Hi Lonnie! I'm a long time fan and have several of your books and articles, that I constantly reference. But now I'm kinda stuck! I'm currently in the planning stages of a set of sofa tables that feature post and panel construction. In the past I've either used plywood or frame and panel construction when joining front and sides to vertical posts. Or when using solid wood simply oriented the grain properly and used the appropriate joinery.

I plan on using vertical grain posts with relatively wide,13", bottom rails. Usually, cross-grain construction is a recipe for disaster but I've seen similar type of construction on older period pieces (Queen Ann Low Boy) for example that hasn't exploded (yet.) I've read where you have wrote that multiple mortise and tenon can help distribute the stress allowing the solid panel to flex rather than crack or split. I was wondering if you could elaborate on why this is so and if I can safely use this method? Thank's. You Rock and your Ball and Claw feet I will never get the hang of!

- Bob
Marengo, OH

Post and rail construction is a common furniture technique in which case sides are mortised into the legs, or posts. This type of construction is strong because of the deep mortises and long tenons used. If the case sides are wide, as in many dressing tables for example, the wide stock can crack when the relative humidity drops during cold, dry winter months. And some woods, such as maple, move much more than others when the seasons change which can make the problem worse.

There are a number of solutions depending upon the design of the furniture piece. However, one solution is to leave one or more of the mortise and tenon joints dry which will allow the wood to expand and contract. Instead of using glue the joint can be held together by driving a wood pin through the joint. First assemble the joint, drill the hole for the pin, pull the joint apart and elongate the hole in the tenon. When you drive the wooden pin into the joint the elongated hole will allow the tenon to move while keeping it tightly assembled.

The top of my dressing table is 7/8 inch thick. I would like to use your thumbnail table edge router bit No. 49563 for the top edge profile, however it appers to be designed for 3/4 inch stock. Can I use this bit without a problem or is there a bit with the same profile available for 7/8 inch stock? Thanks for your help.

- Lou
Stony Brook, NY

Lonnie replies:

Amana bit no.49563 is designed for 3/4" thick tabletops and will not work on a thicker top.

I suggest that you consider reducing the thickness of the top. While it's not unusual to use a 7/8" thick for a dining or kitchen table, it is somewhat thick for a dressing table. Dressing tables are smaller in scale than many other tables in the home and you may find that the thicker top appears disproportionate to the rest of the furniture piece. Even traditional Chippendale dressing tables, which have heavier proportions than their Queen Anne counterparts, often emphasize the top by adding a moldings under the top. This is different however than a thick top because the molding provides a transition.

Hello I'm finishing up my Grandfather clocks project. I have a question about wood movement and grain. I used 18" wide Curly Maple boards for the base. The grain is running horizontal. I'm making the back in 2 pieces. The bottom is running horizontal like the other 3 sides of the base. I did this thinking they would move in the same direction and hopefully not crack. Should I screw, nail or glue the back on?

- Lou
Jaffrey, NJ

The back on old tall clocks (grandfather clocks) is typically nailed on. Nails will allow for a small amount of seasonal wood movement and as long as
the grain in the back is parallel to the rest of the stock there should not be a problem.

I am working on a slant top desk made of cherry. The slant top portion is 22" wide and 19" deep. The case is 13/16" thick. I am redoing the top. I am not happy with the first one. What would be a good thickness for this desktop? I'm thinking something less that 13/16 would be more visually pleasing and easier to lift. I would send a picture if possible! It will have two butt hinges at the back.

- Brent
Jefferson City, TN

When constructing full-scale furniture casework such as chests and desks, the stock thickness is typically 7/8". This it common to allow room for dovetail joinery and to help prevent the warpage that can occur on thinner stock.

I don't have a photo or drawing of the desk but I suspect that 13/16" to 7/8" should look fine. If the surface that your talking about is truly a top, then you may want to reduce the visual thickness by shaping the edge with a simple profile such as the Amana no.49402. If it is the fall front that you're speaking of, it is typically rabbeted to create a lip which overlaps the edges of the desk sides. In this case the rabbet will help to reduce thickness.

My hand-cut dovetail skills are between intermediate and advanced, however I spend far too much time laying them out. On any given board width where is the best starting point to begin measuring so that everything comes out even and result in little or no waste?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

- John
Calgary,Canada
AB

Most dovetail joints (but not all) begin and end with a pin. This strengthens the joint by locking the corners securely. To layout a dovetail joint, I begin by marking the locations of the half-pins at each corner. Then I use dividers to step off the pins. Each step of the dividers is the centerline of a pin.

