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7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 034
1/24
EDROOM FURNITURE
BACHELOR S CHEST
N IGHT STAND
HEADBOARD
2.50OTES FROM THE SHOPO . 34
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WOOOSMITH
Editor
Dona ld 8. _I lk.
OeslgnOlreclo,
Ted Kralicek
.r s tan , Edlto,
Stlve
Krohmer
A rt D lreclor
KIYMulder
Tod1nicat IItU5 l1 a l0< 8
O ,d Kreyllng
Mike Henry
Su_pllon Manager
Sandy Baum
S_pbOO
ssIslant
Chrt.telMlner
VIcky RoblnlOn
Jockle Stroud
ShlrloyF._
Ann William.
Diane Starr
C o m pu te r O p e t 8 t 1 o n s
Ken Miner
CIICtltationManage'
J e ff F a rr is
Adm ln ls trallveAsSlslan l
Cheryl Scott
Building M ain te nance
AfChl. Krause
WDODSMITlf (ISSN 0164-4114) Is
P \ I b I is l e d
b im o nl hly ( Ja n u. 'Y .
March.
M ay. July.
Scp
_, November) by WoodsrnI1Il PlJb ish Iog
Co..2200GrandA.e., Des Moines,lowa503'2.
WOOO5Mmt ISa r_,ered uademarl< 0I1he
WOocismtll PuI>ksIWlg Co.
'Copyright tN4
by
W oodsmttll
PubIisIling
Co.
I Rlgh R... ,.,ed.
Subscription.: One year (6 issues) 510. Two
ye.rs (12Issu ) $18. 5'910 copy p
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3
OOlD SM ITH
II )f o u d lik e to s ha re a w oo dw ork ing tJ pwi-lhother
rea,dGr of
Woodsmlth,
send your Idea to:
Wood IfJim
TIps teChniques, 2200 Grand
Ave . Des Mo in es , Io w a 5 03 12 .
Wopay aminlmu , of 10 fo t
Ups ,
andSl5
more
ro r
s pe cia l t ec hn iq ue s (th a t
a rB
aoc p lad
for publication). Please give a complete 8X
planailon
of
yoor idea.
II
sketch Is ~eed ~
send
It
a long : w e ll d raw a new one .
S N
IN
YOUR
I E S
Fina,ly, r came on the idea of co mbin in g
t],e corner Cllk>ffs with two Ccl.amps to
form a corner clam p. 'l'h~ corner clamps
can he used
to
sq ua ..,
up
c as e w ork,
or to
just clamp
together
the
co rners
on
a
m i
te re d (11Ime .
To make the clamps, glued .two of the
% thick co rner cut-orfs tegethel' to produce
a 1 t thi ck bracket,
Then
T
;>oredtwo
holliSfor the C-e,lamj)pads, and cu~off the
sharp corners on the ends of the bracke t,
Fin.ny, the edge~ are trimmed and
sanded so they're smooth and perfectly
square , (lfthe s to c k u s e d for the I ysusan
is square to begin with, having tc square
the
cl amps can
he
eliminated.}
PetTy
li o I iO >
W al/wila N o tIJ . D a ko ta
Steve..
Jotmeon.
D es M o i
ss,
Iow a
SCR AP W OO D C ORN ER CLAMPS
Not too long ago,
had
t o
make a large
number of Lazy Susan shelves. Every
thing went together just
fine until
real
ized
was Producing a mountain of cut-off
corners that were taking Over my shop. I
haled the thought of feeding.all tliose cut
off .
into
my
wood heatel; so
decided to
come up '\.lith som e 'ay to use the sc rap s.
The advantage to this system is thauthe
screen in no way effects the air flow from
the fan, yet it prevents large debris from
faDing intg the router. I'veused my router
this way (or
~
years, and have had no
problems.
table, protected the molor with small
piece of fiberglass SCreen
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WOODSMITH
hardwood edging strips. see Figo.
4
and
6.
The tongue on the top edge isusedlater to
attach
the top panel.
These tongues
mU
fit into grooves that
are routed in the edging strips. To gouge
the thickness of the tongues, first rout a
groove
in
test piece
with
a ~ straight
bit.. Then the tongues are cut on a router
table to fit thi$
g roov .
Set up the router table with %
straight bit to rout V.,,;de rabbets on
both faces of the plywood to produce the
Y. - long
tongues,
se c
Fig.
3.
Adjust the
depth of cut until the thickness of the
tongue fits the groove in the test piece.
IlECORATIVE SIIOULDER. Aft. the
tongues are cut, 1 added
a
Yo'-wideshoul
der on the front, back, and to p edges of'the
plywood
to
set off the panel in the frame,
the web fi-..mesin one pass, see Fig 2.
This
assures
the grooves
are
routed in
the same position on both sides.
aocr GROOIPS. To rout the grooves,
clampan auxiliary fenee to the plywood
anr l
usc a handheld router with
a
YI
slraight bit,
se e
Fig. 2.
Istarted with the top groove. This
groove should be
iI
down from the top
edge of the plywood.
se e
detail in
fig
2.
(Alter Ihis measurement 10 equal the
thickness ofthe stock for the web frame.)
The position of the next four grooves
is
critical because they determine the siU of
the openings for the drawers.
To preduee the
COlTeCt
height for the
drawer openings, rout these four grooves
8 they're exactly 7.r apart measuring
from the top of each groove, se e Fig. 1
AlWr the grooves are routed, rip the
double- wide panel in half and trim it to
form tw o panels, each6~ide.
RO~'TTONGUES.
The next step is to rout
tongues on the front back, and top edges
of each plywoodpanel. The tongues onthe
front and back edges are used to attach
This chest of drawers is built
exactly the opposite Of the
way it was d.signed. That
m ay n ot m ak e m uc hs en se. but
that's one ofthe problems you
fa wh.n you set out to build
a chest ofdraw.rg- you have
todesignthe deawe rs
s t 3nd
then destgn
t
he cabinet
around them.
Thisis O$peeiallyrue Ofthis
chest b ec au se w e wanted to
build it with draw
er s
that
a re
a tittle out of the ordinary.
