL
I
I Tl rame-andpanelconstruction offers
-F on. solutionto theperennialprob-
I Iemofwood movement. Theprincipleis
"floats"
simple:A panel in a groovecut
I on the insideedgeof a frame.The pan-
el can be flat, asin a dust frame (page
I 4B),or
"raised,"
with bevelscut alongits
edge.The bevelingallowsthe panelto
I fit into a groovein the frameand pre-
sentsa decorativefaceto the public. A
I oanelcanbe raisedon the router table
(page44)or the table saw(page45).
I To constructa frame-and-panel desk
Iiketheoneshownon page31,you need
I to join four individualframe-and-pan-
el assembliesi arearassembly(page47),
I a front assemblywithdrawershdes(page
49),foursiderails,andtwo sidepanels.
I (Thestilesin the front and rearassem-
"raised," beveled,
bliesdoubleasstilesfor thesideframes.) Traditionally,panekfor frame-and-panelconstructionwere or
I with specializedhandplanes-a time-consuming task.Modernpowertools,like
a tablesawwith a tilting arbor,havemadethisoperationmuchsimpler.
I
I JOINTS
MORTISE.AND.TEN()N
HAUNCHED
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I 1 Cufting tenonsin therails
I to tointherailsandstilesof individual frame-and-paneleachrail(above, /efti.Positionthefenceto leavea haunchequal
I assemblies withhaunched mortise-and-tenons, installa dado in widthto the depth of the groove forthepanel;settheheight
headslightlywiderthanthelength of the tenons onyour table of thedado head to cut about % inch intothetenon. Withthe
I saw.Attachanauxiliary fenceandraise the dado head to notch stockon edge, use the fence and miter gaugeto guideit intothe
it. Setthewidthof cut equalto thetenon length. To cut the blade (above,right).Repeat to cut the haunchon theother side
I tenoncheeks, buttthestockagainst the fence and the miter of thetenon. For the railsof the front assembly,which has no
gauge, thenfeedit facedown.Turntherailover and repeat the panel, cut blindtenons (page 42), makingthe shoulders equal
I cutontheotherside.Next,cuttenoncheeks at theotherendof to thewidthof thenotchvoucut intothehaunched tenons.

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DESKCASEWORK I
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I
A TENONING JIGFOR THETABLE SAW
Youcanusethejig shownat rightto Kunner I
cut blindtenons on thetablesaw. 1"x2"x24"
Adaptthedimensions suggested in I
the illustration to customize thejig
foryoursaw,if necessary. I
Cutthejig fenceandbackfrom
%-inch plywood andsawa 45" bevel I
at oneendof eachboard: theoieces
shouldbewiderthantheheightof I
yoursaw'srip fence.Fasten two
pieces together faceto faceto fash- I
iontheback,thenusecountersunk
screws to attachthefenceandback I
in an L shape.Makesurethefasten- Fence
'1"x5/,"x24"
e r sw i l ln o tb e i n t h eb l a d e 'osa t h I
whenyouusethejig.Next,cutthe
Groovefor rip fence
bracefromsolidstock,bevelitsends, I
andattachit flushwiththetopedges
of thefenceandback,forming a tri- T o t t s et h e i i p . s e t i t o n t h e s a w
l l b '
v v ! | l \ theblade.Feedthejig intothecut- I
angle. Maketheclampbyfaceglu- tablein frontof thebladewiththe tingedge.(Your firstuseof thejig
ingtwopiecesof %-inchplywood r u n n ear n df e n c es t r a d d l i nt hger i p willproducea kerfin theback.)Flip I
andcuttingtheassembly intothe fence. Clamp theworkpiece in thejig theworkpiece around andrepeat to
shapeshown. Usea hanger bolt, andposition theripfenceto alignthe cuttheothercheek(below). Remove I
washer, andwingnutto attachthe cuttingmarkontheworkpiece with thejigto cuttheshoulders.
clampto thejig back,leaving a gap I
between theedgeof theclampand
thefenceequalto thethickness of I
thestockyouwilluse.Offset the
boltsotheclampcanpivoteccentri- I
cally,(Youcandrilladditional holes
in thejig backsoyoucanshiftthe
clampto accommodate different
r
stockthicknesses.) Next,cuttherun- I
nerfromsolidwood.Whenattached
to thejig fence,therunner willstrad- I
dlethesawfence,eliminating any
wobble. Forsomemodels, youwill I
haveto milla groove downthelength
of the runner, asshown, to fit the I
r i pf e n c eF. i n a l l yc,u t a p i e c eo f
c l e a rp l a s t i a
c sa b l a d eg u a r da n d I
screwit to thejig backf lushwith
its frontface. t
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42 I
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I DESKCASEWORK
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I r) 0utlining themortises inthestiles
L ltrarV, theaooroximate locations of the mortises on each thetenon(above, lefil.f o markthe mortise width,holdthe
I stile (Seeoase52 foran overhead view.) Thenuseoneof the edgeof a tenonflushagainst themarked faceof thestileand
r a i l sy o uc u t i n s t e p1 t o o u t l i n teh el e n g t a
h n dw i d t ho f t h e outlinethecheeks of thetenon(above, right).ExIend the lines
I mortises. Startbyholding thecheekof thetenonflushagainst alongtheface(shown in theillustration asdottedlines). Once
thefaceof oneof thestiles;makesurethattheedgeof the a l lt h em o r t i s easr eo u t l i n e dc ,h i s et lh e mo u ts l i g h t ldye e p e r
I r a i li s a l i g n ew . u t l i nteh el e n g t o
d i t ht h ee n do f t h es t i l e O hf thanthetenonlength,usinga mortisechisel@age35).

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t
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T Cutting grooves forthepanels
0n therailsandstiles, marklocations
t f o rt h eg r o o v et hs a tw i l lh o l dt h e p a n e l .
Youwill needto makea groove in two
I sidesof eachrearstile,aligning thecuts

r withthemortises youcutin step2. Then

setup yourtablesawwitha dadohead
thesamewidthasthegroove, typically %
t inch.Tocutthegrooves in therails, cen-
tertheedgeof a raildirectly overthedado
t headandposition thefenceagainst the
stock. Setthebladeheight to %inch.Use
I a featherboard, braced bya support board,
to holdtheworkpiece against thefence
t duringthecut.Tocutthegrooves in the
stiles, do notmovethefence,butadjust
I thepositron of thefeatherboard andsup-
portboard.Feedthestockwitha push
I stick(/eft).
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I 43

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DESKCASEWORK I
I
MAKING
A RAISED
PANEL
ONTHEROUTER
TABLE I
1 Setting thefence I
I Startbycuttingthe panelto size.
Test-fittherailsandstilesof theframe, I
thenmeasure theopening between them.
Add%inchto eachof thedimensions to I
allowthe beveled edgesof the panelto
restin thegrooves routedin theframe; I
thiswillleaue lqinchon eachsideto
allowforwoodmovement. Thenfit a router I
witha panel-raising bitandmountthetool
in a table.Toensure thatthecuttingdepth I
is uniform, position
thefencein linewith
theedgeof the bit pilot.Withthetool I
switched off, placea scrapboardalongthe
fence. Adjustthefenceuntilthebit pilot I
turnsasthe boardtouchesit (/efil.Set
therouterto makea shallow cutatfirst.tv- I
pically%inch.
I
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r) Making thecut
L Lower theguardoverthebit andturn I
ontherouter. To minimize tearout, cut
the endsfirst,bevelingthetop andbot- I
tomof thepanel.Feedthestockintothe
bit outside-face
down,keeping it butted I
againstthe fence(right).Repeat for the
twosides.Test-fitthe panelin thegrooves I
youcut in the railsandstiles(page43).
lf the panelsitslessthanYoinchdeep, I
increase the cuttingdepthby %einch
andmakeanother passaround thepanel. I
I
44 I
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I
I DESKCASEWORK
I
|r ONTHETABLE
PANEL
A RAISED
MAKING SAW
I 1 Beveling theendsof the panel
I C u t t h e p a n e lt o s i z e ,t h e ns e t t h e
I b l a d ea n g l et o y i e l dt h e p r o p ebr e v e lT. h e
"reveal,"
usual o r b e v e l eadr e ao f a 3 A - i n c h -
I t h i c k p a n e lr s a p p r o x i m a l e Il Y y ^i n c h e s .
Fora %-inch-wide groove, beginby marking
I alo-inchsquareat the bottomcornerof the
p a n e lT. h e nd r a wa l i n ef r o mt h e f r o n tf a c e
I o f t h e p a n e tl h r o u g ht h e i n s i d ec o r n e ro f
t h e s q u a r et o a p o i n to n t h e b o t t o me d g e
I % inchfromthe backface(inset).Installa
6 - i n c h - w i d ae u x i l i a r w y o o df e n c e ,t h e n
I a d l u s t h e a n g l eo f t h e b l a d ea n dt h e p o s i -
t i o n o f t h e f e n c eu n t i lt h e c u t t i n ge d g e
I a l i g n sw i t ht h e m a r k e dl i n e .N e x t ,r a i s et h e
bladeuntil onetoothprotrudes beyondthe
I frontfaceof the panel.Clampa guideblock
t o t h e p a n e sl o i t w i l l r i d ea l o n gt h e t o p o f
t t h e f e n c e .M a k ea c u t i n o n ee n d o f t h e
p a n e l( r i g h t ) ,a n d t e s t - f i tt h e c u t i n a Auxiliaryfence
I groove.lf the panelrestslessthan %inch
deep,movethe fencea littlecloserto the
I b l a d ea n d m a k ea n o t h epr a s s R . e p e atth e
CutLin4line
c u t a t t h e o t h e re n d o f t h e p a n el.
t
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I r) Beveling thesides
Z - B e v e l i nt gh es i d e sa f t e ry o uh a v e
I b e v e l et dh ee n dg r a t nh e l p sm i n i m i z e
tearout. Setthepanelon edgeandfeed
I it intotheblade, keeping thebackflush
against thefence.Turnthepanelover
I to cut the remaining edge(left).
I
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 I
DESKCASEWORK I
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I
A PANEL.RAISING JIG
FOR THETABTE SAW I
To raisea panelon the tablesaw Anqled fence
withoutadjusting theangleof the 12"x 30" I
blade,usetheshop-built jig shown
at right.Referto the illustration for I
suggested dimensions.
Screwthe lip alongthe bottom I
edgeof theangled fence;makesure
youposition the screws wherethey I
willnotinterfere withtheblade.Prop
theangled fenceagainst theauxiliary I
fenceat thesameangleasthecut-
Auxrliary
fence
ting linemarkedon a panel(page I x30' I
45), usinga slidingbevelto transfer
theangle.Cuttriangular supports to I
fit precisely between thetwofences, LiP
thenfix themin placewithscrews.
1%"
t
Countersink the fasteners so the
panelwillslidesmoothly alongthe I
angled fence.
Tousethejig,position it onthe I
sawtablewiththejointbetween the
l i p a n dt h ea n g l e fde n c ea p p r o x i - I
mately%inchfromtheblade.Butt
thetablesaw'sripfenceagainst the I
jig'sauxiliary fence,andscrew the
twotogether. Turnon the sawand I
crankup the bladeslowlyto cut a
kerfthrough the lip. Next,seatthe I
panelin thejig andadjust theheight
of thebladeuntila singletoothpro- I
trudesbeyond thefrontof thepanel.
Makea testcut in a scrapboardthe I
samethickness astheoanelandthen
checkitsfit in thegroove; adjustthe t
position of thefenceor blade,if nec-
essary. Thencutthepanel,beveling I
the ends(right,bottomlbeforesaw-
ino thc qideq I
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46 I
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I DESKCASEWORK
t
t THEBACK
ASSEMBLING FRAME-AND.PANEL
I 1 Fitting thepanelin theframe
I Onceyouhaveraised thepanel, you
I arenowreadyto glueup theframe-and-
panelassemblies thatprovide thebacks
I of thetwocasesneeded fora two-pedestal
desk.Startbytest-fittingthe parls(right)
t a n dm a k ea n yf i n a la d j u s t m e nltfsa. n y
of thejointsaretootight,usea chisel
I to pareawaysomewood.Onceyouare
satisf iedwiththe f it, disassemble the
I frameandsandanysurfaces thatwill be
difficultto reachoncetheassembly has
I b e e ng l u e du p .Y o us h o u l da l s od e c i d e
whichmethod youwilluseto install a top
I (page96); someof thesetechniques
require boringpocketholesin therailsor
t routing grooves in therailsandstiles.

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t
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r") Gluing
up
I L npplyglueto thetenoncheeks.Donotinsertanyadhesive thestockwithwoodblocks thesamewidthandthickness as
thepanelmustbefreeto move.
in thegrooves; t
Clamptheframe t h er a i l sT. i g h t eena c hc l a m p n t u r nu n t i a
l t h i nb e a o
d f g lue
I andpanelusingbarclampsacrossthe rails(above),
protecting squeezes outof the joints.

I
I 47
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DESKCASEWORK t
I
BUILDING
A NON-RAISED
FRAME
ANDPANEL I
1t Routins
-
a rabbet
around
theframe I
I Lrkedustframes(page34), the panels
o f f r a m e - a n d - p a ndeels k sc a n b e m a d e I
flatinstead o f r a i s e dT. o b u i l dt h i st y p e
o f a s s e m b l y ,o uc a nf o l l o wa l l t h e s t e p s I
for a raisedpanelframe-and-panel (page
41) cvrenl fnr hpriplino fhc pdooc nf tho I
p a n e lA . n a l t e r n a t i vt oe placing t h ef l a t
p a n e il n a g r o o v e i s t o a s s e m b lteh e f r a m e I
w i t h b l i n dm o r t i s e - a n d - t e naonndsr,o u ta
rabbetaroundtheframeto receive the pan- I
e l .T o c u t t h e r a b b e tg, l u eu p t h e r a i l s
a n ds t i l e sa n ds e c u r et h e a s s e m b ltyo a I
w o r ks u r f a c eI.n s t a lal % - i n c ho i l o t e dr a b -
betingbit in yourrouter.Setthe depthof I
c u t a t l e a s t% i n c hd e e o etrh a nt h et h i c k -
nessof yourpanelto leaveroomfor deco- I
r a t i v em o l d i n p( q t e n2 ) R o u tt h e r a b b e t
b \!' vY 4 "

a r o u n dt h e i n s i d ee d g e so f t h e f r a m e , I
keeping t h e b i t p r l o tp r e s s eadg a i n stth e
stockthroughoutthe cut (far left), Ihen I
squarethe corners with a chisel(nearleft).
I
I
I
O Installing thepaneland
L decoraliue molding I
C u t a p a n e fl r o mv e n e e r epdl y w o o tdo f i t
t h e r a b b e t s(.A s o l i d - w o opda n e lw o u l d I
splitthe frame,sincethe rabbetsprovide
n o r o o mf o r w o o dm o v e m e n t S . )p r e a d I
s o m eg l u e i n t h e r a b b e a
nel in placeF
t n d s e tt h e p a -
. o rt h e d e c o r a t i vme o l d i n g ,
s h a p et h e e d g eo f a % - i n c h { h i cbko a r d
,r/, I
I
l o n ge n o u g h t o y i e l dm o l d i n fgo rt h ei n s i d e
edgesof yourframe;makesurethe board
i s w i d ee n o u g ht o f e e ds a f e l ya c r o s tsh e I
tablesawor routertableyou useto shape
t h e m o l d i n gR. i pt h e m o l d i n g f r o mt h e
I
b o a r di n t o Z - i n c h - s q u apr e i e c e sT. h e n
c u t f o u rp i e c e tso f i t t h e i n s i d et h e f r a m e , I
mitering t h e e n d s .G l u et h et o pa n db o t -
t o m s t r i p so f m o l d i n gt o t h e f r a m ef i r s t ,
I
p o s i t i o n i nt hge mt o h o l dt h e p a n e il n
p l a c eT. o c l a m pt h e m o l d i n gu, s et h i n I
stripsslightlylongerthanthe gapbetween
the moldingpieces(right).
I
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48 I
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I
I DESKCASEWORK
T
t lnstalling molding
along thepanel sides
I Oncethegluesecuring thetopandbottom
m o l d i nsgt r i p sh a sc u r e dg, l u et h em o l d -
I ingalongthe sidesof the panel(right).
A g a i nu, s ec l a m p i nsgt r i p st o h o l dt h e
t m o l di n gi n p l a c e .
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I
CASE
A FRAME-AND.PANEL
BUILDING
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upthefrontassembly tenons.)Applyglueto all thecontacting surfacesof thejoints
I 1 Gluing
I Toassemble a frame-and-panel pedestal fora desk,begiq' and assemblethe frame.Installa barclamp across eachof the
bygluingup thefrontframe.Forthedeskshown on pag*37, rails,
alternating
between the top and bottomof the assembly
I thisframeconsists of top andbottomrails,twostiles,anda where possible.
To distributeclamping pressureand protect the
seriesof drawer rails joined to thestiles withtwinmortise-and-stock,usetwo clamping strips.Tlghtentheclamps a littleat a
I tenons. ( T h e w i t hb l i n dm o r t i s e - a n d - Iime
b o t t o mr a i li s i o i n e d (above),
continuinguntil gluesqueezesout of the joints.

I
t 49

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DESKCASEWORK I
I
thepedestal
Assembling
I
T o c o m p l e t teh e p e d e s t a bl ,u i l ds i d e
assemblies to fit between thefrontandrear
I
assemblies (page 47).Eachsideassembly
needs onlya panelandtworails,sinceit
I
w i l ls h a r e
s t i l e sw i t ht h ef r o n ta n dr e a r
assemblies. Fora double-pedestal desk,
I
t h et o pr a i lo f t h ea s s e m bflay c i n gt h e
s e c o n od e d e s t sa hl o u l d b ew i d e trh a n
I
theheight of thecentral drawer between
thetwopedestals (page31).Once you
I
haveprepared alltheparts, test-f it them,
thensandtheirinside faces. Apply glueto
I
allthejoints-withtheexception ofthe
panel grooves-and assemble thepedestal.
t
Clamp thepedestal withbarclamps
spanning thesiderails(left);usewood
I
padsto protect thestiles.
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I
C h e c k i nl g
orsquare
Q
r - , 1 M e a s u rteh e d i a g o n a lbse t w e e o nppo-
I
s i t ec o r n e r o s f t h e p e d e s t ai m
l mediately
a f t e rt i g h t e n i n gt h e c l a m p s( r i g h t ) . I h e y
I
s h o u l db e e q u a l ;i f n o t ,t h e p e d e s t ai sl
o u t - o f - s q u a rTeo. c o r r e ctth e p r o b l e m ,
I
i n s t a l al b a rc l a m pa c r o s st h e l o n g eor f
t h et w od i a g o n a lTs i. g h t e n t h i sc l a m pa
I
I r t t l ea t a t r m e ,m e a s u r i nags y o ug o u n t i l
t h e t w o d i a g o n a lasr ee q u a l .
t
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50 t
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t DESKCASEWORK
t
t THEBOTTOM
INSTALLING
I 1
I n s t a l l i nl ge d g esr t r i p s
I T o i n s t a lal b o t t o mu s i n gl e d g esr t r i p s ,
I c u t f o u r 1 - i n c h - s q u aw r eo o ds t r i p st o f i t
a l o n gt h e r a i l sa t t h e b o t t o mo f t h e c a s e .
I T h ee n d so f t h e s t r i p ss h o u l db u t ta g a i n s t
t h e s t i l e s .B o r et w o s e t so f c o u n t e r s u n k
I h o l e si n e a c hs t r i p :o n ec e n t e r e a dl o n g
o n ee d g e f, o r s c r e w i ntgh e s t r i pt o t h e r a i l ,
I a n d a n o t h ear l o n ga n a d j a c e net d g ef o r
a t t a c h i n tgh e b o t t o mp a n e l S . t a g g et rh e
t holesso the fasteners will notcontacteach
o t h e r .W i t ht h e p e d e s t aul p s i d e - d o w n ,
I p o s i t i o an l e d g esr t r i po n t h e i n s i d es u r f a c e
of a bottomrail about1 inchfrom its top
I edge.Markthe positions of the screwholes
w i t h a n a w l a n d b o r ep i l o t h o l e s U . sing
t c l a m p st o h o l dt h e s t r i pi n p o s i t i o ns,c r e w
t h e s t r i p i n p l a c e( r i g h t ) .R e p e a ft o r t h e
I nfhpr lpdopr ctrins

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I
r) Installing
thebottom
I p a n etlo f i t t h ec a s e ,
L C u ta b o t t o m
its
notching corners to fit around thestiles.
I Tn mnrrni lhp nanpl cpi tho nodpci:l nn

i t s b a c k .H o l d i n tgh e p a n efl l u s ha g a i n s t
I t h e s t r i p sw i t h o n eh a n d ,m a r kt h e s c r e w
h o l e sw i t h a n a w l a n d b o r ep i l o t h o l e s .
I Thenscrewthe bottomin position(/eft).

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DESKCASEWORK I
t
JOINING
DESKPEDESTALS I
1 Planning thejoinery I
I Oncebothdeskpedestals areglued
up,youareready to jointhem.Thediagram I
at leftshows thejoinery involved. At the
backof thedesk,a rearconnecting railis I
attached to thestilesof thepedestals with
blindmortise-and-tenons; thisrailprovides I
structural support andhidesthe backof
thecentraldrawer. At thefront,a con- I
n e c t i nrga i l ,w h i c hp r o v i d essu p p o rf to r
thetop,is joinedto thestileswithdove- I
tailedhalf-lap joints.Directly below this
railis a support board (visible in theillus- I
trationbelow) forthecentraldrawer. lt is
connected to thestileswithtwinmortise- t
and-tenons.
I
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t
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I
r) Attaching theconnecting rails
I
L anddrawer support
Test-fittherearconnecting railandthe
I
drawer supportin the pedestals. Forthe
frontconnecting rail,cuta dovetailed half-
I
lapat eachendwitha dovetailsaw(page
39).Usethehalf-laps to outlinethemat-
I
ingmortises at thetopendsof thestiles,
thencutandchiselthemout.Test-fit the
I
railin the mortises(right),paringthehalf-
lapsif necessary to ensure a tightfit.
I
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52 I
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I DESKCASEWORK
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I
I Gluinu g pt h ed e s k
Q
r - , 1 A p p l yg l u et o a l l t h e j o i n t sb e t w e e n
I jlljtlllilillll llllllllll||llllllllllllillJlltllllllllllll lllJllllllll t h e c o n n e c t i nrga i l sa n d d r a w esr u p p o r t
a n dt h e p e d e s t aal sn da s s e m b lteh e d e s k .
I C l a m pt h e u n i ta c r o stsh e b a c kw i t ha l o n g
)HO? TI? p i p ec l a m p( a b o v e )u, s i n gw o o dp a d st o
I p r o t e c t h e s t o c k .I n s t a l la s e c o n dp i p e
Uoingpipeclampsin paira
c l a m pa l o n gt h e d r a w e sr u p p o r at t t h e
I clamVoare not,lonqenouqhlo glueup adeok,double
lf your'Viipe
upIwo shorLerclampoto lunctionao a einqleuniN,Todo thie, f r o n to f t h e d e s k .C h e c kt h e o p e n i n g
pooilionlhe two clampoalonqNhedeskeo the laweaL betweenthe pedestals for squareby mea-
I the handleendqriplhe deekwhilet'heNailetoVo suring a c r o s t
s h e c o r n e r sI.n s t a lal t h i r d
overlaV.TiqhLen oneof the clamVounLilt'he clamo. i f n e e d e d .
I tail eNoVo conLacl,,Aeyou
.make :-:6-g
c o n N i neu t i g h b e n i 4n , t h e d e e k
t willbe pulledtogebherlueL
ae il you wereuoin7a
I singlelongclamV.

