Chests and Cabinets - Fine Woodworking

76 SIDEBOARDS AND CONSOLES

block to fit. When this is done, draw the pat-

tern on the front and saw the front profile,

saving the offcut. Now return to the bench,

hold the block in position again, and trace

the shape of the leg onto the surface of the

block that mates to the leg. To bandsaw this

profile, set the transition block back onto the

offcut and saw, staying^1 ⁄^16 in. from the line.

Glue the two front transition blocks in

place using a rub joint and hold them with

a spring clamp if needed. Use a chisel, rasp,

and scraper to shape the blocks. The side

transition blocks are attached and shaped in

the same way, but are installed after the case

has been glued up.

the dovetailed vertical partitions. Finally,

bandsaw out the shape of the front apron and

clean up the profile.

Transition blocks

marry legs to case

Start building the case by gluing up the back

and front assemblies separately. The legs

transition into the case with blocks that are

glued on and shaped to match the curved

profile. It’s much easier to apply and shape

the two blocks on the front apron now than

when the case is fully glued up.

Begin by holding each block in position

to see whether it is flat against the apron and

the back of the knee. If needed, plane the

Glue up the front and back.

Apply yellow glue to both

mortises and tenons. Once

each assembly is in clamps,

lay a straightedge across both

post blocks to make sure they

don’t twist out of square. On

the front assembly, check

the diagonal dimensions and

adjust the clamps to bring it

into square. Glue the partitions

in place after the front

assembly has dried.