A little project from which I have learnt a lot: Lily’s Learning Tower.

Putting screws into the ‘end grain’ of plywood does not make for the strongest joint – the risk is that the plywood will split under load along the glue lines of the laminate.

To make this simple piece, made from 18mm birch ply, I used dowels to provide a cross grain hold for the screws.

It may seem old-fashioned, but the brace and bit gives me good control and very crisply-edged holes for the dowel pugs.
Pieces of dowel, cut slightly too long were hammered into place and were a snug fit. The excess was trimmed off with a flush cut saw and I used a block plane to get this smooth finish.

I used the same sized dowel to plug the counterbored screw holes. With hindsight, smaller plugs would have been better, I think.

Anyway, here it is:

The cross rail uses a wedged tenon joint. I used walnut for the wedge.
It took me a while to realise that flip top hinges were the best type for this project, but they work a treat, so make for a pleasing result.

I have a few coats of clear varnish to apply, and then I am looking forward very much to seeing some photos of Lily trying this out.

One thought on “Lily’s Learning Tower”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *