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Premium Plan

In this plan you’ll find:

• Step-by-step constructioninstruction.• A complete bill of materials.• Construction drawings andrelated photos.• Tips to help you completethe project and become abetter woodworker.

Standing LaptopDesk

These plans are best viewed with Adobe Reader installed on your computer. If you want to get a free copy, visit:http://adobe.com/reader.

Copyright Woodworker’s Journal © 2015 www.woodworkersjournal.com WJ176

Woodworker’s Journal

A Standing Laptop Desk

This “stand up” desk is the final piece you make in the Way to WoodworkDVD series. The program is my solution to bringing together two differentapproaches to learning the craft of furniture making.

I’ll call one “the European method.” Here, the student is left in no doubt that heor she is a novice and the teaching focuses on techniques and practicing them.

Enough practice and enough technique will, in the end, add upto achieving the skill set needed to make a piece of furniture. The

other approach is the “American method.” Here, the neophytearrives in the shop and explains the desire to build, “this simple12-drawer chest-on-chest with a serpentine bow front of fiddleback

maple.” Both narratives are, of course, allegorical — but you getthe point. Each has merit, but how to combine them?

My answer is to begin with a simple piece of workwhich you will carry out of the shop that embodiesan essential technique. The second simple pieceintroduces a second essential technique, but it

includes what was learned in the first piece. The thirdintroduces another technique, but includes what waslearned in making one and two ... and so it goes on.

The desk, the final piece in the program, is designed toinclude a drawer. Because making the drawer is the focus,everything else is contrived to get you to that step with aslittle fuss as possible. The top does have a little flourish init, but the legs are straight and square in section. The railsare rectangular in section and of two different widths. Theyare positioned with deliberate attention to the spacesbetween and are offset so that joining is simplified.

The drawer is made using the classic method of solid-wood handmade drawermaking. It represents the furnituremaker’s craft at its best. There are over 30 steps involvedin its making and assembly. It contains, arguably, moremethodological and technical challenges than any otherpiece of furniture making.

The TopThe relief strip of curly maple in the top serves two purposes.It brings a wood grain interest into an otherwise purposefullychosen quartersawn, straight grained, undistinguished pieceof mahogany. As well, its white color brings a surprisingmeasure of lightness into the composition of the whole.There are alternative ways to plane the butt joints. Probably,the best way is to plane the joint by clamping the piecestogether. First, clamp a piece of mahogany on edge in thevise and then clamp the maple to it using small “C” clamps;then shoot the combined edges in the normal way usingan 07 plane.

The perfect height to use standing with a laptopcomputer, the case and legs are a snap to build.The drawer ... well, that’s a different story!

By Ian Kirby

216.044-051 P4 Laptop Desk_Project copy 9/25/12 12:32 PM Page 44


The Desk FrameThe legs and rails of the desk wouldtypically be put together using mortise-and-tenon joints. I used loose tenons,part of the Festool Domino system. Aloose tenon is an excellent alternate formof a mortise-and-tenon. Instead of a pegfashioned on one piece (the tenon), whichgoes into a mating hole (the mortise), aslot is cut into both pieces and a thirdpiece, the loose tenon, is made to fit thecombined slots. This joint is outside thereach of normal bench hand tools. Whatis required to make the slots is a fast-

spinning bit machined to side cut in longgrain and end grain, leaving smooth par-allel faces and ends.

If you read these pages regularly, I’msure you are familiar with the FestoolDomino machine. I’ve used it a great dealbut never written about it. To put it in anutshell, the tool is transformational —bringing about a sea change for furnituremakers. What Festool has done is makea hand tool that, when you plunge it intothe workpiece, it machines a perfect slotfor a loose tenon. As well, they make theloose tenons (“Dominos”). They aremade in various sizes to mate with cutterdiameters, from European beech, astrong, stable wood that glues well. Thedimension of the Domino is imprintedinto the beech, and the edges are reededto fit the rounded ends of the slot andallow excess glue to escape.

