Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
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WORKSHO
GPU I D E I
I
POWER
T()()L
SAFETY
TIPS
. Wearappropriate safety equipment: o Maintaia n n dc l e a nt o o l sr e g u l a r l y . . M a k es u r et h a t l i g h t i n g
a n dv e n t i l a t i o n
I
safetyglasses, a faceor dustmaskif K e e pa l l b l a d e sa n d b i t ss h a r pc, l e a n , in the workareaareadequate.
y o ua r es a n d i n ga,n dh e a r i npgr o t e c t i o n
if youareoperating toolsfor an extend-
and undamaged. Checkregularly
loosepartsand frayedcords.
for
o Do not usetoolsif the flooris dampor wet.
I
edperioo dftime.
r Nevercarrya connected
toolwith your . K e e py o u rw o r ka r e ac l e a na n d t i d y ; I
. Clampallworkpieces
securely
whenev- fingeron the trigger. c l u t t e rc a n l e a dt o a c c i d e n t sK. e e pp e t s ,
er possible
to keepbothhands
nnpraip ihp innl
freeto
. T i e b a c kl o n gh a i ra n d a v o i dw e a r i n g
c h i l d r e na, n d o n l o o k e rasw a yf r o mt h e
workarea.
I
. e m o v er i n g sa n d o t h e r
l o o s ec l o t h i n g R
. Be awareof the positionof the power
cordat all times.
j e w e l r yt h a t c a n c a t c ha c c i d e n t a l li yn
movingparts.
r C o n c e n t r a toen t h e j o b . D o n o t r u s h
or take shortcuts.Neverwork if you are
t
d r h a v eb e e nd r i n k i n g
t i r e d ,s t r e s s e o
. Makeall adjustments
to a toolwith the . Do not overreach. Keepproperfooting a l c o h ool r u s i n ga n y m e d i c a t i o tnh a t I
innl rnnlrroocd a n db a l a n c a
et a l lt i m e s . i n d u c e sd r o w s i n e s s .
I
I
TYPICAL
POWER
TO()I PLUGGING
INSAFELY I
WATTAGERATING
T00r WATTS
AI
I
START-UP
I
(3-hp)
Aircompressor 4000 BRAN/
@ BELT
SAISDIR
Tablesaw(%-hp) 4000 I
Saber
saw I 500 2.4A
saw(7%")
Circular 2000 ,rr ro 42653 426 HI/o I
saw(6%")
Circular 1800 CAUTION: ["t*it:i?i5l6, u". "*LyTDENT.AL pARrs.
RE'LA.EMENT
@ t
Beltsander I 500 illAl{UfACURtR uo1",".,"o
Bench (%-hp)
grinder 1500 I
Orbital
sander 900
I
Router I 500
drill(%")
Electric 800 I
drill(%")
Electric 600 Checkinggroundingand load requiremenlo
Powerplane 600
Ensuretrhal a VowerIool is rated elecLrically oafe,checkinq I
; ito nameVlate. A oamVlenameVlaleis shownabove.A tool
ffi
drill(%")
Electric 500 shouldbeapproved by lhe UL (Underwnters Laboratorieo) or t
Random-orbit
sander 500 COA(Canadian SLandards Associalion). Aloomakesurethal
),j I
n HVLPspraysystem 400 the Vowertool ie grounded or double-ineulaLed.
A grounded tool hasa lhree-pronq pluqand maybe marked
Bffi
l'p'{
"qroundinq
"double
r e q u i r e d "a' ,d o u b l e - i n s u l a l et od o l i s m a r k e d I
! Thestart-upwattageof a powertool is gener- ineulaNed a "n d m a y b e a rN h es y m b o e l h o w nF. o ra
ally30-40%higher thantherunning wattage. ?ower Lool or exten;ion cord with a Nhree-Vronq pluq,use I
Usingtheformula(voltsx dmps= watts), you o n l ya e i m i l a ro u N l e tn: e v e rb e n do r r e m o v eL h et h i r d , o r
canavoidoverloading anelectricalcircuitby qroundinq, Vronqof a pluq.EneurethaNLheoutrleL, ueually I
determining whether
themaximum loada on a 15-or 20- ampcircuitr, can Vrovtde eufficientcurrent, for
toolwill drawexceedstheamperage of the NheVowerNool.CheckNhe amperaqe ratringof Lhepowertool I
circuit.0n a 11O-volt forexample,
circuit, a on its nameplale;if iNie rated af, 1Oor moream?ereo, Iurn
7%-inch sawwoulddraw18 amos
circular off any hiqhcurrentr-drawing applianceo operalinqonlhe I
(110x znlps= 2000).Thesawcouldover- sameelecLric al circuitr.
loada 1S-amp circuit,butnota 20-amp one. I
I
t
THEARTOFWOODWORKING
SHARPENING
ANDTOOI CARE
THEART OFWOODVVORKING
SWENING
AI\IDTOOLCARE
TIME-LIFE
BOOKS
ALEXANDRIA,VIRGINIA
ST.REMYPRESS
MONTREAL.
NEWYORK
THE ART OF WOODWORKING wasproduced by THECONSUITANTS
ST.REMYPRESS
Mil<eDunbar buildsfine fumiture at hisworlshop in Portsmouth,
PUBLISHER KennethWinchester New Hampshire. The author of sevenbooks and a contributing
PR.ESIDENT Pierre L6veill6 edrtorof AmericanWoodworkerand EarlyAmericanLife maga-
zines,Dunbar alsooffersWindsor chairmakingseminarsacross
SeriesEditor PierreHome-Douglas NorthAmerica.
SeriesArt Director Francine Lemieux
SeniorEditor Marc Cassini GilesMiller-Mead taught advancedcabinetrnakingat Montreal
EditorIim McRae technical schoolsfor more than ten years.A native of New
Art DirectorsNormand Boudr..ault,Luc Germain ZeaLand, he hasworked asa restorerof antiquefurniture.
DesignersH€ldneDion, Michel Gigubre
PictureEditor Christopherfackson Td Fuller is product managerat Delta lnternational Machin-
WritersAndrew Jones,David Simon erylPorterCable(Canada).He is currently working in new
ResearchAssistant BryanQuinn product developmentand marketingfor woodworking tools
Gilles Beauchemin,Roland Bergerat,
Contr ibuting Illustrators and equipment.He is alsoan amateurwoodworker.
Michel Blais,Jean-GuyDoiron,
Ronald Durepos, Robert Paquet,
Maryo Proulx, JamesTh6rien
Administrator Natalie Watanabe Sharpening& tool care.
ProductionManager MichelleTurbide p. cm.- (The Art of woodworking)
SystemCoordinator fean-Luc Roy Includesindex.
Phongrapher Robert Chartier ISBN0-8094-9933-9
AdministrativeA ssistant Dominique Gagn6 1 Woodworkingtools- Maintenanceand repair.
Proofreader GaretMarkvoort 2. Sharpeningof tools. I. Time-Life Books.
Indexer ChristineM. facobs IL Title: Sharpeningand tool care.
III. Series.
TT186.5451994
Time-Life Booksis a division of Time Life Inc., 684'.08'028-dc20 94-26232
a wholly owned subsidiary of CIP
THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY
For information about any Time-Life book,
pleasecall 1-800-621-7026,or write:
TIME-LIFEINC. ReaderInformation
Presidentand CEO JohnM. Fahey Time-Life CustomerService
Eilitor-in-chief fohnL. Papanek P.O.Box C-32068
Richmond,Virginia
2326r-2068
TIME-LIFEBOOKS
@ 1994Time-Life BooksInc.
President All rights reserved.
John D. Hall
Vice-President,Director of Marketing Nancy K. Jones No part ofthis book may be reproducedin any form or by
ExecutiveEditor RobertaConlan any electronicor mechanicalmeans,including information
ExccutiveArt Director Ellen Robling storageand retrievaldevicesor systems,without prior writ-
ten permissionfrom the publisher,exceptthat briefpassages
ConsultingEditor may be quoted for reviews.
fohn R. Sullivan
Proiluction Manager Marlene Zack Printed in U.S.A.
Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada.
R 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
CONTENTS
RichardStarron the
\ALUE OF
SHARPTOOLS
\/\/ henI wasa kid I thoughtworkingwoodwasreallydifficult.Ir was,too,
Y Y because my dad'stool benchwasdominated by roughscrewdrivers and
assorted wrenches, dull saws,anda fewaugerbits.I remember it with fondness
because it helpedsetmeon mylifet path,but it suredidrt'tencourage meto mas-
ter thepiecesof rough,splittypinethatI occasionally workedon.
Sharphandtoolswerea revelationto a guywho grewup thinkingthat wood-
workingrequiredsomesortof special geniusandalot of powerfrrlequipment.When
I encountered a craftsman whobuilt finecountryfurniture,milesfromthenearest
powerline,I wasinspiredto learnasmuchasI couldabouthowto maketoolswork
well.Asa result,woodbecame a muchmorewelcomingmaterialto me.Today, asa
seasoned teacher ofwoodworkingto children,
myjobisto helpmystudents appreciate
thepossibilities ofwood.Thelastthing Iwanttodoisletthemworkwithbumtools.
It iseasyto fallin lovewith handtools.I havea smallcollectionof time-mellowed
implements thatI wouldnotthinkof puttingtowork Theyrepresent ahistoryof effort
andproblern-sohing thatisacomforttomymodernmind"I alsoharaotherfineoldtools
thatarefrequentlyput intoservice.ButthetoolsI usewerydayinteachinghave much
las ofanauraaboutthernKidsbangthemaroundanddropthanalltoofrequently. What
isimportantaboutthemisthattheyworkright.
Thedifference between a dull tool anda sharponeis something everywood-
workerneedsto know.It is thedifference betweenthefrustratedkid I wasandthe
kidsI teachtoday.WhenI showa childhowto whittle,heor sheis expected to try
everyknifeon therack,usuallyfour or fivetools.Onlyby makingthiscomparison
will it becomeclearwhicharereallysharpandwhicharejust okay.
Everywoodworker hashisor herownpreferred wayto sharpenanedgetool.
Someuseoil stones, slowsandstone wheels,Arkansas
stones or leatherstrops.Others
preferfapanese waterstones, theuseof whichis almosta ritual.ln myschoolshop,
I needto work quicklyandI havelongsincesettledon a grindingbeltandbuffing
wheel.At home,I havefallenin lovewith thenewtechnology of diamondstones.
I firmly believethat,whilesharptoolsareessential, thereis no oneright wayto
sharpentools,onlythebestwayfor you.It takestimeto figureit out,but it is time
you mustbewilling to spend.It is like buildingthefoundationof your home.
Everything elserestson it.
Philip Lowediscusses
MAINTAINING
PO\MERTOOLS
teppingup to apoorlymaintained machine cancreate a spectrum of emotions
fromapprehension to frustration. Whenthehandwheel onyourtablesawforces
youto oneknee,requiringtwohandsandallof yourstrengthto raisetheblade,and
whenthemachinescreams andsmokebillowsasstockis fedthrough,faceit: Itt
timeto do a littlemaintenance!
Perhaps themoststraightforward partof shopmaintenance istheobviousreason
behindit safetyandefficiency. It isveryimportantto keepcuttingimplements sharp.
Moreaccidents occurwithdulltoolsbecause moreforceisrequired to operate thetool.
Youll needafewtoolsto getyoustarted,includinga grease gun,anoil can,WD-
40*, graphite,siliconspray,andpastewax.It is alsoconvenient to havea setof
wrenches, sockets,hexwrenches, andbrushes for cleaning gears. Finally,pickup
someabrasives suchassteelwool, finesiliconcarbidepaper,andamill filefor debur-
ring shaftsandnicksin tabletops.
Cutterssuchassawblades, knivesfor jointersandplaners, shapercutters,bitsfor
routersanddrill presses andturningtoolsmustbekeptsharpandfreeof pitchand
resinin orderto cut cleanly.Pitchandresinon cuttersandsawblades,whichcan
cause kickback,canberemoved with sprayovencleaner. Somein-housesharpening
canbedoneto carbide toolswith a diamondstone. High-speed steelcutterssuchas
turningtoolsandshaper knivescanbesharpened onabenchgrinderor honedwith
abenchandslipstones.
Alignmentof tablesandfences is alsoimportant.Thepositionof a tabletopis
importantespecially if it hasslotscutin it for mitergauges. Theslotsneedto bepar-
allelto thecutters.
Thesameistruefor fences.
Lubricategearsandwaysthat raiseandlowerarborsandtables.Lubricationof
exposed gears
andwaysshouldbedonewithgraphite, spraysilicon,or paste waxThese
drylubricantspreventbuildup of sawdust thatwouldoccurif thepartsweregreased
or oiled.Bearings with grease fittingsor oil capsshouldbeattended to periodically
with theappropriate lubricant.
Thetablesandbedsof allmachines shouldbeinspeaed and,if necessary, filedflat.
These surfaces
shouldbekeptfreeofrustandpaintsplatterings andshouldbecleaned
with steelwoolor finesilicon-carbide paper.Onceclean,anapplication of pastewax
will helppreventrustandallowstockto slideacross thesurface with lesseffort.
I
INTRODUCTION
IanWaymarkhas taughtindustrialeducation
in Canadafor16years.
Heistheownerof Woodturner'sWorld,a storeonGabriola
Island,
BritishColumbia,
thatspecializes
in woodrurningtools.Waymark
designedtheOrca1 latheandtheSabreSharpening Center.
l{
i
Ia
I
1t
%
SWENNGBASICS
l3
THE CUTTINGEDGE
H(lWSHARP
ISSHARP?
Smoothing a cuftingedge
Thequalityof thecuttingedgeandfinishona toolbladedepends as0.5 micron. (Bycomparison,thediameterof a humanhairis
onthesizeof abrasive particlesusedto sharpen it. Justasyou approximately 40 microns,)Thephotos above,
of a chiselblade
wouldsanda tabletopwith progressively finergrades of paper, magnified approximately
200times,revealhowsharpening improves
sharpening begins withcoarseabrasivesandmoves upthrough a tool'sedge.A dullchisel(above,
left)hasgroovesandpitson
finergrits.Theonlydifference is thesizeof abrasive particles its backanda nickededge.Theseflawswill leavea rougher fin-
involved.Forexample, a coarseIndiarMstonehasparticles mea- ishonwoodthanthesmoothbackandedgethat is achieved
suringabout173microns across,
whilea hardArkansas oilstone afterthechiselissharpened andpolishedona finishwaterstone
hassmaller particles-about10 microns. Commerical honing (above, righ).fhe waterstonehasabrasiveparticles
measuring
compound usedfor buffinghasextremely fineparticles,assmall 1 micronin diameter.
T4
SHARPENINGBASICS
THESHARPENING
PR(ICESS
STEP-BY-STEP
ANDMICROBEVELS
BEVELS
Honing a microbevel
Whena toolbladeis razor-sharp, more
forceis necessary to drivethebladeinto
thewood,anditsedgeis morelikelyto
bebrittle.Byhoning a secondary bevel,
or microbevel, ontopof thefirst(inset),
youcanincrease the cuttingeffective-
nessof thetoolandprolong the lifeof
thecuttingedge.Microbevels areslight-
ly steeper thantheoriginal bevelof the
tool.(Fora listof common bevelangles
forvarious blades,seethebackendpa-
perof thisbook.)lt canvaryfromaslit-
tle as2" to asmuchas 10";thesteeper
themicrobevel, thetougher theedge.Yet
themicrobevel shouldnotbeovenvorked.
A fewlightstrokes on a benchstone is
usually to produce
sufficient a smallhair-
linestripat theedgeof themainbevel
(left).lt themicrobevel iswiderthanhalf
of thewidthof thebevel, thebevel should
bereestablished bysharpening.
l5
TOOLSAND ACCESSORIES
SHARPENING
Multi-t'ool jig
Dregger 9 kew'4rrndingji7 /iqhL,
Uaedto Lrueor reohapeqrinder Felt wheel Lop) holde akewaat 20'
wheeleand expooea freah cuL- Availablein aofL,medium, an4leand pivote on cen-
Linqeurface.7tar-wheeldreeaer and hard: dreaeedwith Ler pin to grind radiua-
(above)hae up to four star- buffin4compoundfor final ed akewchiaela.)liding
ehaped wheela;diamond-point poliehingof cuttinq edqe eharpentna iia (riaht.
dreaaer (below)featurea a dia- mid)te)crZklpiioote
mond eet in a bronze tip undercrosabar.Doth
are attached to an adiuat-
able tool reeL (riqht,
bottom), whichmounta
to benchin front
of qrinder.
Wet/dry grinder
(paqe 21)
Lar4e,water-bathed
wheelhoneebevele:
waLerprevenLetools
from overheatinqand
carrieeaway meLal
and 4rit.)maller, dry
wheeluaedfor 4rindtng
t6
SHARPENINGBASICS
t7
BENCHSTONES
()FBENCHST()NES
A COTTECTI()N
OILSTONES
Hard Elack Arkaneae
An extra-fine, lOOO-4rit nat-
ural atone uaed for razor-
Waehita
A coarse, faat-cuttin4 Combination stone
15O-qrif,natural etone AIao knownaa an lndiat' atone.
uaed for flattenin7 A aynthetic atone made from
and lapping badly aluminumoxide with 90 arit
nickedtoolo on one face and 600 on
the other: uaed for
4eneralaharpen-
inq and honinq.
l8
SHARPENINGBASICS
TRUING
A BENCHSTONE
Flatteningthestone
All benchstones willdeveloo a hollowin
thecenterafterprolonged use.Totruea
benchstone, flattenit ona machined sur-
face,suchasglasspaneor a lapping
table.Foroilstones, rubthesurface with
a circularmotion(left)ina slurrymade
froma coarse lapping compound mixed
withhoning oil.Startwitha coarse grit
andworkthrough finergritsuntilthe
stoneis flat.Totruea waterstone, use
waterinstead of honingoil fortheslurry,
or weVdry siliconcarbide papertaped
to thelapping surface.
WATERSTONES OTHER
STONES
5lipatone
A ahaped atone ueed
forturninq and carvinq
toola,featurinq both roundedand
anqled ed4ea;a ran7e of qrita ia
availablein both oil and water type6
Gouge slipstone
Japaneae frniahing stone Japaneee coarae sione A conical etone uaed
An extra-fine, 12OO-6riteyn- A coarse, 1BO-4rit eynthetic ror qouqe5;concavequr-
thetic atone made from ceri- atone made from ailiconecar- face aharpens outaide ed1e-
um oxide;uaed for final honin4 bide; uaod for flattenin7 and of tool, whileconvexaurface deburra
and poliohinq;amall Nagura lappinqbadly nickedtoole the inside ed6e.A ranqe of 6rito ia
stone ueed to create alurry availablein both oil and water typeo
f, romsquaring andsharpening plane water-bathed wheelsthat turn at slower becomedull andcloggedwith metalpar-
I' ironsto polishing chisels
andturning speeds,suchas500rpm, allowingyou ticles,and their edgesmay go out of
tools,thebenchgrinderisaworthwhile to grind tools without constantlydip- square.A wheeldresser(page22) canbe
additionto awoodworking shop's sharp- ping them in waterfor cooling. usedto true the faceof a glazedwheel
eningstation. Most grinderscanbe equippedwith and squareits edges.
Benchgrinders areclassified accord- optionalrubbersharpening wheels,cloth
ingto theirwheeldiameter. Standard 5- buffing wheels,and leatherstropwheels
to 8-inchbenchtop models,with %-to in additionto standardabrasive wheels.
%-horsepower motors,arethemostpop- which come in a variety of grits (see
ular sizes.Largerwheelsarebetter,as below). Grindingwheelswill eventually
smallerwheelscanproduceexaggerat-
edhollow-ground bevels. Grinders can
bemountedon a worksurface or fas- Thecuningedgeof a skewchiselgets
tenedto a separate stand. a sharpeningon a wet/drygrinder.
