#5 Making the drawers for the gun cabinet.

I'm making the drawer boxes out of Maple. I ripped two boards (6 ft length) to 3 1/2" width and planed to 5/8" thickness. I ran a 1/4" daddo for the bottoms. (They're shown below, leaning against the faceframe).

Once that was done, I cut the pieces to the proper length for the sides, fronts and backs. I then laid the drawers out so I could mark them for dovetailing. Each piece is placed up side down and inside out and marked, so when I dovetail each corner it turns out right. I know that's confusing, but for me that comes natural (another words, it's easy for me to think backwards.) LOL.

See how I marked each corner. I do that so I can keep track of proper alignment for each corner when putting them in the dovetail jig.

I use the Porter Cable Omni Jig to do my dovetails. I leave one of my routers set up with the proper bit all the time to save on set up time. It's very critical to have the bit set exactly perfect to get a good dovetail. (that's why it's worth designating a router just for this function.) This router is left set up for dovetailing and never used for anything else.

Once all the pieces are dovetailed they are ready for assembly. Measure and cut the bottoms and glue the drawers together. I cleaned all the joints with a damp rag to remove any excess glue. I don't have to clamp the drawers, but I do check to make sure they are square and will leave them over night to dry. Tomorrow I will do the final sanding and notch the bottom back for the blum undermount slides I plan on using.

I didn't take any pictures, but when I took the doors off the clamps, I sanded them one more time to make sure all joints are flush. I rabbited the back of the top doors to allow for the glass.

I also ran the profile around the doors and cut the notches for the hinges. I'm using the Youngsdale #6 knife hinge.

Everything will be sanded one more time after the cabinet is assembled. ( actually it will be assembled, then taken apart again to be sanded before finishing).

It won't be long now before I start assembly and that's when all these pieces begin to make more sense. I probably build a little differently then most, but I like to take my time and build all the components before I actually assemble it.