| Walnut Display Stand -- Leg Pieces |
From "Wood Works"
episode WWK-209 |
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In this episode of DIY Wood Works, host David Marks shows the major steps in the construction of a black-walnut display stand with glass shelves. The six-foot stand with open-frame design provides ample space for displaying your treasures or collectibles. Built using a simple frame and panel construction, the stand incorporates glass panels, providing an open, 360-degree view of the shelf contents. The sturdy black-walnut legs are made by joining two boards together to form an "L" shape. The walnut frames for the glass shelves are joined to the legs using concealed dado joinery for a clean visual style. Dark wengae caps on the top and bottom of each leg provide an artful contrast to the black walnut, and add strength to the tall, graceful legs. To begin work on the case, black walnut stock was pre-milled to size. Once milled, the stock was pre-sanded since sanding the interior surfaces of the frame would be more difficult after assembly. This project can be divided into two main parts: the 72-inch legs and the 21-inch-square shelves (figure A).
Materials:
Walnut stock
1/2-inch MDF for jig
Table saw
Hand router
Yellow wood-glue
Glue roller
Clamps
Carpenter's pencil
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, saws, drills, routers, etc.
The Black-Walnut Legs
Steps:
- Begin the project with the leg pieces. Each leg is formed by joining two pieces of black-walnut, making an L-shape that is 2-1/4 inches wide on each outside face (figure B). Using the table saw, cut the stock pieces slightly over 72 inches. (The excess will be trimmed off later.)
- While at the table saw, cut the frame stock from the black walnut. For the five shelves in the stand, 20 pieces of frame stock are required -- each cut to 21 inches in length.
- When selecting stock for the legs, inspect the stock and match the pieces so that the grain and color go together in the best possible combinations.
- To cut the dados in the legs that will support the shelves, a jig is created from 1/2-MDF to lay out the exact spacing for the shelves (figure C). Once clamped into position, the jig is used to cut the dados. Using the jig for all of the dado cuts, referencing from the top of the jig, the dados will line up precisely so that all shelves will sit level.
- The jig is set up to allow for cutting all of the components for the stand. It has slots for left-side stop-dado cuts and right-side dado-cuts, as well as an allowance for cutting a through dado on the narrower pieces of stock (figure D). The narrower pieces are glued to the narrower pieces to form a right angle.
- The right-angle assembly, and the positioning of the cuts, provides the concealed dado (figure E) in which the shelves will sit.
- With the leg stock clamped into the jig, use a hand-router with a 1/2-inch carbide flush-bearing bit to route out the dados (figure F). Using the jig as a guide, batch-cut all of the dados in the legs.
- When cutting, the bearing on the bit rides along the MDF, guiding the bit to cut a perfect dado to hold the shelf.
- Once all of the pairs of leg-stock have dados cut in them, they can be glued up. Since the leg-stock pieces are glued long-grain to long-grain, no joinery will be necessary. If any of the leg-stock has a slight bow to it, that's not a problem, as the bow can be removed during glue-up since the paired pieces are being glued at right angles.
- Tip: To make it easier to align the two parts of each leg, mill some small pieces of MDF and insert them into the dados (figure G) during glue-up.
- Apply the glue evenly using a roller (figure H), and avoid having any glue drip into the dados.
- Use plenty of clamps to get a uniform bond. Using cork spacers on the clamps (figure I) will protect the wood from marring.
- Once the glue on the legs has dried, clamp them in position and cut them to length on the table saw (figure J). Since the leg stock was referenced from the top earlier, make trim cuts from the bottom, thus ensuring that all four legs come out to the same size.
In the segment that follows, the shelf supports are cut and assembled.
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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 Book of Wood Joinery
Author: Robert J. Decristoforo
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co.
ISBN: 0806999500
Popular Woodworking
F & W Publications, Inc.
Website: www.popularwoodworking.com
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