after a couple of rough days, finally posting again. a really odd thing happened the other day. i took the candle holder blanks out of the clamps, and left the bottom in the clamps, didn't even touch them. then i worked on the rest of the table. the next day i was all set to work on the bottom, and i found that all the clamps were loose.
not just one or two, but all of them. the wood didn't shrink, the handles were all turned back about one half, to a full turn.
i asked my dad about it, and he said no one has been down there, so i don't know what happened.
with the first bottom off to the side (bowed one), i went to work fitting the second one. for some reason or another, it wasn't fitting right.
it was only after screwing up this bottom (attempted cutting to fit, only made it worse), i found out what the problem was.
when i cut the rails for the front face frame, i made a real boo boo, i had measured the tenons from the wrong side of the frame, and the front frame was about 1/8" shy of the back.
well, i picked up a little bit more of the brazilian cherry(kicking myself for using up my scraps), and made a third bottom, and built an all new face frame. when the weather is a little more agreeable (right now 38 degrees, overcast and ishy), i'll be fitting the newest bottom and face frame.