the credenza part 5 - this time for real

after the credenza was dry fit it was time to determine exactly how the top would be attached to the base. most of this depended where we wanted the top to sit on the base, as well as how much overhang/under-hang when the top is where we wanted it to be. during the dry fit we were able to move the top around and measure in order to explore our options.

there were still a few steps to be done before the glue hit the wood. first thing to do was edge band the walnut ply. edge banding is simply gluing a piece of wood to the thin edge of another piece. we did this with the ply because the edge of ply wood is ugly. we edge banded with a small strip of solid mulberry.

here's a closer shot of the mulberry edge band on a piece of walnut ply.

small pieces of mulberry were then cut and sized to fit into the channels of the legs where the ply was to be glued. these pieces sit at the bottom of the leg, and the mulberry will slid in and sit on top of them. just bear with the pics for now, it'll come together when we start to assemble things.

a few shots of the small pieces being glued to the legs.

the last step before gluing was to cut a small hole in the rear pannel for the ability to run wires later. we created a template, then used the template with a router to cut the square hole. after the hole was cut we used some walnut veneer to edge band where the cut had been made

this is the point where my two weeks of being at my parent's home had come to an end. the progress up to this point had been done after work on weekdays, and on weekends for two weeks, there was also a day off taken during one of those fridays. so i packed the pieces of the credenza up in a closet and went back home for two months. this was in late march and early april.

in early june i came back for one week to finish what i started.

the first thing we did was route the top.
with a router we cut a groove on the inside top edge of the top where the slab of granite was to be fit.

it is difficult to see, but those corners are slightly rounded due to the router bit. we hand chiseled the rounded corners to be perfectly straight. doing work like this with hand tools makes me appreciate when all woodworking was done by hand and just how time intensive some simple tasks can be.

once that was cut, we dropped it off at the stone cutter along with the piece of remnant granite from the kitchen remodel. the woodshop doesn't have the ability to cut stone (yet) so this step was outsourced.

finally we were ready to lay down some glue!

clamps are used to move the wood into place and keep it there while the glue dries. we always let the glue dry overnight.

of course, an obligatory damp towel break was taken after the glue was set. dad's saying is right, all hell does break loose when the glue hits the wood. after gluing the base i was exhausted and sweating. this is one of the very few times in woodworking where you're racing against the clock. normally woodworking is a relaxing and therapeutic experience.

during this break we meandered out back to pick some mulberries from a tree my dad had planted a few years back. there are a variety of mulberry trees, some are fruitless while some bear fruit. this one has deep purple mulberries that are sweet and delicious. though they do stain your fingers if you squeeze too hard when pulling them off the tree.

link to part 6 - top to bottom.