I Can Do That! Woodworking Projects : 157 Quality Furniture Projects That Require Minimal Tools and Experience

131 Pages·2009·27.78 MB·English

by  David Thiel

WOodworking
PRojects
EDITED BY DAVID THIEL
POPULARR WOODWORKING BOOKS
CINCINNATI, OHIO
www.popularwoodworking.com
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Metric Conversion Chart
Read This ImPoRtant to convert to multiply by
Inches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Centimeters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.54
SafetY NOtice Centimeters . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.4
Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Centimeters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30.5
Centimeters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.03
To prevent accidents, keep safety in mind while Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.9
you work. Use the safety guards installed on Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.1
power equipment; they are for your protection.
When working on power equipment, keep fi n-
gers away from saw blades, wear safety goggles
to prevent injuries from fl ying wood chips and
sawdust, wear headphones to protect your hear- I Can Do That! Woodworking Projects. Copyright © 2007 by Popular Woodwork-
ing, and consider installing a dust vacuum to ing Books. Printed and bound in China. All rights reserved. No part of this
reduce the amount of airborne sawdust in your book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means
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such as rings, necklaces or bracelets, when tions, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. First edition.
working on power equipment. Tie back long
hair to prevent it from getting caught in your Distributed in Canada by Fraser Direct
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equipment. People who are sensitive to certain Georgetown, Ontario L7G 5S4
chemicals should check the chemical content Canada
of any product before using it. The authors and
editors who compiled this book have tried to Distributed in the U.K. and Europe by David & Charles
make the contents as accurate and correct as Brunel House
Newton Abbot
possible. Plans, illustrations, photographs and Devon TQ12 4PU
text have been carefully checked. All instruc- England
tions, plans and projects should be carefully Tel: [phone]
read, studied and understood before beginning Fax: [phone]
construction. Due to the variability of local E-mail: [email protected]
conditions, construction materials, skill levels, Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link
etc., neither the author nor Popular Woodwork- P.O. Box 704
ing Books assumes any responsibility for any Windsor, NSW 2756
accidents, injuries, damages or other losses Australia
incurred resulting from the material presented
in this book. Prices listed for supplies and aVti switw owu.rfw Wbeobo kssitteo raet. cwowmw f.opro pinufloarrmwoaotidown oornk imngo.creo mre sooru orucer sc ofonrs wumooedrw Worekbe srist e
equipment were current at the time of publica- and other arts and crafts projects.
tion and are subject to change. Glass shelving
should have all edges polished and must be Other fine Popular Woodworking Books are available from your local bookstore
tempered. Untempered glass shelves may shat- or direct from the publisher.
ter and can cause serious bodily injury. Tem- 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1
pered shelves are very strong and if they break
will just crumble, minimizing personal injury. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
I can do that! Woodworking projects / edited by David Thiel. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-10: 1-55870-816-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-55870-816-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-55870-957-7 (EPUB)(cid:13)(cid:10)
1. Woodwork--Amateurs’ manuals. 2. House furnishings. I. Thiel, David,
1962-
TT185.I22 2007
684’.08--dc22
2007009939
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR: David Thiel
EDITOR: David Thiel
DESIGNER: Brian Roeth
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Mark Griffin
ILLUSTRATOR: John Hutchinson
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FRom the EditoR
It was with great pride that I was able to be a part of the Popular Woodowrking magazine staff that
brought the I Can Do That! concept to life. It gave me even more pleasure to be able to expand the
idea into book form as presented here. Special recognition goes to the magazine staff, Christopher
Schwarz, Robert Lang and Megan Fitzpatrick, for the initial (and continuing) work on the concept.
Extended recognition goes to Dave Griessman, A.J. Hamler and Glen Huey for taking up the task of
building new projects, and for accepting the idealogy of turning out quality projects with a mini-
mum of tools and basic home center materials. Thanks also to John Hutchinson for combining
some of his past work for the magazine with new material to present all of our illustrations for the
projects—a vital part of the successful building process. Thanks, once again, to all.
—David Thiel
About the AuthoRs
A.J. Hamler Robert Lang
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Wood- Bob is senior editor with Popular Wood-
shop News and was the founding editor working magazine and grew up in north-
of Woodcraft Magazine. As a freelance eastern Ohio and has been a professional
writer, A.J.’s woodworking articles have woodworker since the early 1970s. He
appeared in most of the publications in learned woodworking repairing wooden
the fi eld and he recently served as Senior boats at Lake Erie and in a large com-
Editor for The Collins Complete Wood- mercial shop in Cleveland. Along the
worker for HarperCollins/Smithsonian. way he studied industrial design at The
When not in his workshop, his other inter- Ohio State University, and his experi-
ests include science fi ction (writing as ence includes building custom furniture
A.J. Austin he’s published two novels and and cabinets as well as managing and
numerous short stories), gourmet cook- engineering large architectural millwork
ing and Civil War reenacting. He lives in projects. He is the author of several Shop
Williamstown, W.Va. Drawings books about furniture and inte-
riors of the Arts & Crafts Movement of the
Megan Fitzpatrick early 1900s.
Megan is managing editor for Popu-
lar Woodworking and earned a master’s Christopher Schwarz
degree in English literature from the Uni- Chris is editor of Popular Woodworking
versity of Cincinnati, which enables her magazine and is a long-time amateur
to quote large blocks of Shakespeare— woodworker and professional journal-
mighty handy in a shop setting. ist. He built his fi rst workbench at age
eight and spent weekends helping his
Dave Griessman father build two houses on the family’s
Dave builds reproduction furniture in his farm outside Hackett, Arkansas — using
“free” time and is working towards own- mostly hand tools. He has journalism
ing his own furniture making business. degrees from Northwestern Univer-
Dave lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. sity and The Ohio State University and
worked as a magazine and newspa-
Glen Huey per journalist before joining Popular
Glen recently joined the staff of Popular Woodworking in 1996. Despite his early
Woodworking as senior editor, but has experience on the farm, Chris remains a
been in the pages as a contributing editor hand-tool enthusiast.
for a number of years. He is the author of
a number of books on building furniture.
He also teaches and hosts DVDs about
furniture building.
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table Of
conTEnts
Introduction . . . 6
Rules For Using The Tools . . . 8
Techniques . . . 38
1 Bi-fold Shutters
. . . 42
2 Magazine Rack
. . . 44
3 Egg Crate Shelves
. . . 46
4 Whale Tail Shelves
. . . 51
5 Hall Bench
. . . 54
6 Shaker Shelves
. . . 58
7 Mud Room Bench
. . . 62
8 Coffee Table
. . . 66
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9 Round Taboret
. . . 72
10 Tiered End Table
. . . 76
11 Open Bookcase
. . . 80
12 Shaker Shelf
. . . 86
13 Game Table
. . . 92
14 Patio Chair
. . . 98
15 Printer Stand
. . . 104
16 Painted Cupboard
. . . 110
17 Simple Side Chair
. . . 118
Suppliers . . . 126
Index . . . 127
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yEs YoU caN
Do it!
When you get started in woodworking there are many paths to follow, forks in the road, dead-
ends and shortcuts. It’s a journey that our forebears would make with the help of a living,
breathing guide: a master, a grandfather, a shop teacher.
Sadly, the guides are fewer in number today. And so you are left with people like me to
help. Like the making of meat by-products, it’s not a pretty sight. Getting your woodworking
instruction from books, magazines, television and the occasional class is a slow way to learn
a complex task. In fact, many woodworkers spend a long time (years!) simply accumulating
machines and tools before they ever build a single piece of furniture. And when they do begin
to build, they inevitably discover that they actually need different machines and tools to make
what they really want to make.
So they buy more tools and machines.
I want you to know something impor-
tant that doesn’t get said much: There is
another way to begin building furniture.
You don’t need a table saw, a workbench
or even a shop. You don’t need to spend
$1,000 to build your first birdhouse. You
can go to the home center in the morn-
ing and start building something the
same day.
I’m not talking about building junk,
either. The difference between a nice-
looking set of bookshelves and a rude
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assemblage of 2 × 4s isn’t a table saw. The difference is clever-
ness, sound design and just a wee bit of patience.
To build nice furniture you need a handful of decent tools
that you won’t outgrow. This book will help you select the right
tools that strike a balance between price and function. You need
to use these tools correctly; we’ll show you how to use them
to build furniture (something you rarely find in the instruction
manual). You need a place to work; a driveway, garage or corner
of the basement will do nicely. You need good materials; we’ll
show you how to get everything you need from the local home
center. And you need plans and ideas for things to build that
look nice and can be constructed with these
tools, methods and materials.
