small cherry dresser for finish room

allen levine

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new york city burbs
now that I lost my large finish room, finished painting it, nothing fancy, plaster walls that have been abused for 60 years dont fix easily.
I ripped all the old molding, will install some mdf base and casing, and work on a few pieces for the room.
I need to build a radiator cover, a small writing desk, and a dresser/armoir, and closet doors, which Ill save for last.

I ripped out the wire closet unit, and decided to give myself more work and build a closet unit. Just for fun, Id rather be in the shop than in the house painting or ripping wall paper borders.

I finished the closet unit today, just need to sand and apply stain and one coat of poly.

The closet is 6 feet wide inside, so I devoted 3 feet to the until, will hang double poles other side.

I made a mistake, used sandeply, and the trim is ash as well as the drawer fronts.
Anything I wont be able to take when I sell my house will be made of ash for now on.
Simple butt and bradded birch plywood for drawers, the pulls I saved from my old kitchen.

Funny how I learn something every day. I didnt have long enough screws with the pulls, but there were bag fulls of screws left over from my new kitchen pulls/handles.
They are screws that can be cut down to any size, and I struggled for 20 minutes trying to cut the thing, then I realized, wow, like I had a V8 moment, I just need to snap the extra piece off.
New to me, Ive never seen a screw like that before.

This unit has a 72 inch shelf for the top, and two 36 inch poles for the left side.I put in a pole on the right side for longer lengths, even though I doubt much will be put in this closet.cabinet 068 (Medium).jpgcabinet 069 (Medium).jpg
 
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boy o boy, what a dummy I am.
I started to make the side shelves for the radiator cover Im making now.
I needed to route out the dados for the shelves.
When I got to the bottom dado, the track hung over the piece too much so I took another piece of plywood and laid it up against it, and laid the track on it. All was good.
When I clamped the track down, I clamped it to the plywood support piece and not the bench, so halfway through the dado, the plywood started moving as I pushed the router, and sure enough I ran right off the bottom with a dado.
Sorta looks like a skid mark when you brake hard when youre moving 50 mph, veered off to the left.
Ill have to readjust the piece a bit to cover up the bad dados. I glued it up with the shelves held up to the top edge of the dado and will cover the bad spots with ash edging.
I quit after that today. Bad vibes. Im getting the roof ripped and shingled on the shop tomorrow. Ill take most of the day off.
 
floor is done, came out decent. one more coat friday morning and I can get back to work with molding and touch ups, and hang the TV.
Im finishing off a college apt coffee table this weekend, then get to start on closet doors.
 

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ofcourse the base molding and closet trim was basically a disaster. Its bad enough the floor is so uneven, the plaster walls Im trying to attach the moldings to are just so unflat and uneven I was close to tossing my nail gun today.
There are some curves, and after 2.5 hours trying to get one piece to curve, a tight curve, I simply gave up, conceded until I purchase some flexible molding, it aint gonna happen.
I was going to add molding to cover the uneven floor, my wife once again stepped in and said enough. 80% of it will be blocked by furniture or something, and I like her reasoning. If a tree falls in a forest, if youre not there does it make noise?
Closet unit installed, again, the floor in the closet was off by a whopping 3/4 inch, and the wall off by so much I didnt bother to even measure. I knew the closet walls were way off when I installed a wire unit in there 15 years ago.
I know its going to be our new "guest" room, but I figured might as well put some good reading material in there for the guests.
My wife has informed me once I finish, shes getting a big comfy chair, and Im no longer invited into that room, its hers.
Her den. (if we have no guests)
She said I got the garage and the little bedroom, she gets the other bedroom.
I told her ok, since its your room, you finish touching up all the moldings and the walls, and to that she said, no, didnt you hear me right? After you finish, you can stay out!
I have one outlet that is so crooked, but I didnt want my son to rip a piece of plaster wall out between poly coats, so next week, he will be here tuesday to install the TVs, he tend to that for me.

Gonna start closet doors by mid week Im hoping. Was going to make cherry frames, with maple panels, but cherry is just too expensive to waste on closet doors in this house. I cant take them with me, and IM cheap, so Ill make them all maple.
 

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If your doing your master bedroom closet, Id recommend lining the walls first with whatever species lumber youre using for the drawers and shelves.
Since its a closet in my house that wont see much use besides long term storage, I didnt want to lay out 80 dollars for 3 sheets of 1/4 inch oak.
I helped a friend do his closet beginning of this year, and lining the inside with oak ply really made the entire closet look like a built in cabinet with shelves......like something hed pay top dollar to have custom built, and the his entire 8 foot long closet only ran total around 250 dollars for lumber and hardware.(I made him plywood drawers, with red oak fronts he purchased from HD already dimensioned.
 
I had to give up trying to bend a piece of molding. I dont have a steam bending box, and after trying some grooves, wetting it and clamping it to a curve overnight, I had to give up, Pine or mdf, could not make the tight bend I needed at the doorway.
I broke down and almost passed out when the lumber yard told me what it would cost for flexible molding to match my 4 and one quarter inch base.
Over 12 bucks a linear foot!

Once again, I spent 33 years in the wrong business.
 
made a bit of progress, finished cutting and sizing all the pieces for the sliding closet doors.
a bunch of whatever I had laying in the white pile.
Sycamore, hard maple, soft maple, and a bit of birch.
I didnt expect to have to spend alot of time making solid wood raised panels, but my wife changed her mind and decided maple plywood flat panels arent what she wanted.
She let me off the hook with the desk chair, she changed her mind and only wants a stool type seat that can be tucked underneath the desk when not in use.
Ill let her change her mind a few more times till I start cutting up cherry for that.

the lumber yard just called, the flexible molding is in. Might have to pick up some hardboard to make a surface large enough to assemble these doors.
 

