I am currently building a tall chest with lipped drawer fronts. Since the drawer fronts are lipped, it is difficult to make much progress cutting dovetails with a saw without significantly tilting the saw and sawing past the baseline and into the back of the drawer front. I am wrestling with whether or not I want to do this.
The pragmatic side of me says that I should saw past the baseline and into the drawer backs. The alternative to cutting past the baseline involves quite a bit of additional work with a chisel and a mallet. However, the aesthetic side of me (my wife) says don't do it to keep the inside of the drawers looking pristine.
Was sawing past the baseline truly as common a practice as I have heard? Was it something that was universally accepted and practiced by everyone? Or are there certain craftsmen who refused to do this to maintain a clean look on the inside of the drawer? For those of you that have examined a lot of antique furniture I am hoping that you can further enlighten me.
I know that in situations like this I should probably listen to my wife. However, she also does some woodworking from time to time and should be willing to listen to reason - especially if it is backed up by tradition. I can tell her it is an important period detail. Besides, once the piece is built we are unlikely to carefully examine the inside of the drawers. However, if this was not as common a practice as I understand it to be then I am willing to go the massochistic route.
-Phil
The pragmatic side of me says that I should saw past the baseline and into the drawer backs. The alternative to cutting past the baseline involves quite a bit of additional work with a chisel and a mallet. However, the aesthetic side of me (my wife) says don't do it to keep the inside of the drawers looking pristine.
Was sawing past the baseline truly as common a practice as I have heard? Was it something that was universally accepted and practiced by everyone? Or are there certain craftsmen who refused to do this to maintain a clean look on the inside of the drawer? For those of you that have examined a lot of antique furniture I am hoping that you can further enlighten me.
I know that in situations like this I should probably listen to my wife. However, she also does some woodworking from time to time and should be willing to listen to reason - especially if it is backed up by tradition. I can tell her it is an important period detail. Besides, once the piece is built we are unlikely to carefully examine the inside of the drawers. However, if this was not as common a practice as I understand it to be then I am willing to go the massochistic route.
-Phil