I was inspired by a few pictures I found online that had furniture pieces made that doubled as dog kennels.  Our dog kennel is just sitting in our dining room.  Luckily we have small dogs, so it doesn’t need to be a very large space for the dogs.  My wife and I talked and we decided to replace our current entertainment stand with a dog kennel entertainment stand.  The following post outlines the entire build.

Current and New Plan

Here is a photo of our current entertainment stand and the plans for the new one.  We are using this new stand as a good reason to purge some items.

Basic Process Steps

• Cut Lumber to rough length and width
• Mill Lumber
• Cut Legs and Stretchers to Size
• Mortise and Tenons for Legs/Stretchers
• Cut Grooves for Upper Panels
• Fit Upper Panels
• Cut Half Laps in Long Stretchers
• Cut Sliding Dovetail in Upper Long Stretchers
• Route Table Top Fastener Holes
• Cut Dowel Holes
• Sand
• Stain Panels and Dowels
• Assemble Side Panels
• Cut Drawer and Gate Components to Size
  • Locking Rabbets for Drawers
  • Cut Mortises and Tenons for Gates
  • Drill Dowel Holes
  • Assemble
• Dry Fit
• Cut Lower and Mid Panel to Size
• Add Cleats for Panels to fasten to
• Fit Gates and Mortise Hinges
• I should have sized the dog divider here, but didn’t (I got excited and forgot)
• Make Drawer Slide Filler Pieces
• Sand Again
• Glue Up Base
• Stain/Poly All Base Pieces
• Assemble Panels, Drawers, Divider, Gate
• Mill Pieces for Top, Cut to Size, Glue Up
• Sand, Stain, Poly Top
• Assemble Top

 

Milling Lumber

With all projects, I started by laying out the components and then cutting all pieces to rough length.

Some of the pieces had a decent bow in them, so I hit them with a jack plane before cutting them on the band saw.

 

 

I jointed one surface and one edge.  Then I planed the opposite surface parallel and let the pieces sit for a few days.

Cutting Leg Mortises and Rail Tenons

I began by running the legs and rails across the jointer/planer again.  Then I cut the legs and rails to width.

Before I cut the pieces to length I had to figure out the tenon sizes

• Long Rail Tenons: 1 1/4″ long by 1 1/2″ tall by 1/2″ thick
• Short Rail Tenons: 1″ long by 1 1/2″ tall by 1/2″ thick

The next step was to layout the mortises and tenons on the legs and rails.  I use one piece as the master and transfer a lot of the layout to other pieces.

The next step was to cut the mortises with my mortising jig and a big 1/2″ router bit, which is a bit intimidating.  The only thing I need to change is the depth of the cut.   All other settings can stay the same.

I squared the ends of all the mortises with a chisel.

Cutting Long Rail Tenons

The long tenons were cut with a dado stack and miter gauge.  I have found it is not the most accurate method, but works well.  The fence was set up to establish a consistent shoulder cut line.

To cut the mouth, I used the bandsaw

In order to cut the remaining small shoulder, I went back to the table saw, but lowered the blade depth to match the bandsaw cut.  After the cut was made, I had to clean up the shoulders and use a plane to get the fitment right in the mortise.

Once it is properly fit, I write a letter or number on the tenon cheek and a corresponding letter/number on the very bottom of the mortise.   Below is the first dry fit of the long rails and legs.

Cutting Short Rail Tenons

To cut the short rail tenons, I used a different method and I have found it to be the most accurate and yields the best results.

Step 1: Establish the shoulder of the cheeks on all pieces and then the shoulder of the mouth on all pieces.   If they are the same cut depth, this is pretty quick

Step 2: Cut the mouth on each piece at the bandsaw

Step 3:  Use tenoning jig to establish cheeks.  I sneak up on a very tight fit and will use a shoulder plane to get it perfect.  I am using the MDF board as a spacer between the table and the work piece.  So the work piece doesn’t drag or get caught on anything.  The cut off piece falls to the right of the table saw blade.  I the work  piece over and cut the other cheek.  Adjust, adjust adjust until correct.

Step 4:  Clean up Tenon and Cheek.  After I cut cheeks, I use a chisel to clean up the corners between the cheek and shoulder.  Then I use a shoulder plane to get the fit correct.  Below is the dry fit.

Cutting Grooves for Panels

The design calls for some solid panels in the upper sections of the side assemblies.

The grooves between the legs and rails must line up so the panel fits properly.  I figured the best way to do this was with my mortising jig since they are pretty short grooves.  I used some scrap pieces to find the correct router bit size of 31/64″.  Luckily, I had some ‘undersized’ plywood router bits.  The offset of the router jig is the same as it was for the mortises in the legs.

