# Entry hall table for a niece



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (3 Nov 2019)

I thought that the build might begin with preparing the panels, since there has been some interest in the past shown in the shorter Hammer K3 sliders. Mine has a 49" long slider and a 31" wide table for the rip fence.

The build is an entry hall table for a wedding present for a niece. Her choice was this mid century modern piece, which will be the basis for the build. My job is to re-invent it somewhat. 







She wants Jarrah, and I have managed to find something spectacular ... a subtle fiddleback (curly) set of boards that will make a book match (as they are only about 9" wide each).
















Most imagine that the value of a slider lies with cross-cutting. It certainly is so. However it is the rip using the slider - rather than the rip fence - which is so amazing.

One side of each board was to be ripped on the slider, before being jointed and resawn. Ripping on the slider is such an advantage with life edges. No jigs required. No rip fence to slide against. Just clamp the board on the slider, and run it past the saw blade. The long sliders can complete the rip in one quick pass. It occurred to me that I should take a few photos of ripping to width since the boards are longer than the slider. 

Here you can see that it comes up short ...






In actuality, with the blade raised fully, there is a cut of nearly 54" ...






The solution is to use a combination square to register the position of the side of the board at the front, and then slide the board forward and reposition it ...






... and repeat at the rear ...






The result is a pretty good edge, one that is cleaned up on the jointer in 1 or 2 passes, and then ready for resawing ...






This is the glued panel. It is long enough to make a waterfall two sides and top section (still oversize) ...






The following photo shows the lower section at the rear. What I wanted to show is the way boards are stored. Since I shall not get back to this build until next weekend, all boards are stickered and clamped using steel square sections. 






The steel sections are inexpensive galvanised mild steel. These are covered in vinyl duct tape to prevent any marks on the wood and ease in removing glue ...






Done for the day ...






Enough for the case (top/bottom and sides), which will be through dovetailed with mitred corners, the stock for 4 legs (yet to be turned), and rails for the legs (the legs will be staked mortice-and-tenon) and attached with a sliding dovetail. 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## deema (3 Nov 2019)

Hi Derek,
Looking forward to another of your superb WIP. 
I too have a slider with about a 54” capacity. To extend it, I use a carrier board that has a strip mounted underneath it that fits exactly into the slot. The board to be cut is secured on top of the carrier board and both are slid forward to achieve a longer cut.


----------



## Fitzroy (3 Nov 2019)

Hi Derek I’m 44, my name is Fitzroy and I’m a great guy. I’m hoping you like to adopt me as a family member and make me an awesome piece of furniture! 

Looks great already, roll on the wip. 

Fitz.


----------



## AndyT (3 Nov 2019)

The WIP has barely begun, yet you have already shown us a clever detail for the weekend woodworker that I have never seen mentioned before - the tape-covered steel to keep the precious boards properly stacked and clamped flat between sessions. Nice one!


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (4 Nov 2019)

deema":3jtwomdf said:


> Hi Derek,
> Looking forward to another of your superb WIP.
> I too have a slider with about a 54” capacity. To extend it, I use a carrier board that has a strip mounted underneath it that fits exactly into the slot. The board to be cut is secured on top of the carrier board and both are slid forward to achieve a longer cut.



Hi Deema

I have a kit from Felder for building a sliding table on the slider. Its use is, in my understanding, primarily for sheet goods since it will reduce the cutting height by the thickness of the carrier board. 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Steliz (4 Nov 2019)

Derek,
I always enjoy your projects and this one looks to be very promising too. The Jarra is beautiful.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (26 Nov 2019)

We are building a version of this hall table ...






We left off last time with basic preparation of stock from rough sawn boards ..






A word of introduction before continuing: while I am best known for hand tool work, I am a blended woodworker and have a pretty full compliment of power tools, which I use. It is horses for courses - power does the grunt work and hands do the details and joinery. So there are machines here as well as hand tools, and I like to believe they coexist well in my builds, as they should.

I began this session by turning the legs ...











The Jarrah for the legs turned out a few shades lighter than expected, and I made an extra piece to experiment with different dye mixes. A final decision shall be made once the case is completed.

The panels needed to sized, which involved measuring from the centre line of the book-matched panels. The quickest way to square this up was to mark a line (in blue tape), and plane to it ... much faster than using power saws, etc.











Once done, you can square up on a jointer ..






... rip to width ...






... and cross cut ...






Here are the panels for the case (sides yet to be dimensioned for height) ...






Packed away for the night ...






When marking the dovetails, it pays to work precisely. Mark carefully ...











My favourite dovetail saw is usually the one I sharpened most recently. This is an original Independence Tools saw by Pete Taran (circa 1995) ..






Completed side panels ...






It begins to be a little more fun as I get to use one of the features I recently built into my new Moxon vise - the Microjig clamps (details of Moxon vise here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTo ... Moxon.html). 

These are used to hold the tail board to transfer to the pin board ...






Here you see the transferred tails outline in blue tape (easier to see in the hard wood). On the left is a model of the mitred ends that will be part of this build ...






Saw the pins ...






Note that the end pins are not sawn on the outsides. 

Now turn the board around, and strike a vertical line at the outer pin ...






Saw this on the diagonal only. Do both sides ...






Place the board flat on the bench and create a chisel wall for each pin (earlier, this would have been done for each tail) ...






The chisel wall will make it easier to create a coplanar baseline when removing the waste (by preventing the chisel moving back over the line). Do this on both sides of the board before proceeding.

Now you can fretsaw away the waste. 






Try and get this to about 1mm above the baseline ...






Here is a video of the process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6O4rY_0zQs

To create the mitred ends, first mark ...






... and saw about 1mm from the line. This will later be flushed with a chisel for accuracy.






And so this is where we are up to at the end of the weekend ...






So will the sides fit ... or won't they .... mmmmm 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## sammy.se (26 Nov 2019)

Another amazing WIP! Looking forward to more of this 

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk


----------



## AJB Temple (26 Nov 2019)

Outstanding work and explanations as usual. Thank you Derek.


----------



## AndyT (26 Nov 2019)

Derek Cohen (Perth said:


> So will the sides fit ... or won't they .... mmmmm
> 
> Regards from Perth
> 
> Derek



I think they probably will. :wink: 

Are you going to start a poll?


----------



## Steve Maskery (26 Nov 2019)

You get the most beautiful woods over there, Derek, and you have the skills that most people here, including me, to shame.
S


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (27 Nov 2019)

AndyT":1mpm5fec said:


> Derek Cohen (Perth said:
> 
> 
> > So will the sides fit ... or won't they .... mmmmm
> ...



:lol: 

Are there side bets? Odds? 

In truth ... it is a lot like like Christmas morning as a kid ... the result is never a foregone conclusion. The element of surprise is always there. 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (22 Jan 2020)

I've been away from the workshop for a month, travelling around a few cities in Austria and Germany, as well as Prague. It was a good trip, but it's great to be home. 

