WORKSHOP
Storage Bench Build a versatile piece that looks great outside or inside your home
BY VERN GRASSEL AND DAN CARY
Keep seat cushions and other small deck accessories dry and out of sight in this cedar storage bench.
erfect for a deck, patio or pool area, this solid-cedar bench is designed to provide comfortable seating and ample storage. Though it’s built to withstand outdoor exposure, it’s handsome enough that you might decide to keep it inside to hold blankets or firewood. Construction requires only a few woodworking power tools: a router, a table saw, a drill and a jigsaw. We cut the grooves and rabbets using a table saw, but you could use a router table and a straight bit. Pocket-screw joinery keeps the frame assembly simple. Note: The 1x6 and 1x8 cedar that we bought at a home center is 7/8 in. thick. If you are using 3/4-in.-thick lumber, you’ll need to make the appropriate adjustments.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL ANDERSON
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GARAGE
Gettin’ Hitched Almost any vehicle can tow a railer if you install the right receiver hitch
s a building maintenance tech, I carry a lot of stuff to and from the job site. After trading my aging pickup for a more fuel-efficient, compact grocery getter, I realized that although my new vehicle could haul of all my tools, I would occasionally need to tow a trailer loaded with large materials. And that meant installing a receiver hitch. A receiver hitch consists of a square or round steel tube that bolts to your vehicle’s frame and accepts a draw bar with a towing ball (photo,
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BY MIKE TAVIS
p. xx). Many trucks and SUVs come with a factory-installed receiver hitch, but most cars, vans and smaller crossover vehicles do not. Luckily, thanks to the large variety of after-market hitches, you should be able to find one that will fit your vehicle, and you’ll only need basic mechanics’ tools to install it yourself.
THE RIGHT HITCH Before you buy a receiver hitch, you need to know the towing capacity of your vehicle and how much weight
you plan to pull. Trailers are rated by gross trailer weight (GTW – the total weight of the trailer and its load) and tongue weight (the downward force of the trailer on the hitch ball — typically about 10 percent of the GTW). You can find the towing capacity and tongue-weight limit of your vehicle in the owner’s manual, and you should never exceed those limits. (If you’ve misplaced the owner’s manual, check online or consult a local dealership to determine your vehicle’s towing capacity.) You may
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIZ ANDERSON AND MICHAEL WESTHOFF
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METALSHOP
A Riveting Experience Blind rivets provide a practical, easy and decorative way to join metal
BY MIKE BERGER
Rivets have been used for more than 150 years to effectively secure metal. Add them to your metalworking arsenal to broaden the types of projects you can create.
ot that long ago, welding machines were a fantasy; rivets were one of the few ways to effectively join two pieces of metal. Some of history’s greatest structures — the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower and the Titanic — owe their existence to this type of joinery, and rivets remain an integral
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PROJECTS
How to Tile a Backsplash With proper planning and the right tools, any DIYer can set tile like a pro
BY MIKE TAVIS
A tiled backsplash is an easy upgrade to any kitchen or bath. ou don’t have to be obsessive-compulsive to set tile, but it helps. In all seriousness, with a little planning, any careful DIYer with an eye for detail and the right tools can achieve great results with tile. A kitchen backsplash is a good project for a first-timer; here’s how to get started.
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PLAN AHEAD With tile, investing time in the planning stage really helps you to avoid headaches later. The first step involves basic math: How much space do I have, and how many tiles will it take to fill that space? Careful measurement is essential, but you will encounter slight size variations from tile to tile. Sheets of tiles on a backing material such as paper, fiberglass mesh or plastic dots vary in size even
more than single tiles. Even tiny size differences can quickly add up to a noticeable discrepancy from your plan. That’s why I like to dry-fit a row of tiles before I begin so I can see exactly where I will need to make cuts. Another important factor to consider when buying tile is whether you want whole tiles in the corners and along edges. If so, you’ll need to select tiles that fit into these spaces. If you don’t mind burying your cuts in the corners and under cabinets, you’ll have more leeway in choosing tile size. Even after careful planning, it’s easy to make mistakes, so buy about 10 percent more tile than your square footage requires. If you mess up when cutting a tile, save it; you might be able to use it in a corner. Corners are often irregular, so the tiles at the end of each course may need to be PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL ANDERSON
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