Maloof dresser part 3

[atgcpaul]

I'm a little disappointed in my progress. I've been out and about this whole
weekend. Anyway, here's what's going on:

It was time to finish up the stretchers and runners. Since my dado was setup
already to cut the tongues on the ends of stretchers, I cut the tongues on
the sides of my runners.




Woops! Can you spot the goof? It won't affect the final build and I'm not
going to fix it.




As I said before, the stretchers span the case and will be notched into the
divider. I slipped the stretchers into their dadoes and marked the location of
the notch against the divider. I marked the notch location with a knife and
then gang cut the notch on my TS and miter gauge.




I placed the stretchers back in the dadoes and then cut spacers that matched
the opening height.




After that, I knifed the locations of the notches in my divider panel.




Over to the bandsaw to cut the notch.




Some cleanup required. Yeah, that's a sharp chisel.




The notches in the front and back of the divider panel are ready.




After cutting the runners to uniform length, a dry fit.




This afternoon I will try to route the mortises and fit the loose tenons. The
notches in the rear stretcher are cut deeper than the ones in the front. When
I assembled the web frame, the runners and the rear stretchers will not be
glued to the divider. This will let the divider and panel expand and contract
with the seasons.

Paul

[jonathan55]

Paul,

Thanks for posting this! It is inspiring me to get started on one. Did you say you did a Sketchup model? Would you be willing to share it on Google's 3D warehouse? Someone did a Maloof side table that they posted on there.

Thanks!
Jonathan

[JR]

Looking good, Paul! I'd say you made a lot of progress, given how critical those notches are to the project.

JR

[chopnhack]

Good work Paul. That is going to look amazing when finished

[atgcpaul]

This afternoon I laid out and routed the mortises for my drawer web frame.

I made this router mortising jig about 5 years ago--before the Mortise Pal came
out. Amazing what a little scrap and hardware can do.

I loosen and tighten the brown bed bolts to adjust the length of the mortise.
The sliding parts are exactly 5/8" wide. I guide my router using a 5/8"
template guide that slides back and forth in the opening. I generally use a
3/8" spiral bit with 3/4" stock. The brass bolts on top adjusts the position of
the fence. The missing chunk of wood is a reminder to me to always full
retract the bit before taking the router off the jig.





Side view of the jig. I've inserted my 3/4" fence offset tool (block of wood).
I loosen the brass bolts, register the fence against the block and tighten
down the bolts. This is the most critical adjustment. If the fence isn't parallel
to the slot, then the two mortises won't be flush.




The jig upside down.




It's also important to always register the same face against the fence to
ensure flush joints. I line up the pencil mark on the piece to be cut with the
pencil mark on the inside of the jig.




Holding the jig and piece securely , I clamp the whole thing in my bench vise and route
away.




You can't do it all at once. For my 1" deep mortise, I take 4 passes.
Between each pass, I suck out the chips with my 4" DC hose which is held
between my knees while I route. It takes about half an hour to mark and route
the 16 mortises for each web fame. Almost 2 hours for all 48 mortises.




I had a few pieces of 3/8" mahogany stock prepared from 5 years ago that I
used for the loose tenons. Here I'm doing a test fit of the tenons for one web
frame. You can see my pile of tenons.




Still a dry fit but now the web frame is completely together.




IMO, mortise and tenons for these webframes is overkill. I could have used
pocket screws, but come on, really? I also considered face frame biscuits, but
for this piece, M&T is the only way to go.

My next step is actually a little scary. It's time to cut the sides to size and
shape them to the template, and cut the top and bottom to final width. I also
need to rabbet the top, bottom, and sides for the back. No turning back after
that. Before I glue up the carcass, I think I need to do roundovers on the
sides--especially at the top inside. Once it's together, I won't be able to get
to it with the router.

Paul

[JR]

Go, man, go! Looking good!

JR