After marking the centerlines I mark the slope on each side of the centerline to complete the layout.

I'm building an 18th century style desk. The desk interior has pilasters on either side of the center door. Does Amana have a bit for shaping the base and capital?

- Dan
Durham, NC

Fluted pilasters flanking a center door were a common feature on desks from the 18th century. A study of desks from the period will reveal a lot of variations on this popular design. I use small core box bits such as Amana #45902 and #45904 to shape the coves. To shape the beads I use beading bits #54163 and #54160. 

Several months ago I e-mailed you with some questions about building a pencil post bed.  You suggested making the posts myself instead of buying them, saying they were not that difficult or time consuming to make.  I took your advice and you were right.  I have all of the pieces to the bed made and am ready to sand and finish.  My question is, should the mortise in the two posts holding the headboard be a little longer than the headboard itself to allow for expansion?  Currently, it is a snug fit.

Thanks for the encouragement, this has been a fun project to do and I have surprised myself with the quality of the piece to date.  Working with curly maple has been a challenge to say the least.  Thank God for scrapers.

- Chris
Three Rivers, MI

I'm glad to hear of your success! You have the right idea, the headboard needs to be free to expand and contract with changes in the seasons. I suggest that you lengthen the mortise by 1/8" to allow for movement.

I am interested in making a craftsman style table with "Quadralinear post construction" for the legs.  I have a shaper with a 1.2" tilting spindle.
Would it be possible to construct the locking miter joints for the legs using a glue-joint cutter such as the Amana-61268?
Or, is it necessary to use an actual Locking miter cutter head?
Your advice is greatly appreciated.

- Richard
Lafayette, CA

Craftsman, or Arts and Crafts, style furniture uses quartersawn stock which displays the ray figure in oak. To create the most pronounced figure in square stock such as table legs, woodworkers often join four pieces of quartersawn stock. Although a simple miter can be used, a lock miter makes alignment and glue up easier. You'll need to use either the Amana no.998 shaper cutter or one of the Amana lock miter router bits such as the no.55389. The glue joint bit will not work for this cut.

Also, the strips of stock for table legs are relatively narrow. When routing, use featherboards to hold the stock and a push stick to distance your hands. If the joint is cut on a shaper a power feeder is required.

The application I'm working with is applying a beaded edge treatment to cabinet face frames that include a curved arch in the face frame.

Cutting a 3/8" diameter bead on the concave curved face of a gently arched face frame has me stumped. The only option I have used so far is a beading router bit on a shaper for the straight vertical elements and using a hand beading tool to cut the bead on the face of the curved elements. I haven't cut any miters where the vertical elements meet the curved arch of the face frame, instead I use carving chisels on the vertical elements to make the profiles meet at a simple butt joint held with pocket screws. I stop the beading on the vertical elements a bit short of where they meet the arch to leave room for carving a corner in the beading.

Are there any other options that can make sense for the small shop to shape the edge and/or to join the arch to the vertical elements, perhaps with a small miter at the bead?

I'm using 3/4" poplar with a sprayed oil paint finish.

- Jim W.
Hammond, LA

Curves in furniture and cabinets always present a challenge, especially when the curve has a shaped molding profile.

Here are three methods that you can choose from:

1. Shape the bead on a shaper with Amana shaper cutter no.974. To shape the bead on curved stock you'll need to construct a fence with a curved base to support the stock. The radius of the curved base is the same as the outside radius of the curved rail of the faceframe. This method is illustrated on page 194 of my book "The Complete Illustrated Guide To Shaping Wood".

2. Shape the straight sections of bead with Amana no.54166 corner bead router bit and shape the curved bead with a scratch stock. You can purchase a scratch stock but it is very easy to make your own with an offcut and a piece of steel scraper.

3. Shape the bead and bend it to match the curve. If the radius is broad a 3/8" stick should easily bend. If not, you can steam it first. You can shape all of the beads with the Amana router bit and steam bend the curved bead. Steam bending is quite easy but you'll need to follow a few guidelines for a successful bend: Select only straight-grain stock that is completely free of knots or runout; the stick will break at a knot or split at the runout when you attempt to bend it. Small sticks, like this 3/8" bead, require about 30 to 45 minutes of cooking in a steam box. You'll have less than a minute after you pull it out of the steam box to bend it. After that it will have cooled too much to bend without breaking. Fasten the stick into the form and allow it to cool and dry. Then glue it to the curved rail. For more details on steam bending see my book that I mentioned above.

