I have a Porter-Cable 12 inch 4216 Deluxe Dovetail Jig Combination Kit that has been resting in the original box since my 2012 retirement and finally got around to getting it out to cut some dovetails for a few napkin holder boxes.

Most men, and I am certainly speaking for myself are not the quickest to follow instructions of any kind.....grin if you must.  Using a dovetail jig whether made by Porter-Cable, Leigh, Akeda or other manufacturers, there is a learning curve to operating the fixture/jig properly and the instructions must be followed.  I did not try and wing it and definitely used the instruction manual that came with the jig.

Prior to actually setting the dovetail jig up, I watched a few YouTube videos which makes it look very easy but those folks already have it figured out and have practiced with it before firing up the camera.

Above SN 1 of SN 43 completed napkin holders.

PERSONAL SAFETY AND LIABILITY ISSUES

My goal will be to keep Safety paramount because hand and power tools can do serious bodily harm and death if not used properly, therefore these pages are solely for entertainment purposes only from a personal liability standpoint.  Please read the Legal Stuff page for additional information concerning liability issues before going any further.  Safety glasses and hearing protection is a must, although I do forgo the hearing protection many times; my bad!

DOVETAILS AND PINS

I purchased the above mid-sized router, A Porter-Cable model 690LR rated at 1 3/4 HP just for the straight two blade carbide tipped router bit used to cut the pins and used an existing DeWalt model 610 router rated at 1 1/2 HP for the dovetail bit.  If using only one router, you have to change cutters and reset the router depth each time you transition from cutting the tails and the pins.  I planned on doing about eight (8) of the napkin holder boxes along with other dovetail projects and one more router will not take up that much real-estate.  It took only a short period of time to realize that I preferred the DeWalt model 610 router over the Porter-Cable model 690LR because of the location of the on/off switch, whereas the DeWalt 610 has a toggle switch and the Porter-Cable has a rocker switch under clear plastic.  Also, I like the rack and pinion gear adjustment versus the rotating adjustment of the Porter-Cable router.  The Porter-Cable router has far more vertical height than needed for cutting the tails and pins and more prone to tip forward since over half of the router base is extended beyond the tips of the fingers on the jig plate when moving from one tail/pin to another.  I would have purchased another DeWalt 610 but they stopped making that model sometime around 2002 and was outbid on EBay for a used DeWalt 610 router that had been used a couple times and still with the box, etc.  The DeWalt replacement model 616 does not have the rack and pinion gear assembly to change the depth of the router cut and using the Porter-Cable rotating method instead.

DEWALT ROUTER 610 UPDATE

I believe the DeWalt 610 router is superior to the Porter-Cable 690LR router for this application because the DeWalt 610 has a much lower profile and the router height adjustment (rack and pinion gear) assembly is on the back side of the router adding extra weight to help keep it from tipping forward.  I recently found a DeWalt 610 router on EBay, new and unused in the original box, whereas used ones were selling like hot cakes since that model hasn't been made since 2002.  I had to pay top dollar for it because several bidders wanted it as badly as I did.

Above pix added on 05-17-16, whereas I started another dozen of those napkin holder boxes but do not plan to add any sequence pixs since the procedures are the same and it would be redundant.   

I originally set the dovetail jig up for cutting miniature dovetails but they lack the eye appeal of the standard size dovetail in my humble opinion and settled for a standard dovetail and pin set-up.

It took at least a dozen trial cuts on scrap material the same thickness I planned to use for the napkin holder before the light bulb in my head finally came on and realized that you only move the jig plate setting for loose or tight dovetail joints on the pin side of the jig.  The dovetail is totally controlled by the jig and the dovetail router bit.  There is flexibility on the pin side of the jig plate as just mentioned.

Another critical area for good fitting dovetails, your material has to be sized the same thickness and cut square and each piece the same length.  I have a good amount of 1/2 inch plus Eastern Red Cedar not being used for my turkey box call lids and planed it down to 3/8 inch thickness.  I didn't go through steps of taking pixs of using the planer and table saw, etc.

Click on below thumbnail pixs for a larger screen view:

The last picture above shows the instruction manual is getting a good workout too.  After the jig is set-up properly and the depth of your router bits adjusted, you start off cutting the dovetails first.  After all the dovetails are cut, the pins are then cut.  This is where you have to test the fit of your dovetail to pin for a too tight, too loose or just right fitting and move the pin jig plate toward or away from the fixture.  There are plenty of marks and icons on the fixture to steer you in the right direction.  After all the dovetails and pins were cut, I next set up my router table with a 1/4 inch diameter solid carbide bit to route a dado aka groove or slot into the bottom inside of each piece for the bottom to fit in. 

ROUTER TABLE SET-UP

Below pix of the router table with stops set utilizing a "pivoting stick" type fence:

On the pin boards, you have to make what is called a blind cut which I am really not fond of because you cannot see what is taking place and that is where it gets its name from.  You lower the pin board onto the spinning router bit and must maintain good control since the router bit can sling the part away from the rotating bit and it is best to turn the router off after making the blind cut before removing it from the router table.  Spiral bits work the best since some regular two bladed router bits do not plunge well unless you have the router in motion contacting the wood and would be opposite for a router table but definitely would not attempt it even with the small bit.  Since the router cutter is only 1/4 inch in diameter, it is not too dangerous but I still don't like that technique since Safety is not Paramount making a blind cut! 

A safer method for cutting the slot would be using a plunge router with a means to hold the board into position with end stops and a guide on either side of the router.  You could plunge your router bit into the material without the possibility of it slinging it off the router bit.  So far, so good and I believe I damaged one piece of wood initially setting the stops on the router table.  You definitely have to think and practice safety at all times!  I have a system to route such a mortise as described but it is dedicated for another more permanent operation. 

You want the routed slot to go about half-way into the tails on the pin board, otherwise you will see your routed groove from the end of the tail which is unsightly.  The tail board is not a problem and the router table stops work for both the tail and pin boards.  I think I have a mild case of dyslexia sometimes and hard to distinguish between the pin and tail board but marking them before you start the project and cutting the tails and pins makes it a lot easier.  On drawer fronts, you want the pin board forward because it pulls tight against the angle of the dovetail.  However, it doesn't make any difference on the napkin holder box since you are not pulling on the front but the tails have more eye appeal than the pin side; just IMHO.

Click on below thumbnail pixs for a larger screen view to visualize the difference:

After the slot was routed on front, back and sides for the bottom of the box, a pattern was used to trace the foot pattern onto each board. 

I used my bandsaw to cut the pattern on each board and had to use the chiseling method since my bandsaw blade is 1/2 inch in width and cannot execute the radius of the cut.  If I had to do a bunch of band sawing smaller radius, I would switch to a 3/16 or 1/4 inch width bandsaw blade.  The pattern for the front of the napkin holder box where you access the napkins was traced onto the front board and cut with the bandsaw. 

Below, I was testing out a few radius lines to make an opening to access the napkins from the front of the box and later made a wood transfer pattern.

After the front, back and sides were cut, I used a sanding drum in a small drill press to get rid of the bandsaw marks.  I have been needing a spindle sander for decades and seriously thinking about getting one because about every project lately screams "spindle sander please"....grin if you must!

The parts will be final sanded using Porter-Cable palm sanders and then glued up.  I finally had to replace my 1969 Rockwell Speed Bloc 330 palm sander which is the same exact model as the Porter-Cable.  I definitely got my money's worth out of that palm sander which was still working but had gotten far too noisy and too much extra vibration.  In the hyperlinked pix circa mid 1970s, my bride has an awkward hand position on the Rockwell palm sander wanting to "show case" a ring while she was sanding a Gibson RB5 Wreath pattern fingerboard recently cut and inlaid by yours truly.

Below is the first test napkin holder ready for glue-up:

Ready for glue-up:

Glue-up below:

GLUE-UP FIXTURE

I glued a total of three of the napkin holder boxes up without a glue up fixture and realized the Titebond II extended glue was still too fast open glue time and difficult to pull the dovetail and pin joints tight and maintain square.  I was hoping I didn't have a build a fixture for such a short run of the same size boxes but decided to make one to keep from having the problems mentioned above.  Even with the glue-up fixture, you have to work fast getting glue applied to the tail and pin connection!

