Cutting the rabbet for the back panel using the router table would be very simple, but I keep trying not to use it for the fabrication of this small display case. One thing I didn’t avoid was using the table saw, since making a homemade table saw is much easier than making a router table. In any case, if we want, we can save the cuts I make with the table saw.
To cut the rabbet to install the panel on the back of the cabinet, I needed a good base to support the router when I slide it while cutting the rabbet. As you already know, my workbench table is designed to work on it without much fuss, so I simply nailed a couple of wooden boards on one side to be able to separate the molding from the display case when I put the top part vertically. This way I also get the widest surface to support the base of the milling machine while I mill the recesses for the panel of the back of the cabinet.
On the sides, cut from side to side, taking care to keep the guide supported in order to keep the milling straight when entering with the milling cutter at one end and exiting at the other. At the top and at the base the limits of the rabbet for the back panel are given by the rabbets on the sides when mounted.
The end result is four rounded corners that we have to cut with a chisel. Another option, if you don’t like to work with a chisel or don’t have a sharp one, is to use a wooden block with sandpaper around it to round the corners of the panel to be installed.
In the video you will also see how I glue the tubillons that I put in the showcase. As soon as they protrude, I insert them just enough so that they do not fall out, pour white carpenter’s glue on them, reinsert them a little beyond the mark I made and clean the glue they expel with newspaper.
This of the tubillons is not necessary to do it this way and they could perfectly go in blind holes in the base and in the upper part, or else also to glue them directly with the lateral ones, assembling the whole furniture, but I want to try to paint the showcase by pieces before assembling it, since I believe that I will obtain a better result. But first I still have to cut off those little bits that stick out, pour on some wood paste and sand the surface smooth. Although I will leave that for when I prepare the showcase for painting, because as I barely selected the wood, I have several places with broken knots that I need to fill with paste, in addition to some imperfection caused during the manufacturing process.
In the video you can also see how I cut the small strips that will be used to hold the crystals. I call them jonquils, although I believe that what is usually called jonquils have one of their corners rounded. A table saw and thicknessing machine are required to cut such small cross-section laths. Another simpler option is to buy these wooden profiles in a do-it-yourself center, where we can find square section profiles of 1cm and rectangular section of about 2cm by 0.5cm. And if you do not have a thicknesser, buying them is a very good option, because even if you manage to cut them, it is difficult and cumbersome to sand them to make them perfect.
All about how to make this wooden display case
