Post on 02-Jun-2018
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WEEKENDPROJECT
FRETWORK
PICTUREFRAMEWith a scroll saw anda few extra hours, youcan turn a plain frameinto this elegant one.
ccasionally, I enjoy sitting down
and cutting fretwork patterns with
my scroll saw. The change in pace is
a nice break from my typical wood-
working routine.
But like any time I spend in the
shop, I want to end up with some-
thing I can be proud of. Something
that belongs on a mantle, a night
stand, or in a grandchilds bedroom.
This fretwork frame is just the kind
of project I enjoy. It doesnt take much
time. Plus, it turns a plain frame into
an attractive, heirloom project.
PANELS. The best way to begin is to
cut two identical panels: one for the
fretwork and another to back the
photo, see the drawing below. I
designed them to hold 3x5 photos.
But after taking a few measurements,
I realized that 3x5 photos arent exact
ly 3" by 5". So if you have a particu
lar picture you want to put in this
frame, cut the panels to match your
photo. (My panels were 31/2" x 43/4".)
Once the panels are cut to size, it's
time to cut the fretwork pattern in
one of the panels. So set the other
O
a.FIRST:
Cut frameblanksto size
!/2"
!/2"
Ripfence
b.SECOND:
Round overedges ofeach blank
!/8" round-over bit
Router
fence
c. THIRD: Cut grooveto hold panel
!/8"
Centergroove
on blank
!/8"
NOTE: For more
on cutting fretwork,see page 26
NOTE: Framessized to hold3 x 5 photo
PANELS
( x 3 - 4 )! /8" ! /2" #/4"
FRAME PIECES
( x )! /2" ! /2"
4!/4" 4!/4"
5!/2"
5!/2"
#4 X Fhwoodscrew
!/2"
#/4" !!/16"xbrass hinge
!/8"Deep
groove
24 Woodsmith No. 103
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2/15No. 103 Woodsmith 25
panel aside, and photocopy one of the
patterns shown below. For more on
cutting fretwork patterns, see the arti-
cle on page 26.
FRAMES. When the fretwork is com-
plete, the panels are ready for the
frame pieces. I started with extra-
long 1/2" x 1/2" blanks, see detail a on
the previous page. Just be sure to
make a few extra. Youll need them
when setting up the cuts.
I wanted the frames to be simple,
so the attention would be on the
photo and the fretwork. So for deco-
ration, all I did was round over the
edges of the blanks, see detail b.
Next, to hold the panels, a centered
groove is cut in each piece, see detail
c. This groove should be just wide
enough to hold the panels. With my1/8" thick panels, a single pass on the
table saw with a combination blade
was all that was needed.
ASSEMBLY. Now the frame pieces are
ready to be mitered to finished length
and then assembled around the pan-
els. With the frame for the fretwork,
this is simply a matter of gluing and
clamping the frame around the panel.
But the frame for the photo has to
be assembled a little differently. Here,
I glued up one corner at a time until
three of the pieces were together.
Then the bottom piece is simply
screwed in place, see Fig. 1.
At this point, the panel that backs
the photo fits too snug in the grooves
to include the photo and an acetate
cover. So I sanded the panel just
enough to reduce its thickness until
everything fit into the grooves.
FINISH. Finally, I finished the frames
with an oil fin ish. Then I stacked
them together and joined them with
a pair of brass hinges, see Fig. 2.
Use clamps to hold framewhile drilling
pilot holes
Full-size Patterns
a.
#4 x Fhwoodscrew
!/2"
Acetate
Photo1
!/2"
Stack frames andattach hinges
#2 xBrass
screw
#/8"
2
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78 SCROLL SAWN
Night LightNight LightLight up the night with four interchangeable patterns featuring enchanting scenes that are sure toplease your child. All it takes to build it is a scroll saw, a small light bulb, and a weekend in the shop.
Some projects get their charm fromthe wood thats missing. This NightLight is one of those projects. Its
just a box with the sides, top, and bottommade from solid wood. What makes itinteresting is the interchangeable frontpanel that screens the light shining froma small bulb inside.
I designed this Night Light with fourof these scroll-sawn hardwood panels.Then, depending on your mood or theseason, you can slide one in front of thelight, and store the others in a compart-ment in the back of the box.
