Carcass Glue Up

I went into the shop on Sunday to finally get the body of this thing all glued up. This part was a bit worrisome for me because there are a few things that really need to be done beforehand and if I have miscalculated or forgotten anything, the problem will soon become apparent and will be impossible or difficult and likely sloppy to make up for.

Dry-clamping the components helps to prevent these types of mistakes. Here's what the main body will look like assembled and unfinished:

I wiped one coat of Tung Oil around the outsides of the panels because otherwise, in a less humid environment the panel will shrink a bit and reveal an unfinished line of wood just below the top stile. Hence the strange coloration around the outside of the two larger panels.

Everything fit well, so first I glued up the end panels. I cut special blocks and stuck (adhesive-backed) sandpaper to them to allow me to apply direct pressure on the joints with the bar clamps. Here's how they looked while being clamped:

 

I worked on the table top for awhile and took a long lunch break. The end panels came together pretty well. On one or two of the joints, I positioned the wood such that the clamp applied pressure above the actual mortises and tenon so the joint is tight on the inside, but shows a small crack on the face. I could fill it with wax maybe, but I'm not so concerned with the appearance as I am with the implications it has for the strength of the joint. Oh well, not much to be done now. And it feels sturdy.

Next I dry clamped everything again to ensure the positioning of the ends (post-glue) didn't present complications with the longer stiles or panels. Looked good. So I clamped it all together.

I unclamped the carcass after work today (Monday) and handled it a bit. It looks and feels good. Only one of the panels moves freely in its framework unfortunately. I need to hope that means the other three caught a little glue in the corner rather than that the panels fit tightly in the dadoes. If the panels are too snug, find themselves in a more humid environment, and expand across their grain enough, they will snap the joint apart.

I'm not too worried.

The last time I worked at the shop, I filled the knotholes in the cherry sections with epoxy. Yesterday I had an opportunity (while the end-panels dried) to sand down the epoxy and both faces of the cherry slabs (until now they were pockmarked with relief from the planer). I still have a good amount of material to cut away and I'm thinking about making them unsymmetrical in size: as in, the slab closest to the associated seat (above the angled face) would be maybe twice the width of the other.

But here's what they look like now. Any input?

 

Also, when I dry-clamped the body, I set the feet atop it and they just didn't look right. For one, I rounded them too much. Also, I was trying to echo the angle in the body but I've decided I think the angle should run the other way: the feet should be flipped upside down so they're longer on bottom than top. I also think the feet may need to be a bit wider (maybe shorter, though). 

A second set of eyes advised making them as short as possible, though. So they only just sneak out from underneath the body.

Any suggestions?