Media Cabinet Progress

So another, semi-productive, day on the media cabinet. I didn't get as much time today as I hoped, but made some more progress. Today I wanted to continue working on the base and get the cross stretchers done. These are going to provide more support and rigidity for the base and also give me some more point in which to secure the bottom. So, first I laid out where the stretchers would go; about 1/3 of the way in from each side.

From MediaCabinet

Then I cut the stretchers to their final size, which is 3/4" longer than the internal length as I am going to use a height of 3/8" on each end. For this joint, I decided to use a sliding dovetail joint. I did this because it will help protect against the piece pulling apart better than just a standard dado. So, first order of business was to cut the through dovetail in the rails.

From MediaCabinet

Now, something important to note is that it is ok to go all the way through. Why? Because the top will cover that up. Even if it didn't, a nice through dovetail is a neat feature to let people know the detail and quality you've put into the work. Next, create the mating piece. This is done by carefully nibbling away at the stretchers bit by bit. Remember, any adjustment to the fence is compounded by a factor of two as you have to rout both side of the piece; use scrap first to get the perfect fit.

From MediaCabinet

The mating pieces.

From MediaCabinet

Here is a shot of the stretchers dry fit. The closest one shows a finished fit and the far one shows how they go together.

From MediaCabinet

My next order of business is to mill and glue the pieces that will form the vertical partitions. Once I have those done, I will also finalize the bottom platform, square one end of each board and glue it up. I can't do much with the bottom after that until the router bit I ordered for the profile shows up (hopefully Friday).

Be Safe!