# Pine Chest of Drawers - Finished



## OPJ (6 Aug 2009)

It's fair to say that the Blanket Chest I made for big soft moose earlier this year went down very well, despite the fact that it took me the best part of three-months from start to finish...  I've since been 'commissioned' by Pete to build a Chest of Drawers in the same style (you may have seen the Design thread a few months ago). Due to various reasons (one being the workbench build, others being personal), I haven't been able to get started until now.

This is the design we agreed on for an eight-drawer chest with graduated heights on the drawer fronts. Overall, it's 1200mm long x 800mm tall x 500mm deep.







This morning, I managed to collect my first ever order with Robbins Timber, near Ashton Gate. All cut to length and nicely taped together, ready for me to throw in the back of my "van"... 






It seems that, even when you e-mail through an order, people have trouble with double-barrel surnames... :roll:






_Almost_ got it right the second time! 






I won't begin the proper build until Monday, once this wood as had a few days of brief acclimatisation. I do want to show off the quality of these boards - even the wide ones are (currently) split free and I haven't seen an inch of pith anywhere! 8) This is what 'unsorted' redwood should be like; unlike some of the 'fifths' I probably had at Bristol City Timber last time.






This next shot usually provokes a reaction from Mike Garnham, telling me I've bought too much wood... Don't forget the small pile of brown oak in the background, Mike!  :wink: I've stacked this lot methodically, so I can pick straight from the top in line with my scheme of work - 'frame, top, drawers', for example.






Because my cutting list was produced from much longer stock, I have a few leftovers, just in case.  The whole lot cost just over £100 including VAT, which I'm quite pleased with.






Yes, I am using brown oak for the runners, muntins, slips and front drawer rails. I wouldn't normally 'give' this sort of timber away but, it will make for a better job and I've got too much of it in my workshop. It's also cheaper than buying _more_ redwood, which I can barely afford right now. I did some test staining on a couple of scraps (the other was a piece of beech) and, although this photo isn't perfect, the stained brown oak should be a reasonably close match for stained pine.






With my new 'bench built and the workshop generally in a better shape that it has been for the last four-years [_though, there's still much work to be done!_], I'm feel confident that I can get this job finished by the end of the month. Building the carcase shouldn't really take too long, it's only hand-cutting the drawer dovetails that I'm not looking forward to. :? My Earlex spray gun should help to apply the stain and lacquer so, that's less of a worry this time around. 

I will need to buy a sheet of 6mm plywood. The scraps I have are in two different colours, which won't do for the drawer bases. Funnily enough, at Robbins earlier, I noticed they now do sheets of 6mm ply with V-grooves running down the length... I'm not paying £80-£90 a sheet though when I can do it with a router for much less!! :shock: :wink:


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## Mattty (6 Aug 2009)

I will need to buy a sheet of 6mm plywood. The scraps I have are in two different colours, which won't do for the drawer bases. Funnily enough, at Robbins earlier, *I noticed they now do sheets of 6mm ply with V-grooves running down the length*... I'm not paying £80-£90 a sheet though when I can do it with a router for much less!!

Hi Ollie,

What is this ply for? I'm maybe being stupid here but i can't imagine what the use is?


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## woodbloke (6 Aug 2009)

OPJ":16dndtvq said:


> Yes, I am using brown oak for the runners, muntins, slips and front drawer rails. I wouldn't normally 'give' this sort of timber away but, it will make for a better job and I've got too much of it in my workshop.


Olly - if you're using oak for all the wearing parts, don't forget to glue a 6mm slitherino onto the bottom of the pine drawer sides (assuming that you're going to use it for the sides?) so that you obtain an oak/oak running surface. I did this recently with my daughter's 'puter table...works very well - Rob


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## head clansman (6 Aug 2009)

HI 

Timber looks good , good price as well .hc 

ps keep the pics coming.


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## OPJ (6 Aug 2009)

Mattty, the 6mm hardwood ply will be for the drawer bases and back panels of the main carcase - both of which will be V-grooved to match the boarding at both ends of the unit. I do have enough ply for the back panel but, I still need another two-thirds of a full sheet for the bases.

Rob, yes, the drawers sides are also pine. But, I'm adding oak drawers slips. These are mainly to take the bases so I don't 'weaken' the sides by cutting grooves. It should be fine.


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## woodbloke (6 Aug 2009)

OPJ":2ftsw9n1 said:


> Rob, yes, the drawers sides are also pine. But, I'm adding oak drawers slips. These are mainly to take the bases so I don't 'weaken' the sides by cutting grooves. It should be fine.


Sorted then...good :wink: - Rob


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## TrimTheKing (7 Aug 2009)

OPJ":39kg2ed4 said:


> ...of 6mm ply with V-grooves running down the length... .


I might not be reading this correct, but won't vee grooves leave you with the stripes of the plys on show? Or is this going to be a feature?


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## OPJ (7 Aug 2009)

You're right, Mark, but, I'm going to try to keep them shallow (mainly to retain the strength in the 6mm ply) and it will be stained anyway. I think this was Brad's idea to make a feature of the drawer bases.


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## TrimTheKing (7 Aug 2009)

Hmm, will be interesting to see how it turns out. Can't picture it in my head at the moment, look forward to seeing it progress


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## OPJ (10 Aug 2009)

This build is now officially under way. 8) I made a start this morning at 9-ish and prepared this lot up for the plinth and end frames of the carcase. Notice how I'm working from a 'proper' (MS Excel) cutting list, this time! 






I'd also like to exhibit my extraction setup when using the thicknesser of my machine - if I don't do this, the hose only gets in the way and becomes a right nuisance!






This part didn't take too long, as you can imagine. It was the steps to follow that meant the plinth construction dragged on until after lunch...

My Bosch 12in. mitre saw simply isn't accurate enough for most cuts, let alone mitres. I wasn't sure my Hegner disc sander would be up to cutting 90mm mitres either - at least, not without ruining the discs due to all that sap. So, I sharpened I dug out this old donkey's ear shooting board, buried somewhere behind my lathe.






Although I do own a couple of longer planes, I'm using a no.4 here because it's the only one I have so far 'modified' to take a thick Clifton iron, which is unbeatable when it comes to planing end-grain. At some point, I'll also widen the mouth on my no.5. The longer the plane, the more accurate the mitre, here.

I'm glad this chest is no longer than 1200mm otherwise, I'd have really been struggling here! :shock: Rob's made a nice donkey's ear-type attachment on his Bloke Blog - I may have to borrow this idea some time! :wink:






Eventually, the mitres were cut and things were looking up. Even biscuit jointing was fairly smooth, although I needed to sit the Makita jointer on a scrap of 4mm MDF to get the cutter in the right place.






Next, I wanted to add a similar 'relief' detail to the lower edges of all four lengths. I didn't bother looking for the old templates as I know I cut them up months ago - I knew it was a mistake, even then!! :x So, I lost some more time cutting two new templates before moving on to the router table for a bit of shaping.











A dry-run proved that my persistence with the tired old shooting board had payed off as all four mitres came together neatly. 8) Release the straps, add some glue and that's the plinth out of the way (for now). After taking this photo, I added a 5ft sash cramp to hold it square. The sheet of MDF is only there because the 500mm width is a bit tight on my new workbench.






By this time, I was about ready for a cup of tea and the dog was begging for some food.  Some time later, I made a start on the end frames and made room for my mortiser in this far corner. Pine cuts _easily_ and the freezer below sets the machine at a comfortable working height - no need to try and squeeze a stool in front any more! 






I'm taking a slightly different approach to the panelling this time around... Last time, as you may remember (?), I cut the grooves first, followed by the mortises and then tenons. Now though, I'm cutting the joints and will cut a groove later to fit the boards once they've been sanded down - by my own admission, they were a little bit sloppy on the blanket chest...  Fingers crossed on this one!

There was a nice little benchtop Multico mortiser on eBay not long ago and not far away either. It had a front clamp as well and only sold for £130 - _why didn't I bid on it?!?_ :evil: I love the capacities on my Fox machine, it just seems to slow me down having to move the work along by hand, even with the rollers and bed I added. 

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to make a start on the rest of the frame in the afternoon (once I've finished the two ends, of course). Planing all those narrow bits of timber up isn't going to be 'fun'... :? I'm hoping to have all the frame components ready for staining in a couple of days. I don't have the space to do some and carry on with something else; I would prefer to do the lot in one go.

Oh, I apologise for some of the photos - I'm still playing around with the white balance on my camera. :roll:


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## big soft moose (10 Aug 2009)

OPJ":59qgn1c3 said:


> . Now though, I'm cutting the joints and will cut a groove later to fit the boards once they've been sanded down - by my own admission, they were a little bit sloppy on the blanket chest...  Fingers crossed on this one!



does that mean we get a discount this time to compensate 

only kidding - you may have thought they were sloppy but we honestly couldnt tell - and the customer is always right


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## OPJ (10 Aug 2009)

:-k

I tell you what, Pete, I'll make sure it's done within three months this time!!  _Two_, if you're really lucky! :wink:

For anyone wondering about the gloves [no-one has asked yet but, I'm sure someone is going to...! ] :roll:






...I can't seem to hold a bench plane for this kind of work without getting blisters in the palm of my right hand. I must be doing something wrong but, I cannot find a naturally comfortable way to hold a plane on its side... :?

Does anyone have any suggestions?


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## Paul Chapman (11 Aug 2009)

OPJ":1w68cbl4 said:


> I cannot find a naturally comfortable way to hold a plane on its side... :?
> 
> Does anyone have any suggestions?



Yes, Olly, get one of these 






You can plane for hours with that without getting blisters 8) Expensive but well worth the money if you do a lot of shooting.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## woodbloke (11 Aug 2009)

Olly - ref the long mitre shoot on the Blokelog. Credit must go to Pete (Newt) who came up with the idea and I copied it. The one shown in the blog was made for Waka, hence my run down to Weymouth last week. _If_ Paul C's pic _is_ what I think it is, then the LN No9 is *definitely* the bad boy to use on a shooter - Rob


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## Paul Chapman (11 Aug 2009)

woodbloke":3uw2x5fg said:


> _If_ Paul C's pic _is_ what I think it is, then the LN No9 is *definitely* the bad boy to use on a shooter



Got it in one


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## OPJ (11 Aug 2009)

I'm actually thinking of one day investing in something like Philly's Skew Mitre Plane. :wink: Looking at my bank balance though, I'll have to make do without either for a while. 

Many thanks to Pete, then! 

I also remember seeing one from Chris (waterhead37), where the timber sits horizontally along the workbench and the plane is set at a 45° angle - I think this is the one for me! 

Bare with me; update on progress to follow...


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## Chems (11 Aug 2009)

Olly how are you making the draws, dovetails or box joints or other?


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## OPJ (11 Aug 2009)

With a delayed start, I got all the boards prepared for the end panels, down to a thickness of 8.5mm, which would provide me with some leeway for sanding later. Didn't come across any pith, splits or shakes in this lot, which was very pleasing. 8) The odd dead knot is acceptable, in my opinion (this is _pine_, after all). Robbins were able to supply boards sawn to ¾in. thick, which helped me out no end. I would've preferred to have bought 1¼in. stock and resawn it myself but, at least this way, I don't need to worry about internal stresses as much.






These were prepared on the router table in the same way as before (rebates and chamfers). This was a chance to try out a V-grooving cutter I bought from Wealden. The finish was excellent, although I still had a bit of breakout on two of the boards! :x Fortunately enough, I will need to trim a couple of boards and planed up exactly *two* spares anyway! :wink:











After seeing Shultzy's router table build [I think?], I'm now reconsidering my options for securing the fence on mine. Bristol levers with sliding nuts work very well. But, they're a PITA to get to on a small table when you need to remove the fence. You can buy 2in. and 3in. G-cramps for a few pounds at Toolstation - I think that's the answer for me, although I may have to re-make the main supporting fence... :-k






As I mentioned last night, I thoroughly sanded each board down to 180g, ensuring all marks from my thicknesser were removed. Then, I could use this to gauge the final width of my grooves, cut in two passes on the router table with a slot cutter. After a bit of final sanding and the stain, sealer and lacquer to come later, this will probably be about right for a tidy fit. 






Back on to the frame and I was cutting tenons on the router table - yes, _again_, using Steve Maskery's excellent jig! :wink: I haven't yet found anything better than this for cutting small tenons in my workshop.






With a base of 18mm thick ply though, this is too much for the height of my 50mm wide tenon cutter. So, I had go back to using a straight cutter with greater length, which also leaves an irritating fluffy edge. :roll:






I can see two options here... One is to build a new jig with a thinner base. The other would be to invest in a collet extension, which would generally make bit changing much easier on my Freud router... :-k

I have suggested a 6mm ply base with 18mm ply on top (creating a recess in the middle for the work piece) but, Steve doesn't seem to think this will be enough for the cam cramp. And a 50mm wide cutter spinning another couple of inches further away from the collet leaves me feeling a bit uneasy... :? I'll ask Wealden and see what they think.

I lost a couple of hours after lunch having to run around and do other things. Tomorrow, I've got a lot of planing to do as I "look forward" to working on the rails and runners! :?


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## OPJ (11 Aug 2009)

Chems, at the moment, I'm looking at hand-cut dovetails for all *eight* drawers! :shock: I am watching a couple of Leigh jigs on eBay, just in case but, I still need to do a bit of research on those before I consider about bidding... I think I'd prefer a WoodRat in the long run anyway.

Box-joints may be okay at the rear... I'd have to check with Pete. Even then, I'd have to build a jig (lots of trial and error, etc.) for that... Come to think of it, I don't have any kind of track on my router table so, I'd have to look at adding at least one of those as well! 

Good news for you, personally - that 32mm adaptor turned up yesterday inside a box full of other things which had gone missing!


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## Chems (12 Aug 2009)

Good news on the good news!

I have a leigh jig as you probably know, its brilliant really is. Once you get the hang of it a draw takes seconds. With careful use of a backer board and a good quality its easy enough to do them with very little to no breakout on the pins. Also there are the Isolock templates that I have to try out sometime. 

I think with your new bench thou you'd knock through 8 draws of dovetails in now time. Maybe use a draw lock joint for the back of the draw and only dovetail the front as thats where the mechanical pressure is?


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## woodbloke (12 Aug 2009)

OPJ":2afcb2a8 said:


> Chems, at the moment, I'm looking at hand-cut dovetails for all *eight* drawers! :shock: I am watching a couple of Leigh jigs on eBay, just in case but, I still need to do a bit of research on those before I consider about bidding... I think I'd prefer a WoodRat in the long run anyway.
> 
> Box-joints may be okay at the rear... I'd have to check with Pete. Even then, I'd have to build a jig (lots of trial and error, etc.) for that... Come to think of it, I don't have any kind of track on my router table so, I'd have to look at adding at least one of those as well!
> 
> Good news for you, personally - that 32mm adaptor turned up yesterday inside a box full of other things which had gone missing!


Olly - just the merest eight? :lol: ...good for the soul. Don't waste your money on jigs to cut the d/t's, do it by hand, by the time you've finished the last set you'll know exactly how to use a dovetail saw. The fun part is then fitting them  :wink: - Rob


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## OPJ (12 Aug 2009)

Don't worry, guys, I'm almost certain I'll be cutting those dovetails by hand :wink: - just so long as they don't turn out like this, which I was cutting over the weekend... :shock:







Hardly my finest hour on the forums, is it!  

I know what I did wrong and I was being very lazy. Instead of shooting the boards to length, I decided I would leave them long and chisel the waste off once the tails were cut... As you can see, this was a very bad idea and I removed far too much! That doesn't account for the split on the left-hand corner or general sloppiness of the pins, of course... 

This is from a job I started (for myself) back in November, when I soon realised the limitations of my old 'bench. I've picked it up again for the weekends when I need a 'break' from the chest of drawers. 

---

I'll have a proper update for you on this thread tomorrow. I haven't been able to make too much progress today and I'm looking at another half-day for tomorrow as well. Those dreaded drawers are coming up and I could do with some advice, while you're here... 

My widest fronts are being cut from 8in. and 7in. redwood, with slightly narrower sides to suit. I'm very concerned about these boards cupping (given the general instability of pine) and am not sure how to approach this...

I was thinking of planing a face and edge, carefully running them through the bandsaw to give me two halves and then rejoining them with cascamite, which I'm sure would relieve a lot of the stress.

Unless there's a better solution? Obviously, I would like to keep the grain configuration so they still look 'whole'.


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## woodbloke (12 Aug 2009)

OPJ":2jk6m45p said:


> My widest fronts are being cut from 8in. and 7in. redwood, with slightly narrower sides to suit. I'm very concerned about these boards cupping (given the general instability of pine) and am not sure how to approach this...
> 
> 
> Unless there's a better solution? Obviously, I would like to keep the grain configuration so they still look 'whole'.


Olly, here's a solution that you _might_ want to consider. Take the drawer fronts and plane them flat each side. Then stack laminate them to form a gurt (westo...you know what 'gurt' is :lol: ) pile of pine 200mm+ thick (thicker than your widest drawer) You then slice up the block of pine through 90deg once the glue has set so that each new board produced is in effect quarter sawn pine. You then pass each of the new laminated boards through the p/t to arrive at your chosen thickness, which ought to be about 18mm 
The process is convoluted, but does produce true quarter sawn pine boards from 'normal' thru & thru sawn stock - Rob


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## big soft moose (12 Aug 2009)

Hi olly

good progress - swimbo most impressed

by the way i'm thinking of buying one of these http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axmi ... -21973.htm if I do you'd be welcome to borrow it to do the drawers

though to be honest i wasnt expecting dovetails , I thought you'd go the mitres and biscuits route as the drawers are out of sight anyway, but respect for doing it properly (yet another reason why swimbo is glad we commisioned you not me to do the build)


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## OPJ (12 Aug 2009)

Thanks for the offer, Pete, although I will have to politely decline. My main reason is that jigs (like your one) at the cheaper end of the market produce pins and tails of equal proportion - in short, they _look_ as if they have been made by machine, which I don't personally like. :? With a WoodRat or Leigh jig, there's more flexibility in sizing and layout. I doubt mitres would take much abuse once the drawers are fully loaded. :wink: Actually, if you look back to Monday's efforts, cutting mitres would probably make the job harder!! 

Rob, indeed I know what "gert" means...!  If I understand correctly what you are saying about stack-laminating, won't that completely change the appearance of the face of the board?


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## Paul Chapman (12 Aug 2009)

OPJ":2k6cc36d said:


> If I understand correctly what you are saying about stack-laminating, won't that completely change the appearance of the face of the board?



Olly, if you can lay your hands on a copy of Robert Ingham's book, "Cutting edge cabinetmaking", he discusses the problems of quarter-sawn boards suitable for drawer making not being readily available, and describes a method similar to the one Rob suggested. Sounds good as you start with crown-cut boards and end up with, in effect, quarter-sawn boards 8) 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## woodbloke (12 Aug 2009)

OPJ":2ktbmsot said:


> If I understand correctly what you are saying about stack-laminating, won't that completely change the appearance of the face of the board?


 
The appearance of the board will change (it will be 'lines' of grain rather than the crown cut figure) but you'll sacrifice the standard figuring for board stability - Rob


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## OPJ (12 Aug 2009)

Having re-read Rob's post, I now think I have a better understanding of this 'stack laminating' technique. However, my bandsaw will only take a maximum of 180mm under the guides and it doesn't like to cut more than 150mm - either way, it's not enough for the lower drawers. 

I'll stick with my idea of splitting and re-gluing, for now. I won't be starting the drawers until next week.

That Robert Ingham book is on a never-ending Wishlist that also includes Alan Peters' book... Oh well, maybe _this_ Christmas! :wink:


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## big soft moose (12 Aug 2009)

OPJ":1p0jou1c said:


> I doubt mitres would take much abuse once the drawers are fully loaded. :wink:



left to my own devices i'd probably have cut them square and glued the joints with no nails before screwing through with M6s - but then no one would mistake me for a competent cabinet maker

(though that said i have undertaken to make swimbo a sewing table which will be a "propper" build with joints and everything - hence the dovetail jig , but i'll start a new thread on that in the fullness of time)


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## Chems (13 Aug 2009)

Don't mean to Hijack, but if you want to make proper joints using a jig don't buy that Axminster one.


