Chest of Drawers
Hand-cut dovetails, 45º mitres and 1.20 metres of solid wood you take home. The most demanding project in the workshop.
Six drawers worthy of a cabinetmaker.
A light solid-wood chest with six drawers: three large and three small, separated by a central divider. The carcass is assembled with 45º mitres and Lamello Tenso P connectors, the drawers are joined with hand-cut dovetails and the whole thing rests on a base with template-routed legs.
How you'll build it.
Six stages at the «professional» end of the scale: 5 out of 5. This is where everything a cabinetmaker does by hand comes together.
Cutting list with extra allowance, strips glued up with alternating grain and clamped until cured. Jointer and thicknesser to leave the sides, top and base flat, parallel and to size.
You make a 10 mm MDF template with the exact shape of the leg and use it to rout all four identical pieces, always working with the grain.
Rails cut to final size, joints marked out, domino mortises routed. Glue up, check for square and screw the reinforcements in from below.
Sliding table saw blade tilted to 45º so the top, base and sides close on a clean edge with no end grain showing. The mitres are joined with Lamello Tenso P connectors: two biscuits per edge, no clamps needed.
You mark with a knife, saw to within 2 mm of the line and define the sockets with a chisel and brass mallet. Six drawers joined the way it's been done forever.
Base, panels, central divider, runners, back and top; the two halves joined and the drawers gliding. A good sanding, Rubio Monocoat oil, and home it goes.
What you'll learn.
Hand-cut dovetails
Knife, handsaw, chisel and brass mallet — with prior practice on a test piece, as tradition demands.
45º mitres with Tenso P
A carcass that closes on a clean edge, no end grain showing, assembled with press-fit Lamello connectors.
Template routing
Four identical legs copied from an MDF template, plus dominoes sized to the thickness of each piece.
The result.
Before you even ask.
Do I need a lot of experience?
This is the most demanding project on the scale: difficulty 5 out of 5, which the guide calls «Professional». It's best to arrive with previous workshop projects under your belt. No machine is ever used without its safe technique covered first.
Are the dovetails really cut by hand?
Yes: they're marked with a knife, cut with a handsaw and finished with a chisel and brass mallet. The guide recommends practising on a test piece first.
How long will it take me?
The guide estimates around 20 hours of work, spread over sessions. You come to the workshop at your own pace and nobody rushes you.
Is it safe to work with these machines?
Safety rules the roost: safety glasses and footwear are compulsory, with hearing protection and an FFP2 mask where needed. The guide flags the PPE for each process in red.
Do I take the chest home?
Of course — that's the whole point: you don't leave with notes, you leave with a piece of furniture. Just one thing: it's 1.20 m long and weighs about 56 kg, so give some thought to how you'll get it home.
What does the price include?
Everything you need: the guide, the materials, the tools, the PPE and the workshop time. You bring the hands.
If you need any adaptation to take part comfortably, tell us when you sign up and we'll have it ready.
Llévate solo la guía, en PDF.
La misma guía paso a paso que seguimos en el taller para construir «Chest of Drawers»: planos acotados, despiece, orden de montaje y los trucos de ebanista. Por 15 €, tuya para siempre — bueno, el enlace de descarga dura 30 días, así que no lo dejes criar polvo.
Start whenever you like. The clock doesn't tick until your first day.
Buy "Chest of Drawers" today and come to the workshop when you genuinely can: your access time starts the day of your first QR check-in, not the day you pay. You build with our machines, our wood, and the team close by to lend a hand.
- The wood and all the project materials
- The complete guide in PDF, yours from minute one
- Workshop access: 1 full month or 2 months of half-days — you choose, same price
- The workshop team close by whenever you need them
Interested in this project?
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