Preparing Quartersawn Stock

Round up some attractive 4/4 quartersawn white oak so you can make the four big panels for this project — the top, two side rails and the shelf. The top is large enough that if you don’t have a large planer or drum sander, you might need to glue it up in sections. While the panels are in clamps, mill the 1-3/4″-thick leg blanks from some 8/4 stock, making sure they come out flat and square. Go ahead and make blanks for the front, back and shelf rails as well as the backsplash from 3/4″ material.

I often mutter, “Joinery before curves” and “Mortises before tenons,” and we’ll take both of those mottoes to heart with this build. Lay out the 1/4″-wide mortises as shown in the Leg Mortise/Taper Detail Drawings, and machine or chop them with your best method. Cut 1/4″-wide x 3-1/2″-long mortises on the inside of the front legs to receive the curved front rail. Start these mortises 4-1/4″ from the tops of the legs, and inset them 3/8″ from the front faces. The back rail requires 1/4″ x 4-1/2″ mortises that start 1/2″ from the top of the legs. Position them 1/2″ in from the back faces of the back of the legs so the outward face of the back rail will be flush with the back faces of the legs. The mortises for the shelf rails need to be 2-1/2″ long, and they start 7-3/4″ up from the bottom of the legs. Locate these mortises 5/8″ away from the inside edge of the leg so they will be properly positioned once the legs are tapered.

I was tempted to make the centered 11″-long mortises for the side rails with a router and edge guide, but clamping the workpiece for that operation is sometimes problematic. So, I used a 1/4″ hollow chisel in my mortising machine instead. Take note that the mortises for the side rails are only 3/4″ deep, while all the other mortises are 1″ deep.

Once the mortises are chopped and cleaned out, it makes sense to work on the tenons next. When you look over the plans for this project, there are admittedly some cross-grain issues, and it would be difficult to build this form conventionally without violating some rules of wood movement. That’s why, as with the original, the grain of the side rails runs vertically and not horizontally. With a dado stack installed on the table saw, cut 3/4″-long tenons on the side panels to fit the long mortises.

Aim for an easy friction fit, because these long-grain tenons are somewhat vulnerable to breaking until the frame is glued together, if they are flexed. Then reset the rip fence for making 1″-long tenons on the front, back and shelf rails. The front rail has a simple centered “blind” tenon, however the back rail is a little different.

To position the outer face of the back rail flush with the outer faces of the back legs, an off set tenon is required. So, raise the blade incrementally to cut those tenons until they fit the 4-1/2″-long mortises you made in the back legs. When all the tenons are sawn, fine-tune their fit with a shoulder plane until they slide easily but not sloppily into their mortises.

More Preliminary Details

Now that the basic joinery for the server is complete, go ahead and mark out the curve on the front rail. Use a flexible strip of wood or a thin metal yardstick to lay out this line so it creates a smooth, flowing arch and leaves the front rail just 1-1/2″ wide at the apex of the curve.

Cut the arch at your band saw or with a handheld jigsaw, sawing just to the waste side of the layout line. Then fair and smooth the curve up to your layout line using a drum or spindle sander. Start with 80- or 100-grit, and work up from there.

This is also a good time to cut 1/4″-deep grooves along the inside faces of the side rails to receive the shelf. Center these 3/4″-wide grooves on the rail widths. I have found it easiest to cut the grooves first, then plane the shelf’s thickness down until it fits the grooves without gaps. Then, assemble all the parts you’ve made so far to confirm the actual size of the shelf. Measuring directly off the project will give you confidence to proceed with trimming the shelf to final size.

Next up, we need to taper the legs on two sides. There’s a long taper on the front face of the front legs and on the back face of the back legs.

The left or right outer faces of all four legs have two tapers instead of one: a short one on top and a long one below it, which matches the long tapers on the adjacent faces of the legs. The four long tapers remove 1/2” of material at the bottom of the legs, reducing them to 1-1/4″ x 1-1/4″ at the floor.

These primary tapers are 25″ long, stopping just short of the upper rail joinery. The subtle top outer tapers are 4″ long, and they remove just 1/8″ of material from the top left or right faces of the legs. This gives the server “hips” when viewed from the front.

While you could certainly band-saw the tapers, I like the precision of using a tapering jig at the table saw. Mark the taper cuts carefully and saw the first long one on each leg. Then rotate the leg blank away from the blade to make the second long taper cut. The single short side taper at the top of each leg can be completed in the same way.

Take a little time now to ease edges of the parts you’ve made. Pay particular attention to “safe edges” or areas you don’t want to round over. Notably, these are where the back legs intersect the back rail. Likewise, the back edge of the top panel stays crisp for the addition of the backsplash. None of the shelf edges should be eased, either. Finish-sand all the parts up to 150- or 180-grit.

Assembling the Sideboard Framework

Retrieve the backsplash workpiece you made earlier so you can round both of its top corners to a 1/4″ radius before attaching it permanently to the top panel. Finish-sand both of these workpieces up to 150- or 180-grit first.

Glue alone is sufficient for strength, but I always add a row of #20 biscuits for alignment when attaching a backsplash in this manner, so cut those mating biscuit slots if you decide to do the same. Glue and clamp the backsplash to the top panel with the biscuits installed, then start assembling the server’s frame. First, create a pair of side assemblies by gluing two pairs of legs together with their side and shelf rails. Be sure the top edges of the side rails are flush with the tops of the legs as you draw the clamps tight. Allow those joints to dry.

When the side assemblies come out of the clamps, bring the two together by gluing the front and back rail tenons into their mortises and the shelf in its rail grooves. Double-check the height between the top of the front rail and the tops of the front legs, which should be 4″. Tighten the clamps, and set the frame aside to dry overnight. Then drill 7/8″-deep holes through the long tenons, centered 3/8″ from the edge of the leg, so you can peg the joints with 3/8″-diameter dowels. The front and shelf rails receive two pegs per joint.

Building a Side-Hung, Center-Guided Drawer

You can construct the drawer box however you like, but I thought half-blind dovetails were a proper choice for a Stickley-style reproduction. You can see the dovetail layout I used with my router dovetail jig in the Dovetail Detail Drawing. The original server appears to have a “piston-fit” drawer, but I elected to use a different Stickley hallmark: a side-hung
and center-guided drawer. While there’s a little more work constructing a drawer with these features, it promises trouble-free operation for a long time. The center runner prevents racking and conveniently acts as a drawer stop, while the top edges of the side runners are the only points of contact when sliding the drawer in or out. (To see side-hung, center-guided drawers in action, look for a video on my YouTube channel, The Thoughtful Woodworker.)

Now rout a groove in the drawer sides to receive the side runners. This 3/4″-wide groove needs to stop about 1-1/4″ from the front of the drawer sides, and it’s best cut on the router table. Make sure to use a router bit capable of making plunge cuts, as one of the grooves should be made by tipping the drawer down over the bit with the drawer standing on its side and against the router table fence (often referred to as a “drop cut”). The groove in the other drawer side can be cut in the traditional fashion, starting the groove from the back edge of the drawer instead of at the stopped end of the cut. Set the length of these groove cuts with a stop block clamped to the router table fence. The reason for routing these two side runner grooves differently — a drop cut for one and a typical groove cut for the other — is to ensure that both grooves line up exactly with one another across the drawer so it will hang evenly in its opening and slide smoothly.

Loosely assemble the drawer to check the final sizing of the drawer bottom panel. Cut a plywood panel for it to size Finish-sand all the drawer parts, then prefinish the drawer front. Once the finish dries, glue the drawer together with the bottom and divider in place.

The secret to fitting this type of drawer is to mill the 1/2″-thick filler strips with the same router table setup as the side runner grooves you just made. So, make up a pair of filler strips from scrap stock and lower the router bit height to 1/16″. Rout a groove into one face of each filler strip along its full length. Mark the edge of each filler strip that was against the router table fence “top.” Then bore three pocket holes that face the “top” edge of the filler strips for attaching the top panel later. Fasten the filler strips to the inside faces of the side rails with screws. Set their marked “top” edges flush with the top edges of the rails. Then head to the table saw and trim 1/16″ of width from the drawer parts on both the top and bottom edges to set the drawer reveal. Hand-plane the divider’s top edge flush with the other edges.

At this point we’ve laid the groundwork for a really nice drawer, and there are just a few remaining parts to build. Make up a pair of drawer runners from maple or other dimensionally stable hardwood. Size them to slide easily in the drawer grooves, and notch their back ends so they’ll fit around the back legs. Mount them in the filler strip grooves with countersunk screws.

The back of the drawer also needs a 1/4″ x 2-1/2″ centered notch to make room for the track that’s mounted underneath it. Saw that notch now. Then make the drawer track component from 1/2″ stock, and cut a tongue on one end to fit the mortise you made earlier beneath the bottom panel groove in the drawer front. The track also needs a 1/4″-deep x 2-1/2″-wide groove plowed into its bottom face and centered on its width to receive the center slide. Install the track on the drawer by fitting its tongue into the drawer front mortise and securing the back end in the notch in the drawer back with a couple of small screws.

You’re ready to install cleats in the server to support the center slide. Make up the 1″-wide cleats from scrap stock. Cut centered notches, about 1/16″ deep, into the top edges of both cleats to register the slide before fastening the cleats to the inside faces of the front and back rails with screws. Locate them so the top edge of the front cleat is flush with the top edge of the front rail. Position the back cleat’s top edge 4″ down from the top edge of the back rail.

Make up the center slide from a piece of dimensionally stable hardwood. Cut a notch into its front and back bottom edges, leaving a 3/8″-thick tongue to fit into the slide cleat notches. Set the slide into place in the server and test the drawer action. If it opens and closes smoothly, fasten the slide’s tongues to the cleats with countersunk screws.

Applying a Multi-step Finish

I use a multi-step stain-over-dye technique, which enhances the figure of quartersawn white oak and lends a vintage appearance to the piece. I start with TransTint Dark Mission Brown Dye. To avoid raising the grain, I mix 1-1/2 ounces of concentrated dye into a quart of a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner. Apply the dye with a terrycloth-wrapped sponge. Adding five to 10 percent lacquer retarder will slow the drying time and help avoid lap marks. I then seal the dye with a light coat of sprayed shellac (don’t wipe or brush on the shellac, as it will resuspend the alcohol-based dye) before applying General Finishes Antique Walnut Gel Stain. I complete the finish by spraying on two coats of satin lacquer.

Attach the top panel to the server’s frame by driving 1-1/4″ pocket screws up into the filler strip pocket holes. You will notice that I added dowel pins to the tops of the front legs. They are optional but do help to register the top evenly. Complete this lovely little server by installing a reproduction Stickley drawer pull, centered on the drawer front.

Click Here for the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Stickley Small Server appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Mine is constructed from solid walnut lumber. If you’re fortunate enough to have 8/4 stock available, you can simply cut the legs from a plank of walnut. My best-looking stock was only 7/8″ thick, so I laminated leg blanks from two strips of wood.

Rip eight strips of walnut 1-3/4″ wide, and glue them together in pairs to make four legs. Once the glue cures, flatten and plane them to a finished size of 1-5/8″ square by about 19-1/2″ long (the legs will be trimmed to final length later).

Leave their ends square for now, as the notch at the top of each leg needs to be cut before the legs are angled. Use a tenoning jig and dado blade to form those 3/4″-wide x 2″-deep notches at the table saw. I installed a 5/8″-wide dado stack and cut each notch in two passes, flipping the legs to opposite faces for the second cut. This centers the notches perfectly.

Once the notches are completed, go ahead and miter-cut the top and bottom ends of the legs at a 5-degree angle. This operation can be tackled at either the table saw or on a miter saw. I chose to use a standard blade and my miter gauge equipped with a long auxiliary fence at the table saw.

