The following people have agreed to serve as contacts for their particular skills.  If you have questions, suggestions
for activities, or other comments relating to these skills, please call these folks.  Their interest is to help the
club better serve their area of expertise.  Your participation with them will help them achieve that goal.

Alice Berry     454-3815    Design                    Phil Bishop         967-4626    Finishing
Tom Church   967-4460   Turning                   Harry May          962-0215     Carving
Bob Reese      728-7974   Sharpening              Jim Van Cleave    455-8150    Joinery

Maurice Ryan  962-1555   Health and Safety

By now, you should have a good general understanding of wood movement and how to deal with it. Here are some tips for handling especially tricky situations.

STRATEGY 14: Solid-wood tabletops can grow 1/2" or more across their width, so rigidly fastening such a top to its supporting apron can cause all sorts of problems. For example, if you attach a tabletop to its apron with screws only, one of three things probably will happen. Most likely the tabletop will split along its grain or a joint line, but it may bow upwards in its center. Or, the tabletop will force the apron to bow outward.

To prevent such mishaps, attach your tabletop with shop-made wooden clips or commercially available steel versions like those shown below. The clips will hold the top down, and they also move with the wood and slide along grooves that you saw into the inside faces of the table aprons. Fasten the clips where the tabletop meets the supports that run perpendicular to the tabletop grain (the end aprons and center brace). Do not fasten the clips to the table where it meets apron pieces that run parallel to the grain.
 
 

STRATEGY 15: To help keep a solid-wood tabletop flat, while also hiding its end grain, you can add "breadboard ends" to the top.  These consist of two boards, of the same species and thickness as the top, that have a tongue along one edge. The tongue goes into a groove that runs along the length of each end of the table.  The trick, of course, is fastening the breadboard ends to the table while allowing the table to move. To do this, machine the groove and tenon for a tight fit. Then, apply glue to just the center 3" or 4" of the tenon and groove, and press the breadboard end into position. The ends will stay in place and the tabletop will move on both sides of the glued area.

STRATEGY 16: With such projects as a chest of drawers that have web frames attached to solid-wood chest sides, the web frames cannot restrict the sides from moving. To accomplish this feat, you need to join the frames to the sides with sliding dovetail joints like those shown below.

Plan the web frames so they align flush with the front of the carcass. To do this, you will need to stop the dovetail grooves about 3/8" from the front of the sides. The dovetail tongues should stop 1/2" short of the front of the web frames.

To assemble the joint, apply glue to the front 3" of the dovetail groove only, and slide the web frame into position from the back of the carcase. There should be 3/8" clearance between the frame and the carcass back.

STRATEGY 17: A sliding dovetail joint also works well for joining table skirts to legs. See the drawing below.

STRATEGY 18: Just as you need to make allowance for solid-wood sides to move against internal frames, as described in Strategy 16, you also need to make provisions for the sides to move against external attachments, such as moldings. To do this, rout 1/2"-long slots into the side, behind the position where the moldings will be applied as shown below. Then, glue the front molding to the carcass, and attach the side moldings with screws and washers that slide freely in the slots as the wood moves. Apply glue only to the mitered ends of the side moldings.

STRATEGY 19: The procedure described in strategy 18 also works for attaching cleats to solid-wood panels such as a tabletop or chest lid as shown below. These cleats help reinforce the panel and keep it flat. Similar to the breadboard end described in Strategy 15, you can permanently fix the cleat at its center with a screw. This arrangement still allows the panel to shrink and expand from its center.

STRATEGY 20: When planning the size of panels that fit within frames, you need to keep several things in mind. First, allow room for solid-wood panels to expand widthwise. (Again, refer to the charts for an idea of how much the panel will expand.) Panels won't expand lengthwise, so fit them tight in this dimension. Also, keep in mind the points made in Strategy 5 about humidity and dry weather. You'll need to allow extra room if you're assembling the frame and panel under dry conditions.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Twig: Slender, light brown to gray, maybe scabrous or pubescent. Buds are dark red to black with 2 bud scales, triangular in shape. Leaf scar has one vascular bundle trace.
Bark: Very dark, broken up into square scaly thick plates; reminiscent of charcoal briquettes.

 
 
 
 
 

Form: A small to medium-sized tree with a round-topped crown. In forest stands the stem may be straight, tall, and slender.
 Leaf: Alternate, simple, pinnately-veined, 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches long. Oblong to oval, lustrous dark green above, entire margin.
Flower: Usually dioecious, white to greenish-white, male flowers in 3's. Female flowers solitary, both about 1/2 inch long. Present March to mid-June.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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ROUTER DRAWING

Just a reminder to resister at the  meeting for the router drawing.
Remember that the only way you can register is to be at the meeting.

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WEB SITES of INTEREST

Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft

WOOD ONLINE newsletter

Falls Mill

Appalachain Center for the Arts

Forest Products Lab. 1999 Wood Handbook

Jim DelToro

Highland Hardware

Woodworker's Journal

Steve Graham's Page
 

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