The current build was on hold. This is the entry hall table my niece asked me to build ...






... and this is where we left off last time - ready to fit the first corner ...






Past builds: 
Part 1: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/ ... iece1.html
Part 2: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/ ... iece2.html

Today we shall put the complete case together. What I wish to focus on is the dovetailing. Not just any dovetailing, but mitred through dovetailing in unforgiving hardwood (here, Fiddleback Jarrah). 

Of all the commonly used dovetails, I consider the through dovetail more difficult than the half-blind dovetail. Why ... because two sides are exposed against the single face of the half-blind. 

In my opinion, by mitering the ends, the level of complexity is tripled .. at least. Not only are there three faces now, but each needs to be dimensioned perfectly, otherwise each is affected in turn. 

This is more difficult than a secret mitred dovetail, where mistakes may be hidden.

I have posted before on building the mitred though dovetail, and it is not my intention to do this again. Instead, what I wish to show are the tuning tricks to get it right.

This is the model of the tail- and pin boards …






In a wide case, such as this, it is critical that the parts go together ideally off the saw or, at least, require minimal adjustment. The more adjustments one makes, the more the dovetails will look ragged. 

Tail boards are straightforward. Let’s consider this done. Once the transfer of tails to pins is completed, the vital area is sawing the vertical lines … well, perfectly vertical.

I use blue tape in transferring the marks. The first saw cut is flat against the tape. Note that the harder the wood, the less compression there will be, and so the tail-pin fit needs to be spot on. Where you saw offers an opportunity for ensuring a good fit: if you hug the line (edge of the tape), you get a tight fit. If you encroach a smidgeon over the line, you loosen the fit slightly. 






Saw diagionally, using the vertical line as your target …






Only then level the saw and complete the cut …






I do not plan to discuss removing the waste. That was demonstrated in Part 2. 

So, the next important area is the mitre. These are scribed, and then I use a crosscut saw to remove the waste about 1mm above the line on both the tail- and pin boards …






Now we are ready to test-fit the boards …






Mmmm …. not a great fit …






… even though the mitres at the sides are tight …






The problem is that the mitres are fat, and the extra thickness is holding the boards apart …






Even sawing to the lines here is likely to leave some fat, which is why it is a waste of energy to try and saw to the line in this instance. It needs to be pared away with a chisel, using a 45-degree fixture.






As tempting and logical as it seems to pare straight down the guide …






… what I experience is that the chisel will skip over the surface of the hard wood rather than digging in and cutting it away. What is more successful is to pare at an angle, and let the corner of the bevel catch the wood …











This is what you are aiming for …











Okay, we do this. And this is the result …











Not bad. But not good enough. There is a slight gap at each side, quite fine, but evident close up.

The source is traced to the mitre not being clean enough. It is like sharpening a blade – look for the light on the edge. If it is there, the blade is not sharp. If there is a slight amount of waste on the mitre, the case will not close up.






To clear this, instead of a chisel – which is tricky to use for such a small amount – I choose to use a file. This file has the teeth on the sides ground off to create “safe” sides.






Try again. The fit is now very good. I will stop there.











So, this is the stage of the project: the case is completed. This is a dry fit …






One end …





The other …






The waterfall can be seen, even without being smoothed and finished …






Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## MikeG. (22 Jan 2020)

Nice, Derek.

In the same way that shoulders can be undercut, so can the mitres. You have two edges (top and outside face) which will be on show and have to be perfect, but the rest could angle away slightly on both pieces (tail and pin boards). Particularly in a hard wood like jarrah, taking the carcass joints apart repeatedly to adjust is an absolute pain, so removing one possible area of mis-fit might reduce the risk. Obviously you couldn't do this if the corner/ edge was to be rounded over, as I think you did in your last jarrah table.....but then you probably wouldn't have mitres anyway. 

For English woodworkers, you have no idea just how damn hard jarrah is. It's sort of like working in steel. You couldn't drive a nail into it without a pilot hole. I've fiddled about with bits of it in my dad's workshop when I was a kid in West Australia, and a couple of pieces as an adult, but I dislike the colour as well as the difficulty of working it.


----------



## AndyT (22 Jan 2020)

That's a good point. Jarrah used to be imported to make beds of lorries where it stood up to all sorts of heavy abuse.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (23 Jan 2020)

MikeG.":7qiwt75r said:


> Nice, Derek.
> 
> In the same way that shoulders can be undercut, so can the mitres. You have two edges (top and outside face) which will be on show and have to be perfect, but the rest could angle away slightly on both pieces (tail and pin boards). Particularly in a hard wood like jarrah, taking the carcass joints apart repeatedly to adjust is an absolute pain, so removing one possible area of mis-fit might reduce the risk. .....



Thanks Mike. It is not just that Jarrah is hard; it is also brittle and this example is very interlocked. But I am used to it, and the fiddleback in this piece is spectacular.

In the current build it is not possible to undercut the mitres to make them fit. The reason is the inside edge on the model calls for a bevel/mitre all the way around. I plan to do a slight cove. In any event, this open up the mitre from the inside, and any undercutting would show.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (25 Jan 2020)

Having completed the dovetailing of the case, the next step is to bevel the front face, and rebate the rear for a back panel.

I had been considering a cove in place of a bevel, however when I mocked this up it came across as appearing too busy. So, back to the bevel.

The angle for the bevel was finalised at 55 degrees. This enabled a 6mm (1/4") flat edge and a bevel that ran to roughly 4mm of the first dovetail. A 45 degree bevel would run into the dovetail.

The lines for the bevel were marked and then roughed out on the table saw ...






The table saw is a slider, and the rip fence was used to position spacers, before clamping a panel for cutting the bevel.

The bevel was then finished with a hand plane ...






This Jarrah is particularly interlocked but planes well with both a high cutting angle (the little HNT Gordon palm smoother) and a close set chipbreaker (the Veritas Custom #4).

Once the bevels were completed, the rear rebate was ploughed ...











Now the panels could be assembled into a case once again, and the work examined for tuning.

Three of the bevels needed tuning. This ranged from a smidgeon here ...






... to a largish amount ...






The case was dissembled and the bevelled edged planed down, re-assembled, checked, pulled apart again, planed ...

The rebates at the rear turned out to not require any tuning, with the exception of one corner ...






... where I had obviously forgotten to plane!  :\ 

That was easily rectified ( ... but the case had to be dissembled again). Finally, this is the rear of the case and the completed rebates ...






This is a rebated corner ...






Here are the front bevelled corners ...











This illustrates by the mitres on the corners of the dovetailed case needed to be perfect. Any undercutting would show here.






Next, the drawer dividers need to be done. I'll mention here - since I would appreciate the thoughts of others - that this area has been my biggest headache.

The reason is that my niece would like the drawers to have the appearance of a single board. However, to achieve this, because of the bevels, is quite complicated.

First of all, the table cannot have just two drawers. The width of the drawers will be greater than their depth, and this would likely lead to racking. Consequently, I plan to build three drawers, which will be more favourable for the width vs depth ratio.. 

Secondly, if the drawers have dividers between them, which they need (since I do not do runners), then there will be a gap between the drawer fronts (which will not flow uninterrupted).

As I see it, there are two choices: the first is to build the drawers with planted fronts. This is not a method I like (but it may be expedient). The second option is to set the dovetailed drawers sides back (recess them) to account for the internal drawer dividers. 

Thoughts?

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Steve Maskery (25 Jan 2020)

Derek, I don't know what a Since board is. Can you elaborate, please, I'm enjoying following this, even though it is way above my pay grade


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (25 Jan 2020)

Steve, I don't know what a "since board" is either  ... must be a typo. Where did you see this?

And I very much doubt any of this is beyond your excellent skills.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## SammyQ (25 Jan 2020)

> The reason is that my niece would like the drawers to have the appearance of a since board. However, to achieve this, because of the bevels, is quite complicated.



Pour vous. Sam


----------



## AndyT (25 Jan 2020)

Predictive text error for "single" presumably?

And for what it's worth, planted fronts sound like the right choice to me.
I don't think anyone will think they are a cheating way to cover up big gaps! Not on this piece.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (25 Jan 2020)

Yes, "single"  Corrected. May that be the only error from here on (little chance of that!).

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Steve Maskery (25 Jan 2020)

That makes sense, thank you.



Derek Cohen (Perth said:


> And I very much doubt any of this is beyond your excellent skills.


I'm flattered, Derek, but I assure you I couldn't do dovetails like that. I'd mitre it, stick in a few biscuits and tell everybody they were secret mitred dovetails.


----------



## MikeG. (25 Jan 2020)

Lovely skills, as always, but this is another piece which takes me back to the 1970s. It would be a dull old world if we all had the same tastes. My parents had a telephone table along very similar lines when I was a kid in Perth. In particular, it had a chamfered front edge to the carcass, similar round legs, and similar proportions. If I recall correctly, it had 3 compartments but only the outside 2 were drawers. The middle one was for the phone books. That of course would solve your problem. Personally, I would show the verticals as dividers between the drawers and do normal drawer boxes. I actively dislike un-divided drawers where it looks like one piece of wood has been cut in to 2, 3 or even 4 pieces. I assume that's not going to satisfy the aesthetic you are after, though.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (26 Jan 2020)

What I need are lipped drawers.The question was whether I make them the easy way, which is by planting (glueing) on fronts. Or, whether I build them out of one piece, which is a lot more work as it requires creating half blind dovetails in a rebate. 

For those unfamiliar with lipped drawers ..







This is the work of Christian Becksvoort ...











At this point, I am going to do it the hard way and make half-blind sockets in a rebated front. This is similar to building a secret dovetail.

To do this for all the drawers, the insides of the case at each end will require a spacer, essentially a 6mm panel glued to the insides. Each side will be half the thickness of the two middle drawer dividers (each 12mm). The centre dividers will be attached in a dado top and bottom.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AndyT (26 Jan 2020)

Will you work a moulding on the fronts, as on the drawers in the pictures? I'd imagine a square edge would let the grain run through all three much better. Plenty of challenges along the way!


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (26 Jan 2020)

Hi Andy

I'm not planning on mouldings - it would be too busy.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (1 Feb 2020)

The basic case complete ...






My niece's expressed wish is to have a table front looking as if it was faced by a single board. The original model for this project has two drawers. I did not see this working here since, as their width would be greater than their depth, two drawers would likely rack. Consequently, I decided to build three drawers of equal width (I considered a narrow drawer in the centre, but decided this would be too busy). 

In order that the figure of the drawer fronts would not be interrupted by the drawer dividers, the drawers are to have half-blind dovetailed side lips, such as these ...






The drawers will each have a side lip of 6mm. This requires a 6mm wide side panel on each side of the case, and two 12mm wide drawer dividers. This will allow three drawers to run adjacent to one another, and the three fronts to be cut from a single board. 

The drawer fronts will come from this board ...











Below are the panels for fitting ...






It occurred to me later (of course!) that the 6mm end panels could have been made to run with the grain direction of the case. Being the same Jarrah, this would have counted for any expansion/contraction, and there would not be any danger of movement being intrusive. Too late. It's glued. 

So I did the next best thing, and planed 2mm off the upper and lower edges. This will permit enough movement, if any (it is a small and thin panel). There will not be any gaps seen as the front edges will later receive edging, which will be used as a depth stop.






Frankly, the hardest part of this section of the project was accurate marking out of the two central drawer dividers. These need to be both perfectly parallel, and also aligned vertically (the lower panel with the upper panel). 

There is a second area that needed to checked, which is important for drawers to work well, and this that the lower panel is flat - that is, does not have any hills. I learned my lesson the hard way about this. All good.

The way I go about marking the dados for the dividers is to make templates for their position. These are used on both the lower panel, as below, and then the upper panel ...






The process is self-explanatory ...
















The dados are knifed deeply ...






Chisel walls cut ...






.. and then the waste is removed with a router plane ...











The dados are just 2mm deep. That is deep enough to prevent any movement. This process is quick and relaxing (compared to setting up and using a power router). 

Once done, the process is repeated on the upper panel ...











All ready for a dry fit. The rear of the case ...






... and the front ...






Happily, all is square ...











Tomorrow I shall glue it up.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (2 Feb 2020)

We ended the last session with the drawer dividers installed ...






Everything was nice and square, but the more I thought about what I had done, the unhappier I became. Such an elementary oversight. I cannot believe I did it, and also that no one pulled me up for it. What was it? Two items:

The first was that the grain for the drawer dividers runs the wrong way. Although the boards are as close to quarter grain as possible, which adds to stability, they will expand vertically. That could cause them to buckle, and then the drawers will not run nicely.

The second is that I could have built in a way to close up the drawer dividers against the back of the (to-be-built) side lipped drawer fronts ... this is to be used as a drawer stop ... at this stage it would be necessary to add a filler. Not good.

So I re-did the drawer dividers. Here is the rear of the case. The drawers are left long on purpose ...






Provision is made for the dividers to be adjustable in length (to close up with the back of the drawer front). They are given rebates to slide further forward ... it will be necessary that they move around 15mm forward (to within 5-6mm of the opening).






The rebate is 2mm deep (the depth of the dados), and largely created with a cutting gauge. The blade slices away end grain, and the resulting splitting away makes it easy to chop the remainder.

Here are the dividers, further forward than before, and capable of moving a little more still ...











The plan was to glue up the case. However, before this is done, it is wise to fit the drawer fronts across the width (the height will be done at a later date).

This is the board for the three drawers. 






Removing one end, the board is set on the case ...






It is now apparent that the front of the bevel, where it meets the drawers, is not straight. It is possible to see a small amount of flat ...






This is especially noticeable in this corner ..






This is fairly easy to remedy ... mark with a pencil, and then plane away the pencil marks ...






Perfect now ...






The other end needs no more than a smidgeon removed ..






The upper side is now treated the same way. Interestingly, this needs no work at all.

Time to saw the drawer fronts to size. 

First step is to mark the middle point of each divider (since the lips will share the divider). The mark can be seen in the rebate ...






The drawer board across the front ...






Transfer the mark, and then saw the drawer front ...






This process is repeated. Here are the three sequential drawer fronts. You can _just_ make out the breaks ...











I am happy with this.

And so, finally, the case is glued up (Titebond Liquid Hide Glue - reversibility and long open time). Looking like a trussed up fowl ....






Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AndyT (2 Feb 2020)

Phew, that was a good spot about the grain direction! I can see how it happened, you made them to match those horizontally aligned pieces at the ends, but that would have bugged you I'm sure if you'd carried on. I'm slightly surprised you didn't remove and re-do the end pieces at the same time, but that really is too late so I shall keep quiet.

And presumably you trimmed the backs of the dividers before they were glued in place?

Nice adjustments to the mitres as well - did you choose that plane because the extra length before the iron makes it easier to locate on the bevel?


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (2 Feb 2020)

Thanks Andy.

I did not remove the end pieces since they had already been given the necessary adjustment - providing a gap for expansion. 

The little HNT Gordon palm smoother is the size of a small block plane and have a 60 degree cutting angle. It was chosen because it was small enough to do this delicate planing, and would cop with the very interlocked grain.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (3 Feb 2020)

The case was glued up yesterday, with everything tight and square as one could wish, but I did not sleep well. I was haunted by the thought that there was a problem that would come to a head some time in the future. 






If you look at the grain direction of the two centre drawer dividers, you notice that the grain is vertical. That is the way it should be. Wood moves, expands and contracts. It does this in reaction to moisture in the air. When it moves, it does so across the grain. That is why solid wood drawer bottoms have grain across the width - allowing the drawer bottom to move towards the back of the drawer, rather than towards the sides (where it will be blocked and then buckle).

These drawer dividers will be butted up against the rear of the drawer lips and act as drawer stops. The front third of the divider will be glued in the dado, forcing any expansion towards the rear of the case. All good.

The two spacers at the inside ends of the case have the grain running horizontally. I glued this in before I realised that I had cut them this way. I had done the same with the internal dividers, but re-cut them, as shown in the previous article. The end spacers will expand vertically, and to allow for this, I provided a 2mm gap below and above the panels. That is what kept me awake.

The end spacers are 6mm thick. The case, to which they are glued, is 20mm thick and about 40mm wider. Initially I was concerned that the spacer would be overwhelmed by the case moving, and buckle. Having thought some more about this, I am no longer concerned that this will occur. Why? Because movement in the case would instead "stretch" the spacer length-wise. I started to breath again.

In the end, I decided to reduce the height of the spacers by half. This would allow them plenty of space to expand, when necessary, as well as reducing their impact inside the case. 

Here is one side ...






Taped for visibility and protection ...






The saw is a 16" Wenzloff & Sons tenon saw (10 tpi) ...






Three kerfs ...






Deepened with a Japanese Azebiki ...






... and split out with a firmer chisel ...






A Bahco carbide scraper cleans up ...






The result ...











Final cleanup was aided by the only shoulder plane that fitted inside the space  ...






Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AndyT (3 Feb 2020)

Yet another benefit of hand tools. I don't know of any power tool approach that would have solved that one.

I hope you are sleeping easier now!


----------



## AJB Temple (3 Feb 2020)

Very interesting build and techniques Derek. Thank you for taking the trouble to post.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (16 Feb 2020)

As a reminder, we are building a version of this table ...






The plan is to attach the legs, which were made near the start of this project. 






The attachment method is by inserting the legs into compound angle mortices in a base, which will be fixed to the carcase with a tapered sliding and stopped dovetail. We don't mess about here! 

It will be necessary to do this over two articles, the first being the base for the legs, which will be dovetailed (tails). The second will be the socket (pins) for the base.

Before we begin, I want to mention what I did at the end of the last session. I had replaced the central drawer dividers as the grain ran in the wrong direction. The spacers at the ends also did so, and my response was to cut out half the spacer ...






Well, I fretted over the end spacers, and just could not leave them this way. Encouraged by the way the halves had come out cleanly, I removed the remainder and replaced the spacers with correctly grained versions ...






OK, onto the leg base ...

I spent a while playing with angles for the legs, and finally accepted this (mocked up base) ...











I have drilled angled mortices with a brace on a number of occasions. This time I decided to used a drill press and some Japanese Star-M augers, which are specially designed for this type of work (no lead screws). I built a 10 degree ramp for the resultant angle. The auger is 30mm ...






[





The tenon is straight, but the mortice will receive a slight reaming, and the tenon will be glued and wedged. This is probably overkill since the weight of the case rests on the legs.






These are the bases for the legs. The final prototype is at the rear ...






Drilling the bases ...






The design requires that the legs do not go over the boundary of the case (to avoid tripping over them) ...











This is how they should be ...






There was a small dilemma: The base at one side measures 3" from the end ...






... and the other side measures 1/4" further ...






I could not work out how this occurred. The angles are the same. In fact, I made another set of bases, and the same error showed up again - exactly the same! 

So what to do? Actually, the decision was obvious after a little think - make the bases the same. What is more likely to be noticed is if the bases are different distances from the sides. No one will notice a 1/4" difference where the legs hit the ground. So be it.

This is one of the bases for dovetailing ...






First step is to remove a 2mm taper from one side. The taper will be on the inside of the base, with the outside parallel to the side of the case.

Taper line drawn ...






Easiest way to do this is with a #604 smoother ..






This is the one end of the base ...






.. and this is the other end ...






mmmm .... 0.39 mm oversize. What to do ...? I'm kidding  

The dovetails will be 7mm deep. A shoulder was planed with a rebate plane ...






The squareness of this rebate is important, so check ...






The dovetail is now to be created, and the preparatory step is to colour the outer edge of the rebate with a sharpie. This will warn that the planing does not lower the external edge of the rebate.






The dovetail is created with a modified Stanley #79 edge plane ...






The fence has a 1:6 ratio wedge ...






Details of this dovetail plane here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTo ... ley79.html

The result of planing. That is a 1:6 dovetail marker ...






So what are the numbers for the taper? This will give an indication of the accuracy of the joint.

One end is 44.12mm ...






... and the other is 46.46mm, which is a difference of 2.34mm. 






This will work - the pin socket is measured from this (in the same way as dovetails for a drawer.