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## Tony Spear (13 Aug 2009)

OPJ":1lol6w8y said:


> I'll stick with my idea of splitting and re-gluing, for now. I won't be starting the drawers until next week.



If you're going to go down that route, perhaps you should consider ripping the boards into 3 sections and turning the central section over before re-glueing thus reducing the cupping tendency across the board?

Teaching me Granny perhaps but........


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## big soft moose (13 Aug 2009)

Chems":2zw1r1kk said:


> Don't mean to Hijack, but if you want to make proper joints using a jig don't buy that Axminster one.



chems - why not ? and what would you recomend instead , given that i cant afford the leigh.

if you could tell me by pm so as not hijck ollys thread that would be excellent.


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## woodbloke (13 Aug 2009)

OPJ":3dfyqyf1 said:


> Having re-read Rob's post, I now think I have a better understanding of this 'stack laminating' technique. However, my bandsaw will only take a maximum of 180mm under the guides and it doesn't like to cut more than 150mm - either way, it's not enough for the lower drawers.
> 
> I'll stick with my idea of splitting and re-gluing, for now. I won't be starting the drawers until next week.
> 
> That Robert Ingham book is on a never-ending Wishlist that also includes Alan Peters' book... Oh well, maybe _this_ Christmas! :wink:


Olly - you could still do the fronts as I suggested, just do it in two hits. Each drawer front would consist of two narrower pieces edged jointed together and then stuffed through the p/t. That way, you'd only have to resaw say, 100mm as opposed to 200mm. It would also mean that your stack laminate pile would be 100mm instead of being much thicker.

Get both those books! :wink: - Rob


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## OPJ (13 Aug 2009)

As I mentioned briefly yesterday, I haven't been able to be out in the workshop for the last two days as often as I would have liked.  Yesterday began with a couple of hours on the planer - drawer rails, runners, muntins and centre posts and kickers.






I kept glancing over at my extractor bag, expecting it to fill up any minute but, I couldn't understand why this wasn't happening... Until I noticed the big hole in the side of the bag, leaving a pile of shavings all over this shelf and the floor behind! 






(I'd already patched it up with duct tape by the time I took this shot.)

The outer stiles and centre posts needed a series of twin-mortises to receive the drawer rails. I did contemplate doing this _after_ the end frames had been assembled but, then decided this was clearly the sensible option! 






Thanks to _several_ lapses in concentration on the mortiser, I accidentally chopped out this area at the top of each of the four stiles - this was a mistake; the top rail will be dovetailed in to here!  These mortises have since been filled with scraps of pine,






When cutting the twin-tenons, I first used the router table to get a nice, clean cut on the shoulders. Then, created two tenons on the bandsaw, like this, which left me with a little bit to be chopped out with a coping saw and chisel. Had I not made this smaller than 6mm then, yes, I could've done them on the mortiser... :roll:






I did have time for a dry-run this afternoon and was able to take some measurements for the shoulder lengths on the runners and kickers. As you can see, this is another build which will press the limitations of space within my four-walled workshop! 






It feels surprisingly sturdy, even without the cramps on. It's also fairly light weight, due mainly to the fact this is pine. Once those runners and kickers are glued in, I expect this to be quite solid. 

For the last couple of hours since I got back, I've dyeing my fingers brown [no, really!! ] in preparation to glue the end frames up some time tomorrow (hopefully). Again, Mailee's tip of applying a thin coat of sealer first was used here. After staining, I added knotting solution where required. You'll also note I've done the inside edges of the frame components. Trust me, it's much easier to do them now!! :wink:






I'm not sure why but, these just seem to have come out even better this time... 8)






Hopefully then, I'll be able to get those end frames glued up tomorrow. Trouble is, I am literally in-and-out all-day. 

We'll see what happens! :wink:


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## OPJ (13 Aug 2009)

Tony Spear":aycl0yr3 said:


> If you're going to go down that route, perhaps you should consider ripping the boards into 3 sections and turning the central section over before re-glueing thus reducing the cupping tendency across the board?



Thanks, Tony. You are quite right in saying three boards would give greater stability over two.

I was going to say that it might look odd but, thinking about it, I doubt it would be worse than a wide drawer with a single centre line! 

I've still got some serious thinking to do on this one, then... :-k


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## big soft moose (13 Aug 2009)

swimbo and i would be happy with three piece drawer fronts if you think it will work better olly - it occurs to me that if you do two the kob or handle or whatever will be on the join which will make for trouble fixing.

also excuse my ignorance but what are "muntins" in my day that was a derogatorary term for the really ugly but over made up girl at the college disco e.g "shes like totally muntin" but i somehow doubt that this is the correct definition in this context


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## OPJ (13 Aug 2009)

Pete, yes, I also had a similar thought with regards to fitting the handles. I doubt it would make the actual fixing difficult but I'm quite certain it would look a bit odd. :?

For your information, muntins, in this situation, are narrow strips of wood fitting to the underside of the drawers - they're mainly used in wide drawers to help the base withstand heavy loads.






They're also common in window and door construction. Oh, and I've also met a few "Ladies" in my time but, that's totally irrelevant here!!


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## woodbloke (14 Aug 2009)

OPJ":5o3zdv2r said:


> ...and I've also met a few "Ladies" in my time but, that's totally irrelevant here!!


Doo tell Olly :lol: - Rob


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## OPJ (14 Aug 2009)

What little time I found to work on the chest this morning (roughly two hours) was largely wasted as I spent most of that time trying to clean out my Earlex HV5000 spray station! :x It's my own fault for not cleaning it after attempting to spray emulsion on the workshop walls, a few weeks ago. With the stain and knotting dry, I decided I'd try and spray on a coat of sanding sealer... Every now and then, there was a 'cough' and a 'splutter' and, well, take a look for yourselves... 






Fortunately, I did this test-run on the back faces, which will be unseen inside once the drawers are in. So, I picked up another cloth to do the show faces, which worked okay.

I was using a thicker mix of thinners than before. If you add too much thinners at this stage, the action of a cloth or brush stroke will cause the stain to lift - DAMHIKT!! 

I've taken almost everything apart, used all the supplied cleaning brushes and emptied almost 500ml of thinners through the gun - and yet, it's still spitting out little white bits of emulsion every now and again!!! :evil: I think the problem may be in the pipe as illustrated below. It doesn't appear to be easy to get in there; the supplied brushes will only go about half way.  I think it's purpose is to filter air from the nozzle in to the container...? I'm hoping Philly might have an answer! 






Been driving all afternoon and was pleased to find a couple more hours in the workshop this evening... Until I came to doing a dry-run on the end frames. Well, wouldn't you know it, the boards are too bloody tight after all! :x Now I understand the reason for those 'side rebate' planes Veritas re-introduced to the world last year! (I wish I had one now!) :roll: In the morning, I'll be back on the router table, trying to ease the width of the grooves *VERY* carefully... :?

Speaking of 'muntins', I've promised two of them I'd give them a lift down to Weston in a minute (well, they are paying me for petrol!)...


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## OPJ (15 Aug 2009)

Despite a very late start following a late night, today was a much better day in the workshop!  I carefully re-cut those grooves and was soon able to glue and cramp up both end frames, not forgetting to check for square (spot on!! 8))






With all rails and runners now tennoned, I could happily move on to grooving the runners and muntins, as per JonnyD's sketch in the Design thread.






Using a 3/8" diameter cutter, I cut a perfectly-centred 12mm wide groove in two passes. There was little point in fitting my extractor hose to the rear of the fence - this next shot tells you why I really should sort out my below-table extraction setup... :roll: 






After a few hours, I took the cramps off and cut some tiny little 8mm thick blocks to fill in those unwanted twin-mortises I cut several days ago. I also spent a good amount of time cleaning up the rails and runners ready for final assembly. All it took was a sharp no.4 with a Clifton blade - _beautiful_ and absolutely no need for anything less than 240g paper! 8) :wink:






So, come Monday morning then, I'll be looking to assemble the whole carcase - to be honest, I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to do it.... Of course, I'll do it in two parts but, even then, I'm not sure I have enough sash cramps...! :roll:  Tapered cauls may help connect the runners in to the rails, front and back... :-k

Whatever happens, you'll find out next week! :wink:


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## OPJ (17 Aug 2009)

Gluing up a 'complex-looking' carcase like this doesn't need to be difficult; you need to step back, look at it carefully and break it down in to a sequence of smaller, more manageable assemblies. With that in mind, I started by gluing the central runners between the front and back drawer rails.







You could argue that this isn't necessary. The shoulder lengths were spot on 8) and, since both sets of rails are glued in to the relevant stiles, these runners aren't going anywhere!  This also meant that, once the glue was dry, I could cramp each assembly flat on my 'bench and plane the joints flush. This way, the drawers should be less likely to bind or catch inside.

Speaking of planing and cleaning up, I'm so glad I waited until after the 'bench build to start this job - no more messing about with wobbly trestles for me!! 






The back panel will simply be screwed to the rear of the carcase. I almost forgot to cut the rebates before gluing the lot up :wink: - please note, this is probably about as 'dangerous' an operation as I would ever perform in my workshop... 






One half assembled, all the joints pulled up nicely. A coat of thinned sanding sealer was applied before assembly, which aids excess glue removal. I'll give it another hour before I attach the other half. This way, I should be able to look at sizing the drawer components in the morning.






This combination with wooden bars and sash cramp heads works quite well although, I do have a couple of problem cramp heads - where you tighten them up (not too tight!) and the b******s start sliding off the job!! :x (That's why I'm using only four from my collection of six.)


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## MikeH (17 Aug 2009)

Olly,
For your pipe on the spray gun, how about one of the cleaners you can get for cleaning the feed pipe on a drinking bladder, the type you use for walking and cycling etc. They have a very thin bottle brush affair on a super long and flexible rod. Probably overkill and they are not cheap but if all else fails it may be worth thinking about.


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## OPJ (19 Aug 2009)

I've been really pressed for time the last couple of days but, I am pleased to say that carcase is almost out of the way. 

Both full-length top drawer rails were dovetailed in to each stile, which presented its own problems in cutting the joints on something so long and yet almost 'spindly'!






It's fair to say these aren't the tidiest I've ever cut and the drawer joints will turn out much better!  Also, it would've been so much easier had I chopped the sockets out after doing a dry-run and _before_ final assembly! :roll: Ah well - at least it wasn't hardwood! 






Over the centre stiles, each rail is fixed with a single screw - kind of makes you wonder why I went to the effort of dovetailing each end, doesn't it?! 






So, this afternoon, I started planing up the drawer sides and backs. It wasn't long until I hit this staple!! :x Despite removing it with some pliers and re-positioning the fence, I only heard that '_bzzzz_' noise again, minutes later, when I realised half of it was still stuck in the wood!!! :evil: 






Drawer fronts will be between 150mm and 194mm finished width.
Drawer sides will be 119mm to 164mm.
And the backs should be between 99mm and 142mm (all sizes allowing an extra 1mm or so for final trimming).

Anything wider than 125mm, I would like to rip down in to three parts (to remove the stresses) and rejoin with cascamite. Trouble is that, with a limited clamp supply, this part alone is going to take me *DAYS*! 

Unless anyone has a better suggestion?

At least the assembled carcase came in useful as a dead-handy wood storage rack!!  :wink:






8)

All it needs now is a coat of stain, knotting and sanding sealer (must clean that gun!).


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## Alex (20 Aug 2009)

Looking good Olly. I like the draw frames, it gives a real craftsmanship aspect. What thickness are your draws sides going to be? I'm thinking of going for 15mm on that kitchen job. I've ordered a Jap Dozuki-me saw for my softwood dovetails as my tenon saws leaves rough finish on softwoods. I'll let you know if it's any better, probably just me.


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## Chems (20 Aug 2009)

I know you've already ripped the timber down and bought it but what about just buying a few of the pine panels I use for the draw sides?


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## big soft moose (20 Aug 2009)

OPJ":1jbls0x5 said:


> Anything wider than 125mm, I would like to rip down in to three parts (to remove the stresses) and rejoin with cascamite. Trouble is that, with a limited clamp supply, this part alone is going to take me *DAYS*!
> 
> Unless anyone has a better suggestion?
> 
> .



my suggestion would be to buy more clamps  they dont need to be besseys or anything even the aldi type would be sufficient surely , and you know you can never have too many.

that said couldnt you make a jig to allow you to clamp several up at the same time with the compression cominf from a car jack or similar ?


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## OPJ (20 Aug 2009)

Hi Alex,

I spent a few hours today preparing all the boards for the drawers and the sides and backs have finished at 13mm thick, with the fronts at 19mm. I then spent another hour or so sanding both faces to remove all machining marks _before_ setting out and cutting any dovetails! The only saw I have (aside form the bandsaw) is an 8" long gents saw from Footprint. It's not bad but, with a crosscut tooth form, it isn't the most ideal for cutting dovetails... :? I'm very tempted to buy the Veritas saw at some point. :wink:

Chems, that's actually not a bad idea. I wish I'd considered it much earlier! :roll: After some encouragement from another forum, I've left all the boards *whole* without cutting up and jointing or any of that. I'm still a little concerned the sides may want to move in time but, as the fronts will be joined with lap dovetails, there shouldn't be any noticeable movement, really. I was very careful to ensure I removed an equal amount of material from each face, also.

Pete, you're right; _you can never have too many cramps!!_ Which is why I now almost regret selling a few of my spares to Mailman not long ago...  

Right. I've got a job interview in the morning which, although only three-days a week (to suit college), could really set me back with this project and 'the next one'... (all going well, of course!). I have a very good feeling about this one, even thought it's a good hour away... I really must crack on with these drawers then, in case they do try to move!


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## joiner_sim (20 Aug 2009)

Not really read this thread as its so long, but glanced at the pictures and a few of the captions and comments. Really liking how the work-in-progress is coming along nicely! :wink:


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## OPJ (23 Aug 2009)

I seem to be spending less and less time on this project but, the drawers have finally started going together.

It took about half a day to prepare all the wood. I'm unhappy with the results I get from my thicknesser, on one side only. As you'll see below, it leaves this 'irregular' surface. Which suggest to me that either; one of the three knives is proud of the rest at this end or, as I have suspected for a while; the tension needing adjusting on the feed rollers at this side - one of those tuit jobs, you know how it is! :roll:






So, I've been doing lots of sawing, chiselling and, surprisingly, very little swearing! 






Where as, at college, I've always cut the pins first, I'm now finding it much easier to cut the tails first and mark the pins from them. I also had a chance to use my 1:6 marker from the Great British Tool Company. Please note, I'm only marking the _vertical_ lines here, having marked the the angled ones directly from the tails.






One thing I love about dovetailing in pine - you can make the joints a tight fit, hit them with a hammer and they won't split! 8) All the inner faces were thoroughly sanded before any marking out.






The through joints at the rear, by my own admission, aren't nearly as tidy-looking...  Once the drawers been glued up, I'll cut some splinters and slithers to hide those erroneous holes! (I hate cutting through dovetails!! :x)






These first two were completed in about a day... Which I feel isn't bad, considering just about everything is done by hand - including shooting that b*****d end-grain!! :twisted: Only reason I haven't yet assembled them is because I need to cut some grooves for the plywood bases. But, I can't do that until I've actually bought the 6mm ply - which won't be until Tuesday.  Made a good start on the second pair of drawers this evening though.

In the mean time, I need to buy some oak tomorrow for the next job, so that I can bounce straight on to that in a couple of weeks. I really should add some beech to that order for my competition entry [_do not mention the competition entry!!_ :?].

 :wink:


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## OPJ (27 Aug 2009)

Just a brief update to say that I'm on to the final pair of drawers. As you'll see below, these things are taking over my small 'shop...






That's four on top of the planer with another two sat on top of the carcase (there isn't much headroom between there and the joist).

Fingers crossed, I'll have be able to spend the whole day in the workshop today (first time this week! :shock. I want to say I'm almost going to miss hand-cutting those tails and pins... :wink:


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## Chems (27 Aug 2009)

They look really good Olly, pine is just hard to dovetail, so easy to break bits of when pushing together. Looking forward to tonights update.


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## Alex (27 Aug 2009)

Hi Olly, I see you've been busy! I've only started back on that reclaim kitchen job this week.
The half lap dovetails look the business 8) . Any chance of a few WIP pics of those. I, like you always cut tails first. I've just completed 12 of for the kitchen job,through dovetails.Got a few cheats to get them spot on now.I must get round to putting my WIP of the Kitchen job. 
Yip, massive space eaters. Probably have to store them round the house. :lol: 
Regards your planner. When planning pine watch out for gum build up on the back of the blades/chipbreaker and lube table often. This stuff is ACE and it's an excellent pine gum remover for you blades. Shake and apply with tooth brush . 8) 8) 
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp? ... =1&jump=44


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## OPJ (29 Aug 2009)

Hi Alex,

As far as more WIP shots go, these are the only others I have on the lap dovetails...

I found the centre line of the two outer pins and from that, divided the space between to create centre lines for the intermediate pins.






Shoulder lines were deepened next with a cutting gauge, which works very well provided the ends are square. Otherwise, there's no reason why you can't square them around with a marking knife.






After cutting away the waste, I lay one over the other and marked the pins out very carefully with a marking knife. This is why I prefer to cut the tails first - it's easier than trying to balance the pin board on end! :wink:






Got the last drawer done and dusted yesterday. As these things often go, it was the most frustrating one of the lot and I ended up re-cutting three of the joints twice, before I was satisfied! :x :roll:

I'm not planning to do much on this over the weekend - it is a bank holiday, after all! :wink: I will try and get the carcase stained tomorrow some time and would rather leave the other noise-making operations (like grooving) until Tuesday, when the neighbours are back at work (whatever that is...). 

I've been using that very Liberon wax for several years and, yes, it does work very well. My only gripe is that it doesn't seem to last long in the tin before the wax turns in to a useless liquid that ends up splashed all over the workshop floor!! :x This usually happens during the summer - perhaps it just needs to be kept in a cooler place? I now have a small stick of beeswax which works well. With pine, I tend to use PTFE spray (the stuff from Toolstation is much cheaper than Axminster's equivalent).


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## OPJ (1 Sep 2009)

Hopefully, you're all wondering what I've been up to the past few days...  Truth is, I've been a bit quiet and progress has been steady. I'm in the middle of getting all the drawers glued up so, you know, how many times could I post a photograph of two drawers and eight sash cramps?! :wink:

In no specific order then...

These beech strips (guides) were glued in to the central runners. It wasn't until today, just when I was looking to start staining them, that I discovered the the fit was a bit tight with the grooves in the muntins!  I don't know what happened here... All were machined at the same time and some were fine. Only about half of them needed trimming with a shoulder plane - that could be something to do with my thicknesser, actually.






Grooves were cut in the drawer fronts to receive the plywood bases later. Notice the growth rings and how the heart side is facing outwards on my drawers. I may have gotten this wrong but, this way, there's a reduced risk of the outer pins 'pinging off', should the fronts shrink and try and want to cup! (That, and the fact the others faces have shallow splits on the wide boards).






I dug out my ¼in. diameter straight cutter (from Wealden) and realised that, as it has an 8mm shank, I couldn't use it as I still hadn't ordered a collet reducer since the last time I hit this brick wall! :roll: :x So, I had to use a 7mm cutter (_don't ask me why I have one of those!!_), which should provide a little leeway in case I later discover the grooves are slightly off! 8)

With that big carcase on my workbench, I set up my trestles and a sheet of MDF to create a temporary assembly bench outside... And it started raining immediately! Even better (!!!), having bought everything back under cover, the rain disappeared and wasn't seem again for another couple of hours! :x So, I ended up using my planer. These Veritas Bar Gauge Heads are excellent for checking the diagonals.






The first drawer needed squaring up slightly so, I used some scraps to 'offset' the cramps along one side. Much to my delight, the other drawer was spot on first time! 8)






I also highly recommend making simple MDF cauls like this, whenever assembling a through or lap dovetail joint.






Before I get on to the second stage of staining, a couple of cock-ups needed sorting in the rebates around the back...













Once again, these cheap vinyl gloves haven't saved my fingers from turning black! Well, at least they seem to last longer than the latex ones - pull the vinyl gloves out from the box and they remain in one piece! :wink: I made a thoughtless decision earlier _not_ to stain any of the interior components before assembly - I spent ninety-minutes staining these ins and outs and, to be brutally honest, I'm disappointed with the quality of the staining on the inside... At least it won't ever be looked upon too closely! The outer faces aren't as bad - that's the worst part of the job out of the way!






Despite heeding mailee's advice on first applying a thin coat of sanding sealer before the stain, I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with this pine... Chestnut's Spirit Stains take to the brown oak very nicely and give an even coverage. I still get quite a blotch finish with pine so, I'm sorry Alan but, I don't think this sealer trick makes much of a difference... :S Maybe pine just doesn't like to be stained. Next time I do a piece of furniture like this (stained pine), I'll do some more research and may try oil stains, or something.

To end this update on a real downer, I took my previously assembled plinth out to the workshop earlier to see how everything was looking. With the carcase upside-down, I somehow managed to knock the plinth off the 'top' and on to my 'bench - there was "_crack_" and all four biscuited-mitre joints have come apart!! :evil: The mitres are fine; the glue and biscuits alone clearly weren't strong enough. It's my own fault. I've been meaning to add corner blocks for a while now but, like the staining, I've been putting it off. 

On the other hand, I'm actually pleased this happened here and not after delivery in Pete's home!! :shock: :wink:

As each pair of drawers goes together, I'm left with another two drawers to be trimmed to fit their openings. I'll do the knotting and sealer thing tomorrow some time and will probably be looking at the back panels also. All going well, this should be done and dusted by the end of next week!


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## Paul Chapman (1 Sep 2009)

OPJ":10kgm4zh said:


> Maybe pine just doesn't like to be stained. Next time I do a piece of furniture like this (stained pine), I'll do some more research and may try oil stains, or something.



Do let us know if you find an answer to successfully staining pine, Olly - I reckon it has to be the most difficult of all woods to stain. Fingers come out very well, though  

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## OPJ (6 Sep 2009)

Still on the subject of staining, this is how the insides were looking the other night:






:shock:

Don't worry. though - I put a little thinners on to a clean cloth and was able to even things out for a second coat. :wink: (Sorry, not photo yet.)

I've been quite fortunate with dead knots in this build. This is the only one to have fallen out (so far!) and I soon replaced it with a tapered wooden plug.






All rebates have been cut on the drawer muntins and slips. These are now ready to be glued inside the drawers. I decided against using grooves as I wouldn't be confident in the strength of 6mm ply bases if the edges were rebated 3mm deep... Oh, and they've also been tenonned to fit in the grooves cut in to the fronts.






Working these ply back panels allowed to put my latest toy from Veritas to good use - no, it's not the plane!! 






My second attempt at gluing the plinth together appears to have gone well. I glued and screwed some 45mm² corner blocks in place, as I should've done before... 






Part-inspired by _Grinding One_'s advice in another thread yesterday, I made up a dead-simple MDF and pine jig to hold the drawers steady as I planed the sides and backs. You probably can't see this clearly but the drawers are locked in place with sliding wedges. 8) Not sure whether the Veritas BUS gloat is really necessary here, though... :roll:  (Second time I've used it, now!) 






One downside to building drawers in this way (where the fronts overlap) is that you cannot _easily_ reduce the width of the sides if the fit's a bit tight. Most of the length can be done with a block plane... Then, I finally found a use for that 'second function' of all shoulder planes! 






I'm still hoping to get this chest finished this week. Otherwise, with college resuming on Thursday and Friday, I will have to leave it to one side while I get another urgent job done. A jig has been made for V-grooving the back panels so, I can crack on with that tomorrow. I also need to set my router table up to groove the drawer bases. On Thursday morning, I ordered some drawer handles from B&Q online - yet, despite paying £5 for _NEXT DAY_ delivery, they haven't turned up!! :x


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## Chems (6 Sep 2009)

Looking great Olly, when I did my draws I couldn't plane the sides, goes to show what a good plane does for you! What sort of block plane is that in the picture outside? Nice tip on the shoulder plane I'll have to try that.


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## OPJ (7 Sep 2009)

That's a Veritas Apron Plane. I bought it a year ago right before the prices jumped almost 100%! :shock: It's smaller than a standard block plane and I find it more comfortable use, which is why I sold my Record and Stanley planes a while ago. :wink:

I'm yet to see any real benefit in using a bevel-up smoother though. I can't complain as it was a prize from _Good Woodworking_ last year or the year before! I like the wide sole and chunky of the blade but I still suffer quite badly with tearout. Even on this pine, today!! :x Maybe it's just me... :? One day, I'd like to have one of their low-angle planes, which is probably the best solution.

By the way, drawer handles turned up at 9am this morning. I'm still not happy, having payed for next-day delivery! Spent a couple of hours in the morning roughing out some oak timber for my next project, which will begin next Monday, regardless of what stage I am at with this chest of drawers. (Busy, is the word!)


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## OPJ (8 Sep 2009)

So, yesterday, after roughing out the English oak for my next job, I set about V-grooving the back panels and not without at least one mis-hap along the way... 






This error occurred because I had only bothered to cramp the jig in place at one end! Because the ply was slightly warped, the jig didn't locate properly in the far end and was free to move a bit. Very frustrating but, I decided it would be best to re-do this panel anyway as soon as I saw this 'lapse' in manufacturing... :x






Can you believe it?!? :shock: No wonder my router kept riding up and over something halfway along the cut! Actually, the other end is far worse, where they appear to have driven a thin length of timber in between!

Going through my offcuts of 6mm ply [not wanting to spend any more money!], I couldn't find one sheet which matched this one for size _and colour_. So, I had to take two smaller sheets with an off-centre join. I think they've turned out well, even though I'm yet to stain or fit them here.






Since then, I've been planing, planing and producing endless mountains of pine shavings on the floor as I attempt to fit these drawers! As I mentioned in my last post, I'm still getting bizarre tearout using my bevel-up smoothing plane _on pine_! :x






Drawer slips have been attached and, although I haven't yet found a clear way to photograph this, the muntins are being attached with a dab of glue. I'll reinforce the fixing to the drawer backs with a small screw later.






Tomorrow, I'm expecting to achieve even less in terms of progress as I'm off down to Dorchester to pick up this mortiser I bought on eBay last week. That could easily take four hours all round and it looks as though it'll need a bit of de-rusting before I can take any oak to it next week (sounds like an order to Workshop Heaven is on the cards! :roll: :wink College starts again on Thursday and I'll only have so-much time to work on this over the weekend.

In short; don't expect another update on this one for too soon!


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## OPJ (19 Oct 2009)

It's been a while but, after finishing off another commission for someone with greater urgency, I'm back on track with this chest of drawers. And, I'm pleased to say, there isn't too much work left to do!

I must be getting weaker as I grow 'older'. Last year, I'm sure I was able to hang on until November before I had to switch the heating on... Spending two-days in a bone-dry, moisture-free environment with twenty-four hour heating [the college workshops] probably doesn't help much! :roll: This is a good way to keep your glue warm and, I must admit, even I was surprised by how warm things got in my uninsulated 'shop. This is much better than the halogen heater I had - if only it didn't take so long to warm up. And, with my new 'bench and reorganised workshop, I can actually situate the radiator next to where I am working! 8)






There were still two drawer runners to attach and, this is how I did it. A couple of dabs of five-minute PVA at each end before sliding the fitted drawer fully in to its opening. Afterwards, I drove a small screw in for reinforcement.






The base has also now been properly attached using the last of my 1¼"x8 screws. It's been stained but it will need some sealer and lacquer before it's completely finished.






I got bored of staring at these unfinished drawers so, in order to remove _some_ of the monotony from the prospect of all that staining, I stained all the inner faces of the drawers first, before trimming the fronts to final width.






Like the carcase before, this is quite probably something else that I should've done before assembling the drawers...  It would've made life that bit easier and some of the internal corners wouldn't have turned out quite as messy as they are now... :? Well, since the stain is dark, it doesn't stand out too easily. Besides, no-one really admires the _insides_ of drawers, do they? Especially once they're full of clothes. 

Then, I later spent the best part of two hours sanding all the outer faces - no, I don't enjoy sanding any more than the rest of you!!  Most of this time was spent trying to remove the signs of tearout I had suffered with previously. I couldn't get it all out as I would've been in danger of ruining the fit (creating a larger gap at the sides of the drawers). For this same reason, I was also reluctant to use my belt sander! :?






These have, of course, been stained and I've left them with a coat of knotting to dry overnight. In the morning, I'll cover them with sanding sealer before I have to go out. I can see myself having to buy some more sanding sealer though... :? If it's from Axminster then, I'll "have" to fill my trolley so that I can get free delivery. Then again, Tilgear have a sale on at the moment which is tempting me. Plus, they stock Chestnut's products... Yandles would be my nearest stockist. So, as you can see, it's a win-win-win situation for someone. Though, possibly not me...! :roll: :wink:

I'd like to get the top prepared and glued on up Wednesday. Saying that, I should have a potential buyer coming to view my Bosch mitre saw [_at last!!!_ ]. Then, the back panels still need to be fitted and stained. That's not forgetting the work to be done on the drawers bases, for which I'll have to cut a groove in the top of my router table for a jig... Not forgetting that I still need to buy a new vacuum for that. Otherwise, all the waste from the V-grooving operation will end up either inside the router or deep inside my lungs! :shock: :? :wink: With next week being half-term, that should give me plenty of time to get this job finished. Unless, of course, I do something stupid like, err, get a job!! :roll: 

Sadly, I'm going to have to withdraw from the competition this year (well, yes, you probably realised that several weeks ago... ). However, I will keep you up-to-date on that once I'm properly under way.


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## big soft moose (19 Oct 2009)

looking good olly - i'm damn glad i got you to do this rather than doing it myself (see my cd cabinet build thread for an example of why this is so)

with regard to the compo could you not enter the dining table you've already built - as its fairly similar in design to the one you were suposed to be entering


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## OPJ (21 Oct 2009)

Going back to yesterday, the back panels were stained, lacquered and screwed in place. I'm quite pleased with the way they've turned out. I've used those tiny Reisser hinge screws for now and I'll replace them brass ones before the piece is finished.







Bad news is, I'm almost out of stain as well as sanding sealer - there certainly isn't enough to do all those drawer bases! :x While I'm there, I suppose it would pay to add some lacquer and thinners as well, I suppose... :roll: _Classic Hand Tools_ have 10% off Chestnut products right now although, the stain I require would have to be ordered specially. I'll have to weigh up the cost of this plus their delivery charge against a complete order with Tilgear (damn those special offers! ).

This morning felt 'comfortable' _without_ the aid of heating and this is how the drawer fronts are looking now, after a coat of cellulose sealer. I'll lacquer them next week at the same time as doing the top. Some how, one drawer came out darker than the rest... They do still look a bit blotchy in places (almost unavoidable when staining pine). But, going against something I said earlier in this thread, I think mailee's tip [applying a thin 50/50 coat of sanding sealer before the stain] does work quite well if you if you start applying the stain before the sealer has dried. This idea suddenly clicked in my head when I was watching _The Wood Whisperer_ recently. He was talking about doing something similar with a different finish.






My Bosch mitre saw's potential buyer wasn't able to come and take a look today so, that left me with plenty of time to get some work on the top done. Edges were hand-jointed after going through the thicknesser, following the advice in John Lloyd's recent article in



. I'm going to have to move that vice inwards a bit at some point - I keep backing in to my pillar drill... :?






It was raining outside so, for once, I got to do a glue-up on my workbench (...well, just about!!)! 






(Now that I think about it, I'm running out of 'cascamite' as well! :roll: )

While the planer was set up and running, I took advantage of this to do a quick PAR job for a friend who's looking to make some boxes but doesn't currently have access to the right machinery.






Now, before any of you others start getting ideas, I'm reluctant to start selling off any other offcuts right now as I need to get a couple of pieces done for an exhibition in February (see my Blog for more on that). 8)

Yes, even looking at this next photo, I am still reluctant to sell anything. It is also from behind here that I will need to dig out the 6mm ply I bought _weeks_ ago for the drawer bases! :shock: :wink:






Next week, I'll try to get hold of some daylight tubes which will hopefully stop me from messing around with the settings on my camera!! :x :wink:


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## crazylilting (21 Oct 2009)

> by the way i'm thinking of buying one of these http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axmi ... -21973.htm if I do you'd be welcome to borrow it to do the drawers



Now that i have my woodrat i have one very similar to this one you can have for a tenner and shipping if you want. I don't know what brand it is but it is blue. I've cut quite a few drawers with it and it works fine. Let me know.


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## big soft moose (21 Oct 2009)

olly - "the management" says that you dont have to stain the drawer bases as no one is going to see them anyway - so if youve enough stain to do the top you neednt buy anymore


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## OPJ (21 Oct 2009)

Thanks for that, Pete.  I still intend to V-groove them, as I think this would go well with all the panelling. I'll upload some photos next week so you can see - she may still change her mind, if she doesn't like the partially exposed core of the plywood, created by the V-grooves. :wink:

I personally think it would be a little strange not to stain them, seeing as everything else has been done. I've got to buy some more sealer at some point anyway so, it's only an extra £5 on top of that...

We'll see.


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## OPJ (25 Oct 2009)

Everything is currently on course to see this one completed by the end of the coming week (thanks to the half-term break from college). Over the weekend, I've cleaned the top up and got it stained and sprayed with lacquer. I'll add a third coat in a few days, once the last one has had more time to harden.

While scraping off the dried glue, I noticed this odd lump of metal inside what I thought was a knot hole! :shock: No wonder my planer knives are looking so bad at the minute... 






It doesn't take much to dent a large panel of softwood. And, as sod's law would dictate, all these imperfections were present on the show face! :roll: This is nothing that a few drops of water couldn't fix. No iron required! :wink:






I still prefer using the router to square up the ends of tops and panels like this. The finished cut is near-perfect, requiring nothing more than a slice with a sharp plane. As with the blanket chest, I used my belt sander to get everything flat; starting at 120g and doing the rest (up to 240g) sanding by hand. I still find that both my random orbit sanders (5in. and 6in.) leave a 'lumpy' finish on pine (something to do with the early/late growth, IIRC). Shortly, I intend to buy a 'hard' pad for my Metabo SXE450 so I can see whether that will make a difference.






When it came to securing the top, I was somewhat pleased I didn't try to sell off my small Metabo drill-driver a few months ago. It is low-powered and doesn't feature the latest li-ion technology but, it was the only drill I had which would fit in between the rails, here, with the nifty 90º angle attachment. One day, when funds allow, I'll replace both this one and my two larger 9.6v drills with a pair of either the Bosch or Makita li-ion drivers...! :twisted: :wink:

...Which reminds me - anyone else heard about Trend's Scrappage Scheme on routers? I'm very tempted to see if they'll accept my _fake_ Makita against the purchase of a ¼in. router... :wink:






Whenever I buy 6mm WBP/hardwood ply, the other face is often littered with bore holes and signs of previous infestation. :x Fortunately, I only need one face on show with the drawers bases and the other one, which happens to be lighter in colour (a better match for the pine, after staining), is defect free.






Even after hand-sawing the ply to approximate size for the drawer bases, they weren't perfectly flat. So, I've left them in a stack with several beech 'overs sat on top, which will hopefully see them in a better shape for machining in the morning... :?






And so, this is all I really have left to do now - the drawer bases!  I've already begun beeswaxing the drawers, drawer rails, runners and muntins. I'll probably spend most of tomorrow making a jig for cutting the V-grooves. Before that though, I still need to rout out a slot in my table for a track and prepare a length of wooden 'bar' to fit. :roll: Once that's all sorted though, it should be a breeze!


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## Chems (25 Oct 2009)

Its like you've got a proper furniture production line going.

About the draw bases, a lot of women now like to put draw liner in the bottom of the drawers. Maybe ask if that is something that might happen and it will save you some staining and routering time.

Looks brilliant as always, I think your set to make a killing when you start working full time.


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## Tom K (25 Oct 2009)

The faux planking will look nice when the drawers are empty but will add chance of splintering catches on clothing :shock: or be hidden with liners
save a step leave them plain.


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## Ironballs (25 Oct 2009)

Olly, surely it is quicker, easier and more accurate to do your final dimensioning/squaring cut on the table saw. I did consider the router when cross cutting some oak shelves this weekend as hefting 200x35x3 pieces of oak is not funny.

However, the 80 tooth Freud blade gave a straight cut and smooth finish that laughed in the face of the router. Plus it was a lot quicker than setting up the router each time


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## wizer (25 Oct 2009)

Chems":2lx91kyt said:


> About the *draw *bases, a lot of women now like to put *draw *liner in the bottom of the *drawers*. Maybe ask if that is something that might happen and it will save you some staining and routering time.





Chems":2lx91kyt said:


> Its a miss spelling.



:-k ](*,)


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## OPJ (26 Oct 2009)

Ironballs":pkdmn08p said:


> Olly, surely it is quicker, easier and more accurate to do your final dimensioning/squaring cut on the table saw. I did consider the router when cross cutting some oak shelves this weekend as hefting 200x35x3 pieces of oak is not funny.



You're right, Damien...Only problem is, I don't have a table saw!  I don't trust my bandsaw for that kind of accuracy either. I intend to shoot one long edge in the vice and, as I'm making a cross-cutting sled for my router table anyway, I may as well use that to clean up the ends. All I need to cut the grooves is one straight reference and and another at 90°. They will need to be trimmed to fit each drawer afterwards, anyway. 

LOL @ wizer!! 

We've already previously agreed that the drawer bases should be V-grooved to match the panelling. The only question that remains is whether or not I should stain them... (Only because I would have to buy more stain).

Thanks for your comments.


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## Chems (26 Oct 2009)

wizer":214tok6z said:


> Chems":214tok6z said:
> 
> 
> > About the *draw *bases, a lot of women now like to put *draw *liner in the bottom of the *drawers*. Maybe ask if that is something that might happen and it will save you some staining and routering time.
> ...




 I actually only learnt it was a mis-spelling by writing it here when talking about making some drawers


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## OPJ (26 Oct 2009)

Another fine morning where the temperatures seem to be holding up in my unheated garage/workshop - surely, this cannot go on for much longer?! :?

First job was to rout-out a track in my router table top. I knew there was a good reason I kept this offcut from the last length of T-track I bought, nearly two-years ago! 8) I think it came from Rutlands... In which case, I'll add another length to my basket when I eventually get around to purchasing a _WorkSharp 3000_! :wink:






This jig I came up with is certainly not something Steve Maskery would've made. :wink: But, it was thrown together quickly from MDF scrap and was fit for purpose. With a false fence attached, I can use it for future jobs as well!  First cuts were with a ¾in. straight cutter to square up each end, after straightening one edge in the vice (as I explained earlier).






Note the guard in place in the above photo but, not in the one below, when I was cutting the V-grooves.  A T-track here is certainly desirable, after the sheer number of times I left it unbalanced and it fell on to the floor! Thankfully, it is was pretty well made and I did have my mask on the whole times so, the neighbours (hopefully!) couldn't hear!! :x :wink:






Also worth a mention is my botched attempt at dust extraction in both situations... Some of my earnings from the past two jobs will go towards a new power tool extractor. The hose from my HVLP ADE1200 kept the router cool but, as you can see above, it didn't really keep the dust under control... :?






