Hi,
I’m designing a chest of drawers to form the base of a wardrobe and plan to use a style of drawer divider-frame described as “Lap dovetail with hidden dado” in Will Neptune’s article ‘Anatomy of a Chest of Drawers’ from FW #163.
Unfortunately Will doesn’t describe any method for efficiently creating the the tongue and protruding dovetail on the ends of the front stretcher.
Please can use you recommend any straight-forward technique for shaping these components? (Table saw & router table are available.)
Thanks,
Chris.
PS: In order to better manage wood movement I am intending to instal the front & rear stretchers and runners into the carcase as components rather than as an assembled divider frame.
Replies
Hi Chris,
I would do as you suggest, making these parts to fit individually into the carcase. I'd first cut my front drawer rail to length. Perfectly. Then I'd use the same dovetail bit to cut the dovetail as I used to cut my slot. Run it vertically past the bit with some kind of holder to keep it square and vertical to the bit. You'll have to play with this some to get it right. If the fit is too tight, a shaving off the end of the tail with a sharp block plane eliminates friction on the end of the rail and makes the tail that .002" narrower. Then cut the tongue into the back of the tail using a straight bit on the router table. Or mark and cut it by hand. You'll cut its cheeks first and then trim it to length. Have fun. Gary
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