Chapter XII

Making a Taboret

Referring to the working drawing, Fig. 69, make out a stock bill of material needed. If pos­sible, use chestnut for this piece. It is easily worked, being soft wood, and takes a fine finish, owing to its open grain.

The top and shelf are octagonal. To make them, square up the two pieces to size in the usual manner. After this has been done so that the two pieces are of the same size as well as square, draw the diagonals, the lines of which extend from corner to corner across the board—or at least draw enough so that they shall cross and indicate the center of the boards. With the rule measure accurately from each of the four corners each way, along the edge and end, a distance equal to one-half a diagonal. Connect these points as shown p the top view of the working drawing. The eight sides should be of the same length. Saw off the cor­ners and plane to the lines.

Square up the four legs to width, and if rough stock, to thickness. Since the top end is to be rounded, it is necessary to square only one end of each piece. Be­fore rounding the tops or shaping the sides of the legs, it is advisable to lay off and cut the dadoes, the grooves into which the shelves are to be fitted. To lay these1 out, place all four pieces on the bench side by side, face edges up, squared ends evened, and measure and mark with a knife point the locations of the sides of the dadoes. Separate the pieces, after having squared knife lines across the edges, and carry these knife lines across each of the face sides. Carry these lines across the second edges also. Set the gauge for the required depth and gauge between the knife lines on the two edges.

Before cutting the dadoes, it is well to be sure that none of them will be too wide. To do this, place the legs in the positions they are to occupy relative to one another in the finished piece, then mark with corre­sponding figures or letters the edges of the shelves and the dadoes into which they are to fit. Test each dado by super-imposing" its shelf edge upon it. If the sur­face planing of the shelves was carefully done, all joints ought to answer the test. Should there be any variation, care should be taken to move only the lines representing the lower edges of the dado. In marking the corresponding members of a joint, Roman numer­als should be cut with a chisel in the edge of the shelf deep enough to be visible even after the stain and filler have been applied. The dado should be marked lightly with pencil until the groove is cut, after which the Roman numeral should be chiseled in the bottom of the dado. The finish of stain and filler should be ap­plied before the members are assembled. Time is saved and a better finish obtained by this method of procedure.

The Taboret

The best way for the beginner to work the dado is as follows: Take a tenon saw, Fig. 70, and saw about 1-16 in. inside and parallel to the lines that represent the sides of the dadoes. In using this saw, the cut may be begun on the arris near to or away from the worker. If it is begun on the near arris, the handle should be held lower than the point where the cutting is to begin and be raised gradually as the teeth pro­gress across the surface of the board. If the cut is begun on the far side, the handle should be held high in starting and be lowered gradually as the cutting proceeds. The saw blade should have the constant guidance of either thumb or forefinger of the left hand. The strokes should be short and easy at first. As the sawing proceeds gradually increase the number of teeth used, but continue the slow regular strokes. Saw only to the gauge lines, watching both edges while nearing the lines.

Having sawed the sides of all the dadoes, the next step is to chisel to depth. Figure 71 shows the chisel used for paring. Fasten the work so as to leave both hands free to hold the chisel. Roth hands should at all times be kept back of the cutting edge or serious accidents may occur. "Rough out" the waste mate­rial in the dado, cutting as much material at each stroke as may be removed by tapping the end of the chisel with the palm of the hand. On hard wood a mallet should be used. Incline the cutting edge of the chisel upward to allow for slanting grain in the wood, Fig. 72A. Rough out a little over half way across the dado, holding the bevel side, of the chisel up. Next, hold the chisel as in Fig. 72B ; move the handle laterally, at the same time forcing the edge into the wood. This lateral movement is to give a shearing cut. Pare off very thin shavings while near-ing the gauge line at the bottom of the dado and on the final cut place the cutting edge exactly in the gauge line. Finish the second side by cutting in a similar manner. A block into which has been driven a nail to the proper depth will indicate whether the proper depth has been obtained or not, Fig. 73.

The next step is to pare the sides of the dadoes. Hold the chisel as in Fig. 74, the left hand resting on the wood to hold it down and the fingers helping to guide the chisel edge. Only a very small part of the cutting edge of the chisel is used, the hardness of the wood and the strength of the worker determining how much. The chisel handle is inclined toward the worker at the start and is gradually worked forward vertically as the pressure is applied. It is very important that the worker stand so as to look along the line he is cutting, otherwise he cannot sight the chisel plumb. The sides of the dado will therefore not be perpendic­ular. The larger part of the blade, which is not used for cutting, is to be held against the perpendicular side of the dado already cut so as to aid in guiding the chisel.

The sides of the legs and the top ends should now be worked to shape. Place the four legs on the bench, side by side, and even the squared ends by means of the try-square. Measure from the squared end of one of them 14 in. and at this point square a light pencil line across the edges of all. Separate the pieces and carry this line across the faces of each piece, using try-square and sharp pencil. This line gives the loca­tion of the points from which the arcs are drawn for curved top and sides. The drawing shows the radii. An easy way to make the curves at the. side of the leg is to place two pieces together edge to edge in the vise and bore a

Fig. 74 —Paring the Sides

Fig  75 —Paring the Edges

1-in. hole, thus making an arc of i/o-in. radius on each piece. Rip parallel to the straight lines and close to them and pare the edges as in Fig. 75. The top curves may be finished by sawing par­allel to the line with the turning saw, Fig. 76, and finished with a spoke-shave, Fig. 77. Either of these tools may be pushed or pulled, whichever is most con­venient. On a curve crossing the grain as does this, carpenters frequently use a plane instead of the spoke-shave.

Fig. 79— Countersunk Hole and a Countersink

The parts of the taboret may be fastened together by means of round-headed screws. It will be neces­sary to locate by accurate measurement the places on the legs where holes are to be bored. Holes, some­what smaller, just large enough to receive the core of the screw, will need to be bored in the shelf edges. Their locations are to be determined by superimpos­ing the legs and marking through the holes already made in the legs. Screws, like nails, are designated by the number of wire gauge from which they are made and the length in inches. Figure 78 shows a wire gauge for screws. It must not be confused with the wire gauge for nails. The gauge is slipped over the screw just below the head. Flat-headed screws must have the holes countersunk. A counter­sunk hole and a countersink for making it are shown in Fig. 79. With a dark finish use blued screws; with a light finish use brass screws. The screwdriver bit will be found helpful in putting in these screws (Fig. 80), The gimlet bit (Fig. 80) will be needed for bor­ing the smaller holes.

Gimlet Bit
Fig. 80

While it may be advisable to leave the surface plan­ing of the legs until the last thing before sandpapering, staining and filling, it is absolutely necessary to have the surfaces of the shelves smoothed of their mill-marks before the dadoes are cut and fitted.

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