(bright upbeat music) - Hey, welcome to season 29 at the American Woodshop I'm Scott Phillips.

And later in the season you'll see Suzy.

Now, today's all about live edge work, where you have that crisp natural edge, and it just speaks to you.

So, learn all the tricks today on the American Woodshop about live edge work.

(wood scraping) [Narrator]- The American Woodshop with Scott Phillips is brought to you by Woodcraft, since 1928. providing traditional modern woodworking tools and supplies to generations of craftsmen, Woodcraft, helping you make wood work.

(bright upbeat music) - Pro tools, for tool pros.

(funky upbeat music) RIKON tools.

Woodcraft magazine, projects, plans, and web links designed to help you make wood work.

PSWood, home of Timberwolves Swedish Silicon Steel Bandsaw blades and super sharp scroll saw blades.

A bed to sleep on, a table to share meals, a house that feels like a home.

The Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, providing furniture to neighbors in need.

- Today we're going to use live edge wood to create a very unusual free-standing tea cabinet.

Very similar to what James Krenov used to make, yet different.

So, I'm going to set this out of the way, because we need to use the one invaluable tool when you're dealing with irregular edges and that is a track saw.

Now, whatever you do, be sure to read, understand and follow all the instructions that come with the tools and products you use.

Work safely.

And, in using this track saw, even though it's on dust collection I still like to wear an N95 dust mask, cause this is a heavy duty cut.

And we need to create a glue up out of this.

Now, you'll see what's going on after we make the cut.

And this is set up, right here you can see a split in the end and I'll do a rip cut first, then a couple cross cuts to get this prepped so we can take it to the planer.

(track saw cutting) All right.

I think we've got it.

Let's see here if this is all the way through.

Oh yeah, that's perfect.

And they sell two versions of this style track saw, this is a 55 and they sell one that will cut thicker material but they're more expensive.

Now let me show you why a track saw is a perfect way to go when you're doing live edge work.

I'm gonna flip this edge up and you can see it's a perfect cut.

And if you make the cut without stopping, you can use that as your glue seem and glue this back together.

But before we do that, we're going to take this to a planer helical head 15 inch planer plane this down both sides get it perfect.

And then we can come back here and do the glue up.

True or false?

You can make a wood joint stronger if you brush it out and size it into the pores of the wood and let it air dry for about three minutes before you put the seams together.

It's actually true.

They've done studies where it's more than 20% stronger if you let that air dry.

And I'm going to bring this around, straight from the planer, and now I can clamp this up.

Now, I'm just going to throw the clamps on thoughtfully.

And I do not want to spread that seam I wanna keep it even.

So, I work the clamps down the way and this will take a good, oh, two hours to dry on a big seam like that.

And I don't wanna create a bow when I draw this tight in the top of the board, but I do want that right there.

A squeeze out.

But I don't want to starve the joint.

I just want it tight enough to get a good, strong bond.

Now, that's how I do the glue up and we can shape that later.

But let's head outside for another live edge project.

It's beautiful.

Let's go.

So, this is the payoff right here.

A live edge slab for a tabletop that's going to the Gertners, and I made a pedestal base out of Chestnut Oak scraps that was left over from their job you'll see that in a second.

But I defy you, find the glue seem in that board.

I mean, you match the grain and away you go, and this is Arm-R-Seal on it.

They're going to top coat it with a urethane oil.

And now what I'm going to do is join this all together.

Very simple construction here, and you want to use the right size of square drive washer head screws, because if you don't, well, that could change your project.

So, this is all pre-drilled.

And what I'm doing is using a square driver here and we'll get this married together and up to the Gertners.

And we'll see their project got to line that hole up right there and put a smile on their face.

I'll get this done and off to the Gertners we go.

(hand drill whirring) We're here with Barry Gertner and Barry, what do you think of your new table - Oh, Scott, this is absolutely beautiful.

- And this is from your cut offs.

This post came from this piece right here, and then the trim boards well, tell us about the wood, and how you used it.

- So this came from a local saw mill.

It's Chestnut White Oak.

- Okay, which is gonna be super durable to begin with.

- Yes - Okay, and then what did you put on it?

What finish?

- I didn't put anything on it.

My wife did all the finishing- - Team work, alright Yeah, absolutely.

But it's a Marine Spar.

- Okay, now see I'll try to get Suzy to do all my finishing too.

(Gertner Laughs) You'll tell me have, have to tell me how you get that done.

But I want you to look at one other thing that they did that's brilliant right here.

See this plate?

This is a lift, right here you can see how there's a gap where the wood is not on the concrete.

You cannot have wood.

I don't care how durable it is setting on concrete 'Cause it will wick up moisture and it'll rot out.

And then that's how you trim it out with quarter cut wood straight grain wood.

You wouldn't want to work thin arches here?

It would blow out when it would move.

But what a look Barry, you got to love this.

- Absolutely thrilled.

- Okay, so 11 by 11- - Solid - And that section came from the bottom of this.

- Yes it did.

- So, never give up on the, what people call scraps.

- Absolutely - Outstanding, you happy?

- Looks fantastic., I am thrilled, Scott.

- Okay, now, I want to talk to your crew because - Absolutely - Real Task, Jake.

- Hey Scott, - Hey good to see you too.

- Good to see you too.

- Tell us about what you're doing to trim out the rafters.

- So, what we're doing on the rafters is we brought it down an inch and a quarter padded it down to allow it to breathe and for something to nail to.

And so, we're not messing with the roofing nails.

- And then, the color that you vary.

So, the dark, the light, the contrast, spectacular.

- Thank you.

- You guys are doing a great job here.

And then this fireplace mantle, again, Chestnut Oak.

Grayden, that took some doing.

- It did, yeah - Well, my hats off to you because I've watched your crew pull this whole job together.

What was the toughest thing?

- Well, to be honest it was probably setting these big old posts (Scott laughing) They were heavy and it was a real struggle, but.

- Well, it's eight pounds of board foot.

I calculated each one of those posts at just shy of 700 pounds because it's gonna dry out.

So, you are men of men, okay.

- Okay, - Well keep it coming.

Now let's go look at the, the barn doors that you made.

Now on every project there's a muse, right Barry?

- Absolutely.

- Okay, and I think we've got ours right here.

(Scott laughing) Cynthia, you did a great job on all the finishing - She did Scott - And the barn doors, the hardware, all of this.

This is again made out of that Chestnut Oak from the local mill.

- Yes it was.

- Okay, so the moisture content right now is 25%.

What I didn't share with you is, okay, it's as wide as it's gonna be as a board right now, it's gonna shrink down.

So, you're gonna get some little gaps, - Right - And that's what they put little Baton pieces.

It can be on the outside or the inside doesn't matter.

- Right.

- But the X bracing is what's going to keep these doors square, okay.

And that's why they do that.

How was the hardware for you?

- It was incredibly easy.

And actually we, I took it another step Scott at the top and the bottom of each board.

I put a piece of angle iron - Awesome - To try to prevent any warping or, you know, try to reduce the amount of shrinking on there.

So, we're hoping that keeps the doors square.

- It's beautiful.

- Thank you Scott it was.

- So, where are you at on the budget?

- I used all of it Scott.

(Scott laughing) Every bit of it my friend.

- Well, and it was worth every penny.

- It was, it was.

We're thrilled.

Thank you for stopping by.

- Hey, can't wait to see it when it's finished Barry - See you - Stop back buddy - Back to the Woodshop to finish that project.

- Take a look at this beautiful glue up.

Now at the end of this season, on the 13th show, this will become a fantastic tabletop.

We'll set that aside.

And the reason I showed you how to plane this down and make the plane glue up was so you could see exactly how I made these two pieces.

And this will be one side of that case.

The one below it will be the other side, very easy construction.

But, what I have to do is cut it to the finished length right now and put that case which is just a box with five pieces of recycled plywood that are screwed together with some pocket holes to cut there.

More on that in a second, let's make these cuts.

And I just use the track saw with a shorter track.

And I lay the edge of that track right on the layout line and I make my cuts.

(track saw running That is a perfect cut every time.

Now, one more cut and then we can get on to assembly.

(track saw whirling) When you build a case or cabinet, you have a back top and a bottom that are identical, two sides that are identical.

