Workbench drawers - Planing day!

After having resawn the boards to make the drawer bottom yesterday, I need now to plane them to the right thickness. I started with boards that were 1"1/2 thick that I sawn into two boards roughly more or less 11/16" thick. I need to end up with boards 1/2" thick and I have 10 of them to plane to the correct thickness. Some hours of pleasure ahead!
First step was to make a correct setup to held the board in place while planing. I do not have a real workbench with stops or hold fast yet (another project to come) so I used 2 thin scrap pieces of wood screwed on my bench top to make stops.

Bench stops setup

I started to plane the boards with my Stanley Bailey #5 to get a good flat reference face and marked the target thickness with a marking gauge and a pencil.

Thickness line marked from the flat
reference face of the board.

I then continued to use the #5 to get the board thickness down to almost 1/2" with thick shavings. Before starting each board I used a waxed rag to wipe the plane sole so it slides smoothly.

Using the #5 jack plane to get the boards down
to almost 1/2".

When I almost reached the marked line I switched to the smoothing plane, my favorite Millers Falls #9, to get down to the exact thickness.

Switching to the smoothing plane to get down to
the exact thickness.

I checked the thickness with a little caliper to be sure that I got what I needed.

Checking thickness, 1/2", right on.

Remember that I got 10 boards to plane. It was a very enjoyable moment for someone who like to make shavings but it was also quite a workout. At the end I was sweating like a pig and was totally exhausted.

All done, I deserve a fresh one now!

The whole planing process took me around 4 hours for the 10 boards and gave me a nice pile of shavings.

A nice pile of shavings.

These will be used no later than tomorrow to fire up the wood pizza oven!

Next I need to cut each board to length and to cut rabbets all around but this will be for tomorrow if I can still move my arms!

Workbench drawers - Almost there...

After having done the drawers sliders groves it is time to take care of the middle batten. Again I used the Stanley #45 to cut a grove on each side of the batten.

Using the Stanley #45 to cut a grove on each side
of the middle batten.

I start to really like my Stanley #45. For sure, to set it and use it correctly I need some time, but more I use it, more I like it. One day we will be like two old friends.
One thing I learned today about it is that I really need to check the setup before any cut to be sure that no settings changed, like the lateral fence or the depth stop. Also, no need to put too much pressure on it, if the iron is well sharpened it will cut nicely without much pressure.

The middle batten groves.

After the middle batten it was time to do the same with the drawer front and back boards.

Taking care of the drawer back.

Doing this I learned another thing. Using some wax on the #45 skate ease a lot the grove cut, really a lot. I kept a waxed rag nearby and every 5 to 6 strokes I waxed the skate and the cut was so much smoother.

The grove cut in the drawer back board.

I did again the same in the drawer front.

Same recipe applied to the drawer front.

Not bad at all.

I then cut the sliders and middle batten to size. To ensure the groves are all aligned, there will be a little tenon at each end of the sliders and batten to fit them in the groves cut in the drawer front and back so I cut the batten and sliders 1/2" longer then cut the little tenons.

The little tenon on a slider to ensure the groves are aligned.

Finally I changed my hat to wear my power tool helmet and I used the table saw to resaw the bottom boards. I need to practice a lot more resawing by hand before being able to do a correct job so for now the table saw will make it. What is funny is that I did not used my table saw for months now, and when I fired it up I was pretty scared, not only by seeing that blade turning at the speed of light but also by hearing that screaming noise. When you start using hand tools you get used to them and their silence pretty fast!

The bottom boards freshly sawed.

Tomorrow will be planing day, this will be a real pleasure and so much fun to plane these boards to size and make nice curly shavings!

Workbench drawers - Bottom sliders

Now that the drawer handles are done, it is time to tackle the drawer bottom.
I found a piece of pine wood scrap that is almost the perfect size, I will just need to cut it to length and plane it a bit.
So I started by using the Stanley 246 miter saw to cut two pieces a bit longer than what I will need and I planed them using my Millers Falls #9.

I love to use this Millers Falls #9

I really love to use this plane. It is the equivalent of a Stanley #4 smoother and while I own two of them, I found out that I use this one most of the time. The front knob is a bit higher than the ones on my #4 and this fit better my fat hands.
After a bit of planing I got two pieces, each being 26" long, 1"1/4 wide and 3/4" thick.

First step, two 1"1/4x3/4"x26" pieces.

Next I used a mortise gauge to mark the dado I will cut on them. The dado will be 1/4" wide, 1/4" deep and will be located 1/4" from the bottom of the sliders.

My Marples mortise gauge to mark the dado. 

I just received this mortise gauge today. It is a classic Marples brass gauge, it is very nice to use. What I like the most is it weight, it's heavy what gives a nice feeling when using it. The wood on this one is rosewood not Ebony. I found it for a really cheap price on EBay and it is in very good condition.

To cut the dado I used my Stanley #45 plane. I still need to get used to it, but when set correctly it is comfortable to use. I found out that I need to be careful not to set the cut too deep, especially that mine is an early model without iron depth adjustment wheel (I will talk about it in a separate post).

Using the Stanley #45 to cut the dados for the bottom boards.

After struggling a bit I ended with the dados cut, not perfectly cut but acceptable.

The dados cut in the two sliders.

I would not make a French bottom without a bead on top of these slides so I grabbed my 3/8" beading wooden plane made by Evans and gave it a try.

Trying to make a 3/8" bead.

3/8" beading plane by Evans, London.

The plane cuts quite well but the problem I got was that the scrap wood I used has the grain reversed in the middle so the cut was not clean. I will fix this with a bit of sanding. These pieces will only be visible from inside the drawer so it is no drama.

The beads cut on top of the two sliders.

Next will be to make the dados on front and back drawer boards, to make the bottom middle reinforcement and to cut and plane the boards.

Workbench drawers - Carving handles

I finally finished the two handles that will find their way on the first drawer.
From where we ended in my last post, I carved the concave space for the fingers when grabbing the handle to open/close the drawer. To do this I started to mark two half ellipses on the handle back and bottom to use as a visual reference of the section to be carved.

Two half ellipses that will act as a visual reference.

I started to carve the concave shape using my old spokeshave. I am certainly not very skilled with a spokeshave but I like the tool, I find it very pleasant to use. I need to get one with a curved bottom.

My old spokeshave #51

When the cut was deep to the point that the spokeshave was not able to bite in the wood I switched to my old draw knife that I got from my great grand father (see my previous post about my woodworking legacy), it is still quite sharp.

My old draw knife I got from
my great grand father.

When the cut was deep enough I used a piece of sand paper rolled around a metal pipe section to smooth the cut. I ended with two nice handles with smooth curves. The whole process to make each handle from scratch took me around one hour per handle, not too bad.

A pair of nice and smooth handles.

I was not able to resist to the desire to see how these two would look on the drawer so I used some double side tape to dry fit them to have a quick preview. Be ready for some real wood handle porn:

Using double side tape to dry fit...

Front view...

... an low-angle shot, really artistic!

...and finally from the top, this will be enough.

To fix them permanently I may use two dowels that will show through the handle on each side, not sure yet but I think this should be nice.

To concluded this post on a touch of humour, yesterday I was browsing EBay to satisfy my vintage tools addiction and I came over a plane for sale. I discovered a new way of setting a plane cap iron:

New way of setting the cap iron (photo courtesy of EBay).

I will try it for sure!

Workbench drawers: handles taking shape.

After having roughly cut the handle shape, I had to use a chisel to refine the to the exact size. I also planed each side with my smoothing plane (I like to use a Millers Falls #9) to get a smooth finish.
I then used the same method as for the drawer protruding tenons, that is to say that I used my mini plane to make a chamfer on all edges that needed to be rounded.

Using my mini plane to chamfer the edges.

I used a piece of rolled sandpaper to soften the edges and get the final rounded shape. I think I ended with something looking fine.

One handle in its final soften shape.

Not looking bad.

One handle is done, one to go for the first drawer.
I will then need to carve a depression in the handle underside so to make room for fingers when grabbing it.

Workbench drawers - Making handles

To make the drawer handles I will use the remaining scrap of the poplar boards I used to make the drawer. Considering the drawer width I will fit two handles instead of one in the middle, this will make easier to slide the drawer.
I want to make handles in the Greene & Greene cloud lift style. To do this I will use 2 glued layers of poplar, each of a different length, this will allow me to carve a "stair" look for the handles.
First step is to cut the scrap board and to plane them to the correct size.

Planning to the correct size using my Stanley #5

I end with a bunch of 1"1/2x3/4 pieces that will be glued together.

The pieces that will be glued t make the handles

Each handle, two per drawer, will be 10"1/2 wide and 1"1/2 height. After gluing I get the base raw material to work with.

Pieces glued together and ready to be cut and carved.

The base cut is easy, two 3/4 thick pieces glued together I get a 1"1/2 thick piece with each "step" to be of 1/2". I marked each one of these.

The raw pieces marked to be cut.

I then cut them roughy to the size, staying out of the line so I an carve them. I get pieces like the following.

Raw cut of the handles

Next step is to use these raw cut to smooth them and get what I am looking for.

Workbench drawers - Rounded protruding tenons

I finally finished to cut all the joins and especially the facing protruding tenons.

Dry fit of the facing box joins.

It was then time to round the tenons edge so to make them smooth and soft. To do this the perfect tool was my mini Craftsman plane.

My mini Craftsman plane was perfect
to round the tenons.

I then used a piece of rolled sand paper to smooth out all edges.

Right side of the drawer...

...Looks good to me, what about you Matt?

After 30 minutes both side were rounded and the end result is satisfying.

The drawer front.

I am thinking to also round the edge of the drawer face and maybe to add a bead at the top and bottom of the face. Not sure for the bead though, I will try it on a scrap piece of wood to see how this would look.

I then started to cut the boards to make the drawer bottom. As discussed in my previous post I will make the bottom out of solid wood.

I used my Disston D8 to cut boards to length first. I cut the boards 1 inch longer so I can cut them again in case I am not cutting straight by hand.

Using the Disston D8 to cut the boards to length.

I must say that I am really amazed by this saw. Not only it is so sharp that sawing with it is like sawing butter, but also it is the first time I am able to saw straight to the line!

Sawing straight to the line.

And for those who may think I am cheating on this picture, here is the end result.

Perfect (almost) cut!

I bought this saw from Daryl Weir, it was not cheap but worth any penny I paid for it. I must say low hat mister Weir, you are a true master saw sharpener!

Now I have a bunch of board to resaw so to get two 1/2" board from each of them.

I need to resaw this.

And there is where is my problem now. I wanted to make this drawer only with hand tools so I tried to resaw one of these with another Disston D8 for rip cut, and I must confess it was a total disaster, true butchery, to the point where I doubt I could make it. 

My problem is that I started to resaw without making a initial kerf all around the board, I guess (or let say I sincerely hope) that doing this will make it easier. At this point I don't have anything to make this kerf except a chisel and this would be time consuming so I am thinking to sell my soul to the dark side and resaw this on the table saw, but this does not make me happy. I may give it another try tomorrow if I dare.

Workbench drawers - About drawers bottom

Now that the first drawer box is progressing well I started to think about the drawer bottom.
At first sight I was planning to use plywood or MDF to do the bottom as this is not a well visible part. Then I heard a little voice in my head (yes sometimes I can hear some voice in my head, I know this is not a good sign of sanity) saying "Hey man, are you a wood butcher or not?". The answer is obvious, of course I am a wood butcher and so I will not take the shortest path.
So now I am thinking to build the drawer bottom with solid wood.
I have some 2"x6" white pine boards (that are actually 1"1/2x5"1/2) that I will cut to size and re-saw so to get 1"x6" boards. After re-sawing and planning I should be able to end with 1/2"x5" boards (actual size).
I plan to make a french drawer bottom with an added middle rail where the bottom board would be ship lap assembled.
From the front it would look like this:

Front view of the drawer bottom

And from the side, like this:

Side view of the drawer bottom

Instead of using ship lap joinery for the bottom board I could also use tongue and grove assembly but I am not sure this is really useful in this case. As each board would be 14" long and 1/2" thick I don't see much wood movement that would require a tongue and grove join.
Any comment will be welcomed.