Using the tool is largely intuitive.Setting the horizontal fence to positionthe cut and the stop to limit the depth ofplunge are straightforward. Marking thejoint is best done by squaring a clean,sharp pencil line on the joint center point

on both workpieces. The horizontalfence is designed so that you can easilysee the center line and position the toolright on it. Whatever you do, clamp theworkpiece to the bench. In this way, youcan hold the tool firmly in place to feelthe contact of the vertical and horizontalfences. This setup provides all the stabilityneeded as you plunge the cutter to makea clean, accurate slot.

The layout of the rails on the leg is well-shown on the Drawings on page 4. If you begin by laying out one of the side subassemblies on your workbench — a

front and back leg and the three rails —you will quickly see the simplicity of thestructure. Go ahead and cut mortises forthe rails as shown in the photo below.After a proper test fit, glue and clampeach side subassembly together. Thissequence makes it easy to then join thetwo side subassemblies with the remainingrails. If you are using aDomino machine, you willneed to adjust the fence toaccommodate the differencebetween thicknesses of thelegs and rails.

With that done, glue inplace the top ledgers andthe drawer guides.

The three pieces that compose the topare glued together at once. Blocks areused to prevent the clamp heads fromcrushing the soft mahogany.

The DrawerMore than once I’ve written and illustrat-ed the “how to” of making a handmadedrawer — come to think of it, I evenmade a video of the process. Many timesI’ve taught it in the workshop, but it’staken me till now to write down the roadmap of the work.

For those woodworkers who reverehand tools and their use, a handmadedrawer is the “pièce de résistance” (thebest item) of hand tool furniture making.Very soon it may be your “raison d’être”(reason for existence — purpose orcause) as machines take over everyother facet of small-shop furnituremaking. These French expressions,rather than a string of superlatives,make the point that a handmade draweris unique in the craft of furniture making.

If the Festool Dominomachine wobbles as you

make a cut, it can’t beaccurate. Clamp the

workpiece securely andposition yourself so thatbody strength as well as

arm strength hold themachine steady.

“For those woodworkers who revere hand tools and theiruse, a handmade drawer is the “pièce de résistance.””


December 2012 Woodworker’s Journal46

T x W x L1 Outer Top (2) 5/8" x 85⁄8" x 197⁄8"2 Top Center (1) 5/8" x 1" x 197⁄8"3 Legs (4) 11⁄8" x 11⁄8" x 391⁄4"4 Side Aprons (2) 3/4" x 5" x 143⁄4"5 Back Apron (1) 3/4" x 5" x 113⁄4"6 Front and Back Stretchers (6) 5/8" x 11⁄2" x 113⁄4"7 Narrow Side Stretchers (2) 5/8" x 2" x 143⁄4"8 Wide Side Stretchers (2) 5/8" x 33⁄4" x 143⁄4"9 Drawer Guides (4) 5/8" x 3/4" x 151⁄4"

10 Ledgers (2) 3/4" x 3/4" x 113⁄4"11 Shelf (1) 5/8" x 135⁄8" x 14"12 Shelf Supports (2) 3/4" x 3/4" x 5"13 Dominos (36) 8mm x 40mmDrawer14 Front (1) 5/8" x 27⁄8" x 113⁄4"15 Sides (2) 3/8" x 27⁄8" x 153⁄16"16 Slips (2) 1/2" x 1/2" x 15"17 Back (1) 3/8" x 27⁄8" x 113⁄4"18 Bottom (1) 1/4" x 103⁄8" 1519 Drawer Pull (1) 5/8" Brass

MATERIAL LIST

1 1 1 1

4

4

5

6

6

7

88

57/8"

81/2"

153/4"173/4" 173/4"

7"7"

3/8" 3/8"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

1/2"

6 6

66

7

Back Leg(Front View)

Front Leg(Back View)

Front Leg(Inside View)

Back Leg(Inside View)

1

1

10

2

3

3

3

3

4

4

5

6 6

6

6

6

7

7

8

8

9

11

12

13

13

13

Exploded View

(Front View)

(Inside View)

(Inside View)

Front Front

(Back View)

4

9

9

27/8"

Back Leg

Front Leg

DrawerRunners(Front View)

NOTE: All ofthe Dominos arecentered on the

ends of theaprons andstretchers

(pieces 4 - 8).

216.044-051 P4 Laptop Desk_Project copy 10/4/12 10:21 AM 6


In use, the auditory and tactile experi-ence of opening and closing the drawerconfirms that singularity.

