Adam Kyle Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Hello fellow woodworkers! First time poster, long time TWW follower and novice woodworker. Over the past few years I have been an avid woodworker "follower". Meaning I liked to read and talk about woodworking projects but never actually got around to doing any woodworking. I feel like I have gained an abundance of knowledge but haven't yet to translate it over to skill. It takes time, money and, most importantly, participation. Regardless of how much knowledge of a subject you have you cannot get any better at it unless you actually participate in it. So, I've geared up my participation a notch and I must say, I am pleasantly surprised with the results so far. But that is not to say that I haven't had a few hick-ups. And ultimately, that is why I am posting today. As you may have figured out from the topic title, I have recently made a slatted serving tray. The process up until assembly went smoothly. When attempting to put the tray together I had the damnedest time getting the slats lined up from one side of the tray to the other side. Additionally, once I was able to align both sides some of the slats were wobbly, and would not stay put. My method of assembly was to route a single groove on either side of the tray, apply glue to one side of each slats ends, insert the slats into the groove and then use spacers to ensure that each slat is evenly spaced. Once one sides of slats were completed I applied glue to the other end of the slats and attempted to insert them in to the other groove. Here is where my assembly problems began. Because of a slight variation in each slats curvature not all slats lined up perfectly with the groove without adjustment. By the time I actually was able to get the slats in the groove the glue had either dried or been rubbed off on the side of the frame and not in the groove. After letting the glue dry over night, I removed the spacers and noticed the wobble. To sure up the wobble and prevent further movement in the slats in the future I shot a 5/8" brad nail through the bottom of the frame into each slat. I would prefer not to use nail in the future as I feel this cheapens the value of a finished piece. I can think of a few other methods of installation, one of which would be to create a mortise and tenon slot for each slat. Comments appreciated! Thanks for reading! Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 You could also glue a spacer into the groove between each slat. this would give the appearance that the slats are mortised in. Also, you wouldn't need to glue the slats. Welcome to the forums! Nice looking tray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kyle Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Hey TIODS, thanks for the response. I thought about doing that but I feel that might be even more work than a mortise for essentially the same results. The next go around I'll give the mortise a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 At the very least I would have used 2 spacers in each gap at both ends. I do like Kev's approach of spacers glued into the groove. Sometimes a dry run before glue up so that you have enough clamps handy and can understand how long it may take to get everything in place. Multiple part glue ups can benefit from longer open time glues like TiteBond III. An assembly like yours will open your eyes to how accurate your parts have to be. My work improved after I got a dial caliper with a fractional inch scale. Let's me find the width of a groove and size the tenon to fit snug but not too tight. Best $30 I have spent in years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Of course this would be the perfect application for the domino but, that's a lot of money to put out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 +another for TIODS solution. Locking the slats inside the groove keeps them aligned much better than spacers outside the groove. Been there, done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kyle Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 @wdwerker: Prior to taking the picture I did a dry run and I had spacers at each end but had to remove one set because of difficulty getting the slats into the second groove. I also specifically used TB-III specifically for the extra work time. The glue tacking/drying/rubbing-off is testament to how long I spent trying to align the slats into the second groove. The only measurement that I feel was off was the length of the slats, I feel one reason some of the slats may have been wobbly is because they were not long enough to touch both sides. Other than that, every spacer fit between each slat down the length of the tray perfectly, snug but not too tight. @TIODS: If only I had the dough to drop on a Domino - I would have done that ages ago. @wtnhighlander: I think so. Gonna use a mortise the next go around. Thanks for the responses so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 If the slat lenghts varied that much, perhaps you should examine the cut to lenght technique. A crosscut sled and a stop block should eliminate the variation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kyle Posted July 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 The lengths didn't vary at all from slat to slat. What I meant is I cut a little too much off of the slats. They were slightly shorter than the distance between the inside of the grooves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 @TIODS: If only I had the dough to drop on a Domino - I would have done that ages ago. I hear ya! If you do a lot of it, it's worth the investment.. It's certainly not a "requirement" for the shop as there are other ways to get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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