Apparently glue alone is not enough to hold the drawers of my tool chest together. Proper cabinet makers don't believe in screws either, not even nice brass ones. The only way to strengthen the joins is to use dowels.
I decided that it would be nice, since they were to be on display, if the dowels were in a contrasting colour to the pale maple of the sides. Mentioning this to my tutor he pointed me in the direction of a supplier I hadn't expected - Cornwall Model Boats.
He was right too. On the website there were several thicknesses of dowel made from walnut (the tree, you can't whittle the nuts in your Christmas bowel) for basically no money. I ordered several lengths and these arrived a couple of days later in a postal tube.
A few minutes on my pillar drill and a bit of hammering and glue later - the drawer sides are now firmly attached to the fronts and the contrasting colour look as nice as expected. Pity about the slightly dodgy joints but the ambition is there and I'll be happy if I can open them and the thing not fall apart.
A daily updated blog typed by someone with painty hands, oil under his fingernails and the smell of solder in his nostrils who likes making all sort of models and miniatures. And fixing things.
Unless you're trying to be witty and rhyme with dowel, I suggest you change the reference to "your Christmas bowel" to "bowl".
ReplyDeleteNo pun intended. In fact, what I wrote sounds more than a little painful...
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