Entry hall table for a niece

[Derek Cohen]

There are three articles on my website documenting this build. It began late November 2019, however I have just returned home from a month travelling around Austria and Germany, and just resumed (article 3).

1. Preparing and dimensioning stock: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/E...iece1.html

2. Start of mitred dovetailed casework:  http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/E...iece2.html

3. Fine tuning of mitred dovetails and completion of case: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/E...iece3.html

Hopefully this will open up discussion about design, joinery, methods of work, etc.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tapper]

Looking good, Derek, as usual - looking forward to the crescendo!

Doug

[mound]

Outstanding work as always!

Reading through, I clicked on this link to learn more about your Moxon vise, but it returned 404 page not found
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeToo...Moxon.html).

[Derek Cohen]

Having completed the dovetailing of the case, the next step is to bevel the front face, and rebate the rear for a back panel.

I had been considering a cove in place of a bevel, however when I mocked this up it came across as appearing too busy. So, back to the bevel.

The angle for the bevel was finalised at 55 degrees. This enabled a 6mm (1/4") flat edge and a bevel that ran to roughly 4mm of the first dovetail. A 45 degree bevel would run into the dovetail.

The lines for the bevel were marked and then roughed out on the table saw ...



The table saw is a slider, and the rip fence was used to position spacers, before clamping a panel for cutting the bevel.

The bevel was then finished with a hand plane ...



This Jarrah is particularly interlocked but planes well with both a high cutting angle (the little HNT Gordon palm smoother) and a close set chipbreaker (the Veritas Custom #4).

Once the bevels were completed, the rear rebate was ploughed ...





Now the panels could be assembled into a case once again, and the work examined for tuning.

Three of the bevels needed tuning. This ranged from a smidgeon here ...



... to a largish amount ...



The case was dissembled and the bevelled edged planed down, re-assembled, checked, pulled apart again, planed ...

The rebates at the rear turned out to not require any tuning, with the exception of one corner ...



... where I had obviously forgotten to plane!
:\

That was easily rectified ( ... but the case had to be dissembled again). Finally, this is the rear of the case and the completed rebates ...



This is a rebated corner ...



Here are the front bevelled corners ...





This illustrates by the mitres on the corners of the dovetailed case needed to be perfect. Any undercutting would show here.



Next, the drawer dividers need to be done. I'll mention here - since I would appreciate the thoughts of others - that this area has been my biggest headache.

The reason is that my niece would like the drawers to have the appearance of a single board. However, to achieve this, because of the bevels, is quite complicated.

First of all, the table cannot have just two drawers. The width of the drawers will be greater than their depth, and this would likely lead to racking. Consequently, I plan to build three drawers, which will be more favourable for the width vs depth ratio..

Secondly, if the drawers have dividers between them, which they need (since I do not do runners), then there will be a gap between the drawer fronts (which will not flow uninterrupted).

As I see it, there are two choices: the first is to build the drawers with planted fronts. This is not a method I like (but it may be expedient). The second option is to set the dovetailed drawers sides back (recess them) to account for the internal drawer dividers.

Thoughts?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tapper]

Had to look up "planted" as I was not familiar with that term in this context. No expert here but from your previous work posted on this forum, option #2 seems in keeping with your skills as well as your technique. Would be a steep hill for me but barely a mere bump for you, I'm guessing.

Whichever method you choose I'm certain will look professional.

Doug

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Doug

What I need are lipped drawers.The question was whether I make them the easy way, which is by planting (glueing) on fronts. Or, whether I build them out of one piece, which is a lot more work as it requires creating half blind dovetails in a rebate.

For those unfamiliar with lipped drawers ..



This is the work of Christian Becksvoort ...





At this point, I am going to do it the hard way and make half-blind sockets in a rebated front. This is similar to building a secret dovetail.

To do this for all the drawers, the insides of the case at each end will require a spacer, essentially a 6mm panel glued to the insides. Each side will be half the thickness of the two middle drawer dividers (each 12mm). The centre dividers will be attached in a dado top and bottom.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tapper]

Yes, "lipped" drawers is certainly a detailed description and what I meant by option #2. Have always admired Christian's work in FWW. Good luck with the drawers and will follow with interest!

Doug

[Derek Cohen]

The basic case complete ...



My niece's expressed wish is to have a table front looking as if it was faced by a single board. The original model for this project has two drawers. I did not see this working here since, as their width would be greater than their depth, two drawers would likely rack. Consequently, I decided to build three drawers of equal width (I considered a narrow drawer in the centre, but decided this would be too busy).

In order that the figure of the drawer fronts would not be interrupted by the drawer dividers, the drawers are to have half-blind dovetailed side lips, such as these ...



The drawers will each have a side lip of 6mm. This requires a 6mm wide side panel on each side of the case, and two 12mm wide drawer dividers. This will allow three drawers to run adjacent to one another, and the three fronts to be cut from a single board.

The drawer fronts will come from this board ...





Below are the panels for fitting ...



It occurred to me later (of course!) that the 6mm end panels could have been made to run with the grain direction of the case. Being the same Jarrah, this would have counted for any expansion/contraction, and there would not be any danger of movement being intrusive. Too late. It's glued.

So I did the next best thing, and planed 2mm off the upper and lower edges. This will permit enough movement, if any (it is a small and thin panel). There will not be any gaps seen as the front edges will later receive edging, which will be used as a depth stop.



Frankly, the hardest part of this section of the project was accurate marking out of the two central drawer dividers. These need to be both perfectly parallel, and also aligned vertically (the lower panel with the upper panel).

There is a second area that needed to checked, which is important for drawers to work well, and this that the lower panel is flat - that is, does not have any hills. I learned my lesson the hard way about this. All good.

The way I go about marking the dados for the dividers is to make templates for their position. These are used on both the lower panel, as below, and then the upper panel ...



The process is self-explanatory ...







The dados are knifed deeply ...



Chisel walls cut ...



.. and then the waste is removed with a router plane ...





The dados are just 2mm deep. That is deep enough to prevent any movement. This process is quick and relaxing (compared to setting up and using a power router).

[Derek Cohen]

Once done, the process is repeated on the upper panel ...





All ready for a dry fit. The rear of the case ...



... and the front ...



Happily, all is square ...





Tomorrow I shall glue it up.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[GeeDub]

Love the details, Derek. I am really enjoying this ride-a-long.