CharlesWilson
Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2007
- Messages
- 458
Slide Together Bookcase
This woodworking project accomplished a number of objectives:
1. I finally put to use some oak boards that I brought to Connecticut from Minnesota 30 years ago.
2. I was able to reuse some boards taken out of a stereo cabinet that I had modified.
3. I verified Jerry Work's claims concerning the Festool dovetail bits.
4. I created a bookcase that assembles/disassembles without fasteners or glue-ups (except for edge joining to get desired width).
5. I 'invented' another use for dominos. (Patents are not being filed, so feel free to copy.)
The bookcase is vertically symmetrical with interchangeable components used to hold it together on top and bottom. The sides and shelves were about 12" wide, and were edge joined using 5mm dominos to align the boards during glue-up.
The sides of the bookcase are, of course, mirror images of each other, but since they are vertically symmetrical, they are also identical. (I registered the domino spacings from the midpoint of the sides.) Stopped dovetail slots from back to front will receive the top and bottom shelves. The backs of these shelves also have a male dovetail that locks into 7" wide boards that prevent the assembly from racking. The kickers (top and bottom) have male dovetails on their ends, and each fits into a dado in the shelf, locking the assembly in place. The 20mm Festool dovetail bit was used to cut the dovetail slots using the OF-1400 router. The cuts were made without first opening up the slot with a straight bit! The last time I tried that was 35 years ago, and I sure generated a lot of smoke back then. This operation went without a hitch, and the dovetails were flawless.
I used 6mm (narrow setting) domino mortises on the sides for the variable shelf supports. The depth of the mortises was set to 15mm. After locating the midpoint of each side, I used the guide rail and a 1000mm MFS section to locate the domino mortises. In this project, the mortises were referenced from the edge of each board using the standard pin on the domino machine. Mortise spacing was 30mm.
The shelves had 'open' domino mortises placed in them. The depth setting was 25mm. The front of each shelf used the narrowest setting, and the rear used the middle setting. The mortises were created by using a piece of MDF on top of the shelf, with the domino fence height set so the bit just cleared the bottom of the MDF. A little cleanup with a chisel was required.
Here we have a test fitting of one of the sides.
To add stiffness and prevent the sides from bowing out, I created a stabilizing rail, and hand dovetailed it into both sides. The bookcase seems very rigid, and the addition of a back is not planned at this stage. I will keep the FOG posted if any modifications are required.
Here's the finished and loaded piece of furniture:
I created this animation for the assembly and disassembly of the bookcase using SketchUp:
The changes made to the original bookcase in the SketchUp design included replacing dominos with 3/16" shelf pins (it was just easier to draw that way); modifying the upper and lower stabilizers so that they cover the dovetail slots when viewed from the back of the bookcase; and reducing the width of the stabilizing rail in the center of the back. With these changes (except for the pins, of course) it is more suitable as a free-standing bookcase.
Here is the visible dovetail slot in the original bookcase:
Here are links to the SketchUp files:
AVI file (linked to above): http://www.box.net/shared/lyvj297kkc
SketchUp used for Animation: http://www.box.net/shared/7qb3kzwo40
Components with dimensions: http://www.box.net/shared/tgu4gzisc4
Components (no dimensions): http://www.box.net/shared/a5mepoewc4
Charles
This woodworking project accomplished a number of objectives:
1. I finally put to use some oak boards that I brought to Connecticut from Minnesota 30 years ago.
2. I was able to reuse some boards taken out of a stereo cabinet that I had modified.
3. I verified Jerry Work's claims concerning the Festool dovetail bits.
4. I created a bookcase that assembles/disassembles without fasteners or glue-ups (except for edge joining to get desired width).
5. I 'invented' another use for dominos. (Patents are not being filed, so feel free to copy.)
The bookcase is vertically symmetrical with interchangeable components used to hold it together on top and bottom. The sides and shelves were about 12" wide, and were edge joined using 5mm dominos to align the boards during glue-up.
The sides of the bookcase are, of course, mirror images of each other, but since they are vertically symmetrical, they are also identical. (I registered the domino spacings from the midpoint of the sides.) Stopped dovetail slots from back to front will receive the top and bottom shelves. The backs of these shelves also have a male dovetail that locks into 7" wide boards that prevent the assembly from racking. The kickers (top and bottom) have male dovetails on their ends, and each fits into a dado in the shelf, locking the assembly in place. The 20mm Festool dovetail bit was used to cut the dovetail slots using the OF-1400 router. The cuts were made without first opening up the slot with a straight bit! The last time I tried that was 35 years ago, and I sure generated a lot of smoke back then. This operation went without a hitch, and the dovetails were flawless.
I used 6mm (narrow setting) domino mortises on the sides for the variable shelf supports. The depth of the mortises was set to 15mm. After locating the midpoint of each side, I used the guide rail and a 1000mm MFS section to locate the domino mortises. In this project, the mortises were referenced from the edge of each board using the standard pin on the domino machine. Mortise spacing was 30mm.
The shelves had 'open' domino mortises placed in them. The depth setting was 25mm. The front of each shelf used the narrowest setting, and the rear used the middle setting. The mortises were created by using a piece of MDF on top of the shelf, with the domino fence height set so the bit just cleared the bottom of the MDF. A little cleanup with a chisel was required.
Here we have a test fitting of one of the sides.
To add stiffness and prevent the sides from bowing out, I created a stabilizing rail, and hand dovetailed it into both sides. The bookcase seems very rigid, and the addition of a back is not planned at this stage. I will keep the FOG posted if any modifications are required.
Here's the finished and loaded piece of furniture:
I created this animation for the assembly and disassembly of the bookcase using SketchUp:
The changes made to the original bookcase in the SketchUp design included replacing dominos with 3/16" shelf pins (it was just easier to draw that way); modifying the upper and lower stabilizers so that they cover the dovetail slots when viewed from the back of the bookcase; and reducing the width of the stabilizing rail in the center of the back. With these changes (except for the pins, of course) it is more suitable as a free-standing bookcase.
Here is the visible dovetail slot in the original bookcase:
Here are links to the SketchUp files:
AVI file (linked to above): http://www.box.net/shared/lyvj297kkc
SketchUp used for Animation: http://www.box.net/shared/7qb3kzwo40
Components with dimensions: http://www.box.net/shared/tgu4gzisc4
Components (no dimensions): http://www.box.net/shared/a5mepoewc4
Charles
(http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=614.msg6053#msg6053)
