Easy Arcs

Here's a tip for marking large arcs.

Instead of using a beam compass, or a nail, string, and pencil, use a thin piece of stock or rip a thin strip. I like to keep thin strips ripped from 8-foot stock because I design many projects that call for 2 1/4-inch parts. Once a 1 x 3 (which measures 2 1/2 inches wide) is ripped to 2 1/4 inches I'm left with a 1/8-inch strip. (This will vary depending on the kerf of your table saw blade). Keeping 8-foot lengths of these strips gives me plenty to work with in nearly any size arc I might need. And of course, I cut some of them shorter – 8 feet gets a bit unwieldy.

I mark my end points and the peak of the arc on the workpiece. Then I drive brads near these points (allowing for the strip and pencil thicknesses). I fit the strip against the end points, then "bow" the strip to reach the arc peak. Then I simply use the strip as my guide for marking the arc.

I make sure to apply even pressure on the strip at the arc peak, and I don't put any additional pressure on the strip when I make the mark. Sometimes I’ll add a third brad at the arc peak to hold the strip steady.

If you don’t want the brad holes on your workpiece, place the part on a large piece of scrap plywood and drive the brads into the scrap instead of the workpiece. You’ll need to make several adjustments to get the positioning right. If you’re handy enough, I’ve bet you’ve already figured out that you could make jigs out of scrap material to accomplish the same thing.

It will take some practice, but it creates a quick arc when you've got the hang of it. Then all you have to do is have a steady hand when cutting the arc.

Screws vs. Nails

You may have debated at times which fastener to use during assembly of a project. You’ll get just as many opinions as woodworkers you ask, but generally you can follow these guidelines.

Use screws for:

• a lot of holding power in a high-stress connection.

• fastening hardwoods that tend to split, or that would bend a nail.

• when the “purchase” of the fastener is limited to a short depth, as in stock that’s too thin to hold a nail with sufficient strength.

• a project you want to disassemble later (don’t forget to NOT use glue).

• when the screw heads serve as a visual element in the design.

• a project that involves fine craftsmanship, including recessed fasteners covered by wood plugs.

Use nails for:

• when you need to work fast, especially when power-nailing with a pneumatic nail gun is an option.

• fastening soft or semi-hard woods that “give” sufficiently to accept a nail without splitting.

• using common construction or carpentry techniques such as rough framing, attaching plywood sheathing, and so on. (Subflooring installation is an exception, as nails can cause squeaking.)

• keeping project costs as low as possible.

• attaching molding and other finish trim where a small fastener head is desired.

• when hammer dents in the material won’t detract from the project.

What Can I Do With All This Scrap Wood?

There are almost as many right answers to this question as there are woodworkers. The solution really depends on the kind of projects you typically build, the various wood species involved, and the quantities and sizes of scrap generated. Let’s run down some options:

• First, improve your storage for any scrap stock you might want to keep. Organizing it by size or species, even if it’s just sitting in a bunch of 5-gallon buckets, will make it more likely you’ll use it later rather than cut fresh boards up for small parts. Or try our wood organizer project: http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/projects/Wood_Organizer_0609.aspx

• For pricey hardwoods, especially any exotics, design some small-scale gift projects where this stock can serve as parts or accents. Jewelry or keepsake boxes, hand mirrors, or custom cutting boards can be adorned with inlays or built entirely of scrap hardwood.

• Find a local school shop and donate it for student use. Aspiring young woodworkers often have a lot of enthusiasm and energy but not much money to buy materials; you can support their craft and help keep good lumber from going to waste in a landfill.

• If you have children at home, offer them material to design and build their own small projects. Of course you’ll have to supervise their time in the shop, but a lot of kids love the hands-on fun of woodworking.

• Except for pressure-treated lumber or resinous woods such as pine or fir, you can use scrap stock as kindling in a fireplace or woodstove. If you do this every winter, odds are you won’t accumulate more than a few boxes full of scrap each year.

Water-base Vs. Oil-Base Stains

Water-based wood stains share many of the same virtues of latex paints and other water-based wood finishes: low odor, easy clean-up without harsh solvents, and relatively fast drying. You’ll also find a wider range of color choices that includes not only wood tones but also blue, green, red, and yellow. If you are following up with a water-based clear polyurethane or similar topcoat finish, the compatibility of the two products also helps. With some of those properties, however, come a few drawbacks. First, the water swells and raises the wood grain at the surface, creating a rougher texture that may have to be re-sanded. Also, water-based stains tend to set the color (pigment) faster; you have to keep working a wet edge and wipe off the excess stain immediately so you don’t get lap marks. On big surfaces, that pace can be difficult to manage unless you have a helper. Or use a gel-type water-based stain, which can give you more working time.

