Rita's table drawer: Part 2

There are four parts to the drawer build: the drawer size and design, the drawer case, fitting the drawer case, and the drawer.


Part 1 described the drawer size and design, and the apron of the drawer case. Part 2 describes the rest.


We ended Part 1 here. That is the apron and opening to the drawer case ..


https://i.postimg.cc/LXfXgR9P/Sunday4.jpg


This is where the build ended ...


https://i.postimg.cc/zGTFbmNy/14a.jpg


The drawer case and its fitting


I scratched my head for a week how to do this. How to get the case to support drawer blades. I did not want a heavy, complicated arrangement, one which ran the danger of protruding below the table and might be seen at a distance. It needed to be lean and mean. To be elegant. A design to be appreciated by myself and you. This is what I came up with ..


The case sides were grooved 3mm (1/8") ...


https://i.postimg.cc/g2f9Hf5v/4a.jpg


.. and matched with a rebated section which would form the 6mm (~1/4") thick drawer blade ...


https://i.postimg.cc/gcH036FY/2a.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/wvhjf11Q/3a.jpg


The thickness of each blade is the same as the depth of the lip on the drawer front (which doubles as a drawer pull). This depth is significant.


The reason for the rebate arrangement is to get the blade as low as possible on the case side. Recall that the front of the blade acts as a drawer stop as well, and must be coplanar with the lower edge of the drawer lip.


The side/blades are fitted to the rear of the apron with a mortice-and-tenon joint ...


https://i.postimg.cc/HnzsmF4J/1a.jpg


This was definitely a tricky joint to do and it needed to be precisely positioned so that the entry lined up with the sides ... precisely!


https://i.postimg.cc/sDHCvB4H/9a.jpg


Here is what it would look like with the drawer front inserted ...


https://i.postimg.cc/7hxrT0Rd/8a.jpg


To aid with alignment, I made a MDF pattern ...


https://i.postimg.cc/7YZyH10T/10a.jpg


Here's the fun bit - aligning the case with the front and rear aprons, to mark out the rear mortices ...


https://i.postimg.cc/zBmfFCGf/5a.jpg


The pattern is inserted and a straight edge is attached to the front apron to prevent flexing ...


https://i.postimg.cc/nL9zmRZ5/6a.jpg


A lot of repeat measurements are taken on the rear apron before I am satisfied it is square and equal front-and-back.


This is the result ...


https://i.postimg.cc/NGHDqjgX/1.jpg


By-the-way, note the biscuit joiner-made slots for attaching the table top.

The drawer


The drawer build was fairly straight forward. The usual half-blind fronts and through dovetail rears.


Transferring tails to pins on the Moxon ...


https://i.postimg.cc/c43ftgp1/3.jpg


The sides were grooved rather than using slips. This was to save the extra 3mm height needed for the slips (saving as much height as possible for inside the drawer). 3mm grooves ..


https://i.postimg.cc/DZDFvcGP/1a.jpg


Matching groove in the drawer front ...


https://i.postimg.cc/GtyRHsJw/2a.jpg


Below is the stage of glueing up the drawer carcase. You know that it is all coplanar and square (essential for a piston fit) when the dovetail at each end just drop neatly into the matching sockets :) ...


https://i.postimg.cc/KY8R4J16/9a.jpg


The 6mm thick drawer bottom receives a 3mm rebate. This was made with a moving fillester, and then fine-tuned with a shoulder plane ...


https://i.postimg.cc/j5G5gTMT/13a.jpg


The drawer fits well and needs minimal tuning. Got to use the newly-made drawer-planing fixture ...

https://i.postimg.cc/HxJn9n43/11a.jpg


Two items added: a very fine chamfer to the top of the drawer front, to prevent binding when the drawer is closed. And a stretcher across the tops of the drawer sides, prevent the drawer tipping ...


https://i.postimg.cc/L8sdGHmL/23a.jpg


This aids in achieving near-full extension ...


https://i.postimg.cc/k5V0Xf65/27a.jpg


The end :)


https://i.postimg.cc/FRHyB7LS/19a.jpg


Regards from Perth


Derek

Derek,

"Elegant" is exactly the right word to describe but finished table and your execution of drawer construction- very, very nice! Rita will no doublt be thrilled:)

Can you tell us more about the table with sliding fence you used for rabbiting? I see bench dogs hold the table in place but how do you hold the work piece?

Whats your work holding arrangement for surface planing very thin panels like the drawer bottom? Personally I struggle trying to hold them secure with only single bench dog (lots of twisting forces I guess). I like the LV platens (sic?) that fit into the dog holes and provide linear support across with of bench, but their too thick for work < 1/4"?

As always your advice and sharing of your descriptions/pics of your work are much appreciated and admired.

Cheers, Mike

Thanks for the kind words Mike.

The "table" is an adjustable sticking board, which I find invaluable for grooving drawer sides. It is clamped between a dog hole and the end vise dog ...

https://i.postimg.cc/XqQR3CzH/1a.jpg

The end of the sticking board has a metal toothed dog (I made a bunch of these for my bench before they became available commercially) ...

https://i.postimg.cc/MKGk59nh/3a.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/kgkkn9Tm/8a.jpg

There is a toothed dog I can use in the end vise as well ...

https://i.postimg.cc/VkNVv4xh/Dog1.jpg

Great fixture.

Regards from Perth

Derek

A great write up Derek.

jtk

Masterful design on the drawer blades. I can see using this method on a new build. Thanks for the idea.

I had meant to mention the way I dealt with the dowels, the leg joinery, but there was not the opportunity. Also, what follows used mostly power tools.


Here are the legs, and you can see the ugly dowels. What I did was to turn them upside down, and remove the dowelled section in the taper cut ...


https://i.postimg.cc/C5MGPPvv/legs2.jpg


First, the legs were morticed ..


https://i.postimg.cc/K8vRqdfX/legs16.jpg


I built a simple fixture for my sliding table saw ...


https://i.postimg.cc/GpyTpTXj/legs8.jpg


The nail holes were filled with coloured epoxy, which disappeared after the finish was applied ...


https://i.postimg.cc/pTJgxydZ/legs12.jpg


And then smoothed ...


https://i.postimg.cc/FR4220hz/legs13.jpg


I was asked (when I posted this photo elsewhere) why I planed into the grain. The answer is ‘because I can with a closed chipbreaker’ :) No, the real answer is because it was easier to keep track of the mark demarcating the flat section.


Regards from Perth


Derek

Dramatic improvement on that piece. How did you treat the lower inside of the drawer face (the pull).

Jim, I just gave the inside of the lip a bevel to remove the sharp edge. Done.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Rita's table at home ...

https://i.postimg.cc/YCykmsDT/Ritas-table1.jpg


Regards from Perth


Derek

Derek,
Even with all the pictures, I'm still not exactly sure how you did that black magic with the drawer. But you did a fantastic job!

That looks great. If you try to picture the table in its previous form the story is told. Elegant in that place in the current form. Well done with redesign Derek.

Derek, late to the game here, but I keep going through the three threads on the table to admire the work. The one thing I want to know is about the splayed legs. I am guessing that the mortises for the side aprons had to be cut at a three degree angle as well, and the ends of the legs trimmed at the same angle to keep them level. Is that right?

Hi Stan

The mortices were square, not angled. The matching tenon was angled by virtue of an angled shoulder. The lower/beauty end of the tenon was squared for the mortice.

https://i.postimg.cc/BnFb46dV/tenon.jpg

One here is square and the other has rake.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek, thanks for the explanation regarding the sticking board and the rest of the post. Another example of an excellent technical solution to design/construction challenge wonderfully executed. I'm sure Rita will be enjoying this table for years to come and you should be very proud.

I always learn something from your post and really appreciate you taking the time to include the excellent photos and descriptions of your work. The inspiration your posts provide is a great example of why I'm so grateful for the SMC community.

PS: IMHO you really should be teaching, with your technical knowledge and communication skills you would be great at it. Personally I would gladly pay to attend your class.

Cheers, Mike