Common Ground Country Fair September 23, 24, 25 2016.
I will be demonstrating Windsor chair-making at the Common Ground Country Fair, in Unity, Maine. I will be in the Folk Arts Area, and will be happy to talk with anyone who stops by.
The Shaker 7-drawer dresser is in my son's room. Now if I can only teach him to close the drawers! I have pointed out on several occassions that a closed drawer hides the chaos within and creates an illusion of neatness. That's all I expect of him at the age of 22. I will let his future wife take on the task at some point in the future.
On another note, is anyone out there reading this blog? It has been over a year since I have received any comments on a post. One of the things I have noticed when reading other woodworker's blogs is that the posts become more and more infrequent, petering out to nothing, with the last post dated to 2012 or earlier. I feel compelled to write, even though I agree that many others write better than myself. So, if you read this post please send me a quick email at stevenbunnfurnituremaker@gmail.com. I would like to know if anyone out there is listening.
I use this simple jig and adjustable temporary fence clamped to a pair of drawer sides to cut my tails. The fence can be re-positioned to allow for any width or spacing you desire. The set up is straight forward and easy to set up between passes with the router once you determine the stand off between the (1) cutting edge of the router and (2) the center line to the bit with the edge of the router base.
Molding glued and clamped to the front of the dresser.
I am behind on taking and posting pictures for this series of posts. I completed installing the molding over two weeks ago. Then, after final sanding the case, applied three coats of Tung oil.
Alex helped me carry the case into the house and up the stairs into his room, where it now sits. I got the finished case out of the shop as quickly as I did because I didn't want several weeks of saw and sanding dust to settle on it while I worked on the drawers. I spent last week cutting dovetails on seven drawers. This week I glued up the drawers, and then started sanding, sanding, and sanding. Amazingly, I put the first coat of Tung oil on the drawer fronts this afternoon. I expected the sanding to go on for several more days. I still need to turn twelve shaker knobs for the drawers. But the end of the project is coming in sight. STB
Cherry face-frame members have been glued to the front of each drawer divider.
The blue painter's tape masks the case sides and front at the top of the carcase to preserve a clean straight join for the molding which will be installed next. The case top edges were cleaned up with careful hand planeing and belt sanding, then masked before the rest of the case was sanded to 220 grit. STB
The frame and panel back fitted and installed in the case.
The panel was constructed so that it was a little over sized in both length and width. Then it was carefully trimmed on the tablesaw and jointer to achieve a tight fit in the case's back opening. The rabbets in the case sides and top were 3/4 inches deep. The back panel was constructed so that it ended up being 11/16 inches thick. This allowed the panel to sit in the rabbets with the top and back edges about a 16th of an inch strong. This exposed lip was planed flush with the back panel for a clean sharp appearance.. Then the back was cleaned up a beltsander and orbital sander. STB
Face frame fitted and glued to the drawer dividers
After carefully chiseling out pockets for the dovetail pins in the case front, glue is applied to both the leading edge of the dividers and the dovetailed pockets. To keep from chipping out the dovetails, I drive them to depth using a block of scrap wood and my dead-blow mallet. With the frame members seated, I clamp the frame stock to the drawer dividers. I pay attention to aligning the top surface of the frame member with the top surface of the divider. Use another hand-screw clamp to help pull things into line as needed.
I will finish up by fitting a small vertical piece of frame stock in the middle of the top drawer opening to form the drawer openings for the top two drawers. After that I will cut and fit tapered feet to the case front at the bottom pf the piece.
Well, I've spent enough time pecking away at the computer. You all have a good day. I'm off to the shop. STB
Dovetailed face frame dry fitted in the case front.
On this piece of furniture the face frame is decorative. The drawer dividers have already been installed. The dividers are screwed to the case at the front, from underneath, and left to float in the dados to allow for wood movement in the case sides. Because the dovetails are not structural, the dovetailed pockets chiseled into the front of the case don't have to be cut to the full depth of the frame stock. So I carefully under cut the dovetailed ends of the face frame using a cross cut sled with a stop block on my tablesaw. The face frame is then snapped back in place in the case front. I use a square to line up the top edge of the face frame member with the top surface of the drawer divider. Then use a marking knife to scribe around the dovetail pin. I waste away as much material as I dare with a laminate trimmer and fluted straight bit, and finish the pocket for the dovetail by paring to the scribed lines with a bench chisel.
Stock for the 13/16 inch square face frame pieces were cut from the same piece of cherry, and then numbered so that there is complete grain match across the frame members on the case front. Sawn stock was jointed on all four sides to eliminate saw kerf marks. The photo above shows a burn mark dispite being passed over the jointer. I will have to clean that up with sand paper before applying a fnish to the case.
Past vistors to this blog will remember that the dovetailed drawer dividers on the Shaker workbench were structural and that the dovetailed dados in the front legs were cut fully thru the legs. Scroll down to see this if you are interested.
Fitting Dovetailed Face-frame stock to the Chest's Front Face
A quick and dirty jig holds the face frame stock so that the dove-tail pins can be cut
I make all my face-frame stock over length. After cutting one end square on the table-saw, I clamp the square end in the jig. I am looking for a flush fit, level with the top of the jig. I do this using my fingers rather than fussing with a straight-edge. Then I cut the dovetail using a laminate trimmer and a dove-tail router bit set to cut 3/8th inches deep. Running the base of the router tight against the temporary fence clamped to the horizontal top, I cut one face of the pin. Then, flipping ithe stock around and re-clamping it in the jig, I cut the other side of the dovetail with a second pass of the router. The photo above shows the finished dove-tail.
To achieve the best fit in the case opening, I start by cutting dove-tails on only one end of the face frame. The dove-tail notch is just deep enough to allow the shoulder of the dove-tail to fit snuggly against the case side. After aligning the stock with the drawer divider underneath, I mark the location of the opposite side of the case on the stock with a small knife. I add 3/8 inch to this marked out distance to allow for the dove-tail I am about to cut on the over length stock. I carefully cross-cut the face frame to the pencil line I've drawn. After cutting the dove-tail using the jig, I fit the rail in the case. If I have done a good job measuring and cutting, the notches on the dove-tails will snap in place in the case opening with out a lot of force.
The back-panel glued into the case after being fitted to the back opening.
Not a lot to say here. The back panel is made slightly over-sized, then trimmed to fit the back opening in the case. After I clean up the back, I am going to turn the case face up and glue cherry face frame pieces to the drawer dividers installed earlier. The cherry face frame parts will be dove-tailed into the leading edges of the sides. I will add pictures when I get to that stage. STB