Rotatingaround3500rpm,a bench Because thelargewheelof this typeof
grinderremoves steelfasterthanasharp- grinderrotatesrelativelyslowlyand is
eningstone.Unfortunately, it alsoheats continuallybathedin water,theblade
up thetool,andyoumaylosethetool's beingsharpened remainscool,which
temper. If thesteelbegins to change col- reduces the riskof destroyingitstem-
or duringgrinding, deepening to atrue per.Standardbenchgrinderwheels
blue,thetemperhasbeenlost,andthe oftenrotateat speeds that qretoofast
toolmustbereground. Motorized whet- for honing many tools;
asa result,the
stonesand wet/drygrindersfeature tool'ssteelcaneasilyoverheat.
IDENTIFYING
GRINDER
WHEETS
STAI{DARD
MARKING
SYSTEM
CHART
ABRASIVE
TYPE A:Aluminum
oxide C:Siliconcarbide Z:Aluminum
zirconium
ABRASIVE 8, 10,12,14, Medium:
Coarse: 30,36,46, tine:70,80,90,100, Veryfine:220,240,280,320,
(GRA[{)SrZE 16,20,24 54,60 1 2 01, 5 01, 8 0 400,500,600
GRADE Soft Medium Had
SCATE A B C D EF G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V WY XZ
STRUCTURE Dense 0pen
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 t 4 1 5 1 6 etc
BOiID B: Resinoid
BF:Resinoidreinforced
E:Shellac 0: Oxychloride
R:Rubber
TYPE RF:Rubberreinforced
S:Silicate
V:Vitrified
20
SHARPENINGBASICS
STANDARD GRINDER
BENCH Spark defleator
Directa aparko downward
Grinding wheel and away from the operator
Medium BO-7rit aluminum
oxide wheelaquaree and
eharpenecuttin4 edqee Eye ahield
Buffinq wheel
Felt or cloth
wheelpoliehee
bevelof cut-
tinq edqeo
GRINDER
WET/IIRY Upper tool rest
Adjuatableto desired
Wet wheel anqlefor qrindin4or
lO-inch,22O-qrit wheella bathed in
honinq;typically poei-
water to keeptoole cool durinq qrind-
tioned within'/einch of
inq and honin4;rune at 70 RPM
wheel.Featureaalot
for olidinqanqlejiq
Eye shield
21
SHARPENINGBASICS
DRESSING
A GRINDING
WHEEL
Truing thewheel
A grinding wheelshould betruedwhen
ridgesor hollows appear onthestoneor
if it becomes discolored. Youcanuse
eithera star-wheel ordiamond-point dress-
er. To usea star-wheel dresser (right),
movethegrinder's toolrestawayfrom
thewheel.Withtheguardin position,
switchonthegrinder andbuttthetip
of thedresser against thewheel.Then,
withyourindexfingerresting against the
toolrest,movethedresser fromsideto
side.To usea diamond-point dresser
(below), holdthedevice between theindex
fingerandthethumbof onehand,setit
on thetoolrest,andadvance it toward
thewheeluntilyourindexfingercontacts
thetoolrest.Moveeitherdresser back
a n df o r t ha c r o stsh ew h e eul n t i lt h e
edgesaresquare andyouhaveexposed
freshabrasive.
ltlIItllltlllllllIllJ
lllllllltlllluilflIllJ
lll1
llltillliltlllttll]
9HO7Tt?
Diamond-
point
dreaeer
eLandardqrindinqwheelmounl-
ed on the lefY-hand sideof a
benchqrinder,neo?rene or felt,
buffin7wheelemounledon the
riqh|-handrequirea chanqeof
Iool pooitionfor buffingoo
f,heIool does noNcalch
in Nhewhee|Anolher
eoluLionis f,o revereethe riahL-
handwheel quardto ex?oeeNhe rear
of lhe wheel(right).lnthis poeition,Ihe
buffinqwheelopineawayfrom you inolead
of lowardeyou,oo you can butrLheNoolaL
Lhesamean7leao you do whenqrindinqit.
22
SHARPENINGBASICS
23
SWENNGA]\TD
GHANDTOOTS
I espitetheproliferation
of pow- easilyaccessible, allowingyouto
Ll er toolsin recent years,hand sharpen and maintain thetool in
toolsarestillanimporiantpartof theshop. In fact,with a little elbow
the modernwoodworking shop. grease and the right materials, you
Handsaws, andplanes
chisels, play caneven restore a rusty old hand
avital rolein manycabinetmaking planeto betterconditionthanwhen
tasls,fromcuttingjointsandchop- it wasfirstbought(page40).
pingmortises to smoothing stock. Settingyourselfup for handtool
Forsomecrafts,likecarvingand sharpening andmaintenance re-
turning,hand-cutting toolssuchas quires nogreatinvestment. Allyou
gouges andskewchisels arevirtu- Thesimpleshop-made jig shownabove, needaresolvents for cleaning, a few
allyindispensable. consistingof a dowelwrappedin a pieceof emery commercial devices for adjusting
Onedistinctadvantage thathand cloth,is idealfor cleaningand removingburrs blades, stones andfilesfor honing
toolsofferovertheir electrically from theroundededgeof gouges. andsharpening-and theproper
poweredcounterparts is thatthey technique. Thefollowingpages will
arerelativelystraightforward to sharpenandmaintain.With showyouhowto carefor andsharpen themostcommonly
handtools,thereareno hiddencircuitboardsor sealed com- usedhandtools,from handsaws (page26)andchiselsand
ponents,no carbide-tipped bladesthatmustbe sharpened gouges (page
30)to benchplanes (page j9),scrapers(page46),
professionally.With mosthandtools,suchassawsandchisels, andbitsfor braces andhanddrlls (page 55).
whatyouseeiswhatyougetahandle, oftenmadeof wood,and Theworkis relatively
easy,but therewards areconsider-
asteelcuttingedge.True,not allhandtoolsarequitethissim- able.Handtoolsthatarewellsharpened andproperlymain-
ple.Benchplanesfeaturescrews andleversfor adjusting the tainedwill improvethequalityofyourprojects andprolongthe
angleandpositionof thecuttingedge.Still,all thepartsare lifeof yourtools.
25
HANDSAWS
/ji;i#
.'tJ
is usuallyexpressed in TPI, or teethper
inch.Thefollowingpagesdescribe howto
; sharpenrip saws,combinationsaws,and
both Japanese andWestern-style crosscut
A commercialsaw setbendsthe teethof a combinationsaw to theproper angle saws. Becauseoftheirveryfineteeth,dove-
with the bladeclampedin a benchvise.Settingthe teethof a saw bladeis a keystep tail andtenonsawsshouldbe sentout to
in the sharpeningprocees,
producinga kerf that preventsthe bladefrom binding. a professionalfor sharpening.
ANATOMY
OFSAWBIADESANDFILING
ANGLES
Leading edqe
\t/- |
I T
I la
-!z
:J
\'60'
Filingripsawteeth Filingcombination
teeth
Ripsaws havewidelyspaced teethwithfromf iveto seven Combination sawsaredual-purpose saws thatcanbeused
teethperinch(TPl).Theyalsohavea morepronounced set for bothripcutsandcrosscuts, although theyrip moreslowly
thanothersaws.Bothfeatures enablethemto cutquickly thana ripsawandcutmoreroughly thana crosscut saw.Com-
alongthegrain.Asshown above,theleading
edges of rip binationteethslopeforward andbackward at thesameangle
teetharealmostvertical. Tosharpentheteeth,usea trian- (about 60') andbothedges arebeveled. Sharpen bothedges
gularmillfile,drawingit straight
acrosseachtoothat a 90" millf ile (above),
usinga triangular tiltingthehandte of the
angle to thebladeaxis. f iledownslightly.
26
SHARPENING AND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
gHO?TI?
A eaw holder
Storinq handaawsproperlywillboth
eliminateclutt'erand keaothe tools
acceeeible and oafefrom damaqe.The
eimpledeviceshownherecan be ueed
Lo hanqa oawon NheehoVwallin plain
view.Cut a woodecrap a liffile thicker
than lhe eaw handleto the oame?ro-
file ae the openingin the handleiuoe
NheoVeninq'ae atemplaie, Fasten
the piecetothewall at a convenient
heiqht,thenscrewa emallblockwith
roundedendstothepieceao at'urn-
buckle.Makethe turnbuckleohoraer
Nhanthewidthof the handleopeninq,
but lon7erthan lhe heiqht.Leavethe
ecreweliqhtly loooeeo thatyou can
pivoI th e tu r nbuckle verti c allyto
eecurelhe eawto the wal|
27
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
A BENCH VISESAWHOTDER
Secured in a vise,thesimplejig
shownat left will holda sawat a
convenient heightforsharpening.
Makethejawsfromtwopiecesof %-
inchplywood about10 incheslongand
7 inches wide.Thensawtwo%-inch-
thickstripsandgluethemalongthe
insidefacesof the jaws,flushwith
thetopend;thestripswillgripthesaw
blade.Fasten the twojawstogether
nearthe bottomend,screwing a strip
of %-inch plywood between them.
F i n a l l yb, o r ea h o l ef o ra c a r r i a g e
boltthrough the middleof thejaws
andinstalltheboltwitha washer and
wingnut.
Tousethejig,secure thebottomend
in yourvise.Loosen thewingnut,slipa
sawbladebetween thejaws,andtight-
enthenutto holdthesawsecurelv.
SHARPENING
A HANDSAW
1 Jointing theteeth
I Mountthesawteeth-uo in a visewith
a woodpadon eachsideof the bladefor
protection. Installa flat millbastard file
in a commercial sawjointing jig.Holdthe
jig f latagainst thesideof thebladeand
passthefile backandforthacross the
full lengthof theteeth(righ\.fhiswill
f lattenall of theteethto thesame
height. A fewpasses shouldbesufficient.
28
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
r) Setting theteeth
L Witnthesawstill in thevise,adjust
a sawsetto thesameTPIastheblade.
Starting at eitherendof the blade,posi-
tionthefirsttooththatis bentawayfrom
y o ub e t w e etnh ea n v i al n dt h e p u n c h
b l o c kS
. q u e e zt e
h e h a n d l teo s e tt h e
tooth (right).Workyourwaydownthe
lengthof the blade,settingall teeththat
arebentawayfromyou.Thenturnthesaw
around in theviseandrepeat theprocess
ontheremaining teeth.
Filing
theteeth.
Referto theappropriate illustration
on page26 or27 fortheproper fileand
filingangleforthesawyouaresharpen-
ing.Forthecrosscut sawshownat left,
holda triangularfileat abouta 65" angle
to thebladewithits handle tilteddown
slightly.Asyoufiletheteeth,workfrom
oneendof theblade to theother, filing
all theteeththataresetin onedirection.
Thenturnthesawaround to sharoen the
remaining teeth.
29
CHISELSANDGOUGES
()FCHISELS
INVENTORY ANDGOUGES
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
REPLACING ()RGOUGE
A CHISEL HANDLE
1 Turning thenewhandle
I T u r na n e wh a n d l feo r a c h i s eol r
gouge o n t h e l a t h eC . u ta b l a n kf r o ma
dense, strong hardwood likeashor hicko-
ry.Thegrainshould runthelength of the
blank. A oiece thatis 1%to 2 inches
square anda fewinches longer thanthe
f inished length youneedwillyielda suit-
ablehandle. Mountthepiecebetween
centers onthelatheandturnit to a
smooth cylinder usinga roughing gouge.
Buya brass ferrule forthehandle, Then
usea parting toolto turna tenonon one
e n do f t h eb l a n ki o a c c o m m o d a t ht e
f e r r u l eM. e a s u rt h
e e i n s i d ed i a m e t eorf
theferrulewithdialcalipers (right)and
s i z et h et e n o nt o f i t t i g h t l y .
r) Mounting thefenuleandtheblade
I Remove thehandle fromthe lathe,
setit end-down on a worksurface, and
taptheferrulein placewitha mallel(far
/eff).Next,remount the handle on the
latheandshapeit witha skewchiseland
spindle gouge. Onceyouaresatisfied with
thehandle's shape andfeel,borea hole
in thetenonendto accommodate thetang
of theblade. Boretheholeonthelathe
witha Jacobs chuckattached to thetail-
stock;makesuretheholeiscentered in
theblank. Thehole's diameter anddeoth
depend onthetypeof tang.Fora round-
section, untapered tang,theholeshould
be2 to 3 inches deepandequalto the
t a n gd i a m e t e F
r .o ra s q u a r e - s e c t i o n ,
tapered tang,drilltwoholesasyouwould
counterbore fora screwandplug:Make
thetophalfthesamediameter asthetang
1%inches fromthetio andthebottom
halfthesamewidthasthetang% inch
fromitstip.Insert thebladeintothehan-
d l ea n dr a ot h e b u t te n do f t h eh a n d l e
witha mallethearlefil.
3l
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
A STANDARD
SHARPENING CHISEL
1 Honing thecutting edge
I Thetwo-step procedure shown onthis
pagecanbeusedto sharpen anystandard
chisel,suchasa f irmer, paring,or mortise
chisel.Startbyhoning a secondarybevel
ontheforward edgeof theexisting one-
)/- calleda microbevel (insef)-thenpolishand
flattenthebacksideof theblade. Toform
themicrobevel, laya combination stone
\ \ \t ') ----/--r- coarse-side u0 on a worksurface between
; l
twocleatssecured withscrews. Saturate
thestonewiththeappropriate lubricant,
if necessary,untilit pools onthesurface.
Holding thebladewiththeexisting bevel
flatonthestone, raiseit about5'andslide
thecuttingedgealongthestonein long,
ellipticalpasses (left).Applymoderate
Dressure untila microbevel forms. Turn
thestoneoverandmakea fewoasses on
thef ineside.
r) Polishing andflattening
Z ne backsideoftheblade
Saturate h ef i n es i d eo f t h es t o n ea n d ,
holdingthechiselbladef latonthestone,
bevel-side
up,moveit in a circular pattern
(right)untilthe flat sideof the cutting
pdqp is qmnnth
JZ
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
A ROUGHING.OUT
SHARPENING GOUGE
1 Grinding thecutting edge
I Sharpen a roughing-out gougeona benchgrinder equipped
witha medium grinding wheelanda feltwheel.Position the
guardandturnonthemachine. Holding
thebladebetween the
fingers andthumbof onehand,setthecutting edgeonthetool
restandadvance it untilthebevellightly
contacts thegrinding
wheel.lf youwantto change thebevelangleof thecuttingedge,
adjustthetoolrestto thedesired angle.Withyourindexfinger
against thetoolrest,rollthe bladeonthewheel(/eff)untilthe
entireedgeis ground. Keepthebevelflatagainst thewheelat
alltimes.Continue, checking thebladeregularly, untilthecut-
tingedgeis sharpandthebevelangleis correct. To prevent the
bladefromoverheating, occasionally
dip it in waterif it is car-
bonsteel,or remove it fromthewheelif it is high-speed steel
to let it cooldown.
GOUGE-SHARPEl{I1{G JIG
Thejig shownat rightwill holda gouge sothat
the bladecontacts the grinding wheelat the Guide
correct angle.Thedimensions in the illustration (top) %"x 1'1"x 9"
(eidea)%"x 1%"x 9"
will accommodate mostturninggouges. Cut
thebaseand guide from %-inch plywood. Screw
Arm
theguidetogether andfastenit to thebasewith t/o"x1%"x13%"
countersunk screws fromunderneath. Makethe
guideopening largeenough forthearmto slide Tool auppott
through freely. (back)%"x2"x2%"
Eabe (bottom)%"x1%"x2'1"
Cutthe armfrom1-by-2stockandthetool
%"x3"x13%"
supportfrom%-inch plywood. Screwthetwoparts
of thetoolsupporttogether, thenfastenthe bot-
tomto thearmflushwithoneend.FortheV-block,
cuta smallblockto sizeandsawa 90'wedge out
of oneside.Gluethe pieceto thetoolsupport.
To usethejig,secureit to a worksurface so
thearmlinesupdirectly underthegrinding wheel.
Seatthegougehandlein theV-block andslide
the armsothe beveled edgeof thegougesits
f l a to nt h eg r i n d i nwg h e e lC. l a m pt h ea r mi n
place.Then,withthegouge clearof thewheel,
switchon thegrinderandreposition thetoolon
thejig. Rollthe beveled edgeacross thewheel
(right,bottom).
JJ
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
34
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
A SPINDLE
GOUGE
grinder
1 Sharpening ona bench
I Position theguardproperly andturn
onthe grinder. Holding thebladebetween
thefingers andthumbof onehand,set
theblade flatonthetoolrestandadvance
it untiltheblade lightly touches thestone
(/eff).Adjustthetoolrestto createthe
desired bevel angle. Rollthecutting edge
onthewheelandpivotthehandle from
leftto rightwhilekeeping thebevelf lat
onthegrinding wheelat all times(inset).
C o n t i n ur e
o l l i ntgh eb l a d e
a n dm o v i n g
thetoolhandle fromsideto sideuntilthe
edgeis sharpened, stopping frequently
to checkthegrindandcoolthetip, Hone
thecuttingedgeandremove theburrby
hand, asshown below, orusethegrinder's
felt wheel(page34).
r) Honing thecutting
edge Q Removing theburr
L Oncethe bevelhasbeensharpened onthegrinder, r.J Usea convex slipstone matching of thegouge
thecurvature
usea flat benchstoneio polish
thetoolto a razor-sharp to remove theburrthatformsontheinsideof thecuttingedge.
edge.Saturate thestonewithoil,thenrolltheoutside Lubricate theslipstone if needed andhonetheinsideedgeuntil
bevelacross theabrasivesurfacehbove)to honethe t h eb u r ri se l i m i n a t e d .
bevelonthecuttingedge.
35
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
A CARVING
SHARPENING GOUGE
36
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
Q Polishing theinsidebevel
r.J Usea foldedpieceof leather to strop
theinsidebevelof thegouge. Spreadsome
polishing compound on the leather
and
foldit soitsedgematches theinsidecurve
of thegouge. Drawthe bladealongthe
leather repeatedlyto polishtheinsidebev-
el (left).Thiscanalsobedoneusingthe
feltwheelof a bench grinder.
theoutside
Polishing bevel
Spreadsomepolishingcompound onthestropandusethe repeatstep3. Youcanalsousea benchgrinder
anda felt
samerolling
techniqueshown in step1 to polish
theoutside wheelimpregnatedwithpolishing
compound (page34)
bevel(above).
Checkthe insidebevel;if a burrhasformed, forthistask.
37
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
SHARPENING
A V.T()OL
1 Whetting theoutside edges
I Sharpen eachsideof a V-toolsepa-
rately.
Setupandsaturate anoilstoneas
youwouldto sharpen a carvinggouge
@age 36).Honeoneoutsidebevelof the
V-toolasyouwoulda chisel(page32),
moving thebladebackandforthalong
thelength of thestoneandkeeping the
bevelflat onthestone.Repeat on the
othersideof theV (right).SIopworking
whenyouhaveremoved theroughmarks
fromtheground edgeanda smallburr
formsontheinside oftheedee.
r) Removing thehook
Q Honing theinsidebevel
I Wnenyousharpen theoutsidebevelsof a V-tool,
a hookof r-,1Toremove theburrformedin stepsI and2, anononean
excessmetalwillformat theapexof theV (inset). Thishook insidebevel, usea triangular
slipstone thatmatches theangle
mustbeground awaybefore youhonetheinsidebevelin step of theV-toolbladeasclosely as possible. Clampthe stone
3. Holdingthetoolonthestone, rollthecorner acrossthesur- securelyin a benchviseandsaturate it withoil.Toavoidcrush-
face(above). Movethetoolfromendto endalongthestone ingthestone,do notovertighten thevise.Drawtheendof the
untilyouwearawaythe hookandan outsidebevelformsat blade'sinsideedgebackandforthalongthe stone(above),
theapexof theV, forming onecontinuous bevelededge.This applying lightdownward pressure untilthe burris removed
processwill createa burrin thecenterof the insideedge, anda slightinside bevelforms.Tofinish,polish theedgewith
whichis removed in steo3. a leatherstrop(page37) or thefelt wheelof a grinder(page34).
