Popular Woodworking 2007-12 № 166, страница 58
1 Scraps of nice wood for tops. Whenever I'm cutting up wood, I trim scraps to suitable sizes and put them into a box I keep next to the band saw. 2 A few possibilities for making tops from unusual materials (clockwise from the bottom): horn, walnuts (these didn't work out so well, but might do so with some judicious use of epoxy), banksia pods, plastic and solid-surface countertop materials. 3 Top blanks ready to turn (clockwise from bottom right): "regular" tops (the ones I make by the thousands every year), miniatures, assorted fancy tops, including double-deckers, and top blanks in various alternative materials. 4 Mark circles on your scrap wood. I usually start with 2 "circles, but with very fancy wood I'll go down to 1V2" or so, or set the stock aside to make minis. Drill the blanks to receive the 3/8" dowels. I use a 3/s" brad-point bit (it's useful to have one that is Vm" undersized as well, since it's not always possible to find accurately sized dowels). The steel plate screwed to the drill table has a 1/2"-diameter hole placed concentric with the drill bit; this prevents most tear-out (especially on thin pieces). 6 I just eyeball the center of each piece. You will be turning the piece round, so it doesn't have to be exact. You may want to hold the scraps in large locking pliers or with a vise or handscrew clamp; very hard, dense woods can be pulled from your grasp when being drilled. 7 Pieces that are thicker than one top are sliced prior to being cut out. Leave the slices connected by a thin bit of waste at one end; this makes it easy to cut out several at a time. Watch your fingers. Never push toward the blade with your fingers aligned with the blade; keep them in a position (and exert force in a direction) that will move them past the blade should it unexpectedly exit the wood. popularwoodworking.com ■ 83 |
