7.
Pardon, But Your Slip is Showing.
When
drawer sides are thin, say between 6mm - 8mm, then "slips"
are used to hold the drawer bottom rather than ploughing grooves into
the sides. Slips are runners which are glued onto the sides. They
have two purposes: firstly, to hold the drawer bottom in a groove
ploughed into their sides and, secondly, to widen the underside
registration of the drawer side.
I like to add a bead as a
transition between the slip and the drawer bottom. Below, the bead is
about to be scraped on the sticking board ...
The
scraper is made from hardwood and uses a shaped section of bandsaw
blade to create the shape. This design comes from Garrett Hack ...
This
is final shape created ...
Once
the bead is made, turn the board on its side and plough the groove
...
Completed
bead (oversize still) ...
The
slip is cut to size. Thos is how it will look inside the drawer ...
The
end of the slip has a tenon, and this will fit into the groove in the
draw front (which was ploughed in an earlier post) ...
The
slips are glued to the sides ...
And
now it is time to fit the drawer bottom!
At this stage it is
oversize but planed to thickness, in this case 1/4". The panel
is set on the sticking board to hold when ploughing 3mm side rebates.
The sticking board is given a slight modification for this purpose as
the panel is too wide to fit against the fence. Instead, it slides
under the fence, which then acts as a hold down ...
To
add to the set up, a thin board is set into the track as a fence/stop
...
The
width of the rebate is marked in with a cutting gauge - the finish
here must be perfect as it will be viewed for always - and then is
planed almost to depth. Finally, it is finished with a small shoulder
plane. This ensures that the finish is clean and ready to use ...
Incidentally,
note the new front thumb "knob" I made for the Veritas Skew
Rabbet Plane.
To fit the drawer bottom, the panel needs to be
sized. Before marking and sawing, the width between the grooves is
checked the full length. Unless it is parallel, the drawer bottom
will bind. The rules here are used for this ...
Now
the bottom is marked against the grooves themselves, and the total
width crosscut ...
...
and the procedure of planing the rebate is done once again. This is a
little more exacting than before as there can be no slip ups.
The
completed panel slides into the grooves and is pushed in as far as it
will go ...
Of
course, as the drawer front is curved, it stops short ...
The
curve is scribed onto the drawer bottom ...
Here
is the bottom shaped ...
A
close up of the drawer bottom, rebate and bead ...
The
fitted drawer bottom ...
Time
for finish. Hardwax Oil is used on the exterior, which has the
advantage in being waterproof - needed for a bedside table. This is
one coat at present. It will need time to cure.
Carneuba
oil/wax is used on the interior.
I
have made a couple of handles, but not really sure what I want just
yet. I will wait until all is done.
In the meantime, we are
now ready to start on the bases.
Regards
from Perth
Derek
May 2023