38
BENCHPLANES
(lFA BENCH
ANATOMY PLANE
39
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
REFURBISHING
A BENCH
PLANE
1 Dissassemblingandcleaning theplane
I Referto theanatomy on page39 to helpyou
illustration
taketheplaneapart.Startbylooseningthelevercapscrewand
releasing
thecaplock,thentakeoffthelevercap,capiron,and
bladeandsetthemaside.Next,loosen andremove thefrog
setscrewsandseparatethefrogfromthesoleof theplane.You
canalsounscrew thefrontandbackhandles fromthe body.
Cleaneachpartindividuallyusinga brass-bristled
brush
spiils (abovd.
dippedin mineral
r) kppingthesoleoftheplane
L tapea lengthof emerypaperto a smooth andflat surface,
suchasa glassplateor sawtable.Reattach thehandles andthe
frogto thebodyof theplane,thenslidethesolealongtheemery
paper,applyingevenpressure to keepthesoleflat (right).Con-
tinuelappingthesoleuntilthemetalon itsbottomsurface isuni-
formlybrightandclean,indicatingthatthesoleis level.Check
thesolefor square(step3) periodically.
40
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
thesoleforsquare
Checking
Thebottomandsidesof the plane's
soleshouldbeexactly solehbove).Repeatfortheotherside.Thesurfacesshouldbe
at 90'to eachother.Holdingthe planein onehand,butta squarebothways.lf not,youwill needto lapping
continue
combinationsquare the bottomandonesideof the thesoleandthesides.
against
BLADE
A PLANE
SHARPENING
1 Checking thecuttingedgeforsquare
I Usea combination souare to deter-
minewhether thecuttingedgeof theplane
bladeis square to thesides(/eff,).
lf it is
not,square thecuttingedgeon a bench
grinder,
making thegrinder's
sureto adjust
toolrestat 90" to thewheel.
41
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
tlllllltIIljilllllttll]tlllililllilllilillJtllllltljljllll
Z S h a r p e n ian g p l a n eb l a d ei n v o l v e s
threesteps:creating
blade's cutting
a bevelon the
edge,honing a microbev-
tlllfillll11
el onthef irstbevel, andremoving the
burrthatresults fromthehoning process. 5HO7Tt?
Tocreate thefirstbevel, clamptheblade Grindingwith a eander
bevel-down in a commercial grinding jig
lf you do not owna benchqrinder,
andadjustthetoolrestto createa 30' you can grinda Vlaneblade .,,
bevel.Holding thejig onthetoolrest, on abelisander.'lnstalla ,r/
a d v a n ciet t o w a r tdh ew h e eul n t i lt h e lOO-7ritbelt,,mountLhe ,.,'
cuttingedgemakescontact(above). Noolupoidedownin a
Slidethebladeside-to-side across the s|,and,and secure
wheel,pressing lightly. Check thecut- the oland
tingedgeperiodically andstopgrinding Lo a work
whenthebevelforms. surtace.
Turnon
Nhesander
and holdthe
beveledeide of
Ihe bladeon Nhe
bell atlhe aVVro-
prialeangle.
A')
AL
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
Honing themicrobevel
Onceyousharpen the planeblade's
cuttingedgeona grinder, asin step2, the
resultwill bea hollow-ground bevel(insef,
job
lefl.lf youdidthe byhandon a
sharpening stone, youwillobtaina flat
bevel(insef,right).lneithercase,you
needto honea microbevel onthefirst
bevel. Place a combination sharpening
stonefinesideup on a worksurface.
Screwcleatsto thetableagainst the
stoneto keepit frommoving. Fora hol-
low-ground bevel, clampthebladein a
commercial angle-setting honing guide
withthe beveltouching thestone.
Saturate thestonewiththeappropriate
l u b r i c a natn dt h e n ,h o l d i ntgh eh o n i n g
guide,slidethe bladebackandforth
fromendto endalong thesharpening
surface(right).Applymoderate pressure
untila microbevel forms.lf youarestart-
ingwitha flatbevel, clampthebladein a
commercial angle-setting honing guide
withthe beveltouching thestone.Then
raisetheangleof thebladea fewdegrees
andcomplete theoperation asfora hol-
low-ground bevel.
Lappingthebun
Thehoning process willcreate a thin
ridgeof metal,or burr,ontheflat faceof
the blade.Toremove the burr,saturate
thefinesideof thestoneagain.Holding
thebladeperfectly flat on the stone,
bevelsideup (left),moveit in a circular
patternuntiltheflatsideof thecutting
edgeis smooth.
43
SHARPENING AND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
f, Testing thebladeforsharyness
r,f Clampa softwood boardto a work
surfaceand,holding the bladebevel-side
up in yourhands, cutacross thegrainof
the surface (right).
A sharpbladewill
cleanly slicea sliverof woodfromthe
boardwithouttearingthe woodf ibers,
Honing theendofthecapiron
Securea benchstone to vourwork
surface; in the illustrationat left.a dia-
mondstone,whichshouldbe lubricated
withwater,is shownin its ownbox.Set
thefrontportion of thecapironthatcon-
tactsthebladeflatonthestoneandslide
it in a circularpatternonthesurface(/eft).
Continue untilthetip of thecapironis
perfectly flat.Thiswillguarantee thatwood
chipswill notbecome trappedbetween
the ironandthe bladeoncethetwopieces
arereassembled.
44
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
ASSEMBLING
ANDADJUSTING
A BENCH
PLANE
1 Positioning thebladeassembly
I Position thecapironon thetopfaceof the blade %zand%ainch.lf thegapis toowideor narrow, remove the
extending about%oinchbeyond theendof thecapiron. bladeassembly andloosen bothfrogsetscrews about%turn.
Tightenthe cap ironscrew(above, left).Thenplacethe Thenadjustthefrogadjustment screwto setthe proper gap
bladeassembly-including the blade,capiron,andlever (above,
right).Tighlenthe setscrewsand repositionthe
cap-in position on thefrog.Thegapbetween thefrontedge bladeassembly on thefrog,securingit in placewiththecap
of the bladeandthefrontof the mouthshouldbe between lock.
f)an+h-nF-rt ft
adjuatment knob
Centering
thebladeandadjusting
thedepthof cut
Holding theplaneupside down,movethe
lateral
adjustment leveruntilthecutting
edgeis parallel
to thesoleandcentered
in themouth.Tosetthecuttingdepth,
turnthedepth-of-cut adjustmentknobso
the bladeprotrudes fromthe mouth(left).
About%zinchis desirable; lessforhighly
Lateral adjuatment figuredwoods.Confirmthesettingwitha
testcut ona scrapboard. Theshaiings
should bepaper-thin.
45
SCRAPERS
p roperlyhoned,a handor cabinet
I scraperis unsurpassed for smooth-
ing andflatteninga woodsurfacebefore
finishing.For eithertype of scraper,
sharpening is a four-stepprocess, shown
beginningon page47. First,the edges
of the scraperare filed square,then
honed,and finallv turned overinto a
burr anda hook (page40. Youcanpro-
ducetheburr andthehook in two steps
with a standardburnisher,like the one
shownbelow,or createthehookin one
operationwith a variableburnisher
(photo,left).The resultis a cuttingedge
that shouldbe capable of slicingpaper-
thin curlsof woodfrom a workoiece.
Honinga handscraperissimplework
with thehelpof thevariableburnisher
shownat left.Thedevicefeaturesa car-
biderod mountedwithin thewoodbody.
Aknob on thetopadjuststheangleof
therod,providingprecisecontrolof the
burnishingangle,whilethejig is run
backandforth overthecuttingedge.
(lF SCRAPERS
INVENTORY ANDACCESSORIES
Burniaher
Formathe fine burr and hookon the cutting edgeof a
ecraperafter honin4.Koundmodeleare ueuallyuaedfor
curvedecraperoand trianqular modda for rectan4ular
gcrapers;tri-burntaherehowncombinearound,
46
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
A HANDSCRAPER
SHARPENING
r) Honing
1 Filingtheedges square theedges
I Secure thescraper in a vise,edgeup,witha woodblock Z- Secure a combination sharpeningstone f ine-sroe
upona
ononesideto keepit rigid.Clampa millbastard filein a worksurface withcleatsandlubricate it. Pressingthescraper
commercial sawjointerandpress thejointer
f irmlyagainst flatonthestone,rubeachfacewitha circular motion(above)
onesideof thescraper. Exertmoderate pressure asyoumake untilanyroughness produced byfilingdisappears. Next,hold
severalpasses backandforthalongtheedgeof thetool thescraper uprightandslidetheedgesbackandforthdiago-
(above)untiltheexistinghookdisappears andtheedgeis nallyacrossthestoneuntiltheyaresmooth withsharpcor-
flat.Turnthescraperoverin theviseandrepeat theprocess ners.Tofinish,againslidethefacelightly overthestone to
fortheotheredge. remove anyDurrs.
Q Burnishing theedges
r-,1Wioea tinvamount of oil ontothe
eageoi thesciaper to reduce friction
between theburnisherandthescraper.
Startto forma hookon eachcuttingedge
of thescraperby layingthescraper flat
on a worksurface withanedgeextending
offthetable,thenruntheburnisher back
andforthalongthe edge(left),exerting
strongdownward pressure. Turnthe
scraper overandburnish theedgeonthe
otherface.Nowburnish theothercuttins
edgethesameway.
47
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
Turning thehook
S e c u rteh es c r a p eerd g eu p i n t h e
v i s ea n dw i p ea l i t t l em o r eo i l o n t oi t s
e d g eH . o l d i ntgh eb u r n i s h leerv e lm , ake
a fewpasses alongtheedgein onedirec-
t i o nu n t i lt h ee d g es w e l l s l i g h t l y .
Applymoderate pressure to turnthe
edgeoutwardon oneside(nght).Then
holdthe burnisher sothatthehandle is
10"to 15"above thehorizontal andcon-
tinueto burnish untiltheedgeturnsover
inioa hook.Toforma hookon theother
sideof theedge(below), repeat the
process withthescraper turnedaround
in thevise.Thegreater the pressure you
apply,thebigger the hook.Turnthe
scraper overin theviseandturnthe
hooksontheopposite edge.
A CABINET
SHARPENING SCRAPER
1 Filing theedge
I A l t h o u giht s e d g ei s b e v e l e da ,
c a b i n est c r a p ei sr s h a r p e n ei ndm u c h
the samewayasa handscraper. Start
byfilingthebevel, thenpolishthe bevel
(step2) andturnovera hook(steps3
and4. Remove thebladefromthecabi-
netscraper by loosening thethumb-
screws holding it in place. Clamp the
bladebeveled-edge up in a visebetween
twowoodpads. Thenruna bastard mill
f i l ea l o n gt h e b e v e lu, s i n ga c o m b i n a -
tionsquare periodically to checkthatthe
angleremains a|45" (right).
48
SHARPENING AND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
r') Polishingthebevel
Z. Securea sharpening stoneto a work
in
surface; the illustration
at left,a dia-
mondstoneis shownin a sharpening box.
Lubricate thestone,thenholdthescraper
bladeflat-side downandslidethe blade
in a circularpatternto remove anyburr
formedbyfiling.Next,turnthebladeover
sothe bevelis flushonthestoneand
repeatto polishthe bevel.A fewpasses
shouldbesufficient, Usethecombina-
tionsquare to helpyoumaintain the bev-
el angleat45' (step1).
Burnishingthecuttingedge
Holdthescraoer bladebeveldownon
a worksurfacewiththecuttingedgeover-
hangingthetable.Wipesomeoilonthe
edgeand,holding a burnisherat a slight
angleto the blade,passthe rodback
andforthacrossits flat edge(below).
Applystrongdownward pressureforming
a hookonthecuttingedge.
49
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
Forming thehook
S e c u r teh e b l a d eb e v eul p i n a
machinist's viseandapplya littlemore lmlllrilfilllllllilllullllllltlfiltlltllllllll]xllll]lllrl]lrI]lJ
oilon it. Holding theburnisher in both
hands flushagainst
thetooltoward
the45" bevel,
yourbody;maintain
pull
con-
5HO?Tt?
stantdownward pressure (above). Mainlaining lhe ao r rect
Gradually tilt thehandle of theburnish- burniohing angle
er untiltherodis at angleof about15' lloldinga burnieher aNNhe?roper
t o t h eb e v e Tl . h i sw i l lc o m p l e t h
ee anqleie NhekeyNoburniohinq Nhe
bevelof a cabinelecraper.Ao a
hookonthecutting edge.
vieualquide,ueea proNractor
and a equareNomarka lineat,
a 45' anqleon the wall
facinqyouwhenyou A
do Nheburniehinq.
LocaNebhe markat
eyeleveldirecblyin
linewibhyourviee.
Ao,youVaeeN,he
,bur-,
n i s h e ar l o n q N h e b e v e l ,€
lry to keepLherod Var-
allelwiththe lineon Nhewall,
50
ROUGHINGAND SHAPINGTOOLS
lnahave
A curved drawknife typi-
cally ueedto ohapea work-
pieceafLer adztn1;bladeia
beveledon outer eide only
Adzea
Curvedehapingtoole for Spokeahavea
rou7hinqout hollowedwork- Metal flat-face model (top) emoothe
piecea:hollowin4adze (left) and ahapeaflat or convexaurfacee;
ie beveledon outeide ed4e woodenapokeehave(bottom) ie a
traditional tool featuring a low cut-
tinq an4le for ehapinqend qrain. Eoth
are puehedor pulled with the qrain
Drawknife
Hewing hatchet Ueedto debark qreen wood
For rou4h ahapinq4reen loq aectioneand ehapeoLock;
wood:beveledon one eide bladeie ueuallybeveledon one
only for etraiqht cuttinq eide only for otraight cuttin4
51
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
SHARPENING
SPOKESHAVES
Sharpeninga woodenspokeshaveblade
Remove the bladefromthe handle bypinching
thetangsthat bythetangs,setits bevelflat onthestone.Because
the blade
protrudethroughthehandle andpushingthemdownward. For is longer
thanthewidthof thestone, holdthecuttingedge
sharpening,thebladeis heldupsidedownfromits usualcut- diagonallyasyouslidethebevelbackandforthonthestone.
tingposition-thatis,withthetangsfacingdownrather
than Repeat withthebladeangled theotherway.Repeatagainwith
up.To preventthetangsfromcatching onyourworksurface thebladeheldstraightbbove).0nce thesharpeningis com-
duringsharpening,setyoursharpeningstoneatopa wood plete,turnthebladeoverandhonethef latsideto remove the
blockto provide
thenecessary clearance.
Holding
theblade burrformed bythesharpening process.
52
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
A DRAWKNIFE
SHARPENING
Honinga drawknife
Secure onehandle in a
of thedrawknife
machinist'svisewiththebladeIeveland
thebevelfacingup.Thenlubricate a fine
benchstone-in thiscase,a combination
stone-andrubthestonealongthelength
of thebevel, motion(left),
usinga circular
Tohonea microbevel ontheprimary bev-
el,adjusttheangleof thestoneslightly.
makea fewpasses
Finally, ontheflatside
of thebladeto remove anvburrformed
bysharpening.
ANINSHAVE
SHARPENING
ANADZE
SHARPENING
Honing aninshave
Clamp theinshave to a worksurface sothecutting edgeisfac-
ingup,asshownabove. Usea slipstone to honetheedge.Start
stoneandprogress
witha rough-grit to a finerone.Workwitha Honingan adze
circularmotionuntila uniformshinedevelops ontheblade. Secure t h e a d z ei n a b e n c hv i s e ,a s s h o w na b o v eW . r a pa
Givetheflatsideof thebladea fewstrokes to remove anyburr. sheetof emerypaperarounda dowelwhosediameterclosely
0ncethebladeissharp, polishthebevel witha leather strop m a t c h etsh e c u r v eo f t h e a d z eb l a d e .H o n et h e c u t t i n ge d g e
and polishing
compound (page 37),f inishingwith a few passes u s i n ga b a c k - a n d - f o rm t ho t i o na l o n gt h e l e n g t ho f t h e b e v e l .
onthe flatside
of the bladeto remove the burr.lf the inshave H o n et h e f l a t s i d eo f t h e b l a d ew i t h a s l i p s t o nteo r e m o v ea n y
hasa knife-edse-beveled on both sides-hone the otherside. b u r r .l f t h e a d z eh a s a k n i f e - e d gheo n et h e o t h e rs i d e .
53
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
POLISHING
THEBLADE
54
BRACESANDBITS
f, lectricdrillshavelargelysuperseded
Lhand toolsfor boringholesin the
modernwoodshoo. Nevertheless.most
woodworkers stillkeepbracesandhand
drills handy,because thesetoolshave
uniquecapabilities not readilydupli-
catedby powertools,suchasworking
in tight quartersor boringa holeto a
precise depth.
Maintaining thesehandtoolsismain-
ly a questionof keepingtheirmoving
partscleanandsharpening theirbits.To
cleana brace,unscrew thechuckshell
andremove thejaws,asshownatright.
Usethesamecleaning procedure asyou
wouldfor thepartsof a benchplane
@age a0).Theremaining pages of this
chapterdescribe howto sharpen auger
andspoonbits.
ANATOMY
OFAUGER BITS
ANDSPOOI{
Cuttinq edqe,
or lip
Auger bit
Thecuttinq edqe-or lip-bitee, pulle,and quideo the
bit into the workpiece;the apure acore the outline of
the hole so t'hat' the lip doee not t'ear the woodfibere
55
SHARPENING AND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
SHARPENING
ANAUGER
BIT
1 Filingthecuttingedge
I Secure the bit in a benchvise.
thenusea needle fileto sharpenthe
cuttingedge.(Youcanalsousea spe-
cialized augerbitfileforthejob.)Hold
the file on the leading edgeandmake
a fewstrokesalongthe surface.
Repeat withtheothercuttingedge.
Filing
thespur
Positionthe bit uprightin thevise.
Holding thefileflushagainst theinside
edgeof onespur,makeseveralstrokes
acrossthe surface(right)unlil youpro-
ducean evenshineon the spur.Repeat
withthe otherspur.
56
SHARPENINGAND MAINTAINING HAND TOOLS
Removing fromthespurs
burrs
H o l d i n ga v e r yf i n e d i a m o n dh o n eo n
a worksurface, slidetheoutside edgeof
oneof thebitspursonthestoneto remove
anyburrformedby sharpening (right).
(Youcanalsousea pieceof veryf ine
emerycloth.)Workwitha lighttouchand
useonlyenough strokes to remove theburr,
o r y o ur i s kr e d u c i ntgh e b i t d i a m e t e r .
Reoeat withtheotherspur.
BIT
ANSPOON
SHARPENING
Sharpeninga spoonbit
Spoonbitscanbesharpened ona benchstone.
easily In the n o s ei s h o n e du n i f o r m l0y n i sgc o m p l e t e d ,
. c et h es h a r p e n i n
above,
illustration at left,a diamondstonein itsownsharpen- o o l i s hb o t hs i d e so f t h e n o s eo n t h ef e l tw h e eol f a b e n c h
ingboxis shown. Holding theoutsideof thebit'snoseonthe g r i n d e lrm. p r e g n at theew h e ewl i t hp o l i s h i ncgo m p o u nadn d ,
stone,rockthebitacross thesurface motion. holding
witha semicircular thebitvertically, lightly touchthefrontof thenoseto
Holdthebit at thesameanglethroughout thatthe
to ensure the wheel(above, right).Repea|withthe backside.
