For design ideas we went to every home improvement store that we could think of. We also looked at numerous kitchen design magazines, watched countless kitchen improvement shows on TV, all to no avail. It seems that designers either totally ignored the concept of cookbooks in a kitchen, I guess gourmet cooks don’t need cookbooks, or went totally over board. In these the bookcase was part of an elaborate kitchen/office workspace, complete with computer and printer. We wanted something in the middle of those two extremes.

Our first thought was to put the book case in one of our lower cabinets. But that would be a total waste of space, since bookcases only need to be at most 15″ deep, while the standard base cabinets is 24″ deep. Using one of the upper cabinets would make more sense, but I was concerned about the added weight the cook books would add. So our solution was to use one of the two cabinets that flank our stove for the bookcase.

One of the design concepts that I learned along time ago was that in order for things to look right, things need to be symmetrical. So both of these cabinets were made to appear to be identical. But only the cabinet on the left is a real set of drawers, the ones on the right are dummy drawer faces sat inside a rail and stile set so they mimic the one on the left.

The actual carcass for the book case was relativity easy, once I figured out the math. I knew that I wanted the top of the finished cabinet to be just below the surface of the stove. I knew that the stove was 35 5/8″ tall and it would be sitting on tile that was a combined thickness of 3/8″ ( tile and mortar), giving me a starting height of 36″. From that I subtracted the thickness of the granite,
1 3/8″ and 3″ for the kick panel, giving me a cabinet height of 31 5/8″. The width of the cabinet is 15″ and the depth is 23 1/4″. I kept the depth of the carcass for the cabinet at 22 1/2″ , as I wanted to apply a 3/4″ false front that would mimic the cabinet set on the left side of the stove.

I departed from conventional wisdom in building the cabinets. I made the kick panel separate from the actual cabinet. The logic is that it is much easier to level the base assembly then it would be to level a complete cabinet. Both the base and the carcass are made of 3/4″ plywood. I used good oak plywood for the carcass, while I used standard 3/4″ plywood for the base. The inside of the cabinet will be visible behind the books, while the base will be covered, so there is no need to use good wood here.

For the carcass, I cut the end panels to width and length, and then cut dado’s along the top and bottom edges and one in the center of each side for a center shelf. As I normally do, I clamped the two ends flat on my work bench, and abutted the edges together, so I could cut the dado in both pieces at once. I used my plunge router equipped with a straight bit designed for 3/4″ plywood. I like to do both pieces at once, that way if the measurements are off even a little bit, both sides will still be at the same point. While I had the router out, I also cut a dado in the back of each side, the dado was sized to accept a 3/4″ piece of plywood.

The end panels were attached to the top, center and bottom shelf with glue and screws. The screws were driven in from the out side on the end panels. I wasn’t concerned about the screws showing and one side is against the wall and the other will be covered by the fake front panel.

Next I made two face frames, one to cover the plywood edges of the book case, and the other was made to replicate the face frame of the left hand base stove cabinet. I used Kreg Pocket screws for both face frames. The assembly is quick and easy, and none of the pocket screw holes would be visible.

The side face frame is nothing more then a set of rails and stiles. which were applied to the side of the carcass with glue and a couple of pin nails, to hold it in place while the glue sets up. The front face frame was constructed using the same Kreg Pocket screws, two additional horizonta

l rails were added to act as dividers for the drawers. The measurements for these are the same as the actual cabinet on the left side of the stove. I used 4/4 oak for the drawer false drawer fronts, and inset these between the dividers . I used the drawer pulls to actually hold the false faces in place. When I had the drawer faces in the correct location, I drilled thought the false fronts and the plywood carcass. Then using longer screws then normal, I attached the false fronts and the drawer pulls.

Then it was off to be finished.  These cabinets were done with the same stain and top coats as the rest of the cabinets in
our kitchen.

So maybe the bookcase isn’t actually hidden, but I like to think that we found a good solution for adding the bookcase to our kitchen. Let me know what you think.

