Question on cutting straight lines in a front skirt

[Sean Walker]

I am getting ready to start cutting out the drawer areas on this front skirt and i'm not very good at cutting to the line with a hand saw. Do you guys have any tricks that I can use to get nice straight lines?

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The above is what i'm cutting. I'm trying to figure out how to get the straight lines on the inside where the drawers go.

Thank you for your help!

[Al Launier]

Could you clamp a straight edge board along the cut line & use that to guide your hand saw? Or, you could do something similar with a jig saw or band saw or a router (chisel inside corners square afterward) if you have one, but that would require several setups.

[Pat Barry]

Sean, I don't see much structure with the design you have settled on. I would really be concerned with it holding up with use and if you ever move it around. IMO there is too much material missing. The thought I have regarding cutting though, is to clamp on a guide for each straight line. If you are talking handsaw are you planning to try and use the handsaw to do a plunge cut to get things started?

[Sean Walker]

Sean, I don't see much structure with the design you have settled on. I would really be concerned with it holding up with use and if you ever move it around. IMO there is too much material missing. The thought I have regarding cutting though, is to clamp on a guide for each straight line. If you are talking handsaw are you planning to try and use the handsaw to do a plunge cut to get things started?

I'm building a highboy and the plans call for dovetails. I've been on the fence with wether I should just some thicker posts and do mortise and tenon. Here is a picture of the sketchup:

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So, the question is, should I switch to the mortise and tenon and use a straight edge with a flush trim bit? I've seen a YouTube video talking about the modifications they did to this design. I guess now is the time to figure it out as i'm building the bottom base.

Thanks for your help.

[Mark Rakestraw]

When I've done drawers in aprons I've ripped the apron board at the at the drawer/apron junction line, cut the drawerfront section out with a simple crosscut, then glued the apron back together. Put a thin kerf 7 1/4" blade in your table saw to minimize the amount of material you're removing and the joints are pretty much invisible. You also have continuous grain wood for your drawerfronts. Your apron and drawer opening combination is more complex than the ones I've done this way, but perhaps you can make it work with a bit of planning.

[Rick Johnston]

X2 what Mark said.