Greene & Greene Bedside Table

[Sheets]

Very, very nice. Elm has such beautiful grain and colour (one of my favourites). Quite a stunning piece.

[munruben]

I agree, nice work. I think you are a bit hard on yourself about the joints. I think it adds to the authenticity and demonstrates the quality and workmanship of a hand made piece of furniture.Well done.

[Johnnz]

Hello, very nice bedside table. I am just curious what method you used to cut the drawer front out of the front face? Router perhaps? I am needing to do a similar cut out on a piece of English Elm shortly and would appreciate your tips

[Afro Boy]

Thanks for the feedback John.

The draw is cut out using a technique I learnt from Lignum at a Hall Table course. Here is a brief run down ...

Take the entire piece you want to use for the front and make sure it is wider and taller than your final finished piece. Rip it into three slices. One for the top of the drawer, the other for the height of the drawer itself, and the third for the bottom.



Take the middle piece. This is where your drawer will come from. Cut it vertically in two places to leave you with the front sides and the drawer face. Glue it all back together without the drawer front (you don't want that to stick!) Use the drawer front however to help align the surrounding pieces. Pay very close attention to the grain flow between the pieces. Some might need to slide a little to make the joins disappear.



I find it hard to explain in words but hopefully the images help a little. Do let me know if you want more details, images, diagrams, etc. as I'm more than happy to help.

Cheers,
Af.

[Johnnz]

Thank you very much for the explanation and pictures. Did you plane the saw cuts after ripping? I can't see any joins in the four photos you attached in your first post - very effective.

Thanks again.

[Afro Boy]

Just a tiny bit of sanding but mostly it's right off the saw. If you use a thin saw blade you take away less wood and the grain matches up easier. You'll be surprised how difficult it is to notice if you get it aligned nicely.

Try to align the more obvious/highlighted parts of the grain as people's attention will be drawn to that. This way any other parts that don't quite match up will pretty much fade away.

Cheers,
Af.