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With the curves cut in all of the legs, you can begin work on the drawer and its support structure within the base.

• Make the drawer dividers first. Cut the divider stock from 3/4-inch maple stock that is ripped 3-3/4 inches wide. Cut the stock to length at the table saw.

• Mortise-and-loose-tenon joinery will again be used to attach the drawer dividers to the apron. Lay out the position of the mortises on the front and back apron stock (figure E) and the dividers.

• Lay out the mortises precisely so that the dividers are perpendicular and flush with the sides of the drawer opening and the tops of the rabbets (figure F).

• Use the multi-router to batch-cut the mortises in the aprons (figure G) and the ends of the dividers.

• Mill tenons of maple that are 1/4-inch thick, 3 inches wide and 1 inch long. The base is glued up all at once. To provide ample work time, use slow-setting resin glue.

• Apply glue to all of the mortises in the legs (figure H), aprons and drawer dividers. Also apply glue to the tenons.
  
• Assemble and glue-up the desk upside-down so that gravity works in your favor. Once the desk pieces are assembled, use a band-clamp to bring the joints together (figure I).

• Once the band-clamp has been tightened in place, turn the desk upright, check it for square and add bar-clamps to bring the joints in tight (figure J).

  Figure I

  Figure J

  
  

  	Figure K
  	Figure L
  	Figure M
  	Figure N
  	Figure O
  	Figure P

• With the assembly clamped securely, add two strips of wood (called runners) to the bottom of the dividers (figure K). The runners will help support the bottom of the drawer and will act as a track for it to ride upon. Attach the runners using yellow wood glue. Since the pieces are glued long-grain-to-long-grain, no additional fasteners are needed.

• As seen on the prototype (figure L), the drawer is constructed as follows: The back and sides are constructed of maple while the bottom is made from 1/4-inch plywood. The face is made from the cherry stock that was cut earlier from the apron stock. It will need to be re-sawn from 1-1/2 inches to 3/4 inches thick. Reinforced rabbets are used to join the front and back to the side-pieces. Brass pins are used to provide the reinforcement and to add a decorative touch.

• After jointing and planing the maple drawer-stock, cut it to size at the table saw.

• At the band-saw, re-saw the drawer face to its proper thickness of 3/4-inches (figure M).

• Joint the face of the stock flat, then run it through the planer to get the opposing side parallel.

• At the table-saw, make the rabbets only at the front and back of the drawer. Make the rabbets by first cutting a kerf in the end of the stock, then adjusting the fence and lowering the blade to complete the rabbet -- creating a rabbet that is 1/2-inch by 3/8-inch (figure N).

• To hold the bottom-panel, cut a through dado in the bottom of all of the drawer stock (figure O). Cut the dado in two passes.

• After making the second pass, with the fence at the same setting, raise the blade and rip the drawer-back to allow the bottom panel to slide into place.

• With the drawer-frame dry-fit and clamped together, take the measurements for the exact dimensions of the bottom panel (figure P).

• Cut the maple-plywood to the proper dimension at the table-saw using the cross-cut sled.

• The glue-up for the drawer is an easy one. Simply brush glue into the rabbets and assemble the pieces. No glue is needed for the bottom panel. (It will be secured later with screws.)

• Make sure that the drawer is clamped securely and square to allow the glue to dry.

In the segment that follows, the zebra-wood top is made and added to the desk.

RESOURCES :

Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456

David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com

Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com