End Table Build Thread 2

In my previous post, I wrote about cutting and finishing the various components of this table, and the first stages of assembly. Here, I've married the two long sides of the frame that I previously assembled with the short side skirting, creating the complete frame. As before, I masked the skirting before applying glue, and as before I did not mask the legs themselves, for want of a clear sense of exactly where to lay the edge of the mask. These joints are also made with #20 biscuits, held in by wood glue:

The table frame is inverted, with scrap wood between the clamps and the work piece to protect the piece. I overdid it with the wood glue again, and though I tried to clean it all up from the outside corners, I'm a bit concerned that I'll end up with vacations in the staining. I'm also a little peeved that the diagonals aren't equal: outside corner to outside corner is 30" in one direction, but 30-1/4" in the other, so I'm a bit out of square, but I've decided that I'm willing to live with it. As an experiment, I placed the table top on the legs and it rested solidly, without rocking, and I'm hoping that will translate into a sturdy table.

I also took the opportunity of having the camera out to shoot a photo of the jig I mentioned last time. This was a rush job, built in a 1/2 hour when I didn't have the time to build the jig I wanted, and as sloppy as it looks I'm pretty proud of it. The long body of the jig is another piece from the futon, the short shoe is a scrap piece of 2x2 stud I had lying around, held into place by two counter-sunk 1-5/8" drywall screws. I drilled pilot holes for the screws to they wouldn't crack the wood. I ended up misjudging the angle of the shoe to the body, giving myself an angle of a little over 90 degrees (π/2 radians, if you prefer), which would have encouraged the work piece to slip out of the jig, so when I got to the shop I did some work with the band saw to fix this, notching the 2x2 where it meets the body of the jig.

The final piece of the jig is the taper screw, a third drywall screw, driven only part way into the side of the body, near the shoe. You can see this screw to the right of the shoe in the image at right. When the jig was in use, it was placed against the table saw's fence, aligned as you see it here, with this screw and the far end of the body slid along the table saw's fence. The work piece (my table legs) fit between the jig and the saw blade, and was pushed by the jig's shoe. Driving the taper screw further into the jig decreased the angle of the taper, while backing it out increased the taper.

Friday, I hope to stain the table top and lid, then assemble it over the weekend.

Next post: final assembly