PANEL DESIGNS. If youre artistic (orhave clip art on your computer), it would
light bulb fixture, along with a full-sizedrawing of each of the four patterns (anda piece of felt cloth for the bottom) isavailable from Woodsmith Project
Supplies.(See Sources on page 126.)
THIN STOCK. Except for the sides, eachpiece in this project is made from woodthats 1/2" thick or less. Finished stockthis thin can be found, but it may cost abit more. A good alternative is to resawthe stock from thicker boards. (For moreon this, go to the Technique on page 65.)
SCROLL SAWING. And to learn thesecret to making the most of your scrollsaw projects, I suggest you check outthe Technique article on page 86.
be easy to come up with hundreds of dif-ferent ideas for your own panels. Iveincluded four examples for the panels inmy Night Light. Each has a magicalquality that will look nice in a childs bed-room or sitting on a hallway table orstand. (You can find the patterns in theDesigners Notebook on page 82.)
WOOD. I used cherry for all the partsof the Night Light. The color and warmthof cherry enhance the glow cast by thelight. And because cherry is close-grained, it cuts well on a scroll saw.
SUPPLIES. The light fixture is aChristmas-tree-size (4-watt) bulb thatclips tightly into the base of the box. This
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NIGHT LIGHT 79
A
A
A
B
B
C
C
E
LID BLOCK
INTERCHANGEABLEPANEL
SIDE
LIGHT BOARD
LID
LIGHT FIXTURE
BACKPANEL
DIVIDERPANEL
SIDE
BASE
D
EXPLODED VIEW
OVERALL DIMENSIONS:
6W x 51/4D x9H
CUTTING DIAGRAM
#/4 !/2x Two Boards @ 1.2 Bd. Ft. Each5 - 36 ( )
#/4 !/2x (1.2 Bd. Ft.)5 - 36
A A A
D
E
C CB B
WOOD
A Panels (6) 1/4 x 43/4 - 8B Sides (2) 3/4 x 43/4 - 8C Base/Lid (2) 1/2 x 51/4 - 6D Lid Block (1) 1/2 x 2 - 4E Light Board (1) 1/8 x 2 - 4
HARDWARE SUPPLIES
(4) No. 6 x 1" Fh woodscrews(1) Felt cloth (6" x 6")(1) Night light socket switch w/ cord(1) 4-watt frosted bulb
MATERIALS LIST
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80 SCROLL SAWN
SECOND:POSITION FENCE
SLIGHTLY MORE THAN" FROM BLADE!/4
PANEL BLANK(#/4
#/4"
4 " 26")-THICK STOCK -
x
MAKE TWOPASSES,FLIPPING
WORKPIECEEND FOR END
BETWEENPASSES
SET RIP BLADETO CUT 2 "HIGH
FIRST:
!/2
1
PANEL(CUT SIX PIECES
" THICK)!/4
8
4#/4
A
2
B
#/4
8
4#/4
!/4!/4 !/4
FIRST: CUT TWOOUTSIDE GROOVES
SECOND: CUTDIVIDER GROOVE
THIRD: CUT STORAGECHAMBER
BACKEDGE
SIDE
NOTE:USE TEST PIECETO CHECK CUTS
ALL GROOVESARE " DEEP#/8
12
8
BSIDE
3
B
B
SIDE
TRIM FRONTAND BACK EDGES
OF SIDE PIECESTO THICK!/2"
!/2
4
B
ROUTER TABLEFENCE
ROUND OVEROUTSIDE EDGE #/8"
ROUNDOVERBIT
!/4
6
B RIPFENCE
!/2
SLIDE SIDEPIECE AGAINST
FENCE TOTRIM EDGES
SET BLADEHIGH#/8"
5
B
ROUND OVERINSIDE EDGE
!/2
7
RESAWN PANELS
Start building the Night Light by cuttingthe six panel blanks four for the inter-changeable panels (A), plus one dividerpanel (A), and one back panel (A). TheNight Light box is built around these.
PANEL BLANK.To make these six 1/4"-
thick panels, first cut a piece of 3/4"-thickstock to final width (43/4") and roughlength (26") (Fig. 1).
