Getting rolling - dadoes, mortises and tenons
Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:40 pm
I'm not sure if everyone in the group has understood me correctly to this point, but, to make clear, I've provided an overview of the project and made an exploration of various configurations of box internals. I'm mentioned that you need to know what is going in your box before you can really know what size to make it, and since everyone has different tools, their boxes are likely to be varied - heck, maybe you don't even want to put tools in this box. Store a teddy bear in there - the sky is the limit.
I'm pretty close with the detailing on my box now, and have commenced rough milling of the parts. I've also provided details of the joinery and given measurements. The idea here, and perhaps it wasn't explicitly stated, is that I am staying a step ahead of you all and trying to walk you through the project. I drew my box and asked you all to work out what dimensions were going to be necessary for your own project. Then I obtained some wood, made a few suggestions about materials, and commenced milling in a series of widely-spaced stages. I am looking now for you to also obtain materials and commence rough milling - and a couple of members have indeed done that. I figured everyone was on the same page, but an email from a member today suggested to me that i was making an assumption. so, i'll try to be as clear as i can, and if you're ever left wondering about what next steps are, please post up or email me directly.
Now, on to the joinery. i had videotaped about an hour of layout work - hardly exciting, but in the end the video quality and sound was inadequate so that part isn't happening quite yet. I'll be buying a new video camera and microphone this week so soon enough you will have video clips available.
I lay out using a 0.5mm mechanical pencil. I prefer the type with a retractable tip instead of the little fixed metal tube tips. I establish a central axis on the board and lay out to either side from there. I use a try square to extend lines across the faces of the board, always referencing the square off of one edge. To lay out the mortise and tenon side wall lines, i use a combination square and layout out on all four boards, one side line at a time. When done, i use a sharpie marking pen to clearly indicate which side of a line is to be cut and which is not. Then I lay out the dadoes for the floor panel and the handle.
When all of that is done, I have a stack of boards which look like this:
Before proceeding, it is important to lay a pair of connecting boards off against one another to double check that the mortises, tenons, and dadoes are all in logical arrangement:
A little closer look:
Layout on the four carcase boards is complete, so it seemed like time to do a bit of cutting.
I'm pretty close with the detailing on my box now, and have commenced rough milling of the parts. I've also provided details of the joinery and given measurements. The idea here, and perhaps it wasn't explicitly stated, is that I am staying a step ahead of you all and trying to walk you through the project. I drew my box and asked you all to work out what dimensions were going to be necessary for your own project. Then I obtained some wood, made a few suggestions about materials, and commenced milling in a series of widely-spaced stages. I am looking now for you to also obtain materials and commence rough milling - and a couple of members have indeed done that. I figured everyone was on the same page, but an email from a member today suggested to me that i was making an assumption. so, i'll try to be as clear as i can, and if you're ever left wondering about what next steps are, please post up or email me directly.
Now, on to the joinery. i had videotaped about an hour of layout work - hardly exciting, but in the end the video quality and sound was inadequate so that part isn't happening quite yet. I'll be buying a new video camera and microphone this week so soon enough you will have video clips available.
I lay out using a 0.5mm mechanical pencil. I prefer the type with a retractable tip instead of the little fixed metal tube tips. I establish a central axis on the board and lay out to either side from there. I use a try square to extend lines across the faces of the board, always referencing the square off of one edge. To lay out the mortise and tenon side wall lines, i use a combination square and layout out on all four boards, one side line at a time. When done, i use a sharpie marking pen to clearly indicate which side of a line is to be cut and which is not. Then I lay out the dadoes for the floor panel and the handle.
When all of that is done, I have a stack of boards which look like this:
Before proceeding, it is important to lay a pair of connecting boards off against one another to double check that the mortises, tenons, and dadoes are all in logical arrangement:
A little closer look:
Layout on the four carcase boards is complete, so it seemed like time to do a bit of cutting.