The very first thing I built using the bench was a small sawbench (under the vice in the bottom right corner of the picture) out of some spare 2x4's. It has a V notched into the end for ripping boards (cutting them lengthwise), and is low enough that I can use my weight to hold pieces that are being sawn. It doubles as a seating bench as well! At this point, I have most of what I'll want to build a bigger, heavier bench in the future!
The first non-workshop project that I finished was a furniture repair for Sister. The bottom drawer of her antique dresser was unusable; the drawer always caught when they pulled it in and out of the dresser. When I pulled it out, I realized that the entire bottom inch of the drawer, which runs on wooden rails inside the dresser, was worn clean away from decades of use. The drawer was actually sliding on the metal stops that would normally keep the drawer front from pushing past 'flush' with the face of the dresser!
My first task was to trim away the broken and worn rails, on one side all the way past the first dovetail. The scrap palletwood that I had collected a few weeks before was the starting point for the replacement pieces. Sisters had bought me a dovetail saw a few years ago for Christmas; I was so excited to use it to cut the replacement piece.
The dovetails on the drawer itself are rounded on the inside. They look like they were cut with a multi-spindle dovetail machine, like this one, which have been around since the late 1800's. I doubt the drawer is that old, but if it was built before World War II there are good odds that it came from Grand Rapids, MI. Mechinization and an abundance of hardwoods employed more than half the city in many furniture factories.
Repairs to each side; a combination of wood glue, joinery, and nails holding everything together.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave me a nifty note! I'd love to hear from you!