Finishing The Floor

Now, back to putting the piece together, I still have to notch the floor corners and run a rabbet around the bottom face to fit into the groove in the bottom rails and legs. I laid this out on the floor itself and checked my measurements and calculations several times before going any farther.

I used the router to make the rabbet. Here I am setting the depth.

I could use the router fence for the long edges.

After that was done I cut the corners out with a jig saw.

I then made the rabbet for the inside corners. I made a simple guide so I would get a neat rabbet.

After making the rabbet I used my block plane to round over the edges of the rabbet. I know this will not be visible without turning the piece over but I want the work to look "neat" everywhere. With the floor now ready I make a test fit with all the parts.

The inside

The bottom

View of the bottom inside corner

And the first time all the parts are assembled together

With everything fitting well, I disassemble one last time and prepare for glue up.

Thanks for taking a look. I hope you check back again and see how it's going.

Veneering The Floor

Here I am laying up the veneer into oversize sheets. The veneer is thick enough that I can glue the edges. I am using veneer tape on the show face to hold the pieces together while the glue sets. I'll scrape it off after I have glued the veneer to the substrate.

Once the glue set I scraped the excess off the back.

I am using a workbench and an assortment of scrap to make a setup to glue the panels.

Here I am testing the clamps etc. Paper is the first layer over the veneer in case any glue escapes, Then I am using a piece of a wood core door. Over that I have four thick blocks which I can clamp from both ends. It's a bit of a jumble but it works.

I tried the bottom piece first to see how it goes. Well, as I sometimes say "live and learn". That is to say that it did not go as well as I wanted. I put a good layer of glue on both surfaces, which made the veneer warp.

That isn't a big problem but when I picked the piece up to transfer it to the substrate, it split in two places. With everything covered with glue I decided to move ahead and not repair the splits first. Everything wanted to slide around. I used a couple of 1/2" brads to hold the veneer in place for clamping and fit the splits together as best I could.

I left the work in clamps overnight. I had removed them after 2 hours but found that the glue still had not set along one of the splits so clamped up again. I removed the clamps with some apprehension and was pleased to see that I had a panel that was usable. I may rout out and replace a section where one of the splits had pulled away a bit leaving a gap, but it is a usable face for the bottom.

Applying what I had just learned to the glue up for the show face, I spread a generous amount of glue on the substrate only,

then carefully moved the veneer into position. I tacked one end down and used my hands to press from the middle a bit, then added the door and blocks and clamped it up.

I left it clamped for about 24 hours. this time when I removed the clamps all had gone well. Since I made the veneer oversize I have to use a spacer against the saw fence for the first cut.

Then I can trim the other edge against the fence. I use a crosscut sled to trim the ends.

Well, thats all for now. Thanks for taking a look. Check back again and see how it's going.

This Chest Needs A Floor

If you have been following along you will remember that I was trying to make up my mind on the floor material. I knew I would make veneer and use plywood for a substrate to do away with any worries concerning expansion and contraction from humidity changes, but I was not sure if I wanted to use Tennessee aromatic cedar or Spanish cedar. I ended up getting some of each. The Spanish cedar is the board on the right.

I'll use the aromatic cedar for the floor. I bought the nicest boards I could find but the aromatic cedar is common grade and pretty gnarly product. Lots of knots and splits. The Spanish cedar is FAS grade and clear as far as I can see without planing it. I won't be applying a finish to the parts made from these species so they can keep releasing the aromas they are famously used for.

Below I have marked with chalk how I have chosen to cut these boards. I need enough pieces for both sides of the floor which is about 18 X 36 inches. I'll try the widest board first. When I mill this out I will follow the split which will give me a 5 1/2" wide piece on one side and a 2 to 2 1/2" piece on the other side. The middle of the lower piece can be cut into a 3" wide clear piece. The material is 1" thick, so I should get 5 or 6  re-sawn pieces 1/8" thick out of it. It should be enough. I have the other boards marked for the clearest 36" sections but I don't think I will need them. I definitely overbought since I am not sure how this stuff will re-saw so I will be prepared with some extra.

First I crosscut the board at the mark in the middle. Due to the split this makes two pieces. Now I need to make a straight edge on each board. I mark a pencil line with a straightedge where I want to cut. Then I tack on a straight piece of plywood, wider than the board, to give me an edge to run along the rip fence.

I set the fence for the width of the plywood,

turn on the saw and rip! Here the piece is ripped at the edge of the ply.

And here I have some nice clear material to make veneer out of.

I jointed,

then planed,

before I set up the bandsaw to re-saw the boards.

I am cutting about 1/8" thick slices and got 5 per board.

It's real pretty, and smells nice too! Well Thats all for now. Check back again and see how it's going.