Maybe it's just human nature to allow our excitement and emotion to get the best of us. After a week away from the project I was able to refocus on it these past few days and step back and look at it with a more critical eye. What became glaringly obvious was that I rushed a few parts and, as a result, the base of the cabinet was crooked. Thankfully this was a somewhat easy fix that just required detaching the base from one side and reattaching it after I had ensured both ends were equal distance from the bottom of the plywood. I left about a 1.5"gap on all sides just in case I decide to use casters on the bottom.
Once I was happy with where the base was I was able to move on. I deviated a little bit from the plans at this point cut a few pieces of plywood to the 20" width that is (or at least should be if my measurements and design to this point are correct) the interior width of the cabinet. These cut pieces will form the back of the cabinet. In total there are 3 pieces for this part. The first piece is the angled top piece, the second extends down about half of the back of the cabinet and the third piece is the bottom back piece. The bottom piece will be on a piano hinge and allow access to the interior of the cabinet. The uppermost pieces I concentrated on first as they required a bevel to be cut into them so they would fit together and carry the angle created by the sides. The plans called for a table saw to cut the bevels, but I had to make do with my circular saw. The angle piece required a 35 degree bevel at one end and a 25 degree bevel at the other. The second piece required a 25 degree bevel (to meet up with the 35 on the first cut piece) and the last piece could be cut straight at both ends. Since the first two pieces were a little more critical and cutting off the last piece to fit snug is a lot easier I chose this route.
After all three pieces were cut I held them in place while my beautiful wife took some pictures with my Ipod. This would be a perfect opportunity to thank her for the yummy snacks and hot beverages she always comes to the rescue with, the countless interruptions when I've had to call her out to help me hold a piece in place so I could secure it, stand the cabinet up, lay the cabinet down, etc. -- and apologize for the constant trail of sawdust footprints I leave in the entry way and on my clothing.
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The cabinet plans call for only the uppermost piece to be secured in place while the other two are set aside until after painting. So I laid the cabinet (gently) on it's side and marked on that piece where I would sink my screws and started them all beforehand. After I had attached it and I was happy with the placement I put the machine back up on it's feet and put the other two cut pieces in place just to make sure everything was still a snug fit.
I took a screwdriver and went around my cabinet countersinking as many of the screws as I could. Some could not be countersunk and so there will be little bumps here and there. Next I took wood filler and proceeded to fill all holes. Unfortunately this is where I had to pack it in while I waited filler to cure.
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