Drawer Webframe

After gluing up the drawer webframe joinery for the mahogany buffet, I proceeded to plane the outside edges to square the frame, trim it to its final size and prepare the surfaces for mahogany edge bands.

I cut slots for splines and then fit the edgebands with miters at the corners.

I began with the shorter, end edgebands.

The photo below shows the "fish-shaped" corner splines I inserted to reinforce the miters.

Each edgeband is fitted and glued up individually.

With the two end edges glued up, I fitted the long front and back edgebands and glued them, as well.

While the glue cured, I modified my dowel hole template for use on the top of the main cabinet. Here it will be used to bore holes into the top of the main cabinet as well as the underside of the drawer webframe. With a little protective wax paper in place, I used hot melt glue to secure alignment blocks to the template. I then proceeded to bore the 130 holes needed for this set of 65 dowels.

Modifications to my studio infrastructure are also underway to prepare for the major glue-ups. I've constructed a platform in my studio to support the cabinet during clamping. The jig is needed in order to provide a flat surface. My workbench, this jig and the glued-up cabinet will be the only flat surfaces in this entire old house, I assure you!

Padding to protect the finished surfaces of the cabinet is provided by a layer of mat board set onto the platform with double-sided tape.

Back to the drawer webframe, preparation of the surfaces has been underway. It's just about time for edge softening and prefinishing.

While we're so close, let's put on the optivisor (in addition to the bifocals) to see how this mahogany edgeband miter turned out.

As my teacher says, "Glue changes everything." So, I'll be calling in reinforcements to assist with the big glue-ups that are happening next. Two more days of preparations and the glue will flow again.

Hej då!

Craig