There's no hardware on the
drawers -
n o p u lls
metal
guides. Instead, these draw
er s
are designed
with
eon
cealed cove as a finger
pull.
and a guide system that's
madecompletely of wood.
In order to make al l of this
work, th e cabinet hllJ to tAke
into account the
eoved
lip Ie
sign on the drawer fronls, as
well as the method used to
WUOL
the
dra wers
in
the
cabinet, and the final
Si lA}
of
the drawers . In other words,
the cabinet is
deslgned
to nt
the drawers,
h e se d esig n c on side ra tions
are discussed in m ore detail in
the artic le o n
bui ld in g drawers
that begins on page 13. OnC
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,
1/ ..... W ID E,
DEep
REUlif
vr~
IlAB8Er
[0
PLYWOOD
CK_
j WID :.
V~
OEl
.- R E U l E
r
-
T
-rr ';~,..,..,..,..,...,-:~
T ~ -
I -
r 'o . -
( 8 . _ O ,S ; $l:crlON
WOOOSMlTH
5
.J..
CUT 9A Ct (
I: O G I, . . G ;1
THIC~flt
l['o N ,PA N E\ .
If
BACK EDGJNG
-
-
-
-
l:
D JMINSIONS GIVI N
?
O lOP 0': GROOVeS
I
~
i
CAalN(r
SIDE tA NEl
I 7r
. ,
1 1
A U GROOV lS
1~
W tl)e-,
~
E-lP
7'1 '.
It
. lONG rONGUES CENTERED
7
ON
THIC1(NBS
01 sroc~
i
11f~
TO~E O~ Bo rrO M EOQ~~ t,_
...J ~THIC~NESStOF
4t4STOC~
T (SE,oriA lt)
I
PO ,S ln O N GROO vr
SO EDGIN G IS /;q
A60VE PA N El
---
@
fROtir
EDGING
cur lIe UEF O N TO P
A ND SID E EOGE S
O N lY
-- 0 STR A lG HT
an
1 / / 1 1 0v :.
YONGUE CE:N ttiRE O O N
Pl..yW OO O
F fOUJ I 3
see Ftgs. 4 and 6. Rout this shoulder Yio F IGURE:,
wide and V o deep on the outside face o f the
plywood panels. see Fig. 3.
THE EDGIN G S TRIPS
Now the 'solid-wood edging strips can be
added to the front and back edges of ~he
plywood sides. AU of these strips are cut
from 5 /4 stock (1110.' thick actual).
BACK OGl NG.
The back edging strips
(C), arc ripped to width so they're just
slightly (~.) wider than the thickness of
the plywood sides, see em ss Section ill
Fig.
1.
1 his extra width provides just
enough material so the
surface of the
strips
can be planed and sanded down perfectly
flush with the plywood.
Then these strips are ell~ to length so
Lhe)'r. equal to the distance fron\ the
bot
tom of the plywood panel to
the
Shoulder
of
the tongue on the
top
edge, CO Fig. 1-
RO ljTGROO I'& .A fO Or the strips are eut to
si ze , rout, a
V i x V
groove on the edge o f
the strip to match the tongue on the back
edge of the plywood panel, see Fig. 1.
I
routed
this groove on the
router
table,
making
sure
it
was
positioned s o th e
extra
~ ... in width w a s sticking up above the
oul i ~ace of tbe plywood.
R..B B t.VJ FO R B ACJ:\ .
A l o , c u t - a o / lt ; I ' - \ v id e
by W.dcep rabbet 0 11 the back edge of the
edging strip for the 14 plywood back. see
Fig. 5. Shop Note:
J
used a labJe saw
rather than the router ,able
to
cut this
rabbet-because the saw produces a cleaner
edge along the shoulder of the rabbet.
FROl;T EDClN C . The front edging strip
(B) is ripped J Owide
and cut
to tbe same
length as the back-strip, Sect'ig.
,I.
Then a
Y x
l / . t l l
groove is routed on the inside face
to fit the tongue on the front edge of the
plywood panel, see Fig. I.
This groove is positioned exactly the
same distance f
r
om the oUl ide edge
as
the
groove on the back edging strip. (That is,
.s o
ihe.edge
ie V ,
8bo .Ye
the
su rtace O f
the
plywood.) Since this groove is in exactly
We Same position, it cal l be cut US ,g the
Same set-up on the router table.
ASSEM BLY. Finally, glue the e lling
strips- to the tongJ.les on the plywood. Be
sure the top end of each edging 5t.rip is
6ush with the oulderoflhe tongue on the
top edge of the Side, see Figs 4 and
5 .
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6
MIDDll WEe. flAM
f
_NT
(OGING
WI UJa fltONllAl1
\ I
- ft l WOOO
AI
.O f
MN It
,
19Ln1W ClOSSStcnOH
tI
A ,l l CROOV 'S
I. II
@
, . . C . lt RAll __
&ACKRAil CROSSSIC[ION
~
I' ._~ ~
t f - . ._ _ _ _ . __. _ = _ _ ~ _ L _ = _ = .
- - 1
1
l- - ,. .. . -~
WOODSMITH
10 lNO SflU U N GtH MEASURECAIlNfTT -+41
S t o r
10 BACXII:AIItt. SYIUACl WlDTH-
Of
m'I
t Ar LS , ADO
1 1
TONGUES
LtNGTNOf WE 'IAMI
RAlI.$ EQUAlS INSIO(
OlM(NStQHS Of
aINY
301,;,-)
~Hn to . P : PANfl
19J:f~
l _ t: W
, .
Ill ItABID
ll ac
fOGlNG
'cu r t~
1, ,
JONGUI$
CfNllJlIO ONSTOCX--. .
9 .
L
n
S T O O P E O
GROOVES
.J
l
flGUIlE6
TOP PANEL
To complete lhe basle cabinet, the sides 1 t
are joined together with. top frame and
five web frames.
PLYWOOD PANEL. The first step on the
top frame is to cut the plywood panel
(D)tosize.
2914 '
long by
15w ide.
Then
eu t
rabbets on both raees to form yolong
tongues on aU four edges. Also rout a
Y .. . -wide, deep shoulder on the out,ide
face o( the plywood. se e Detail in Fig. 7.
FR.- lE.
After .he panel is cut. the four
frame members can be cut to size. Cut the
frontlback rails
(El
to length SO they're
equal
10tbe shoulderla-shoulder length of
the panel. se e Fig. 6.
The width of these rails should be 1 t o .
However. this width may have to be ad
justed because you want 10 be sure lhat
r
~;=~~=:f=:=:===;;~=;~~==~~~~~~=:==;~=:f~:wben these rails are anaebed to lhe panel,be total width
o f
this top a mbly i. equal
1~\
't~t':,~~.~rON ~
l -'.__.J to the width of the cabinet. side~.
. f : \ . O W J ) , .o , : 1 l As for the stiles F) for the top (ramc,
they're cut H wide and
M
long as the
cabinet sides are wide (17'Y').
GROO\'f;S.Next. grooves are cut in the
frame members to match Ihe tongues on
the plywood panel. On the ti'Ontiback rn il~
(E), rout a Y groove on the edge of both
pieces SO tho (ace of the rail~ i. slightly
above (~ ) the surface of the panel, see
details in ~'ig. 7.
O n the stiles (FI, the gro ove
has
to be
stopped (rom both ends of the stile to
prevent it from showing. see F'ig. 6. I
routed this stopped groove on the
router
table, making
a
plunge cuL to .ta.i the
groove and lifting the stile off the bit to end
the cut.
Then I routed an identical
y
toPlled
groove on the bottom edgeofthe stiles, see
c r e s s Section in Fig. 7. This groove is for
attaching the top frame to the cabinet
sides, see Fig. 8.
BE\tL EDGE.After the grooves are cut,
glue all fou r frame members to the top
panel. Then rip a
1 .
\\;de. 45 bevel on the
front edge of the top frame, se e Fig. 7.
WEB FRAM ES
To complete
th e
~inel. five web
t 'ramco
are
built to
connect
the cabinet sides. In
order to determine the size o r the~
frames. dry-clamp the completed top
frame to the cabinet sides.
mE RAJl.S.Nov.',measure the distance
between the cabinet sides (this sbould be
ao W ')
to find the length o( the frontJbaek
rails (G. H . and
I),
se e Fig. 8 . The width o(
the..
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7
~fJit~EDN~~__~
FRO NT RA il ____
FI G U R E 1:1
NOTCH D EtA il
I.. WI.. ~. OfE )
GE OON .AIl (S , 131~
r- --
51.
Q)
~i
80JTOM
we
FRAME
I .
1 /.
TONGUE
..-- flf S IN GROOVE
r
O N Si D E p~Nn
I.-t ll __ .-
~'- 'r_-.:.'(:...:.....:. yw .:. o:...o:.: o .,
TH ill M IDD LE f.AMES
n j
. ( . : . V < : lONGU
ON OVTSID f ED GE
;OltNEi
DETAil
,-
tOe
Y E~
WOODSM ITH
TO P W E B flAM E
3 h
_ 7..
;;;:. . : ...
__
FIGURl9
Measure tb e d istance between tbe front
edgillg))iece(B J
and
toherabbet on the
back
edging 'piece (this should be .
160/.).
then
su btract the thickness of the fl 'ontiback
rails l o / .. . + '0 /,,
=
lW), an d a d e l y fo r
th e two \Io -lo ng stu b tenons that \ \ 1 1 1 be
cut on the end s of the stile s, see Fig. 8.
This s ho uld p ro du ce a final length of loY./ '
fol'
th e s lile& (J) . The w idth of all the stiles
J)
is 1% '.
GROO SFO I', ~L.After th e ra il. and
st iles ar e cu t to s iz e, a g ro ov e is c u e on the
ins ide edge of ea ch p ie ce for the plywood
p an el. T he g ro ove in al l the stiles (J) is
ce nte re d on the ed ge of each piece and
wide enough
to
m atch th e thickness
of
th e
plywood panels.
TO PWE D rR A.IIE .
the groove in t he fro nt
back rails 0 of the top fram e is al so
ce ntered o n th e th ickness o f th e rail- the
same as th e sti les.
However , the. procedure for cutting the
grooves on the o ther
ft antes
varies be
c au se o f the w idth of the rails.
~nOOL WEO
FR AltF-S.~'he frontJback
l-ails (I:IJon tire three m iddle web fr ames
are
1
wide, se e P ig .
10.
Th is extra w idth
means the groove can't be centered. In ..
Stead} it s po.~itioned the same distance
from th e b ottom edge as th e groove on the
st ile s, see detail in ~ig. 10.
To cut these grooves se t the fence on
the saw us ing the g ro ove in the . stil e as a
g uid e. M a ke th e
JiI'St
pass, and then a ci ju st
th e fence to w iden the groove to match th e
thickness o f t he p ll~vood panel : and m ake a
second pass
to
finish the groove.
UO M OMW86 FRAME.
On the bottom w eb
fram e, the extra-wide rails (1) al so ... v e a s
a kiekboard fo r the cabinet . The groo ve in
these rails is
a
li ttle bit Il ipky
to
cut..
To locate the po sitio n o f th e g ro ove, I
used. rail fro m o ne ofthe m iddlef ra m es as
a
guide, see Fi g.
12.
Line up the to p ed ges
f bO th p ie ce s, and m ark the lo ca tio n o f the
g ro ov e o n th e b otto m rai l 1). Then cut the
gr oove u sin g th e mar k as a guide.
s r u s TEi'lONS. ,A fter a ll th e l l O O v e s ar e
cut, stub tenons ore cu t On the ends o( bhe
stil es (J)
to
fi t th e g ro ov es in th e ra ils. Thi.
is $inmly
a
m atter of cutting two
rabbets
on the e nd s o f t he stiles to p ro duce the stu b
ta no n, se e d etails in
Figs.
