Emmerson Changing Table

Submitted by The Smiths on Mon, 10/06/2014 - 22:14

My wife and I decided to build this with the same intent as Ana, to use as a changing table for our baby due in January 2015. We haven't built the topper yet but we're thrilled with the console table!

We did a lot of research on lumber before purchasing and ended up going through a local lumberyard, Gilcrest-Jewett for all but the pine 1x's which were purchased from lowes since the lumberyard didn't stock them in as many varying lengths and would have to mill them all from 1x4's. We used white birch purebond plywood. I understand Home Depot also carries this brand and may have been a little cheaper but the lumberyard cut all the pieces. Since we don't have a truck, hauling two 4x8' sheets of plywood wasn't an option and they can be super accurate with their wall saw. Totally worth it. 

The instructions for the doors say to use glue and nails but we took it a step further and secured each board to the one before it using pocket holes, in addition to the glue. We then covered the pocket holes with the 1x3's, securing with 1 1/4" finish nails. 

This was our first experience with edge banding and it really makes everything look so much more professional. If I were to give any tips, I would say to put it on the fronts of the shelf before putting the 1x2" frame in place so you can hide it, and also that I found it to be easier to use my sheet sander to get the edges off instead of a razor blade as the instructions suggest. 

This was also our first experience with doors. I found that paint sticks work well to achieve that perfect gap around the edges. I should have measured and not assumed but we ended up having to add a piece in the middle of the two doors because the 1x3's (typically 2 1/2" wide) were just under 1/8" too narrow. Make sure you measure those boards before putting it all together. 

In the end, we're thrilled with how this turned out. It's a real solid piece of furniture that's made to last. We actually looked at this piece at a West Elm and the floor model felt flimsy and thrown together. Great plans, thanks Ana!

Estimated Cost
$225
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust-Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Carrington, followed by Rust-Oleum Ultimate Polyurethane in Matte. This is a wiping stain that was applied with 3" foam brushes and wiped off following the directions on the can. We let the stain dry for 24 hours before applying 3 coats of the polyurethane. The polyurethane was also applied with a 3" foam brush. We chose this finish to get it as flat as possible while still protecting the finish and this is one of very few matte/flat top coats that we could find around town. The only other option is General Finishes flat, which is quite amazing but very expensive. We had heard good things about the stain so decided to give the polyurethane a try. It worked out well.

We taped off boards one at a time on the door and sanded with a sheet sander. It's easy for the tape to get all torn up while sanding so we had to replace it several times.

We chose to not fill any holes since most that were visible were just from the nail gun on the frame and the inside pocket holes were so uniform that it actually looks nice. No wood conditioner was used either.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments