Dovetail Box #15: Gluing Up the Lid

The moment of truth. The point of no return. The bridge beyond despair. Okay, I made that last one up. Time to glue up the lid.

I felt like a surgeon preparing for a big operation. First, I did about three dry runs to practice the glue-up, assembly and “cord clamping”. Finally, it was time. I laid out all of my equipment in the order in which I’d need it: glue, spreader (the innards of a foam brush), two squares for the opposite corners, parachute cord and a pencil for tightening, small clamp to hold the pencil in place, and a ruler to measure the diagonals for square. It was harrowing and yet fun.

When it was all said and done, I had a squared-up lid. For the cord clamp, I actually ran the cord in the key slots. I then tied two loops near each end and ran a pencil through those loops. Then I wound the pencil up as tightly as possible, and used the clamps merely to keep the pencil from spinning back the other way.

One last shot just for a different angle:

Next stop: Cutting the keys, and slicing off some veneer for the top and bottom of the lid.

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com