Fuming Part 1 + Odds & Ends

I was going to let this one slide, but I had the opportunity to judge a cabinetmaking class at my alma motter, and for as hard as I was on them, and for as hard as I've been on myself, I couldn't let this one slide. After the glueup of the shelf, I glued it in place before I sanded it, and I didn't get the boards flat. I was going to let it go because the top board was taller than the front, and it was on a lower shelf where nobody was ever going to see it. I took a sharp chisel, and 5 minutes of work, and now it's flat.

I can handle somebody critiquing my work from a design perspective, because that's subjective, but when it comes to construction, there are no excuses.
Fixing a mistake.



After 23 hours, this what I got. The piece on the left is what I started with, the piece on the right is what happened. Pretty cool, but a little dark.

Fuming complete.

Centered and level...can't ask for much else.

Hinge installed.



While the ammonia is doing its thing, I'll install the hardware for the drawers. About the biggest thing to remember with these pulls is that the holes aren't in the center of the pull.

Hardware I'm using.

I cut up a couple of pieces for fuming and put them into a tote. I'm a little concerned about "tan lines", in this case the fumes not being able to get to the underside of the pieces. It shouldn't be a problem with the full size piece because I'll be able to stand everything off. The procedure is about as easy as it gets. Ammonia in a container to increase surface area, put into a sealed container, wait.

Test pieces ready to go.




It's as good a time as any to start fuming. I've only read about it, and I've been sitting on the last couple of jugs that my work has for just such a project. My company used to have an old blue line machine that used ammonium hydroxide to develop the paper. We have since upgraded to a large format copier, so as common as this stuff used to be in my daily life, it's pretty rare now.

Ammonia.



With the drawers complete, there are just a few odds and ends to finish up. The biggest is the top. I ripped it to final width, and in the picture below, I'm trimming it to final length. I tried cutting it at the tablesaw, but it was just too big for the cross cut sled. A straightedge and a straight cutting bit worked nicely.

Trimming the top to final width.