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I LEGSA}{DRAILS
t
t
t
egsandrailsarethestructural of the piecebeforechoosingan
I heartof most tablesand desls. appropriate legstyle.
Thefurniture legs provide vertical The delicate cabrioleleg (page
I support, and the railsconnect and 63) has been a popular featureof
bracethe legs while alsosupport- high-quality furniture for more
I ingthetop and framing the draw- than two centuries. Simple to cut
er assembly. on the band saw, the cabriole is
I Strength andbeauty must be in designed to suggest the leg ofa leap-
harmonyhere:Theshape andpro- ing animal.Tapered legs(page60)
I portionof thelegsand railsmust can be cut on a jointer or tablesaw
complement otherelements of the and are suitable for a wide rangeof
I pieceof furniture,balancing the tables and desks. They are a simpler
weightof thetop andthesizeof alternative to turned legs (page 66).
I thedrawers, for example. Smoothing a turned leg is simply a matter A table is only as sturdy as the
Thefollowingchapterdemon- of leaving it rotating on the lathe and allowing joinery used for the leg-to-rail
t stratesthetechniques for making thesandpaper to do itswork.Theprocess assembly. Traditional joints,suchas
manyof themostcommontypes typically begins with 8}-grit paper and worles the mortise-and-tenon (page34)or
I of tableanddesklegs,including its way up to 180 grit orfiner. dowel joint are reliable. If thepiece
tapered, cabriole, turned,pedestal, will be moved frequently, commer-
I andoctagonal pieces.Thisisfollowed bydetailed instructions cial or shop-made hardware (page 84) thatallows the legsto be
for joining legsto rails. removed may be your bestoption. In designing your tableor
I Makingthelegsis usuallythefirststep in constructing desk, take into account themethod you will use to attach the
a tableor desk.Sincemostlegsrequirethickerstock than is top to the rails.If, for example, you plan to use wood buttons
I commonly available, youusually mustface-glue thinnerstock (page98),youwill needto cutthegrooves in therailsbefore
into ablankof appropriate (see
size frontendpaper). Make sure they are fastened to the legs.A lower rail, or stretcher, canbe
t thelenghof theblankisproportional to theintended height added to any table for extrastrength or decorative effect; gate-
of thetableor desk,andthatit will bestrongenough without leg tables may require thesebottom rails to serve as anchoring
I appearing toobullcy.Alsoconsider thedesignandplanneduse pointsfor anyextralegs.
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I
A tusktenonjoint connects thestretcherto thelegsof a
I trestletable.Thetenonwill extendbeyondthethrough
mortisein thelegsothat a tusk-likewedgecanbeinsert-
I edto lockthejoint whileallowingit to bedisassembled.

I 55
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LEGSTYLESANDHARDWARE I
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t
Cabriole Ieg
(pase63)
Ite 9-ehapedcurve
I
imiLatea,the aweep
or an antmal le4 I
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t
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Tripod/pedeatal Ieg
(pase 68)
t
Typtcallyaawnin a
ehallowcurve;Lop end T
iejoined Lo a central
columnwith oltdin4 I
Tapered leg doveLarljotnt
Turnedleg
(paqe 60)
A equareleq with two adjorntn7facee
Octagonalleg (pase66) I
(pase69) FeaLures decorative
or all four facea tapered; vtrbuallyae
atronq ae untaperedleq
A etratqhL le4
wr1;hetqht etdee
beadE and filleLe;
ohaped on a lathe
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COMMERCIAL
tEGHARDWARE
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Leg braaee
Hinqedatrute that
allowleqato fold
I
undert.ableLop
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Castera I
Corner brace Allow leqa to roll; wheele
Allowa lega Lo be availablein braae, wood, t
removed;aLtached porcelain, nylon, plaotic,
to leq with hanqer
bolt and to raila
or leather mountedtn braaa,wood.
or caet-iron brackeLa.Clockwiae
from too lefL:
t
with ocrewo equarecup,plate, atem, and clawfoot caetere
t
Tableglide
and leveler
9prtn4-loaded
Adjustable levelers I
Flastic feeL screwedinto
nylon feet auto-
maLicallylevelfurntture on uneven
bottom of leqe f,o levelfur-
niLureon unevenfloore;
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floora:mounted with T-nuLand bolt mountedwith T-nut and bolt
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56 I
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I LEG-TO-RAIL
IOINTS
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;
I Elind moraise-
and-tenonjoint
(pase 76) ,.- '- H ""----','
I An invieible joint
thop-made
- - - . ' - _ ,

"'.-.:: - _ - . ) < : -
- : ; 1 - - -
, . - " " - . -

11.1-',"
with excellent -\,
corner brace ./'
I otrenqth. Tenonin
rail fita into mat-
(paqe O6)
'\, ?
,/'
Allowa leqo to be removed.
r inq mortioe in leg
Woodencorner blockte faa'
tened to le7 and raile; 4roovea
t and aplineareinforceconnec-
tton betweenblockand raile

t
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Doweljoint
t (pase74)
A retnforcedcorner
t butt joint; dowele
extend into leq
Commeraial
I hardware
(page 84)
I Allowa leaa to be removed.Corner
brace ia bolted to le7 and ecrewed
to raila;to accommodatebrace,Ieq
I ie notchedand raila are arooved

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Tuak tenon joint (page 72)
t Commonlyuoedto join f,heleqeand etretcher of a treatle
table. Tenonextende beyondthe throuqh morDise;tuak, or
wedqe,ia inaerf,edto lockjoint and removedto dieaeeembleiL
t
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I 57
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TRIPODTABLE I
t
The simpleappearanceof a tripod toblebeliesthe " .. t
precisejoinery neededto build it. The three legsare
fastenedto the centralcolumn with liding dovefails,ctrt
I
with angledshouldersto sit tight againstthe turned column. The
legsmust be exactly120oapart and the column centeredunder the top. Togive
I
the legsaddedstrength,a metalplate can be mountedunder the legsand cohrmn.
The top end of the column isjoined to the rail with a round mortise-and-tenon.
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ANATOMY
OFA TRIPOD
TABIE I
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Dovetatl
aocket
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Metal t
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I TABLE
PEDESTAL
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t As on thetripod table,thelegsof a pedestaltableare
attachedto a centrqlcolumnwith slidingdovetails,usu-
I ally reinforcedwith a metalplate.Therailsaresecured to thecolumnwith
a typeof interlockingbridlejoint consisting of edge
crossing halflaps and
I mortises.Thelarge table shown at right is supported by two setsof legs
and columns.Because of the table'sconsiderable weight, castershavebeen
I anechedto thelegs to make thepiece easier to move.
I
I TABLE
OFA PEDESTAL
ANATOMY
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t Detail of
dovetaile

I Mortiae for
interlocking
Column
bridlejoint
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Dovetail
I socket

I Leq

I Dovetail
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TAPEREDLEGS I
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CUTTING
A FOUR.SIDED
TAPER t
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TaperatarL line
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Thpered and stop-tapered legslike those
shownabovearefrequentlyusedon I
drop-frontand rolltopdesksand a wide
assortment of tables.Theylightena
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piece'sappearance withoutseriously
1 Setting upandstartingthecut
I
diminishingitsstrength. I Youcantaperlegsquickly ona jointer.
andaccurately Startbyoutlining
thedimen-
sionsof thetaperonthebottomof thelegblankwitha cuttinggauge (above,top).fhen
marklinesonthefourfacesof thestockto indicate where thetaperwill begin.Install
I
a clampto holdtheguardoutof thewayduringtheoperation. Setthedepthof cutfor
x inchand,holding theblankagainstthefence,alignthetaperstartlinewiththefront
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of theoutfeed table.Butta stopblockagainst
thebottom of thelegandclampit to the
infeedtable.Tostarteachpass,carefully lowerthe blankontothecutterhead while
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holding thefenceandthestopblock(above,
it firmlyagainst bottom).Makesureboth
handsareovertheinfeedsideof thetable.
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60 t
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t LEGSAND RAILS
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I r) Jointing thetaper
L feedthe legacross the cutterhead
I witha pushstick,pushing downon the
trailing endof thestockwhilepressing it
I flushagainst thefence(left).Keepyourleft
handawayfromthecutterhead. Makeas
t manypasses as necessary untilyouhave
t r i m m e tdh es t o c kt o t h et a p e o
r utline,
I thenrepeatthe process to shapethe
remaining faces. Makethesamenumber
I of oasses on eachside.
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I A STOPPED
J()INTING TAPER

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I Usingtwinstopblocks
Marklineson all facesof the legblankto indicate wherethe second stopblockagainstthetopendof theblankandclamp
r infeed
l l c l a m po ny o u jro i n t e r ' s
t a p e r i nwgi l lb e g i na n de n d .I n s t a a
tableto holdtheguardoutof theway.Seta %-inch depth
table.Tomakethefirstpass,lowerthework-
it to theoutfeed
pieceontotheknives, keepingit flushagainst
thefenceandstop
of cut,thenbuttthe blankagainst thefencewiththetaperline blockon the infeedtable.Feedtheworkpiece usinga push
I about%inchin frontof theedgeof theoutfeed table.(Theextra stick (above);useyourleft handto pressthe blankagainst
the
I %inchwillcompensate forthefactthat,asthe infeedtableis fence.Keeobothhandswellclearof thecutterhead. Makeone
lowered later,it willalsoslideback.)Butta stopblockagainst passoneachface,thenlowertheinfeedtable%inchandrepeat
thefootof theblankandclampit to theinfeed table.Nextalign theprocess onall foursides.Continue,increasing
thecutting
I thetaperendlinewiththebackendof theinfeedtable.Butta depthwitheachpassuntilthetaperis completed.
t
I 61
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LEGSAND RAILS I
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t
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A JIGFOR TWO.SIDED TAPERS Toassemble thejig,setthesaw against it. Press thelipsnugly against
Tapering legson a tablesawcanbe bladeto itsmaximum cuttingheight, theendof theblank.Screw theguide
T
y i t ht h er i g h jt i g .T h e
d o n ee a s i l w buttonesideof thejig baseagainst barto thebaseandthesolidwood
o n es h o w nb e l o wi s m a d ef r o m theblade, andposition
theripfence shimto thebar,making certain that
I
%-inchplywood, somesolidwood, against theothersideof the base. theiredges arealigned. Attachthe
andtwotoggleclamps.lt is sturdier Lower thebladeandmarka cutting t o g g l cel a m ptso t h es h i m C . lamp
I
thanmanycommercial models; the lineforthetaperononesideof your downto secure theblankto thejig
clampsensure thatthestockis held legblank,thensetit on the base, wiihthetapermarkaligned withthe
I
f irmlyin placewhilethecut is being aligning themarkwithoneedgeof edgeof thebase. Screw thehandle to
made.Referto the illustration for thejig. Holdtheworkpiece securely thebaseat least6 inches awayfrom
I
suggested dimensions. andbuttthe plywood guidebar thesidethatwillpassbytheblade.
T oc u t t h ef i r s tt a p e rc, l a m pa
I
featherboard andsupportboardto
thesawtable,making suretheywill
I
notinterfere withthe blade.(The
featherboard shouldpress onlyonthe
I
jig base,notontheworkpiece.) Set
theblade height andslidethejigand
t
legblankacross thetable,making
surethatneither handis in linewith
T
thebladebeloil. Tocutthesecond
t a p e ro n a n a d j a c e nsti d eo f t h e
I
blank,repeat the passwiththetwo
untapered sidesof theblankagainst
t
thejig baseandguidebar.(Caution:
Bladeguardremoved for clarity.)
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62 I
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t LEGS
CABRIOLE
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I MAKING
A CABRI(ITE
LEG
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I 1 Designing theleg Despite its delicate appearance,
I Fora template, cut a pieceof stiff cardboard or hardboard to the samelength a cabriolelegprovides excellent
andwidthasyourlegblanks. at topwillyielda stable
t well-proportioned
Thedesign shown
leg,butyoucanalterthedesign
above
to suityourproject.
and
Begindrawing
strength.A well-balancedleg
should be able to stand by itself.
thelegbyoutlining the postblock.Makeits lengthequalto thewidthof therailthat
I willbeattached to it; thepostblockshouldbewideenough to accepttherailtenons.
Next,sketchthetoeandthefrontof thelegfromthetoeto theankleusinga French
I curve(above, bottom); point,the ankleshouldmeasure
at its narrowest abouttwo-
fifthsof thestockwidth.Moveonto the knee,sketching a gentlecurvefromthe post
I blockto thefrontedgeof thetemplate about3 to 4 inchesbelowthe block.Then
jointhekneeto theanklewitha relatively straightline.Complete theoutline at the
I backof theleg,connecting the bottom of the legwiththebackof theankle,then
sketching a curvefromtheankleto the bottomof the postblock.Youmayneedto
I redraw thecurves several timesuntilyouaresatisfied withthedesign.
I
I 63
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LEGSAND RAILS I
I
r') Transferring
thedesign
I
a ^
L U U IO U ty o u r l e m p t a l e0 n a D a n os a w ,
t h e n s a n d t h e e d g e st o t h e m a r k e do u t -
I
l i n e .T o t r a c et h e o u t l i n eo n t h e l e gb l a n k ,
o l a c et h et e m o l a tfel a to n o n eo f t h e i n s i d e
I
f a c e so f t h e b l a n k ,m a k i n gs u r et h a tt h e
e n d so f t h e t e m p l a t ea n dt h e b l a n ka r e
I
alignedandthatthe backof the postblock
i s f l u s hw i t ht h e i n s i d e d g eo f t h e b l a n k .
I
f rzcp alans ihp pdopc, nf ihp ipmnl:to

T u r nt h e b l a n ko v e ra n dr e o e atth e o r o c e -
I
dureon the otherinsideface(/efil.At this
point,somewoodworkers preferto cut mor-
I
tisesor drill holesfor the leg-to-rail joinery.
( l t i s e a s i etro c l a m pa n dc u t j o i n t so n a
I
r e c t a n g u llaergb l a n kt h a no n a l e gw i t h
D r o n o u n c ecdu r v e s .0)t h e r w o o d w o r k e r s
I
c u t t h e l e gf i r s ta n dt h e nd o t h ej o i n e r y .
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outtheleg
Cutting
S e tt h e l e sb l a n ko n t h e b a n ds a wt a b l ew i t ho n eo f t h e o u t - o u t l i n eo n t h e a d j a c e nf ta c e ,s t o pt h e c u t a b o u tZ i n c hf r o mt h e
I
l i n e sf a c i n gu p a n d t h e t o e o f t h e l e gp o i n t i n ga w a yf r o my o u . first kerf, leavinga shortbridgebetweenthe two cuts (above,
A l i g n i n tgh e s a wb l a d ej u s tt o t h e w a s t es i d eo f t h e m a r k e dl i n e / e f f ) .R e t r a ctth e w o r k p i e c et h, e nc u t a l o n gt h e l i n ef o r t h e
I
f o rt h e h a c kn f t h e l e p f e e dt h e s t o c ki n t ot h ec u t t i n pe d p eT r r r n f r o n to f t h e l e g ,a g a i nl e a v i n gb r i d g e sT. u r nt h e b l a n ka n d s a w
o f f t h e s a wa b o u th a l f w atyh r o u g ht h e c u t a n dr e m o v teh e b l a n k . alongthe markedlineson the adjacentside (above,ilghil.fhis
T
T h e nc u t a l o n gt h e s a m el i n ef r o mt h e o p p o s i t e n d .T o a v o i d t i m e ,c o m p l e t e t h e c u t , l e t t i n gt h e w a s t ef a l l a w a y .
d e t a c h i ntgh e w a s t ep i e c ef r o mt h e b l a n ka n d l o s r n tgh e m a r k e d
I
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o+ I
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I LEGSAND RAILS
I
t Cutting thebridges
Turnoff thesawandrotatetheblank
I sothatthefirstsideyoucutfacesup.Slide
theblankforward to feedthebladeiniothe
I kerfat thefrontof the leg.Turnon the
m a c h i naen dc u tt h r o u gthh eb r i d g teo
I release thewastepiece.Thencut through
the bridgebetween thekerfsat theback
I of the leg(/eff,).
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T
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t
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t f, Shaping andsmoothing
r-,f Tof inishshaping
theleg
thecabriole legand
remove blemishes left bythe bandsaw
I blade,smoothits surfaces witha spoke-
I shave, followed bya raspandsandpaper.
Beginbyfixinga barclampin yourbench
t v i s et,h e ns e c u rteh e l e gi n t h ec l a m p .
Holding a spokeshave withbothhands at
I thetopof a curved edgeof the leg,pull
thetoolslowly toward you,cuttingwiththe
grain(right).Repeat untilthesurfaceis
I smooth. Turnthelegin thebarclampto
I cleanup theotheredges. Usea raspto
smooth an areathatthesookeshave cannot
I reach.Thistoolworksbestwhenpushed
diagonally across thegrain.Finish thejob
I withsandpaper, usingprogressively f iner
gritsuntilthesurface issmooth.
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t 65
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TURNEDLEGS
I
TURNING
A LEG I
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Most turned legsfor
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tables,like the one
shown at right, fea-
I
ture a squtre section,
or pommel, at the top.
I
This enablesthe leg thepommel
Defining
to bejoined to the
1
I Toturna legon a lathe,startbyseparating thepommel fromthecylindrical
t
teblerails without section.Thecylindrical
section is thenturned (step 2) and,finally,the beadsand
cutting or attaching hollowsareadded(step3). Beginby marking thepommel onthe legblank,then
I
hardware to the mounttheblankon thelatheandmovethetoolrestascloseto theworkpiece as
turned segments. possiblewithouttouchingit;thepommel shouldbe longenough to accommodate
I
joinerymethod
the legto-rail youwill use.Next,usea skewchiselto cut a V-shaped
notchat themarked pommel line.Bracing thebladeagainst thetoolrest,begin
I
withthecuttingedgeangled slightly to onesidesothelongpointof thetip cuts
intotheblank.Thiswilldefineonesideof theV. Now,anglethebladeto theother
I
sideto definetheothersideof theV nolch(above). Continue angling the blade
fromsideto sideuntilyoureachthedesired depth.Asmuchas possible, keepthe
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bevelof thebladerubbing against thestockat all times.
I
I
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r) Turning thecylinder
1 tlsea roughing-out gougeto round
I
thecorners of theblankbelow theoommel.
Withthetip of thegouge tiltedupagainst
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t h er o t a t i nbgl a n kg, r a d u a lrl ya i s et h e
handle u n t i lt h e b e v eul n d etrh et i p i s
I
rubbing against thestockandthecutting
edgeis slicingintothewood.Workfrom
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below thepommel toward thebottom of the
leg (right). Keepthetoolat a rightangle
I
to theblankthroughout thecut.Continue
untiltheblankis cylindrical andsmooth.
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66 T
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I LEGSAND RAILS
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Adding b e a d sa n dh o l l o w s
I T o f o r mb e a d sw, o r kw i t ha s k e wc h i s -
e l a n dl h e s a m et e c h n i n r rues e dt o d e f i n e
I t h e n o m m e lS l a riln s e a c hc u t w i t ht h e
t o o la l m o s ht o r i z o n t ar la, r s et h e h a n d l e
I u n t i lt h eb l a d es l i c e si n t ot h es t o c kC
. u to n e
s i d eo f t h eb e a da t a t i m eb yt i l t i n gt h ec u t -
I t i n pe d p e ' i r s1t oo n es i d ea n dt h e nt h eo t h -
e r ( a b o v e )F.o rt h e h o l l o w su, s ea s p i n d l e
t onrrop Si:ri p:eh erri :l nno pdop o{ thp

h o l l o ww i t ht h e b l a d eo n e d g es o t h a tr t s
I .nn.2\/p cidp ic f:e ino thp nnnnc.iio pdoo nf

t h e h o l l o wR . a i s et h e h a n d l es o t h e t i p
I b e g r nssl i c r n g i n t ot h es t o c kT. h e n s, w e e p
t h et o o lt o w a r dt h eh o l l o w 'osp p o s i teed g e ,
I r o l l i n tph e h l a d es o t h a l ,a t t h ec e n t eor f
t h e h o l l o wt ,h e c o n c a vsei d eo f t h e b l a d e
I i sf a c i n gu p ( l e f t )R
. e m o v teh e g o u g ea n d
rono:l lhp errl frnm thp nnnncitp pdop nf

I t h e h o l l o ww, i t ht h e c o n c a v sei d eo f t h e
b l a d ef a c i n gt o w a r dt h e h o l l o wC. o n t i n u e
t s w e e n i napn dr n l l i n p t h e b l a d ef r o ms i d e
t o s i d e a, l w a yw s o r k i ndgo w n h i lul ,n t i l t h e
I h o l l o wi s s y m m e t r i caanl ds m o o t h .

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PEDESTAL
LEGS
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The pedestal,or tripod, leg is bestcut on the band
saw. The legshavea flat sectionat the bottom and a
I
dovetailat the top that fits into the centralcolumn.
Becausedovetailsare tnore dfficult to cut in a con-
I
toured workpiece,it is bestto prepare the leg blank
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for joinery (pages79and 82) beforeshapingit.
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CUTTING
A PEDESTAL
LEG I
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'l
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Sawingthelegonthebandsaw
onthetopendof yourlegblank,usingeither
Cuta dovetail the theleg,thetopandbottomendsmustbeperpendicular to each
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tablesaw (page79)or a routertable(page82).Then,outlrne other,andthespread of thelegsmustbelessthanthediameter
thelegonyourblank;usea pencilanda French curveasyou of thetabletop.Onceyouaresatisfiedwiththedesign,cutthe
I
leg(page
wouldfora cabriole 63).fherearethreeabsoluterules firstlegon the bandsaw(above)anduseit asa template for
a pedestal
fordesigning leg:Thegrainshould followtheslopeof theothers.Keepa copyof thetemplateforfutureprojects.
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68 I
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t OCTAGONALLEGS
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a AN(ICTAGONAL
SHAPING LEG
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Cutting thelegonthetablesaw
I Tosetupthisoperation, unplug thesaw,
cranktheblade to itshighest setting, and
I a d j u stth ec u t t i n ga n g l et o 4 5 " .T h er i p
fenceshouldbe positioned sothatthe
I bladeis tiltedawayfromit. Layoneface
of the legblankonthebladewitha cor-
I nerresting onthesawtable,thenbuttthe
fenceagainst thestock(above) andlock
I it in place. To makethef irstcut,buttthe
stockface-down against theripfencea
I fewinchesin frontof the blade.Adjust
thecuttingheightuntilonetoothjustpro- The attractive octag-
I trudesbeyond thefaceof theworkpiece. onal leg is simple to
Feedtheblankintotheblade, straddling cut on the tablesaw.
I thefencewithyourhand.Rotate the leg
90' clockwise andrepeat thecut on the
I adjacen . o n t i n ui n
f at c e C e t h i sm a n n e r
(right)unlilthe sidesarecut.
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LEGSAND RAILS I
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CUTTING
GR(|(IVES
FORINLAY T
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Commercialmar-
quetry banding adds I
a decorativetouch to
a tapered leg.
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Usinga tablesaw
Tocuta straightgroove for inlay,usea tablesawwitha dadoheadthesamewidth
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astheinlay.lf youareworking withthickshop-made inlay,setthecuttingheightto
slightly
lessthan thethickness of the inlay;forcommercial inlay,setthecutting
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heightto its exactthickness. Makea cut in a scrapboard, testthefit, andadjust
thewidthandcuttingheightof the blades, if necessary.
Next,marka lineforthe
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grooveontheleading endof thelegandalignit withthedadohead.Butttherip
fenceagainstthestock,thenfeedit across the blades(above).
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Usinga router
Tomakea groove thatrequires morethan I
onestraight cut at different angles, use
a routerwitha commercial edgeguide. I
Secure the legto a worksurface, thenfit
the routerwitha straight bit the same I
widthasthe inlayandsetthecutting
depth.Remember, thegroove shouldbe I
slightlyshallow forshop-made inlay,but
full-depthforcommercial inlay.Outline I
thegroove on theleg,alignthebit over
oneof thelinesthatrunalong thegrain, I
andbutttheedgeguide's fenceagainst
thestock.Gripping therouterf irmly,cut I
thegroove; remember to movethetool
againstthedirection of bit rotation.Repeat I
to cuttheothergrooves (left).Fortheshort
cutsagainst thegrain,clampa wooden I
edgeguideacross theleg.Finally, square
thecorners witha chisel. I
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70 I
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t LEGSAND RAILS
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t THEINLAY
DOWN
GLUING
I Setting theinlayinthegroove
Cuttheinlayto length to f it thegroove. lf
I youareusing shop-made inlay, usea table
sawor a backsaw in a miterbox;forcom-
t mercial inlay,usea woodchisel. Toinstall
inlayin thefour-sided groove shown, make
I mitercutsat theendsof theinlaypieces.
It iseasiest to cutanddryJitonepieceat
I a t i m e ,m a k i n sg u r ey o ua l i g nt h em i t e r
cutswiththecorners of thegrooves. With
I commercial inlaymarquetry, tryto match
thepattern atthecorners to formonecon-
I t i n u o uds e s i g nO. n c ea l lt h ep i e c easr e
cutto size,spread a thinlayerof gluein
I thegroove andonthemitered endsof the
i n l a y I. n s e rot n es t r i pa t a t i m e .W h i l e
I thegluedries, secure theinlaywithstrips
of masking tape.
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I A LEG
DETAILING
I Routing edgedetail
S e c u r et h e l e gt o a w o r ks u r f a c e M . ark
I l i n e so n t h e l e gf o r t h e b e g i n n i nagn de n d
o f t h e c u t ,t h e n i n s t a lal d e c o r a t i vbei t
t i n y o u rr o u t e rA. p i l o t e dq u a r t e r - r o u nb di t
i s s h o w nt;h i s b l t w i l l r o u ta r a i s e db e a d
t a l o n gt h e f r o n tc o r n e r so f t h e l e g .S e t a
c u t t i n gd e p t ha p p r o p r i a t eo t h e p r o f i l e
I y o uw a n tt o m a k e t, h e na l i g nt h e b i t w i t h
t h e s t a r tl i n e .H o l d i n gt h e t o o lw i t h b o t h
I h a n d sg, u i d et h e b i t a l o n gt h e c o r n e or f
t h e l e ga g a i n s t h e d i r e c t i o no f b i t r o t a -
I t i o n . K e e pt h e b a s ep l a t ef l a t o n t h et o p
surfaceof the legandthe bit pilot pressed
C againstthe stockthroughout the operation
( / e f f . S t o pw h e ny o ur e a c ht h e e n d l i n e ,
I reposition the legon the worksurface,and
makea secondpass,ridingthe baseplate
t o n t h e a d j a c e nf ta c eo f t h e l e g .T h i si s
u s u a l l yd o n eo n l yo n t h e l e g ' so u t s i d e
I c o r n e rb, u tt h e o t h e rc o r n e rcsa na l s ob e
r o u t e dd e p e n d i nogn t h e l e gd e s i g n .
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LEG-TO-RArLIOTNERY I
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TUSKTENON
JOINTS I
1
Marking thelocation ofthewedge I
I Cuta four-shouldered tenon(page76)
longenough to extend beyond thelegby t
a t l e a s2t i n c h e st h; i sw i l lp r o v i dseu f if-
c i e n ts t o c kt o r e s i sbt e i n gs p l i tb yt h e I
wedge. Cuta through mortjse to accom-
modate thetenonandassemble thejoint. I
T h e nh, o l d i ntgh ep i e c etso g e t h eorn a
worksurface, marka lineonthetopof the I
cheekwhere thetenonemerses fromthe
morlise(lefD. I
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r) Drilling theholeforthewedge
Z. Disassemble thejointandmakea drillingmarkYta tnchonthe
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s h o u l dseird eo f t h es c r i b el di n e ; t h iws i l le n s u raet i g h ft i t w h e n
thewedge isdrivenintoplace. Seta mortise gauge to one-third the
I
A nrk tenonioins the stretcherto thepedestallegof the thickness of thetenonandusethegauge to outline theholein the
tableshownaltove.Although the tuskjoint is assembled middle thirdof thetopcheek, bordering onyourmark.Usinga bit
I
without glue so that the tablecan be disassembled,
it is slightly smaller in diameter thantheoutline, boretheholethrough
as strongas a glued blind nrortise-and-tenon. thetenononthedrillpress(above),
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t LEGSAND RAILS
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t Q Angling thewedge hole
r.J Usinga mortise chisel, enlarge and
I square theholeyoudrilledto accommo-
datethewedge. Holding thechiselat a
I 10"angleawayfromthetenonshoulders,
cut a tapered slot,as indicated bythe
I dottedlinesin theillustration (/eff).Then
c h o po u tt h ew a s t eh, o l d i ntgh ec h i s e l
I withthebevelfacingthewaste.