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its been a very unrewarding experience as far as woodworking making radiator covers and closet doors.
Maybe if I was getting paid Id feel different.
Nothing to motivate myself when I have to go outside and struggle with big heavy cumbersome doors.
I was thinking about making a new hinged closet and bathroom door for my upstairs bedroom when I tackle the upstairs next year, but now Im convinced otherwise.(Ill buy solid wood raised panels doors)
A few minor booboos, nothing to upset me.
Ofcourse, after marking the stiles as to which side is face and not, I incredibly, (even used blue painters tape to mark back)turned a stile the wrong way and now I have a huge knot to deal with.
Followed the instructions on the closet hardware that suggested putting the pulls 40 inches from floor, 1.5 inches in from side, which ofcourse, isnt a panelled door, so Im not thrilled with the pulls not centered, not sure why I dont do what I feel looks best. Instructions, eh.
If I had someone close by who sprays lacquer for wood, Id sand it down tomorrow, and just let him/her shoot a few coats of lacquer and be done with them.
The thought of having to stain or oil them, then sand, then poly, then sand, then poly, oh man, not too exciting.
It is what it is, Im not trying to complain, just nothing moving about closet doors.
(the third picture shows I have alot of different species of wood going on, looks like birch and hard maple, then some junky soft maple)
 

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heavy coat of blo/mineral spirits/gloss polyurethane, soaked, rubbed off, then rerubbed with damp rag, then wiped off again, and then I rubbed it with a clean cloth again an hour later to make sure no oil would gummy up.
Did it again after the first coat was good and dry, and today it was dry enough to handle.
So I hung them and Im done.

I dont remember who, but a big thanx to whomever reco'd going to lowes for the closet hanging hardware.
9.99, and its perfect, and I was about to spend 70 bucks online.
I believe its called a fascia, I installed, is 3/4 inch too short, so when I get a chance, and install the flex moldings, Ill add a piece of painted 1/8 inch thick over the fascia and bring it down so it covers the hangers.The floor like I mentioned is off almost 3/4 of an inch, so I hung them almost touching on the right side, and its up around 5/8 of on in on left side, but noone looks at bottom.
The base molding on the left of the closet is coming out for flex molding, so I have to touch up the walls and with paint. Plaster walls, not worth the effort to try to smooth them all out. Let the next owner worry about it.
Im ahead of my build schedule. I like it. The weather here has been incredible with temps last week in the 60s.
Im going to stain that coffee table today, then get started on a stool/chair for the desk.
 

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sometimes I guess as a woodworker, its our duty not to question why, just build what the client wants.
In this case, this is the last time I listen to anyone, My WIFE, when it comes to design.
She wanted a "chool", a chair/stool to go under the desk, so it wouldnt block the drawer? huh? and wouldnt stick out further than the desk, in case its moved somewhere else in the future. Ok, whatever. I just had to make the back legs a foot higher and it would have been fine. It looks like a kiddie chair.
I tapered the legs the same way as the desk, and I know the seat looks short, but its the same height as all the dining table chairs Ive made. (16-17 inches high)
Easy work, Im not so against making chairs anymore, I pulled out my curved back leg template thinking Id use it, and now that I have the milaukee router, doing work like this is much easier.
I will stain it today then wipe on some coats of poly. My wife is out right now with her sister at bedbathbeyond purchasing new bed linens in the blue family for that bed and a different blue cushion.

I know it looks silly, and I told my wife if I was getting paid to do something I dont agree with in style, it wouldnt bother me so much. Her response was 35 years of cleaning, cooking and taking care of you, I think you owe me 1000 more chairs.
Cant argue with her on that one.

Ill start a small nightstand, which Ill match the finish of the bed, then I thought I was making an armoire, but now she wants a low dresser to go under the TV. Might be a good idea, match the finish of the bed also, so when my niece moves into her own place, she can have the dresser and nightstand to match her bed, the full size one I made her.(same finish).
If she eventually gets a big enough bedroom, Id be happy to make her a matching armoire.

on a side note: my chairs are always made with a little more wood(beefier) than an average chair. Legs are a bit thicker, and so are aprons. Ive seen many heavy fat people get embarrassed if they move on a chair and it breaks, or you hear a split, so whenever I build something, I make sure the joints are beefy as well as the structure. I dont believe it takes anything away from the look(Im not the best furniture maker, so my design), and I use myself as the test subject.
 

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rough day in the shop. I had most of the lumber I needed for a small night table milled, so I started cutting pieces yesterday, finished today. Cut the 4 mortises and apron tenons, then realized I cut the mortise on the wrong side of 2 legs(tapered on 2 sides). Had plenty of 1 and 3/4 strips so I cut and tapered 2 more legs. The glue was dry already, and I couldnt bang it apart, so I had to cut 2 aprons, then bandsaw the aprons flush with the legs.
I was about to recut the mortises, but since I had to cut the tenons off the aprons, I decided, ok, go with pocket screws and save the other 2 aprons.
After assembling it the second time, this time I put the front legs backwards. Bad day, not sure what I was doing.
I was able to unscrew the pocket screws and pull the aprons off, but now I had to fill 2 screw holes on the face of the legs, since I didnt feel like recutting more legs.
I took slivers of wood, and shoved it into the holes and let the glue dry.
Now the holes are filled, but I wont know how its going to look until I apply finish.
Tough day. And yes, I had the legs marked, since I always cut them with the best face facing fowards.
I might just go out tomorrow, and make another one.
I might switch to an oversized drawer front now, instead of an inset drawer.
 

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little side table is done,needs a good mineral spirits cleaning, then just have to wait for the waterlox to get here to start applying oil.
 

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