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August 29, 2003
WOODSMITH: Hole Drilling Jig
Recently, I made a cribbage board and needed a way to accurately drill the several rows of holes. I solved this problem by building a jig with a micro-adjustment feature for the drill press.
I began by cutting a ¾" plywood base and then adding a hardwood fence along one side (see drawing). The fence ensures that all the holes will be in a line. The adjustment mechanism consists of a narrow "screw" block and a length of threaded rod.
First, cut the block to size and then drill a hole through the width near one end. A ¼"-20 threaded insert is then installed as shown in detail 'a'. I chamfered the front edge and then screwed the block to the base.
Next, I cut a length of ¼" threaded rod and epoxied a small crank to one end. The threaded rod can then be inserted into the screw block as shown in the drawing above.
To use the jig, first clamp it to the table of the drill press. Position your workpiece for the first hole and "snug" the threaded rod up to it. After drilling the initial hole, you can "crank" the workpiece to the next position. Every five turns of the crank will advance the workpiece ¼".
Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith
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August 22, 2003
Crosscut Sled for Wide Panels
The miter gauge that comes with most table saws is fine for crosscutting a narrow board. But when crosscutting wide panels, a little extra support for the workpiece is nice.
I made this simple crosscut sled, which works like a giant miter gauge, for crosscutting panels on my table saw. The panel rests on a large, flat base, which is guided smoothly through the saw blade by a pair of runners. A fence on the back edge of the sled ensures square cuts.
To build the sled, start by cutting a piece of plywood for the base. (I made my base 16" x 30".) Then, cut a hardwood runner to fit in the miter gauge slot of your table saw. Now lower the table saw blade and position the runner in the miter slot. Align the base over the runner just past the table saw blade, and mark the location of the runner. Mark and then drill holes for #6 x ¾" woodscrews to attach the runner to the base.
To help keep the sled aligned, a second runner is added that rides against the edge of the extension wing on the table saw. Once both runners are in place, place the sled on the saw and trim off the right edge of the base.
The last part of the sled is the fence, which is a piece of 2x stock ripped to width, with a chamfer routed on the bottom edge for dust relief. I used a framing square to position and then screw the fence in place (see Illustration).
Have a nice weekend,
Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench
Plus bonus booklet: Shop Storage Ideas
August 15, 2003
Knock-Down Sawhorses
A set of sawhorses always comes in handy—until you put them away. They're hard to stack, and they take up valuable space. So I built a pair of sawhorses that "knock down" for storage. Besides saving space, these sawhorses can be assembled (or taken apart) in just a few seconds.
If you look at the drawing at right, it's easy to see how this works. Each sawhorse consists of a long stretcher that fits down into a notch in two A-shaped supports. (I used 1x4 pine.)
To prevent the sawhorse from racking, there are four small cleats near each end of the stretcher (two on each side). These cleats are spaced far enough apart to form a channel that fits down over the supports and "locks" the stretcher in place.
Once the cleats are glued and screwed in place, it's just a matter of making the two supports. Each support consists of two angled legs that are held together with four braces.
Both ends of the legs and braces are mitered at a 15° angle. Also, to form the notch that accepts the stretcher, you'll need to trim the top inside corner of each leg at an angle, as shown in the detail of the illustration.
An easy way to lay out this angle is to set a square on the angled end of the leg and mark a line that's equal in length to the width of the stretcher. After trimming off the waste, just glue and screw the supports together.
Have a nice weekend,
Phillip Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes
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August 08, 2003
WOODSMITH: Sanding a Chamfer
Routing a clean chamfer on end grain can be difficult. If you feed the workpiece too fast at the end of the cut, you're likely to get tearout. But if you slow down to avoid tearout, you can get "burning." To avoid these problems, I came up with a way to sand a chamfer on my table saw.
To do this, I first mount a sanding disk on the saw arbor and tilt it to 45°. Next, I clamp a scrap of plywood onto the table saw rip fence to provide a bearing surface for the workpiece and clearance for the sanding disk (see drawing).
When I sand a chamfer, I use the miter gauge to steady the workpiece. Then I simply slide the piece into the sanding disk and move it forward. You can easily vary the size of the chamfer by adjusting the rip fence. And your chamfered edge will be clean and chip-free.
Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith
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