Sliding Trays – Part 3

2011.12.13

I did some tweaking to the side runners for the lower tool tray, to make them square to the bottom runners (and hopefully each other).  I don’t want to screw them in place until I’ve made the lower tray itself, to further refine both as needed for a snug fit.  But I needed the side runners sitting in place to determine the width of the tray, starting with the floor.

I carefully squared one end of each floor board.  My shooting board has gone out of square and needs to be fixed or replaced, so I just rigged something on the workbench itself.

With that square, I measured the distance between the two side runners, and crosscut the floor boards a little long.  I squared those ends with the plane, then continued to shave down, testing the fit until they were snug enough to not twist and bind, but not so snug as to make it difficult to slide.

To allow for wood expansion, the two floor boards are ship-lapped.  Again, I used doublestick tape to hold down a fence.  I started with my shoulder plane; the thin shavings, tight mouth, and flat machined side make it easier to control, to establish the edge.  Then I switched to a rabbet plane, set to a thicker shaving, to remove most of the waste.  I returned to the shoulder plane for the last two or three strokes.  A little face planing was necessary to make the two boards flush.