Bow front dresser project challenges

[Dewayne Baker]

I am pretty new to sketchup but thanks to youtube video tutorials I am catching on. Here is a dresser I am working on. The piece will present some new challenges for me. I have done a few bent laminations and use a vacuum press but haven’t done bent lam drawers before. I am pondering joinery for the drawer face to the drawer box. I suck at hand cut dovetails so looking for alternative methods. Also pondering drawer guides as one drawer side is longer than the other. The rest is pretty straight forward for my skill level.

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's a few thoughts....

* I like the curved front. I'm not so sure about the bulged legs. Look at the side of the cabinet. There's a flat side, and there's these bulged legs. They don't seem to go together to me.

* You say drawer "guides". Are those traditional wood, or are they metal full-extension slides? To answer your ponder, either approach is amenable to having different drawer-side lengths.

* Depending on how big the front curve is, there are several ways to build the drawer and do the joinery. One way is to make a rectangular drawer box, and to make the applied drawer front which is thicker at one end than the other. You can make the drawer box joinery any way you like -- dovetails, lock dado, whatever -- and applied front is just screwed from behind.

[Mel Fulks]

I would put a little more spring in that bow front for it to be immediately noticed. Plenty of antique pieces to ideas from. Looking forward to following the build.

[Dewayne Baker]

Here's a few thoughts....

* I like the curved front. I'm not so sure about the bulged legs. Look at the side of the cabinet. There's a flat side, and there's these bulged legs. They don't seem to go together to me.

* You say drawer "guides". Are those traditional wood, or are they metal full-extension slides? To answer your ponder, either approach is amenable to having different drawer-side lengths.

* Depending on how big the front curve is, there are several ways to build the drawer and do the joinery. One way is to make a rectangular drawer box, and to make the applied drawer front which is thicker at one end than the other. You can make the drawer box joinery any way you like -- dovetails, lock dado, whatever -- and applied front is just screwed from behind.

Thanks, I tend to lean toward full extension guide to ensure smooth operation. I like the idea of a drawer box with a curved front then attach the drawer face. For me attaching the faces once the drawers are in place insures the exact spacing and gap I want. I do have a couple differend designs for the base or feet.