For more help or tips check out my main blog at http://www.sawdustonthefloor.com

The distinctive thing that both of these bits offer is what is known as a back cut. Some raised panel bits will produce a profile only on the face side. Depending on how deep you make the profile cut, the outside edges of the stock may be too thick to go into the grooves cut by the cope and stick set of bits. If you use one of these basic raised panel bits, you must relieve the back of the panel so that it fits into the groove. Since this would add another set to the process, I prefer to use the bits with the back cutters. Again, this is strictly a personal choice.

Ok, so now that we have the raised panel bit selected and installed in your shaper or router table, it’s time to make the panels. First you want to make sure that all of your stock for the raised panels is cut to final dimensions and that any glue squeeze out has been removed. I also like to take the time to mark with a pencil the face side of each panel, so that the A side of the panel is cut instead of the B side.

When you cut a raised panel, you want to make the cut in several passes. If you try to take too large of a bite at once, your wood will either burn because the bit gets way too hot, or actually will get bogged down. There is also a chance that the bit may skip if you try to take too large of a bite, this results in ugly gouges in the face of the panel. If you are using a bit with the back cutters, you will want to use your fence to regulate the amount of wood removed on each pass. You don’t want to adjust the height of the bit, when using this style of bit. If your raised panel bit does not have a back cutter, then you can leave the fence set, and simply adjust the bit height.

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One of the first things I did was gather those pieces of memorabilia from the drawer and built a proper case to display them. Now you may not share my beliefs about the military, and I totally understand that, but I think every one should have a place that they can display artifacts that represent important parts of their lives. So, while mine contains pieces that remind me of my years in the Air Force, yours should contain those items that are part of your memories.

This case is made of 4/4 Cherry, and consists of two pieces, the case and the door. The case measures 15″x15“ square, and is 3.5” deep. To start, I ran my cherry stock over the jointer then made passes through my thickness planer to ensure that all of the stock was square, flat and at the same dimension. Then I cut all four pieces of the case to length. My next step was to cut a dado along the back side of each piece to receive a piece of ¼“ oak plywood. I chose to use the oak plywood as I had it on hand, rather then purchasing a special piece of cherry plywood for this project.

The plywood back of the case will not be seen from the front. Over the plywood, I installed a piece of ¼” foam board, which I covered with a piece of green felt. The foam board allows me to attach my military service pins, simply by pressing them into the foam board. The foam board, I got from a craft supply store, the felt came from the local woodworking supply store.

Once the dados were cut, then I cut 45 degree miters on the ends of the case top, bottom and sides. I glued them together and clamped them with spring clamps until the glue was set. Also, to help keep everything square, I installed the plywood back and tacked it in place with 3/8” pin nails from my pneumatic nail gun.

A couple of things about working with cherry. Take the time to select grain patterns that complement each other. In this case, I really didn’t want any of the wilder grains that you sometimes find in cherry. I wanted all of the wood to have the same colorations. Also, I have found that using darker colored glue, rather than the common yellow or white carpenters glue works better, your glue lines don’t stand out as much. Also, keep moving, cherry will burn very easily if you let it stop while it’s in contact with either a spinning table saw blade or a router bit.

For the door on this case, I also used 4/4 Cherry. I wanted to keep the lines of the cabinet simple so I choose to keep the stock flat, rather than introducing a decorative edge. The door over hangs the case by 1/2”, on each side. I cut simple dado along the inside of each piece to accept the glass panel. I cut these dados and the ones for the rear of the case with a ¼” straight router bit mounted in my shaper table. The ends of the four pieces that made up the door
were cut to 45 degree miters on both ends, and simply glued together. Again I used spring clamps to hold the mitered pieces together while the glue dried.

After I had assembled the door, I did some re thinking. It was too simple, or in other words BORING. To add some visual interest, I added a simple bead around the outer edge of the door. I have a beading bit for my router/shaper, which will cut three parallel beads, in one pass. I used this to make up the beading for my door. I took some stock that was ¾” high by 1” wide and ran it across the beading bit. I used feather boards and push sticks to hold the wood down and in contact with the fence on the shaper table.

After I had enough stock made up, I took it all to the table saw where I cut the wood lengthwise, setting the rip fence so that one complete bead would remain untouched by the blade. I then took these beads and attached them to the outer edges of the door stock. In each corner, I hand cut miters. I was concerned about splintering the wood if I were to use the powered miter saw. I used my small nail gun to tack the beading to the edges of the door frame, while to glue dried.

To connect the door to the frame, I installed a piano hinge along the left hand vertical edge of the case. The piano hinge is 3/16” thick, when closed. I removed this amount of wood from the left hand side of the case. This allows the door to close flush. A small magnetic catch was installed along the right hand edge of the case. A small decorative knob was added to the door frame. I used plastic glass clips to hold the glass in place in the door. These I got from the same woodworking supply house that supplied the felt.

I finished the case with my favorite finish, a combination of Tung oil and Linseed oil for the first coat. Then a combination of Tung oil and Polyurethane and followed this with a coat of Polyurethane.

So what ever your memories are, isn’t it time to make a proper case to display those items that cause you stop just for a moment and recall that special times in your life.

For more help or tipc chrck out my main blog at http://www.sawdustonthefloor.com/

Vertical Raised Panel Router Bit

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Before you ask, who is William Robertson, let me tell you. William Robertson is a craftsman, no, let me make that an artesian, who creates woodworking pieces in miniature. An example of the artistry of William Robertson is displayed at the right. It is a replica of an 18th century Gentlemen’s chest, the part that is hard to comprehend is that it is only 2” long. If the size of the tool box were not enough to make your jaw drop, think about this, all of the tools actually work, the hinges are totally functional, the lock even works. The thing that amazes me is that all of these parts were crafted by William Robertson.

I don’t know what kind of a woodworker you are, but I would really have to think twice about even thinking of attempting to make the tool box, let alone the tools that are within the box. If the woodworking were not enough, Robertson’s tools are actual working pieces. The saw was hand crafted, and has 160 teeth per inch; the folding ruler shown in the picture has 5 leaf hinges that Robertson built. While looking at a catalog of Robertson’s work, I saw something that totally amazed me, hand cut dove tails. I have to work at cutting dovetails, and hand cutting them is someplace in the future, I hope. But I couldn’t imagine thinking about cutting them at the scale that Robertson works in. Robertson’s work stands alone.

Please take a couple of minutes and look at the entire scope of his work. I think you will also be in awe, I know I was. And if you can think of anyone else who should be considered for the Woodworkers Hall of Fame, let me know. Who knows someday it may just actually happen.

**Image from Fine Woodworking Tools and Shops  magazine Winter 2009 issue**

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Now this lumber wasn’t perfect, but it also wasn’t what we commonly see in pallets here in the U.S.  A lot of it was from the mahogany family, and some I couldn’t identify. So, in my mind it was worth the effort to take it home, and clean it up.

Before I ran any of the wood across my jointer, or thru my planer, I checked it with a metal detector. Just like the metal detectors used at the airports by the TSA agents, this hand held wand detects imbedded metal that would destroy your jointer or planer blades. Thank goodness I did, because I found several pieces that were hidden from visual inspection. If you are also into woodturning, the metal detector is a must. The last thing you want to find in that nice piece of lumber that is spinning on your lathe is a hidden nail or screw. Not only could that destroy your turning chisel, but it may turn out to be dangerous.

One of the things I discovered about using reclaimed wood is that there are a lot of defects in the wood. Some of these actually can add to the beauty of your project, but some are just too ugly to leave alone. To cover those really ugly spots, I turned to an old technique, commonly known as a Dutchman. In today’s woodworking terminology, these are known as Butterfly Inlays.

