Trre OnIGINAL HONAE WOOOWORKING RruN ... - Wood Tools

The four end
leg pieces need
a grcove routed
to accept the side
legs. Use an edge guide on the routen
GE]TING A LEG
UP
The best place to start is with the
legs. Cut eight pieces of 1x4 stock to
length using a power miter saw ifyou
have one. otherwise. mark the cut
lines carefully with a square and use a
portable circular saw. (For help get-
ting great results with a portable saw,
see Using a Circular Sar.y in the
Mar/Apr 1999 issue of Workbench.)
Four of these pieces will be side
legs, and they can be set aside for
now (see LEG ASSEMBLY DETAIL
on page 43).The other four, the end
legs, get a groove routed along their
inside face for joining with the side
Iegs (rtc. 1). The grooved joint
strengthens the leg assemblies and
makes glue-up easier.
When you've routed all four end
legs, set them and the four side legs
on your bench and mark the posi-
tions of all the horizontal rails and
their fasreners (rEc ELEVATTONS).
You'Il be drilling the bolt holes later
- just prior to assembly. Mark also
the curved outlines at the top of
each leg, and cut them to shape with
ajig saw or coping saw (rtc. 2).
ARCHED RAIL ELEIIATIONS
,'2"\_r
tr1;
Before gluing up the leg assemblies,
trace an arc on the top of each individual
leg and use a jig saw to cut the
contour. A coping saw can substitute
but may leave a slightly rougher edge.
After sanding the cuts, spread
glue in the grooves and clamp each
leg assembly together. If serting up a
lot of clamps for this step doesn't
appeal to you and you don't mind
exposed fastener heads along the
end legs, you can drive screws to
secure then (glue is still required).
MAIflNG THE RAITS
Now return to your curve-cutting
nrode so you can lay out and cut the
boards for the crown rails and foot
rails (an.CHED RArL ELEVATToNS).
Start with 1x6 and 1x8 boards for
these parts, respectively, and lay out
HG EInIANONS
(FRONT
VIEW)
Ilrive a small finish nail at each end of
the arc layout on the crown rails and
foot rails, then bend a yardstick or a
thin slat of wood between them to
mark the cutting line.
the curves (FIG. 3). Due to the
greater shrinkage in wider boards,
you nlay find that the 1x8 stock you
buy varies a little from the width in
my plans. To avoid errors, always use
the top edge of the boards as your
reference when nreasuring for the
curve layout (or the bolt hole loca-
tions yet to come). Then nake the
cuts with a jig saw (Etc.4).
The other rails for the end
frames have straight edges, so just
cut thenl to length and set them on
your workbench.Then grab the leg
assemblies you put together earlier
and dry-fit the parts required to
(END VIEW) (REAR VrEW)
Fasten safeg (and
mounting) rails to
inside of legs wath
#8 x 17a" sqews.
Mounting
44 woRKBENcH tr MAy I JUNE 1999