Choice of timber for drawer sides (Completed Project)

[Jacob]

......
The screw provides a point of support and actually prevents the bottom sagging as there's nothing holding it up at the back because the grooves are only on the sides and front.

Usually the stiffness of the wood is enough to keep it straight at the back

I've made hundreds of drawers this way without problems.

Yebbut 10/20 years on with a loaded drawer and a change of humidity is when the problem could show.

Incidentally, I've seen it on Georgian drawers and in Victorian instruction books so it's certainly not a new idea. But hey, they're your drawers so you use whatever method you like.

I've never seen it in use at all except when I did it myself (not knowing any better!).
What I have often seen is trad drawers in old furniture where the back has been pinned or screwed to the bottom. This is often accompanied by a gap at the front where the bottom has shrunk away. The remedy is to remove the screws/pins and slide the bottom back into the front slot, with a bit of glue, leaving the back edge unattached. I had proof in one instance that the screws were retro fitted by an amateur - my old dad did it to a victorian table drawer many years ago before I was born - I've still got the table, minus pins/screws and the bottom properly fixed!
I've never seen it in old books but only newer ones - but in any case I don't trust the books. Not very good "good ideas" get slotted in and are repeated for evermore. The most common being the notion the DT angles should be 1/6 or 1/8 - a redundant idea which simply won't go away.

 

[John15]

Looks like you're doing a very tidy job with your desk John. If I've read your post right you're fairly early on in your woodworking career (my apologies if you've actually already won half a dozen Guild Marks), so that's pretty impressive work.

=D>

One thing you might want to think about for your next project. Once the finish is applied you may find there's some "grain clash" around the drawers and it all looks a bit "busy", you could try getting all the components out of the same board so the grain flows seamlessly across the front. But taken in the round you've done a superb job. Congratulations!

Yes, I'm into my fourth year of woodworking and this is the most complicated piece I've made so far.

I agree about the grain pattern. I made the front rail assembly obviously very early on but without a thought of it being matched to the drawers. As you say it should have all come out of the same piece.....next time!!

Thanks for the complements. I'll post a photo of the finished job.

John

 

[John15]

Thanks dzj and Jacob for your input.

John

 

[John15]

I've finished my writing table at last and am very pleased with the result. I think I got the proportions about right. I got the basic design from an American magazine and made a few alterations to make it 'my own'. Of the imperfections the most obvious to my mind are the small size of the bottom half blind pins (overall I was very pleased with the half blinds as it was my first effort), the grain pattern to the front (noted previously by Custard), the paleness of one of the top boards, and the small area of sapwood to the front rail. The top is also mottled but looks OK. The table is finished with two coats of Osmo Polyx Oil.
John

 

[MattRoberts]

That's a lovely piece - nice work!

 

[DTR]

Very nice =D>

 

[custard]

Smashing work, you've done great job!

=D>

 

[undergroundhunter]

Congratulations that very nice. Good proportions and well executed.

Matt

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Very nice - makes me want to have a go building one! I'm intrigued as to how one could make it look like the drawers are (grainwise) part of the same board as the rest of the front panel - without problems caused by the kerf of the saw used to cut two "letterboxes" out of the board - would this involve a bit of surreptitious sawing (horizontally, above and below each "letterbox") and re-gluing? Cheers, W2S

 

[John15]

Very nice - makes me want to have a go building one! I'm intrigued as to how one could make it look like the drawers are (grainwise) part of the same board as the rest of the front panel - without problems caused by the kerf of the saw used to cut two "letterboxes" out of the board - would this involve a bit of surreptitious sawing (horizontally, above and below each "letterbox") and re-gluing? Cheers, W2S

The front apron is made up of a piece 25x20mm top and bottom glued to a 'spacer' piece at each end and in the centre, leaving the 2 openings for the drawers.

John