And then what I'm doing is sandwiching this between the two live edge slabs, left and right.

The key distance three inches down from the top.

This will reveal a secret compartment in just a second.

So, what I'm doing right now is just pre-drilling, counter sunk pilot holes so that I can screw all this together.

And I would never do that without pre-drilling those holes and then square drive, flat head screws, just the right length.

And you don't wanna strip those out and I'll do this six on this side, six on the other side.

Can you see how this is coming together?

So left and right live edge and narrow part down, but it's rock solid.

Okay, and now, I'm doing the face frame out of chestnut that's been hand-carved and I need to miter it.

And I've laid in some miter cuts as you can see here, 45 degree miters and got the spacing to the top of this.

That's marked down here with the miter gauge or the compound square actually at 45.

So I know exactly where to cut.

And then this piece right here, butts in across and fills out the top of that.

Once that's cut.

So, off to the miter saw.

(miter saw whirling) Now it's key to let that blade come to a stop.

Often times people raise that blade after they make a 45 degree miter cut while the blades coasting down, and that can make that cut not very accurate.

So, the other thing I like to do go off the set of the tooth to the lay out line just like that, lock it down, finish a cut.

Now from here it's over to the bench to do the biscuts.

(miter saw whirling) These mitered corners with the carving on the Chestnut are held together by the number 20 biscuts.

And to make those cuts the right way, this is on demand dust collection.

Let me just make one and you'll see what's going on here.

I'll make the first cut (machine whirling) And you can see that slot right there, just like that.

And that fits right in like that.

Now, don't force it if it's swollen 'Cause these do swell when they come in contact with moist air.

Sand it slightly, that way it won't telegraph through the board.

And I'll make this other cut right here on that witness mark, just like that.

And it's always helpful to have it clamped down.

And I like these auto action clamps tool to do that.

So, bring that off the edge, like so, lock it in place, make that cut.

And once all the cuts are made for the number 20 biscuts, then what I'm going to do is brush out glue on the seams, make sure I put about three drops of glue in each slot.

And then I frame, draw that whole face frame together at those mitered corners with clamps and let that cure out.

And from there we know exactly how to size the door that will fit inside the face frames.

We'll go make the door.

(wood planks falling) While the face frame dries out those mitered corners need to be solid for it to hold this door frame.

Now this is two and a quarter inch Oak.

That's just a hair over three quarters of an inch thick.

And here you can see the dominoes, 50 millimeter number tens.

And these sockets are cut using a domino cutter I just rig it up, clamp the board down, make the ends nice and deep, cut on center.

And then the long-running styles I put the domino mate cut in those in the appropriately marked places.

And that's how you put the entire doorframe assembly.

Now the other thing is you see that channel right there?

That's going to take the glass an easy way to cut that's at the table saw, but make sure that it's only five sixteenths of an inch up so you can slide the glass in.

And then all of this just pops together.

Like so, and of course this gets glued, but you can't do that until you get the finish on it.

And what I'm using today then the reason for that is if you put finish with the glass on there, you wouldn't be able to get finish or stain inside that groove.

And it would be unsightly.

Okay, I'll just get my gloves out because with gel stains, it's fun but it's messy.

So, and what I like about gel stains and finishes, when you wipe it on, it stays there and then you let it dry a bit, depending upon the species of wood.

And this is red Oak, you let it soak in just the right amount of time, then wipe off the excess.

And then you can wipe on a top coat and you're in business.

And if you need to blend colors, that's easy enough to do just buy different colors of gel stain and what happens is you can use it like an artist's palette and you can mix up colors to give you a perfect color match.

So just get this wiped out and finished.

And once that's done and the finish is cured, I can insert the glass and then carefully glue it up together and let that cure out.

And while the doorframe with the glasses is curing out is time to put together the rest of the cabinet.

This is where I get a little nervous because everything has to fit perfectly.

So, the first thing I'm going do is use this jig to create four pockets and drill that until it hits the stop collar, that's good.

Just like that.

Handy device right there.

And what we do is use these special painted fasteners just the right length.

And they go through this edge and they will hold on the face frame.