The reason for the 7mm depth? The case is 20mm thick. the dovetail should be about 1/3 of this thickness. I decided to take it to the depth of the rebate for the rear panel ...






So, here is one of the completed bases ...






And this is where it will be fitted ...






Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (17 Feb 2020)

Following hot on the heels of the last post, where we created the male or tail section of the tapered sliding dovetail, now comes the female or pin socket to house the base for the legs.






These are the bases. This post will focus on the socket for the one closest the camera.






The base is positioned exactly 3 1/4" from the side. The tapered side is on the inside, with the outside face square to the front and rear of the case ...






This process is essentially the same as transferring marks from the tail- to the pin board with drawers. 

The base tapers towards the toe, that is, the sliding dovetail will tighten up as the base is pushed into the socket.

The first step is to register the far end of the base in such a way that the position is repeatable. This is done by placing a long board along the "square" side. The position for the end of the board is marked ...






Now the base can be stood up to mark inside the tail with a scratch awl. You can make out the mark aligning the baseline of the tail ...






Look carefully for the dots.






This is repeated at the other end. 






The dots are now joined up ...






The plan is to saw the socket sides, as if sawing dovetails in a drawer. The angle ratio is 1:6, as it was with the base. Since the socket is blind or stopped, the saw needs to have space in which to begin the cut. An area at the toe is excavated with a router.

The depth of the cut is set using a 7.0mm drill bit. I am aware that the actual depth is 7.5mm, but this will be a second pass. I intend to clear the waste with the router - this Jarrah is bloody hard, and I am not a masochist! 











Using an angled saw guide, the end is chopped to the line ..






Now this is space to register the azebiki saw ...






I have roughly marked a depth to aim for ...






Both sides have been sawn ...






The waste is removed with the router, leaving a few mm close to the sides ...






This is chopped away with a chisel in two passes, and then cleaned up with a hand router ...






The side rebate #79/dovetail plane is used to clean any rough sections ..






The power router drops a 0.5mm to 7.5mm and this is cleaned up ...






Amazingly, the base slides in and tightens up about 1/4" from the end. It will need a tap to be fully secure. 






That's it for now.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AndyT (17 Feb 2020)

Brilliant! I know it must take twice as long when you have to stop and take photos but not only do you achieve precision, you show the rest of us how to do so, in clearer detail than any other source.


----------



## Inspector (17 Feb 2020)

Thanks for the build thread Derek. Interesting to say the least. I am curious though in that you were concerned bout crossgrain stresses with the dividers et cetera inside the case but the leg piece will be just that. Or do you have plans to pin/screw/glue the rear end and allow the forward end to float? Maybe I should wait for the next instalment. 

Pete


----------



## MikeG. (17 Feb 2020)

A tapered sliding dovetail is the classic way of dealing with movement. It was often used for big boarded doors, for instance, and for table tops. I'm assuming that Derek will just give it a good clout with a hammer and that will be that.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (18 Feb 2020)

Inspector":2arpkjyp said:


> Thanks for the build thread Derek. Interesting to say the least. I am curious though in that you were concerned bout crossgrain stresses with the dividers et cetera inside the case but the leg piece will be just that. Or do you have plans to pin/screw/glue the rear end and allow the forward end to float? Maybe I should wait for the next instalment.
> 
> Pete



Pete, I am concerned with cross grain movement with the bases as well. This will be dealt with by only glueing them at the toe, and leaving about 3/4 of the base to be free to expand towards the rear (as you have anticipated). 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Hand Plane (19 Feb 2020)

Brilliant!

Some people spend a fortune to go on woodworking courses that wouldn't match Derek's WIP's.

Much appreciated as ever.


----------



## sammy.se (19 Feb 2020)

Always a pleasure watching and learning from you WIPs! Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (22 Feb 2020)

The legs are on. I must admit to mixed feelings at this stage. This is not my style of leg, but it is what my niece wants. Perhaps I will feel differently with a finish on the wood.












The tenons were kerfed for a wedge ...






Installed in the bases ...











And glued into the socket. Note that only the first third is glued. The rear is free to move ...






The bases have been shaped to reduce their impact ...











The legs were evened up ..






Side view from underneath (one does not see the base otherwise) ...






Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## thetyreman (22 Feb 2020)

is that titebond liquid hide glue? looks amazing by the way.


----------



## foxbat (22 Feb 2020)

Fabulous work, thankyou I'm learning so much from your projetcs


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (23 Feb 2020)

thetyreman":2xzrr1f9 said:


> is that titebond liquid hide glue? ..



Yes .. Titebond Liquid Hide Glue. I use it on anything which may need to be taken apart, now or later, or for the open time, such as the case dovetails. For parts where there is no stress or need to adhere quickly, then I use Titebond II or III.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (23 Feb 2020)

It's time for the drawers. Once again there is a challenge. The design calls for drawer fronts that stretch across the front without being broken by drawer dividers. In other words, "lipped drawers". 

There are two ways to do this. The easy way is to used "planted fronts", that is, attached fronts to the front of a box ...






The hard way is to make the drawer front a single piece. This requires rebating the drawer front and forming a half blind dovetail in the side of the rebate. Courtesy of Christian Becksvoort ...






I've chosen the high road (sigh).

Today I spent my time preparing for three drawers. Why three and not two, as in the original design? Simply because I can build them narrower, and this will make them less likely to rack. They'll end up somewhere around 280mm wide and 290mm deep. I anticipated that 375mm wide and 290mm deep would be a disaster waiting to happen. The only way drawers that dimension could work is on runners, which I do not do. 

The wood for the drawer front is more Fiddleback Jarrah (by request), while the remainder of the drawer is quarter sawn Tasmanian Oak (which is actually a Eucalyptus, and is quite unstable unless quarter sawn. I keep a stock for drawers). It is a lot like US White Oak in appearance and hardness.

I have a bunch of narrower boards, which I re-sawed to make 7mm thick drawer sides, and glued together two to get the height needed ...






No clamps, just blue painter's tape, which is stretched across. It pulls the edges together.






This is enough for 4 drawer sides (one spare) ...






The drawer bottoms will be 1/4" (6.35mm) thick ..... I cannot go metric here as my plough blade is imperial  .... this is re-sawn from a wide board, which saves some effort as only two boards are needed for the bottoms (the grain runs across the drawer) ...






Same trick with the blue tape, and cauls are also added to keep it flat. This will be sawn up at the time it is needed, and the panel will remain in the cauls until thn.






The narrow drawer sides necessitate using drawer slips, which is a strip added to the sides with a groove for the drawer bottom. This also adds extra width as a runner.

The slips are made with a plough plane. In this case, I used both a Veritas Small Plow (to plough the groove) and the Veritas Combination Plow (to plough a bead - the bead lies at the join of the slip and drawer bottom). Setting up both save time switching set ups back and forth, and once begun, making these slips was a quick process ...

First plough the bead ...