Below is the glue-up fixture using some scrap 4 x 4s and 3/4 inch plywood.  I positioned two of the 4 x 4 blocks stationary that was square and glued and screwed them into place.  The other two glue blocks were moveable and had a small guide on each side of the block to keep it into position.  The 4 x 4s were not tall enough and glued and braded a 3/4 inch plywood filler board on one side to where there would be full contact with the sides of the napkin holder box.

It was taking from six to eight bar clamps to get glue pressure without the fixture and now it will only take two bar clamps since the 4 x 4 blocks provide full contact for the sides of the box.

The glue-up fixture keeps everything square and also has some flexibility when I decide to use a thicker material for the next run of the napkin holder boxes.  I could have gone a little more high tech and used a pair of DeStaCo clamps but the bar clamps will do fine.  I didn't have any aluminum angle large enough for the glue pressure points and used what materials I had on hand.

Above a close-up of the glue-up fixture.  I purposely left the tail and pins longer where I could sand them down flush after the glue-up.  The depth of cut is control by your router depth setting.

I will give the glue-up fixture a test run tomorrow.

NOTE:  Used the glue-up fixture and it worked great!  Placed a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom to catch any glue from the bottom dovetail/pin glue joint.  I might line the bottom with a thin glue resistant material but will see how long the aluminum foil will last.  Updated 04-08-16  

Above updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-08-16.

After sanding the dovetail/pin joints and another quick sanding, a coat of sealer was applied:

After the sanding sealer has dried, I will buff it down with a green Scotch-Brite pad and then apply a couple coats of Deft lacquer from a spray balm.  I really like the contrast between the end grain wood of the dovetail and pin connection.  First coat of lacquer applied below:

I will later make a couple napkin holders in figured curly maple wood which should pop.

DID NOT REINVENT THE WHEEL ON THE DESIGN

The design of the above Napkin holder box was observed on several older ones via the internet and pretty much generic and no use reinventing the wheel since I like the simplicity and nostalgic look of the napkin holder.  I am kicking around a few ideas about a simple attractive weight to place on top of the napkins but don't think it is really needed unless you are in a wind storm.

REVIEW OF THE PORTER-CABLE 4216 DOVETAIL JIG

No longer than I have used the Porter-Cable Deluxe Jig Combination Kit, a couple things come to mind such as;  1)  No dust/router chip collection, 2)  Non-adjustable fingers on the dovetail and pin jig plate.  You are somewhat limited to your design width since you can have the edge of the dovetail/pin narrow in height at the edge of your material and the ends of the wood can easily chip out during routing even with a backer board and also when assembling the parts if they are a little on the tight fitting side.  Of course, those two features are available on the high dollar models and as I have stated so many, many times on this website, "Most of the time, you get what you pay for."

For the money and versatility, this is an excellent dovetail jig capable of producing through dovetails, half-blind, half-blind rabbeted, sliding dovetail and box joints.     

Web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-05-16 and updated on 04-07-16 and 04-08-16.

PREPARING BALANCE OF EASTERN RED CEDAR LUMBER

With only a couple of the napkin holder boxes to final sand, spray sealer and lacquer, I decided to utilize the balance of the Eastern Red Cedar for additional napkin holder boxes.  I had the cedar "ear marked" for making turkey box call lids but there are too many knots and it wasn't worth the trouble to sort through to get just a few top quality lids.  The wood also had about a 25 percent moisture content when I received it years ago of which it finally air dried to a much lower useable level.  I let the EBay seller of that wood know I was highly disappointed with his supposedly first quality air dried cedar and he blamed the high moisture content on flooding they recently had....grin if you must!

The cedar boards were four feet in length and a little over 1/2 inch thickness and planed them down to around .390 thousands of an inch and one or two of them would not clean up in thickness and width of 4 inches and will use it for something else.

