554 4
Details Make Simple Into Sublime
My widest piece of cherry had enough material for the two
carcase sides and the door panels. I took the piece intended
for the panels, resawed it at the band saw, and set it aside
while I worked on the case.
I printed full-size paper patterns of the top and bottom side
profi les, and adhered them to the sides with spray adhesive.
These patterns are available on page 55, or online at popular-
woodworking.com/apr09, along with a SketchUp model of the
plans.
I held the two sides together with double-stick tape, cut the
profi les at the band saw, and cleaned up the cuts with a rasp
followed by a scraper. Working on both sides at the same time
ensured a good match, and cut the time for making the sides
in half.
The top and bottom of the case fi t in stopped dados. I made
a jig to guide my router for cutting the dados by clamping two
pieces of scrap to each side of the top. I then screwed a third
piece at a right angle to the other two to register the router
on the front of the case side.
Using a^5 ⁄ 8 "-diameter mortising bit with a bearing mount-
ed above the cutter, I made a test cut in some scrap, then
clamped the jig to the side and routed a^1 ⁄ 4 "-deep dado, stop-
ping^1 ⁄ 2 " short of the width of the fi nished top and bottom.
The top overhangs the door, and the bottom sits behind the
door, so I laid out the exact dimensions before cutting the
dados.
I squared off the ends of the dados with a chisel, and cut a
notch in the front edge of the two horizontal pieces. The only
other joinery on the case is a^1 ⁄ 2 "-wide by^1 ⁄ 2 "-deep rabbet for
the back panels. I used a rabbeting bit in a hand-held router,
cutting the rabbet along the entire length of the top and bot-
tom. The rabbets in the sides stop where the rabbets meet the
dados.
Before assembling the case, I drilled^3 ⁄ 16 "-diameter holes for
the two adjustable shelves. I brushed the end grain of the top
and bottom with yellow glue, and also coated the end grain
inside the dados. After waiting 10 minutes, I brushed a second
coat of glue inside the dados, and clamped the case together.
Sizing the end grain like this makes for a stronger glue joint.
A Well-made Door
The door is rather wide, and the components of it are rather
thin, so I paid careful attention to the joinery. The first step
was to cut a^1 ⁄ 4 "-wide by^5 ⁄ 16 "-deep groove on one edge of
the outer stiles and the top and bottom rails. The narrow
intermediate stiles were grooved on both edges.
I made the grooves by passing the edges of the pieces over
a stack dado set at the table saw, running the grooves all the
way along the edges of the stock. The groove is located^1 ⁄ 4 "
in from the back of the door making it offset by^1 ⁄ 16 " in the
13 ⁄ 16 " material.
This meant all the grooving had to be done with the face
against the saw fence, but from that point on there was no
confusion regarding which was the front and which was the
back on the door parts; the fat side was out and the skinny
side was in.
I set up the hollow-chisel mortiser with a^1 ⁄ 4 " chisel and
with the face of one of the stiles against the machine fence, I
adjusted the fence so the chisel was aligned with the groove. I
set the depth of the chisel to cut 1^5 ⁄ 16 " deep from the edge of
the stiles and cut the four mortises in the outer stiles. I wasn’t
sure how my material would behave, so I kept the ends of the
mortises 1" away from the ends of the stiles to keep the ends
from blowing out.
The top rail is the same width as the outer stiles, so the
same machine settings could be used to make the mortises
for the intermediate stiles. The lower rail is wider, so I had to
Quick custom jig. The dado-routing jig is made by clamping the two guide
rails on either side of a shelf. The top-mounted bearing on the router bit
then cuts the proper-width dado without measuring or fussing.Stop action. A pencil mark indicates the end of the dado, and because the
router will leave rounded ends, I stop just short of the mark.5 52-59_Greene&GreeneMedicineCab.indd 54 2 - 59 _Greene&GreeneMedicineCab.indd 54 3 3/25/13 9:56 AM/ 25 / 13 9 : 56 AM