Corner cupboard mitered posts
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
The vertical frame/posts for a corner cupboard were my most daunting challenge. Any imperfections in this miter will be on display for the rest of its life. Never assembled anything like these. Many of you all provided suggestions. The path I chose was based on the experienced advice I got as well as some additions to help ensure success.
The miters were sawed at 22.5 degrees. One piece sprung slightly. I set up the jointer at 22.5 degrees and jointed the sawed edges. Any error in angle setting doubles the error in the assembled miter. It took a lot of fiddling to get the jointer set good enough. I took most of the bow out of the sprung piece with a hand plane.
To keep the parts immobile and aligned while taping I put a wooden key into one of the dadoes to keep the lengths aligned then mashed the pieces flat and immobile with a clamp.
The tape was stretched as it was stuck to draw the edges tight together. Glue was spread thinly on both miters and the miter folded together. Several suggested taping the miter but nobody said what to do next to hold the miter closed.
A cradle was made to hold the mitered post for clamping. The F clamps hold one half in place while the long jaw clamps push the other half against the first. Tape holds the assembly from skidding. The long jaw clamps are tightened while watching the miter close up from the ends. When the halves are aligned the assembly is left to cure. To be sure the glue was mostly set I left the assembly clamped 3 hours.
The result is acceptable, the second try better than the first.