Category Archives: Poplar

Hopefully you’ve been following us on Instagram or Twitter (@FromTheHCWShop) or Facebook and have seen more frequent updates.   We’ve been devoting all our time in the shop & getting our taxes completed, thus the delay in getting out an much belated progress report.  There are a handful that need to be finished and uploaded.  Tonight we’ll focus on the drawer.

When we last left you, our workbench got it’s legs and aprons (here).  Since then quite a bit of work has been completed and we’re nearly finished with construction.  This update will focus on the drawer assembly (support, runners, kickers etc). There was one gigantic drawer created.  We thought this would allow for maximum storage and flexibility because our customer can easily subdivide it with readily available organizational devises.  It can change with his needs over the years.  Realizing this drawer will be used, abused and stressed (as well it should!), extra focus has been put on strength and durability.   The drawer sides, runners & kickers were made from maple, the bottom from poplar and the supports (that the kickers and runners were attached to) mahogany.    We used a tongue and groove joint for the boards that make up the bottom of the drawer.  Lots and lots of long grain there to make up a very strong joint (see this post for additional explanation of a long grain to long grain joint).   The kickers and runners were both mortised and tenoned together as well as the drawer sides.   Many (many!) loose tenons were used to attach the drawer runner & kicker supports to the maple table top and then the runners & kickers to those supports.   We also added Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene tape (fancy schmancy chemist type speak for really slippery but durable tape to make the drawer slide easier) to both.  The supports run the entire depth of the workbench and were attached via loose tenon to both the front and the back aprons.  This provides extra support for the table top so it will never bow.  It also locks the entire base assembly together even more.

What are these runner & kickers?

They are ‘L’ shaped pieces.   Drawer runners are what the drawer ‘runs’ on and supports the drawer on the bottom.  The kickers provides support on the top of the drawer to keep it from tilting down too quickly and also helps to keep the drawer from racking.  You know that frustrating thing that happens when you are trying to push a drawer in and it drifts a little to one side or the other, gets stuck and then you usually end up muttering things you don’t mean to?

You will see a pretty mahogany drawer front in an upcoming post.