Floating Cabinet with a Floating Top

[gee-dub]

Times change and we no longer use a  receiver, disc player, etc. in the house.  This gives me an excuse to build a new cabinet to hold those things associated with how we watch TV and listen to music today. This also gives me a great excuse to steal the existing media cabinet out of the living room and spirit it away to the shop.  It will live on as my PC and stereo cabinet for the shop and the outdoor music system.

Enough about the old.  On with the new.  I'm shooting for something like this.

This has full SWMBO approval and will be walnut.  It will hang from the wall about a foot off the ground.  The front panel is a fall front door for access to bluetooth stuff and maybe an eventual cable box if we ever decide to get cable TV.

I pull some promising looking stock from the racks.  When trying to match material I find that a couple of swipes with a hand plane and a squirt of mineral spirits will get me a pretty good idea of which boards match and which don't.

I enjoy plotting out where I will pull my parts from.

I generally do this with chalk as things often change before I get all my parts sources selected.

I break things into manageable pieces with a jig saw and start milling things.

I leave the top and bottom till I am closer to final assembly.  The balance of the parts don't look like much but, it is a smaller piece at about 16" x 18" x 42".

I plan to make the floating panels by veneering up some of this reddish walnut I have been hanging onto.

Often I will want a board with figure running some way other than the way the sawmill yielded.

The answer to this is a bandsaw and a jointer.

With a reference edge running along the grain like I want I just rip the blank at the tablesaw.  I go ahead and rip a lot of the other blanks to the max width of the parts that will eventually come from them.

I then crosscut most of them to length.  I rip those crosscut parts that require it and get ready to do some joinery milling.  I'll get to that as much as I can tomorrow.  Some other things are going to get in my way tomorrow .

 

[gee-dub]

I find ganging identical pieces together with a bit of tape is seldom a bad idea when cutting joinery. When I am using typical dimensions these setup blocks make things go pretty quick.

I'm a "fixed mortise / tune the tenon" kinda guy. A cutoff from your parts makes a good sample blank to test joinery setup on.

A few swipes with a shoulder plane and you can see how things are going to fit before you start cutting on your actual parts.

I go ahead and cut the joinery on the other parts for the front (fall front) door.

And you can now get the idea that this is not a large piece despite having an 18" by 46" top.

I will take after the sides tomorrow.

 

[gee-dub]

I know I re-cover some methods and techniques ad nauseum. I do this under the assumption that some newbie or experienced person unfamiliar with the method may drop in to our little world here . Hmm, I seem to have this recurring need to explain myself . . . .

The door stiles need stopped grooves. Here is another example of how setup bars can help out. I again use an off-cut and do the proposed joinery cut on it.



The setup bar acts like a big feeler gauge to tell me how things are fitting.


All is well? Off we go. Many of you have seen and done this operation before; a stopped groove on the router table. The fence setting is already known as show by the result on the scrap shown in the previous pics.  The stop position will change for each of the two parts.


The part, controlled by the stop, fence, and your steady mitts, is lowered onto the spinning bit, moved to the other stop and lifted off.

I used a down-cut spiral since I wanted a very clean edge. The parts are asymmetrical lengthwise so, as mentioned earlier, the stops are changed from one part to the other.


The actual dimensions match the drawings so I will confidently move on to the side panels where the joinery is a bit more challenging.

 

 

[gee-dub]

The center divider was a smidge too snug off the saw. My de-snugger took care of that.

There we go.

Cut all the panel slots.

I haven't used a lot of the smaller dominoes as of yet so I took a few minutes and made some domino stock.

That oughta do it.

[gee-dub]

I know there are folks on here who are a lot more familiar with the Domino than I am.  Here's something I picked up working on darker woods.  I mark across the pieces to be joined with my usual pencil that rides along in my apron.

Before I cut the mortise I write over that pencil line with a white pencil.  You don't even have to be careful, the graphite pencil shows through the white marking.

This give a little easier target to hit with my old eyes.  One of the things I have enjoyed about floating tenons (way before the Domino) is that you can cut parts to actual length.  This allows clamped up dry fits to measure off the piece for additional joinery if required.  You can see that I used stub tenons on the fall-front dividers for no particular reason.

Once you're happy you cut mortises on both halves of the joint and add the tenon.  Although a new tool for me I can see that the Domino makes quick work of this operation.

And you can kind of get the idea of the look here,

[Chestnut]

I'm really intrigued by this project. It's coming along nicely.

1 minute ago, gee-dub said:

Before I cut the mortise I write over that pencil line with a white pencil.  You don't even have to be careful, the graphite pencil shows through the white marking.

This is my favorite way for making marks visible on dark woods. I've tried to get it on Marc's radar for marking on dark woods but i haven't been able to get it to him. I know he did a lot of testing to find good ways to mark on dark woods.