Traditional oil-based wood stains often have the same type of pigment, but the oil layer keeps the particles in suspension longer and affords you more time to apply the stain and wipe down the wood surface without getting lap marks or streaks. But the solvent fumes (from the volatile organic compounds, or VOC) require good ventilation and are environmentally harmful. Drying time is slower, because although the solvents evaporate quickly the oil still has to cure through exposure to oxygen. That often means waiting 24 hours to apply a clear topcoat, especially a water-based finish. Oil-based stains and finishes tend to yield an amber or yellowish tone that increases with age, great for the warm look of traditional furniture, but for some contemporary designs the neutral or clear look of water-based stains and finishes is a better choice.

With either category of product, it’s always best to experiment on some scrap stock leftover from your project. Each combination of stain and clear finish will produce a slightly different look; try out a few options so you don’t get an unwelcome surprise on your project.

Using a router to cut dadoes and rabbets

The most basic kinds of woodworking can happen with little more than a handsaw, hammer, nails, and glue, but the core of the craft is joinery. Making specialized cuts and contours in wood surfaces lets you join parts more accurately and create a much stronger result, but it takes more tools and techniques to step up to that level. Traditional hand tools still get the job done, though they require an investment of time and skills that isn’t an option for every woodworker today.

Outfitting your shop with a table saw will, in one step, bring a new dimension of versatility and accuracy to your woodworking efforts, and it’s probably the best first investment in power machinery. But don’t overlook portable power tools, especially routers. These small powerhouses spin a wide range of interchangeable cutters (called bits) at high speeds, letting you mill decorative edges as well as cut precise joinery such as rabbets, dadoes, and dovetails.

Cross-grain dadoes can be cut by aligning a jig or straightedge guide with your layout marking and clamping it in place. A dado is nothing more than a flat-bottom groove machined to accept another part, such as a shelf or a stiffening brace. Straight-cut router bits are sold in common fractional widths (1/4, 1/2, 3/4-inch, and so on) and so with a single pass can cut shallow and precise dadoes; for deeper or wider dadoes, you can make multiple passes.

The particular mechanics of a router cut mean that tearout and splintering are often far less problematic than when making a similar cut with a circular saw blade. Better still, the bottom face of the groove is smooth and flat, resulting in a better glue bond when you fit a mating part into place. But this technique illustrates one of the common requirements of router use: having a guide board, jig, or template to control the router base so the cutter doesn’t drift randomly off-course.

Some router bits feature built-in guide bearings that ride against the edge of a workpiece and cut away a portion of that edge. Many of these are decorative bits that cut curved profiles, but a rabbeting bit is different. A rabbet is an L-shape notch cut along the edge of a workpiece, again to make room for another part that will nest there. The size can be varied by using different bit and bearing diameters, and the depth adjustment is provided via the router base; typically the cut is made in several lighter passes rather than one heavy cut. This produces less strain on the cutter and the router motor, and typically yields a cleaner cut on the workpiece.

The same straight cutters used for dadoes can also cut rabbets, but an edge guide or other accessory must be used to control the cutter path so it cuts straight along the edge as desired.

Cutting Miters and Bevels

Thanks to the versatility of table saws and power miter saws, making angled cuts requires only making some simple adjustments, not switching to another specialized tool or machine. That said, the cutting dynamics do change some when the blade or workpiece angle varies from a basic 90-degree cut, and this requires some different techniques.

When you’re making a standard rip cut or crosscut, you’re feeding the workpiece against the cutting teeth (or vice versa) with direct support to counteract and help control the cutting force generated by the spinning blade. Otherwise, that force would launch the workpiece like a projectile rather than cut through it. Angled settings add the likelihood of deflection because support of the workpiece isn’t as directly opposed to the cutting pressure. Working safely and accurately involves making sure the workpiece doesn’t shift out of alignment during the cut, and techniques for accomplishing that depend on the tool you’re using.

Table saw

Angled crosscuts on the table saw typically require using the miter gauge. The sharper the angle, the more the workpiece will want to slide against the face of the miter gauge. The most reliable ways to prevent this are to apply adhesive-backed sandpaper to the miter gauge face, attach a sacrificial backer board to the miter gauge and fit it with a stop block, or clamp the workpiece to the miter gauge if the tool’s design allows it. Better still, make a shop-built crosscut “sled” with an adjustable angle guide. Any of these measures is usually enough to prevent the “creep” that can occur when making a miter cut or a compound angle (bevel and miter together) on the table saw. Incidentally, don’t trust the accuracy of the angle scales on the saw or miter gauge—make a trial cut and check it.

Beveled rip cuts introduce another key consideration—keeping the workpiece flat on the table. Most table saw blades tilt to the right, toward the rip fence, creating the possibility that the workpiece might bind during the cut. Applying pressure to keep the stock flat on the table helps reduce the chances of binding and/or burning the edge, but take extra care to keep your fingers clear of the blade. When possible, consider repositioning the rip fence to the left side of the table, so the blade tilts away from the fence, the workpiece, and your hands.

Circular saw

Using a handheld circular saw for angled cuts requires the same techniques and accessory guides you’d normally use. For simple miter cuts, you can use an angle square or a shop-built jig as a guide; clamp the guide to the workpiece so you can keep your fingers a safe distance from the blade. For beveled cuts, use the adjustment feature on the saw’s base, but again, don’t trust the scale; make a trial cut and check it. Remember that the maximum cutting depth decreases as the angle increases.

Miter saw

Miter saws are designed to excel at angled cuts, so they don’t really require specialized techniques or accessories. The center table pivots for miter cuts, and on compound miter saws, the motor assembly swivels down to make bevel cuts also. One factor is especially critical: first, make certain the workpiece is held securely against the table and fence. You can do this with hand pressure or with a clamp; many saws feature a removable clamp standard or as an optional accessory. Steeply angled cuts, especially compound angle cuts, can bring the blade dangerously close to your fingers if you are holding the stock manually. In that case, secure the workpiece with clamps instead.

Know The Surfaces Of A Board

There are distinctive names for the surfaces of a board and it’s important to know what they are, especially when it comes to reading project instructions. References are made to these surfaces for specific cuts and when joining project parts.

Board Surfaces

Face: The faces are the two widest surfaces of a board. On a 1 x 3, for example, the face measures 2 1/2 inches wide.

Edge: The edges of a board are perpendicular to the faces and run the length of the board. On a 1 x 3 x 4, the edges measure 3/4 x 4 feet.

End: The ends of a board are pretty self-explanatory. They are perpendicular to the faces and run the width of a board. On a 1 x 3, the faces measure 3/4 x 2 1/2.

Bevels & Miters

Knowing these terms is essential when cutting bevels and miters.

• A bevel is and angled cut across the edge of a board from face to face.



• A miter is an angled cut across the face of a board from edge to edge.



• A compound miter is a combination of both a bevel and a miter cut.

During assembly of this frame, the ends of the miters are joined.

During the assembly of this frame, the ends of the bevels are joined.

Stain On Lumber Other Than Oak

There’s no hard-and-fast rule that says you can’t substitute pine, poplar, or any of a number of other woods for oak. In fact, some other wood species might be a better choice for certain projects.

First, let’s take a quick look at what red oak (the most common variety for lumber) has to offer. It’s dense, strong, machines well, and has the pronounced grain pattern or figure common to ring-porous hardwoods. Those pores and patterns are what give oak its distinctive look, which staining accentuates even further. Depending on their original orientation of the growth rings in the board, oak can have a prominent arch or “cathedral” pattern or a straight grain (rift) or flecked (quartersawn) pattern. And while it has a naturally pink or light reddish cast, it takes stain colors readily and uniformly and so can offer a lot of versatility when it comes to color. You can get a nice light golden color or push it to a deep brown, or even use aniline dyes to make it bright red, yellow, blue, or green.

Pine and poplar are less expensive alternates and can work fine for many projects, though typically they don’t take stain as consistently as red oak does. Like other conifers (softwoods), pine has a sometimes unruly grain and contains resin concentrations or pitch pockets that can interfere with stain absorption. You can get blotchy coloring if you don’t use a stain conditioner beforehand. Also, it’s softer and dents more easily than oak, though the lighter weight can be a plus.