The beaded frame members can be mitered at the corners on a tablesaw. This is illustrated on the Amana website under "Articles", "Constructing a Beaded Face Frame. Keep in mind that the miter at the curved rail will not be the typical 90 degrees. You'll need to draw the curve full-size to find the miter angle.

This sounds like an exciting project and we would certainly enjoy seeing a photo of your finished work.

How did you inset (mortise) the desk lid hinges with the round ends?  If you used a router bit, what was the diameter?  Lastely, what was your source for the hinges you used?

- Garold
Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Actually, 18th century style desks use hinges with square corners. In other words, the ends of the hinges are not rounded. You can find period hardware from several sources on-line.

To mortise for the hinges I use a 1/4" diameter straight bit such as Amana Tool no.45204.

To cut the mortise, I place the hinge in position and outline the leaf with a marking knife. Then I route close to the layout lines and finish the mortise with a chisel.

Hi Lonnie...I built the chest of drawers you featured in Popular Woodworking in 2005 and it came out pretty good.  Now I would like to build a similar-looking dresser.  Never having built one my question concerns the construction.  Would I be able to use the same techniques you outlined in your chest of drawers or would I have to do something different? 

My plan is to make the dresser 58" from side panel to side panel, with three smaller drawers across the top, about 4" deep, then six drawers under that in graduating sizes, from about 8" on the bottom row, 6-1/2" for the next row and 5-1/2" for the third row.  I'm concerned about strength across the 58" width, assuming all the drawers will be full.  I would appreciate any advice or direction you can give me along this line.  I really admire your work and I'm so pleased with the chest of drawers.  If I can get this dresser built, the two should go very nice together.
Thanks Lonnie,

- Joe W.
La Luz, NM

Thanks for your compliments; it's always a pleasure for me to know that people are enjoying my articles.

You can certainly use many of the construction techniques from the tall chest to build a dresser. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind:

-Traditional chests-of-drawers, like the one in my article, are tall and narrow.

-Dressers, which are a relatively modern design, are short and wide. This causes the drawers to be short and wide, too. A wide drawer will more easily rack and bind as it is closed. I suggest that you add vertical dividers to the drawer openings. This will provide support to the horizontal dividers to prevent sagging (58" is a long span). It will also reduce the width of the drawers and help prevent the drawers from binding during use.

-Make the top as overhang the case and shape the edge of the top with Amana Tool No. 49555.

-You can rout the dovetails using Amana Tool No. 45852

I am planning on building an 18th century tea caddy as a Christmas gift for my wife.  I have photographs of several originals, however none clearly show the hinges.  In your book on period details of the 18th century I noticed a caddy that you made.  Would you be kind enough to let me know what hinges were typically used for these boxes.   I am making this box using hand tools and reproduction period hardware.

Thanks and as a professional woodworker I can testify that Amana tooling has served me well.      

- Keith
Marshall, MI

Small boxes, such as tea caddies, keepsake boxes and miniature blanket chests, have tremendous appeal and make wonderful gifts. One of the keys to making these small boxes so appealing is getting the tiny details right. Tea caddies typically use ordinary butt hinges of a smaller scale than those used on cabinet doors. You can find period hinges and other hardware from Ball-and-Ball and Horton Brasses.

What hinges did you you use for the small door in the gallery ? How did you edge the drawer dividers forward edge in the  gallery? Thanks

- Larry G.
Plymouth Meeting, PA

The small door in the gallery of 18th century desks opens to reveal additional pigeon holes and/or drawers. Although the drawers appear to be fitted to the desk, they are often fitted to a "prospect" box which slides out to reveal hidden compartments. In order to allow the prospect box to slide out and clear the door, the door must swing beyond ninety degrees. This is accomplished by mounting the barrel of the door hinges beyond the edge of the door stile.

I use a large writing surface hinge for the door. I order the hinge blank (without screw holes) and bore the holes near the end of the hinge leaf.

The horizontal dividers in the desk gallery are 3/16" thick, the vertical dividers are 3/8" thick and shaped along the edge to appear as two 3/16" dividers sandwiched together. I shape the 3/16" divider with Amana Tool no.54163 and the 3/8" divider with Amana Tool no.54293.

