886 6
Leaving the block attached gives me plenty of material to clamp in the vise
while I smooth out the saw marks with a rasp, followed by a fi le, and then
#150-grit sandpaper.Panelled Back
Backs in original Craftsman pieces varied depending on when
they were made, and could be V-grooved or shiplapped
planks, or frame-and-panel assemblies. I chose to make a back
panel, as this would help keep the cabinet from racking.
The stiles and rails for the back are all^3 ⁄ 4 "-thick material,
with a^1 ⁄ 4 "-wide by^1 ⁄ 8 "-deep groove centered in one edge.
Mortise-and-tenon joints hold the panel together, and the
(^1) ⁄ 4 "-thick shiplapped panels float in the grooves in the stiles
and rails. You also could use^1 ⁄ 4 "-thick plywood for the back
panels, or make the entire back from one piece of^3 ⁄ 4 "- thick
plywood.
To assemble the back, I first glued one end of each of the
three rails into one of the stiles. After letting the glue dry
overnight, I slipped the shiplapped panels into place, then
applied glue to the tenons on the rails, and clamped on the
remaining stile.
Assembling the Case
With one of the end panels fl at on the end of my assembly ta-
ble, I inserted the tenons for the bottom rails part way in their
mortises, and then applied glue to the tenons. This keeps the
glue from squeezing out on the outside of the joint. I tapped
the rails home with a dead-blow mallet, and then eased the
bottom in to its dado, as shown at right. With these parts
together, I put glue on the tenons of the rails, and edge of the
bottom before clamping down the remaining side panel.
I then laid the cabinet on its back, and glued and clamped
the face frame in place. After letting the glue dry for an hour,
I glued the trim piece on the front edge of the bottom. The
seam between the face frame and the end panel is covered by
a^1 ⁄ 4 "-thick strip that runs from the top edge of the bottom to
the bottom of the top face-frame rail.
These small additional pieces add interest to the design
by creating steps in an otherwise flat surface. They also hide
Half-lap joints hold the intermediate stiles and rails of the doors together.
The half-lap joints, as well as all of the tenons for the door were cut with
the dado head on the table saw as you can see here. The block clamped to
the saw’s fence locates the cuts without trapping the parts between the
dado cutter and the fence.
I assemble the door in stages. Here I’m placing a subassembly of the inter-
mediate stiles and rail to one of the door stiles. The remaining stile will be
placed on top and clamped.
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