I am nearing the finish of my build of Mike Pekovich’s Tool Chest with drawers. I have come to cutting the small mortises to accept the drawer locks on the underside of the shelf dividers. As I need to cut these recesses before assembly and glue up of the case, what is the best way to measure the correct location to place them. I don’t want to guess and not have the lock engage after assembly. Any thoughts?
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Replies
When you have the lock in hand test-mount it in some scrap pine so you can measure offsets. Start by mounting both lock and catch dead center in two same-length boards. When you lock them together you'll have the offset.
Bonus is a dry run for cutting the mortises.
Thanks for the tip. I will give that a try
Should have added that center for the lock is probably the keyhole, not necessarily the mortise's center.
Oh, I've screwed myself up with that. Centered the lock mortise on the drawer, and the striker mortise on the frame. Then realized the keyhole was way off center on the lock body.
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