RESAW PANELS.Then resaw this intotwo panels that are each slightly thickerthan 1/4". I used the table saw and madetwo passes with a sharp blade (Fig. 1).(For more on this procedure, see theTechnique article on page 65.) You couldalso use a band saw or thickness planerto reduce the stock to 1/4".
Now, sand or plane the saw marksfrom all the panels so theyre all 1/4" thick.Then cross-cut both blanks to produce six
8"-long panels (Fig. 2).Note:You could use plywood, but the
plies will show on the finished panels.PATTERNS. Now use the patterns in
the Designers Notebook on page 82 tolay out the designs and cut them out.
SIDES
After resawing and cutting the six panelsto size, the next step is to make thegrooved sides of the box.
SIDE BLANK.The two sides (B) startout as one blank of 3/4"-thick stock. Cutthe blank to finished width (43/4") andrough length (161/2") (Fig. 3).
PANEL GROOVES. Next, cut three 1/4"-wide grooves for the panels to slide into.
I used the table saw with a rip blade toform all the grooves. But before cuttingthe grooves in the blank, cut a test piecethe same size as the blank to check thewidth and position of each groove.
The first grooves to cut are the twooutside ones (Fig. 3). To do this, I setthe fence 1/4" from the inside edge of theblade, and raise it 3/8" above the table.
Now you can make one pass to cut akerf in the test piece to form the outsideedge of the groove. Then turn the pieceend for end and cut a kerf near the otheredge. When youre satisfied with the kerfdepth and its distance from the edge, cutkerfs on both edges of the actual work-piece, following the same procedure.
Next you can reposition the fence andmake a second pass on the test piece, sothat the 1/4" panels fit snugly in thegrooves in the test piece. Then make thecuts on the actual workpiece to completethe two outside grooves.
Youll form the groove for the dividerpanel in the same way. This grooveshould be located 2" from the back edgeof the box sides (Fig. 3).
STORAGE CHAMBER. Next, I cut a 1"-wide storage chamber by making a seriesof passes through the rip blade (Fig. 3).
To make the sides appear thinner thanthey actually are, trim the front and backedges down to 1/2" thick (Fig. 4). To dothis, set the table saw blade 1/2" from thefence and 3/8" high (Fig. 5).
BULLNOSE PROFILE.After trimming the
outside edges of the sides, rout a bull-nose profile on them with a 3/8" roundoverbit in a router table. To do this, first raisethe bit 1/4" high and round over the out-side edges (grooved face up) (Fig. 6).Then raise the roundover bit 1/2" high, flipthe workpiece over, and round over theinside edges (grooves down) (Fig. 7).
PRE-ASSEMBLY. Now cut the side pieceinto two 8"-long sections (Fig. 3). Thenglue the back and divider panels in placebetween the two sides.
BASE & LIDBegin making the base and lid of theNight Light by cutting an over-size blankto final width (51/4") and rough length
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NIGHT LIGHT 81
B
C
BASE
SIDE
#6 x 1" FhWOODSCREW
NOTE:
INSETON ALL SIDES!/4"
!/2 &/8
&/8
!/2
11
C
D
CHAMFEREDGES
STORAGECHAMBER
LIGHTCHAMBER
LIDBLOCK
( " THICK)!/2
LID
12
LIGHT BOARD( "-THICK STOCK)!/8
BASE
SIDE
E
NOTE: PAINT
LIGHT CHAMBERWHITE FORBRIGHTER GLOW
13
C
C
NOTE:BASE AND LIDSTART OUT ASONE LONGBLANK
BASE
LID
FINGERHOLE
5!/4
6
!/2
!/2
8 BOTTOM SIDEOF BASE
BASE
!/4" !/4"x GROOVEFOR ELECTRIC CORD
9
C
NOTE:ROUT ACROSS
END GRAIN FIRST
ROUTER TABLEFENCE
#/8" ROUNDOVERBIT
!/4
10C(BASE ONLY)
BORETWO1"-DIA.END HOLESFOR FINGER SLOT
WASTE
1#/4
22
a.
C
FRONT BACK
PILOTHOLES
!/4" INSET!/4
&/8 &/8
COUNTERSUNKSHANK HOLE
a.
C
D
CHAMFEREDGES
LIDBLOCK
2
4 1
#/4
LIDa.
1"-DIA. THROUGHHOLE
CUTTO FITCUT
TO FIT
LIGHTBOARD
2
4
E
CL
CL
a.
(121/2"). Then youll want to resaw andsand the blank to a final thickness of 1/2".
At this point, you can cut the blankinto two pieces (each 6" long) to form abase (C) and a lid (C) (Fig. 8).
ELECTRICAL FIXTURE.A finger slot inthe base allows access to the electrical fix-ture. To make this, bore two holes in the
base, then cut out the waste betweenthem with a jig saw (Fig. 8a).
Next, form a 1/4"-deep groove for theelectrical cord in the bottom of the baseusing the router table (Fig. 9).
After cutting this groove, soften allthe edges of the top and bottom with a 3/8"roundover bit. To do this, raise the bit 1/4"above the table (Fig. 10).
ASSEMBLING THE BOX
When the base and lid are complete,finish assembling the box. Do this by
first drilling countersunk shank holes onthe bottom side of the base (Fig. 11a).
Then center the base on the sideassembly and temporarily clamp themtogether. The sides should be insetequally all around the base (Fig. 11). (Inmy case, this was 1/4".)
Now drill pilot holes through theshank holes into the bottom ends of eachside piece (Fig. 11a). Then glue andscrew the base in place.
LID BLOCK.The lid fits snugly onto thetop by means of a lid block thats glued tothe underside of the lid (Fig. 12).
To make the lid block (D), start bycutting a 3/4" piece of stock to fit the
opening of the light chamber (with aninterchangeable panel in place).
With the lid block cut to size, you canrout a narrow chamfer along all fouredges of one side of the block. (The cham-fered edges let you remove and replacethe lid more easily.)
Now, lay out the position of the lidblock on the bottom of the lid (Fig. 12a)and glue the block in place.
LIGHT BOARD.The light has a springretainer thats designed to seat into a 1/8"-thick board with a 1" hole (Fig. 13).
To make the light board (E), firstmeasure the opening at the bottom of
the light chamber. Then cut a piece of1/8" stock to fit this opening (Fig. 13a).Bore a 1" hole through the center of thispiece, then glue the light board in placein the bottom of the base.
FINISH. Finally, to complete the project,I applied a tung oil finish to the box.
Note: I found the box reflected morelight through the panels after I painted theinside surfaces of the light chamber (notincluding the interchangeable panel) witha white enamel paint (Fig. 13).
Now you can glue a piece of felt on thebottom of the box. This will hold the elec-trical cord in place.
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82 SCROLL SAWN
Perfect for a childs bedroom, these Night Light patterns provide a soothing glow when its neededmost. A hidden compartment inside the light holds the three extra panels when theyre not being used.
The magic of the Night Light is inthe scroll-sawn panels. Here aresome suggestions for making fourinterchangeable panels. The pat-terns shown here are half size, soenlarge them 200%. (Or you canreceive all four of the full-size pat-terns from Woodsmith ProjectSupplies. See Sources, page 126.)
Note:The lighter areas of thedrawings are those that should becut away. (I used a No. 5 skip toothblade to cut each of the patterns.)First, finish sand each of the panelblanks. Then glue a pattern to theblank using spray adhesive or alight coat of rubber cement. Before you begin to saw, drillstarting holes for the pierce (orinside) cuts, and for the other holes. On the Falling Stars panel, drillthe holes for the background starsfirst (using 1/16" and 1/8" drill bits).
Note:The points on the moonand the falling stars will be sharpestif you form them with two inter-secting cuts, rather than by tryingto pivot around them. For the Jack OLantern, drill outthe stars (1/16" and 3/32" bits) andthe moon (3/4" bit) first. Then cutout the details of the pumpkin. Pivotaround the blade only when cut-ting out the eyes and the mouth.Next, cut around the fence parts.And finally, cut around the cat. Cat Fishin requires the moststarting holes. Drill them first, thencut out the smaller areas. Cut around the cat last so youllhave plenty of support when yourescrolling between the leaves. For Snowy Pine, drill holes forthe snowflakes (1/16" bit) and thetree ornaments (3/32"). Then drillstarting holes for the snow on thebranches. Next cut the tree outline,and finally the snow on the ground.Finish the panels by dipping themin a shallow pan of tung oil. Thenpoke out the excess finish from thedrill holes with a wire brad.
