stevenbunn Tue, 03/29/2016 - 20:04

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Install a Floor in the Left Bay

 

Install the splined floor in the storage bay. Half the boards laid in place on support cleats screwed to the base rails.
 
The remaining open bay is going to be used for storage. All it needed was a floor and a pair of doors. The floor is made up of random width maple boards, splined together screwed onto ledger strips screwed to the cabinet's bottom rails and stretchers. To allow for seasonal shrinkage and expansion I ovalized the screw holes on the under side of each board before fastening the boards down.
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stevenbunn Tue, 03/29/2016 - 19:43

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Install the Base Board

 

Glue and screw a base board around the bottom of the cabinet. All screw holes were counter-sunk and bunged. After the glue dried, the bungs were pared level with the surrounding base board with a sharp chisel.
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stevenbunn Tue, 03/29/2016 - 19:32

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Drawer Dividers and Runners installed

 

A view from the front of the drawer dividers and runners installed in the base
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stevenbunn Tue, 03/29/2016 - 19:19

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Drawer Dividers and Drawer Runners

 

I seated the drawer dividers into the dovetailed dadoes using a dead-blow mallet and a block of scrap wood to prevent breaking the edges of the dividers dovetailed pins. I added the drawer runners, slipping the tenon, cut on one end of each runner, into one of the two mortises cut into the back of each divider. This is a dry joint without any glue. The tenon is seated loosely in it's mortise. I left a 1/8 inch gap between the divider and the tenon shoulders. The runners were screwed to the center stile of each bent. This way the frame members can move with the seasons without pushing any of the dividers out of plane with the rest of the bench front.

Fitting a drawer runner tenon into the mortise milled in the back edge of one of the drawer dividers.

 

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stevenbunn Tue, 03/29/2016 - 07:08

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Installing the Drawer Dividers

 

Cut sliding dovetail pins on the ends of each drawer divider, using a router with a dovetail bit and a shop-made jig.
 
Before installing the dividers, I cut two mortises in each the divider's rear faces to accept floating tenons milled on one end of each of the drawer runners. I left the drawer dividers unglued so that I could slide them out when screwing the top in place. This gave me access to the inside of the drawer bay to drill and screw the top on. With that done the dividers were glued in place.

 

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stevenbunn Mon, 03/28/2016 - 08:02

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Assembling the Base (Cont'd)

Add the second bay to complete the glue up of the base frame.
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stevenbunn Mon, 03/28/2016 - 07:54

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Assembling the Base (Cont'd)

 

Glue and clamp the first bay by adding the middle bent, front rails and the paneled back.

 

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stevenbunn Sun, 03/27/2016 - 16:06

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Assembling the Base

 

Glue together each of the three bents.
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stevenbunn Sun, 03/27/2016 - 15:42

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Drawer Dividers

At this point you think you are ready to start assembling the bench base. But wait. There is one more thing to do before assembly. Sliding dovetails secure three drawer dividers to the front face of one of the two bays formed by the bench legs. Sliding dovetails are milled on the ends of each divider. These in turn, slide into dovetailed dadoes cut on the inside faces of the two legs that form the sides of the bay you have chosen to be the drawer rank. Lay out the location of the three dividers on both legs. I clamped the two legs together and used a temporary fence clamped across both legs to center my router and dovetail router bit in the centerline of each divider. I then cut a dovetail profiled dadoe across both legs in a single pass. I repositioned the fence and cut the remaining two pairs of dadoes in the legs. Quick, easy, and safe. Do this before gluing up the base. Mark the mating leg faces to be dovetailed. Then recheck to make sure that you have correctly marked the right faces.

 

Cut dovetailed dados for the drawer dividers with the pair of legs clamped together and marked out. One pair of grooves has just been cut.
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stevenbunn Wed, 03/23/2016 - 06:58

Build a Shaker Work Bench

 

Building the Base (Cont'd)

Then stand each panel on edge and make straight cuts to create the tongues.
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