It's been a while again since my last post and I've been busy with all sorts of things, but in amongst it was a little dovetailing. Whilst marking out the first few drawers it dawned upon me, what was I thinking posting about how to dovetail when there's been more articles in more books and magazines than you could poke a very large stick at and by better 'dovetailers' than me. So I just got on with it and cut them when I got a spare moment in the madness. I quite like dovetailing and find it very relaxing, no machines, just a saw, chisel and mallet.
So anyway here's one of the backs, sawn and ready for marking a side, just to prove that I did cut them by hand and here's the next photo of it dry fitted.
Not perfect I know but they are supposed to be for a utilitarian drawer. I made the drawer backs a little thicker than the sides as the old drawer backs from the antique chests are quite thin and some of them have split.
Anyway they are all cut and half of them glued, now just to mill some solid drawer bottoms. For those I'm using some very old recycled old growth Kauri Pine boards. They came off my 1930's Delta pattern makers lathe that I bought from a pattern makers workshop in Ballarat that had closed down. After the bottoms are fitted I'll finish plane the drawers individually to fit the till. Then turn some drawer pulls and fit them too. I really want to get cracking now and finish this thing as I want to have it done for my move to the country in 20 days!! Don't like my chances...but there's no harm in trying.