First, miter-cut the top of the leg, then slide the leg down the miter gauge fence, making sure to keep the leg in the same orientation. Set a stop block on the auxiliary fence, and trim the leg to a final length of 18-7/8″ (measured “long-to-short”).

Creating the Side Assemblies

Next, glue up a pair of side panels from 3/4″ stock. Trim these panels to overall size. Their pleasant tapered shape is 5 degrees along each edge, so set a bevel gauge and draw layout lines to mark these taper cuts.

I used a shop-made tapering sled at the table saw to cut the angles uniformly. If your shop isn’t equipped with one, a circular saw with edge guide could also work fine. When you trim off these edges, be sure to save the offcuts for use as the table’s corbels.

There are a number of ways you can attach the legs to each side panel. Loose tenons or biscuits typically work well for this sort of application, as do splines and grooves. Dowel joinery would be problematic because it wouldn’t allow any adjustment to align the parts. I decided to go with loose splines fitted into grooves in the legs and panel edges.

To mill the stopped grooves, install a 1/4″-wide dado blade in your table saw. Start by setting the blade height to 1/4″, and position the rip fence for a centered cut on the panels. Clamp a stop block to your table saw’s rip fence to limit the length of cut to 15″, so the groove stops about an inch from the bottom of the panel.

Complete all four grooves this way, before adjusting the rip fence for a centered cut on the legs. Each leg receives one groove, also approximately 15″ long. Make some spline stock to fit these grooves, and test fit the legs with the side panels. Don’t glue the side assemblies together just yet, as we have a couple more steps to complete first.

A template is useful to make matching ginkgo leaf cutouts that dress up the side panels. I made a full-size template for them from 1/4″ plywood. Lay out the ginkgo leaf shape on the template using a set of French curves and following the gridded Drawing. Cut out the template’s shape with a jigsaw or scroll saw, and refine it with files.

Once the template is complete, clamp it to a side panel, and rough out the shape with a router. I used two different router setups to cut out the leaf shapes. My first was a 1/4″ spiral bit paired with a 7/16″ O.D. guide bushing.

Make several clockwise passes to remove the material, increasing the depth of cut with each pass. This will invariably leave some lines and ridges, so there’s one more step to clean up the cut: I switched to my 3/8″ O.D. guide bushing and made one final clockwise pass around the template cutout. This left a nice clean surface that only required some light hand sanding.

Through mortises in the side panels for the lower shelf come next, and that’s another job for the router. Carefully lay out the mortise locations on both faces of the side panels. Outfit your router with an edge guide and a 1/2″-dia. spiral bit, and cut just short of your layout lines. I plowed the 3″-long x 1/2″-wide mortises into the outside face first.

Then maintaining the same edge guide settings, I flipped the side panel over and extended the mortises to an overall length of 7-1/2″ (I trimmed the material between the mortises to a depth of 1/4″ on the inside face as well to preserve the strength of the panel). Finish the job by squaring up the four mortise ends.

At this point, all the joinery for the side assemblies is complete. Go ahead and sand all the parts you’ve made, and glue a pair of legs to each side panel with the splines installed. Use your panel offcuts as clamping cauls when you bring each side assembly together.

Once the glue sets up, trim the panel offcuts to a length of 12″, and install them as corbels — one on each leg. I used a pair of #20 biscuits to center and attach these corbels on the leg. Align the corbels flush with the top of the legs, and glue them in place.

Making the Shelf

Glue up a panel for the shelf, if you’re working with narrow stock, then cut it to 9-1/2″ wide and 15-3/4″ long. Now switch to a wide dado stack, and install an auxiliary fence on your miter gauge so you can raise a 1″-long tenon on each shelf end.

Make multiple passes until the tenons ease into the mortises from the outside face. Once the tenon thickness is established, turn the shelf on edge and raise the dado blade to a height of 1″ to form its outer shoulders. Finally, turn the shelf up on end, lower the blade to 3/4″ and make side-by-side cuts to separate each long tenon into two with a 1/4″-tall shoulder in between.

I added a V-notch detail in the long edges of the shelf to echo the ginkgo leaf motif. You could make a template for pattern routing these notches, or simply make the cuts at the band saw and sand them smooth. Use a file to refine the point of the “V” here the bit can’t reach, if you rout these notches.

You’re rounding third now and on the home stretch with this intricate little table! For the final glue-up, bring the two side assemblies together with the shelf. Small blocks may be helpful to direct clamping pressure between the protruding tenons. Ease the edges of the clamping blocks to avoid denting or damaging the side panels.

Next up, make the two stretcher rails that will nestle into bridal joints atop the legs. These 3/4″-thick rails are 2-1/8” wide x 24″ long.

The only wrinkle here is that the top edges of the rails need to be angled to sit flush with the legs.

So tilt your table saw blade to 5 degrees and rip the stretchers to width as needed until the parts fit. Then crank the blade back to 0 degrees and cut the cross rail to size.

Forming Half Laps and Adding the Top

Go ahead and install a 3/4″-wide dado stack so you can form the table’s half-lap joints. Set the blade height to about an inch, and cut a centered notch on the top edge of each stretcher rail. Now two complimentary notches need to be formed in the bottom edge of the cross rail. For this part of the half-lap joint, tilt the arbor on your table saw to 5 degrees, and make the two opposite-facing notches. To locate these notches correctly, install the stretcher rails on the table legs and measure directly from these parts. Use a bevel gauge to mark the exact location of the angled notches.

While the cross rail is still a loose component, drill it for the figure 8 tabletop fasteners. You’ll also need one centered and two elongated pilot holes for screws at each end. Then you can create tapered ends on all three rails. Mark a line that leaves their ends about 7/8″ tall. Cut these angles at the band saw, and plane them smooth.

