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Jeff Greef Woodworking

To see more Box Plans on this site, go to:
Printed Box Plans or Downloadable Box Plans or Box Plan Books


Page 3, Tansu
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Join the drawer spacers to each other and the carcass sides with sliding dovetails that are 3/16" deep. To cut the slots, clamp a fence to the carcass sides as in photo 6 and push the router by hand along the fence. This requires careful measurement to accurately locate the fence. Cut the dovetails on the ends of the spacer parts at the router table, holding the parts vertically against a tall, long fence. Make one pass on each side with your dovetail bit to complete the dovetail. Do lots of test cuts on scrap before you commit your parts.

Photo 6- Cut dovetail slots on the inside of the carcass sides with your router riding against a fence as shown.

For router bits, click here.

If you like you can cut the dovetail slots through the front edge of the carcass sides, or stop the cuts. In the latter case, you must notch the spacers to fit over the stopped area of the slot. This done, glue up the carcass with the spacers as in photo 7. You really don't need to glue in the spacers so long as the fit is snug, if it's loose use glue to keep them from rattling.



Photo 7- When gluing up the carcass, don't apply any more pressure than is required to bring the joints together, or you may bend the parts. Check the box for square.

For clamps, click here.
For glues, click here.

Cut a 1/8" deep by 1/4" wide groove on the inside face of the drawer parts for the drawer bottoms, with a straight flute bit on the router table (photo 8). Stop the grooves on the drawer sides with a setup similar to that shown in the Finger Joint Jewelry Box article on this site. If you don’t stop them, the grooves will be visible from the front of the drawers.

Photo 8- Cut a groove for the drawer bottoms on the inside of the drawer parts with a straight flute bit at the router table.

For router tables, click here.

Make drawer bottoms out of 1/4" plywood to fit within the grooves you've cut. Dry assemble the drawers to be sure the bottoms aren't too big, then glue them up. When the glue is dry, flush all the joints by sanding or planing.

Since the box is rather Spartan in design, I decided to keep the feet simple. You may decide to make them more fancy. I simply cut out a curved design as in photo 9, then mitered them on a disc sander and glued them in place.

Delta 9" Band Saw
Economical bench-top solution for the small shop.




Photo 9- Cut the curves on the box feet with a band or scroll saw.

For bandsaws, click here.

Use 3/4" thick pieces of wood for the two doors on the box bottom. At this thickness (or perhaps slightly less) they will be strong and stable. Hang them with butt hinges, and install catches to hold them in place.

A supplier for obtaining Japanese hardware is Hida Tool. I used Japanese pulls on this box, which are very easy to install. They are like cotter pins, you simply insert one end through a hole and bend the fingers outward inside the drawer.

Resources for building a Tansu

Keller Dovetail jig. |  Katie Jig Dovetail jig. |  Hida Tool- Japanese tools and hardware. |  Band Saws |  Chisels |  Clamps |  Glues |  Hand Planes |  Radial Arm Saws |  Router Accessories |  Routers |  Router Bits |  Router Tables |  Table Saws

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