Shaker Cherry Nightstand - Handtool heavy #4: Step 4: working out the drawer supports

I debated over this and many LJ’s were quite supportive of my plight. Feeling guilty over machining my aprons, I decided to address the drawer guides with a saw & chisel. As it’s a small drawer on a small piece, I figured the lower support might need the most support; the upper simply for tracking & anti-tip. I want to assemble the carcass front-back, then sides. I also wanted some allowance for shelf adjustment, so here goes:

I’m going to split the lower guide between a tenon into the lower rail, overlapping the front leg:

I’m going to notch the rear lower guide around the rear leg so that I can adjust the fit with a small pin/glue.

Here’s the idea:

For the top guide, I’ll tenon away from the dovetail in the top rail & directly into the rear apron.

Here’s the idea:

Now all the pieces are relatively collected:

Once I mortise for the drawer guides, I’ll assemble the case & fit it for the drawer. Wish me luck & thanks for looking!

OK, enough thinking; more chopping. I mortised the front lower rail to accommodate the overlapping lower drawer support. There’s a hammer for Mads & a mortiser for Dennis!

It’s a good fit!

Now I’ll do the same for the top rail. There’s a cheap blue-handle Irwin peeking out for credibility.

It looks like it’s going to work

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog