dove-tail blanket chest drawers

oldcoot | Posted in Matt Berger on February 25, 2007 05:13am

I am building the blanket chest from issue #172. My question is; does the drawer have a runner of does it it just ride in the box in whicn it fits. With no runner the tollerances have to be right on with not much room for movement. Any help and/or suggestions are appreciated. thanks.

Replies

MBerger | Feb 26, 2007 02:56pm | #1
Hi Oldcoot,

You are correct. The draw fits right in the drawer box, which means your tolerances have to be pretty good. This type of drawer construction is a hallmark of handmade furniture and it's a great skill to nail down.

Wood movement isn't going to be much of an issue in the width of the drawer because of the way the grain is oriented on the drawer front, back, and sides. But the drawer is going to shrink and expand in height, so you want to size it appropriately so that it doesn't stick in the humid seasons.

The best tip I can offer is to size and cut the parts for the drawer after the chest is assembled so that you can make it to fit even if your chest is not exactly the size the plans intended it to be.

Phil Lowe wrote a great article called "Ftting Drawers" that offers a number of useful tips for this process. Give it a read before you get started.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=24097

Good Luck and write back if you get stumped.
Matt Berger
Fine Woodworking

oldcoot | Feb 26, 2007 07:12pm | #2
I made the same chest a year ago and did fit the drawer exactly as described. I was concerned about it sticking because of the wood moving.But,now that I know that is how the experts did it I am confident all is good.Thanks for the timely reply,much appreciated.