2 years in the making. Went to Gardner, MA to look @ dressers for one of our daughters. They were real nice and very well built, but the one we liked was going for $1300….Cripes!!!
So I measured it up and built it myself. All cherry with maple as the secondary wood. THe dustframes are dovetailed into the sides. All solid harwood ‘cept for the side which were cut from a sheet of cherry plywood I had.
The face frame is all mortise & tennon, then glued on to the cabinet. Didn’t want any fastners showing. Also each row of drawer fronts are cut from the same board so the grain flows from drawer to drawer.
All in all, since I had the majority of the wood laying around, IIRC the whole thing cost me $90-$100.
Sorry if the files are too big for the dial uppers….first time I’ve ever attached a picture.
Edited 9/4/2008 12:16 pm ET by Recko
Replies
Very, very nice job! Nice dovetails too!
I want one.
BTW, your picture size was fine.
Matt Garcia 1986-2008 22 yo Fairfield City Council Member, shot 09/01/08 RIP
That looks realy great! You should be proud. Thanx for sharing.
How did you cut the dovetails?
Chuck S
Steve-
I cheated on the DT's.
I have the Porter Cable DT jig. Not the easiest in the world to set up/align, but once you've got it you can run thru a whole stack of drawers in no time flat.
Only up front calculation you need to do is to ensure your drawers are built in 7/8" increments. That way you'll get 1/2 of DT on the top and 1/2 a DT on the bottom.
I also dovetailed all 4 corners of each drawer and the bottom is "captured" in the drawer. Only problem is that if one of the drawer bottoms get broken, I've got no way to slide out the bottom and replace it. Oh well, that's how they did it way back when, so I do my drawers that way.
http://www.grosshillrentals.com
Using a DT jig is not cheating in my book.
Your great grandkids will argue over who gets that dresser.
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Very nice. My mentor called those "zipper drawers", obviously from a jig.
I also dovetailed all 4 corners of each drawer and the bottom is "captured" in the drawer. Only problem is that if one of the drawer bottoms get broken, I've got no way to slide out the bottom and replace it. Oh well, that's how they did it way back when, so I do my drawers that way.
Only since plywood was the choice for bottoms. Which I hope you used. Solid bottoms, best raised, needed to extend beyond the drawer back. Tacked in place to allow adjustment when the gap between the drawer front and the bottom appeared. PAHS works. Bury it.
Recko,
Nice work!
Only up front calculation you need to do is to ensure your drawers are built in 7/8" increments. That way you'll get 1/2 of DT on the top and 1/2 a DT on the bottom.
This is probably a dumb question, but could you explain this for me?
I have a PC dovetail jig, bought it about 4 years ago, even came with a video.
It sat in the box for several years as I just never got around to the "right" project. I have used it once to make two boxes and the tails were all offset,so the tops and bottoms were not equally spaced. They worked, but they didn't look very good.
Unfortunately, the video it came with has no audio, so I just watch some guy making dovetails with no idea what he is doing.
I now have to build 2 drawers approx. 12" tall and I want to dovetail them. So if I made them 11 7/8" would that work?
What am I missing?
Thanks.You cannot convey tone in an email.
I'll answer, because I have a PC jig also.
7/8" is the pitch, or distance between centers, of the "fingers" and "gullets" of the jig, so it makes joints which have pins and tails at 7/8" centers.
Ideally, your drawers will have a half-pin start and a half-pin end, bottom to top, at each corner joint. Such a joint has a height that is a multiple of 7/8".
You have to be flexible to be able to make this work for you. Design your drawers first, then your casework around them.
For your situation, wanting drawers nominally 12 inches high, divide 12 by 0.875, get 13 and a fraction, thus you want either a 13- or 14-tail drawer.
Choose between 13 x .875 = 11.375 and 14 x .875 = 12.25 for your drawer height.
Otherwise, cut by hand and do whatever drawer height you want. Sharpen your chisels and your marking knife, and begin, now!
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
Thanks Gene.
I'll be working on those drawers this week.
I appreciate the info.
You cannot convey tone in an email.
gee, dougy... that's pretty sweet.....
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and it can double as a hope chest
That's excellent. Cherry knobs as well?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
nice work douglas!No Tag
Sphere,
Yes their cherry knobs too. But they're store bought from Woodcraft.
http://www.grosshillrentals.com
10-4. I can't count how times I forgot to pre order knobs and wound up at the last minute turning my own, just trying to get 'er done. LOL
I also found staining beech store bought is not a good option.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
Muy bueno!!!
I dont have the skills or patience to do something like that but do appreciate when I see!!
Absolutely beautiful!
[email protected]
nicely done -
Beautiful. You did a great job keeping the grain in mind on the drawer fronts. Each row looks like one board, split in half... good continuity.
Nice job!
Are the dustframes paneled, or open?
Since using ply for the end panels, and not solid, you would not have to do the kind of details (to allow for wood movement) for the dustframes, for the parts back of the show-at-front rails and stiles. Right? I'd have been tempted to butt-cut and pocketscrew all the joints of the frames.
Great wood and grain selection. Must be a super leftover pile you have, or had.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
The dustframes are paneled (panelled??sp??) and then the ends have a dovetail joint on them (try doing that on a router table while they're standing up on end...not perfect but hey, you'll never see my errors as they're buried in the key way in the sided)
I even made the dust frames (well, at least the frame part) out of cherry. The dust frame panels are 1/4 plywood......not cherry, though) Hey, why waste the good wood on parts you don't see unless you go looking for them) :)
http://www.grosshillrentals.com
Beautiful, heirloom quality work. Your skill and patience are an inspiration. I think a requiremetn of posting such quality work is to also include a picture of your shop so we can appreciate the conditions and environment in which it was built. (and I just like to see others shops) Thanks for sharing
Another thought...
I hope you made kind of "tag" in the dresser, documenting who made it and the date.
I think Woodcraft might sell some kind of branding iron-thingy.
Matt Garcia 1986-2008 22 yo Fairfield City Council Member, shot 09/01/08 RIP
I never sign my work, it creates ownership and attachment. If ya make something to give away, give it all away.
But that's just me.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
I just find it so interesting to open up a wall and find a little note...kinda the same kind of thinking.
I think it's cool to keep the history going.I have many of my grand- and greatgrand parents antiques...wish I knew some history about them.
"Everyday we learn something new. Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. It doesn't have to be an "A" the next day, but let's hope it improves." 08/27/08
Matt Garcia 1986-2008 22 yo Fairfield City Council Member, shot 09/01/08 RIP
Fishrite,
I keep it simple. I sign every piece in some place where you need to look for it to find it.
So if this piece ever makes it onto "Antiques Roadshow" 100 years hence, have them flip it over and you'll see "Doug Recko - 2008"
And them bid yer arse off!!!! :)
http://www.grosshillrentals.com
I sign every piece in some place where you need to look for it to find it.
Guess you could get an iron:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32191&cat=1,43456,43462
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jt8
John,
Nah......I'm too cheap to buy one of those things
http://www.grosshillrentals.com
Recko
First, nice work, and a job well done.
I build alot of furniture and cabinets and often get a laugh when someone gripes about the price.
When a shop sells something, the costs of materials, tools, overhead, and labor all figure into the cost, not to mention some profit.
Comparing the price of something you build to someone else just doesn't work.
I just finished some "special" frames for my wife to sell with her jewelry. If I had to price it normally, my time and materials would be something like $200.00.
A cheap over-seas shop might cost $20.00.
Clients don't get it.
So, enjoy your work, quality, and give yourself a big pat on the back. You deserve it.
Jeff
Nice job. Really like the dove tails.
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
good job man nice work