Clamping It Down!!

Alright people - check it out. I'm finally getting somewhere and from now on I'll actually have "something to work on" instead of random sheets of plywood sitting in the garage. I glued up all of the panels I cut and everything came together pretty nicely - angles and all. The joints are all quite tight and I'm happy so far. The cabinet was put together using #20 biscuits to help me line everything up.

This first picture shows how the base I built earlier out of a 2x4 interacts with the various plywood panels. You can also get a good look at the cauls I used for each clamp - these are used so the clamps don't damage the workpiece upon tightening.

The next pictures gives you a good idea how many clamps I needed in order to secure everything - a lot! It also looks like some of the clamps are bent or things aren't square but I assure you that isn't the case. It must look that way due to the odd angle I snapped the picture at - everything is nice and square.

This next picture shows the bottom interior panel set in place where the computer will eventually sit as well as how the marquee area came together.

Putting everything together by myself was tough. I had to apply the glue to all surfaces, clamp it together and then wipe up any squeeze out. I LOVE my biscuit joiner - it saved me a ton of time and helped me align everything in order to glue it together. On my last project I installed 3/4" x 1.5" cleats along all of the lines where interior panels were going to be placed for support. It was difficult lining everything up and required many extra hours of work. The biscuit joiner cut all of that out - plus it gives me added strength on all of the joints.

Anyway, not much more to say other than enjoy the pics and stay tuned for the unclamping!!!