| Project by MattD | posted 383 days ago | 1307 views | 15 times favorited | 33 comments | ![]() |
This is my latest project that I completed last week for my 3yr old daughter. It took me about 6 months, probably 120 hours, and started out mostly as rough lumber except for the top boards which I bought S2S.
The external woods are black cherry and a few variations of maple. The drawer interior is poplar with cedar bottoms. It was finished with BLO, blonde shellac and wax.
I learned a lot about using hand tools on this. I did nearly all of the joinery and final shaping by hand with tools like spokeshaves, hand saws, mortise and bench chisels, planes and card scrapers.
For some reason, the idea of doing an inlay on the inside drawer stuck with me. I also figured that if it didn’t come out well, at least it wouldn’t be highly visiible, but I ended up happy with it. I had no idea how I was going to do this until I saw a David Marks episode where he did inlay into solid wood.
Any sort of comments or helpful criticism would be appreciated. One thing I’m not sure of is the hardware. I’m happy with it, but I’m keeping an eye out for alternatives.
-- Matt - Syracuse, NY
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33 comments so far
DAN
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2845 posts in 426 days
posted 383 days ago
excellent work !! crisp, clean lines
-- ..... art for lifes sake
Thos. Angle
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3243 posts in 405 days
posted 383 days ago
subtil and very refined. I especially like the shape on the corner posts.The inlay came out nice as well.
Good work
-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon
schroeder
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462 posts in 568 days
posted 383 days ago
beautiful!, I love the inlay! very Crafty! (I’ll be stealing that idea!) – thanks for sharing your work.
-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe
GaryK
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8404 posts in 431 days
posted 383 days ago
Nice job! I have never thought of using inlay on drawer sides!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
lclashley
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231 posts in 557 days
posted 383 days ago
Great piece Matt! I like how you used the same boards across the front, give it a real pro look. The inlay looks great as well.
Gary
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301 posts in 767 days
posted 383 days ago
Real impressive. She’s a lucky girl—furniture for life.
Gail
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36 posts in 401 days
posted 383 days ago
This is a gorgeous piece, you should be very proud.
-- Gail, http://www.hometownwoodworking.com
Greg Mitchell
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1372 posts in 512 days
posted 383 days ago
Great job! The inlay on the sides of the drawer is a great idea. I also like the hardware. Beautiful piece of furniture.
-- Greg Mitchell--Lowell, AR--gdamitchell@sbcglobal.net
whit
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25 posts in 420 days
posted 383 days ago
Nice looking dresser, Matt. I really like the inlay in the sides of the drawers. Many people look at the drawers to check for dovetails. What do you think they’ll say when they see both dovetails and an inlay. I think they’ll say “WOW”!!! Kudos to you.
-- Even if to be nothing more than a bad example, everything serves a purpose.
Bob Babcock
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1811 posts in 529 days
posted 383 days ago
Gorgeous piece…lucky little girl. I wish I had started when my kids were little.
The inlays are a great surprise, nicely done on all counts. The subtle curve on the corners is a nice touch.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
dewoodwork
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90 posts in 399 days
posted 383 days ago
Excellent work Matt. Your attention in detail realy shines in the drawer faces and joinery. I love contrast and your choice of woods works very well.
-- Express creativity with wood, Dewayne. Vacaville CA.
cajunpen
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5352 posts in 509 days
posted 383 days ago
Very nice piece of furniture. Well done.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
jembo
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104 posts in 456 days
posted 382 days ago
Excellent work, thanks for sharing.
-- James - Geneva, Switzerland
MsDebbieP
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11555 posts in 603 days
posted 382 days ago
((applauding))
Love the design – and then the wood just accentuates the beauty. The inlay – brilliant and well done.
Bravo
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
snowdog
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584 posts in 425 days
posted 382 days ago
Great work but I know what you mean about the hardware. For me it detracts from the overall beauty of the piece (which really dose look great). I think it is more personal preference but it was what caught my eye. The inlay in the side? What a great idea.
“top boards which I bought S2S.” What is S2S?
-- "so much to learn and so little time"..
Mark DeCou
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1264 posts in 848 days
posted 382 days ago
I love this work. The inlay on the drawer side is a great tip, and something I had not thought of doing before. YOu might see me do something artistic on the side of a drawer someday, and you’ll know that you were the inspiration.
For drawer pulls, and for something special, and just “you”, try making your own. I did some in copper, hammering the surface, and then soldering the pieces together with a propane bottle torch the first time. I made my own bolts with thick copper wire and a die, and my own nuts with chunks of copper and a tap.
If you like this concept, I have some hardware posted around on my projects you could look at for inspiration. Music Notes, Orchids, Flower Leaves, Oak Leaves, & Acorns.
