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Rough-cutting the arches
Referring to the anatomy illustration of the pigeonhole unit (page 108), outline the shape of the arches on a piece of %-inch plywood, cut it out, and smooth the edges to fashion a template that you will use to make a routing jig (step 2). Before assembling the jig, use the template to outline six copies of the shape on your arch stock. Cut out the arches to within H inch of your cutting lines using the band saw. To keep the blade from binding in the kerfs, make a series of release cuts through the waste, stopping % inch from the lines. Then saw along the waste side of the lines, feeding the workpiece with both hands (right). Make sure that neither hand is in line with the blade.
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2 |
Shaping the arches
To complete the routing jig, prepare a guide piece with a notch to fit the arch blanks you cut in step 1, and fasten it to the template, centering the notch over the arch outline. Screw two toggle clamps to the guide piece and secure the first blank to the jig. Next, install a top-piloted flush-cutting bit in your router, mount the tool in a table, and adjust the bit height so the pilot bearing will ride against the template. To complete the setup, clamp a picket-shaped pivot bar to the
table in line with, and almost touching, the bit. To trim the arches to final shape, hold the jig with both hands and press the template at one end of the arch pattern against the pivot bar. Then pivot the jig and blank into the bit. Once the template contacts the pilot bearing, shape the arch by guiding the cutter along it, starting with the bearing pressed against one end of the pattern, riding it along the template, and stopping when it contacts the opposite end (above).
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