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Materials:
- Six 1"x4" pine boards, 6 feet long
- Four 2"x1/2" brass hinges
- 12' of 1/2" doweling
- Glue
- Grass cloth, fabric or rice paper for screen material
- 24 brass grommets
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Tools
- Compass
- Jig saw
- Sandpaper
- Cornering tool
- Back saw
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Hammer
- Safety glasses
- Grommet maker kit
- Gripper mat
- Clamps
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Tools you might not be familiar with
Cornering tool
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Back Saw
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Steps:
Mark
the center of the board before using the compass to scribe an
arc.
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A
compass.
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Use
a compass to make an arched cut line. |
Lay each of your six pine boards out on your work surface.
Centre your compass point near one end of each board, then mark
an arc. |
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| Cut on the line with a jig saw (or a coping saw if that's
what you have), keeping the line as smooth as possible. Sand
the edges of each curve, taking out any bumps, wavers or rough
spots. Cut each of the boards to the same length - 5' is standard.
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Use
a cornering tool, sand paper or a plane to remove the sharp
edge. |
A
cornering tool has two sizes of cutters for rounding sharp edges.
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Use sandpaper or a cornering tool to smooth the edges of
each board. This is one of those surprising details that will
immediately make your project look much more polished.
Cornering tools are available at specialty woodworking suppliers
like Lee Valley Tools
in Canada, or Woodcraft
in the U.S.
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Drill
a hole for the dowell in both sides using a backer board . |
Roll
a piece of sand paper to clean up the hole after drilling.
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Measure and mark the center of each board 2 1/2" down from
the top, and 5 1/2" up from the bottom. Drill 1/2" holes through
the wood on each of these marks.
Tip: When the drill bit bursts through the bottom of
the board it usually splits and tears the wood around the hole.
Don't let this happen to you. Put a scrap piece of wood underneath
your good board and clamp them together. The drill bit will
then tear up the scrap piece instead of your good board.
Sand the edges of each drilled hole to remove any rogue wood
fibers. |
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Cut
a slot in the end of the dowell using a back saw. |
Cut
the slot deep enough to make it easy to slip in the hole. |
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Cut dowelling into 24" lengths.
(Optional but helpful step)
Using a fine-toothed back saw (which has a spine to make it
less flexible), slice a 1/2" deep saw cut into the end of each
dowel to enable it to compress a bit when you're sliding it
into the hole. |
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Apply
glue to the end of the dowells. |
Pound
the dowells into the hole using a wooden mallet. |
Clean
up the excess glue. |
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Completed
arched ends with dowells. |
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Spread a thin layer of glue on the last half inch of each
dowel, and force the dowels into the 1/2" holes. Clean up any
excess glue with a damp cloth. You now have three separate panels.
Take a moment to drink beer and strut. |
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Grommets,
block or seat, set and punch - top to bottom. |
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Cut enough rice paper, grass cloth or lace to fit each panel.
Install four grommets through the material at the top and bottom
of each panel using a grommetting kit (available in hardware
and craft stores for about $15).
If you prefer not to use grommets, you can punch holes in the
lace or paper and drive a short piece of ¼" doweling through
the two holes. This is a slick design detail and gets you out
of any sewing. |
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Use the punch to cut a hole for the grommet. |
Place the grommet on the block or seat and then use the set
to crimp. |
Crimp
the grommet together using the set and the block or seat.
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Use a small flat screwdriver to help remove the set after crimping.
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To grommet: Punch a hole in the material using the
punch. (Put a piece of scrap wood under your work so that
you don't wound your work surface.)
Slide the protruding 'male' grommet-piece underneath the
hole so that it sticks up through looking proud and perky.
Pop a 'female' grommet-piece on top of it. Place the 'seat'
under the male grommet-piece and place the 'set' on top of
the female grommet-piece.
Pound on the top of the set with a hammer.
Use authoritative strikes; otherwise the grommet won't 'take'.Pry
the set loose using a small screwdriver if it gets stuck.
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Clamp the sides together, install the hinges, start the holes
with the point of the compass. |
Drive
the screws in being careful not to strip the soft metal or soft
wood. |
Attach the grass cloth to the screen using a bent and pounded
copper wire. |
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Clamp two of the panels together and install the hinges.
Hinging can be trickier than it looks. Take your time to line
the hinge up accurately, then give each screw a good start
by using the pointy end of your compass to make a dimple in
the wood.
Since brass is very soft, install the brass screws using
a hand screwdriver, not a power drill; this will help you
to avoid chewing up the heads of the screws.
Also, be careful not to over-tighten them to the point where
they are spinning in place. Because then if there's any sudden
force put on the screen - say, while you're performing an
energetic striptease, the screws suddenly pull out.
Nobody likes a sudden pull out.
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Finished Screen. |
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| Attach the third panel to the first two, taking care to install
the hinges on the opposite edge from the first set, so that
the screen holds a zig-zag shape when open. |
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Artisans'
work featured on this episode:
(click pics for Artist info and larger
images)
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