992 2
The patterns are made from^1 ⁄ 2 " Baltic birch plywood. MDF
would also work, but the plywood’s edges hold up better over
time. You can enlarge the drawing on page 93 or you can
download a full-size version on our web site popularwood-
working.com/aug07 online extras and print it yourself. Before
cutting the outer shape, lay out and make the mortises.
There are many possible ways to make the mortises. I used
a^5 ⁄ 8 "-diameter straight bit in a plunge router, guided by the
router’s fence. With the pattern blank fi rmly clamped to my
bench I plunged the router within my layout lines to make the
cut.
Make the Templates
The advantage of the router is that it removes a lot of material
quickly, making smooth mortises with parallel sides. The disad-
vantage is that it can’t make a mortise with square ends. But two
hand tools – the chisel and the rasp – solve this problem quickly.
First on the template and then on the real parts.
Because I had to square the rounded ends of the mortise slots by
hand, I didn’t bother setting any stops for the ends of the mortises.
I did it by eye, starting and stopping about^1 ⁄ 16 " inside the lines.
After chopping away most of the waste in the corners with
the chisel, fi nish the mortises with a rasp. With those done, cut
the outer shape of the pattern with the band saw or jigsaw, and
smooth the perimeter with the rasp before adding the stops as
seen in the photo above. A dab of glue and a couple 23-gauge
pins hold the stops in place.
The shelf template is made from the template for the ends. Line
up one edge of the shelf pattern blank to the end of one of the
mortises in the other template and transfer mortise locations. The
(^3) ⁄ 8 " offset in the shelf pattern allows space for the edge that will
be added to the back of the shelf after the bookrack is assembled.
Make the cuts that defi ne the edges of the tenons on the table
saw, as seen in the photo above. To do this, screw a couple pieces
of scrap together in an "L" shape and attach that to the miter
gauge of the table saw. This provides a reference for where the
blade will be during the cut.
Clamp the shelf pattern to the miter gauge attachment to hold
it in position and to keep your hands a safe distance from the
blade during the cut.
To remove the waste between the tenons, make a rough cut on
the waste side of the layout lines at the band saw then clamp a
straight piece of plywood directly on the line. Then, with a fl ush-
cutting bit in a router, trim the pattern back to the line and clean
up the corners with a chisel. The goal at this point is to get the
tenons on the shelf pattern to fi t in width in the mortises of the
end pattern, as seen at right.
When pattern-trimming mortises in solid wood parts like this, I
always use the smallest diameter router bit available. This mini-
mizes the curved waste left in the inside corners. I use the patterns
to trace the shapes on the wood. I keep close to, but just outside
the lines to reduce the material the router will remove. Then I cut
all the parts to rough sizes.
Form and function. The fi rst template generates the shape of the ends and
the through mortises. The oak blank below it is cut 1⁄16" oversize, and the
holes minimize the work for the router bit.
Guided by the kerf. One precise cut establishes the size of the tenon. This
L-shaped jig attached to the miter gauge is simple and safe.
Nothing to chance. The saw kerf in the horizontal part of the jig shows
exactly where the blade will cut. With the layout line at the kerf line, clamp
the piece to the jig.
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