Trre OnIGINAL HONAE WOOOWORKING RruN ... - Wood Tools

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Iilt the table saw blade to 45' and cut
a 3/s" chamfer on the top comerc of
all the 2x4 scrcen and top caps.
(The infill boards' protruding ends
will fit into a grooved screen cap.)
Clamp the opposing upper and
lower rails in place on top of the infill
boards, making sure each pair of rails
is aligned. The opposing rails get
nailed in place.
MOVE TO THE TOP SECTIOiI
My main concern in designing the
top section was keeping the bottoms
of the slats firmly fastened to the
screen cap so the slets wouldnt twist
out of position if they warped or
shrank. To keep the slas in check I
decided to cut a shallow groove in
the top face of the screen cap - just
deep enough to hold the slat ends
captive without collecting water.
Before swapping the blade in my
table saw for a dado set, however, I
chamfered the top edges ofthe 2x4
With the cune laid ont, clamp the
archd rail stock together and cut the
cune with a iig saw. File and sand the
edges smooth.
Pfough a !4'x3ls,u gowe in the bottom
of the caps. Lover the blade Vte"
and gruwe the scrcen capst top face.
layout the ceilerc of the s|ats (every
3"1 along the gnove in the scrcen cap.
Drill a Ve" pilot hole at the marks.
caps to help shed rain (rIG. 3). Next,
I installed 2 314"-titde dado blade
keep your hands safely away from
the blade. Also watch out for small
and ploughed a groove in the bot- offcuts that may creep back into the
tom face of all the screen and top spinning blade.
caps (rIG. 4).The groove in the bot- As added insurance against slat
tom of the screen cap fits over the movement, screws hold the slats to
ends ofthe infill boards that extend the screen cap. I marked out the slat
beyond the upper rails. Finally, centers along the groove in the
plough a groove in the screen cap's screen cap. (I also marked the edge
top face to accept the slats.
locations to make positioning the
Each S-ft. fence section has 23 slats easy.) Then, I drilled a
slats - 368 total to complete my 16
sections. To eficiendy handle such
volume, rip all your stock to width
first, then use your table saw and a
miter gauge equipped with an auxiliary
face and a stop block to cut
the slats to a consistent length.
Given the sheer number of slats
needed, this repetitive cutting
motion can lull you into carelessness,
so stay alert for kickback and
t/s"-dta.
pilot hole completely through the
cap on the center marks (EtC. 5).
This helps prevent splitting the slats
and the screen cap near its ends. It
also creates some clearance around
the shank ofthe screw so that as the
threads go into a slat, the screw's
head can draw the slat snugly into
the groove (FIG. 6). Install all the
slats on the screen cap and set the
assembly aside for now.
Position one arched rail under the
slats, allowingthe slats to nrn Vs"
prcud of the top edge. Fasten each
slat to the rail with trvo scrcws.
Align the second arched rail with the
first rail, clamp it in place, then drive
the nails. Use 6d gahanized casing
nails as you did on the screen sestion.
WORKBENCH ! MAY I IUNE 1999