Andrea is here and starts the drawer
making by double checking the measurements she needs.
She rips several boards to the
width she has measured.
And
just to be safe, she double checks the width with the actual piece.
She wants to make the drawers as snug as she can.
While the stock is still long, she sets up to run a groove at the bottom.
This will hold the 1/8" plywood bottoms. She uses a 3/16" brass gauge block
to set the depth. She is leaving the cabinet maker's blade on and will make
the cut in two passes — this will fit the plywood better and is quicker than
getting the dado set out.
It is an easy cut to make.
Andrea turns to the sliding miter saw to cut the sides and ends to their
correct lengths.
She marks sides and ends for the
individual drawers. While the parts may be interchangeable, she will cut one
drawer at a time
Moving to the WoodRat machine, she marks one of the sides
with the locations for the dovetails she wants. The boards are 1 3/4" wide
so there is not much room for many dovetails
She will cut three dovetails, and she has set up the
machine for using the small dovetail bit. You can see her small lines on the
aluminum. This marks where she has "zeroed" her cut location.
Andrea clamps both side pieces in the
holder.
She aligns the dovetail position with
the "mark" (at arrow) and makes her cuts. She has installed the aluminum
guides so that the cuts are straight in and out.
In a matter of minutes, she has two
sides with dovetails at both ends. Now she can get to work on the ends.