Up to this point, I have mostly made small items or shop tools. The only exception being my current workbench, but that’s hardly fine furniture. I’ve decided it’s time to use the skills I’ve acquired thus far to make something I can actually display and use in the house.
I suppose I could have made an end table or something simpler first, but that’s not really how I operate. I like taking on a project that I know I may not be fully qualified to complete and use that as a vehicle to learn. It has served me well in my career so I figure there’s no need to change my modus operandi.
I chose a chest of drawers mostly because that’s what I have the most need of currently. This project will use a handful of joints, some simple, some complex. Also, it is an exercise in case construction and drawer fitting. These are two very important aspects of fine furniture so I need the practice.
I start this project off with a visit to the lumber yard. I wasn’t initially certain which wood species I would choose for this. My favorite is Walnut, but that species is slowly becoming more expensive and more difficult to acquire. Alder, Oak, Birch…I finally settled on Maple. A couple reasons for this chose was price. In my area Maple is fairly cheap, especially if it is graded “common”. These boards will usually have some knots, defects, and undulating grain. As much as I’d like perfectly straight grain, it just isn’t always tenable.
First step, once the lumber was safely home, was to rough mark all boards and cut to rough sizes. This first trip I only purchased enough lumber to make the carcass. This includes the sides, top, and drawer rails inside. I took the wider boards and jointed the edges before gluing them up to make the sides. This will sit overnight in clamps and likely stay there until I’m ready to work on them.
The next step was to rough cut and shape all the drawer rails. Each rail consists of 4 pieces. They will be attached via mortise and tenon joinery to create a frame. This frame will then sit in between the carcass sides and create a platform for the drawers to sit and slide upon. This chest will have 3 drawers so I’ll need 3 frames. That’s a total of 12 pieces.
At this stage, I’m mostly preparing lumber. These frame pieces are cut to final size and planed down to their final 3/4” thickness. Dimensioning lumber is no small task so this can take awhile…
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