What router bit did you use to get the fine line on the 3/8" vertical dividers in the gallery ? Thanks

- Larry G.
Plymouth Meeting, PA

The divider is 3/8" thick but it appears as two 3/16" dividers sandwiched together. Amana tool router bit #54293 has a 3/32" radius and a guide bearing and is designed especially for this purpose.

View all Lonnie Bird Furniture detail router bits

 What's the best bit to use to do the 45 degree chamfer on the lower portion of the back leg on Chippendale chairs? thanks           

- Sam R.
Fort Wayne, IN

18th century furniture makers lightened the appearance of chairs by rounding, beveling, and chamfering to remove the harsh, ninety degree corners. For example, the edges of splats on period chairs are typically beveled toward the back a few degrees; this, in effect, places more emphasis on the flowing lines on the face of the splat and also makes the splat
appear thinner.

Back legs are thick at the seat joints for strength. Below the seat the legs are chamfered or rounded. Once again, this has the effect of making the chair appear lighter and more sculptural.

To create a chamfer on the legs, I use the Amana no.49404 chamfer bit with a guide bearing; the bit should be used in a table-mounted router for this job. Because you'll be shaping a freeform curve it's important to use a starting pin as a fulcrum to pivot the leg into the bit. Keep the work positioned flat on the table and stop the cut one inch below the seat
rail.

When making Chippendale style chairs what is the proper  bit to use for the edge treatment  of the seat rails? Since Arm Chairs and Side Chairs are
proportionally different, can the same bit be used for both?   Is the chamfer on the lower portion of the back leg a 45 degree chamfer? Thanks

- Sam R.
Fort Wayne, IN

Formal 18th century chairs Chippendale chairs from the Pennsylvania region typically had a "thumbnail" profile along the edges of the seat rails to soften the edge and provide a simple decoration. You can create the same profile with an Amana roundover bit. A 3/8" radius corner rounding bit, such as the Amana no.49514 works well for a side chair. Because an arm chair has larger proportions I use a 1/2" radius bit such as the Amana 49518.

I am planning to build a roll top desk. The back where it rolls into the desk is only 1 1/2" radius.  I should be able to enlarge that a bit.  They call for a 3/8" groove and 5/16" slats.  I feel I can enlarge these as well. Would your tambour bit set work well for this project in your opinion or should I stick to the canvas back they call for?
I just picture the canvas hanging and pulling away over the years.  Or would the wire methed work better for this ?  Should this one come out well which I am sure it will, I will have to make 3 more, so I am looking at making at least 4 of these.  In your opinion, what would work best since I plan on making several in the near future ?  I can email you a picture of the diagram if need be !!!   Thanks In Advance.

- Thomas N.
Olyphant, PA

From your description of the details of the desk, I don't see any reason why you could not modify the tambour groove so that you could use the Amana Tambour bit set. As you've pointed out, the canvas back on a traditional tambour will show signs of wear after a few years. And gluing the canvas to the slats is a very tedious job. In contrast, the slats made with the Amana set simply slide together.

By the way, we will soon be offering plans for a traditional roll-top desk. Our plans will be historically accurate and based upon the desks that were so popular from 1880-1920. It will have lots of beautiful raised panels and plenty of storage in the gallery.

How thick does a drawer front "veneer" have to be before it is considered not a veneer, so that the back of the drawer front also does not have to be veneered? In other words how thick does a "laminate" board have to be, to avoid the need to place a matching board on the back of the drawer front.

- Jim
Atchison, KS

As a rule-of-thumb, when the face of a panel is veneered the back should be veneered as well. This method is used to keep the moisture content of the substrate in balance and help prevent warping after the veneer is applied. This is most important when sheet stock, such as plywood or MDF, is used for the substrate. If the back of the panel absorbs humidity at a different rate than the face the panel may warp.

However, whenever I veneer drawer fronts and door panels for fine furniture, I use a solid wood substrate of the same species as the veneer and I only apply veneer the face of the stock. Also, I cut the veneer on the bandsaw to a thickness of 3/32". Even though the veneer is relatively thin, it has more stability and is less-prone to chipping and cracking than the paper-thin commercial veneers. In my experience, as long as both the substrate and veneer have an equal moisture content (I test the MC with a meter), once a finish is applied the panel will remain flat.

Please provide details on how to hinge the prospect door to avoid the pilaster column and be able to remove the prospect box? Also I am interest in purchasing other period furniture plans of yours, are there any available and if so how can they be obtained?