Like oak, poplar is a hardwood but it isn’t as dense or strong, nor does it machine as cleanly. The softer close-grained fibers sometimes yield a fuzzy surface that makes stain colors look muddy, and some boards have streaks of yellow, green, or brown that can’t be masked easily. The grain patterns are much more subdued than with oak, which can be an advantage if you want to accentuate just the color and not have pronounced figure.

Sizing Furniture

Not every one is the same size, but furniture typically is.

For example, the height and width of the seat of a kitchen or dining chair is usually around 18 inches, and the back ranges from 30 to 48 inches high. A kitchen or dining table is about 30 inches high.

Of course, there are plenty of variances in sizes of what you may find in your home or in furniture stores, but these figures are good basic guideline dimensions that can get you started when planning to build a set of chairs and table.

However, if you are looking to build a table and chair set for children of specific ages, you might want to consider this list of sizes for chairs and tables for various age ranges.

Age 5-6

Chair

Seat height: 10 1/2 inches

Seat width: 11 inches

Back height: 20 1/2 inches

Table

Height: 17 1/2 inches

Age 7-8

Chair

Seat height: 11 1/2 inches

Seat width: 12 inches

Back height: 21 3/4 inches

Table

Height: 19 inches

Age 9-11

Chair

Seat height: 13 inches

Seat width: 14 inches

Back height: 24 inches

Table

Height: 20 3/4 inches

Age 12-15

Chair

Seat height: 16 inches

Seat width: 15 inches

Back height: 29 inches

Table

Height: 25 1/2 inches

We all know that not every 9 year old is the same size, and of course, kids grow quickly. So if you make furniture for your children or grandchildren, it’d be best to size the pieces to last through a broad range of ages.

And certainly, if you’re building furniture for a setting that will have a consistent age range year in and year out, such as a playroom at a church, size them for specific ages.

Simplified Drawer Construction

Drawer box sizes are determined by the drawer opening in the face frame, the depth of the carcass, and the drawer slide hardware used.

When laying out the face frame for your project it will look better using “graded drawer sizes”. Starting with shortest drawer at the top and increasing the height of the drawer as you move down the face frame.

The drawer sides are usually 1/2- to 1-inch shorter than the drawer opening up to a maximum of 8-inches high. There are exceptions in height, such as file drawers and special purpose drawers.

The depth of the carcass determines the maximum length of the drawer. My preference is 18- to 20-inches in length. The usual extension of an open drawer is around 16-inches, and a 22-inch long drawer is just 6 more inches of clutter.

Selecting the drawer slides:

Center Mount Drawer Slide

The center mount drawer slides are mounted under the center of the drawer.

These are the lightest duty 35-50 pound rating, which is usually adequate for residential needs.

The advantages of this type of slide, is that it is usually invisible when the drawer is open, and the drawer is wider than those with side mount slides. The cost is less than heavy-duty slides.

When installing center mount slides, install a 1 x 4 along the vertical centerline of the drawers, especially if the cabinet has a 1/4-inch back. This gives more material for the back plate hardware to be secured to.

Side Mount Drawer Slide

These are usually medium to heavy-duty slides 60- to over 100-pound rated. Some are especially designed for the Euro-style cabinets (frameless). They can be epoxy-coated with nylon bearings.

Example 1: Building a Traditional drawer box

There are many ways to build drawers and a whole book could be written on the subject. I even read an article once about hand cutting blind (invisible) dovetail joints, just in case someone repairing the joint two hundred years from now would be impressed with the craftsmanship of the builder, and it was beautiful craftsmanship. If I’m going to hand cut dovetail joints I want to see them.

These instructions will only cover two ways, the traditional drawer box and a simplified box.