PATTERNS
FALLING STARS
ENLARGE 200%
CAT FISHIN
ENLARGE 200%
SNOWY PINE
ENLARGE 200%
JACK OLANTERN
ENLARGE 200%
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SCROLL SAWPROJECT
SCROLL-SAWNBOOKENDSThe scroll-sawn panels and brass plates makethese bookends both attractive and functional.
y good friend is an avid reader
and a book collector, so this
year, I decided to make him a pair of
bookends. Not your plain, purely func-
tional variety I wanted something
a bit more elegant. And for a change
of pace, I also wanted to do a little
work at the scroll saw.
My solution was to capture a scroll-sawn panel in a picture frame. This
frame sits on a base with a rounded
brass tongue on the bottom that sticks
out and slides under the books.
When it came to designing the
scroll saw patterns, I had a couple
ideas but needed some help putting
them on paper. (Im not much of an
artist.) So I asked Mike Mittermeier,
one of our Senior Illustrators, if he
would take a shot at turning my ideas
into workable scroll saw patterns.
My first idea was a pineapple (atraditional symbol of hospitality). The
other was less specific. I wanted a
classic fretwork design. Mike did a
great job with both patterns and
even came up with one of his own
the stag, see photos. (Mikes an
avid outdoorsman.)
But if you have some artistic tal-
ent, dont limit yourself to these ideas;
come up with some of your own. And
experiment with dif-
ferent woods too.
We even backed up one of the scroll
saw panels with a thin (30-gauge)
sheet of brass. (Take a look at the
article on page 24 for more on work-
ing with brass.)
BASEAs I mentioned earlier, each bookend
is really just a picture frame that sitson top of a base, see Base Exploded
View. I started with the base, which
is two pieces of solid wood, plus a
rounded brass plate.
MOLDING. The first piece to work on
is the base molding (A), see Base
Exploded View. Its only 1/4" thick so
youll have to plane down some stock
first. (If you dont have a thickness
planer, you can resaw what you need
on the table saw, see page 15.)
With 1/4"-thick stock in hand, you
can cut the molding to rough size. Icut mine to finished length (6") but left
it extra wide at this point (31/2"). This
not only made the piece safer to work
with, it also allowed me to cut two
molding pieces from each blank.
(Though theres only one of each
bookend shown in the photos at left,
I actually made them in pairs.)
Next, I rounded over the edges of
the oversized blank with a 1/8" round-
over bit, see Fig. 1. Since two pieces
are being cut from this blank, all four
MATERIALS(For one bookend)
A Base Molding (1) !/4 x 1!/4 - 6
B Base Bottom (1) #/4 x 1&/8 - 7!/4
C Frame Ends (2) #/4 x 1 - 5!/2
D Frame Sides (2) #/4 x 1 - 7!/4
E Scroll Saw Panel (1) !/4 x 4!/2 - 6!/4
F Quarter Round (1) !/4 x !/4 - 28 ln. in.
(1) 16-Gauge Brass (4" x 5") (3) #8 x !/2" Fh Brass Woodscrews
20 Woodsmith No. 126
Pick a design (page 23),choose a favorite wood, and
build your own unique bookend.And for a distinctive look, set a
thin piece of brass behindthe scroll saw panel.
}
M
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No. 126 Woodsmith 21
edges need to be routed, not just
three. And I started with the ends first
so theres less chance of chipout.
Finally, I added an auxiliary top to my
router table. Its just a piece of 1/4"
hardboard with a smaller bit opening
to give the base pieces extra support.
BOTTOM. After the molding pieces
were ripped to width (11/4"), the next
piece to make is the base bottom
(B), see Base Exploded View. This
piece will end up a little bigger than
the molding (17/8" x 71/4"). But it also
starts out oversized, and two pieces
will be cut from a single blank.
The first thing to do to the bot-
tom blank is rout a cove with a1/2"
cove bit, see Fig. 2. Again, I routed
the profile on all four edges of the
blank and supported the workpiece
with a square push block. Then thetwo bottom pieces can be ripped to
finished width (17/8").
RECESS FOR BRASS PLATE. To keep the
bookend (and books) from falling
over, a brass plate is set into the bot-
tom piece. So the next thing to do is
rout the recess that holds the plate,
see Fig. 3. The recess is about 1/16"
deep, but the important thing is that
it match the thickness of the brass.
To establish the size of the recess,
I used an auxiliary fence with a cou-
ple stop blocks clamped on either sideof a straight bit, see Fig. 3. With a 1/2"-
dia. straight bit, youll need to make
a few passes between the blocks. And
after routing, the round corners will
need to be squared up with a chisel.
Gluing the molding to the bottom
piece is pretty simple. The molding is
centered side-to-side, see Base
Exploded View. And the pieces should
be flush along the back edge, see
detail b in Exploded View.
BRASS PLATE. The brass plate is cut to
size next, and the process isnt muchdifferent from the woodworking
youve already done. (For more on
working with brass, see page 24.)
With the plate cut to size, I round-
ed the end with a hardboard template,
a sabre saw, and a flush trim bit.
Finally, to soften the edge and make
it easier to slide under the books, I
routed a stopped chamfer around the
curve. Then the plate can be screwed
to the base, see detail a above.
b.
3
1
b.
a.
a.
2
a.
a.
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Bookend FrameNow that the base is built, all thats left
is to build a small picture frame and
a scroll saw panel to go inside it, see
Frame Exploded View at right and
Panel Exploded View on page 23.
FRAME BLANKS. The frame holds the
scroll saw panel in the front with built-
in roundover molding. Making the
frame pieces is an easy three-step
process: a roundover is routed, chan-
nels are cut to create the rabbets, and
then the pieces are cut to width.
However, like the pieces for the base,
its better to start with oversized
blanks. So for each frame, I cut one
blank from 3/4"-thick stock (3" x 15").
ROUT ROUNDOVER. After the blanks
were cut to size, I routed a1/4" round-
over along the edges, see Fig. 4. This
roundover has a shoulder, so the edgeof the bit will need to be raised 1/8"
above the table, see Fig. 4a.
RABBET. Behind the roundover, there
will be a rabbet the scroll saw panel
fits into. But to create the rabbet, two1/4"-deep channels need to be cut with
a 3/4"-wide dado set, see Figs. 5 and 5a.
Then the pieces can be ripped to
width (1"), see Fig. 6. Just position
the rip fence so you end up with a 5/8"-
wide rabbet, see Fig. 6a.
MITER PIECES. Now you can begin
mitering these pieces to create theframe. I started with theframe ends
(C), see Frame Exploded View. They
should end up 1/2" shorter than the
base. Then theframe sides (D)can
be mitered to length.
A word of caution, though. These
frame pieces (especially the ends) are
short. So be careful to keep your
hands well away from the saw blade.
ASSEMBLY. With the pieces mitered,
the frame can be assembled. Gluing
four mitered pieces together at the
same time can be a little tricky. So I
typically glue up two corners first and
then glue the two halves together.
When gluing the frame to the base,
the inside edges should be flush. To
do this, I laid the base back-side down
on the edge of my workbench withthe brass plate hanging off the edge.
Then I glued the frame to the base,
using hand pressure. (I didnt want
to put any clamping pressure on the
miter joints at the top or the round-
over profile at the bottom.)
SCROLL SAW PANELS. At this point,
youre ready to make thescroll saw
panels (E), see Panel Exploded View
on page 23. These are 1/4"-thick pan-
els cut to fit in the rabbets.
The first thing to do is choose a pat-
tern (see box) and enlarge it 200% on
a photocopier. Then you can tem-
porarily attach the photocopy to the
panel with a spray mount adhesive.
Note: If youre making two panels
with the same pattern, you can glue
them together with the spray adhe-sive. This way, youll only need to cut
the pattern one time.
Now before the pattern can be cut
out, youll need to drill holes for blade
access. (I drilled 1/16"-dia. holes in all
the openings.) Then the waste sec-
tions can be cut away on the scroll
22 Woodsmith No. 126
4 5 6
a. a. a.
a.
{ The frameand scroll-
sawn panelare glued to
the top ofthe base.
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No. 126 Woodsmith 23
saw. To avoid weakening the panels,
its best to start with the smaller sec-
tions and save the larger ones for last.
