Another 9-drawer dresser (Fraternal Twin) -- Finished!!

Art Mulder

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London, Ontario
Just a bit more than a year ago I finished a 9-drawer tall dresser for #1 son.

The plan, all along, was to make a twin of that dresser for #2 son. I had considered making both at once, as I know that I could save a lot of time on machine setup. But with a modest basement shop, I just didn't think I'd have the space to have two large carcasses on the go at once. I was also concerned about the size of the project just getting me down also.

In the end, it was a good thing, as I learned a few things with the first dresser which resulted in a change of plans for the 2nd dresser. The biggest change was that I made the dresser about 2 inches narrower. Let's just say that since Baltic Birch comes in 60x60" sheets, designing a drawer box that requires bottom pieces that are 30-1/2" wide just leads to many, many headaches :( (and wasted wood).

The other big change was using a vertical panel raising bit for cutting the drawer fronts, rather than a table-slaw sled/jig. That was discussed also in another FWW thread.

Anyways. At this point I'm basically finished. I'm just going to wait 5 days or so for the finish to cure/harden before putting on the knobs.

almost-finished-closed.jpg almost-finished-open.jpg
almost-finished-top.jpg almost-finished-knob.jpg

It is approximately 56-1/2" tall, by 32" wide, by 17" deep. The top, and rails and stiles are solid cherry. The side panel is maple plywood. The drawer fronts are solid maple. I wasn't that thrilled with the brush-on lacquer with the last dresser, so I uses shellac followed by my old-standby of WB Flecto Varathane on this.

One interesting tidbit was that the shellac was a leftover rattle-can of shellac from a previous small project. I wondered how well the rattle-can would work,and it worked very well. Heck of a lot easier and quicker, than the subsequent ~3 coats of brushed-on varathane.

Yes, that is some sapwood there in the back of the top. :huh: I built the top way back in the spring -- this was a long project with lots of pauses -- and I honestly can't recall if that was intentional or not. :dunno: I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional. It's almost above eye-level, and will likely almost always have stuff on it. :rofl:

On the other hand I dug up an old photo of the top when it was being glued up:
jd-topglueup.jpg
And the sapwood is really hard to see. So it might have just been an accident. Wouldn't be the first time that I got surprised by how some cherry aged on me.


When it gets moved into the room, I'll take some more photos of the piece beside it's (Fraternal) twin.

I knew this would be a long project, so every time my 9yr old asked me when his dresser would be finished, I would tell him that he'd have it by Christmwas. :doh: Whew, made that deadline under the wire.

----
ETA: Scroll down, it's finished now and "installed"
 
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hey art if you like ratle can shellac try rattle can laquer.. its great for quick work and no sprayer handy.. looks good on the dresser, how did you like the vertical raised panel bit?
 
...Yes, that is some sapwood there in the back of the top. :huh: I built the top way back in the spring -- this was a long project with lots of pauses -- and I honestly can't recall if that was intentional or not. :dunno: I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional...

Art, I almost always intentionally use the cherry's sapwood in any project I make. I also do it with air-dried walnut. It's natural, and I really think it gives the pieces more character. But that's just me...
 
1, 2, 3, 4, .... Yep, all there. Nice job Art!

Yeah, nine drawers, and at two knobs each on the big drawers, that adds up to Fourteen knobs. Took a while for my son to understand why $8 knobs were not an option.

Hey Larry, yeah I should give the rattle can laquer a try as well.

When I was a kid I used rattle can paint several times and it never, ever, turned out nice. So I was a bit surprised at how well it worked this time. However, now that I'm an adult I actually read and follow the directions, which I suspect helps...:rofl:

Thanks, all.
...art
 
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My bedroom pieces were made for me by a small shop. Very simple, but I chose the maple sides and draw fronts with the cherry trim.(no solid maple, all veneer)
You have good taste Art!
 
...I'm just going to wait 5 days or so for the finish to cure/harden before putting on the knobs...
Good plan. That should give you some time to get some knobs that aren't all cracked. :p

The dresser looks very nice. I suspect it (and its brother) will be in the family for a long, long time. :thumb:
 
Vaughn, you philistine. We kept the knobs.

Here's the beast, ready to be hauled upstairs.
finished1.jpg

(yes, we took out the drawers first. Even so, I think partway up my wife wished I'd gotten someone else to help carry it up.)

And here it is, beside it's "twin" in it's new home, amid the chaos that is my sons' bedroom. A nine year old and an eleven year old sharing a room that is 11x11.

finished2.jpg

thanks for looking.
 
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