By what ever name you care to use, the idea is to cut out the defective area and cover it with a decorative patch. Often the patch is made from a contrasting wood that would highlight the defect instead of hiding it. The Dutchman is cut using a handheld router, a template and a bushing set for the router

The concept is really simply, the defect is removed, then using the same template, the patch is cut out.The trick is that the patch has to be just a bit smaller then the cut made to cover the defect. Using an inlay set,with a ring on the bushing, the defective area is cut out completely. Then the insert is cut using the bit and bushing, only the ring is removed first. The thickness of the ring determines the difference between the area to be patched and the the inlay.

If in your project you use screws to hold things together, and you want to hide the screws, consider using a butterfly or dutchman instead of the common button or bung. The concept is the same as covering a defective area.

Was every piece of wood I reclaimed worth the effort? Nope, some ended up in my scrap bin, but for those that I could salvage, the price was right. So keep you eyes open for those good deals on lumber, and don’t discard anything just because it has a few defects, those can be easily covered. I have used some of this reclaimed lumber in projects around our home and have found some of it to be beautiful when finished. Those pieces were well worth the time and effort to reclaim, reuse and keep them out of a landfill.

For more help or tips check out my main blog at http://www.sawdustonthefloor.com/

As their advertisements so proudly state, Porter Cable has been making quality tools since 1906. Recently, Porter Cable has introduced a new product line of 18 volt cordless tools. For years there has been some controversy about which battery style, Lithium or NiCad is better. While the NiCad offers some what more torque, the Lithium offers faster charging times. Which is better, well that’s really an individual choice. Most manufacturers will choose one or the other and you’re stuck with that option. Porter Cable has decided to try and satisfy both camps. They have released their 18 Volt Cordless tools with both the Lithium and the NiCad batteries and chargers.

The product line includes 18 Volt cordless drill/drivers with either the Lithium Ion or NiCad, The only difference that I can see is the NiCad has a higher torque, while the Lithium recharges quicker. Both units feature an LED for work in darker areas. They also are offering a 18 volt Impact Driver with either battery option. In the drill driver family you will also find a 18 Volt Hammer drill, that promises to deliver 490 in/lbs of torque, with a hammer action of 24,000 BPM ( Beats per Min.) The hammer drill is available with the NiCad option only.

The family of saws offered include a 18 Volt Reciprocating Saw that features a tool free blade change. A Circular saw with the standard 6 1/2 ” blade that is common on cordless saws. This saw does offer one neat feature, it has a laser that projects out in front of the blade, to help make a straighter free hand cut. The laser is powered by two AAA batteries. For those who prefer a jig saw, Porter Cable offers an 18 Volt jig saw that is powered by either of the battery options. Both Jig saw options have a dust collection port and feature tool free blade change. The last tool option in this family is the rotary saw. Like the Jig Saw the Rotary saw is available for either battery. Both the Rotary saw and the Jig saw are sold as bare tools, which means that they are not sold with chargers.

Not to be out done by some of there competitors, Porter Cable also offers Cordless “Dust management” tool, also known as a cordless vacuum. An 18 Volt Sander Polisher and two cordless lights, one with an adjustable spot light and the other a cordless fluorescent light. I have to admit I have never seen a cordless fluorescent light before, this is a new one for me. With the exception of the pivoting head( adjustable spot), all of these tools are sold as bare items.

For moer help or tips check out my main blog at http://www.sawdustonthefloor.com/

If you’re curious, am I going out the buy these new tools? No, and only because I already have a considerable investment in another venders’ cordless tools. But if I were just starting my collection of cordless tools, then these would rank very high on my list. I have several other Porter Cable tools in my shop, and as there ad’s claim, they have always been a quality tool.

All of these tools are available from CPO Outlet.

