Assembly Instructions

Tools 'n' Tips Article by Michael Pino

 

After cutting out all the parts of the center you will need to make the grooves (rabbets and dadoes) in the two side pieces. This is best done on a table saw with a stacked dado blade. You can also use a straight edge guide and a router. Whichever way you decide to do it, please note that the two sides are mirror images of each other as shown in the drawings. Lastly you cut out the toe kick notches at the bottom of each side. This is optional but gives you a place for your feet when seated at the center.

After doing this, you will need to drill all the holes in the upper and lower sections of the sides for the adjustable shelves. The diameter of these holes will depend on the shelf pins you buy. Normally these are 1/4" in diameter and about 1/4' deep. You can use a drill press or just a hand power drill with a piece of tape on it to control the depth. Be sure you use some type of jig as I mentioned to help drill the holes consistently.

Next assemble the main carcass by gluing and screwing or nailing the sides to the 4 fixed shelves being sure the front edge of the shelves are flush with the front of the sides. Be sure this assembly is square be measuring across the two diagonals so that the dimensions are equal. that means that the case is square. Next glue and nail or screw on the back and check for square again. Finally glue and screw on the toe kick piece to the bottom front edge of the sides. BTW you can eliminate this feature if you desire.

 

Let this dry for a couple of hours. Now if you used plywood or Melamine your will have exposed edges on the finished carcass and the other pieces. You can leave these alone or you can obtain matching edge banding material in wood veneer or white plastic material to match the Melamine. These come in rolls and are available from the home center or plywood suppliers. They have a heat activated glue on one side that you simply iron on with a standard iron or hobby iron. Just apply the edge banding material to the edge and run the hot iron across the top slowly to melt the glue. Takes a little practice, but is easy.

Next you add the fold down tray by hinging it to the fixed shelf at the 36" height. I recommend a piano hinge on the inner surface. These are cheap and you cut them to length. These are screwed in place. You can use any hardware you like to support the fold down tray in place. This can be as simple as chain with screws or fancy tray supports.

With the tray in the down position you can now attach the lower doors being sure there is a little gap at the top of the doors to the tray. You can use a thin strip of wood or plastic for this. use what ever hinges you like for this. Duane used fancy Euro Style hinges that require a special jig and drill bit, but this is unnecessary. Any utility hinge is fine. With the tray in the closed position, you can not attach the upper doors in the same way as the lower doors being sure to leave a little gap between the top of the closed tray and the bottom of the doors.

You can now put little plastic or metal feet pads on the bottom edge of the sides if you want. These are cheap and help in moving the center around and protect the floor.

Next attach door handles or knobs and magnetic door catches to hold the doors shut. Again these are cheap and available at any home center. Install your shelf standards or pins at the heights and spacing you desire and you are good to go.

There is plenty of room to customize this thing to your heart's content. With the tray in the down position you have a large work surface of 42" wide and 32" deep.

Michael Pino

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Photos and text © by Michael Pino