Chest Of Drawers

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Drawer Sizing Info:
Drawers are 33-1/2" wide.
Top drawer: H1 =4-1/2", H2 = 3-1/2"
Lower drawers: H1 = 7" and H2 = 5-1/2"
All inset panels have a 1/4" wide rabbet on all 4 sides.
Making the panel 1/2" wider and higher than the opening.

Drawer sides and backs cut out and resawed.   Here is a link to my drawer construction page and a link to resawing on my drawer construction page and a link to resawing the frame inset panels for the COD.

You can see the bottom rabbets cut into the lower inside edge of each side and back.

Dovetail jig setup on the woodworking bench.

Close look at a front and side set up in the dovetail jig, ready to cut.

Front/back pieces sticking out from the top of the jig.   Side pieces always in the front of the jig.   You can barely see the bottom rabbets.   I always use the bottom rabbets for orientation in the dovetail jig. Better look at detail of bottom rabbet.

Drawer sets dovetailed.   Two sets, front/back on the bottom, sides on top.

Top drawer frame in glue clamps.   The Rockler "ClampIts" hold the frame square while the glue sets.

One of the "ClampIts" clamped in the corner, making sure the frame is square.

One of the lower drawers in the clamps.   I say clamps, I'm actually using a clamp strap, with Rockler cawls on the corners.

Line of 7 drawer frames, glued, ready to sand and glue in bottoms.   Build 2.

Drawer bottoms cut out.

Drawer bottom being glued in, note the hammer, pliers, and wire nail drawer, I use wire nails to hold the bottom in place while the glue sets.

Drawers being painted.

Drawer frames mounted in cabinet.

Note the inset panels in the side of the cabinet.

Drawers, on slides, mounted in the frame.   No fronts yet.   All the drawers are identical, the difference is the fronts.

Drawer extended.

The drawer fronts will be made with resawn pine fronts and plywood backs, laminated together for form an inset panel in a 1" x 3/4" pine frame.  

Lumber sawed to length for drawer fronts.

Pine marked for resawing at 1/8" thick panels.

Pine facing sawed for the top drawer.

Two outer resaw cuts marked on a 1x6 for pine facings.

Pine facings for 3 lower dawers resawed to 1/8" next to an unresawed 1x6.

Plywood backs cut out on the left, pine resawed panels on the right.

Glue applied to top of plywood backing.

Glue spread on a plywood backing.

Pine panel, under pressure, being laminated to it's plywood backing.

I have begun using clamps to keep the panel and backing aligned while I apply the pressure.

Clamp in the center, keeping panel and backing aligned.

Stack of laminated inset panels (plywood with pine face).

Setup for cutting rabbets in the frame for inset panels.   I use my miter sled on the table saw to cut these 45° mitered ends, for a large number of cuts, its faster than using the miter saw.

Setup for cutting rabbets, you can see just how much the bit will take.

Drawer front frame pieces cut to length, ripped to 1" wide, then rabbeted.   I'll be using my miter sled to cut the miters on these.

Corners rounded.   The two small pieces are the side of the top drawer's front.

Corner miter with panel rabbet and corner rounding.

Here is my Miter Slot Clamp Jig.   I make a lot of mitered frames out of 1x2 (and smaller) with type FF biscuits, so I built this jig to cut the biscuit slots in the mitered ends.   It allows me to accurately cut biscuit slots in the end of 45° mitered pieces without measuring and marking every time.

Gluing a drawer front frame.

Stack of all drawer front frames, glued, ready to sand.   Note the stack of inset panels on the left.

Top drawer and lower drawer with inset panel glued in ready to sand and paint.

Drawer fronts being painted.

Drawer handles (pulls) being painted.   Link to my Drawer Handle Page.   Notice the two screws, I drilled the mounting holes the run the screws in, just a little, makes them easier to handle while sanding and painting.