With the damage repaired, the frame was ready to go back together. It was previously held together with a few corrugated fasteners and a bunch of finish nails. I left the corrugated fasteners in place on a single corner but removed the nails from the other three and pondered how best to reassemble the frame. One thought was to glue 3/8″ wooden corners to the rear. Another thought was to use dowels. I finally decided to use small biscuits.
Even though I have a standard sized biscuit cutter, I keep going back to my little Ryobi biscuit cutter. It is easy to use and the small biscuits seem to be kinder to vintage furniture. The issue on miters is proper alignment. I put the frame together and used painters tape. Once the marks for two in line biscuits were made, I cut the tape right at the joint.
This project continued to present issues. Now the problem is that the frame is wider than my bench. I solved this by topping the bench with a piece of plywood and a wide cherry board, holding them together with a tablecloth. Good news is that the tablecloth also prevented damage to the delicate finish on the front of the frame. Fittingly, the tablecloth was one my mom gave me. It is decorated with a Christmas theme of garlands candy canes. She liked to set a bright table and I think of her when I see the cloth. It is too shabby to use as a tablecloth but makes a happy upscale bench drop cloth.
Glueup went without a hitch and the biscuits meant that no clamping was necessary. I applied finish to the bare spots and dropped the frame off at the glass shop. The frame lives on.