Cutting And Fitting The Shelf

Assemble the four parts together to make up the main structure. Check one end of your shelf piece for square and, if it is, present that end to one of the recesses, but only just enough to hold without falling apart. Use a tape measure to check the distance between the side pieces; at the top, bottom and middle. (This is to see if you need to close/open up the middle a little before taking your measurement for the shelf piece. If the distances are close, make a small knife nick on the other end of the shelf piece, taking into account that it will have to go all the way into the recess.

From that knife nick, square a knifewall all around, remembering to always register your square against the same edge and face. Clamp securely in the vise and create a step down with a wide chisel and cross cut to length. Trim up the end by working to your knifewall with a sharp plane finely set.

Test to see if the shelf fits into the frame, use the heel of your hand to lightly tap on the back of the shelf. As these are stopped housing dados, the shelf won’t reach the front of the unit until you cut a notch on either side. Before you mark these with a knife nick, put a clamp across the middle shelf and measure again to make sure the joints are seated fully.

Once you have made your two knife nicks, remove the shelf piece and create a definitive knifewall on the front edge. Transfer onto the top and bottom faces. Since this knifewall will be right on the inside faces of the side pieces, don’t worry about going a little beyond the depth of the notches.

Next, take the frame apart and set a marking gauge to the distance from the front edge to the start of the recess. Use the gauge to mark the cut line for the notch along the end. (You can also mark down the two faces, but the distance is so short that this isn’t crucial.)

Create a step down using a chisel, flick away the waste material. Saw down one edge of the notch using a tenon saw, but take great care not to cut into the knifewall as this would show as a nasty gap in the finished piece. Then position the shelf piece upright in the vise and finish cutting off the notches with either a small back saw or simply split cut down the grain. Pare the shoulders with a sharp chisel to remove any fuzzy bits that could stop the joints from seating.