Replies

1. 
   BG | Dec 17, 2003 01:46am | #1

   Rip/crosscut the wood on your TS and reglue the component parts...leaving about 1/16 gap around the front of the draw.  I can't think of any other way to do it and keep the gap appropriate.  I'd sure like to hear another way...
1. 
   notDusty | Dec 17, 2003 01:52am | #3

   BG          wow great minds think alike, scary.

                                         happy holidays            dusty

      

2. 
   notDusty | Dec 17, 2003 01:49am | #2

     Hi asher ,

          Can you remove the apron or skirt ? If so one way would be to slice the top and bottom on the table saw. Then chop saw or what have you to make the other cuts. Then you could glue back the long pieces , and Wah lah a drawer face.As I said this is only one way.

                                      dusty

3. 
   JohnWW | Dec 17, 2003 02:00am | #4

   Asher,

   I suppose anything is possible but what you're trying to do is tougher than it sounds. 

   If you use a 1/8th inch bit you're going to have closer to a 3/16ths gap around the drawer by the time you get the edges cleaned up.  By most standards, thats a big gap for a small drawer. 

   You couldn't safely make the cut in one pass with that small of a bit, three or four cuts would be needed, so you'll need a jig to guide the router around the same path repeatedly.  You'll need to be especially careful, if you stray off the jig you'll damage either the apron or the drawer face.

   If I were doing the job, I'd make the cut with a hand held coping saw, because the cutout piece would then be very near to the hole size, giving you sufficient material to clean up the edges without having a large gap around the finished drawer. 

   To keep the size of the starting hole for the coping saw blade as small as possible, pull the pin out of the blade end, pass the blade through the hole and then reinsert the pin or replace it with a brad.  Stand the table on edge so that the apron is horizontal while you cut, it will be a lot easier to control the saw and see what you are doing.

   An alternative method would be to to cut out the drawer by whatever means you choose and then trim the drawer face with cock beading to make up for the kerf loss.

   John W.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 12/16/2003 6:01:12 PM ET by JohnW

1. 
   Sphere | Dec 17, 2003 02:13am | #5

   All of the aforementioned ways work..(except your first idea) But make cab. makers triangle witness marks so that you can re-glue in the proper orientation..coping saw would be my last ditch effort if no other way is possible

2. 
   asher | Dec 17, 2003 03:36am | #6

   Thanks for the responses.

   I think I'll try the coping saw thing as I'm a bit leary of gluing end grain on a structural part of the furniture.

   thanks for the time saving suggestions, -asher

1. 
   JohnWW | Dec 17, 2003 04:28am | #8

   Asher,

   Your comment on gluing end grain suggests that you might not have understood the alternative way of cutting out for the drawer opening.  It's a good technique and one that I'd recommend if you were making a table from scratch.

   The alternative involves taking off the skirt and ripping it into three pieces lengthwise. The middle piece is as high as your drawer opening.  A piece is cut out of the middle board equal to the width of the drawer opening.  The two full length outer pieces are then glued back onto the now two pieces of the middle board with a gap equal to the drawer opening left between the two parts of the middle section.  The pieces are all edge glued, long grain to long grain, there is no edge gluing involved.

   John W.

1. 
   asher | Dec 17, 2003 05:22am | #9

   John,

   thanks for the detailed explanation to a novice.

   -asher

1. 
   notDusty | Dec 17, 2003 08:10am | #10

                   

               Amen to that

2. 
   ian | Dec 17, 2003 03:04pm | #11

   Asher, some Japanese back saws are shaped so that you can make a plunge cut in the middle of a board. This is an option and with care you sould be able to keep resulting gap to two or three time the saw's kerf (which is typically about 0.01 in).  If this link http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=19.300.0&dept_id=11809  doesn't work go to Japan Woodworker and look for Gyokucho 9-1/2" Mortice/Back Saw (item 19.300.0) for an example.  BTW I've not plunged cut with one of these saws but have achieved acceptable results plunge cutting with a jig saw.

3. 
   Sphere | Dec 17, 2003 04:00pm | #14

   No. ya missed something. Take said apron stock, in the center of what will be the back make a chalk ^then rip top and bottom of the apron off Say, 1". take the center that is left crosscut the length of the drawer out centered from the ends. Glue the leftovers on either side back to the top and bottom rips using the drawer front as a spacer.Check that you are assembling exactly like it was (the CARAT) make it back into a board. Do not glue the drawer front in place!!!! do not be worried about the soon to be dealt with drawer clearance gap. Remove the Drawer front before the glue gets it. mill the apron however you choose to join to the legs..bead bottom rail if desired groove inside top for Top fastners if desired. Skim the drawer face top and bottom to remove saw marks...there is your clearance space, sand or plane the ends of the face when the drawer is completed to give a bit of room..A dime is thickness is about max.  This works real well with any pronounced ring porus woods..oak, ash, etc. The glue line is almost invisible..however I do not prefer this look/or method on species that are prone to showing glue lines..birds eye, quilt, any thing that a lamination takes away from the harmony..

   There is NO endgrain glueing.

   edit for attachment BELOW

   Edited 12/17/2003 8:11:40 AM ET by SPHERE

1. 
   Sphere | Dec 17, 2003 04:10pm | #15

   example..in chestnut, if the drawer was not open slightly and the knob was absent ya cant tell it is there

   
4. 
   Tao | Dec 18, 2003 03:59am | #16

   John W., Tom, and Sphere are right on target.  The method is fast, easy, and gives better looking results than any other method I know besides CNC laser cutting, which may run a bit over budget.  There was a period when I made a lot of country tables for people, and it worked great. Even if it's for an existing table, you can plan your cuts so you can replace the kerf loss by adding  a little material on top where it's hard to see, and finish to match. 

   Hand cutting an inside cut like that takes a lot of skill, and it's pretty hard to clean up the inside of the cutout.

   Michael R

4. 
   scooter1 | Dec 17, 2003 03:53am | #7

   Scroll saw is made for this.

   Use a band saw for the cross cuts if the apron will fit. If not, a coping saw or gulp, heaven forbid, a handsaw. The rip cut could be cut by a thin kerf table saw and finished with a handsaw.

   I think a hand held coping saw would be OK, but its hard to keep on a straight line for me. Has a tendancy to wander.

   Regards,

   Boris

   "Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

5. 
   john | Dec 17, 2003 03:25pm | #12

   I've wondered about this too. Obviously one can cut the apron as described earlier, and glue it back together, but if I needed to do this (I don't fortunately)  I would consider a high-tech approach and take the apron to one of those places where they use a computer controlled laser to cut out piece of steel, MDF etc. That would certainly be able to do the job, and when you took the finished item to a woodworking show, it would have the other woodworkers wondering

   John

1. 
   TomMGTC | Dec 17, 2003 03:30pm | #13

   I recently did a drawer this way by simply ripping and regluing after cutting the drawer out of the middle peice. I took it to a woodworkers guild meeting and was asked by several people how I cut the drawer out. You don't need to go to great technological steps (laser), just get a good glue joint and the line will disapear.

   Tom

   Douglasville, GA

   Edited 12/17/2003 7:39:39 AM ET by Tom