Newport Lowboy/Highboy drawer

[wallysandcrab]

In a Newport lowboy/highboy that I'm building, I'm using only a single runner (in the center) for the bottom two outboard draws.  I believe this is period correct.  Does anyone know what part of the drawer rubs on the runner?  Is it the bottom, or a strip applied to the bottom, or something else?

I'm thinking I'll make the drawer back full height (these I normally cut short to slide the bottom board in after assembly) and use the bottom edge of the draw back as the contact member.

Thanks,

Johnny

 

[ChuckH]

Johnny,
I wonder if this style of runner would have been used when the drawer bottom was simply nailed to the bottom of the drawer sides and back.  Otherwise, the drawer wouldn't have much bearing surface with the drawer sides riding on the front skirt and only the drawer back riding on the runner.

-Chuck

 

[rchampagne]

Johnny,
On the Townsend highboy I made, the three small drawers in the lower case all run on center runners.  The bottoms of those drawers are just nailed on flush to the sides and into a rabbet in the front, so the drawer rides right on the bottom.  The center rail is attached to the skirt with a dovetail.  I could dig up some pics if you need them. 
Rob

 

[wallysandcrab]

I don't make drawer bottoms the Newport way.  Just can't bring myself to do it.  On the left is how I did the single runner type drawer; it works quite well.  On the right is how I normally do drawer bottoms.  The drawer on the right is also for a single center runner, but I forgot to do it right when I built it.  I'll just attach a small shim to the bottom board to make up the clearance between the ruler and the bottom.

JD

 

[wallysandcrab]

This shows the runners in the lower case.  Rabbeted into the apron and tenoned through the back board.

 

[wallysandcrab]

I'm getting there.  Only six more draws to dovetail and I'm running out of wide boards.

Notice anything fishy?

JD

 

[maskws]

No flutes?
Mas

 

[wallysandcrab]

M:
You're definitely in the right neighborhood, but a piece like this shouldn't have quarter columns at all.  No Newport flat top highboy that I've ever seen, and that's all I can find, ever had them.  In fact, in all my literature and internet searches, I've only ever seen one flat-top with columns, and that was a typical oddball Connecticut piece.

I did it because when I broke down my boards and rough cut the parts I was planning  a fancy full-blown Newport highboy with columns.  That was a year ago, and then I changed my mind and decided to do this much simpler flat-top.  When I got to the upper carcase I realized the boards weren't wide enough.  Doh!  So I could either cut new sides, glue up for width or add quarter columns.  No way I'm cutting up more wide boards to fix a mistake, I don't have that much mahogany laying around.

Design-wise I think the columns help a bit; some of the flat-tops look fat in the waist, and the ends of the upper draws lay outboard of the draw ends in the lowboy part, which looks wrong.  So I tried to make a virtue out of a mistake.

What would you guys have done?

JD

 

[rchampagne]

JD, I understand your predjudice againt nailing boards to the bottom of the drawers.  I did mine the Newport way, even with the grain running front to back, as your pictures of the chest on chest you measured indicated.  The bottoms of the wide drawers in the upper case move a ton, but the smaller drawers in the lower case don't move much at all.  Running the bottms side to side would eliminate that issue, obviously. 

Regarding the quarter columns, they are a bit out of place on a QA slipper foot case piece.  But 99% of the people in the world will have no clue!  As long as you like it, that is what counts.  Nice looking piece--
Rob

 

[albreed]

JD- Some of the Newport highboys have runners on both sides of the lower draws. So just do it any way you like. I'm not crazy about single-runners-Al