These little dressers are inspired by Ana's Master Closet System drawers, and the Willy Bookshelf. These were made entirely from scrap wood, so it only cost me for the knobs and the felt for the drawers/bottom. These drawers were sized to fit inside the cubes in my vanity/desk, and to fit the left over wood available from my scrap bin. This took a while to cut everything, but it was fun and didn’t cost me anything but my time. On the top dresser I used some ‘slices’ of lauan for trim, to hide the cut edges and the bit of ‘cup’ on my side pieces (these were re-purposed old shelf boards from the garage). I used my finish nailer and glue for these.
Here’s a shopping and cut list (and a few tips) to make the 4-drawer equivalent (similar to the top one) with standard sized 1x12 lumber, and using 1x2 for drawer front/back/sides and applying 3/16” lauan ply for the bottoms. Haven't figured out how to use sketch up yet, so I can only provide a shopping list, cut list, and finished dimensions, so here goes:
Shopping list: (my 1x12’s are 11.25” wide and .75” thick, and 1x2’s were 1.5” wide, and .75” thick, and lauan is 3/16” thick)
1 pc 1x12x8
2 pc 1x2x8
2 pc 24” x 24” lauan (3/16’ plywood) (you’ll have some left over from the 2nd piece)
Felt - 4 pc 8.5” x 9.75” for insides of drawers, 4 pc 10” x 11.25” for drawer bottoms, and 1 pc 11.75" x 11.25" for dresser bottom. You can use 9 sheets craft felt (9” x 12”) for this – the 11.25” front – back measurement on the drawer bottoms is what’s most important –craft felt is 9” wide, and it’s OK if the felt doesn’t go all the way to the edges on the side-to-side measurement
(Sticky-back felt works and looks great, but costs a lot more than regular. I use sticky back on something I’m making as a gift, but these were for me so I just used regular felt and glued it in place with wood glue)
4 mini-knobs (Mine are unfinished ones from Ace, got for 2/$1.29 and spray-painted them)
Finish nails (I had 1 ¼” on hand) and plenty of glue
Finishing materials - filler, sand paper, plus paint/stain to suit your tastes
Cut list:
2 pc 1x12, cut at 2” (spacers - use these 'slices' for spacers while assembling, so the shelves are all spaced the same distance apart – this idea is from the Kreg jig demo video where they built the bookshelf). I like to cut these first, making sure they are nice and square. To me it’s easier and safer to cut these thin pieces from a larger piece with my miter saw.
2 pc 1x12 @ 11.75” (dresser top/bottom)
5 pc 1x12 @ 10.25” (2 for sides, 3 for shelves)
8 pc 1x2 @ 10” (drawer front/back)
8 pc 1x2 @ 9.75” (drawer sides)
4 pc 10” x 11.25” lauan plywood (drawer bottoms)
1 pc 11.75" x 11.75” lauan plywood (back)
Finished dimensions:
Dresser: 11.75” H x 11.75” W x 11 7/16” deep (includes back)
Drawer opening size: 10.25” wide x 2” tall x 11.25” deep
Drawer dimensions: 10”wide x 11.25” long x 1 11/16” tall (felt on the bottom of the drawer will make this height just a little taller)
Finished inside depth of drawer 1.5”, drawer inside dimensions 8.5” wide x 9.75” long
Finish: sanded, filled, sanded some more, and painted with some left over white paint, and used silver spray paint for the knobs
Assembly tips: Dresser part is constructed very much like the Willy bookshelf. The top and bottom are the same size on this one and the dresser bottom is applied the same way as the top of the Willy bookshelf. Once the bottom is on, use the ‘spacers’ to make sure the shelves are the same distance apart all the way up, then the top goes on last. 3/16” plywood goes on the back. Drawers are constructed like the master closet system drawers. Drawers slide directly on the shelves (and bottoms of drawers covered with felt) so no drawer glides are used. Applied the felt and knobs after sanding and finishing. Make sure the felt goes all the way from the front to the back of the drawer bottom, and is glued on thoroughly.
Comments
spiceylg
Wed, 11/06/2013 - 12:32
Fabulous!
This came out gorgeous!
jahnkekong
Wed, 11/06/2013 - 17:11
awesome!
Could you share any details about how you finished the wheels? I have a cart I am trying to refinish but stalling out on the cast iron parts. I really don't want to paint them, and I don't want them to rust.
Just noticed the Kupo Nut reference! I love it!
In reply to awesome! by jahnkekong
TongueAndTeak
Wed, 11/06/2013 - 19:16
Hardware finishing
Thank you so much for catching the Kupo nut reference! Haha I only felt it was fitting to add a little nerd flair :) rust oleum has a hammered black paint that also doubles as a rust inhibitor so it worked perfectly to touch up the cast iron parts and keep that rustic feel to the hardware. I finished with a clear top coat as I'm sure that I will end up constantly kicking the wheels by accident haha.
jahnkekong
Wed, 11/06/2013 - 19:51
Thanks so much, Kupo! ;0)
Thanks so much, Kupo! ;0) This is motivating me to FINALLY finish my project. Maybe I'll have my own brag post soon!
Cyber Sapp
Wed, 12/04/2013 - 18:45
Hardware
I know you mentioned it was painstaking to find all of hardware, but can you share where you found the front casters? Also how did you put your stamp on it? I'm knew to woodworking so please excuse my ignorance.
In reply to Hardware by Cyber Sapp
TongueAndTeak
Wed, 12/04/2013 - 19:18
Hardware Update
Hi cyber sapp! I was able to piece them together from eBay and etsy items. I searched for key words: "antique cast iron caster" or "factory/industrial cart wheel" and you should be able to find ones that work. I held out for the best deals I could. Be prepared to search quite a lot if you want to find the best deal.
As far as the decal is concerned, I created the template on illustrator and used it as a template to paint the decal on. I checked online and saw a few examples of transferring images on to wood that will probably be easier than hand painting. Hope this helps!!
Cyber Sapp
Wed, 12/04/2013 - 22:25
Thanks for the quick response
Thanks for the update. I made one similar to your modifications. I'm using storage too, I will share once I get the soft close installed. I'm looking for something that want slam fingers when it is closed. I also used Walnut to build it. It is solid like a tank with the hardwood, but came out pretty good. I made a few minor mistakes and now want to make one closer to yours.
In reply to Thanks for the quick response by Cyber Sapp
TongueAndTeak
Tue, 12/17/2013 - 21:19
Oh wow I bet the walnut looks
Oh wow I bet the walnut looks amazing!!! That's a serious upgrade! Can't wait to see it!
Mandymoochops
Mon, 12/16/2013 - 23:30
What an amazing job you did,
What an amazing job you did, I'm still holding out for my end wheels too and you are so right about search search search. It doesn't help being in Canada with shipping costing so much for these too.
Love love love, well done
In reply to What an amazing job you did, by Mandymoochops
TongueAndTeak
Tue, 12/17/2013 - 21:23
Thank you very much!! I do
Thank you very much!! I do not envy you right now as the search took me forever to find the right wheel that matched one I already had. I have had good luck in the past asking eBay sellers about changing to flat rate shipping options. Not sure if they have that option for shipping internationally but it never hurts to try! Keep up the good fight as the wheels REALLY pay off in the end.
Dlamota2052
Thu, 03/26/2020 - 04:52
Beautiful linberry table!
Very nice.....building one if my own with modifications,!