I'm building a chest of drawers

[Harlan Barnhart]

I came on a piece of heart pine from a renovation of an old building. It was about 6" x 6" and nearly five feet long. It looked like it wanted to be the frame for a chest of drawers. I didn't take any pictures until the legs and stretchers were milled and joined. The milling was by machine but the joinery is by hand mostly.

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Here is a leg with the mortises and grooves cut.


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The panels are glue ups of wood rescued from a demolition job. It looks like Home Depot pine. The side stretchers are heart pine from the same piece as the legs.


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Here is a side coming together with drawer runners mortised into the legs. The runners are hard maple.


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Here are the back stretchers. These are made from the same wood as the panels since I didn't have enough of the old pine.


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The back panel is some type of cedar (I think). It was T&G paneling in an apartment I gutted. It straight grained, knot free and very soft. It also splits easily but it should make a fine back. I planed off the tongues and grooves and glued up a single wide panel.


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Here it is with the sides and the back assembled. This is just a dry fit. Now on to make the top.

[Harlan Barnhart]

Post deleted because pictures wouldn't open.

[Harlan Barnhart]

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Here the top is glued up and ready to fit.


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I left stub tenons on each leg to join to the top with a sliding dovetail. Here I layout the angle for the male part of the joint.


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Then I undercut the section that needs to be removed...


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And pare off the waste.

[Harlan Barnhart]

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Here is the male part of the sliding dovetail ready to mark out the rest of the joint on the bottom of the top board.


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The rest of the joint laid out and ready to cut. The layout lines don't show up so well so you may have to look closely to see them.


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Now bore out the waste and pare it clean.


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This is the joint for the front leg which needs a receptacle to accept the dovetail before it slides into locking position. On the back joints, the angled mortise extends out the back so a receptacle isn't needed.


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I used a pencil to mark the tight spots and slid the joint together little by little. It took some time. After each try, I pared away the high spots.


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Here the top is fitted.

[Harlan Barnhart]

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I wasn't very happy with the top once I had it fitted. I couldn't think of an edge treatment that suited me and the end grain of the pine wasn't that attractive so I decided it needed breadboard ends.


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These are made of hard maple and are joined with tenons.


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The mortise closest to the front is fitted tightly but the others are enlarged on the sides to allow for seasonal movement in the pine top.


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I undercut the breadboard ends slightly to give it a lighter look.


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Now I need to pin them on.

Up next, building drawers. That may take awhile since I don't have the wood yet.

[Jim Matthews]

I finally made out the engraving on the material.

I could not for the life of me figure out why you chose this stuff.
It makes sense, now.

I do wish I had seen the breadboard demonstration before I made my dining table.
Your method, with the haunch would solve one of my seasonal problems.

[Russ Webb]

Great way to put reclaimed material to use and excellent job of implementing your design. Very interesting thread.

[Ted Calver]

Harlan,
Thanks very much for the build pictures. They are very helpful.

[Harlan Barnhart]

I finally made out the engraving on the material.

I could not for the life of me figure out why you chose this stuff.
It makes sense, now.

Historical reasons mostly. It's for my daughters who are growing up in the big city but I want them to know their blood if from the south. That and it has a warm quality that may not come through that well in pictures. It's wood with a "presence".

I do wish I had seen the breadboard demonstration before I made my dining table.
Your method, with the haunch would solve one of my seasonal problems.

I read an article in Fine Woodworking years ago about breadboard ends and I've been making them this way ever since. I think the author was Chris Becksvoort. Sometimes I plow the grooves through the ends to save time but I wanted a cleaner look so I used stopped grooves.

[Kevin Adams]

Hi Harlan, great project, thanks for sharing. I'm trying to figure out from the photos where is your shop...are you in a kitchen or some other room in your house/apartment? Nice work wherever you are managing to do it!

Thanks.
Kevin

[Harlan Barnhart]

Hi Harlan, great project, thanks for sharing. I'm trying to figure out from the photos where is your shop...are you in a kitchen or some other room in your house/apartment? Nice work wherever you are managing to do it!

Thanks.
Kevin

Hi Kevin, my "shop" is in my bedroom. Here in Brooklyn we don't have space for roomy shops. Take a tour...http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...hop&highlight=