Pennsylvania Chippendale Slant Front Desk Repair Crack & Drawer Fronts Step 7

It has been awhile since I worked on the desk.  And while it sat in the shop, the side has split.  This was caused by stress in the wide board that reacted to the shrinking of the board from the summer when it was so hot and humid to now when it is cold and dry in the shop.  This is the only piece of furniture I have made that has cracked.

Well I am not going to throw it away, this is the way many antiques look. But I want to stabilize the crack so that it won't get any bigger.

I am going to make bow ties or butterfly keys and inlay them to the inside of the case.

I used my Dremmel with an 1/8 inch straight bit to hog out the bulk of the material and create a flat bottom.
Then I used a chisel to chop out the opening to the line.
I made the bow ties on the table saw with 7 degree blade tilt, they are 3 1/2 inches long and 1 1/4 in wide.

I glued them in with yellow glue and planned them flush.

To fill the crack on the outside I use home made wood filler. Made from cherry sanding dust and hide glue. I mix it to a paste and make a ball.

Using a putty knife I push it into the crack as best as I can.  I don't leave a lot of excess to take off after it dries.

Sanded smooth, it still shows but after staining and finishing I should be able to hide it.

Now I turned my attention to the drawers.  I milled some cherry for the four drawers.  All of this cherry is from the same matched set of cherry boards.  So when it comes to finishing the color should match well.

This is the largest drawer front, 6 inches, the board is 13/16 thick and sanded to 150 grit.
The board needs to be 3/16 larger on the top than the opening for the lip and 1/4 inch on both sides for the side lips.

Ripping the drawer front to size.

Rounding over the edges on all 4 sides with a 3/16 round over bit set to 1/4 inch.

Cutting the 3/16 dado on the top of the drawer with a dado set to create the lip. I use the dado set to cut the 1/4 inch on the sides as well.

Fitting the drawer front to the opening.  Looks like it is a good fit.

Now that the fronts are made it is time to mill all the pine stock for the sides, back and bottoms.
That will be in the next video.

Here is today's video: