Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 16, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 16, 2021 I've been working on the shaker chest of drawers by Tom McLaughlin that was in a recent Fine Wood Working for a couple of weeks now, perhaps 3 weeks :). Nearing completion of the basic box, next step is the base and then of course the 5 drawers with dozens of dovetails. This series of posts will go fast, then it'll slow down. First up was the obligatory trip to the local sawmill to pick up material. Followed by some machine work, panel glue up and sanding on my newly acquired Jet 22/44 sander. New project, new machine! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 16, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 16, 2021 I started with the tails on the main box panels. Tails were cut on the table saw with a blade ground to a 7 degree top angle. For the pin / half blind side I sawed to the line then removed some waste with the drill press and picked up the chisels. That went fine for a couple of corners, when I got to corner3 I ran into some wild grain diving towards the outside of the case so I resorted to the router with a straight bit and a guide bushing after chopping out the first 3/16 of depth. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 16, 2021 Report Share Posted July 16, 2021 Looks like you are of to a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted July 16, 2021 Report Share Posted July 16, 2021 Thanks for the tag-a-long. I enjoy a good build journal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 17, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 Thanks, after the the half blinds came the sliding dovetails for the rails. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 17, 2021 Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 I’m liking this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 17, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 Time for glue up. 15 minutes of sheer terror, racing the glues open time to get it all applied and assembled. The last two corners took some persuasion to seat 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 17, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 So, when it came time to fill the case with internal parts I needed my tenon cutting jig. I own one of those classic Delta cast iron things that fits in the miter slot on the table saw. Somewhere! Can't find it though -grrr! What's a guy to do? Well, I do own 3 radial arm saws :). So I used one for cross cutting to length, one for tenon cuts and on with a stop block to make the cheek cuts. The blue saws are 196x Era, the green one is a 1957 MBF. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdbuilder Posted July 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 I've got all the internal slidy parts installed. There are some dust panels the slide in the grooves still to fab, I may start on the milling for those this weekend. Other than that, the main box is done - on to the base before tackling the drawers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 17, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 Couple more 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 17, 2021 Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 Coming along nicely! From the photos, your work space seems to be a bit larger than a typical 1-stall garage. How did you manage to fit 3 (three!?!?) radial arm saws in there??? Is there a Tardis-like quality to your shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdbuilder Posted July 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 LoL The shop is appr. 600 square feet in the basement, 9 foot to the bottom of the joists. Admittedly 3 RAS's is excessive, by 1 I'd say. Can't go wrong with 2 as then you can set one up for dado's leaving the other for the odd cross cut. Anyway, the dark blue one is my main machine. The little mbf was the first one I got, lovely machine but underpowered at only a 1/2 hp. It sits in the corner, doesn't take up much space and only rarely used. The light blue one came after the other two, the motor had failed on the mbf so it was going to be a replacement until someone mailed me a replacement motor for cheap. All the things were dirt cheap, $125 or less per saw... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted July 17, 2021 Report Share Posted July 17, 2021 i don't know how i missed this one, great work sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 18, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 18, 2021 Match jointing a couple 1/2"+ poplar boards to glue up for a dust partition. Woodriver #6 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 18, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 18, 2021 Dust dividers are done, thickness sanded to just under a half inch and panels raised on the radial arm saw. I'll hit them with a smoother for final fitting to the case. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 19, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 Dust partitions added 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted July 19, 2021 Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 I like the idea of adding dust partitions, I’ve put them on all the dressers I’ve built and see no reason not to and a lot of reasons to put them in, well done 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdbuilder Posted July 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 Agreed, they add a lot at the cost of a little labor. The wood was dirt cheap, I bought 38 4 foot + 4/4 boards from a local sawyer a couple weeks ago for 1.20 a board foot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mdbuilder Posted July 19, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 After the initial fit up of the partitions now I am on to cleaning things up as I go. Poplar planes beautifully. I've been final thicknessing everything with my new drum sander which works great but the 80 grit paper leaves some prominent sanding grooves. They come off quickly in 2 or 3 passes leaving a rather nice ready for finish surface. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 19, 2021 Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 On 7/19/2021 at 6:10 AM, mdbuilder said: works great but the 80 grit paper leaves some prominent sanding grooves. I think the grits on a drum sander are courser then the the equivalent number of your ROS discs. I use 120 on my drum sander then start with 80 on my ROS and work through the grits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 19, 2021 Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 I also find removing drum sander sanding lines a lot faster with a hand plane or card scraper as well. It's interesting that you find Poplar for inexpensive. I've not been able to find an inexpensive source for it. I can usually get soft maple or #1com cherry for cheaper. Probably a regional thing as soft maple and cherry are readily available here, while poplar doesn't grow well up here wild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle City WW Posted July 19, 2021 Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 You are doing an outstanding job on the Chest! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdbuilder Posted July 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 On 7/19/2021 at 12:02 PM, Chestnut said: I also find removing drum sander sanding lines a lot faster with a hand plane or card scraper as well. It's interesting that you find Poplar for inexpensive. I've not been able to find an inexpensive source for it. I can usually get soft maple or #1com cherry for cheaper. Probably a regional thing as soft maple and cherry are readily available here, while poplar doesn't grow well up here wild. I understand :). My normal guy I go to the regular A grades of black cherry, red (soft) maple, hard maple and red ambrosia maple are all $4.95 per board foot for the A grade 4/4 size with poplar being $2.50 for 6-8" wide A grade. The alternate place I found the cheaper poplar has a more limited selection and air dries it. For a $1.20 a BFI couldn't pass it up <g>. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legenddc Posted July 19, 2021 Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 I was looking at your post history and saw you recommended MD Select Hardwoods. You still get most of your wood there? I'm curious how the grade B stuff is. It's an hour away from me but might be worth the trip. Nice work on the chest so far. Can't wait to see it with finish on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdbuilder Posted July 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2021 On 7/19/2021 at 3:33 PM, legenddc said: I was looking at your post history and saw you recommended MD Select Hardwoods. You still get most of your wood there? I'm curious how the grade B stuff is. It's an hour away from me but might be worth the trip. Nice work on the chest so far. Can't wait to see it with finish on it! Yes, MD Select is my normal guy. I've occasionally gotten a grade B board when I come across it in the pile, depending on the size of parts you need they can be OK. Generally more knots so you are not going to get a 5 or 6 foot part out of it. Also, not sure how much B stuff he regularly stocks. You might want to call first and ask how much B grade he has for whatever species you are looking for. He is on the net: https://www.maryland-select.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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