With the corners cut, I do a quick test fit. They all look good. I can now cut rabbets for the top and bottom and dados for the dividers.       I have clamped my old sacrificial fence to the Incra TS III fence and set it to make the top and bottom rabbets.    I said earlier that I would discuss why I like to dado last. One reason is that I do not want any rough panel edges to impair the smooth cutting of the locking miter corner. Mostly, I like to follow this sequence so that If I make an error in the corner routing, I can still salvage the boards (not that I have ever made any errors.)     I have reduced the dado blades to just cut a 1/4" swath for the masonite that I am using for dividers for the template shelves.    It's time to assemble. I use carpenter's glue and a glue brush to thoroughly coat the locking miter joint. In this hardwood ply, there is some chip-out but a lot of good gluing surface. It pays to cover it well.    One thing nice about assembling the locking miter corner, it doesn't need much clamping. I use one Quick Grip clamp to hold a section together while I use a finish nailer to tack it in  both directions. Then, I move the clamp down 5 inches or so and brad the next section. In seconds, I end up with a completed corner which requires no additional clamping.     With the corners glued and nailed, I slide the masonite into the grooves. I simply toe nail it in place with a few brads.    No photos to show it, but I cut a top and bottom piece to fit into the rabbets.     I measure the height of my current bit storage drawer at 6", so this is the minimum height that I will make the new drawers.   I have laid out the drawer spacing on a "story-pole" which is will use to mark each of the points where I will align drawer slides. As I have said many times, I like to minimize measuring mistakes (and I can make them) by using tricks such as this.    Mounting Slides: If you will bear with me for a minute, I want to share a way that I use to mount slides — it works for me.    I start by using only one brand and model number of slides...and always use the same, varying only the length. I have two pieces of 1/4" ply cut to the specs in the installation instructions. One is for the mounting of the cabinet portion of the slide. The other is for the drawer portion.    Here, I am clamping the cabinet guide and lining it up with the mark that I made from the story pole.    That first piece I clamped is where I want my slide to go. So, I hold that piece in position and  place next to it the other piece of 1/4" ply.     Making sure that I don't move anything, I shift the small clamp to the new piece. I can remove the first piece and position the slide carefully in its place.    With the slide in place and seated against the smaller ply guide, I can extend the slide runners and mark for the screws. I use a self-centering punch which gives me a good enough hole for the screw without further drilling.   I screw the slide in place. I can use the story pole to check the alignment, but if I followed this procedure carefully, the slide is ready to use, as is.    The bottom slide is mounted 1/4" up from the bottom, so I use the 1/4" ply guides just to help in this spacing.    Next week, I will make the drawers and fit the inserts to hold the templates and the router bit storage trays. Main Menu Previous  Page         Next Page