Previously, we completed the rear panel of the scoring nest, which includes a polarized light source for robot navigation. Now we’re going to attach the side panels.
It helps immensely to use corner clamps while drilling and screwing the nest’s side panels to the rear panel.
Corner clamps in place on wood.
A corner clamp consists of two clamps joined together at a 90 degree angle. (Some corner clamps are adjustable to other angles.)
Corner clamp.
This particular model is Pony-brand Corner Clamp, Style 9100 No. 9166-K.
Use a ruler to mark the holes for the screws that will attach the side boards to the rear board. Place marks for five screws, beginning half an inch from each side. For an 11 inch board each screw should be 2.5 inches apart, beginning half an inch from the left side.
Marking hole positions with a ruler.
Pre-drill each screw hole at the marked locations. Pre-drilling removes some material so that the wood doesn’t split after the screw is driven in. For a No.8 wood screw, use a 7/64″ diameter drill for soft wood, or use a 1/8″ diameter drill for hard wood.
Pre drilling holes for wood screws.
I wanted to install fairly long screws, so I used the longest drill I could find. Yet, I still had to cheat by not inserting the drill fully into the chuck. Otherwise, the drill wouldn’t have penetrated as deeply as the screw.
Countersink each hole if you’re going to be using flat head (recessed) screws.
Countersinking holes for wood screws.
Countersinking with a hand-held drill is imprecise. Sometimes I don’t drill far enough (easy to correct), but sometimes I drill too far (leaving an irretractable crater). However, after some practice, I got pretty good at countersinking just right, where the top of the screw head is flush with the wood surface.
Countersinking flat head depth.
Drive the screws into the pre-drilled holes. I used five, fairly long screws per side in hopes that they will keep the board flat and spread out any stresses that may occur if the nest is inadvertently flexed. By pre-drilling to full depth, the long screws are less likely to split the nest’s rear panel.
Screwing together board corners with wood screws.
The screws I used are 18-8 stainless steel, flat head, No. 8 diameter, 2 1/2″ length, wood screws. McMaster-Carr #90294A207.
After attaching both side panels, use the corner clamps to temporarily attach a spare 3 foot board to square up the nest. This ensures that the sides are located at the desired angles before measuring and attaching the lip and floorboard. Also, this also holds everything firmly in place throughout the remaining steps.
Fourth board to keep sides square.
The nest should be placed upside down (the bottom facing up) in anticipation of measuring and attaching the lip and floorboard. Speaking of which...
