Popular Woodworking 2009-02 № 174, страница 7

-■ Letters ■-

FROM OUR READERS

Moulding Cutterhead Another Way to Trim Flush

l would like to comment on the "Flush-cuttingjig" article (Popular Woodworking November 2008, issue #172). This article presents a unique solution to an often-incurred problem, and 1 will try it on my next project involving solid-wood edging surrounding a plywood piece. But I would like to offer a suggestion. Because 1 am reluctant to spend more money on a stacked dado blade set than I spent on my table saw, I have yet to produce a smooth, flat-bottomed dado. 1 suggest using a moulding cutterhead installed on the saw, usinga l"-wide set of planer cutters. In my experience, this setup is far superior to any stacked dado set and is far cheaper, to boot.

— Carl Carlman, Dearborn, Michigan

A mouldingcutterhead with the appropriate knives will do the job. However, most woodworkers would have to purchase a mouldingcutterhead, while a stacked dado set is more than likely going to be part of one's inventory.

Also, I question the resultsfrom a three-knife cutfrom the moulding head versus the smoothness of a dado stack. And pricing is not all that different between the two products if you do need to make a purchase.

Of course, one benefit of a moulding cutterhead is that you can also purchase additional knife profiles to make mouldings. Some woodworkers prefer that moulding method to a router table.

— Glen D. Huey, senior editor

Are Published Furniture Plans Fair Game for Manufacture?

Thank you for running Jon Shackelford's article, "Copying Famous Furniture," in the November 2008 issue (#172). But it leaves me with questions:

One of Shackelford's examples is Moser's continuous arm chair. Moser, as have others, published a book on the techniques, dimensions and drawings necessary to produce his chair; and his book includes instructions on how to make the production tooling to manufacture the chair. I have his book. Do I have an implicit license to produce a set of chairs for my personal use? Does his including the production tooling designs permit me to manufacture the chair?

Also, does the owner of an antique have the right to prohibit others from reproducing it? (I had thought so, but the article suggests not.) For example, if a museum owns and displays an 18th-century Windsor chair and permits me to photograph it, does the museum have any right to prohibit me from producing or manufacturing it? Ifso, would the piece's fame affect that answer - for example, consider the iconic Pennsylvania Dutch dowry chest. Would the fact that the museum permitted a measured drawing to be taken and published affect that answer?

—Larry Root, via e-mail

It does appear to give mixed signals when innovators (such as Thos. Moser in your example)

protect their designs with patents (or trademarks or copyrights) and at the same time teach people how to reproduce them in a how-to book or article. Speakinggenerally, however, an author/inventor (like Moser and others in his league) does not automatically license the reader to make and sell proprietary designs. (I say"generally" because any given situation might turn on peculiarfacts.) I suggest that you first check the fine print in the publication you are following. Ifit does not have a disclaimer or express permission statement of some kind, then assume the worst - the author/inventor has not abandoned their intellectual property rights. If you intend to openly market and sell your reproductions, then you might reduce risk by sending the author/inventor a letter (via certified mail) statingyour inten-

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