Thread: Chest of Drawers advice needed.

Originally Posted by DSEL74

The missus wants! ................& I have to justify all that stuff I collect, plus don't try to reason with a pregnant lady.

The brief is a lowboy chest of 4 drawers, ~900mm H x 500mm D. Approx 1m long non critical dimension. Removable frame to sit on top to hold change mat in place.
Solid timber in pale white wood, built to last a lifetime and not date in style.

Never built anything along these lines so am open to best methodology for the interior carcass construction and traditional or modern runners. Those metal bearing ones. Plans and pictures to explain please, I'm not familiar with the terms normally used etc and find visuals help get things in my head better.

Lastly how do you stop active goblins using the drawers as steps and tipping the whole thing on top of them?

talk about a vague design brief -- but where SWMBO is concerned who are we to disagree.

some comments
900 H x 500 D x 1000 W would usually contain at least 8, and sometimes 9 or 10, drawers. a 1000 mm wide drawer will be cumbersome and limit somewhat how the unit can be re-purposed once you stop using nappies.

Height -- change tables sold by IKEA are around 930 mm high, but the ideal height for you and SWMBO depends on whether SWMBO is tall or short. I'm assuming that if there's a substantial height difference between you, the height suitable for her will rule.

the design
how would you like to contact the floor?
using a plinth with a kick recess? short (less than 100mm high) squat feet? or longish (up to 150mm long) legs

Drawers
normal practice is to graduate the drawers from deep at the bottom to shallow at the top. Look at Derek's lingerie cabinet for the effect.

Materials
I'd interpret pale solid timber to include Tassie Oak veneered particle board lipped with solid Tassie Oak.

Time line
how long do you have to build the low boy
6 months
3 months
the kid's due in 4 weeks?

Tools to hand?
Tools you can afford to purchase?
Importantly, do you have (or can you justify) a Festool Domino or a biscuit jointer?

Your existing skill set
what large intricate items have you previously built?

Your Design skills
can you draw your own plans or would you prefer to work from a set of plans?

also what does SWMBO mean by "not date in style"?


This will help you get started learning the internal parts of a chest of drawers http://www.finewoodworking.com/pdf/d...dingbasics.pdf

Building a shaker chest of drawers https://youtu.be/EFVGUtE5mGU

How to build a dresser https://youtu.be/37AIEFmm82Q

some existing plans to help you get started

Chest of Drawers from Fine Woodworking Chest Chest of Drawers Plan - Lee Valley Tools described as 20" deep (~500mm) x 37" wide (~950mm) x 36" high (~ 900mm). Skill level ADVANCED

Queen Anne Lowboy from Fine Woodworking Queen Anne Lowboy Plan - Lee Valley Tools described as 18" deep (~450) x 32" wide (~800) x 30" high (~750). Skill level ADVANCED

Country Chest of Drawers Country Chest of Drawers Plan - Lee Valley Tools described as 20" deep (~500) x 38" wide (~950) x 38" high (~960). Skill level BEGINER/ INTERMEDIATE


IMO, purchasing one of these plans would be a good source for design solutions for you

I'll watch the videos and look at the links but to address some of the questions.

The draws we have seen for clothing that are around 900mm h have all had 4 drawers and all been of equal depth (as far as I noticed). But I do like the idea of graduated drawers. 800mm W may be a better dimension.

I'm 180 and I think she is 163cm so for these purposes close enough to each other in height.

Although I like the idea of legs I think it will just be a small enough space for things to get left hidden unseen and lost of go mouldy.
So I think a kick board/plinth is the best bet.

Solid timber not veener. I want to be able to refinish it over it's life. I'm imagining it being drawn on etc at some point along with the walls.
Tassie oak would be ok but maybe something with a bit more figure/interest.


Tools that are available and operational. 10" table saw, scroll saw, domino (smaller one), drill press, orbital sander, dovetail jig, router, router table. Hand saws and chisels.
Can't seem to find a sparky who will actually follow through and connect 3ph so band saw and jointer are unavailable.

Willing to buy a jointer 15" or larger, used if cheap enough and 240v new is out of the budget.


Have a degree in design so that is probably my strongest point in the project, and am capable of producing plans. However need some idea of what is going inside to draw up.


'Not date in style". I guess fairly simple and nothing ornate or trendy. I'm thinking scandanavian style or squarish with hidden routed out handles in the bottom edge of the draw faces myself.

Whilst none of these are exactly what I'm thinking this is more the style but all wood not white laminate or paint.

In terms of the video, some of the joints I'd happily use dominoes or jig cut the drawer dovetails.

Dale by the time you make it baby will be having your grand kids LOL

Originally Posted by DSEL74

I'll watch the videos and look at the links but to address some of the questions.

The draws we have seen for clothing that are around 900mm h have all had 4 drawers and all been of equal depth (as far as I noticed). But I do like the idea of graduated drawers. 800mm W may be a better dimension. IMO 800 mm wide is around the maximum width for a drawer. Wider and stuff gets mixed up in it too easily. Also, equal depth drawers are IMO a sign of mass production flat pack furniture. The monkeys screwing the melamine boxes together don't need to think about which drawer bit goes where when all the drawers are the same height. On the other hand, graduated drawers are IMO a mark of an individual item. Again, expressing my personal preference, I'm always losing stuff in deep (200mm or deeper) drawers and much prefer drawers around 150mm or less deep. I particularly like a shallow top drawer.

Although I like the idea of legs I think it will just be a small enough space for things to get left hidden unseen and lost of go mouldy.
So I think a kick board/plinth is the best bet. Suggest the plinth be no more than 100 mm high.

Solid timber not veener. I want to be able to refinish it over it's life. I'm imagining it being drawn on etc at some point along with the walls.
Tassie oak would be ok but maybe something with a bit more figure/interest. OK

Tools that are available and operational. 10" table saw, scroll saw, domino (smaller one), drill press, orbital sander, dovetail jig, router, router table. Hand saws and chisels.
Can't seem to find a sparky who will actually follow through and connect 3ph so band saw and jointer are unavailable. This complicates things somewhat. Your basic chest (which the drawers go into) will need to be either frame and panel or have solid sides. In both cases you will need to be able to flatten the panels used for the sides and top. Knowing how to use a hand plane is a huge bonus for this. Alternatively you should seriously consider outsourcing the manufacture of the panels needed for the sides and top. The bottom of the carcass will just be two boards with maybe a piece of ply as a dust panel. HOWEVER. A chest of drawers contains lots of dimensioned parts many of which need to be square and true before they are installed. I personally would not trust the DAR stuff from Mitre 10, Bunnings or Masters to be the right size or true enough for the task. Can you "call a friend" when it comes to dimensioning the parts?


Have a degree in design so that is probably my strongest point in the project, and am capable of producing plans. However need some idea of what is going inside to draw up. Very good. Your cheapest option is probably to buy a plan for a traditional chest of drawers. Depending on your level of interest, the alternative is buying a book on constructing chests of drawers -- IMO this is a good one https://www.amazon.com/Chests-Drawers-Outstanding-Craftsmen-Furniture/dp/1561584223 -- or a one of the furniture design source books.

'Not date in style". I guess fairly simple and nothing ornate or trendy. I'm thinking scandanavian style or squarish with hidden routed out handles in the bottom edge of the draw faces myself.

The question you didn't answer is how much time do you have before the bub arrives, and how much of that time can you spend building (including learning to build) the chest of drawers?

I have 6mths until the Bub is due, however I doubt I can have my ears ring that long lol.

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Dale by the time you make it baby will be having your grand kids LOL

If I did that, I wouldn't live that long.

Maybe something like this

I'd recommend using proper runners for drawers of that size; Blum soft close are the weapon of choice at work, tried the others and they're just not as nice.

As for stopping kids ending up underneath it, screwing it to the wall is probably the easiest way. Making the base out of depleted uranium is an alternative method :P

In the C19th many chests of drawers (not draws btw) had a lock on each drawer. That stopped the grommets pulling them out and climbing/tipping them. I'm a traditionalist. If you want this chest of drawers to be an antique for the future do not use metal drawer runners -- they are easy (tick) work well (tick) but a sign of our trashy disposable culture (double tick).

Look at antique chests of drawers. Graduated height drawers, the drawer sides run on "runners" preferably routed into the solid sides of the chest, but sometimes just tacked on (and lasted for 100 years!).

Traditional chests of drawers had solid timber carcases with the solid sides blind dovetailed to the solid tops and bases. You could easily use the domino to get (almost) equally strong joints. If you are interested I can post some photos of antique chests of cedar drawers to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

It was some years ago when I made a chest of drawers for our first baby. The top of the unit doubled as a changing area. We bought the change mat first, which dictated the minimum size of the top. The height was around 930mm to be a good height for changing nappies. I only put 3 deep drawers in it, as my wife's request. Piles of nappies were stacked in the top drawer, along with some clothes, blankets etc. Bottles of lotion and baby powder were able to stand upright. With one hand on a wriggling baby, it was essential to be able to get whatever was needed with the other.

I made the cabinet out of veneered particle board (tassie oak finish). Drawers carcasses were melamine, so they could be wiped clean easily. Drawer fronts were timber edged tassie oak veneered particle board.

My kids are all adults now, but we still use the cabinet as a storage area for infrequently used things.

It stood the test of time, and matched our budget at that point in our lives.

Happy to post a pic if you'd like, but it's very basic.

Are you making a cot?

Cheers,

ajw

Originally Posted by DSEL74

Tools that are available and operational. 10" table saw, scroll saw, domino (smaller one), drill press, orbital sander, dovetail jig, router, router table. Hand saws and chisels.
Can't seem to find a sparky who will actually follow through and connect 3ph so band saw and jointer are unavailable.

.

Dale

Have 8" jointer, 15" thicknesser, 14" bandsaw and bandsaw mill which can Resaw about 420/450 from memory if you need to use to help with your project and lastly, congrats on the pregnancy

I'm tending away from metal runners at this stage but may change my mind can you recommend a supplier & part no?


I'd be interested in seeing both your sets of photos (antiques, & change table drawers).
Bailled out on making a cot, I'm going to buy a second hand one and do it up a bit.


Appreciate the offer DJ.