Side / front / back assembly.

a. The drawer sides, front, and back are usually 1/2-inch thick. You can use just 1/2-inch plywood for a utility or shop drawer. For a nicer drawer you can use 1/2-inch plywood with the exposed top banded with solid stock. For the nicest pieces

Lowe’s has stock already sized to 1/2-inch thick.

b. Rip enough stock for the (01) drawer sides and the (02) drawer box fronts to the height desired. It is easier to rip all of the stock to the tallest side that you will be building. It saves set up time to rip them back down after making the grooves in the sides and the drawer box fronts.

c. Using a 1/4-inch dado blade or a 1/4-inch straight cut router bit, starting 1/4-inch from one long edge cut a 1/4-inch wide x 5/16-inch deep groove into the ripped stock as shown in Example 1.

d. The length of the (02) drawer box front equals the drawer opening less the space for the drawer slides (see manufacturers directions) less the thickness of the two (01) drawer sides. I usually add 1/16-inch extra. When using side mount slides, if there is an error and the drawers don’t slide smoothly it is much easier to shim behind the drawer slide than it is to remove material from the (01) drawer sides.

e. Using a squaring jig, glue and nail the (01) drawer sides to each end of the (02) drawer box front.

f. To determine the size of the (03) drawer box back. The length will be the same as the (02) drawer box front. The height will be from the top of the groove in the (01) drawer side to the top of the (01) drawer side. The (03) drawer box back will be installed flushing the ends of the (01) drawer sides and flushing the top of the (01) drawer sides using glue and nails.

Add the bottom.

a. To determine the size of the 1/4-inch plywood (04) drawer bottom. The length will be the length of the (01) drawer side less 1/4-inch. The width will be equal to the width of the drawer box assembly less 1/2-inch.

b. In the past when there were wood boards wide enough to make 18- to 30-inch-wide drawers the bottom was left to “float” in the grooves to allow for expansion and contraction. Since plywood is stable and has very little movement I like to apply a bead of hot melt glue to the junction of the groove and the bottom. The hot melt glue is flexible enough to allow any movement that might occur, yet strong enough to keep the drawer square. Apply the hot melt glue with the drawer clamped into the squaring jig.

Build the Simplified Drawer Box.

a. The sides, drawer box front, and the drawer box back will be the same height with no grooves. The sizes will be determined by the same rules that apply to the traditional drawer box.

b. Rip the stock for the sides, front and back to the desired width.

c. In a squaring jig assemble the four pieces as shown in Example 2.

d. Cut the 1/4-inch plywood bottom to match the width and length of the side/ends assembly. Clamp the assembly into the squaring jig. Using glue and attach the bottom to the side/end assembly.

e. This type of drawer is useful in shop applications when you don’t have heavy loads in the drawer, or in utility storage areas. It’s quick, easy and when side mount slides are used, the plywood edges are barely seen.

Finally Spring!

After the longest (and coldest) winter North Carolina has seen for years, I’m so glad to say that spring has sprung. The weather has been perfect lately, which has motivated my husband and I to start working on our yard. We’re newlyweds and new homeowners, with a lawn full of dry soil and weeds.

We've been trying to decide what kind of grass to plant for awhile now. We were at Lowe’s the other day, trying to figure out whether to sod or seed (or do a combination of both). Oh the dilemmas I never thought I’d have! Before we bought our house, I didn’t even think twice about grass. Now I’m reading articles like this one and nodding my head in agreement.

While we haven’t yet made a grass-related decision, we were able to agree that our bushes in the front yard were in dire need of some fresh mulch. The old mulch that was around when we bought the house was sun-bleached and completely thinned out. We also bought and spread some pine straw to add some texture. To complete the look, we picked up some new solar landscape lights as well.

Here are the before and after shots: focus on the mulch and please excuse the condition of our grass. We’re hoping to get that under control before we get a notice in the mail from our neighborhood homeowner’s association...

For more information on mulching your yard, check out this article; complete with a handy mulch calculator!

Erinn Honeycutt
Digital Content Specialist

LowesCreativeIdeas.com

Tips For Rust Management

No woodworker who takes pride in his tools wants to see them discolored or damaged by rust, but the battle against this red devil can be a never-ending one. This is especially true for anyone living in oceanfront areas or in regions with big fluctuations in humidity and temperature levels throughout the year.

Short of moving to southern Arizona, most of us have to take preventive measures occasionally to keep rust at bay. For hand tools such as chisels or plane irons, the issue is more a cosmetic one because regular honing or grinding of the cutting edge keeps the business end of the tool in good shape. The idle portion of the blades can be sprayed with lacquer or clear polyurethane, or wiped down with a light machine oil.

The cast iron surfaces of machinery present a bigger challenge because they can’t be wrapped or stored in cases or drawers. They also have much more thermal mass than a small hand tool and so can attract much more moisture condensate. More on this later.

Certain conditions, such as having your shop in a damp basement or an unheated garage, are an invitation to rust. But not all of us have options for relocating our woodworking tools, and in those situations we have to use a mix of strategies:

• If you are uncrating a new machine with cast iron tables, it may have oil-soaked paper stuck to the table, or a brown gelled grease. Use mineral spirits and acetone to dissolve the grease, and wipe repeatedly until no residue is visible. Then either place the machine in sunlight or use a heat lamp to warm up the surface; grease residue will continue to “sweat” from the surface for a short period and it must also be cleaned off with solvents.

• Next, apply a protective layer to the exposed surfaces. Paste wax is a traditional and reasonably effective option, but don’t use automotive waxes containing water or oily additives. These are really for painted surfaces, and they can transfer residue onto workpieces and cause finishing problems later. There are industrial sealants designed specifically for rust prevention on steel and cast iron surfaces. These are designed to seal the surface and dry-cure rather than leave an oil residue the way machine oil or a product like WD-40 might do. Avoid sealers that contain silicone, as they too can leave residues on wood surfaces and interfere with glues and finishes.

• If the cast iron surfaces already have some light rust or oxidation, use fine steel wool, a scrubbing pad, or a rubber abrasive block to remove it. Regular maintenance to remove light rust is critical; if left unchecked, heavy rust will cause a blistering effect on the surface as the large iron oxide molecules displace the smaller iron molecules; if this has already happened, regrinding the table is often the only way to remove the damaged portion of the surface.

• Try to control the shop climate. In basements, run a de-humidifier to remove excess moisture vapor from the air. In garages, try to keep the space heated so the cast iron tables don’t become large thermal sinks that will stay cold for days or weeks after the weather begins to warm up. Spring warming typically brings more humidity, which will condense on the cold machine surfaces and promote rust. If you can’t heat the entire garage effectively, try storing your machines together in one corner and using a small ceiling- or wall-mounted electric infrared heater to keep the tables warmer. Infrared heat warms objects, not the air, so the tables will capture and hold the heat. This is a relatively inexpensive rust-preventive measure and has the added benefit of allowing you to use your shop in colder weather.

• Finally, don’t let moisture sit on the surfaces. This means don’t place a cold drink on your table saw and let it drip condensation onto the cast iron. Also, your own sweat will accelerate rusting in spots, because of the salt content in perspiration. Wipe sweat drops up promptly, and re-apply table sealants on a monthly basis to ensure good protection.

The Difference Between Hardwoods And Softwoods

Tree species are classified scientifically not according to the kind of lumber they yield but rather by the type of seed they produce.

Softwoods are gymnosperm (literally, naked seed) trees that characteristically have needle-like foliage they retain year round (hence the term “evergreen”). Some species in this group are also known as conifers because they produce seed cones. The seeds are usually lightweight enough to be scattered by the wind after the parent tree releases them. This category includes such species as pine, fir, spruce, hemlock, cedar, and redwood.

Hardwoods are angiosperm (covered seed) trees with flat or broad leaves that typically are shed each autumn and regrow in the spring and summer. These leaf-shedding species are also known as deciduous trees, and they include many familiar lumber varieties—red and white oak, maple, birch, poplar, walnut, and cherry. Their seeds are often enclosed inside a protective shell (think nuts and acorns) or within fruit; they are distributed by falling to the ground or are scattered by animals that use the seeds or their fruit as a food source.

As you might expect, there are a few exceptions to these generalities, and not all woods fall neatly into one category or the other. Boxwood and holly, for example, are small hardwood trees that don’t shed their leaves annually. Balsa, the extremely soft and lightweight wood used widely for craft and modelmaking projects, is technically a hardwood. Conversely, some softwood species such as longleaf heart pine or old-growth Douglas fir are denser and heavier than some hardwoods such as aspen.

In general, these designations are mostly accurate, which is why they have become the popular terminology. Hardwood tree species tend to produce dense and hard lumber, while the lumber from softwood species tends to be less dense and lighter in weight. The scientific classifications, however, are based on seed type and foliage characteristics.

Maintaining Saw Blades

With use, all saw blades get dull and dirty and require sharpening and cleaning. Some, such as scroll and band saw blades, can be cleaned, but because they have so many teeth, replacing them is more cost effective than sharpening them. Table and miter saw blades, on the other hand, easily can be cleaned and sharpened, although carbide-tipped blades require less frequent sharpening than high-speed steel blades. Both types will cut truer and last longer if kept clean and stored properly.

