Thread: Chest of Drawers

The top in its vacuum press.

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These face veneers are NG Rosewood. The balancing veneers are Surian Cedar. Both timbers have very similar movement characteristics, so they work well together.

Bugger! And double bugger!

As I was manipulating the cabinet around yesterday, trying to lie it on its side, I dropped it and damaged one corner of the top.


Thought of a few solutions, but in the end I wet the corner to help it rebound a bit. Once dry, a dam wall of tape was used and the depressed area was filled with clear epoxy. Sanded it off this morning, and the repair appears invisible ... so far ... but it's hard to tell with the sanding marks. Lets see what it looks like when sanding sealer and lacquer goes on in the coming days. That will be the ultimate test.

Off to buy more sanding sealer and thinners.

Finished, and delivered.

First pic from the side, before lacquer.

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Then from the top, before lacquer.
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Drawers freshly lacquered and knobs attached.

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In it's final resting place. The repair to the top corner is, for practical purposes, invisible.

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Since March I have delivered to my nephew an entertainment unit, two occasional/coffee tables with sliding tops, two bedside tables and this chest of drawers. Because we trade vehicle servicing for furniture, I am now in credit for quite a few services to come, and my nephew's place is now fully furnished.

Absolutely stunning!! x 10

Thanks, Ray.

I had a rush of blood and for the top only filled the grain and gave it a hand rubbed, almost mirror finish.

Beautiful! I enjoyed seeing your process through the project, so thanks for the progress images. I have a question about the dividers between every drawer. I appreciate the consistency of the look, but it also adds considerably to the amount of timber and the overall weight, and consumes storage volume. Have you thought about mounting hardwood runners to the carcase frame and routing the drawer sides to fit, or any other options?

I did consider options, Dr Harris, but not for long.

My nephew liked the look of my chest of drawers, which has web frames. He reckoned that being able to see the drawer dividers separated the piece from those made with veneered particleboard. This is also a part of the reason he chose legs over a base under the carcass. Finally, like me he is prone to over-engineering, and decided that a cabinet with eight web frames would be ultra strong, if heavy. He's correct.

Because I created an itemised list of all timber (and etc) used during construction (for billing purposes) I can tell you that the web frames are 20% of the total cost of timber and MDF used. So, you are correct, they are a significant contributor to weight. In this case the client was happy to pay for the timber and to suffer the volumetric loss. He wanted drawer dividers, legs and shop-cut book matched veneers to the top and sides (he chose the veneers).

He got what he wanted.

An outstanding thread. I've enjoyed it immensely.

I really love the dowelled drawer ends. It adds a lot of character.

Thank you.

Thanks woodPixel.

I love the dowelled drawers too. They look fine, but what I like most is the speed and ease of construction, together with great strength.