Thanks for the help.               

- Robert S.
La Grange, TX

Many period desks have a hidden box or "prospect box" which is concealed behind the small door in the desk gallery. During the 18th century this was an ideal place for the owner of the desk to store small valuables and papers. When the door is opened the box can slide out of the gallery and be completely removed from the desk to reveal the hidden compartments behind the box.

When hinging the prospect door I mount the hinges so that the barrel of the hinge is approximately 3/8" from the face of the door. This allows the door to swing beyond 180 degrees which will allow you to remove the box. I order blank desk lid hinges from Ball and Ball hardware which I use for this purpose.

Over the years I've occasionally published magazine articles on furniture projects, such as the secretary desk, but I don't sell plans.

I am interested in buying a flush trim bit to flush up face frames on furniture carcasses. Which would be a better bit - a straight cut or a shear cut? It will be used mostly on 3/4" stock. Poplar and hardwoods.       

- Ken J.  
Lake Ronkonkoma, NY

Many pieces of fine furniture incorporate a face frame glued to the edges of a dovetailed box. Although dovetailed casework is strong, a face frame eliminates the possibility of racking while providing a stile-and-rail framework on which to hang the doors.

The stiles and rails of the face frame are assembled with mortise-and-tenon joints and then glued to the edges of the box. A simple butt joint works fine because the mating surfaces are long-grain. Rather than attempt to make the frame flush with the box it is much easier and more efficient to make the frame slightly oversized, by approximately 1/32", and flush trim it after assembly.

You have three choices of flush trim bits: The standard bit, such as Amana Tool no.47101 is a good general purpose bit. The two-flute design will provide a fast cut and a good finish. I use this type of bit whenever I'm making jigs and fixtures or flush-trimming a curved molding before shaping it with profile bits.

In order to avoid the possibility of tearout when flush-trimming figured woods or when trimming against the direction of the grain I recommend the Amana Super-Trim. The 3 degree shear angle coupled with the large diameter create a very fine surface. I suggest a bit such as the Amana no.47135 Down Shear.

Highly figured woods such as tiger maple are especially prone to tearout.
For these situations I recommend one of the Ultratrim solid carbide spiral bits - Amana no.46400. The spiral flutes cut incredibly smooth and virtually eliminate the possibility of tearout.

Also, when flush trimming, keep in mind that you'll get the best results with the shortest bit.

I just purchased the Amana Tool Box Joint Router Bit # 53610.  How do I ensure that mating parts will align when I assemble the parts of the box?

- Richard    
Defiance, MO

Is it necessary to veneer both sides of a piece to be used as the side of the upper case of the highboy when using a shop cut veneer 1/8 in thick on the outside surfce when the case will be joined by halfblind dovetails.

- Henry R.
Kennesaw, GA

I am thinking about building your pencil post bed featured in Fine Woodworking in June of 2006.  I am not sure I have the skills and/or time to make the posts.  I can purchase ready-made posts for this style of bed but the tapers begin approximately 23" from the floor, where as your plan show the taper beginning 30" inches above the floor. I won't be using box springs on this bed because I want the traditional look. If I used these posts, the taper will begin at the base of the mattress instead of at the top.  Do you think this will look "correct" or would I be money ahead to make the posts myself.

I have read most of your articles in Fine Woodworking and have enjoyed them all. You build some beautiul furniture.

- Chris D.
Three Rivers, Mi
      

I'm very new to woodworking and I appreciate your help with such a 'beginner' question. With this Pennsylvania secretary, Lonnie you recommend a dry assembly of the casework before gluing, to make sure all the pieces fit.  What do I need to be aware of when partially disassembling it again for glue-up?  I imagine disassembly is difficult if the pieces fit together well...?
      
- Slyvia B.
Fairbanks, AK

I'm looking for some details regarding fluted quarter columns. Your book "Period Furniture Details"  shows how to make the quarter columns, but what is the best way the carve the cavity out of the leg post in a lowboy to
create the space for the quarter column?

- Sam
Fort Wayne, IN

I am looking to make Trifid feet for the aforementioned hutch and have not found a "pattern" to use for it.  I have referenced both your books, Period Furniture Details, and Shaping wood, as well as others by Vandall, Greene, and such.  Are there proportions used for creating the actual pad of the trifid foot?  Can you help?  Thanks.