9, 10, an d 11.
iOXCUEQNSTlLE
N ex t cuta rabbet o n
the outside edge of all the stiles (JJ to
produce a tongue that,
fit.
the grooves in
th e sides of the cabinet,
NOTCH.
Finally, cut a y .
x 10/
notcb on
th e front rail of th~ th ree m id dle fr ame s
an d the bottom fram e, see Fig. 13. This
n otc h is u ;
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WOOSMITII
~
T HE D R AW E R GUID E SYSTEM
When the web frame. arc complete, the
next step is to attach the drawer guides
(P), see Fig. 14. Cut the four drawer
guides wide enough so the top edge of the
guide is y . above the front
rails
see Fig.
15. Then trim them 10length so they butt
against the back rail, and extend to the
front edge of the front
rail,
se e
Fig. 1'1.
Next, eut a rabbet on the front end orlh.
guides
so it
overlaps the notch in the front
rail,
se e
Fig. 14. Also. chamfer the top
edges or the guides slightly to reduce bind
ing. Then glue the guides 10 the plywood
panel of the web frame .. theire centered
on
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,
9
. ., -
. . .
, -
1( 0
P lYWOOD
K 0
~. . . . . . .
l-4 VWOOO
~
. . . ~
A l A
0 ( 0
0 0
[tOM' i*~cnc17~.pt'z *a~**at' t
0.1,' .7'
_
7' ' C 2 aoIOSl
I . . . : . ; , , r , . . . ; : : ; : r ~ r z - ,- , - j. . , - ,~ ~ , j ? l .
. NYlON G u o .
,.~CLf AHCI
I F ~ ~ _
j-
J
~h l
W I .
~ -: . ...
WOODSMITli
CUTTING DIAGRAM
K
1_.u... IOnOMYllW
., elIAtANCE'
i
I
L~\ ' (, ' l-C~_OW _t
7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 034
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lf NG ;tH O f T EN ONOlTIS W ITH CH ISEL
ClEA N SlO~OF
US
E S AM E FE NC E
SffilN TO Tl t iM
tll
L~NGTHOF
lENa.;:'
WllH
MUlTiPlE
PASSES
JO IN .ER .,Afte rt1 be uprights an d ra ils a re
Out to size, they're joined together with
mortise and tenon joints complete
step . .by . .step e xplanation of how to cut. a
morti se and tenon jo int is given in ood
. ,iti
No. 26.)
Basically , 31 1 this involve s is borin g a
series'o~%' holes centered
OIl
the width
o r
the stock and ; y deep, see Fig. A. Then
clean up che cheeks of the mortise with a
to.the
length
necess ar y to
put the
UPrights
in the tight position
011
fh~ be d I ra m e.
MIDDLE RAfL, The middle rail (C) is
ripped to a width of
2 , Then
to
deter
mine the length of this rail, take.the final
length of the top rail ~B), subtract- the
width of both uprights (314' each, 01 a ootal
of 6~') and add 1~ for the two ~Iong
tenons on the ends of the middle rail, see
Fig. I,
By the tim. ~Jinished building ~he chest of
drawers and the night stand shown in this
issue,
no long. . had a choice -
J
had
to
build a headboard to match, The head
board shown here.is designed to fit a queen
siz e bed. But. it's very easy to alter the
d im ensi ons
to fi t any ma ttr e s s
size .
THE
~A5IC
FRAME
Building thj. headboard is really just a
matter of'bullding a very ',rgofr.methat's,
joined 1 tl1 mortise and tenon joints. To
St.rt construction, 1 CUtthe uprights A
and the top
B
and middle
C rails
to size
from
~
stock
(1 ' -th ic k sto ck).
U I'IIICU'I'S. rh e
uprights
(A ) ar e
cut
311lOI:
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13
VOODSMITH
want to avoid.)
CUT
S lUE TO
WIUTII.HopefUlly the
cabi
net has been built L planned -with open
ings 61 high. If it is, rip the stock for the
drawer sides and backs to
a
width of
6~
If the opening is larger or smaller than
p lanned, th e dra we rs c an st ill be made , bu t
the dove ta il s won t have tb e p rope r spac
ing. And, because of the way the dovetail
jig works, the dovetail
the bottom edit.
will be affected the most. It may be only
partially cut, and thus it ill look a litlle
odd
and
will be
8
Iitlle weak. but
the
draw.
ers will hold together.
CtlTSII)ElI
TO
I_.~SGTII.
A ile the
drawer
sides ar e cuI to width, they can be cut to
length. This is basically
a C t
to fit oper
ation. ThlltlR,
thedrawer
sides
must
be
cut,
to length
the 3s.~enllileddrawer
fits
the
depth ofihe
cabhw t. .. wuh a
little
clenr
ance between the back of the drawer and
the back of the cabinet.
Todo this, first meas ure the depth ofthe
cabinet. Then subtract the thickness or th
drawer front V,. )and drawer back (~ ')
add on th~ length of the dovetails (they
overlap on the fronL an d
back
total of
~ ), and finally .ubtNICI Lbe amount of
clearance needed at the back (usually
;4 is s u ff ic le n t) . T h e n cu t th e-d raw er s id es
to length.
Cl7l IJACK I ,, )
1~f.N(;. PII,
Next the
drawer
back can be cut to length. This is relatively
e as y to de te rm ine . o n the drawers in the
chest and night stand beeause the length of
the back is equal to the length of the
drawer's front.
The length of the front is determined by
measuring the width of the cabinet open
ing and subtracting an amount ror clear-
counts ror drawer sideo thaL are
6 y
high
and Kl - f or c learance . These are not
arbi
In\fj dimensions.
I )OVETAIL SPACING.The 6 4 height fo r
the drawer sides produces prope l spacing
fo r the dovetail jOitlt when i tf i c ut. \v ith a
router and
dovetail
jig . rl'hi~proper spae
lng
means
that tho dovetail.
are
evenly
spacedon the drawer side
ith
a halfpin o n
the top edge and
a
half pin on the bottom
edge, as shown in fig. I.
