Popular Woodworking 2004-04 № 140, страница 14
WOODCRAFT UNIVERSITY There's a Woodcraft University location nearyou Alabama Birmingham Area Arizona Tempe Tucson California Orange County Sacramento San Francisco Bay Area Santa Rosa Colorado Colorado Springs Denver Connecticut Hartford Area New Haven Area Delaware Wilmington Florida Casselberry Clearwater Jacksonville Georgia Atlanta Area Indiana Evansville Indianapolis Iowa West Des Moines Kentucky Louisville Maryland Towson Massachusetts Springfield Woburn Michigan Canton Sterling Heights Minnesota Bloomington Missouri St. Louis Area New Hampshire Portsmouth Area New Mexico Albuquerque New York Albany Rochester North Carolina Charlotte Area Greensboro Raleigh Ohio Cincinnati Area Cleveland Area Columbus Area Dayton Oklahoma Oklahoma City Tulsa Oregon Eugene Portland Area Pennsylvania Harrisburg Philadelphia Area Pittsburgh Area Rhode Island East Greenwich South Carolina Charleston Tennessee Johnson City Knoxville Nashville Texas Austin Dallas Area Fort Worth Houston San Antonio Utah Salt LakeCityArea Virginia Richmond Virginia Beach Washington D.C. Area Washington Seattle West Virginia Parkersburg Wisconsin Appleton/Fox Cities Area Madison Milwaukee Area Woodworker's Club: Connecticut Norwalk Maryland Rockville WOODCRAFT For your local woodcraft store, visit www.woodcraft.com, or for a free catalog, call 800 542-9115 Letters Grandkids Help This 'Old Dog' Work Well 'Bird Feeder' Lessons Teach One Grandfather to Think Young As a lifelong perfectionist and woodworker, and now a grandfather of 4- and 2-year-old boys, I can't tell you how meaningful "Lessons from a Bird Feeder" (Out of the Woodwork, December 2003) was for me. The project sessions I've been planning with my grandsons have now taken on a whole new light and meaning. The story hit home like nothing I've experienced lately. Thank you for reminding me that when dealing with young minds, one has to think young or be doomed to failure. It's funny how sometimes we convey in our craft things far removed from the simple project at hand. Joe Tallant Big Canoe, Georgia Chessboard's Joints Won't Fail You Regarding Barry Black's "Classic Chessboard" (December 2003): When doing the final glue-up of the top, the joints are end-grain-to-end-grain, which normally is a very weak joint. Granted, chessboards are rarely subjected to any great weight or force, but still, are there any special gluing strategies involved? Would the use of splines make for sturdier joints? Because the top isn't attached to any substrate, these joints must be fairly strong. Will the joints as described hold up over time, or am I just being paranoid? Chris Green Lebanon, New Jersey Barry Black responds: So far I have not had the glue joints in a chessboard fail. It's true that end-grain joints typically are weak and I wouldn't do this where strength is an issue. But in this context, the joints are surprisingly strong. In fact, I sometimes make an extra strip or two to cut banding out of, and these pieces never seem to break at the glue joint. However, if more strength is needed, either splines or dowels would indeed improve the end- grain glue strength, as would the use of epoxy rather than the white carpenter's glue that I use. During the last 20 years of making these chessboards, I have had the occasional one slip and fall on the cement floor in my shop; so far, none has come apart. (Needless to say, the next one I drop will disintegrate now for sure.) How Were the Angles Developed For the Drop-leaf Table? I loved the simple elegance of the "Shaker Drop-leaf Table" (December 2003). I noticed the aprons are cut at 4° and the ends of the legs are beveled to 51/2°. Being a novice woodworker, I'm curious why this is and how these angles were determined. Bob Pfohler Morrisonville, New York Editor's Note: The table is a reproduction of one made by the Shakers in the 19th century. The dimensions were determined largely by looking at the original. That's how the 4° angle was arrived at. With the 4° angle on the apron, the 51i,2°angle of the leg was arrived at by a bit of trial and error on my part. - Steve Shanesy, editor & publisher continued on page 14 WRITE TO US Popular Woodworking welcomes letters from readers with comments about the magazine or woodworking in general. We try to respond to all correspondence. Published letters may be edited for length or style. All letters become the property of Popular Woodworking. How to send your letter: • E-mail: popwood@fwpubs.com • Fax:513-891-7196 • Mail carrier: Letters • Popular Woodworking 4700 E. Galbraith Road Cincinnati, OH 45236 Dept.04PW04BE CIRCLE NO. 154 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. 12 Popular Woodworking April 2004 |
