Making Big Boxes
Today’s task: Get joining; the cabinets are to be held together with biscuits. Each cabinet has 30 slots. So I needed to get organized to save a lot of marking time and avoid mistakes.
Gettin Jiggy
(Alright I used that “joke” twice. Sorry).
I started by building a jig to hold the rails along with several storyboards/ spacers to get the biscuits just right. I just mark the spacer and cut directly from that rather than mark each cabinet side. All of the parts are standardized from cabinet to cabinet so there is only one sequence of setup. For example, I cut all of the rail/stretcher parts to 4” wide. Then all of them can be cut with one jig.
Setting up the storyboard/spacer.
After the cuts..perfecto!
The Rail Jig
And a little video of the two jigs in action..
Dry Fit
It was time to check the math.. Would all the biscuits fit?
Assembly Time
Congratulations… It’s a box!
Two down..two to go.
Plus I need to add a groove for the back.
It was fun!
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke."
11 comments so far
MsDebbieP
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18619 posts in 5615 days
#1 posted 04-02-2007 11:42 AM
this is wonderful.
Very helpful for me!
Thank you
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (https://www.facebook.com/DebbiePribele, Young Living Wellness )
gizmodyne
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1785 posts in 5544 days
#2 posted 04-02-2007 03:58 PM
Your welcome. Glad it’s useful to someone.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke."
WayneC
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14359 posts in 5552 days
#3 posted 04-03-2007 02:12 AM
Thanks. Useful to me too. I have a number of Boxes to build.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
Dick, & Barb Cain
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8693 posts in 5754 days
#4 posted 04-03-2007 03:28 AM
Thanks for sharing.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
dennis mitchell
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#5 posted 04-03-2007 04:06 AM
John are those face frames in the back ground for this job?
gizmodyne
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1785 posts in 5544 days
#6 posted 04-03-2007 04:32 AM
Dennis… Yes those are the faceframes. You can see them with doors in them in the third blog.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke."
Karson
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#7 posted 04-03-2007 05:07 AM
John: have you marked the outside and inside of your rails and stretchers. Or is your slot perfectly in the center?
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Appomattox Virginia [email protected] †
gizmodyne
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1785 posts in 5544 days
#8 posted 04-03-2007 05:14 AM
They only fit one way. Yes I marked them, and referenced all cuts off of the base of the biscuit joiner.
However to cut several of them so that the rails sit flush with the edge, I set up a fence along the edge of my cabinet and plunged down. Even though this references off of the base, the cut sets the rails a 1/16” in from the sides. I know that this won’t affect the strength of the cabinet, and that when I attach the countertop at some point I can shim. It’s a pride point.
But I wonder if there are any tricks to biscuiting the sides? I guess I can stand them up perpindicular to a work surface and cut them with the slot cutter sitting on the work surface. Any thoughts?
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke."
sandhill
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#9 posted 10-03-2007 10:54 PM
I don’t know anything about this type of joinery but don’t you need filler support strips to mount the draw guides to? Maybe they would give the box more stability as well as a stronger point of contact for the box. Like I said I don’t know anything about cabinet construction so don’t go by anything I say. Just food for thought.
gizmodyne
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1785 posts in 5544 days
#10 posted 10-04-2007 03:03 AM
The filler strips were added later. They are only there to give something for the drawer guides to attach to. They would not add strength.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke."
sandhill
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2128 posts in 5378 days
#11 posted 10-04-2007 03:09 AM
Thanks for clearing that up. I hope to learn to build a full set of cabinets here so these little videos help a lot. Thanks
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