57
)
r t
I
- J
r l
SWENNGPO\AIER
il TOOLBIADESATDBITS
'l ikeanycuttingor shaping tool, Still,therearetimeswhenyou
a powertool with a dull blade shouldturn to a professional, par-
or bit cannotperformwell.A dull ticularly if blades and bits have
drill bit will tendto skateoffawork- chippededgesor havelost their
piece,ratherthanbitingdeanlyinto temperasa resultof overgrinding.
thewood.A sawblade or routerbit Somerouterbitsalsomustbepre-
with bluntedcutting edgesmay ciselybalanced, something thatis
burn stock.And woodthat is sur- difficultto achieve theshop.fu a
in
facedby a jointeror planerwith ruleof thumb,it is a goodideato
unsharpened knivesmaybediffi- sendoutyourbitsandbladesto a
cultto glueup or finish. sharpening serviceperiodically,
or
In additionto cuttingandshap- everysecond timetheyneed amajor
ingproperly, well-sharpened blades sharpening. Onceyouhavesharp-
andbis offerotherbenefits, includ- enedan edgeproperly,it should
I ingreduced wearandtearonmotors, Designedto replacethe metalguidebloclcssup- lastfor a longtime-the occasion-
L . l
lessoperatorfatigue,andlongerlife plied with mostbandsaw6heat-resistant gtide alhoningisallthatit takesto main-
for thebladesandbitsthemselves. blocl<s mnhelp prolongbladelife.Madefroma tainit.
i_l
Manufacturers of powertoolblades graphite-impregnated resinthat is itsown lubri- Thepagesthat followcoverthe
andbis generally recommend send- cant,thesenonmetallicbloclcslastlongerthan basictechniques for sharpening
ingtheirproductsto aprofessional metalblocl<s andcanbesetcloserto theblade, powertool bladesandbits in the
sharpening However,
service. thejob allowingmoreaccurateand controlledcuts. shop.With a little practiceandthe
canoftenbedonein theworlahop. rightaccessories, youcankeepthe
, l Thischapterwill showyouhowto sharpen a widevarietyof cuttingedges ofyourbladesandbis razor-sharp. Butremem-
powertoolbladesandbits,fromrouterbitsandshapercutters berthata keenedgealwaysstartswith thequalityof thesteel
(page62)to jointer andplanerknives(page79).In a pinch, itself;for longlife andeaseof sharpening, alwayschoosebits
evenabrokenbandsawblade canbesolderedtogether(page
76). andblades madefromthebeststeel.
t l
i l
i l
i - l A wist bit is sharpened on a benchgrinderwith thehelpof a commercial grind-
L , J
ingjig that holdsthebit at theproperangle.Originallydestgnedfor the metal-
wo*ing industry,twistbitstooktheirplacein woodworking astheuseofpower
toolsgrew.Theyneedperiodicsharpening to boreholescleanlyand accurately.
59
A GALLERYOF BLADESAND BITS
Drill bits
(pa7e 65)
Planer knivea
Molding head
and knivea
(paqe 64)
ffifi$
Commercial reain
aolvent (page 71)
Knife honing guide
Cleanapitch,
qum,qaw-
and planer whilethey are atill in cutter-
duat, and
head;diamond-ahapedcuttinq etone
reain from
aharpenawhileaauare gtone removeo
circular aaw
the burr from thi face of the knife
bladee and
router bits
a aaw blades
(paae 70)'
Jointer knivea
(paqe B5)
TOOLSAND ACCESSORIES
FORSHARPENING
Jointerlplaner-knife
aharpenlingjig (page 79)
Uaedto aharpenjointer and planer
knivea:knifeie clampedtnjtq and Circular saw blade-
rear ecrewadjueLeLo hold knife eharpeningjig (page 72)
at properanile aaainaL MounLedon workbenchto
^l eharpenctrcularsaw bladea
after qrindinqand oettinq:
blade ie held injiq whiletaper
file ta drawnacroos the Leeth
at LheproperptLchand anqle
ROUTERBITSAND SHAPER
CUTTERS
Secured in abenchvise,oneofthe cut-
ting edgesof a shapercutterreceivesits
final sharpening with a fine diamond
hone.Theprocess is a two-stepoperation,
beginningwith a mediumhone(far left).
Because theyoperateat highspeeds, dull
routerbitsand shapercuttersoyerheat
quickly.Cuttersthat areproperlysharp-
enedmakesmoother, moreaccuratecuts.
SHARPENING
A NON-PILOTED
ROUTER
BIT
Sharpening theinside faces
Cleananypitch,gum,or sawdust offthe
bit witha commercial resinsolvent (page
71),thenusea ceramic or diamond sharp-
eningfileto honethe insidefacesof the
bit'scuttingedges. A coarse-gritfile is best
if a lotof material needsto beremoved;
usea f iner-gritf ilefora lighttouch-up.
Holding theinside faceof onecuttingedge
flatagainst theabrasive surface,rubit back
andforth(right).Repeat withtheothercut-
tingedge.Honebothinsidefacesequally
to maintain thebalance of thebit.Takecare
notto filethebevelbehind thecuttingedge.
62
POWERTOOLBLADESAND BITS
SHARPENING
A PITOTED
ROUTER
BIT
1 Removing thepilotbearing
I Beforeyoucansharpen a pilotedrouterbit, youneedto
remove the pilotbearing.
Usea hexwrenchto loosen the
bearing(above).
Ilf"llf"flr1lf"lflf'fir
r') Sharpening thebit
1lr"1lf'1lf1ll-1ll-llflflftlt-1flftll'1flr1lr L Sharoen
diamond
the bit witha ceramic
sharpening fileasyouwoulda
or
63
MOLDINGKNIVES
SHARPENING
M(ITDING
KNIVES
Sharpeningmolding knives
Thecuttingedgesof tablesawor radial
armsawmoldingknivesareeasyto touch
up or sharpen whiletheyaremounted in
the molding head.Clamptheheadin a
benchvisewithoneof theknives clearof
the bench,thenusea slipstone (above)to
honeits insidefaceasyouwoulda router
bit (page62l. Reposition
the headin the
viseto honetheremaining knives. Use
thesamenumber of strokes
to honeeach
knifesothatyouremove anequalamount
of metalfromthemall.andmaintain their
identicalshapesandweights. Analterna-
tivemethodinvolves removingthe knives
witha hexwrench(right)andsharpening
themon a flatoilstone,
64
DRILLBITS
TWISTBITS
SHARPENING
65
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
66
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
FORSTNER
SHARPENING BITS
1 Grinding theinsidebevel
I Totouchupa Forstner bit,truethetop
edgeof thebit'srimwitha f ile,removing
anynicks.lf thebeveled edges of thecut-
tingspursinside therimareuneven, grind
themusingan electric drillf ittedwitha
rotarygrindingattachment. Secure thebit
in a benchviseasshown andgrindtheedges
untiltheyareall uniform(right).
r) Sharpening thechiplifters
I tlsea sinsle-cut millbastard fileto
lightly f iletheinside facesof thecutters.
Holdthef ilef latagainst oneof thecut-
ters-alsoknownaschiplifters-andmake
a fewstrokes alongthesurface(left).RepeaI
w i t ht h eo t h e cr u t t e rF. i n i s thh ej o bb y
honing thebeveled edges inside therim
witha slipstone.
67
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
HONING
MUTTI.SPUR
BITS
SHARPENING
BRAD.POINT
BITS
1 Filing thechiplifters
I Clamp thebit uprightin a bench vise
andfiletheinside facesof thetwochip
liftersasyouwouldthoseof a Forstner bit
(page67). Fora brad-point bit, however,
usea triangular needlefile (right),
honing
untileachcutting edgeissharpandeach
chiplifteris flat.
68
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
r) Filingthecuttingspurs
L Usetheneedle fileto honetheinside
facesof thebit'stwocuttingspurs.Hold
thetoolwithbothhandsandf iletowards
untrleachspurissharp(rghf),
thebrad-point
H(INING BITS
SPADE
Filinga spade bit
Secure thebit in a bench viseandusea
smooth single-cut millbastard
filetotouch
upthetwocutting edges.Fileonthepush
slroke(\efl,tiltingthehandle downslightly
to matchtheangleof thecuttrngedges;
between 5" and10"istypical. Thentouch
upthecuttingedges oneithersideof the
pointthesameway(inset),Iaking carenot
to alteritstaoer.Donotremove toomuch
metalat thebaseof thepoint,asthiswill
weaken thebit.
69
CIRCULARSAWBLADES
CHANGING
TABLE
SAWBLADES
1 Removing a blade
I Working at thefrontof thetable,
remove theinsert andwedge a piece
of scrapwoodundera bladetoothto
prevent thebladefromturning. Use
thewrench supplied withthesawto
loosen thearbornut(/eff).(Mosttable
sawarbors havereverse threads;the
nutis loosened in a clockwise direc-
tion.)Finish
loosening thenutbyhand,
making surethatit doesnotfallinto
themachine. Carefully lifttheblade
andwasher offthearbor. Carbide{ipped
blades arebestsharpened profession-
ally;buthigh-speed steelmodels can
besharpened in theshop(page72).
A wornor damaged bladeshouldbe
discarded andreplaced.
70
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
PORTABLE
CHANGING SAWBLADES
CIRCUTAR
Removing a portable circular sawblade
Setthesawon itssideona worksurface
withthebladehousing facingup.Retract
thelowerbladeguardand,gripping the
bladewitha rag,loosen thearbornutwith
thewrench supplied withthe saw(right).
Remove thenutandtheouterwasher, then
s l i d et h eb l a d ef r o mt h ea r b o rA. sw i t h
t a b l es a wb l a d e sc ,a r b i d e - t i p pbel add e s
shoulb d es e n o t u tf o rs h a r p e n i nbgu,t
high-speed steeltypescanbesharpened
in theshop. Toinstall a blade, placeit on
t h ea r b o w r i t hi t st e e t hp o i n t i n ign t h e
d i r e c t i oonf b l a d er o t a t i o n
I n. s t a l l t h e
washer andthenut,andtightenthemby
hand.Holding theblade withtherag,use
t h ew r e n ctho g i v et h en u ta n a d d i t i o n a l
quarter turn.Donotovertighten.
SAWBTADES
CIRCUTAR
CLEANING
S o a k i ntgh eb l a d e
C l e a nt h e b l a d eu s i n ga c o m m e r c i a r el s i n
s o l v e n t( .C o m m e r c ioavl e nc l e a n e rt ,u r -
p e n t i n eo, r a s o l u t i o no f h o t w a t e rw i t h
a m m o n i ac a na l s ob e u s e d . )F o rs t u b b o r n
p i t c ha n dg u md e p o s i t ss,o a kt h e b l a d e
i n t h ec l e a n i na g g e n ti n a s h a l l o w pan
a n d u s ea b r a s s - b r i s t l ebdr u s ht o c l e a n
the teeth (/eff).
7I
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
SHARPENING
CIRCULAR
SAWBLADES
1 Jointing theteeth
I T os h a r p etnh et e e t ho f a c i r c u l asra wb l a d ei ,n s t a tl lh e r) Setting theteeth
bladein a commercial saw-setting jig following themanufac- Z. Remove thejointing headfromthejig andinstall theset-
turer'sinstructions. Forthemodel shown, theblade teethshould tinghead. Alsoremove thejig fromtheviseandsetit onthe
bepointing counterclockwise. Install thejointing headonthe benchtop. Adjust theheadfortheappropriate amount of set,
jig, buttingitsfile up against thesawteeth.Thentighten the orbend. Using a pinpunch andball-peen hammer, lightly strike
thumbscrew untiltheteethdragagainst thefile.Tojointthe everysecond toothagainst thesettinghead(above). Remove
teethsotheyareallthesamelength, clampthejig in a bench thebladeandreverse theposition of thesetting head.Reinstall
viseandrotateihe bladeagainst thefileclockwise (above). After t h eb l a d ew i t ht h et e e t hp o i n t i nign t h eo p p o s i tdei r e c t i o n ,
eachrotation, tighten thethumbscrew slightly andrepeat until andrepeat fortheteethyouskipped, againstriking every
thetip of eachtoothhasbeenfiledflat. second tooth.
Sharpening theteeth
Oncethesawteethhavebeeniointed
andset,filethemusinga commercial saw-
sharpening jig.Mountthejigto a workbench
andinstall thebladeloosely onthejig so
theblade turns.Following themanufactur-
er'sinstructions, rotatethetriangular file
in thefileholder andadjust theguidearm
to matchtherequired pitchandangle of the
sawteeth.Starting witha tooththatis point-
ingtotheright,filethecutting edgebyslid-
ingthefileholder alongthetopof thejig
(right).
RoIaIe thebladecounterclockwise,
skipping onetooth, andrepeat.Sharpen all
theright-pointingteeththesameway.Adjust
thetriangularfileandtheguidearmto work
ontheleft-pointing teethandrepeat,sharp-
eningalltheteethyouskipped.
72
BAND SAWBLADES
SAWBLADE
A BAND
SHARPENING
1 Gleaning theblade
I Before a bandsawblade,
sharpening remove sawdustand bladebetween twocleanrags(above),pullit awayin thedirec-
woodchrpsfromit. Makesureyourelease its normalrotation
the bladetension tionopposite thecutting
to avoidsnagging
Then,holding
thebladeoffthewheels.
slipping
f irstbefore the edges in thematerial.
73
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
Q Sefting theblade
r-J lf theteethneedto beset,adjusta commercial sawsetto
t h es a m en u m b eor f t e e t hp e ri n c ha st h eb a n ds a wb l a d e . Sharpening theblade
Secure thebladein a handscrew andclampthehandscrew to Sharpen theteeththesamewayyousetthem,working on
thesawtable.Starting at thehandscrew-end of theblade,posi- oneblade section at a time.Holda triangular fileat a 90"angle
tionthefirsttooththatis bentto therightbetween theanvil to thebladeandsharpen eachtooththatis setto theright,
andpunchblockof thesawsetandsqueeze thehandle to set g u i d i n tgh ef i l ei n t h es a m ed i r e c t i ot nh a tt h et o o t hi s s e t
thetooth(above). Workyourwayupto theguideassembly, set- (above). Thensharpen the leftward-bent teeththesameway.
tingall theteeththatarebentto theright.Thenturnthesaw Usethesamenumber of strokes on eachtooth.Onceall the
setoverandrepeat fortheleftward-bent teeth.Continue setting teethhavebeensharpened, remove theblade, turnit inside
allthebladeteethsection bysection. Toensure youdonotomit outandreinstall it forcutting, withtheteethpointing down.
anyteeth,markeachsection youworkonwithchalk. Tension andtracktheblade(page123.)
74
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
75
SHARPENING
POWERTOOLBLADESAND BITS
REPAIRING
A BROKEN
BAND
SAWBTADE
1 Grinding thebroken endsoftheblade
I A brokenbandsawbladecanbe
repairedin theshop.Startbycreating a
20' beveloneachendof thebladeusing
a benchgrinder(left).Asshownin the
inset,thebevels will increase
thecontact
areabetween thetwobladeendswhen
youjointhem,strengthening thejoint.
Thenusea pieceof emery clothto rough-
en bothbladeends;sandthesurfaces
untiltheirbluishcolordisappears. This
willhelpthesoldering alloyadhereto the
bladesurface properly.
jig
! Setting upthebladein thesoldering
4- Secure a commercial jig
soldering in
a machinist's vise.Next,usea brushto
spread fluxon the beveled endsof the
bladeand%inchin fromeachend.Position
the bladein thejig sothetwobeveled
endsarein contact(right).Makesurethe
bladeis tightandstraightin thejig.
76
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
Soldedngthebladeends
Heatthejointwitha propane torch,
thenunrolla lengthof the solderand
touchthetip to thejoint-notto the
flame.Continueheating thejoint(above)
untilthesoldercovers thejointcom-
pletely.Turnoff the torchand let the
jointcool.
Filingthejoint
Oncethejointhascooled, remove
the bladefromthejig andwashoff the
fluxwithwarmwater.lf thereis anexcess
of solder ontheblade, file it off carefully
witha single-cut bastardmill file (left)
untilthejointis nothickerthantherest
of the blade,lf thejointseparates, reheat
it to meltthesolder, pullit apart,and
repeatsteps2 through4.
77
SHARPENING
POWERTOOLBLADESAND BITS
FOLDING
ANDSTORING
A BAND
SAWBLADE
Twistingtheblade
Pressing yourrightthumbf irmlyagainst
theblade,twist
it by pivoting
yourrighthandupward. Thebladewillbeginto
formtwo loops(above).
78
IOINTERAND PLANERKNIVES
A pair of magneticjigsholdsa planer
knifeat thecorrectheightin thecutter-
head,allowingtheknife to befixed
in placeaccurately. Suchjigstakethe
guesswork out of thetrickiestphaseof
sharpeningplanerknives-installing
themproperly.Periodicsharpen-
ing ofplanerknivesis essential. Stock
that is surfacedby dull knivesis dffi-
cult to glueand doesnot accept fin-
isheswell.A similar jig is available
for settingjointer knives.
HONING KNIVES
J(lINTER
1 Cleaning theknives
I Jointer knivescanbe honedwhiletheyarein thecutter- theknivesis at thehighest pointin itsrotation.
Then,holding
head.Startbycleaning them.Shiftthefenceawayfromthe thecutterhead steadywithonehandprotected bya rag,usea
tablesandmovetheguardoutof theway.Making surethejoint- smallbrass-bristled brushsoaked in solvent
to cleanthe knife
er is unplugged,
rotatethecutterhead
witha stickuntiloneof (above).
Repeat fortheotherknives.
79
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
Honing
theknives
S l i d ea c o m b i n a t i osnt o n ee v e n l V
across thebevelededgeof theknife(right).
Move thestonewitha side-to-side
motion
untilthebevelisflatandsharp, avoiding
contactwiththecutterhead. Reoeat the
process to honetheremainingknives.
80
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
SHARPENING
J()INTER
KNIVES
1t Removing
-
theknives
I T o g i v ej o i n t e rk n i v e sa f u l l - fl e d g e d
.|i tii driillllj ,Ij,jjiJLtJl|t ii]l,ll il[ lllllli lilllil 'ii sharpening r e, m o v teh e mf r o mt h e c u t -
t e r h e a dU. n p l u gt h e m a c h i n es,h i f tt h e
f e n c ea w a yf r o mt h e t a b l e sa, n d m o v e
1HO?TI? t h e g u a r do u t o f t h e w a y .U s ea s m a l l
thifting knives w o o ds c r a pt o r o t a t et h e c u t t e r h e a d
for longer life u n t i lt h e l o c ks c r e w s e c u r i n g o n eo f
To Vrolonq the life t h e k n i v e sa r ea c c e s s i b lbee t w e e tnh e
of a set ol jointer t a b l e sC. o v etrh e e d g eo f t h e k n i f ew i t h
knivesLhaNhavebeen a r a g l o p r o t e cyt o u rh a n d st.h e nu s ea
nicked,loosenLhe wrenchto looseneachscrew(above).
tocK5crew6Oecur- L i f tt h e k n i f ea n dt h e r e t a i n i nw gedge
ingoneknifeand outof the cutterhead.
slidethe knife
a b o u l ' / a i n c h i n e i N h e rd i r e c t r i o n . I i q h t e nl h e
lock screwe and carefully rotaLe trhe cuLler-
BI
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
r-) Cleaning
theretaining
wedge
L Clean anypitchorgumfromtheretaining wedge usinga s t a l l i ntgh ek n i f eF. l a t t etnh ef a c eo f t h ew e d g ae sy o uw o u l d
brushdippedin solvent(above,
brass-bristled left).ff theface thesoleof a plane(page40) untilit is smooth. Alsousethe
of theretaining
wedgethatbuttsagainsttheknifeis pittedor brush to cleantheslotin thecutterhead thathouses theretain-
rough,youmayhavetrouble setting
theknifeheight whenrein- ingwedge andknife(above, right).
jig
? Installing theknifeina sharpening
r - J U s ea c o m m e r c ikanl i f e - s h a r p e n i n g
j i g t o s h a r p etnh ej o i n t ekr n i f eC
. enter
t h ek n i f ei n t h ej i g b e v eul pa n dc l a m pi t
in placebytightening thewingnuts;use
a ragto protectyourhand(right).Make
surethatthebladeis parallel withthelip
of thejig.lf theknifedoesnotextend out
farenough fromthejig,insert a woodshim
between theknifeandtheiipclamns
B2
SHARPENING
POWERTOOLBLADESAND BITS
Sharpening theknife
Seta sharpening stoneon a flat,smoothworksurface;in slidetheknifebackandforth.Holding theknob-end of thejig
the illustrationson this page,a diamond-gritwaterstoneis flatontheworksurface andpressing the knifeon thestone,
shown.To adjustthe jig sothe beveled edgeof thejointer movethejig in a f igure-eight
pattern(below). Continue until
knifeis flat on thestone,turnthejig over,restthe bevelon thebevelis flat andsharp.Carefully
remove the knifefromthe
the stone,andturnthewingnutsat theotherendof thejig jig andhonetheflatsideof theknifeto removeanyburrformed
hbovd. Lubricate the stone-in this casewithwater-and in thesharpening process.
83
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
fi Setting theknifeheight
L,f Adjust theheight of theknifeusing a
commercial jig (page 85),or dothejobby
hand,asshown at right.Cover theedgeof
t h ek n i f ew i t ha r a ga n dp a r t i a l tl yi g h t e n
e a c hl o c ks c r e wo nt h er e t a i n i nwge d g e .
Usea smallwooden wedgeto rotatethe
c u t t e r h e audn t i tl h ee d g eo f t h ek n i f ei s
a t i t s h i g h e spto i n t - a l s ok n o w n a sT o p
DeadCenter orTDC. Then, holding thecut-
terhead stationary witha wedge, placea
straighthardwood boardon theoutfeed
tablesothatit extends overthecutterhead.
Theknifeshould justbrush against theboard
along t h ek n i f e 'es n t i r el e n g t hl f. n o t ,u s e
a hexwrench to adlust theknifejackscrews.
O n c et h e k n i f ei s a t t h ec o r r e cht e i g h t ,
t i g h t etnh el o c ks c r e wosn t h e r e t a i n i n g
w e d g feu l l y b, e g i n n i nwgi t ht h eo n ei nt h e
center andworking outtoward theedges.
Sharpen andinstall theremaining knives
thesameway.
B4
SHARPENINGPOWERTOOL BLADESAND BITS
INSTALLING KNIVES
J()INTER WITHA JIG
Using a knife-setting jig
Thejig shownat rightfeatures magnetic
a r m st h a tw i l lh o l da j o i n t ekr n i f ea t t h e
correct heightwhileyoutightentheretain-
ingwedge lockscrews. Insert theknifein
the cutterhead and position it at its high-
est point as you would to install theknife
by hand (page 84). Then mark a lineon
thefencedirectly above the cutting edge.
Position the knife-setting jig on the out- Jointer knife-
feedtable,aligning the reference line on eettinq jig <rl
j i g
t h e a r mw i t ht h em a r k e d l i n e o n t h e
fence, asshown. Markanother line on the
fencedirectly above thesecond reference
l i n eo n t h e a r m .R e m o vt eh ej i g a n d
j i g
extend thislineacross theoutfeed table.
( T h el i n ew i l lh e l py o uq u i c k lpy o s i t i o n
t h ej i gt h en e x t i m ey o ui n s t a a ll knife.)
Reposition thejigonthetable,aligning its
r e f e r e n cl ien e sw r t ht h em a r k eldi n e so n
thefence. Thenusea wrench to tishten the
lockscrews(rEhf).
PLANER
SHARPENING KNIVES
85
-e*t\
ING
PORIABLEPO\ATERTOOLS
hatever theirpricerangeor typically located and recognize
list offeatures,all portable wherea tool mayhavea problem.
powertoolswill work betterandlast Fortunately,the partsof a pow-
Iongerifthey arecaredfor proper- er tool that endurethe most abuse
ly. At its most basic,preventive and most often sufferdamageare
maintenance is easyto do andtakes thosethat are alsothe easiestto
no morethan a fewminutes.At the access:the plugs, power cords,
endof your work day,for example, motorbrushes, andon/offswitch-
getin thehabitof cleaningdustand es.As shownbeginningon page98,
dirt from your tools.Referto the thesecomponents canbe replaced
schedules on page88 for addition- easilyand inexpensively. Before
al maintenanceideas.When you undertaking a repair, however,
buy a newtool, registerthewarranty checkwhetherthe tool is still cov-
and file the owner's manual in a eredby themanufacturer's warran-
convenient place and follow all the ty. Opening up a tool that is still
operatingand maintenance instruc- under warranty will usually void
tions suggested by the manufac- A beltsander in a commercial stand ispaired the guarantee.
turer. Owner'smanualstypically with a p\nuoodtruingjig to correcta router's The decisionto repair other
includetroubleshooting guides to out-of-round sub-base, which can produce parts of a portablepoweitool, such
help usersrecognizeand handle imprecise cuts. To correctthe problem, install as the motor and motor bearing,
malfunctions. Keep your tool'sorig- pin
a centering in the router,drill a hole in the for example, dependson a number
inal packaging shouldyou needto jig to holdthe pin, and turn on the sander. of factors, includingyour own abil-
return an item for servicing. Thenslowlyrotatethesub-base againstthebelt ities.Unless you feelcomfortable
Because portabletoolsareelec- until it isperfectlyround. makingan electricalor mechani-
tricallypowered,caringfor them is calrepair,you arebetterofftaking
asmuch a matterof safetyasof performance. Today's power thetool to an authorizedservicecenter.If you do electto open
toolsaredesigned to insulatethi userfrom electricalihock, up a tool to repairor replacean internalcomponent,label
but any tool that developsan electricalproblem canbehaz- thewiring andthepartsyou disconnectto helpyou reassem-
ardous.Thischapterprovidesillustrations of theportablepow- ble thetool properly.Theageandvalueof a tool is alsoa con-
er toolscommonlyusedin woodworking with cutawayviews sideration.The most worthwhileremedyfor a 2O-year-old
of their principalelectricaland mechanicalcomponents. The drill with a burned-outmotor maybe a newdrill ratherthan
drawingsaredesignedto helpshowyouwherethesepartsare a new motor.
87
MAINTENANCETIPSAND SCHEDULES
f hereareno industry-widestandards his tool to crosscut8/4 stockand saw ally inaccessible. In sometools,for
I for servicingportablepowertools sheetsof plywoodto manageable lengths. example, thebearings aremechanical-
designedfor the homeshop.Manufac- The chartbelowliststhe checksthat ly pressed onto the motor spindle.
turersof industrial-useoowertoolsissue shouldbemadeon manyportablepow- Attempting to separate thebearing from
maintenance schedulesfor theirproducts, er tools.Thetaskslistedarestraightfor- themotorin suchtoolswithouttheright
but thesetoolstypicallyundergoheavier ward and canbe done in a matter of instrumentwill destroythebearing.
usethan the averagehomeworkshop minutes.How oftenyou performthese Manufacturers claimthatsuchdevel-
tool.Forindustrialtools,servicingisusu- checkswill dependon your own needs opments in tooltechnology havepro-
ally scheduledevery100hoursofuse and circumstances. As a rule of thumb, ducedmoredurable,longer-lasting
andincludesa comoleteoverhaul.Brush- anytool that doesnot performthe way products. Whilethisis no doubttrue,
esarereplaced, bearingsarecleanedand it is designedto shouldbe investigated. oneconsequence forthepowertoolbuff
lubricated(or replaced),andthewiring, You can do the work yoursell but be "user-serviceable parts"
of toolswithno
motor,andotherelectricalcomponents awarethat troubleshootingelectrical isthatrepairscanonlybecarriedoutby
arecheckedand,ifnecessary, repaired. problemsin a powertool requiresspe- properlyequipped servicecenters.
For the typical power tool in the cialized,equipmentaswell asa sound Togetthemostfromyourtoolsand
home shop, however,maintenance knowledgeof how to useit. If you are keeprepairs to a minimum,referto the
schedulesand requirementsare less uncomfortableworking with electrici- tipslistedon theopposite page.Read
clearcut.Much dependson how a tool ty, takethetool to an authorizedservice yourowner's manual before usingatool
is used.A circularsawusedby theweek- centerfor reoair. to makecertain youcanoperate it prop-
end woodworkerto cut the occasional While toolsmadea few decades ago erly.Andnevertryto useatoolforatask
plank will obviouslyrequirelessatten- canbe completelydisassembled, many for whichit isnot designed. A toolwill
tion thanoneusedby a busycarpenter recentmodelsfeatureinternalcompo- failwhensubjected to stress
it isnotbuilt
or cabinetmaker who regularlyrelieson nentsthat arefactory-sealed andvirtu- to handle.
Checkingportable
power tools
Thechartat rightliststhechecksthat T00t MAINTENANCE
shouldbe madeon portable powertools Router Checkthecolletfor playandrunout (page91)
ona regularbasis.Develop a timetable Clean
thecolletandsoindle
thatsuitsyourworkhabits. Toolsthat Ensurethatthesub-base is smooth andfreeof damage
areusedfrequentlyorthatgetheavy use SaberSaw Checktheguiderollers andbladesupports forwear
shouldbechecked often. Checkthebladeclamo
Checkthatbaseis square to blade
PlateJoiner Checktheplungemechanism for play
Checkthebladeandspindle forwear
thepinsandglides
Inspect
Insoect
thedrivebelt
Electric
Drill Checkthechuckbearing for play
Inspect
thechuckforwear
BeltSander Checkthesteelplatenandcorkpadforwear
Checkthedrivebelt
Checktheendrollerfordamage or excessiveplay
Inspect
thecondition of therubberonthedriveroller
Gircular
Saw thegears
Lubricate
Checkthearborbearings
Checktheguardreturnsprings
Checkbladealignment
Orbital
Sander Checkthepadforwearor splitting
Checktheeccentric bearing (onrandom-orbit sander)
Checkthepadsupport
88
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
FOR
WIREGAUGE
MINIMUM C()RDS
EXTENSION
TIPS
MAINTENANCEFOR
POWER
PORTABTE TOOTS
AMPERAGE OFTOOI
RATING MINIMUM
GAUGE LENGTH
FORDIFFERENT CORDS
. Readyourowner'smanualcarefully
50' 75' 100' beforeoperating
anytool.
0-2.0 18 18 18 . Donotusea toolif anyof its parts
2.r-3.4 18 18 16 is looseor damaged;inspectblades,
bits,andaccessoriesbeforestarting
3.5-5.0 18 16 L4 anooeration.
5.1-7.0 16 I4 I2 . Keeoblades
andbitscleanand
7.t-r2.0 T4 tz 10 anythatarechipped
discard
sharp;
or damaged.
12.T-T6 I2 10
o Turna tooloff if it produces
an unfa-
miliarvibrationor noise; havethetool
Ghoosing wiregauge
theproper serviced beforeresuming operations.
Usinganextension cordwiththewrong gaugemaycause a dropin linevoltage, result- . Donotleave
a toolrunning
whenit
ingin a lossof power, heat,
excessive and tool To
burnout. determine the minimum is unattended.
wiregaugeneeded forthetoolandtaskat hand,seethechartabove. lf, for instance,
. Followthemanufacturer'sinstruc-
yourtool hasa 4-ampmotorand you areusing a extension
5O-foot cord, themini-
tionsto changeblades,
bits,or acces-
mum gauge shouldbe 18.Chooseonly extension
round-jacketed cords listed bythe sories; thetoolfirst.
unplug
Underwriters (UL),
Laboratory orthe CanadianStandardsAssociation (CSAI.
. Before shaping,
cutting, or sanding
a workpiece,
removelooseknotsusing
a hammer;inspectsalvagedwoodfor
nailsandscrewsbeforecutting.
llltlllllllll]ltllllllilllllllllllll
llltillllllrllllll]filrlllrillll]l1 r Donotattemptto cutthroughnails;
thiscancausekickback andalsoruin
a bladeor bit.
5HO7Tt? . Usetheappropriate
wiregaugewhen
replacing powercordor
a damaged
5toringbite usinganextension
cord.
Thecutlinq ed4eeof router and drill
bite,parLicularilyNhoeemaAeof car' . Keepthepower cordoutof thetool's
bide,can be nickedif Ihey are Ihrown path;do notusethetoolif thecord
in eloraqe.Trot'eclyour is frayed.
NoqeLher
bibewilh a oimpleehop-made holder. . Makesurethebladeor bit is not
ln a blockof wood.borea eerieeof withtheworkoiece
in contact when
holeeLhesizeof lhe bit shanke youturnon a tool;allowthecutterto
and store Nhemwibhtrhe cometo full speedbeforefeedingit
intothestock.
cuLtinqedqeuV.
. Donotforcea toolthrougha cut;
thiscansnapa bladeor causeit to
veeroff course. Allowthe bladeor bit
to cut at its ownspeed.
. Makesurethatanykeysandadjust-
ingwrenchesareremoved fromthe
turningit on.
toolbefore
. Keepa tool'sairventsclearof saw-
dustto avoidoverheatingthe motor.
r Donotusea toolforextended oeri-
odsof timewithout it to cool.
allowing
89
ANATOMYOF A ROUTER
Eleatronic variable
Upper moior bearing apeed control
LocaLedaL end of moLor
ahaf| to reducefricLion
a9 motor armaTure Eruoh aeaembly
apine;may be aealed A eprinq-loadedcarbon
rod encaaedin a houo-
in4;conducta currenl,
to the mot;orarma-
?train reliever ture. Exceeeiveeparke
Deeiqnedto prevent, flyin4 from Lhe m,otor
cord wear and fraying indicaLewornbruahea
Plungeloak knob
Dit can be plunqed
whenknobra looa-
ened;Li7htenedto
On/off switch Iockdeotredcut-
Lin4depth in place
Power aord
PIug
Turret etop
Eaee plate KoLateeto poertionapproprt-
or sub-base ate etop ecrewunderdepLh
Muat be emooLh etop bar; hei7ht of each acrew
and free of qouqea te adjuotableto vary cuLtin4
depth of aucceesivepaeeee
90
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
THECOLLET
CHECKING FORRUNOUT
Using a dialindicator anda magnetic base
Install a centering pinin therouter asyou
woulda bit andsetthetoolupside down
on a metalsurface, suchasa tablesaw.
C o n n e catd i a li n d i c a t ot or a m a g n e t i c
baseandolacethebasenextto therouter.
Turnonthemagnet andposition therouter
sothecentering pincontacts theplunger
o f t h ed i a li n d i c a t oC
r .a l i b r a t h
e ed i a l
indicator to zerofollowing the manufac-
turer'sinstructions. Thenturntheshaftof
the routerby handto rotatethecentering
pin(righil.Thedialindicator willregister
colletrunout-theamount of wobble that
thecolletiscausing thebit.lf therunout
exceeds 0.005inch,replace thecollet.
Using a feelergauge
lf you youcan
do nothavea dialindicator,
testforcolletrunout with a gauge
feeler
anda straight hardwood block.With the
pin
centering in thecolletandthe router
upside downona worksurface, clampthe
blocklightlyto thetool'ssub-basesothe
pieceof woodtouches the pin.Turnthe
routershaftbyhand;anyrunout willcause
thecentering pinto movetheblock. Then
usea feelergaugeto measure anygap
between thepinandtheblock(/eft).lf the
gapexceeds 0.005inch,replace thecollet.
91
ANATOMY OF A SABERSAW
Gear aeaembly
Ecaentric
arank bloak
Drivea
reciprocating
ahaft
Variablespeed dial Power cord
92
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
THEBLADE
SOUARING
Ghecking thebladeangle
Square a saber sawbladeeachtimeyou
lllttlllljllljlllilllilllll1llltlllltl|llllllillllrlllllllJilljllllllll i n s t a lal n e wb l a d eU
thensecure it upside
. nplug t h es a w ,
downin a bench
viseasshown above. Usea combination
1HO?TI? s o u a rteo c h e c kw h e t h et h r eb l a d ei s
square withthebaseplate.lf not,loosen
Extending blade life
lf mosf,of the olockyou thebaseolatesetscrew witha hexwrench
cut is 3/+ inchor thinner, a n dt i l t t h ep l a t eu n t i tl h eb l a d eb u t t s
lhe top third of your blade f l u s ha g a i n st ht es q u a r eT.h e nt i g h t e n
willbeLheonlyportionshowinq thesetscrew.
wear.TomakebelNeruoeof lhe
full lenqlhof the cutLinqedqe,
inslallan auxiliaryehoeon the baee
p l a l eo f L h ee a wo n c e t h e N o p t h i rodf
a bladebeginoNodull.To makeIhe ehoe,
cul a pieceof Yz-inch plywoodNheeame
len4Ihas the baeeVlateand eliqhtlywider.
HoldLhewooda4ainoLtrhe plateand mark
Lheoutlineol Nhenolch cul ouNfor Nheblade.
1aw ouNIhe notch and cut,a eloLforNheblade.)crew
Lheauxiliaryehoein Vlace,makinqoureNhaIthe back
of Lhe bladefite in NheeloL (lf Nhebladeie noI 6u?-
porLed,it may wanderand breakwhenyou are cutIin7.)
93
ANATOMYOF A PLATEIOINER
Fixed-angledface
)eta qap betweencutter wheel
and Lop face of workpiece;elidee
up and down on adjuatable fence Depth adjuatment knob
For aettin7 cuttin4
depth of cutter wheel
On/off switch
Locking lever
)ete adjuat-
able fenceat
any anqle from
O" to 90' Adjustable fenae
Keepafaceplate aquare
Cutter
to beveledaurface; ?lu6 ----, Power cord
fence reeta on top of wheel Loakingnut
workpieceduring cut )ecurea baae plate
to motor houetng
94
ANATOMYOF AN ELECTRICDRILL
Erush aesembly
Motor bearing A oprin7-loadedcarbon rod
Located at end of motor encaaedin a houainq;conducts
ahaft t.o reduce friction current to the motor armature,
ag motor armaf,ure )parka flyinq from the motor ia
apina; may be sealed a aian of worn brushes
Revereing switah
Changeadirection
of motor rotation
95
ANATOMY OF A SANDER
Motor bearing
Druah aaeembly
A sorina-loadedcarbon rod encaeedtn a Located aL end of moLor ehafL
hoiaini: conducLecurrent Lo LhemoLor to reduce frtction ag maLor
armature epine: may be eealed
armaLure.Exceeatve eparkeflyinqfrom
the motor te a etqnof wornbruehee
On/off trigger
Power
cord
Plug
Eleatria aam
Pad
Paper
Pad oupport clamp
96
ANATOMY OF A CIRCULARSAW
REPAIRINGPORTABLE
POWERTOOLS
ELECTRICAL
SAFETY
TIPS
. Unpluga toolbefore anyrepair
undertaking to its internal
components; youmayinadvertently
contact current in a
tool-evenwiththeon/offswitchturnedoff.
defective
. Allowa power
toolto coolbefore
servicing
it.
. Useonlyreplacement partsthatmeetthesamespecif
ica-
t i o n sa st h eo r i g i n a l s .
. Whena power toolstopsworking, determine whetheror
nottheproblem originates of it before
outside youtakeit
apart.Carefullyexamine thetool'spower cord;a frayed
cordor a broken plugis a common cause of failure.
. Before a power
disassembling tool,makea diagram
of
wireconnections
to makereassembly
easier.
. Beforeundertakinga repair,
contact
themanufacturer to
findoutif a service
manualforthetoolis available.
REPLACING
A BRUSH
ASSEMBLY
Removing andinstalling a brush assembly
Brushes arespring-loaded carbon rodsor blocks thatconduct
electricity to therotating armature of a power tool'smotor. Over
t i m e ,b r u s h ewse a or r b e c o mdea m a g eYdo. uc a na c c e st sh e
assembly byunscrewing thebrushcaponthetoolbody-normally
a plastic caproughly thesizeof a dime.lf thereis nobrush cap,
youwillhaveto remove themotorhousing to access thebrushes.
Onceyouhavelocated thebrush assembly, carefully lift it outof
thetool.Totestthebrush, pushon it to check thespring. lf the
spring is damaged orthebrushis pitted, uneven, orwornshorter
thanitswidth,youwillneedto replace theassembly. Somebrush-
esare marked with a wear line. Buy a replacement at anautho-
rizedservice center foryourbrandof tool.Toreinstall a brush
assembly, f it it intoposition in thetool(right), Theninsert
andtighten thebrushcapor reattach themotorhousing.
98
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
REPLACING
A SWITCH
1 Removing theoldswitch
I Setthetoolona worksurface, making
surethatit is unplugged. Fortherouter
shown at left,remove thecaphousing
to expose theswitchmechanism. Loosen
theswitch retaining nutandscrews, then
disconnect thewiressecuring themecha-
nismto thetool.lf thewiresarecon-
nected bywirecaps,simplyloosen the
caps(left)anduntwist thewires.lf the
c o n n e c t i oanrses o l d e r esdn. i ot h ec o n -
nections withpliers. Useshortstripsof
masking tapeto labelthewires to help
youreconnect themproperly.
