SuperStation Project - Standing Bar  - "Making the Case"

	Well, it was the end of a long day but I wanted to get a coat of stain on the edges of the panels. In case you have never done panel construction before, you really must stain at least the edge of the panels before assembly. That way, when the panels shift, raw wood won't show. In this case, I am only going to stain the edges. I plan to spray stain the whole assembly later. I have a brand new spray stain product that I will use.
I start the assembly of the front panel by breaking apart all the pieces but keeping them in their respective positions. I add glue to the first stile.
	A slight tap with my mallet coaxes the piece into position.
I slide the panel into position. The panels will not be glued. They are meant to float in the channel to allow for seasonal shifts of the wood.
	As each piece is glued and fitted, I add a couple of 3/4" brads. I am working from the back of the assembly. The brads will help hold the structure until I am done and can add clamps.
I started with the left and bottom components absolutely square and clamped to the work table, so I know the completed assembly is square. I check just to be sure. It was.    I now can move it out of the way and start the case part of the project.
	It looks like having pre-cut all the pieces will make the assembly of the case unit go very quickly. It did. There were no "surprises."    As I laid out the pieces and looked at the drawing, I realized that I would have made the construction different. The case uses simple butt joints. I would have preferred to use rabbets and dados. I think this will be strong enough but any woodworker who is able to do the raised panels for the outside, would surely want to use dado construction on the interior. A small rant on my part. Of course, having precut all the pieces, I couldn't dado now, so glue and nail away.
Well, doing just nailed butt joints started to bother me, so for the insert shelves I decided to add a bit more strength by using my Kreg Jig and drilling some pocket holes.
	With a speed square clamped in place to give me alignment, I screw the shelf into position. The screws will be visible but this view is from the underneath. The pocket holes definitely helped pull the case together. If I had thought of it earlier, I would have used them on all the joints.
This time, it was my error. The plans clearly said to add wood edging tape to the panels. It would have been easier before assembly, but the portable iron works fine.
	I did get the edge bander off the wall to do the doors, drawer fronts and shelves. If you do a lot of panel work, this type unit can be useful. For most home shops, the portable iron works great.
I add the 1/4" ply back to the case. I used this process to "pull" the case into square. Stapling it around the edges will hopefully keep it square.
	The case is coming along fine. I have placed shelf standards in each of the lower sections. The Plans call for cutting the top and inserting a dry sink in place. We opted to forego the sink, and I have added a  middle shelf.
I have flipped the case over so that I can add the 4" bases assembly. Only the front will be visible so the butt construction is OK. I decided to add pocket holes so that the base could be attached better.
	My Kreg Jig and base is always ready to go, which makes it real easy to add pocket holes whenever I need them. They will work very well here.
I have applied carpenter's glue to the edges and now fasten the base pieces to the case. You can also see that the ends are pocket holed so that I can fasten them to the front and back. I am sure this beats the plan's method of simply nailing in place.
	The plan calls for 1/2" Baltic birch for the drawer sides. I do not have any at the moment, so I am gluing together 1/4" plywood. Since the 1/4" ply is really a shade less that 1/4", I am going to laminate 3 pieces together. They add up to 5/8" which will make a good drawer side.
I am using 5/8" brads shot in at an angle to hold the 3 pieces in position while I clamp the stack. I actually have 3 layers of 3 in this stack. I purposely made the pieces wider by 1/2" so that I can trim them down to size.
	I have added the heavy bar rail board to the stack to serve as a caul and have clamped the drawer side boards to set up over night.    Next time, I will make the drawers. The plan calls for simple rabbeted corners. I think I can do better than that. What do you think I will do: 1) use a locking drawer bit; 2) use pocket holes; 3) use the Incra for dovetails; or 4) use the Kaitie Jig for dovetails? I will give you one hint. I want the drawers to be pretty and strong.         Stop back next week and see.