Chest of drawers - BB PEP dimensional.wood.chest

I have some questions about this.  Do I ask them here or is there another place?  

This is actually a general question about all the PEPs.  Sometimes I have a question about the requirements, and sometimes I have a question about why one would even do the thing being asked.  Since we're here to learn, where do those questions live?

Hi Rob!

Check out this thread for more information about Skip, PEP, and BBs

If the question is specific to this BB you can go ahead and ask it here.

Ashley Cottonwood wrote:Hi Rob!

Check out this thread for more information about Skip, PEP, and BBs

If the question is specific to this BB you can go ahead and ask it here.

Well OK then, I will!  :)

The last requirement for this projects is:
 - no paint, stain, plywood or man-made materials

The picture shows a chest of drawers with milk paint, possibly with a sealing topcoat, and brass drawer pulls, which are paint/man-made materials.  So my questions are:

1) If the picture is just to illustrate what a chest of drawers is and not our target, what is our target?
2) Do pocket hole screws and trim nails count as man-made materials? Because I'm not sure how you could make the above without pocket hole screws.
3) Why would you make a chest of drawers with no paint or stain?  That leaves it with no protection from moisture or cracking since the wood will swell or dry out over time. It means stains will absorb right into the wood. I don't understand why you would go through the trouble of making a chest of drawers then not protect your work. Not to mention aesthetics.
4) If we can't use drawer slides and we can't use surface preps, how are we supposed to lubricate the action of the doors sliding?

I feel like I'm missing something.

Hi Rob, I'll take a shot at your questions.

When drafting the BB threads, the person writing them has to find the best (or quickest) photos or youtube videos that get the idea across.  So while it might show things that don't match the requirements, the general idea is what we're usually after.

From the Dimensional Lumber Woodworking Badge (which is the parent badge to this BB):

Projects involve dimensional lumber, either from a sawmill or purchased.   No plywood, waferboard or particle board.    Includes construction, cabinetry and fine woodworking.

Power tools, nails, screws are used, but hopefully less than in most construction.   A little more emphasis on good joinery.

Much less glue than most construction these days.  

No paint. possibly some tung oil or linseed oil - but just a little.  A lot of emphasis on untreated wood.  

1)  Our "target" for this is probably a piece of furniture made 200 years ago in a utility woodworking shop - not for a castle or what would become a $100,000 antique today.  
2)  Some pocket screws are probably reasonable but not the whole thing held together with them.  The "man-made materials" it's talking about is OSB, plywood, waferboard and other wood-like substitutes.  
3)  Some protection is fine but we're after healthy-to-apply ones.  So some oils would probably be called for.  I'm guessing a homemade natural paint would be just fine.
4)  I suspect drawer slides slide through the current requirements.  But I'm guessing the hope would be that you'd have the drawers undersized from the face frame slightly and sliding on the dust frames with maybe a bit of beeswax or other wax lubricant.  I'm guessing that, or something similar, is what they did in the olden days before drawer slides.

Hopefully that made it a bit clearer?

Mike Haasl wrote:
Hopefully that made it a bit clearer?

Yes, quite a bit! Thank you, that really helps me visualize what you're after.  I am particularly relieved to hear that we can use homemade surface treatments like beeswax.  That will go a long way.

Great!  I think of the general gist of it being to make a piece of furniture like they would have in 1846 in Chicago (I just made that date and location up).  Back when they used good joinery techniques, maybe hide glue and a natural oil finish (if needed).  Simple but sturdy and effective.

I shall sharpen my chisels.