MOTM

Thanks for the info! That's the approach that I plan to take, but I haven't
yet used biscuits on anything, so I wasn't sure how well they'd work. But
I'm a big fan of "The New Yankee Workshop," and Norm Abrahms sure has faith
in them. I will probably get one of those biscuit cutter attachments for my
router... hope it works as well as a dedicated instrument for light duty
use.

I think when I finally get around to my cabinet I will use internal corner
blocks, though, glued & screwed. I plan on beveling the upper edges
45-degrees to hide the seams, so a biscuit isn't practical there (I
think...?). I'm sure that bevel will end up being my worst nightmare with
the project, but I want to try to hide seams and hardware as much as
possible so that all the eye sees is warm wood & cool knobs!

It seems generally taken for granted that 3/4" wood is the way to go,
whether solid or ply. I was hoping to get away with either 5/8" or even 1/2"
hardwood for my cabinets. They wont go on the road, just see studio use for
the most part, but naturally I want them to be sturdy and last. With the
cross bracing, a back on the cabinets, and the modules screwed in all over
the place I am hoping that there would be enough stability with 1/2" wood.
Do folks knowledgeable in cabinetry think this is suicide? I'd really like
to cut down on the weight if I could, and that extra 1/4" can make a big
difference to the mass and look of the cabinets. I would love to hear
opinions or horror stories on this subject.

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	mate_stubb@... [mailto:mate_stubb@...] 
Sent:	Monday, 12 March, 2001 9:52 AM
To:	motm@yahoogroups.com
Subject:	[motm] Re: Case update

Biscuits and glue, mostly. On the cab corners, I'll probably add glue 
blocks that are screwed from the inside, but the biscuits are so 
strong that it's probably overkill.

Actually, you're right---for someone with his obvious talent and "do it
right" attitude, he does often mutter, "now lets stick some brads in here"
and fire off a few as if he was making mass-production press-board stuff. I
try to ignore that ;-) . I don't intend on getting a nail gun. Unless I want
to play real-life Quake. Which I do, on Mondays... here at work...

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	J. Larry Hendry [mailto:jlarryh@...] 
Sent:	Monday, 12 March, 2001 11:35 AM
To:	motm@yahoogroups.com
Subject:	Re: [motm] Cabinets: Woodworking, etc.


-----
Yes, but that guy uses that nail gun way to much for a
woodworker it seems to me.
----

> I will probably get one of those biscuit cutter attachments for my
> router... hope it works as well as a dedicated instrument for light 
> duty use.

I bought a dedicated biscuit cutter (also called a plate joiner) 
because the router attachment I saw could only do biscuits on a flat 
edge (see below).

> I plan on beveling the upper edges
> 45-degrees to hide the seams, so a biscuit isn't practical there (I
> think...?). 

Absolutely it is! I'm using biscuits in all my bevelled edges. It's 
the way to go!

> I'm sure that bevel will end up being my worst nightmare with
> the project, but I want to try to hide seams and hardware as much as
> possible so that all the eye sees is warm wood & cool knobs!

I used a table saw to cut the bevels. I splurged a little bit and 
bought a Delta for about $350, which had as one of its main features 
a wheel/worm screw arrangement for being able to set the blade tilt 
with precision. I used a protractor to figure out the initial angles, 
divided by two, set an approximate blade angle, and then did some 
test bevels on scrap wood to get the angles to match exactly. It's 
one of the reasons the project is going slowly. I'm being very 
careful, since the time I carefully bevelled a bunch of boards 
correctly, then destroyed them by cutting them off too short. Duh!

> It seems generally taken for granted that 3/4" wood is the way to
> go, whether solid or ply. I was hoping to get away with either 5/8" 
> or even 1/2" hardwood for my cabinets. They wont go on the road, 
> just see studio use for the most part, but naturally I want them to 
> be sturdy and last. With the cross bracing, a back on the cabinets, 
> and the modules screwed in all over the place I am hoping that 
> there would be enough stability with 1/2" wood.

Well, biscuits would be a little harder to use on a bevelled 5/8" 
angle, but not impossible if you use the smaller #0 or maybe #10 
sizes. I'm not sure you could use 1/2" with biscuits 'n bevels. Try 
it on some scrap wood first.

Moe, a lot better carpenter than I was a few weeks ago

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Tkacs, Ken <ken.tkacs@...>
> I'm a big fan of "The New Yankee Workshop," and
> Norm Abrahms sure has faith in them.
-----
Yes, but that guy uses that nail gun way to much for a
woodworker it seems to me.
----
> I will probably get one of those biscuit cutter attachments
> for my router... hope it works as well as a dedicated 
> instrument for light duty use.
----
I would be interested in knowing your success in that area.
----
From: mate_stubb@... [mailto:mate_stubb@...] 
Biscuits and glue, mostly.

I think I had that in a restaurant once.  :)
Stooge Larry

I know exactly what you're talking about. I've done that myself more times
than I want to admit. One of the bigger problems with bevels is that they
mess up your mental calculations no matter how careful you think you're
being.

When the monthly MOTM Magazine starts circulating, "Woodworking War Stories"
should be a regular column. Right next to the "Moe Better Mods" column. ;-)

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	mate_stubb@... [mailto:mate_stubb@...] 
Sent:	Monday, 12 March, 2001 11:18 AM
To:	motm@yahoogroups.com
Subject:	[motm] Re: Cabinets: Woodworking, etc.

...I'm being very careful, since the time I carefully bevelled a bunch of
boards correctly, then destroyed them by cutting them off too short. Duh!...

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Tkacs, Ken <ken.tkacs@...>
When the monthly MOTM Magazine starts circulating,
"Woodworking War Stories" should be a regular column.
Right next to the "Moe Better Mods" column. ;-)
---
This is a fabulous idea.  Maybe YOU should be the publisher.
(all electronic of course).

MOTMers could send in their own stories about:
 - music they are making
 - MOTM patch of the month
 - cabinet building
 - DIY corner
 - personal profile (learn aout other users)

As publisher, you could decide what to include in each monthly
e-edition.  Instead of actually e-mailing the issue could be available
at someone's website (I volunteer) including back issues.

Surely, you get get enough content solely from MOTMers wrting
own stories.

You have plenty of extra time to make this happen, right ???
Larry

Hmmm.... Hmm.....

Now you've got me thinking.

Hmmmmmmmmm.....

Yeah, extra time, right.....

But it sure would be cool, wouldn't it.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	J. Larry Hendry [mailto:jlarryh@...] 
Sent:	Monday, 12 March, 2001 6:43 PM
To:	motm@yahoogroups.com
Subject:	Re: [motm] Re: Cabinets: Woodworking, etc.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Tkacs, Ken ken.tkacs@...


When the monthly MOTM Magazine starts circulating,
"Woodworking War Stories" should be a regular column.
Right next to the "Moe Better Mods" column. ;-)


This is a fabulous idea.  Maybe YOU should be the publisher.
(all electronic of course).

MOTMers could send in their own stories about:
 - music they are making
 - MOTM patch of the month
 - cabinet building
 - DIY corner
 - personal profile (learn aout other users)

As publisher, you could decide what to include in each monthly
e-edition.  Instead of actually e-mailing the issue could be available
at someone's website (I volunteer) including back issues.

Surely, you get get enough content solely from MOTMers wrting
own stories.

You have plenty of extra time to make this happen, right ???
Larry