9-drawer tall dresser -- FINISHED

Art Mulder

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I'm planning to build two tall dressers for my sons.

I'm planning on keeping them fairly simple - They'll be 10 and 8 soon -- as I expect these dressers to be "beat on". I'll probably use Baltic Birch for the drawer boxes, hardwood frame + drawer froints, and plywood for the carcass + back.

Unfortunately, I've loaned out my copy of Thomas Moser's "Measured Shop Drawings for American Furniture".

So I just sat down tonight with SketchUp and started doodling a box and trying out proportions. This is where I am so far.
d1f.jpgd1a.jpg

Feel free to take a poke at it. Am I missing anything important? I tend to favour Craftsman and Shaker styling, and this has hints of it.

(We're going flush to the floor, so that we don't get stuff stuck under it, and so we don't have to clean under it :p )
 
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Hi Art.

I think that looks pretty good and I don't have anything useful to add regarding proportions. As far as I can tell, you've hit them pretty well. I suppose if you want to stick with Craftsman or Shaker styling, though, you might want to bypass the coves on the underside of the top.

If you're going to make two, you could probably make a third one just as easily. My little guy needs a new dresser. ;)
 
Hey Art,
The designs look great.
My only question would be whether the dresser might be too tall at 56 3/4. I suspect your boy are tall and shooting up taller every day and will grow into it in no time:D :D

As you correctly expect the dressers to get "beat on" and probably climbed upon, it might be a good idea to make a few spare parts, e.g. handles, drawer fronts, etc.

For safety, be sure and put stops on the drawers so they can't come all the way out easily.

Looking forward to progress pics!:thumb:
 
I suppose if you want to stick with Craftsman or Shaker styling, though, you might want to bypass the coves on the underside of the top.

My first doodle just had a plain top on it. See:
twodressers.jpg

And I thought it just looked too bland, but also out of proportion. The top was too light to balance the trim at the base. On this doodle I thought that the extra weight and trim at the top help balance the base more. (The base is 3/4" stock, 4" high. I'll probably chamfer it when I build it. Hmm, better add that detail next. More practise with "follow me".) And I am sure I have seen Arts+Crafts pieces with trim under the tops. Time to go back through my A+C books and Becksvoort's "Shaker Legacy"

Jesse Cloud said:
My only question would be whether the dresser might be too tall at 56 3/4. I suspect your boy are tall and shooting up taller every day and will grow into it in no time :D :D

Right you are Jesse. I had my (almost) 10yr old stand in front of his old dresser and I measured up as high as he thought he could reach, which put me at 55". So yes, this design is just too tall right now, but I expect him to grow into it in a couple years. I'm 6'3" and my wife is 5'10", so I'm not expecting any petite kids in this household... ;)

(We have four kids, and these two are gonna be sharing a room as long as we're in this house. So I need to maximize storage by going vertical.)

Thanks for the comments.
 
the coves on the underside of the top.

ps: it doesn't have to be a cove. That was just fairly easy to render in SketchUp to give the idea of some trim filling the space. Got any other suggestions for some trim to fit in there? I'm trying to envision my collection of router bits right now to see what I could come up with to work...
 
Art, would you be willing to send me your SKP model? I'll doodle on it a bit.
Done, check your gmail. It was just a sketch, but comments are welcome.

Any golden rectangles in it? Only a thought/suggestion.

Not a bad thought, but no I didn't. See the post above? I just had my oldest stand in front of his dresser and show me how high he could easily reach. This drawing would be around eyeball level (or maybe a touch higher) on him. I've got two boys sharing a room, we need vertical storage. :thumb:

And the rest is pretty much based on is current dressers width and depth. It's a pretty fair size.

But I will look up the golden rectangle thing and see how that compares to this. One thing I did do is make sure that each drawer was 1/2" shorter than the drawer below it. This to me is one of the hallmarks of custom woodwork... I know they can't do this in furniture factories. So when I see a dresser where all the drawers are the same size it tells me "mass produced" and also (and I admit this is my own opinion) "borrrrrring".
 
Art, I haven't had a chance yet to play with your sketch. I will later. Do you know that you can draw a golden rectangle in SU very easily? Start dragging out a rectangle. If you get a diagonal line across the rectangle it is either a square or golden.
 
Hey Art, I like that one on the right with the beveled trim piece. I was thinking of a single piece with a bevel but I like your treatment better.

BTW do you have Skyp?
 
