Project:    Making Small Clock/Frame Presents  - Part 2

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   A week has passed, and we are just now back to the clocks. Beth and I looked at the wood that I had on hand and agreed that the light panel of the quilted maple would contrast nicely with the dark cherry case.

   Beth makes one final sanding of the faces with the Delta Bench Orbital Sander and 220 grit paper.

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   She selects the side that would make the better face for the clock. There is a lot of different grain and figure patterns so this selection is important. She places an "X" approximately where the clock hole should be drilled.

    Last week, we cut the sample clock panel with a jig for the router. It worked well, but in fact, ordering the right size Forstner bit makes more sense. This one is made by CMT. (Catalog number: 537.476.31 - $25.90).

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  Beth installs the 1 7/8" bit in the drill press.

   Since, I do not have a table top for the drill press, Beth will make a jig to use with the clock panels and the frame pieces.
   She starts by finding a piece of scrap wood that is flat and large enough to cover the drill press table.

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   She drills a shallow hole so that the drill location is  marked on this board.

   Back at the bench, she marks the center line of the hole.

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   She now marks a center line of one of the clock panels.

      She places it on the board where it is centered side to side. She uses the same measurement for the distance to the top of the panel.

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   With the panel located where she wants it, she uses the brad nailer to tack some strips of wood on three sides of the panel. She leaves just enough room so that the panels can be inserted and removed easily.

   Back at the drill press, she places her board on the drill press table and lowers the bit to fit into the previously drilled hole. She places clamps to secure the board on the drill press table.

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    Before she can start drilling, she must set the depth of cut to the thickness of the clock fit-up. She lowers the non-turning drill so that it touches the work piece.

     She adjusts the drill press's drill depth adjustment to give the 7/16" depth that is called for in the clock specifications.

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   She checks her first panel. It looks good. Now she can drill the other nine panels.

   Back at the sander, she runs the panels over the 220 disk just to give each face one last smoothing.

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   With the same setup as when she did the cases, Beth rabbets the back of each of the clock panels to allow it to fit in the case dado.

   Even though she is working so close to the dado blades, this operation is made safe by using pushblocks. In the right hand, she has a pushblock mounted to a 1/2" piece of MDF. Her left hand presses a standard foam base pushblock on the workpiece itself.

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   Beth displays the rabbeted back.   This view also, shows the two pushblocks that make this small part rabbeting operation safe.

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