Chest of Drawers
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Projects / Chest of Drawers
- This topic has 27 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 11 months ago by CraftsmanMK.
-
AuthorPosts
-
15 March 2017 at 7:57 pm #310200
Why take off the tongues and grooves? They will stabilise the bottom and you don’t need to flatten the sides at all.
I would glue them together, but leave enough space in the lateral grooves to allow for movement. Perhaps 5 mm on each side? Frankly speaking, I have no idea, how much would be suitable.
And by not removing tongues and grooves and not flattening the sides of the boards, you have saved plenty of time for the glueing 🙂
Dieter
16 March 2017 at 12:06 am #310207I meant to say that I removed the tongues and grooves when I was making the drawer sides, and that I have some of the same stock left over that could be utilised for the drawer bottoms (but without removing the tongues and grooves).
I’ll have a play around with them in the next few days and see what works best.
16 March 2017 at 10:42 pm #310235I (more or less) finished the first drawer today. It slides in and out like any other drawer I’ve used which was a relief.
I ended up going with tongue and groove boards for the drawer bottoms as you can see in the photos. There was no need to glue them together, they slid into the slots individually and locked together.
I like the fact that the whole chest will be made of pine, with no plywood used in its construction.
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.25 March 2017 at 4:10 pm #310493Latest pictures of progress with the chest of drawers. All the difficult woodwork is done now. Just the back panel to make and drawer-fronts to finish. Also various minor issues to sort out.
I have a question. What finish (if any) should I apply to the concealed parts of the drawers (ie everything apart from the front panels)? I’m using stain and linseed oil for the exposed parts. Thanks in advance for responses.
Steve
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.25 March 2017 at 7:43 pm #310510Thank you Ed.
I used different methods for the ‘with the grain’ and the cross-grain sections.
Going with the grain I used a Stanley #45 combination plane to form the step (I suppose any plough plane would do) and a Stanley #4 to do the rounding-over, then finished off with sandpaper.
I didn’t have much luck with that method going across the grain though, so I made something like a ‘knife wall’ with a Stanley knife, then carefully removed the unwanted wood with a chisel (I tried using a Stanley #71 but it tore the grain – maybe it needed to be sharper). I then finished off the rounding over with a file and sandpaper.
Although the two methods are completely different, they produce identical results – a much softer and simpler look than a power router would achieve (IMO).
There is something very satisfying about doing these profiles by hand. The photo shows a slightly more elaborate profile I experimented with. Please excuse the dirt under my thumbnail (-:
Steve
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.That is looking great Steve!!
I made a chest of drawers last year to see what it took, and I’m not too proud to say that yours looks a lot better than mine does! Mine sits in the garage and is used for tool storage but I hope yours is destined for somewhere more salubrious.
About the finishing, the advice seems to be not too use oils on internal components due to issues with incomplete drying and lingering odours. You could either leave the wood bare or use something like shellac or paste wax that will dry quickly and seal the wood. I used natural/clear beeswax paste on mine and had no issues and better lubrication of the moving parts for doing so. You may want to get other opinions though to get it right after all that work.
28 March 2017 at 7:55 pm #310677Thanks Mike. Looks like I’ll probably take your advice and use wax unless someone comes up with a better idea. I really want to get this project finished now (‘scuse the pun) so the idea of just rubbing some wax on and calling it good is appealing.
29 March 2017 at 2:24 pm #310714I have just refinished two old (100+ years) dressers and there was no trace of any finish on the inside of either of them. It didn’t appear to cause any issues. I just cleaned and waxed the drawer sides and runners. If I was building a new dresser that is the way I would go.
Beautiful work on your dresser. I really like the molding detail on your drawer fronts.
1 April 2017 at 12:36 pm #310783That is pretty much the way I have decided to go also, partly because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life on this project (-: It’s been well over two months of working a couple of hours most days and that is more than enough. I have too many other things I want to get on to.
I have brushed on some anti-woodworm stuff which disappears into the wood and then I’ll add some wax and the drawers will be finished.
Thank you for the compliment. When I started the project I had no idea how it was going to turn out but I’m pleased with the way it has progressed. If I ever need another one though, I’m going to Ikea (-:
1 May 2017 at 3:05 pm #311584Great work. It is a very nice, classic, chest of drawers. The toenail profile on the top and drawers turned out well.
6 May 2017 at 7:04 pm #311753Hello Steve, please check your private message inbox, fellow woodworkers from Bulgaria here.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.