A tip on how to avoid over-planing the bead. This comes from David Charlesworth. Scribble pencil along the top of the bead, and when it is gone, the bead is complete ...






Now flip the board around to plane the groove ...

The first line is where the groove begins, which is 3mm below the bead. There will follow a 1/4" groove, and there will be 4mm below this to support the groove/drawer bottom. This makes the slip a smidgeon over 12mm high. It is 10mm deep, which allows for a 5mm deep groove.






As mentioned, once set up, no further marking is necessary. Just plane ...











... and then rip off the slip on the table saw.






This is a mock up: the bead at the top and the groove on the side ...






I have a strategy to fit the drawer fronts, so that the edges align with each other. It is all about accurate marking out. This will hinge on getting the opening exact, and transferring the respective measurements to their drawer fronts. 

First order of the day was to fit (what will become) drawer backs to the front between the drawer dividers. This is what the result looked like ...






The table saw can cross cut really close, but only a shooting board will get the final dimension ...











On to the all-important drawer fronts!

I was heartened that all the verticals were indeed vertical still ... well, except for one (if you look carefully, you will see light in the top half) ...






This meant a slight adjustment of that side .. again a job for the shooting board. 

Set one, mark the angle with a small sliding bevel ...






... transfer this to the side of the board, and head for the shooting board. As the side is no longer square, a shim is used to create the needed angle ...






A good result ...






This is the join I need to manage ...






These are the fronts fitted in sequence ...






And here were are now, waiting for the next build day ...






Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AndyT (23 Feb 2020)

Beautiful.
Have you decided on the handles for these drawers? Never an easy decision.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (24 Feb 2020)

Hi Andy

I do have a design in mind .... but you will have to wait for it ... 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (24 Feb 2020)

The process of attaching of the legs was completed by the addition of two screws in the sliding dovetail base. 

Why add screws? The screws are not to prevent the base sliding back (an elongated hole actually encourages this). It is just to prevent the base twisting in, and breaking out of, the socket since there is no glue there to prevent any lateral movement.

The force comes from the splayed and angled legs. They will want to cant outward, and this becomes more so when the three drawers are filled and a vase of flowers is placed on the top of the table.

I thought that it is worth mentioning the screws used and how they were inserted.

The screws are 1" long brass tapered wood screws. The drill bits are also tapered to match. These ones include a countersink and depth stop.






The plan is to drill the hole for the screw through the base and into the case, and then widen the hole in the base. This will permit the base to move with expansion and contraction. In this case 2mm each way.

A wider drill bit (and depth stop) ..






Before inserting a screw, especially brass screws, they are dipped in a little wax. This is wax for lubricating bandsaw blades ...






Here is the widened hole ...






The gap around the screw ...











The second screw is on the other side of the leg. This is positioned about half way between the end screw and the glued toe.






Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## MikeG. (24 Feb 2020)

I'm not sure that this arrangement will allow any movement, Derek. It's the countersink which is the issue. No matter the size of the hole, what you've effectively got is a snug fit cone-in-a-cone. In circumstances where I'm allowing for lateral movement.....yes to the oversized or slotted hole, but I use a dome-headed screw with a flat underside, and I put a washer on. If you need to bury this because it is unsightly, then you need a flat-bottomed slot. Here's how I did it with a boarded door:











I followed up with a plug (pellet).


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (25 Feb 2020)

Mike, I have been pondering on this. I must admit that I chose the screw first as a wood screw and that it could be recessed out of sight. My thoughts were on a wider hole for movement, and did not consider whether the conical countersink would limit movement. 

To be safe, I plan to swap out the screws for round heads, and shape the countersink into a flat (using a wider forstner bit).

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## MikeG. (25 Feb 2020)

You'll need to clamp a piece of scrap over the hole because otherwise the Forstner bit will not have a centrepoint to follow and will thrash about making a mess. You know that, though........grandma/ egg sucking.........sorry!


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (25 Feb 2020)

Okay, so I decided that the wood screws were a mistake. They would prevent movement rather than permit it. So they had to go.

This is the exchange screw: a 12 gauge stainless steel wood/metal screw with an all-important flat/domed head.






The plan was to use a 3/4" forstner bit. This would leave a wide, flat area for the screw head to move along. The range of movement would be the same as before, about 2mm each side of the screw.

A MDF template was made to guide the forstner bit, as it had no support in view of the existing hole ...






Drilled to depth ...






A steel washer added ...






Done ...






I had only 15 minutes after work today, but on the weekend, when I get back to this build, I plan to add a third screw behind the front leg.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AndyT (25 Feb 2020)

I hardly like to say this and it may just be that the photos mislead. But it looks like your steel washer is a snug fit to the screw and to the recess. One or other or both needs some slack!


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (25 Feb 2020)

Andy, there is a clear 2mm around the screw, both for the washer and the hole in the base. 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (26 Feb 2020)

I put the last screws in after work. That will free up this weekend to concentrate on building the drawers.

There are three screws. The one at the toe is fixed and there is no play for any movement. The two at the rear can slide 2mm each way.











Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## MikeG. (26 Feb 2020)

You know, I'm not really clear why there's a need for screws at all. This sliding tapered dovetail is held fast at one end. It can't come out of the slot. I just don't see the need for fastners at all, given that these things were originally designed to obviate the necessity for fixings.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (26 Feb 2020)

Mike, the point is that this part of the build is not about drilling for screws. It is about mechanical design, that is, how to strengthen the base.

There is the leverage placed on the base by the legs, because they angle away from the base. Since the legs are very firmly attached to the base, if the legs twist (which is the threat imposed by weight on the table top) they lever the base along with them. While the base is attached with a sliding dovetail, if enough force is applied to it, it could break out sideways (laterally). 

The screws are to prevent the base twisting over. The base is still free to move along the sliding dovetail (longitudinally), just not free to move laterally.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## MikeG. (26 Feb 2020)

That really is allowing for some serious abuse!


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (26 Feb 2020)

Mike, this table is going to live in Sydney. Perth gets very hot in summer - 40+ C is quite common. However, it is very dry heat, and one just adapts to it. Sydney, on the other hand, gets very humid. Summer is the rainy season, unlike Perth, where we have a Mediterranean climate. So, wood moves a great deal in Sydney. This build has been all about taking care of movement. 

With the legs, it is easy enough to guard against the unknown by adding 6 screws. 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## MikeG. (26 Feb 2020)

Derek Cohen (Perth said:


> Mike, this table is going to live in Sydney. Perth gets very hot in summer - 40+ C is quite common. However, it is very dry heat, and one just adapts to it. Sydney, on the other hand, gets very humid. Summer is the rainy season, unlike Perth, where we have a Mediterranean climate.........



I know. I lived in Perth for 6 years as a kid, and I've lived in Sydney for 6 months.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (1 Mar 2020)

This is the part where we begin building one-piece lipped drawers (as contrasted with applied fronts). 