Despite a couple of slips [literally, only these two!], this deed is now done. I'm hoping they won't show up too badly once the bases are in place. :?






They still need to be trimmed to fit each drawer and that's probably all I'll have time for tomorrow, with a couple of hours sanding on Wednesday, due to other commitments.






My personal opinion is that they should be stained, sealed and waxed to match the rest of the drawers (another 500ml bottle would only cost £5 and I do 'need' some bits and pieces from Axminster anyway). I also think it would help to disguise the two slips I highlighted earlier and some of the voids left in the plywood core from the V-grooves. Earlier on, I did come across a forgotten jar of stain left over from the blanket chest build... :roll: Sadly, I don't think there's quite enough left even with that to do even just the show face on each base.


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## Mattty (26 Oct 2009)

Olly,

To be blunt-

What is the purpose of these grooves? If they are for decoration then i think it is a bad idea, for lots of reasons, including- cleaning, splinters, aesthetics, strength and probably a few more, but maybe they have another purpose that you haven't mentioned or i have not read.

I really don't see how you could use such damages pieces for drawer bottoms, even if they were for the underside i would start again, especially for the cost of a sheet of ply. 
I personally wouldn't go to the trouble of hand making a piece of solid wood furniture and then use ply- especially what looks like far Eastern ply.
Why not just use regular T&GV softwood boarding if you are determined to have the grooved look to the drawer bottoms? Though i personally would use either veneered Mdf or more likely solid timber.

A final note. I don't like the way your cutting the ply to size. To me it makes no sense. It actually think it would be quicker and easier to just cut it by hand (assuming you don't have a table saw), i realise there are concerns over splintering but these can be minimised by a scribe line and/or masking tape and besides, any potential damage will be in the groove/slip and permanently hidden.

One of the many things i like about you wip's is your warts and all honesty about your builds. This is both brave and honest, and an attitude that i'm sure will pay dividends. I hope my post doesn't cause offence.


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## big soft moose (26 Oct 2009)

Mattty":gp2nh80m said:


> I really don't see how you could use such damages pieces for drawer bottoms, even if they were for the underside i would start again, especially for the cost of a sheet of ply.
> I personally wouldn't go to the trouble of hand making a piece of solid wood furniture and then use ply- especially what looks like far Eastern ply.
> Why not just use regular T&GV softwood boarding if you are determined to have the grooved look to the drawer bottoms? Though i personally would use either veneered Mdf or more likely solid timber.



matty - to be equally blunt - the reason olly is using ply is because the client (that is my wife) specified a price this was to be built to, therefore he doesnt have a free hand on materials - i'm sure olly would be capable of building it in solid oak with walnut detailing if he wanted to - but that would have put the price through the roof which was not what the client wanted

(likewise t&g or veneered mdf would inflate the price unnecessarily)

we dont have a problem with groved drawer bottoms if thats what olly feels works best - but equally we are happy for them to be left plain if needs be too as they will be out of sight once the drawers are in use - likewise with the staining we are leaving that at ollys judgement but have no problem with them not being stained if that is the decision reached.

the most important thing is completion by the deadline so i'm not going to suggest olly remake all the drawer bottoms at this stage if he is happy with the ones hes just made.


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## Mattty (26 Oct 2009)

big soft moose":ngqnu06k said:


> Mattty":ngqnu06k said:
> 
> 
> > I really don't see how you could use such damages pieces for drawer bottoms, even if they were for the underside i would start again, especially for the cost of a sheet of ply.
> ...



Bsm. 
I realise that you have commisioned this and i realise that he is working to a design and budget you have approved. 
If you would rather i made no comment on this because it is something you have commisioned then thats fine. 
I'm not questioning olly's craftsmanship, i have seen many fine examples of his work on here and he comes across as very knowledgable and helpful. I'm merely giving (hopefully) constructive criticism of what i have seen.

Firstly- Yes the budget will always dictate a lot of details, however unless you specified v grooved ply then your point makes little sense. As un-grooved ply would be cheaper (less labour), and as you have just stated it wont be seen. I honestly think the labour element in grooving, and the purchase of the ply would be similar to buying and fitting T&Gv if that is olly's desired look. 
T&Gv matchboard cost's around £6 per M sq. 6mm ply around £4

Completion to a deadline (this is none of my business) will also be easier to achieve if less time is spent V grooving ply.

I admire you standing up for Olly in what i assume you see as an attack on his work. If that is indeed your opinion you are wrong. I am just giving an honest appraisal of what he has put on public display.


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## OPJ (26 Oct 2009)

Matty, as always, thank you for your comments. 

I think Pete has cleared up most of the issues surrounding cost and working budget. With regards to the quality of the ply, I could've possibly done something about this when I went to pick it up. Trouble is, I ordered it to be cut to size, waited, and everything was done 'behind closed doors' (you know how it is; there aren't many places who will let you nose through their stock). I assumed it wasn't just me because, whenever I've bought 6mm ply, it always seem to have this problem on the lower-grade face (I forget whether it's a B or C). I was actually able to cut around most of the holes, as I only required little more than half a full sheet for all the bases.

The V-grooving is my own 'Craftsman's touch', inspired by some ideas I got from forum members in another thread, several months ago. Worst case scenario is that the bases could always be replaced at a future date. I never really gave much thought to using thin TGV boards. My first reaction was that it would be expensive; second that, because of its thickness, it could be unstable... At least, with ply, that isn't an issue. But, I can see your point with regards to extra time and labour. One to consider for the future though, fortunately, I'm not charging an hourly rate here! 

Without a table saw, I'm often keen to explore my own ideas on how I would do things different and cross-cutting/squaring up the ends of small panels on the router table is one of them. You are quite right; I could quite easily have done these by hand on a shooting board (they're roughly 9in. wide). But, as you probably know, planing Far Eastern ply isn't as satisfying as taking a shaving from a length of oak. :? This method was convenient to me also because I needed to make a jig to cut the grooves. Although, I may hesitate to use it like this again...

No offence taken and I always appreciate constructive criticism like this (sometimes, I wish I received more! ). Everyone has their own ideas and some will approach certain situations in a different way or using an alternative method to the next woodworker. It is great to be able to share thoughts and ideas like this so, thanks for taking the time.


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## OPJ (29 Oct 2009)

Despite a bit of a personal fiasco over how I was going to stain the drawer bottoms (I almost wish I hadn't bothered, now! :x), the chest of drawers is now complete and ready for Pete to collect next week!  (...As long as he remembers that all-important _cheque_!! 8) :wink

I decided earlier this week that I would need to buy some more 'mid oak' spirit stain if I wanted to stain the bases as well (which I did, as I felt they wouldn't look right otherwise, even if they weren't to be on-show). They say you should always measure twice before picking up and tool and, well, I've learned that I should start taking stock of my finishes more often than once - at the deepest, darkest part of my shelf, I found this tub of 'antique pine' stain (I remember dropping the old tub months ago, it exploded and I had to save the remaining contents by emptying it in this empty mid oak tub). I did a test on some scrap plywood and decided this stain was a 'good enough' match for the drawer bottoms. :roll:






...I should point out that this discovery was made only one-hour after placing a £50 order [free delivery! :roll:] with Axminster - for £5 of spirit stain I didn't actually need!! :x

Although I've yet to photograph a complete drawer, I'm pleased with how this now looks. Looking at how dark the back panels came out, I'm pleased to say the drawers remain much lighter inside.

As I was getting ready to apply a finishing coat of beeswax to the outer drawer sides, I suddenly realised I still hadn't done anything about this horrific tearout on two of the drawers! :shock:






So, I mixed up some filler, stained it and stained it again after a couple of hours drying time.






To be honest, it's done little (if anything!) to make to hide these scars.  Fortunately, on _both_ drawers, this is only evident on the two '_inner_' faces in relation to the cabinet, where it is least likely to be seen. Sorry Pete, I hope this doesn't bother you too much. Repair isn't really my thing... :?






If there was one item from Axminster that I did need then, it was another tin of cellulose sanding sealer... Which was out of stock!! :x So, instead, I've sealed the drawer bases with shellac sealer, which is fine as a base for a beeswax finish. Again, the near-complete chest of drawers came in handy as a drying rack. :wink:






One thing I have noticed is that, since screwing the top on, the top two drawers have tightened up a bit in their openings. It shouldn't cause Pete much trouble - if anything, it's another lesson to me in that I should attempt to fit drawers until the whole carcase is complete! 

Here we are then with the handles on, which were Pete and SWMBO's choice. They may have come from B&Q and they are sold as door handles but, I think they work quite well (nice one, Pete! ).






After this job, I'm not keen to start hand-cutting dovetails again in the immediate future! :shock: 






The sides aren't really that light in contrast with the fronts, it's the flash on my camera (yep, been playing around with the manual settings again). I should be getting some daylight tubes tomorrow, which I hope will improve the lighting indoors...

Only thing left to do is to photograph one of the completed drawers and also to get this thing indoors tomorrow, so that I can start cutting up some more beech for what was my competition entry... 

Thanks to everyone who's followed this and commented along the way. And, of course, a big thanks to Pete and SWMBO!


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## big soft moose (29 Oct 2009)

OPJ":2zauobft said:


> (...As long as he remembers that all-important _cheque_!! 8) :wink



you mean you want payment as well as the joy of making it - some people are downright unreasonable  - i'll be there tuesday with a cheque for this and mums table.

It looks as though i may be building a wardrobe to match so i'll buy the ordered stain off you if you dont want it (this build will also occasion a wip thread with lots of wtf do i do now type questions )


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## wizer (29 Oct 2009)

Well Done Olly, I like it. I'm not wild on the handles, but then I'm not really into this style of furniture. But I do think you've achieved the look you were shooting for.


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## big soft moose (29 Oct 2009)

wizer":migsmtdg said:


> Well Done Olly, I like it. I'm not wild on the handles, but then I'm not really into this style of furniture. But I do think you've achieved the look you were shooting for.



its a very good match to the blanket box too - once its in situ i'll post a photo of the pair.

really puts the pressure on me to build the matching wardrobe to the same standard - and you know what my flat skills are like - but that said i will definitely not be hand cutting the dovetails on the drawers.


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## Beardo16 (29 Oct 2009)

I think it looks great Olly. I really like the handles.

And as someone else said, a brave man for posting a warts and all documentary.

Hope college is also going well.


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## TheTiddles (29 Oct 2009)

that's not too bad actually, I was thinking it was heading to be a bit of a shocker which I've done before on stained pine but the finish seems to have turned out quite nice. Are you making or cost/fun or turning a good profit? I make things for friends at just over materials cost so I get the enjoyment of making it but don't have to pay for it

Aidan


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## OPJ (29 Oct 2009)

Thanks, everyone. 

Pete, you can _have_ that spare bottle of stain at no cost, partly because of the few areas where the staining isn't as good as it could be. If I have any old fluorescent tubes going spare on Tuesday as well then, you're also welcome to those (probably two 5fts, if any) 



TheTiddles":2g1ejonv said:


> Are you making or cost/fun or turning a good profit? I make things for friends at just over materials cost so I get the enjoyment of making it but don't have to pay for it



A _good_ profit? What's that?!  :wink:

I generally charge friends roughly double what I anticipate my material costs to be... Usually, I end up spending a bit more than I had hoped to! :shock: Another way to look at it (if you feel you should be getting more, even from your friends!) is to compare your price with what John Lewis and co. would charge for a similar item Yes, they are mass-produced but, if your friends are prepared to pay for that then they'd probably be happy to pay the same amount for a unique, hand-crafted design! 8)

As long as they don't feel they're being ripped off, they're usually happy. Therefore, I'm happy, as I get the satisfaction from making something for someone else. Family, on the other hand, seem to expect you to charge _much_ less - I don't think I've yet made a profit on any item made for a family member... :?


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## wizer (29 Oct 2009)

Olly that forged timber yard receipt is in the post mate


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## petermillard (29 Oct 2009)

Might be interesting to work out how long you spent on this project in total, and reference that against what sort of hourly rate you'd hope to achieve if it was a 'real' commission i.e. not for a friend/forum member; I suspect it would turn out to be quite a pricey pine chest of drawers! 

Cheers, Pete


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## JonnyD (30 Oct 2009)

Looks like a good finished job olly. Did you consider using Ash instead of pine for the construction? Ash can be bought for only a few quid more a cubic ft more than decent softwood and would stain to the same colour.

I used to work for a small furniture manufacturer not a mass producer and i often had to make chests of drawers like the one you have just done either in oak or mahoghany. I was expected to produce 3 per week. These were mostly solid wood construction but with router cut dovetails. So if you are hoping to work for yourself you may have to speed up or charge more money. This isnt meant as criticism just an observation.

Cheers

Jon


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## devonwoody (30 Oct 2009)

Nice to get a big lump out of the way I am sure. Looks good and useful to me.


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## woodbloke (30 Oct 2009)

OPJ":ve2g9ip0 said:


> After this job, I'm not keen to start hand-cutting dovetails again in the immediate future! :shock:


Good for the soul Olly :lol: - Rob


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## newt (30 Oct 2009)

Olly, thanks for providing all your WIP pics and commentry, I am sure Pete and SWIMBO will be happy with the piece. I also have had problems with staining pine and have tried both water and spirit stains. However there must be a way as if you look at some of the commercial stuff it is usually blotch free and a very even colour. Must be a well kept trade secret. keep up the good work. I wonder if they spray a coloured varnish.


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## NewtoWood (30 Oct 2009)

Thanks for posting this project complete with all problems, as projects with mistakes and challenges teach me more than those that go without a hitch.


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## Boz62 (30 Oct 2009)

Thanks for the detailed posting Olly. Nice result. As usual, I have learned a lot from "watching" you work.

Boz


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## devonwoody (30 Oct 2009)

I reckon they use old tea bags.


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## crazylilting (30 Oct 2009)

That looks great!!! I wouldn't of chose pine myself for this project as it is hard to make hand cut dovetails in it and staining can be an issue. One thing you can try is using a weak mixture of Vandyke crystals in water which can help level out the blotching problem. I'm currently having the same problem with pine as I bought a whole bunch of it for some projects around the house.

Any how good job Doing dovetails in a hardwood will be much more easy for you now. I have enjoyed clicking on your thread and seeing you work on your project, thanks very much for the well documented and pictorial history of your project.


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## OPJ (30 Oct 2009)

Thanks again to everyone for the replies - keep them coming in!! 

Today, I took a couple of shots of a finished drawer with the base fitted.






I doubt I would've bothered with the grooves here if I was producing a batch of these chests (perish the thought!! :shock: :wink but, I still think they're a nice touch for a one-off. Even if they'll never be seen.






This is how the underside turned out, which I feel would've been too dark for the show face anyway. No 'movement' issues to worry about with plywood so, the bases are held in place with a couple of small brass screws.


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## OPJ (30 Oct 2009)

wizer":301s8vtk said:


> Olly that forged timber yard receipt is in the post mate :wink:



Tom, I hope you sent it by courier otherwise, it probably won't get here in time with all the strike action...! :roll: :wink:



JonnyD":301s8vtk said:


> Did you consider using Ash instead of pine for the construction?
> 
> I used to work for a small furniture manufacturer not a mass producer and i often had to make chests of drawers like the one you have just done either in oak or mahoghany. I was expected to produce 3 per week. These were mostly solid wood construction but with router cut dovetails. So if you are hoping to work for yourself you may have to speed up or charge more money. This isnt meant as criticism just an observation.



Thanks, Jon. 

The main reason I went with pine is because, as with the blanket chest before, this had to 'match' an Ikea bed, which is made from stained pine.

Don't worry, I'm well aware of what I would need to change if I were trying to make a living from this  (I intend to, one day...) - for one, I think a *Domino jointer, Rob*,  would come in to its own and do away the need for all those twin-tenons on the carcase. I did a fair bit of work with hand tools on this as I don't have room for a half-decent table saw or yet own an accurate enough sliding mitre saw... :? Also, as daunting as it may sound to have to produce three of these within five-days, I imagine it's not actually half as bad as it sounds as you can machine and produce components in batches.

If I was making a batch of these though, there are probably a couple features I wouldn't have included (most notably, the V-grooved drawer bases) and I would've used either ply or wider softwood panels (all V-grooved) for the end panels.

Working from a small space may save you on overheads but, unless you're specialising in very small items like toys and boxes, it's no way to work efficiently and, because of that, I don't think I could run an efficient business from this situation. If a business cannot run efficiently then... Well, I used to work for a firm like that so, I know the answer too well!! :shock: 

For now though, I'm just happy to keep doing favours for other people, learning more about how to make certain items of furniture and making a little bit of money on the side - without too much pressure!!


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## big soft moose (30 Oct 2009)

Boz62":3mulzeom said:


> Thanks for the detailed posting Olly. Nice result. As usual, I have learned a lot from "watching" you work.
> 
> Boz



next up on the set is a matching wardrobe - however for financial reasons i am making that myself - I too will be running a warts and all wip so you can learn even more - mostly how not to do it i suspect, and why its not a good idea to make furniture if you have the carpentry skills of a very small wombat :lol:

as if making one to match ollys fine craftsmanship wasnt taxing enough in order to get it through the doors and into situ this will have to be a modular piece made in three parts and able to be knocked down for when we move out


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## big soft moose (3 Nov 2009)

just a note to say that i collected this today from olly and swimbo is really happy with it, and the way it goes with the blanket box and bed.

I'll post an in situ pic later but swimbo says we have to tidy up and change the bed linen before i take any photos 

i'm absolutely cream crackered as as well as picking up these drawers i also collected tha table olly made for my old dear (another very happy client) and delivered that - so i went from here to swindon to pick up the hire van , then to somerset, then to buckinghamshire, then back here, then back to swindon to drop the van off and then back here again - arround 7 hours behind the wheel. :shock:

I was supposed to go to bicester en route to pick up the chairs the old dear is buying to go with the olly table - but i decided i didnt have time - so world of oak can deliver those later in the week. ( once shes got them i'll get a situ pic of that as well )


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## OPJ (3 Nov 2009)

Thanks, Pete.

Glad to hear that SWMBO likes it and I look forward to seeing those photos!


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## Richard Findley (3 Nov 2009)

Hi Olly,

I always enjoy your WIP threads. Nice to see so many photos (no wonder your projects take so long :wink: :wink: :lol: :lol: )

Pine is a bi*ch to stain by hand like you found out, have you tried spraying the spirit stain? I use a Morrells stain, which is meths/spirit based and this spray stains beautifully, admitedly I haven't tried it on pine but it goes onto Beech really well and Beech tends to go a bit wierd and mottled when you hand stain, so it must be worth a go?!

You really ought to send one of your WIPs to Nick at British Woodworking, I'm sure he could make an article out of this material!!

Cheers,

Richard


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## wizer (3 Nov 2009)

Richard Findley":2l3xmwef said:


> You really ought to send one of your WIPs to Nick at British Woodworking, I'm sure he could make an article out of this material!!



As if there's not enough of Olly in that mag :roll: :wink:


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## OPJ (3 Nov 2009)

Thanks, Richard. 

I didn't really try spraying the stain. It dries so quickly that I was concerned about coating some of the wider surfaces so, I wiped it on with a cloth. I did spray the plywood back panels and they went an incredibly dark colour! :shock: Might be something to consider for the future.

Actually, next time I do something like this, I will look to try a stain with a longer drying time. Possibly an oil or gel stain, which could possibly penetrate pine more evenly?

Oh and, don't worry, I regularly bombard Nick with things I've been up to (even items I've kept secret from the forum! :wink. A couple of months ago, I sent him a _seven-page_ essay on this table I made at college - trouble is, I think he's still reading it!! (Sorry Nick.)


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## big soft moose (3 Nov 2009)

OPJ":3vztyimf said:


> Thanks, Pete.
> 
> Glad to hear that SWMBO likes it and I look forward to seeing those photos!



pictures will now be delayed until the weekend because despite us having tidied up for an hour and a half swimbo apparently needs time to "tidy propperly" before i take the pics :roll:


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