The road map doesn’t tell you how todo the work. It tells you the steps and inwhat order to make them. Knowing thesteps allows you to do some preparation.I’m bound to say that if you decide tomake this drawer without practicing someof its parts, the end result is likely tocome with a good deal of defensiveexcuses. A good practice, for instance,would be to join four pieces — a front,sides and back — without fitting thoseparts to a case and with no intention ofmaking a bottom.

Making and Fitting the PartsEven with only four parts, keeping track of what goes where is impossible without a marking system. This system uses fewer marks than any I’ve seen. The four marks you see on the illustration on page 6 are all you need to keep order, except to know that the face side marks go inside and down and the quadrant marks meet. Precisely fitted drawers begin by taking the time to fit all four parts to the case opening before you

join them. With that said, let’s move on to the first of the steps.

1. Fit the front: Plane one end of thefront to fit the case. Check the fit byoffering the front at an angle: the goal isan exact reflection of the opening.Crosscut the other end as close as youcan and plane it to fit the opening. Go toofar and the front will be too short. A pru-dent approach is to take a shaving off theinside edges, so the wood has a minutetaper toward the inside — that is, the faceside. Assuming the case has straight sides,the front now fits on three sides. Leavethe top edge proud by 1/16". 2. Fit the back: Fit the ends of the backin the opening, just like the front. To dothis, the bottom edge should sit on thebottom of the case with about a 7/8" gapat the top. Make sure the face side islooking at you as you fit the back becausethat’s how it goes in the case. 3. Fit the sides: Square the ends andcut to length. Plane the top edge untilthe side is a push-fit that enters halfwayor better. To check that you are planingparallel, turn the side around and enterthe front end first: it should slide withthe same push-fit.4. Clean up the inside faces: Plane millmarks from the inside faces before youlay out the dovetails. Mill marks must beremoved in preparation for polishinglater; the outside faces don’t get polished.

Although all steps are critical, this onemay not be obviously so. If you plane theinside of the pin pieces — that is, thedrawer front and back — after you’ve cut

Sides and Back,quartersawn,

3/8" thick.

Through

dovetail

Bottom:Quartersawn,

1/4" thick. Slides in

under bottom edge of

back. Grain runs side

to side so expansion

is to rear of drawer.

Drawer Slip tenon

fits into drawer front

groove. Slips allow

sides to be thin

material and increase

bearing surface.

Anatomy of aHandmade Drawer

14

15

15

16

17

1819

Note: The tongues on bottom edge of longsides fit into drawer slip groove. Tongue ontop edge of bottom fits into front groove.

Front,quartersawn,

5/8" thick.Single-lap dovetail

Front

SlipBottom

Road Map to aHandmade Drawer

Preparation:Front and Back: Plane the ends and bottomedges to a tight fit in the case opening. Leavethe top edge of the front 1/32" proud. Plane themachine marks off the inside faces.Sides: Plane the width to be a push fit in thecase. Square the ends and make the samelength. Plane the machine marks off the insidefaces.

Joints:Front: Mark and cut the single-lap dovetail tojoin the front and the sides. Groove the front toaccept the bottom. Back: Mark and cut the through dovetail whichis positioned as a result of the groove in thefront piece.

Finish Insides and Glue Joints:Wax and polish the inside faces, leaving barethe area where the drawer slips go. Glue andclamp the joints.

Bottom:Drawer Slips: Make and attach slips to drawersides.Bottom: Make necessary butt joints andthickness to 1/4" thick.First Rabbet: Plane one edge of the bottomstraight. Mark and cut the rabbet to fit thedrawer slip groove. Tongue goes on the bottomface.Second Rabbet: Insert first rabbet into thedrawer slip and knife the shoulder of the secondrabbet. Cut bottom to width and make rabbet.Tongue goes on the bottom face. Slide thebottom in place. Plane the front edge to beparallel to the drawer front.Third Rabbet: Rabbet the front edge. Tonguegoes on the top face.Back Edge: Plane the back edge to 1/4" overhang.

Fit the Drawer:Bottom Edges: Plane the drawer slips flush tothe bottoms of the sides. Sides: Plane the sides to meet the end grain of thedovetail joints and fit the drawer to the case.Front: Plane the top edge to fit the case.

