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Excerpted from The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture & Cabinet Construction


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).

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).

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 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
If your pipe clamps are too short, you can extend them with metal pipe joiners, available at plumbing-supply stores. Make sure at least one of your pipes is threaded on both ends so it can accept both the threaded joiner and the clamp head (A).

Another effective way to grip long work is to join two clamp heads together. Shims center the clamping pressure over the joints, and rubber pads slipped over the clamp heads prevent the work from being marred (B).

Get a grip on difficult pieces, such as a panel, by securing it with a wooden handscrew (C). A bar clamp holds the handscrew to the bench, leaving your hands free for more important tasks.
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Andy Rae has been woodworking for over two decades. He worked with George Nakashima and Frank Klausz before founding his own woodworking business. In 1990, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts granted him a fellowship for his furniture designs. Rae wrote over 100 articles for American Woodworker magazine during his six-year tenure and served as senior editor until 1998. He currently works in the western North Carolina mountains, making furniture as well as teaching and writing about woodworking.

Photos: Andy Rae; Drawing: Mario Ferro

Excerpted from The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture & Cabinet Construction, pp. 88-94


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