Hand cutting DTs progress

1/5/04, 10:36 AM #1

Andy Parsons, London UK.
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Hand cutting DTs progress

Andy Parsons, London UK.

>I have been working for over a year now on a tool chest, a simple 7 drawer design. This was

a project to test my ability to hand cut DTs and birch ply is being used throughout.

I started chopping out the waste with some old Footprint firmer chisels. After one drawer I

realised why bevel edge chisels would be so much better for getting into the corners. A

couple of Ashley Isles chisels were purchased ( 2 more received for Xmas ). Progress is

slow, I only get a about 3-4 hours at the weekend if I am lucky) but the results on 6 drawers

now are very good.

I began to think I had a dodgy piece of ply while chopping out the waste of the 6th drawer at

the weekend. It seemed to be splintering and just not cutting cleanly. It took me a good half

hour to realise that the chisels needed sharpening again. I had already done this several

times but for some reason it just did not click right away. Strange how the brain works

sometimes. By the way this was the day after I neatly chopped out the DTs instead of the very

clearly marked waste on drawer number 5.

I guess if I was doing this kind of thing more regularly these things would be second nature.

As I can often go for 2 or 3 weeks without getting into the workshop means that the brain has

to kick into the right gear each time.

Another Xmas gift was a digital camera so I promise to post some photos of this piece in the

future.

AndyP

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/5/04, 12:02 PM #2

Alice Frampton, UK
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Alice Frampton, UK

>Andy,

Long time, no "see". Good to hear you're still making progress with your tool chest; looking forward to seeing the pics.

I know exactly what you mean about having to get into gear again when you only have limited and spasmodic time in the workshop. Sometimes I feel like I'm having to entirely re-learn something that I thought I had cracked. One of the upsides to being an old tool magpie is that at least you never forget how to sharpen!

Cheers, Alf

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/5/04, 1:18 PM #3

Andy Parsons, London UK.
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Andy Parsons, London UK.

>Yep, I do not forget how to sharpen, just when. I have not picked up the 405 in quite a few months so I will probably have to re-learn how to use that when I need it again.

I am doing through dovetails and cutting the recess for the drawer bottoms on the table saw, while looking at the small hole that is visible on the front bottom corner of each drawer front I contemplated buying a router so that I could stop the recess before the end. This thought did not last long but I am still wondering about the best method to conceal this - Any ideas?

I have thought of plugging or even attaching the thinest ply I can find (or even veneer) to the whole drawer front. This is only a workshop piece so perhaps this is overkill and next time I'll do have blind DTs instead.

AndyP

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/5/04, 1:50 PM #4

Alice Frampton, UK
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Alice Frampton, UK

>Andy,

I can't quite recall the details of your tool chest, but would thicker, more obviously "on purpose" fronts work perhaps? Otherwise the plugs would probably work out the best, although I've never done it that way in ply. I have a feeling some care might be needed to get a decent match. Or a novel solution; make the handles on the doors like you sometimes see on kitchen cabinets, a moulded strip of wood. Applied right along the bottom of each drawer front it'd hide all the holes :~) Or applied moulding mitred round the outside to form a frame and give a panelled effect? (You know I'm not sure half the fun in woodworking is thinking of different solutions to stuff like this. Or is that just me, and all the practice I get with my mistakes...?)

Cheers, Alf

P.S. No such thing as overkill for the workshop, surely?

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/5/04, 2:27 PM #5

Dan Donaldson
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Registered: 9/17/01

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Dan Donaldson

>Not "mistakes", but design opportunities ;-)

- - -

I have been woodworking for about 25 years now, and would consider myself an enthusiastic amateur. My claim to fame (or infamy) has always been fixing stuff. I spent time in the Air Force in the 60's then went to work as an electronic technician for civil service. I finally got my EE, and being fed up with the civil service nonsense, took a job with Ford Motor Company until I went with the split to Visteon last year. I got interested in music and started playing in a bluegrass band. I wanted a new guitar, and that kind of led me into woodworking. I bought some books, a few tools, and built a guitar. Luckily, I didn't know any better than to try that as a first ever project. I still play it when I get a chance, so it must not be too bad if it can live for over 20 years. After a stint in Mexico for my job, I moved into a new house and built a small shop. Since then I have been collecting tools and skills, probably more of the former than the latter ;-). Finding this site has done more for my skills and enjoyment than anything else. I have learned a lot and really enjoy the friendships that I have made here. I have been married to LOML (Lori) for 32 years now and have 6 kids. When they are all gone, I want to get a 1 bedroom house (so there is not room for them to move back in) and at least a 6 car heated/air conditioned garage for a shop. (Dream on...)

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/5/04, 6:41 PM #6

Alice Frampton, UK
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Alice Frampton, UK

>Chuckle. Yeah, really big design opportunities in my case... :~S

Cheers, Alf :~)

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/5/04, 8:17 PM #7

Greg Phillips
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Shortcut for HBDT *LINK*

Greg Phillips

>Andy,

The plugs would probably work just fine, although I've never used plywood. You might want to have a look at the method Rob Cosman uses for making half-blind dovetails. I think it would be a good fix for your current problem.

Cheers,

Greg

Rob Cosman's Faster Way

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/6/04, 1:34 AM #8

Bill Houghton
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>If you're using through dovetails on the front, can you organize it so the bottom pin (on the drawer front) is wide enough to mask the groove for the bottom? Or, putting it t'other way, so the groove is low enough in the sides to die into the back of the bottom pin on the drawer front?

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/6/04, 7:57 AM #9

Andy Parsons, London UK.
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Re: Shortcut for HBDT

Andy Parsons, London UK.

>Greg, thanks. I do not have the facilities to rip 1/8th off a 4 to 5 inch wide board. I had thought of gluing thin ply to front of each drawer for a similar effect.

AndyP

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/6/04, 8:01 AM #10

Andy Parsons, London UK.
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Andy Parsons, London UK.

>Bill, thanks.

This is something I will have to experiment with. I know I can get the "hole" to appear in the side rather that the front. Whether of not I can stop the saw cutting the groove before the end is another matter. At the moment all 7 drawers will at least look the same.

AndyP

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/6/04, 7:38 PM #11

Bill Houghton
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>I suppose you could be bold and fill the hole with some bright wood or tinted epoxy -- make it into a feature that causes people to ask, "What's this?" and make up some story about its functional purpose...

Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

1/7/04, 8:02 AM #12

andyp
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Re: Hand cutting DTs progress

andyp

>Bill, along those lines I was thinking last night about making idenical holes in the top corners of each drawer and plugging with walnut.

It will probably take a month or two before this gets finished but I will post some photos.

AndyP

Hand cutting DTs progress

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