Hey Art, I like that one on the right with the beveled trim piece. I was thinking of a single piece with a bevel but I like your treatment better.

BTW do you have Skyp?

Thanks, I haven't shown LOML yet, but I think she'll like it.

BTW, for anyone else who cares, Dave is talking about this tweak to the trim
that I made. (Includes some closeups also)
GerritDresser2.jpg
GD2-top.jpgGD2-bot.jpg

And also, just for fun, since Travis wondered... I drew up a rectangle to roughly the same size, and stopped when SU told me it was a golden section. Then I pushed it to roughly the same height -- again stopping when it was what SU tells me is a golden section.
GD-golden.jpg

I'm no expert on golden sections, I'm just trusting SU on that. But assuming it is right, I'm pretty pleased at how close in size it is to my sketch.

...art

ps: no Skype here.
 
I think your size and drawer proportions are good. The dresser appears close to the golden section rectangle so I think you're alright there. I also think you've got the right idea on the rest of the dresser. You're ready to start construction drawings. ;)

I just started with Skype. It's nice to talk to any other Skype user for free. I can even talk to Canada for free.
 
Other than the challenge & adventure of building such a piece of furniture I would like to politely as why you would build such a big piece of furniture for such small boys.

I still have the desk that Dad built for me when I was 9 & it has been all over with me when I was in the military & it took a pretty good beating long before that.

Does Thomas Moser's book have something a bit smaller where if the drawers are pulled out the won't bonk the boys on the head? Maybe they aren't that tall but the kinda look that tall.


"I'm not expecting any petite kids in this household... "

I guess you answered this question.
 
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.. why you would build such a big piece of furniture for such small boys.

I just measured my oldest and he is about 5' tall.

So, as you've already surmised... the answer is that he's a small boy now. But he won't be for long... :eek:

(And as I recall Thomas Moser's book has a 5-drawer, 7-drawer, and taller, in it.)
 
You're ready to start construction drawings.

Well, I first want to get into Lee Valley and check out all the drawer slides, and make up my mind which kind I want, as that affects the box construction. And I would also like to browse one or two more books on dresser construction to see about any more design details that I might want to pick up...

But yeah, I'll probably start working on the more detailed drawings soon.

One downside to the height (over 4') is that I'm going to need at least two sheets of plywood, rather than just one. Hmm, I wonder how many bdft of lumber I'm talking for the face frame + top... Doubt I have enough in my stash.

...art

thanks for the feedback!
...art
 
One thing I did do is make sure that each drawer was 1/2" shorter than the drawer below it. This to me is one of the hallmarks of custom woodwork.
Hi Art, :wave:
I have been following you and this increase of 1/2" per drawer is not in keeping with what I thought you were about.:rolleyes: Although there is something to be said about that gradual increase, 1/2" per drawer, I would have thought you would have studied the purpose of the chest to maximize it 's potential. In other words, build the drawers to the depth and width which best accomodates that which you think it will be used for. If it is sweaters, sweat shirts or blankets in the lowest drawer, stack some sweaters, as many as you think practical and then measure that stack. You now have a good number to work from for your interior drawer size. When you get to tee shirts and socks that same method applies. Also remember... the drawer front may vary but the wall height in a number of drawers may remain the same.
In my thread "Client needs new drawers" we built 60" high drawer units for a dental office. Your 56" is high but not outrageous.
Keeping an eye on you...:eek: :rofl: :rofl:
Shaz
 
Just an update...

I may actually start cutting wood this weekend. I've continued to fiddle with the model and some fine tuning of dimensions, and this is what I'm going with. Dave very nicely gave me some textures which are pretty decent. We're going with a maple/cherry combination. The knob colours are just us playing around, not set in stone.
GD5-angle.jpgGD-upper.jpgGD-lower.jpg

First step will be assembling the sides, I believe. Well, after I select and plane the cherry, I suppose. I think I have enough...
 
Hi Art, :wave:
This is going to be a really good project, the blend of woods should be great accent. Take this with a grain of sand. You will never find other furniture to match perfectly so if that matters, I think you will be looking at making some more complimentary pieces. A chest for the foot of the bed, bedside tables, headboard, footboard. :D That is the creative good news for the day. :wave:
Hope you have had time to cut would this weekend.:thumb:
Shaz
 
Coming Along...

Coming Along...
d1.jpg d3.jpg

Still learning, still enjoying it.

Still need to do the drawer fronts, and the top/bottom trim that wraps around. Not to mention finishing.
 
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