- Troy S.
Kent, OH

What are the design and woodworking techniques for making rocker runners for a rocking chair?  I need to repair a rocking chair that has a busted runner that was manufactured with the wood grain running about 45 degrees to the rocker length in the middle (maple wood). I have aquired a manufactured set of maple runners that are a little longer, same thickness but have more curve.  I need to determine length and balance position on these rockers to drill holes for chair placement. - - - I guess this is getting to be a lost art here in this country.                     
Thank you          


- Steve
Pryor, OK

When making a dovetail box, how do you cut the inside rabbet for the box bottom so that it doesn't show thru the end of a tail or pin?  It has me stumped.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
        

- Steve H.
Reading, PA

The measurements given for the base frame are longer than the case when assembled, yet the feet and moldings are flush with the case.  I must not understand this part of the plan. Can I find more detail for this chest of drawers? 

I have put the carcase together and it came out great--rock solid and the dovetailing looks beautiful.  Looks like I am getting into the harder part of the plan now, but I am certain I can do it with a little more info.

Thanks for your help,
PS-the Q&A archive was a help for my molding delima.


- Jim
Baton Rouge, LA

I can't make out from your instuctions in the magazine how the 18 X 31 bottom is attached to the sides before the bottom dividers & runner\'s. Can you help me understand this? Also will the poplar color that the bottom is made out of stand out against the cherry?

-Tom V.
Strongsville, Ohio

How do you attach the waist and base moldings to upper and lower cases of your PA Secretary?  Are they nailed, glued, or both?

-Garold L.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

Having made my first crown molding on a solid oak bookcase, I was confronted with the gluing from both outside as inside corners.

1. is there a handy tip for clamping the corners of a high profiled molding ( the height of mine is 12 c/m (4,5 inch) at a 56 degree angle.
2. could you give me a clue on how to install a top on the case so that it will be flat with the top of the molding. (to be able to put some vases for decoration on top). as far as I know it's not being described in joinery or construction books.

-Ton W.
Siddeburen, Netherlands

Several weeks ago you were kind enough to supply the hardware list to complete the PA tall clock.  Once again I have to impose upon our kindness to help me with a few questions. 

I am at the point of joining the lower case to the waist case.  I am finding the distance from the face of the waist section to the lower case face to be 2 3/8 inches.  Now when I make a similar measurement from side to side I find the measurement to be 2 1/2 inches. In other words, the gap the lower molding will be covering is not typical on all three sides.  I have been back over my work and haven't found any dimensional errors.  Am I missing something?

Also, probably a rookie question, but what is the proper location of the bracket feet under the base moulding? I assume they are set back slightly to leave a reveal at the top edge of the foot.

I have been looking without success for the router bit to create the base moulding profile.  Possibly, you have a Manufacturers Part number for the bit?

I realize you're a busy man but I would appreciate any comments you care to share.  Especially concerning joining the two cases. I am in a quandry and not sure as to how to proceed.

-Stephen S.
Wilmington, NC

It's a great thing to be able to post a question to you online. At the moment I'm working on a bookcase in louis xvi style. therefore I use quite a lot of solid wood panels in oak, due to hold the piece in an acceptable weight I try to minimize the thickness of the panels. could you give me a clue to the thickness without having the chance that the panels will be too thin. the size of the panels are 24 inch in breadth and about 35 inch in length. I thought to make the thickness 12 mm = a bit less than 1/2 inch. would this be ok?

thanks for your comment on this. I'm an enthousiastic reader from fine woodworking and find your articles very readable.


-Ton W.
Netherlands, Europe

In the November 2005 Popular Woodworking, the bottom part is 7/8 x 18 x 31, should it be 7/8 x 18 1/2 x 31 with a rabbet for the back of 1/2.

-Ile P.
Quebec, Canada

I would like to purchase a measured drawing  of  the Chippendale arm chair featured in your furniture gallery. I enjoy yourarticles in Fine Woodworking and Popular Woodworking.

-Gary B.
Marion, IA

I'm working on a tilt-and-turn pedestal table with a dishrim top. I'm having trouble figuring out how to make the profile on the rim. It has (starting from the outside) a rounded section, then a fillet, then a cove, then a small shoulder which connects to the dished bottom.

The most difficult part is the the rounded section, which requires two cuts with some sort of roundover bit, and takes place in a very small space (both width- and depth-wise). Any help on how to do this will be greatly appreciated.

- John B.
Toronto, Ontario