In every issue of Popular Woodworking magazine we publish a column
called “I Can Do That” because we want readers to say that (out loud or in
their heads) when they read the magazine (and now this book). We started
with some of the plans used in the magazine and have added another ten,
built specifically for this book and for you.
Eventually, we think you’ll outgrow the manual part of this book (and on the web at www.
icandothatextras.com) as your skills improve. I bet you will want a table saw someday. And a
drill press. And a smoothing plane. When that day comes, however, you’ll also have a house full
of well-proportioned, well-built projects under your belt. You will be ready for those awesome
tools, and the learning curve will be mercifully short.
If all this sounds like something that a bunch of idealists cooked up at a corporate strategy
meeting, you’re wrong. Though I had some carpentry training from my father and grandfather,
I started building furniture on my back porch in Lexington, Kentucky, with a very similar set
of tools. Probably the only major difference is that I had a circular saw instead of a miter saw
(I didn’t know those existed yet). I built a lot of stuff with my simple setup —- some stuff we
still have today and some stuff that was long ago abandoned at the curb or given away.
So this, dear reader, is a valid path.
My only regret in following it is that I wish I’d had this book (or a master) to make the
journey easier.
— Christopher Schwarz, Editor Popular Woodworking magazine
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R u l e S fo r
U s i n g t h e TO o l s
“The pioneers cleared the forests from Jamestown to the Mississippi
with fewer tools than are stored in the modern garage.”
— unknown, attributed to Dwayne Laws
I’m not an emotional guy. I don’t get nos- water. The combination of salt and mois- you need to check on them every once in
talgic about high school, my fi rst car or ture will start breaking down your iron a while. Trust, but verify. It’s a fact: Tools
my fi rst dog, Scampy. I don’t much hug and steel tools. lose their settings after regular use.
family members at holiday gatherings. Second, the WD-40 helps prevent rust In fact, one of the biggest challenges in
But I do have the deepest respect and by forming a thin protective barrier, albeit woodworking is training your eye to see
affection for my tools. The care you give one that must be constantly renewed to the right things. You need to learn to see
tools will gush readily into the things you be effective. Other people will dispar- if the cut is square. You need to see if your
build with them. None of the tools in the age WD-40 (I once did). Ignore them. We square is square. Have you ever heard
following kit are disposable; if you take tested all the rust preventative products the old expression “tried and true?” It is
good care of them, they will be around for on the market one spring weekend. We an expression that applies to your tools
many years of service. applied the products to a cast-iron plate as well as your work. When you make a
and left the plate outside in the dewy grass cut you should test it to make sure it’s the
StoP Rust
for a couple of days. The area treated with cut you wanted – this is called trying your
WD-40 came out of the test looking the work. If the cut is correct it is said to be
Here are some basic tips for caring for all best. WD-40 is cheap. It’s readily avail- true. Likewise with your tools, you must
tools. Don’t you dare let them rust. Rust able. It won’t stain your work. Spray some try them to ensure they are cutting true.
spreads like a cancer in ferrous materi- on a piece of wood and watch what hap- We’re going to show you how to test all of
als (iron and steel) and can make your pens. Once it dries, there’s nothing to see. your tools (and joints) so they are true. It’s
measuring and cutting tools diffi cult to not hard, and it pays off big-time.
LeaRn to SEe
use. There are a lot of products out there
Buying QualItY
to prevent and remove rust, but the best
thing going cannot be found on the shelf: All of your tools require tweaking and
a small can of vigilance. maintenance. They might work perfectly You can spend a ridiculous sum on any
When you are done with a tool, wipe right out of the box; they might not. It all tool – ridiculously huge and ridiculously
down the metal surfaces – especially the depends on who made the tool and what small. Jigsaws can cost $35 to $500. Awls
cutting surface – with a rag that has been sort of day they were having when your tool can cost $2 to $180. I wouldn’t recom-
soaked with WD-40. Always keep the came down the assembly line — whether mend you buy the tool on either extreme
rag nearby (mine is seven years old) and the assembler was a robot or a person. of the spectrum. It would be easy for us to
renew it with a squirt of WD-40 when You need to learn to set up your tools say simply: “Buy the best you can afford.”
it gets dry. Wiping your tool down does so they do what they were intended to do But that’s a cop-out. If money is tight, you
two things: First, it removes dust from – cut square, bore straight holes, mea- shouldn’t buy the $35 jigsaw. You should
the tool. Dust can carry salt. Salt attracts sure accurately. Once you set them up, wait and save a bit more cash. If you’re a
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