Napkin Holder

Instructions

This napkin holder was made to accomodate 8" napkins. The stock was milled to 5/16", and the dados were cut 1/8" deep. All pieces were pre-sanded to 400 grit and when complete, the project was finished with Odie's. I used a 1/4" cutter with 1/4" 'boxes'. As an experiment for accuracy, I didn't use a glue gap. The result of which was needing to sand the joints somewhat as this machines is deadly accurate. I would recommend a .005" glue gap. 1. Measure the napkins that you intend to use, add 1/4" x 2 (they seldomly stack squarely), then add the thickness of your stock x 2. Trim 4 side pieces to this length. 2. Edge glue the two remaining pieces and when dried and sanded, add 1/8" x 2 to the length of your sides for the dados and trim the bottom to size. 3. Adjusting for the thickness of you stock, use the on-board box-joint program and follow the simple instructions to cut the box joints. I would recommend cutting the 'boxes' approximately 1/32" - 1/16' deeper than the thickness of your stock - it's easier to sand down the end of the boxes to meet the joined sides than it is to sand the sides down to meet the end of the boxes. I would also recommend leaving a .005" glue gap to save on excessively sanding the joints 4. Lay out your sides to determine the nicest for the front and try to wrap the grain if you can, and cut the front cutout and dado. Sand the cutout for roundness and square. * I couldn't get the vertical lines of the cutout to line up with the curves exactly on the program, but it only requires the slightest amount of sanding to square it. 5. Repeat cutting the dado on the remaining sides. I suppose you could have the cut-out on all sides if you like. 6. Assemble, glue and clamp. When the glue is dry, trim for hight, give it a final sanding, and add you finish of choice. **Adjusting the thickness of your stock and glue gap with affect whether or not you have a full 'box' top and bottom. This can be easily trimmed on a table saw so that a full joint sits at top and bottom. *** If I've apparently missed anything, please advise. Enjoy your build!