BUILDING AND FITTING A CLASSIC DRAWER
A Master-class with David Haig
“I was shown how to make and fit a drawer by Alan Peters when he visited New Zealand on an Arts Council sponsored trip in 1984.
He was a highly renowned British designer/cabinetmaker who had trained with the Barnsleys in the 1950s, and so was the inheritor of the very finest traditions of the Arts and Crafts movement. (Funnily enough his workshop was close to the village of Cullompton in Devonshire, which is where my family lived for several years when I was a boy. I caught my fist trout in the river Culm!)
It actually took me years to fully comprehend what he had shown us in the three or four day workshop he gave. I have gradually understood what and why he set the process out as he did, and it has given me the confidence to tackle any drawer-making, and perhaps more particularly, fitting them so they slide beautifully in a carcase, whatever the outline of the drawer front may be.
So, in this six day class, we will firstly build a simple mitred and splined Baltic Birch ply carcase to a set size. I will then take students through the various stages required to properly cut and size all the drawer parts prior to fitting them together. For this I will among other things demonstrate how to use a shooting board properly.
We will cut half-blind dovetails at the front, and I’ll explain my method and rationale for fitting the backs, preparing the drawer bottoms and fitting them using drawer slips, which are elegant and practical.
After the drawer is glued, I will then show how to plane in and fit the drawers to the carcase opening with perfect accuracy. If all previous stages have been properly followed, this is a wonderful and deeply satisfying process. I’ll then show how to make and fit drawer stops, and if time permits ,will look at ways of approaching drawer handles and pulls.
The course will require competency with sharpening skills, and a good working familiarity with the hand-plane, saw and chisels. It is not designed as a class to learn dovetailing from scratch , but will be a great opportunity to practise them anyway…and don’t we all need that!”
Course Dates
19th - 24th April 2020
Course Fee
$1500 including materials