A "gusset" is a piece of wood that's used to strengthen and join two other pieces of wood together. In module construction, there are generally two types of gussets. One type goes from one side to the other at each end of the module frame.
Cutting Triangular Gussets
There's a right way and a wrong way for cutting triangular gussets. The wrong way will result in the gusset cracking over time. The right way will result in gussets that stand the test of time.
Using a piece of 1"x 4" knotty pine, I set my mitre saw to 45° and make the first cut. This piece gets discarded. From here, I repeatedly flip the wood over and chop off 45° triangular gussets.
By cutting the 1"x 4" knotty pine, the dimensions of my gusset increase from 3 1\2" to 5" on each 90°, and from 5" to 7 1/8" on the hypotenuse side. I also have the advantage of a good surface to install the T-nuts for the legs.
I'll usually cut up the whole length of the 1"x 4" so that I have enough gussets to build 6-8 modules.
Locating The Holes For The T-nuts
Our next step is to locate the holes for the T-nuts which will be used to screw the module legs into the bottom of the module.
Our next step is to locate the holes for the T-nuts which will be used to screw the module legs into the bottom of the module.
Using a T-square, draw a vertical line from the top of the gusset (the 90° angle) to the bottom as shown in the photo below. Repeat this process for the rest of the gussets. Next, set the T-square to 1 3/4" (half the width of our 1"x 4" board we had cut for corner gussets) and mark all gussets with a short horizontal line as shown below.
From this point on, our gussets will have a "top" surface and a "bottom" surface. Using a Sharpy marker, mark the surface with the pencil markings as "Top" and the other side as "Bottom"!! This will save us lots of grief as we start to assemble the pieces of wood.
From this point on, our gussets will have a "top" surface and a "bottom" surface. Using a Sharpy marker, mark the surface with the pencil markings as "Top" and the other side as "Bottom"!! This will save us lots of grief as we start to assemble the pieces of wood.
Once a piece of wood is glued to the other pieces, it will be impossible to separate them if we've glued things the wrong way. Usually, the wood gets split and broken if we try to separate them.
Drilling Holes For The T-nuts
Drilling Holes For The T-nuts
As mentioned above, the legs will be inserted into T-nuts. In case you haven't seen a T-nut before, here's what one looks like.
Our next step will be to drill holes in the gussets so that we can glue in the T-nuts.
Step 1 - Always clamp the wood before drilling the holes - there's quite a bit of torque in a power drill.
Step 2) - Drill a 1/8" pilot hole in each of the gussets. This will make sure that subsequent drilling operations line up.
Step 3) - Since the Styrofoam sits on top of the gussets, we need to counter-sink the "Top" of the hole by 1/8" so the head of the T-nut will be below the surface of the gusset. To do this, we can use either a 1" Forstner bit or a 1" spade bit. I prefer to use a Forstner bit as it leaves a nice flat surface.
Step 2) - Drill a 1/8" pilot hole in each of the gussets. This will make sure that subsequent drilling operations line up.
Step 3) - Since the Styrofoam sits on top of the gussets, we need to counter-sink the "Top" of the hole by 1/8" so the head of the T-nut will be below the surface of the gusset. To do this, we can use either a 1" Forstner bit or a 1" spade bit. I prefer to use a Forstner bit as it leaves a nice flat surface.
Clamp the gusset before you start to drill! Be careful when applying pressure to our drill. It's very easy to drill right through the wood when the bit starts to bite! As we finish each hole, lay the head of the T-nut into the cut and make sure we can't see any of the head when we scan across the surface.
Step 4) - Next, clamp the gusset on top of a scrap piece of wood. This will reduce splintering when the drill breaks through the other side. Now, drill a 3/8" hole right through the wood so that the barrel of the T-nut will fit into the hole. Test fit each hole by pressing the barrel of the T-nut into the hole. We should have a nice tight fit.
Step 5 - If we didn't do it before, mark each piece as "Top" as shown below and "Bottom". (Since I've repeated this step twice, it MUST be IMPORTANT!)
And that's all there is to it. The photo below shows each of the above steps.
Next - Installing T-nuts Into Corner Gussets.
Step 4) - Next, clamp the gusset on top of a scrap piece of wood. This will reduce splintering when the drill breaks through the other side. Now, drill a 3/8" hole right through the wood so that the barrel of the T-nut will fit into the hole. Test fit each hole by pressing the barrel of the T-nut into the hole. We should have a nice tight fit.
Step 5 - If we didn't do it before, mark each piece as "Top" as shown below and "Bottom". (Since I've repeated this step twice, it MUST be IMPORTANT!)
And that's all there is to it. The photo below shows each of the above steps.
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