175.038 11/21/05 3:34 PM Page 38 Inspired Dresser

11/23/051:25 PMPage 43Divider LocationsDrawer Clearance DetailCenter SectionExploded View(Side View)51/4"The drawer slide is mounted to theMDF side panel. This allows 1/16"clearance for the drawer front.13Side175.043LegDrawer front51/4"51/4"1/8"Setback61238 gingTop Vertical Divider(Section View)1/16"(Side View)111/2"1/16"Gap152"11/2"12Front edge35/4"1015Front Bottom Rail(Front View)/8"11/2"/4"10314 2 /4"3/8"11/4"71191/2"55"3/8"133"Front Bottom RailBack Bottom Rail 18(Section View)3/8"3/4"(Section View)1/4"37/4"/8"144CL145/16"of the vertical panels, and the centerline onto the horizontal dividers. I alsocarried the centerline of each panelaround to the opposite side. I thendrilled three attachment holes foreach vertical edge.Before going any further, you mustmake and install two bottom rails intothe bottom divider panel before thecenter section can be assembled. Eachof these rails has its own details to takecare of: rabbets, “cloud lifts,” etc. Oncethe rails were detailed, I glued them tothe bottom divider.Rounding over the vertical edgeswas my last step prior to assemblingthe center section. I don’t round overthe horizontal edges until after thedividers have been joined.I assembled the center sectionon a large, flat bench. This wasver y helpful, as it kept the backedges all lined up. It was also veryuseful — almost imperative — to havea right angle cordless drill/driver.I started at the top and worked myWoodworker’s Journal February 200638Side toCenterAssemblyDetail914(Top View)24way down, clamping each verticalin place, drilling pilot holes, andthen attaching each vertical with glueand screws.I had assembled the center sectionusing an 1/8" roundover bit to breakthe horizontal edges.The two top rails are the last partsof the center section. They are simplyglued and screwed tothe vertical divider.With the dividersjoined together ina single unit, I attachedthe MDF side panelsthat hold everything inalignment and make a surface for theoutside drawer slides to attach to.I used spacer blocks at the outboardends of the horizontal dividers to holdthem exactly the right distance apart.Once again, I attached the panels withglue and screws.The center section was now completeand ready to be stained. My first stepDetails such as theAfrican blackwoodsplines and theultra-detailed drawerpulls create a senseof elegance.43

175.04411/21/053:41 PMPage 44Copyright 2006 Woodworker's Journal All Rights Reservedwas to detail the intersections of thevertical and horizontal edges with 120sandpaper. Then, I raised the grain andlightly sanded with 220-grit.Staining this section was an exercisein being methodical and careful. It wassimply not possible to stain the wholething at the same time withouta disaster taking place. So I stainedone drawer bay at a time, wiped off theexcess, and then moved on to the nextsection to avoid drying and blendingproblems. Once it was stained, I buffedit all as before.With caution being the better part ofvalor, I assembled one side at a time tothe center section. This was a prettystraightforward matter of gluing,clamping and pocket screwing. AsI mentioned before, wear rubber gloveswhen handling the stained, but notfinished, wood. I assembled the unitby attaching the horizontal dividersto the ends with pocket holes — twoper corner: one top and one bottom.After I had both sides attached, I madeand attached large corner blocks tojoin the rails and legs on the bottom ofthe cabinet.To prevent the stain from beingmarred at this point, I sprayed theassembled cabinet with a sealer.A Classic Breadboard TopThe top is a classic Greene andGreene top: breadboard ends andexposed splines at the joints. I beganby milling my board to thickness, thenused my table saw to cut the topto size. Staying at the table saw,I formed the tenons with a verticaland horizontal cut.I milled the breadboard ends tosize and cut the groove in them onthe table saw. This groove is not downthe middle of these pieces, but isinstead offset due to the 1/8" thicknessdifference between it and the top.These pieces are flush with theunderside of the top and proud on thetop. Cutting the spline slot was bestdone by chopping it by hand witha sharp chisel.Like the plug hole in the legs, I useda square mortising chisel in thedrill press to cut the plug hole in thebreadboard ends. After cutting theplug holes, I used the drill press todrill the attachment holes. I thenslipped the ends into place, markedthe screw holes, and drilled the pilotholes in the tenon.Rounding over and detailing the topand ends is a bit tricky if you don’twatch it. It was important toremember that the ends stand proudon the top and the front. I was verycareful to keep the back and bottomedges square. Once again, I wentthrough the prep steps and thenstained the top and ends.Once the stain was dry and buffed,I attached the ends to the top with3" screws.The Drawers and PullsForming the quartersawnmahogany drawer pulls isa time-consuming task. Theauthor spent a significantnumber of hours detailingthese pulls.As I mentioned earlier, I selected thewood for the drawer fronts carefully sothat the grain ran continuously acrossall of the pairs. I milled the boardsto thickness and width, and then cutthem up. I used my block plane to finetune the fit of each front so that I hadan even, and parallel, gap all the wayaround. After fitting, I marked eachfront as to which opening it fit in. Ina routine you’re probably sick of bynow, I rounded over the corners of thefronts, and went through the sandingand staining process.I made the drawer boxes out of 1/2"Baltic birch plywood. I think thismaterial makes a great drawer box.I cut the parts to size and machinedtheir joints. When I had finishedrouting the rabbets, I sanded all thesides, fronts and backs to 120.February 2006 Woodworker’s Journal

175.04511/16/053:16 PMPage 45Large Drawer PullDrawerExploded View(Side View)39 /8"3230CL31See inset photo on page44 for more details.37Small Drawer Pull17/4"(Side and Section Views)33/4"13/8"1/16"29531CL32/4"/16"1/2"The author formed the3/16"“finger profile” of the pullswith a combination of a routerand sharp gouges.Drawer Corner(Top View)MATERIAL LIST Drawers2526272829303132333435363738Upper Small Drawer Fronts (3)Upper Large Drawer Fronts (3)Lower Small Drawer Fronts (3)Lower Large Drawer Fronts (3)Small Drawer Pulls (6)Large Drawer Pulls (6)Upper Drawer Sides (12)Upper Sm. Dwr Fronts, Backs (6)Upper Lg. Dwr Fronts, Backs (6)Lower Drawer Sides (12)Lower Sm. Dwr Fronts, Backs (6)Lower Lg. Dwr Fronts, Backs (6)Small Drawer Bottoms (6)Large Drawer Bottoms (6)Using a brad nailer and Titebond,I assembled the drawer boxes. Beforethe glue had set, I laid each drawerbox on my bench, measured it fromcorner to corner for squareness, andtweaked them if necessary.While the boxes were drying, I cutthe bottoms from the maple veneered1/4" MDF. To prep for finishing,I sanded them to 120. I attached thebottoms with glue and brad nails.One of the defining characteristicsof Charles and Henr y Greene’scasework pieces is their drawer anddoor pulls. There are as manydifferent variations of pulls as piecesthey designed. The sculptural qualityof these pulls is what ties themtogether. For this cabinet I designedpulls that were based upon anWoodworker’s Journal February 2006251529T xW x L7/8" x 51 8" x 12 3 16"7/8" x 51 8" x 23 3 8"7/8" x 85 8" x 12 3 16"7/8" x 85 8" x 23 3 8"11 8" x 11 4" x 71 2"11 8" x 11 4" x 18 3 4"1/2" x 45 8" x 191 2"1/2" x 45 8" x 101 2"1/2" x 45 8" x 213 4"1/2" x 81 16" x 191 2"1/2" x 81 16" x 101 2"1/2" x 81 16" x 213 4"1/4" x 111 4" x 191 2"1/4" x 221 2" x 191 2"amalgam of several different designs,the primar y one being the chestof drawers from the Gamble housethat I referred to earlier. I’ll tellyou from the start that these pulls takean inordinate amount of time. Fora simpler pull that would look fine,check out my Greene and Greenedesk in the Sept./Oct. 2000 issue ofWoodworkers Journal.In search of pleasing aesthetics,I tried to choose straight grain woodfor these pulls. I milled all of the piecesto their rectangular dimensions andcut them to length.To lay out the curved steps, I