Re: Trimming/fitting a drawer
Wiley Horne--Glendora, CA
>Hi Steve,
As others have said, you want to plane inwards, especially the front--at the rear it's easier to chamfer without messing things up. But problem #1 in planing inwards is that it really helps to have a long registration ahead of the blade, so that you're not still trying to align the plane on the work at the same time the blade is hitting that end grain. If you have lots of sole ahead of the blade, you can get the plane solidly aligned before you start the cut. For me, a Japanese 60mm plane is about the best thing there is for this work, or equally a Clark & Williams junior trying plane. A Knight smoother is OK also, as is an ECE. They give adequate registration so you're solid when starting the cut. You might see if you can get the same effect with that Stanley 5-1/4, especially if you are able to hold it in one hand, as you would a woodie.
Woodies are great for drawer trimming for a second reason--they make fixturing and unfixturing the work very fast. Usually I just trap the drawer loose against two bench dogs at the front of the bench, and put a stop at the off-end, steady it with one hand, and plane toward yourself with the other. Or just use myself as a planing stop in some cases.
But if you need both hands on the plane, then the drawer has to be pretty stoutly clamped in order for it not to shudder when the plane hits it. Then to make a test fit, unclamp, then reclamp, etc. Given that this drawer is shallow, can you drop the whole thing in your vise to steady it?
If this problem is still seeming really difficult after you read all these suggestions, I would suggest you use a file (for the end grain) and sandpaper to do this fitting, and then for the next time around, consider shopping for a light plane (read, woodie) with at least 4 or 5 inches registration on the work.
Wiley