frame & panel, the basic format for joiner's work

a short video showing how I bevel a panel

Over the past week or two I’ve only been working part-time in the shop. Sort of like a working vacation. I started framing my first take on the “dressing” box - or “box with drawers” more like it. The photo below is how far I got - and now I’m going to set it aside for a little while. Mostly while I figure out what’s next on it…

box with drawers framed

I mentioned in a previous post that I’ve already learned a lot about making this thing. This one will be fine, but the next one will be even better. Unlike most 17th-century New England work, this one is not over-built - the stiles are 1 3/8” squares, that middle rail in front and the muntin are only 1” wide. That’s pushing the limits of the material. I still have to figure out how the box-bottom fits/connects inside the case. My notes and photos weren’t thorough enough - which is often the case when I’m studying pieces in a museum. It’s not till I get back to the shop & start working that I realize “Oh, yea, I forgot to check this…or that…” - a friend once said “You don’t know what you don’t know.” How can you argue with that?