Video Tip: Arches with a Router and Trammelwith Gary Striegler Gary Striegler likes to put a curved top rail on his cabinets. He says it helps make his work stand out, plus it's not that hard to do. He starts with a full sheet of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or plywood laid on a pair of sawhorses. The sheet becomes a chalkboard on which he can draw the cabinet’s face frame in full scale. He uses a set of trammel points to establish the radius. When the arc looks right, he mounts a router base on a narrow piece of plywood that acts as a trammel. Then he clamps the upper-rail blank on the table and cuts a shallow arc. Next, he roughs out the curve with a jigsaw and finishes it up with a flush-trim bit. Next, all it needs is a couple quick passes with a random-orbit sander and it’s ready to install. More on Circle Cutting:
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Video Tip: Scribing to the Wallwith Tony O'Malley The key to success with a built-in is to scribe parts accurately where they meet the walls, floor, or ceiling. This means cutting those parts oversize. In this built-in project, O'Malley builds the cases from plywood, but applied frame-and-panel pieces to give it a fine furniture feel. The end panels also simplify the scribing process since he only needs to fit the panels to uneven walls, not the cases themselves. O'Malley starts by building the end panels from solid wood and plywood. He runs grooves in the stiles and rails on the tablesaw taking two passes, flipping in between, to center the groove. Stub tenons cut with a dado blade hold the frame together. Once the panels are glued up and the cases are in place, O'Malley draws a scribe line on the stile to mirror the surface of the wall. For dark walnut, scribe using a light-colored pencil. Or try applying tape and mark on the tape itself to see the mark. Next O'Malley removes the extra material down to the scribe line using a block plane, jig saw, or sander. Once the fit is fine tuned, attach the panel with screws. More on Built-ins:
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Video Tip: Track-Saw Tipswith Gary Striegler Gary Striegler is a big fan of tracksaws since they help him do precision ripping and crosscutting in tight spaces. Here’s how they work. The saw rides on a metal track with a ridge down the middle. To use it, simply layout your cuts, then lay the rubber edge of the track against the marks. The rubber edge helps to hold the track in place and also reduces tearout by supporting the wood fibers. While you need a large space to cut big sheet goods on the tablesaw, a tracksaw can also be used in confined areas since you don’t need additional infeed and outfeed space. More on Track Saws:
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Video Tip: On-Site Design with a Story Polewith Gary Striegler Gary Striegler always uses a story pole for his building projects. It’s essentially his blue print in wood using dimensions from the actual space he’s building in. For this built-in project, Striegler built two different cabinets so he used the one pole to track all of the measurements using the four edges of the story pole. He put the two vertical cabinet layouts on two of the story pole edges and two horizontal layouts on the remaining edges. Story poles are helpful to give a sense of the proportions and the relationship between parts. Striegler puts as much information as possible on the story pole including the trim. This can help him foresee any potential problem. Striegler squares up the tick marks bringing them all the way across the pole. Once he’s gathered all the cabinet dimensions, he can create rough drawings of his face frames using the information from the story pole. Next he makes cutlists based on the drawings. Striegler creates two separate cutlists, one for plywood parts in the boxes and one for face frame parts. Last, he double checks the cutlists comparing them to the measurements on story pole and drawings. Once the cutlist is complete, he can start cutting up his parts. All the video in this series:
Video Tip: Easy Biscuit Joinerywith Tony O'Malley Biscuit joints are a great way to quickly join cabinets. In this short video clip, O'Malley demonstrates his easy method using biscuit joinery for a built-in cabinet. He shares tips for avoiding measuring mistakes and shows how to glue up without clamps. When making multiple cabinets, O'Malley recommends using a shopmade fixture to help with alignment. It includes a precisely-sized plywood panel with a cleat at the end. He registers the cleat against the end of his workpiece and uses the plywood panel to line-up the biscuit joiner as he cuts slots. This ensures uniformity from one cabinet to the next. To avoid measuring across the width of the workpiece, O'Malley aligns his cuts with the end workpiece. This way he doesn't have to measure in from the edge of each part, he simply aligns the edge of the machine with the edge of the workpiece. To simplify glue up and assembly, O'Malley uses an L-shaped support block to with spring clamps hold the vertical and horizontal members at right angles. Last, he uses screws to reinforce the biscuits as the glue cures. This way, he avoid can using clamps. O'Malley uses this technique as long as the sides don't show. For the built-in project in this video, only one side is exposed but he covers it up with frame-and-panel end panels so the screws don't show. More on Biscuit Joinery:
