Tool Cabinet Part 2
Today I worked on joining the primary carcass of the tool cabinet. I started out by cutting all of the panels to their final width and length. The side panels required a few stop cuts to make way for the doors which will someday hang on the cabinet.
After the panels were cut I spent some time carefully laying out all of the dovetails and wedged through tenons. This case is joined entirely by dovetails and the only tools used to do so were a 1/4″ chisel, 1″ chisel, Dovetail saw, coping saw, marking gauge, marking knife and mallet. There is a definite sense of satisfaction when all of your meticulously crafted wooden components fit together for the first time. If you are not familiar with wood joinery take a moment and look at the details. Consider the amount of time and effort to shape each and every dovetail joint by hand.
The next step will be to begin creating the drawer dividers and french cleat. All of the dividers will be joined using sliding dovetails and the french cleat will be dovetailed into the upper rear section of the cabinet to provide an interface for the portion of the cleat which will be attached to the concrete block wall.
-Sam
Correa Wood Works 
I did a small through tenon bookshelf which turned out to be a nightmare. In fact, I ended up splitting the side and had to make another one!
Your work looks awesome and nothing like my frustration. Perhaps, I will attempt it again.
Can you share details of how you go about marking and cutting the through mortise? Do you mark and cut from both sides?
PhilM - July 14, 2011 at 8:50 am |
Phil M,
With the pin board positioned in the correct orientation and securely held in place against the tail board, I use my marking knife to scribe the top and bottom of the pin board in the range of the not yet established mortise. The marking knife gives me the exact thickness of the tenon. I determine what width I want and then use a chisel to define the outline from the inside of the panel. Once I have chopped the mortise into the tail board by about 3/16″ to 1/4″ I use a top bearing template bit to plunge and clear the remainder of the wood riding the bearing against the 3/16″ to 1/4″ shoulder I established with the mortise. this ensures that the outer profile is identical to the scribed outline. After squaring out the corners of the mortise from the outside in, I re-align the pin board to the tail board and use the marking knife to mark the width of the cut mortise onto the end grain of the pin board. I establish the tenon on the end of the pin board using my dovetail saw, copeing saw and chisels.
If your familiar with hand cut joinery, you should be able to follow the above description. I will try and show the process next time I cut through tenons.
-Sam
correawoodworks - July 14, 2011 at 2:59 pm |