Building an Album Table

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Well ... you may choose to call it something else, and you would not be wrong with whatever name you gave this handy little table. I has many uses and many names. I have been unable to find it earliest source or where it originated from which probably means version of this go back so far it is beyond recorded history of furniture making.
I have always wanted to make one of these little tables but always had concerns about the wood movement in the legs. Depending on the moisture content and the type and cut of the wood the legs could have a mind of their own in terms of bending and bowing. I knew the best way to combat this was to laminate the wood in the legs which goes a long way to keeping the legs stable, straight and very strong.

This method is nothing knew, I first discovered it when I had the opportunity to see in person some original Gustav Stickley furniture. One of the things I noticed on some pieces was that the legs were composed of 2 pieces of wood glued together. I was told, this was not because they didn't have the wood in the correct sizes, or could not get it, but that the pieces that were glued together were actually more stable as laminated wood with less tendency to bow and bend when subjected to varying humidity levels.

 

 The information wasn't new to me, but what was new was that for some reason, to have Gustav Stickley using this technique seemed somehow legitimize the methodology. For some reason in my mind, I never really thought about the fact that all these amazing woodworkers of past had the same wood movement problems we all still encounter today ...

Milwaukee 12Volt Rotary Tool Review

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Dremel was the original rotary tool, and when it came out in the market in 1932 it was quite revolutionary. Mr. A.J. Dremel was apparently quite the prolific inventor and it was easy to see all the applications that a tool like this could be and so began the marketing of the bits and accessories.

Over the years others have come along to make their version of this popular rotary tool in an effort to provide customers with a convenient way easing into a specific line of tools. Milwaukee brought out their 12 volt like of power tools a number of years ago and since that time they have been adding tools and accessories to the line that all operate with the same 12 volt capacity batteries. Such is the case with this rotary tool version.

 

The tool itself is similar to many other rotary tools. One of the few added features of the Milwaukee version is display of battery charge left in the cell. While there are many battery operated rotary tools, few will let you know how much life is left in the battery before it needs recharging. That is one nice feature of the Milwaukee tool ...

Make a Box Joint Shoe Shine Tote

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On a previous video, I re-made the Lynn Sabin adjustable Box Joint Jig and adapted it to the router table. I had put off doing this as I already had one that worked fine on the table saw, but after many, many requests I decided to make a router table version unit of all our European subscribers who cannot purchase dado blades in most European countries. After building the jig and trying it out, I found I really liked this version. It seems much less dusty to operate that the same jig on the table saw that is using dado blades or even the dedicated Freud - Box Joint Blade Set, and the joints are nice and crisp with cleaner edges that what I was getting on the table saw.

I decided the next step should be to actually make project of some sort so I can really try out this jig and see how it really performs. As it happens, I had been in an Antique Store a few weeks earlier and had seen, what I called a shoe shine tote. A lovely little box, with box joint corners and some sort of a sole deck on top of the lid that could double as a handle.

I didn't have any plans and just went by what I had remembered when I saw the tote in the store. The only thing that really stood out for me was that the box joints appeared to be 1/4", which was perfect for this new router based, box joint jig.

Making a Box Joint Jig for the Router Table

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I have received countless emails and messages about adapting the Lynn Sabin Box Joint Jig to the router table, and that is what this article and video are about.
Some time ago, I made a video using the original "Lynn Sabin plans" that were originally posted, for free, on sharkguard.com, and very kindly provided by Lee Styron, who passed away a few years ago.  ... thanks Lee, for doing this. Since those original plans were no longer available on the sharkguard site, I did have copies of them and have posted the original Lynn Sabin Plans, for free on woodworkweb, the link to these  plans is further down this article.

The plans were originally designed for use on a table saw, using a stacked dado blade set-up. If you have never made this jig before, it is best to read these and the instructions provided with the plans, before you begin. The plans I used are basically identical to those original Lynn Sabin version with a couple of small alterations.

 

For everyone who is on the metric system, you will have to do all the conversions yourself. I do not know what router bits sizes, or threaded "ready-rod" types you have to work with. All the components I used were Imperial.

The way this jig works is based on the the "ready rod". I used a 16 threads per inch version. This means that if you have a nut on a rod like this, and turn the rod 16 times, it will advance that nut one full inch. Converting that to a 1/4" box joint, from the start position, you make one cut, turn the rod 8 times and that will advance the carriage 1/2" inch which means the second cut will leave a 1/4" pin, then make the cut at the 1/2" mark, and so on ... thus making the beginnings of the box joint cuts.