All drawers are finally done

[Derek Cohen]

Well, almost ...

The drawer bottoms have still to be made for 4 of the drawers. After making each one separately, it occurred to me that this was the one item that I could build en masse.





After the drawer bottoms are in, the task will be to make the drawer fronts coplanar. They are close to one another in curve, but there are a few variations here-and-there. What I plan to do is shim the drawers by about 1/2" to raise them out an equal amount so that they all lie proud of the carcase, place the chest on its back so that the drawers face upward, and then sand the faces with a long sander made out of a 2x4.

What do you think of this method? Any other ideas?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[cputnam]

Gorgeous chest! How far are the drawers out? There must be a reason that you are considering abrasives in lieu of blades.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Curt

The idea I had was that a long sander - like a jointer - would level all together.

However I have been given another idea, which is probably less invasive, and this is to use a long edge to mark high spots, and take these down with a plane.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[JustinTyson]

It looks spectacular, Derek. I don't know exactly how I would go about leveling the drawer fronts, since I can't see how much you have to remove, but I suspect it would involve some combination of planes, scrapers and sandpaper. If there's more than a few thousandths that need to be removed, I think sandpaper alone would be too slow for my taste.

[tim_leo]

What are your plans for drawer hardware? I'm think the right choice could make this chest spectacular...the wrong choice not so good..

Can't wait to see.

[Derek Cohen]

tim_leo said:

---

What are your plans for drawer hardware? I'm think the right choice could make this chest spectacular...the wrong choice not so good..

Can't wait to see.

---

Tim, this has been a source of much deliberation, and I am still not sure what I will do.

There are really only three choices: no handle, short round Shaker knobs (in rows of pairs), or a horizontal pull (a single handle set in the centre of the drawer).

The no handle (pop out) idea was my first, but discarded when I could not see the mechanisms lasting 10, never mind 100, years.

The round knobs are small and not intrusive. Lynndy wants drawer colour, and I prefer dark/black. It is her chest of drawers, but I believe that she is wrong, and just going with her choice will no doubt frustrate me. The only way to decide this is to make both and let her decide that way.



The horizontal handle is another that I would make out of wood. I have drawn up plans and the construction is a one-piece affair. Incidentally, both the round knobs and the horizontal handle will be tapped for metal threads and connected to the drawers with brass bolts.

Below is a close representation of the horizontal handle. There would be just one in the centre of each drawer to minimise distractions, as the shape is also designed to do. Again, either Jarrah or black.



I do not plan to do anything about these until the top section (with mirror) is completed.

Regards from Perth

Dere

[Window Guy]

Looks beautiful to me, a very nice job. You should be proud.


Steve

[Arch_E]

Stunningly gorgeous!

Thanks for sharing your results and processes with us.

[Downwindtracker2]

That is a difficult choice. I couldn't build anything that beautiful. But I might put small stainless steel knobs or go the other way with wood exactly the same.

[AHill]

Derek, I really like how it's turning out. What are the dimensions as it currently stands? When you mentioned a mirror on the top, I realized it's probably a lot shorter than I'd imagined.