Popular Woodworking 2009-08 № 177, страница 28

It's Not a Secret Now A lot ofthe work on the blanket chest box, besides the dovetails, is the grooves for the 11II box. Due to a secret compartment under the till, there is extra work over and above any norma 1 groove s.

1 look for an easy process to create my grooves. The process must be repealable so it can be replicated on the front and back box pieces. To me, thaL means plywood, a straight router bit and a bushing to guide the router.

In using a template, two areas require attention: where the bottom grooves begin and where the front groove ends. It's best lo locate the grooves for the till so each falls intoa dovetail tail—if the groove were in a pin area, routing would be more difficult due to the narrowness of the pins. Use a pi unge router and d o not al low a ny groove s to extend to the edge of your panels.

Plan ahead. Lay out the critic al aspects of the chest before marking your dovetail lines. Locate the drawer area and mark the groove for the storage bottom panel.

It's like a third hand. A homemade 90° jig makes easy work of holding Plywood guide. An L-shaped template guarantees accurate 90° corners the ends in position to make the transfer to the tail board a breeze. - so long as the template is set square to the case.

A plywood spacer is used to locate the second groove without repositioning the template. Double-sided tape is an option to keep the spacer in place, but because you're guiding the router into the template, there is little chance ofthe added piece moving.

Of course the two grooves for the till bottoms extend to the till front. The important point ofthe front groove is its stoppingpoint. Stop the groove 1" Irom the Lop edge ofthe panels so there's room for the till top and

a small amount of extra open space. This stop can be adjusted, but keep in mind the till box lid actsasa support forthe chest lid - somet hing t hat's evident by wear patterns on antique blanket chests

The lid forthe till box is Vs" thickand is held in positionandoperated viaan integral dowel shaped inLo both ends of Lhe top. Drill a Vs"-deep hole spaced Vb" above where the till from groove terminates, and Va" off the dovetail scribe line.

Complete the Box Inside

Before operat ions are complete on t he inside ofthe box, agroove forthe storage area bottom needs to be cut in all four pieces, a rab-

Till lid

Till front

EXPLODED VIEW

Storage bottom

Drawer divider

Drawer frame

34 m Popular Wood working August 2009