Well (yawn..) after a good night's sleep, might try to write up this story.   Took about three hours of shop time last night, hope it don't take that long to write it up ( or read)

 

Flipped the drawer assembly over last night.  Had a high spot to plane away.

Then marked each part as "bottom".   That way, I can avoid the next step being in the wrong place.....kind of hard to Dutchman a groove. Had to set up the router table, with a fence.   Plough plane is still in exile, so a 1/4" straight cutting bit will do the job. Ran some scrap across it to check the settings

Found an issue with the large gap in the fence, will work around that.  Ran the grooves for the drawer bottom in each piece, and set the parts back together.   Needed to size the back of the drawer.  Crosscut for length, ripped to the right height to allow the bottom to go past.  Was going to do a dado for the back to be housed in, but, breakouts were occurring.   heck with it, make it a rebate instead.  Cleaned the mess up with a chisel and a blockplane, and had a test fit

Now, used to be, I had issues with drawer grooves not lining up.  This time around..

I got lucky.  Now, this drawer needed a back.   Did not have any 1/4" plywood in the entire house!   I did have a piece of 1/2" stuff that was about the right width.  Crosscut for the other direction.  Hmmm have 1/4" grooves, but 1/2" thick plywood....time for the #78 rebate plane, again. Laid out the plywood on the bench, clamped down so it won't move.  The 78 will do plywood, just takes a bit more OOMPH behind the plane.  Checked the rebate in a groove

For a snug fit.  Bottom of the side is flush with the drawer bottom.  Shakers used a solid wood bottom, also 1/2" thick.  Then they beveled the edges to fit in the grooved sides. Time to put the drawer together, with screws, and glue. 

With a couple clamps to hold the dovetailed corners tight.  A look at the underside

Guess I got the correct side of the plywood...up. 

Ok, time to brew up some Witch's Brew!

 

1 part Golden Pecan stain, 1 part dark Walnut stain, 2 parts Smelly BLO.  Brushed on like is was paint,  let sit for a bit, and wipe down.  First coat is on, including the drawer front

And you know what?  Faith and Begorrah, the drawer works as designed!

Opened way out, and still does not tip down! 

 

Might head down and add a second coat later today.   Might even write down the sizes of this little table.   Remember, this started out as just "whitewood" from Lowes, about $23 worth.  Cheap table?

 

Forgot a couple items.   Drawer rides on a pair on wooden guides.   Just a couple 1x2s cut to length to fit between the legs inside the case.  held level with the front bottom rail.  These also have another piece, glued and screwed to guide the side of the drawer.   Then the "L" shaped guide is glued and screwed to the inside of the sides.

But, there was a problem.  Side guides were too thick, by at least 1/4"....hmmm.  Raised the router bit, reset the fence a bit. Run the guide along, removing the offending excess wood. Re-install the "NEW guides

You can see a wavy effect along the guide?   Issues with the single flute router bit.  Think a long series of plunge cuts, then a single shove along the fence.   Glue and screws to attach this....hmm, drywall screws, the only sizes I have in the shop, were 1-5/8" long.  Needed to be 3/4" max.   Fired up the grinder, grabbed a screw with a pair of pliers, screw was quickly shortened to maybe 3/4" long, even remade the pointy tip. Screws won't start, though.   Get a un-shortened screw, make a pilot hole, and drive the NEW ones home.  All the while the glue is setting up.   Pair of Visegrip finger clamps to hold it in place.  Works for me.

 

While the rip cuts were with the old Craftsman Circular saw, the crosscuts were done with a saw that was just as old as the Craftsman...1953

a Disston D-8 ,  8ppi crosscut saw, with a good etch on it.  Tried the knife wall trick for the crosscut..

But it really wasn't needed.  It was needed on the rip cut, though. 

 

Working in the shop, dealing with what ever problems that come up. 

After the rip cut to size the drawer's back board, it needed a bit of plane work.  Saw marks on one edge, and a round-over on the other.  Since I had left the line, I could then plane both edges smooth, and flat.  Used a Scioto Works #81 for this job..

Nice shavings, almost full length and width, mean this edge is about done. 

 

And to think, Norm Abram can do this in half an hour???

 

You leave "Norm" in the dust!!

 

As you were building this, it reminded me of a little table I use for my printer-

 

 

It came from my grandmother's mother's home when my grandmother got married. My Mom will be 90 in November and she was the youngest of 5 kids. The little table is pretty old.

Nice job Steve. Awesome craftsmanship. Well documented also.

Looks like a keeper Steve.  Is it mama's or is it up for sale?

I'm keeping this one as a bedside table, on MY side of the bed.    The Boss mentioned a family in her church group that might need some furniture like objects, since their house was burned down a while back......