I’ve been lucky with the weather this week. It has been warm just about every evening when I came home from work. So I was able to get an hour or so in the shop a few evenings. Over the course of this week I have been prepping the parts for the rear frame assembly. My plywood wood order arrived about mid-week and tonight I brought everything together.
First order of business was to measure and cut the birch ply panel for the frame. I’m pretty happy with the pieces I received in this order. No damage, flat and some attractive grain patterns. Sometimes I get lucky. I sawed the panel out with my trusty old Shark ryoba.
Then I sanded the panel up thru 220 grit.
Parts all prepped and staged ready for assembly.
Then it was a controlled frenzy of glue brush, mallet blows and clamps while Led Zeppelin Four was playing. Next I installed all of the wedges to lock the assembly together. I’m all but positive that I don’t need to glue these assemblies, but I’m still too chicken to actually skip the glue.
Here is a look inside the assembled and wedged joint. I aim for the wedges to only extend thru to the depth of the bottom of the square mortise. This lessens the chances of a split. I only flare the mortise to this depth as well. Leaving the base of the tenon tightly fitted into the mortise. I have yet to find any empirical evidence to support this arrangement, but I have yet to split any tenons either.
Tomorrow I’ll tackle the rest of the panels and hopefully the glue up of the entire carcass.
HILLBILLY DAIKU 
Impressive work. I’m looking forward to seeing more.
Not so sure it qualifies as impressive Andrew. But, thank you for the sentiment. I’ve been following your scroll work on the cross. Now that is impressive!
Greg
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Hi Greg!
This morning, before I came to the computer I was finishing glue another “box”. And although my projects are (overall) getting better, my thoughts this morning were:
“this gaps are horrible…”(less than 1/32”),
“I got tear out again…”(impossible all directions grain EVEN with a card scraper)
Am I seeing a lot better or just being to picky? 🙂 😛
Then I remember your post about the canvas-the ditty bag and doing the best you can.
I’m learning, I’m doing, I’m enjoying the process. (here I’m just thinking//writing out laud)
So lets Stop looking absolute 200% perfection….
Let’s enjoy more and one day “perfection” will come…. eventually….or ….
Not! LOLOL
Nice work, as usually, Greg!
Thanks Antonio!
You are becoming a craftsman Antonio. Seeing with a craftsman’s eye and refining your skills. Changing the things that you can and accepting those that you cannot. Awesome!
Greg
Have you thought of using rice glue? The wedges will keep the cabinet together and the rice glue will keep wedges from moving. Isn’t rice glue reversible too?
Hi Ralph,
Rice glue would certainly work for this. But I don’t think it’s strong enough for the drawer assemblies. So instead of keeping two different products for the same job, I just go with the liquid hide glue.
Greg
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