Joinery

As a newbie to woodworking in 2001, the first in my extensive library of how-to books was an instructional guide to joinery. Looking back, it was the main ingredient in creating a love affair in working with wood.

The idea of designing, planning, laying out and executing the joints was fascinating to learn.

Joinery is an incredibly detailed and precision-based practice that when performed well, will not only add beauty to the work, but it's main purpose is to join two or more parts together and allow them to become stronger than they ever were individually.

This applies to more than just woodworking...

So, we are here, at the first major joinery stage of your project. The drawer box joints.

There are many tools and utilities used to create these joints. I've chosen a routing jig that allows me to create the joints exactly as I want. There's a lot of setup and trial and error to get them just right, but once it's in place, it allows me to cut and snugly fit the hundreds of box joints needed for the task at hand.

After many hours and days, this step is now complete. The joints are cut and dry-fit(no glue yet), next will be to glue up the 31 drawers and watch the integration of the joinery come to life.

So satisfying...

I often say that woodworking is really just the skillful art of removing material.

Or, as a close colleague of mine always says 'I make sawdust for a living and sell what's leftover'...

Lastly, in a time of gratitude, I'm grateful to be a part of this project with all of you.

Have a great Thanksgiving. Needless to say, the joining together with family and friends makes us all stronger....

Til next time....