In preparing for this part of the build, my research uncovered exactly one article on dovetailing lipped drawer fronts. This is by Christian Becksvoort in Fine Woodworking magazine (#263-Sep/Oct 2017 Issue). Interesting that. 

Why lipped drawer fronts? Simply because the three drawers must run continuously across the front, without a gap between them. 







The lipped sides will wrap around the drawer dividers, and these will double as drawer stops. This will be illustrated in a short while.

The lipped ends create a challenge to form the pins/sockets for the tailed drawer sides since it becomes difficult to saw. I have a novel solution 

We begin by marking where the lipped sides will be. This is knifed in through from the rear of the case ...






The marks are knifed with a cutting gauge. 

The distance from the edge is exactly the same for each board - 6mm. The side spacers are 6mm wide and the two central drawer dividers are 12mm thick, of which each lip is half this thickness.






The drawer front is rebated with a moving filletster plane ...






With both sides rebated, the centre must fit snuggly between the drawer dividers ...






... and leave exactly half of the dividers remaining ...











Side-by-side, perfect fit ...






The rebates are fine-tuned with a cutting gauge, ensuring that they are even and square ...






This measure is transferred to the drawer side ...






I took the time to lay out the dovetails on a scrap as a template. This saves a lot of repeated layouts ...






Tails done ...






The tail board with be placed here, but with the lip extending past ...






This is what it would look like if dovetailed ...






To make it easier to see what I am sawing, I am using blue tape ...






Transferring the tails to the pin board is made a little easier as the rebate is a handy stop ..











Marked out produces this ...






And that is where it stops being straight forward as this is as much as it is possible to saw inside the lines ...






I decided that, if I could not saw it, I would chop it. This gives new meaning to "chopping dovetails" 

The pin board is clamped (to avoid any splitting), and the kerfing chisel is used to deepen the existing half-kerf, and then extend it across the socket ...











Now the waste is chopped out ...











This picture of a fishtail chisel cleaning the corner of the socket is for bill 






Does it fit? Oh, the suspense!











Two more to go.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (2 Mar 2020)

Today I completed the second and third drawer fronts ...






Since I had only come across one article on making the lipped drawers - and that predominantly used power tools - and failed to find a single video on the topic, I decided to make one myself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Ic08ERaf0

This is a real-time video - no editing. So skip the parts as they bore you. Hopefully some of it will amuse. Or watch at bedtime if you are insomniac 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AndyT (2 Mar 2020)

Thanks for that Derek. I just watched your video and found it very informative. That sort of real time watch-along seems to be quite rare on YouTube but it's actually really useful. Very clear commentary too.


----------



## MusicMan (2 Mar 2020)

Awesome!


----------



## Marineboy (3 Mar 2020)

Great video Derek, I enjoyed the views of your tools as well as your skills. Also the sound track - exotic Aussie birds?

One question re your vice (Morson?). It looks a bit flexible when you put your weight against it. Is this a drawback in practice?


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (3 Mar 2020)

The Moxon vise is not flexible. It is solid as a rock. However, I need to reposition the Gramercy hold downs behind it, as they are a bit too far away to centre on the Moxon's side pad, and hold it down firmly. 

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Marineboy (3 Mar 2020)

I stand corrected re the solidity of the vice. I can now see that the issue is with the position of the hold downs. Still, it’s not affected your ability to produce those superb joints.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (7 Mar 2020)

The build is nearing the conclusion. The drawers, case back, and finish to do. Here, the drawers are continued. The focus of this article is on fitting the drawer (with lipped sides), and the fixtures that are used in the course of this process.

We ended the last build session with the drawer parts made ...






... and the lipped drawer fronts completed ...






First task today was to plane the groove for the drawer fronts ..






The drawer sides and drawer back were dovetailed ... simple through dovetails. The notable feature here is that space is left for the drawer slip (which replaces the drawer groove as the drawer sides are 1/4" thick). 

Of interest may be the bench hook I use. I suspect that some may look at this and wonder why I am butchering it by chopping on its top ..











Well, it is just scrap, and took about 5 minutes to make. So far this one has lasted about 3 months. I should get a few more out of it. 

Not only is it used for chopping, but also sawing ...






... and even shooting ...






One of the issues with a lipped front is that it cannot be planed to fit after glue up. So, there are lots of dry fitting, and the sides are planed individually. This planing stop is invaluable for thin boards ...











There is non-slip in the form of Crubber on the face of the stop ...






When fitted together, any raised pins need to be pared level. Here, the drawer is captured in a fixture (essentially, two pieces of ply, each with a cut out). The pins are pared with the newly-released Veritas flushing chisels ...






I've had a pre-production set for a couple of years. This is what a prototype handle looks like ...






Veritas now supply this in a nice wooden handle. The one I am using is a design of my own, ala a Japanese slick ..






Fitting the drawers also required positioning and glueing the drawer dividers. These also act as drawer stops ...

This is the drawer divider in position ...






It is slid back ...






The first third of the dado receives glue ...






The drawer is replaced and positioned ..






And then the drawer divider is slid up against the rear of the lip ..






The drawer case is fine-tuned with the LN Rabbet Block Plane ...






This is used to smooth over any irregularities in the side walls and, where necessary, to plane away any fat ...






The drawers are in the process of being glued up. Drawer #3 cannot be glued up until a brass plate is recessed into one side. T






Marked out, the waste routed, and then chiselled along the circumference ...











The drawer fronts are planed ...






Another dry assembly and check for fit ...






If there is any resistance to the drawer being pushed in-and-out, I test fit it from the rear. This shows whether the drawer or case needs some planing. Looking good here, as it goes right in ...






There is good drawer extension (about 80%) ...






The drawers are now glued up.

Lastly, for the day, the slips are attached. These began like this, grooved and beaded ...






A Jarrah runner is added below. The upper section of the slip is, as with the drawer sides and drawer bottoms, made from Tasmanian Oak. This is similar to US White Oak in hardness and wear. Since the drawers run on Jarrah, the wear properties are improved with the Jarrah wear section ...






Tomorrow should see the conclusion of the build.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## AJB Temple (7 Mar 2020)

I am going to have to block you Derek. Your skills make me feel inadequate.  

Your niece is a lucky woman. Excellent work and very instructive thread and video. Thank you. I have learnt quite a lot. Invaluable. 

AJ


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (10 Mar 2020)

This is the last part of the build - completing of the drawer bottoms and pulls.

A panel was prepared some weeks ago. 1/4" thick Tasmanian Oak. This was made up of two, book matched boards. Blue tape was used to pull the jointed edges together. Clamps are unnecessary for this task ...






Measure off the full width of the drawer bottom from inside the slips ...






Of possible interest is the work holding for the drawer bottom ...






The bench dogs on each side were made from sections of unhardened O1 steel, and filed into teeth. 






Another heads-up is the arm for this cutting guard. Some while back, Veritas brought out a gauge with a fine adjuster. They now sell the arms to upgrade existing gauges, which is what I have done here to a wheel gauge I made ...






Here the tongue is marked (about 4mm). This will fit into the groove in the slip.

The thickness of the tongue is marked (3mm).






The tongue is planed ...






The fit is tested with a spare slip ...






The bottom was about 1mm too wide to fit. A LN edge was perfect to re-joint one side ...






Re-establish the tongue with a shoulder plane ...






Slide the bottom in. At this time it is just a dry fit. The front, which remains 1/4" thick to fit to 1/4" groove at the rear of the drawer front, is not yet pushed home. The front groove will hold the one end firmly, allowing movement towards the rear of the drawer.






The drawers require pulls. The aim is to make the pulls "vanish" as much as possible. To do this, the shape is kept simple, and the wood is a section from the drawer fronts. Here it is being planed to 1/4" thickness.






Set up to make the pulls ...






A 10mm wide rebate is planed on both sides. This will be completed on the reverse side as well, to create a tenon 3mm thick.






Four sections are marked off for the pulls (only three are needed) ..






A router is used to create dimples for a finger grip on the underside of the pull (three were needed and were good here; one could be tossed) ...











The outlines are cut out ...






The router is again used, this time to create a 3mm x 50mm mortice in the drawer fronts for the pulls ...






The final section of the build is the drawer back. I decided to use Jarrah to match the rest - one never knows whether the hall table will become a room divider. 

The newly-purchased JessEm Clear-Cut TS Stock Guides make a clean, accurate rip that much easier ...






The next post will show the completed hall table.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Marineboy (10 Mar 2020)

Derek, was your heart in your mouth when you did that routing on the front of the drawers, given all the work you’d already put into them? One mm out and the thing would have been ruined. I wouldn’t have the balls.


----------



## foxbat (10 Mar 2020)

brilliant write up and build, thankyou!


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (11 Mar 2020)

Marineboy":1n1uq1rg said:


> Derek, was your heart in your mouth when you did that routing on the front of the drawers, given all the work you’d already put into them? One mm out and the thing would have been ruined. I wouldn’t have the balls.



Nah ... not a problem. I was using a fixture I build for morticing with a router.











The router fence is captured in the groove at the rear.






Clamp the work piece (drawer face), line up the router/bit, set the depth, and Bob's your uncle.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## Marineboy (11 Mar 2020)

Thanks Derek, that’s clearly a very accurate solution. I’m looking forward to how you finish the piece.


----------



## Derek Cohen (Perth Oz) (14 Mar 2020)

My niece is getting married at the end of March, the entry hall table she asked for is completed, and in a couple of days it will head off to Sydney. 

This is the model for the table she wanted me to build, but to build it in Jarrah ...






I needed to make a few modifications. The most notable were, firstly, that there are three drawers, where the model has two. With a little research, it became evident that the model was a "flat pack" build from a store in the UK, and it used slides and poppers for the drawers. Without slides, wide drawers will rack since the depth-to-width ratio is all wrong. Three drawers change this ratio and make it workable. 

Secondly, building a drawer to ride wood-on-wood, one cannot use poppers - and so drawer handles are necessary. My niece was keen that drawer handles would not be seen, and I have done my best to make them unobtrusive.

Together with the desire to avoid drawer handles, there was also the request to make the drawers appear to be a single piece, rather than drawers separated by drawer dividers. The fact is, we had to have drawer dividers. So, to hide them, drawer fronts were given lips, with a lip covering half the width of a divider. In this way, the dividers could double as drawer stops. Making lipped, half-blind dovetails was a first for me. In the end, they were not too bad.

The case of the original table is mitred, and this is likely butt jointed and supported with either dowels, biscuits or dominos. My choice was to use mitred through dovetails, both for their strength and also for aesthetics. Although I have done a number of similar cases in recent years, this joint is one where you hold your breath until it all comes together. Then you wonder what the fuss was about 

A fifth change was the attachment of the legs. The model likely used a metal screw per leg, which was common with Mid Century furniture. I wanted something stronger and durable so, in place of this, my decision was to stake the legs into a thicker base, which was firmly attached to the underside of the case with tapered, stopped sliding dovetails. A bit more work, but I will sleep better at night.

At the end of the day, it resembles a box, and only a woodworker will recognise that it is a very complex box. 

Okay, here it is. It is photographed in my entrance hall ....






The wood is fiddleback (curly) Jarrah.











A close up the waterfall on one side ...






... and on the other ...






The obligatory dovetail shot ...






Those drawers! The lipped drawer fronts are 20mm, with the drawer sides 1/4". The back is 15mm thick. The thin sides necessitated drawer slips. These were beaded to create a transition from slip to drawer bottom. The drawer bottoms are 1/4". The wood used here is Tasmanian Oak.





















Since the case and internals are build from hard Jarrah, the underside of the slips was given a Jarrah slide to improve ware properties.






As mentioned earlier, the aim was to present a single board at the front ...






Here may be seen how the lips share the drawer divider and use it as a drawer stop. The spacers at the side of the case are half the width of the dividers as they do not share two drawers.











Now those drawer handles ...

I tried to keep the design as simple as possible, and used the same wood as the drawer fronts so they would blend in. The upper drawer shows the finger grip on underside of the handle ...






Drawer extension is good - about 80-85 percent ...






The internal bevels around the case ...






... maintained a straight edge to the drawer line. Plus the gap between the drawers (about 0.5mm) ...






Near-to-last, the case back: this is made from the same Jarrah - one never knows if the piece will end up against a wall or out in the open.






Someone will ask if the brass screws were clocked ... of course they were! 

And a final photo to provide some scale. This is taken with a chair I built a few years ago ...






Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Regards from Perth

Derek


----------



## MikeG. (14 Mar 2020)

Great work, Derek, both at the bench and with the camera. I am sure your niece will be very pleased. I'm not sure how this aesthetic survived the 1950s, though.


----------



## AndyT (14 Mar 2020)

Inspirational!

I love the way you have made something that resembles the original but is superior in so many ways. As you say, the differences will pass most people by, but woodworkers will know, and appreciate your work.

PS - you will make sure she doesn't stand a bowl of flowers on the top, won't you!


----------



## Bodgers (14 Mar 2020)

Superb piece. Mid Century modern is a great style. I understand how the style survived the 1950s 

I remember the Wegner chair build as well - another superb build.


----------



## thetyreman (14 Mar 2020)

that's such a stunning piece Derek, what's even more impressive is the fact it's all figured wood as well!


----------



## NickM (14 Mar 2020)

I think it looks brilliant. I've really enjoyed following this, and also liked the YouTube video too. thanks for sharing.


----------



## MusicMan (14 Mar 2020)

Impressive, instructive and enjoyable. Thanks, Derek.


----------

