Hand Production Techniques - Lesson Sixteen

Over the last week I have done quite a lot of work on the cabinet.

The first thing that I carried out wast dry tested the cabinet. This means that I put it all together, without glue to make sure it all goes together properly.

Dry testing carcase

Once I had dry tested it I then glued and clamped it all together, and then began work on the drawers.

Carcase Clamped up

Carcase finished gluing

To glue and clamp up properly you have to make sure you don't cover up the pins with the packing piece, otherwise the joint wont go together properly, and the packing piece should reach both clamps. Clamping up the carcase was relatively easy, as it was already square, and I just got someone else to help hold the packing pieces in place while I tightened the clamps.

I also planed and cut the sides to length and size, and also started the drawer fronts. Finally I also started making the drawer slips, which were made out of spare Walnut which I had left from the fronts. However during the week when I was finishing off one of the drawer fonts I cut it to small, and therefore had to make another one of of scrape would, which meant they were slightly different shades.

Slightly different shades of Walnut.

However once I corrected this mistake I started to create the joints for the first drawer.

Apart from the mistake at the beginning of the week, everything went smoothly, and I managed to get two joints complete.