Popular Woodworking 2007-11 № 165, страница 14
Out on a Limb BY CHRISTOPHER SCHWARZ, EDITOR 117 POPULAR I • WooDworkinr Learn How. Discover Why. Build Better, w It's Almost Always User Error S o I have the assembled carcase of a sideboard braced against my workbench and I'm planing the top edge of the aprons flush with the top of the legs. After 10 strokes, things go all wrong. The front apron of the sideboard comes loose, and the carcase sways like a drunken sailor on my shop floor. At first I can't bear to look at the problem (like when you cut yourself) but then I examine the damage. The Festool Domi- powered dovetail jig. I thought I'd be making everything with dovetails. And it would be so fast. And easy. And cheaper than buying the tools to cut them by hand. It took three agonizing days of work to make my first drawer with that jig. Let me be clear about one thing: There's nothing wrong with dovetail jigs, it's just that some of them are better suited for producing drawers for an entire kitchen (or subdivision). Making one custom drawer with Customer Service How can I contact customer service with questions regarding my subscription, including a lost or damaged issue? Visit popularwoodworking.com/customerservice. Or write to Popular Woodworking, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Or, if you prefer the telephone, call toll-free 877-860-9140 and a customer service representative will be happy to help you. When does my subscription expire? The date of your subscription expiration appears on your magazine mailing label, above your name. The date indicates the last issue in your subscription. Can I get back issues of Popular Woodworking? Back issues are available while supplies last. Visitpopularwoodworking.com/backissues. Or if you know the exact month and year of the issue you want, call our customer service department toll-free at 800-258-0929 to order. What if I want more information about the projects and tools I read aboutin Popular Woodworking? For all editorial questions, please write to Popular Woodworking Editorial, 4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236. Ore-mail popwood@fwpubs.com. Does Popular Woodworking offer group discounts? Group discounts are available by special arrangement with the publisher. For more details, send an e-mail to Debbie Paolello at debbie.paolello@fwpubs.com or call 513-531-2690x1296. Our Privacy Promise to You We make portions of our customer list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services we believe you may enjoy. If you do not want to receive offers and/or information, please let us know by contacting us at: List Manager, F+W Publications 4700 E. Galbraith Road Cincinnati, OH 45236 Safety Note Safety is your responsibility. Manufacturers place safety devices on their equipment for a reason. In many photos you see in Popular Woodworking, these have been removed to provide clarity. In some cases we'll use an awkward body position so you can better see what's being demonstrated. Don't copy us. Think about each procedure you're going to perform beforehand. nos I installed in the apron have come loose from the leg. Now, the natural thing to do is to blame the newfangled tool that I'm testing. But I can't. While the Festool Domino is an engineering wonder, so is the machine that injects cream filling into a Twinkie. It's not the technology that's the problem; it's how the technology gets used that determines if it's a sensation or a scourge. Too many of our tools, books and magazines encourage us to take shortcuts. We get excited when anything seems easy, fast or inexpensive. It's human nature, and I fell for it. I had ignored the basic rules for sizing mortise-and-tenonjoints. Specifically, that your tenon's width needs to be two-thirds the width of your stock. Because the Dominos fit so perfectly in the holes, I beguiled myself into using two of them in each leg -1 really needed three. I can remember the same giddy sensation I got when I first used a biscuit joiner (with a similar stupid error). And the time when I became enamored with my router- a jig like that is not so smart. Frustrated with my sideboard, I trudged upstairs and picked up Charles Hay ward's "Woodwork Joints." This out-of-print book is filled with drawings of how traditional cabinets are supposed to be built. And it isn't a simple, fast or easy process. Good furniture is a lot of work. I looked up Hayward's rules for sizing tenons, then returned to the shop. I disassembled my undersized joints and used the ultra-modern Domino to cut joints that obeyed the rules that were laid down long before I was born. I reassembled the carcase and braced it against my bench to complete the operation that destroyed my first attempt. After 10 strokes, I knew I'd done the right thing. Then I vowed to write this experience down so I wouldn't forget it. And so here is, a note to myself. PW 12 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2007 |
