Popular Woodworking 2009-02 № 174, страница 34

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Fine furniture calls for an elegant drawer. A master cabinetmaker shares his approach to design and fitting.

e are just a few things my partner at Philadelphia Furniture Workshops, Alan Turner, and 1 don't see eye-to-eye on. But how to make a good drawer isn't one of them. When building furniture, we probably spend

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as much time making the drawers as we do making the piece itself. But this is an aspect of furniture-making many woodworkers don't devote enough attention to. In this article, I'll explain and illustrate how 1 built a pair of drawers for a small writing desk.

Drawers bestow even the finest handcrafted furniture with a utilitarian character by arranging, storing and providing access to objects. Yet it's important that their number, size and placement contribute to the purpose and appearance of a piece, not detract from it.

Drawers are expected to operate easily, without sticking or rattling around. Drawer bottoms shouldn't sag or be left rough-sawn, and joints shouldn't be sloppy. Drawers shouldn't be an afterthought, disappointing the viewer and diminishing the experience.

When open, a drawer should reveal craftsmanship and quality consistent with the rest of the piece. You wouldn't go to the trouble of reproducing a Philadelphia highboy, then (it its drawers with metal slides.

Features of a First-class Drawer

No matter what type of drawers you build, there are several essentials to good drawer

■ Good design. Drawers should be consistent with the piece being built.

■ Good material. Use the best that can be obtained; whether it's solid or plywood.

■ Careful measurements. Your measurements must be exact; measure carefully, then double-check the figures.

■ Good, sound techniques. Basic skills on machines and with hand tools will produce crisp, clean work.

Smarter than your average drawer. The features that set this type of drawer apart from the rest of the pack include thin sides with slips to support the bottom, and guides and stop blocks to control movement.

Details make the difference. The drawers ride on the rails of the web frame, and the guides ' from side to side.

m Patience. Take it easy; making and fitting a drawer will take time and may test your patience.

These drawers are supported by and ride upon a web frame consisting of two latitudinal rails (front and rear) and three longitudinal rails (two side, one center). Drawer guides were attached to the web to track the drawers into the openings at the front of the desk. When initially installed, each guide intrudes slightly into the drawer opening by /i6". Later, the guides are carefully planed to allow the drawers easy and smooth travel.

The height of this desk is 29" below the top. I allowed 24^l/2" leg clearance, giving me 4V2" for top and bottom rails, and my drawers. The combined thickness of the rails is 1V2", so 1 had 3" for the drawers. That is a good height for most objectsstored in a typical desk. These drawers will be almost 14" wide and 18" deep, which is also a good size. A drawer that is deeper than it is wide will operate easily without racking or sticking.

Selecting Material

For the drawer fronts select clean, well-behaved material - something mild and easy to plane. For this desk, I selected a single piece of mahogany, long enough for both drawer

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