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Assembling Cases
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Assembling Cases
Assembling Cases
Get it right the first time with the right tools
and the proper clamps and clamping
technique
by Andy Rae
When you're ready to assemble your furniture, you usually
have only one shot to get it right. Once the glue is spread,
there's no turning back. Glue up a cabinet out of square, and
you'll pay dearly later in the construction process because your
error will accumulate so that fitting subsequent parts becomes
a nightmare. To get it right the first time, it's vital to have the
right assembly tools on hand and to use the proper clamps and
clamping technique. After all, who hasn't glued together what
was a perfectly fitted miter, only to find the joint slipping out of
alignment as you placed pressure on the joint? Learning and
practicing the correct approach to assembly will save you
untold hours of frustration.
In full-color photo
essays, expert
woodworker Gary
Rogowski show you
how to make every
practical
woodworking joint
Six books of recent
articles from Fine
Woodworking in an
attractive slipcase
set
The dry run
One of the best techniques I've come to learn about assembly
(and learned it the hard way, meaning I had to make many
mistakes first) is to always -- and I mean always -- do a dry
run of any assembly. This means assembling all the parts
without glue. Make sure you use all the necessary clamps you'll
need and check to see that you can confidently close all the
joints. In effect, you're practicing the entire assembly sequence.
39 vintage articles
from Fine
Woodworking on
choosing, making
and using every
kind of carcase joint
And 9 times out of 10, you'll discover during a dry run that
something is missing or you need more clamps in a specific
area to bring an assembly together. Or perhaps you'll need to
rethink the glue-up process and break the assembly sequence
down into smaller, more manageable parts. It may take more
time, but investing in a dry run is well worth avoiding the
horror of applying glue, only to find that you can't quite put the
parts together as planned.
Assembly tools and jigs
There are innumerable jigs and tricks used in assembly. All are
aimed at making the process of putting together multiple parts
easier, more accurate, and ultimately less frustrating. There's
nothing worse than spreading glue only to find you don't have
the right tools or setup ready to go. Here are some essential
assembly aids that make glue-ups go a lot smoother.
Reading square with a pinch rod
It's vital to square up a case or opening immediately after
assembly--before the glue dries. One way to check for square
is to read the diagonal measurements from outside corner to
outside corner with a tape measure. When the two
measurements are equal, the opening is square. But clamps
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Assembling Cases
often get in the way, it's
practically impossible to get a
reading on the back of the
case, and reading the outside
corners won't tell you whether
the inside of a deep case is
square. A more accurate
method is to use a pinch rod.
A
An adjustable pinch rod allows
you to compare inside
diagonals quickly and to any
depth. If they match, the case
must be square.
(opens in new
window)
traditional pinch rod is simply two sticks, sharpened at one
end, that you pinch, or hold together, in the center. The
modified version shown at right adds clamping heads that
make things a little easier and more precise. Set the rod to the
length of one of the diagonals; then check the opposite
diagonal inside the case. Push the sticks into the case to read
the entire depth. Keep adjusting the rod (and the case) until
the rod fits equally between both diagonals.
Squaring a case with a
board
As an aid to assembling a case
square, cut a piece of plywood
to the exact width of the case
opening, making sure adjacent
edges are square. Before you
clamp the case joints, clamp
the board inside the case,
lining up one edge of the
board with the case sides.
Voila! No more twisted or out-
of-square openings.
A squared-up board cut to the
width of the inside provides an
easy way to square up a case.
Shims and blocks align
parts
It's a good idea to keep on
hand a variety of shims and
blocks in varying thicknesses,
from playing cards, squares of
plastic laminate, and strips of
leather to 1/4-in.-, 1/2-in.-,
and 3/4-in.-thick blocks of
wood. These spacers help align
or position parts during glue-
up, and they're great for
protecting the surface of your
work. In the photo at right,
small squares of MDF align the
clamp heads over the center of
the joint, while plastic shims prevent the pipes from dinging
the surface.
A box full of shim materials
comes in handy during glue-up.
Riser blocks raise the work
Gluing up assemblies often means having to get underneath
the work to attach clamps or other parts. The simplest answer
is to raise the entire assembly on blocks of wood. But finding
stock thick enough can be a pain. Just as strong, and easier to
make, are sets of riser blocks made from 3/4-in. plywood glued
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Assembling Cases
and nailed together. Blocks
about 5 in. high by 2 ft. long
are sufficient for almost all
your glue-ups.