Drawer Stop:Make and fit the drawer stop.Plane the drawer face parallel to the edges ofthe case.

Last Touch:The sides and bottom edges on a handmadedrawer are not sanded or polished. They arerubbed lightly with paraffin wax, then buffed asthough to wipe off all traces of the wax.



the joints, they become smaller andtherefore loose.

Jointing the PartsA handmade drawer demonstrates the logic of initially making the joints with the end grain of the pins left below the long grain surface of the sides (see inset photo on page 7). You make the front and back of the drawer to fit the drawer opening, then you make the sides so they’re proud of the end grain. In short, the drawer is too big for the opening. But once you plane the sides down to the end grain of the front and back — which act as precise signposts — the drawer fits perfectly!

5. Mark out and cut the single-lapdovetail front joints: Setting 1. Setyour cutting gauge less than the thicknessof the side by about 1/32". This is theamount by which the tails will sit proudof the pins. Knife this setting on the faceside of the drawer front. Setting 2. Thesecond gauge setting determines the lengthof the tails and, at the same time, thethickness of the end wall. Knife down theend grain of the drawer front and knife

around the end of thedrawer sides. Lay outthe tail piece as per thedrawing. Cut the tails asif you were making athrough dovetail.

Mark the pins fromthe tails by clamping thepin piece in the viseso that it protrudesabout 1/8". See theinset photo on page7. Position the tailpiece to the lap gauge line and align thebottom edges flush. Mark the tails as fora through joint.

Sawing the pins introduces a new tech-nique. Start the cut on the corner nearestyou. Saw across the end grain to establishthe correct line, then saw down the verti-cal line. Avoid wandering in the first lineto prevent ragging out the kerf. Next, chopout the waste with a chisel and mallet.This is one of the rare woodworking pro-cedures best done sitting down. I use asawhorse. Lay the drawer front on thebench and, using the widest chisel thatwill fit between the saw kerfs, begin to

chop by positioning the chisel abouthalfway down the joint. The first piecewill come flying out. Make two or threemore chops towards the knife line, butkeep off the line by about 1/16".

Next, clamp the drawer front uprightin the vise and, slice by slice, cut downvertically with gentle mallet blows. Withthe bulk of the waste removed, pare tothe knife lines by hand.

You can’t remove the waste from thecorners until the end grain fibers havebeen severed. Do this on each side witha skew chisel — 1/4" chisels ground andsharpened to the angle of the tail. Now,

Side elevation Back elevation

See Materials List on page 46 for list of parts and sizes.

DRAWER DETAILSThese dimensions make forelegant-looking and refinedfront and back joints. Thehidden detail, the shapedescribed with broken lines,shows the groove. Thegroove in the front acceptsthe tongue of the rabbet onthe drawer bottom, which isaligned with the lower edgeof the back.

This is the second end. Here I’ve tilted thedrawer front to better establish the knife linewhich fits the opening.

To fit the sides, plane the edge to be a tightpush fit. Check that the edges are square asyou work.

Fitting the back is the same as the front buteasier, because you can enter the wholepiece.

Once you have chosen the four pieces, and before you prepare them tosize, to keep order each piece has one mark, as shown. The quadrantmarks meet and go down; the face side marks go inside and down.



by judicious paring, you can clean outthe corner waste.

Assemble the two parts using a ham-mer. With a hammer, you can direct theblows and easily tell which, if any, tail istoo tight. By comparison, a mallet willdamage the surface of the joint. The sur-face which is sitting above the end grainis what will later be planed off to makethe drawer fit.6. Cut the groove in the front forthe drawer bottom: The groove is easi-est cut on a table saw using a 1/8" kerf

blade. It goes through a tail socket soit’s not visible on the side of the drawer.Leave 3/8" below the 1/8" groove.7. Locate the back joints: The topedge of the groove is the line of the bot-tom edge of the back. Set a markinggauge to the top edge of the groove andgauge the back end of the sides to indi-cate the first pin in laying out the backjoint.8. Mark out and cut the throughdovetail back joints: The bottom pinsocket on the back is dovetailed on one

Cutting the tails for a single-lap dovetail

is the same as cuttingthe tails for a throughdovetail. After cutting

the tail slopes with a dovetail saw,

remove the bulk of thewaste with a coping

saw. Your next step isto clean up to the

lines by vertical andhorizontal paring.

Use the tails to mark the pins by positioningtheir ends up to the lap gauge line.

After you’ve completed step 5, trial-fit thejoint. Note the drawer side stands proud of

the ends of the pins (inset).

Front

Setting 2:

2 lines

Setting 1:

1 line

MARKING OUT ANDCUTTING THE JOINTSThe single-lap joint on the drawerfront is marked out by two gaugesettings and three gauge lines. Thefirst setting (1/32" less than thethickness of the side) determineshow far the tails stand proud ofthe pins. The second settingdetermines the length of the tailsand, at the same time, thethickness of the end wall.

Side

edge only. Thisavoids unnec-essary fussingwith measure-ments to posi-tion the back sothat the bottomcan slide pastit. Take your measurements from thedrawing and cut the through dovetailjoints.9. Radius top edge of the back: Usea plane to gently curve the edge of the

After cutting with a dovetail saw, lay the fronton your bench and begin chopping out the wasteacross the grain.

Next, clamp the drawer front in the vise andcontinue chopping out the waste down thegrain.

The corner waste is removed by first severingthe end grain with a pair of purpose-made 1/4"skew chisels.


back. You may wish to finger gauge pen-cil lines down each side 1/16" from theedge as a guide and another down thecenter of the edge — this line comes offlast. Getting a symmetrical curve in thismanner is a nice exercise in planecraft.

Polishing and Gluing the PartsFor me, “polish” means apply shellacand wax — the traditional Arts andCrafts finish.10. Polish the inside faces: Be carefulnot to get any wax on the joints or thelower surfaces where the drawer slip getsglued. 11. Glue up the joints: Using ashaped wooden paddle, wet all the matingsurfaces with glue, but do so sparingly tominimize squeeze-out. Assemble theparts, tap the tails down with a hammer,then close each set of tails one by one by

nipping with a bar clamp.Clamping blocks are

unnecessary becausethe faces of the

sides stand proud

of the ends of the pins. If the joints are astight as they should be, there’s no need toleave the work in clamps.12. Check for accuracy: Measure thediagonals to check for square. Sightacross the sides to check for twist.Correct any inaccuracies by pushing ortwisting the four parts.13. Edge clamp the front joint:Because the two outer lines on the frontjoint are not trapped like the inner gluelines, the glue tends to push the jointopen at these interfaces. Close the jointtight with pressure from a small clamp.

Making and Gluing theDrawer SlipDrawer slips add an elegantlyfunctional detail to a hand-made drawer. Other designsexist, but only this one leavesa square corner. 14. Make the drawer slips:Cut the slips from the same

quartersawn material

as the drawer sides. Saw the groove ineach slip on the table saw before sawingthe slip to width — about 1/16" widerthan need be. Make an extra piece tocheck the fit of the tongues which youwill make on the drawer bottom. 15. Clean up the slips: Plane off themill marks on the grooved face and thetop edge that will be visible from insidethe finished drawer.16. Make the front joint: The slip isheld in the groove in the drawer front bya tongue, which amounts to a bare-facedmortise and tenon. Mark the shoulderwith knife and try square, cut it with adovetail saw, and clean up with a chisel.17. Polish the slip: Shellac and waxthe top edge of the slip.18. Glue the slips into place: Lightspring clamps hold the drawer slips firm-ly to the sides. Check that the shoulder ofthe tongue is tight to the drawer front,and clamp the top edge of the slip tight tothe bottom edge of the drawer back.

Make and Fit the Drawer BottomThe long grain of the solid wood bottom

runs from side to side.This allows for shrink-age and expansion frontto back. If the grainwere made to run frontto back, expansion ofthe bottom would eitherjam the drawer shuttight or bust the caseopen. The bottom hastongues on three sidesto fit the grooves in theslips and the drawer

front. The tongue on the front is on thetop face of the drawer bottom. Thetongues on the sides are on the bottomface of the drawer bottom.

DRAWER SLIP AND BOTTOM ASSEMBLY

This inside corner view shows therelationship of the groove in thedrawer front and the tenon onthe drawer slip.Drawer slips are cut from thesame quartersawn material as the drawer sides. Cut thegroove on a table saw.

