Biscuits , Frames and Panels *MORE PROGRESS (and pictures)*

[Bas]

I started a new project, this will be a cabinet to put my bird cage on (one of the legs broke off, and it's been resting on a piece of PT 2x4 for 6 months now....). The cabinet will have a big shelf for the kitty litterbox.

I liked the episode on the Woodsmith Shop on making frames and panels, so I decided to give that a try. Plus, I had to do something with that great plywood I got from Robert. Since I'm going to paint it, I decided to use poplar for the frames.

Dryfitting a panel:


One thing I learned is that it is OK for the plywood to be somewhat loose. The stub tenons need to be tight, but not the plywood. Once you add glue, it swells a little, and won't budge even if you whack it with the Big Orange Deadblow.

Here is the rear panel:


All the panels done:


This is what it is supposed to look like in the end (it will have a top of course):


I plan to join the sides with biscuits, no brads in this one:


The picture is a little fuzzy, but the joint is perfect. I found a video on the Youtubes (on the Internets) on cutting biscuit joints, the woodworker used a piece of sandpaper underneath the biscuit joiner when making the surface slots, to raise it slightly. That ensures the edge of the mating piece will stand just a hair proud, which can be easily sanded flush:


I tried to use biscuits to attach a piece of poplar trim to the plywood top. That didn't work out so well. Turns out there is a slight bow in the plywood (shocking!), so the biscuit slots don't line up. Arg! I think I'll just glue some biscuits in to fill most of the holes, cut them flush, and just use glue and clamps. One case where biscuits actually make alignment harder....

Anyway, I discovered I really like frame and panels, even if they're plain and flat. The biscuit jointer works like a champ, I think I'll also use it to attach the bottom. Attaching the top with biscuits might be too difficult, since it will have an overhang (alignment has to be spot on). I may just use screws instead.

[Canuck]

Great progress there, Bas!!!!!

One thing I've seen Nahm do was use a slot cutter in the router and cut a continuous slot in the edge of carcase, then cut biscuit slots in the faceframe. That way you can use the biscuits in the faceframe and fit it to the continuous slot in carcase. (I hope I explained this right!)
That stand is going to make the cage look real good!!!!

Wayne

[NC Scroller]

Bas, looks great. You have been busy. Now I know where that noise came from at 2:00 AM the other night.

[DavidF]

Did you cut the tenons on the tablesaw? Did you use a tablesaw tenoning jig?

[Kicbak]

Looks great! If you're like me you start to feel back about making all those cool joints and then cover them with paint .

I really like the panel construction as well. Make a nice strong but very lightweight piece. What I have done just to help lining up the sides was to do a rabbet on the front and back panels so the sides fit in easily.

On the right side you can see the rabbet on the front of the stand.





Here I dry fit it. Makes it really easy to get the joints correct since I sometimes screw up the biscuits...




Also another little trick I did was to make the rabbet 1/4" deep so it matched the depth of my slot cutter for making the panels. That way all the grooves, dados, rabbets and the panels are at the same depth and match up very nicely and it made the measurements easy.

Wes

[Travis Porter]

How big of a bird do you have? That is a BIG cabinet!!!

[JimmyC]

Originally Posted by Travis Porter

How big of a bird do you have? That is a BIG cabinet!!!

That cabinet's not big for the bird , it's big for a cat box. I think that the cats name is Sir Poopalot.

Jimmy.

ps. nice job so far Bas.

[FredP]

if the bird broke a leg off you should be building a splint not a box!

[Bas]

Yes, I cut the tenons on the table saw. It's a very simple method, used the miter gauge with a backing board for stability, then just nibbled the material away (using the fence to control the size of the tenon). No fancy tenoning jig, although I've been eyeing the Grizzly one for a while...

[Bas]

It's a pretty big cage, it's sized for a parrot but it just houses two cockatiels. I wanted to make sure it had enough mass so it wouldn't wobble when sliding out the shelf w/ the litterbox, so bigger is better!

[Bas]

Looks good! Yes, a rabbet would work just as well, so many techniques to learn... I don't feel bad about covering things up with paint, I'm very pragmatic in that aspect. Plus, paint means you can use a little filler to hide your mistakes

I've been thinking about getting one of those lock miter router bits...that looks really strong, and I think the shape would help with alignment as well. Plus, new tool!

[FredP]

Originally Posted by Bas

Looks good! Yes, a rabbet would work just as well, so many techniques to learn... I don't feel bad about covering things up with paint, I'm very pragmatic in that aspect. Plus, paint means you can use a little filler to hide your mistakes

I've been thinking about getting one of those lock miter router bits...that looks really strong, and I think the shape would help with alignment as well. Plus, new tool!

you will like the lock miter bit! setup can be tediouse but the results are good with some practice! the wenge boxes in my gallery were done with one and concidering the choise of materials they turned out good. one of them was done useing lock miters on all six sides. that can be tricky!

[Keye]

Think I just read somewhere that some lock miter bits come with a jig to make setup easier. Might want to look into it. If I am wrong it is because I am old. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it.

[Kicbak]

I almost bought a lock miter a few weeks ago when infinity was running the 1 item %25 off deal. Ended up getting the kitchen cabinet bit set with the stile, rail, panel, edge glue and drawer lock bit. I really wished it came with the locking miter too but that will have to come later after you tell us how good it works.

Wes

[sapwood]

Originally Posted by halfblind

Think I just read somewhere that some lock miter bits come with a jig to make setup easier. Might want to look into it. If I am wrong it is because I am old. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it.

Keye,
Hey, I'm old too . . . but the info was recent
MLCS lock mitre bit and set up blocks. Includes how-to video

Roger