Chip Sawdust Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 From that photo Derek the drawer fronts look amazing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted February 24, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 The process of attaching of the legs was completed by the addition of two screws in the sliding dovetail base. Why add screws? The screws are not to prevent the base sliding back (an elongated hole actually encourages this). It is just to prevent the base twisting in, and breaking out of, the socket since there is no glue there to prevent any lateral movement. The force comes from the splayed and angled legs. They will want to cant outward, and this becomes more so when the three drawers are filled and a vase of flowers is placed on the top of the table. I thought that it is worth mentioning the screws used and how they were inserted. The screws are 1" long brass tapered wood screws. The drill bits are also tapered to match. These ones include a countersink and depth stop. The plan is to drill the hole for the screw through the base and into the case, and then widen the hole in the base. This will permit the base to move with expansion and contraction. In this case 2mm each way. A wider drill bit (and depth stop) .. Before inserting a screw, especially brass screws, they are dipped in a little wax. This is wax for lubricating bandsaw blades ... Here is the widened hole ... The gap around the screw ... The second screw is on the other side of the leg. This is positioned about half way between the end screw and the glued toe. Regards from Perth Derek 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted February 25, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Okay, so I decided that the wood screws were a mistake. They would prevent movement rather than permit it. So they had to go. This is the exchange screw: a 12 gauge stainless steel wood/metal screw with an all-important flat/domed head. The plan was to use a 3/4" forstner bit. This would leave a wide, flat area for the screw head to move along. The range of movement would be the same as before, about 2mm each side of the screw. A MDF template was made to guide the forstner bit, as it had no support in view of the existing hole ... Drilled to depth ... A steel washer added ... Done ... I had only 15 minutes after work today, but on the weekend, when I get back to this build, I plan to add a third screw behind the front leg. Regards from Perth Derek 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Nice fix Derek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted February 26, 2020 Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 With the narrow depth of the table, the difference between the od of the screw and the id of the washer should be good. Good catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted February 26, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 I put the last screws in after work. That will free up this weekend to concentrate on building the drawers. There are three screws. The one at the toe is fixed and there is no play for any movement. The two at the rear can slide 2mm each way. Regards from Perth Derek 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted March 1, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 1, 2020 This is the part where we begin building one-piece lipped drawers (as contrasted with applied fronts). In preparing for this part of the build, my research uncovered exactly one article on dovetailing lipped drawer fronts. This is by Christian Becksvoort in Fine Woodworking magazine (#263-Sep/Oct 2017 Issue). Interesting that. Why lipped drawer fronts? Simply because the three drawers must run continuously across the front, without a gap between them. The lipped sides will wrap around the drawer dividers, and these will double as drawer stops. This will be illustrated in a short while. The lipped ends create a challenge to form the pins/sockets for the tailed drawer sides since it becomes difficult to saw. I have a novel solution We begin by marking where the lipped sides will be. This is knifed in through from the rear of the case ... The marks are knifed with a cutting gauge. The distance from the edge is exactly the same for each board - 6mm. The side spacers are 6mm wide and the two central drawer dividers are 12mm thick, of which each lip is half this thickness. The drawer front is rebated with a moving filletster plane ... With both sides rebated, the centre must fit snuggly between the drawer dividers ... ... and leave exactly half of the dividers remaining ... Side-by-side, perfect fit ... The rebates are fine-tuned with a cutting gauge, ensuring that they are even and square ... This measure is transferred to the drawer side ... I took the time to lay out the dovetails on a scrap as a template. This saves a lot of repeated layouts ... Tails done ... The tail board with be placed here, but with the lip extending past ... This is what it would look like if dovetailed ... To make it easier to see what I am sawing, I am using blue tape ... Transferring the tails to the pin board is made a little easier as the rebate is a handy stop .. Marked out produces this ... And that is where it stops being straight forward as this is as much as it is possible to saw inside the lines ... I decided that, if I could not saw it, I would chop it. This gives new meaning to "chopping dovetails" The pin board is clamped (to avoid any splitting), and the kerfing chisel is used to deepen the existing half-kerf, and then extend it across the socket ... Now the waste is chopped out ... This picture of a fishtail chisel cleaning the corner of the socket is for bill Does it fit? Oh, the suspense! Two more to go. Regards from Perth Derek 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 1, 2020 Report Share Posted March 1, 2020 Top notch work as usual Derek. Not being a lot of information out there on the technique for this, it didn't surprise me that what you did find was by Christian Becksvoort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted March 1, 2020 Report Share Posted March 1, 2020 Fabulous work. I love seeing you put together dovetails! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 2, 2020 Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Derik, beautiful dt’s. I believe a while back that you went into detail regarding the kerfing chisel but I wouldn’t know where to start looking. I seem to recall that you made this yourself? Would you mind posting a pic of the profile of this chisel and or provide a link to your previous mention? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 2, 2020 Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Beautiful! This piece is really going to pop with finish on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted March 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Coop, I will show and demonstrate this below (look for my next post). Link to my website: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/KerfChisel.html Regards from Perth Derek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted March 2, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Today I completed the second and third drawer fronts ... Since I had only come across one article on making the lipped drawers - and that predominantly used power tools - and failed to find a single video on the topic, I decided to make one myself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Ic08ERaf0 This is a real-time video - no editing. So skip the parts as they bore you. Hopefully some of it will amuse. Or watch at bedtime if you are insomniac Regards from Perth Derek 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdlong Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 I've never cut dovetails so I really don't know what I'm talking about, but is this really fundamentally any different from lapped dovetails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted March 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 What's a lapped dovetail? Never heard of one. Regards from Perth Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdlong Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 I just googled it for the proper term, maybe I got it wrong. Here's another one calling it a half blind dovetail. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted March 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Ahha .. a lapped dovetail is a half-blind dovetail. I forgot that this is the name used in the UK. Is the lipped- and half-blind/lapped dovetail different? The lipped dovetail is a half-blind with a lip. The lip makes it more complicated since it restricts how much can be sawn, which affects how the waste is removed. The joint also requires extra preparation at the start, with rebates being created at each side (and sometimes on all four sides). So, short answer, they are similar, but the lipped is more complex. Regards from Perth Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdlong Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Thanks for the discussion. I figured there was a difference in scale in the complication, but the process looks similar. Nice work by the way. I do enjoy the projects and the detailed explanation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Great video Derek! And given that it was real time, it also illustrates to us how labor intensive this project is. The only problem I see is that when you go to push the center drawer close, the outer drawers will push out due to air pressure! I also didn’t know that you had a website. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted March 7, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 The build is nearing the conclusion. The drawers, case back, and finish to do. Here, the drawers are continued. The focus of this article is on fitting the drawer (with lipped sides), and the fixtures that are used in the course of this process. We ended the last build session with the drawer parts made ... ... and the lipped drawer fronts completed ... First task today was to plane the groove for the drawer fronts .. The drawer sides and drawer back were dovetailed ... simple through dovetails. The notable feature here is that space is left for the drawer slip (which replaces the drawer groove as the drawer sides are 1/4" thick). Of interest may be the bench hook I use. I suspect that some may look at this and wonder why I am butchering it by chopping on its top .. Well, it is just scrap, and took about 5 minutes to make. So far this one has lasted about 3 months. I should get a few more out of it. Not only is it used for chopping, but also sawing ... ... and even shooting ... One of the issues with a lipped front is that it cannot be planed to fit after glue up. So, there are lots of dry fitting, and the sides are planed individually. This planing stop is invaluable for thin boards ... There is non-slip in the form of Crubber on the face of the stop ... When fitted together, any raised pins need to be pared level. Here, the drawer is captured in a fixture (essentially, two pieces of ply, each with a cut out). The pins are pared with the newly-released Veritas flushing chisels ... I've had a pre-production set for a couple of years. This is what a prototype handle looks like ... Veritas now supply this in a nice wooden handle. The one I am using is a design of my own, ala a Japanese slick .. Fitting the drawers also required positioning and glueing the drawer dividers. These also act as drawer stops ... This is the drawer divider in position ... It is slid back ... The first third of the dado receives glue ... The drawer is replaced and positioned .. And then the drawer divider is slid up against the rear of the lip .. The drawer case is fine-tuned with the LN Rabbet Block Plane ... This is used to smooth over any irregularities in the side walls and, where necessary, to plane away any fat ... The drawers are in the process of being glued up. Drawer #3 cannot be glued up until a brass plate is recessed into one side. T Marked out, the waste routed, and then chiselled along the circumference ... The drawer fronts are planed ... Another dry assembly and check for fit ... If there is any resistance to the drawer being pushed in-and-out, I test fit it from the rear. This shows whether the drawer or case needs some planing. Looking good here, as it goes right in ... There is good drawer extension (about 80%) ... The drawers are now glued up. Lastly, for the day, the slips are attached. These began like this, grooved and beaded ... A Jarrah runner is added below. The upper section of the slip is, as with the drawer sides and drawer bottoms, made from Tasmanian Oak. This is similar to US White Oak in hardness and wear. Since the drawers run on Jarrah, the wear properties are improved with the Jarrah wear section ... Tomorrow should see the conclusion of the build. Regards from Perth Derek 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Awesome piece Derek! I love the inlaid signature plate very cool 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted March 10, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 This is the last part of the build - completing of the drawer bottoms and pulls. A panel was prepared some weeks ago. 1/4" thick Tasmanian Oak. This was made up of two, book matched boards. Blue tape was used to pull the jointed edges together. Clamps are unnecessary for this task ... Measure off the full width of