Introduction:
A chest of drawers is a curious, paradoxical piece for the
furniture maker. It is a major project, filled with challenge and
opportunity. It provides the opportunity to show off your eye for
design, your furniture engineering know-how, and your workmanship.
Till it is done, you invest heavily, in terms of both time and
materials. Perhaps even emotionally. The latter is especially true
for the furniture maker who is making the chest of drawers for a
loved one, maybe even for himself or herself.
A part of the paradox is the nature of the piece. There's usually
a heavy aesthetic component to it. It has to look good. The right
proportions are essential. You want to use the best materials, the
most beautiful woods. You want it to reflect only your best -- tight
joinery, smooth surfaces, crisp edges.
And yet it's all about function, about storage. It's about socks
and knickers, shirts and sweaters. Jeans. Belts. Handkerchiefs.
Jewelry. Treasured knickknacks.
You want it to be beautiful, a showpiece; and yet, when it is all
done, you are going to put it in your bedroom, the second most
private room in the house (after the bathroom). And the typical
visitor isn't going to see it.
Another aspect of the paradox is the interplay of the simple and
the complex. When you strip it down to its elements, a chest of
drawers is a big box that's filled with smaller boxes. Even a
relative novice at woodworking has dealt with boxes. Simple project:
sides, front, back, bottom. You are going to make a bunch of them,
but each is simply sides, front, back, bottom.
But it does get complicated, because you don't really want to
just pile up the small boxes inside the big one. You want to arrange
the little boxes. You want to graduate them. Big boxes for your big
duds (bulky sweaters, bib overalls) and smaller ones for your more
delicate ones (ties). You want to be able to get into any one of
those boxes without disturbing all the others.
All these things make the chest of drawers such a great project
for any woodworker. There's the concrete functional analysis at the
outset, the abstract creative design work, the problem-solving
evaluation and planning, the thrilling hunt for and gathering of
suitable materials. And the hours and hours of shop time.
My hope is that this book will help moderate the complications
and get you into the shop a little sooner, a little better prepared.
It's got two general chapters surveying case and drawer
construction, explaining how these components are engineered and
built. Options are presented and assessed for those who want
guidance for creating and building an original design.
Following those chapters are seven excellent chest of drawer
projects. You can fan through the pages and see what they look like.
The same quick trip through the pages can give you an idea of how
each is constructed -- just look at the drawings and the how-to
photographs.
The text of each chapter provides a rational sequence for
building the piece, usually reflecting the approach used by the
craftsman who designed and built the original.
The menu is diverse, including both traditional and contemporary
styles and constructions. The first chests you come to are fairly
small, but the tall chest that concludes the book is a huge one.
None, frankly, is really simple, simple in the way a bookcase or a
coffee table project can be. But they're as simple as a case piece
with two to five drawers can be. Just work the plan. It will turn
out to be a lot less complicated than you think.
Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION
CHEST-BUILDING BASICS
DRAWER-BUILDING BASICS
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH CHEST
CONTEMPORARY CHEST
BOW-FRONT CHEST
DOUBLE DRESSER
TRIPLE DRESSER
QUEEN ANNE CHEST ON FRAME
TALL CHEST
SOURCES
METRIC CONVERSION CHART
Soft-cover, 9 x 10-7/8 in., 224 pages,
with color photos and drawings
Published 2002
ISBN: 978-1-56158-422-2
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