If the half laps fit together correctly, you’re ready to permanently attach them with screws and glue. Countersink and pre-drill the stretcher rails for #8 x 2-1/2″ screws, driven into the legs from the top. The cross rail can be attached in a similar fashion to the stretcher rails with a pair of #8 x 1-1/2″ screws.

All that’s left to make is the tabletop. It starts out as a 22-5/16″-wide x 26″-long panel. Lay out a curved treatment along its edges with a bowstring, so the ends of the tabletop are reduced by the curves to 18-1/4″ wide. Band saw these barrel-shaped curves and sand the top smooth. Round over any sharp edges, and give the table a final inspection with a shop light to check for any imperfections.

As far as finishing goes, I often use a medium color “fruitwood” oil-based stain on walnut projects. While some may argue that walnut doesn’t need stain, I find that it darkens the wood in a pleasant way and tends to unify the parts. If you choose a liquid stain as opposed to a gel stain, the natural grain of the walnut won’t be obscured. After the stain on my table dried overnight, I sprayed on a top coat of pre-catalyzed lacquer in a satin sheen. Attach the top with figure 8 fasteners to allow for seasonal movement, and this Asian-inspired side table is ready to display your favorite vase.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post Project: Ginkgo Leaf Table appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

On a recent file cabinet project, I wanted to have two locking drawers. I selected cam locks to do the job, and even found them in an antique brass finish. Since I was installing the locks on drawers with false fronts, I needed the cam barrel to be long enough to reach through the entire drawer front … 1-1/4″ thick in my case. I purchased 1-3/4″ cylinder locks and set out to install them on my finished drawer boxes.

The first step is to mark the location of the hole in the false drawer front. To determine where the hole should be located, assemble the cam lock and choose which cam arm to use. The kit comes with a short, bent-arm cam and a long, straight cam. Based on the dimensions of my cabinet frame, I selected the long, straight cam.

With the center of the hole location marked on a piece of painter’s tape, head to the drill press. Use a 3/4″ Forstner bit to drill a hole through the false drawer front. Make sure to back up the cut to prevent chipout on the back side.

Next, mount the false drawer front onto the drawer box as you normally would. Set the false drawer front for an even reveal, and screw it to the drawer. Now chuck the 3/4″ Forstner bit into a handheld drill and finish drilling through the drawer box. Clamp a scrap of wood to the inside of the drawer to back up the cut.

Install the cam lock into the drawer, and use the optional trim ring if desired. A two-pronged washer pierces the inside of the drawer to prevent the lock from turning. That is followed by the nut to hold everything firmly in place. Then select either the 90° stop or 180° stop. I use the 90° stop for a shorter locking action. That is followed by the cam and cam retaining screw.

Great; now the cam lock is installed on your drawer and you’re just about finished. There’s just one problem … there’s nothing for the cam to engage in the cabinet. The usual solution is to mount a small metal tab inside the cabinet frame.

The problem with this method is the tab hangs down and can snare the file contents as you open the drawer. To get around this limitation, I used a biscuit joiner to cut a slot in the cabinet frame. Mark the location where the cam meets the cabinet when the drawer is fully closed. For the 1-3/4″ long cam lock, the slot was centered 1-3/4″ back from the front of the drawer. Then set your biscuit joiner for maximum depth of cut. Mine is marked “0,” “10,” “20” and “M.” I selected the M setting for maximum depth of cut. Adjust the fence on the tool until the blade aligns with your mark and plunge a single slot for each drawer. Reinstall the drawer and test the lock operation. If the cam tab hangs up on the edge of the slot, make a small fence adjustment on your biscuit joiner and widen the slot.

Download the PDF of This Article.

The post Installing Cam Locks with a Biscuit Joiner appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Do the Legwork

The legs are indeed plank-like in dimension and form a sturdy base for the lower cabinet. Mill them to the dimensions in the Material List, and set to work on the inlays that dress up the legs. Ebony was the inlay material of choice in Limbert’s heyday, which gave rise to the popular but expensive “Ebon-Oak” line of furniture.

Since I don’t have any Gabon ebony forests nearby, I used walnut for the inlay. Start by milling a 1/4″-deep channel centered on the width of the leg using a router and edge guide. Then mill some walnut stock until it fits into the channel you’ve created. Leave the inlay a little proud of the oak surface. Glue it in place, then plane it flush.

To finish the inlay, chisel out 1″-square recesses approximately 3/8″ deep. Make walnut plugs that show face grain (as opposed to end grain) for a consistent look. Back-beveling the plugs slightly with sandpaper help achieve a snug fit. Glue the plugs in place and plane them smooth.

Now that the inlay is complete, you’re ready to work on the leg joinery for the side panels. Each leg receives a pair of 1-1/2″-deep mortises for the side rails. The upper mortise is 1-1/2″ long and starts 1/2″ from the top of the leg. The lower mortise is 4″ long and starts 1-1/2″ from the bottom of the leg.

While the legs are still individual components, finish up the remaining mortises. First, you need to mill 1/2″-wide, 3/4″-deep mortises to receive the long lower front and back rails. Take note that these mortises are different lengths: the front mortises are 2-1/2″ long, while the rear mortises are 2″ long. Pay close attention to the offset of these mortises from the edge of the legs. When the cabinet is complete, the front lower rail will be set 1/8″ back from the legs, while the rear lower rail’s back face will be flush with the bottom of the rabbet in the rear legs.

Next, mill a single 3/8″-wide, 1/2″-deep mortise in the right front leg to receive the horizontal divider between the two file drawers. Locate this mortise as shown in the Drawings.

Once the mortises are established in the legs, cut the side rails to final dimension. Form 1-1/2″-long tenons on their ends with a dado blade and miter gauge at the table saw. Adjust the blade height until you achieve a snug fit in the mortise. Then rotate the workpiece and complete the end shoulder cuts, which are all 1/2″ deep. While the dado blade is still on the saw, take care of the 1/2″ x 5/8″ rabbet in each rear leg. This rabbet, which runs the full length of the rear legs, will accept the back panel.

Now cut grooves for the side panels. The grooves are 1/4″ wide x 1/2″ deep and centered on the thickness of the legs. This way, the 5/8″-thick side panels will sit flush with the inside faces of the legs. Mill a through groove for the panels in each of the side rails but a stopped groove between the mortises in the legs.

Glue up some solid-wood panels for the sides of the cabinet as well as the large top panel. The side panels are 5/8″ thick. Rabbet their ends and edges to fit the leg and rail grooves. Now sand the inner edges of the legs and side rails, along with the floating side panels. Dry-fit the parts you’ve made, and if everything looks right, go ahead and glue up the side assemblies.

Long Lower Rails

With the side panels complete, forge on and make the long lower rails that connect the two sides. Take note that the front and rear lower rails are different widths, so be careful when forming tenons on their ends to fit their respective mortises in the legs. Also, note that the front rail’s top edge will be flush with the plywood bottom panel’s top face, while the rear rail supports this plywood bottom panel from underneath.

The front rail features a 1″-tall lifted shape that lightens the look of the lower cabinet. You can create it with a template and bearing-guided router bit, or simply bandsaw the curve and sand it smooth instead.

Add the Bottom Panel Dadoes

Next, dry-assemble the side panels and long lower rails. It allows you to mark the location of the bottom panel dadoes on the side panels accurately. This dry assembly is also a good opportunity to confirm the final dimensions of the plywood panel. Then separate the side panels from the long lower rails and plow the dadoes, which should stop 1-1/8″ from the front of the legs. I used an exact-width router jig to cut these 1/4″ deep dadoes. Now locate and mill a dado in the plywood bottom that will receive the vertical divider. This is a through dado running the full width of the panel and sized to fit your 3/4″ plywood.

Carcass – Assembly Phase One

Add a row of biscuits to reinforce the intersection between the front rail and the plywood bottom. Then permanently assemble the side panels, long lower rails and plywood bottom with glue. This first phase of the carcass glue-up is greatly simplified because it only includes a few parts.

At this point, begin making the vertical divider for the lower cabinet. It consists of a plywood component and a 3″-wide piece of hardwood edging. The edging needs a mortise on one side to receive the drawer divider. I recommend cutting this 2-3/8″-long mortise in the edging board now, before it gets affixed to the plywood divider (especially if you’re using a hollow chisel mortiser with limited table space). Once that’s complete, glue the edging board to the vertical divider with a row of biscuits to help align the parts. Assemble these two parts so their bottom edges are flush; doing that will automatically form a 3/4″ notch at the top. To complete the vertical divider, cut a 1/4″ x 1″ notch to fit around the long lower rail and a 3/4″ x 3″ notch to fit around the upper rear dovetailed rail.

Drawer Divider and Carcass – Assembly Phase Two

Cut the drawer divider to size, and raise 3/8″-thick, 2-3/8″-wide tenons on both ends. The shoulder-to-shoulder length of this part is 16-1/4″, which should match the width of the file drawer opening. Confirm the length is correct by laying it on the plywood bottom between the leg and vertical divider dado. Sand the parts you’ve made, test fit, then glue the vertical and drawer dividers into place.

Dovetailed Rails

The ends of the top rails require lapped dovetails. Then mark sockets for them on the top ends of the legs.

Rough out the dovetail sockets with a plunge router and spiral bit before chiseling them clean. Install the rails, and secure the vertical divider by driving screws down through the dovetailed rails.

Next, cut the 1/2″ plywood back to size. I cut a big opening in my panel on the cabinet door side to provide ventilation for a mini fridge. If you’re planning to store electronics in this space instead, smaller vent slots may suffice.

Cabinet Door and Drawers

Follow the Material List to build this project’s cabinet door with standard mortise-and tenon construction and a floating panel. I typically make cabinet door frames 7/8″ thick, as thicker stock is less prone to warping. Its solid panel is 3/8″-thick and fits into a 3/8″ groove in the stiles and rails.

My file drawers feature through dovetail joinery and applied drawer fronts. I find through dovetails easy to cut, and the applied fronts conceal self-closing drawer slides (not shown). Size the drawer boxes according to the hardware manufacturer’s specifications. I used Blum 563H series 18″ self-closing slides. If you choose different hardware, your drawer box dimensions may need to vary from the part sizes in the Material List.

The Blum slides require an 18″-long drawer box for an 18″-long slide. Prepare the drawer back by drilling a hole to accept the metal tab, and notch the drawer backs as described in the slide installation instructions. These drilling and notching operations were easily to accomplish after the drawer boxes were assembled. Once those are complete, make the drawer fronts and size them to fit the cabinet openings. Don’t attach the drawer fronts yet so you can pre-finish them before mounting them to the drawer boxes.

Build the Hutch

The hutch is a simple design with two sides connected by a gallery shelf. The space is split asymmetrically by a vertical divider and a short shelf. The only other parts involved are two rails and enough boards to make a shiplapped back panel. If you’d rather save the time and effort, simply use a plywood panel in place of the shiplapped back. Limbert himself used plywood back panels on many of his case pieces and, in fact, had his own veneering shop within his factory.

Make the 12″-wide x 32″-long sides. Now follow my templating and routing process at the bottom of the next page to cut pairs of square openings in the side panels. You’ll see that I first make a temporary jig from plywood and pocket screws, then use that to create a permanent one-piece template-routing jig from 1/2″-thick MDF.

Cut the vertical divider, gallery shelf and short shelf to final size. Then cut 1/2″-wide x 3/8″-deep stopped dadoes in the hutch sides and vertical divider to receive the fixed shelves. Raise tenons on the shelves to fit in the dadoes. You also need to cut a 3/4″ wide x 9/16″-deep, full-length rabbet along the inside back edges of the side panels. These receive the shiplapped back boards.