It isn’t hard, I had never done it before, and just started doing it. Each project got a little more complicated and better.
For a 3 year old daughter, you could do hearts, flowers, Disney characters, shapes, who knows, there are lots of options.
Also, if you don’t like the copper, you could do them in wood, making your own knobs. I’ve done deer and elk antler, bone, rocks, turquoise, shells, and on and on, a bunch of weird stuff I have tried.
I found some chunks of petrified wood at the playground in the park one time with the kids. I picked up a handful of them spread out through the peebles, and have enough now to do a project. My kids kept saying,”look dad, watch me…..” I had my head down looking for petrified wood that day. Once they got a hang of what I was looking for, they stopped playing and helped me find rocks. Now, three years later, they are always finding cool rocks for me. I guess this is probably how “weirdness” gets its generational spreading.
admiring your project,
Mark
-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flinthill's Artisan
Bob Babcock
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1811 posts in 529 days
posted 382 days ago
I keep coming back to look at this…I really love it. Definite inspiration for the future. My youngest daughter loves Calla Lilys. When I showed this to her she asked when am I going to build her one.
I’d love to see a blog on your drawer pulls Mark. I’d love to try that myself.
LOL…my kids have gone “rock hunting” with me many times. definitely spreading the “weirdness”.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
MattD
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66 posts in 387 days
posted 382 days ago
Thanks guys.
Mark – Great suggestion with copper and the other materials. It never occured to me I could hammer out copper this way without some serious tools or heat. I might give it a try! The pull on that one table you made is just great.
Snowdog – S2S is a designation for lumber meaning “Surfaced 2 Sides” meaning that a rough cut board is planed smooth on the top and bottom and both surfaces are hopefully parallel. Many lumber shops charge extra per board foot for lumber that is surfaced smooth, so you can usually get rough lumber cheaper. There is also “S3S” which adds one edge that’s jointed and squared and “S4S” which of course is smooth on on sides like lumber at Home Depot, etc.
-- Matt - Syracuse, NY
snowdog
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584 posts in 425 days
posted 381 days ago
I showed my wife this project and guess what she wants on our (upcomming) slide out pantry draws. You guessed it, an inlay of some bird or flower. I’ll get you for that mattD <laugh>, I don’t have enough to learn already :) It really is a great idea you had.
I can’t wait to see your new hardware.
-- "so much to learn and so little time"..
NormiteLou
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36 posts in 415 days
posted 381 days ago
Wow, nice work. I wish I could do somthing like that!
-- Normite Lou
scottb
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2855 posts in 770 days
posted 381 days ago
Simply beautiful.
Love the idea of the hidden detail on the drawer.
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh
Chris
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1140 posts in 434 days
posted 379 days ago
Wow! That inlay really makes it a unique piece of furniture.
-- Chris
Karson
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12618 posts in 843 days
posted 379 days ago
Great looking chest. The inlays are a great addition and make it very personal to your daughter
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
Skinna
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23 posts in 379 days
posted 378 days ago
that’s some truly beautiful work I am very impressed and I bet when your daughter is retiring and still has this beautiful item she will also be very impressed each and every time she sees it – superb work
-- Skinna - Australia... I won't stop at murder if that's what is necessary to get the job done
mot
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4837 posts in 479 days
posted 378 days ago
Man that’s a nice piece!
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
Dorje
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1736 posts in 440 days
posted 378 days ago
Matt – Great work! I like how you very thoughtfully glued up the drawer fronts and carefully laid them all out so the grain is continuous. The top is gorgeous. The whole piece shows a lot of consideration to the wood and is aesthetically very appealing.
How did you join up the posts on the corners?
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
DaveJ
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64 posts in 366 days
posted 364 days ago
Marking as a favorite – ‘nuf said!
-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN
Patrick Jaromin
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200 posts in 275 days
posted 271 days ago
Simple, elegant, lovely. Thanks for sharing.
-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com
Blake
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1874 posts in 317 days
posted 271 days ago
Just stunning. Wow. A gorgeous piece with beautiful details.
-- Dust collectors suck.
coolbreeze
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105 posts in 178 days
posted 175 days ago
I like the colors in this piece.Aside from the pretty detail, it has a relaxed feel to it.
-- Jason, AL
rikkor
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7112 posts in 317 days
posted 174 days ago
This is a beaut. I am glad it came out of the archives so I could see it. Nice work.
-- Maplewood, MN
Scott Bryan
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8494 posts in 265 days
posted 169 days ago
Hi Matt,
I am glad this one came back up on the list. I love the look and cherry and maple together. This is a gorgeous piece. The large dovetails and inlay add really nice details to it as well.
Very nice post. It was a pleasure to look at it.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
mzmac
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46 posts in 110 days
posted 84 days ago
Excellent piece very finely executed