There is nothing at all charming about having to bundle up just to be comfortable in your own home. With those old drafty windows and doors, you are not only wasting money on the heating and air conditioning bills, you are also wasting energy. Unless you are related to Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, then I think it would be safe to say that you can’t afford to waste energy either. Actually thinking about it, they maybe able to waste money, but no one should waste energy.

With that in mind, the federal government is working to encourage home owners to replace those windows and doors with Energy Star units. The government is offering you a 30% rebate, up to $1,500, for installing qualify units. For more information on the requirements on windows and doors as well as many other qualifying home improvements you can do, check the following website and click on the 1040 Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency box on the left side of the page.

http://www.energystar.gov

How hard is it to replace a exterior door or window? Replacing exterior doors is not really any harder then it is to install interior doors. You have to make sure that the door is installed plumb and level, and is properly secured to the frame, just as you would for an interior door. The complexity of installing an exterior door will depend a lot on the material that covers the outside of your home. When you remove the old door or windows, then you will have to remove the exterior trim work. If your home has traditional wood siding or brick facing then replacing the trim work is as easy as installing new trim boards and sealing the edges with quality caulk. If your home has either aluminum or vinyl siding, then the issue gets a little less clear.

A quality siding job normally will include “capping” of all exterior wood. What this means is that all of the exterior wood is rapped in either aluminum or vinyl that is bent to fit the exterior wood. A specialty tool called a Metal Break is used to form the bends in the capping material. When you remove the old door or window it is very likely that the capping will either be damaged or will no longer seal the area correctly. So unless you have access to the metal break and a source of the capping material, then you may want to contract to have the door and capping replaced.

The same logic holds for windows. It is not hard to replace a window, but making the outside look right may take special tools and skills that the average home owner doesn’t possess. It may make more sense to have the doors and windows replaced by professionals and you concentrate on the interior trim.

Which ever way you go, it only makes sense to replace those windows and doors now. And since the federal government is willing to help, and it’s not often that it does, the timing couldn’t be any better.

For more info and help on wood working check out my main blog at http://www.sawdustonthefloor.com

In the meantime, be on the lookout for part 3 of the arched top mirror project.  We hope you’ve been enjoying that as much as we enjoyed building it.

Thanks for your patience and understanding,

The Jersey Woodworker

For more informaton or help check out my main blog at http://www.sawdustonthefloor.com

A couple of years ago we decided that we wanted to move our microwave oven off of the counter, so the logical choice was a microwave stand. After a journey through the furniture stores, the big box stores and even the unfinished wood products stores we came to understand that we were not going to find what we were looking for. Some of the stands that we found were poorly made, some were just plain ugly. And some while structurally sound, the designs were not compatible with our home. The only logical choice after that was to make one, well logical for a woodworker.

The top for our microwave cart was actually a recycled, excuse me repurposed Butcher Block top, that came from an old coffee table. The table no longer exists, but there was no way that I could part with that top. The original top was too long for its new purpose and cutting it to its new length presented a challenge. True butcher block tops are made from strips of maple, which are placed on edge and then glued together. There are metal rods running through the maple strips to add strength. All of this adds up to a very heavy block of wood that is difficult to cut, sand or finish. I considered just running it across my table saw, but the weight of the top prohibited that. I also considered using my circular saw, but knew that I couldn’t get a smooth cut, and sanding maple is not a fun project.

I finally decided to use my large 3 horse power plunge router with a straight bit to cut off the excess length. Combining the router and anall in one guide clamp, I set up the router to take very small cuts off the ends of the butcher block. Making several passes, each a little deeper of cut, provided the straight, smooth ends I was looking for. When the length was correct, I used a ½” round over bit to ease the edges.

The legs, skirt and bottom shelf are all made of 4/4 poplar. The 2 1/2” square legs were made up by gluing up several strips, which were ran across the jointer and then the thicknes planer to make the totally square after the glue dried up. The skirt and the lower shelf were installed at the inside corners of each leg   creating a pleasing offset .  All of the skirt boards  were attached to the legs using Kreg pocket screws technology. The bottom shelf is a simple frame made up of 4/4 poplar cut to 1 ½” widths. It is attached to the legs, using the same pocket screws as the skirts.

One thing that we wanted was a drawer for those Microwave essentials, like  pot holders.  To simplifiy things the drawer is a overlay drawer, made out of the same poplar as the skirts and shelf.  The only think that we did different was to mill the poplar down to 1/2″ thick, using the thickness planer.  The bottom of the draw is a piece of 1/4″ plywood.  We used off the shelf mechanical drawer guides for the drawer.  I did use the Kreg Drawer guide assembly jig for setting the guides and attaching the drawer itself to the drawer.  A full thickness 3/4″ drawer front was screwed to the draw assemble.  A bright metal drawer pull was added after the project was sanded and painted.

On the top of the bottom shelf I installed a series of 1/2″ thick slats. These were simply nailed down using a brad nail gunand 5/8″ long brads. To get the spacing correct, I started in the center and moved out in both directions at the same time. That way I could fudge the last slates on each side, so everything looked symmetrical.

The Butcher Block top was attached to the skirt boards using the Kreg Pocket screws. I did not add any glue nor did I totally tighten the screws when I installed the top. I wanted to leave a little room for the expansion of the top. I know that a lot of woodworkers have a degree of concern about how wood expands particularly when the wood is joined across the grain, such as when a table top is glued to the skirt boards. The skirt boards and the top may expand and contract at different rates, which would result in the wood splitting. Therefore, tops are often installed with a little wiggle room that allows for this expansion. I had an added concern because of the vastly different densities of the two woods, maple and poplar, so I only tightened the screws until the top no longer could move around.

The entire cart was then sanded in preparation for finishing. Before any finish was applied, the entire thing was washed with a clean rag soaked in Naphtha. I find this works better for me then the conventional tack rags. The top was sealed with several coats of semi gloss polyurethane, the top was sanded between each coat. The skirt , legs and shelf were all primed with an oil based primer, and then painted with a enamel white paint. Four heavy duty casters were added to the cart for mobility. The microwave cart stayed like this for over ten years.

When we decided to upgrade the kitchen, one of things that changed was the microwave oven.  About the third iteration of the new design, it was decided that we wanted to install a wall mounted microwave over the top of the stove. The new microwave would serve dual purpose, a microwave and an exhaust fan for the stove. So the old microwave found a new home with a college bound friend, and the cart……..

Well, lets just say that the simple microwave cart caused a small amount of controversy in our home. I wanted retire it to the land fill or some one else’s home. My better half had developed an attachment to the cart, so we had to find a way to incorporate it into our new kitchen. The microwave cart was repurposed into a cart for her mixer and baking accessories.

It was decided that the new bakery cart would have bead board on the sides and rear of the cart, and the front would be open. A center horizontal self would be added. I started the conversion by installing 1/2″  cabinet grade plywood to the sides and rear of the cart. Next I installed the horizontal shelf. This I made out of a piece of 3/4″ plywood that was in my scrap bin. I added a 3/4″ trim piece to the front of the shelf. The shelf was glued in place, and then screwed in place through the 1/2″ plywood, sides and back.

I found pre primed bead board at the local DIY store, which I cut to length and attached to the outside of the cart with construction adhesive and a few small brads. After filling the nail holes with fast patch, and applying a small bead of latex caulk to the seams where the bead board met the legs, the entire cart was re finished.

The maple butcher block top was still in exceptional condition, so it was left as was, the rest of the cart was given a new coat of the enamel white paint. The results
were …. Well okay, I will admit it, the cart deserved to be recycled, excuse me, repurposed. I guess that it will have another 10 year life holding the mixer and the tools that go with it. And after that, who knows. Check with me in about 2020.

Here’s the finished project and behind it a small corner of out newly remodeled kitchen.

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