Attaching outside rails and kickers on lowboy – question
I am making the Queen Anne lowboy based on the plans and FWW article (FWW Nov/Dec 2008) by the late Philip Lowe. I am completing case construction it’s glued up and now it is time to attach the outside runners and kickers. Mr Lowe uses mortise and tenon to attach the front and either nails (in the project video) or dowels to attach the rear of each runner and kicker. I understand he was trying to emulate the old techniques but I am not so bound. I see no reason I can’t use glue between the runners / kickers and the sides with a loose mortise and tenon in front as Mr Lowe employed and pin nails in the rear. I would be light on the glue only gluing say 4 inches of length on the side. It’s not a cross grain situation. The case is made of walnut and the runners and kickers are hard maple from the short off cut pile. Am I missing anything? I am hoping the gluing approach will be stronger. It’s how I have done it with shaker end tables. Please note that in the photos only the center runners and kickers are fixed the outside runners and kickers shown are not attached but fit tight enough to stay in place for demo purposes. Thanks in advance for input.
Replies
I glued the top kickers to the sides. I screwed the top to the base through the underside of the kickers.
The first one I made I glued the other runners to the sides. I measured precisely. It did not go well. When I put the drawers in they were tilted way off. It was a bear to fix, being glued. The next one I did I inserted the drawer, placed the runner, and nailed it.
Nails are plenty strong for this project. Really.
Thanks for the reply and feedback. Yes the drawers are small and unlikely to be heavily used so I am sure you are right and nails are strong enough. Sounds like your lowboy came out nice. Mr Lowe did a great job of making the project easier than imagined through his videos