Half-blind Dovetails on a lipped drawer front...

[Andrew Williams]

How would you go about this? I have a few ideas, but have never done this before and I need to learn for an upcoming piece. I have done through and flush half-blinds.

thanks!


Andrew

[Mark Singer]

Andrew...I did this recently..here are a couple of links

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=53083&highlight=sapelle

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=51205&highlight=houndstooth

http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/mSinger/htDovetails/htDove1.asp

[Wiley Horne]

Beautiful craftsmanship, Mark!

Andrew, here's a little different idea--laminate your drawer fronts.

Background: I had occasion recently to make cock-beaded drawers. Cherry drawer fronts w/cherry cockbeads. The cockbeads created a special construction situation (like your lippings are doing). Also, I like thick drawer fronts with thin laps--like, say, 3/4" dovetailed + 3/16" lap for a total thickness of 15/16". And I didn't have a full 15/16" thickness in my best material. I also wanted to match the figure on the two drawer fronts.

When I put all this together--the special situation of cockbeading, limitations on material thickness, plus wanting to match my best material for the fronts--it worked out that laminating solved all the problems. It simplified the construction and extended my best material.

Here's what my drawers looked like:

http://www.traditionaltools.us/cms/index.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=35&pos=0

Now it went against the grain to laminate, because I always felt it to be a badge of honor to 'not cheat'. Kinda like using solid wood and not veneer. But laminating turned out to be the best solution, and I noted that Period woodworkers who are far my superior (like from here to the next galaxy over!) made extensive use of veneers.

So to get down to your case: You might think about selecting your best drawer front material. And if you want, say, 1/4" lipping, then resaw your veneer stock so that you can get 1/4" finished thickness from it. Then make the drawer box using through dovetails at the front, where the inner front is the same wood as the appearance veneer, just a lesser cut of it. Then mold the lip onto your veneer fronts, and glue them on, taking care to equalize the lip all around.

Wiley

[Don Bullock]

Mark, you do such beautiful work and you make it look so easy. I've told you before that I marvel at what you can do. The fact that we have people like you (and many others) here who are willing to share is priceless. It sure beats any subscription that I have to woodworking magazines. You have inspired me,and I'm sure others, to try new things and to strive for excellence in the woodworking that we do.

Wiley, that is a beautiful table. You are one of those around here that I mentioned in my comments to Mark. I am constantly amazed at the talent here along the "Creek."

[Mark Singer]

Don,
Thanks! It all comes with time and practice and there are many here at the Creek that are great woodworkers....I have learned a great deal here as well.....you never know who has the answer or a suggestion that leads to something terrific! Wiley that is a great table! Great crafstmanship!

[Andrew Williams]

Wow you guys do some great work! I only hope to be on that level someday.

I decided to try testing a few the "old fashioned" way, and if I cannot do it then I will try the veneer way. I have one gluing up now. Doesn't look too bad. I will take a pic of it after planing.

I found that I was only able to start kerfs with the saw. I sawed so that the kerf hit the marking gauge line on the flat face and just low enough not to hit the edge of the lip (putting blue tape on the lip helped). Doing the card scraper trick was really very necessary in this case. The rest of it was mainly a carving type of operation with mallet and chisels. I tried it in walnut and poplar, although the actual piece will be in curly maple and poplar. I only hope that the card scraper trick works in maple...

[Andrew Williams]

Ok here's a pic of test DT #1....

The camera doesn't show all of the flaws BTW

[greg Forster]

Looks good, Andrew. Often on early drawer fronts with a lip- alot of Queen Anne Period, the cabinetmaker would oversaw the kerf on the flat (inside face of drawer front) sometimes to 1" or greater

[Martin Shupe]

Looks good, Andrew. Often on early drawer fronts with a lip- alot of Queen Anne Period, the cabinetmaker would oversaw the kerf on the flat (inside face of drawer front) sometimes to 1" or greater

If you go to the Hancock Shaker village, many of the lipped drawers have long (1-1.5") sawmarks on the inside.

CH Becksvoort does it that way, too, and said he only had one complaint, from someone in Europe.