[wtnhighlander]

Love the journal details, @gee-dub. Regarding the need to change setups for asymetric parts, do you ever add a stop for your stop block, in case you need to return to the exact location?

I first noticed this on a router lift designed by Jay Bates. He used a lever-operated slide lift, and included a stop block to mark the lever's location so he return to it after lowering the router. I've started doing this with my saw fence, and it has saved me a couple of times. Seems like a handy product idea for T-track stop blocks, add a stop 'button' on either side so you can return the stop to a previous setting.

[gee-dub]

Definitely a fan of stops.  In this case there were just two of each so I just ran a pair, moved the stops, and ran the other pair.  I have done other things where I will add a clamp on either side of the router table to allow me to return to a fence position when doing stepped cuts and stuff like that.  I also have a half a dozen shop made flip-stops that I use in twos and threes for multi-step operations at the tablesaw or router table. 

Things like this really help me out as I do quite a bit of tablesaw and router table joinery.

[gee-dub]

I failed miserably on getting pics of the veneer re-sawing and preparation.  I spent the morning helping a neighbor with his boat.  Short story is that we had to be towed back in to the ramp . . . don't ask.  Certainly could have been a worse place to wait for a tow.

At any rate, time was short so I just plowed through.  This is the best I've got.

You may notice the Veneer is a bit thick.  Veneering is very new to me; this is my second run.  I should have made the panels first and then cut the grooves that will hold them.  LOML has specified that she wants the panels flush with the rails and stiles.  This means a rabbeted edge on the panels.

I calculated using whole imperial dimensions (like 1/4") for the substrate.  BB ply is metric so it will be a bit shy . .. Doh!  My solution was to go thick on the veneer.  I will drum sand it back to the dimension I want.  20/20 hindsight.  I'll try to do better next time.

[Coop]

I recall going back down the inter-coastal canal one afternoon, headed for a spot where we tore the fish up that morning. About 3 miles down, we came across a man and his two kids in a boat, stranded. He was on the bow, tossing his anchor and pulling him forward, a few feet at a time. We spent our fishing afternoon, towing them back to the dock. Actually, it was a better feeling than catching a 5# speckled trout. 

[Chestnut]

I've been stranded in a boat a few times. Luckily i had a cell phone, so i made a call to get gas and while I waited i dropped a line with a hook in the water... other times I've just jumped in to swim the boat back.

Boat problems to me seem a lot less stressful than car troubles.

[gee-dub]

I buggered my knee (somewhere besides the shop) and had to knock off early to ice it.  I did manage to get a little more done before I squatted down to get a piece of sandpaper and realized my knee wasn't bending so good .

If you have a Domino a pair of parallel piers work great for pulling stubborn dominoes after a dry fit without damaging them.

I altered the plan a bit.  I was going to back the side frames with 1/4" ply to make them extra stout.  I decided some 1/8" substrate will be enough to create the surface strength  am after.  This may make more sense as I show the side assembly better.  1/4" or 1/8" it means milling a "receiver" into the frame assembly.

Some parts have through cuts.

Others require a little thinking outside the box.

All required a little hand work to clean things up.

Here's a before and after on one part.

Love the shoulder plane.

Some corner clean up.

The center dividers were milled from the same blanks as the surrounding frame members for a good color / figure match.  They are 1/8" too thick.  I cut a channel at the router table.

And cleaned the leftovers off with a #4.

The final side panel profiles look like so.

I should be back on my feet tomorrow and hope to catch up a bit.

 

 

[Coop]

The black Veritas bar I’m assuming is a bench work stop and not just a straight edge. I looked on their site and don’t find it. Does it have adjustable pegs that fit into the holes on your bench?

Also, I like your parallel pliers. I use channel-lock pliers and as the damage to the tenon is not that great, none would be better. 

[gee-dub]

Here's the planing stops.  They sure have gotten proud of those things price-wise!  Adjustable pegs just as you describe.  Here's one I shop made about a decade ago.  Worked fine for me since my dog holes are laid out in a grid.  1/4-20 flat head machine screws threaded into 3/4" dowels.

The adjustable ones are nice since I can straddle from bench to vise jaw which I do often enough.  I have a longer one that lets me adjust to offset holes for an angled stop function.  Dogs in through holes are infinitely height adjustable but for thin stock it is nice to have a wider stop

[Tom King]

Eagle used to make white (and other colored)  pencils that hold a point as good as their regular pencils.  I've bought them off ebay.  They make marking on dark wood a one step process.  I also use them for marking metal when setting up welding a lot.  They're called Verithin , or something close to that-not sure of the spelling.  You can sharpen them in a pencil sharpener just like a regular pencil.

It's a great thing to have tools set up where you can use them!  Someday I hope to have time to build another shop.

edited to add:   I just checked ebay, and there are some of the good white pencils for sale now, but not exactly cheap.  The quality of Eagle pencils went down when Papermate bought Berol, so from my experience I would recommend not buying any with a newer manufacturers name that Berol.

[gee-dub]

I don't remember if I showed the sections I chose for the veneer.

I did a quick refurb and miter bar position change on an old seld so I could use the MatchFit clamps to hold the irregular veneered panels.

I just eyeball with some setup blocks for the offset.

The clamps let me confidently cut a reference edge on a panel that I can't set against a fence.

After being cut to final outer dimension a rabbet is cut to create the profile that will set the veneered surface flush with the frame elements.

Six more to go.

 

[Chet]

Those are going to be some real nice looking panels.

[gee-dub]

Only been able to hit the shop in spurts but I'll get there.  The sled serves its purpose again.

This might seem a little overkill but if I mess up on these panels I will have to explain to SWMBO why we are picking out new material .

Pretty sure most folks know about cutting rolls of tape that are near their end into pieces for layout helpers.

I'm starting to feel good about it

The cabinet itself is pretty basic so these panels need to carry the piece somewhat.

[JohnG]

Looks fantastic! I love the cut tape roll idea!

[BillyJack]

Turning out nice...

[gee-dub]

After fiddling with a sac-fence to rabbet the larger panels I went on safari and found my L-fence.

This works great for this sort of thing.
Can anyone hear screeching brakes?

I managed to mis-measure and stopped these stopped grooves too short . . . better than too long . They should have run to where the (new) red marks are.

For stuff like this some hand tools are faster than getting setup at the router table to correct my boo-boo. A setup bar makes layout a breeze.

The odd profile on this piece makes a handscrew a good choice for gripping without marring.

Tappity-tap-tap.

I'll finish the other three and get back on track.

[gee-dub]

I was beginning to think I would never get there.

[gee-dub]

Apparently jumping on the tractor two days in a row was more than my back wanted.  Slowed me down a bit but I got the door frame and panel part glued up.

I also got the end panels glued up like torsion boxes.  I am very happy with the strength of these end panels. 

The bottoms and the rear stiles attach to these side assemblies and will use them as primary support for the carcass.

[gee-dub]

Back in the saddle. Obviously the whole piece gets the once over before finish gets applied but if I see things like machine marks I will often stop and take care of those while working.

 

I have a piece of material that has a lot of lighter color in it. I will use this for the cabinet bottom which is primarily unseen. I will darken the lighter portions but this face will be aiming at the floor.

The side that will be in the inside of the cabinet is nicer.

Granted, no one is really going to be seeing the inside of the cabinet either as its job is to keep TV and audio gear out of sight.

The interesting part of this is that the back of this panel will butt against the wall mount. The front will support the drop-hinges for the door. This means I want both of these positions to remain fairly stable. On many of my carcasses the back is the back and will face the wall with some space provided by an overhanging top or even just the baseboard where the wall and floor meet. This lets me fasten at the front and allow the movement to be sent to the rear where it doesn't really show. Not so in this case.

My solution is to fasten the bottom planks to the sides at the front and at the rear with elongated mortises toward the middle to allow the dominoes to ride along with seasonal movement. Where the two planks meet in the middle I will place a spline with wood movement factored in.

I use an arbor and stacked slot cutters for this. I have a selection. The gray ones I got at ReStore for a buck piece; of course I bought all they had . I have some others from Rockler and maybe Woodline?

At any rate, I have a collection of spacers that I made from 1/32" thick gift card stock. Of course it turns out that I need a size in between. Fortunately Home Depot store-credit card material is made of a lighter stock that was just right.

This is where I ended up.

I just realized that this pic is not accurate. The carbide teeth are offset to allow a bit of overlap as shown in the next pic; think dado stack.

So I cut the slot and fit the spline.

The planks will be cut to final length and the spline will be narrowed to allow for wood movement. The spline will be centered with space balls or an equivalent.

Cutting dominoes in the face of thinner stock (as seen in the first pic) doesn't allow much bearing surface for the tool. I was going to make up a support block when I realized I may already have one in the form of my drill press round-stock fixture.

 

Yep, that'll work.

Three tenons for each plank at each end.

I failed to show that the mortises in the ends of the planks are snug at the front position of the front plank and the rear position of the rear plank. The others are elongated to allow the movement I was talking about before. Boy that was a lot of words to say a little bit .

The bottom to side joint looks like so.

I can start to picture the floating look of this guy.

Ever onward . . .

 

[Coop]

Your statement, “ I also got the end panels glued up like torsion boxes.” You lost me, even with pics. ( it doesn’t take much). Can you elaborate?