Tonight’s meeting was on making the frame for drawers.
Ron demonstrated the Gifkins dovetail jig for making drawers. A little help from Brian’s sledge hammer and we had a nice tight fit!
Check out another demonstration of the jig below.
‘Every mistake provides a learning opportunity with the audience getting a good understanding of the concepts involved and where things can go wrong! We also the learnt the importance of connecting a dust extractor to the router. Everyone attending the demonstration will have memories of the demonstrator being covered in dust.’
If you are looking at drawer lock bits, the small diameter upright bits (the blue type in John’s slide presentation) may be safer and easier to use. The gap between the fences on the router table are narrower. There is less opportunity for the wood pieces to slip into the gap between the fences. The downside is that there is limited scope for integrated fascia boards with the smaller diameter bits.
The smaller diameter bits can also be operated at higher speeds. Many routers only have a single high speed. The Triton router was one of the first to bring in variable speeds.
We also learned the importance of doing lots of test cuts – not just to make sure the depth of the cut is right but also to develop a safe reliable technique for these awkward cuts. A high temporary fence is recommended by John to provide stability, especially with larger drawers.
Click on the Torquata drawer lock bit below for more information by Timbecon. John found their video demonstration particularly useful as the bit did not come with any instructions. John has written instructions for his future reference on test cut pieces which he keeps with his high fence. It is worth searching out U-Tube videos demonstrating other drawer lock router bits.
And these are the Timbecon demonstrations.
Happy woodworking everyone!