Shop Note: The smallest width for a
drawer side when the dovetailjig is
used
is
I~ . FT Omhere the idth of the sides can
increase in increments
of~.
and s l. iU
have
proper spacing for the routed
dovetails.
One of thes e incrementa 1S6Y
f
A nother is
4 Y A the dimension used ror the drawer
in the night stand.
CL&,IltANCE.Also included in Lhe height.
ofthe drawer o pe ni ng i s n c le arance of ~ .
This. allows
Yl~ or
c le aranc e be tw e en the
top edge of the drawer and the web
frame
above it. plus V O l for the head of the nylon
gUde that the bottom edge of the drawer
side rides on , see
. i g .
1 .
These two allowances demonstrate the
importance of planning ahead - you have
to know how the drawer isgoing to be built
d
how It's to be mounted. Bx using a
nylon glide, you have to plan ahead for the
Y l t space th a t it requires. So, we're deal
ing with rather sma]] lQ lcrnnces for the
cabinet openings.
[r
there s much mo re than Y 1 ~ clearance
above the drawer, it ill tend to drop down
too much when it's opened. (You know the
feeling when you open a drawer and the
front d rops there'. that sudden fear and
quic k m ov e
to
catch it That. s
what
) OU
'rhe drawers used on the chest and the
night stand shown in this issue a re 1Ilittie
out of the
ordinary;
We wanted to keep the
design c lean and sim p le ... ye t we
also
wan t ed
to build drawers that ...ere inter
esting from. woodworking standpoint.
To make them interesting. we de ci de d to
have absolulely c lean drawer fronts-not
even any drawer
pulls.
Instead,
t lower
edge of the drawer front has a concealed
CO\ t which is used to open tile drawer,
This feature had to be taken into con
sideration for the design of Ihe cabinet as
well a s th e
d:..
wer;
The
draw er
f''O''t
hi ls 1 0
extend down fa,' enough to allow room fo,
the cove, see Fig.
I.
At the same time, the
cabinet has to be designed so rnere s
enough clearance to allow you to get your
finlters
Into
the
eoved
lip.
JU this de.ign took shape, what we were
really dOing was designing the
chest
around the drawers.
Or
more precisely,
desiln'ing the openings in the chest for
specific drawers.
After
all the design considerations
were
worked out, there was still the practical
mauer or building the drawers. This In
volved two basic
de cisions:
1) the con
struction (joinery) that would be used fo,'
the
drawers, and 2)
the method used to
mount them in tbe cabinet (the guide
sy lU m).
DRAWER CONSTRUCTION
JU
f ar a s
the construction of these drawers
is concerned. I built them using
4 1 4
mahog
an y
for the drawer fronts and ~~yca ,ore
for the sldes and backs.
USing two different wood. like this is
common practice. The drawer
rront
Is
made with the same wood used for the est
of the cabinet (mahogany in this ens . ofthe
projcoUl
in this issue). Then the sides and
back are made of
inexpensive
stock. (We
usually use ~ sycamore or poplar for the
ides and bJICkbecause tbese '()()ds are
downril ht cheap around bere. and they're
also easy to work with.)
DEIGnT
OF
OPE:''l.\'G.
To
build the draw
ers for the chest, I started with the side.
and back. The first step here i. to
rip
1'.'
stock to width so i~its the height of Ihe
opening In the eabinet.
That.sounds
simple
enough, bllt the most 'important thing
about building drawers is the plannlngthat
precedes this measurement.
Tho height of the opening should aetu
ally be determined when the cabinet i. in
the de,iln' and planniog SIB .
The h st of drawers is designed with
oponings that are 61 high, which ae-
I Y U
CHAW Ea
iO fOG
:~
,- =,
:~
..... CUAtAHCf
f
[ ~
.
.
~
e ,OR~WIR
f RO NI O VlR LA t S RA il Ir.
~
[ J :
~
.
----~
-
-
Ifi
r
i..
CLEARANCE
,
',
?r ~'
..
I
It~
OVE
(
NYlON GUOf
Building Drawers
T H E DETA IL S FOR DRAWER CONSTRUCTION
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WOODSMITH
The only problem is that the last dovetail
has W be completed. 'lb do this, replace the
drawer front with a piece of scrap
wood,
and continue routing.
see
Fig. 7. (The
scrap wood will help to prevent chip-cut on
the drawer side as the last dovetail is
routed.)
ROL'TCO\1-.
When
these
joints
are
com
plete, the \ cove can be routed on tbe
bottom edge .fthe drawer fronts. [did this
on
router table.
Then I chamfered the
top
edge at 45'.
This allows a IIltie oxtrn space to ge t your
fingers in t.o the cove to open the
drawer,
Before Msembling the drawer, I also
rounded
over the lop edges
of
the
drawer
side s w ith a l'i lO\lnd..oveJ bit. This is no t
8neeessarv step , but,
it .tIoOftens the edg es o f
the sides, and il just looks nicer when you
open the drawer.
MOUNTINGTHE noM
The last step in making the drawer is toeut
the gt OO\'c,W mount the drawer bottom;
Again, this n quire planning ahead. The
gt OO'
es
should
be
positioned
so
they
don't create a gap that', visible on the
outside ofthc drawer, and 2
so
the drawer
botwm is high enough to leave room forth.
runner that's part. of the guide system.
For these drawers, Ipositioned the
groove so it's
from the botlom edge of
th e drawer R id e. see I- ig . 4 . rh is . un
fortunat
7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 034
15/24
0 ,
. C lEW INTOotAWJ lACK
THtcK
1 5VOODSM.lTH
GlU l GU IDo l UJt
OWU_
~L
510
\ ~ CHAMf[ ON
~aonoMDG
AN D (NOS
FIGUI
u s t :
I.
S T O C K F O R
S ID ES A ND 8ACK
nC II t Simp ly a p iece o f
m a ple w ith
a g roove
dow n th e
center.
The runne r should
be
about
Y t
wider
than the guide bar to allow a
V
o n e ac h
side of the greove, (Once a ga in, this ,,;dth
Vias planne d (or w he n the not-th \ 35 c ut in
the front runner.)