QUARTER ROUND. To hold the scroll
saw panel in the frame, I added small
pieces of quarter round (F). To
make these safely, I start with an over-
sized blank, routing a 1/4" roundover
on each edge, see Fig. 7.
Cutting the quarter round from the
blank is a two-step process. First, I
cut two kerfs on each edge with the
fence set 1/4" from the blade, see Fig.
8. Second, the quarter round can be
cut from the blank. However, you
dont want to trap the small quarter
round between the fence and the
blade. So this time, reposition the
fence so the quarter round falls to the
waste side of the blade, see Fig. 9.
Finally, the quarter round can be
mitered
to fit in the frame, see Panel
Exploded View. Then the pieces can
be glued into the frame behind the
scroll saw panel.
BRASS OPTION. Or for a different look,
you can place a piece of 30-gauge
brass between the
scroll saw panel and
the quarter round,
see the photo in margin at right and
the lower photo on page 20.W
7 8 9
a. a. a.
SCROLL SAW PATTERNS (Enlarge 200 )
Classic scrollPineapple Stag
{ For a unique cut a piece of
(30-gauge) brto fit behind th
scroll saw panFor more on
working with
brass, see pag
a.
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12/1534 Woodsmith No. 173
WeekendProject
Sometimes, its nice to take a break from the typicalwoodworking routine and do something different.
And this scroll saw project does just that.The intricate cuts and change of pace can be
very relaxing. But, you also want to end up withsomething you can be proud of something a
little out of the ordinary that can be displayed.The shelf you see here fits the bill in every way.
Its simply a mirrored frame wrapped with a pair
of shelves and uprights.Of course, what really makes this project stand
out is the fretwork. It may look daunting at first,but youll find out that cutting fretwork doesnt
take much time, and its simple to create decorativemotifs. The procedure and patterns used formaking it are shown on page 37.
Materials, Supplies, & Cutting Diagram
A Frame Rails (2) 34x 1 - 183
4
B Frame Stiles (2) 34x 78- 612
C Top/Btm. Mirror Stops (2) 14x14 -17
12
D Side Mirror Stops (2) 14x14 - 6
E Shelves (2) 12x 512- 20
F Uprights (2) 34 x3
4- 17
G Small Fretwork Panel (8) 14x 418- 4
H Large Fretwork Panel (2) 14x 418- 8
(1) 638" x 173
8" Beveled Mirror
(2)Keyhole Hangers
(4) #8 x 112" Fh Woodscrews
(20) 18-ga. x34"Brads
Wall ShelfThis simple, yet attractive, project is a great opportunity
to spend some time building your skills at the scroll saw.
fretwork
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Next, you can drill holes for thescrews that will attach the shelves
and make mortises for the keyhole
hangers (detail b). Youll find adetailed procedure for installingkeyhole hangers in WoodsmithNo.172, page 33. Then, you can start
making the shelves.
THE SHELVES.The box below shows
how I shaped the shelves. Each shelf
is notched to hold the uprights.Then, after cutting a gentle curve
into the front edge of the shelves, I
rounded over all the edges.THE FRETWORK.With the main pieces
of the wall shelf completed, you canmove on to the fretwork. For more
details on cutting the fretwork, seethe following page.
ASSEMBLY.Since the mirrored framedetermines where the other pieces
go, youll want to center it on theuprights first. Next, the shelves areglued to the frame. And, finally, the
uprights are attached to the shelfnotches with screws.
To attach the fretwork, you canjust run a bead of glue inside the
upright grooves and gently pressthe fretwork in place. But youllneed to tack it to the shelves with
small brads (detail c). For moreinformation on installing the brads,
see Shop Notebook on page 32.All thats left to do is apply the
brown mahogany stain and lacquerfinish, install the mirror, and hang
the shelf in your home. W
How-To:Shelf Details
36 Woodsmith No. 173
SHELF
Aux.fence
Tall aux.miterfence
Dadoblade
E
String holdshardboardto desiredarc
Workpiece
Marking the Curve. Using a bow
made from a piece of hardboard and
string, trace a curve on each shelf.
Cutting the Shelf Notches. A tall auxiliary
fence attached to the miter gauge will support
the shelves while cutting the corner notches.
