the credenza part 6 - top to bottom

it took me a bit of elbow grease to get that mulberry juice off of my finger tips, but it was worth it as those little berries are delicious!

the glue part of the job is the most stressful and my least favorite, however it yields one of the biggest payoffs.  there's nothing like walking into the shop the next day, unclamping everything and watching pieces that were before separate, now connected as one. it is beautiful.

here's the credenza unclamped.

we set the top on to get a better feel for how the finished piece would look.

dad had to inspect something important.

up to this point we had brainstormed some ideas about how to attach the top to the base, but these were just our options and ideas.  now was the time to actually do it!

with some careful measurements, assessments of final aesthetics, and a bit of luck we made our decision. four contact points at the front, and four at the back.  the front pieces will be mounted on the inside, made from pieces of mulberry and the back would be mounted on the exterior of the back from pieces of solid walnut.

here is a front mount, we made sure to countersink the hole so that the head of the screw will not protrude from the face of the mulberry where the hole was drilled.

there are four, evenly spaced and mounted to the front face top crossbeam.

and this is how it fits with the top.

notice that the granite will sit inside of the top covering the four mounting blocks. since the granite will just sit there, when the credenza gets moved we'll push the granite up from the bottom and lift it out of the top frame.

the back mounts were completely different, being made of walnut and using two pieces instead of four for a simpler and more elegant look. again, this is the back which normally is up against a wall but we want it to look good from all angles.

the front screws sit parallel to the floor, the screws for the rear are both parallel and perpendicular. the screws that attach to the top will go from the bottom of this walnut piece into the top which will sit on top of it.

both mounts in all their glory, and the top sitting where it will be attached.

again, that hole in the back panel is for cables and power cords. i appreciate organized cabling, so i made sure to incorporate the ability to do so.

there may be a time where the credenza needs to be moved, and someone will grab hold of the top and try to lift it enough to scoot it to wherever.  we want to make sure that when that happens, the top doesn't rip off into their hands. granted, this thing is going to be pretty heavy so hopefully their back doesn't go out first!

notice those unsightly holes and shiny silver screws glaring out at you? well we like to plug them up!

there's a special drill bit we used to cut small cylinders of walnut, in order to dab a bit of glue on them and put them in the hole covering the shiny screw heads.  there will be no metal visible on the finished credenza (when the doors are closed).

the top won't be officially mounted until it gets to where it is going (my apt), so as of now we did not drill pilot holes in the top.

link to part 7 - tha doors.