When the groove is cut in the runner, the
width
of
the
groove should
allow for
n
smooth
ti t
ov e r the guide bar - just
w ide
enough
J;O it lito over the
b al'
e.sily, but not
sloppy.
The depth of the
greove
should be such
that \,hen the bottom o( the
groove is
riding on the top ofthe guide
bar,
the
sides
of the drawer are riding on the glides.
~OUSTTIl~RUNNEIt.Alter the (TOOves
cut, the only problem is how to mount. the
ru n ne r to the bottom of the draw er; T h do
this, cut the runner to length so it s a
very tight fit between the front and back of
th. drawer.
Then push it in place on the drawer
bottom and moun; the drawer in the cabi
net. ro pOSition the runner, push the
drawer nil the way into the cabine t until
the dra w e r D'Ontis in full conta ct with the
ra iJ s , (Th is will ensure
the
drawer
is not
rocked out of pcsition.) Ab;o, adjust the
drawer front from side to side until tbe
clearance at both ends of the drawer front
is the
s a me .
Now, earefully pull the drawer out and
mark the pusition of the r unne r , Apply glue
and place
n weight (a
brick will
work)
on
the runner
[0
clamp it to the bottom.
D A A E M S T O P .That e em p le t e s the guide
system. There's only one lest detail to
complete the drawer. To ,top the drawer
from b \ R No\\ the guide
bar ca n be mounted to the web frame.
Apply glue to the bottom edge of the bar.
and place It 011 the web
frame
'0 it's
centered in th e notch in the r lil, see ~'ig. S .
Then clamp the guide bar in plnce with
~Iamps on the front and bark. As the
clamps are ti)thtened, make sure the guide
bar is exactly square with the front rail.
Although this bar can
b e
screwed to the
w e b f ra m e, I th in k g tu in g a n d c lam pin g is a
better procedure. DUling the I'OC.'S of
driUing Jlilo~ holes and driving in the
s e r e w s
the bar is bound to
I li p
out of
square. So I think it's better to just apply
glue and clamp it in
p l a c e .
nu: Rlr.
7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 034
16/24
W O O O S M lT H
M
t
r
F
1 V ..
x 71. - _ ~
B
ev.roll
D imensions.:
24 lC 2lPW - 16*0
A
Slde
Pernel.
(2)
I
ly 141 lC 23 /1
8
i~ft . Edgings (2) 11/1. lC 1
. -
22 '1 .
G
Side Bk . Edgings (~ )
1/1 .. X
:V .. _ 221~
0
Top Ponel 1
'/ .. p1 '113 x ,17 '/..
TOp
Roil s
(fl t/Bk) (2)
11/... X 1 16
F Top Stil es
(SId ) (2)
lV, ..
x
11. 16
G
T op W .b fr Roil. (2) 10/,. x 0/, ... laY;
M id W eb F r R oll,
(:2)
0 / .. .
IV
t81.4
Web F t Stilet
4
, ..
x
1 0 /. 1 3 0 / . ..
J Web Fr Pono * (2)
1/. pty 13 V . .. lC16
1
Blm She lf Po ne (1 )
o/ . pt y
14.x 19
B tm She lf
Edgin9J ~2
IV , .. ~
1 - eut
to
fit
M
Kicltbootd
1 0/, ..
x2h-
19
N
Otower Front
l)
/, . . l CS '/4 - 161
0
Draw e, 80ck
1 Il:
lit
40/. - 1M .
P
O ro we r Sld@ s(2) Ihx4 -13~
Q
Drowo Bottom 1
II pfy - Ul 10 fit
R
DfQwe f G uide
(1)
,)/ , . . t h f ck - (out
to
fi t
S
Drewet Runn er
1 V.. . J I :
l1h
wt
to
fil
T
Cos.e Bo(k ,1 / . . p ly - (ul to fit
1 6
CUnlNG DIAGRAM
THE CABINET SIDES
To build this night stand, r started
with
the side frames, w hich co nsist
of a plywood panel. with edging
strips on the front and back edges.
PANEL. First,
cut
t \VO : y . 1 p l y wo o d
panels (A) to size:
14 0/8
wide by
23 t
long . Then to attach the web frames and
bottom shelf, thnee grooves are cut across
the inside face on both plywood panels.
R OU T G R OO V E S . To cut these grooves, I
used the router table. Set up the router
table to rout y.x y grooves a c r o ss each
e a b i n e t.sid .
T h e to p g r o o v e is p o sib i o n e d lY 1 6 d o w n
(rom t he top edge or the plywood panel.
This allows for the V.f-Iongtongue on Wp
MATERIALSLIST
If you plan to build the chest of
drawers shown on page 4 you ll
eventually want
LO
build
a
night
stand to go with it. But that's not
such
a bad deal, at least
Irom
a
w o o d w o rk in g standpoint.
111 fact, yo u maywant to build the
nights tand first- it makesan excel
lent warm-up project fOJ'he chest of
drawers. t has all the design fea -
tures
o( the chest, but in
a
smaller
scale.
The basic cabinet is built exactly
the ;ODIeway as the chest, except it
has only t\VO web frames (one abo ve
and one belowthe drawers). And of
course, the re s om} one drawer to
build which makes
things a 10L
easier.
_ _ _ N _ jght
Stand
A BED SID E COMPAN IO N
groove, clamped a fence LO the
plywood and used a hand-held
router.
l \ l i .C Il E S. After the grooves are
cut, Y.o'-longongues are em , on t~e
front, back, and top edges of the
p ly w o o d panels. S i n e e these tongues
w il l have .to
fit
v.. -wide grooves
touted in the edging
strips,
outed
a groove ina test piece gauge the
thicklless of ~he tongues.
Then to
c u t
the tongues,
used a
%' bit
in
the router table, seeSteps
1 an d 2 in ~'ig. I. Set the reneeto cut
a Yl-wideorabbeton both faces ofthe
plywood. A
7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 034
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(i:l
,ONT
IOOINO
IY WOOD
S I E P N E L
(A )
. ClW
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WOODSMITH
THE WEB fRAMES
After the side Irames and the top frame arc Itf
complete, the
two
web frames
an d
the '
bottom shelf can 00 built.
