Once the finish is dry, start assembling the basic frames. These consist of two pairs of legs and two pairs of rails. Take a look at the plans and you'll see that they form a simple kind of stile-and-rail construction, using #20 biscuits at the corners. But before you cut biscuit slots, saw a 75º chamfer on the lower back edges of the bottom rail for each frame. Apply glue to the biscuit slots, add biscuits, then use bar clamps to pull the parts together. Let the two frames dry overnight.
The hinges come next. When the frames are dry, place them face down on your workbench, with tops butting together so you can connect them with a pair of three-inch hinges. When you have the hinges attached, the basic easel structure is complete. Now it's time to move on to the trays.
Building the Trays
The entire easel sits at a 15º angle from plumb, so when you're building the supply trays, you need to cut the tray end pieces at a 75º angle. This allows the trays to sit level when the easel is open.
Join the tray components with #20 biscuits and glue, then fit them into place from the inside. Predrill and drive screws through the flanges on the ends of the tray and into the legs using #8 x 1 1/4" wood screws with cup washers.
Roll It
A big roll of paper is an essential part of my easel for Sarah, because I know she loves to draw and draw and draw. You can substitute chains or chest lid hardware for the crossbars and dowels if a roll of paper isn't necessary for your version of the project.
Cut the crossbars to length, making a 15º angle on each end. You can reuse these angled off-cuts to make mounting blocks. Screw these blocks to the easel legs, positioned so they are flush with the outside edges of the legs.
Drill pilot holes for the #10 x 2" bolts and wing nuts that secure the crossbars. These not only allow you to remove the paper roll easily, but they also make it easy to fold up the easel.
Drill a 3/8"-deep x 1"-dia. hole in each crossbar, 5 1/2" from one end. Bore a second hole of the same size across the centre of just one of the crossbars. You'll fasten the paper roll block to the other side, as you'll see.
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