Simple plywood risers elevate
the work for easy clamping.
A piece of tape comes in handy
as a third hand when
positioning clamping cauls.
Clamping cauls
Like blocks, cauls made from scrap material can prevent dings
in your work. More important, cauls distribute more clamping
pressure across a joint, allowing you to use far fewer clamps
when gluing up. For broad gluing surfaces, use bowed clamping
cauls.
For narrow joints, scrap plywood or leftover sticks of wood
work fine. The trick to getting the cauls to stay where you want
them until you add the clamps is to tape them temporarily in
place.
Dovetail tapping wedge
In many cases, you don't need
to bother clamping dovetail
joints, especially on small box
constructions, such as a
drawer. To assemble and fully
seat the joints without
damaging the pins, tap over
the joint with a wedged-
shaped block of dense wood.
The shape of the block allows
you to position it over the joint
regardless of the size of the
tail. [ next ]
A wedge-shaped block helps
seat dovetails in their sockets.
| 1 | 2 |
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Assembling Cases (page 2)
YOU ARE HERE: Fine Woodworking Home
Page 2
Assembling a case
For most cabinets, there's a
basic assembly sequence that
will guarantee success -- or at
least a more comfortable heart
rate. The trick is always to
begin assembly from the
insides out. In most instances,
this means assembling any
interior dividers or partitions
to the top and bottom of the
case. If the case is wide,
clamp one side of the work
while it sits face down on the
bench ( A ). Then flip the
assembly over and clamp the
opposite side ( B ).
In full-color photo
essays, expert
woodworker Gary
Rogowski show you
how to make every
practical
woodworking joint
Tackle the outside of the case,
often the sides or ends of a
cabinet, after you've clamped
all the interior assemblies.
Depending on the type of
clamps you use and the design
of the cabinet, you might have
to wait for the glue to dry on the interior parts before clamping
the outside of the case. When possible, use long-reach clamps,
because they can reach over existing clamps and let you clamp
the entire case in one assembly session ( C ).
Six books of recent
articles from Fine
Woodworking in an
attractive slipcase
set
39 vintage articles
from Fine
Woodworking on
choosing, making
and using every
kind of carcase joint
Clamping corners
Corner joints constitute most of the casework in furniture --
including small boxes and drawers--and it's necessary to find
an effective way to clamp across what is typically a wide
surface. Like edge work, the answer is to use cauls to help
distribute clamping pressure.
When joints protrude at the
corners, such as in through
dovetails or box joints, use
notched cauls to bring the
corner together ( A ). Make the
notch cuts on the bandsaw or
table saw. The blocks gain
purchase and don't interfere
with closing the joint, and they
center over the joint to avoid
bowing the sides.
Miter joints have a way of not
closing at the most
inappropriate times. To get
good purchase on what is
often a very slippery joint,
there are several clamping
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Assembling Cases (page 2)
strategies. The tried-and-true
method is to clamp all four
corners of a mitered frame at
once with bar clamps. The
deep throats of Bessey K-body
clamps make it easy to get
over and under the joint ( B ).
Tighten each clamp a little at a
time, like tightening the lug
nuts on a car wheel. Make
sure to check the frame for
square before letting the glue
dry.
The block-and-rod frame
system shown here (from Lee
Valley Tools ) gives you very
precise control when closing
four miters at a time, and it
doesn't require lots of
clamping force ( C ). Like the
bar clamp approach, tighten
each corner a little at a time to
align the miters.
One of the simplest ways to
close the joint is to clamp
shopmade blocks to the frame
before assembly. Cut out the
blocks on the bandsaw so that
the clamping surfaces are
parallel to each other when
the frame is assembled ( D ).
A picture framer's vise is
handy for closing one miter at
a time ( E ). This is useful when
you're nailing or screwing the
joint, since you can assemble
the frame one piece at a time.
Web clamps allow you to glue
up all four corners at once,
and they work well on both flat
frames and boxes ( F ). You can
use heavy-duty web clamps
for large cases, but plan on
having several on hand to
close the joints.
Clamping difficult parts
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