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26K views 32 replies 13 participants last post by  Karson 
#1 ·
How I got started

After Martin announced the Summer Contest and the Themes Garden Project and Wood Joinery I started thinking about what I wanted to build. The contest rules state "Wood Joinery - Let's get technical - but without glues, metal nails, screws or other mechanical fasteners! Yes, this is the "WOOD JOINERY" challenge for all you LumberJocks out there. Let's see what you are made of - or rather what your woodworking project is made of. If you can build it with screws, you can build it without. Pure and Simple: Envision it, build it, enter it."

So anything I build the wood has to be larger than the what I needed. You cannot glue any narrow boards to make wide boards, and you can't glue aprons into legs. It's all about locking the pieces together.

I didn't want to make anything small, that just sat on a desk. I wanted to build something that is always trying to rip itself apart. I wanted to make a wall hanging cabinet. We took the bath cabinet out of our boy's bathroom and I wanted to make something for them. Since I couldn't even use screws to attach a wall hanger to the cabinet, I kept thinking. I came across a Shaker Wall Cabinet that uses Shaker Pegs to hang the cabinet to the wall. Just the solution.




The width of the cabinet was 19" wide with a back of 17" wide. So I started to look for some wood. A member of the Mason - Dixon Woodworkers came across some wide Walnut that he is going to use to make his casket. I talked him out of one board, so I trading some wide planer time for some lumber. I got two boards. One 19" and one 9".

These boards had been originally 2 3/8" thick. He went to a Woodmizer sawmill to have them resawed. First the blade was dull, so it was replaced and then the resawing contuinued. The original boards had bowed and the resaw cuts were straight so the thickness varied in the boards.


I started to cut the pieces.
Back:

Top and Bottom:


I made the decision that the only way to made the cabinet was to use sliding dovetails to lock the sides into the top and bottom.
Cutting the dovetails on the router table.



The shelves also had sliding dovetails into the sides.


I don't dare pound the sides home, because I'd might not be able to get them apart. So no dry fitting here


The stiles for the cabinet are dovetailed into the sides. I used 3/8" sliding dovetails because of the amount of wood that would not be present if I used a ½" dovetail bit.



By having sliding dovetails that lock the sides into the Top and Bottom and the Shelves fitting in a sliding dovetail in the sides, it now came down to as to how to lock the back into the cabinet. My decision was to use wedges, But, since you can't glue the wedges into the wood, how do you lock the wedge and keep it from moving, but still allow me to assemble the case.

My decision was to make 1/4 " thick wedges that go through the sides and into the back which is ½" thick, and these wedges would need to support the weight of the case and contents. So much for making something that was trying to rip itself apart. By just hanging there, these wedges would support the entire weight of everything.

So let me show you what I designed. I first took a piece of walnut and cut 2 "V" cuts about 3/8" in from the end. I cut the "V" on both sides and both ends. I then cut thick ¼" slices from the block.


I then cut from the body of the slice up to the lower edge of the "V" at the tip.


I cut the slides into 2 pieces so that I could clean out the inside wood. I then cut up to the "V" from the other end.



It then became time to split the pieces in half.



I cut a slot 1½" long ¼´wide - 1/8" from the edge using a mortise machine. This should be in the middle of the ½" back. I used a chisel to cut a small "V" about 1/16" in from the outside edge. I then inserted my wedges.


I made some center wedge stock, A thick ¼" so that I could sand to fit.


I fit the center wedge in between the two "V" wedges.


I cleaned up the ends of the wedges. This would be done before inserting in the final assembly. They would be cut to completely fill the mortise in the back minus about 1/8" to allow for wood movement.


Now to check the inside of the assembly.


A great fit except the "V" cut was cut too deep with the chisel. Have to be a little less macho on the final cutting. Another try, using some cherry for contrast with the wedges.


Now sand up the center wedges to be a tight fit in the slot.


Here is my Pencil cad drawing of what I wanted from the wedge joint.
 
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#2 ·
Karson, I'm so glad to see at least one LumberJock making a large project for the Joinery category of the Summer Challenge. This is a very interesting wedge joint. I appreciate the time you took to produce an photo journal of it. I've bookmarked it as a favorite because I will be returning to it in the future.

This is going to be a fantastic entry.

I was going to wish you good luck for the competition, but you don't need luck - your skills make you a winner!
 
#5 ·
Great entry on a couple of points. I saw the cabinet in the magazine when it first came out and had really liked it and the time. Your execution of the joints is really cool and you took the time to share them. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Don. I didn't want to leave the Joinery portion to all the BOX Guys and Gals.

Thomas, Mot, Wayne, Bob. This has really got me thinking about how furniture is put together. And being unconventional and ending up with a regular piece.
 
