| Mahogany China Display -- Back Panel |
From "Wood Works"
episode WWK-113 |
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With the stock and joinery made and the frame assembled, work can begin on preparing the frame to accept the mahogany back panel. Once that process is complete, the panel can then be cut and installed in the frame, and work can begin on the shelves and trim pieces.
Materials: Wengae frame (assembled)
Mahogany plywood stock
Table router; flush bearing-bit; rabbet bit
Handheld router; radius bit
Hand chisel
Jigsaw
Table saw
Block-plane
Patternmaker's rasp
Clamps
Yellow woodworker's glue
Chalk or carpenter's pencil
Safety glasses or goggles
Note: Cut sizes may vary. For exact measurements, please contact David Marks through his website -- information below under Resources. Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when working with wood, saws, drills, routers, etc.
Preparing the Curved Frame for the Back Panel Once the frame has been assembled and the glue has dried fully, the frame is taken to the router table, where it will be completed by removing excess spline material and cutting a rabbet to accept the plywood back panel.
Steps:
- A flush bearing-bit is installed on the table router and used to trim away the excess spline material (figure A) from the frame. Because the spline material is thin, it can be trimmed away in one pass on the router (figure B).
- Once the excess spline material has been removed, a rabbet bit is installed in the table router. The rabbet bit is used to cut a rabbet -- 1/2" deep by 3/8" wide -- around the inside perimeter of the frame. The rabbet is cut into the back of the frame (figure C), creating a recess that will later accept the plywood back panel.
- Tip: Because wengae tends to splinter, the rabbet bit is raised gradually -- in small increments -- to avoid chip-out as the rabbet is being cut. In addition, climb-milling is used in the more difficult, curved sections, and caution is used to meet the bit gradually (figure D).
- Once the rabbet has been cut, a handheld router with a 1/8" radius bit is used to round over the inside and outside edges of the frame (figure E).
- A hand-chisel is used to square the corners of the rabbet (figure F) so that the cut back panel will fit properly into the frame.
- Marks are made on the frame to lay out the positioning of the shelves that will be installed later.
The Mahogany Back Panel With the frame complete, the plywood back panel can be cut. Steps:
- The mahogany plywood stock is placed beneath the assembled frame (figure G ) so that the frame can be used as a template for laying out the cut-lines on the plywood.
- Pencil lines scribed on the plywood -- using the outside of the rabbet as a guide (figure H) -- create an outline for the jigsaw to follow.
- Using the pencil marks as a guide, the curved back panel is carefully cut out using a jigsaw (figure I).
- The rough edges left by the jigsaw on the curved back panel are smoothed off using a block plane and patternmaker's rasp (figure J). This extra step will help ensure a good fit for the panel.
- With the panel made, yellow woodworker's glue is applied into the rabbet in the back of the frame (figure K) in preparation for the back panel's installation.
- After spreading the glue in the rabbet, the panel is carefully lowered into position in the frame (figure L).
- The assembly is flipped over, and clamps are used to apply even pressure all along the perimeter of the rabbet (figure M). Care is taken to ensure that there are no gaps.
Cutting the Shelves While the glue is drying on the back panel, work can begin making the three shelves for the china display. The shelves are cut from 1/2" mahogany plywood. The three shelves are all cut to the same length, but each is cut to a different width -- to accommodate different sizes of china pieces. Steps:
- The mahogany stock is cut to the predetermined widths using the table saw (figure N). The top shelf is cut 3" wide; the middle is cut 3-5/8" wide; and the bottom is cut to 5-1/4".
- Once the shelf pieces are cut to their predetermined widths, they are all cut to the same length on the table saw. The length for all three shelves is 45-5/8".
- Next, long strips of wengae are cut to use as trim to cover the exposed edges of the plywood shelves.
- The edges of the strips are rounded at the router table, using a 1/8" radius bit (figure O).
- With the wengae trim milled up, the trim pieces can be glued onto the shelves. The trim pieces along the front edge of each shelf stands about 1" proud above the top of the shelf (figure P) -- to protect the china pieces from falling off the shelf.
- The trim pieces are glued to the fronts of the shelves as the shelves sit atop 3/16" plywood spacers (figure Q) to allow for a 3/16" overhang below the bottom of each shelf.
Tip: To simplify glue-up, two shelf assemblies can be placed together face-to-face (figure R) as they are clamped secure. In that way, only one set of clamps needs to be used for two shelves.
- Once the trim pieces have been glued to fronts of the shelves, and the glue has had time to dry, excess trim is cut off at the ends using the table saw.
- With the front-trim pieces cut to the same length as the shelves, trim pieces can then be cut and glued onto the ends of the shelves (figure S).
Once the glue has dried on all of the trim, the shelves are basically complete. The next phase of the process will include fitting the shelves to the frame and back panel. Those steps are outlined in the segment that follows. Sponsored Resource
> Click here to order your tools and materials for this project from Woodcraft!
RESOURCES :
Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com
The Small Wood Shop (The Best of Fine Woodworking)
Author: Helen Albert (Editor)
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561580619
Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456
Mastering Woodworking Machines (Fine Woodworking Book)
Author: Mark Duginske
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 0942391985
David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com
The Complete Woodworker's Companion
Author: Roger Holmes
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
ISBN: 0823008665
The Complete Book of Wood Joinery
Author: Robert J. Decristoforo
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co.
ISBN: 0806999500
Advanced Woodworking
Model: 0783539126
Author: Editors of Time Life Books
1998
Time-Life Books Inc.
Website: www.timelife.com
Popular Woodworking
F & W Publications, Inc.
Website: www.popularwoodworking.com
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