First big build - Chest of Drawers

[Adam Stevens2]

As my current dresser is an absolute piece of garbage from Ikea that is falling apart, I've been thinking about making a new one myself for a while. I put it off for a bit thinking I'd concentrate on a new bench, but getting going on that proved frustrating, so I decided to put that aside and concentrate on the dresser. I found some nice cherry and peruvian walnut at Peach State. It's been slow going, but I'm getting into the swing of it now.

Progress so far consists of the two side panels that double as the carcass sides and legs. I made some gaffes along the way but I think I've done pretty well at hiding them! And the walnut works wonderfully with hand tools. I'm not so sold on the cherry, which seemed...sticky? at times when I was trying to flatten it, even right after sharpening. I don't know if it's figured, just peculiar to the board or if I need to step up the sharpness factor.

My Not-A-Bench is actually working out ok, thanks to a dinky planing stop I stuck near the end of the bench attached to dowels, and especially thanks to a Moxon vise from Tools For Working Wood that I finally shelled out for.

Hopefully the attached photos work...

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Peruvian Walnut is one of my favorite woods for its even dark color which almost goes black when varnished. Nice choices. I love the contrast. Looking forward to this build.

[Reinis Kanders]

Looks nice. I like the cement bags:)

[Kees Heiden]

Sticky cherry? Not quite sure what you mean, but when you wax the sole of the plane from time to time it will glide easier. Cherry is usually an easy wood to plane.

[David Eisenhauer]

Very nice start. The Not-A-Bench is working just fine apparently. As Kees says, wax is your plane's friend. That is the first thing I grab for when planning is not working right. I have a block of paraffin that I have used for years on band saw blades, handsaws and plane soles, but lost it somewhere in the shop recently, so I opened my can of Johnsons and have been using it lately with very good results. It also keeps the planes from rusting as I wipe the whole plane down at the same time.

[Adam Stevens2]

I do have a taper candle that I use to wax up the sole; not sure if it's the ideal for that purpose, but for some reason I've had a hard time finding paraffin or any of the other generally recommended lubricants when I remember to look. I'm just finding that my plane skips on the cherry, or occasionally digs in and gets stuck, when with the same setting it glides over the walnut with ease. This isn't with a particularly deep set blade.

Reinis, sand bags, but same premise! Not-A-Bench only moves on me sometimes...

[Mike Cherry]

I bought a block of paraffin at Michaels arts and crafts store. Probably more than I'll ever need

[Joe A Faulkner]

Gulf wax is sold in 1 lb box. Often used for canning and usually found in super markets or farm/garden supply centers that carry canning stuff. Walmart & Kroger usually have it.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Adam,

Looks like your on your way, it looks good!

Stew

[Bill McNiel]

Paraffin wax is typically stocked in the Canning Section of most stores. Originally used for sealing canned goods (think Mason Jars), then used for "waxing" surfboards to facilitate footing, then carpenter/ framers used it before "Green Sinkers" or nail guns (shave a paraffin bar into a gallon of gas, pour in to "keg-o-nails and set it on fire to melt the wax - made the 16d go in easy but when the wood dried and shrunk the nails would be pushed out a bit) and now we use it to make planes and blades work better.

We are nothing, if not creative, as a society.

[Kees Heiden]

The candle you used is probably made of parafin too. So if that doesn't help, I think the next thing is taking lighter shavings and/or sharpen the blade better.

[Adam Stevens2]

I'll have to try some things when I get to work on the cherry for my drawer fronts. Currently I'm cutting down my stock for the drawer frames, and this has involved my first real adventure with rough-sawn stock. I feel like I am making a pretty good fist of getting it flattened, but I feel like there is a tendency to get really close to flat and then things start getting interesting as you start to chase down all the little high and low spots. Sort of feels like you start chasing your tail after a while. What sort of strategies have you guys used to be efficient with this step? It's one thing to hog a bunch off and get all the obvious bumps and hollows out, but the nitty-gritty of the flattening is causing me to waste time. Is there a point at which you say "it'll do"?

[Adam Stevens2]

This thing is finally starting to look like it might be a piece of furniture. Ripping and jointing the drawer frames is kinda making me want a table saw though. At the very least, a sawbench is the next shop jig on the list. Wondering if there is a more efficient way to do those (minus the table saw...)?

I haven't even started on the drawer guides yet, but I do have the rest of the front and back rails ready once the joinery on the legs is done.

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[Robert Engel]

Nice work so far. Impressed you've done it sans a TS.

How are the top and bottom rails attached?

Are you planning on putting in drawer dividers? How will they be attached.

[Adam Stevens2]

The top rails are dovetailed in, but i just used garden variety M&T for the bottom. The drawer dividers will be the same, and I'll probably also use M&T for the side rails. I toyed with the idea of using sliding dovetails, but I didn't think this project was appropriate for my first time using that joint.

