With both glass panels grouted at last (WHOPEE!!) I went
back to work installing the pegs. First step is to go through sorting all the pegs so the grain matches
when looked at them from the end. Since
the intent here is to make the pegs look like through tenons the grain needs to
be consistent between the two.
The peg installation process is similar to installing the
faux tenons except at a smaller scale.
It follows the same first couple steps as the faux tenons with the glue
applied inside the mortise and the pegs started by hand. That’s been done in the photo below where you
can also see a couple of red dots on the pegs.
They are there as a reference mark so when installed it’s easy to see if
they are mounted in the correct orientation.
Next the spacer that will hold the pegs a consistent
distance proud of the legs is clamped in place.
Rather than use a rubber mallet to hammer the pegs in
place I use a large parallel clamp to gradually pull the pegs into position. This is what that looks like when ready to
tighten the clamp.
When the face of the clamp is tight against the spacer
they are at the correct depth. Using the
clamp provides great control in applying just the required amount of pressure.
Here is what the completed peg installation look
like.
When the pegs on the opposite side are installed a second
thicker spacer is set over the already installed pegs (right side) like
this. That’s so when the clamp is
tightened down it does not press the already installed pegs further into the mortise.
This is what the top of the case looks like with the leg
pegs installed. As you can see the door
pegs still need to be done.
Installing the stained glass panels in the door is
next. That’s started by putting down a
piece of cardboard so the door and glass assembly can be moved around on the
workbench without scratching the finished door.
With the door set face down two layers cardboard are cut to fit inside
the wood door frame. These act as spaces
to fill the gap between the zinc came and the front of the door.
The glass panel is carefully laid into the rabbit cut
into the inside of door then measurements are taken on the spacer’s thickness
to fill in between the zinc window frame and the rabbit shoulder. In a smaller door I probably would have just
set some small pieces to hold the glass in place then applied the retainer
clips to hold the window in place.
However, since this is a large (26” X 66”) panel I wanted the door and
glass panel locked tightly together acting as a monolithic assembly to reduce
the chance of the door frame sagging. My
measurements showed that the long side spacers needed to be 3/32” thick and
7/64” wide. Pretty small pieces to be
cutting on a table saw. My process is to
cut the 3/32” pieces a little thick out of a ¾” board then take them down using
the thickness sander until I ended up with 3/32” X ¾” X 66” long blanks. To get the 7/64” width I cut them on the
table saw but because they are so thin it’s not safe to cut a single
thickness. On the other hand, trying to
hold multiple pieces together and run them through the table saw is a lot like
herding cats. The solution I used is to
apply tape to three pieces to hold them together then run the stack through
table saw. Here is what the stack looked
like taped. As an additional measure to
minimize the stress during the cut I switched the saw blade to a thin kerf rip
blade.
Being a firm believer of keeping my fingers away from the
saw blade I used a push block or two to move the stack through the saw.
The zinc came frame around the window is not exactly
straight and parallel to the door frame.
As I wanted a snug fit all around some trimming using a hand plane and
scraper is required. Once fitted the
pieces were removed, labeled for location and stained to match the door. After drying overnight, they were put back in
place. I did not glue them in but will
rely on a friction fit to hold them in place.
Last step to hold the glass panel in place it to install
the glass retainers. To make sure the
panel stayed put two are installed at the top and bottom along with five on
each side for a total of 14. Here is
what it looks like with one in place and a close view.
All of the pegs have been installed except for the ones
in the door. I had left those out while
installing the glass panel since I was worried that they might get dinged up
while moving the door frame around plus I needed the frame flat for
support. That’s in the next and last
post for this project.
Next up – Door Pegs, Latch & Lighting
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