During my dry fit, I took some measurements for the panels and cut them to size.  Below is the next dry fit.

At this time I made the small grooves to mount the table top fasteners on the router table

Cutting Half Laps for Center Divider

The best way to add the center dividers was with half lap joints.  I figured anything else (dowels, M&T) would have nee too constraining and impossible to glue up everything at once.

I used my dado stack on the table saw to create the half lap joints.   I started with some scraps to get the blade height correct.

It is essential that all half laps align so I needed to set up something consistent.  So, I used my miter gage and a stop block.  The thing to keep in mind is that the same side of all rails hit the stop block.  Then, shift the stop block to establish the other side of the lap and then clean the waste in the middle.

To ensure they are all the same, I inserted a board an checked if the ends were flush.  Hooray

with the board inserted, all ends are flush

The next step was to cut the half laps in the divider pieces.  It is important that the dimension between the two shoulders is correct.  That dimension sets the vertical spacing between the rails.  I performed another dry fit to get the spacing right.

The top divider also needs a groove cut in it for a panel to visually separate the left and right compartments.

Sliding Dovetails

Cutting the Socket

The lower rails and middle rails will have a plywood panel that sits between them and will constrain them to each other.  The top rails will not and I need something to keep the dimension between them. So, I figure I would try my hand at a small sliding dovetail joint.

The first step is to cut the socket of the dovetail.  I started by laying out the general area and removing most of the material with my dado blade.  I am using a 3/4 dovetail bit to finish the joint, so my layout kept that in mind.  Just like the half laps these need to be in the same exact position on both rails.  So, the miter gage and stop block was used.

The next step is to cut the actual dovetail in the rails.  I used my router table and the 3/4 dovetail bit.  I also used my miter gage and stop block for consistency.  The setup is below.  The clamps helped hold everything in the right place since there is a lot of material hanging off the table.

Cutting the Pin

The first step was to cut the piece to length.  The next step was to lay out the dovetail joints on one end.

Cutting the joint was pretty challenging.  I found out that my router table insert has  a pretty decent dip in it and is not accurate enough to cut these joints.  I had to add some sacrificial pieces to make it work after I scrapped the first one.  In order to cut these joints I pushed the board through with the work piece on end and a push block keeping against the fence and table.

I had to adjust the height of the bit first to get the cut height perfect.  Then, I snuck up on the correct dovetail width by moving the fence closer to the bit.

During this last dry fit, I took a bunch of measurements for rear panels, drawers, and gates.

Side Panel Dowels and Tapered Legs

The lower side panels will receive dowels and I started by laying out the locations with dividers.  The dowels are 7/16″ diameter.

Then I headed over to the drill press.

At this time, I also stained the dowels and side panels before installation.  Honestly, I should have stained the entire side panel pieces before glue up since staining around the dowel holes was a pain after assembly.  Oh well.

I also cut some small tapers on the bottom inside edges of each leg.

Taper Cutting Setup

Sanding and Side Panel Glue Up

I am using General Finishes Java Gel Stain, which notes that 120 -150 grit is the highest grit to sand to.  So I started with 80, then 120, wet surface, 120 again.  I also eased all the corners with a sanding block.

After sanding was complete, it was time to cut the dowels to final length and glue up the the side panels

Tenon Thickening

During my last dry fit, I noticed that my tenons were a little sloppy at two locations (both long rails to side panels).  I decided to glue some thin veneer strips to the tenons

The pieces still accepted water and glue, so I figured they would hold up, but we will see over time.

Rough Cuts of Drawers (Printer and DVD)

From my last dry fit, I took all the measurements for the drawers and now I started to cut them to size.

False Fronts

Printer Drawer

The printer will sit on a 3/4 piece of plywood with hardwood wrapping it and rabbeted to accept the plywood piece.  I started by making the frame which is rabbeted at the corners.

Next step was to cut the rabbet for the plywood panel to sit in.  I used my standard saw blade and made two cuts to form the rabbet.

The next step is to cut the ply wood panel to size.

I also rough cut the DVD drawer pieces

Making the Gates

I had the pieces previously milled, but wanted to flatten them one more time before I started.  The gates will mortise and tenon joints.

I cut my mortise and tenons just like before with the mortising jig/router and the tenoning jig.

The next step was to drill the dowel holes in the upper and lower rails.  I laid them out with the dividers as I did for the side panels

Long Rails and Cleats

I need to add cleats to the long rails, so the plywood panels have something to attach to.  I figured it would be easier to attach them now instead of later.