the drawer bottom from inside the slips ... Of possible interest is the work holding for the drawer bottom ... The bench dogs on each side were made from sections of unhardened O1 steel, and filed into teeth. Another heads-up is the arm for this cutting guard. Some while back, Veritas brought out a gauge with a fine adjuster. They now sell the arms to upgrade existing gauges, which is what I have done here to a wheel gauge I made ... Here the tongue is marked (about 4mm). This will fit into the groove in the slip. The thickness of the tongue is marked (3mm). The tongue is planed ... The fit is tested with a spare slip ... The bottom was about 1mm too wide to fit. A LN edge was perfect to re-joint one side ... Re-establish the tongue with a shoulder plane ... Slide the bottom in. At this time it is just a dry fit. The front, which remains 1/4" thick to fit to 1/4" groove at the rear of the drawer front, is not yet pushed home. The front groove will hold the one end firmly, allowing movement towards the rear of the drawer. The drawers require pulls. The aim is to make the pulls "vanish" as much as possible. To do this, the shape is kept simple, and the wood is a section from the drawer fronts. Here it is being planed to 1/4" thickness. Set up to make the pulls ... A 10mm wide rebate is planed on both sides. This will be completed on the reverse side as well, to create a tenon 3mm thick. Four sections are marked off for the pulls (only three are needed) .. A router is used to create dimples for a finger grip on the underside of the pull (three were needed and were good here; one could be tossed) ... The outlines are cut out ... The router is again used, this time to create a 3mm x 50mm mortice in the drawer fronts for the pulls ... The final section of the build is the drawer back. I decided to use Jarrah to match the rest - one never knows whether the hall table will become a room divider. The newly-purchased JessEm Clear-Cut TS Stock Guides make a clean, accurate rip that much easier ... The next post will show the completed hall table. Regards from Perth Derek 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Sawdust Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Sure is coming along nicely Derek, thanks for sharing the walk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted March 14, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 14, 2020 My niece is getting married at the end of March, the entry hall table she asked for is completed, and in a couple of days it will head off to Sydney. This is the model for the table she wanted me to build, but to build it in Jarrah ... I needed to make a few modifications. The most notable were, firstly, that there are three drawers, where the model has two. With a little research, it became evident that the model was a "flat pack" build from a store in the UK, and it used slides and poppers for the drawers. Without slides, wide drawers will rack since the depth-to-width ratio is all wrong. Three drawers change this ratio and make it workable. Secondly, building a drawer to ride wood-on-wood, one cannot use poppers - and so drawer handles are necessary. My niece was keen that drawer handles would not be seen, and I have done my best to make them unobtrusive. Together with the desire to avoid drawer handles, there was also the request to make the drawers appear to be a single piece, rather than drawers separated by drawer dividers. The fact is, we had to have drawer dividers. So, to hide them, drawer fronts were given lips, with a lip covering half the width of a divider. In this way, the dividers could double as drawer stops. Making lipped, half-blind dovetails was a first for me. In the end, they were not too bad. The case of the original table is mitred, and this is likely butt jointed and supported with either dowels, biscuits or dominos. My choice was to use mitred through dovetails, both for their strength and also for aesthetics. Although I have done a number of similar cases in recent years, this joint is one where you hold your breath until it all comes together. Then you wonder what the fuss was about A fifth change was the attachment of the legs. The model likely used a metal screw per leg, which was common with Mid Century furniture. I wanted something stronger and durable so, in place of this, my decision was to stake the legs into a thicker base, which was firmly attached to the underside of the case with tapered, stopped sliding dovetails. A bit more work, but I will sleep better at night. At the end of the day, it resembles a box, and only a woodworker will recognise that it is a very complex box. Okay, here it is. It is photographed in my entrance hall .... The wood is fiddleback (curly) Jarrah. A close up the waterfall on one side ... ... and on the other ... The obligatory dovetail shot ... Those drawers! The lipped drawer fronts are 20mm, with the drawer sides 1/4". The back is 15mm thick. The thin sides necessitated drawer slips. These were beaded to create a transition from slip to drawer bottom. The drawer bottoms are 1/4". The wood used here is Tasmanian Oak. Since the case and internals are build from hard Jarrah, the underside of the slips was given a Jarrah slide to improve ware properties. As mentioned earlier, the aim was to present a single board at the front ... Here may be seen how the lips share the drawer divider and use it as a drawer stop. The spacers at the side of the case are half the width of the dividers as they do not share two drawers. Now those drawer handles ... I tried to keep the design as simple as possible, and used the same wood as the drawer fronts so they would blend in. The upper drawer shows the finger grip on underside of the handle ... Drawer extension is good - about 80-85 percent ... The internal bevels around the case ... ... maintained a straight edge to the drawer line. Plus the gap between the drawers (about 0.5mm) ... Near-to-last, the case back: this is made from the same Jarrah - one never knows if the piece will end up against a wall or out in the open. Someone will ask if the brass screws were clocked ... of course they were! And a final photo to provide some scale. This is taken with a chair I built a few years ago ... Thanks for coming along for the ride. Regards from Perth Derek 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted March 14, 2020 Report Share Posted March 14, 2020 Everything about your work inspires and impressed me Derek, another beautiful piece, the level of detail is amazing, I think only woodworkers can appreciate the level of skill it took to make this piece but anyone can see the beauty of it, very well done sir! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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