\VEO
tR.UtES.The
two web
frames are
almost identical. The overall dimensions
and the length of the Individual pieces are
the same, the only difference is the width
of the frontlback rails (G and
H.
BAns.
To
get
the length of the rails ror
the web frames, dry-damp the top frame
to the sides of the cabinet. Then measure
the distance between the side frames to
get the length of the
rail,
(G and
H.
This
should 00 I8~-. refer 10Fig. 3.
Although the length of the rnils on both
frame>;
is
the same, the width is dilTerent.
On
the top frame the rails (G) are ripped
I . wide (see Fig. 3), and the rails (H)on
the middle frame are ripped
IV
wide, see
Fig. 4.
S T I L e s .
The stiles (I) on both web frame.
are the same size. To find the lenj th oflhe
stiles, first measure
Irom
lhe front.
moldiog on the cabinet
side
to the
rabbet
in
the back molding. Then subtract the thick
ness of the front and back rails
V.
0/ ,,), and add a
v
for the .Iong stub
tenons on Ihe ends of the stile . The unal
measurement should be 130/, . , A . for the
width, the stile. are
.11 10/. wide.
cnoovss To join the raUs and sutes,
fu'St cut. gro ove on the inside edge of each
piece to match the thickness (If the ply
wood panel, see the Details in Figs. a and
4. Then cut stub tenon. on the end. of tho
stiles to match the groove in tho ral ls. Also
cut a rabbet on tho outside edge of the
stiles to form a v tongue to
fit
the groove
in the cabinet sides.
NO I C I I. Before the middle frame is n
sembled. eut 1 0 / 1 wide, - deep nOleh
centered on the front mil fo,' the drawer
guide.
see
Fig. 6. Then
drill
V hole 114
Jr om each end of the front rail for the nylon
glides, Fig. 5.
ASSE>18LY. Dry- assemble the fram
and take
measurements
ror lhe
14
ply
woodpanels. Cut the panels to fit, .n t c l t
in the frout rail. Glue it to
the web frame 0it's eentered on the width
of the frame.
THE BOTTOM SHElf
The bottom shelf conslsts or plywood
panel with edging strips on the front and
back edges,
CuT 1'&~ELTOSlZE,To build this shelf,
first eut, t,he plywood panel (K) to length 60
it's V,longer than the inside width ofthe
cabinet. (The extra is for the
1 1
18
7
, (i)RON I
t -.,.-9 ---,
,
J
L
onOM NElf rA .N ti. ,
lAC.
rlUt\
T O NG U E S A T
COtN lS Tom
. .
~iJI....
toN GUS
. . .
L ccc
cut rc anwuH lACk
f~NG ON CA IIWE T1-01'5 ,
J
~~~r S
oaooVE
ON
. NO SIOIS
Il NO TO t:
CfHfU.fO
FIOHT lAll
LO
I
I
I
I
l
-1.~
~
1 ;
.-
~
- - 1
CJtOSnn
1
C U T W I DT H
Of
... GU IDE ~.
A IO V E RAJl
GUIDE
N OT CH G UIDE to FI T FRONTRAIL
R.I.. ONf l > O . 0
nT tl i lW1ilN RAILS
:t ..
~t~6~:
MAlt
AU ClOOYES
ol(P.
((NlIRIO ON STOCk
~_~Dt.EW (e. F RAM J
IJ
I
D
Stilt
MOtE FO R
~y ONGUDE
~
- . . 1
, .. P lYWOOO ;Ct;S.The tirSt step in building the
drawer is
to
cut the drawer sides
(P)
and
badtI11lRCORSf:R:;. After the mortise and smooth cut on the bottom 5houlder.
the width ofthe two stiles (1%' each) plus a tenon joints are cut, the ends on both rails After the initial scoring pass, move the
total of Vi - (or expansion space between are mitered al_ISIO Cut a o/,t'widemiter on router in the normal eleekwise direct.ion to
the edge of the mirror
an d
the edge of the the outside corners of both rails. see Detail complete the rabbet. Then use a sharp
stile. in Fig. I chisel to square up the round corners ofthe
llORT'Sf:S. Aner the pieces are cut to C'lIFF.1I :I) :I;S. Th soften the edges on rabbet, see 'ig. 6.
size, the next step is to cut the mortises in the
frame,
the front edges of the rails and CIJTUA CK . Now the plywood back CO
the raila, The mortlsee are
wide by 1110' stiles are chllmfcred. (I did this on a router be cut to fit in the rabbet on the baekotthe
long nnd centered O il the edge of the ,.ail.s, table with n 45 chamfering bit.) On the frame. 'l'hen glue It In place.
sec Fig. I. A INo, they're only
v .
deep to rails. rout the fl'oni edges and the corner TH E HOLDING STRIPS
allow for the miteron the ends of the rails, under the mitcl ( tlend, sec Fig. 2.
refer to Detail in ~'ig. I. On the stilcs. rout all the front edges. Th mount the mirror to this fi'8lne, two
Th cui the mortises, I used a % bit in a Then I all O wanted to chamfer the outside holding snips are used to grip the top and
drill pre , drillillg overlapping holes to eorner;
I
F'ig. 3. ,'he problem is that the bottom edges of the mirror. These strips
remove the waot e. (This is the same tenon on the end of the stiles i. right in the are, in turn, screwed to the plywood back.
method used to cut the mortises on the way of the pilot on the chamfer bit. So a see Fig. 6.
headboard.
I iC join the VCS and becom e a
subseriber to World of Wood . contact the
Secret.ary-~urer Bruce Forness at the
address al lOye.
Although we still highly recommend the
Starret t
rule (if you
ca n
track it down). the
best alternative we've found is the rule
Garrett Wade is carrying. To order the
rule . heck the new 1980 Catalog. or con
tact Garrett Wade. 161 Ave. of the Amer-
icas, New York. New York 1 0 0 1 3 . Tele
phone: 1 -800 22 1 -2942. (Note: Lee Valley
in Canada is also carrying the 1 2 rule. For
information, contact Lee Valley,
2680
Queensview
Dr. ,
Ottawa, Ont.
K2B 8 J9 .)
ROUTERS
1 ogre. th.t th. Scars i de a f or ch. ging
b ils 0 11 iU
IlCl
J 014 tC l is see,ingly a . good
one. Unfortu ately , I . actllal part Ihat
locks
It e '''aft alter tl ~,o te, has
stopped.i8 mad. of all i'iferior a ll og . Th is
part jroctl,red
O l
}) ll roi l ier fn1dering
t i r
tOla111teChaliiJt1U
for tho ~lg; /g
bit
l'$tUS8f
and the shaft now lIpi fYe,I y.
Fo rt ll ia le il l . I rtl~to :tdth e ,0 .1
ru.ctivnitlg par ~fo~ it compltltly broke
apar( .. din g
a hard
of metal into
the
rolder', motorand poI.ibly de.troying it.
I
nO Ie rue
a
tiro
wre nch
.y.tnn -
vise
grip
to
hold
the .haft atld th~ choop stamped
stul
leretlcil
to
1 003 tilt carry a 1 2
rule in their 1985 catalog (stock
139NOS .0 1 ) lha.-s .lmOK identical t > tbe
Starrett rule in .ccuracy and clarity, yet
ifs only $9.95.
When we were researehing the article on
routers in
IVood.,;th
No. 31 , we decided
to limit the price range of the routers to
under $200. \Ve (elt there lutd to be a limit
somewhere. and this price range would
include all but
a
few of the heaviest indus
trial models. We also decided to use full
suggested retail price because it was the
only way to make f.ir comparison.' .
As for plunge
reu te rs,
we exclude them
from our first review because there simply
wasn't room to review
t
helr ijpeciaJehar ac
teristics in the same Hrticle with the stan
dard routers, We nre planning to do a
followup
article on plunge
reuters
(Maid
ta,
Ryobi,
and
the new Black and Decker)
in an upcoming issue .
ALMOST AN INCH
Recently we received
a
letter from a
reader who had been having problems find-
ing two ~rules with identical eal
ibrations. An r checking dozens of rules
against each other at loeal hardware
store. he finally found two that actually
matched.
We had th e sam e problems in our shop
until we purchased a 2 rule manu-
factured by the L.S. Sta rre u Co . This rule
is designed
to
meet engineering standards.
and like nll SIJIITCtt tools, it has been a
benchmark for excellence for years,
Richard Herwg
EXf er Ne lo Ha l ps hi re
Rob .. West ,- a
Hol/illY Meadvw., Illinois
Because of the potential problems associ
ated with both spontaneous combustion
and the use o f
mineral spirtts, we
decided
to call M r. L au re n (Executive Director of
the Coating Research Group) to gel his
opinion on IIOalcingoil-filled rags in a min
eral spirits bath.
According
t > Mr.
Lauren, soaking rags
in a closed container filled witb mineral
spirits wil l prevent
s p o n t a n e o u s
com
bustion from taking place because of the
lack of oxygen in the eonta inez He also
mentioned that the same general condi
tions exist when oil-filled rags are sub
merged
in
water
until they c an be thro \\ I)
away. Agsln, the key to
pre ven tin g s pon-
ta neo us com busuon {, 'O m o cc urr in g is th e
lack of oxygen.
Although this p.aetice wil l prevent
sp ontaneous co m bustio n, ? (t , Lauren eau
tioned that It may e. eate more problems
that it cures. The biggest problem is that
when the rags are wrung out and reused,
they're still saturated with a very flam
mable solvent. And when combined with
the remaining problem of spontaneous
combusUon (From the finish still in the
rags). this poses double threat..
It's Mr. Lauren's opinion (and ours). that
the potential hazards of reusing old rags
that have been soaked in mineral spirits
are
too
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on the cost of rags,
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7/24/2019 Woodsmith - 034
24/24
WOODS~UTH
night stand, and the headboard. 1 men
tioned using hru-dwood plywood to build
the projects.
Tbar's not entirel,)' accurate. \Vhen we
originally deSigned these I,rojecls, we
In
tended to build
them
out of oak. then at the
last minute, we decided to usc
Honduras
Mahogany instead.
The only prob lem is that Honduras lil a
hogany is not
available tIS
plywood.
So,
what we had to do
\vfiS
rnakc ow
0\\11\
pl)'\\'OO(I ut\ing flexible veneer and high
density particle board.
Flexible veneer is
Jlot
your ordinary ve
neer. This sturr is incredible. It's only
V
thick (which makes it vcry Oexible) and it
comes in book-matched sheets that are
mounted to a thin paper backing.
1b mount Oe.ible veneer. fIrSt cut the
particle board to rough .i ze (abou; I
larger than needed in both dlmensieas).
Then cut the Oexible veneer to 6t the par
title board. (Tbi. veneer can easily be cut
wilh a sc i sse rs .)
The ,..commended procedure to mount
(he ven ee r is
to
b ru ~h c cn tac t c emen t 011
the I>a,title
b o a rd
and the
v e n e e r ,
This can
lie. bit of. mess. We e found this task is
much easier with. palnt roller
I buy Ihe eh~ pe.t short-nal> paint '-oller
I can find
r o s p r e a d I
he contact cement.
The roller puis down a thin even coot. an d
yet iI'S cheap enough so Ihal when I'm
done
u;;t throw it 8way.
IltO >l.()NtlIlR11 E. Another method for
mounting flexible veneer ~
to
use
a
rela
tively
n ew
product: hOlmelt glue sheets.
These arc lilcrall~1sheets
o r
adhesive
mounted to a peel..,rr paper backing. It s
the same type of adhe.. ive found on the
back of
iron-on
edging tape.)
1b
use this odhe.he. cut it to the same
size as the flexible veneer. placed in on
particle board. and pitll actually t,,o(old. First il':; a
long nnd
\\ j