|
Building
The Drawer Box And Drawers
Once again, if you have a thickness planer, begin by planing
all stock you plan to use for pieces D
through J to the indicated 1/2". Next, joint and cut all the
common widths for the drawer box and drawers, then cut all
the pieces to length, according to the Bill
Of Materials.
IMPORTANT: Since you'll be using finger lap construction
for these pieces, it would be a good idea for you to rip the
drawer box sides (G) to about
1/16" wider than indicated...and crosscut pieces D,E,H,I
and J to about 1/16" longer than
indicated. This will allow the fingers of your joints to protrude
about 1/32" past their mating workpieces when assembled. These
protruding fingers can then be sanded flush once the glue-up
has dried.
Creating
the finger joints can accomplished with the aid of a special
finger lap fixture...which can be used with your dado or router
table setup. We used the dado setup to make our chalkboard.
Click
here to go to a special linked article we've prepared
to help you build and use the fixture you'll need to cut the
joints for the chalkboard.
Configure your dado setup according to the instructions included
in the linked article. In our case, you'll need to make a
finger lap fixture for cutting 1/2" fingers, instead of the
3/8" fingers in the linked article. Be sure to cut each finger
about 1/32" longer than 1/2" (or 17/32"). This will allow
the ends to be sanded flush once everything is assembled.
Start by cutting the joints for the drawer box top, bottom
and sides (D,E
& G)...then, cut the fingers for
the drawer fronts, backs and sides (I,J
& H).
Next,
cut the 1/4" deep cross-grain dadoes in the drawer box top
and bottom (D & E)
to accept the drawer partitions (F).
We used the dado setup to cut ours and for appearance purposes,
made them “blind” in the front of the box. If you
use this approach, you'll have to use your bandsaw or scroll
saw to carefully remove the front edges of each partition
so it fits into the blind dado. As an alternative, you could
cut also these stopped grooves with your router and a 1/4"
straight bit.
Sand
the inside surfaces of all drawer box pieces and dry fit.
When you're sure everything fits properly, disassemble the
box, apply glue and clamp together. Check for squareness,
wipe away any excess glue immediately with a damp cloth and
set the box aside to dry.
Re-configure
your dado setup to make a 1/4" wide x 1/4" deep cut and rout
the grooves 1/4" up from the inside bottoms of the drawer
fronts (I), backs (J)
and sides (H) to hold the drawer
bottoms (K). IMPORTANT:
Be careful to stop these grooves before they reach the fronts
and backs of the drawer sides (H)
or the drawer bottoms will show through when assembled. Again,
as an alternative, these stopped grooves could also be cut
with a router set-up and 1/4" straight bit.
Continue...
|