I made a small jig for laying these out for the 1/2 plywood panels

I also attached the cleats to the side panels, but I ended up adjusting them later

Gluing Up Base

In order to ensure the long rail spacing was correct vertically, I used the half lap center divider pieces to set them before final clamping. I worked my way down.  I also bough some more long pipe clamps before gluing this up (yay)

Plywood Floor and Ceiling

I started by measuring the opening size and cutting the plywood to size.  Then I cut the corners to clear the legs.

 

The cleats used for the side pieces were a bit off relative to the front and back cleats. So, I made a small template from some scrap plywood to place the cleats.

Mortising Hinges for Gates

In order to get a consistent gap between the gate and frame I need to properly mortise the hinge depth and properly space it vertically.  I started by measuring the gap when the gate is pushed to one corner.  Essentially, I need to split the overall gap in half for a consistent gap.  I used a feeler gage on the side and top.

Now, some math

The feeler gauge was 5/32″ total, so having that gap is 2.5/32″ or 5/64″.  I want to maintain a 5/64″ gap all around the gate to the frame.  The hinge is 7/32″ thick – desired gap = 4.5/32″.    Therefore I need to mortise the gate and frame by 4.5/64″ or 2.25/32″ ~1/16″.

I used a backer board for stability and my trim router to cut the mortises in the gates.  I squared them up with a chisel.

The next step is to cut some shims for vertical spacing to ensure it is centered.  Then mark the hinge locations off of the gate onto the frame.  I used the trim router and chisel to remove the waste for the hinge.

It was easier to mount the doors when the entire cabinet was flipped on its end.

I also mounted the small deadbolts to keep the gates closed

Center Divider

Internal Spacers for Drawer Mounting

After I glued up the center divider I had to make some small pieces to mount the drawer slides.  The small pieces had to be flush with the legs.  Unfortunately, I don’t have many good pictures of this step.  It is basically a block screwed to each leg and a hardwood piece mounted to those blocks.  Then a cosmetic piece is attached to the top to conceal the blocks and hardwood mounting piece.

 

Making Drawer

The pieces were already rough cut

I cut the rabbet and Dado joints on the table saw.   The dadoes are cut with the piece laying flat on the saw and the rabbets with the piece vertical.  I make drawers this way all the time, but had a very tough time setting up the saw for the joint.

I glued the drawer up and applied some solid wood banding to the top.  I should have done this prior to the joinery cut, but oh well, it worked just fine.  The false front of the drawer will be flush with the cabinet frame.  At this time, I sized the false front.

Route Rabbets for Back Pieces

I used a rabbeting bit in my router and cut the rabbet for 1/4″ plywood back.

Inside = Clockwise routing direction.  When the grain became rough I would take shallower passes, but I could do most with a single pass.  Then I chiseled out the corners square.

Dis-assembly and Apply Stain

Basically every piece part is cut and all the main assemblies are glued together.  So, I disassembled everything and started to sand and prep for stain.  80, 120 or 150, wet, 120 or 150 again.

I painted the bottom of the plywood panels white to help with brightening up the inside of the dog kennel space.

All pieces took at least 2 coats of stain.  I was able to apply the first coat very liberally with a  brush and roller.  Brush to apply, then roller to flatten.  I did end up getting some texture from the roller, but it is not very noticeable.

The next step is to start by applying polyurethane.  I used some Minwax quick drying poly with a foam brush.  I had very inconsistent results with it.  Lots of sags and overlap marks, so there was quite a bit of sanding involved.

After a couple failed iterations, I sanded it down and used Wiping Poly for the remaining coats.  I put two coats of Brush Poly, sanded flat, then two coats of Wiping Poly.

Reassembly after Poly

The inside of the drawer and top only received poly.

We often leave one dog in the kennel, so I needed a way to split the kennel into half.  My solution was to mount hinges to the top and have the divider swing down and catch two magnetic latches.  The divider is a piece of 1/2 ply wood.

I painted the bare board you see mounted after I got everything working.  The divider is held up by a figure 8 fastener that can be spun to hold open.

The Table Top

First, I made all the rough cuts to length with my circular saw.

Rough jointing before heading to bandsaw for rough width cut.  Some of the boards were bowed a bit and needed to be straightened somewhat before the first cut on the bandsaw.  I cut each board in half so they can fit across my jointer.

I jointed one face and edge.  Ran the boards through the planer and then table saw.  Glued and clamped the top together.  Once the top came out of the clamps, I had to flatten it again.  I was out of town for a week and it cupped pretty bad.  So, out came the hand planes.

I sanded the top and applied stain and poly.  One coat of brush poly and two coats of wiping poly.  The top is assembled using Z-clips and I moved it inside.

The picture below captures the hinged divider getting rotated out of the way.

Overall, the project turned out pretty nice.  It is much heavier than I expected and also took a lot longer to complete than anticipated.  I think I spend ~100 hours on this thing from start to finish.  On to the next project!