Once the drawers have been checked for fit, they are ready to glue up. The sequence and other essential details are clearly shown to ensure a smooth process. Once the drawer bottom is in place, the drawers can be carefully fit to the carcass and finessed. With that complete, including some drawer stops, the chest and drawers are ready for some shellac.
We’re ready to put the grooves in the draw bottoms. Paul holds the piece using the clamp in the vise method and a cuts the groove with a carefully set plough plane. Then the draw backs are planed in preparation for cutting the housing dado. These are then cut using the knife, chisel and router, before the backs are fitted to the correct length.
Drawers are the focus of this episode. Paul planes the sides to fit, before carefully laying out the half-lap dovetails. He cuts a small rebate to help align the dovetails. Then the dovetails can be cut before the marking is transferred for the tail recesses. The recesses are then cut within the lines so that they can be pared for a tight fit.
We’re ready for the final stages of the main body of the cabinet. Paul fits the back panel into the rebate that has been formed. Then the upstand can then be fixed in place and the carcass cleaned up. Then we’re ready to pick the wood for the drawers and fit the fronts to the opening.
Having rehearsed and tested all the joints, we’re ready to glue up the main carcass. Follow Paul as he progresses through gluing up the frames and housing dadoes, being careful to seat all the joints fully. The small clamps help to pull the frame joints together. Once the main carcass is glued up and square, the dovetailed top rails can be glued and screwed, as well as the top.
Paul cuts a rebate in the back edge of the side panels, to receive a backer piece of plywood. This requires chiseling out some recesses which can then be planed into with the rebate plane. Then some clamping holes are drilled to aid the glue-up.
With the joints cut for the bottom cross rail, it can be arched along with the top rear cross rail. Before that, Paul rebates the top rear rail so it can sit on the back edge of the top. The arching can be done with a combination of ripping, stop cuts, planing, the spokeshave and the rasp. Then the bottom arching can be addressed using similar techniques.
We’re ready for some of the detailing on the cabinet to make it look more elegant. Paul adds some arching and additional sections on the legs, as well as some clamping holes and rebates. Paul starts with the layout and fitting of the undercarriage which has a stub mortise and tenon.
The next step is to layout and then cut the dovetails in the two upper rails which are to be fitted under the front and back of the chest top. Accuracy in layout, particularly for the sections that will be visible, is essential. Follow Paul step by step to get a tight fit as he works with adverse grain.
A dovetail is cut into each end of the front divider rails, which will recess into the front edge of the side panels. Paul has developed a jig to increase accuracy and consistency. This is used to cut the dovetails, which are then used one by one to layout each recess, before they are cut and fitted. Then we are ready to test the fit of all the frame joinery into the side pieces.