Practical and elegant, hand mirrors like those shown in this section are relatively simple to make, but you will have to devote some time to setting up. The first step is to decide the diameter of the mirror glass; 5-inch beveled glass works well, but other sizes are available. You will then need to produce two templates for laying out the mirror on your stock: one for the shape of the mirror body and a round one for the diameter of the glass recess. Use clear acrylic plastic for both templates to enable you to see the grain and figure of the wood as you locate the outline on your blanks. Make the mirror from ^-inch-thick stock. To cut the recess for the glass, use a router paired with a plywood template. Fitted with a straight bit and a template guide, the router will duplicate the template’s profile on the work – piece. The recess should be % inch larger than the glass to allow for wood movement. Make the template long enough to allow you to clamp it in place without interfering with the router.
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Outlining the mirror body
Design your mirror on a piece of acrylic plastic and cut it out as a template on the band saw. Then set the template on your mirror body blank with the length of the mirror parallel to the grain of the blank; position the template to best accentuate the grain and figure of the wood. Outline the template on the stock with a pencil (right). Repeat with the template for the glass recess.
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Routing template
Making laminated-wood hand mirrors
Hand mirrors made from laminated strips of contrasting wood add visual flair to the final product and are fairly simple to make. Start with two contrasting blanks about A inch thick. Place one on top of the other and temporarily bond the pieces face to face with a drop of epoxy at each corner. Draw the mirror pattern on the top piece, then cut it out through both blanks on your band saw. Carefully pry the pieces apart and simply glue them back together, bonding the central portion of each blank with the outside pieces of the other. To allow for the saw blade kerf, you can also add a strip of veneer to each glue joint.
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Routing the recess
To make the routing template, outline the recess on a piece of plywood and add the diameter of the template guide, then cut the hole on a scroll saw or router. Set the mirror blank on a work surface and clamp the template on top, centering the hole over the recess outline. Adjust the router to cut a ^-inch-deep recess, then plunge the bit into the stock until the base plate is flat on the template. Ride the template guide along the edge of the template to define the perimeter of the recess, then move the router in small clockwise circles to clear the remaining waste. If you are working with hard wood, you may have to make several passes to reach the final depth.
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Cutting the mirror body
Once the recess is done, cut out the mirror body on your band saw, keeping both hands clear of the blade (above). Sand the edges, then use a table-mounted router fitted with a round-over bit to shape the edges. Fix the glass to the body with clear silicone adhesive.
Preparing the chassis and axle housings for the wheels and box
Mark the holes on the chassis and axle housings for the wheels and the box, then install a /S-inch bit in your drill press. To minimize tearout as the bit exits the stock, clamp a backup panel to the machine table. Then set the chassis on the panel with the mark aligned under the bit and, holding the workpiece firmly, drill the hole (right). Repeat the process to bore the holes in the axle housings. Since these pieces are too small to hold by hand, clamp them to the backup panel as you drill the holes. You can also bore the holes in the chassis and axle housings before cutting them to shape.
Ripping the frame in two
Divide the frame into two parts—the main body and the top—on your table saw. Fasten a 6- to 8-inch-wide auxiliary fence to the rip fence and adjust the cutting width to one-third to one-quarter the height of the frame, ensuring that the blade aligns with one of the fingers of the corner joint. Set the cutting height slightly above the thickness of the stock. Feed the frame into the blade with both hands, keeping it flush against the fence (right).
