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by
Cathy Dalrymple
photos: Brenda Falvey
illustration:
Len Churchill
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TANSU CHEST |
| Spice
up a room with this versatile Japanese design |
I’ve
always appreciated Japanese Tansu furniture, and a request from
a client gave me an excuse to build some. The style dates back
to the Edo period (1615-1867), when the construction of each
piece would reflect the needs of the home and the class status
of its owner. In the case of this Tansu step chest (called kaidan
dansu in Japanese), the stepped design allows the homeowner
to access loft space while incorporating storage. It’s
said this particular configuration was designed to fool the
taxman, as two-storey dwellings were taxed at a higher rate.
The homeowner could simply flip the top portion of the chest
onto the lower “steps” to create a square chest,
eliminating the appearance of stairs. My version of the chest
was made for a friend, with contemporary details to reflect
her needs and décor. I’m not sure what the Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency’s official position is on this
furniture, but I don’t suppose it would help much in an
audit.
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| Smart
storage is a hallmark of this Tansu chest. Its stepped
design is ideally suited to complement the shape
of a staircase or give a simple room style |
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| Drawer
glides make for smooth operation; you'll use a lever-release
type on the bottom drawers |
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Since there are many similar parts involved in this project,
I’ve divided it into four levels—A through D. Each
part has a full name, plus a short-form letter and number label.
The materials list shows both the full name and the shortform,
while the instructions and plans include shortforms only for
clarity. Although the parts list is long, don’t let any
of it scare you. The Tansu chest is just a bunch of stacked,
drawer-equipped boxes. Crisp workmanship and precision are all
you need to get this project right.
Begin by selecting the most attractive
maple-veneered plywood you can find for the vertical members
of all four levels. Be sure to cut adjoining parts from the
same piece of ply, to preserve continuity of grain pattern.
Note that the outer vertical pieces are 3/4" higher than
the internal lower dividers (D3). Continue by cutting all horizontal
members. Since there’s only 10" of wood visible on
each “step” surface, orient the top parts so the
best wood remains visible after assembly.
Since you’re working with
plywood, all of the exposed edges need to be covered in some
way after cutting. I used iron-on edging for this, although
solid edging is certainly an option. You’ll find it easier
to edge with oversized pieces of ply first, then cut them to
size after the glue has dried.
Even though this project is simple,
now’s a good time to dry fit your parts before you get
to the glue stage. While you’re at it, mark all of the
joint locations for the biscuit slots you’ll cut later.
As you work, be careful that everything remains square. Even
small errors become more noticeable with so many vertical and
horizontal surfaces.
In addition to biscuits, I also
used #8 1 1/2" countersunk screws at a few locations, to
reduce the need for so many clamps and to speed production.
Screws should only be used where you won’t see them in
the final project, in areas that are covered by neighbouring
sections.
Begin assembly with lower level
D. Forget that the other sections exist for a minute, and complete
another dry-fit of parts D1, D2, D3 and D4. Since too-shallow
biscuit slots can prevent project parts from coming together
fully during final assembly, it’s always wise to test-fit
biscuit joints without glue.
Continue by putting together middle
level C. Use biscuits to join this subassembly to lower level
D when it’s dry. Repeat the process for upper level B,
completing the stationary lower section of the chest. Join the
separate step top A before moving on to the drawers.
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| Solid
maple drawer faces front Baltic birch ply drawer
boxes |
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| CLICK
ABOVE TO ENLARGE ILLUSTRATION |
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Tansu Drawers
I made my drawers from 1/2"-thick Baltic birch ply, with
a 1/4"-thick ply drawer bottom that fits into grooves on
the inside face of all four drawer box sides. A separate flush-mounted,
solid-wood drawer face goes on each drawer box after it’s
built and installed. The mechanical drawer slides I chose require
that each drawer box be one inch narrower than the opening it
fits into. This is a standard figure, but be warned: there’s
not much room for error. That’s why you need to custom
build each drawer for a specific opening.
Don’t follow the materials
list dimensions exactly for drawer box parts since normal construction
variations on your chest may demand a slightly wider or narrower
drawer size. The bottom set of drawers requires a different
style of mechanical slides, as I found out later after buying
them all the same. Since the chest sits directly on the floor,
there’s no room to tilt the bottom drawers to get to the
contents at the back. That’s why you need to use lever-release,
full-extension drawer slides for the three bottom drawers.
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PART 1 | PART 2 |
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