madea very accurate tagboard template andused it to mark out the steps. I markedthe steps on the side of each pull witha black fine-line ballpoint pen (it’s/32"11/2"31/8"253237easier to see). Using a 6 TPI x 1/4"blade, I very carefully band sawed thesteps. I was careful to cut just on thefat side of the line so I could clean upthe saw marks without going past thelayout line. Once the steps weresawed, I smoothed them to the linewith a combination of a hard sandingblock, files and my block plane.I found a pleasing curve for the edgeof the steps and, after experimentinga bit, I found that a pillar file, with itsone smooth edge, was the best way tocut and smooth these curves.Making the finger relief couldprobably all be done with a single,somewhat elaborate, router jig. I found itjust as easy to do it with a combinationof a pass on the router table and somehand work. I started by making a passon the router table with a coving bit.This left me with a straight relief thatneeded to be modified into a curvedone to match the curve of the pull face.I marked a line about 3/8" back fromand parallel to the pull face. A fewgood swipes with a sharp gouge anda little cleaning up with sandpaperfinished the job.The final shaping to be done on thepulls is the undercutting of the ends.45

175.04611/16/053:16 PMPage 46I did this freehand by judiciouslygrinding the ends on the end rollerof my stationary belt sander.There was a surprising amountof very painstaking sanding anddetailing to be done before the pullswere ready for stain. I made quite aneffort to get all of the pulls to lookexactly the same. When all thedetailing was done, I went throughthe staining process.If this cabinet was always going tobe up against a wall, I probably couldhave gotten away with making theback out of a piece of 1/4" MDF. Alas,that was not the case, so I opted fora piece of mahogany veneered 1/4"MDF. I veneered the back in a vacuumbag the same as I did the side panels.I only veneered one side of the back,but since it is screwed down with“Staining this (center)section was an exercisein being methodical andcareful. It was simplynot possible to stainthe whole thing at thesame time withouta disaster taking place.”about 20 screws, warpage won’t bea problem. After cutting it to size,I sanded and stained the back in theusual method.Mirror, MirrorThe mirror and its supports werethe last things I needed to build beforethe cabinet could be finished andassembled. I started by milling all ofthe pieces to their rough, non-shapedsize. While still inthis rectilinear shape,I cut the miter jointson the top and sidepieces. After cuttingthe miters, I useda thin wood battento lay out the curvesand steps on both thetop and sides. I cutthe pieces to shapeon the band saw andthen smoothed themup with sandpaperand files.The corners ofthe mirror are joinedwith face frame sizebiscuit joints, but youThe posts of the mirrorassembly are joined tothe dresser top byscrews driven up fromthe inside of the top.The top is attached tothe carcass withtabletop fasteners.46can substitute dowels. Prior togluing up the frame, I made sure tosand the inside edges, as this ismuch harder to do when the frameis assembled. I glued up the frameusing Titebond, a bar clamp on thebottom and 3M packing tape on themiter joints. When the glue had set,I used a rabbeting bit in a routerto cut most of the mirror rabbet.I used a sharp paring chisel to finishoff the rabbet.Before moving on to staining themirror frame, you’ll have to follow thedetailing steps I’ve used on othersubassemblies, starting with roundingover all of the appropriate edges.Moving to the mirror posts, I startedby cutting the posts to length and thenlaying out their curves, using a bandsaw to shape them.After looking at most of the availablemirror pivot hardware — and findingit lacking — I decided to make myown, which, it turned out, was a lotsimpler and a cleaner design. I endedup using 1" x 1/4" steel dowels anda 1/16" black nylon washer. Thisadded up to a grand total of about 2.00. The spacers serve to make the1/8" gap so the assembled mirror