A short tenon on the front of the

slip fits into the groove on the

drawer front. The shoulder of the slip

should fit tight to the drawer front.

SideDrawer Front

Slip

To create the second tongue on the drawerbottom, establish the shoulder with a knifeline. Cut all tongues with a shoulder plane.




19. Prepare the bottom: Glue upboards to make the bottom; plane to1/4"thick.20. Size the bottom: Plane the endgrain of one edge straight.21. Make the first tongue: Mark thetongue with a cutting gauge and cut itwith a shoulder plane. Check it for a slid-ing fit using the spare slip.22. Mark the second tongue: Fit theshoulder of the first tongue tight to thebottom of its drawer slip and knife theshoulder line of the second tongue, usingthe drawer slip as a guide.23. Cut to length: Leave 3/16" for thetongue beyond the shoulder line you justknifed and saw off the excess material.24. Make the second tongue: Cut thetongue with a shoulder plane and checkit for a sliding fit with the spare slip.25. Flush the slip and the bottom:Using the spare drawer slip as a guide,plane any excess from the top face of thedrawer bottom to make the two parts flush.26. Insert the bottom and squarethe front edge: Slide the bottom intoplace. If it doesn’t fit square to the front,remove and adjust accordingly. The bot-tom should slide in and out with littleeffort so it can shrink and expand easily.27. Make the front tongue: Thetongue on the front is on top of the draw-er bottom. This means that if there is alittle shrinkage in the drawer, any gapwill be out of sight on the bottom. 28. Cut to length at the back: Leavethe back projecting 1/4" or less.

Shooting the DrawerIn woodworking parlance, shoot means to“make straight,” hence the expressions“shoot the edge” and “shoot the drawer.”This also explains why an 07 is known asa “shooting plane.”

29. Plane off excess drawer slip: Thedrawer slips were made wider than neededso they project below the sides after beingglued in place. Now is the time to planethem flush with the bottom edges of thedrawer sides. Check that they are alignedwith a straightedge across the width of thedrawer.30. Shoot the drawer: To plane, placethe drawer side supported on a plywoodboard that sits atop the bench, as you seein the photo at right. The board is about aswide as the drawer is long, and it is longenough to be clamped to the bench. Thefront of the drawer is clamped in the vise.When you’ve planed both sides down tothe end grain of the pins, the entire drawershould enter the case, though the fit maybe very tight. Ease the fit a shaving at atime. Working the drawer in and out willburnish any high spots, identifying exactlywhere a bit must be removed.

Finishing the FrontThe three remaining steps will take you tothe end of the drawer making process andto a new level of woodworking. 31. Planing the top edge of the draw-er to fit the case opening: If, when youmade the single-lap joints at the front cor-ners, you didn’t align the bot-tom edges spot-on, youcan make them flush nowand still have some drawerfront material to plane to fit.

Ian Kirby is a master woodworker andregular contributor to Woodworker’sJournal.

Hang the drawer side on a board that isclamped securely to the bench top. The frontof the drawer is held tightly in the vise.

A drawer made in thisfashion is the epitomeof the furnituremaker’s craft. Masterits construction, andthere will be littlebeyond your skill level.

Either way, you now finally fit the front tothe opening. 32. Make and glue the stop in place:The drawer stop brings the drawer to restwhere you want it — it can be flush, insetor proud; it’s your choice. The stop is asmall piece of material, sized about 3/16"thick.33. A minor adjustment: Once thedrawer stop positions the front correctly,plane the face to be aligned with the case edges.

The proper position of the drawerslip is tight to the side, engaged inthe drawer front’s groove and snugto the bottom edge of the back.

Drawer slip variations, left to right:

flush, rounded over and coved.

The flush slip with its long shoulderlines presents the most demanding

work, although it has the simplestlook when finished. A less demand-

ing alternative is to make slips thatstand proud of the bottom, thus

eliminating the visible shoulder line.

Detail showing how tongues on drawer bottom fit into grooveson the drawer front and sides. Slip is pulled back.

The drawer bottom has tongues on threesides, cut with a shoulder plane. The tongueon the front is on the top face of the drawerbottom. The tongues on the sides are on thebottom face of the drawer bottom.


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