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7 Drawer Maple and Cherry Dresser

Project by MattD posted 819 days ago 2588 views 27 times favorited 37 comments Add to Favorites Watch

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


37 comments so far

View DAN 's profile

DAN

6396 posts in 861 days


posted 819 days ago

excellent work !! crisp, clean lines

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

View Thos. Angle's profile

Thos. Angle

4015 posts in 841 days


posted 819 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

View schroeder's profile

schroeder

508 posts in 1004 days


posted 819 days ago

beautiful!, I love the inlay! very Crafty! (I’ll be stealing that idea!) – thanks for sharing your work.

-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe

View GaryK's profile

GaryK

9496 posts in 867 days


posted 819 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.

View lclashley's profile

lclashley

243 posts in 993 days


posted 819 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.

View Gary's profile

Gary

437 posts in 1203 days


posted 819 days ago

Real impressive. She’s a lucky girl—furniture for life.

-- Gary, Florida

View Gail's profile

Gail

37 posts in 836 days


posted 818 days ago

This is a gorgeous piece, you should be very proud.

-- Gail, http://www.hometownwoodworking.com

View Greg Mitchell's profile

Greg Mitchell

1383 posts in 947 days


posted 818 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

View whit's profile

whit

60 posts in 855 days


posted 818 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.

View Bob Babcock's profile

Bob Babcock

1808 posts in 965 days


posted 818 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

View dewoodwork's profile

dewoodwork

110 posts in 834 days


posted 818 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.

View cajunpen's profile

cajunpen

5970 posts in 944 days


posted 818 days ago

Very nice piece of furniture. Well done.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

View jembo's profile

jembo

105 posts in 892 days


posted 818 days ago

Excellent work, thanks for sharing.

-- James - Geneva, Switzerland

View MsDebbieP's profile

MsDebbieP

14096 posts in 1039 days


posted 818 days ago

((applauding))
Love the design – and then the wood just accentuates the beauty. The inlay – brilliant and well done.

Bravo

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

View snowdog's profile

snowdog

806 posts in 861 days


posted 818 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"..

View Mark A. DeCou's profile

Mark A. DeCou

1533 posts in 1284 days


posted 818 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 - American Contemporary Craft Artisan - www.decoustudio.com

View Bob Babcock's profile

Bob Babcock

1808 posts in 965 days


posted 818 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

View MattD's profile

MattD

126 posts in 823 days


posted 817 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

View snowdog's profile

snowdog

806 posts in 861 days


posted 817 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"..

View NormiteLou's profile

NormiteLou

36 posts in 851 days


posted 817 days ago

Wow, nice work. I wish I could do somthing like that!

-- Normite Lou

View scottb's profile

scottb

3391 posts in 1205 days


posted 816 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. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

View Chris 's profile

Chris

1456 posts in 870 days


posted 814 days ago

Wow! That inlay really makes it a unique piece of furniture.

-- Chris

View Karson's profile

Karson

25274 posts in 1279 days


posted 814 days ago

Great looking chest. The inlays are a great addition and make it very personal to your daughter

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View Skinna's profile

Skinna

26 posts in 815 days


posted 814 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

View mot's profile

mot

4901 posts in 915 days


posted 814 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)

View Dorje's profile

Dorje

1768 posts in 875 days


posted 814 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

View DaveJ's profile

DaveJ

69 posts in 801 days


posted 799 days ago

Marking as a favorite – ‘nuf said!

-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN

View Patrick Jaromin's profile

Patrick Jaromin

284 posts in 711 days


posted 707 days ago

Simple, elegant, lovely. Thanks for sharing.

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL http://www.TenonAndSpline.com/blog

View Blake's profile

Blake

2715 posts in 753 days


posted 707 days ago

Just stunning. Wow. A gorgeous piece with beautiful details.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

View coolbreeze's profile

coolbreeze

105 posts in 614 days


posted 610 days ago

I like the colors in this piece.Aside from the pretty detail, it has a relaxed feel to it.

-- Jason, AL

View rikkor's profile

rikkor

11338 posts in 753 days


posted 610 days ago

This is a beaut. I am glad it came out of the archives so I could see it. Nice work.

View Scott Bryan's profile

Scott Bryan

20071 posts in 700 days


posted 605 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.

View mzmac's profile

mzmac

76 posts in 546 days


posted 519 days ago

Excellent piece very finely executed

View PurpLev's profile

PurpLev

2675 posts in 527 days


posted 425 days ago

Beautiful!

Cherry and Maple always go together so complementary.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

View mpatman's profile

mpatman

5 posts in 332 days


posted 252 days ago

Awesome, love the finish- this is a great piece and as a newbie gives me lots of inspiration!

View Steffen's profile

Steffen

251 posts in 914 days


posted 213 days ago

This is beautiful…I love beautiful work that is hidden…

-- Steffen

View Beginningwoodworker's profile

Beginningwoodworker

3857 posts in 551 days


posted 133 days ago

Thats a beautiful dresser, you did a nice job.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

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