The back was supplied to me as two pieces of uniform thickness... bookmatched... about an inch thick. This makes it fairly easy to join.
The top was supplied as a bookmatched set in the standard wedge shape.
I flatten the side that will eventually join the ribs with the jointer.
In this picture, my jointer is not wide enough for the piece so I’m trimming the small bit left with a plane.
The next step is to join the wood. I’ve heard that a spring joint is the best. That is where the center is not touching. Personally, I want my gluing surfaces to touch everywhere... it is a bit of a job to get that to happen. I’ve used a shooting board with a long wooden plane before and every so often I have to go back to it for a clean joint. It depends on the wood.
This shot is of the clamping of the back. I heat the joint first with a couple of lamps and use hot hide glue. Gotta work fast.
I glue a wedge shaped piece with the flat surface up. There is a lot of pressure to bow the joint outward toward the peak of the joint.
As can be seen in this picture, that force is stopped by the bottom of the clamp.
I cut out unnecessary wood allowing for closer clamps and the wood has been cut perpendicular to the flat surface.
It was much easier to glue the back.
This is all I have of the build so far. I expect to be back at the bench in about a week. At that time I can flatten the top and back to fit the ribs, draw the outlines, and prepare myself to remove a lot of wood.
Ought to be a lot of fun.
My favorite part is carving the outside archings.
Home
7.Arching Top & Back