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Walnut-Veneer Computer-Desk: Side Panels, Joinery and Drawer From "Wood Works" episode WWK-710

	The computer desk is made from Baltic birch and veneered with claro walnut and maple.
	In furniture-making, the cabinet that holds the drawers in a structure like this is termed the carcass.

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In this special two-episode installment of Wood Works, David Marks constructs a contemporary styled computer-desk. With the stock for the case prepared, work continues in this segment with the joinery and drawer-runners.

Tools and materials used in this project:

Claro-walnut stock for veneers
Maple stock
Baltic birch plywood stock
Ebony stock for handles
Maple plywood stock
MDF for templates and mockup
Table saw; cross-cut sled; dado blade
Miter jig
Circular saw
Jointer
Power planer
Band saw
Table router
Biscuit jointer
Drill press
Clamps
Yellow woodworker's glue
Slow-setting resin glue
Glue roller
Hand scraper
Hand plane
File
Razor hand-saw
Cordless drill; Phillips screwdriver attachment
Threaded inserts
Sandpaper, various grits
Straight-edge
Tape measure
Carpenter's pencil
Chalk
Carpenter's tape
Safety glasses or goggles

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses, and follow proper safety precautions, when working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

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Figure A

Side Panels, Joinery and Drawer Runners

Steps:

• Once the sides and back are removed from the vacuum press, they should be sanded before cutting them to size. The easiest and fastest method for doing that is with a wide-belt sander. This is a piece of professional equipment, but your local cabinet-maker shop will likely have one. Some shops rent out the use of their machine for jobs like this, and yours may be able to help you. The standard rate for renting time on a machine like this is typically around a dollar a minute. It's worth that price to have both surfaces of each piece sanded smooth and perfectly flat.

• Using the table saw, trim the panels to final size (figure A).
  
  • The two sides are 28-1/8" long by 24-1/2" wide.
    
  • The back panel is 28-1/8" long by 18-1/4" wide.
    
  
  

  
  

• Before capping the edges, you should cut the joinery that will be needed for joinery and to support the drawers. As seen in the prototype, there are a number of dados cut into each side panel (figure B). Four long stop-dados will hold the runners for the drawers, and three through-dados will accommodate drawer-supports that will add strength to the carcass. The two short stop-dados are for the dividers that separate the top two drawers.
  
  
• Mount a dado-blade set in the table saw and make a test-cut on some scrap stock (figure C), then measure to confirm the depth and width.

  Figure B

  Figure C

  
  

  
  

• To guide the series of dado cuts, make a storyboard with the locations of the dado cuts on a piece of MDF. This piece essentially "tells the story" of the cuts made for the dados, and helps in setting the fence to make accurate and consistent cuts. Starting with the top rabbet, set the fence using the storyboard, then cut the rabbet in the side stock.
  
  
• With the rabbet cut, use the storyboard again to set the fence for making the next cut (figure D).

• Alternate between the storyboard and side stock to complete cutting all the through-dados.

• For the stop-dados, use some tape and make a reference line on the fence to indicate where the dado should stop (figure E).

  Figure D

  Figure E

  
  

  
  

• Once all the cuts are complete (figure F), use a sharp chisel to square up the stop dados (figure G).
  

  Figure F

  Figure G

  
  

  
  

• Run some claro-walnut strips, milled to 3/8", through the drum sander. Sand them to a uniform thickness of 5/16" (figure H).
  
  
• These strips will be use to band the edges of the carcass stock (figure I).

  Figure H

  Figure I

  
  

  
  

• Spread yellow glue onto the bottom edge of the side stock and the walnut banding. Align the strip with tape (figure J) -- which will act as clamps -- and let the glue cure for several hours.

• The back panel also gets one band -- on the bottom edge.
  
  
• Once the glue has dried, trim the ends of the banding using a universal razor-saw (figure K), then smooth the edges flush with a file.

• Use a hand-scraper to level the banding with the veneer.

  Figure J

  Figure K

  
  

  Figure L

  
  

• You can now complete edge-banding the sides using the thicker banding strips. Essentially the process is the same. Clamp the banding securely (figure L), allow the glue to dry and hand-scrape the edges flush.

• Once the glue has dried and the banding is attached, there are five more dados that will need to be cut -- the vertical dados. Through dados on the edges of the side panels, cut from top to bottom, to hold the back panel of the carcass.

• Two small dados will also need to be cut on either side to hold a toe-plate. The solid-walnut toe-plate, milled to 3/4" thick, will fit into these matching shorter dados.
  

  
  

• Lay out the marks for the dado to connect the L-shape assembly to the drawer carcass (figure M).

• Using a half-inch carbide router bit, carefully rout out the dado 1/8" deep (figure N).

• Next, along the back edges of the side panels, rout a through-dado to hold the back panel of the drawer case. Make the cuts in two passes.

• Use a hand-held router to rout the small dados that will join the toe-plate.

  Figure M

  Figure N

  
  

  	Figure O
  	Figure P
  	Figure Q

  
  

• At the table saw, make the drawer runners from 1/2" maple stock (figure O).

• Apply yellow glue to the dados in the sides of the drawer-carcass and use strips of yellow tape to clamp them in place (figure P).

• After they've cured, level the runners using a 3/16" shim-guide and hand plane any high spots (figure Q). The object is for the runners to protrude uniformly across their length, allowing the drawers to track smoothly in and out.

RESOURCES :

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

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

Woodworker's Guide to Wood: Softwoods, Hardwoods, Plywoods, Composite, Veneers
Model: 080836878
Author: Rick Peters
(2000)
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.
Website: www.sterlingpub.com

Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com