Stop Moving!

 

 Here's a Sack-Back Settee I built a few years ago for my neighbor.  It's ash and maple with a cherry seat.  It has aged beautifuly, the seat is gorgeous.

 This little detail is how I covered the end-grain of the blanket chest that is almost done.  The chest has a drawer at the bottom, to the dovetails don't run all the way down the front.  This shows a bunch of end grain, which honestly I don't mind, but most people like it covered up.  The problem is that if you simply nailed a trim piece on, seasonal movement would break off the piece or, if you glue it on, the side might crack. 

So, dovetails to the rescue.  I milled a small piece of maple into a dovetail, and made a matching piece of cherry with the same profile on the inside --this is the actual trim piece.  The maple piece is screwed on with a little glue.  The trick is to put the inner piece into the trim piece, and have a couple inches sticking out.  Then put in a couple screws with glue, but do it by pairing the screws together.  What you will end up doing is pulling off the cherry trim piece, and screwing as you go.  So you have a long piece screwed to the front, which is what you don't want.  But by cutting 1/2" chunks out from between paired screws and thus the dovetails will hold the trim piece on, and still allow the sides to move.

Then slide the trim piece back on, carefully putting glue on the last couple inches to hold the top on.  Also, trim the bottom about 1/4" short of the bottom to allow the side to expand and contract.  If only wood would stop moving!  Life would be so much easier.  I hope to have this chest done tomorrow, hopefully.  I'll show you how I fixed a mistake on the drawer.

Back at Wintergreen!!  

On June 3rd. I'll be doing another Friday Art Walk at Winter Green Arts in downtown Presque Isle.  This time I'll bring mostly case pieces and few chairs.  Click the link for more info, but I'll probably give a short presentation at about 7:00 or so.