Bombe Adventure - 2nd Update

[Don_M]

Previous post – first update:

Was able to complete the woodworking portion of the chest - and let me add that this project generated a LOT of waste/sawdust! I started off with over 83 bf of Mahogany and since you are basically reducing 12/4 material for the case side, drawer fronts and 8/4 material for the drawer sides down to something less than 4/4 material I estimate there is no more than 25 – 30  bf in the final project.

I am pretty happy with the final chest (which given the complexity of the project and the fact this was my first attempt at one of these is like saying I am 99% happy!). So next – final sanding, finish and hardware.

I hope to be able to post final finished piece and stats in a week or so. Also, for those who are interested I've included additional project details and lessons learned as a re-post to this post (below).

   

   

   

   

There is one hardware issue I  am, noodling over. I am planning to use Chippendale Griffin Bail pulls for the drawers. The issue is the size. I was originally going with a 3” pull  (which I would say is probably the more standard size for a chest like this) – but because I had to slightly shorten all of the drawer heights (due primarily to the addition of the upper inlay banding) – they seem a bit out of proportion for the top drawer. They still fit OK – but almost cover the entire drawer from top to bottom (the 3” pull looks fine on the remaining 3 lower drawers).  They also make a 2-1/2” pull – which works fine on the top drawer, but (IMO) not so good on the larger bottom drawers. I am inclined to go with the larger pull as the best compromise. Thoughts?

   

(Note to self – buy or at least  measure/determine size of hardware BEFORE building furniture!)

[Don_M]

(Opps _ forgot to include link to first update:  https://forums.woodnet.net/showthread.php?tid=7352013 

Select Project Details and Lessons Learned


One thing I really came to appreciate with this project was sequencing the work. This was a complicated one and I must have thought thru and put together (in writing or sketches) at half a dozen specific milling/assembly sequencing operations – and they were very helpful.

1.       Harlequin Inlay Banding and Case Beading

I suspect many of you have made similar inlays – and I’ve made several checkerboard inlays using this technique - but the harlequin pattern presented an extra little challenge. First. I made several blanks by sandwiching together layers of Mahogany and Jarrah.

   
 
Then a cut these blanks into small blocks (obviously ensuring perfect “squareness” of the individual pieces is critical).
 

   

To make the diamond pattern blank I built a sort of “piston ram” on my bench. At one end was a 45-degree end block that I used to align each of the successive individual blocks. I would glue up about 10 small blocks at a time and then squeeze them tight using my end vise and a bench dog against another 45 degree “ram”.
 

   
 
I then glued these “sub-assemblies” into the final length block I sliced into the thin veneer inlay.
 

   
 
To avoid cross-grain issues – the half-round bead below the inlay is set into a sliding dovetail (made using the smallest dovetail bit I have ever seen!). And yes, that is a half sliding dovetail on the top ¼ bead.

   


 
2.       Drawer Fronts
 
I started with trapezoid shaped blanks (all cut from the same 12/4 slab).
 

   
 
I tried a couple of different techniques to shape the drawer fronts, but what ended up being the most effective (for me, at least) was to rough cut the serpentine shape with my BS and then mill/smooth the final curvature(s) with a sanding drum chucked into my drill and my ROS (40 grit). Used a rotary plane, chisels and bench/block planes for larger removals and detail work.
 

   

       
 
After Initial shaping I would then dry fit the drawer front to ensure everything “lined up” before I cut the backside of the drawer front.
 

   
 
As far as the back side - NO shaping (a suggestion from Damian); just a straight cut on the bandsaw from top to bottom at an angle that approximated the slope of the drawer front (following the serpentine curve, of course). To route the dado in the back side of the drawer front for the bottom drawer panel I made my own “angled” router plane with the blade set at an angle to account for the slope of each drawer.
 
 

   

[Don_M]

1.  Drawer Sides and Dovetails (everyone’s favorite topic!).

As for the drawer sides, it occurred to me I could use the same template and routing sled I used for the sides of the case. I affixed the drawer side blank into the case template (at the proper location in the template for the particular drawer) and routed the curvature using the router sled. This worked out better than I anticipated. The drawer side(s) fit almost perfectly to the inside of the case.

   
 
First off, hand cut DT”S - not something I do a lot of and needless to say I am not too proficient at, but I did my best (they make it look so easy on you-tube!). Also, I did about 6 practice runs on some spare Mahogany before I cut into drawer fronts I spent hours shaping!!
 
Sequencing the work was important. After routing the OUTSIDE curve of the drawer side using the case template (and leaving the inside surface for later) , I marked up the tails. Rather than try to follow the curve of the drawer front with the tails - I instead opted to “straight line” the end of the tails. This seemed to be the most common approach on several Bombe’s I had seen in photos (if that was confusing see the sketches, below – I went with the bottom sketch)
 

   
 
I would then rough cut the tails on my bandsaw using a simple jig. This was made easier because the inside of the drawer side the was left “flat”.  I did not complete the tails because I still needed to mill the inside using the other case template).
 

   
 
So after roughing out the tails it was back to the “reverse” case template to shape the INSIDE curve of the drawer side.
 

   

Sawdust/chips from just ONE drawer side!

   

 
I finished off the tails and then back cut (rabbeted) the back side of the tail board. (I really didn’t want to deal with a curve at the bottom tail pocket on the pin board!). The back cut resulted in a flat surface for the pin pocket and also aided in “registering” the tails to the pin board (i.e., drawer front).
 

