Step 6 - Building the Front Panel
All thumbnail pictures can be enlarged by clicking them.
 The process for building the front
panel of the bench is pretty much the same as that of
building the end panels, except for a couple of twists.
One is that the front has two arch-topped filler panels in it
yet the rail across the top of them is all one piece,
therefore the rail can not be mounted in our Panel Master jig
to route the rail. The other is similar in that the
panels are too wide to fit into the Panel Master, so it can
not be used for these either. I can, however, scavenge
some parts from the jig and use the sets largest template to
form the arches. But there is a trick to this too:
because the templates are about 1/4" short of the ideal
length for these parts, the arch is not perfectly centered on
the parts. This is not important visually for our eyes
and brain tend to adjust for such things and it will never be
noticed. What IS important is to remember to index the
rail and its mating panel from the same end as
shown in the photo. Get it wrong and the panel
won't come even close to fitting where it needs to fit.
So I affix the rail tempate to one end of the rail, trace the
shape, band saw away the waste,and route with a flush trim
bit. Then remove the template, remove the end stop,
install the other end stop on the opposite end of the
template, fasten the template to the other end of the rail
and repeat the process. Using the panel template, I
shape the top of one panel - label it - the reconfigure the
template, fasten it to the other panel: indexed to the
opposite side and shape that one.
From here on out the process is the same as it was for the
ends: route the decorative edges, cope the ends of the rails
(and the muntin between the panels) and shape the
panels. These steps use the guide bearings on the bits
so the Panel Master does not figure into it at all.
 When the parts are done, I test fit
them, use a clamp to draw the joints tight and check for
fit. The panels are 3/32" too tall and are
preventing the muntin joint from drawing up as it should and
throwing off the alignment of the stile bottoms and lower
rail. On a square panel I'd just run it through the
table saw and remove 3/64" from the top and the bottom
edges then pop it back in place. But with the arch on
top, the table saw is useless.
So I install a couple of shims behind the outfeed side of my
router table fence, align the outfeed fence with the cuttig
edge of a straight but and turn my router table into a poor
man's jointer. Two passes along the bottom edge per
panel and it's a perfect fit.
 Before I can glue the parts
together, I must do the detail sanding and pre-finishing of
the panel fronts just like on the end panels. Then I
can glue the assembly together, make sure it's square -
that's very important - by measuring across both
diagonals. If they are the same (+/- 1/32") it is
square. If they are off a little, adjusting the clamps
will pull it into square. If it is way off, look to see
what you goofed up. Clamp it up until the glue is good
and hard.
 Once the glue is dry I sand the
framework to smooth it out and remove pencil marks.
Oops, forgot the hand hole.
 I use a forstner bit to bore two
1" diameter holes, cut across a line connecting the
bottom points of these holes with the bandsaw and trim off
the little "ears" from the upper edge. A
little work with sandpaper and elbow grease and it's
done. No sweat. Then it is ready to join its
brothers on the Done pile. Next up is the back panel;
it only has one insert panel, but it's a doozie!
|