99
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
REPLACING
A POWER
C()RD
1 Accessing thecord's wireterminals
I T h ew i r et e r m i n acl so n n e c t i n a gt o o l ' sp o w ecro r dt o t h e
s w i t c hm e c h a n i samr ec o n t a i n ewdi t h i nt h e m o t o hr ousing.
Forthesander shown at right,reachtheterminals byremoving
t h ea u x i l i a rhya n d l e
a n dl o o s e n i nt hges c r e wsse c u r i nt gh e
m a i nh a n d l e t o t h et o o lb o d y R
. e m o vt eh e h a n d l teo e x p o s e
t h ew i r et e r m i n a l s .
/) Disconnecting
theoldpower cord
L Ona power cordwitha two-prongplug,thereareusuary
twowiresfromthecordconnected to wireterminalscrewsin
thetoolhousing.Unscrew theplugretaining bracketsecur-
ingthecordto thetoolhousing,loosentheterminal screws
(below),
andcarefullyremove the powercord'swireends
fromtheterminals.Usestripsof masking tapeto Iabeleach
to helpyouattach
terminal thewireendsof thenewcordto
theappropriate
terminals.
100
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
r01
MAINTAININGPORTABLE
POWERTOOLS
REPLACING
A PLUG
/) Gonnecting thepowercord
L rcmereplacement plug
Buya plugat a hardware store,making
sureit hasthesamenumber andshaoe
of prongs astheoriginal. Theplugshown
consists of twoparts:the prongsection,
whichincludes theterminal, a plugcase,
andretaining screws thatholdthetwo
partstogether. Sliptheendof the power
cordthrough theplugcase,thenattach
e a c hw i r ee n dt o t h et e r m i n a losn t h e
plug(right),tightening thescrews to hold
thewireendssecurely.
t02
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
Q Assembling theplug
'flf" -fll'lll"$1lll"'llf-ff'fl11lrffilnfll$r1flf
ffi*llf'1[l"ffi
r.J 0ncethe oowercordwiresarecon-
nected to the plug,assemble thetwo
partsof the plug.Pullthecasingover
theplugandtightentheretaining screws
1HO?TI? untiltheyaresnug(above). Tocomplete
t h e p l u gr e t a i n i n g
t h er e p a i rt ,i g h t e n
Dieablinga powertool clampscrew. Thiswillsecurely holdthe
To prevenNunaulhorizeduse of a plugandthepower cordtogether.
powertool, olipIhe boll of a mini-
padlocktrhroughoneof the tines
in lhe powercord pluq.Thelock
willmakeit impoooible to pluq
in lhe Nool.lfyou are uoing
a keyedloak,slore the
keyeout of lhe way
in a cupboardor
drawerlhaf,can
be locked.
103
ffi
%r#
ffi# -..C.#
;
GSTA|IONARY
PO\AIERTOOLS
heprecisionandconsisten- thesetasks,suchaschecking belts,
cyweexpectfromstationary cleaningswitches, and keeping
woodworkingmachinesareonly tabletopsclean(page106),applyto
possibleif the equipmentis kept mostof thetools.Othermainte-
cleanandfindtuned. Whetheryou nancetasksarespecific to thedesign
havea cantankerous old band saw of a particular machine, suchas
that needsto be cajoledinto making cleaning andadjusting blade
the
a straightcut,or a brand-newradi- heightand tilt mechanisms on
al arm sawthat hasslippedout of a tablesaw (page 112),fixingan
alignmenton thewayfrom thefac- unbalanced bandsawwheel(page
tory,learninghowto adjustyour 122),orbleeding waterfromanair
stationary machines properlywill (page
compressor 139).
improvetheresultsandincrease Knowinghowto tuneup your
yourpleasure fromthem. stationarytoolswill not onlygive
Manywoodworkers areappre- you a deeperunderstanding of
hensive aboutexploringthenuts howtheywork;it will alsoprovide
andboltsof theirtools,andmany youwith a list of thingsto check
owner's manuals donotencourage A magnetic-base dial indicatorcheclsthe whenshopping for usedmodels.
tinkering.However, moststation- spindleof a drill pressfor runout-the Is a jointer'sfencesquare? How
ary powertoolsarequitesimple amountof wobblethat thespindlewould muchrunoutdoesa drill press
in theirdesignandconstruction. transmitto a bit or accessory. For accurate chuckhave? Doesthemitergauge
Takingthetopoffa tablesaw,which drilling therunoutshouldnot exceed of a tablesawslidesmoothly?
soundslikea majoroperation, is 0.005inch.If it does,thespindleshouldbe Many woodworkers tune up
fairlysimpleto doandit canquick- replaced or repaired(seepage131). theirstationarytoolsjustbeforethe
ly revealhowthemachineworks, startof a majorproject. Thiscanbe
andexactlywhatyoushouldclean,adjust,or tweakto keep difficultto schedule if youareoneof thosewoodworkers who
it runningsmoothly. hasmanyprojects onthego.In suchcases, it isa goodideato
Thechapterthatfollowspresents themajorstationary pow- devote alittletimeperiodically to maintaining yourstationary
ertoolsusedbywoodworkers andexplains thebasicmainte- tools.Thatway,everyprojectwill benefitfromthebestyour
nanceandtroubleshooting procedures for eachone.Someof toolscangive.
105
BASICSTIITIONARY
TOOLMAINTENANCE
Drive beltstransmit
powerfrom themotorto
themovingpartsin
manystationarypower
tools,includingthejoint-
er,discsander,planer,
qnd tablesawInhigh-
torquetoolssuchasthe
tablesawshownin the
photoat right,threebelts
areusedto driyethe
arbor.Any drivebeltthat
is crackedor wom exten-
sivelyshouldbereplaced.
CHECKING
DRIVE
BELTS
Checkingbelttension
Toomuchbelttension canstraina stationary
tool'smotorbear- of thumb,the beltshouldflexlrzinchfor everyinchof span
ings,whiletoolittletension
oftenleadsto slippageandexces- between pulleys.lf thereistoolittleortoomuchtension, adjust
sivewear,To checkdrivebelttensionon thejointershown it following
themanufacturer's instructions.Forsmooth opera-
above,unplugthetoolandremove thepanelcovering thebelt. tion,thepulleys shouldbealigned; if theyarenot,loosen
the
Thenpinchthebeltbetween thepulleys withonehand(above, adjustment setscrew on the motorpulleywitha hexwrench
bD.fhe amount of deflection
willvarvwiththetool:asa rule (above, right),andslidethepulleyin linewiththeotherpulley.
106
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
TABTET()PS
MAINTAINING
Cleaninga stationary
machine tabletop
Tokeepstockrunning smoothly, cleanthe
tabletop wiping
frequently, offanypitch
orgumdeposits witha ragandmineral
Remove
spirits. anyrustor pittingwith
finesteelwoolandpenetrating oil (left),
thenwipeoffanyresidue andsandthe
areawithfinesandpaper. A coatof paste
waxrubbed onandthenbuffed willmake
pushing woodintothecutting edgemuch
lesstirins.
SWITCHES
MAINTAINING
a power
Cleaning switch
Theswitches onstationarytoolscanbecome clogged,
causing suchproblems,
Toprevent
cleantheswitchimmediately. peri-
theswitchto strckor evenpreventing lf the
it fromoperating. odically airinto
compressed
cleanouttheswitchbyblowing
switch
sticks, unplug thetool,removetheswitchcoverand iI hbove).
r07
TABLESAWS
tlt h. tablesawis the cornerstone of tablesaw.It is a goodideato takethe
I manyworkhops, putto usein near- time to undertakethem beforestarting
ly everyphaseofeveryproject.Because a newproiect.For the sakeof efficien-
of its crucialrole,your tablesawmust cy, follow the stepsin the order they
be consistentlyaccurateand its parts appear. Youwill onlybeableto alignthe
squareand true. The normal forcesof miter gaugewith the sawblade,for
routineusewill eventuallythrow a table example,if the tablehasbeensquared
sawoutofalignment.Evena newmachi- with theblade.For safety,rememberto
ne straightoffthe assembly line usually unplug your saw beforeperforming
needsa certainamountof adjustment thesechecksand adjustments.
beforeit canperformsafelyandproperly.
ThetablesawcomDonents that need
to becheckedandalignedarethosethat Most tablesawsfeaturewormgear
comein contactwith theworkoiecedur- and rackmechanisms connected to
ing thecut:theblade,table,miter gauge, crankwheelsto raiseand tilt thearbor
andrip fence.Ifany ofthesepartsis not assembly and blqde.Thesemecha-
in proper alignment,you risk burn nismscanbecome cakedwith pitch
marks,taperedcuts,or kickback. andsawdust, preventingthesawfrom
The simple tune-up procedures operatingsmoothly. In thephotoat
shownbelowand on thepagesthat fol- right, compressedair is beingusedto
low will improvetheperformance of any cleqnthebladeheightmechanism.
CHECKING
TABLE
ALIGNMENT
1 Checking thetablealignment
I Thefaceof themitergauge andtheblademustbeperfectly thetestafterperforming
repeat step2. Slidethemitergaugeand
perpendicular. To checkthis,position themitergaugeat the theblocktogether toward
thebackof thetablewhilerotatingthe
frontof thesawblade.Clampa square woodblockagainst the bladebyhand(above). Theblockshouldremainbuttedagainst
mitergauge withtheendof theblockbutted against a sawblade thetoothasthebladerotates fromfrontto back.lf a gapopens
tooth.MarkanX onthebladenextto thetooth;this willenable betweentheblockandthetooth,ortheblockbindsagainst the
y o ut o c h e c kt h es a m es e c t i o on f b l a d es h o u l d
y o un e e dt o youwillneedto aligntheIable(step2).
bladeasit is rotated,
108
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
r) Aligningthesawtable
Z nalustthesawtablefollowing the
owner'smanual instructions.Forthemod-
usea hexwrench
el shown, to loosenthe
tableboltsthatsecure thetopto thesaw
sland?ight);the boltsarelocatedunder
thetable.Loosen all butoneof thebolts
andadjust thetableposition slightly;
the
boliyouleave tightened willactasa pivot,
thealignment
simplifying process.Repeat
thebladetest(sfepl). Oncethetableis
aligned
correctly withtheblade, tighten
thetablebolts.
C h e c k i ntgh eb l a d ea n g l e
Remove thetableinsert, thenbutta
combinatron square against thesawblade
between twoteeth(lefD.fhe bladeof the
s q u a rseh o u l fdi t f l u s ha g a i n st ht es a w
blade.lf thereis a gapbetween thetwo,
rotate thebladeangleadjustment crank
untilthesawbladerestsflushagainst the
square's blade. Reposition theangle adjust-
mentstopsothatthe bladewillreturn to
itsproper position eachtimeit isadjusted.
109
MAINTAINING STA|IONARY POWERTOOLS
SOUARING
THEMITER
GAUGE
\/ ,/:
110
MAINTAINING STAfIONARY POWERTOOLS
TESTING
THETABLE
SAWFOR
SOUARE
Checking youradjustments
Testtheaccuracy of yourtablesawadjust-
mentsbycrosscutting a couple of scrap
boards. Tochecktheblade-to-table align-
mentm , a r ka n X o n a b o a r da n dc u t i t
f a c ed o w na t y o u rm a r kT
. h e nt u r nt h e
cutoffoverandholdthecutendstogether
(boardA in theillustration at left).Anygap
between thetwoendsreoresents twicethe
errorin thetablealignment; if necessary,
repeat thetestshownin step3 on page
109.Tocheckthemitergauge adjustment,
crosscut thesecond board,facedownas
well,f lip onepieceover,andbuttthe
twopiecestogether on edge(boardB).
Again,anygaprepresents twicetheerror
in theadjustment. lf necessary, square
themitergauge again(page110).
ALIGNING
THERIPFENCE
Adjusting
theripfence
Locktheripfencein placealongside themiterslot.lf thefence tighten
witha hexwrench to changethealignment (above,
left);
andtheslotarenotparallel, adjusttheangleof thefencefol- othershavefenceadjustmeni boltsthatyoucanloosen witha
lowingthemanufacturer's instructions.Somemodels feature wrench(above, right).Forthismodel, adjustthefenceparallel
adjustmentboltsat thefrontof thetablethatyoucanloosen or to themiterslot,thenretightentheadjustment bolts.
111
MAINTAINING STA|IONARY POWERTOOLS
LEVELING
THETABTE
INSERT
Adjusting theleveling screws
Tosetthetableinsertlevelwiththesaw
table,placea square boardacross the
insert andthetable.Adjusttheleveling
screws at thecorners of the insertwitha
hexwrench(lefDuntilthe insertis f lush
w i t ht h et a b l e t o pY.o uc a na l s oa d j u s t
the insertslightly belowthetableat the
frontandslightly above thetableat the
back;thiswillprevent theworkpiece from
catching or binding ontheinsert during
thecut. lf yoursaw'sinsertdoesnothave
leveling screws, fileor shimthe insertto
makeit lieflushwiththetable.
ADJUSTING
THEHEIGHT
ANDTILTMECHANISMS
Cleaningthetrunnions
lf yourtablesaw'sbladesticksor moves sluggishlywhenyou a brass-bristle
brushto remove stubborn pitchandhardenedsaw-
raiseortilt it, cleantheheight
andtilt adjustment mechanismsdustdeposits.Thenscrubthemachined waysonthefrontand
insidethesaw.Startbyremoving thetabletopfollowingtheman- reartrunnions(above, right).Onceall thepartsareclean,lubri-
ufacturer's instructions.
Blowoutthesawdust withcomoressedcateallthemoving partswitha graphite orsilicon-based
lubri-
air,thencleanthe moving partswithinthesaw.Startwiththe cant;oil andgrease shouldbeavoided astheytendto collect
bladeheight andtilt mechanisms (above,/eff),usingsolvent
and dust.Replace thetabletop andfine-tune thesaw(page108).
t12
RADIALARMSAWS
THESLIDING
CLEANING MECHANISMS
Cleaning thetrackandbearings
Usea solution of ammonia andwaterto
cleanyourradialarmsaw'strackandroller
bearings. Pulltheyokeasfar backas it
willgo,thenwipethetrackusinga clean
ragdampened withthesolvent (left).Push
the yoke towardthecolumn andcleanthe
frontportionof thetrack.Next,cleanthe
rollerbearings, locatedto thefrontand
rearof thecarriage thatconnects theyoke
your
to thearm.Wraptheragaround finger,
dip it in thesolvent,andholdit against
therollerbearing whilepushing theyoke
awayfrom you.Coatthetrackandbear-
ingswithlightmachine oil,thenwipeoff
theexcess.
113
MAINTAINING STA|IONARY POWERTOOLS
ADJUSTING
THETABLE
Leveling thetablewiththearm
Tiltthesaw'smotoruntilthearborpoints
down,itsendslightly above tableIevel.
Thenswivel thearmto position thearbor
o v e tr h er a i ln u t so n b o t hs i d e so f t h e
t a b l ei;n e a c hp o s i t i om
n e a s u rt h e eg a p
between thearborandthetable.lf the
m e a s u r e m eanrtesn o te q u a lr,a i s et h e
l o we n do f t h et a b l eb yt u r n i n g t h er a i l
n u ti n a c l o c k w i sdei r e c t r o un s, i n gt h e
headof anadjustable wrench to leverup
the tablesurface(left).f henmakethe
sameadjustment ontheothersideof the
table.Reoeat themeasurements to make
surethetableis level.
ADJUSTING
THECTAMPS
1 Adjusting themiterclamp
I Swivel thearmto therightto a posi-
tionbetween 0" and45". Lockthemiter
clamp, whichonthesawshown is located
at thefrontendof thearm.Tryto push
theendof thearmtoward the0' position
(right),lf thereis anyplayin thearm,
a d j u stth ec l a m pt h a th o l d si t i n p l a c e .
Forthe modelshown, usea hexwrench
t o t i g h t e tnh em i t e cr l a m pa d j u s t m e n t
screw,located insidean access holeat
thebackendof thearm.
tt4
MAINTAINING STAIIONARY POWE,RTOOLS
Adjusting
theripclamp
L o c kt h e r i p c l a m p ,t h e nu s eb o t h
h a n d st o t r y t o s l i d et h e y o k ea l o n gt h e
arm (left).Theyokeshouldnot move;if
i t d o e s a, d j u s t h e c l a m p .F o rt h e m o d e l
s h o w n r, e l e a s teh e c l a m p .t h e n u s ea
w r e n c ht o t i g h t e nt h e n u t a t t h e e n d o f
t h e r i p c l a m pb o l t .T r ys l i d i n gt h e y o k e
a l o n gt h e a r m ;i f i t b i n d s ,l o o s e n
thelock
nut slightly.Otherwise, recheck the clamp
a n dt i g h t e nt h e n u t f u r t h e ri f n e e d e d .
115
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
FORTHESTIDING
CARING MECHANISMS
'l Adjusting thecarriage rollerbearings
I Tocheckthecarriage rollerbearings,
pressyourthumbagainst eachonein turn
whileslidingthecarriage awayfromyour
hand. Thebearings should turnasthecar-
riageslides
along thearm.lf yourthumb
keeps oneof themfromturning, youwill
needto tighten thebearing; if thecarriage
bindsonthearm,a bearing willneedto be
loosened.In eithercase, adjust thebear-
ingwhileholding theboltstationary witha
second wrench (lefil.fightenor loosen
the
boltasrequired, thenretighten thenut.
ll6
MAINTAINING STA|IONARY POWERTOOLS
THEBLADE
SqUARING
1 Squaring thebladewiththetable
I Setthesaw'syokein thecrosscutting
position
andinstalla blade.Release the
bevelclampandtilt the motorcounter-
clockwiseasfarasit willgoin the0" posi-
tion.Relocktheclamp. Tochecktheblade
position,
butta framingsquare between two
sawteeth(right).Ihesquare fit flush
should
againstthesideof the blade.lf anygap
showsbetween them,adjustthe bevel
clampsetscrews andtilt themotorto bring
thebladeflushagainst thesquare.
r) Squaring thebladewiththefence
Z. Release themiterclamoandswivel
thearmto therightasfaras it willgoin
the0" position, thenrelocktheclamp.
Release theripclampandbuttonearmof
a framing square thefencewhile
against
theotherjusttouches the bladetooth
nearest to thetable.Holding the blade
steady,slidetheyokealongthe arm(left);
pullslowly to avoiddullingthetooth.The
bladeshouldmakea constant rubbingsound
asit moves alongthe edgeof the square.
lf a gapopensup between the bladeand
the square, or if thebladebinds,adjust
thesetscrews in thecolumnbasefollow-
ingthemanufacturer's instructions.
I17
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
C()RRECTING
BLADE
HEEL
Fine{uning horizontal rotation
1
I Install a blade andsetthemotorin its
horizontal position; tilt themotorcounter-
clockwise asfarasit willgo,thenlockthe
bevel clamp. Totestforbladeheel,build
an L-shaped sounding jig andboretwo
holesin it. Sharpen theendsof twodow-
elsandfit themintothejigasshown. Then
position thejigto aligna bladetoothnear
thebackof thetabledirectly overthever-
ticaldowel. Lower thebladeuntilthetooth
restslightlyonthedowel; clampthejig
i n p l a c eW. e a r i nagw o r kg l o v es,p i nt h e
bladebackward, listen, andcaref ullynote
thesound(/eff). Slidetheyokealongthe
armto aligna toothnearthefrontof the
tableoverthedowelandrepeat thetest.
Thesound should bethesamein bothposi-
tions.lf it is not,adjust themotorsupport
nutaccording to themanufacturer's instruc-
tionsandrepeat thetest.
118
MAINTAINING STA|IONARY POWERTOOLS
TESTING
Y()UR
ADJUSTMENTS
Testing thesawforsquare
Youcanchecktheaccuracy of youradjust-
ments to a radialarmsawmuchasyou
wouldfora tablesaw(page112).Todeter-
minewhether thebladeissquare to the
sawtable,markanX ona wideboard and
crosscut it at yourmark.Thenturnone
pieceoverandholdthecutendstogether
( A i n t h ei l l u s t r a t i a
o tnr i g h t )A. n yg a p
between thetwoendsrepresents twicethe
errorin theblade-to-table alignment; if
necessary, repeat theadjustment shown
on page117. Nowbuttthetwoboards
against thefence(B).lf thetwopieces do
notfit together perfectly thebladeis not
square to thefence.Again, anygaprepre-
sentstwicetheerror;if necessary, square
theblade to thefence.
