Popular Post derekcohen Posted June 30, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Not quite 4 weeks ago, a good friend, Rita, brought along an entrance hall table she wanted me to fit a drawer into ... (Note that these photos were taken in my entrance hall, not Rita's). It was really a boring ... okay, ugly table. I thought that the proportions were completely ugh, and the legs reminded me of detention in a classroom. The table had been a kerbside salvage by her late husband, a close friend of mine, and a very good woodworker in his own right. It had been used as a work table. Rita had just moved into a new home, and the table was used because the width of the top fitted an alcove in the entrance hall. I said to Rita that I would re-build the table. "But I must have a drawer", Rita emphasised. The wood was good Jarrah. The first step was to pull it apart. This was not so easy as simply unscrewing the clips for the top ... Some evil tablemaker had used a nail gun to attach the corner blocks. Pulling them out left holes in the legs. The legs were attached with dowels. I would never have guessed as the construction was very strong. Pulling them away caused some of the wood to tear along with it. No way to remove them other than saw the ends away. Deconstructed ... Let's begin again .. I thought that I would do something different with this write-up. Turn it around and start with the finished piece. That's right ... the table rebuild is complete. This will provide a picture of the end result, and we can then look at how certain parts were built. This way around might create a better understanding of where the build was going, and how it got there. In particular, the drawer. The drawer is a little beauty. I did scratch my head over the construction. No doubt it has been done before, but I could not find any pictures of another like it. I am sure there will be interest in the design. I am chuffed with the efficiency of it. More on this in the next article. For now, here is the completed table. The legs have been brought inward, tapered, and a 3 degree splay added to the sides. The top retained its width (I was threatened with death, or worse, if it was shortened) but was made shallower. A slight camber was added front-and-back to soften the outline ... The apron was also made shallower. The original was 100mm (4") high. It is now 65mm (2 1/2") high. Oy .. where's the drawer gone?! I could have sworn it was there yesterday. Aah ... there it is ... This is the drawer case ... With drawer inserted - you need to get close up to see the joins .. It opens with a pull under the drawer .. The drawer is shallow, of course, it is just for house keys and the odd remote control. It is just 45mm (1 3/4") high on the outside and 26mm (1") deep inside. The full dimensions are 230mm (9") wide and 280mm (11") deep ... The sides are 7mm thick. The drawer front is 18mm (roughly 3/4"). To maximise the internal height, the drawer bottom was attached with a groove into the drawer sides rather than using slips. Slips would have used a precious extra 3mm (1/8"). So they 6mm (1/4") drawer bottom has a 3mm rebate, fitting a 3mm groove. The sides and bottom are quartersawn Tasmanian Oak, which is very stable and tough. One screw at the rear, with an expansion slot, to hold it firmly. A nice, tight drawer ... It slides in-and-out smoothly. I love that it disappears and is hidden. More on the construction next time, but feel free to ask questions. Regards from Perth Derek 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Amazing work as usual. That drawer is near impossible to spot, even when looking for it. The legs and proportions of the new table are far better than the original. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 I have a feeling that I’m about to learn a bunch of things! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Very nice! The way that drawer blends in is unbelievable!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 44 minutes ago, pkinneb said: Very nice! The way that drawer blends in is unbelievable!! I was going to say the same thing about the drawer. At first I thought the friend had changed her mind about the drawer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Derek, I love the way you think about a project. Well done young man. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Lovely work as usual, Derek! The proportions make sense, but I am particularly anxious to see how you separated the drawer front from the apron, leaving a near invisible gap. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 10 hours ago, derekcohen said: the legs reminded me of detention in a classroom. As an avid participator in many detentions, I concur. But you sure were able to find the beautiful table that was hiding therein. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coop Posted July 1, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 Anticipation! Ok, it’s been 23 hours and I don’t care what continent you’re in, that’s still almost a full day, and no update? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted July 1, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 Finishes ... Somehow this area was forgotten, and of course it is important. All surfaces were hand planed, and then finished in de-waxed Ubeaut Hard Shellac. This concentrated and thinned with denatured alcohol/methylated spirits. This finish allows the figure to come through and, unlike an oil, does not darken the already dark Jarrah (which is what I wanted to avoid). The top was, in addition, sanded with a ROS to 400 grit. Jarrah is an open-grain timber and the sanded Shellac doubled as a grain-filler, leaving a smoothed surface. The next step was to rub in (and off) a water-based poly, from General Finishes, which does not darken or yellow with age. I rub thin coats on with microfibre cloths and then denib with 400 grit grey mesh ... The final step is to wax (the top) with Howards Wax-N-Feed, which is a mix of beeswax and carnauba wax. This produces a very soft, warm and natural finish. Regards from Perth Derek 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted July 1, 2020 Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 I'm interested to know Rita's response to the transformation. My guess would be a large WOW! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted July 1, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 The drawer - part 1 It was my intention from the outset to hide the drawer as best as possible. This required that the drawer not have a pull or handle visible on the outside. To achieve this end, the drawer would need to be opened from the underside. Issue: Opening from the underside meant that the drawer would need to rest in a case which was open from below. Without a case bottom (i.e. drawer blades) on which the drawer could rest, the common method for a drawer would be a form of side hang. There are two methods for a side hung drawer that I know of, and I dislike both of them intensely! Partly because they require thick drawer sides, which lack aesthetic appeal for me. The first is a wooden slide (ugh!) which requires grooving the outside of the drawer sides ... The second method involves a metal slide (double ugh!!), which is ugly and belongs in a kitchen ... In the end I decided that I could build a drawer case with drawer blades open at the front. I have not seen anything like this before, but I live a sheltered life. I doubt this is original ... just re-inventing the wheel. There are four parts to the drawer build: the drawer size and design, the drawer case, fitting the drawer case, and the drawer. The drawer size and design The drawer is 230mm (9") wide and 280mm (11") deep. The width represents one third of the length of the apron. This works well since the depth of the drawer needs to be greater than the width to avoid racking. Racking would not be an issue if there were side slides (ugh!), but we are avoiding those thingies. Note the lip on the underside of the drawer front ... See the drawer lining up with the apron ... going ... going .. ... gone ... That lip is the drawer pull, and it doubles as the drawer stop. The drawer case Let's make the face of the drawer case. The original aprons were 100mm high. The new apron was to be 65mm, which was the height I calculated (with a life size drawing on a MDF sheet). The 65mm height included the drawer front, which would be 45mm high. That would leave a 20mm rail above the drawer. The first step here is to rip away 45mm from the original apron ... These two sections are jointed so that they may be perfectly flush once glued back together, and no join evident. The jointing was done on my large shooting board ... The drawer front is marked off - with a knife, not a pencil - from the centre of the 45mm wide board ... And then the drawer front is crosscut on the table saw. The cut area is covered in blue tape to minimise spelching ... We are now left with four sections - the wide top, the two lower side sections, and the middle drawer front. The sections are glued back (taking care not to glue the drawer front back!) ... Once the glue has dried, plane the board flat ... Did you see it before? Now the board is ripped down to 65mm, leaving a 20mm rail above the drawer front. Here you can see the front and rear aprons. They have also been cut to length, given a tenon at each end. The apron tenons are angled 3 degrees for the splayed legs ... Part 2 will complete the drawer. Regards from Perth Derek 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 1, 2020 Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 I am amazed that the drawer front grain re-aligned so well, after cross-cutting 2 full kerfs! I was certain you had some sort of magical saw blade that left a mono-molecular kerf to make it fit so well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekMPBS Posted July 1, 2020 Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 That is impressive, Derek. The grain match on the drawer is so perfect the joint lines just disappear. You give such great attention to detail in your projects, and it makes a big difference in the finished project. Outstanding. Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted July 1, 2020 Report Share Posted July 1, 2020 Wonderful!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted July 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2020 10 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: I am amazed that the drawer front grain re-aligned so well, after cross-cutting 2 full kerfs! I was certain you had some sort of magical saw blade that left a mono-molecular kerf to make it fit so well. My reasoning was this: I could cut with a Japanese saw, which leaves a fine surface and a fine kerf. But I am still going to have to shoot the ends to ensure that they are perfectly square to one another - that is, both sides. That can add up to a wider kerf. So, go for the table saw, which will leave a fine and square cut with a predictable cut/kerf. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Regards from Perth Derek 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 2, 2020 Report Share Posted July 2, 2020 That’s the way I would have done it but, with no where near the results that you got. I’m convinced that it’s due to the fact that you are in the the Southern Hemisphere and the wood grain orients itself or some bs like that? Regardless, darn nice work bud! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted July 3, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 There are four parts to the drawer build: the drawer size and design, the drawer case, fitting the drawer case, and the drawer. Part 1 described the drawer size and design, and the apron of the drawer case. Part 2 describes the rest. We ended Part 1 here. That is the apron and opening to the drawer case .. This is where the build ended ... The drawer case and its fitting I scratched my head for a week how to do this. How to get the case to support drawer blades. I did not want a heavy, complicated arrangement, one which ran the danger of protruding below the table and might be seen at a distance. It needed to be lean and mean. To be elegant. A design to be appreciated by myself and you. This is what I came up with .. The case sides were grooved 3mm (1/8") ... .. and matched with a rebated section which would form the 6mm (~1/4") thick drawer blade ... The thickness of each blade is the same as the depth of the lip on the drawer front (which doubles as a drawer pull). This depth is significant. The reason for the rebate arrangement is to get the blade as low as possible on the case side. Recall that the front of the blade acts as a drawer stop as well, and must be coplanar with the lower edge of the drawer lip. The side/blades are fitted to the rear of the apron with a mortice-and-tenon joint ... This was definitely a tricky joint to do and it needed to be precisely positioned so that the entry lined up with the sides ... precisely! Here is what it would look like with the drawer front inserted ... To aid with alignment, I made a MDF pattern ... Here's the fun bit - aligning the case with the front and rear aprons, to mark out the rear mortices ... The pattern is inserted and a straight edge is attached to the front apron to prevent flexing ... A lot of repeat measurements are taken on the rear apron before I am satisfied it is square and equal front-and-back. This is the result ... By-the-way, note the biscuit joiner-made slots for attaching the table top. The drawer The drawer build was fairly straight forward. The usual half-blind fronts and through dovetail rears. Transferring tails to pins on the Moxon ... The sides were grooved rather than using slips. This was to save the extra 3mm height needed for the slips (saving as much height as possible for inside the drawer). 3mm grooves .. Matching groove in the drawer front ... Below is the stage of glueing up the drawer carcase. You know that it is all coplanar and square (essential for a piston fit) when the dovetail at each end just drop neatly into the matching sockets ... The 6mm thick drawer bottom receives a 3mm rebate. This was made with a moving fillester, and then fine-tuned with a shoulder plane ... The drawer fits well and needs minimal tuning. Got to use the newly-made drawer-planing fixture ... Two items added: a very fine chamfer to the top of the drawer front, to prevent binding when the drawer is closed. And a stretcher across the tops of the drawer sides, prevent the drawer tipping ... This aids in achieving near-full extension ... The end Regards from Perth Derek 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 3, 2020 Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 Nicely done, and well docemented, Derek. I am curious, did you consider adding any support between the front ends of the drawer blades? I understand space is limited, but the open ended design seems as if it could break if the drawer were to take any significant downward force while extended. Perhaps that expectation is low enough in such a piece that the risk is minimal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted July 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 5 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: Nicely done, and well docemented, Derek. I am curious, did you consider adding any support between the front ends of the drawer blades? I understand space is limited, but the open ended design seems as if it could break if the drawer were to take any significant downward force while extended. Perhaps that expectation is low enough in such a piece that the risk is minimal? I did consider a drawer stop, but it was difficult to do with the drawer design. The drawer will hold a few light objects, such as keys, and I was not concerned about weight stressing it. Regards from Perth Derek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted July 4, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 The legs I had meant to mention the way I dealt with the dowels, which were the original joinery for the legs, but there was not the opportunity. Here are the legs, and you can see the ugly dowels. What I did was to turn them upside down, and remove the dowelled section in the taper cut ... First, the legs were morticed .. I built a simple fixture for my sliding table saw ... The nail holes were filled with coloured epoxy, which disappeared after the finish was applied ... And then smoothed ... I was asked (when I posted this photo elsewhere) why I planed into the grain. The answer is ‘because I can with a closed chipbreaker’ No, the real answer is because it was easier to keep track of the mark demarcating the flat section. Regards from Perth Derek 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 4, 2020 Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 Flipping the legs...filed away in the toolbox. Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 4, 2020 Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 Unlike a good book, knowing how the story ends at the first, did not take away from the story! Thanks Derek for a great read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Sawdust Posted July 6, 2020 Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 Another fine performance from the David Copperfield of woodworking. Thanks Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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