Woodworker's Journal fall-2010, страница 44

Lower the bottom onto #10 biscuits and seat it with clamp pressure. Clamp assembly squares to the parts to hold them in alignment as you add the rails, followed by the second side. Carry out a full dry-assembly of the carcass before opening the glue bottle.

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Join the carcass parts with glue and biscuits, working methodically. Apply clamps at the four corners of the box. Finish up by driving screws into their pre-dr lied holes.

sions of the parts are easy to figure because they all just butt together and you don't have to account for the depth of a dado. The joints are easy to lay out and cut, and they are plenty strong. In addition, it lets you edge band exposed edges before assembly. Cut a rabbet into the sides and bottom to accept the back as your first step. Make these rabbets 1/2" wide and 1/2" deep. I cut them on my router table. Setting the back into a rabbet provides scribing room on the back to help fit the cabinet snug to the wall.

lay out and cut the biscuit slots next. My method is to reference all

cuts from the base of the biscuit joiner (rather than its fence). You can work on the table saw to take advantage of its flat surface and its handy rip fence. For example, stand the side on its bottom edge and brace it against the fence. With the joiner flat on the saw table, align it with a mark on the side and plunge the cutter. When the side slots are cut, place the bottom on the saw table, bottom face down, end against the fence. Cut the slots. When you assemble the joint with biscuits, the side's end and the bottom's underside should be dead flush. After all the slots are cut, drill locator holes for the attachment

screws. These small-diameter holes will tell you where to drill countersunk pilots for the screws after glue-up. The screws pull the sides tight to the bottom and rails, minimizing clamping time.

Banding the Raw Edges

Exposed plywood edges aren't particularly attractive, so you should cover those that will be exposed. I used iron-on veneer edge banding here, and I banded all the necessary edges before assembling the cabinet.

You'll need to band the front edges of the carcass, all four shelf edges, the drawer rails and

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Building A Base Cabinet