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Inserting thetusk
I Cutan angledhardwood wedge,
calleda tusk,that is tapered to fit the
t slot y o uchopped i n s t e p3 ; i t sl e n g t h
canbe uo to twicethe tenon width. To
I a s s e m btl h
ee j o i n t ,
slide t h e t e n o i
n nto
the mortise andstrikethe wedge firmly
I witha malletuntilthejointis Iight(right).
Donotuseglue,asthisjointis designed
I to bedisassembled.
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I 73

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LEGSAND RAILS I
I
D()WET
JOINTS I
1
Locating andboring I
I dowelholesintherails
Startbymarking thelocation of thedowel I
holes. Holding oneof therailsend-up, set
a cuttinggauge to one-half thethickness I
of thestockandscribe a lineacross theend
of theboard. Withthegauge at a slightly I
widersetting, scribe twolinesthatintersect
w i t ht h ef i r s tl i n eo nt h ee n do f t h er a i l I
(lef\. f o avoidsplittingthe stock,use
g r o o v eddo w e lns o m o r et h a no n e - h a l f I
thethickness of therails.Fita drillpress or
anelectric drillwitha bitthesamediame- I
terasthedowels andborea holeat each
location point; thedepthshould beslightly I
morethanone-half thelength of thedow-
e l s .U s et h es a m et e c h n i q ut e
o b o r et h e I
dowelholes at theopposite endof therarl
andin theotherrails. I
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r) Pinpointing mating dowelhotes I
C- lnserldowelcenters in theholes. Then
alignthetopof therailwiththetopof the I
leg(right),andswingthe railup sothatits
outside faceis %to %inchinsidetheedge I
o f t h e l e g .A p e n c im l a r kl i k et h eo n e
s h o ww n i l lh e l pa l i g nt h er a i l .T a pt h e I
otherendof therailwitha wooden mal-
l e t .T h ep o i n t e e d n d so f t h ed o w ecl e n - I
t e r sw i l l p u n c hi m p r e s s i oonnst h el e g ,
p r o v i d i nsgt a r t i npgo i n t fso r b o r i n tgh e I
mating dowelholes.Repeat fortheother
railsandless. I
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t LEGSAND RAILS
I
t dowelholes
themating
Boring
Borethe holesin the legsto the same
I depthasthosein therails-slightlymore
thanone-halfthelength of thedowels. lf
I youaredrilling
intoa tapered legona drill
press,besureto keepthesquare partof the
I legflatonthemachine's table.
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I thelegsandrails
Assembling
a l i t t l eg l u eo n t h e s u r f a c eosf t h e l e g sa n dr a i l st h a t w i t h a m a l l e t o s e a tt h e s h o u l d e r(.B ec a r e f ual b o u tu s i n gt o o
I Spread
willcontact eachother, thendaba smallamount of adhesive in m u c hf o r c ew , h i c hc a nc a u s ea l e gt o s p l i t . )F i t e a c he n do f t h e
thebottom of thedowelholeswitha smallwood scrap. Avoid railontoa leg (above,left) andholdthe jointtogetherwith a bar
I s p r e a d i ng gl u ed i r e c t loyn t h ed o w e l st h; e ya b s o r m b o i s t u r e clamp,protecting the legswith woodpads.Alignthe barof the
q u i c k layn dw i l ls w e l lm t f i t i n t ot h e
, a k i ntgh e md i f f i c u tl o clampwiththe rail,thentighteniI (above, righil unlil a beadof
t h o l e sI .n s e rt th ed o w e lisn t ot h el e g st,h e nt a pt h er a i ll i g h t l y g l u es q u e e z eosu t o f t h e j o i n t .

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LEGSAND RAILS I
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HAND.CUT
BTIND
MORTISE.AND.TEN(lNS I
1 Cutting thetenoncheeks I
I Outline thetenons ontherails,mark-
inga shoulder lineallaround theendsso I
thatthelength of thetenons willbeno
morethanthree-quarters thethickness I
of the leg.Secure oneof therailsend-up
in a vise.
Cutalong the linesontheend I
of therailwitha backsaw; tilt thesaw
forward andcutto theshoulder lineof I
the tenon(lefil.f hencomplete thecut
withthesawlevel. I
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r) Cutting thetenonshoulders
L f o remove thewastefromthetenoncheeks, clamptherail secure therailend-up in a viseandsawto theshoulder lineon
I
face-upon a worksurface, protecting thestockwitha wood bothedges of therail.Finally,clamptherailedge-up andcut
padC. u ta l o n g
t h es h o u l d el irn eo nt h ef a c eo f t h er a i l ;t u r n through theshoulder lineson bothedges of therail(above,
I
overthestockandrepeattheoperation on theotherside right).Repeat steps1 and2 to cut thetenonontheotherend
(above,
left).Tocutawaythewasteontheedges of thetenon, of therailandat bothendsof theremainins rails.
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I LEGSAND RAILS
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I
Q Outlining themoftises
r-,1 Markthemortise outlineoneachleg
I in twosteps,usingoneof therailtenons
asa guide.First,holdthecheekof the
I tenonflushagainst theleg,withthetop
of therailaligned theendof theleg.
with
I Drawa pencilalong theedges of thetenon
to outlinethelengthof the mortise,then
I usea trysquare to extendthe lines
across
the leg.Tomarkthewidthof themortise,
I holdtheedgeof thetenoncentered flush
againstthelegandmarkalongeachcheek
I (right).Witha trysquare,extendthemarks
alongtheleguntilthetwooutlines inter-
I sect.Repeat the processon theadjacent
faceof the leg.
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I Chiseling themortises
Foreachmortise, clampthe legto a
I worksurface, protecting thestockwitha
t woodpad.Then,starting
outline,holda mortise
at oneendof the
chiselsquare to
thefaceof the legandstrikeit witha
I w o o d em n a l l e tU . s ea c h i s etlh es a m e
widthasthetenonandbesurethatthe
I beveled sideof the bladeis facingthe
waste.Makeanother cut %inchfromthe
I first.Continue untilyoureachtheother
endof theoutline,levering outthewaste
I to a depththatslightly exceeds the length
of thetenon.Test-fit thetenonandwiden
I or deepen themortise asrequired. Repeat
to cuttheremaining mortises. Thenspread
I g l u el i g h t l yi n t h em o r t i s easn do n t h e
I cheeks
together,
of thetenons. Fitthelegsandrails
thencloseupthejointswiththe
I sameclamping setupusedforthedowel
joint (page75).
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LEGSAND RAILS I
I
TRIP0D
TABLE:
ASSEMBTING
THELEGS, ANDRAIL
C0LUMN, I
1 Turning thetenononthecolumn I
I Startbyturning therailtenonat thetopof thecolumn, as
shown at right.Thenroutthedovetailsocketsforthelegsat the I
column's bottom(step2). Next,cut thedovetailsin the legs
(steps 3 and4)andassemble thepieces(stepil. Mountthe I
columnblankonyourlatheandturnit intoa cylinder (page66),
leaving a lip andenough stocknearthe bottomfor the leg I
sockets. Toturnthetenon,usea partingIool(right),moving
thebladefromsideto side.Thelength of thetenonshouldbe I
aboutone-half thethickness of thematingrail.lts diameter
should beat least%inchandmatchthatof thebitvouwilluse I
to drillthemortise in therail.
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Faceplata
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r) Routing thedovetail sockets
I
(- tJnplugyour latheandturnthecolumnend-for-end to cut on thefaceplate is vertical
andclampthedriveshaftwitha
thesockets, usinga router anda shop-made jig consisting of a handscrew (inset).
Cuteachsocketin twopasses, firstusinga
I
%-inchplywood boxclamped to the lathebed.Maketheboxas straight bit,thena dovetailbit.Adjusttherouter'scuttingdepth,
wideasthe routerbaseplate.Attachthetworunners sothe alignthebitwiththesocket endmark,butta stopblockagainst
I
routerbit willcutthesockets withits baseplatesittingonthem. therouterbaseplate,andscrew theblockto thejig. Holding I
Next,markthelocation of thethreesocketsonthecolumn; they therouterin bothhands, plunge thebit intothecolumn, starting
shouldbe I20" aparLAlsomarkthe upperendsof thesockets, at thebottom, andguidethetoolalongtherunners untilthe
about3 inches fromthebottom of thecolumn. To helpalign baseplatecontacts thestopblock.Repeat withthedovetailbit
I
thecuts,transfer thesocketmarksfromthecolumnto thelathe (above). Tocutthesecond andthirdsockets, rotatethecolumn
faceplate.Now,rotate thecolumnbvhanduntiloneof themarks sothesocketmarkforeachcut is vertical.
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78 I
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Q Cutting thedovetails
I r-,1Thedovetailsin the legsarecut in twosteps:Thefirstcut to thetableto supporttheblanks.Alsoclampa guideblockto
is madeonthetablesaw,andthesecond byhand.lt is easiest theblank;theblockwillridealongthetopof thefence,help-
to cutthedovetailson legblanksbefore thelegs(page ingto guidetheworkpiece.
shaping Toformthedovetail,makea pass
I 68).Adjustyourtablesaw'sbladeangleto matchthatof the to cut onecheek(above), thenrotatetheworkpieceandfeed
youcut in step2. Setthecuttingheightto slightlyless theopposite
t sockets
thanthedepthof thesockets. Outlinethedovetailsontheedge cheeks
facealongthefenceto sawtheother.Onceboth
of thefirstdovetail
havebeencut,checkthemagainst
of onelegblankand,holding theblankonendonthesawtable, a socket in thecolumn. lf necessary,
adjust
thebladeangleor
I aligna cuttingmarkwiththeblade. Butttheripfenceagainst heightor thecuttingwidthandmakeanother setof passes.
I thestockandlockit in place. Clamo a shimmedfeatherboard Repeat fortheotherdovetails.

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I Cufting
theangled shoulders
Theshoulders of the legdovetails
I mustbecutat anangle sotheylieflush
against thecolumn. Oncethedovetail
I cheeks areall cut,clampa blankto a
worksurface withthecheekcutsextend-
I ingoff thetable.Thenusea backsaw to
cuttheshoulders to roughly matchthecur-
I vatureof the column(/eff).Test-fit the
dovetail in itssocketandtrimtheshoul-
t ders,if necessary, untilyougeta suitable
f it. Repeatfortheremaining dovetails.
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LEGSAND RAILS I
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f, Fastening thelegsto thecolumn
r.,/ Onceall thedovetails fit in theirsockets, trimoff thetop
I
% i n c ho f e a c hd o v e t aT i lh
. i sw i l lh i d et h et o p so f t h ed o v e t a i l s
fromviewwhentheyarepushed all thewayintotheirsockets.
I
Nowyouareready to cutoutthelegs(page68)andattachthem I
t o t h ec o l u m nS. p r e agdl u ee v e n loynt h ed o v e t a ial sn di n t h e
s o c k e tT s .h e nh, o l d i ntgh ec o l u m n u p s i d e - d oownnt h ef l o o r , I
slidethe legsintoplaceandtapthemintofinalposition witha
woodenmallethbove).Tostrengthen theassembly, adda three-
armedplatecut fromsheetmetal(page58),Next,cut therail
I
t h a tw i l lc o n n e ct ht ec o l u m tno t h et a b l e t o o B.o r ea m o r t i sien
I
thecenterof therailto accept thetenonatthetopof thecolumn.
Usea routerfittedwitha rounding-over or chamfering bit to I
shape thebottom edgeof therailallthewayaround. Finally, stand
thetableupright, spread glueonthetenonandin themortise, fit
therailoverthetenon,andscrewthe railin place(righil.
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80 I
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I LEGSAND RAILS
I
t TABLE:
PEDESTAL UPTHELEG
GTUING ASSEMBTY
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r
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I forthelegs
1 Preparing thecolumn
I Marka lineacross thecolumn near r) Cutting thedovetail sockets
I the bottomto definethesquare section L plo*a dovetail socketon eachsideof thecolumn ontherouter table.lnstalla
thatwillbejoinedto thelegs;thearea straightbit in yourrouter andmountthetoolin a table.Marka lineforthesockets
I should b ea sl o n ga st h ew i d t ho f t h e downthecenter markwiththebit,buttguideboards
of eachside,aligna socket against
a dadoheadonyourtable
legs.Install thestock,andclamptheboards to thetable.Feed
thecolumn across thetableto cut
I sawandsetthecuttingheightat rough thefirstsocket, stopping thecutwhenthebit reaches theendof thesquare section.
ly %inch.Using themitergauge, make Leave thecolumn in place,
turnoffthetool,andclampa handscrew asa stopblock
I severalDasses across thecolumnto againsttheendof thecolumn. Repeat thecutontheothersidesof thecolumn, stop-
remove thewastefromall foursidesof pingwhenthestockcontacts thehandscrew. Completethetaskwitha second pass
I thecolumn(above). on eachsideusinga dovetail bit (above).
I
Preparing
thetopofthecolumn
I 0 n c et h e d o v e t a i lasr ec u t ,t u r nt h e c o l u m no n a l a t h e ,l e a v -
inga square section at thetopto accommodate therailsanda
I lipjustabove thebottom square section to conceal thetopsof
t h el e g s(.T h el i p i s v i s i b loen p a g e8 2 . ) T h er a i l sw i l lf i t i n t o
I twointersecting mortises cut in thecolumn's square section.
Markcuttinglinesforthemortises downthecenterof eachside
I of thecolumn; themortise widthshould beone-half thethick-
nessof therails.Setthesawbladeheight to thewidthof the
I railslesstheedgerecess shownin step7 (page83),Tofeedthe
Fuehatick column safely, jig
makea to holdit upright. Takea largepush
I stickandscrew a pieceof woodto theside,forming an L. With
thelegresting snugly in theL, alignthecuttingmarkwiththe
I bladeandlocktheripfenceagainst thefaceof thepushstick.
I Laya spacer ontopof thefence(it mustbethesamethickness
asthefence) andscrewit to thepushstick;screw a guideboard
I to thespacer sothejig formsa channel overthefence.Check
thealignment, clampthelegin place, andmakea sequence of
cutsuntilthemortise is wideenough (left).Repeat all cutson
I eachfaceto ensure thatthemortises areoerfectlv centered.
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LEGSAND RAILS I
I
Cutting thedovetails onthelegs
I
Installa dovetail bit in vourrouierand
mount thetoolin a table.Setthecutting
I
depthto makethedovetails slightly shorter I
thanthedepthof thedovetail sockets you
cut in step1. Position thefencesothat I
aboutone-half ofthecutterprojects beyond
itsface.Witha featherboard clamoed to the I
tableto support theworkpiece, feeda leg
blank(page68) on endacrossthetable,
pressing it againstthefence(\efl.f urnthe
I
blank end-for-end andrepeat to complete I
thedovetail. Test-fitthejointandadlust
t h ef e n c ea n dm a k ea d d i t i o n caul t s ,i f I
necessary. Repeat fortheotherlegblanks.
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thelegsto thecolumn
I
f, Joining
r-,f Cutoutthe legson a bandsaw(page I
68),thennotchthetopendof thedove-
tailssothattheystopshortof thesocket
end.Thiswillconceal thejointsbetween
I
glueonthe
thelegsandcolumn.
dovetails
Spread
andin thesockets andslidethe
I
dovetails intoplace,
malletif necessary.
tappingthemwitha
Foradditional
strength,
I
y0ucanmakea four-armed
of sheet metalto fit under
bracket
thecolumn
out
and
I
legs,andscrewit in place,
page58.
asshown on I
t
82 I
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I
I LEGSAND RAILS
I
I Preparing
therails
I T o a l l o wt h e r a i l st o f i t t h e e r o o v eisn
thecolumn, cutrecesses in themiddie of
I bothfacesof therails.lnstall
onyourtablesawandsetthecutting
a dadohead
depth
I 9top block
t o a b o uot n e - o u a r t e
Screw
h rer a i lt h i c k n e s s .
a n e x t e n s i ot ont h em i t e rg a u g e .
I Maketestcutsin a pieceof scrapto be
surethattherailswillfit snugly inthemor-
I tises.Marktheshoulders
ononerailsotheyareaslongasthewidth
of therecesses

I of thesquare
u m nA
section at thetopof thecol-
. l i g na m a r kw i t ht h ed a d oh e a d
I a n dc l a m pa s t o pb l o c kt o t h ee x t e n s i o n ,
flushagainst therail,Feed therailwiththe
I mitergauge, pressing thestockagainst
t h es t o pb l o c kF. l i pt h e p i e c et o c u t a
I s h o u l d eornt h eo t h e fra c e t, h e nr o t a t e
t h ep i e c ea n dc u tt h es h o u l d ear st t h e
I otherendsof therecesses.
otherrail,thenremove
Repeat
thestopblockand
onthe

t remove theremaining waste.

I
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I Edgehalf-lap

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I I J o i n i ntgh er a i l st o t h ec o l u m n
/ T o c o n c e at lh e m o r t i s eosn c et h e r a i l sa r ei n p l a c e c, u t a / - other,making surethenotchesarecentered betweentheshoul-
I i n c h - d e e pr e c e s si n t ot h e b o t t o me d g eo f e a c hr a i l ,a l o n gt h e dersbbove,/eff).Adlustthebladeheightforthesecond railto
l e n g t ho f t h e r e c e s si n t h e f a c e .N e x t ,n o t c ht h e m i d d l eo f t h e accountfortheedgerecess.Oncebothedgehalf-laps
arecut,round
I e d g e sT. h i sc a n b e d o n ew i t ht h e d a d oh e a d ; t h ew i d t hs h o u l d theendsof therailsonthebandsaw,spread some glueonthe
e q u a tl h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e l a p p e ds e c t i o n
o f t h e r a i l sA
. d j u st h e contacting
surfaces
ofthecolumn andrails,
setthecolumn bottom-
I b l a d eh e i g h t o c u t h a l f w a yt h r o u g ht h e r a i l ,t h e n s a wa n e d g e endup on thefloor,andfit the railsin place(above,right).
h a l f - l a pi n t h e b o t t o me d g eo f o n er a i la n dt h e t o p e d g eo f t h e
I
I 83
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 t
LEGSAND RAILS t
t
COMMERCIAL
LEGHARDWARE I
1 Preparing therails t
I Commercial hardware thatconnects
legsandrailsshouldbe installed following I
themanufacturer's instructions.To usethe
hardware shownonthefacingpage,test- I
assemble the leg,rails,andmounting
plate,thenmarkthelocation of theplate I
flanges ontherails.Tocuttheslotsforthe
flanges, aligneachmarkwiththeblade, t
thenbutttheripfenceagainst therail.
Setthebladeheightto thelengthof the I
flange, adding%uinchforclearance. Feed
therailintothebladewiththemitergauge t
(left).(Caution:Bladeguardremoved for
clari$.)Repeat fortheotherrail.Slipthe I
flanges intotheslotsandmarkthescrew
holesonthestock.Borepilotholesand I
screw themounting plateto therails.
I
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I
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I
I
r') Notching
I
thelegforthemounting plate
Anotchmustbecut at thetopof each
t
plate.
legto accommodate themounting
Standthe legup andholdthe rail-and-
I
plateassembly ontopof it, aligning
endsof therailswithadjacent
the
sidesof the
I
leg.Marka 45' diagonal lineacross
topof the legalongthemounting
the
plate.
I
Next,alignthetopof the platewiththe I
topof the legandmarka linealongthe
bottomedgeof the plateacross the inside I
cornerof theleg,addingXeinchforclear-
ance.Tocut the notch,setthe legon a
bandsawandtilt thetableto 45" to align
I
thebladewiththediagonal
boardagainst
line.Butta
thelegandclampit to the
t
tableasa ripfence.Feedthelegintothe
blade,thenclampa stopblockin placeto
I
helpwithrepeatcuts(right).Complete I
the notchusinga handsaw.
I
84
I
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I
I LEGSAND RAILS

t
t Preparing the legfor the hangerbolt
Q
r J T e s t - a s s e m bt hl ee l e ga n d r a i l - a n d -
I p l a t ea s s e m b layg a i na n d m a r kt h e h o l e
on the stockfor the hangerbolt provided
I w i t ht h e h a r d w a rkei t . F i t y o u rd r i l lp r e s s
w i t h a b r a d - p o i nbti t a n d b o r ea p i l o th o l e
I f o r t h e b o l tu s i n ga s h o p - m a dVe- b l o c jki g
(right).Repeatfor the other legs.
I
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I
t u A t t x6 " x 7 "

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t
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I Fastening thelegtotherails
lnsertthe screw-thread endof the
I hanger boltintotheprlotholerntheleg.
Unlikeotherfasteners, a hanger bolthas
I twotypesof threads: screw threads at one
endandmachine threads at theother;it
I alsohasnohead.Screw twonutsontothe
machine-threa n da n dt i g h t e nthem
I a g a i n seta c ho t h e w r i t ht w ow r e n c h e s ,
f o r m i n ag t e m p o r a hr ye a do nt h eb o l t ,
I Tighten theboltwithoneof thewrenches
to drivethescrew threads intotheleg,then
I unscrew thenutsfromthebolt.Slipthe
rail-and-plate assembly overtheboltand
I screwa nuton it. Keeping thetopof the
r a i l sf l u s hw i t ht h et o po f t h e l e g ,t i g h t -
I enthe nut (/eff).
I
I 85

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 I
LEGSAND RAILS I
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I

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t
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t
I
SH()P.MADE LEG HARDWARE
Youcanattacha legto railsusinga I
wooden cornerblock,a hanger bolt,
andfourscrews. Beginbymaking the I
cornerblock.Cuta oieceof woodthin
enough to drivea hanger boltthrough I
it intotheleg.Thenmakea 45' miter
cut at eachend.Next,sawgrooves for I
s p l i n ews ,h i c hw i l lh e l pj o i nt h eb l o c k
t o t h er a i l s I. n s t a lal d a d oh e a do n I
yourtablesawwitha widthandcut-
tingheight equalto one-third thethick- I
nessof therails.Screwa boardto the
mitergauge asanextension, thenalign I
the midpoint of oneendof theblock
withtheblade. Clamp theblockto the I
extension. Butta wastepiecefrom
the mitercutsagainst theworkpiece I
to serveasa stopblockandclamp
it to theextension. Feedthestock I
intothe blades, thenturnit overand
cut a groovein the otherend(above). I
F
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B6 I
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I LEGSAND RAILS

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t

I
Next,marktwoholeson eachsideof
I theclearance holeanddrillcounter-
sinkingholes(facingpage,bottom),
I theninstall a smaller bitto drillclear-
anceholesforthescrewshanks.
I Tojointhelegandrails,firstfasten
thecornerblockto therails.Spread
I somegluein thegrooves in theblock
andtherails,andinsertthesplines
I intothegrooves in the block.Then
holdthe blockagainst therailsand
I screwit in place(left).Prepare the leg
asyouwouldforcommercial hardware
t (page84),cuttinga notchoutof the
topforthecornerblockandboringa
I pilotholefora hanger bolt.Fasten the
legto therailswiththebolt,slipping a
I washer between thenutandthecorner
block.Tightenthe nut (below)unlil
I the legandrailsfit snugly together.

t
r Test-f it the blockagainst
thenmarkandcutthegrooves
the rails,
in the
I . o wc u tt h es p l i n e sm, a k i n g
r a i l sN
them%.inchshorter thanthe com-
I bineddepthof thetwogrooves. Plane
the splinescarefully to makesure
t thattheyf it precisely in thematching
grooves. Formaximum strength, make
t surethatthegrainof thesplines runs
across theirwidth,ratherthanalong
I theirlength.
Nowborecountersinking andclear-
I anceholesforthe hanger boltand
screws thatwillsecure the braceto
I thelegandrails.Installa brad-point
brt in yourdrillpressandmarkthe
I centerof the longedgeof the block
for a hangerbolt.Securethe work-
I piecerna handscrew andclampit to
thedrillpresstable,withthecenter
I aligned withthebit.Thenborethehole.

I
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I 87

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'r-,
I
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t
I
I TOPS
I
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I or desktbeing.Thestru
I 1 1 c e : n u s t ! e I l 1 I 1 n a s | ! l 4 r ! r e I l ! | - l w l l d . J g 2 \ L t l l J t t , l l L d u l t J . I l l L I l L

I
designofthe tableor d,
I
I madeof glued-uppiec
I *nhffftrH*ffii;:ffH:
fully to createthe illusionthat the topmalesa tablemoreflexible;
An adjustable
ffii#1"*TJl.b';ffH-*1 desls,
varietyof topsfor tables.and
t surfaceis madefrom a singlewide bymountingslidingtableextenders undera fromgl-uingupthe-top(p.age93)to
board.Todo this,youwill-needto tablewith a dividedtop,youcanexpandthe attachingit to a base(page96).
t experiment until yousucc€ed.
Thke tableto makeroomfor additionalleava. Whileyou qanmakea tabletopby
yourtime Fouror fiveplanks,for veneering.sheetproductssuchas
I ixample,canbeflippedind turnedend-for-end to createlit- plywood,solidwoodremainsthebuildingmaterialof choice;
erallyscoresof possible
combinations. sheetmaterialsrequireedgebandingandareoftennot as
t DuringtheMiddleAges,whendiningtookplacein great appealing visuallyassolid.w-ood.
communilhalls,hugetrestletableswereihenorm:Dozensof Thetypeof topyoubuilddepends on thefunctionofyour
I peoplecouldbefedandthetablescouldbeknockeddownfor table.If yourgoal-isto maximizeseating while-reducingstor-
itorageafterdinner.Asseparateroomsfor publicandprivate agespace, adjustabletops!7gSe10I)for drop-leaf,gateleg,
or
I dinin! cameintovoguein thel5ttr Gntury,smaller, adjustable extension tablesarea goodidea.If youwantt9 addan-unusu-
tableiwith hingedflapsevolved. Theseso-called drop-leaf altouch,thesection elements
on decorative (page
112)shows
I tableswereusedin coffeehouses andtaverns.Othermodifi- youhowto combinewoodwith suchcontrasting elementsas
cationsincludedtablesthatcouldsplitin twoto makeroomfor leather,slate,andfelt.
glass,
I
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I
Theedgeof a tabletopisjust asimportant to its
I appearance asthe wood'sgrain and color.At left,
a routerfitted with a rounding-overbit is usedto
I softenthesquareedgesof a mahoganytabletop.

I 89

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 I
INVENTORYOF TOPDESIGNS t

I
5ix-legged gateleg table
(pase1o5) I
Drop-leaf type table featuring two
1ate le4ain addition to four etationary
leqa; receaeeain raila may be required
I
to allow ewin7ingle4eto be tucked out
of the way whennot in uae I
I

Four4egged awing4eg table

(pase106) I
Drop-leaf type table
with two of four le4e that I
ewin4out to eupport leavee:
ewin7inqle1a are hinqedto
raila of table baee
I
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I
Tabletops do not haveto berec- I
tangularand wooden-or pre- TOPSHAPES
dictable.The "Folia Table" I
shownat left,built byRhode
Islandcqbinetmaker Kam
Ghaffari,featuresa curly
mapletabletopdyedblackand
green,and cut into a stylistic
E[]EKectanqular Koundedenda Curvedaidee
I
I
representation of a leaf.The
t l I
blackhalf of theleafis lower \ /
than thegreenhalf; it is cov-
Koundedenda Round Oval
I
eredby a paneof cut glassthat and curved eidea
"veins."
restson stainlesssteel I
I
(lFATTACHING
METHODS A T(|P
I
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t
Tabletop
raSf,enera
Deektop
TA6Lene16
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t TOPS

I
I TABTES
EXTENSION

t Non-dividing
extension table
I (pase lOO)
Onlytabletop and decorativeapron
I divide:leq-and-railaaeemblyio
acrewedto gtationarv center gea-
ment of table extendera. (Decorative
t apron removedfor clarity.)

t
I
I
Dividing
I ertension table
(paqe 1O7)
Entire table dividee in two: movinqee4-
I menLaof table extendera are acrewed
to both halveaof tabletop from
t underneath;le7e movewhen
tabte ie opened
t Non-dividing treatle table
(page 11O)
I Breadboard ende pull
away Tromcenf,eron
t treatle table alidea

t
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 I
HARDWAREAND ACCESSORIES I
t
t
Table locke
Mounted underextenatontablea to lock
t
halveein place:lonqarma allow
eaoyacceoe.9pring-loaded t
and levermodels
available I
I
Table fork cloaure
U-ohapedhandlemounted I
underextenatontablee to
Elind pivot, hinae ,z\
tocktabletop halveain place
I
u e e d i np t a c ao 7 \ )
a dowelin a ,Q1 y
pivot rail or \)D/
leaf tablee to ali4n leavea
or halvesae they are cloaed
I
butLerfly Lable
/A\
r
t=l
Table leaf latchea
Mounted underexteneiontablea to Steelfastenera
a-

Q/-
)

z/n',.
I
[ockleavesin place;availablein brass UeedLo aL.tachLope.to Cranked hinge
and steeL Modelshownbelow(lefI)
featurea eccentricalot thaL drawa
teq-ana-raila'aem2teo.\
./
Deektop,or fiqure-eight, V
f
V
Uaedto tnstall the t
adjuatableleqeof four-
the leaveeanuglytoqether whencloaed faetener ie tnetalledflueh wtLhtop
Of ratlE and gcrewed intc +t4b +a^. 7-
legqedewinq-leqtablea:
whencloaed,hinqeholde
I
ehaped LableLopf^ *tr ti' i" u"[tr1a le1 flueh with table rail
to top and maLeewith 0roove6rout- I
ed along inaideof table raila
Rulejoint hingea I
Ueedto connect leaf and
Table leaf alignment pina
Ueedto alian tabletopa and
top of drop-leaf table with
rulejoint;
ioint: lonqer
lonaerhtnqe
htnae
I
leaveafluai on extenLionf,abtee;
leaf brid4eo the
braaa, hardwood,and plaatic
coved half of
./- I
tmodela available
nuuote a vauauro I
the joint
Z )
NN
-,.1W -,') t
6)r-
\)). N/,Nr/
\)r)" I
s)t
Drop-leaf aupport I
Mounted underneathdrop- Treatle table slide
leaf tabletop to suppor, leavea.
Metal bracket mounta to underside
Hardwoodolidea with
d ouble-aliding dovetail
I
of top; movablewood alide eupporto leaf jointe mountedin paire
underneath breadboard I
endo of a LreaLlef,able;
Table extendera typically exLendafrom
Mountedin paira underboth dividingand non-dividin7 26 to 40 inches ,-/
extenaiontablea. Outer eeaments,acrewedto eiLher
half oftabletop, are puahedaway from each
other by rack-and-pinionmechaniam;center
eeqmenLrematneetationary. Typical I
lenqthaare 26 and 3B inchee
T
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PREPARINGATOP
T
osttopsfor tablesanddesksare
madeby edge-gluing boards
together.Fewboardsareavailable that
arewide enoughand mostof those
wouldbeunsuitable, becauseof theten-
dencyof wideplanksto twistandcup.
However, by selecting boardscarefully
andmatching themfor colorandgrain
direction,youcancreate theillusionof
a singlepieceof wood.Assess thecolor
andgrainof lumberbyplaningthesur-
facelightlyto revealwhatliesunder-
neatha plank'sroughexterior.
A sturdy,flat top startswith proper
preparationof stock.Makesureyouuse
kiln-driedwoodor woodthathasbeen
storedlongenoughin theshopto have
a moisturecontentbetween 8 and 12
percent.A lowmoisture contentmeans
thatthewoodwill berelatively stable.
Alsosteerclearof bowedor twisted
I Theedgesof a rectangulardesktopor boards. Sincemanytopshaveafinished
tabletopare oftenshapedto softenits thickness of %inch,4/4rough-sawn
I contours.Herea routeris usedwith a stockisanidealchoiceasit allowsyouto
commercial jig to roundthecorners planeandsandoffupto %inchofwood.
T of a tabletop.For a galleryof top Widetopsareseldomgluedup allat
shapes, seepage90. oncebecause it ismucheasier to thick-
I
I A TOP
MAKING
nessplaneseveral smallerpanelsthan
onelargeone.Theglueupsequence you
followfor yourprojects will depend on
thefinishedwidthof yourtop,andthe
sizeof yourplaner.Forexample, if you
owna l2-inchplanerandwanta 30-
inch-widetabletop, it isbestto glueup
three8-to l2-inch-wide panels andplane
themindividually, beforegluingthem
intoasingletop.Tohe$ keeptheboards
alignedduringglue-up,somewood-
workersusedowelsor biscuitsspaced
every6 to 8 inches, althoughthisisnot
essential. Unlikestandard tables.the
grainfor topsfor extension tablesshould
beperpendicular to thetable'slength.
Ideally,usequartersawn stockfor these
tops,aswellasfor theleaves.
Afterthegluehasdriedandthepan-
elhasbeenplaned,theedges ofthetop
canbeshaped (page 95).WithdropJeaf
andgateleg tables,thisshaping is done
beforethejoinery.Oneexception isthe
rounddrop-leaftable; itsleaves should
beinstalled(page101)beforethecircle
iscutto ensure thatthetablewill beper-
fectlyround.

I 1 Jointing theboards
I Prepare eachboardbyfirstjointinga
faceandan edge,thenplanetheother
I face.Next,roughly crosscut the boards,
leavingthemabout1 inchlonger thanthe
I top'sfinallength. Ripthestocksothatthe
combined widthof alltheboards is rough-
I ly 1 inchwiderthanthefinished top,then
jointall thecut edges(/eff).Next,arrange
I theboards forappearance, takingintocon-
sideration anyleaves if youaremaking
I anextension, drop-leaf,orgateleg table.
(Leaves aretypicallygluedup separately
I fromthetabletop.) Tominimize warping,
arrange theplanks sotheendgrainof adja-
I centboards runsin opposite directions.
Whenyouaresatisfied withthearrange-
I ment,usea pencilor chalkto marka refer-
encetriangle ontopof theboards. Thiswill
I helpyoucorrectly realign themforglue-up.

I
I 93
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TOPS
T
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I
theglue
Applying
T
Toholdyourbarclamps
upright
dur-
i n gg l u e - u pc,u t n o t c h e w d o o db l o c k sa n d
I
s e tt h e c l a m p si n t h e b l o c k sS
clampsat leastevery24 to 36 inches.To
. p a c et h e
T
a v o i dm a r r i n gt h e e d g e so f t h e p a n e l
w h e ny o ut i g h t e nt h e c l a m p sc, u t t w o
I
w o o dp a d sa s l o n ga n d a s t h i c ka s t h e
b o a r d sb e i n gg l u e dA . p p l ya n a r r o w bead
I
o f g l u et o o n e e d g eo f e a c hj o i n t a n d
u s ea s m a l l s, t i f f - b r i s t l ebdr u s ht o s p r e a d
I
t h e a d h e s i veev e n l yo n t h e b o a r de d g e s
( a b o v e )M . o v eq u i c k l yt o s t e p3 b e f o r e
I
ihp olrrc hpoinc tn cpt
I
I
Q
Tightening theclamps
r.,l Laythe boardsface-down on the bar
I
c l a m p sa n da l i g nt h e i re n d s m
t h e s i d e so f t h e r e f e r e n ct e
, aking
riangla
sure
e r el i n e d
T
u p .T i g h t e nt h e c l a m p su n d e rt h e b o a r d s
j u s te n o u g ht o b u t tt h e mt o g e t h e T r .o b a l -
T
p r e s s u raen dk e e pt h e
a n c et h ec l a m p i n g
p a n efl l a t ,p l a c eb a rc l a m p sa c r o stsh et o p
I
o f t h e p a n eb l e t w e etnh e o n e su n d e r n e a t h .
F i n i s ht i g h t e n i nagl l t h e c l a m p si n t u r n
T
(right)until there are no gaps between
t h e b o a r da s n da t h i n ,e v e nb e a do f g l u e
I
squeezes out of the joints.Remove excess I
g l u ew i t ha s c r a p eor r a d a m pc l o t h .
I
94
I
I
I
I TOPS
I
I A TOP
SIZING
I Cutting a rectangulartop
Oncethetophasbeengluedup,rip it to
t widthandtrimit to finallength. lf thetop
istoolargeto cutonyourtablesaw,usea
I routerfittedwitha straight bit.First,secure
thetooon a broadworksurface andcut it
I roughly usinga circular saw,leaving about
%inchto trimonallsides. Clamp anedge
I guideto thetabletop nearonesidesothat
the router will removeaboutone-half the
I wastewiththefirstpass;resetthedepth
of cut to trim the restof the wastetighil.
I Repeat fortheotheredges.

I
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t
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I
I Making a round top
I e c i r c l eo n t h eg l u e d - utpo pa n dm a k et h ec u tw i t ha
S c r i ba thetoolto thejig.Drawa linedownthecenter of thejig armand
router. Forsmall-diameter tops,youcanusea commercial com- marktheradius of thetabletop
on it, measuringfromtheedgeof
t passjig;to cut larger
in theinset.Makethedevice
tops,usetheshop-built
from%-inch
compass
hardboard,
jig shown
sizingit to
thebit.Drilla holeat thiscenter
oftheworkoiece.
center
markandscrew thejigto the
thestockto a worksurface
Secure with
I suityourrouter. Cuttherouter endofthejigto thesizeandshape cleats
anda scrapboardunderneath. Plunge thebit intothe
ofyourtool'sbaseplate,andmakethearmat least2 inches wide stockandroutthecirclein a clockwise direction(above).Make
I andlonger thantheradius of thecircle youwillbecutting. Borea thecut in twoor morepasses, increasing thedepthof cut
clearance holeforthebit in thecenterof therouter end.andfix between eachpass.
t
I 95
I
 I
I
ATTACHINGATOP
I
a topto a tableor deskis a
I
1\ ttaching
f 1" straightiorward task-so longasyou
consider wood movement. Screwing a top
I
in placewithout providing for theswelling
andshrinkingthat occurswith humidity
T
changes will resultursplitor cracked wood.
Because wood expandsalongthe grain
T
muchlessthanit doesacross it, mosttoDs
arernadewiththeplanksrunninglength-
I
wise.Oneexceotion to thisruleisexlension
tables,wherelhegrainmustbe aligned
I
acrossthe width of the tableso that the I
two halvesdo not expandin width at dif-
ferentrates,causingtheslidesto bind.
Severalpopularmethodsfor securing
I
toDSto tablesanddesksareshownin this
section,includingscrewing therailsto the
I
rop (seebelow)andusingwood buttons I
(page98),ledgerstrips (pnge97),screws
in pocketholes(page9B),andsteeldesktop
fasteners (pnge100).For eachof these Trestletnblesore often desigred to be disasserrrbled.Itr the
I
methods,the rails of the leg-and-rail exantpleshownabove,tlrc screwsnttaclrirrgtlte ltoseo.l'thcttble lo
assembly needto be prepared for thetop the top can easilybe rerrroved.
The cottntersurtk
screwholes
I
beforethelegsandrailscanbegluedup. are elongatedto allowfor wood rrtoverrretltacrossthe groirr.
I
THERAILT()THETOP
SCREWING
I
1
D r i l l i ntgh eh o l e s I
I T o a t t a c ha t a b l e t o po r d e s k t o pt o a
l e s - a n d - r aai ls s e m h l vb o r ea s e r i e so f I
c o u n t e r s u nhko l e si n e a c hr a i l f o r t h e
s c r e w sb, e f o r et h e l e g sa r ej o i n e dt o t h e I
r a i l .D r i l lt h e h o l e so n a d r i l lp r e s si n t w o
stepsF . i r s t ,b o r eh o l e sa t 6 - i n c hi n t e r v a l s t
a b o u th a l f w a tyh r o u g ht h e t h i c k n e sosf
t h e r a i l .C l a m pa n e d g eg u i d et o t h ed r i l l I
o r e s st a b l et o k e e ot h e h o l e si n l i n e .T o
accommodate h e m o v e m e not f t h e t o p , I
t h e h o l e ss h o u l db e l a r g etrh a nt h e d i a m -
e t e ro f t h e s c r e wh e a d sy o uw i l l b e u s r n g . T
I n t h e s e c o n ds t e p ,b o r ec l e a r a n c h eoles
s l i g h t l yl a r g e trh a nt h e s c r e ws h a n ka l l I
the waythroughthe rails (right).
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 TOPS

r) Attaching therailsto thetop

Z- Setthetooface-down ona worKsur-
tlllllltlllllll'lltllIIlil lfll'llll'fil llllffiIII
fiI'llll''fi1'"1ll1]ll face,andcentertheleg-and-rail assem-
blyon it. Screwonesiderailto thetop
fisl (above),usingwashers to allowthe
1HO?Tt? woodto move.Square thetop(page100),
thenscrew theoppositesiderailin place.
Addingledgerotripo
lf you havea Labletopor deekLop Lastly,screwthetwoendrailsto thetop.
wilh thin raileLhaI wouldbe weak'
enedby enlar4edocrewholee,you
can ocrewledqerolripo Io Ihe
ineidefaces of the rails.Cut,four
olripo lo fiI alonqNheineide
of Lhe rails,and boreIwo
oelo of oversizedholeein
adiacenl edqeeof each .*d.=
eNrip(paqe96).)crew ,,..-nl
Ihe ledaerstrips to all
four ratrs,lhen'atlach 4
Ihe oIriVoNothe IoV.
 I
TOPS I
I
P()CKET
H()LES
T
D r i l l i n tgh eh o l e s I
Y o uc a nu s ea n e l e c t r idc r i l la n da c o m m e r -
cialjigto drillpocketholesforattaching the I
t o p t o a l e g - a n d - r aai ls s e m b l yF. o l l o w the
manufacturer's instructions to adjustthe lig I
t o t h e d e s i r e d e p t ho f c u t a n dc l a m pi t t o
a worksurface with a backupboardagainst I
t h e s t o c k .P l u n g et h e b i t i n t ot h e w o o d ,
m a k i n gt h e p o c k e tc u t ( l e f t ) .T h e n ,f i t a I
d i t ht h ej i g a n d
d r i l lw i t ht h e b i t s u p p l i ew
borea clearance holeconnecting the pock- I
e t h o l et o t h et o po f t h e r a i l ,u s i n gt h e k i t ' s
g u i d eb u s h i n gt o d i r e c t h e o p e r a t i o n I
/lnsef).Spacepocketholesevery6 inches.
Screwthetop in placeasshownon page97. I
I
\Tocket cut
I
I
W()OD
BUTT()NS I
Makingthebuftons
1
I T o a t t a c ha t o p u s i n gw o o db u t t o n s , I
youwill needto placea woodbuttonevery
6 i n c h e sa l o n gt h e r a i l s .B e g i nb y c u t t i n g I
a g r o o v eo n t h e i n s i d ef a c eo f e a c hr a i l
a b o u l7 i n c h f r o mt h e t o p . Y o uc a n c u t I
s e v e r all" - b y I 1 l " b u t t o n sf r o m a s i n g l e
boardm ; a k et h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e s t o c k t
equalto the gapbetween the bottomof the
g r o o va e n dt h et o po f t h e r a i l s l,e s sX ei n c h . I
Cut a rabbetto frt the grooveat eachend
o f t h e b o a r dt,h e nr i p t h e b o a r di n t o1 - i n c h I
s t r i p so n a b a n ds a wa n d c u t o f f t h e b u t -
tonsabout1%inchesfromthe endslinset). I
T o m a k eh o l e si n t h e b u t t o n sf o r i n s t a l -
l a t i o nu , s ea n L - s h a p ecdo r n e 1 r i gf a s h - I
i o n e df r o ma s c r a po f l - i n c h p l y w o o a dn d
t w o p i e c e so f w o o d .C l a m pt h e j i g t o y o u r I
d r i l l p r e s st a b l ea n d s t e a d yt h e b u t t o n s
w r t ha h o l d - d o wfna s h i o n e fdr o ms c r a p I
w o o d .B o r et h r o u g ht h e c e n t e r so n t h e
unrabbeted portions of the buttons(rrghf). I
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9B I
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T
I TOPS
I
t
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t
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I
t r) Installing thebuttons
L C e n t et rh eg l u e d - ulpe g - a n d - r a i l
I
ill llrirl,lJlilllfiIlllr1lllljlllllrfiIlllllll[llillllilltllliliJ assembly onthetabletop
thetopusingthewoodbuttons
andscrew
youcut
it to
I in step1. Fittherabbeted endsof the
I 5HO7Tt? buttons intothegroove in oneoftheside
rails,spacing themevery 6 inches. Screw
Ueingeteel tabletop faetenere
thebuttons in place(above), leavinga X-
I Commercial steelNableLop f ae-
inchgapbetween thelipped endsof the
LenersworklikewoodbuLNonst
buttons andthebottomof thegroove to
I Theyare screwedLo NheIabletop
allowforwoodmovement. Square thetop
from underneath and qripa groove
rouf,edor cuL in the ineideface (page100) andinstallthe buttonsat
I of the rails.Secaueecommercial theopposite side.Lastly, install thebut-
f a e t e n e r e a r e L h i n n e rN h a nl i tonsalong theendrails.
t w o o d b u L l o n o , l h eq r o o v a -'
,
doesnot haveLobe cut
I wiLha d,adoblade:iNcan
be madewiLha strandard
I eawblade,or with a Nhree-
winqeloiting culler in
I a t,able-
mounledroul,er.

I
Toensure?roperLengion, make
the groovea little farLherfrom lhe top
8,ffi;P
fq"*
wouldwith the woodbuLlons,
lhan',,tou
I
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 I
TOPS I
t
DESKTOP
FASTENERS
I
Installing thefasteners I
Desktop fasteners area popular choicefor
attaching tops.lnstalled in shallow notch- I
essotheylieflushwiththetopof therail,
theyarethenscrewed intotheIop(inset). I
Thefasteners canpivotslightly backand
f o r t ha st h et o ps w e l l as n ds h r i n k sT.o I
i n s t a lt lh ef a s t e n e rrso,u to r c h i s eol u t
recesses forthemin thetopof eachrail, I
spacing thenotches every6 inches. Screw
thehardware to therails(/efl),thencen- I
terthe leg-and-rail assembly onthetop
andscrewit in placethrough thefasteners. I
I
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t
I
t
SSUARING
THET()P I
Checking for square
B e f o r es c r e w i n a g topto a leg-and-rail I
a s s e m b l ym, a k es u r et h a tt h e s u r f a c ei s
centered a n d s q u a r eA. b a rc l a m pa n d I
woodpadswill do this. Placethe top good-
s i d ed o w no n a w o r ks u r f a c es, e tt h e l e g - I
a n d - r a ial s s e m b loy n t o p , a n d a t t a c ho n e
s i d er a i l t ot h e t o p . B u t to n ej a wo f a b a r I
c l a m pa g a i n stth e e d g eo f t h e t o p a t o n e
e n d ,a n dt h e o t h e rj a w a g a i n sat l e ga t t h e I
o p p o s i t e n d .U s ew o o dp a d st o p r e v e n t
m a r r i n gt h e s t o c k .M e a s u r teh e d i s t a n c e I
between t h e e d g eo f t h e t o p a n dt h e e n d
r a i l sa t s e v e r apl o i n t sa t b o t he n d s .A l l I
y o u rm e a s u r e m e ns thso u l db e e q u a l l. f
n o t ,s q u a r et h e a s s e m b lby y t i g h t e n i n g I
t h e c l a m p ( r i g h t ) .C h e c kt h e m e a s u r e -
m e n t st,h e ns c r e wt h e o p p o s i tsei d er a i lt o I
t h e t o p . R e m o vteh e b a rc l a m pa n ds c r e w
t h ee n dr a i l si n o l a c e . I
I
I
100 I
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I
I TOPS
ADIUSTABLE
I
I hasthespace for alarge siontablesfeaturetopsthatsplitopen
\J ot everyone
l\ dining table, although theextra on slidersto accept additionalspacer
t surface area is often needed. One solu- leaves.Extension tablescanbebuilt so
tion is a tablewith an expandable top. thattheentiretableopens(page107),
I Thereareseveral choices open to you. or justthetop (page108).
Drop-leaftablestypicallyhavelong Adjusabletopsaremadein muchthe
I leaves parallelwith thegrainthat hang samewayassolidwoodtops(page93),
out of thewaywhennot in use.Small with a fewimportantexceptions. Drop
I leaves maybesupported by a pull-out leavesarebestgluedup from quarter-
bar.Largeleaves thatmore thandouble Extensiontablesfeaturedividing tops sawnwood,wherethegrowthringsare
I the surfacearearequireswing legs or that openin themiddleto makeroom at right anglesto the face.Thiswill
gatelegsto beadded. spacer leavel Themahoganydining reducethetendency of thewoodto cup.
I Swinglegsare part of a four-legged
for
table shown aboveslidesopenusing Sinceit shrinksand swellslessthan
leg-and-railassembly (page 106); gate commercial tableextenders installed plain-sawn stock,quartersawn woodis
I legsarean additionalsetof legsused under both halvesof thetop.Steel tables,
alsoidealfor thetopsof extension
for support
specifically (page 105).Ifyoa tabletop evenerslocktogetherwhenthe wherethegrainrunsacross thewidth
I wantto increase a table'slength,exten- top is ensuring
closed, aflush surface. of thetable.
I
I A RULE
MAKING TABLE
IOINTF(|RA DROP-LEAF
1 Routing thecovein theleaves
I I Theeasiest wavto makea ruleiointis
byusinga matcheisetof pilotedcoveand
I round-over routerbits.First,installthe
round-overbit in yourrouterandshapea
I beadaround thetabletop andthethree
outsideedgesof the leaves. Makethecut
I in severalpasses, leavinga %-inchlip
around theedge.Theninstallthepiloted
I covebit andmountthe routerin a table.
Alignthefencewiththe bit pilotsothe
r widthof cut eouals one-halfthecutter
diameter.Setthedepthof cutshallow at
I first;makeseveral passesto reachyour
finaldepthgradually. Feedthetable
I leafintothe bit, pressingtheedgeof the
workpiece firmlyagainst thefence(/eff).
I Aftereachpass,test-fitthe piecesuntil
thetabletoo andthe leafmeshwitha
I veryslightgapbetween thetwo.

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t
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t
I 101
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TOPS I
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I
r) Installing
therulejointhinge
Z. Positiontheshorter hingeleafagainst
theundersideof the edgeof thetabletop for clearance. 0utlinethe hingeon both
I
tabletop
andthelonger hingeleafagainstthetableleaf;the t h et a b l e t oapn dt h el e a fa n dr o u to u tt h ew a s t eC. h i s eol u t
hingepinshould bealignedwiththestartof theround-overcut themortises to accept the hingepins(above), thenscrewthe
I
onthetabletop (inset).
OffsetthehingepinYzz inchtowardthe h i n g eisn p l a c e .
I
SUPPORTING
A DROP
LEAF I
Using a commercial drop-leaf support I
Cuta notchin themiddle of therailadja-
centto thetableleafto accommodate the I
support. (Fordropleaves morethan3 feet
long,usetwosupports, located about t
6 inches fromeachend.)Withtheleaves
installed andthetabletoo attached. set t
thetableupside-down ona worksurface.
Slidethesupport in thenotch, positioning I
i t s ot h a ti t f u l l ys u p p o r t sh el e a,f a n d
screwit in place(right). I
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r02 I
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I TOPS
r
t
I ir;

I
DROP.IEAF SUPPORTS
I lf commercial drop-leaf supports are
toobulkyforyourtable,youcaneasily
I makesupports thatwillcomplement
yourdesign. Before attaching theleg-
I and-rail assembly to thetabletop, cut
twonotches in thetop edgeof each
t siderailadjoining a dropleaf. The
notches shouldbeabout6 inches
t fromtheendsof therailandsizedto
frt thesupports youwill make.For
I eachleaf,cuttwosupports fromthe Outwardetop
samestockyouusedto buildyour
t table.Thesupports shouldbesuffi-
cientto holdthedropleaf;theone
I in the illustrations at rightis cut 2
inches wideand14 inches longfrom
I %-inch-thick stock. Support
To prepare thesupports, youneed tL"x2"x14"
I to routtwogrooves downthemiddle
of eachoneto accommodate screws
t andwashers. Cutonegroove halfway
through thesupport slightlywiderthan
I thewashers youwill use(inset);cen-
terthesecond groove in thefirstone,
I makingit slightly widerthanthescrew
shanks andcuttingrightthrough the
I support. Bothgrooves shouldstop2
inches fromeachendof thesupport.
I Attacha knobto oneendof the
support to makeit easyto slidein the
I rail notch.Setthef ullyassembled
tableupsidedownon a worksurface,
I slidethesupport intothe notch,and
position it sothatit supports the leaf.
I lnstalla screw and washer into thetop
at the inside end of the groove, driving
I thescrewuntilit meetsthewasher
(right,top).Thisscrewwill bethesup-
I port'soutward stop.To mountthe
inwardstop,retractthe slidesothe
I knob-end is f lushwiththerail,and
installa second screwandwasher the
I samewayasthefirst (right,bottom).

I
I
I 103
I
 I
TOPS I
I
PIVOTING
DR()P.LEAF
SUPP()RTS I
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I
Making andinstalling thepivotrail
Analternate method of buttressing drop
I
leaves is withpivoting supports. Housed
in a notched section of thetablerail,the
I
support pivotson a dowelto holdthe
d r o pl e a fw h e nt h e l e a fi s e x t e n d e d
I
(above, left),thenalignswiththe rail
whenthe leafis notneeded. Beginby
I
cutting thesupports fromthesamestock
usedforthetable:Makeonefora drop
I
leafthatadjoins anendrail,andtwofor
I
illllllllllrilIlljltllllllllllltt]l]illjtjllllllt]ililtlllllilijtlljlll a l e a fa d j a c e tnot a s i d er a i l T
portsshouldbeasthickastherails,one-
. h es u p -

halftheirwidth,andtwiceaslongasthe
I
9HO7Tt? distance between therailandthemiddle
I
Levelingdrop leavee of thedropleafwhenthetableisassem-
bled.Angletheendsof thesupport and
OroVleaveothal droop
notchthetopedgeof therailto match.
I
can be leveledeaeily
with a ehallow Thiswillallowthesupport to closealmost
wedge.Glue f l u s hw i t ht h er a i l .B o r ea h o l ei n t h e
I
lhe pieceof centers of thesupport andthenotchfor
woodto the a d o w eol r a b l i n dp i v o h t i n g ee; a c h
I
underside of holeshould beslightly deeper thanone-
Lheleafin linewith halfthedowel or hingelength. Gluethe
I
lhe droVleafeuVVort.
dowel or install thehingein theholein
Thewedqewilljack
therail(inset), placethesupport onthe
I
the leafup whenthe
dowel, andassemble thetable.
oupporlie elid I
inLopooition.
I
I
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t04 I
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t
I TOPS
t
T LEGS
GATE F()R TABTE
A SIX-LEGGED
I 1 lnstallingthegatelegs
I 0n six-legged gatelegtables,thetableleaves aresupported
I bytwoswinging gatelegshinged to thetablerailsandstretch-
ers.Thetableshown at righthasa standard leg-and-
four-legged
I railassembly,anadditional installed
setof rails,calledstretchers,
nearthebottomof the legs,andtwogatelegs.Thetabletop is
I connected to twoleaves withrulejoints(pages 101-102). fhe
centralportionof thetopcanbe narrower thanon a drop-leaf
I table,butthewidthof theIeaves should notexceed theheight
of thetable,ortheleaves willtouchthefloorwhentheyarenot
I in use.Thegatelegsareattached afterthebaseisjoinedto the
tabletop(pages 96-99).Cutfourgateleg rails:twoto jointhe
I gatelegsto thetablerails,andtwomoreto connect thelegsto
thestretchers.Therailsshould belongenough to holdthegate
I legsnearthecenter of theleaves. Jointhegaterailsto thelegs
withmortise-and-tenon joints(page76);usehingesto fasten
I therailsnearthemiddleof thestretchers andtablerailstight),
makingsurethegatelegswill restbetween thefixedlegs
t whenthe leaves aredown.

I
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t
I
a
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I O Installing gatelegstops
L ,lse wooden stops to holdthegate
I legsin place whentheleaves arein use.
Setthetableupside down on a worksur-
I faceandswrng openthe gate legsuntil
theyarecentered onthe leaves.Butta
I smallwoodblockagainst theoutsideof
each gate legandscrewit to the under-
I sideof the leaf(left).
I
I 105
I
 I
TOPS I
I
Swing legswere traditionally attached
I
to table rails with wooden hinges.Some-
times called knucklejoints, thesewere
I
made by cutting interlockingfingers into
the hinge rail and the swing-Iegrail. The
I
two rails were then connectedby a wood-
en or metal pin. Thesejoints qre still
I
usedon reproductionsof antique swing-
leg tables.On most modern tables,a
I
metal crankedhingeis now used.
I
I
I
SWING
LEGS
FOR
A FOUR.LEGGED
TABLE I
I
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I
Hinae
" \ rail n
U
I
9win4leq I
Using a cranked hinge
I
In a four-legged swing-leg table,therearetwofixedlegsand
twoswinglegsthatpivotoutto support the leaves (abovd.fo
I
assemble thistable,firstprepare a topwitha rule joinl (pages
101-102), thenmakefourlegsandrails,making anynecessary
t
preparations forthemethod youwilluselaterto attachthetop
(page96-99).Joinonlytwolegsto therailsat opposite corners;
I
usemortise-and-tenon joinls(page76).Setthetwootherlegs
asideasswinglegs,andjointherailsat thetworemaining
I
corners withdovetail or boxjoints.Next,cut the hingeand
swing-leg rails,onefor eachswingleg.Cutrecesses in the
I
t a b l er a i l st,h es w i n g - l er agi l sa, n dt h eh i n g er a i l sf o rt h e
cranked hinge; thiswillallowtheswing-leg railsto sit flush
I
against thetablerails.Alsocuta notchrnthelegssotheywill
wraparound thetablerailswhentheleaves aredown.Screw
I
thehingerailsto thetablerailsandjointheswing-leg railsto
theswinglegswithmortise-and-tenon joints.Fasten theswing
I
legsin placewithcranked hinges, screwing oneleafof the
hingeto thetablerailandtheothertotheswing-legrait (teft).
I
Now place thetabletop top-side down,position theswing-leg
assembly in place,andscrewthetwotogether.
I
I
106 I
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t TOPS
t
I TABTES
EXTENSI()N
DIVIDING
I 1 Positioning thetableextenders
I To makea dividins extension table
I withlegsandrailsthat-move whenthetop
is expanded, builda leg-and-rail assem-
I blyanda top.Butrather thanattaching
them,cut bothin halfonyourtablesaw.
I (Toensure thatthetabletop halves do not
expand at different ratesas a resultof
t humidity changes, alignthegrainof the
topacross its width.)Attachthe leg-and-
I railassemblies to thetophalves, making
surethecut edgesof the railsandtops
I a l i g np e ref c t l yT. h ec o m m e r c itaalb l e
extenders shownonthispagearescrewed
I to the underside of thetabletop halves.
Todetermine theposition of theextenders,
I setthetablehalves upside downona work
surface andmarklinesonthe underside
I of thetoos4 to 6 inches fromtheside
rails. To ensure the linesare perpendicu-
I larto thejointbetween thetop halves,
usea carpente(s square(right).
I
I
I
I
I
I r-) Installing thetableextenders
L ltiarV,the centerof eachsegment of the
I tableextenders witha pencil. Then posi-
tiontheextenders facedownontheunder-
I sideof thetabletop, aligning thecenter
markswiththejointbetween tablehalves
I a n dt h e i n s i d es e g m e nw t si t ht h e l i n e s
youmarkedin step1. Before screwing
I theextenders down,openthemslightly;
t h i se n s u r et sh a tt h e r ew i l l b e n og a p
I between thetop halves whenthetableis
closed. Withthetabletop halves butted
I together andendsflush,screwtheout-
of the extenders to the
t sidesegments
top,drivingscrews through the predrilled
holes(/eff).Cuta leafto f it theopening
I between thetophalves.
t
I r07
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TOPS I
I
NON.DIVIDING
EXTENSION
TABTES I
I
t
II I
I I
, t azteDop
'
natr
i-t
I
i-'l
t
!;l I
o
u I
I
I rn^ant2az I
Tahlel-

half
nn
t
I
I
!t
I
t
1 Makingthedecorative apron
I 0 n a n o n - d i v i d i negx t e n s i ot n h a l v etsh a t assembly
a b l e - w i t ht a b l e t o p foreachtabletophalfandscreweachin place(above,
openwhilethe leg-and-rail assembly remainsstationary-thetop right),Theaprons andpostsareloined(page76) andattached to
I
halves areattached to the outsidemovable segments of the exten- thetop(page 96)inthesamefashion asa leg-and-rail
assembly.
d e r sa n dt h e r a i l sa r ef a s t e n e tdo c r o s s p i e c et hsa t a r es c r e w e d Fasten thetableextenders
to thetophalves asyouwouldfora
I
t o t h e m i d d l ef i x e de x t e n d esr e g m e n t (sa b o v e/,e f t ) .S t a r tb y dividingextension
c u t t i n gt h e t o p i n h a l f .N o wb u i l da d e c o r a t i vaep r o n - a n d - p o s t islikeanordinary
Iable(page 107).At thispoint,theassembly
dividingtable,
withcornerpostsin place
of legs.
r
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I
r) Preparing the leg-and-rail assembly
I
L t o s u p p o rtth e t a b l e .y o um u s tn o w
b u i l da l e g - a n d - r aaisl s e m b ltyh a tw i l l f i t
I
i n s i d et h e d e c o r a t i vaeo r o n T . oattach
thecrosspiece t hsa t j o i nt h e a s s e m b l y
I
t o t h e t a b l ee x t e n d e r sc,u t f o u r n o t c h e s
i n t h et o pe d g eo f t h e s i d er a i l su s i n ga
I
chiseland a woodenmallet (right).Make
s u r et h e n o t c h e si n o o o o s i t rea i l sa r e
I
p e r f e c t layl i g n e dS. c r e wt h e c r o s s p i e c e s
t o t h er a i l s .
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T
r0B t
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I TOPS
t
t theles-and-rail
1<. Attachins
r-,1 assembly
I to thetableextenders
C o m p l e t teh e t a b l ew i t ht h e t o p u p s i d e
downon a worksurface. Centerthe leg-and-
I r a i la s s e m b liyn s i d et h e d e c o r a t i vaep r o n .
T h ec r o s s p i e c ewsi l l r e s to n t h e f i x e ds e g -
I m e n t so f t h e t a b l ee x t e n d e r sS.c r e wt h e m
in place(right).CUIa leafto f it the open-
I i n s i n t h et a b l e .
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I PEDESTAL
EXTENSION
TABLES
t Attaching thebasetothetop
Tomakeanextension tablewitha pedestal
t base, startwitha topandanapron-and-
Apron-and-rarl postassembly likethatof a non-dividing
I aeaembly
extension table(pagel0B). Attachthe
o u t s i dsel i d i n sg e g m e not sf t w ot a b l e
I extenders to thetoohalves. Youarenow
ready to attachthebaseto thefixedpor-
I tionof theextenders. Makesuretherails
of thepedestal baseextend beyond the
I fixedsegments, andboreholesforcoun-
tersinking screws through therails.Align
I theholes overthemiddle f ixedsegments
of theextenders andscrewthemtoeether.
I Pedeatal baee ratl

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I r09
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TOPS I
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INSTALLING
LEAVES
ONA TRESTLE
TABTE
I
1
Installing trestle tableslides I
I To installspacer leaves on a trestle
table,firstcutandrouttwo"breadboard" I
endsusingthesamebityouusedto shape
t h e r e s to f t h et a b l e t o oT. h e ns e tt h e I
t a b l eu p s i d ed o w no n a w o r ks u r f a c e ,
alignthebreadboard endswiththeendof I
thetop,andposition twocommercial tres-
t l e t a b l es l i d e fsa c e - d o wonn t h et o o ' s I
underside. Theendsof theslides'inside
segments shouldbef lushwiththejoint I
between thetableandthe breadboard
e n d st;h es l i d e s h o u l a d l s ob e p a r a l l e l I
to thetabletop edges. Screwthe inside
segments of theslidesto thetabletop I
(left).Beforescrewing the outsideseg-
m e n t st o t h e b r e a d b o aer dn d s o , pen I
t h es l i d e s l i g h t ltyo e n s u r teh a tt h e r e
willbenogapsin thetopwhenthetable I
isclosed.
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O Installing thespacer leaves
L Cutandshapespacerleaves to fit I
between thetooandthebreadboard ends.
Maketheleaves slightlynarrowerthanthe I
tableopening sotheycanbe inserted and
removed Toholdeachleafin align-
easily. I
mentwheninstalled, usedowels at its
breadboard-end edgeandtabletop eveners I
(page92) at theotheredge.Forthe dow-
els,boreholesin theedgeof the bread- I
boardendandthe leaf (page74), Ihen
gluethedowels
oairsof eveners
in the leaf. Screw
to theunderside
three
of the
t
leafat theotheredgeandthetabletop.
To usethe spacerleaves, extendeach
I
breadboard endfully,settheleafin place I
(right),andpushthetablecloseduntil
thedowels
pieces
fit intotheirholes
butttogether.
andallthe I
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110 I
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I TOPS
t
t TABLE.TOCKING
HARDWARE
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I Installing a tablelock
I Toorevent anextension tablefromslid-
ilIlilltlrllt]lllllltlllllllllllllllllrllll illlilllllllilillll llllljll ingopenwhenit is moved, install table-
l o c k i nhga r d w aor ent h eu n d e r s i doef
I thetop.Thetablelockshown normally
I )HO? TI? keeps thetop halves together. Bysim-
plyreaching under theendof thetable
Aligningtable leaveowith dowelcentero
I TokeepNableleaveeVroperly aliqnedwithlable' a n dp u l l i n g o nt h ew i r e t, h el a t c hi s
LoVe,maLinqholeefor doweleor aliqnmentr opened. Toinstall thetablelock,center
Vins
I mueLlineup precioely, Oowelcenlerl are andscrew thelatchonthetablejoint.
idealfor NhieNaek.Forlhe Nableohown Thenextend thewireto oneendand
here,boreholeein oneedqeof Nheleaf f i x i t i n p l a c eu s i n g
t h es c r e w
a n dc l i p
I and ineerLdowelcenNers.Then alian /-' provided (above).
the leaf
the leafwith
withLhe
NhetNoV
oVand
and butt
butt them
them f::
rZffi
I
I
Zi\%if ;;11':';ilni^:;'oZnouffi
of r,hedowelcenNerewill ^--
-i*"r----::-::
-=.*NRlnil* -- -
punchimpreeeione on Nhe
I edqeof NheNop,provid-
ing eLarlinqpoinf,e .,/- ."a'
r l o r b o r i n qI h e
matinqholee.
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DECORATIVEELEMENTS
I
A glasstop canlightenthe
I
Iookof a largetable.Thetop I
caneitherconsistof a single
paneofglass,or incorporate
glassasa designelement,
I
asin theframed-glasstop of I
the mahoganycoffeetable
shownat right. I
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A FRAMED.GTASS
INSTATTING TOP
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1 Preparing theframe I
I Prepare thefourframepieces byshaping theiroutside
edges bfil.fo cut the rabbets,
attachan auxiliary
wooden fenceto
andrabbeting the insideedgesto holdtheglass.Usesiockthat yourtablesawandinstall a dadohead,adjusting itswidthto
I
is at least% inchthickand2%incheswide.Fortheshaping therabbetwidth-about%inch.Setthecuttingheightto the
cuts,installa decorative moldingbit in yourrouter
thetoolin a table.Usethreefeatherboards
andmount
to suooortthework-
glassthickness.
piece,position
Usingthreefeatherboards
to support thework-
thefenceforthewidthof cut andsawtherab-
t
piece: twoclamped to thefenceoneithersideof thebitand betshbove,right).(ln bothillustrations,
thefeatherboard on I
onesecured to thetable.Feedthestockface-down (above. theoutfeedsideof thefencehasbeenremoved for claritv.)
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I TOPS
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Gluing uptheframeand
I installing theglass
Onceyouhaveshaped andrabbeted the
I framepieces, cutthemto lengthwith45"
miters at theirends.Foraddedstrength,
I jointhecorners withbiscuit joints. Clamp
the oieces to a worksurface andusea
t p l a t ej o i n etro c u t m a t i n g
s l o t si n t h e
mitered ends(above). Insert glueandone
I biscuitat eachcorner(left)andclampthe
frametogether. Next,attachtheframeto
I t h el e g - a n d - raasi ls e m bol yf y o u rt a b l e
(page96).Measure theopening in the
I frameandhavea sheetof tempered glass
at least%-inch thickcutto f it. To install
I theglass, gluestripsof feltintotherab-
betsto actasa cushion(inseil,thenset
I theslassin theframe.

