Conventional Tansu, Half 2: Drawers and Doorways

Tansu drawers are constructed in another way from their western counterparts. They’ve pinned joinery on the corners, and the underside of a tansu drawer, as a substitute of being slotted into grooves, is pinned on to the underside of the drawer field. In use, the entire backside is supported by the mud shelf beneath it. This type of cross-grain attachment might be problematic in wider drawers, so for the three vast drawers, I made bottoms composed of two or extra items tongue-and-grooved collectively to allow them to broaden and contract. I additionally used excessive ring rely, very dry, vertical-grain western crimson cedar.

Step one is to confirm the match of every drawer entrance, and decide the orientation. As a result of I is usually a little bit of a grain nerd, I attempt to hold every thing oriented in the identical route because it got here from the board; that method when gentle hits it, no piece will mirror in another way from the others. Tansu drawer fronts must be comfortable, however not tremendous tight. (Professional tip: Don’t push all of them the way in which flush, as they may be extraordinarily troublesome to get again out. Belief me on this.)

Tansu drawers begin with rabbets

As soon as the entire fronts are oriented and marked, it’s again to the desk noticed for rabbeting. I rabbet each ends and the underside edge of every drawer entrance, after which, utilizing a chamfer aircraft, I minimize a forty five° chamfer alongside the within high fringe of the drawer entrance.

Tape the drawer field and pin it

With all of the drawer elements made, it’s time to drill for pins. Utilizing tape, I assemble every drawer dry, then do the entire pin format, and drill. For drawer joints, I sometimes use two pins close to the highest. This not solely strengthens the weakest a part of the drawer, however I additionally assume it appears to be like cool. The pins I exploit are literally 3⁄32-in.-diameter toothpicks. I minimize them in half, so every toothpick yields two pins.

When the entire holes are drilled, it’s time to start out gluing. Leaving the tape hooked up to the underside, I take away the underside and set it apart (noting its orientation). Subsequent, I launch the tape on one joint and open the drawer pretty flat. After making use of glue to the joints, I pull the tape tight and drive in pins dragged via glue. When one aspect is pinned, I minimize off the pins, then repeat on the opposite aspect. Subsequent I run a bead of glue across the perimeter of the body, re-tape the underside, and drive its pins. As a result of this course of takes a little bit time, I like to recommend utilizing a glue with an prolonged open time. Apply clamps and put aside. When the entire glue has cured, pull the tape and aircraft the drawers to suit.

Suggestions for sliding tansu doorways

With the drawers full, I transfer on to the mortise-and-tenon, frame-and-panel doorways. To make the mortising of those small elements safer and the glue-up simpler, I go away the stiles an inch or extra over size on each ends till after meeting. As a result of these are gentle doorways, be conservative with the quantity of glue you utilize. A really gentle wetting on the tenon and a light-weight coat within the mortise is a lot. If squeeze-out might be averted, it must be. I insert two rails into one stile, slide within the panel dry, then fastidiously faucet on the opposite stile, ensuring the panel edge doesn’t bind. Then I clamp, measure for sq., and let remedy. When the glue has dried, I noticed away the additional materials on the stiles and minimize rabbets on the high and backside of every stile to match the rabbets on the rails.

Final, utilizing a rabbet aircraft, I modify the match of the doorways till they slide freely (a little bit wax within the grooves helps rather a lot).

-That is the second of three posts for this mission. Half 3: Shopmade tansu {hardware} on Feb twenty eighth. In fact, for those who can’t wait, the article PDF is on the market beneath, and the digital challenge is on the market to Limitless members now!

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