#8 ·
Continuing with the construction

One thing nice about not being allowed to use glue, No glue clean up and you can pre-finish all of the parts before assembly. On my finishing blog I wrote about using Pumice and Rottenstone as a wood filler, I thought I'd try something different on this cabinet.

I used my private blend Danish Oil (1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil BLO, 1/3 varnish, and 1/3 Mineral Spirits). I squirted it on the boards and used a 120 grit Random Orbital Sander (ROS) to sand the oil and sanding dust. In doing that I wanted to fill all of the pores of the wood. There were also some fine cracks that needed to be filled.


After doing all of the boards I waited overnight for the Danish Oil/Sanding dust to harden.


The chocolate curls you see in the picture was not shaved chocolate for cakes, but was Danish Oil and Walnut sanding dust that I used a putty knife to scrape off the surface.

After wiping down the surface by doing a cross grain wipe to keep the filler from being pulled out. I ended up with the pre-finished board. This is the top surface, which no one will ever see, but, I'll know it's there.


This is the bottom.


I'm now letting the finish dry for a couple of days to harden up the Danish Oil while I continue on other parts of the cabinet.

So it now on to a new problem. The hinges for the cabinet door. Why is that a problem you ask, because You can't use any glue, screws, nail or other fasteners to attach hinges to the door and cabinet. What to do.

I'm going to do what Don (of I really like small boxes, Don) does and make some wooden hinges. This is not what the Shakers did, but maybe if they had the Incra Hinge Crafter and a router table they might have done that. So I ordered it, and the required router bits.


Once I got it, I used my handy Pencil Cad to draw the hinge as it would appear on the board. I needed to figure out how big a board I'd need.


I determined that I'd need a 7 1/8" wide board after it was trimmed to remove any router chip-out. So I went looking for a board.



I cut it on my sliding table and got that required 90 deg edge.


I cut them to the required 6" in length.


Why so many boards for 2 hinges you may ask. Well because of my special requirements, trial runs, exacting measurements, and desire to make an extra spare pair to keep from having to make them again. I planned on 4 hinges plus other stuff. You may have also asked what my special requirements are. The special requirements are not going to allow me to use any glue or screws and I didn't believe that pins would hold the hinges in place. So I'm going to make the hinges to have a sliding dovetail that will slide into the stile of the cabinet case and the stile of the door. That will support the weight of the door. I will them place a couple of pins through the hinge and the stile which will keep the hinge from sliding out of the sliding dovetail slot. Locked forever. The hinge jig required a hinge to be 5 knuckles X 5/8" each or 3 1/8" long. My testing on 5/16" thick wood determined the required width for the sliding portion of the dovetail to be 3/32" on each side. So my rough calculations are to cut the hinge at 3 3/8" length 1/8" long on each side of the required 3 1/8 length, and then cut the slide portion of the base on that extra 1/8".

I got my Bull Nose router Bits 5/8" size and first cut the ends of each board.


I then turned it on edge and continued around for 270 deg.


Then I expanded the flat spots for the hinge leaves with a Dado Router Bit.


I next trimmed the edges to remove any chipout caused by the router bit cutting cross grain.


Now back to the router table with a 5/8" straight bit to cut the knuckles of the hinges.


Then to the Hinge Crafter Jig to drill for the hinge pin using the supplied #30 drill bit.


Well I screwed up big time. What happened was as I was cutting to knuckles of the hinges my hand was sliding the scale down the jig so what I got was this.


Some of the knuckles were wide and some were narrow. So I was not going to get all the hinges that I thought I needed. So time to make some more stock. This was the scrap left over after the other hinges were cut apart. So it's already the correct thickness so router it.


Now I started to make some jigs to make the sliding dovetails for the hinges. First to make the cuts into the stiles of the door and the cabinets.



It's easier to get the hinges the correct size, than it is to cut the stiles for the correct size. Just get it square and approx the correct width. The door stile cut and cutting the cabinet stile.


Now to cut the dovetail on the outer edge of the hinge. I glued up a couple of hinge pieces that had chipout etc. on a jig board and I let them dry.


Now a practice cut. I used the dovetail bit to cut in to the board for the depth that I wanted. The two flat sides of the jig will always keep it flat and straight.


I next made a double sided jig that allowed me to cut the sliding dovetails on the sides of the hinge. Again I used some of my extra hinge parts and glued them on the jig. They face one another so that the jig is a little smaller.


Time to fit them into the stiles on the door.


And now on the stiles of the cabinet. I was dumb. I didn't leave any extra room on the stiles in case the hinges were not perfect. I was blessed, because they fit. And the ends aligned.