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I 113

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TOPS I
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A LEATHER
INSTALLING TOP t
1 Gluing leatherto a basepanel I
I Topsfortablesanddeskscanincorpo-
rateleather in theirdesign.Thisexample I
featuresa leather-covered panelsurround-
ed bya woodframe.Tostart,cut a piece t
to coverthefaceandedgesof a
of leather
basepanel,typically %-inchplywood; I
usingleather thatweighs at least4 ounces
persquare foot(aboutXeinchthick)will I
preventthesurface of thepanelfromshow-
ingthrough theleather. Usecontact cement I
to attachthematerial to the faceof the
panelandsmoothit down(right).To en- I
ablethe leather to bondcleanly around
theedges, cutoutsmallsquares at each I
corner(inset). Thenglueit to theedges.
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thepanelin a frame
O Installing
L tttat<eandglueupa tabletop frame
I
fortheleatheredpanelasyouwouldfora
top(page112).Fitthepanel
glass-framed
I
in theframeandsettheassembly upside
downona worksurface. Fasten theoanel
I
to theframe,spacing screwsat 6- to 8-
(/eff,).
inchintervals
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t TOPS
t
tl INSTALLING
A TILETOP
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Ceramic,marble,or slatetilescanalso
I
llt'II1 -{Il.lflr{r
ffi-.llf1th{r-llf"tll"llr"ll}1ll"1ll-llll
llllllll
beincorporatedinto topsfor tablesor
deslcs.
Making a tile top is muchlike
t makinga leatherone(pagell4). The
tilesaregluedto a substrateof 'h-inch
I 5HO7Tt? plywood,whichis thenscrewedto a
tabletopframe.As the tilesare being
I A felr-iopped writing deok
glueddown,rubberspacers arein-
Decaueefelt is nol ae sLift as leaLher,
stalledto maintaintheproperspacing.
I makin7a felN-covered deekto?can
be a tricky taek. 1larL by Oncetheadhesive dries,thespacers
are removedand thegapsbetween
I culNinqa ehallowreceoo
in the top for Lhefab- thetilesaregrouted.
ric, ueinqa rouherfil.'
I ted with a etraiqht bft.
Cut a pieceof heavy
I felttc; fitthe recess,
ironout any wrinkleo, -''\
I and qluethe malerial .i,
]:, ",
in olace.Do noI use \--
I liquidqlue,a6 iNmay
bleedthrou1hLhefabric:
I instead,ueea oprayadhe-
eivelormulated Io bondfab'
ric t o wood.SmoothouI lhe
I fabric wilh a veneerroller.
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I 115
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I DWRS
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t
I
irtually all desksand many durablewoodthatis resistant to
I tablesneeddrawers.And no warping.Ash, oak,maple, andcher-
matter what their use,all drawers ry areall strongenoughto with-
I must meetessentially the same standheavyuse.Softerspecies like
requirements. Whetheryou are pine and poplar areusable, but only
I makingthreeor foursturdydraw- for smallerdrawers. Somecabinet-
ersfor a deskpedestal, liketheone makerschoose contrasting woods
I shownin thephotoonpage116,or likewalnutandash for the frontand
a singleunit for anendtable,each sidesto highlightthe joinery when
I drawermustfit precisely andwith- thedrawerisopened.
standconsiderable stress,
whilealso Beyond appearance andstrength,
I complementing thedesignof the a drawermustfit perfectly.A draw-
furniturethatholdsit. er thatjams or chatters whenit is
I Thefirststepin buildinga draw- openedandclosed will wearmore
er is to considerits use.Whatwill Ratherthan measuringa draweropening quicklythanonethatwhispers qui-
I thedrawercontain? Howmuchuse with a tapeor a rule,usethedrawerpartsthem- etly. There are severalwaysto
Thesematterswill
will it receive? selves.Here,a drawersideis insertedinto its mountdrawers, asshownbegin-
I determine thetypeof woodand openingand a cuttinglineis markedon the ningon page133.Eachmethodis
joineryyouchoose. stockin linewith thefront edgeof theopening. designed to supportthedrawer, pre-
I Startwith thedrawerfront.It is A shimat thebackwillensurethat thedrawer ventit fromtippingasit is pulled
out, andstopit asit slideshome.
t not onlythemostvisiblepiece,it
alsoundergoes themoststress. A
is slightlyshorterthan theopeningand will
not closeagainstthebackof thecarcase. Preparing dustframesfor bottom-
solid,durablejoint is required run drawersis shown in the
I keepit firmlyattached
to
to thesides.foinerymethodsareshown Casework chapter(page28).Thesectionon drawerstops(page
beginningon page120.Thefront shouldalsoblendattrac' J38)presents severaleffective waysto stopdrawers frombeing
I tivelywith thegrainof thewoodsurrounding it. Forstruc- pulledoutor pushed in toofar.
turalreasons, thegrainof thefrontshouldrun horizontally. Hardware addsthefinaltouchto a drawer.Theselection
I Vertical grainwill notproduce solidjoints;it will alsobeprone shownonpage119offerssomesuggestions. Locksareapplied
to greater movement with moisturechanges. to drawersbothfor securing valuables andto copytradition-
I Thestockyouusefor thedrawersidesandbackdoesnot al pieces. Stepsfor installinga half-mortise lockareshown
I haveto bethesameasfor thefront-providedyouchoose a starting onpage131.

I
I
I Combiningstrengthwith appearance, half-blinddovetailsare
joining
I a popularchoicefor drawer frontsto sides.Here,a dove-
desk.
taileddraweris slid into onesideof a double-pedestal

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 I
ANMOMYOFADRAWER I
I
A draweris essentially an openbox, ing optionsareillustratedbelowandon installsothatit openssmoothly. Several
I
A consistingof a front,a back,two thefollowingpage. joints for assemblingdrawersarealso
sides,and a bottom.The front is most Threepopulardrawerfront stylesare shownbelow;eachpossesses different
I
oftenmadefrom thickerstockthanthe showndirectlybelow. Installinga draw- qualitiesof strengthanddurability,
sidesand back;the bottom is typically er canbe a tricky operation,especially Installinghardwareis the final,and
I
madefrom Z-inchplywood.Beyond if thedraweris poorlymade.An out-of- usuallythe simplest,stepin buildinga
thesegeneralsimilarities,
drawersvary squaredraweriansometimes be con- drawer.The selectionof drawerhard-
I
in style,methodsof joinery,and tech- ceiledwith a falsefront,but if it isbadly wareshownon page119will provide
niquesof mounting.Manydrawer-mak- twisted,it will be almostimpossible to youwith manyoptions.
I
1 ,:rtrn
.,. I t'"*.t;: I
'i" .r,' 5i1;,:
I
tt,"4iq;*.'
,,,u,_o

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l l * I
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Flushfront: Allowsthedrawer Lippedfront: A rabbeted Falsefront:A separatefront is
tofit entirelywithin thecarcase; creates
front
a lip that is usefulfor con- attachedto thestntctural
I
f'onr;
alsoknownasan insetdrawer cealing
commercial runnerswhen conceals
endgrnin of drawersides
thedraweris closed. Lip performs
I
doubledutyasdrawerstop
I
DRAWER
J()INTS
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i''

'l'i I
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Rabbet Through dovetail Half-blind dovetail Dado Double dado
I
For back-to-aide )Lronq, decorative Thetraditionaljoint CommonlyLojoin For any corner of
jointe; aloo etronq joint for any drawer for connectingf,he the backto Lhe a arawer;conceal1 I
enouqhfor joininq the corner;end qrain of fronf, to the eidea; aidee:for aolid end 7rarnof eidea,
frontto Lheeidea
tf reinforced wrth
drawer aides can be concealeend 4rain of woodor plywood )uitable only for I
concealedwith falae eidee.9uitable only aolid wood
ecrewoor natle.
9uiLablefor aalid
front. Appropriate
for aalid woodbuL
for Eolid wood
I
woodor plywood not plywood
I
I
I DRAWERS
T
lr HARDWARE
DRAWER
I
I
I
Commeraial elide runners
I Uaed to mount drawera in
= o l a

carcageo; bottom runner

I (top) and aide runner(riqht).
Farticularly ouitable for draw-
I ere that will carry heavyloada

I
I - d. Drawer handlea
i -*Ttr *ttf ' one or more are mounrea
I G,
il\'
**-
o, arawer irontr;avatape ffi-
r',-fi
Esautaheona
?rotect woodeur-
in stvlee as varied ae
Half-moft,ise loak roundin4keyhole;plate
I Mounted in half-mortiae cut
Chippendaleand thaker to
r. eacutcheon(letr,tup)
into back face of drawer and decorativebraaa

W
1I
I front; bolt extends into mor'
tiee cut in rail of carcase
threaded eacutcheon
(lefE,botbom)
I
I METH(lDS
DRAWER-MOUNTING
t Bottom-run
Draweralideaon rail-and-runner
Commeraialelide runners ....
aeeemblywtth or wtthoutduet
t Metal elideescrewed
to drawer eidee mate '1fi"'
panel.TwinLenonaaL endaof ratle
are qluedinto doublemortieeacuL
with runnera acrewed iii,i
I . i
LO Carjage
i i
,t:
l
"'i l"'t' '
inLocarcaaepanelo:one edqeof
runnerecan be rabbetedto fit into
"--;":t'
iiji
,,,1 ''\ groovecut into carcase aideeor
I ':
iiil groovedfor a aplinejoint (paqe37)
Duet frame ia aesembledwith
I side-mounted
Woodenelidea
iiii \'\ morLiee-a nd -Lenonj oInt7
,, \ '
ecrewedto carcaoe :;; L
I eidepanelarun,in ti\i
..r. \
qroovearouted in ! }- l
I drawer Eides ;. 9lide

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Kunner
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I 119
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DRAWERIOINERY
I
hen you havesettledon the size Thejoineryoptionsyou choosewill
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of a drawer,it is time to choose alsoaffecttheappearance ofthe drawer.
the rightjoinery.Sincethe cornersofa Unlessyou areinstallinga falsefront,
I
drawerundergodifferentstresses, chooseajoint likethehalf-blinddovetail
your joints accordingly.
choose
The front-to- or doubledadoto conceal theendgrain
t
sideconnections endurethemoststress
and requirethe strongest joinery.The
of thesides.
Drawerbottomsfit into a groovecut
t
connections between thebackandsides in the sidesand front.The groovecan
are lessaffectedby everydayuseand becut with a sawbeforetheioinervcuts
I
thereforedo not haveto be assolid. aremade(page123)oroncethediawer
The followingpagespresentseveral is assembled, usinga table-mounted
I
joinery options.Threeof them-the routeranda three-wingslottingcutter.
half-blind (below)andthroughdovetail Beforegluingup,makesureyou have
I
(page125),and the double dado(page decided on a mountingmethod.A side-
1271--<an onlybeusedwith solidwood. hungdrawer,for example, needsto have
I
Eachof thesejointsis strongenoughto
connectthe front to the sides,although Dffirent joints for dffirent needs:
a groovecut in its sidebeforethedraw-
er is assembled (page133).
t
thedoubledadoshouldbereserved for A dado-and-rabbet joint workswellfor Beforeyou begincutting,selectthe
small,light-dutydrawers. Forpllwood attaching the back to the sidesof a mostattractivefaceof eachpart and
I
drawers,usea rabbetjointfor anyofthe drawer. Thefront demandsa stronger markit with an X to designate it asthe
connections, or a standarddadojoint to joint that will concealthe endgrain of outsideof the drawer.Reserve the most
I
attachthebackoieceto thesides. the sides-in this case,a doubledado. visuallyappealing piecefor thefront.
I
HALF-BLIND
DOVETAIT
J()INTS I
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'l Marking thepinboaro
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I M a r kt h eo u t s i dfea c e so f a l l t h eb o a r dws i t ha nX .T h e n insidefaceof thestocksothefrontdoesnotpullawayfrom
seta cutting gauge to abouttwo{hirds thethickness of thepin thesides.Therearenostrictguidelines forspacingdovetail
I
board-thedrawer front-andmarka lineacross theend,closer pins,butfor mostdrawers, a half-pin
to theoutside thanthe insideface(above, /eff).Adjustthecut- evenly spacedpinsin between makes
at eachedgeandtwo
a strongandattractive
I
tinggauge to thethickness of thedrawer sidesandscribe a joint.Tocomplete themarking,
lineontheinside faceof thefrontto marktheshoulder lineof usea trysquare
secure
anda pencilto extend
thefrontin a viseand
thelinesontheboard
I
thetails.Next,usea dovetail square to outline thepinsonan endto theshoulder lineon its insideface(above,
e n do f t h ef r o n tt;h ew i d ep a r to f t h ep i n ss h o u l d
b eo nt h e thewastesectionswithXsasyougo.
right).Mark I
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t20 I
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I
I DRAWERS
I
t r) Gutting thepins
L S"rrr" thedrawer frontin a visewith
I the insidefaceof thestocktoward you,
thencutalong theedges of thepinswith
I a dovetailsaw(left),working yourway
fromoneboardedgeto theother,(Some
t woodworkers prefer to cutalltheleft-hand
edges of the pins,thenmoveon to the
I right-hand edges.) Holdtheboardsteady
andalignthesawbladejustto thewaste
I s i d eo f t h ec u t t i n gl i n e ;a n g l et h es a w
toward thewasteto avoidcuttingintothe
I pinsU . s es m o o t he,v e ns t r o k e sa ,l l o w -
r ingthesawto cutonthepushstroke. Con-
t i n u et h ec u tt o t h es h o u l d el i rn e t, h e n
repeat to sawthepinsat theotherendof
I theboard.
t
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t
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r
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I outthewaste
Q Chiseling
r.J Laythe drawerfrontinside-face up on
I a w o r ks u r f a c e a n dc l a m pa g u i d eb l o c kt o
t i t , a l i g n i n gr t se d g ew i t ht h e w a s t es i d eo f
t h e s h o u l d el ri n e .S t a r t i n g a t o n ee d g eo f
I t h e s t o c k ,h o l dt h e f l a t s i d eo f a c h i s e l
a g a i n stth eg u i d eb l o c k t; h e b l a d es h o u l d
portionof
I be no widerthanthe narrowest
t h e w a s t es e c t i o nW . i t ht h e c h i s e p
l erpen-
I d i c u l atro t h e b o a r df a c e ,s t r i k et h e h a n d l e
w i t h a w o o d e nm a l l e t m , a k i n ga % - i n c h -
deepcut intothe wasle(right).Thenhold
I t h e c h i s e lb e v e l - uapb o u t% t n c hb e l o w
I the boardfaceand peelawaya thin layer
of wasteC . ontinue u n t i ly o u r e a c ht h e
I s c r i b e dl i n eo n t h e e n d o f t h e b o a r d .
R e p e atth e p r o c e sw s i t ht h e r e m a i n i n g
then pareawayanyexcess
I wastesections,
waste(step 4).
I
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DRAWERS I
I
paring
Final
t
Working
o n o n et a i l s o c k eat t a t i m e ,
remove theremaining wastefrombetween
I
the pins.Firstpress theflatsideof the
chiselagainst the bottomof thesocket
I
withthethumbof yourlefthand; withyour
r i g h th a n d p, u s ht h ec h i s etlo w a r d
the
I
shoulder line,shaving away
of waste(lefil.f henpareawayanywaste
thelastslivers
t
fromthesidesof thepins(inset).
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f, Laying outthetails
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r-,f Setonedrawersideoutside-face
downontheworksurface. Holdthedraw-
e r f r o n te n d - d o wwni t hi t s i n s i d ef a c e I
a l i g n ewdi t ht h es h o u l d el i rn eo f t h et a i l
board, making certain theedges of the
I
b o a r dasr ef l u s h O. u t l i n teh et a i l sw l t h
a pencil(right),Ihenusea try square to
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extend thelinesontheendof theboard.
Markallthewaste sections withXs. I
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I DRAWERS
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Il thetails
Cutting
U s ea d o v e t a isl a wt o c u t t h e t a i l s
I thesamewayyoucut the pinsGtep2).
Anglingthe board(right),ralherthanthe
I saw,makes foreasier Secure
cutting. the
t boardsothattheright-hand
tailsarevertical.
Sawsmoothly
edgesof the
andeven-
t ly alongtheedges
theshoulder
of thetails,stopping
line.Reoositiontheboardin
at

theviseto cuttheleft-hand edges. Once

I allthesawcutshavebeenmade,remove
thewaste witha chiselasin steps3 and4.
I Toavoidsplittingthetails,remove about
halfthewaste, thenfliptheworkpiece over
T to chiselouttheremainins waste.
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I Drawer aide

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drawer fora bottom panel
I J Preparingthe
f Drylitthedrawer and mark any spots where ihejointsbind;
usea chiselto pare smallamounts of wood to achieve a good
I fit. Loose joints canbetightened (page 124). Next, use your
tablesawto cuta groove in thedrawer frontand sides to accom-
I modate thebottom. Install a dadohead,adlusting itswidthto
thethickness of thestock you plan to useforthebottom(typi-
I cally%inch).Markthe groove onthedrawer frontandsides; the
groove shouldbelocated above just thehalf-pin at thebottom
I edgeof thefront.Alignthegroove markwiththedadoheadand
position theripfenceagainst theedgeof thestock. Adjust the
I bladeheight forthedepthof thegroove (nomorethanone-half
thestockthickness). Feedthe drawer frontacross the table
I usinga pushstick(left).(Caution: Bladeguardremoved forclarity.)
Repeat thecutonthedrawer sides. Theninstalla combination
I bladeandtrimthebottom of thebackflushwiththetopof the
g r o o v ei ns t h es i d e sa n df r o n t T
. h i sw i l la l l o wt h eb o t t o m
to
I slideintooosition whenthedrawer isassembled.
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DRAWERS I
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Gluing upthedrawer
Before assembling thedrawer, cuta
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bottompanelfrom%-inch
id stockto fit thedrawer
plywood
opening,
orsol-
adding
fifilll iltlllllltfirlrlllilltlllll]Itllllillltlllfilllll ilIlillllI] I
thedepthof thegrooves (less%einch)to
itswidthandthedepthof onegroove 1HO?TI? I
andthethickness of thebackpanelto its
lengh.Toglueupdovetail joints, clamp-
Fixingdovetaile I
Evenexoeriencedwoodwork-
ingpressure shouldbeapplied to thetail
boards. (Onthedrawer shown above, the
ers cul,Nheoccasionat
Lail thaX fits a liLIle looeely.
aove- I
backisjoined to thesideswiththrough ln mosl caoeo,emallgape
dovetails.) Todistribute clamping pres- can befilledIo improvethe
I
sureproperly, makea specially notched fiL and allearance of the
clamping block foreachjoint.Eachblock joinL,CuNsmallwooden wedqeo I
should b ea s l o n ga st h ew i d t ho f t h e from the same woodas Nhe
stockandnotched soit onlytouches the drawer, t aperin4them eo Nhey I
w i l le l i d ei n to L h eo p e n i n q e .
tailsanddoesnotexertpressure onthe
pins.Spread glueevenly onallthecon-
1preadqlueon lhe wedqee I
and use a woodenmallet,No
tacting surfaces of theboards andassem-
b l et h ej o i n t sI.n s t aal l b a rc l a m pa l o n g
N a Vt h e m i n p l a c e , 7 a n da n y I
o r o L r u e i o nfel u e hw i t h I h e
eachpinboard, thentighten theclamps
a littleat a Iimehbovd.Checkthedraw-
surface of the drawer, I
erforsquare (page128)andadjustthe
clamping pressure, if necessary.
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I DRAWERS
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I THROUGH
D()VETAILS
t 'l Marking thepinboard
I the through dovetail issimilar to thehalf-blind joint,except
I t h a tt h et a i l se x t e n fdu l l yt h r o u gthh ep i nb o a r dT. o b e g i n
m a r k i ntgh ej o i n t sm , a k ea nX o nt h eo u t s i dfea c e so f a l l t h e
t boards. Thenseta cuttinggauge to thethickness of thestock
a n ds c r i b ea l i n ea l o n gb o t he n d so f t h eb o a r dtso m a r kt h e
t s h o u l d eorf t h e p i n sa n dt a i l s .N e x st e c u rteh ed r a w ef r o n t
end-up in a viseandusea dovetail square to outline thepins
I ontheendof theboard; thewidepartof thepinsshould beon
f a c eo f t h es t o c kA. sw i t ht h eh a l f - b l i nddo v e t a i l
t h ei n s i d e
t (page120),thespacing is a matterof personal choice, butfor
a typicaldrawer, a half-pin at eachedgeandtwoevenly spaced
t pinsbetween provide a goodcombination of strength and
appearance (right).Markthewastesections withan X asyou
I go.Finally, usea combination square to extend allthedovetail
marks downbothfacesof theboard to theshoulder lines.
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Cuttingthepins
t Leave thedrawer frontin thevisewithitsoutside facetoward
you.Usea dovetail sawto cutalongtheedges of thepins,align-
t ingthesawblade justto thewaste sideof thecuttingline.Cut
all theright-hand edgesfkst (left),thencomplete the left-hand
I edges. Usesmooth, evenstrokes, takingcareto keeptheblade
levelasyoucutto theshoulder lines.0ncethepinsarecut,leave
I theboardin theviseandusea copingsawto remove asmuchof
thewasteaspossible between thepins.At thesideof eachpin,
I slidea coping sawbladeintothekerfandrotate theframewith-
strikingtheend of the board. Keep the blade about%oinch
t out
above theshoulder line asyou cut to the kerf
on the edgeof the
adjacent pin (above). Pare awayany remaining waste witha chis-
I el as you would for half-blind dovetails(page 122). Repeat the
orocess at theotherendof thedrawer frontandforthe backof
I thedrawer, thenmarkandcutoutthetailsonthedrawer sides.
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DRAWERS t
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DOVETAIL
IIGS I
Hand-cutting dovetail jointsfor a large I
number of drawers takesconsiderable time
andpractice. Yourrouter,pairedwitha I
commercial dovetail jig likeoneof those
shown onthispage,provides anefficient I
alternative.Although router-and-jig cut
dovetailsmaylackthehand-crafted look t
of sawnandchiseled joints,theyarejust
asstrong, fit together aswelland,most I
importantly, canbeproduced in a fraction
of thetime.Butremember to factorin I
setuptimeforthejigs.lf youaremaking
onlya coupleof drawers, handtoolsmay I
wellbea fasteralternative.
Threepopular dovetail jigsareshown I
below.Themodelon the leftfeatures
interchangeable templates. Depending I
onwhichtemplate is used,thejig enables
a routerto cut thepinsandtailsfor half- I
blind,through dovetails, or boxjointswith
a singlesetup.Thejig in thecentercon- I
sistsof twof ixedtemplates for cutting
through dovetails.Thetemplates arefas- a n dt a i l s g
, ivingt h ej o i n t sm o r eo f a thewaste. Thefixed-template jig isshown I
tenedto backupboards thatsupport the hand-crafted look. in actionabove. Oncethetemolates have
workpiece. Onetemplate is usedforcut- Allthreejigsworkon essentially the beenattached to backup boards, thepin t
tingthe pins,theotherforthetails.The sameprinciple. A routeris f ittedwitha andtail boards aresecured in olace.For
jig onthe rightcanbeusedforrouting dovetail bit anda guidebushing-both severalidentical joints,a stopblockcan t
bothhalf-blind andthrough dovetail joints. usually provided withthejig.Byfeeding be clamped to the backupboards for
Itssingleadjustable template allows you thetoolalongthetemplate, the bit is repeat cuts.Thejig is shownproducing I
to varythesizeandspacing of thepins guidedin andoutof theslotsto cutaway thetailsof a ioint.
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I DOUBTE
DADO
JOINTS
t 1t Cuttins
-
dadoes front
in a drawer
I M a r ko n ee n do f t h e b o a r dd, i v i d i n g
I i t s t h i c k n e s isn t ot h i r d s T. h e n ,i n s t a lal
d a d oh e a do n y o u rt a b l es a w ,a d j u s t i n g
t t h e w i d t ht o o n e - t h i r tdh e t h i c k n e s os f
t h e d r a w e frr o n t .S e tt h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t
I e q u a il o t h e t h i c k n e sosf t h e d r a w esr i d e s .
N e x t ,i n s t a lal c o m m e r c i tael n o n i nlgi g ;t h e
I m o d e ls h o w ns l i d e si n t h e m i t e rs l o t .P r o -
t e c t i n gt h e s t o c kw i t h a w o o dp a d ,c l a m p
I t h e d r a w e frr o n tt o t h e j i g . M o v et h e j i g
s i d e w a ytso a l i g nt h e m a r k ss o t h a t t h e
I b l a d e cs u t t h e d a d oi n t h e m i d d l et h i r d
o f t h e b o a r dS . l i d et h e j i g a l o n gt o f e e d
I t h e s t o c k .T u r nt h e d r a w e frr o n to v e ra n d
c l a m pi t t o t h e j i g t o c u t t h e d a d oa t t h e
I other end (right).

