Night Stand in Pine - Unfinished

You did a swell job.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

I am not a big fan of pine, becasue it is so soft and the sanding dust affect my sinuses too much, but that night stand looks really nice. Just curious if you wanted the knotty pine look in the leg?

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

I saw that same plan in wood. I’m thinking I might make one as well, but I’m thinking I might only use one drawer.

I like that you included the knots!

-- www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com

Hi Scotty. Lenny in Rhode Island here. I guess several of us have the nightstand bug. I am about to make one as a retirement gift for a coworker. I contacted a family member of hers and learned she could use a nice night table. I was looking at red oak today and decided not to spend that much on the project so I opted for some D-select pine instead. I plan to fashion it after the nightstands I made for the LOML and myself (see my home page for a photo).

I would like to offer two comments. I noticed that the proportions of your project seem off. I think it is that the drawers, a highlight of the project, should stand out from the rails and apron. You will notice in the Wood magazine project that the front rails are only 1 3/4” wide and the apron 2” (but actually narrower due to the curve) while the drawers are just over 2 1/2” wide. It is a personal opinion but I think it makes for a more aesthetically pleasing look. Secondly, I see what appears to be a fair amount of dried glue on the back panel in the 3rd picture. You are going to have to scrape or sand that glue off before applying your finish. You can save yourself a lot of work wiping as much of that glue off as you can when you do your glue up and clamping. I hope you do not take offense to my comments. I mean none. I am hopeful that they are of some help. Keep making that sawdust!

Lenny

-- And on the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop!

Lenny,

Thanks! I tend to get many “it looks great” as comments and not too many detailed criticims. So to your comments…The easy one first, I have spent three nights trying to get the glue off! I have only found sand paper to be effective. I have also found that getting into the corners is a devil of a trick! SO, your comment on the glue is well taken. Do you have any suggestions on other methods? I tried mineral spirits and denatured alcohol with little effect.

On the proportions, is it width of the drawers to hight of the front of the apron? Is the curve of the apron the aesthetic detail that balances out the piece? Would a single large drawer balance out the piece? More detail greatfully appriciated.

-- "may it be done according to your word"

Brianinpa,

I do like the look of the knots, the only one I wanted was the one on the leg because is looks very good in person. On the drawer I was trying to match the grain and that was the closet piece I had. I am still on the fince about the knot on the drawer.

-- "may it be done according to your word"

Hello Scotty. I am a shop teacher in st louis area and I would honestly give this a low A/High B. Especially since the goofs are minor. Design is everything. You may want people to notice the tapered legs vs the drawer fronts. Just selecting the stock is important. I always teach my students to select stock for the most visible pieces first so you don’t accidentally cut them up for something else.

Another thing I have the students do, which I see you basically have already started, is an project eval. What would they do different, what would they do same, etc. Now most won’t build same project exactly again, but they can use the oop’s and positives they encountered on another project.

I tell the students that woodworking is a lot like a dance squad during the half time show. Being teens and mostly boys, I know they pay attention to them. Dancing is a lot of simple steps done in the correct order at the correct time and it looks great. If one of the dancers are off, the dance doesn’t look so good, but it is still a dance routine.

The same goes with woodworking, so to speak. Woodworking is a sequence of simple (some not so simple) steps done in the correct order with some degree of accuracy, they project will look great. For example, not cleaning the glue up, made your goings a little more difficult. Most of my students learn after the first project that sanding before assembly makes everything go smoother (pardon my pun on words)

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask me any questions. Tooldad

Tooldad,

One of the best lessons learned from 20 years in the Army is the most important mission execution step is the after actions review. That is where you get the best information on your performance. I like putting my projects on the web so that I can get feed back from other people that may not be as invested as I am on my projects. Thanks for your comments.

Also, how do you like being a shop teacher? I would imagine it is a great job.

Scott

-- "may it be done according to your word"