Tall Chest of Drawers - Carcass Assembly
Parts for One Side of Dresser
Here’s the layout of the parts of one side of dresser: the stiles, the top and bottom rails, the two panels and the mullion separating the panels. The next step is to locate and drill the holes for the pegs that secure the mortise and tenon joints.
1/4″ (.63cm) Diameter Hole for Peg
For all the joints I use a quater inch diameter hole (.63cm). I drill all the holes 1″ (2.5cm) deep, deep enough to pass into the far side of the mortise. A 5/16″ (.8cm) diameter hole and peg would have worked just as well. I do not drill the hole in the tenon at the same time.
Locating the Hole in the Tenon
To locate the peg hole in the tenon I clamp the two parts together to insure a tight fit. With the brad point drill I used to drill the holes, I mark the center of the hole on the tenon while it is clamped. (The tape on the drill bit is to insure the holes are the same depth, in this case one inch.)
Marked Center Location on Tenon
The circled dimples show the location of the hole, but I DO NOT drill at this location. I drill the peg holes in the tenon about 1/32″ (.8mm) toward the base of the tenon from the marked location.
Offset Holes for Mortis and Tenon Joint
The holes in the tenon are now slightly offset toward the base of the tenon. (This photo exaggerates the offset. If the offset is too great, the peg will break or deform too much to pass into the hole on the far side of the mortise.) When the peg is driven into the hole, it will pull the tenoned piece tight into the joint.
Peg with Grooves
I make the pegs from maple dowels. I cut them 1 1/4″ ( 3.2cm) long, 1/4″ (.6cm) longer than the depth of the hole. First I bevel the end of the pegs so that they will not get hung up on the offset hole in the tenon. Then with a pair of pliers I indent some glue relief grooves on the pegs to allow any extra glue to escape. I don’t make the grooves the whole length of the peg because I don’t want any indentations to show up when I cut the peg off even with the finished surface.
The next step is to glue and clamp the pieces together. First I glue the top and bottom rails to the mullion and peg them. Then I insert a panel into the grooves in the assembled rails and mullion. Next I assemble one stile and the rails with its panel. I tap in the pegs for those joints. Finally, I assemble the second stile and the rails with its panel. I peg those joints. Even though the pegs are holding the mortise and tenon joints securely, I clamp the whole assembly until the glue dries.
