Shop Table - Making the panels

Well, now that the stock has been prepped and the sheet goods have been purchased, it's time to get started with the woodworking. I started by cutting the pieces for the four panels that will make up the 'bones' of the carcass. There are two identical interior panels and two end panels that will be opposite hand from each other.

After cutting the rails and stiles to length, I cut the field panels from 1/4" plywood. Each of the rails and stiles received a groove along one edge to accept the panel. This was made using the table saw with a standard kerf blade. I set the fence to a little less than a 1/4" and ran the piece on edge, using a feather-board to keep the stock tight to the fence, then flipped the piece around and ran the other side, forming a groove approximately 1/4" wide. I then checked the fit of the 1/4" plywood in the groove and adjusted the table saw fence slightly and ran the piece again the same way as before. I repeated this until the plywood was able to slide in the groove, but not be too loose. After I reached the proper groove size, I ran all the pieces.


The next step is to make the tenons on the ends of the stiles. I plan on cutting the tenons with the standard blade in the table saw. I could use my dado set which would probably be simpler to setup, but I've found the 2-step tenon cut to yield better results and I've made several like this and am more comfortable using this process. It starts with the shoulder cuts. I used a shop-made cross-cut sled and a stop block set to 1/2" which defines the length of the tenon. The depth of cut is equal to thickness of material from the face of the stock to the groove (about a 1/4"). I make this cut on each face and each end.

Now that the shoulder cuts have been made, I'm ready to make the cheek cuts. I use a tenoning jig for this, which is the reason I like to use the 2-step method. If you make alot of tenons, this is a must own table saw accessory. Set the blade height to match the shoulder cut made in the last step. Push the jig forward until the stock touches the blade then align the blade with the side of the groove using the micro-adjustment on the jig. I then turn the micro-adjustment back about a 1/4 turn to make the tenon slightly bigger. Run the stock though, flip the stock around and run the other side. Check the fit and make adjustments as necessary. Remember to make minor adjustments when going back to the tenoning jig. Since you cut on both sides of the stock, the distance you move will actually be doubled.

When all is said and done, you'll end up with something like shown here. Nice smooth sides on the tenons and all are identical.







Now that we've made all this sawdust, it's time for some assembly. All of the panels are assembled the same way. This picture shows one of the panels dry-fit (the inset photo shows a close-up of the tenon at work). I put glue in the groove where the tenons will go and on the tenons themselves. The panel goes in dry - no glue. After the panel is checked for square (by measuring the diagonals), I put a few 5/8" brads into all the tenons to hold them until the glue sets up, remove the clamps and set aside.

Here's a picture of the completed end panels (one is behind the other). The interior panels will join these as soon as they are assembled.






That's enough for now. Next will be cutting the back and bottom pieces and the 2 cleats for the top. But that's for another night.