Prepare workpieces for the top and bottom rails and the shiplapped back boards. Cut 3/8″-deep x 1/2″-wide rabbets along the back face of the top and bottom rails as well as complementary rabbets in the ends of the shiplapped boards so the rails and back boards will nest together. Finally, mill rabbets in the back boards to create the shiplaps, alternating front to back. The first and last boards remain square on their outer edge to fit the side panel back rabbets.

Hutch Glue-up

Assembling the hutch components couldn’t be much simpler. The refreshing thing here is there’s no complicated joinery to worry about where the vertical divider meets the gallery shelf: just drill counterbored holes through the gallery shelf, and attach it to the vertical divider with a pair of #8 x 1-1/2″ screws. Then insert the shelves into their mating dadoes with glue, and clamp the assembly together. When the clamps come off, cover the counterbores with wood plugs to complete the framework.

Test Fit the Shiplap

Temporarily screw the top and bottom rail into the rabbet of the hutch frame. Test-fit the shiplapped boards in the hutch, leaving about a 1/8″ gap between them. You may need to adjust the width of the final board for consistent spacing. Since the shiplap is random width, you can change the arrangement of the boards for the best appearance. It looks sharp if you can hide a shiplap seam directly behind the vertical divider.

Make mouse hole cutouts in the bottom rail for appliance wires to pass through, as needed. Then remove the shiplap and top and bottom rails for finishing. Likewise, I recommend finishing the top and back panels of the lower cabinet separately as well so you can access all of the surfaces easily. I proceeded with a popular stain-over-dye technique that replicates an antique fumed finish. Once the top coat dries, reassemble the shiplap with one screw top and bottom, centered on the width of each board. For wider boards, it’s acceptable to use two screws, spaced no more than three inches apart.

Drill the cabinet door for cup hinges and install the door. Add ring pull hardware to the door, and adjust the hinges for an even reveal. I then installed pulls and cam locks to the drawers to complete the project. Now, my hutch is loaded with office essentials like tea, coffee and even a cold beverage.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: LImbert-Style Hutch appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

I felt that a few changes were in order, but I wanted to maintain the essence of the original piece. The entire desk was scaled up in size, and I added solid plank sides featuring rectilinear cutouts. The desk’s back is closed in with a sturdy frame and panel, and I changed the original single-drawer design to a bank of three drawers instead.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Begin with Some Leg Work

The legs involve a deceptive amount of woodworking and are a good place to start. They measure 2-1/2″ square by 30″ long, and I chose to laminate them for quartersawn figure on each face. (Riftsawn stock also works well and skips the laminating step.) Once the leg blanks are milled to final dimension, you can lay out and cut the mortises. There’s a mortise in each front leg for the front arched rail and a pair of mortises in each rear leg for the upper and lower back rails: all of them are 1/2″ wide and 1-1/2″ deep.

Now lay out the square inlay design on the two front legs. By hand or with your largest hollow mortising chisel, carefully excavate the 1″ x 1″ square mortises. While the original Ebon-Oak line of furniture used ebony, I find walnut is a reasonable substitute. Rip a strip of walnut until it just fits into the square mortises. Carefully crosscut the pieces to size, and chamfer their back edges slightly to ease the fit into the mortises.

Install an edge guide and 1/4″ spiral bit in your router to mill the channel that connects the two square mortises. This groove is 3/8″ wide and 1/4″ deep; be sure to center it carefully on each leg. Glue the square walnut plugs in place, and measure the required length for walnut strips in the channels. Cut them to fit, and glue them in, too. When the inlay dries, it can be planed or sanded flush. Knock the corners off the legs with a small roundover bit at the router table, then chuck in a 3/4″-dia. straight bit for the next operation.

Attaching Corbels

There must be a half dozen ways to mount corbels, but my favorite is to form a groove in the leg and a mating stub tenon on the corbel. This requires a bit more work, but it registers the corbel in position for a simple glue-up. Set and lock your router table fence to center the bit on the legs.

Install a stop block on the router table fence as well, to limit the corbel groove to 4-1/4″ long, and use a pair of featherboards to hold the leg blank against the fence. Mill the 1/4″-deep groove in two successively deeper passes for the cleanest possible cut.

Now prepare four corbel blanks, and raise their stub tenons with a dado blade. Size the tenons to fit the leg grooves, but plan for a tenon length that doesn’t completely bottom out in the groove. This will prevent excessive glue squeeze-out when you install the corbels.

Next, turn the corbel blanks on end to cut bottom shoulders on the tenons. Use a miter gauge with auxiliary fence to safely guide these cuts. When the corbels fit correctly, go ahead and cut their curved shapes and sand them smooth.

Making the Side Panels

Glue up two solid wood side panels. To duplicate their interesting cutouts and shapes, you’ll need a full-sized template. The easiest way to make the template is by assembling plywood strips with pocket-hole screws. This plywood template can be used as is, or use it to make a more permanent one-piece template from 1/2″ MDF.

Clamp the template to a side panel and rough out the square cutouts with a 1/4″ spiral bit and a 3/8″-dia. guide bushing. The squares can be removed in four progressively deeper passes, which leaves a consistent amount of material to be cleaned up later with a flush-trim bit.

For the final trimming operation, a 1/4″-dia. spiral flush-trim bit is best: it cuts cleanly and creates tight inside corners. Flip the workpiece and template over, and complete the final trimming with the template side down.

Since the side panels are simply hardwood slabs (a classic Limbert detail), you’ll need to decide what type of joinery works best for you. The legs mate to the side panels with long-grain glue joints, so strength is not an issue. However, it’s helpful to have a mechanical connection to register the parts accurately. I opted for splines, but biscuits or loose-tenon joinery would’ve worked equally well.

Cut stopped grooves in both the side panels and legs to receive splines. Make the groove 1/4″ wide x 3/8″ deep and about 24″ long (an inch less than the panel height). Carefully center a 1/4″- wide dado blade on the thickness of the side panels and make the cut in one pass. Now adjust the rip fence to center the dado blade on the leg, and repeat the groove in each leg.

Frame-and-Panel Back is Next

The frame-and-panel back assembly is formed with traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery, with three floating panels. Start by making the long top and bottom rails, as well as the desk’s front arched rail. These three parts are all 42″ long and should be milled at the same time. Make up four stile blanks, too.

Next, rout 1/2″-deep grooves in the rails and stiles so they just fit a 1/2″ hollow chisel. Then lay out and cut four mortises in each rail to a depth of 1/2″ for the stiles. Step to your table saw to raise 1/2″-thick x 1-1/2″-long tenons on the two rails as well as the front arched rail. If your shoulder-to shoulder length is 39″, you’re right on track. Then adjust your rip fence for a tenon length of 1″ and raise tenons on the back stiles. Finally, haunch the outer two stiles and test each joint for a proper fit.

There’s still the matter of shaping the bottom rail and the front arched rail. To accomplish this, I suggest building a double-sided template. Use your side panel template to recreate the shape for the lower rail. On the other side of the new template, sand and fair a long arch that thins to a width of 1-1/2″ at the apex. Add toggle clamps to hold the workpiece firmly to the jig and to act as easy-to-grip handles.

Next up, build the three solid oak floating panels. They will finish out at 1/2″ thick, so I start with thicker boards and plane the panels after the glue has dried. Remove material evenly from both faces until the panels slip easily into the frame.

Trim them a little undersized in width to allow for seasonal movement. Finish-sand the panels, as well as the inner edges of the frame, before proceeding. Gluing the panels in place is unnecessary, but I pack the panel grooves with foam weatherstripping to prevent rattling.

To ensure success when gluing up the back panel, break the assembly into phases. This way you can be certain the parts will fit, without gluing more joints than you can handle. Focus on a tight joint line between the outer stiles and the rear legs. Dry-fit the rear legs to the frame, to ensure the rail tenons fit them correctly.

When the frame comes out of the clamps, remove the rear legs. Sand the legs and side panels, and glue them together with splines. Let these subassemblies sit overnight and bring them together, along with the front arched rail and the back panel, the next day.

Building the Web Frame

The three pencil drawers will be side-hung on wooden slides. Since the middle drawer is wider, it will also be center-guided to prevent racking. Make up parts for the web frame, which are 2″-wide strips, except for the front rail that is 2-1/4″ wide. Assemble them with mortise-and-tenon joints, leaving the rear joints unglued. Make the web frame 1/8″ short, front-to-back, to allow the desk’s side panels to move seasonally.

I drilled counterbored holes through the two inner stiles of the web frame from underneath to help me mount the drawer dividers, later. I also drilled several access holes to accommodate a screwdriver shaft, so I’d be able to extend it up through from below for mounting the desk top. Finally, I drilled two counterbored pilot holes for mounting screws through the width of the back rail that align with the middle stiles of the back panel.

Notch the web frame to fit around the legs. Then rout a 1/8″ x 3/4″ x 1-3/8″ stopped dado across the width of the front long rail and a matching dado all the way across the back long rail. Center them on the frame’s length for the middle drawer’s center-guide.

Cut slots for four biscuits in the web frame and front arched rail, and glue the web frame into place along its front edge only. Hang the rear of the web frame with a pair of 2-1/2″-long screws, driven into the back panel stiles.

Adding a Dovetailed Top Rail

Now we’re getting somewhere! Next, it’s time to focus on the top rail that joins the front legs. It features lapped dovetails that nestle into sockets in the legs. At the table saw, use your miter gauge and a standard blade to nibble 1-1/2″-long cheeks on the underside of the rail workpiece at both ends. Then turn the rail on edge, and cut single kerfs to delineate the shoulders of the tails. I’ve come to really appreciate this technique for making lapped dovetails, because it can be done with a single table saw setup — no blade changes or fence adjustments are required. Lay out the dovetail shape on the ends of the rail, and make the angled cuts freehand at the band saw.

With the dovetails defined and a shoulder-to-shoulder distance of 39″, lay the rail on top of the front legs and so its back edge is flush with the back faces of the legs. Scribe the dovetails onto the tops of the legs with a marking knife. Now chuck a 1/4″ spiral bit into a compact plunge router, and carve the 1/2″-deep dovetail sockets in two successively deeper passes. Clean out the inside corners with a chisel, and test the fit of these joints. Adjust them as needed, then glue the rail to the legs.

Drawer Dividers, Filler Blocks

It’s time to build a pair of drawer dividers and long filler blocks. The dividers are two-piece assemblies, in order to show vertical grain along their front edges, and the components are glued together with a single #20 biscuit. Make sure to clamp these small pieces firmly to your workbench when cutting the biscuit slots. The two filler blocks straddle the outsides of the narrower drawers and fill the space between the legs. They also serve as mounting surfaces for the wooden drawer slides.

Before you glue the drawer divider parts together, set up the router table with a 1/2″ straight bit in order to cut grooves for the drawer slides. Locate these grooves 1-1/4″ up from the bottom edges of the dividers and filler blocks. Plow both sides of the drawer dividers, and one side of the filler blocks with 1/16″-deep grooves along their full length. Make sure to register their bottom edges against the router table fence when routing.

Cut the filler blocks 1/8″ short, to allow the desk’s side panels to move freely. Attach the filler blocks to the side panels through slotted screw holes. Carefully install the drawer dividers as well, making sure they are parallel with one another and the filler blocks as well as square to the web frame.

Now, make up six drawer slides from maple or other closed-grain hardwood, and shape their front ends round. Drill both slotted and standard holes in each, which will help adjust the drawer fit later. Notch the front ends of the drawer divider slides as needed, because they extend slightly beyond the grooves of the dividers in front. Attach the slides to the dividers and filler blocks through their slotted holes for the moment.

