32 Comments

      1. Did that video re: the #80 ever get made? I am struggling a little getting a consistently sharp edge. Sometimes it comes out perfect and I can get a finish ready surface, sometimes not so much. A little help would be greatly appreciated.

  1. mahogany is a wonderful wood to work with, my first time using it but don’t have enough to complete all aspects of this project .was thinking of using pine for the back and two sides ,would this look alright or is it a bad idea to join two different timbers like this ? i wont sleep to contented under the rose thinking about it .!! another great lesson by the way,thanks ,

    1. The problem that often occurs between different woods on wide projects like this is that they often expand or contract at different rates and at different speeds. This then results in splits occurring.

      1. will these splits definitely occur or can i take a chance. i could always make another carcass in time” as skills develop” to suit drawers and lid maybe ,unfortunately for me i have most of my tails and pins cut, ah! well you learn something new every day

  2. A couple questions if Paul gets a chance:

    1) Do you have concerns about using your nice planes and saws on plywood? I know it’s just wood, but there are a lot of glue lines that your tool has to go through. I know that if I use my powered jointer with plywood, the glue lines can actually mark the jointer knives (at least I’ve seen this with 3/4 plywood).

    2) I was surprised to see you flush all the surfaces before gluing the frame. Won’t the joints always go together a little differently every time you disassemble and reassemble the joints. So if you flush the joints, then take them apart to apply glue, and then apply your clamps, etc., might you have to flush the joints again after the glue has dried? Therefore, why not wait until you’ve glued everything together before flushing the joints?

    1. Hello Marty:
      Good Q’s
      1)
      I cannot say I like the sound or feel of the plane on ply, but I don’t mind planing plywood particularly. It is a little hard on the plane, but I do it do minimally it makes little difference to my life.
      2)
      I flush the surfaces before hand to get them close or even exactly to flush. Actually, my joints remain exactly the same so, no, they don’t go together differently. I find it best to flush dry and then glue so that I can indeed work more with the grain if I need to change direction for some reason. This might seem like extra work, but we are talking two seconds and three shavings here.

  3. Paul, I have seen a technique with plywood panels where polypropylene balls or “space balls” or used to minimize the effects of humidity and dryness over time with the plywood panel since it is loose in the frame. I live in a climate where I do get these significant changes in humidity over the seasons and was wondering what you thought of the technique?

    1. Good question Jeff and I hope you re well. It seems like years since the class in NY.
      You can use styrofoam balls picked off a block for this too or strips of styrofoam. What I do is rip a strip of 3/8″ by 3/8″ strips, cut them to 1 1/2″ long and gle them to both draw side and underside f the plywood. This stops any and all rattle and changes the sound of the drawer to no-rattle solidity. Plywood does have movement but really not too much so it works everywhere as far as I have seen.

    1. I actually don’t generally use anything, working on the premise that for 400 years they got along without anything and I am fine with that. The bevels work to keep everything snug if they are fitted well

  4. Paul,

    Your comment regarding The Village Carpenter by Walter Rose sparked my curiosity so I went and bought a copy. What a joy to read! I highly recommend it to all who watch your Masterclass series. Now, when I watch your Masterclass videos, I see the Village Carpenter.

    I would be curious as to whether you have a reading list you care to share with your members.

    Thanks again.

    John

  5. Why do I have to log in every day? Can’t someone set the cookie expiration to a more reasonable period? It’s not like I have other people using my computer. Please be reasonable, this has gone on way too long.

    1. An idle login consumes resources:
      server capacity and electricity
      Think to the planet please.
      All those net usages (including smartphones) use more energy than the world air transport.

      While being an inconvenient in those days of immediacy , having to log in once a day is really a minor inconvenient.
      There was a time when one had to go to a library to try to find a good book on any subject.

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