Chipman Oxbow Chests Mounting Hardware Pulls & Locks Step 7

Time to mount the hardware on the drawers before they are glued up. It is much easier to work on them before they are assembled.

I used the photos of the original chests to determine how they were mounted.  All of the pulls were mounted in the center of the drawers 3 inches from the beginning of the curve.  I drilled the holes on a drill press with the angle set to 7 degrees off of 90 degrees.  This made the posts fit the curve fronts correctly. 

Once I had drilled the holes, I then bent the back plates to fit the curves.  I used a block that had a tighter radius than the drawer fronts.  I used a strap clamp to bend the plates over the block and then tapped them with a dead blow hammer.

This bent them a little more than the curve.  But the posts and the brass relaxes will have them fit perfect.

The posts and the bale are fitted to the holes. The posts are square on the top and threaded on the rest.
I tap the posts into the round hole with the wooden end of the hammer.

There is one all mounted.  I don't put the nuts on the back at this time since I am going to take them off to assemble the drawers and put the finish on.

Here are all the brasses mounted, they look real good.

Now I take the brasses off and get started on mounting the locks and escutcheons.
Using the locks and cardboard templates I mark out where the locks should be in the center of the drawer.  I saw the lines on the center deep mortise, then chop out most of the waste.  Since the backs are curved I made a jig that is parallel to the front.  Then using my router plane I finish the mortise with it.
The shallow mortise for the lock back is cut out with the router plane nice and flat.

Cutting out the mortise.

Once I cut out the back mortises, I need to cut out the mortise on the top for the lock.
I turn the lock upside down and trace the size.

Then I use the router plane to cut out the top mortise.

Now that the three mortises are cut out, I can fit the lock. If I am careful it should fit exactly.  The pin in the center of the lock for the key is extend beyond the front of the lock. So it is still in the way of the lock fitting flush.

I use the wooden end of the hammer to tap on the lock pin to make a dent in the inside of the lock mortise. This leaves a reference dent so I can drill.

Then I use a 1/16 inch drill bit to make a pilot hole from the back in the drawer front.

Then I turn the drawer front over and drill the large hole using the pilot hole for reference

Now that the hole is drilled the lock fits right into the mortise. Nice fit, no gaps.

And the pin is exactly in the center of the hole.

Now I have to cut the key hole.

 I have to bend the escutcheon in the reverse direction since the drawer front bends inward. I do this the same way I did the back plates for the pulls.

I center the escutcheon on the hole and measure to make sure that it is straight

Then trace the key hole and nail holes on to the drawer front.

Now that I have the pattern, I can saw it out with my keyhole saw.

I clean up the hole with a round file.

I fit the lock back in and test it out with the key.

I works just fine.

Then I pre-drill the holes for the escutcheon plate. I tap in the nails just a little bit because I am going to take them off.

I test the lock again with the key with the escutcheon plate on to make sure the key slides in easy.

That all there is, all I have to do is repeat this seven more times and I am all done.

Now that I am done with the hardware, I am going to work on the tops for the chest next.

Here is today's video:

Chipman Oxbow Chests Dovetails & Making the Drawers Step 6

Time to get started on making the drawers. In the previous post, I had made the drawer fronts and fitted them to the openings.

I was able to get a picture of the Chipman Chest drawers sides from the curator at the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Rooms. From this picture I am going to duplicate the dovetail pattern as close as possible.

I have milled some eastern white pine for the sides and backs.  1/2 for the backs and 7/16 for the sides. I use a wheel marking gauge to mark where I need to cut the dovetail patten.

Here is the tail pattern on the first drawer. I always start with the tails and cut both sides together.

Then I chop out the tails.  The pine is soft and it goes real quick.

I trace the tails on to the fronts and backs. 

I mark the waste side of the lines. I always saw on the waste side of the line.

I can saw beyond the scribe line on back of these half blind dovetails, this was commonly done in the 18th century.

Chopping out the waste between the pins. You can see how far I sawed past the scribe line.

One done.  Came out pretty good. Only seven more to go.

All of the sides and backs are dovetailed into the drawers, so now to make the drawer bottoms.

I need lots of 1/2 inch pine for the 8 bottoms which are 18 1/2 x 34 inches. I resaw 5/4 stock.

All the bottoms glued up.

I need to make a groove for the drawer bottoms on the sides and drawer fronts. In the back, I will cut off the 1/2 inch so the drawer bottom can slip into it.  The slot is 1/4 inch wide by 3/16 deep and 1/4 inch from the bottom edge.

I use a slot cutter on the router table to do the work.

Cut the bottoms to size.

Trace the curve front on to the bottoms.

Cut the curves with a jig saw.

Now I have to put a chamfer on three sides so it can fit into the groove in the sides and front.

I use a chamfer bit in the router with a bearing because of the curved front. Dust goes everywhere.

Chamfer on three sides. Ready to slip it in from the back.

Slides right in, the fit is pretty good.

All set, now all I have to do is repeat it seven more times.

Later I will glue up the drawers and nail the bottom in the back to hold it in place.

Next post will be about the chest hardware.

Here is today's video: