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Thread: How to do these drawers?

  1. #31
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    Build them traditional using a modern style, very clean handle. Wooden handle maybe, but better a rectilinear nickel finish handle. Any of the push to open options will end up looking like crap after years of usage. The bottom opening ideas are cumbersome and not user friendly.

  2. #32
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    Dec 2016
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    That looks like an ‘accent’ piece, not fully functioning furniture. The screw on legs, for shipping and consumer assembly are either inadequate with a metal screw fitting or penetrate further to compromise the ‘drawers’. I doubt the drawers open, even with a push in spring mechanism.
    Its the look she likes so divide the front into three, one extra very small gap in the front and make the middle section a drawer. With the drawer on rails the front can be deeper than the drawer and the moulding section at the front can be rounded at the back to make a comfortable drawer pull. The moulding ends on the drawer can be angled so as to break the visible line.
    This keeps the table ends free to properly attach the legs into the body of the table. The size of the drawer may end up wider than deep, that does not slide well so keeping it on rails with guides solves that problem.
    For me not having a lathe would make the legs the hardest part!
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by William Fretwell View Post
    That looks like an ‘accent’ piece, not fully functioning furniture. The screw on legs, for shipping and consumer assembly are either inadequate with a metal screw fitting or penetrate further to compromise the ‘drawers’. I doubt the drawers open, even with a push in spring mechanism.
    Its the look she likes so divide the front into three, one extra very small gap in the front and make the middle section a drawer. With the drawer on rails the front can be deeper than the drawer and the moulding section at the front can be rounded at the back to make a comfortable drawer pull. The moulding ends on the drawer can be angled so as to break the visible line.
    This keeps the table ends free to properly attach the legs into the body of the table. The size of the drawer may end up wider than deep, that does not slide well so keeping it on rails with guides solves that problem.
    For me not having a lathe would make the legs the hardest part!
    The drawers in the example piece absolutely open. They operate using a push opener like the Blum Tip-on. See my post above. Go to any IKEA store and you will see push open drawers because it is a very popular solution for the clean look sought in modern furniture. Here are some photos:

    ss19-h-chvcon-detail3.jpgss18-h-chvcon-detail.jpgss19-h-chvcon-detail5.jpgss19-h-chvcon-h-seacan.jpg

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Michigan, USA
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    548
    Derek,

    I think a consultation with your niece might be a good idea. Find out how important functioning drawers are to her. Find out how important the perfectly clean drawer front is to her.

    If both design aspects are critical, I don't see anything to do other than the spring-loaded push-and-pop-out drawers (which you don't like) or the reach-under-the-frame approach. I don't care for the reach-under-the-frame solution, because it turns the piece into a sort of "puzzle box" - "Can you figure out the secret to opening the drawers?" But maybe your niece would be okay with that.

    If it were going in my home, I'd go for a small, probably long and narrow pull in a dark wood, as someone suggested earlier. Second choice would be a small cutout at the bottom center of each drawer to provide a hand-hold.

    Best,
    Gary

    Hall Table.jpg
    Last edited by Gary Ragatz; 10-21-2019 at 11:15 AM.

  5. #35
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    Feb 2004
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    Perth, Australia
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    Thanks for all the replies. They really helped consolidate my thoughts. I shall comment further on these in a while.


    I found the original piece on the web: https://www.coxandcox.co.uk/chevron-oak-console-table


    It is sold as a flat pack, and poorly constructed. Although the advert states that it is solid oak, it looks veneered ply/mdf to my eyes (the grain on the drawer edges is more obviously veneer, not just the planted fronts, but the upper edge).


    If the drawers need a push-it mechanism, to propel it out a few inches, the drawers will need to have reduced friction, and this means they need to be on metal runners. Like kitchen drawers. I have emailed my niece to explain this and that this is a low quality option.


    I really liked Charlie's idea of semi circular drawers. I would like the challenge of building them (I came close to building drawers like this in the Harlequin Table). However, I think they are impractical. Fun, but impractical. I have suggested to my niece that the hall table uses more traditional drawers with unobtrusive handles.


    The overall design is clean and quite nice. It could benefit from more refined details. That will be my contribution. I need to retain the look of the legs, but with a different undercarriage. The current design likely utilises metal connectors, something like these ...





    They are likely quite strong, but a more refined construction would use a sliding dovetail with a staked mortice-and-tenon. This should add a lot more meat under the legs and still retain the slim profile ...






    Regards from Perth


    Derek

  6. #36
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    Thanks Edwin, I had hoped they did not open so the legs had a chance! Those spring openers are not going to last 100 years!
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  7. #37
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    I am late to the party, but I would consider these.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=spri...w=1523&bih=736

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by lowell holmes View Post
    I am late to the party, but I would consider these.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=spri...w=1523&bih=736
    He doesn't want slide hardware in what will be a piece of fine furniture.

  9. #39
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    Apr 2017
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    Michigan
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    Hi Derek
    Lots of good ideas here so far. There is little reason to make this a KD piece. It will fit thru any door assembled. You could add a 1/2" x 3" x 3" block to the bottom at each corner to mortise the legs into.

    Adding Ebony pulls 3/8" x 5/8" x 4" will improve the look of this piece. Mortise them into the front and shape them a little. You will not get any complaints.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Walkersville, Maryland
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    I must be missing something. First though I had was a wooden spring of some kind to give you the push release action. Understand not wanting to do some kind of plastic mass produced stuff, but and 1/8 inch splint mounted at an angle to push the drawer forward should be long lasting. You may have to put a dado into the back of the drawer to help with alinement. I don't think you need metal tracks to get a smooth enough operation. Just need a strong enough spring.
    Dan Carroll


  11. #41
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    Jan 2019
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    I like Marinus' idea in post #27

  12. #42
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    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    Here is a mechanism that will push one drawer out as the other is pushed in ...



    With this design, one has to reset the drawers manually, that is, levelling requires pushing on both drawer fronts. This is not as easy as a traditional drawer design.

    The other issue is that the drawer depth is reduced by 50mm. That is needed to push a drawer out 50mm, which is necessary. The issue is that the reduced drawer depth places the drawer at risk for wracking. I wonder if there is a formula for this?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  13. #43
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    Consider that traditional drawers can only hang out of the opening so far in addition to the need for this spring.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  14. #44
    I know you don’t want cheap “push open-push closed” mechanisms but Blum makes these slides that do what you want.
    I don’t think Blum makes poor quality slides but I haven’t used a lot of them.

    https://www.blum.com/us/en/products/...nto/programme/

  15. #45
    I'll second the theory that the front of that table is an apron, not a drawer.

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