History of the project:
One of the early suggestions was a lingerie chest, since there is often room (and use) for an extra small chest of drawers in a master bedroom or dressing room - closet, and it is something that not everybody already has. This might give club members the opportunity to construct one themselves, as well as giving it a market in a charity auction.
Charlie brought in a large lingerie chest (that he had exhibited in Kerrville and Salado). It had a jewelry box in the top, the sides opened for necklace and scarf storage, and 6 fairly tall drawers … going all the way to the floor. Charlie (or his wife Jenny) recommended that opening the top to get at the jewelry was not convenient, since jewelry and other items often were placed on that top - a separate drawer would be better. There was a lot of discussion about the opening sides, how they should open, or whether they were even desirable. Search of the furniture literature suggested that a lingerie chest normally had 7 drawers, often of different heights (from 2 7/8 to 7 7/8 inches high in our ultimate plan).
After much debate and use of computer modeling tools to explore options, this design, proposed by Bob Denison and modeled by Daniel Tagtow, was selected
3D rendering of the Lingerie Chest
In the July 2009 meeting the decision was made to make the sides from floating panels using walnut or similar dark for the rails and stiles. The sample discussed had a moulding in the opening, like many cabinet doors - although that detail wasn’t discussed, we will assume moulding in the rails and stiles with the option to change when construction begins.
The decision was made to use flat panels as the panels for the sides, probably plywood, veneered with a highly figured maple (birds eye, curly, etc) - in part to learn the veneer techniques.
If the back would be against a wall, a rabbet and simple (plywood) panel would be sufficient for the back, but that was rejected, and a floating panel similar to the sides will be used on the back of the case, to make the final piece of furniture attractive from all sides.
The design includes a divider between each drawer, coming out flush with the front vertical trim pieces. This “web” crossing both front and back, and along the sides also supports the use of a dust panel. The drawer fronts appear to be flush with the dividers and side panels (inset/flush drawer fronts)
Support for the drawers was also discussed in the July meeting. First decision was “wood on wood” - no metal glides. One option is wooden rails on the side of the carcase, sliding in a groove in the side of the drawer. Good choice for small to medium size drawers. Another option is letting the drawers slide on the rails of the dust panel - with the dust panel above each drawer functioning as the kicker. This approach is suitable for moderately heavy drawers. A third option is a center rail to support the middle of the drawer (often used as a supplement to other supports for wide, heavy drawers). Since we already have the dust panels and dividers between the drawers, this option was tentatively chosen.
Choices for side-to-side support, with the drawers resting on the dust panels, are A) pieces glued on the top of the divider below each drawer, and B) the center rail to guide the drawer (whether or not it carries any of the load). This will be discussed further.
The drawer fronts are still under discussion - might be a solid wood with or without a veneer.
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Television personality and noted woodworking author was impressed with our plans, and commented on the project:
