| Magazine Storage Boxes -- Joinery and Sleeve Assembly |
From "Wood Works"
episode WWK-408 |
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With the walnut stock cut and milled, work can begin creating the joinery and assembling the magazine sleeves that comprise the individual compartments of the magazine storage system. The pieces of the sleeves are joined together at the corner seams using finger joints (figure A). Materials: Table saw
Table router
Straight-edge
Carpenter's pencil
Yellow woodworker's glue
Clamps
Safety glasses or goggles Note: Cut sizes may vary. For exact measurements, please contact David Marks through his Web site -- information below under Resources. Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc. Finger Joinery and Sleeve-Assembly - Before work begins on cutting the finger joints, it's a good idea to label all of the elements. In our demonstration, we only showed the construction of one of the four magazine sleeves. When batch-cutting all of the pieces for all of the sleeves, it would be easy to get the pieces mixed up. To prevent mix-up, the pieces were labeled to indicate the left, right, front and back panels (figure B). The number on each piece indicates which sleeve it is part of; the sleeves themselves are numbered 1 through 4.
- The finger joints are based on a type of joinery known as a box-lock or corner-lock joint (figure C). It's made by making a series of straight cuts, and is held together entirely by glue.
- When laying out the marks for the finger joints, it's critical to consider the direction of the wood grain. To maximize strength, the grain of each piece should run horizontally (figure D). If the grain ran in the other direction, the pins of the joinery would be weaker and might break off.
- It's also critical that the layout of the cuts is accurate. In order to ensure accuracy, a jig is created to evenly space out the finger-like cuts. This particular jig is easy to make. A 1/4-inch-wide slot is cut. The stock is then moved over, leaving a 1/4-inch space, and a second slot is cut. The second slot is then filled by gluing in an indexing pin (figure E). The maple pin stands exactly 1/4-inch proud from the surface of the jig.
- Position the left side of the jig so that it runs along the fence of the table router. To keep the jig aligned, clamp a board onto the opposing side of the router table. The jig will then have a channel to ride in to keep it from slipping out of position (figure F).
- The cuts for the fingers are cut just a hair deep so that when the sides come together, the pins will be slightly proud. The pins can later be flushed down to create a flat surface. This technique will help prevent unsightly gaps in the joinery.
- Begin cutting the joinery on the two side pieces. For accuracy, always work from the same direction. The direction you work doesn't matter, but using consistency does. We began from the bottom of each side piece, and worked our way up.
- Position the base of the side stock against the indexing pin, and make the first cut (figure G).
- Slide the stock over the indexing pin, and make the second cut. Repeat to make the third cut (figure H). Repeat the process until all of the cuts are complete along one side.
- Flip the stock, and repeat the process on the opposite side (figure I). Cut both pieces of side-stock in this way.
- Next, cut the front stock. The cuts are made in essentially the same way, but instead of referencing the stock against the indexing pin it is positioned against the fence (figure J) so that the first cut creates a negative space. Aligning the cuts in this way will permit the fingers to align in an interlocking pattern.
- To make the cuts on the back piece, clamp the piece to the fence so that the first cut creates a negative space (figure K) -- just like on the front piece. Remove the clamp to cut the remaining slots using the same technique as before.
- Once all of the joinery is complete on the first sleeve, conduct a dry-fit and take exact measurements for the bottom panel. The panel will be held in place by dados cut along the inside-bottom edge of each piece. Use a 3/16-inch straight-carbide bit, raised to 1/8-inch, to cut the dados.
- To conceal the joinery, stop dados are cut are cut in the front and back stock pieces. Use stop-blocks clamped to the fence (figure L) to ensure that the dado does not cut through the first finger (figure M).
- For the side pieces, use the same bit -- but cut through-dados.
- Once you have your exact dimensions for the bottom panels, cut them from a sheet of 1/4-inch maple plywood. Ours were 9-3/4 inches by 4-3/4 inches. We softened the edges with fine sandpaper so that the pieces would come together easily (figure N).
- With all of the pieces and joinery cut, glue-up of the first sleeve can begin. Apply blue carpenter's tape to catch any glue squeeze-out, and apply yellow woodworker's glue between the fingers of the sleeve stock (figure O).
- Apply glue along the dado that will hold the bottom panel (figure P).
- Join the front and back panels to a side piece.
- Slide the bottom panel into the dado (figure Q).
- Carefully place the final side-piece into position (figure R).
- The clamping strategy is somewhat involved. Even pressure must be applied to all the joints -- which is a challenge because of the cut-outs in the side pieces. To bridge the negative space, use cauls and a support block covered in cork (figure S). This will protect the wood while allowing the fingers to protrude slightly.
- To keep the sides from bowing, insert a plywood caul into the sleeve; the caul should be cut to the exact same dimension as the inside of the sleeve to create a snug fit. The support blocks lined with cork are then set against the back and sides, and clamps are added one at a time (figure T).
- Check the assembly to make sure that is square, then let the glue dry for a few hours.
- Once the glue has dried, level up the pins using a block plane and sandpaper.
In the segment that follows, the case that holds the four wooden sleeves is created from Peruvian walnut. 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
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 Book of Wood Joinery
Author: Robert J. Decristoforo
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co.
ISBN: 0806999500
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