How would you make this cut?
I seemingly have three options on how to make a cut for a toolbox project, but before I select one option, I'm hoping to get some input from you all. I have all the tools described below; but each option seems to have its own pros and cons.
I'm making a toolbox out of 4/4 cherry and the front face will hold two drawer fronts. I'd like the drawer fronts to continue the grain that exists on the rest of the front face, thus I'd like to use the cut-out from the front panel (where the drawers will be) as the drawer fronts.
To achieve this cut, I have at least three options.
Option #1: In this Woodworker's Journal video -- the basis of my toolbox project -- the woodworker uses the table saw to cut the panel apart and then, minus the piece used for the drawer faces, glues the panel back together. He then stabilizes that face frame and makes the box joint cuts on the router table. I too will be using box joints for this project, so I need those portions on the left and right to remain stable enough to withstand the box jointing (I'll be using my porter-cable dovetail/boxjoint jig to cut the box joints).
Here is the specific portion of the video where the woodworker's journal guy cuts the panel apart and glues it back together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXrwmRJeyoQ&t=125s
My one hesitancy in using that approach is that my panel (a glue-up of two 6.5-wide boards) is not perfectly flat (and I do not have a planer to flatten it) though it is close. When I put it in the porter-cable box joint jig, it will be pressed flat against the jig so the box joints will be cut perfectly square. I know that this pressure could stress that thin vertical strand on the left/right of this face frame and I fear it could break there.
Another approach I discovered that would allow me to cut the box joints before I cut out that drawer opening (thus eliminating the concern I expressed in the paragraph immediately above) is one of these two approaches used by Jimmy Diresta in a spice cabinet he built.
Option #2: I could use the table saw to do some plunge cuts to cut out that drawer panel. I realize this would present its own risks; the curved blade makes a cut beyond the drawer opening, somewhat weakening that panel. But because the ends are unaffected, I could make the box joint cuts before I do that plunge cutting, thus the stresses wouldn't be as bad as option #1 above.
Here is the portion of the spice cabinet build where Diresta uses this approach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhXlZ8vsDtM&t=489s
Option 3: I could make a little jig and use a multitool to cut out the opening. I would perfer this approach more readily if the stock I was using was thinner, but I'm using 4/4 stock so the cut is fairly deep. I feel like it might be difficult to get a nice, clean, precise cut with a multitool. Here's the portion of the spice cabinet where Diresta uses teh multitool to cut a drawer opening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhXlZ8vsDtM&t=543s
I want to leave a relatively thin ribbon of face frame on the left and right of the drawer so the drawer can be as large as possible. But the thinner that vertical piece is, the riskier it is too.
What I'm currently leaning toward is a combination of options 2 & 3. I'm considering doing this, in order:
1. Cut all the box joints on all panels first.
2. On the front face panel, use the table saw to do some plunge cuts, but don't extend the back/underside of the cut beyond my line. Thus the drawer front won't be entirely freed of the panel yet, but the bulk of the cut would be made.
3. Use a multitool or a fresh jigsaw blade to finish the cuts that would liberate the drawer front section from that face frame.
So what say you all?
