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Thread: Bonnet Top High boy Tutorial

  1. #1
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    Sep 2009
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    Bonnet Top High boy Tutorial

    Hey guys, I have had so many people request that I post the highboy tutorial I put together I am going to give a tutorial one more shot. Based on how much interest there is we can go from there. This is enough info to make about a 250 page book (several hundred photos and 25-30 pages of text) so it will take a little while to get everything up. I do want to get a little feedback on the format. I would like to get a consensus on if you want me to just keep updating this of start new posts for each. Both have benefits and drawbacks.

    I also want to touch a little on my building style. I love to use hand tools. That being said I also need to make a living so hand tools aren’t always the smartest way for me to do things. In some cases hand tools are faster and in others there is just no substitute. I build everything as close to period correct as I can but sometimes use untraditional methods to create the end result. My methods may not always be the best way to do things but it is how I have become efficient at doing them.

    Looking at this project as a whole can be a little intimidating but it can be simplified when you break it down into its smaller parts. In its smaller parts the piece starts to look much less complex. I also want to point out that you don’t need a huge shop with all the best equipment money can buy to build this piece. I work out of a modestly equipped 20x20 shop. When I think about how these pieces were built in the 1700’s I realize how lucky I am.

    Here is a photo of the piece I will be building. I worked from an original that I had access to but Glen Huey has drawing and cut lists for a very similar piece in his book “Building Period furniture”


    We need to start out with the legs. You will need 12/4 stock milled to 2 7/8” squares I cut these to a finished length of 35 1/2”. Once the legs are milled and cut to size you will need to lay out your pattern. There are tons of places to get patterns but I prefer to work directly from a photograph of an original. One thing to pay close attention to is the grain orientation of the legs when you lay them out. I like to have the QS grain on the knee. If you oriented the grain the other way you will end up with a bulls eye formed by the grain on your knee which is I don’t like. Once again this is just a personal preference and the main thing you need to pay attention to is that the grain orientation on your legs are the same on the front and sides. In the photos below you can see how layout the pattern.




    Now you will need to define the knees. For this you will need to set the depth on your tablesaw blade and set up a stop so they are all cut the same.




    Once you have the pattern transferred and the knees defined you will need to move to the band saw and rough them out. Notice that when I cut I don’ cut the piece all the way off. You can but if you do it will be necessary to reattach the piece with hot glue or tape and this is just a lot faster.





    Once all the legs are roughed out you will need to move to turning the feet if you are doing pad feet. This can be done by hand also but is much faster on a lathe. You will need to chisel away the area on the back of the ankle as you are turning to keep it out of the way.









    Now that the feet are turned it’s time to start shaping the leg. There are two ways I have found to hold the leg that work for me the first is using a clamp (a pipe clamp works best). The second is to just clamp the block into the vice.

    Once you get your leg clamped you will need to start working the leg into shape. This is done using a combination of rasps, a spoke shave and a hand plane. Start working the ankle round and smoothing from the top down. You will want the ankle to be about 1” diameter when you finish. Pay close attention to the knee area. Be very careful not to remove any material where your knee block will glue. It is also important to pay close attention to the direction you remove the material so you don’t end up with blow out where the knee block will attach. Work you way around the leg until the shape is uniform.




    Now that the leg is shaped you will need to cut the upper leg to size. Be sure to keep these cut-offs because they will be used later for your knee blocks. Once the excess is cut off it will just take a little work with a sharp hand plane to clean up the top. You will also need to go back and clean up the knee. Once one leg is complete use that as a visual guide to shape the remaining three.





    Last edited by Dave Diaman; 05-25-2010 at 7:58 PM.
    Diamanwoodcrafters

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Dave, let me be the first to say that I am looking forward to this!

    I don't think I'll ever have your natural ability but I still love to learn.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Olympic Peninsula, Wa
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    Thanks Dave

    Athough my skills are woefully inadequate, I find these tutorials to be a great way to learn new stuff, some of which I can even apply to my humble projects.

    Speaking for myself, I'd love to see the rest of the project and really appreciate your time, effort and willingness to share techniques and methods I might never get to see any other way.

    One of the many things that keeps bringing me back to this group - so many folks willing to share so much.

    Thanks again,

    Jeff

  4. #4
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    You're going to post the equivalent of a 250-page book on SMC? From the initial post, it is all going to be something I'd want to read and re-read, and stash in my library for the time when I get a chance to tackle one of these masterpieces. That won't be easy if the content is spread over lots of SMC threads. You might consider publishing the book in one big downloadable document. It might be easier for you, and for your readers. I'd cheerfully pay money for such a document.

    Comments about the publishing format aside, that sure is a pretty highboy.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jamie Buxton View Post
    You're going to post the equivalent of a 250-page book on SMC? From the initial post, it is all going to be something I'd want to read and re-read, and stash in my library for the time when I get a chance to tackle one of these masterpieces. That won't be easy if the content is spread over lots of SMC threads. You might consider publishing the book in one big downloadable document. It might be easier for you, and for your readers. I'd cheerfully pay money for such a document.

    Comments about the publishing format aside, that sure is a pretty highboy.
    I think I will try to keep everything in this post for the build. I will just update it every day until I get it finished. Hopefully you guys will get something out of this. I have started to document every one of my builds now although I go in to even more detail now. My goal is to some day put them together and try to publish them but right now I am too busy cutting dovetails.
    Diamanwoodcrafters

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Topeka, KS
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    356
    Dave, I've followed your builds on another forum site. I wanted to say your ability to break these very intricate projects down into step by step procedures makes me think I could accomplish them some day. I do hope to try my hand at these types of projects in the future but right now everything I build is utilitarian due to three small kids.

    Thanks for taking the time to document this and sharing it for all of our benefit.

    Wes Billups

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    SW Ontario, Canada
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    148
    Thank you - Dave...appreciated


    Rod

  8. #8
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    Jan 2010
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    Lafayette, Indiana
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    Keep it coming Dave

    As others have said, thanks for posting this project. It is a pleasure to read.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Rockwall, TX
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    Thanks for posting, Dave. This is great stuff -- I'm really looking forward to it!

    Regards,
    Steve

  10. #10
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    Once all the shaping is complete on the legs it is time to move onto building the lower portion of the piece. You will need to get the side panels and the back panels glued up along with the piece that will be used for your apron.



    I usually start out by cutting all my mortises while my panels are drying. To lay out the mortises I mark the centerline for with a marking gauge for all the mortise locations. I do this because due to the shape of the legs I have to reference off the back of the leg. No matter how hard I try my legs blocks are never exactly the same size so this is what I do to make sure the panels are flush in the front. There may be a better way to do this but I haven’t found it yet.



    The sides back and front apron all get M & T joints but the drawer dividers all get dovetails. I start with the top which gets a socket dovetail and then go to the center divider which gets a sliding dovetail. You can see in the photos how I use the tablesaw to make relief cuts to make everything easier to lay out and fit tighter. I also use a forstner bit to hog out some of the waste from the socket.
















    Next it is time to cut all the tenons and get your apron ready. I cut all my tenons on the table saw using a dado blade. This method is demonstrated later. You will also need to cut the tenons to match the mortises you cut. The side and back panels have 3 es 3 ½” tenons.







    After the tenons are cut you can go ahead and layout your apron and profiles for the sides. For this I take a photo of an original and blow the photo up to scale to get my proportions correct. From there with a few basic drafting tools I lay out the apron profile. I only make a template for half and just use it for both sides.






    Once the rough shape it cut out at the bandsaw it’s time to move to the router table and use the pattern you made with a pattern bit. I like to secure the pattern to the back of my pieces using nails. It is a lot less likely to break the pattern than double sided tape is when removed. Once complete at the router table it will take a little more work with a sharp chisel to clean up the inside corners.



    Diamanwoodcrafters

  11. #11
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    Now it is time to move onto the sliding dovetails for the center drawer divider. This can easily be done by hand or using a router bit with a bushing and a guide jig as pictured.







    Now that the sliding dovetail is cut assemble the front to get a final measurement for your length. I have found that it is best to wait until this point to cut this since this measurement will be determined by the depth of your dovetails. Once the divider is cut to length you need to add the dovetail to each end. This can be done on the router table using the same bit used for cutting the dovetail or by hand. Since this is only one divider I am going to do this one by hand. For the upper case dividers I will demonstrate how I use the router table.





    Define the shoulder with a dovetail saw



    Remove the waste with a chisel working front to back






    Now that the divider is fit and installed the whole front case should be dry assembled. The only thing left to do before adding glue is to add the vertical dividers for the three lower drawers. These are also dovetailed in.







    A little work with a hand plane gets everything flush



    Diamanwoodcrafters

  12. #12
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    May 2007
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    458
    Thanks for posting Dave.

    MK

  13. #13
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    Jun 2009
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    Thanks Dave, I really appreciate the time and effort it takes to post a tutorial this way. Beautiful work....

  14. #14
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    Now the piece is to a point where you can start the glue up process. This needs to be done in stages. If you glue up the whole lower unit at once you will not be able to get your drawer runners and kickers in. I like to glue up the front and back first. I also glue the sides into the front but leave the back joints for the sides dry fit. While the glue is drying you can start taking your measurements and cutting the pieces for your drawer runners and kickers. I will also add that it is usually necessary to go back with a sharp hand plane and make sure the sides and back are flush where the M&T joints meet.



    I like to laminate a piece of secondary wood to the front drawer divides to support my runners. I have found that this method is much easier than cutting all the mortises into the dividers, apron and back. It is much faster because it only requires one set up. The lower set of runners is a mortise and tenon frame. The upper is mortised into the front and nailed in the back. There are tons of different configurations for period pieces so unless you plan to build an exact reproduction find one that works for you and go with it.










    This is the center drawer kicker











    The last thing for the interior is to add the kickers for the top drawer and add guides for the drawers to the runners. Use a router bit to cut slots for the kickers and just glue the guides in place. This completes the interior structure.



    Diamanwoodcrafters

  15. #15
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    Now it’s time to add the last few finishing touches to the lower portion of the chest and move onto the top. First the knee blocks will need to shaped and glued in place. This is where the cut-off from the legs come back into play. Be very careful that the grain matches up or it will stick out like a sore thumb. I rough cut them and get a portion of them shaped while attached to a block. Once that is done they will need to be glued into place and blended into the leg. I do this using a hand plane, some rasps and a little sanding.







    The curve at the bottom of the knee still needs to be blended a little but it is just about complete



    Next add glue blocks where the drop finals will eventually go. It is easiest to use your pattern to finish these off after they are rough cut at the bandsaw.



    The last thing you will need to do for the base is the first portion of the waist molding that the upper chest will sit on. I cheat a little here and use #20 biscuits in the front for the miters and then a M&T joint in the back.










    Now the lowboy portion of the highboy is done with the exception of the drawers and finals.
    Diamanwoodcrafters

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