Adding Woodworking to the Blog

Well everyone, I have decided to add my other hobbies to this blog, as well. It will still remain "Pullin' Gs" in name, but will include woodworking and maybe chess in the future. Should keep it more lively eh? (albeit a bit watered-down for the purists)

Following is my first woodworking entry.

I'm working on a jewelry chest for my wife, based on the New Yankee Workshop design.

My latest adventure was/is the hidden drawer. It is only 1" tall. Not really tall enough for dovetails.

My initial plan was to just butt them together, glue them with epoxy, then reinforce the corners with splines. I built a jig for the router cable to cut the slots through the corners. Didn't work. It wouldn't hold.

I thought about doing a locking rabbet joint, on the suggestion of Lee Schrier from Sawmillcreek.org.

In the end, I decided to dowel it together with Dowelmax. I don't think single dowel joints are recommended by the manufacturer, but why not give 'er a try?

Well, it worked like a charm. The only caveat is that before the glue starts to set up, one has to rotate the sides by hand until they line up.

Here's the top. Kate wanted an ogee rather than the round-over Norm used.

Here's a shot of the progress so far. I need to cut out the "feet" on the bottom trim and build the hidden drawer mechanics. Oh, and attach the knobs, line the drawers, and attach the hinges.

Yep, you caught me. I didn't drill that hole deeply enough. Had to redo it. Lucily I hadn't glued it in yet.

Here's an overhead view. The parts look curved, but they're not. It is a trick of the wide angle lens at close range.

Just now, I got back up from the gar... er shop. I made it too wide. Had to saw off one of the long sides, cut down the two short sides by an inch, and tomorrow, I will re-drill and reglue it. It is tough, being a beginning woodworker.

Norm's method was rabbets and a bunch of brads. I couldn't bear to do it. Had to do something stronger, even if it may not be necessary. If I didn't, I'd think about it every time I looked at that jewelry box, which could be for the rest of my life. There is the far-off chance that if we have kids one day, one of them may break it if it isn't strong enough. Time will tell.

Hope you're not asleep. ;)