"The Keystone" or "Big Bookmatched Box" defines the large piece of walnut that wedges through the MDF core. This move serves to tie the project together.

The top and bottom of this piece utilize the large walnut board previously resawn by Urban Lumber composed into a beautiful bookmatch. Constructing this piece was complicated by limited thickness. Consequently, all planing and sanding had to occur after the glue-up. This process left the boards slightly warped for assembly. Since big boards bend, this minor warping was not a problem. However, the dado cut along each short edge was complicated due to the warp. My favorite detail of the entire project is pictured above where the "H" back piece meets in a tight corner. Creating this joint, which maintains grain orientation integrity while keeping the wood untrapped, took considerable time to plan and execute.

With the cabinet and core pieces constructed, it's time for "finish."

Since the cabinet wedges into the core 3/4 inches and sits on top of the base of the core, "finish" and paint must be applied prior to assembly. The images below show the core piece after the application of primer.

The sanded and frog-taped cabinet is shown below. The tape is applied to the end grains to maintain glue efficacy. Land Ark's natural wood finish will be applied to all walnut surfaces for the project. Linseed oil, tung oil, beeswax, pine rosin, and orange oil comprise this finish. This choice is domestically produced and does not contain any petroleum products or heavy metal dryers. Rather than a distasteful chemical odor upon application, the "finish" leaves the piece and surrounding area smelling of citrus.

 

Choosing the appropriate paint color took much more consideration than initially anticipated. Throughout the term, I planned on choosing a bright white paint to sharply contrast with the naturally finished walnut. However, this solution would cause the MDF core piece to become too dominant within the composition. Below are images of all colors considered.

Reds and oranges were eliminated at the same time as the white for similar concerns. As in drawings, blue steps back as a color, which satisfies the desired intention of a "quiet core." To contrast the clean minimal lines, "wedgewood gray" from the 18th and 19th century classic pallette was chosen in an attempt to bridge the gap between past and present.

The hardware choices for the piece proved quite frustrating. Since all hardware on the piece is exposed, the aesthetic of these pieces becomes integral to the success of the composition. Above are images of various failed attempts on the hardware front.

The dry-fitting of the cabinet into the base structural piece represents the first test point for construction precision. Thankfully, everything worked out with the assistance of some minor sanding.

The fit was so tight that final assembly of the "finished" pieces will require heavy clamping-- that should be a nerve-wracking experience.

On a side note, the strength of the base structural piece was confirmed after separating the two pieces when the base structural MDF component fell off the three foot table. My heart stopped for a moment; however, upon investigation, there was no damage to the piece. Solid!

The cabinet assembly was deceptively difficult as I began the clamping expecting a straight-forward experience. It turns out, however, that creating a three-sided box where all three pieces meet in one corner is much trickier than creating a box where the three pieces form a "U" or a box with more than three sides.

Clamping is difficult to do well and integral to hardware-minimal furniture production. The sequence of images below illustrates the high-volume clamping used to face join the 0.75" thick pieces of formaldehyde-free MDF to one another creating the 1.5" thick structural base for the project. Consciously avoiding the use of hidden screws and/or nails, a comedic number of clamps and concrete blocks were required to complete this glue-up.

As a new woodworker I realized, after the fact, that heavier duty clamps were necessary to efficiently complete this task. Regardless, the end result turned out nearly flawless. Keeping some extra size in the original pieces, the table-saw effortlessly cleaned up the edges of the base pieces while maintaining sharp 90º angles. This approach allowed for minimal sanding near these sensitive edges.

Above are a couple images of, arguably, the "craziest clamping" for any piece within the entire project. I definitely received some strange looks in the shop while setting this "glue-up." The board is designed to sit in the back portion of the top of the piece, trapped on the top and bottom, but allowed to expand and contract in the horizontal dimension. Allowing the grain to run in the vertical dimension while the board is long in the horizontal dimension creates a detail supporting grain-orientation consistency throughout the piece. The solution also adheres to the regulating lines established by the smaller board-widths of the cabinet and base board.