INSTALLING ANDAUXILIARY
A FENCE TABLE
Cutting a kerfinthefenceandauxiliary table
Install a fenceof %-inch-thick, knot-free
woodbetween thetablespacer andthe
fronttable;makethefenceslightly higher
thanthethickness of yourworkpiece. For
a na u x i l i atrayb l ec, u ta p i e c eo f % - i n c h
hardboard or plywood thesamesizeasthe
fronttableandusecontact cement to glue
it down,leaving a slightgapbetween it and
thefenceto prevent sawdust fromjamming
between thetwo.Before crosscutting or
making mitercuts,slicethrough thefence
andYrc to % inchdeepintotheauxiliary
tableinthe90' and45' oaths oftheblade.
Then,raise thebladeabove thetableand
gO" ker-t Auxiliary table rotatethe motorto therippingposition.
T u r no n t h es a wa n dl o w e irt t o m a k ea
% o - i n c h - d eceupt .P u l lt h ey o k ea l o n g
t h ea r mt o f u r r o wo u ta s h a l l o w rip
t r o u g hi n t h ea u x i l i atrayb l e .
ll9
BAND SAWS
Tl or manywoodworkers the band wheels, it mustbeproperlytensioned
-I saw's thin,flexibteblademakesit the andtracked(page123)everytimeyou
toolof choicefor cuttingcurves,
resaw- changeblades,otherwiseyou risk
ing,andmakingfine,straightcuts.And crookedcutsandbrokenblades. Setup
because thebladeteethcutdownward, adjustments for themachinearenot
thereis no dangerofkickback. time-consuming, but theyareimpor-
Sincethe bandsawbladeis only tant.Particular attentionshouldbepaid
supported on thecrownof two large to the alignmentof the wheels(page
123).Misaligned wheels canGruseexces-
sivebladevibration.Alsoperiodically
adjusttheguideassemblies andcheck
After manyhoursof use,thetireson thetablefor square(page123).
bandsawwheelscanbecome worn, Iftheseprocedures do not restorea
cakedwith sawdust,or stretchedout of poorlycuuingsawto peakperformance,
shape.Ifthethickness of abandsawtire thewheels or tiresmaybeto blame.The
is unevenaroundthewheel.insertinga stepsshownbelowandon thefollow-
screwdriverbladeunderthe tire, as ingpages detailhowto correctout-of-
shownin thephoto at left, and work- roundandunbalanced wheels, andwill
ing it aroundthetire'scircumference makeyourbandsawcutstraighter and
canrestoreitspropershape. helpitsblades lastlonger.
CHECKING
THEWHEELS
1 Checking thewheelbearings
I Openonewheelcover,graspthe
wheelat thesides,androckit backand
torlh(right).Repeat
whileholdingthe
wheelat thetopandbottom.lf thereis
playin thewheeloryouheara clunking
noise,remove thewheelandreplace the
bearing.Thenrepeatthetestforthe
otherwheel.
r20
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
t2r
-
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
ATIGNING
THEWHEELS
1 Checking wheelalignment
I Toensure thatvourbandsawwheels
areparallel
to eachotfreranOin thesame
plane,holda straightedge
vertical against
them(page104).Thestraightedge should
restflushagainst thetopandbottomof
eachwheel.lf thewheelsareoutof align-
ment,tryto bringthetopwheelto a ver-
ticalpositionwiththetilt knob.lf the
straightedge
stillwillnotrestflush,mea-
surethegapbetween therecessed wheel
andthestraightedge (above)to determine
howfaryouneedto movetheoutermost
wheelin (step2).
t22
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
THEBLADE
ANDTRACKING
TENSIONING
Tracking theblade
Unplug thesawandturnthetension han-
dleat thetopof thesawclockwise to raise
thetoowheelandincrease tension onthe
blade.Deflect the bladefromsideto side
to gauge thetension. Increase thetension
untilthe bladedeflectsaboulYoinchto
eithersideof thevertical. Totrackthe
b l a d el,o w etrh e u p p egr u i d ea s s e m b l y ,
t h e ns p i nt h eu p p ewr h e ebl y h a n dt o
checkwhether thebladeistracking in the
center of thewheel.lf it is not,loosen the
tilt knoblockscrew. Thenspinthewheel
whileturningthetilt knob(right)to angle
thewheeluntilthebladeis centered.
THEGUIDE
ADJUSTING ASSEMBLIES
1 Setting thethrustbearings
I Check byeyeto seeif theupperguide
assembly is square to the blade.lf not,
loosentheguideassembly setscrew,adjust
theassembly sothatthebearing is square
to the blade,andtightenthesetscrew.
Then,loosen thebearing thumbscrew and
turntheadjustment knobuntilthethrust
bearing justtouches theblade.Backthe
bearing off slightly(left)andtightenthe
thumbscrew. Thelowerguideassembly
thrustbearing, whichis located directly
beneath thetableinsert,is adjusted the
sameway.Tocheckthesetting, spinthe
upper wheelbyhand.lf the blademakes
eitherbearing spin,backthebearing off
andrecheck.
slightly
r23
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
r) Setting guideblocks
Z- Tosettheupperguideblocks, loosen
a sn dp i n c ht h e b l o c k s
t h e i rs e t s c r e w
together usingyourthumbandindexfinger
untiltheyalmost touchtheblade. Alterna-
tively,usea slipof paperor a feelergauge
(left)Io setthespacebetween the blocks
a n dt h eb l a d eT. i g h t etnh es e t s c r e w s .
Next,loosen thethumbscrew andturnthe
adjustment knobuntilthefrontedges of
t h eg u i d eb l o c kasr ej u s tb e h i n tdh eg u l -
lets.Tighten thethumbscrew. Setthelow-
erguideblocks thesameway.
SOUARING
THETABLE
ANDBLADE
Aligning thetable
1
I To ensure thatthe mitergauge slot
is properly aligned on bothsidesof the
tableslot,setthemitergaugein itsslot
andslidethegaugebackandforthacross
thetable.Thegauge should slidefreely
withonlymoderate pressure. lf thegauge
binds,uselocking pliersto remove the
a l i g n m ep
n itn .T h e ni,n s e rt th ep i ni n t o
its holeandusea ball-peen hammer to
tap it deeper(right)untilthe mitergauge
slides freelv.
r24
MAINTAINING STAf IONARY POWERTO OLS
Checking thetableangle
posi-
Withthetablein thehorizontal
tion,remove thetableinsert,
thenbutta
combination square thesideofthe
against
sawbladeasshown. Thesouare shouldfit
flushagainstthe tableandblade(right).
lf thereis a gapbetween thetwo,loosen
thetwotablelockknobsunderneath the
tableandmakesurethetableis seated
properly on thetablestop.Tighten the
lockknobs.lf thegapremains, adjustthe
tablestopGtep3).
Aligning thetablestop
Tiltthetableoutof thewav,thenuse
twowrenches asshown to adjustthetable
stoo.Usethe lowerwrench to holdthe
locknutstationary andtheupperwrench
to turnthetablestop(left).Turnthestop
clockwise to lowerit andcounterclockwise
to raiseit. Recheck thetableangle.
125
IOINTERSANDPLANERS
tf h. teamofjointerandthickness erly.Eventhe most accuratetablesaw feedtableis at the sameheightasthe
I planerareresponsible forsquaring will only compounderrorsmadeat the cuttingedgesof theknivesat their high-
theedges andfaces
ofa workpiece. The jointingandplaningstage. est point, also known as Top Dead
successof anywoodworking projectrests Accuratejointingdependson precise Centeror TDC ftelow).Thencheckthat
onthesefirstcrucialsteps,
soit isessen- alignmentof the two tablesand the thetablesareperfectlysquareto thefence
tialthatbothmachines aresetupprop- fence.Beginby ensuringthat the out- andalignedwith eachother(page127).
Because it hasmore movingparts,
thethicknessplanerrequiresa little more
attention. Most importantly, always
checkto seethat the feed rollersare
properly adjusted(page129)and that
the planer'sbedis parallelto the cutter-
headalongits length (page130).
Mostjointershave90"positivestops
that canbefine-tunedif thefence
cannotbeaccurately squaredto the
tablethroughnormaladjustment.
For the modelshown(left), the
90"positivestopis a springJoaded
plungerthat sitsin an indexcollar.
Tofine-tunethefenceposition,the
indexcollaris adjustedby meansof
a setscrew
SETTING
OUTFEED
TABLE
HEIGHT
1 Checking tableheight
I Withthejointerunplugged, usea
smallwooden wedgeto rotatethecutter-
headuntiltheedgeof oneknifeis at its
highest point.Thenholda straight hard-
woodboardontheoutfeed tablesothat
it extends overthe cutterhead without
contacting the infeedIable(right).The
knifeshould justbrushagainst theboard.
Perform thetestalongthe lengthof the
knife,moving the boardfromthefence
to the rabbeting ledge.Repeat thetest
fortheotherknives. lf a knifefailsthe
test,adjustits height(page84I lf none
of theknives is levelwiththeboard, raise
or lowertheoutfeed tableby loosening the
tablelockandmoving theoutfeed table
adjustment handle.
t26
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTO OLS
ALIGNING
THETABLES
ANDFENCE
1 Aligning thetables
t a b l e Whenthetablesareperfectly
J - R e m o vteh el o i n t e r 'fse n c et,h e nr a i s et h e i n f e e d level,tighten
thelocking screws.
to the sameheightasthe outfeed table.Usea straightedge lf youhavea jointer withgibscrews, adjustoneor moreof the
to confirmthatthetwotablesareabsolutely level. lf thealign- gibscrews at thebackof thetooluntilthestraightedge rests
mentis notperfect, adjustthehorizontal position of thetables. f lushon bothtables(above, right);remove the pulleycover,
Themodelshown features eccentric tablesupports thatcanbe if necessary,
to access
thescrews. lf youmoved theoutfeed
adjusted byfirstloosening a locking screw andthentapping an tableduringthisprocess, recheck its height(page126).
adjustment camwitha hammer andscrewdriver (above, left),
r27
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
r) Squaring thefencewiththetables
L Wttnthefencesetin itsvertical posi-
t i o n ,h o l da t r ys q u a r oe n t h eo u t f e e d
t a b l en e a tr h ec u t t e r h e aadn db u t tt h e
squareb ' sl a d ea g a i n st h
t ef e n c eT. h e
square should fit flushagainst thefence.
lf thereisanygapbetween thetwo,slack-
enthelocking handle, tilt thefenceuntil
it isflushwiththesquare, andretighten
thehandle(lef|.fhe 90'positive stop
shouldbeengaged in theindexcollar.lf
thefenceis stillout-of-square, adjust the
positivestop(page126).
t28
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
PLANERS
C l e a n i npgl a n er o l l e r s
P l a n efre e dr o l l e r sc a ng e t d i r t yq u i c k l y
whenplaningpitchJilled softwoods suchas
p i n e .P e r i o d i c a lul ys em i n e r asl p i r i t so r a
solution of ammonia andwaterwitha brass-
b r i s t l e db r u s ht o c l e a nm e t a lf e e dr o l l e r s
o f p i t c ha n d r e s i n C . l e a nr u b b e fr e e d
rollerswith a sharpcabinetscraper(right).
Adjusting feedrollers
Sometimes it is necessary to increase pres-
sureona planer's feedrollers, aswhen
planing narrow stockorwhenstockslips
a si t i s f e di n t ot h em a c h i n eI n. e i t h e r
case, theinfeed rollershould f irmlygrip
theboard. (Some planers feature a serrat-
ed metalinfeedroller;in thiscasethe
pressure shouldbeenough to movethe
boardbut notsomuchthatthe rollers
leavea serrated patternin theboardafter
it is planed.) Onmostplaners, thefeed
rollers areadjusted byturning spring-loaded
screws on topof themachine. Forthe
m o d esl h o w nr ,e m o vteh ep l a s t icca p s
andadjust thehexnutswithanopen-end
wrench(left).Makesureafteradjusting
t h ef e e dr o l l e rtsh a t h et a b l ei s p a r a l l e l
to therollers(page130).lf therollers do
notcarrythewoodsmoothly through the
planer afteradlustments, cleantherollers
orwaxthetable.
129
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
Checking thetableforlevel
T oc h e c ki f y o u rp l a n e r t' sa b l ei s l e v e l
andparallel to thecutterhead, runtwo
jointedsiripsof woodof thesamethick-
nessthrough opposite sidesof themachine
(left),Ihen compare theresulting thick-
nesses. lf thereisa measurable difference,
a d j u stth et a b l ea c c o r d i nt ogt h em a n u -
facturer's insiructions. lf yourmodelof
planer hasnosuchadjustment, resetthe
knives in thecutterhead sothattheyare
slightly lower at thelower endof thetable
to comoensate fortheerror.
130
DRILL PRESSES
THETABLE
SQUARING
r') Conecting
1 Aligning thetable chuckrunout
I Install an8-inch-long steelrodin thedrillpress chuckas L Usea dialindicator to seeif thereis anyrunout,or wob-
youwoulda drillbit,thenraise thetableuntilit almost touches ble,in the chuck(page105).lt thereis, raptherodwitha
therod.Butta trysquare against therodasshown; theblade ball-peenhammer (above)andthenmeasure for runoutagain;
shouldrestflushagainst it (above). lf thereisa gap,adjustthe 0.005inchisconsidered themaximum acceotableamount.
tablefollowing themanufacturer's instructions. Forthemodel Pullthearmof thedialindicator ouiof thewayeachtimeyou
shown, remove thealignment pinunderthetable,loosen the taotherod.
t a b l el o c k i nbgo l t a
, n ds w i v e l t htea b l eu n t i l t h er o di s f l u s h
withthesquare. Tighten thelocking bolt.
131
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
REPLACING
THECHUCK
r32
LATHESAND SHAPERS
Thedrivecenters of a latheshouldbe
keptassharpasyour turning tools.
If thespursorpointofa drivecenter
aredull or chipped,theywill notgrip
theworkpiece properly.Drive centers
aresharpened on q benchgrinderor
with afiIe (right).A 35"bevelon the
underside of eachspurworksbest.
LATHES
Sanding thelathebed
lf yourshopis in a humidclimate,thebedof yourlathemay clean,removeanyrustassoonasit appears
bysanding the
develop a thin layerof rustwhichcanpreventthetailstock bedwithfinesandpaper(above),200-grit
orf iner,thenapply
andtoolrestfromslidingsmoothly. To keepthe lathebed a oastewax.
IJJ
MAINTAINING STATIONARY
POWERTOOLS
Draw-filing thetoolrest
Because it is madeof softersteelthanthe
turningtoolsusedagainst it, thebearing
surface of thetoolrestwill develop low
spots,marks,andnickswithconstant
use.lf notremedied, theseimperfections
will betransferred to theworkpieces you
turn,or cause thetoolto skip.Youcanre-
dressa toolresteasilywitha single-cut
bastard millfile.Draw-file therestbyhold-
i n gt h ef i l ea t a n a n g l ea n dp u s h i nigt
acrossthe workfromrightto left in over-
lapping strokes (/eff).Continue untilyou
haveremoved thenicksandhollows, then
smooththesurface with200-gritsandpa-
peror emerycloth.
Checking forcenteralignment
Turningbetween centers requiresprecise
alignment of drivecentersbetween head-
stockandtailstock, otherwise youwill
produce off-centerturnings.Toseeif the
drivecenters lineup,inserta four-spur
drivecenterin theheadstock anda live
centerin thetailstock.Slidethetailstock
alongthe bedup to the headstock kight).
Thepointsof thedrivecenters shouldmeet
lf theydo not,youmayhaveto
exactly.
shimthetailstock orfile downits base.
134
MAINTAINING STAIIONARY POWERTOOLS
SHAPERS
Checking lorspindle runout
Seta magnetic-base dialindicator faceup
ontheshaper tablesotheplunger of the
device contacts thespindle. Calibrate the
gauge to zerofollowing themanufacturer's
instructions. Thenturnthespindle slowly
by hand(right). Thedialindicator will
register spindle runout-theamount of
w o b b lteh a tt h es o i n d lw
e i l lt r a n s f et or
thecutter.Perform thetestat intervals
along the length of the spindle, adjusting
itsheight %inch aI a time. lf the runout
exceeds 0.005 inch for anv of the tests,
reolace the soindle.
Squaring thefences
Thetwohalves of a shaper fence-ora
routertablefence-mustbeperfectly par-
y o u r
a l l e lo, t h e r w i s e c u t sw i l lb eu n e v e n .
Tosquare thefences on a shaper, first
loosen thefencelocking handles. Holda
straightedge against thefences. Thetwo
halves shouldbuttagainst thestraight-
edge(left).lfnot,addwoodshimsbehind
thefences untiI theyareparal lel.
r35
OTHERTOOLS
SCR(ILL
SAWS
Checking blade tension
Thebladesof a scrollsaw-likethoseof a
bandsaw-require proper tension to cut
effectively. Toolittletensionwill cause
excessive vibration andallowthebladeto
wander duringthecut.Toomuchtension
canleadto bladebreakage. To adjust
bladetension on the modelshown, first
tilt the bladetensionleverforward. Then
adjustthe bladetensionknob(right)to
increase or decrease bladetension. Tilt
the bladetensionleverbackandtestthe
b l a d el.t s h o u l d e f l e cat b o u %
t inch
whenpushed fromsideto side.Pluckthe
b l a d ea n dr e m e m b tehr es o u n dl.t w i l l
allowyouto tension thebladequicklyin
f uture.Always adjustthetension when
youchange blades.
136
MAINTAINING STA| IONARY POWER TOOLS
Squaringtheblade
To souare the scrollsaw'sbladeto the
table,butta combinationsquare against
thebladeasshown. Thesquare should f it
flushagainsttheblade.lf thereis a gap,
1HO?TI? loosenthetablelockknobandadjust
thenutonthe90'stopuntilthetable
lnotallingan air pump
Olderscrolleawsand is levelandthereis nogapbetween
oomeforeiqnmodele thesquare andtheblade. Tighten the
oflen comewith- I lockknobGbove).
ouNa eawdusl {€;
bloweca device S
lhatkeeosthe
cult inq line clearwhile
the eawie in use.
Asimpleelectric
aopariumpump
and tume co??er
tubinq Qiqht) can
dothetrick at a
fu'actionof the cost
of a eawdusiblowin7 atlachment.SimplyinserLa10'to 1Z'inch
len7thof coppertubing into the ?um?'oplaoticair hose,makinqan
airLiqhtoeal,Tapethe hoseto lhe oawe upperarm, and bendt'he
copfe, endto p'ointat, the blade.?inchthb'endof rhe t'ubeeliqhrly
to direct,theair and increaseit's preeeure.
r37
MAINTAINING STAfIONARY POWERTOOLS
BELT.AND.DISC
SANDERS
Testingfortrueness
Tomeasure whether thewheelistrue,first
remove anyabrasive discs.Connecta dial
indicatorto a magnetic baseandsetthe
baseonthetool'sdisctable.Placethe
devicesothatitsarmcontacts thediscand
turnonthemagnet. Calibrate
thedialindi-
catorto zerofollowingthemanufacturer's
instructions.Turnthesanding discby
hand,andreadthe result(left).Thedial
indicatorwillregister
thetrueness of the
wheel.Perform thetestat variousooints
around thedisc.lf theamount of wobble
exceeds 0.005inchforanyof thetests,
adjustthemotorposition or havethebear-
insq ronlrned
138
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
AIRC(lMPRESSORS
Draining thecompressor
Whenanaircomoressor hasbeenusedfor
anextended oeriodof timeor in exceed-
inglyhumidconditions, moisture willcol-
lectin thetank.Thismoisture maycause
rust;it canalsobesprayed outwiththe
air,whichcanruina spraylacquer finish.
