Photo Club Cabinet – #4 Finish Top, Bottom, Fixed Shelves & Case Assembly

Cutting the top, bottom and fixed shelves to their final length and width is pretty easy I take the factory edge then make a trim cut to clean up any splintering on the rough cut then flip and cut off the factory edge to my final size.  While that edge is straight it’s generally chewed up a little bit in shipping so a recut gives me a clean straight edge.

Cross Cutting Shelf to Width

Now that these pieces are cut to size I can drill the pocket holes on the front and both sides.  Note the chalk notes to myself about drilling the packet holes on this side.  There is also a note on the opposite side, "Pocket other side".  

Drilling Pocket Holes in Shelf

In order to allow for power and communication cables to run between the spaces the back corners of the two fixed shelves have a cutout.  Three easy steps.  First, put some tape where the cut will be made and using a circle template mark the cutout.

Masking Tape with Layout for Cable Cutout

Second with the jigsaw cut close to the line.  The cutout is a little jagged as the radius of the arc is too small for the jig saw to make in one continuous cut.

Rough Cut Cable Cutout

Third, sand the arc smooth with an oscillating drum sander.  Because the shelf is so long there is a blue support stand that you can just barely see in the lower right corner to help keep it level.

Smoothing Cable Cutout

Result is a nice clean smooth cutout big enough for power cords and all sorts of cables.

Completed Cable Cutout

With all the cutting, shaping and drilling done I take a moment to check for any dents that might have happened.  Sure enough I found one in the center of a piece.  A dent, if it’s not too big is a generally where wood fibers are just crushed.  Frequently, by using a wet cloth and a hot iron to steam the spot the wood fibers will swell up cut causing the dent to disappear or at least get a lot smaller.  The dent I was working with also had some cut fibers which are a lot harder to do anything with.  In this case a couple of applications of steam while not completely removing the dent sure made it a lot smaller.

(Left) Original Dent - (Right) Steamed Dent Results

Now with all the major case pieces done I could start the assembly.  On this piece I started at the top.  Note all the chalk marks on the pieces.  I am in the habit of putting notes on the pieces as to what they are which face goes up, which is the front, which side I need to drill holes on and any other items like the cutouts on the back corners.  That way the chance of putting something in backwards, upside down or forgetting to do a woodworking operation is greatly reduced.  Been there, done that and it’s no fun to go back and try to fix after the piece is assembled.  I clamped the top and bottom roughly in place then carefully squared up the top and drove in the 8 screws holding the top to the sides.

Starting Assembly

After the top was in place I worked my way down installing the fixed shelves.

Fixed Shelves in Place

With the bottom shelf in next was the vertical divider.  I needed to get it in place before installing the cabinet bottom because if that were in place it would be a lot harder to drive screws up into the divider through the bottom shelf.

Center Vertical Divider in Place

To make sure the divider is exactly centered I could carefully measure and mark but even a slight slip or error could cause a problem with the adjustable shelves not being interchangeable between the left and right sides.  In this case to make sure it was centered I cut some equal length spacers to snugly fit between the divider and the sides. 

Spacers for Divider Alignment

With that done I put in the bottom and the sub-frame reinforcement around the toe kick space.  Last I measured the diagonals to check for square and the whole case was really close – less than 1/16” out of square over the 6’ height.  A little nudge and with that solved I added a diagonal brace to make sure it stayed square.

Cabinet Braced to Maintain Squarness

Where I did not use the pocket screws such as when I screwed up from the bottom side of the bottom shelf into the vertical divider I need to use a series of drills in order to prepare the pilot hole for the screw.  You can buy ready-made bits to do this and I have a couple of sets but they only work if your situation fits how the bit is configured.  In this case the ones I have did not match up with what I was doing so I had to use a different bit for each of the three steps. 

1. A small bit where the threads in the screw will bite into the divider wood.
2. A counter-sink bit so the head of the screw will be slightly recessed into the shelf.
3. A bit that will provide clearance where the screw goes through the shelf.  The tape is my depth gauge to keep from drilling hole too deep.  I do not want the screw threads biting into the shelf.  The need to turn freely so as the screw gets driven into the divider it pulls it up tight to the shelf.

Bits Needed to Drill Pilot Hole & Drive Screws

Fortunately, all the bits fit in a hexagon quick change attachment that goes in my drill.  It really speeds up the bit swapping.  The fourth bit is the square drive that I actually use to install the screws.

Next Up – Test Finish, Back & Face Frame