BOOK STORAGEBOOK STORAGE^9977
Eyeing the angle. Set the chisel on the line and lean the chisel back until the
e d g e is in lin e w i t h t h e b ot t om of t h e m or t is e. St r ike t h e c his e l w i t h a mallet t o
complete the cut.drilling a^3 ⁄ 8 " or^7 ⁄ 16 " hole and squaring the corners with a
chisel if a mortising machine isn’t available.
Taking Aim on the Angle
The outer edge of the mortise is sloped about^1 ⁄ 16 " in the
thickness of the tenon to match the angle on the tusks. This
wedging action locks the joint together and if the tusks
loosens from wood shrinkage, gravity or a tap on top will
tighten the joint.
Holding the back of the chisel against the long-grain sides
of the small mortise, swing the edge of the chisel down to
nick the corners at the layout line.
Then, place the edge of the chisel on the line and push straight
down. Don’t push hard – just enough to make an incision along
the pencil line. The edge of the chisel will fi t in this slit; tilt the
handle of the chisel toward you. Looking down the handle, aim for
the edge at the bottom of the mortise. With the chisel in position,
a few taps with a mallet make the slanted cut on the inside of the
mortise.
To make the tusks, mill some scrap slightly thicker than
the^1 ⁄ 2 " mortise and about^7 ⁄ 8 " wide. Make lengths that are
roughly two tusks long plus 1", and plane the tusks until they
fi t the mortise in width. Lay out two tusks, cut them to shape
on the band saw then drive one end into the mortise.
The excess length on the tusks gives some room to fi ddle
with the fi t of the angled tusks in the slanted mortise. A rasp
followed by a card scraper removes the band-saw marks on
the tusks. When the fi t is good, mark the bottom of the tusks
(^1) ⁄ 4 " up from the bottom of the end and (^3) ⁄ 4 " above the top
cheek of the tenon.
Then mark the fi nal outline of the tusks, trim them with the
band saw and fi nish shaping with a rasp. When all four tusks
fi t, take the entire piece apart one last time to scrape and
sand the surfaces. Sand the wide surfaces and exposed edges,
but stay away from the through tenons and parts of the tusks
that fi t in the small mortises.
To Glue or Not to Glue
The original version of the bookrack was shipped in a fl at
carton, and assembled by the purchaser. Glue is an option, but
not a necessity, to hold the tusk joints together. I don’t bother
with it – the joints are surprisingly strong on their own.
After fi nal assembly, the exposed parts of the tenons and
tusks are scraped and sanded. While quartersawn white oak is
tough to cut, it is easy to sand. I generally go over the entire
piece with a card scraper and only sand with #150 or #180
grit.
The back edge of the shelf is the last piece attached. After
cutting it to size and sanding it, run a bead of glue along the
edge of the shelf, and hold the edge to the shelf with a few
clamps, then let the glue dry overnight. The next morning, off
go the clamps and on goes the fi nish.
I usually put a darker fi nish on pieces like this, but every
now and then I like to see a piece without any added color.
On this shelf, I used two coats of amber shellac. After letting
the shellac dry thoroughly, scuff it with a Scotch-Brite pad and
apply a coat of paste wax.
Insurance before fi tting. Chamfering the ends of the through tenons
before fi tting them makes them easier to start in the mortises and prevents
damage on the way out of the other side.
Just a bit behind. The back edge of the second through mortise is back from
the face of the end^1 ⁄16". T h e t u s k w ill t h e n b e ab le t o p ull t h e joint t ig ht.
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