With the casework mostly finished, it was time to set my sights on building the base. I had a vague idea of what I wanted, with the simple sketch of the base.
And to be honest, I was channeling James Krenov's muse in deciding the height of this piece. (His pieces are very diminutive.) I'm about five feet tall, and I wanted to cabinet height to be around that height. If it was much taller, I wouldn't be able to see inside the top drawer!
Putting the cabinet on a bench gave me a little perspective in determining the height of the base. In situations like this, I think best with a cup of coffee in my hand.
With a few measurements,
I came up with a scaled drawing, and mortised the tops and bottoms of the base.
To lighten things up a bit, I scalloped the bottoms. I like how this creates an integrated "pad" for the feet, and allows it to sit better on an uneven floor.
Then it was time to cut tenons on the uprights.
There are so many ways to cut tenons, but I like machining these with a sliding cut on the tablesaw. I start with the shoulder cuts, which establish the length of the tenon.
Cleaning up the rest of the tenon goes pretty quickly.
With a little sanding, the base went together perfectly. It was glued and clamped overnight.
All that's left is determining how wide the base needs to be. With a little luck, I'll have this base together today, and can start on the drawers.
Don't faint - this is the first piece I've built myself in years. And I have another one started!
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