Drawer Case Build (Part 2)

[Daniel Rode]

The heat and humidity have been very high here. I made some progress and some mistakes but I probably wont get much else done until the weekend. Hopefully it will be cooler by then.

As I said in the first installment, after I glued up the case, I realized I had not cut the dados for the vertical separators. Luckily, there was (just) enough room to work.

drawer case part 2-1.jpg

Just like horizontal dados, I marked the lines out with a knife and worked along the lines with a chisel. I had to use a cheap butt chisel for clearance. I switched to the router plane to get it flat and to depth.
drawer case part 2-3.jpg

It's easy to be precise this way but it takes a little time. I got faster and more accurate by the end after only 10 stopped dados.
drawer case part 2-2.jpg drawer case part 2-4.jpg

I cut the grooves in the horizontal pieces on the table saw. Even if I wanted to, I have no hand tool that will let me make a 1/8" x 1/8" dado. I marked out the relief cuts with knife lines and sawed them by hand. I used a story stick to be sure I got everything perfectly lined up. Everything looked perfect until I got them installed. The relief cuts are off by about 1/32" on each side. A very even, precise 1/32"...

I'm confident I cut on the wrong side of the line

drawer case part 2-7.jpg

I suppose I could leave it but I'm not going to. I couldn't tolerate looking at that gap every day. The shelves will get cut into drawer sides and I'll remake shelves. It was an avoidable mistake. I'll try harder to avoid it this time.

Speaking of fixes, below is the repaired tail. I didn't spend time to match the grain. It won't be seen, so there's no point. Regardless, once it's planed smooth, it will look just fine and be strong.
drawer case part 2-5.jpg

[Robert McNaull]

Very nice Dan and thanks for sharing.

[Randy Karst]

Dan, its looking very nice; I appreciate your methodical approach. Thanks for sharing.

[Jim Koepke]

Looking good.

As I said in the first installment, after I glued up the case, I realized I had not cut the dados for the vertical separators. Luckily, there was (just) enough room to work.

Especially on projects that get repeated my story sticks and templates have notes on them saying things like "cut all dados before cutting the joinery."

On a one off or a new project a list with the steps in order helps. Sometimes just thinking it out for simple projects helps.

Then there is the old line that comes to mind, "The difference between a skilled craftsman and a novice is how they handle their mistakes."

I would say you handled yours with the skill of an experienced craftsman.

Even if I wanted to, I have no hand tool that will let me make a 1/8" x 1/8" dado.

Lee Valley has 1/8" and a couple smaller router blades. Knife lines and then router. It can be set up fairly easy to do all the dados before adjusting the depth for the next set of passes with the router plane. Just a thought that might be of help in the future.

Looking forward to more.

jtk

[Daniel Rode]

I'm going to add that to my wish list. The 1/8" cutter doesn't cost much and I would use it often enough to justify the purchase. I've been tempted to get a small router plane instead and outfit it with 1/4" and 1/8" cutters but that may have to wait.

Lee Valley has 1/8" and a couple smaller router blades. Knife lines and then router. It can be set up fairly easy to do all the dados before adjusting the depth for the next set of passes with the router plane. Just a thought that might be of help in the future.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm going to add that to my wish list. The 1/8" cutter doesn't cost much and I would use it often enough to justify the purchase. I've been tempted to get a small router plane instead and outfit it with 1/4" and 1/8" cutters but that may have to wait.

Just remember the LV cutters are a bit longer than the Stanley cutters. Flipping the adjusting nut works. From your picture of your router plane it looks like the nut is already flipped. For me a wood base added to my router lifted it enough so the nut doesn't have to be flipped.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work Daniel!

A lot of stopped dados, very nicely done. To be frank I spend a lot of energy engineering out stopped dados because they drive me mad.

[Daniel Rode]

Stopped dados are slow but for this I really did not want to see the joint and wanted a 1/4" setback. A through dado would have been awful looking

[Jim Koepke]

Stopped dados are slow but for this I really did not want to see the joint and wanted a 1/4" setback. A through dado would have been awful looking

+1 on that. Stopped dados look so much better in joinery because you do not see them.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Oh I agree they look great, I'm just commiserating.

[Daniel Rode]

Over the weekend I re-made the horizontal shelves and made the vertical dividers. The parts were cut on the table saw and then everything was fitted by hand. The shelves still have some gaps but it's better. I think I could have got them dead on with one more try, but I'm going to move on to the drawers.

Here's a shot of the case glued up and ready to for the drawers. I won't install the back until the end. I'll hang it from the wall using a french cleat, but I may install feet so I could be used freestanding as well. I'm happy with the proportions.

drawer case part 2b-1.jpg


Now I need to start building the 12 drawers. This will be mostly hand work. More updates over the next couple weeks.

[Christopher Charles]

Looking good. Thanks for the update and will look forward to drawers sliding into place.

c

[James Pallas]

Daniel
Another +1 on stopped dados. The case looks so much better without all of those offsets for through dados. The screws will have a fine home indeed.
Jim