Shaping with a Router - MetosExpo - Free

Q & A (continued)
use widl oily woods, but any of me standard brands should give
good results for veneering, such as System lhree, West System,
Suncure and Armstrong NB (check wim your local hardware store
and building or boating supply for sources).
However, epoxy is considerably less convenient to use man a
contact adhesive. You'll need to devise a way to apply even
clamping pressure and a defensive strategy for coping wim
messy squeeze-out. It helps to apply dle epoxy dlinly and to
have rubber gloves and lots of rags. Use denatured alcohol during
cleanup, not acetone (which is extremely flat1Ul1able) or
mematl01 (which has very toxic vapors mat pass right d1fough atl
orgatlic-vapor respirator). As a reward, mough, you should get a
glue bond mat lasts forever.
[George Mustoe is a geochemistry research techniciatl at Western
Washington University in Bellinghatn, Wash.]
Identifying an old tenon maker
Everyone loves a mystery, even woodworkers. Recently, I ran
across an antique hand tool I can't identify. The tool is about
lO in. tall with a square, tapered drive shank, obviously made
to be chucked in a hand brace. The tool has an intricate camadjustment
mechanism for increasing or decreasing the size
of the opening on its bottom and a pencil-sharpener-like
blade offset to the side, probably for the purpose of peeling off
wood. The tool bears the trademark CN. Stearns and has a
patent number stamped on it. Can anyone tell me what this
tool was used for? -John A Macdonald, Los Osos, Cal.
Richard Starr replies: It's a hollow auger, made for cutting a
round tenon on dle end of a stick. They were used by wheelwrights,
chairmakers, laddermakers and omer artiSatls who prefen-ed
to cut tenons wim a tool mounted in a brace ramer man
whinling mem out by hand or turning mem on a lame. The advantage
of a hollow auger is mat once it is set up correctly, it can
quickly and repeatedly chew out accurate-size tenons. A disadvantage
is mat if you are careless while using me tool, you can
cut a tenon tllat is not parallel to me axis of tlle part. But if you
happen to want a tenon mat is off-axis, for example, to correct
for an inaccurately bored rung hole in a chair leg, a hollow auger
may be me only tool tllat can easily do me job.
Your Stearns' adjustable hollow auger is one of me matlY clever
designs mat Catl cut tenons atlywhere berween % in. to 11,14 in.
atld lat.-ger. Fixed-size hollow augers, most of which carry rwo
cuners, were also made around tlle same time. Though the
fixed-size tool is designed to cut a specific diatl1eter, me blades
Catl be moved to give a tighter or looser fitting tenon. Bom styles
are easy to find at flea markets or mrough dealers of old tools.
To use me tool, first prepare me part for tenoning by chamfering
its end until it just fits in me mroat of me hollow auger. You
can do mis wim a drawknife or spokeshave, but it's easier wim a
spoke pOinter, which is a cone-shaped tool mat fits in a brace
atld works like one of tllose pencil sharpeners kids carry in their
notebooks. You Ca.t1 find detailed suggestions for using hollow
augers in my book Woodworking with Your Kids published by
The Taunton Press.
[Richard StatT is a teacher and aumor living in Thetford Center, Vt.]
Flattening a surface with a handplane
Please explain how it is possible to obtain a flat surface with
a hand plane.
-James L. Dunlap, Hartsville, S. C
Lance Patterson replies: To accomplish mis task, me board
or panel must be supported well enough so mat it doesn't flex
or rock from me action of me handplane. Also, the tightening of
Welve helped hold it together ... Since 1903
II Joraenset'\ I
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34 Fine Woodworking