The Mar/Apr 1996 issue of FWW has the first part of a 3 part article
on building a cherry highboy. On page 81 of this article, it shows
an “exploded” view of the lower case. There are 3 rails on the front part. The 2 top rails are shown as 2 piece rails…a front rail and an
interior rail.
Wanted to know why this needs to be 2 pieces? Couldn’t these 2 rails
be one piece rails?
Jim
Mt Juliet
Replies
Here is a screen capture of the exploded view
that I referred to in my message.
The inner part of the rail is probably made with a secondary wood, like the rest of the webbing, it just got colored wrong on the drawing. It saves a few dollars of the expensive stuff. You can make them in one piece if you want.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I believe O'Donnell used quarter sawn stock for the rails, so they would have face grain on the edge, which would make the two piece rail unnecessary. If on the other hand you use flat sawn stock, you have to have two piece rails to get the necessary width. When I do this, I use the primary wood for the front and a secondary wood for the rear part.
Rob Millard
http://www.americanfederalperiod.com
weather,
No need to make them two pieces, nor to have the one that's behind the lower apron, either. And while you are at it, you can eliminate those back rails if you want to, and extend the tenons on the drawer bearers right thru the backboard (or butt them to the backboard, and nail thru it into their ends). That's not as elegant a construction method, but more authentic (if that is an issue for you). I've never seen an old piece with all that interior framing.
Ray
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