So, the face frame goes up and in between, and I want to bring it, before I press it into the tight fit, I want to make sure it's flush with the top here and here and I press it down gently.

And that's a perfect fit that makes me feel very good and keeps everything square.

That looks good.

And now what I can do is hold that face frame on with the pocket screws.

There are a bunch of different ways that you could do this, but this works and it's straightforward and it doesn't cost a fortune.

You know, I've shown you a lot of different jigs today, a lot of different tools that you can use.

And there are a million different ways to build a piece like this.

The main thing is (hand drill whirling) use your ingenuity, get it done.

Now that holds it on.

I'll do the same down below.

And then the door when it's dry will be hinged onto this.

But the other thing that I have to do is mount this hardware right here, so that this piece will be pocket screwed here and here.

And this will be hinged.

So when the lid comes down on this that's top of the cabinet, there will be a secret compartment, which is kind of handy, I like those.

So, I'll measure that left and right you've got five inches there.

Let's see what we've got on the other side.

Just need to move it over a quarter.

That's where it needs to be left and right.

And these are no mortise hinges, uh, heavy-duty.

I wanted them to be stout.

And so what I can do now is use a Vix bit, which has a little jig on the end that lets you center up the hole and drill hinges in perfectly.

So, I'll get that mounted and then screw this in and then we can stand it up and mount the door.

Now gently, I am fastening in that hinged top to the secret compartment and voila, nicely hides a good storage space.

You could put lots of stuff in there.

Now, here's the door that fits perfectly inside of that chestnut face frame.

And so now what I need to do is use the right style of hinge, no mortise, finial topped hinge, and I'm going to use this, space it down five and a quarter inches.

And then I use another, smaller, Vix bit to match the size of the screw that needs to be hand driven because these are brass.

And if you don't hand drive these you'll twist the heads right off and good luck getting them out of there.

Okay so, I'll mount these same at the bottom and then fasten it to the face frame drill a couple holes for the shelf pegs put in some lighting, and then we can do a little bit of finishing.

So, a natural leaf pull on that.

And I can swing that around and it rests on the top rail there, so, that's safe now.

To put the shelving in, I need one of those pads on each one of the shelf brackets and this little jig right here with a stop collar.

And that's a quarter inch Brad Point bit.

Is the way I can go in and get those perfectly placed.

You can buy fancy jigs for this, but the truth is ordinary peg board, cut it in to whatever dimension that works for you.

And the holes are spaced on one inch, mark them.

And you can go in with the stop collar, drill the holes left and right, do the same on the top, which I've already done with the same marks to give me where I need to go in to index the holes to finish them out.

And then, if you have priced plexiglass lately, it's through the roof.

So, recycle it, clean it up.

And what's cool about plexiglass the heavy stuff thick is that it lets the light through.

And so I have led lights that I'll rig out in this too.

And then set this up a little bit of finish time for the reveal.

What do you think?

There are a lot of blended pieces here, but I love the way it's come together.

And of course the secret compartment is always a plus in my book, but what finishes did I like the most?

Well, I go to the wiping gel that you saw earlier, the Danish oils are great and Arm-R-Seal on walnut is just hard to beat.

So that's it from The American Woodshop.

And next week, you'll get to see the artist that made this creation and many more.

And we have this chair that's out of this world from 200 years ago.

So join us then.

Thanks for being with us today and stay well and stay busy in your Woodshop.

I'm loving this.

Let me show you the side here just a little bit.

(soft upbeat music) Ta-da (Narrator)- Wood Craft since 1928, providing traditional modern woodworking tools and supplies to generations of craftsmen.

Woodcraft, helping you make wood work.

(Classical music) (Intense music) Pro tools, for tool Pros (music continues) RIKON tools.

Woodcraft magazine, projects, plans, and web links designed to help you make wood work.

PSWood home of Timberwolves, Swedish Silicon steel band saw blades and super sharp scroll saw blades.

A bed to sleep on a table to share meals, a house that feels like a home.

The Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, providing furniture to neighbors in need.

- For more information on tips behind the American Woodshop and to watch free episodes, 24/7, check us out online and like us on Facebook.

(bright upbeat music)