Together At Last

With my mistake fixed, I proceeded to do a lot of sanding and then was able to glue the shelves in place. Because I am working with real solid wood, which tends to shrink and expand with changes of temperature and humidity, I couldn't fully attach them along the width of each shelf. Instead they are essentially doweled only in the center of each shelf on each side to the side panel and the edges of both shelves just float in the air for now. Since it is a book-shelf, meaning heavy objects might be placed upon it at some point, I will need to add further support. I had flirted with the thought of some sort of floating mortise and tenon joint similar to a "bread board" table to accomplish the same thing but at the end of the day, I just purchased some small brass brackets which I will pin the underside of the fronts and backs of each shelf to the sides. This will allow them movement for seasonal changes and support for heavy objects.

While that was drying, I got to work on the bookcase top which I had glued together awhile back but was still in rough form. I did some final cutting to size, this time successfully avoiding cutting into any dominoes, added some final joinery to it and doing a lot of sanding. You can see it in the below picture set into place, not yet permanently fastened until I finish both it and the case. 

Next up is a bit more final sanding, because it makes or breaks a project when one isn't planning on painting it. Then there will be a bit of a wait. My finish of choice, a hard wax oil, requires temperatures of 60 degrees F or greater to apply and cure and being it is spring here in Iowa, we only see that a few hours a day at this point as I write this. In fact, hopefully as I write this, last night the temperature got down to just below freezing for the last time until sometime later this fall. Maybe later this week, if the forecast holds, I'll be able to get a coat applied and have the required eight or so hours to fully cure it so I can repeat the process the following day and then spend yet another day putting the final touches onto this project. The end is nearing.