Apothecary chest

[Derek Cohen]

I made a not-so-short video this weekend in response to a request. I should not be so eager to please. It is not recommended for viewing late at night, unless you are seeking a cure for your insomnia. 

This is the first time I have done anything like this - I bet you can tell 


I do hope that you get something from it. There are a number of techniques that I demonstrate that may be new to you. 

Feel free to throw popcorn at the screen. 

I hope it leads to some discussion.



Regards from Perth

Derek

[brnhornt]

Awesome!  Thank you for taking the time to make a video!

[Gary G™]

Hi Derek

Thanks for sharing your talents via video.
After watching you check and double check the walnut to be certain it was in the correct position for marking and chiseling, I’m surprised you don’t pre-mark each one.

When cutting the sockets, you were rocking the chisel with two hands—I’ve not seen the technique before.
Can you please explain it a bit?

Thanks again.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Derek

Thanks for sharing your talents via video.
After watching you check and double check the walnut to be certain it was in the correct position for marking and chiseling, I’m surprised you don’t pre-mark each one.

When cutting the sockets, you were rocking the chisel with two hands—I’ve not seen the technique before.
Can you please explain it a bit?

Thanks again.

Hi Gary

I generally do mark everything beforehand. This happened to be the one occasion I had not! Murphy's Law!!

Regards the chiseling of the end of the socket, in the usual case it is possible to simply chop away the wood by paring down. However, because the end was angled across the grain, it became difficult to sever the fibres. I could have resorted to chopping the waste away, but decided to rock the chisel so that it was slicing the wood (rather than pushing straight through it). Some of the walnut was especially "chewy" and fibrous. It was difficult to cut, even with a freshly sharpened chisel.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Update ...

All the drawer fronts have been dovetailed. I spent some time preparing the drawer bottoms and drawer backs for next weekend.

Here is a very short video to illustrate the angles involved in the dovetailing ...




Regards from Perth

Derek

[hbmcc]

Nice...... No rocking. Nearing the home stretch! In this latest video, you sound like you want to do another 100 drawers. 
  

I am rotary hammering 35 year-old concrete (post bases) for new railing at the entry steps to the porch. Tomorrow, I pick up some yellow cedar to finish the chore. No dovetails. 

Bruce

[Cian]

Very nice. Thank you for the pictorials, Derek.

[Derek Cohen]

Here are a few more videos to illustrate some of the strategies that were used. These precede the video presented earlier:

Rebating the pin board ...



Preparing the sockets ...



Clearing the sockets ...




Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Having completed the dovetailing of the drawer sides into the drawer fronts, the next step is to shape the outside bow to match the chest.

This is the drawer to be demonstrated ...



The drawer blade has been removed, and receives a final tweaking to match a template. Every drawer blade receives the same treatment, and there is a template for each vertical row ...



The drawer blade is returned to the chest, the drawer is fitted, and the profile of the drawer front is traced ...



Below, the markings may be seen on the drawer front ...



The drawer is pulled apart. The grooves for the drawer bottom have been completed. The drawer sides received a 3mm deep groove, while the groove for the drawer front is about 8-9mm deep. The extra depth here is to allow for the inner curve to be later shaped, and that this will remove approximately 3-4mm at the centre.



Now the end of the drawer front is marked ...



Blue tape is added, and the excess removed ...



The tape is added to the upper and lower faces, and the template (from the drawer blade) is now used to mark the curve ...



Once removed, the cut lines stand out clearly ...

[Derek Cohen]

The rasping may begin. A start is made with a Shinto, which has roughly 10 grain on the coarse side (this is a Japanese rasp made from hacksaw blades. The other side is about 14 grain).



In turn, after the 10 grain comes the fine side of the Shinto, and then a 13 grain Auriou followed by a second cut file.

The surface is refined with a scraper ...



... and 120/22/320 Abranet mesh. You will ask why sand after scraping? The reason is that the sanding removes any scratches left by the rasps and scraper, creating a uniform surface. The final result is fairly polished. It is possible that I may go over this with a cabinet scraper prior to finish ...



This completes the drawer at this stage. The rear of the drawer front will next receive a complimentary curve. I hope to get to this during the week ...





The run out from cutting away the ends of the boards is noticeable (to me at any rate) ...



Regards from Perth

Derek