question from semi-beginner woodworker, so perhaps I’m asking in the wrong place (apologies in advance)…
Building corner shelving unit with 1 1/2″ thick shelves joined at 45 degrees. Sides are 29″, so this is heavy stuff. Was contemplating best method for joining, and was thinking of cutting a 3/8″ (or so) spline/slot into each mitered end and joining that way.
Questioning things such as should I rout the splines or cut with a table saw (w/Dado blade?), etc. Sort of want to play around with any suggested technique to see how it goes, but was wondering of a good resource for this sort of thing. Most info I’ve found through research (and review of a woodworking book) provide instructions for much thinner material (like picture frames), or discuss joining things via mortise and tenon. Worried about getting a precise channel if have to run the mitered face perpendicular across a dado blade, and similarly, how I’d guide a router across the face of the mitered edge as well. The “Shopmade Slot Mortiser” article in the Winter 2004/5 issue of Finewoodworking was interesting, but making such a beast is perhaps overkill for this simple project. Any ideas/tricks of the trade from this audience would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Edited 1/6/2005 12:24 am ET by TooledinMarin
Replies
Tool,
First of all, there's plenty of space to write your questions here. You can actually use whole sentences.
Build 2 sets of jigs. One to hold the shelf boards vertically on edge on your work bench. The other to clamp on either side of the mitered edges, increasing the width of the edges to support a router. Then router mortises in each edge. Use a router edge guide that rides on the outer edge of the jig. Lock the edge guide and make sure the guide indexes from either the tops or the bottoms of all boards so that the mortises are exactly the same distance from the index surface. Mark the limits for the length of the mortises and router as close to those lines as possible, but great accuracy is not necessary as the splines should be cut slightly shorter than the length of the mortises.
Mill splines to fit snugly into the mortises and trim them a little short of the length of the mortises.
Clamp battens a few inches away from and parallel to the mitered edges, on tops and undersides of the boards. Do a dry fit, clamping across the battens, top and bottom to draw the mitered edges together. Support the other ends of the boards as necessary.
When you are satisfied that it all fits together flat and square, glue up, making sure the mitered surfaces receive glue as well as the splines and mortises.
Rich
Tooled,
Using a slot cutter in your router will let you run the router on the face of the shelves, and the bearing will govern depth of cut.
Regards,
Ray
At 1"1/2 you could double up on biscuits (over and under). It simplifies the process and makes a strong joint, unless you want them collapsable.
I built several corner shelves recently and used a different joinery technique. I created a solid vertical piece (a spline of sorts) the length of the shelf height for each corner unit. I routed dados into which the corner brackets are glued. I also rounded over the front of the spline, which faces out. It looks like this from the top:
Interesting. Couple questions:
1) what materials did you use for your spline and your brackets?
2) what is the width/depth of your shelves? how far do the brackets extend as a percent of the width and depth of the shelves?
3) looks like the dado extends to the back edge of the "spline" piece
4) are the back ends of the shelves supported by the wall?
5) do you think this would be suitable for heavy stock?
6) do you have front view diagram?
Thanks!
1) what materials did you use for your spline and your brackets?
Mine are small corner shelves. I used poplar for the spline and shelves, and stained it to look like cherry. I'll send a picture when I get home.
2) what is the width/depth of your shelves? how far do the brackets extend as a percent of the width and depth of the shelves?
The brackets are 8-inches high. The shelves are 8 inches deep. I used to circle cutting jig on the bandsaw to cut the curves.
3) looks like the dado extends to the back edge of the "spline" piece
No. The splines are 1-1/4 x 1-1/4. The dado is 1/2 x 3/8. The brackets and shelves are 1/2-inches thick. The dado extends only 3/8 inch from the front corner, as shown on my sketch. (The green color is the spline, except for the front piece in front of the round-over. The blue are the side brackets.)
4) are the back ends of the shelves supported by the wall?
I routed a keyway into each of the side brackets. This is a special router bit that you plunge into the material to give an opening large enough for a screw head, then move the router up about a half-inch to route a smaller slot for the screw head to slide behind. Works very well and the brackets sit snug against the walls. I will also try to send a photo of this.
5) do you think this would be suitable for heavy stock?
Good question. I think it depends on whether you can secure the corner brackets into solid wood (studs). Mine are small enough that I can use molly bolts.
6) do you have front view diagram?
I think the photo will give you a better idea.
Bert
Splines or biscuits are the easy part of the job. I found to my cost that clamping, that's the difficult bit. You'll need to save your offcuts to act as glue blocks on either side of the joint. These should let your clamps squeeze at 90 deg to the joint itself negating any tendancy for the pieces to slip past each other. You may need to slip a folded piece of sandpaper (grit side out) between the glue blocks and the shelf boards to prevent the blocks from slipping.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
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