Chester County Dresser Build

[Brian Holcombe]

Pat, it appears to be supported by the framing members which extend to the floor. There is actually a really worthwhile discussion going on at WoodCentral WRT to legs like this.

[Mike Allen1010]

Looking great - I can't wait to see it complete. Awesome work on the H&R work - how much time do you think you have invested so far?

Thanks John for your comments. How much time is a great question. I always enjoy build threads here on SMC, particularly those with hand tools. I'm always inspired and learn lots of new things. I agree it might be helpful for those that are considering building something similar to what they've seen in a thread here on SMC to have some idea of the time investment. I'll try to play closer attention to that and perhaps include some time estimates in future posts.

For this dresser, a very rough estimate of the time to get to the stage shown here is probably about 100 hours (?), broken up into 3-4 hour chunks over several months. There is no carving or inlay on this piece and those of the elements that really takes me a long time, which is probably why don't enjoy them as much as straightforward construction, joinery etc.I am a fast-paced person by nature and tend to work quickly. Of course the irony is because I work fast, I often make mistakes (like those I've mentioned in this thread), which ends up costing more time in the long run to fix, than if I had just been more thoughtful from the get-go.

There are some relatively minor mistakes I seem to make over and over again – like not sawing the miters on the bracket feet before cutting out the profile. I've made dozens of sets of bracket feet and you think I would know better. On the other hand, the soul crushing types of mistakes, like paring the outside edges of dovetails to get a nice compression fit, instead of the inside edges, I usually only make once. There must be something about the emotional scars from the big mistakes, that makes him easier to avoid repeating.

All the best, Mike

[Don Slaughter]

You continue to amaze me, Mike! Whatta Craftsman you are! GREAT PROJECT. I really appreciate the 'build along' pictorials. Shoulda hollered at me and I would've brought a miter box! But you did an excellent job without it. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Don

[Mike Allen1010]

For a guy who isn't sold on molding planes.....!

Nice work Mike!

Thanks Brian, I love your work and am really enjoying your new website!

I've been having more fun doing moldings with H&R planes lately. The biggest eye-opener for me was making some planes with modern steel blades. I can remember if I bought my molding plane irons from Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen, but the hardening/tempering process wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be and they really do take a nice edge. As you know better than most, sharp tools make every job easier and more fun. If I get real motivated, I should think about replacing the blades in some of the sizes of H&R's I use most often. Even though the heat treating isn't so bad, the grinding and sharpening of profiled blades is still a PITA for me that I try and avoid.

Cheers, Mike

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks Mike! Glad you are enjoying!

Absolutely, and having profiled a few Japanese irons which didn't arrive matched (close....but in hard steel close is miles away), so I know your pain. Once they get working it makes you want to profile every piece of wood in the room.

[Mike Allen1010]

Excellent work....I too like Glen Huey but he has left Popular Woodworking staff along with 2 0r 3 other staffers...Don't understand the circumstances....I have 2 or 3 of his books...Very skilled craftsman...Like your project too..

Jerry, the book this came from is "fine furniture for a lifetime" by Glenn Huey. It has 10 projects with excellent photo/descriptions of the build. Many of the pieces in Glenn's books are what I would call Queen Anne style, but he also has shaker, craftsman, Sheraton and other styles of furniture.Taste is individual, but personally I would be happy to have any of his pieces.

Best, Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Mike, that is an amazing gift for your son. What a wonderful thought - he cannot fail to be thinking of you/home every day he uses it.

Meanwhile, you appear to have built something quite excellent with the minimum of fuss in the minimum of time. That is the mark of the true craftsman.

I am looking and learning.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks Derek I really appreciate your kind comments, there especially meaningful to me as I am a huge fan of your work.

I hope my son enjoys it – goodness knows he's going to have to move it as it will be way too heavy for me when finished!

Cheers, Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Hello Mike,

Those panels look great as do the feet. And when i saw the 4 tpi the theme to a famous movie and the line " i think we're going to need a bigger boat" came to mind...

great work, thanks for sharing and looking forward to seeing more.

Best,
Chris

Thanks Chris. I've had hundreds of saws come through my shop over the years, and embarrassingly quite a few are still hanging around! In all that time, I can count on one hand the 28", 4 PPI rip saw's I've seen. My experience is there not easy to find, but the extra couple of inches and 4 PPI pitch really do make a bigger difference than you would think as compared to the more common 26", 5 PPI, especially when re-sawing.

Best, Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Very nice work Mike! The proportions look great and the overall front width and height is a close match to the golden rectangle, so given that you probably built this before the other discussion I'd say you have quite a good eye for design.

One question / comment. The bracket feet look great. If they haven't been re-inforced to the cabinet it would be a good idea because a fully loaded dresser can be a huge load on bracket feet if it ever needs to be moved / slid a little bit, especially on carpet.

Thanks Pat, but I can't take any credit for the design/proportions – they came out of a book. In my younger days before I had much of a woodworking library and absolutely no eye for design/proportion, I built lots of stuff I designed myself – usually to house something specifically to fit a particular spot in the house. Many times when I was done, they didn't really look quite right to me but I didn't understand why. Now that I understand more about scale and proportion my original designs are little bit better, but I'm still much more comfortable working from a model/plan of an exsisting piece of furniture I know looks good to me. Building copies of existing furniture also has the advantage that I can get prior approval from the Boss, which significantly increases the likelihood the finished piece will make it out of the garage and into the house. In the early days, that wasn't always the case!

I really admire guys like Derek and Brian and the many others here on SMC make their own designs. To me that is the mark of a true artist/craftsman. I'm really much more of a glorified carpenter who just doesn't use nails (very much).

I completely agree with you that it is a real challenge to solidly and reliably support the weight of a case piece like this directly on bracket feet alone. Brian is quite right, the stiles of the frame and panel carcass sides extend to the floor behind the bracket feet. In addition there are other pieces on the front/back of the case behind the bracket feet that were supposed to be attached to the bottom horizontal frame by dovetails. As I mentioned, I cut what I thought were quite nice dovetails and matching sockets on the bottom frame, but then cleverly glued the frame in upside down so the dovetails were unusable – I hate when that happens! I had to attach the replacement front and back supporting feet to the bottom frame with butt joints supported with glues and screws. Not nearly as elegant as the original design, but I hope it will be sturdy enough.

Cheers, Mike

[Bruce Page]

Mike, your skills never cease to amaze.

[Pat Barry]

Pat, it appears to be supported by the framing members which extend to the floor. There is actually a really worthwhile discussion going on at WoodCentral WRT to legs like this.

I see now that the stiles from the side panels actually do extend down behind the decorative legs. I would still want a bit more assurance though.

[Brian Holcombe]

I would tend to agree, but from the sounds of it Mike has installed corner blocking to make for additional support.

[Pat Barry]

I would tend to agree, but from the sounds of it Mike has installed corner blocking to make for additional support.

Yes, corner blocks was what I should have picked up on. That'd do fine

[Phil Mueller]

Really impressive, Mike. That will be a nice dresser for your son. A lot of skill with a wide variety of tools. And I thought you could only saw well

A couple hundred years from now, some museum curator will publish "how we did it back then" and wonder why such a skilled worker would create "open dovetails". You will likely start another long debated topic equal to the saw nib!

[Mike Allen1010]

Really impressive, Mike. That will be a nice dresser for your son. A lot of skill with a wide variety of tools. And I thought you could only saw well

A couple hundred years from now, some museum curator will publish "how we did it back then" and wonder why such a skilled worker would create "open dovetails". You will likely start another long debated topic equal to the saw nib!

Phil, your comments made me laugh out loud- thanks I can always use more laughs in my life!

I'm not sure what is more unlikely ,,that anyone associated with a museum would have the slightest awareness of anything I've built, or that this chest could provoke consideration of the notion of an "open dovetail"!!!

Although your note makes me wonder how many elements of classic , antique furniture that today we consider "the epitome of high fashion/ craftsmanship", would actually have been described by their builders as "field expedient" solutions to problems? I guess we'll never know.

Cheers,,Mike