Chest of Drawers

[MikeG.]

If you are thinking of gluing strips to the U/S of the drawers and the top of the runners (unnecessary........a girt dollop of hard wax on the runners will last years), then consider using some of the formica strips that come with kitchen worktops. They should last a while, and have a very low co-efficient of friction.

Mike

 

[OPJ]

Thanks again for your thoughts, guys. Just when I thought I'd put this design to bed, you've got me loading up SketchUp again... :roll:

As far as the runners go, I've decided to go with JonnyD's idea on having one central runner with a strip that runs in a slot housed in to the underside of the muntin. I'll probably use beech for these two parts (I have plenty of it!! ). What I like about this is that it'll save the cost of new timber and save me a little work. I won't need any side runners either, except on the bottom drawer.

To be honest, I keep looking at my drawings and something doesn't look right...

I can't decided whether I need to try and squeeze a top rail on to the front or, as you guys keep saying, it's the drawer rails (or, lack of!)... I will raise this one with Pete again. We've have agreed on a slight graduation to the drawer sizes as well. It's subtle. Not as clear cut as the Hambridge method but, it does make a difference.

 

[OPJ]

Drawer Bases and Back Panel...

I do like the idea of using more T&G boarding for the back panel. I was quoted about £25 for a 6mm sheet of pine-veneered MDF - the cost of the necessary redwood cann't be far off that and it would indeed look a lot nicer! One of the reasons Pete has asked for a back panel is because they want to keep this unit 'versatile'... It'll be going against a wall initially but, they is a good chance it'll get moved around in future.

Not to sure about T&G bases though... When the drawers are full, they simply aren't going to be seen anyway. Sticking with the muntin idea, I would need to create a tongue on the edges of the base to fit in the gooves and keep everything flush - solid timber would definitely have greater strength over MDF there... :-k

Is there a way I could "fake" the V-groove effect without exposing the MDF core? :? Maybe ply would be better.

EDIT - Yes! Thinking about it, I have all sorts of 6mm ply offcuts in the workshop left over from jobs I've been doing with my dad - could be just the job.

 

[woodbloke]

I see no problem with pine on pine drawer runners. Applying oak slips is overkill IMO.

The sad truth is that a pine chest of drawers will more than likely be in a skip long before the drawers show any sign of wear!

:lol:

Cheers
Brad

Disagree here Brad I'm afeared I've seen relatively newish pine units that have had a pine/pine wear surfaces that have worn quite a lot, enough to make the drawer sloppy. For want of a short extra process in the making I think that the inclusion of decent hardwearing surfaces has to be included. The other thing is that if I were making the piece, it would irritate me to know that this bit of the job ain't quite as good as it ought to be :x if I left it as pine on pine.
Can you be certain that it'll end up in a skip in a few years?..it might be passed down as a family heirloom, 'specially if Olly puts his 'makers mark' on it and dates it :wink: If it is a piece that's intended to be kept then it's doubly worth the effort to do a decent job of the wearing surfaces...init? - Rob

 

[OPJ]

...'specially if Olly puts his 'makers mark' on it and dates it :wink:

Thanks for bringing this up, Rob. It's something I really should start doing very soon! Further on down the line, I'd like to get a proper stamp made up specially. For now though, I reckon a simple set of letter and number punches will do.

...Think of it as a way of identifying my earlier work at auction in years to come!!! 8) :roll: :wink:

 

[OPJ]

Here we go then! First image shows the drawers as they are currently, hiding the drawers rails while leaving the vertical stiles and dividers about 1mm proud.

This is how the same unit would look with inset drawers.

Not sure whether you can make out the garduation in drawer sizes; it is indeed very subtle. But, I do think it's enough to make it 'work'.

You know, looking at these two images, I find myself leaning towards the first design... :roll: Then again, I'm not sure that SketchUp does the drawer rails any justice on drawing number two. :?

 

[big soft moose]

Just to clarify a few things for the wider audience

we have asked for the drawer stilles to be hidden because we (especially swimbo) think that it will go better with the blanket box (which this will be next to) in this format.

we also dont want olly to dispense with the back because although it will be against the wall in the current incarnation - it is possible that in the future it might be visible - especially if we decide to have a mostly open plan house when we build. - i agree however that a bae may not be necessary.

and thirdly i can assure everyone that this is not going to wind up in a skip in a few years - the plan is that this "craftsman built" furniture will be with us for the rest of our married life. ( and yes i know hardwoods might be more appropriate for that aspiration but i'm not minted and have asked olly to keep the cost down ).

If we'd wanted something that was only going to last a year or two i'd probably have built it myself (Mdf and screws featuring highly in my construction repertoire)

(swimbo also points out that as she is the "client" for this and the client is always right - and shes a swimbo and as we all know swimbos are always right - therefore this means that this time she's really really right :lol: )

 

[OPJ]

Thanks for clearing that up, Pete.

So, there you are, guys. Straight from the horse's (er, moose's, actually!) mouth!

I'm now turning my attention to getting rid of the MDF base. All it needs is some more runners and rails. If there's a chance a small gap may be visible below the bottom edge of the bottom drawer front then, I'll hide that with a cleat fixed to the inside face of the plinth - which will also help secure the carcase to the plinth.

So, I've gone from having several quotes for sheets of veneered MDF to no longer needing any - thanks, guys!! 8)