18-ga. x "brads
#/4
Keyhole hangerwith screws
Mirror frametongue fits into
groove in upright
Shelf corner isnotched to fit
around upright
Shelf front andside edges have
roundover!/8"
#8 x 1 "Fh
woodscrew
!/2
NOTE: Shelves are made from"-thick hardwood and uprights
are made from "-thick hardwood.
Fretwork is resawn from "-thickhardwood and planed to "
!/2#/4
#/4!/4
SMALLFRETWORK
PANELS
SHELFUPRIGHT
SHELF
LARGEFRETWORK
PANEL
4!/8
4!/8
4!/8
H
H
G
G
G
G
G
F
FE
E
44
20
5!/2
5
8
17
4!/4
4!/4
b.
With the frame complete, youcan focus on adding the uprights,
shelves, and the fretwork.
THE UPRIGHTS. Each upright hasa pair of grooves in the frontand inside edges, as you cansee in detail a above. The mir-
rored frame will fit in the insidegrooves, while the fretwork will
fill in the rest of the grooves.
a.
END VIEW
Aux.fence
E#/4
#/4
a.
E
Pre-drill pilothole for brads.
See pg. 33for more
information
H
G
E
c.
adding theSHELVES& FRETWORK
E
5
Clamp
String 5!/2
a.
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How-To:
The fretwork adds the perfect touchto this wall shelf. But before you sitdown at your scroll saw, theres a
little preparation to be done.
PREPARING THE WORKPIECES. The first
step is to size the workpieces.Instead of planing thick stock
down to 14", I decided to resawthe stock to the proper thickness.After planing the resawn stock
smooth, I cut the pieces to finishedsize and mounted copies of the
patterns you see on the far right tothe blanks with spray adhesive.
PREPARING THE SCROLL SAW.Now thatthe workpieces are ready, make
sure your scroll saw is too. First,its important to have the rightblade. For fretwork, I generally
use a No. 5 reverse tooth bladeand tension it so it will only flex18" under finger pressure. Thensquare the table to the blade.
Now youre ready to cut thefretwork. But the place to start isactually at the drill press.
STARTER HOLES. Because the fret-work involves mostly inside cuts,
drilling starter holes will allow
you to feed the blade through theworkpiece to make those cuts.
With fretwork, what takes get-ting used to is rotating the panel
as you work. To make this easier, Idrill holes near sharp turns (Fig. 1).
Its easier to rotate the workpieceinside a hole than in a kerf.
MAKING THE CUTS. After the holesare drilled, you can begin cutting.Theres no set sequence, but I like
to make the smaller cuts first. Cut-ting out the large areas first can
weaken the workpiece and maycause it to break when cutting the
smaller areas.REMOVING WASTE. Its easier to
remove the waste in small pieces,
rather than all at once. For exam-ple, Ill cut sharp corners in two
or three steps (Fig. 3). For othercorners, the trick when rotating
the panel is to push the workpieceagainst the sides and back of the
blade (the edges that dont cut.)
Cut FretworkDrill starter holes at outsidecorner locationsof fretwork pattern
!/8"
Waste
NOTE:Attachpattern to blankwith spray adhesive
!/8"-dia.twist bit
6
3
Starter Holes. After mounting the pattern
on the workpiece, drill starter holes to feed
the scroll saw blade through.
Removing Waste. With intricate designs,
its much simpler to cut away the waste
in small pieces, rather than one large cut.
Making several cuts from different direc-
tions in the pattern will leave sharp, crisp
corners and edges.
LARGE FRETWORK PANEL
1
SMALL FRETWORK PANEL
1
FIRST: Begin cutfrom starter hole
2
2
SECOND: Repositionworkpiece to relocateblade at starter holeand start cut inother direction
Connect the Holes. By drilling holes at turn-
ing points, its easier to rotate the workpiece
and stay close to the layout lines.
SECOND: Backout of cut and
loop around fromthe other side
THIRD: Spinworkpiecearound to
continue cuttingout from the
corner
THIRD: Reversedirection to
continueremovingwaste
FRETWORK PATTERNS. Enlarge the
patterns 200% and attach them to the
workpieces with spray adhesive.
For full-size fretwopatterns, go to:Woodsmith.com