Woodworker's Journal 2009-33-2, страница 10

Verse-atile Outdoor Workbench

If under a tree you like to sit But you also love to woodwork a bit, Find yourself an old gas grill And take it apart at your will.

Recycle the metal you can spare (It helps the earth, and the cash is fair).

Then, on the sturdy frame that stands. Bolt two 2 x 4s the length at hand. Attach a 3/4" plywood top. And you'll never again be stuck in your shop.

Elden Reuss Marissa, Illinois

Tricks of the Trade

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Innovative Tricks Add Value in the Shop

Notched tenons help lock this joint down tight.

Drugstore Rust Buster

To prevent rust from forming on tools in your drawers or tool chest, all you need is a block of camphor and a plastic film canister. Camphor is available from pharmacies in segmented 2" x 2" blocks. Just drill a few l/4"-diameter holes in a canister, stick a quarter of the camphor block inside and cap it.

Store one of these little canisters wherever you keep metal tools. The camphor fumes form a molecular film on metal surfaces that retards rust. A quarter block lasts about a year and will treat several drawers or a whole toolbox. When the camphor smell disappears, you'll know it's time for a fresh piece.

Joe Morgan Portage, Wisconsin

Crisscross Corner Joints

When I build children's furniture, I like to use the modified mortise-and-tenon joint you see here to connect legs and aprons. Instead of stopping both mortises short of touching, I run I hem deeper into the leg until they crisscross. Then, I make the apron tenons haunched to accommodate one another. That way, they interlock inside the leg, and the longer tips of the tenons extend into the deeper portion of the mortises. I think (he extra-long tenons give these joints more glue surface area and strength than shorter tenons.

Dick Ayers Barron, Wisconsin

How to Get a Square Bolt into a Round Hole

Recently I was building some folding chairs from pecan and needed to recess the square shoulders of carriage bolts into the wood. Pecan is too hard to just draw the bolt into the wood by tightening. Instead, I drilled the bolt hole first and inserted a short piece of matching dowel with a chamfered top end. Then, I fitted a hollow mortising-machine chisel over the dowel, which acted like a centering pin. I tapped the chisel into the wood with a dead-blow mallet and pulled out the dowel to create a perfectly centered square hole for the bolt.

George S. Setta Lancaster, Virginia

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April 2009 Woodworker's Journal