Popular Woodworking 2009-06 № 176, страница 27

Moulding jflcr mitvfing. I lotp I'm uung j cnmpinx moulding pltne no the ikkt. IWnrr moulding the tkirt, remove the hulk of the tvatre with other took.

Is only hall as dccpasthe other two and must he marked accordingly. Slarkthe end grain of the dovetail first, indicating the wood to pare away. Then, reset the cuttinggauge to mark lite depth of the socket by adding Vu'tothe previous setting I his is all easier done than said.

Begin the pins by aligning your saw precisely with the waste side of the transfer marks and siwingdown Remember to saw only the inside diagonal of the cheek of the pin that coincides with the wall of the inter-Uxk groove. 11 you used too mixh pressure when transferring, the marks will be more like shallow grooves that try to pull your saw into them. Cut beside them, not in them

Saw the mitered end, then saw out the bulk of the wood between the pins with your copingsaw. Pare back to the gauge lines. On the final slice, set the chisel right in the cut

made by t he gauge.

Return tothe dovetailed board andchiscl out the spaces for the ptns.

Sowandchiselthe shallow dovetail flush to the line coinciding with the bottom of the groove.

When you push the skirt joint together, the miter shouldclose just as. or just before, the dovetailshit bottom. If you need to kerf in the miter, first sec tliat thecoma is square and firmly held. Saw right down the seam from the outside face with a fine saw and be sure tostop before you cut into the half pin of l he dovetail. Pull the joint open, inspect the matingstirfacesand remove any remaining

wood with a chisel. Ctose the joint again and check the fit. Four surfaces in t hree different planes have to meet at the same t imc. so you see why I suggested leaving the skirt pieces an inch or more fonger than needed - youll haw at least one chance to start over

The decorative mouldingaround the top edge of the skirt might be a simple beveloc an ogee or something more complex, but such decor*ive touchcsare often well left be last so they won't get banged up. Just as wkh i he grooves, it's best tolayout the moulding with a gauge before planing Here though, any sharp scribing pointswould leave their traces, so a pencil gauge or pencil divider is the ticket, l-olfowlng these pencil lltvs.

rough in the moulding with a drawknife and gouge, and use the moulding plane to bring it home.

The skirt has to lit around the waist of thechest.bottomingintothe interlock. Too loose and the glue surfaces wont meet. Too tight and the skirt joints wont cfosc IX>nt glue any corners until you have fitted it all around (and inserted the bottom'). If the skirt isa bit tight, you can plane shavings from the faces of the interlock all around to nuke it sit a little deeper. If one brood side of the chest has the best looking wood and joinery, see if you can turn the skirt so that it too puts its "best face to London."

Bottoming

A good bottom should fit neatly in-ode the skirt. tight enough to stay in place but loose enough to allow movement. At some point yxxirchcstisgoingtositondampconcreteor wet grassand itsbottom isgningtoexpand. This is w hen joining cheaper boards with tongues and grooves makes your bottom better. These joints can absorb some of the movement and prevent anexpandinghotlom from pushingthc skin dovetails apart.

First, join the bottom boards with tongues and grooves into an assembly that is larger than it needs to be. faugc lines 'A* in on one long-grain side and V»" in on one end-grain side Set the chest with its dry-fit-ted skin on tlie bottom and align the inner edges with these gauged lines. Trace the remainingtwo lines on the bottom and mark it and the skin sotheycan be reassembled in the same orientation. Lift off the chest and add¹ A* to t he new lines on t he hot torn.