   
 
After that – marked up the pins and hacked them out (used a few tricks there also)


 
2.       Open Rear Panel

Leaving the rear side of the case open and installing the rear panel(s) toward the end of the project was very helpful when it came to be shaping and fitting the curved drawers
 

   


3.       Things that Could Have Gone a Little Better
 
Nothing too major – but I did mess up on one of the rear drawer dividers (second drawer). It was about a 1/16” lower than the front divider (which really annoyed me since I had spent a LOT of time/effort measuring and positioning these!). Anyway, I deciding to fix it since the error would manifest itself to the rest of the drawer pockets (i.e., the runner for the second drawer is the kicker for the third drawer, etc.). SO I decided to cut it out (used a multi-tool to slice off thru the tenon securing the divider to the case side), raised it up 1/16” and then, yes – had to go with pocket screws to secure it to the case from the inside. Hey, it is in the rear of the case and on the underside of the divider, (and I filled the pocket screw hole with a Mahogany plug).
 
Another area (at least for me) I feel that I came up a bit short on was the fit of the (curved) drawers. I am very particular about fitting drawers. Typically, I shoot for a TOTAL side to side gap of 1/32” and (for drawers less than 6” tall) no more than 1/16” TOTAL top to bottom gap. I think the difficulty was due to the casing itself. With your basic flat, square cabinet, IMO it’s easier to insure flat inside case surfaces – and therefore easier to closely fit drawers. For this project there was not only top to bottom curvature – but also slight variations from front to back. Still ended up between 1/32” and 1/16” side to side gap for all of the drawers – so certainly within the range of acceptability (FWIW - all drawers passed the “pinkie push test”!).
 
The bottom drawer was the most challenging as far as the DT’s and fitting the drawer, Of course, it didn’t hit me until I begin to lay out this drawer that the joint between the drawer sides and front is a compound angle!! (Homer Simpson – “D’oh”!)

[Bill Holt]

Looks like you have done an amazing job!

On the hardware: I agree, the one on the right has much better proportions, at least for the top drawer.

[stav]

Nice walk through.  You have to wonder how they built these things before power tools.  Seems like a whole lot of work just removing material for the chest if you were doing it by hand.  Not to mention all the other work involved.  

Your's is coming out nicely. 

On the hardware, could you go with the smaller pulls on the top drawer and the larger on the drawers below?

[fredhargis]

The patience and skill you've demonstrated take you to the "master" level of our craft, something not all of us (maybe very few) achieve. Wonderful work, and loved the walk through!

[rick4212]

Wow beautiful piece!

[Hank Knight]

What a spectacular job! That is one beautiful chest. Thanks for letting us follow along.

With respect to your issue with the pulls, I have in the past used one size smaller bail pull on a narrow top drawer with the larger pulls on the remaining drawers. In my opinion keeping the relative proportion between the pull escutcheon and the drawer front, I.E., avoiding having the the pull from dominate the drawer front, is more important and looks better than having all the pulls the same size. To me the 3" pull looks out of proportion on your top drawer and overpowers it. I have no historical basis for my opinion; but if it were my chest, I'd use the 2 1/2" pulls on the top drawer and 3" pulls on the other three. I have seen it done both ways on antique furniture.

[Don_M]

What a spectacular job! That is one beautiful chest. Thanks for letting us follow along.

With respect to your issue with the pulls, I have in the past used one size smaller bail pull on a narrow top drawer with the larger pulls on the remaining drawers. In my opinion keeping the relative proportion between the pull escutcheon and the drawer front, I.E., avoiding having the the pull from dominate the drawer front, is more important and looks better than having all the pulls the same size. To me the 3" pull looks out of proportion on your top drawer and overpowers it. I have no historical basis for my opinion; but if it were my chest, I'd use the 2 1/2" pulls on the top drawer and 3" pulls on the other three. I have seen it done both ways on antique furniture.

Hank - thanks for the suggestion on the pulls. Stav also suggested this approach (as well, as my wife!). I wasn't quite sure this was an acceptable or customary solution - but sounds like you have some experience with this - and I agree aesthetically looks the best. thanks

[John Fry]

Previous post – first update:

Was able to complete the woodworking portion of the chest - and let me add that this project generated a LOT of waste/sawdust! I started off with over 83 bf of Mahogany and since you are basically reducing 12/4 material for the case side, drawer fronts and 8/4 material for the drawer sides down to something less than 4/4 material I estimate there is no more than 25 – 30  bf in the final project.

I am pretty happy with the final chest (which given the complexity of the project and the fact this was my first attempt at one of these is like saying I am 99% happy!). So next – final sanding, finish and hardware.

I hope to be able to post final finished piece and stats in a week or so. Also, for those who are interested I've included additional project details and lessons learned as a re-post to this post (below).










There is one hardware issue I  am, noodling over. I am planning to use Chippendale Griffin Bail pulls for the drawers. The issue is the size. I was originally going with a 3” pull  (which I would say is probably the more standard size for a chest like this) – but because I had to slightly shorten all of the drawer heights (due primarily to the addition of the upper inlay banding) – they seem a bit out of proportion for the top drawer. They still fit OK – but almost cover the entire drawer from top to bottom (the 3” pull looks fine on the remaining 3 lower drawers).  They also make a 2-1/2” pull – which works fine on the top drawer, but (IMO) not so good on the larger bottom drawers. I am inclined to go with the larger pull as the best compromise. Thoughts?



(Note to self – buy or at least  measure/determine size of hardware BEFORE building furniture!)

Absolutely beautiful, and very impressive work Don!
You should be very proud.  When did you actually start your "Bombe Adventure"?