Beyond woodworking basics

A few pointers on improving your woodworking and project design skills

By Steve Maxwell

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Are you doodle-challenged and not crazy about cardboard? If you have a computer, consider the current digital champion, a program called Sketch-Up. It’s an award-winning drawing application that turns 2-D bumblers into 3-D masters. I can vouch for this from experience, especially the way it allows any drawing to be viewed from all angles. Many of CHW’s builders also use Adobe Illustrator.

Let’s see how these key design principles apply to the design of a trestle table. Trestles are the end assemblies that support the tabletop, and there are three features about the ones shown here that can improve your work. First, they’re large enough to be made of three pieces joined with beefy, 1/2″-dia. fluted dowels. Besides being clean, dowel joints go beyond what’s possible with biscuits on two counts. Big dowels are stronger than the largest biscuits typically available, and they’re easier to install precisely in more than a few situations. Also, as you work, make neighbouring pieces of wood different thicknesses to create some visual interest where one part meets its neighbour. Besides looking good, you’ll hide slight areas of joint misalignment this way.

Enthusiasm for wood is why we work with the stuff, but being a keener has its downside if you happen to have a router in hand when you have an enthusiasm-attack. With all the great bits around, it’s pretty hard to resist profiling everything in sight. But if you’re interested in creating projects with classic good looks, then keep roundovers, ogees and other fancy edge treatments to a minimum. If a part doesn’t look good without an ogee, it’s not going to get much better with one.

The only exception to this minimalist approach is the edges of high-traffic tabletops or desks, and only for practical reasons. If you’re planning to stain your project dark, consider something else. Crisp edges start to look pretty ragged as stain wears through quickly on corners due to concentrated wear from elbows and forearms. A rounded edge, or even a small chamfer, wears longer before getting down to bright, unstained wood because the abrasive action is spread over a large area.

The reason mass-produced furniture is cheap and plentiful is because popular designs are easily duplicated. But there are some age-old areas of the craft that are just too ornery and obscure to ever be wrestled into an efficient factory setup. Tusk tenons are one. Beyond their use on trestle tables, they also do a fantastic job on bed rails, simple benches and desks. Strikingly effective, they go way beyond ho-hum.

Tusk tenons are traditional joinery features that extend right through mating parts, held together with wedges. They’re super-strong and can be made to knock down for furniture transport. My favourite way to cut tusk tenon holes is with a plunge router, a plywood pattern and a flush-trimming bit with a bearing on the shaft.

In the 15 minutes I spent with the guy who left the show feeling worse than when he arrived, another thing came up. Perhaps more important than any of the tips you’ve read about here is something the Japanese call kaizen. It means continual improvement. Every time you feel badly about your work, analyze it, identify a solution and put it into practise next time. Do this diligently and your work will eventually find its way to the other side of those fuzzy, velour-covered ropes.

Instructions

– 3M rubbing pad under a random orbit sander buffs final tabletop to flawless finish

– 1/2-dia. fluted dowels form strong joints between trestle parts

– crisp corners offer classic good looks

– include non-commercial details, like incised carving

– tusk tenons are strong, attractive and come apart for transport

– pattern routing eliminates the need for edge sanding

– underside of table should be clean and well finished

– router bit bearing follows plywood template to create curved edges

– plywood gussets strengthen framework and hold tabletop screws


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