Working from yesterday’s prep for the final four square holes, I finished cutting them today. Recall that I had pared off the outlines of the holes yesterday. The first task for today was to drill some holes through like this:

Despite there being much more tough latewood in these boards than the previous ones, this went much faster today because I shaped and sharpened the auger bit. It’s a remarkable difference.

With the holes in place, I put the coping saw in place. Mine is a little tough to assemble with the blade through a hole; I used a band clamp to hold the frame tight during the process.

I found that it’s easier to remove a big chunk between the holes before cutting the holes flush (that chunk on top is the removed waste):

With that piece out of the way, it’s much easier to move the saw around and get flush to the edges. Then, all you need to do is finish it off with a chisel for the more-or-less final hole:

It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly better than the first few I did (which I’m not even showing because they’re so bad).

Next, I need to drill the holes into the sides to accept the bolts that will hold the frame together. Probably not today, though.