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! Trimming thedadotongues
4- Install a wooden auxiliary fence onthe
I ripfence, thenmarka cutting lineonthe
edgeof thedrawer frontthatdivides
t o f t h et o n g u eosn t si n s i d e
i
one
f a c ei n h a l f .
W i t ht h es t o c kf l u s ha g a i n st h
t em i t e r
I gauge, inside facedown,alignyourmark
withthedadohead. Buttthefenceagainst
I t h es t o c ka n dr a i s et h e b l a d etso c u t a
reliefnotchin thefence.Setthecutting
I h e i g htto t r i mt h eh a l f - t o n g uHeo. l d i n g
thedrawer frontfirmlyagainst thegauge,
I feedit intothedadohead.Turntheboard
aroundandreoeatthe orocedure at the
I otherend//eft).
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Cuttingmatching dadoes
Q
r-.f in the drawersides
I
T o j o i nt h e d r a w esr i d e st o t h e f r o n t .c u t
a d a d on e a rt h e f r o n te n do f e a c hs i d e .
iliifillllil,iitiltJJbt:llllltijlillii,i[l:llilt lllllll ,llJddJ' I
Thedadomustmatewith the half-tongue
o n t h e f r o n t .S e t t h e c u t t i n gh e i g h t o
9HO7Tt? I
t h e l e n g t ho f t h e h a l f - t o n g uaen ds c r e w
a w o o d e ne x t e n s i obno a r dt o t h e m i t e r
Cheaking drawersfor equare
To keepdrawersoquaredurinq
I
g a u g eT . o s e t t h e w i d t ho f c u t , b u t t t h e qlueup,measure Lhediaqonale
d r a w e rs i d ea g a i n stth e f r o n ta n d u s ea beNween oVpooif,e corneroimme'
I
p e n c i tl o o u t l i n et h e h a l f - t o n g uoen t h e d ia L e l ya l L e rt i 7 h L e n i ntgh e
d r a w e sr i d e .H o l dt h e s i d ea g a i n stth e clampo.UseLwoeNickeas a I
e x t e n s i oann da l i g nt h e m a r k sw i t ht h e meaourinq jig. beveloneendof
d a d oh e a d C . l a m pa s t o pb l o c kf l u s h eachstick eo thaL iL can exlend I
againstthe end of the stockandfeedthe
inlo an insidecornerof the draw-
boardto cut the dadohbove).Repeat
er.Tousethe jtq,holdNheebicke I
face Lo face,eeal the beveled
t h e c u t o n t h e o t h e rs i d e
endsin oppoeiLe corners,and I
marka lineacroestheir edqee.
Kepeatr wiLhLheLwooNhercor-
n e r s .T h el w o m a r k ee h o u l d
I
aliqnexaclly,lfnoN,thedrawer
io out-of-square,CorrecLthe
I
problemby looeeninq the clamVo,
o l i d i n qo n ej a w o f e a c hc l a m V I
awaytromLhejoinl al oppooite
corners, and reLiqhlenin q. I
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I DRAWERS

I
t RABBET
LIPPED J()INTS
I Cuttinga lipped rabbet front
in a drawer
Tocut lippedrabbets around theedges of a drawer
I front,marklineson its inside faceto allowforan
overhang of at least3/ainch(inset).Alsomarkthe
I rabbetdepthon itsedges-upto one-half thethick-
nessof the drawer front.Cutthe rabbets on the
I tablesawin twosteps, firstnotching
theinside face
of thefrontwiththebladeheight setto thedepti
I of therabbets. These cutsaremadewiththestocf^
facedownonthesawtable.Thenfeedthestoch
I intothebladeonendandon edge.Settheblade
heightto thewidthof therabbets, aligntheblade
I withthemarks fortherabbet depth,andbuttthe
fenceagainst thestock.Keeping thedrawer front
I flushagainst thefence,feedit onendintotheblade
to complete onerabbet. Turnthe boardoverand
t repeatto cut the rabbetat the otherend(right).
Thenfeedthestockintothebladeonedgeto cut
I therabbets onthetopandbottom edges.

t
I ()RRABBETS
WITHDADOES
UPA DRAWER
GLUING
I Using barclamps
Before gluingupa drawer, decidehowyou
I willinstallit (page 133),sinceside-mount-
ingmayrequire youto prepare thedrawer
I sidesbefore finalassembly. Applyglueon
allthecontacting surfaces of thejointsand
I a s s e m btl he ed r a w e A r . r r a n gtew ob a r
clamps ona worksurface andlaythedraw-
I eronthem,aligning thebarsoftheclamps
withthedrawer frontandback.Install two
I moreclamps along thetopof thedrawer.
lf youusedrabbet jointsto assemble the
I drawer, install another twoclamps along
thedrawer sides.Protect surfaces byplac-
I ingwoodpadsbetween thestockand
t h ec l a m pl a w sT. i g h t etnh ec l a m plsu s t
I enough to closethejointsfully(left),Ihen
checkthe drawerfor square(page128).
I Finish tightening theclamps untila bead
of gluesqueezes outof thejoints,check-
I ingasyougothatthecorners aresquare.
Oncetheadhesive hasdried,scrape away
I anydriedglue.Slidethebottom panelinto
p l a c ea n ds e c u riet w i t hf i n i s h i nnga i l s
t drivenup intothedrawer back.

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DRAWERS T
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A BOTTOM
INSTALLING WITHDRAWER
SLIPS I
1 Making theslips t
I Fordrawer sidesmadefromstockthatis
toothinto begrooved for a bottompanel, I
install drawer slips.Slipsalsoprovide greater
b e a r i nsgu r f a cfeo r b o t t o m - r udnr a w e r s . I
Before thedrawer is assembled, prepare your
slipstockfroma stripof wood-1-by-1 stock I
is appropriate formostdrawersat leastas
longasthecombined lengthof thedrawer t
sides.Round overonecorner of the board,
thensetupyourtablesawto cuta groove in I
it. Install a dadohead, adjusting itswidthto
thethickness of thebottom youwilluse,and I
setthecuttingheight to about%inch.Position
theslipstockflushagainst thebottom edge I
of thedrawer frontandmarkthe location of
thegroove ontheboard. Alignthemarkwith I
t h ed a d oh e a da n dp o s i t i otnh er i pf e n c e
t es t o c kC
a g a i n st h . l a m po n t w of e a t h e r - t
boards, asshown, to support theworkpiece.
Sawthegroove, thencrosscut it intotwo I
lengths equal to thedrawer sidesmeasured
fromthedrawer front. I
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,/ ./l)'
./' ,y' ./
,//,t'
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,,//'
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r) Mounting theslipsonthedrawer
Z. t"totcfrthe slipssothattheycleartheback,thensetthe against thesidesanddrawer front(above,left). f,Aakecertai n
I
glued-up drawer upside downon a worksurface, spread some t h a tt h eg r o o v ei n
s t h es l i p sa n dd r a w e rf r o n t a r e p e r f e c t l y
g l u eo nt h ec o n t a c t i sn ug r f a c eosf t h es l i p sa, n dc l a m pt h e m aligned(above, right).
I
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130 I
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I DRAWERHARDWARE
I
I Thefaceplntebeingattached
to the drawer"f"ontshownat
I right forms part of a half-

t mortiseIock.The lock bolt

exlettdsinto a nrorlisecut in
the rail or caseworkdirectly
I abovethe drawer.

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INSTALLING
A HALF-M()RTISE
LOCK
T 'l
Centering the lock
I I Set the draweron a worksurfaceand
m a r kt h e m i d p o i nbt e t w e e tnh e s i d e so n
T the top edgeof the front.Thenusea com-
b i n a t i o ns q u a r et o e x t e n dt h e m a r ko n t o
t t h e i n s i d ef a c eo f t h e f r o n t ( / e f f ) .N e x t ,
holdthe lockfaceplate(seephotoabove)
I against the insideof the drawerfront,align-
i n gt h e k e y h o l we i t ht h e c e n t e rm a r ka n d
I k e e p i ntgh ef a c e p l a tlei p f l u s hw i t ht h et o p
e d g eo f t h e d r a w e frr o n t .U s ea p e n c i lt o
I o u t l i n et h e f a c e p l a t o
e n t h e i n s i d ef a c e
a n d t o p e d g eo f t h e f r o n t .
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DRAWERS I
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Keceasfor
faceplaLeIip t
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thelockmortise
Cutting I
Youneedto cutthreemortises
forthelock:onefortheface-
p l a t ea , n o t h efro r t h e l o c kh o u s i n ga, n da t h i r df o r t h e f a c e p l a t e I
l i p . T h i s i s o n eo f t h e r a r ec a s e sw h e nt h e r o u t e ri s u s e df r e e -
h a n d .I n s t a lal s t r a i g hbt i t i n t h e t o o l ,s e tt h e c u t t i n gd e p t ht o t
the thickness of the faceplate, andcut a mortiseinsidethe marked
o u t l i n ef o r t h e f a c e p l a t eS. t a r tb y g u i d i n gt h e t o o l i n a c l o c k w i s e
I
direction t o c u t t h e o u t s i d ee d g e so f t h e m o r t i s ec; l e a ro u t t h e
r e m a i n i nw g a s t eb y f e e d i n gt h e t o o la g a i n stth e d i r e c t i o o nf bit
T
r o t a t i o nU. s ea c h i s etl o s o u a r e t h e c o r n e ras n d o a r et o t h e l i n e .
F o rt h e l o c kh o u s i n gm , e a s u rteh e d i s t a n c e b e t w e e tnh e e d g e s
I
o f t h ef a c e p l a ta e n d h o u s i n ga n dt r a n s f etrh e m e a s u r e m etnot
the firstmortise. Adjustthe router's cuttingdepthto the thickness
I
of the housing a n d c u t i t s m o r t i s eN . e x t ,u s et h e c h i s etl o c u t
t h e r e c e s isn t h et o p e d g eo f t h e d r a w efrr o n tf o r t h e f a c e p l a t e
I
lip (above). Testthe fit of the lock in the cavityand usethe
chiselto deepenor widenanyof the mortises, if necessary (/eff). I
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Cutting the keyhole
I
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r - J S e tt h e l o c ki n t h e m o r t i s e a n dm a r k
t h e l o c a t i o no f t h e k e y h o l eY. o un e e dt o
I
d r i l lt w o h o l e sf o rt h e k e y :o n ef o r t h es h a f t
a n da s m a l l ehr o l ef o r t h e k e yb i t b e l o wi t .
I
B o r et h e w i d e rh o l ef i r s tw i t ha b i t s l i g h t l y
l a r g etrh a nt h e k e ys h a f t .T h e nu s ea b i t
I
s l i g h t l yl a r g etrh a nt h et h i c k n e sosf t h e k e y
b i t t o b o r et h e s e c o n dh o l e .U s ea c o p i n g
I
sawto join the two holes(rrght).To finish
i n s t a l l i nt gh e l o c k ,m o u n ta n e s c u t c h e o n
I
on the outsidefaceof the drawerto protect
t h ew o o ds u r r o u n d i nt hg e k e y h o l e .
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132 I
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MOUNTING DRAWE,RS
I
r-pr hereareseveral waysto installdraw- available Buythehard-
in differentsizes.
$. ersin a deskor table.The method ware and read the manufacturer's
you chooseshouldsuit the designof instructionsbeforeyou br-rildyour
yourpieceandtheloadsyou expectthe drawers,sincerunnersrequirespecific
drawersto bear. clearances betweenthe drawersides
Thesimolestwavto moul-lta drawer andthecarcase.
is with siderunneri.Shownbelowand The strongest methodof securing
on thenextpages, thismethodinvolves drawers isbottom-mounting. Here,the
routing groovesin the drawersides drawersrideon runnersmountedin
before assembly.These mate with groovesmilledin the sidesof the case-
siidesmountedon the insideof the work.Therunnersarejoinedatthefiont
casework. Side-mountine is idealirt andtherearwith stretchers, whichpro-
frarne-and-panel casework t pngeI 35) vide both a bearingsurfacefor the
and for small-to rnedium-sized draw- drawersand strengthen the casework.
ersthatwillbearmoderate loads. Dust panels(pnge3a) canbe addedto
Commercial sliderunnersareanoth- the frameformedby the runnersand
er method of side-mounting drawersir-t stretchers by settingthemin a groove
Evertcorefulnteosurettlent doesnot a carcase. Although purists may decry routedin theirinsideedges. Somewood-
I alwnysgttorantceo per.fbct.fit. If a theiruse,commercial runners arestrolt- workerspreferto rout a groovein the
r l r o w c ri s / o os r r r r qi r r i t s o p t ' t t i r t yt ,o t t ger than wood runners,and so area carcase sidesand installa shelf,which
I c o t tp l o t r cd o w r t t l r es i d e su r t t i l t h c soodchoicefor drawers thatwillbear serves double-duty asdrawersupport
trrtitoperrsorrd closes vrtoothly. hear,ryloads.Commercial runnersare anddustpanel.
t
I IN A CARCASE
A DRAWER
SIDE-MOUNTING
I 1| Cuttins - -sroovesin thedrawersides
I C u ta s r o o v ei n t h e o u t s i d ef a c eo f
I e a c hd r a w i rs i d eb e f o r ef i n a la s s e m b l y .
s rt h e g r o o v e
T h e r ea r en o r i g i dg u i d e l i n ef o
I w i d t h ,b u t i t s h o u l da c c o m m o d ast el i d e s
t h a t a r e h e f t ye n o u g ht o s u p p o r t h e
I d r a w e rO. ny o u rt a b l es a w ,i n s t a lal d a d o
headthe samewidthas the groove.Draw
I c u t t i n gl i n e sf o r t h e g r o o v ew t d t ht n t h e
m i d d l eo f t h e l e a d i n e g n do f o n ed r a w e r
I s i d e .S e tt h e c u t t i n gh e t g h a t t no more
t h a no n e - h a ltfh e s t o c kt h i c k n e s sB. u t t
I t h e l i n e sf o r t h e g r o o v ew i d t ha g a i n stth e
d a d oh e a d p, o s i t i otnh e r i p f e n c ef l u s h
I againstthe stock,and makethe cut (/eff).
l f t h eg r o o v e w i d t he x c e e dtsh e w i d t ho f
I t h e d a d oh e a d t, u r nt h e b o a r de n df o r
e n da n d m a k ea n o t h epr a s s R . e p e atto
I c u t t h e s r o o v ei n t h e o t h e rd r a w esr i d e .

I
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I t33
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 I
DRAWERS I
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r) Making andinstalling the
Z- drawer slides I
Onyourtablesaw,ripthedrawer
froma boardthatis slightly shorter
slides
than
lll1
rlllllltlllJljltllllillJtllJ
lltJ
illllltJ
illJlll1
rllltlljl]litllttlll I
thedepthof thecarcase. Position therip
fenceto a cuttingwidthslightly narrower ?HO?Tt? I
thanthegrooves in thedrawer sides(sfep ?ooilioningdrawerslides
l). Cuttwoslides foreachdrawer, using Toensuredrawerslideson
I
a pushstick(above). (Caution: Blade guard oppooitre oideeof your car-
removed forclarity.) Tomounttheslides, caeeare aNprecieely the
I
insert thedrawer in thecarcase andhold eameheiqhl,ueea wood
i t i n p l a c ew h i l eu s i n ga p e n c ti o
l mark gpacercul from a oieceof I
thelocation of thegrooves on the front ecraV.Makeite widLhequal
edseo s f t h es i d en a n e l sT.h e nu s ea to the neceooarv e0ace I
carpenter's square to extend themarks belweenlhe eliiee.'Hota
a c r o stsh e i n s i d ef a c e so f t h e p a n e l s .
Nheedaeol the ezacer I
a q a i n o i t h e t o ?A n d t h e
Borethreecountersunk clearance holes
through theslides; maketheclearance
face againeloneeidepan-
el,butl the elideaqainsl
I
holes slightly widerthanthescrew shanks lhe sVacer,and screw if,
t o a l l o wf o rw o o dm o v e m e nHt .o l d i n g in place,Kepea|Nhe
I
theslidesrecessed fromthefrontedge procedure for the
of thecarcase between themarked lines remaininq slidee. I
o nt h es i d ep a n e l sd,r i l lp i l o h
t o l eas n d
screwtheslidesin place(inset),Test- I
f i t t h e d r a w e rU. s es h i m su n d etrh e
slides to tighten rt ordeepen thegrooves t
to ease thefit.
I
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r34 I
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I
t DRAWERS

I
I DRAWERS IN FRAME-AND-PANEI CASEWORK
Installing drawersin frame-and-panel caseworkis a
I little more complicatedthan with carcases. Runners
connotbe usedbecausedrawer supports cannot befas-
I teneddirectly to thefloating panels. As shown at right
and on page 136, the supportsore instead anached to
I corner strips screwedto the stilesof the casework. The
drawer supportsarefixed in the dedoes.During instal-
I lation, hold the corner stripsin position with hand-
screwsand test-fit the drawers to make sure the
I supportshold them straight and level. The strips can
run thefull height of the caseworkto support several
I drawers,or be shortenedto mount a singledrawer in a
pieceoffurniture like the night tableshownat right.
I
t
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I CASE
IN A FRAME.AND.PANEL
A DRAWER
SIDE-MOUNTING
t 1 Making thecorner strips
I Rioa board to a widthof 4 inches and
I crosscut it to reachfromtopto bottom
inside thecase. Thedadoes forthedrawer
I supports areeasyto cut on a radtalarm
l l d a d oh e a da, d j u s t i ni tgs
s a w I. n s t a a
I widthto accommodate thethickness of
thesupports youwillusein step3. Starting
I at theendthatwillbeat thebottom of the
cabinet, cut a dadoforthelowest drawer.
I Slidetheboard along thefenceto cutthe
second dadoat thenextdrawer position. lf
I thedistance between thesuoports will be
equal,drivea screwintothefenceto serve
I asan indexing pin;locate theheadof the
fastener against the leftedgeof thefirst
I dado.Nowcutthesecond dadoandreoo-
sitionthe boardsothe leftedgeof this
I dadorestsagainst thescrewhead.Cutthe
r e m a i n i ndga d o eisn t h i sf a s h i o (nl e f t ) ,
I thenriptheboardintofourequalstrips.

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I r35
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DRAWERS I
I
r) Installingthecorner strips
I
L Borea clearance holefora No.8
screwneartheendof eachcornerstrip,
I
thenwitha largerbit,drilldeepenough
to recess thescrewhead.Nowoosition I
eachstripin thecase,making certain
that
thedadoed edgesareflushwiththeedge
I
of thestiles.Temporarilyholdthestrips
in placewithhandscrews, makeand
I
insertyourdrawer supports(sfep3), and
testthedrawers in thecase.Adjustthe
I
height of thecorner strips,if necessary,
to levelthedrawers. Thenremove the
I
drawers anddrawer supports, markthe
screwholesnearthetooandbottomof
I
thestilesusingan awl,andborepilot
holesfora No.8 screw. Screw thestrios
I
to the case(/eff).
I
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I
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I
I
Q lnsefting thedrawer supports
t
r-,1 Measure thedistance between the
frontandbackstileson bothsidesof the
case.Cutdrawer supports to fit thegaps I
between pairs
matching of dadoes. Make
surethatthesupports arewideenough I
to buttressthedrawers adequately, and
thattheyf it snuglyin thedadoes (rghfl. I
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r36 I
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I DRAWERS

I
t T()FIT
A DRAWER
FINE.TUNING
I Planing drawer sides
lf a drawer bindsin a pieceof f urniture,
J youcanusea handplaneto improve the
f it. lf the sidesbind,remove thedrawer
I a n df i n da n dm a r ka n ys h i n ya r e a os n
thesides-these arehighspotsthatcan
I b e s h a v ew d i t ht h e p l a n eS. e c u rteh e
d r a w eor n a w o r ks u r f a cseot h eb i n d i n g
t sideisfacingup.Gripping theplane with
bothhands,shaveoff the marked spots
I with smooth, evenstrokes (right).fesI-
f it thedrawer in itsopening andcontinue
I p l a n i nugn t i li t f i t s p e r f e c t l y .

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Planingthetopofa drawer
I lf thetopor bottomof thedrawer rubs
against partof thecasework, planethe
I top.Toholdthedrawer in place,
secure
onesidebetween benchdogs,usingwood
I padsto protectthestock.Planetheedge
to betrimmedwitha light,evenpass(/eft).
I Test{itandcontinue planing,asnecessary.

I
I t37

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 I
DRAWERSTOPS I
I
.i
{- rawerstopscontrolhowfara draw-
I
L r' ercanslidein or out.Inwardstoos
arealmostalways needed. Theyprevent I
a drawerfrom beingpushedin too far.
Outwardstops,to preventa draw- I
e r f r o m p u l l i n go u t o f a c a r c a s e
a ,r e
alwaysneededwhena drawercarriesa I
heavyload,and may be desirable at
othertimesaswell.Thefollowingpages I
showa fewmethodsfor installinsboth
typesofstops. I
t
I
I
Tlrc inward stop shown ot lef'twill I
nllow thefrortt of the drawer to rest
exactlyllush with tlrc cnrcasefront. It is I
installedon the dust ptutel xtpporting
the drnwer,oJfset fr"onttheJiont edgeby
I
tlrc thicknessoJ'thedrntverJront. To
make this metlrcd work, tlrc drawer I
li'ont rrrtrstoverhangthe bottorrtso the
insidelace of the frortt c()ntactstlrc stop I
whert the drawer is closed.
I
INWARD
ST()PS I
Attaching an eccentric stop t
T h i si s a n e a s y - t o - i n s taadl lj u s t a b lset o p .
B e f o r ei n s t a l l i n tgh e b a c kp a n e lo f y o u r I
c a r c a s eu, s ea b a n ds a wo r s a b e rs a wt o
c u t a 1 - t o 1 % - i n c h - d i a m edties rkf r o ma I
p i e c eo f s c r a pw o o dt h e s a m et h r c k n e s s
a s t h e d r a w e rs i d e s .B o r ea n o f f - c e n t e r I
h o l et h r o u g ht h e s t o p ,t h e ns c r e wt h e d i s k
t o t h e s i d ep a n e ln e a rt h e b a c k .S e tt h e I
c a s eo n i t s s i d ea n d c l o s et h e d r a w e r .
Loosen t h e s c r e ws l i g h t l ya n d r o t a t et h e I
s t o pu n t i li t j u s tt o u c h e tsh e d r a w e rt ,h e n
tightenthe screw(right). I
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L3B I
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 DRAWERS

ST0PS:
0UTWARD CARCASE

Installing anoutward dlawer stop

Cuta stopfroma pieceof scrapwood.Before gluingup the of thenotchontheframeabove thedrawer. Borea pilothole
drawer, cut a notchforthestop the in drawer back. Makethe through thestop,thenscrewit in position(above, /eff).Donot
notchdeeper thanthestop'sthickness and wider than its nar- tightenthescrewall theway.Withthe longedgeof thestop
t
r o wd i m e n s i ot no a l l o wt h es t o pt o f i t t h r o u g h h e o p ening parallelto thesidesof thecase,slipthedrawer in place(above,
you
when installthedrawer. Forthedesk pedestal shown above, right).Oncethe stoppasses completelythroughthe notch,
f r d u s tp a n e l .
t h es t o pi s f i x e dt o t h eu n d e r s i doef t h es h e l o rotateit 90" sothatits longedgeis parallelto
thedrawer back
T o m o u ntth es t o o .i n s t a lt lh ed r a w earn dm a r kt h el o c a t i o n andtightenthescrew.