Click on below thumbnail pixs for a larger screen view:

I have enough boards sized and cut to length to make 36 more napkin holder boxes but there will probably be a few boards that has too much of a knot close to the end where the tail and pins will be routed and will no doubt blow out that area rendering the board as scrap.

ROUTER PROFILE FIXTURE

In all probability, I will make a router profile fixture for the cutouts on the box to reduce the sanding time.  I would rough band saw the profile leaving about 1/8 inch excess material and then route to the profile using a fixture on my router table with a flush cut bearing bit.  Since you would be cutting against the grain on one end of the lower foot profile and also one side of the cutout on the front of the box, you would have to flip the part in your fixture to make the other cut to prevent wood tear out.  This would remove the sanding and clean up left by the bandsaw blade with minimal sanding required to remove any cutter marks.

I am thinking about a platform base wide enough for doing both the large cut out and the foot cut out and then rotate each one in the fixture to finish off the other side.  The wider platform would be much more stable and there would be room if I thought I needed a couple upright handles for increased safety.   I could scrimp and use two DeStaCo model 235U toggle clamps but four (4) would be better.  

STARTED ROUTER PROFILE FIXTURE ON 04-16-16

I located a couple scrap pieces of 3/4 inch thick white oak and ripped the wider piece in half and used biscuits and glue to get the width needed for the platform.  I also had four (4) DeStaCo 225U clamps on hand which would be perfect for the profile fixture.  You can never have enough of those small toggle clamps on hand because you will usually find a use for them.

I wanted to add some 1/4 x 20 threaded brass inserts into the base to secure the clamps and made a trip to the closest Lowe's in Rockingham, NC and they only had four packs of two inserts that were manufactured by Hillman which was only half what I needed but can get by with two inserts and screws at opposite corners on the base of each clamp until I can order them via the internet. 

After the glue set up over night, I traced the desired profiles onto the white oak board base of which the router bearing will run along the edge of the profile and any excess material beyond that profile will be removed with the flush cut trim router bit.  The profile was cut with the band saw as close to the line as I could and sanded using a sanding drum in the small drill press to remove the bandsaw marks and keep the edge as vertical as possible.

After the sanding, layout for the toggle clamps was established, holes for the base of the clamps center punched and next to the drill press.  It was a trial and error to drill the holes a little oversize due to the hardness of the white oak but got it right on the third drill size upgrade.  I used a 1/4 x 20 bolt with a couple nuts on the end to secure the brass insert and used a socket and ratchet to install the inserts.  A drill press would be much better to keep the insert from going in at an angle of which one of them did.  Using a drill press or hand drill, you would cut the head off the bolt and simply chuck it up.  When the other inserts arrive, I will epoxy all of the inserts in place which is probably an overkill but I am definitely known for that.  You could forgo the epoxy and later use the bushings for another project if desired.

NOTE:  The drill press works much better installing the drill inserts keeping them vertical and if your insert hole in the wood is the proper size and your drill press speed is very low, you can screw them right in with the drill press using the installation arbor mentioned above.  If I build another fixture using the DeStaCo. 225U toggle clamps, I will definitely make a drill guide using drill bushings to match the spacing of the holes in the base of the clamp to reduce the construction time and improve the drilling accuracy! 

Click on below thumbnail pixs for a large screw view:

The double design pattern of the above fixture gives a good amount of fixture real-estate on the router table which increases stability and safety.  The handles on the toggle clamps should be enough material to hold on to while moving the fixture against the router bit bearing without adding separate handles.

I will give the fixture a field test as soon as the additional insert bushings arrive and post a few pixs of the fixture in actual operation.  I also ordered a 7/32 diameter solid carbide router bit for the mortise into the sides of the box for the bottom since the 1/4 inch slot was too large and a 3/16 inch slot was too tight.  A horizontal slotting cutter would not work in this particular application due to not cutting through the tail portion on the pin board.

I will route the mortise slots in all the box sides before I make the cut out for the feet and the front of the box using the band saw and then the router fixture of which the slotting set-up and stops have to be removed from the router table.