Constructing the Drawers

You’re ready to build components for the wide and narrow drawers. I chose slender half-blind dovetails at the front, and through dovetails at the rear, for a traditional look. Capture the 1/4″ plywood drawer bottoms in a groove located 1/2″ up from the bottoms of the drawers. I ran the drawer fronts, sides and backs through my planer to remove a little material from the top and bottom edges. This let me incrementally set the reveal for the drawers. After each pass through the planer, I checked their fit in the desk openings. Aim for a small, consistent reveal on each drawer.

All three drawers are side-hung, but only the wide drawer is center guided as well. Because of this, there are a few extra steps when constructing the wide drawer. While the drawer front is still an individual component, mortise its back face to receive the center slide. This requires a 1/4″ x 2-1/2″ centered mortise that’s about 1/4″ deep. Locate the mortise immediately below the drawer bottom groove.

On the inner face of all six drawer sides, mill a dado for the secret drawer compartment subdividers. Dry-assemble the drawers to check their fit, then finish-sand all of the pieces. Pre-finish the three drawer fronts through all the coloring steps (see finishing section for details). Once the glaze is dry, go ahead and glue up the three drawers.

There are a couple more details to complete for the wide drawer. You need to notch out the back with a dado blade to accommodate the center slide. Cut the notch a little wider than the slide, to allow for some adjustment here. Now, prepare parts for a center guide (mounts to the web frame) and the slide (mounts to the drawer). Notch the drawer guide on both ends, until it seats in the shallow dadoes of the web frame. Since every component that is oriented front-to-back in the desk needs to account for side panel wood movement, leave extra room at the rear notch, and trim the part short by 1/8″ or so.

Cut a centered groove along the length of the slide, sized a bit wide to allow easy movement along the guide when the drawer is opened or closed. Attach the center slide through a slotted hole at the back of the drawer so side-to-side adjustments will be easy to make. Finally, make and install a subdivider in each drawer. I also added turn-stops (not shown) to my subdividers to prevent the drawers from being accidentally opened too far when in use.

Mounting the Desk Top, Corbels

Prepare some of your most attractive quartersawn oak stock for the desk top, as well as the backsplash and file racks. Glue up a panel that will yield the 24-1/2″ x 50″ top. Take the panel all the way through your finish-sanding routine. Temporarily mount the top to the desk with “figure 8” fasteners. Position these fasteners around the inner perimeter of the desk, one aligned with each clearance hole in the web frame.

Glue the corbels to the legs so they butt against the top panel, then remove the desk top.

Assembling the Backsplash

The backsplash features key elements of the desk’s overall style. A trio of walnut plugs complements the inlay on the front legs, and a cane webbing insert adds a unique touch. Cut the backsplash to size and, while it’s still rectangular, mill 3/8″-deep mortises for the three walnut plugs. The middle inlay is 1″ square; the other two are 3/4″ square.

To shape the backsplash, I came up with — you’ll probably guess — a full-sized template. It also helps when creating a groove for reed spline and the shaped opening. (Reed spline is a natural material that’s traditionally used to attach rattan webbing for chair seats and sometimes chair backs.)

Clamp the template to the backsplash and outfit a plunge router with a 1/8″ spiral bit and a 5/16″ O.D. guide bushing (If you have an inlay bushing kit for your router, you may already own a 1/8″ spiral bit). Cut the reed spline groove in several passes, following the pattern tightly in a clockwise direction, until the groove is 1/4″ deep.

With the template still in place, switch to a 1/4″ spiral bit and a 1-1/4″ guide bushing to cut out the opening in the backsplash. This size guide bushing isn’t commonly available, so I improvised by adding a short length of 1″ PVC pipe to a 1″ O.D. guide bushing. A few layers of masking tape create a friction fit between the guide bushing and PVC ring. Elevate the workpiece so you don’t cut into your workbench.

Next, rough out the backsplash’s top curve with a band saw. Affix the template to the workpiece with double-sided carpet tape, and template-rout the shape with a bearing-guided bit at your router table. I made my template slightly longer than the backsplash workpiece to safely guide this top profiling cut. Finish-sand the backsplash and attach it to the desk top with biscuits or dowels.

Adding the File Racks

A couple of file racks dress up the backsplash even further. Once you’ve made blanks for their vertical standards, mill shallow dadoes into the standards to accept the horizontal crosspieces. Cut and shape the curves on the standards, and glue them to the backsplash. Make up the crosspieces too, but don’t install them until after you’ve applied finish.

Multi-step Finish and Hardware

A dye finish highlights the medullary rays of the white oak, and glazing over the dye lends an aged, classic look to this project. Since I decided to use water-based dye, I wetted the desk and top with a spray bottle of distilled water to raise the grain, let them dry, and scuff-sanded with 320-grit sandpaper. That paved the way for the dye stain, which I applied with a terrycloth- wrapped sponge. I used Transtint Golden Brown dye, mixed one ounce per quart of distilled water.

Once the dye dries thoroughly, seal it in with a coat of dewaxed shellac. Scuffsand the seal coat and clean the project with a fresh cheesecloth and compressed air. Now glaze the desk with gel stain; I used General Finishes Antique Walnut. When that dried, I sprayed two coats of pre-catalyzed lacquer in a satin sheen. Here’s a trick I borrowed from the automotive finishing industry: wet-sand the final coat with a 1,200- or 1,500-grit soft sanding sponge instead of dry-sanding. It’s a great way to polish the topcoat silky smooth. I do this for most of my furniture finishing now.

It’s amazing how a cheap-looking set of drawer pulls distracts from an otherwise authentic piece, so choose carefully, and pay the extra money for premium pulls. Initially, I planned to use four bronze pyramid drawer pulls. However, when I sketched the project to scale, something didn’t look quite right. The square knobs visually fought the square inlay nearby, so I switched to ring pulls on the small drawers to achieve the look I was after. Complete the project by installing cane webbing.

Add an inkwell and a feather quill, and your desk is ready for use.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Arts and Crafts Limbert Desk appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.