[Capt Splinter]

Hi All,
Started another project on the list. My daughter wants a window seat and trophy case. Starting with a sheet of maple plywood. Attached a couple of pics of the early progress.
Plan on using bisquits to attach 22.5 degree edges of plywood, but not sure how to clamp in place while glue dries. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

I've used masking tape to hold joints like that. If the backside isn't going to show you could put a brace behind that has been tapered 22.5 degrees each way to make a 45 and then screw into the panels from behind. I would predrill the brace and then mark the holes with the brad point and then drill a starter hole about 1/16 farther out. That way the screws would help pull the joint tight.

 

[CharleyL]

Cherryville Chuck has the right idea, but for something this large I would use the 2" PVC packing tape. Lay it across your bench with the sticky side up and then place each piece with the outside facing down on the tape and the edges to be joined touching each other. You can still use biscuits if you want to. Then apply the glue and roll the pieces together. You can use square pieces of scrap with the corner cut off to clamp sides one and three square. Let the tape hold piece two in position between one and three until the glue dries.

Charley

 

[Capt Splinter]

Great ideas Charles. Now that you said that, I remember seeing others using tape to hold joints together. I think that will work fine.
Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Capt Splinter]

Thanks Charley, appreciate the feedback.

 

[pretender74]

If the screws won't show I'm sure Mr. Kregg has it covered. Gary

 

[mgmine]

I built a corner cabinet and had the same problem. I ended up using the Merlie (sp) clamp that I got from MLCS. It can handle any clamping angle and large objects are no problem. It simply wraps around things.

 

[Capt Splinter]

Finally got a chance to get back in the shop. Continuing on with my daughters window seat. I decided to try finishing the inside of the cabinet before glue up just to make it easier. The dark brown stripe is where I tried a stain to see what it would look like. Don't like it at all but it's on the inside where nobody will see it, so I will still use the piece. I then wiped down with BLO and a coat of Watco Medium Walnut Danish Oil.
Pic 1 shows the dry fit before the glue or finish.
Pic 2 is my experimenting with the Danish Oil colors. She didn't like the redness of the cherry danish oil, so I went with the medium walnut.
Pic 3 is finishing with the glue joints taped up.
Pic 4 is where I checked the angle before the glue set. The front side of the pieces are taped together and I have the whole thing wedged up against a fence to hold in place.
Pic 5 is just a wider view of the glue up.

 

[Capt Splinter]

Continuing on...
Pic 1 is the bottom showing the pocket holes where I will attach to side walls.
Pic 2 is adding shelf bracket holes.
Pic 3 is gluing up solid maple edging to top. Notice the side pieces stop 5 inches back. The side cases will attach here once built.
Pic 4 is the carcass assembled.
Pic 5 is gluing front edge to inside shelf.

 

[Capt Splinter]

To all those who are much more experienced at this,
On the inside of the carcass, I applied one coat of BLO. After a few days of curing, I applied two coats of Watco Danish Oil, with it sitting 10-15 minutes before wiping off on each coat.
I like the way it looks but have two questions.
First, if I add more coats of oil, will it get darker with each coat? And second, I am thinking of applying a coat or two of General Arm-R-Seal to protect and give it a more polished finish. Will this stick over the danish oil?
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

 

[TRBaker]

Hey George, it looks like your project is coming right along. I've never had a problem with putting finish coats over Watco but I've always let it dry for at least 72 hours. If memory serves me correctly, that's what the lable recommends. I have always used lacquer or poly, never a water based product, so I can't say how those would do.

 

[Capt Splinter]

Thanks Troy,
Just a few words on what I've come up with so far. On one piece I applied a coat of BLO, then after 2 days, I applied a coat of Watco. Then the next day, another coat of Watco. On a different piece, I went straight to the Watco (like the first piece, two coats with 24 hrs in between), skipping the BLO. I really couldn't tell much of a difference at all.
I started running out of test pieces. So I told myself its time to stop playing around, decide on a finish and go with it. So I used the underside of the shelf to make the final test. I applied two coats of Watco oil, with 12 hrs in between coats. Then applied three coats of General Arm-R-Seal, with 24 hrs in between and a light 320 grit sanding on the first two coats. Decided on the Arm-R-Seal for its ease of application, and the gloss being not as "glossy" as regular poly. For a lack of a better explanation, it looks like a relaxed gloss. Not so plastic looking. I have to keep telling myself I'm not building a masterpiece. My daughter wants purple glass in the door for pete's sake!!! :sarcastic:
I will do the rest of the carcass with this method and post pics in a day or two.

 

[TRBaker]

George are you following the directions on the lable? Watco oils are normally flood coated and allowed to sit for 1/2hr. Recoat and allow to sit for fifteen minutes. Wipe off excess. Two coats in forty-five minutes. Then you have to allow a long time for it to cure before top coats are applied. I you follow their directions explicitly, it will turn out great. I used Watco on the gun vault that I posted in this forum and it was a snap.

 

[Capt Splinter]

Thanks for the advise Troy. I did the "quicky" 10 min. on and wipe off on the test pieces, and I think that's why I was having trouble deciding on what to do. It really didn't look as good as other pics I've seen on this site.

Once I followed the directions :happy: I was much more pleased with the results.
As soon as the final coats are done, I'll post pics. Reading directions, go figure! :sarcastic: