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Thread: Bonnet Top High boy Tutorial

  1. #31
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    Sep 2009
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    Bel Air, MD
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Stutz View Post
    Dave,
    Another thanks for taking the time to do this, since this is time you would normally spend making money! It will be a while before I can tackle this...hoping to finally unpack my tools and set up shop in another month. Period furniture has long been a goal of mine, but having a map always makes an unknown journey easier.
    I'm assuming the dimensions are such that the lowboy could be used as a finished piece by itself. Any changes that should be made for that application? Thanks.

    Mark
    Mark
    Actually the lowboy is not designed to be used as a stand alone piece. Lowboys were typically much smaller. This piece would stand 36” tall and a typically lowboy usually stands right around 30”. It obviously could be scaled down fairly easy though.
    Diamanwoodcrafters

  2. #32
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    Sep 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by Don Jarvie View Post
    Dave,

    This is great stuff. Can you talk about how you prepare to build the piece, what type of research of any, what type of wood, how you are laying out the wood to match the grain, etc.
    For preparation for this one I took photos and measurements off an original. In many cases I don’t have access to an original. Since some of the pieces I have reproduced sell for well in to the millions I’m sure you can imagine why. In that case I rely on photos and any information I can find on the original or pieces made by the same person. I have collected a pretty extensive library over the last few years and can just about tell you the page where I can find an example of any one piece. I am very interested in furniture history and read everything I can get my hands on.

    As for the material, a lot of that just goes by eye although I feel working from one tree is important. You will notice as you read through the tutorial where I point out a few things on wood selection that will help.
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  3. #33
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    Sep 2009
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    Now it is time to move on to the upper case. This is basically a big dovetailed box with a bonnet top added. I like to cut my pins first and I typically cut the pins in the top and bottom unless the joint will be seen and then I reverse it. One thing I want to point out here is while these joints need to fit well and be strong they are only structural so don’t waste a lot of time trying to make them the prettiest joints on the piece.

    For this piece I milled the sides and top to ¾” and the bottom to 5/8” this is done so the waist molding will cover up the dovetails. For this piece I resawed a thicker board and book matched it for the sides since I didn't want to use a single wide board.



    A little work with a hand plane and the panel is ready to go. You can ignore the finger in the shot



    Once all the panels are done I start by laying out all the pins on the top and bottom. This is done using a wheel marking gauge, a pencil and a shop made dovetail layout tool. Once this is complete use a hand saw to cut to the score line created with the wheel marking gauge.






    Once all the hand sawing is complete there is a lot of material to remove. I like to hog out the bulk of the material one of two ways. Both have their benefits. The first is to use a router with a stop set up and a straight bit. This is slower and much easier to make a mistake doing. The advantage is there is very little clean up after you finish with a chisel. The second is A trick I learned from Glen Huey. I use a jig saw to cut the bulk of the material out. When you get to the pin just rock the saw back until the piece falls off. This requires a lot more cleanup but this is the method I prefer since it seems a lot faster. Remember the joints need to fit well but don’t need to be pretty.












    Once the pins are done it is time to mark the tails and get them cut. Notice the relief cut I made in the pin socket. This makes it a lot easier to remove the waste.







    Once all the dovetails are cut and fitted the dados for the drawer dividers and the rabbet for the back boards need to be cut at the tablesaw using a stacked dado. The dados are 1/8” deep. The rabbet in the back is 5/8 deep and 1/2" wide. these steps can be interchanged with the dovetailing. I just prefer to cut my dovetails first.



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  4. #34
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    Sep 2009
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    The dados and rabbet are in so now its time to cut the dovetail sockets that the drawer dividers will slide into. This is done using a simple router jig with a ¾” guide bushing and a ¾” dovetail bit. Once the dovetails are routed out clean up the edge with a hand plane







    There are still a few things that need to be done to the case but I like to do that later after I make the bonnet top. At this I dry fit the case together and square it and get my measurements for the drawer dividers and drawer runner components. I cut the dovetails for my drawer dividers using the same ¾” dovetail bit I used earlier and just move it ti the router table.



    You will need to cut all the M&T joints in the drawer dividers and the drawer runner components. There are also additional dovetails cut for the top drawer dividers. Two things to take notice of is the space between the drawer runners and where the back boards will be. You will need to leave about ¼” for seasonal movement. The other is the split tenon for the top center drawer. This is done due to the dovetail that needs to be added.









    Next it is time to move onto the bonnet top. Making the template is a place where you should spend a little extra time. Making a good template will save you a lot of time in the future.

    Make your template and layout the profile on the top scroll board. Notice that this is two boards glued up but the bulk is one board. The top 2 ¾” will be covered by the gooseneck molding so there is no point in wasting a 17” wide board on it. I personally think that a single board for the section not covered by the molding is a must. This part of the piece really draws the eye and a glue up will really take away from the piece.



    Move to the bandsaw or use a jigsaw to rough cut the top. After the rough cutting is done move to the router table with a pattern bit. Once again I like to nail my pattern to the back. Be very careful here. Due to all the grain direction changes it is very easy to get in a hurry and ruin your 14” wide board here.


    Now that the scroll board is cut I take a measurement off the ends and the top of the case will need to be notched to accept the scroll board. Once this is done I glue up the whole case minus the scroll board which still needs a little work and is just dry fit at this point.



    Cut the dovetails and make the drawer dividers for the top three drawers



    It is also best to install the runners for the secret drawers at this point before the scroll board goes on. They are just a basic wooden L bracket joined with some glue and reproduction nails.



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  5. #35
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    Now it is time to put the finishing touches on the scroll board before it is installed.











    Now that all the carving is done you can glue the scroll board to the case. This is attached using glue and screws in the locations where the molding will cover. You will also need to attach the drawer dividers to the scroll board. This is done using glue and a few ¼” dowels. The scroll board should sit a little proud on either side and will need to be trimmed flush with a hand plane. The same can be done with the drawer dividers to make a nice joint.






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  6. #36
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    May 2009
    Location
    Northwest Indiana
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    Dave,

    This is excellent! I can't believe how manageable you make this process look - lots of practice, I'm sure.

    Out of curiosity, how long (in days or hours) have you spent on this piece to get to this point?

  7. #37
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    Bel Air, MD
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    To this point is about 5 days
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  8. #38
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    Jun 2004
    Location
    Middleton, Idaho
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    Hi Dave,

    Thank you for the tutorial. It is very interesting. I look forward to each section. Do you do your own finishing? Also do you mind sharing the finishing schedule?

    Thanks again, Sam

  9. #39
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    Sep 2009
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    Bel Air, MD
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    Sam,
    Yes, I do all my own finishing. This is a complete step by step tutorial and I will cover the finish I used for this particular piece near the end. I think I have covered about 125 pages of the document I made so far so I am about at the halfway point right now. With some of the build I go into a little more detail which requires a lot of photos.
    Diamanwoodcrafters

  10. #40

    Hey

    Well done Dave! I'm glad you decided to go ahead with the tutorial. I have a better understanding of the process of building such a piece. Picked up some tips along the way too. Thanks

    Mike

  11. #41
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    May 2009
    Location
    Pensacola Fl.
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    161
    Dave,
    Great job, thanks for posting this. You have inspired me to try a build. Again thank you.

  12. #42
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    Jun 2004
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    Middleton, Idaho
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    Thanks Dave. It is very interesting seeing how the project is broken down into sections. Thanks for your work in sharing with all of us.

    Sam

  13. #43
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    Sep 2009
    Location
    Bel Air, MD
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    With the scroll board in place the rear portion of the bonnet can now be made. This is done by tracing the front scroll board profile onto the back piece. I then like to use my template at the router table again to make sure the two profiles are exactly the same.



    You will now need to cut the piece that joins the front and rear pieces. I put this in place and transfer the profile from the scroll board. I then move to the jointer and hog the majority of the material off that needs to be removed. After all the bonnet top pieces are glued and screwed in place you can then complete the profile with a hand plane until it matches in the front and back.







    The last thing to be done before moving onto the molding is the blocking for the center final and the returns. Once again I use the pattern to shape the blocking for the scroll board returns.




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  14. #44
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    Sep 2009
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    Now it is time to start on the gooseneck molding. Before you start this you need to plan to spend the better part of the day at the router table. Up to this point everything you have seen represents 5 days worth of labor. The gooseneck molding takes me at least half a day. This is a place where there is no fast way to work unless you have a $600 set of custom router bits. Slow and careful is the way to go because if you get hasty and make a mistake you will more than likely have to start over from square one again.
    You want to start by making a pattern for your molding from your scroll board template.





    For this piece I milled 8/4 stock down to 1 3/4” thick. I use my template to create the bottom profile for the molding and leave the extra material on the top for support. Remember you will need a right and a left along with enough for your sides and returns. You will want to leave enough material at the top and bottom to allow you to clamp the pieces for mitering. You will need to start by sketching out the rough profile of the molding on the end of one of your molding pieces. This will be the piece you use for positioning as you remove material





    This is actually molding for a different bonnet top piece but it will give you the idea.



    I made a guide that attaches to my TS fence to allow for easy adjustment. For cutting the cove I use a 2 ¼” cove cutter. This step takes many passes. The final passes should be very light cuts to make sure they are a clean as possible.



    Cove cut. It tool A LOT of passes to get to this point.




    Next is an ovolo bit to do the top round over.





    The final cut I did with a ¼” round over bit. There are obviously many different profiles that can be made using a huge variety of bit configurations and sizes.





    Once all the routing is complete the rest is done with hand tools. A gooseneck scraper and carving gouges will help you smooth out the profile. After everything is smooth cut the molding to its rough shape at the bandsaw. The final shaping of the top profile I like to do using a hand plane, scrapers and rasps. This could also be done with a OSS.

    Now we move on to attaching the molding. Be VERY careful here. If you mess this up there are no second chances. First clamp the molding in place and secure it with screws to the scroll board. Remember that the molding will need to sit 1/8” proud at the top to allow for the bonnet hood later. The screws will help you relocate it in the exact same place once the miters are cut. Mark the molding with a marking knife. I would advise against using a pencil for this step as it just isn’t accurate enough. I cut my miters at the miter saw. If the fence is tall enough you can clamp directly to the fence. If not you will need to make a board to attach the molding to while you cut it. This is where the extended sections of the molding will make your like easier for securing it parallel to the miter saw surface.

    I completely forgot to take photos of this step. What can I say I was a little busy . Anyway I will try my best to explain how I cut the miters. You will need to use the extra length you have on the molding to secure the molding in the parallel to the miter saw table to cut the miters. I have a pretty tall fence on my miter saw and am able to clamp the molding directly to that. If you can’t do that you will need to attach the molding to a piece of plywood to hold it in place. You will need to notch the ply so you can cut the molding with the saw.






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  15. #45
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Bel Air, MD
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    For the bonnet hood I like to use the same secondary wood I use for the rest of the piece. In this case I use poplar. A two board glue up works well here. This material will need to be milled down to 1/8” thick. Using a sled on the planer will make it go a little easier.




    You can reinforce the piece by contact cementing a piece of fabric to the back or using some reproduction monofilament tape J A little trick I picked up from Chuck Bender is to wet the board prior to putting it on. This will cause the board to cup and fit to the profile. If you wet the wood properly on opposite sides the board will cup to the profile you need from the water alone. I secure the hood using reproduction nails. I do pre drill all the hold to avoid splitting the thin wood.



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