Cleaning blades

Saw blades pick up pitch and gum from the wood they cut. If you cut a lot of softwood, the blades can pick up resin as well. Any buildup on your blades will decrease cutting efficiency and sometimes cause burning and ragged cuts. Consider making a blade-cleaning kit that includes a shallow pan large enough for the blade, a toothbrush, rubber gloves, a can of pitch and gum remover, and a cloth. Keep some contractor’s paper or old newspapers on hand, as well, to protect surrounding work surfaces.

To clean a blade, put on rubber gloves, and place the blade in a pan. Spray on one coat of pitch and gum remover, and wait the recommended time. After it has set, scrub the teeth of the blade with a toothbrush to remove stubborn deposits. Use a cloth to wipe off excess residue; then flip the blade and clean the other side. When you’re finished, wipe both sides clean one more time.

Sharpening Carbide-Tipped Blades

It’s best to have this done by a professional who has experience working with carbide. If you don’t know of a local sharpener, consult a local woodworking club or saw-blade manufacturer. Make sure to use a sharpening service recommended by a woodworker.

Sharpening High-Speed Steel Blades

As with any other high-speed steel blade in your workshop, such as a plane or handsaw blade, a high-speed steel saw blade could be sharpened. You should have this done professionally, because if you don’t sharpen every tooth identically and set, or bend, each alternative tooth perfectly, the blade will not run true. The blade can pull to one side if one or more teeth protrude; even worse, these teeth will do all the cutting and dull quickly leaving a jagged cut. Touch-up sharpening can be done by pressing a slim taper file against the tooth so it aligns with the bevel. Then take one or two passes with the file to create a fresh edge.

Proper storage

Finally, you can increase the life of any saw blade by storing it properly. This includes replacing a blade in its original packaging or setting it in a simple storage rack. Both of these methods keep the teeth from coming in contact with metal. When teeth touch, high-speed steel versions will dull, and carbide-tipped blades will fracture or chip.

Planning For Shelving Spans

Like most structural or engineering issues related to wood, shelving spans are subject more to general guidelines rather than precise formulas. Why? Because wood originates as a natural living tissue of trees rather than a uniform manufactured material tailored to the whims or needs of woodworkers. Engineered wood products such as plywood are more consistent, but many variables still affect the outcome.

Short of calculating a formula with a slide rule (does anyone remember slide rules?) or a computer, most woodworkers have to “ballpark” their dimensions, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you want a simple rule-of-thumb that’s easy to remember, think of the common scale used in architectural drawings: ¼ inch equals 1 foot. Borrowed for this purpose, this ratio means a solid hardwood shelf loaded with books can, under the right conditions, span 1 foot of horizontal distance for every ¼ inch of its thickness. For example, a ¾-inch thick oak board typically can span up to 3 feet without significant deflection.

Are there exceptions? Of course, but this guideline provides a reasonable margin of safety. Just keep two key principles in mind: First, wood consists of longitudinal fibers and is strongest in the direction parallel to those fibers (“with the grain”). Second, cutting or breaking those original fiber bonds and reconstituting them with adhesive (such as when producing particleboard) alters and often diminishes the strength of the material.

With these caveats in mind, we can deal with the variables. For instance, dense hardwoods such as oak or maple will support more weight than will a softwood such as pine. Plywood has a cross-grain construction with fibers running in two directions, so its rigidity is compromised slightly. Composites such as particleboard or medium-density fiberboard (MDF) have random fiber orientation, making them more susceptible to bowing and bending.

That said, there are several simple techniques for reinforcing shelves to make them stronger. The most common is to attach a strip of wider solid wood (say 1½-inch) to the front edge of a ¾-inch thick shelf. This creates a rib to stiffen the shelf. If you don’t mind having a lip on both faces, centering the strip on the shelf edge will allow you to flip adjustable shelves over occasionally to compensate for any bowing.

If your bookshelf project has a back panel, as most do, you can drive screws through that panel into the rear edges of the shelves to anchor them at the correct height. This works best on shallow depth shelves (less than 9 inches), because if they are too wide the front edge may sag even while the rear edge is fastened tight. You can also attach metal support brackets to the front face of the back panel and to the underside of the shelf without interfering with the placement of books.