|
Prepare the Chest Panels
Although traditional blanket chests were often made from 7/8-in. stock, we milled our lumber to 13/16 in. That allowed us to use 4/4 stock, which was much less expensive than 5/4 material. It also allowed us to use the Leigh router bits that produce a smaller dovetail that more closely resembles the hand-cut look found on the original chests. You can use 3/4-in. stock to build this chest, but you’ll have to modify the dimensions on a few parts.
1. Joint and plane all the solid wood to 13/16 in.
2. Glue up four panels (A, B, C in Fig. B, below; Photo 1). Keep the biscuits far enough in from the ends to allow for trimming to final length and for the 13/16-in.-deep dovetails. Make a poplar practice panel to be used later.
3. Rip and crosscut the panels to final dimension.
Set Up the Jig
Half of the corners (the front left and back right) are cut with the panels set against the left-hand stop. The other half are cut with the panels against the right-hand stop. That means you’ll have to set up the fingers twice, once for the cuts on the left-hand side and again for the cuts on the right. Refer to the manual’s section on Asymmetric Dovetails for complete instructions.
4. Clearly mark the outside and inside face of each panel, as well as the top edge. This is critical, as you need to keep correct orientation in the jig.
5. Clamp the back panel (B) against the left stop on the jig.
6. Even though the tails are cut first using the Leigh jig (putting an end to that age-old debate), make sure the fingers are in the pin-cutting mode (pointed end out) when you create the dovetail spacing. The adjustable fingers determine the desired dovetail size and spacing. To set the spacing for this chest, first place the outside fingers just inside each end. Then, pair up the remaining fingers using a 29/32-in. spacer (Photo 2).
7. Make sure all the fingers are tightened securely.
8. After the dovetail spacing is set, flip the finger assembly over to its tail-cutting mode. Now the rounded guide fingers are facing toward you and you’re ready to cut the tails in the right-hand corner of the back panel and in the left-hand corner of the of the front panel.
Cut the Tails and Pins
9. Attach a 7/16-in. guide bushing to your router base and chuck the Leigh No. 80 dovetail cutter in the router. Rout the tails on the front panel and back panels (Photo 3).
10. To cut the pins, first insert a practice piece into the Leigh jig. The practice piece is used to determine the pins’ proper sizing. The piece must be the same thickness as your side panels, but it need not be as wide.
11. Flip the finger assembly back over to the pin-cutting mode. Insert a Leigh No. 140 straight cutter into the router with the 7/16-in. guide bushing.
12. Reset the depth of the cutter and make test cuts for the pins (Photo 4).
13. Remove the board to test the fit with the back panel. If the joint is too tight, move the finger assembly away from you just a hair. If it’s too loose, move the fingers towards you. It only takes a tiny adjustment of the finger assembly to change the fit.
14. Use a stop block to prevent routing into the drawer opening on the bottom portion at the front of each side panel (Photo 5).
15. Repeat steps 5 through 14 for the cuts made on the right-hand side of the jig.
16. After all the dovetail joints are cut, mark the location of the square shoulder on the side panels just above the drawer opening. (Fig. C, page 57). Square off the shoulder using a chisel.
Fit the Two Bottom Panels
17. Rout a groove along the inside of all the panels to accept the 3/4-in. plywood bottom (GG) (Fig. C, below and Photo 6).
18. Rout the 3/8-in. deep groove for the web frame splines (Z) with a 1/4-in straight cutter (Fig. C). These grooves are cut in the sides only. The web frame is butt-joined with glue to the back of the chest.
19. Dry-fit the case assembly with the bottom installed to make sure everything goes together correctly.
Glue Up the Chest
Gluing a dovetailed case can make your knees go weak, but we’ll show you a few simple tricks to take care of the nerves.
20. Using double-stick tape, fasten clamping pads to the tails prior to glue-up (Photo 7).
21. Use hide glue to assemble the chest. You’ll really appreciate its long open time.
22. Fit the plywood bottom into the two sides. Then glue on the front and back panels and clamp.
23. Check the diagonal measurement across the top to make sure the case is square.
Build the Web Frame
24. Cut the web frame members (W, X and Y) to length.
25. Cut the 1/2-in.-deep grooves for the dust panels (FF) and splines (AA, Z) with a slot cutter in the router table.
26. Glue and clamp the web frame together.
27. Glue the 1-in.-wide walnut face (P) to the front of the web frame.
28. On the tablesaw, run a dado through the web frame for the center divider (V).
29. Glue the splines (Z) into the case sides.
30. Glue and clamp the web frame into place (Photo 8).
31. Cut the grooves for the spline (BB) on the front edge of the center divider and walnut edging (Q). Fasten the edging to the divider with glue and brads. Keep the glue on the top third of the divider only. Fasten the rest of the edge with brads. They have enough give to allow the center divider to expand and contract a bit.
32. Glue the center divider into the web frame and fasten using screws through the bottom.
Build the Base
33. Cut the base parts (K, L and M) and miter the front corners to fit (Fig. B).
34. Cut biscuit slots for the miters in front and the butt joints in back (Photo 9).
35. Use Fig. D to lay out the base template on a piece of 1/4-in. hardboard or MDF.
36. Rough-cut the profile and file or sand until smooth.
37. Transfer the profile with a marker or a white-colored pencil to all base parts. Then, rough-cut the profile with a coping saw or a bandsaw.
38. Attach the template to the base parts and rout the profile (Photo 10). Flip the template to rout both ends of each part.
39. Glue the base parts together; then biscuit in corner support (R).
40. Glue in screw flanges (N) and glue blocks (S) to the base.
41. Attach the case to the base with screws through the corner blocks and the screw flanges (see Fig. B).
42. Rout the base molding (T, U) using a classic ogee profile bit. Miter the ends to fit, and glue and nail to the base (not the chest!).
Make the Drawers
43. Cut all the drawer parts. Rout the drawer-front rabbet (Fig. E) on a router table. Note: The drawer fronts are rabbeted on the top and sides only.
44. Rout the dovetails for the drawer (Photo 11). We used half-blind dovetails in front and through dovetails for the back of the drawer (Fig. F).
45. Cut the drawer-front molding profile (Fig. E) with a 5/16-in. round-over bit on a router table and fence.
46. On the tablesaw, cut the 1/4-in. x 1/4-in. drawer-bottom grooves 3/8 in. up from the bottom edge of the box parts (Fig. F).
47. Install the 1/4-in. plywood bottoms and glue the drawer together.
Make the Top
48. Thickness-plane the boards for the top to 3/4-in. Use biscuits to help maintain a flat glue-up.
49. Sand out any irregularities. Then rip and crosscut the top to its final dimensions.
50. Make the top molding (Fig G) using the same ogee bit you used for the base molding. Cut the spline slot last.
51. Before you rout the spline slot in the glued-up top, make test cuts on a piece of scrap until you get a flush fit with the molding.
Tip: If you have a removable router mounting plate, simply lift the router and the plate out of the router table. You won’t need to reset the bit depth from routing the groove in your molding.
52. Mill the splines (G, H).
53. Cut and fit the moldings. Glue the front molding in place using the spline.
54. Glue the splines into the side moldings and attach to the top (Photo 12). Nail the remaining portion of the side molding using brads (Fig. H).
Finishing Touches
55. Cut the mortise to the full depth of the hinge knuckle (Photo 13). That way no mortise is necessary in the top.
56. Screw the hinges in the mortises; locate the hinge on the top and attach.
57. Attach a pair of safety lid supports (Photo 14).
58. Attach the drawer pulls to the drawers.
59. We used a Danish oil finish on the walnut. Sand to 220 grit and apply three to four coats of finish. A couple coats of satin varnish will provide added luster and protection.
|