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Video Tip: Super Simple Crown Moldingwith Tony O'Malley You can buy ready-made crown molding at your local home center, but if you use premium hardwood in your built-in, you may have trouble finding matching molding. Here’s how to make your own with squared-up solid-wood stock and a couple bevel cuts on the tablesaw. Cut the stock with the blade set at 42°. Make the first cuts with the stock held vertically against the fence. Use a featherboard for safer cuts. Cut the next two bevels with the stock lying flat on the table. Remove any saw marks with a handplane then prepare the surface with sandpaper and apply a finish. To install the crown, make a support piece and give it a bevel using the same angle as the crown molding. Then, nail it in place. Next, miter the molding. Mark the length of each piece individually, marking the inside corner of the miter cuts. Cut the pieces on a miter saw. O’Malley uses an auxiliary fence. Rest the piece of molding face out and upside-down. Then trace a pencil line on the fence for the top and bottom of the molding, this establishes the position for multiple cuts. Make the first cut slightly proud of the mark and sneak up on the perfect fit. More on Crown Molding:
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Video Tip: Efficient Miter-Saw Stationwith Gary Striegler This well-engineered miter-saw station gives repeatable cuts every time. Striegler installed a built-in track system with stops so he can make perfect cuts without measuring over and over again. The stand also includes an extra wide base creating a handy spot for setting down workpieces. The surface also serves as a mini workbench since Striegler can attach a clamp where he can hold work in place for sanding or other procedures. Disclosure: Gary Striegler has helped the Kreg Tool Company develop some of its products. More on Miter-Saw Stands: All the video in this series:
Video Tips: Edging Plywood Made Easywith Tony O'Malley Get Tony O'Malley's tips for applying solid-wood edge banding to cover up unsightly plywood edges. He secures them during glue up without using clamps. Blue tape is all he needs for glue up. Then he shows you how to trim them flush without damaging the delicate veneers on the plywood. All this effort helps to create the appearance of solid wood. More on Edging and Plywood:
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Video Tips: Fast Pocket-Screw Joinerywith Gary Striegler Built-in guru Gary Striegler is a huge fan of Kreg jigs. In fact he even helped the company develop some of its products. In this short video, see how a pocket-hole jig like the one by Kreg can speed up case construction. Striegler calls it the fastest way to join two pieces of wood together. To use it, clamp the workpiece in the jig and drill holes using a simple angle guide and a special bit. Drill until you hit the stop-collar on the bit. Next glue and clamp the two workpieces together using a special clamp then insert the screws. A washer head in the screw pulls the joint together leaving you with a strong and flat joint. Striegler also uses a higher-end machine for faster pocket-hole joinery. The device clamps the board in place and drills it at the same time. It?s great for building many pieces at the same time. More on Pocket-Hole Joinery:
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Introduction: Built-in Build Offwith Brian Pontolilo, Asa Christiana, Tony O'Malley, and Gary Striegler Catch all the action from our tradesman challenge in the Fine Woodworking and Fine Homebuilding shop. We asked two experts to come to our offices to show us two ways to create built-in furniture using their arsenal of woodworking and carpentry tricks. The built-in gurus, O'Malley and Striegler, made two attractive storage units designed for a mudroom over the course of three days as our cameras watched. In the end, we produced two great articles for our magazine audiences and a collection of video tips. Watch the overview video above to learn more about the project and get general construction tips, then stay tuned for additional in-depth tips on specific topics. We?ll be rolling out one tip a week until the end of July. All the video in this series
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