Design Help - Angles are driving me crazy

[Ralrick]

My wife would like a shelving unit for small 'paper punches'. The overall size is about 20" wide X 36" tall X 7" deep. I've drawn a very rough sketch in MS word that shows the basic design. Here is where I need some help:

1. The shelves are at a 30* angle so that she can see the top of the punches while the unit is hung on a wall just below eye level. Because of the angle, each of the shelves needs a small lip to prevent the punches from sliding foward off the front. What is the best way to create a lip on the front of the shelf and have it look good. I was planning to cut the front of the shelves at an angle to match-up with the sides of the shelving unit and then adding a small lip on the top of each shelf or adding a new front shelf that would be about 1/8 - 1/4" taller than the shelf itselt thus creating a lip. I have struggled with how to get this done so that it looks nice. If I cut the dados short of the front of the side board then add a trianglar peice to the front of each shelf it might look the best but not sure if I could ever get everything to line up correctly. Any ideas? I think I might be making this way too complicated . . . . .

2. What is the best way to cut the dados in the side boards at a consistent 30* angle - on test cuts I have tried with MDF on my table saw using a dado blade and the miter gauge, the board seems to slide slightly when going across the blade. Should I be clamping the board somehow or would it be better to cut the dados using a router and creating some form of jig?

Any design ideas or 'how-to' on the cutting would be helpful. See the attached drawing for a 'very' rough idea.

thanks from a newbie woodworker,

 

[DaveO]

I would just add a thin, about a ¼" thick strip to the front of the shelves, leaving it proud of the surface however high you need to keep the punches from sliding off.
You could route thru dados and cut the shelf a ¼" short of the front at the 30º angle. Or route stopped dados so that the top edge of the shelf lip is in line with the front of the sides, with the edge at 90º.
I would either route the dados, especially if you go the stopped way, or put some PSA sand paper on your miter gage to help keep the stock in place while cutting thru dados on the TS.
A jig for router dados is very easy to make. Just 4 boards, two that sandwich the stock on the edges, and two the guide and define the routers path. You can either use a template bushing (allowing for its additional width) or a short top bearing guided bit to cut the dados.
Good luck and let me know if you need any more clarification on my random thoughts.
HTH,
Dave

 

[jglord]

For putting a lip on the edge of the shelves, you may want to consider routing a rounded edge on the edge of a wider board and then ripping the thin molding needed after shaping.

 

[DavidF]

I would probably route stopped dados and cut the front edge of the shelf at a 30 deg angle so it is parallel to the front of the case and then make a front lip that fills the distance from the stopped dado to the case front. That way any "overshoot" of the stopped dado would be hidden by the lipping. I would use a router jig for the cutting using either a bearing guided (shaft mounted), flush cutter or a guide bush allowing for the extra diameter

 

[Ralrick]

Well I made some progress on the shelving unit. I cut the shelves at 30* angles and after giving my wife a number of options for the lip on the front, she liked the way a simple small quarter round molding looks on the top edge of the shelf with the 90* edge acting as the lip.

I have all the peices cut for the shelves - I just need to make the drawers and the center support for the drawers. The dryfit seems to work well but I question how I can get everything square when it comes time for final assembly.

This thing has more dados, rabbits and non 90* angles than I can keep up with. So far so good . . . . . I hope not to mess it up once I get the glue and nail gun out.

Quick question - when building a shelving unit, do you normally build the outer frame, square the unit, install the back, and then install the shelves? Or would build it one shelf at a time and then install the back once all the shelves are secure (and hopefully everything stayed square as you progressed)?