My observations thus far... (Lessons Learned, maybe?)
Please note... if you are not comfortable or familiar with building things, or you are looking for perfection, follow the plans!!! Also, if you did not cut your wood
very carefully and absolutely square, the following observations will NOT work for you!!!
- Your mileage may vary on this one, but it worked for me. Cut ALL the wood to the correct dimensions right off the bat if your plywood is extremely close to 1/2" thickness (make sure!). The plans are so good that, if you did things right, everything will fall into place! Dealing with the cut list and then re-cutting the last 1/4" off was a PITA (but YOU need to decide for yourself... it is a safety step, for sure!). Since the braces slide into place, and the placement is non-critical (they can be slid in an inch or two more or less than the diagram) even they can be cut first! If something doesn't match up within 1/16", you either cut wrong, or you're not following the plan correctly... (i.e. you goofed somewhere!).
- The height of your THT (the dimension you are allowed to vary) is key... When you cut your wood, set your saw to that dimension and cut ALL the wood that requires that dimension at the same time, before you change the saw again! Then you won't have any pieces that stick up that you have to sand later...
- Building this carefully, but fast, so you get a few steps done with the PL uncured, is a lifesaver if you find out you made a mistake! You can take it all back apart within a few hours... if you wait a day before proceeding, you don't have that option!
- The brad nailer makes the build SUPER fast, since you don't have to wait for any PL to dry. It also lets you assemble the next step to keep the previous step square, so you can get away without a square for the project! Clamp things into position, then sink a 1-1/4" brad every 3-4" on all mating edges, aimed so that they go into the other board. Once this is done, you can UNCLAMP and move on to the next step! I put two brads within an inch of the edges to hold them while I slid the panels the last 1/16" or so into place, then I nailed the whole thing up.
- Use more PL than the minimum, since it's better to have it squeeze out then find out you didn't have enough and there's a leak. It is easy to just slice off with a utility knife on the outside of the cabinet before you sand!
- Draw position lines on both sides of the panels for the braces and center the brace edge on the lines, then you can just brad nail down the lines once the brace is slid in.
- Someone might argue this matters, but you can tack a small (very small) block of wood/plywood in on the panel sides offset from the position of the braces with super glue. Sets in ten seconds, and allows you to have a resting spot for the inside part of the brace while you assemble the panel. I left the inside ones in, but you can always just knock them off later. I also used pre-cut stands to space out the panels, but the little bits glued in worked much better for me. The next time, I might dado the brace positions in just 1/16. That should work VERY well, and the PL will fill the gaps on the edges, where the dado runs off the board.
- Before the last panel, nothing really matters too much as long as you get the dimensions and positions right and things are leak-free. So what if you have some extra glue or a brad punched through in the wrong place... Nobody is going to see it (Unless, of course, you post it here... like me...
).
- M
