G&G Inspired Chest of Drawers - Build Thread

Robert Horky said:

This just gets better and better and better ... WOW!Looks like you raduis the drawer side finger but not the drawer front fingers ... correct?Square drive screws thru front into sides .. do the same thru the sides into the front?Any glue in the finger joints?

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Thanks Robert. The drawer sides have fingers that are proud of the front and rounded. The front of the drawer has fingers that are flush with the sides to allow the drawer to inset (I think I just said what you just said ). Screws both ways as a belt and suspenders but, the fingers are glued just like a box joint. I have done many drawers this way with pegs instead of screws. These drawers are wider than any I have used this method on so I am playing it safe.I changed my tack for the flush plugs on the drawer sides. A square piece of straight grained walnut about 1/64" larger in cross section than the hole. I sand a small bevel at the tip to fit the hole.



An inexpensive little miter box makes cutting them off to size a 3 or 4 stroke affair. I should mention that I saw a guy doing pyramid pegs this way and thought "what a hassle". The truth is that it goes very quick and allows you to compensate for any anomalies in depth if required. Live and learn.



A bit of glue and I position the oversized peg in the hole. A tap with my custom peg-pounder sets it tight. The grain runs long-wise and the piece is very much like a bundle of soda straws. It compresses into the hole with a very mild smack.



If I do it right I don't have and follow up work at all. The end grain takes the finish in a way that creates a contrast that I like. I tossed the pre-made "ebonized" ones I made earlier as they were just a bit too fussy ;-)

I've got the two bottom drawers to go but, I think I am done for today. This has been a very entertaining piece so far. I don't know why it took me so long to start it .

Road trip! Family visit? I will be in SoCal this week for a few days of R&R. Any chance I could stop by and get a first hand look? Thursday fits my schedule best. Be happy to bring your folks along for a quick visit if their up for it.

Carol Reed said:

Road trip! Family visit? I will be in SoCal this week for a few days of R&R. Any chance I could stop by and get a first hand look? Thursday fits my schedule best. Be happy to bring your folks along for a quick visit if their up for it.

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Gaaaaagh! I just saw this post. I will send a PM.

Wow, I really haven't posted to this thread since Jan 25? For shame. Lots of effort with little to show. The drawers are all complete, glued up and roughly setup for clearance. The top frame is on and the rear panel slats have been milled. The carcass is elevated so the slats show as short from the top frame. They will tuck behind it by about an inch when attached.



P.s. Be sure to double check the clearance between your rabbett bit and your featherboard:

oh oh!! made funny sound huh now how are you gonna attach your back slats?

Watching your work progress is humbling and inspiring.... as for the feather board, BTDT.

larry merlau said:

oh oh!! made funny sound huh now how are you gonna attach your back slats?

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Yeah. Kind of a . . . Twanggggg! The slats will be tacked down the centerline, alternating every other web frame. The 1/2" lap joints will be set with left 1/8" spaces when originally attached. I keep leaning toward screws but,have done many with just cut nails. I guess if I pick up rattles down the road I can drive in a few small screws. It can also act as a lab experiment as it will be in my own bedroom. If I pick up rattles, I probably ought to go visit a few folks and proactively fix theirs too .

The base frame is thicker stock. For these finger joints I cut the rough waste out on the bandsaws:



Then clean them up with a dado stack, sacrificial fence and stop blocks:



This gets things together pretty quickly and give me the visual weight at the base that hopefully grounds the piece.

still plugging away at this is that melamine in your dado sled and what thickness? what r you gonna do when these are done glenn your gonna be lost

The ZCI's for the sled are 1/4" MDF, some with melamine. I have a few items that have overlapped this guy and they keep stealing my time. Its all fun but, I would like to get this thing out of the middle of the shop . Also, dad has roped me into helping him build out a cleat wall on one end of his shop. So kind of him to plan out my path so I don't get lost.

glenn bradley said:

The ZCI's for the sled are 1/4" MDF, some with melamine. I have a few items that have overlapped this guy and they keep stealing my time. Its all fun but, I would like to get this thing out of the middle of the shop . Also, dad has roped me into helping him build out a cleat wall on one end of his shop. So kind of him to plan out my path so I don't get lost.

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thats what dads are for isnt it? keeping us on the right path

Levelers

Thought I had some 3/8" x 16 t-nuts but, couldn't find them anywhere. None of the BORGs around here carry these either. I went looking for an alternate method of building some levelers and found that I did indeed have some 3/8" t-nuts of the screw-on variety. Must've picked those up during one of those Lee Valley free shipping gigs. This piece is for me so I am not opposed to using a little reclaimed hardwood. LOML's old oak front door yielded me quite a bit of usable lumber for things like this. The levelers are the type that can be adjusted from the top or the bottom. Structural pieces inside preclude adjustment from above so, I just made the blocks long enough to reach the overhead internal structure for additional support.

All of the horizontal trim pieces are made a bit thick so they can be fitted once the rough stuff is over. I haven't thanked mom and dad enough for this little plane they gave me for Christmas.



If you haven't made or bought any bowed cauls, they are sure a life saver. Applying even pressure along the delicate trim piece is a perfect use for one. The Besseys at the end are just a little insurance.



So, levelers in, top and bottom frame trim glued on, horizontal drawer trim started; I may even get the top panel cut and glued up today. I love holidays .

You're moving right along, Glenn! Thanks for the ride.

i will second the use of cauls glenn.. used them on my sewing box to get the face frames glued in place and flat.. simple idea that works!! thanks glenn for taking us along on this tour of woodworking at its finest..

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I took a break to go shopping with LOML and just can't quite get back on the horse tonight . Here's a final shot with a couple of pieces of trim in place to show the face elevations. I have a few different mock-ups of the pulls. These large open drawer fronts are going to kind of showcase the pulls so I want to take some time to get something that I am happy with style and balance-wise.

Won't be long and this one will be in the bag Glenn.
The rides been great... Thanks for letting us tag along!

big thumbs up-beautiful craftsmanship as usual.

Routing Small Parts

There have been a few posts about routing small pieces on the router table. This little piece of divider trim is not all that small but, the moments it takes to slap a shop modified freehand guard on the fence and grab a handscrew are small payment for keeping my pinkies .



A little hand work and that piece ends up here dividing the top two drawers.

Panel Glue-up

There's as many ways to glue-up a panel as there are woodworkers. Here's how I do it:

Clamp parts together top showing face surface to top showing face surface and joint. This lets me see not only the edges that will mate but also the point where the top showing edges will meet:



I lay out something to protect the benchtop and position my clamps by doing a dry fit. A small strip of tape at the glue joint is all it takes to keep the glue off your clamps:



The little cauls on the end weren't necessary this time but, as long as I was doing a show and tell, I used them:



No one likes squeeze-out but, I like a starved joint even less. I set a timer for 30 minutes and then come back and peel the squeeze-out off with a sharp chisel.

Speaking of glue-ups, here's a few shots of the trim getting glued on with curved cauls. It's interesting how the small vertical piece (recently cut from the same stock) is so much lighter than the other trim that has been air exposed for a couple months. I took the trim pics a while ago and the vertical piece is catching up even now.