Using the left side of the fixture only for both the front cut-out and bottom cut-outs, I didn't need to do a complete profile for the entire part but if I changed to a different technique using something like a 1/4 inch spiral cutter without fear of tear out, the other side would be necessary.  A CNC router platform would be the way to go for mass production but the few I will make doesn't warrant such an expense!

Web published update by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-17-16.

TESTING ROUTER PROFILE FIXTURE ON 04-25-16

I finished up the router profile fixture and gave it a test run today after I slotted the balance of the cedar boards to make a dozen more napkin holder boxes.  I set the router table up with a 1.5 inch diameter two bladed tipped carbide profile router bit and did a test run on a couple of the boxes and it worked great.  I went back and added a little more taper on the profile fixture to have a more gradual entry into the cut-out of the opening on the front of the boxes for more eye appeal.  Everything was going along real well until I broke the 1/2 inch band saw blade and did not have a spare one in stock.  I got on the phone and ordered a couple from Precision Saw Works located between Wadesboro, NC and Burnsville, NC of which they make all kinds of saw blades, large and small along with sharpening saw blades.  I will pick them up tomorrow morning and be back in business.

Click on below thumbnail pixs for a larger screen view:

The profile fixture will about eliminate sanding those cut-outs and all the sanding dust from the sanding drum and help this ole boy's lungs for sure.  This fixture will definitely save time in the long run since it doesn't take much time to rough band saw the profile out and let the router do the clean up.....this is "building smarter not harder."

Below pix showing the rotating flush cut profile router cutter and can't be dozing off while that bad boy is spinning and back the fixture a good ways from the cutter when clamping and unclamping the part.  There is plenty of real-estate on the fixture to keep your hands away from the cutter while the bottom cutter bearing follows the profile of the fixture.  Rather than cut against the wood grain, I flip the wood part over and finish the cut going with the grain to prevent wood tear out.  The cutter is rotating counter clock wise and you start the profile cut on the left of the fixture and move the fixture to the left into the cutter.  If you continued the profile cut from left to right, you would be cutting against the grain on the right hand side of the wood and most likely wood tear out will occur ruining the part.  I have routed thinner materials against the grain but extreme caution must be exercised and then you will still have wood tear on some pieces of wood.  It is best to flip the part over in the fixture and cut with the grain for safety and to prevent wood tear out.  

A dozen more of those napkin holder boxes ready for sanding and fitting a 3/16 inch thick plywood bottom in place.  The glue fixture will get a good workout in the days to come.

A few of the boxes below glued up and ready for final sanding.

GOING BACK IN TIME TO THE MIDDLE 1970s

Old school manufacturing techniques used a double spindle shaper allowing you to cut in both directions without the fear of wood tear out.  I once owned a Baxter-Whitney double spindle shaper with a 7.5 HP motor for each spindle and that shaper was at least a couple thousand pounds in weight when I had my musical instrument repair and mail order business.  CNC machines have replaced most of those older double spindle shapers which are outright dangerous even with safety devices employed.

NOTE:  I sold a complete wood working shop including the above mentioned Baxter-Whitney double spindle shaper along with all the tooling and cutter heads, etc. to a man near Advance, NC who traded the shaper for a much smaller single spindle one.  He took one of the cutter heads which was at least 4 inches in diameter to a wood working shop and the owner set the cutter head up on one of his shapers.  According to the individual I sold it too, once they turned the shaper on, the cutter head started vibrating loudly and before they could cut the power to the shaper, one of the profile cutters from the cutter head assembly went flying through the side of the building and they never did find where the cutter blade profile landed.  I believe that was the last of that individual using a shaper with any degree of confidence.  Either of the two men could have been easily killed by that mishap.  In all probability, the shaper speed was far too great for that large diameter cutter head which was massive with at least a 1.5 inch inside arbor bore.  The company that manufactured that cutter head and cutters were located in High Point, NC catering to the then flourishing NC furniture industry which is now about all gone overseas and that company was at the top of their game.  I never did use that cutter head assembly and it was high dollar at the time.  It took two matching carbide tipped profile cutter blades and they were not pinned into position; only held by the force applied from the upper locking nut which gave you flexibility for doing different profiles.  That was sometime after 1978 when I sold my musical instrument company equipment, tooling, supplies and inventory.  The metal stamping equipment and dies used to manufacture the pre-war Gibson tube and plate flange was also purchased later by the same individual who kept the equipment stored in his basement for 30 plus years and finally sold and/or traded it within the last few years, never utilizing the tooling.  Frank Neat located in Kentucky, currently has the tooling mentioned above.  I am glad I am not the only "pack rat" around.  As usual, I got seriously side tracked there......grin if you must!

