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A hand-cut look on the band saw? It's fast and easy once you know the secret. See how to make tight-fitting dovetails with a band saw -- and a little hand-fitting with a chisel.
These three slide-together tables are simple to make. They're the perfect project for showing off large dovetails.
Turn your table saw into a much more versatile tool with this line-up of simple, shop-built accessories.
One of the best things about making the table saw accessories is that it does not take a lot of unusual or hard-to-find supplies. You should be able to find most of the knobs, hardwood, Plexiglas, and hardboard at a home improvement or hardware store. You can also order a variety of jig supplies from Rockler.
For quite a few of the accessories featured, we used Baltic birch plywood. It has a number of things going for it that ordinary plywood lacks. For one, Baltic birch is flat and consistent in thickness. Both faces are smooth and there aren't any interior voids.
About the only piece of hardware that you might have trouble finding are the toggle clamps used in the straight line rip jig. We ordered them from McFeely's (#TC-5110). See below.
With a rail and stile router bit set, you'll get strong, decorative, and perfect-fitting frame and panel assemblies in just two steps.
Finishing without the fumes, mess, and time. We'll show you how to put water-based stains and finishes to use on your next project.
Water-based stains and finishes are available in a wide number of stock and custom colors. You should be able to find them at paint stores or home centers. See the sources listed in the margin for suppliers or call the Woodsmith Store.
This entertainment center has all you could ask for. It's big enough to hold all your electronic components, it looks great, and to top it off, it's surprisingly easy to build.
All of the hardware for the computer cabinet is available from Rockler and we've listed the part numbers.
TV CABINET. For the doors, you'll need two pairs of 3/8" offset ball tip hinges (#54604), four 11/2"-dia. "bronzed" knobs (#43123), and two magnetic catches (#26559). The upper doors require two sets of 22" heavy-duty flipper door slides (#35580) and two sets of 35mm inset hinges and carrier strips (#35673). We used threaded inserts (#33183) and connector bolts (#31831) to connect the upper and lower cabinets and to hang the shelves inside the upper cabinet. You'll also need 1/4" shelf supports (#33902) and two plastic grommets (#91348) for the case. Heavy-duty lifting levelers (#81239) help keep the cabinet level and plumb. The oak crown molding came from Rockler as well. We purchased one 96" (#43740) and one 48" (#42418) length for the unit.
SIDE CABINETS. The display cabinets use a lot of the same hardware as the TV cabinet. But to connect the side units to the center, you'll need additional connector bolts and some cap nuts (#31815). The side cabinets also need one piece of crown molding 48" long. The glass is slightly "bronzed" double-strength glass we ordered from a local glass shop.
RAIL & STILE BITS. Rail and stile router bit sets, like the one used for both the solid-panel doors and glass-panel doors in the home entertainment center, are available in a variety of classic profiles. We used a "round" profile set from Whiteside Machine Co. with an undersized plywood groove cutter (#6001X). To find a local dealer, you can call the company or visit their website listed at right. Similar bit sets are available from the sources listed in the margin.
Whether you build it as an add-on to the entertainment center or a stand-alone piece, this display cabinet will go together easily.
Nothing beats this traditional look. And it can be built without a lot of tricky joinery. We'll show you the simple steps.
