I got the lip glued onto my base. The most important thing to remember when clamping and gluing lap joints is to clamp them on all three axes.
I started by sanding The side pieces I cut. I just used 80 grit sandpaper and a hand sander. The idea was to get the blade marks out and also to get a good fit.
Before sanding
After sanding.
The joints don't have to be perfectly smooth. In fact, I like mine slightly rough because I think the glue works into them better. Most important is that they are sanded down enough to make a tight joint. And they are not sanded too much to leave the joint loose. So I checked my fitting as I went along.
Check the top and bottom often as you sand.
When I was satisfied with my joints, I was ready to glue the front lip on. I put a liberal amount of Gorilla Wood glue on the joint. I only put the front on, so I was careful to not use too much glue and to keep the glue off of the corners. The glue isn't going to be the only thing holding the lip on the front. Later I am going to use a dowel joint to hold the corner Loc Line mount and the clamp for the extra pair of hands/maginfier in the center.
Next I lightly clamped the front and used the side to help center the lip in place.
Once it was set in place I clamped it down firm. Make sure you don't over clamp and damage your piece. I clamped it to the fence of my saw and used a spare piece of wood and a C clamp to clamp it to the base.
Clamp to the front first.
Then the base. Use a scrap piece of wood to distribute the force.
Next I added the sides, one at a time, in basically the same way. I added the glue, got my corner where I wanted it, and clamped it on all three axes...
Clamp on all three axes. Leave a gap in the clamping so the joint is visible. Do one side at a time unless you are a super pro at clamping.
I added a couple of trim nails on each side to help get my joint a little tighter. When I was done I also had a bit of a gap between the bottom of the back and the lips. I used an old butter knife to work some more Gorilla Glue in the gap and clamped it.
To finish I sanded everything down smooth with my hand sander. I worked some Elmer's Wood filler in any gaps that were left. This will be important when it is time to add stain or finish.
This is the finished base.
Before I add the back I am going to make the clamp for the extra pair of hands/magnifier and add the mounts for the Loc Line hands on the corners. I have them added to my OpenScad model and will share the model and how to add them to the base in the next episode.