Before I start cutting dovetails and pins on these boards, I have to figure out and make a dust collection system for the dovetail and router fixture.  There is no commercially available dust collection system for the Porter-Cable 4216 dovetail jig and the routers I am using do not have a dust port on them either, but I will come up with some Rube Goldberg contraption that hopefully will work.

Web published updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-12-16.

RUBE GOLDBERG DUST COLLECTOR ATTACHMENT

Below are a few pixs of a dust collector made for the Porter-Cable 4216 dovetail jig using scrap materials on hand.  There isn't much room for a dust collector and the large adjustment knobs are in the way for any serious design but I worked around them.  I used a pair of rubber bands to hold the attachment in place since you have to remove it when you change from cutting dovetails to pins.  I blocked off about 2/3 of the length of the dust/chip collector box to increase the suction since I am only cutting dovetails and pins in four (4) inch width material for this project.  I can later remove the divider and/or reposition the air vacuum port for wider or full width stock if needed.

The top of the dust/chip collector box is flush with the dovetail/pin jig plate and could add extra support for the base of the router if a stronger attachment means is used instead of the impromptu rubber bands.  Over half the real-estate of the router base is forward on the jig plate when moving to the next dovetail and pin location and care must be used to keep the router from tipping forward.

I believe the DeWalt 610 router is superior to the Porter-Cable 690LR router for this application because the DeWalt 610 has a much lower profile and the router height adjustment (rack and pinion gear) assembly is on the back side of the router adding extra weight to help keep it from tipping forward.  I recently found a DeWalt 610 router on EBay, new and unused in the original box, whereas used ones were selling like hot cakes since that model hasn't been made since 2002.  I had to pay top dollar for it because several bidders wanted it as badly as I did.   

I used 5/8 inch braid nails to secure the bottom, sides and top.

I did a few test dovetail cuts and the Rube Goldberg looking contraption did a great job in collecting the router chips and dust.

There is adjustability for using thicker materials with this dust collection being pretty low tech but the important thing is that it works great!

I added 4 x 4 blocks under each end of the dovetail jig to add additional height off the "work bench" which gets double duty as my table saw out feed.  The extra height places the jig in a more user friendly position requiring you to bend over less; ergonomics is the word for the day!

Below some cheat notes that I placed on my table saw fence guide rail to offset the CRS disease:

Web published update by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-13-16, 04-17-16, 04-25-16 and 04-26-16.

FIRST SALE OF NAPKIN HOLDER BOXES

Below pixs from one of my friends Calvin Jones of Wadesboro, NC who purchased a couple of the napkin holder boxes for his home:

CJ custom built the drop down bar above too!

The salt and pepper shakers match the cedar napkin holder boxes very well.

Web published update by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-30-16 and 05-17-16. 

MURPHY'S LAW NEVER SLEEPS

Got started on a dozen of the napkin holder boxes and cruising along; got my new purchase DeWalt 610 router circa 2002 set-up and working like a charm cutting the pins on the boxes, whereas, I have my original DeWalt router set-up for cutting the tails on the boards.  Routed the groove for the box bottom and started to rough band saw the front opening and the lower cut-outs on the boxes when the ole second hand worn out Jet 14 inch band saw's blade stopped cutting/rotating.  After quickly switching the power off, I smelt something like rubber burning.  After opening the access panels to the unit, the rubber tire had slipped partly off the upper wheel.  I removed the wheel and it was very evident that the tire was worn out and stretched to the point where it was not staying on the wheel and the glue that held it in place didn't hold either.  I have a friend in Wallace, SC that I do some trading with every now and then and the last two trades for equipment certainly wasn't in my favor.  A small South Bend lathe had a worn out place near the center of the vee way bed and no good for turning stuff needing more than .0015 accuracy and the band saw was worn out too.  I reminded him of that the last time we chatted either via telephone or in person.....grin if you must!  I did get one good trade out of him many years ago on a firearm before all the red tape came about third party transfer of firearms.

I ordered a couple of the Carter Ultra Blue urethane 14 inch tires from Woodcraft.com and will install them when they arrive.  I am in no hurry since the napkin holder boxes are another fun project and will get the four that I already did the band saw cuts on before the breakdown and did the finish profile on the router table.  I will sand them down and do the glue-up on them, etc.

Below is a pix of Murphy's Law in action:

I read a few blogs about worn tires on band saw wheels and most recommended a replacement instead of trying to glue them back on and upgrading from the regular black rubber tires to urethane of which I did.

Web published update by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-18-16

UPDATE:  Installed new tires on 05-23-16 and working fine.  Carter recommended soaking the tires in 120 degree F. hot water for 5 minutes but you need about four (4) hands to stretch the urethane tires onto the band saw wheels.  I used a two inch wide cloth strip tied tight to secure the tire in place while stretching the tire onto and around the wheel.  

Added above two pixs on 07-25-16.

PLAN B UTILIZING THE JIG SAW VERSUS THE BAND SAW

It will be several days before the tires for the band saw wheels arrive and had 8 boxes to rough cut the material for the front opening and the sides and got the Milwaukee jig saw out and finished the cuts.  Not as smooth sailing as with the band saw but got the job done.  It didn't take long to route the finished profile and got most of them sanded down and ready for the gluing jig.

Web published update by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-19-16, 05-23-16 and 07-25-16.

SHORT RUN OF NAPKIN HOLDERS

After finishing the last batch of ceramic and wood pot holders aka trivets, I trimmed one edge of the red cedar boards, sawed them to 4 inch in width and band sawed them in half (vertical) orientation.  The red cedar wood had a lot of bad places in the wood and several boards were split near the ends.

The dimensions of the napkin holder is:  7 7/16 inch square, .329 +- inches thickness and 4 inches height.

I will have at least $ 4.88 material cost in each napkin holder not counting wood sales tax and due to the bad waste wood and wood not wide enough to make a napkin holder.  Maybe I can find a use for the scrap aka unallocated red cedar wood.

I viewed a couple YouTube videos on making dovetail drawers to refresh my memory since I had not routed any dovetails and pins since 2016 using the Porter Cable 4216 fixture.

To make a long story short, I might get seventeen (17) napkin holders if all goes well.  I had a couple pieces of the wood after running them through the planer, routing the dovetails and pins and the slot for the bottom, whereas the wood split and had to glue them back together.

Router set-up for routing the dovetails.  I have two routers set-up just for doing dovetails.

Dovetails and pins completed and pattern routing (template jig) for the lower cut out and the opening in the front of the napkin holders.

Above gluing jig.  The front and one side of the jig is moveable.

I plan to glue up a couple napkin holders each working day, our Lord willing of course.  Prior to glue up, I will sand the inside of the pieces.

If wood is under stress, it is best to leave the clamps in place twenty-four (24) hours.  The Titebond Ultimate III is fast setting and you have to work fast during the glue up.  

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-20-2022.

NAPKIN HOLDERS CONTINUED

As stated, I am gluing up a couple of the napkin holders a day.  I could rush this process, but in no real hurry.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-24-2022.

COMPLETED NAPKIN HOLDERS

I will be applying finish to the last eight (8) napkin holders today.  The humidity was low enough to spray the other nine (9) napkin holders on 05-28-2022.  This short run of napkin holders will be serial numbers 128 thru 144.

I presented our new neighbors Connie and Steve Marsh with a napkin holder and ceramic and wood pot holder aka trivet on 05-29-2022 as a house warming gift.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-30-2022.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please take this moment to accept him by Faith into your Life, whereby Salvation will be attained.