Todrainthemoisture, shutoff themotor,
relieveall pressure
fromthetank,andopen
the drainage valveat the bottom(right).
Drainthetankperiodically, depending on
howoftenyouusethe compressor.
Changingtheoil andairfilters
Afterevery100 hoursof operation, change
anaircompressor's oil.Todraintheoil,
shutoffthemotor,relieve all pressure from
thetank,andloosen thedrainplugwitha
wrench. Collect theoldoil in a container
anddispose of it safely. Closethedrain
plugandfill thepumpwiththeoil recom-
mended bythe manufacturer (left).Do
notoverfill
the pump. Alsochecktheair
Tocleantheairf ilter,remove
filterweekly.
the housingandlift off thefilter(inset).
Cleanthefilterin a solution of detergent
andwater;replace it if it cannotbecleaned.
r39
GLOSSARY
A-B-C Buffing: Polishinga sharpened Dial indicator: A measuringdevice
Abrasive:A coarsepowder or a edgeto a mirror-like finish using with a magneticbaseusedto deter-
pieceof paper or fabric coatedwith a cloth or rubber wheelimpregnat- mine runout on stationaryand
grit particlesusedto smooth wood. ed with fine abrasivecompounds. portable power tools, typically cali-
brated in thousandthsof an inch.
Arbor: A shaft driven by a station- Burnisher: A rod-like steeltool
ary power tool motor to turn a usedto turn a lip on a tool edge, Drill point angle The angleto
revolving blade or other cutting especiallyscraperedges. which a drill bit must be ground and
implement. sharpenedfor efficientcutting.
Burr: A small ridge formed on the
Bearing: A machined part located flat faceof a tool blade asa result Drive belt Any rubber belt that con-
on a motor shaft,permitting the of the honing process. nectsa stationarypower tool motor
shaft to turn without friction. with its arbor or spindle,sometimes
Cap iron: A metal plate screwedto through a systemof pulleys.
Belt tension: The measureof how a planeblade,preventingchatter
tight a stationarypower tool drive and the buildup of wood chips. Drive center:A lathe accessory
belt or abrasivebelt is stretched mounted in either the tailstock or
acrossits pulleys. Carbide-tipped blade:A sawblade headstockto support turning work;
on which the teeth aremade of a can either be fixed or turn with the
Benchstone:Any natural or synthetic compound of carbon and steel; work by meansof ball-bearings.
sharpeningstoneusedat the bench. suchbladeedgesare strongerand
staysharperlonger than conven- Feelergauge:A preciselyground
Bevelcut Sawingat an anglefrom tional high-speedsteelblades. metal blade,furnished in sets,used
faceto facethrough a workpiece. to accuratelymeasurethe gap
Chip lifter: The machined surfaces betweentool parts.
Blade heeh Bladerotation that is not on a Fortsneror multi-spur bit
perfectlyparallelto the fenceof a table directly behind the cutters. Fence:An adjustableguide designed
saw or the arm of a radial arm saw. to keepthe edgeor faceof a work-
Chuck Adjustablejaws on a drill piecea set distancefrom the cutting
Blade set:The amount that saw or drill pressfor holding bits or edgeof a tool.
teeth are alternatelyoffsetto left and other accessories.
right, allowing a bladeto cut a kerf Ferrule: A metal ring that tightens
slightly wider than its own thickness Collet The sleevethat grips the aroundthe end ofa handleto pre-
to help preventbinding. shankof a router bit. vent splitting.
Blade tension: The measureof how Combination bladq A circular saw Frog:The part ofa hand planethat
tight a band sawblade is stretched blade designedfor making both supportsthe blade;usuallythe frog
acrossits wheels. crosscutsand rip cuts. can be moved back and forth to ad-
just the mouth openingof the plane.
Brushes:A carbon or copper con- CrosscutA cut madeacrossthe
ductor that deliverscurrent from the grain of a workpiece. Grinding: The initial stepin sharp-
stationaryelementof an electric ening where nicks are removed,the
motor to the rotating coil. D-E-F-G.H-I cutting edgeis squared,and the bev-
Dado head:A blade,or combina- el is established;typically done on a
tion of bladesand chippers,usedto bench grinder.
cut dadoesin wood.
Dado: A rectangularchannelcut
into a workpiece.
t40
Gullet The gap betweenteeth on a abrasivedisc on an orbital or ran- Snipe:A concavecut createdby a
sawblade. dom-orbit sander. jointer or planer at the end of a
workpiece,the result of improper
Honing: The processof converting Out-of-round wheel A band saw pressureon the workpieceor inac-
a rough-ground edgeto a smooth, wheelthat is not perfectlyround. curatelyset tableheight.
uniform cutting edge.
Outfeed: The part of a machine's Spindle: The threadedarbor on a
Hoolc A uniform burr turned on table that is behind the bladeduring power tool that turns cuttersand
the cutting edgesof a scraper. a cutting operation. accessorres.
Infeed: The part of a machine's Platen:A support plate for sandpa- Square Two surfacesof a workpiece
table that is in front of the blade per belts on sanders. that are at 90" to eachother.
during a cutting operation.
Positive stop: An adjustablescrew Stropping: Polishinga sharpened
l-K-r-M-N-O-P-Q on a stationarypower tool usedto edgeto a mirror-like finish using
fointing: Cutting thin shavings keepthe tool's table at a set angle, strips of leatherimpregnatedwith
from the edgeand faceof a work- typically90'and 45o. fine abrasivecompounds.
pieceuntil they are flat and square.
Quill: A sleevesurrounding the T-U-V-W-X.Y-Z
Kerf: The spaceleft when wood is spindleof a drill press;the amount Tearout The tendencyof a blade
removedby the sawblade. that the quill can be raisedand low- or cutter to tear the fibers of wood,
ereddeterminesthe depth of hole a leavingraggededgeson the surface
Kickback The tendencyof a work- drill presscan bore. of the workpiece.
pieceto be thrown back in the direc-
tion of the operatorof a tool. R-S Teethper inch (TPI): A unit of
Raker:A tooth in a sawbladethat measurementusedto identifr types
Lapping: Rubbing the faceof a clearssawdustand wood chips out and usesof sawbladesby the num-
plane or chiselblade acrossa sharp- of the kerf. ber of teeth per inch of bladelength.
ening stoneto removethe burr that
resultsfrom honing the blade. Reversethread: A machinedthread Ternper:The degreeofhardness
that tightensand loosensin the in tool steel;also,the color of steel
Microbevel A secondarybevelhoned oppositedirection to the rotation after the tempering process.
on the cutting edgeof a blade. of the tool bit so that the cutter
remainstight during operation. Tracking: Adjusting a band saw
Miter cut A cut that anglesacross blade or abrasivebelt so that it is
the faceof a workpiece. Rip cut A cut that follows the grain centeredon the tool's wheels.
of a workpiece-usually made along
Oilstone: Any natural or synthetic its length. Waterstone:Any natural or synthet-
sharpeningstonethat usesoil as ic sharpeningstonethat useswater
a lubricant. Runout The amount of wobble in asa lubricant.
tool'sarbor or spindle.
Orbital action: The up-and-forward Wheel dresser:A deviceusedto
movement of somesabersawblades Sharp: A cutting edgeis said to be true the working surfaceof a grind-
on their upstroke;replacesthe tradi- sharpwheretwo flat, polishedsur- ing wheel and exposefresh abrasive.
tional straight up-and-down action facesmeetat an angle.
of a reciprocating-typesabersaw.
Also. the eccentricmotion of the Slipstone:A sharpeningstonewith
curvededgesusedto sharpengouges
and other similarly shapedtools.
r4l
INDEX
Pagereferences in italics indicatean illus- multispur bits, 68 spadebits, 69
tration ofsubjectmatter.Pagereferences spadebits, 69 spoonbits, 5t 57
in bold indicate a Build It Yourselfproject. spoonbits, 55,57 storage,89
storage,89 twist bits, 58,65-66
A-B-C-D twist bits, 58,65-66 SeealsoDrill presses
Abrasives,backendpaper Routers
Adzes,51,53,54 non-pilotedbits, 62 E.F.G.H
Air compressors,
139 pilotedbits, 63 Electrical outlets,front endpaper
Air pumps: router bit sharpeners, 61 Electricdrills. SeeDrills
Scrollsaws.137 storage,89 Extensioncords.89
Axes,51,54 Storingbits (ShopTip), 89 Files,17
Choosinga durableax handle(Shop Blades,60 Gouges,25, 30
Tip),sa Bandsaws.123 Handles,3l
Bandsaws: Benchplanes,13,17,41-44 Sharpening
Blades,.123 Circularsaws,61 72,86 carvinggouges,3G37
repairing broken blades,76-77 Radialarm saws,64,113,117,118,119 gouge-sharpening jigs,33
rounding a band sawblade(Shop Sabersaws,93 roughing-outgouges,33- 34
Tip),75 Scrollsaws.136-137 spindlegouges,35
sharpening,T3-74 Shapers,62,6j v-tools,38
storage,78 Tablesaws,64,70, 109 Shop-madehoning guidesand rust
Guideassemblies, 123-124 SeealsoKnives removers(ShopTip), 34
Heat-resistantguideblocks,59, 75 Braces,55-57 Grinders.SeeBenchgrinders
Tablealignment,124-125 Brushassemblies, 98 Grinding,15
Wheels,120-121 Build It Yourself: Handsaws:
alignment,104,122 Hand tools Benchvisesawholders,28
balancinga band sawwheel(Shop benchvisesawholders.28 Fiing,26-27,29
Tip), 122 gouge-sharpening jigs,33 loirlting,29
Belt sanders,88 Mobile sharpeningdollies,23 Setting,26,29
Benchgrinders,16,20,21 Chisels: Storage
Grindingjigs,13 Handles,3I sawholders(ShopTip), 27
Multi-tool jigs, 16 Sharpening,32 Hand tools,25
Reversingwheelguardsfor buffing Circularsaws,88,97 Drills.55-57
(ShopTip),22 Blades Roughingand shapingtools,5.1-54
Wheels alignment,86 SeealsoBenchplanes;Chisels;Gouges;
dressing,22 blade-setting jigs, 61,72 Handsaws;Scrapers
identification.20 blade-sharpen ing jigs,61, 72 Hatchets.SeeAxes
Benchplanes,39 changing,7.1 Honing,15
Assemblyand adjustment,3fl 45 cleaning,Tl
Blades sharpeting, T2 r-J-K-L
grindingwith a sander(ShopTip), 42 Compressors, 139 Inshaves, 51,53,54
honing guideand anglejigs,17 Disc-and-beltsanders,1 38-139 Iigs:
sharpening,41-44 Drawknives,24, 51,53,54 Grinders
squaring,13 Dressers,16,22 grindingjigs,l3
Refurbishing,4G41 Drill presses, 131 multitool jigs, 16
Benchstones. 13 Chucks,131-132 Hand tools
Oilstones.18 Runout.105 gouge-sharpening jigs,28
Truing, 19 Tablealignment,131 handsaws,28
'Waterstones,
12,17,18,19 checkingtablealignment(Shop Planehoning guideand an$e jigs,17
Bevels,backendpaper Tip), 132 Routers
Microbevels,15 Drills,88,95 plywoodtruingjigs, ST
Bits,60 Bits Sharpeningpowertools
Dri]ls augerbrts,55-5./ circularsawblade-settirrg jigs,61,72
augerbits, 55-57 bit grindingattachments,58 6l circularsawblade-sharpening
brad-point bits,68-69 brad-pointbits,68-69 jigs,61,72
drill bit grinding attachments,58,61 Forstnerbits, 67 drill bit grinding attachments,5& 6l
drill bit sharpeningjigs, 61, 66 multi-spur bits, 68 drill bit sharpening jigs,61,66
Forstnerbits. 67 sharpeningjigs, 61,66 jointer/planerknife-settingjigs, 61,79
r42
f ointer/planerknife-sharpening Electricalsupply,front endpaper,89 Scrollsaws:
ji9s,61,82-83 cords,100-101 Blades,136-137
planer/jointer magneticknife- phtgs,102-10j Installingan air pump (ShopTip), l3Z
settingjigs, 29, 85 switches,99, 107 Shapers, 62,135
twist bit sharpeningjigs, 66 wattageratings,front endpaper Storageracksfor shapercutters
Jointers,126 Lathes,133-134 (ShopTip), 63
Knife-settingjigs, 61,79 Maintenance,8, 87-89,105 Sharpeningstones.seeBenchstones
Knife-sharpening jigs, 61,82-83 Platejoiners,88 Sharpeningtechniques,6, I 1, 13-15
Knives Safetyprecautions,front endpaper,98 Sharpeningto ols, 16-17
betrels,backendpaper disablinga powertool (ShopTip), i03 Belt sanders
installation, 85 Scrollsaws,136-137 grinding with a sander(ShopTip), 42
sharyenrng,79-84 installingan airpump (ShopTip), l3Z Burnishers,46
shifting knives for longer life Shapers, 62,135 maintaining the correct burnishing
(ShopTip), 8l storageracksfor shapercutters angle(ShopTip), 50
Positivestops,126,127 (ShopTip), 63 variableburnishers,46
Snipe,128 TabIes,107 Dtessers,16,22
Table alignment, 127-128 SeealsoBandsaws;Benchgrinders; Mobile sharpeningdollies,23
Tableheight,.126 Circular saws;Drill presses;Drills; For powertools,6l
Knives: Jointers;Planers;Radialarm saws; SeealsoBenchgrinders;Benchstones
Jointers Routers;Sabersaws;Sanders; ShopTips:
bevels,backendpaper Table saws Hand tools,27, 34,42, 50,54
installation, 85 Portablepowertools,22, 89,93,103
knife-settingjigs, 61,79 R-S-T-U-V Stationarypowertools,63,75, 81, 110,
knife-sharpening jigs, 61,82-83 Radialarmsaws, 113 122,132,137
sharpening,79-84 Auxiliarytables,l19 Spokeshaves, 51,52,54
shifting knives for longer life Blades Starr,Richard,6-2
(ShopTip), 8l bladeheel,113,118 Stones.seeBenchstones
Molding knives, 64 squaring, 117,119 Strops,backendpaper, 17
Planers Clamps,11+115 Switches,99,107
banels,backendpaper Cleaning,ll3 Tablesaws:
knife-settingjigs, 61,79 Fences,119 Blades
knife-sharpening jigs, 61,82-83 Molding knives, 64 angleadjustment,109
Lapping,15 Slidingmechanisms,l13, lI6 changrng,T0
Lathes,133-134 Tableadjustment,174 storage,T0
Lowe,Philip, S-9 Routers,88,90,98 Cleaning,108,112
Bits,62-63 Height and tilt mechanisms,-l12
M-N-O-P-Q router bit sharpeners,
6l Miter gauges
Microbevels,15 storage,89 fixing a loosemiter gauge(Shop
Oilstones,l8 Colletrunout, 9l Tip), 110
Orbital sanders.88 Sub-bases squaring,lI0
Planers,126 truing,87 Molding knives, 64
Cleaning,129,130 Sabersaws,88,92 Rip fences,I l1
Knives Blades Tablealignment,108-109,111
betrels,backendpaper extendingbladelife (ShopTip), 93 Tableinserts,112
knife-settingji gs,61, 79 squaring,93 Tip burning, l1
knife-sharpening jigs, 61,82-83 Safetyprecautions: Tools.SeeHand tools;Powertools;
sharpening,79,85 Powertools,fo nt endpaper, 98 Sharpeningtools
Rollers,.l29 disablinga powertool (ShopTip), 103 Twist bits:
Tablealignment,130 Sanders,88,96 Bevels,back endpaper
Planes.SeeBenchplanes Disc-and-beltsanders,138-139
Platejoiners,88, 94 Scrapers,46 w-x-Y-z
Plugs,102-103 Banels,backendpaper Waterstones,18,-19
Polishing,15 Sharpening fapanese finishstones,12,18,19
Powertools: cabinetscrapers,46,48-50 Storageunits, 17
Brushassemblies, 98 handscrapers, 46,47-48 Waymark,Ian, l&11
Drive belts,106 maintaining the correct burnishing Wet/dry grinders,16,20,21
angle(ShopTip), 50
r43
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Theeditorswish to thank thefollowing
SHARPENINGBASICS
CooperTools,Apex,NC; Delta InternationalMachinery/PorterCable,Guelph,Ont.; Diamond MachineryTechnologyInc.,
Marlborough,MA; GarrettWade Company,New York, NY; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont; RecordTools Inc., Pickeiing,Ont.;
The WoodworkersStore,Rogers,MN; Tool Trend Ltd., Concord,Ont.; Unicorn Abrasivesof Canada,Brockville,Ont.;
VeritasTools Inc., Ottawa Ont./Ogdensburg,NY; Woodcraft SupplyCorp., Parkersburg,WV
MAINTAINING PORTABLEPOWERTOOLS
AdjustableCI?Tp Co., Chicago,Irt Bhck and Decker/EluPowerTools,Hunt Valley,MD; Delta InternationalMachinery/Porter
Cable,Guelph,Ont.; Dewalt Industrial Tool Co., Hampstead,MD; GeneralTools ManufacturingCo., Inc., New York, NY;
Hitachi PowerTools U.S.A.Ltd., Norcross,GA; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.; NewmanTools Inc., Montreal, Que;
Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL; StanleyTools,Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT;
Steiner-LamelloA.G Switzerland/ColonialSawCo., Kingston,MA; Tool Trend Ltd., Concord,Ont.
MAINTAINING STATIONARYPOWERTOOLS
AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; CampbellHausfeld,Harrison,OH; CooperTools,Apex,NC; Delta International
Machinery/PorterCable,Guelph,Ont.; GeneralTools ManufacturingCo., Inc., New York, NY; Hitachi PowerTools U.S.A.Ltd.,
Norcross,GA; |elEquipment and Tools,Auburn, WA; NewmanTools Inc., Montreal, Que; Sears,Roebuckand Co., Chicago,IL;
StanleyTools,Division of the StanleyWorks, New Britain, CT; Vermont AmericanCorp., Lincolnton, NC and LouisvilleiKY
Thefollowingpersonsalsoassisted
in thepreparationof this book:
LorraineDor6, Graphor Consultation,SolangeLaberge,Rob Lutes,GenevidveMonette
PICTURECREDITS
Cover RobertChartier
6,7 Marie LouiseDuruaz
8,9 SteveLewis
l0,llPerry Zavitz
14 (Iowerleft, lowerright)Hans Blohm
t44
I
I
I
WORKSHO
GPU I D E
ABRASIVE
CHART
t
I TYPE
OFABRASIVE AVAILABLE
GRITS ABRASIVE
OUALITY USES
paper
Emery Coarse/med
ium/fine Cnarco. fairlv cnfi F l a t t e n i npgl a n es o l e s
I
Garnet
sandpapel 50-280 Medium Finergrits usedfor general
I sharpening
Aluminum
oxide
sandpaper 40-400 M e d i u mt o f i n e ;h a r d F i n e rg r i t su s e df o r h o n i n gt o o l
I b l a d e sa n d b e v e l s
Silicon
carbide
sandpaper 80-600 Fineh
; ard H o n i n gt o o lb l a d e sa n d b e v e l s
I
WeUdry sandpapel 60-1200
siliconcarbide F i n e ;v e r yh a r d L a p p i n gb a c k so f t o o lb l a d e s
I Silicon
carbide
lapping
compounds 90-600 E x t r e m e fl yi n ea n d h a r d P o l i s h i ntgo o l s ;l a p p i n gb a c k s
of tool blades
t Steelwool 0/00/000/0000 to fine; soft
Coarse C l e a n i ntga b l e so f s t a t i o n a r y
I powertools
I
I MAKING
A C()MBINATION
STROP
I
I
t
I
I
I
I
BEVEL
ANGLES
FORCUTTERS
I
,''-------------) Turning
vg
I ,"\to" ? acraper: 8O'
Chisels:3O'
I (parin4chteel20",
morttetnqchieel4O')
I Planeiron: 3O'
I ffi (eofLwoode25")
Oouge: Twiet.bit:59"
9kew:3O"
Jointer and planer
35'-55"
I knives:35'
I
I