[Brian Holcombe]

Adam, do you have a set of winding sticks?

[Adam Stevens2]

Brian, I do. I would say my application of them is...inconsistent, but I have been checking for twist by eye as much as I've been using the winding sticks for that purpose.

[ken hatch]

I do have a taper candle that I use to wax up the sole; not sure if it's the ideal for that purpose, but for some reason I've had a hard time finding paraffin or any of the other generally recommended lubricants when I remember to look. I'm just finding that my plane skips on the cherry, or occasionally digs in and gets stuck, when with the same setting it glides over the walnut with ease. This isn't with a particularly deep set blade.

Reinis, sand bags, but same premise! Not-A-Bench only moves on me sometimes...

Go to Amazon and buy "canning wax". It's cheap and is what you are looking for.

ken

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian, I do. I would say my application of them is...inconsistent, but I have been checking for twist by eye as much as I've been using the winding sticks for that purpose.

Windings sticks and the straight edge are pretty critical for flattening. If you are having trouble getting consistently flat then the winding sticks will help you find your problem as sometimes a minor twist is hard to spot by eye but will drive you nuts as you are planing.

[Mike Allen1010]

Adam,

I'm really enjoying your thread and it looks like you're off to a great start. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the build. Thanks for posting.

[QUOTE=Brian Holcombe;2561054] Windings sticks and the straight edge are pretty critical for flattening.


+1The with a little practice, you'll be able to make quick work of getting a flat reference service, in the process I'm sure you'll come to appreciate "hand tool friendly" Woods that plane easily.

I'm also "tablesaw free", and a saw bench is probably the most used tool in my shop. Having your upper body positioned over the work with secure workholding ability makes dimensioning stock with handsaw's MUCH easier. I've gone through a couple different saw bench designs and find a slightly larger/heavier bench than what I typically see online works better for me. My current benches about 45" long x 24" wide, Knee-high with a slot in the top for ripping. The legs/framework are Doug Fir 4x4's and the benchtop 2" x 12". It probably ways about 50 pounds which for me is wide enough to still easily fly around shop, but heavy enough that it holds the work stable without my body weight. I also have a little flip up bench stop along one edge that makes crosscutting really convenient.

All the best, Mike

[Stew Hagerty]

I'll have to try some things when I get to work on the cherry for my drawer fronts. Currently I'm cutting down my stock for the drawer frames, and this has involved my first real adventure with rough-sawn stock. I feel like I am making a pretty good fist of getting it flattened, but I feel like there is a tendency to get really close to flat and then things start getting interesting as you start to chase down all the little high and low spots. Sort of feels like you start chasing your tail after a while. What sort of strategies have you guys used to be efficient with this step? It's one thing to hog a bunch off and get all the obvious bumps and hollows out, but the nitty-gritty of the flattening is causing me to waste time. Is there a point at which you say "it'll do"?

What plane, or more precisely what series of planes, are you using?
It's fine to start out with a Jack that has a nice bit of Camber to it, or even a Scrub Plane. But it is only for the rough stuff. Once reasonably flat, you should move to a much more modestly cambered Fore Plane, before finishing up with a #7. At least that is how I do it. If you keep trying to get it just using a #5 (or 5 1/2) you'll just knock down one spot only raise two more.

[Adam Stevens2]

So I'm having some concerns about one of the legs and the groove I routed in to accept the side panel. It appears to be too thin and is starting to split when I do a dry fit. Any ideas for shoring up this section? I am beginning to think it might be too far gone but I really don't want to make another leg if I can avoid it!



What plane, or more precisely what series of planes, are you using?
It's fine to start out with a Jack that has a nice bit of Camber to it, or even a Scrub Plane. But it is only for the rough stuff. Once reasonably flat, you should move to a much more modestly cambered Fore Plane, before finishing up with a #7. At least that is how I do it. If you keep trying to get it just using a #5 (or 5 1/2) you'll just knock down one spot only raise two more.

Honestly my plane selection is a little limited. I am using a #6 to do the hogging and the flattening, just using different blade settings to perform the different tasks. I have a wooden try plane that needs a little work before I feel comfortable using it to flatten (the sole is fairly out of flat).

[Robert Engel]

Windings sticks and the straight edge are pretty critical for flattening. If you are having trouble getting consistently flat then the winding sticks will help you find your problem as sometimes a minor twist is hard to spot by eye but will drive you nuts as you are planing.Yes! And also evidenced when assembling the piece the error gets multiplied.

I'm thinking of building another set about 12" long for narrow boards.

[Adam Stevens2]

Got the front drawer frames pretty much knocked out. Bit of tweaking to do here and there but it looks to be coming along pretty well.

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