FRAME.AND.PANEL
STOPS:
OUTWARD
a stoponthefrontrail
Installing
Thismethod worksforthetoodrawer of a
frame-and-oanel deskoronewithdrawer
railsbetween eachdrawer. Cuta drawer
stopfromscrap. Tomountthestop,bore
a pilotholenearoneend.Screw thestop
to themiddleof therail,leaving thefas-
tenerjustlooseenough sothatyoucan
rotatethestopoutof theway.Installthe
drawer. Oncethedrawer backclears the
frontrail,rotatethestop90" (/eff).

r39

A.B-C
Basemolding: A decorativeframe
madefrom moldedstockthat sup-
ports the bottom ofa desk.
Bound water:Moistureheldwithin
the cell walls of wood; seefree water.
Breadboardend:A narrow strip of
wood installedacrossthe end grain
ofa tabletopto concealthat grain.
Cabrioleleg:A type of furniture leg
characterizedby roundedcontours
designedto imitate the gracefulleg
of a leapinganimal.
Carcase:A pieceof furniture with a
boxlike construction;madefrom
solid panels.
CaseworlcThe frameworkof a piece
of furniture constructedeitherfiom
solid panelsor from frame-and-
panelassemblies.
Cope-and-stickjoint A methodof
joining stilesand railsin frame-and-
panelconstruction;the joint features
mating tonguesand groovesand a
decorativemolding.
Crosscut A sawcut madeacrossthe
grain of a workpiece.
D-E-F-G-H-I
Dado: A rectangularchannelcut into
a workpiece.
Desktop fastener:Metal hardware
that fastensthe leg-and-railassembly
of a table or deskto the top; installed
in shallowrecesses cut into the mat-
ing pieces.
Dividing extension table: An exten-
sion tablewith a tabletopand leg-
and-railassemblythat slideapart
to accommodateadditionalleaves;
seenon-dividingextensiontable.
GLOSSARY
Double dadojoint: A cornerjoint that
featuresa tonguein eachpiecethat
interlockswith a groovein the other.
Dovetailedhalf-lapjoint Usedfor
joining the connectingrail of a desk
to the carcase;the half-lap at the end
of the rail is cut in a dovetailshapeto
lock thejoint in tension.
Dowel joint Any joint relying on dow-
elsfor alignmentor reinforcement.
Drawer slide:A type of drawersup-
port; usuallya wood strip fastenedto
the sidepanelof a carcase that mates
with a groovein the drawerside,or a
commercialmetalslidefastenedto the
drawersidethat mesheswith a runner
screwedto the carcase.
Drawer slip: A groovedwood strip
fastenedalongthe bottom edgeofa
drawersideto supportthe bottom.
Drawer stop:A woodenblock or disk
attachedto deskor tablecaseworkto
preventa drawerfrom beingpulled
out or pushedin too far.
Drop-leaftable:A tablewith a nar-
row top and hinged leavesthat fold
down when not in use.
Dust frame:A flat frame-and-panel
assemblyusedto supportdeskdraw-
ersand preventdust from entering
the drawers.
Escutcheon:A metalplateinstalled
arounda keyholefor decorationand
protectionof the surroundingwood.
Extensiontable A tablewith a top
that openson tableextendersto
accommodate additionalspacer
leaves.Seedividingand non-dividing
extensiontables.
Falsefront A pieceof wood installed
over a drawerfront, usuallyto conceal
the end grain ofthe sidesor to create
a lippedfront.
140
I
I
I
Fiber saturationpoint (FSP):A con-
I
dition in which wood cellcavitiesare
freeof all water,while the cellwalls I
remainfully saturated.
I
Flushfront A drawerfront that sits
flushwith the front edgesof the car-
casewhen the draweris installed;also
I
known asan insetdrawer.
I
Frame-and-panelassembly:A
methodof caseworkconstructionin I
which a wood panelsitsin groovesin
a framemadeof horizontalrailsand I
verticalstiles.
Freewater:Moisturecontainedwith-
I
in wood cell cavities;seeboundwater.
I
Gatelegtable:A six-leggedtablewith
two legsthat swingout from the table I
railsto supportdrop leaves.
Grain: The arrangementand direc-
I
tion of the fibersthat makeup wood;
grain appearance varieswith thewood I
speciesand the sawingtechnique.
I
Half-blind dovetail joint Similar
to a through dovetailjoint, except I
that the pins arenot cut through the
entirethicknessof the workpiece,
therebyconcealingthe end grain
I
of the tail boards;idealfor joining
drawerfronts to sides. I
Haunchedmortise-and-tenonjoint: I
Similarto a standardmortise-and-
tenonjoint, exceptthat one edgeof
the tenonhasa haunchthat fills the
I
groovecut for a panel.
I
Inlay: A decorativestrip of metal,
wood, or marquetrythat is gluedinto I
a groovecut into a workpiece.
I
I-K-r-M-N-O-P-Q
Lap jointA joint in which one or
both of the mating boards are dadoed
I
so that the surfacesofthe piecesrest
flush with one another when the ioint I
is assembled.
I
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t
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I Ledgerstrip: A short,narrow piece
of wood usedto supportthe top or
I bottom of a tableor desk.
I Lipped front A rabbeteddrawer
front that overhangsthe sides,con-
I cealingdrawer-mounting hardware
when the draweris closed:alsoserves
asa drawerstop.
I plain-sawnlumber.
Marquetry: Decorativeinlay done
I with veneers,metal,or other materials.
t Mortise-and-tenonjoint A joinery
techniquein which a projectingtenon
cut in oneboard fits into a matching
I hole, or mortise,in another.
I Nominal size The dimensionsto
which lumber is sawnbeforeolan-
I ing; wood is soldaccordingto nomi-
nal size.
I Non-dividing extensiontable: An
extensiontablewith top slidesthat
I open on tableextenderswhile the leg-
and-rail assemblyremainsfixed;see
I dividingextensiontable.
I Outward stop:A wood block that
stopsa dropJeafsupportin the open
position;also,a block screwedto the
I insideof a carcaseto preventa drawer
from beingpulled out too far.
I cut in the frame.
Pedestaltable:A tablewith a top
I that is supportedby a centralcolumn
usuallymountedon threeor four
r short legs.
Plain-sawn lumber: Lumber that has
I beensawnso that the wide surfacesare
roughly parallelto the annualgrowth
I rings.Also known asflat-sawnlum-
ber when referringto softwood;see
t quartersawn lumber.
I Pockethole:An angledhole bored
into the faceof a workpieceand
exiting from its top edge;typically
I usedto attacha top to the railsofa
tableor desk.
I wood to improve its workability.
I
I
I
I I4I
I
Pommet The souaresectionleft on a
turned furniture leg;allowsroom for
mortisesneededto receiverails.
Quartersawn lumber: Wood sawnso
the wide surfacesintersectthe growth
rings at anglesbetween45" to 90o.
Also known asvertical-grainedlum-
ber when referringto softwood;see
R-S
Rabbet A step-likecut in the edge
or end of a board;usuallyforms part
of a joint.
Rabbetjoint A methodofjoining
wood in which the end or edgeof
oneworkpiecefits into a channel
cut alongthe edgeor end ofanother
workpiece;typicallyusedto join
carcasesat the corners.
RaiftA board running alongthe bot-
tom edgeof a tabletopto which the
legscanbe attached;also,the hori-
zontalmemberof a frame-and-panel
assembly.Seestile.
Raisedpanet In frame-and-panel
panelwith a
construction,a carcase
bevelcut aroundits edges,a decora-
tive effectthat
"raises"
the centerand
allowsthe panelto fit into the groove
Relativehumidity: The ratio of the
watervaporpresentin the air to the
amountthe air would hold at its satu-
ration point, usuallyexpressedasa
percentage figure.
Rip cut A sawcut that follows the
grain of a workpiece.
Rulejoint A pivoting joint commonly
usedin dropJeaftables;featuresmat-
ing concaveand convexprofiles cut
into edgesof the tableleafand tabletop.
Seasoning:The processor technique
of removingmoisturefrom green
Stile:The verticalmemberof a frame-
and-panelassembly. Seerail.
Substrate:A pieceof plywoodor solid
wood usedasthe foundationfor
veneer,leather,felt, or tile that covers
the surfaceof a tableor desktop.
Swing-legtable:A four-leggedtable
with two legsthat swing out from the
railsto supportdrop leaves.
T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
Thbletopevener:Hardwareinstalled
on the undersideof adiustabletables
to alignthe tablehalvesor leavesas
they areclosed.
Tirngentialplane: A viewing plane in
wood identification cut alongthe grain
tangentialto the growth rings;plain-
sawnlumber is sawntangentially.
Template A pattern cut from ply-
wood,hardwood,or particleboardto
reproducemultiple copiesof a part.
Through dovetail joint A method of
joining wood at the cornersby means
of interlockingpins and tails,both cut
to the thicknessof the workpiece.
Trestletable:A knockdowntable
with a largetop supportedby trestles
at eachend that areconnectedto rails
with removablewedgedor tusk
tenonjoints.
Thipodtable A pedestaltablewith a
centralcolumn supportedby three
shorterlegs.
Tusktenonjoint A type of through
mortise-and-tenonjoint in which the
tenonextendsthrough the mortise
pieceand is fixed,not by glue,but by
a tusk-likewedge.
Wood movement:The shrinking
or swellingof wood in reactionto
changesin relativehumidity.
 t
INDEX I
I
Pagereferencesin iralicsindicate an illus- Tops,89-90,93-95 Frame-and-panelconstruction,29, 31,4l
I
tration ofsubject matter. Pagereferencesin addingledgerstrips (ShopTip),97 Assembly,4T
bold indicate a Build It Yourself proiect. felt-topped writing desks
(ShopTip), l15
Drawer, 135-136,139 I
Joinery
A.B-C-D glass,112-113 cope-and-stickjoints, 32
I
Adhesives: gluing up, 94 haunched mortise-and-tenon loints,
loinery, front endpaper hardware,92,99, 100 32.41-43
Blind mortise-and-tenon joints, 57, 76-77 leather, 114 Panels I
Boardfeet,16-17 methods of attachment, 90,96-100 non-raised,48-49
Build It Yourself:
Frame-and-panel construction
tiles, l.l5
using steeltabletop fasteners
raised,41, 44-45,46
Pedestaldesks,49-5.1 t
panel-raising jigs for table saws,45 (ShopTip), ee Gate-leg tables,23,90
tenoning jigs for table saws,42 SeealsoPedestaldesks
Desktop fasteners,100
Assembln 105
Ghaffari, Kam, 8-9
I
Legs
jigs for two-sided tapers,62
shop-made hardware, 85-87
Dining tables,25
Double-pedestaldesks.SeePedestaldesks
Glass:
Desk/tabletops, 112-113 I
Tops Dovetail joints: Gluing:
drop-leaf supports, 103
Butler's tabIes,22
Fiing loose dovetails (Shop Tip), 124
Half-blind dovetails,116,118
Carcases, 29,37-38
Desldtabletops,94
I
HalfJap dovetails, 32, 39 Drawers, 129
Butterfly tables,22
Cabriole legs,56, 63-65 figs and templates, 126 Leg blanks,/ront endpaper I
Carcases,29,30 Sliding dovetails, 5& 59, 78-80,81-82 Seea/soAdhesives
Assembly,3T-38
Drawer mounting
Through dovetailjoints, 32, 118,125-126
Dowel joints, 57, 74-75
Groove-and-splinejoints, 32 I
positioning drawer slides Drawers,116,117-118 H-I-I
(ShopTip), l3a Adjustment, 133,137 Half-blind dovetails, 116, 118 I
Drawers,132-133,138-39 Assembly, 129 Handkerchief t ables,23
foinery
dovetail joints, 32, 39
checking for square (Shop Tip), 128
Bottoms, I30
Hardware:
Desks,92,99,100
I
groove-and-splinejoints, 32 Fronts, IJ8 Drawers,l-19
mortise-and-tenon joints, 33, 34-36 Hardware,.l19 Legs,56,84-85 I
plate joints, 32 half-mortise lo ck. I 31- 132 shop-made,86-87
rabbet joints, 32, 33-34
tongue-and-dado joints, 32
foinery, 118,120-124
Half-blind dovetails,116,118
Tables,92,99, 100,102,106, 111
Harvest tables,24
I
Panels,33 rabbetjoints, 118,129 Haunchedmortise-and-tenonioints,
Card tables.22 Measuring,1-17 32,41-43 I
Circle cuts: Mounting, 119,133-136 Inlays:
Round table tops, 95
Clamos:
positioning drawer slides
(ShopTip), 134
Legs,70-71
figs:
I
Using pipe clamps in pairs Stops,138-I39 Dovetail joints, 126
(Shop Tip), 53 DropJeaftables, 23 Table saws I
Coffee tables, 22 Tops, 101-102, IO3, 104 jigs for two-sidedtapers,62
Console tables.23
Cope-and-stick joints, 32
leveling drop leaves(Shop Tip), 104
Dust frames, 3436
panel-raisingjigs, 46
tenoning jigs, 42
I
Crosscutting,20 screwingdust frames to a carcase foinery:
Cutting lists, 17 (ShopTip), 37 Adhesives,/ror t endpaper I
Dado joints, 32, 118,120, 127-128,129 Cope-and-stickjoints, 32
Davenport desks,27
Decorative technioues:
E-F-G
Extension tables,23
Dado joints, 118,120,127-128,129
Dowel joints, 57, 74-75
I
Inlays,70-71 Tops, 89, l0l Drawers, 118,120-124
Desks: aligning table leaveswith dowel Groove-and-splinejoints, 32 I
Assembly centers(Shop Tip), I I I Leg-to-rail joints, 57, 72-87
checking for square, .100
Design,6-7,10-ll,2l
dividing, 91,107
non-dividing, 91, 108-109
Plate joints, 32
Rulejoints, 101-102
I
styles,26-27 pedestalextension tables, 109 Tongue-and-dado joints, 32
Repair tableJocking hardware, I 1I Tusk tenon joints, 54, 57, 72-73 I
iratching compounds, backendpaper Fall-front desks,26,27 Wood grain, 15
Standard dimensions, 2l Felt:
Desktops(ShopTip), ll5
SeealsoD ovetail ioints; Mortise-and-
tenon joints; Rabbet
I
lomts
fointing, .19 I
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t
I K-L-M Panels: T-U-V
Keyholes, 132 Frame-and-panelconstruction, Tables:
I Lap desks,26 41,44-45,46 Assembly
Leather: non-raised pan els, 48-49 checking for square, i00
t Desk/tabletops,.ll4
Leaves(table extension):
Patching compowds, backendpaper
Pedestaldesks,12,26,27,29
Design,8-9,2l
styles,22-27,90
Aligning table leaveswith dowel Assembly,52-53 Reoair
I centers(Shop Tip), lll using pipe clampsin pairs
(ShopTip), 53
patching compounds, backendpaper
Legs,55 Standard dimensions, 21
Basemoldings, 40
I Gate-legtables, 105
Gluing up legblanks, front endpaper Carcases,33
Tops, 88-90,9j-95
adding ledger strips (Shop Tip),97
Hardware,56 gtuingup,37-j8 glass,112-113
I foinery, 54-55,57 Connecting rails, 39
Dust frames, 34-36
gluing up, 94
blind mortise-and-tenonjoints, hardware,92,99, 100,102,106, 111
screwing dust frames to a carcase
I 57,7G77
commercial hardw are, 84-85 (ShopTip), 37
leather, 114
methods of attachment, 90, 96-100
dowel lornts,57,74-75 Frame-and-panelpedestals,49-51 round, 95
I shop-made hardware, 86-87 Pedestaltables,24
Extension tables, ]09
tiles,115
sliding dovetail joints, using steeltabletop fasteners
Legs,59,68,72,81-83 (ShopTip), 99
I s8, s9,78-80,81-82
tusk tenon joints, 54,57,72-73 Pembroke tables,25 Table saws:
Pedestaltables,59, 81-83 Planing,.l9 figs for two-sided tapers, 62
I Styles,56 Platejoints, 32
Pocket holes, 98
Raisedpanels,45-46
cabriole, 56,63-65 Tenoningjigs,42
octagonal,56,69 Power tools: Tabletop fasteners,99
I pedestal,56,58,59,68 Safetyprecautions,front endpaper Tapered legs,56, 60-62, 70
tapered,56,60-62,70 Tavern tables.25
t Turned, 55,56,66-67
SwingJeg tables, 106
R.S
Rabbetjoints:
Through dovetail joints, 32, I 18,125-126
Tiles:
Carcases, 32,33-i4
I Tripod tables,5& 68,78-80
Locks. 131-132 Drawers,118,129
Desk/tabletops,.ll5
Tilt-top tables,25
Lumber: Rails,55,57 Tongue-and-dado joints, 32
I Cutting lists, 17
Defects,18
Ripping,20
Roll-topdesks,27
Tools:
Measuring and marking tools,
Roundtabletops,95
I Measurement,16-17
Selection,13,16-17 Routers:
backendpaper
Safetyprecautions,front endpaper
SeeakoWood Raisedpanels,44 Trestle tables, 22, 24
t Martinez, Ramon, l0-11
Measuring and marking tools,
Rulejoints,101-102
Safetyprecautions:
Legs,54
Tops,91,96
back endpaper Tools,front endpaper leaves,-ll0
I Moldings: Searer,Tony,J0-ll Tripod tables:
Basemoldings, 40 Secretarydesks,26 Assembly, 78-80
t Mortise-and-tenon joints, 32, 33, 34-36
Blind mortise-and-tenon joints,
ShopTips:
Deskassembly, 37,53
Legs,58, 68,78-80
Turned legs,55, 56,66-67
57.76-77 Drawers, 124,128,134 Tusk tenon joints, 54, 57,72-73
I Frame-and-panelconstruction,41-43 Tops,J5,97,99,I I I Two-pedestal desks.SeePedestaldesks
Legs,57,7G77 Slidingdovetailjoints, 58,59,78-80,81-82
I Legs-to-rail joints, 57 Square:
Checkingfor square
W-X-Y-Z
Watts, Simon, 6-7
N-O-P-Q drawerc,128
t Nested tables,24 tables.100
Standing desks,27
Wood:
Grades,backendpaper,13,17
Night tables,25 Grain, 15
I Occasional tables,24
Octagonal legs,56,69
Stands(tables),25
Swing-legtables,90
Moisture content, 14-15
Recycled,7
Assembly,]06 Shrinking and swelling, 14- 15,96
I SeealsoLrtmber
Wood buttons, 98-99
I Writing tables,26

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I
Theeditorswish to thank thefollowing I
TABLE AND DESK BASICS
Guelph,Ont.;
Judith Ames,Seattle,WA; Delta InternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable,
I
Hitachi PowerTools U.S.A.Ltd., Norcross,GA; Hank Holtzer, Seattle,WA;
ThomasMoser Cabinetmakers, Auburn, ME; Shopsmith,Inc., Montreal, Que. I
DESKCASEWORK
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; Black& Decker/EluPowerTools,Towson,MD; Delta International
I
Machinery/Porter-Cable, Guelph,Ont.; FreudWestmoreTools,Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.;
GreatNeck SawMfrs. Inc. (Buck Bros.Division), Millbury, MA; GrisetIndustries,Inc., SantaAna, CA; I
Frank Klausz,Frank'sCabinetShop,Pluckemin,NJ; SandvikSawsand Tools Co., Scranton,PA;
StanleyTools, Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT; Steiner-LamelloA.G. SwitzerlandiColonial
SawCo., Kingston,MA; Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY;
I
The Woodworker'sStore,Rogers,MN
I
LEGSANDRAILS
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln, NE; Black& Decker/EluPowerTools,
Towson,MD; Delta InternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable, Guelph,Ont.; Allan Flegg,Montreal, Que.;
I
LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.; RobertSorbyLtd., Sheffield,U.K./BusyBeeMachineTools,
Concord,Ont.; SandvikSawsand Tools Co., Scranton,PA; Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; I
Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY; WainbeeLtd., Pointe Claire,Que.i
De-Sta-Co,Troy, MI; The Woodworker'sStore,Rogers,MN I
AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln, NE; Black& D..kl?El: PowerTools,Towson,MD; CabotSafetyCorp., I
Southbridge,MA; Delta InternationalMachinery/Porter-Cable,Guelph,Ont.; Allan Flegg,Montreal, Que.;
FreudWestmoreTools,Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.; GreatNeck SawMfrs. Inc. (Buck Bros.Division),
Millbury, MA; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.; Ednaand William Mills, Montreal, Que.;
I
Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; StanleyTools,Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT;
Steiner-LamelloA.G. Switzerland/ColonialSawCo., Kingston,MA; 3M CanadaInc., London, Ont.; I
Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY; The Woodworker'sStore,Rogers,MN

DRAWERS I
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; AmericanTool Cos.,Lincoln, NE; Delta International
Machinery/Porter-Cable, Guelph,Ont.; FreudWestmoreTools,Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.; GreatNeck Saw I
Mfrs. Inc. (Buck Bros.Division), Millbury, MA; Frank Klausz,Frank'sCabinetShop,Pluckemin,NI;
RobertLarsonCompany,Inc., SanFrancisco,CA; LeighIndustriesInc., Port Coquitlam,B.C.;
RecordTools Inc., Pickering,Ont.; SandvikSawsand Tools Co., Scranton,PA; I
Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; StanleyTools,Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT;
Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and Louisville,KY; The Woodworker'sStore,Rogers,MN I
in thepreparationofthis book:
Thefollowingpersonsalsoassisted I
Eric Cordeau(LesBoisD'Ecor,Montreal,Que.),LorraineDor€,
Mr. and Mrs. RichardEttinger,Graphor Consultation,GenevidveMonette,David Simon I
I
PICTURE CREDITS I
Cover RobertChartier
6,7 RobertHolmes I
8,9 Ian Gittler
10,ll MichaelTincher
13 Philip C. Jackson
t
22 CourtesyThos.Moser Cabinetmakers
25 Hank Holtzer I
27 Judith Ames
90 Dean Powell/KamGhaffariDesign I
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GPU I D E
WORKSHO
TUMBER
HARDWOOD GRADES
I
I GRADE FAS SELECT N 0 .1
C(]MMON
N0.2A& 28
C()MMON
N().3A
COMM()N
N O3. 8
COMM()N
I Allowablength 8'- 16', 6 -16 4 ' , -1 6 4',- 16' 4' - 16' 4' - 16'
of board
I A l l o w a bw
l ei d t h 6 " o rw i d e r 4 " o rw i d e r 3 " o rw i d e r 3 " o rw i d e r 3 " o rw i d e r 3 " o rw i d e r
of board
t % of
Minimum 83tA% 83IA% 66'A% 50% 33'A% 25%
elear face nr rfii nqs

I Minimum s i z eo f 3"x7' 3"x7' 3"x3' 3 "x 2 ' 3 "x 2 ' Notlessthan

clearcuttings 4"x5' 4"x5' 4 "x 2 ' 1%"wide
I c o n t a i n i n3g6
square Incnes
I Maximum number 4 4 5 Unlimited Unlimited
of clearcuttings
I permitted

t Chart courtagv of NaLionalHardwoodLumberAagociation

I TOOTS
ANDMARKING
MEASURING
USEFUT
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I
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I PATCHING
WOOD COMP()UNDS

3 TYPE CHARACTERISTICS usEs COMPATIBILITIES

Fillinglargeholes,gouges, l ei t h m o s tf i n i s h e s ;
C o m p a t i bw
I W o o df i l l e r depending
Solveni-or water-based, 0n type.
pre-tinted
Canbe tintedwith stainor purchased cracksand dents applybeforeor afterstain

I Waxstick Wax-and resin-based; availablein a variety F i l l i n gs m a l lh o l e s , M a yb e i n c o m p a t i bw l ei t h

of colors.Setsquickly scratches and cracks l a c q u e ra;p p l ya f t e rf i n i s h i n g
I S h e l l a cs t i c k S h e l l a ca- n d r e s i n - b a s eadv;a i l a b l e F i l l i n gs c r a t c h e ds e
, nts M a yb e i n c o m p a t i bw
l ei t ha l c o h o l -
in a varietyof colors.Setsquickly and gouges or lacquer-based finishes;apply
I to form a hardsurface beforeor afterfinishing
Shop-made S a w d u sm t i x e dw i t hb i n d e rs, u c ha s h i d e F i l l i n gn a r r o w
cracks, l ei t hm o s tf i n i s h e s
C o m p a t i bw
t f il l e r g l u eo r s h e l l a cc;a n b e t i n t e dw i t hs t a i n ^^^^
Bdp),
^^l
dilu
^-^il
)ilroil
L^t^-
ilurtrJ

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