Woodworker's Journal 2004 Spring, страница 56

Use the Pinup Shop Drawing to make a full-size template from 1/4" hardboard for scribing the top rail shape. There are several sound reasons for making a template here. First of all, it's easier to get lines straight on 1/4" thick material with no grain than it is on a 1" thick piece with grain. It's also a whole lot cheaper to fix mistakes on hardboard or plywood than it is on expensive mahogany. Best of all, if you want to make another mirror, you'll have a template for the most complex part of the project

To make the template, tape a copy of the pattern to your hardboard blank and cut it out on the band saw. Stay just outside the line, then refine the template with files and sandpaper. When you're satisfied with the template, use two-sided tape to attach it to the top rail.

Make this cut with a 1/4" blade in the band saw, staying 1/16" away from the template. Then, with the template still taped to the workpiece, switch to your router and let the bearing on a flush trim bit ride the template as you trim the piece to final size. Take several light cuts to avoid tearout on the end grain, as shown in Figure 2 at right.

The Decorative Plugs

The next step is to cut holes for the decorative plugs (pieces 5 and 6) on the fronts of the rails. The Greene brothers frequently used such plugs to hide screws that held the mortise and tenon joints together. I decided against the screws because they're not needed with today's superior glues. To make the 1/8" deep plug holes, I used my mortising attachment with 1/4" and 3/8" chisels. Just follow the layout shown in the Pinup Shop Drawings. You can now make the matching ebony plugs using the technique described in the sidebar at left.

Cut the stopped and through rabbets for the mirror (piece 7) next. Size the rabbets to the mirror's thickness (mine was 1/4" thick, so I cut 1/4" x 1/4" rabbets). Mill the backs of both large stiles first, then dry-assemble these pieces to the rails. Use the rabbets on the stiles to mark the locations for the corresponding stopped rabbets on the backs of the rails. Make these cuts on the router table (see Figure 3) and square their corners with a sharp chisel.

Sanding and Finishing

To stay true to the Greene and Greene look, I softened all the edges on this piece. Start with 120-grit sandpaper on the decorative stiles — there's no need to use coarser grits first Then use a 1/8" roundover bit in your router table to soften the front edges of the rails and large stiles, making sure the bit's bearing is positioned so it won't run into the plug mortises (see Figure 4 on the next page). Use 120-grit paper to break the outside edges of the back (avoiding the joints) and the top rail's profile where the router couldn't reach. Wrap up this step by finish-sanding all the parts to 280 grit.

Now you are ready to apply a medium reddish brown aniline dye. (For some tips on using aniline dye, see the sidebar on page 70.) Applying the dye now, before assembly, is preferable because it's difficult to get inside those narrow corners after everything is assembled.

A point worth noting is that aniline dye will bleed into some finishes, especially waterbased polyurethane varnish. I used Bartley's Satin Topcoat (after assembly), but you can apply any finish over the dye, as long as you start with two coats of the appropriate sanding sealer.

Figure 2: Final shaping of the rail is completed with a flush trim bit. The bearing rides the template to provide a clean surface. Be careful with the end grain on the curves. Several passes will help eliminate tearout.

Figure 3: To hold the mirror, both rails have stopped rabbets on their back sides. Alignment marks on you fence and rails define the starting and stopping points for these cuts.

Figure 1: For safety reasons it's best to use a jig when cutting tenons vertically like this. It's also a good idea to install a zero-clearance throatplate to keep thin offcuts from slipping down into the blade area.

Arts & Crafts Furniture Spring 2004

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