Since there are three different patterns between the 16
pieces needed making templates is first. I followed a similar procedure as done with
the rails in Post #13. A one ended
pattern is used to drawn matching profiles on one of the spacer blanks.
With the profile drawn on the template cutting can begin. Since the straight cuts for most of the spacers are on the ends, they can be cut on the table saw. Here is the setup; the fence is set to cut the correct width and a stop block is set to keep from cutting too far into the blank.
Note that the blade is a lot higher than normal. That’s so when the stopped cut is made the end of the cut is closer to 90 degrees. In the two renderings below the bottom one shows what I am after.
The curves on these pieces are quite a bit smaller than
on the bottom cabinet rails so to improve the quality when rough cutting them
out I changed the bandsaw blade.
Typically, I keep a ½” wide, 3 tooth per inch blade on it but here
changed it to one that’s ¼” wide with 16 teeth per inch. The ¼” blade will allow for tighter turning
of the blade.
After rough cutting the curves the blank looks like
this.
From there it’s smoothed out on the oscillating drum
sander followed by hand sanding all the edges.
This is one of the two templates I will make. Earlier I said that there are three patterns
which is correct but only two templates are needed since one pattern a partial
of this one.
The actual production of the side spacer pieces is:
- Tracing the template on a blank.
- Cutting the straight sections on the table saw, and the curved sections on the bandsaw.
- Clean up bandsawn curves on oscillating drum sander to prevent grabbing with router bit.
- Using double faced tape affix template to roughed out blank.
- With a bottom bearing template cutting bit in the router table trim the blank to match template.
- Hand sand all edges.
Here in the top photo are the stacks of the three types
of side spacers all cut, sanded and ready to have the small radius put on the
appropriate edges. It took a day and a
half to take them from a blank to this point.
There was a lot of time spent hand sanding to get a smooth flowing
surface on the curved edges. The top
spacers get only the bottom edge radiused while all the others get both top and
bottom edges radiused. The bottom photo
has the edges marked for the legs and rails that will need to be radiused.
On the side spacers and the front/back rails the radius
will be put on with a 1/16” radius bit in the router table. Here is the setup and a before-after photo of
the completed edge.
To apply the radius to the legs a 1/16” radius bit in a
hand held router is used. Trying to
route the long legs on the router table is awkward and a lot easier using the
small hand held router. This is what
that setup looks like. It’s using a
little bit different equipment but gets the same radiused edge result.
Finally, at long last the legs and rails finished. The side spacers just need a final trim to
length and they will be done too. Here
they are set aside for a little bit but first I want revisit the stain color.
In looking at the selected stained oak sample (bottom
pieces with pegs) I thought it might look better slightly darker and with a little more
definition in the grain pores. First, I
tried rubbing in some walnut gel stain after the clear topcoat had been applied
and that did a little to the pores but nothing to the rest of the sample. Next I tried applying the gel stain after the
first coat of stain and before any clear finish had been applied (top
pieces). I like that a lot better so it’s
the stain mix I will be using.
At this point the majority of the parts for the case have
been cut. The side spacers need a trim to their final length plus there are some hinge mounts to make along with,
shelf edging, fitting the tops, handles to make and a whole lot of pegs needed
so not everything is done but enough to start thinking about the order the case
is going together. Now is the part where
the instructions say, “Some assembly required.”
I am going to start by gluing up the front legs and
rails. That will give me some practice
before I do the back legs and rails as they have a plywood insert added to the
mix. Here is the test clamp checking one
last time to make sure everything fits as it should and that any adjustments to
make it square are not a problem.
The glue-up ended up less of a frantic rush as I thought
it would be which is always a good thing.
Everything went together just fine and in a timely fashion. I did have to tweak things a little bit to
make the frame absolutely square. The
adjustments are done by clamping the base rail down to the workbench using the
two orange “F” clamps as shown below so it’s locked in place.
At the top the bar clamp with the red ends is set so the
right side is up against the bench while the left side pushes against the
leg. This allows me to apply a very
controlled amount of pressure to rack the assembly until the measuring stick
drops into place indicating that the diagonals are identical and things are
square.
The diagonal measuring stick is set during the test
fit. After making the adjustment I check the opposing diagonal to make sure they match, just in case anything
slipped between the test and final glue-up.
With everything square and glued up it’s left to set overnight.
Next up – Faux Tenons, Staining Back & Leg/Rail/Back
Glue-up
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