The jig that you buy is made to use 1/8" brass rods as the hinge pins. You can also use 1/8" welding rod. But for the joinery contest I couldn't use metal. So it was now time to make a wooden hinge pin. I was concerned about having something as small as 1/8". So I decided to try to make them bigger. I took a piece of metal and drilled a series of holes from ¼" to 1/8" by 1/64 of an inch. I then chucked up a piece of African Blackwood square around 11/64" square and started to run it into the holes. When you drill a hole in metal you quite often leave a burr on the out side of the metal I wanted to keep that and use it as a knife edge to trim the wood.




I used a fence on the drill press to hold the hinge blanks to increase the size of the holes to the appropriate size.



Not only is Blackwood hard but it also has a natural oil in the wood, to keep my hinges lubricated.
 
#15 ·
The quest continues, Were getting close now.

Time to turn my attention to the back. The locking mortise and tenon had been designed and it was now time to cut the mortises in the sides of the back. They were marked thru the holes in the sides and tape placed on the back to give the ends of the mortises. Using the horizontal router table.


A view from the side.


All of the wedge key tenons were made long so they are now being cut to the appropriate length minus 1/8" to allow for the back to move.


And cut the wedge tenons to the correct length.


A verification that they are not too long.


Now my attention is turned to the latch to keep the door shut. No metal you say. Maybe just a little. OK. My thought had been kicking around the old clothes pin. The ones that had a metal spring and a slot for the wire.


So this was my wire. It is an Holly dowel made like I made the Blackwood one. I found while making the Thorsen Tables that Holly is a tough wood and the grain doesn't seem to make any difference in It's breaking. The Walnut dowel shattered because of cross grain difference.


This is drilled in the end of a shelf board at a 15 deg angle and then relief cut out in the board to allow it to flex below the surface.


Now making the mortise and tenons for the door. The slots had already been cut for the panel.


Fitting them together.


Now all 4 sides and the panel.


Gee I don't have to disassemble it to put in the glue. The dry fit is the final fit. How easy can this be. Hay lets hang it on the sides and check for width measurement. From the back


And now the front.


Trim off an 1/8" and lets pounds the sides home. Slide is the word. Pound is the action.


A good tight fit. And from the back.


How does it look with the back sitting there?


The point of no return. Get the bin of locking key wedge parts.


The first one in. It would be tough to go back any steps from here.


And they are all in. No splits, no screaming (me or the wood) I did need some clamps the pull the back into place. It developed a slight bow. But, it went the correct way. The dado in the bottom and the cutout on the top straighten it out.


And from the side.


The door off and the back on. The sliding dovetails on the hinges allow it to be put on and taken off great. The hinge pin is below the surface of the stiles so it cannot slide out.


I drilled a ¼" square mortise hole in the ends of the 4 door styles to lock the door pieces together. I sanded some stock square to drive into the holes. Not too tight to split, but not too loose to slide out over time.



Now turning to the hinges. I made some 7/32" walnut dowel. I drilled a 7/32 hole through the hinge and the stile. I then expanded the hinge hole with a 15/64" drill bit. I didn't want the wooden dowel to put any pressure on the hinge to cause it to split, but I wanted it tight in the stile.



The dovetail is designed to support the weight of the door opening and closing. And the pins are to keep the dovetail from moving and out. The pegs are cut off a little proud of the surface on the back, but sanded smooth on the front.


Get some Danish Oil on the cut edges and let'r age for a while before final finishing.


 
#27 ·
Almost Done - Well really its done now,

Almost Done>

As I was reading the previous posted blogs on the construction of the Summer 2007 LumberJocks Joinery, I noticed that I failed to complete the posting of the latch for the cabinet door.

Not only had I failed to post it, I had failed to install it. I wanted to use something like a clothes pin.


The little loop that catches the wire for hanging clothes. I had created my wire simulation out of wood.


This was installed in the end of a shelf board. The space behind the Holly dowel was to give relief as the dowel was bent with the catch.



The catch was pressed into a ¼" square hole in the back of the door stile.




It works like a champ. The catch on the door is about 1/8" lower than the shelf board. So the Holly dowel is pressed up on closing and then rests in the groove of the catch while it is closed. It has a nice firm feel on closing and opening.

The next order of business was how to hang this cabinet. It just happened that my son Daniel made a shaker hanging board for his mother about 6 - 7 years ago to hang up coats in the laundry room in New Jersey but it was never installed. It had been kicking around the workshop all of that time.


It was the right length, it just required to remove a couple of Shaker pegs from each side of the center one. When I carried it upstairs to check out its placement Dan say it and said "That's my coat hanger, I made."
So it is apropos that his coat hanger will be used to hang this Shaker Cabinet in his bathroom.


This is the final picture of the top of the cabinet, No one will probably ever see it again. It may never get dusted either.


It has been a blast to make this cabinet in a conventional, but non-traditional way.
 
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