So I decided to make a bead around the drawers which would give me the room I needed to clean up both the drawers and openings. Thanks to bfd’s idea I decided to go for the template idea to fix the drawer openings.
DRAWERS
So I milled up some strips for the bead:
Here’s how I made the template to fit the drawer with the bead…
I drew the outline of the bead on a scrap of plywood:
Then I cut some scraps to fit those lines and stapled them to the plywood piece:
Let’s make sure it will fit inside:
Then on the router table I used a template bit to follow those scraps to make the final template:
And Walah… a template:
Finally that drawer opening is squared up:
And now I just need to chip away at those corners:
ASSEMBLY TIME
I decided to use dowels to join the front-to-back supports for the sewing machine recess. That router template I just used came in handy to give me a bigger surface to steady the portable drill press for drilling the dowel holes:
One last dry fit:
And finally its together:
Once the glue was dry and the clamps were off I had quite a bit of scraping to do:
The middle cross piece was secured between the two supports with dowels. I almost used screws here but at the last minute I went for the all-natural:
SEWING MACHINE SHELF
The dropped-down sewing machine shelf will need to be attached permanently to the front of the table but the back end of it has got to have some room to expand. So I drilled the holes with some breathing room. I made slots for the screws:
The front of the shelf was biscuited to the apron:
And the rest was screwed through those expansion slots from underneath:
I also made an opening for the machine’s power cord:
I’m on a marathon this weekend to finish this project. More will come soon!
Deadline… Saturday night!!!
Total Project Time So Far: 29 1/2 hours
-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com
19 comments so far
Betsy
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1886 posts in 433 days
posted 164 days ago
Blake you are doing great! Your Mom is going to be so happy with this table. Can’t wait to see how it ends up. The save on the “mistake” sure seems to have worked out.
-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!
teenagewoodworker
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2135 posts in 305 days
posted 164 days ago
its coming together! thanks for the post
PaBull
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244 posts in 202 days
posted 164 days ago
Blake are you merried? You might want to duplicate this this table while you are at it.
Keep us posted!
-- http://www.twinoaksgrowers.com
Karson
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13585 posts in 937 days
posted 164 days ago
Looks great Blake. Nice recovery.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
GaryK
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8558 posts in 525 days
posted 164 days ago
Your progress looks great! Keep it up.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Russel
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1321 posts in 476 days
posted 163 days ago
Great work Blake.
-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.
Scott Bryan
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9878 posts in 359 days
posted 163 days ago
I am excited for you as well. You are on track. The drawer detail turned out nicely.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
jcees
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473 posts in 336 days
posted 163 days ago
You rock, bubba Blake. Keep it rollin’. H’yah!
always,
J.C.
-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein
John Gray
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883 posts in 422 days
posted 163 days ago
Looks good.
-- Only the Shadow knows....................
trifern
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4969 posts in 304 days
posted 163 days ago
Very cool Blake. You are on the home stretch. How are you going to finish it?
-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.
Todd A. Clippinger
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2671 posts in 636 days
posted 163 days ago
Blake,
Pulled off like a true master craftsman.
You are there, you just don’t fully realize it yourself.
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
Harold
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294 posts in 384 days
posted 163 days ago
Blake!! this looks wonderful….remember time can be either our friend or enemy, it’s a personal choice. Saturday evening you will have a beautiful piece I am sure….but Sunday evening it could be extrodinary….Sometimes our muse can be frustrating
-- If knowledge is not shared, it is forgotten.
Todd A. Clippinger
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2671 posts in 636 days
posted 163 days ago
It looks like you are online.
Why aren’t you in the shop?
Deadline is looming!
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
Blake
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2243 posts in 411 days
posted 163 days ago
Todd, My boss just called me and gave me the day off (out of the blue) so I have the whole day to work :)
-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com
Chris
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1259 posts in 528 days
posted 163 days ago
Looks great!
Just curious, What are you using for the drawer slides??
-- Chris
Blake
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2243 posts in 411 days
posted 163 days ago
More Birch.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com
Todd A. Clippinger
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2671 posts in 636 days
posted 163 days ago
More Birch?
Figured too tight on materials?
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
Blake
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2243 posts in 411 days
posted 163 days ago
No Todd, I was just answering Chris’ question. The drawer slides are Birch, as is everything in this project.
But actually, I did figure pretty tightly on materials. I was working with no more than an inch to spare on a lot of it. Which I know is not smart, but I just had to be that much more careful.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com
bfd
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303 posts in 344 days
posted 163 days ago
Hi Blake,
This is turning out so nice! Man I can’t wait to see this finished. Your are cranking this thing out.
-- Brian, Folsom, CA http://www.brianfullerdesigns.com