Arts & Crafts Entry Bench Update

I mentioned earlier that I screwed up resawing the wood for the lid and had to order more lumber.  While waiting for the new wood to arrive I got started on the floor boards using my new scratch beader and then shiplapped them.  Scratch beading works way better on hardwood than softwood.  You really need a delicate hand with softwoods so that you don't dive into the board.

Scratch Beader at work on the floor boards.

Rabbeting for shiplaps.

So here's one of a dozen or so dry-fits.   

You might be wondering why the front/center panel is missing.

Because I'm the biggest idiot in the world.  That was a very bad day.  I wasn't paying attention and was so focused on making progress that I didn't realize I was cutting the rabbet on the wrong side of the panel.  Every panel is supposed to be flat in the front and rabbeted in the back.  I can't simply flip the board over, because the other side is a non-bookmatched substrate with an off-centered seam.

I had put so much time and attention into choosing those panels.  They all came from the same board to ensure grain and color match, the grain patterns are the craziest I'll likely ever see, and the board is simply irreplaceable.  The cry of anguish when I realized what I had done still echoes in my house.

I attempted to glue pieces of wood back on, but eventually gave up.

I found another board with decent grain and built a replacement.  At least if it doesn't match it will be in the center on not to the side.  I'm hoping that the aniline dye will make everything look like it belongs together and cover up my mistake.

Dry-fit #13,342

The front-center panel is a little thinner than the others.  I had trouble resawing again (of course).  You can only tell from the inside, so who cares?

Boden says it'll be okay.  Moving on...

Rabbets, Grooves & Tongues

The top and bottom rail both get rabbets for the mirror and backer board to fit into.

 The bottom rail gets a groove in its face to receive the tongue of the shelf.

 The left and right stiles get a stopped groove to receive the tongued corbels.  I chiseled a small mortise at the end of the groove, used my plow plane to clear out most of the wood, and finished up with the router plane to get everything to the correct depth.  I experimented with a little stop block to help me stop the plow plane before hitting the end of the mortise.