With the carcass assembled, my attention then turned to the base. I began by cutting three pieces of oak that would be used to edge an MDF panel on which the carcass would sit. I used a 3/8" roundover bit to bullnose the edge of these pieces, then cut the miters on the front corners. I then cut the MDF panel to length and rough width and cut biscuit slots to hold everything together. I glued and clamped everything up, leaving the back edge pieces long. After the glue dried I trimed the back of the panel to width, which removed the long pieces of oak. More sanding fun!
The bottom part of the base was cut to size, with the front edges mitered. I marked the arch design and used the bandsaw to rough-cut the pieces. I then used my scroll saw to do the intricate cuts on end of the pieces, and used the oscalating spindle sander to sand the arch to final shape. Biscuit slots were cut in the end miters, and four corner braces were cut. Then I glued up the bottom half of the base.
After the bottom had dried, I gave everything a good sanding and screwed the two base pieces together, taking extra care that the top of the base was centered over the legs and that the back of the pieces were flush.
Now it was time to attach the base to the bottom. I simply used screws, drilling in from the inside of the base (at an angle on the sides) into the bottom of the carcass. True purists may cringe at my using screws, but they can make their own curio. It worked fine to get the bottom attached good and snug, which was necessary because I noticed that this thing is getting very heavy.
It's time to work on the other end, and crown the cabinet.
Go back to where the carcass was constructed.
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This page last updated on 06/28/2018