Dovetailing has the advantage that you can do it on the assembled framework. But it could be awkward to support the frame enough. As the new bit's not going to be a highly stressed component I'd consider through dowels into the ends or even glue and thin nails.
Chest of Drawers
- Thread starter John15
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John15
Established Member
Thanks Andy. I had considered just glueing but thought that maybe not strong enough but your idea of dowels could be the way to go plus glueing.
John
John
Hornbeam
Established Member
One of the other things to plan ahead for is drawer (and door) stops. Usual approach is to have a small block attached to the dividing rails which the drawer pushes up against. These can be simply glued on but a better approach is to have them morticed in. Very difficult to do once teh cabinet is assembled. My approach is to measure teh thickness of the drawer fronts and then rout the mortices about 5mm deep 2 or 3 mm further back in the rail. These are all cleaned up prior to assembly. Once assembled I make a length of drawer stop with a rebate which fits the mortice. The front edge/lip of the mortice can them be adjusted to give a good depth for the drawer and then lightly glued in. Note the height of the drawer stop has to be less than the clearance between the divider and the drawer bottom. Picture explain it better
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Cabinetman
Established Member
Crikey Hornbeam, I am often accused of over engineering but that’s the equivalent of adding hydrogen balloons to belt and braces!
John15
Established Member
Many thanks for the idea Hornbeam.
John
John
Hornbeam
Established Member
Well I am an engineer. Seriously its is very quick to do all the mortices once the frames are made and before everything is glued up. It also allows the drawers to be fitted with the drawer stops loose. I am confident my stops wont fall off.
The real point though is about planning ahead and sequencing work. Trying to do this once the carcase was glued up would be really difficult due to access ( its all part of the 7 Ps. Proper planning and preparation prevents P155 poor performance)
Ian
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Cabinetman
Established Member
Well you’re right on two counts, the first one is they won’t come off ha ha, and I agree on the seven P's, or as my son and I say, " five steps ahead". Ian