hasroom to swing. With that done,I sanded and detailed all the parts andstained them.The finishing process was quitestraightforward. The first step wasto go over everything with a goodquality tack rag to remove any residualdust. For a finish, I sprayed three coatsof catalyzed synthetic lacquer. (Youcan use the finish of your choice.)I usually buff with a fine Scotch-Briteor sand with 220 between coats,depending on how the surface feels.Assembling a cabinet with this manydrawers is rather time-consuming andneeds to be done carefully. I startedthe assembly by attaching the mirrorassembly to the top. The first thingI did was use clear silicone adhesive toglue a piece of 1/8" mirror into theFebruary 2006 Woodworker’s Journal

175.04711/23/055:03 PMPage 47Mirror FrameMiter and RabbetDetail4221/2"421015/16"Mirror Assembly42(Front View)21/8"The mirror frameis rabbeted afterthe frame isassembled.Square up therabbet witha sharp chisel.4311/2"406"39The mirror rabbet iscut 3/16" deep.1/4"11/2"2"414031/4"/8"Mirror Frame Top and Side Pattern444139MirrorExploded View42MATERIAL LIST Mirror40Each square equals one inchmirror rabbet. While the siliconewas dr ying, I marked and drilledattachment holes in the bottoms of thesupport posts. With the mirrorassembly together, I carefully markedand drilled mounting holes in the top.I then mounted the mirror to the top.The top is attached to the carcass withtabletop fasteners and screws.Installing the drawer slides wasstraightforward, although it requiredthe use of a right angle drill/driverto install them, especially in thosesmaller compartments.I attached the drawer pulls to thedrawer fronts prior to installing thefronts on the drawer boxes. After thepulls were attached, I attached thefronts to the drawer boxes. My usualmethod for this is to drill four 3/8"holes in the front of the drawer boxesand then attach the fronts with drawerfront attachment screws that have anoversize head. This allows for someminute adjusting to get the frontsperfectly aligned.Woodworker’s Journal February 2006394041424344Mirror Posts (2 )Mirror Frame Sides (2)Mirror Frame Bottom (1)Mirror Frame Top (1)Mirror Glass (1)Pivot Hardware (2)Once all the drawers were in placeand the fronts attached and adjusted,I installed the back, using 1" screwsand finishing washers.Ebony-like AccentsThe very last items to complete on thecabinet are the African blackwoodsplines and plugs. I made all of theplugs in my usual way: make a stick ofthe right dimension, dome the endwith sandpaper, polish it on a buffer,cut it off on the band saw and repeat.I also cut the splines on the band sawand then sanded them to shape andpolished them. I installed the plugsand splines using a small drop of clearsilicone, tapping them in place. Thesilicone allows for a little movementand reduces the possibility of themfalling out if the humidity changes.The cabinet was now complete.I found this to be a very satisfyingTxWxL1" x 11 2" x 71 2"7/8" x 21 8" x 123 4"7/8" x 2" x 167 8"7/8" x 21 8" x 217 8"Fabricate to fitSteel Dowel/washerproject, but in a different way thanmany other projects I have done.There isn’t any part of this cabinet thatwas particularly hard to construct, butit had engineering questions galore.I really love the process of thinkingthrough how something is going to gotogether, and in what order. It wasreally satisfying to work through thechallenges presented by this cabinetand have it come together so well. Iwould like to think that the Greenebrothers, especially Henr y (theengineering half) would have foundthis an interesting project. I hope youdo and that it provides many yearsof service and pleasure.Mike McGlynn is a professionalfurniture maker and contributingeditor to the Woodworker’s Journal.When not in his shop, you can findMike on his mountain bike.47

Greene & Greene Inspired Dresser By Mike McGlynn 38 T his chest is influenced by a Greene and Greene chest of drawers first viewed at the Gamble house in California. Among many other factors, I was especially drawn to the staggered drawers and the small mirror. Sheet Stock Galore