The Technique of FURNITURE MAKING

Drawer positioning and depths

There are no strict rules regarding the number, dimensions or positioning of drawers in carcasses, although the old custom was to graduate the depth of the drawers with the deepest drawer at the base to allow for visual foreshortening, while deep drawers were never placed at the top as they tend to look somewhat overbalanced. These refinements are often neglected but always worth considering for good proportionment, moreover drawers should never be too deep or they tend to hide their contents and are heavy to pull out, while over-wide drawers are inclined to rock as they are pushed home especially if they are a little slack in the openings. Drawers in cabinets and chests can be from 3 in (76 mm) deep outside measurement up to say 9 in (228 mm) deep, always remembering that a good 1/2 in (12.5 mm) is lost from the inside depth. Filing - drawer dimensions will be governed by the standard size of the file hangers used; plan-chest drawers should fit the standard paper sizes, allowing 3 ft 6V2 in (1.08 m) by 2 ft 61/2 in (774 mm), 2 ft 11 in (889 mm) by 2 ft (609 mm), etc. and 3 in (76 mm) deep, all inside measure­ments. In old work of very high quality both carcass and drawer backs were made fraction­ally wider than the fronts so that the drawers automatically tightened up as they were with­drawn, but it is doubtful whether anything is gained by working to such precision limits.

Shaped drawer fronts

Traditional shaped drawer fronts (bow, serpen­tine, etc.) can be cut out of the solid (241:1), built up in brick formation (241:2), or laminated from thin plywood sheets or constructional veneers (241:3). Figure 241: l is only suitable for very slight curves or the short grain will be too weak and will not support the dovetails, there­fore 241:2 is better for pronounced curves, for the separate blocks can be cut, fitted and glued together to contain the shape; but the modern technique of laminating is undoubtedly the best. Figure 241:4 shows a more intricate shape which in old work was built up on a solid base (241:4A), worked with moulding-planes and richly veneered. A softish pine was used for the applied strips, and although any shrinkage across the depth of the drawer front could cast off the strips, furniture was not subjected to central-heating conditions, moreover the face veneers were thicker and any blistering not unduly evident. Here again, therefore, a laminated base is the only satisfactory solution under modern conditions, and the same principle of applied moulded strips can be used providing the wood is amenable. Face veneering can be done either with a vacuum-bag press or by the traditional method of laying the acute curves with heated sandbags, trimming back and hammer veneering the straight sections. In old examples the veneer was either laid diagonally to counteract the shrinkage of the solid base, or soft, flexible burr/burl veneers were used, immersed in boiling water to soften them, and then laid with very thin hide glue, repeatedly hammered down until the veneer stuck. In laying out shaped-fronts the ends must not be shot square to the bow but to the base or chord of the bow (241:5) and a convenient method is to cramp/clamp the shape to a board and use the try-square as shown, while a small flat is worked for the drawer sides (241 :5A). Laminated build-ups will have to be covered on the edges or cock beads applied. With the former, the dovetail lap edges need not be covered if the constructional veneers are fairly thick, for they will hardly show when polished.

Canted fronts

Slight cants (241:6) can be worked in the solid, but if steep then the whole front must be canted (241:7), and the dovetails laid out on lines drawn parallel to the long edges of the drawer sides. Laying out the pins square to the canted front as in 241:8 would result in short grain at the points (x, X).

Cock beads

Any bead which stands raised from the surface as distinct from flush or sunk is known as a 'cock bead', but the term is usually taken to apply to small beads or edgings to drawer fronts and cupboard doors (241:9, 242). The usual form is a raised bead (241:10A), but it can be square (241:10B). Both should be kept as fine as possible, say a bare 1/8 in (3 mm) in width for a normal drawer, and fractionally above the carcass edge (241:10c). The top bead usually covers the thickness of the drawer top (241:9), with the sides rebated/rabbeted to the pins and the bottom a similar amount, mitring the corners all round. The rebates should be worked after the drawer has been fitted to the opening, and while some workers might set the top edge down for the bead beforehand, the former method of fitting as for a plain front and then gauging in the exact thickness of the cock bead all round and rebating is more accurate (241:11). A point to watch is the provision of a wider half pin at the top (241:12) to accommodate the bead.

Modern furniture is made with all the drawers in a chest the same height. This is fine for low cost production in a fully mechanized factory, but any item too large for one drawer is also too large for any other. If the drawers are of graded heights the piece is more versatile and the appearance improved.

To lay out graded drawers:

1 Measure the total height of the drawer space.

2 Decide on the number of drawers required.

3 Decide on the scale of graduation.

4 Calculate as in example below.

Drawer space 36 in (92 cm)

Number of drawers 4

Scale of graduation 4, 5, 6, 7

Add together the numbers in the scale of

graduation = 22

Drawer heights will be:

1st drawer 36/22 X 4 = approx. 61/2in (165 mm)

2nd drawer 36/22 = approx. 81/4 in (210 mm)

3rd drawer 36/22x6 = approx. 93/4 in (248 mm) 4th drawer 36 x 7 = approx. 111/2 in (292 mm) This makes no allowance for the thickness of the drawer rails.