assembling cp pedestal....help

[hulkster]

okay, building my showcase cab, and im working on the cp base/pedestal portion of the cab.  i have the two sides to the base, as well as the front piece where the coin door will eventually be installed...everything is cut out.  my question is, first of all....how do you glue/l-bracket the front piece to the side pieces?  i want to make sure its level when the glue is setting, and i guess the easiest way to do this would be to lay the front piece on the ground and then prop up the two side pieces and let that dry....but....ive seen other peoples cabs and that front piece is usually an inch or so deep between the two side panels.  as in, there is a little space between the front edge of the two sides and the front piece itself where the coin door is, like its put back a little on purpose.  so my other question is, do i need to put the front piece an inch or so back?  and if so, how would i go about setting this up so the glue could dry properly?  

[Valence]

Don't just glue it.  Use angle brackets too. It will hold it in place better.

[hulkster]

well yeah i know, but i like glueing it first, then assembling l brackets on it.  im wondering how to support it long enough for the glue to dry though (not using l brackets)

[meta87]

i would use clamps

[dmsuchy]

Yeah, clamps are the wood worker's best friend. I'm using glue, clamps and shooting it with 16 gauge nails since I'm laminating it. Once the glue is dry add the angle brackets if you feel they are neccessary.

[hulkster]

well thats the obvious solution, but how can you clamp something like that?  i mean, the two pieces of wood are pretty big, and theres nothing to clamp on to.

[tmasman]

First of all, don't set it back more than half an inch... I'd probably shoot for 1/4"...

To do that easily, find some wood, or metal, or whatever, that is the thickness that you want the center piece offset inward...

• Lay that on a clean flat surface (like the garage floor).
• Lay your front panel on that material.
• Stand your sides up on that flat surface.
• Clamp the sides to the front panel & look it over to make sure everything is lined up the way you like & want it.
• Remove the clamps.
• Apply glue to the surfaces that require it.
• Put the clamps back in place
• Put angle about 1 small bracket every 8 inches or so. (Or nails through the sides, or whatever)
• Leave the clamps in place until the glue is completely cured
• If at all possible, put the front & back panels on at the same time to keep from having to move things around too much later on...

I'm refering to these types of clamps (or anything similar).

Good luck!

[G@M3FR3@K]

well thats the obvious solution, but how can you clamp something like that?  i mean, the two pieces of wood are pretty big, and theres nothing to clamp on to.

Why not use a 3/4" Steel Bar Clamp Fixture or even a 1/2" Steel Bar Clamp Fixture.


You can use any length of pipe you need (making the clamp as long or short as you want) and they are a lot stronger than the type tmasman posted above.  My father owns a cabinet shop and these are the type of clamps they use to assemble the cabinets.  They are also available in different profiles such as this one: