LumberJocks

Butterfly Inlaid Changing Table & Dresser in Cherry and Maple

Project by Patrick Jaromin posted 802 days ago 1628 views 14 times favorited 27 comments Add to Favorites Watch

I built this dresser/changing table for my first born, Annalise. It features a exotic wood butterfly inlay and curly maple “racing stripe” in the top, fluted cherry side and door panels, and a removable top “drawer box”. The main internal structure is birch plywood with frame-and-panel sides. The finish is hand-rubbed tung oil topped with a wipe on poly.

This was my first inlay attempt, and while rather simple I was pleased with how it turned out and have been experimenting with more intricate inlays since – like in the matching crib.

For more photos of the project, see my online gallery.

Here’s the hand-drafted construction drawing. This was before I discovered SketchUp!
construction_drawing


Here’s the room from the post at HomeRefurbers.com:

Click for details: The Room at Pooh Corner

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


27 comments so far

View TomFran's profile

TomFran

2593 posts in 965 days


posted 802 days ago

Very nice work! A quality piece indeed.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

View rjack's profile

rjack

110 posts in 826 days


posted 802 days ago

I love the contrasting woods. Very nice!!

-- Roger - Havertown, Pennsylvania

View speakerscott's profile

speakerscott

25 posts in 810 days


posted 802 days ago

Amazing! Beautiful job on the inlay butterfly!

-- Scott, Austin-Texas...

View Betsy's profile

Betsy

2385 posts in 867 days


posted 802 days ago

Patrick – sketchup—- you don’t need that! Your plans and your follow through are great. I really like the contrast of woods and the inlay is amazing. I think I see a whole lot of Daddy-made things in the future of your first born.

-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.

View Karson's profile

Karson

28894 posts in 1372 days


posted 802 days ago

Great Job Patrick. A beautiful changing table. How thick is the inlay wood?

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View Chip's profile

Chip

1055 posts in 1064 days


posted 802 days ago

Beautiful piece Patrick. An heirloom. Thanks for letting us get a look at it.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

View cajunpen's profile

cajunpen

5980 posts in 1037 days


posted 802 days ago

Patrick your work is excellent. I like the design, as well as the contrasting materials.

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

View Blake's profile

Blake

2965 posts in 845 days


posted 802 days ago

Stunning! Beautiful design and craftsmanship. I don’t know what else to say. It will be under the diapers of many generations of babies. Just gorgeous.

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

View Brad_Nailor's profile

Brad_Nailor

1345 posts in 929 days


posted 802 days ago

That is a beautiful piece of furniture. The combination of maple and cherry is always awesome.I love your drawings as well…I started drafting in the board and t-square era, and you have a great style! I love a great hand drawn set of plans.

-- David, South Windsor, CT "The ***damn Germans got nuttin to do with it" Sheriff Buford T Justice

View Patrick Jaromin's profile

Patrick Jaromin

288 posts in 804 days


posted 802 days ago

Thanks for the feedback, folks! It’s very much appreciated.

Karson – the inlay is roughly 1/8” thick. Watching David Marks gave me the courage…just wish they were still making shows.

The only issue we’ve had with the dresser so far is I seriously miscalculated the volume of clothes a little girl needs storage for! It’s routinely stuffed to the gills to the point where the drawers won’t close. The one I built for my son is much larger, and naturally relatively empty. Figures.

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

View Patrick Jaromin's profile

Patrick Jaromin

288 posts in 804 days


posted 802 days ago

Oh…and Brad/David, yeah I used to do a lot of drafting when I was designing theatrical sets. Never quite good enough for any real architecture, but it served me well for scenery. My drafting courses in HS and college were some of my favs. Nowadays I’m almost strictly SketchUp. After years of searching for a CAD, this is the first app that I really can use. Drafting tools are getting rather dusty now! Looking at your projects I can see you spend your design time these days with CAD/SketchUp as well.

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

View Thos. Angle's profile

Thos. Angle

4062 posts in 934 days


posted 802 days ago

Very nice piece as is the crib. Bring us more.

-- Thos. Angle

View SPalm's profile

SPalm

1155 posts in 853 days


posted 802 days ago

I’m impressed. Welcome.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

View CharlieM1958's profile

CharlieM1958

8269 posts in 1190 days


posted 802 days ago

Really impressive, Patrick!

I checked out your photo gallery, and I’m curious as to what method you used to rout out the top of the table to the exact dimension of your inlay pieces?

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View Peter O's profile

Peter O

1068 posts in 846 days


posted 802 days ago

Wow, this is really beautiful! I love the contrast and the details!

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

View Patrick Jaromin's profile

Patrick Jaromin

288 posts in 804 days


posted 802 days ago

Charlie-
I basically followed a method I saw David Marks use on Woodworks. For this piece I first cut the individual pieces of inlay wood, then I taped them down and traced around them a few times with a sharp X-acto knife on the cherry top. Then I routed by hand with an 1/8” bit. The score lines did a great job helping me guide the router precisely.

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

View CharlieM1958's profile

CharlieM1958

8269 posts in 1190 days


posted 802 days ago

Wow.. I’ll have to try that on some scrap. Don’t know if my hands are that steady. :-)

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View Todd A. Clippinger's profile

Todd A. Clippinger

5999 posts in 1071 days


posted 801 days ago

Your woodworking talent is fabulous!

I really admire your drafting skills, I am not that good.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

View Sawdust2's profile

Sawdust2

1256 posts in 1059 days


posted 801 days ago

Some of you folks have been paying attention to Odie.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

View miles125's profile (online now)

miles125

1552 posts in 977 days


posted 801 days ago

Really nice job on this Patrick! Welcome to Lumberjocks.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

View mot's profile

mot

4900 posts in 1008 days


posted 800 days ago

This is beautiful, Patrick!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

View Mark A. DeCou's profile

Mark A. DeCou

1543 posts in 1377 days


posted 789 days ago

just stunning. Very well designed and built, and the contrasting and inlays are just wonderful. I’m a fan now.

-- Mark DeCou - American Contemporary Craft Artisan - www.decoustudio.com

View Andy's profile

Andy

720 posts in 879 days


posted 785 days ago

Beatiful in style and fuction as well.In HS shop our teacher told us to never mix woods in furniture because it seldom compliments the design.Well, this is one of those exceptions.Very well done!

-- " If I can make it, so can you" Andy in Oregon

View rikkor's profile

rikkor

11329 posts in 846 days


posted 785 days ago

Man that’s nice. Excellent craftsmanship, too.

View Beginningwoodworker's profile

Beginningwoodworker

5353 posts in 644 days


posted 517 days ago

Thats a nice peice.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

View Grumpy's profile

Grumpy

15140 posts in 822 days


posted 517 days ago

Beaut job Patrick.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

View Joshua Sargent's profile

Joshua Sargent

7 posts in 494 days


posted 494 days ago

Holy Gorgeous-ness Batman!!! I’d give my left arm to be able to make something like that for my daughter. They deserve the best, don’t they?! You really delivered….I’m sure she’s proud of daddy!

About Sketchup – is there some site where you can share/buy/sell Sketchup design files? I’d pay just to see how you made it….not that I could ever make one. (But that’s beside the point…I can still appreciate, right?!)

Anyway – nice work man.

-- -=Josh - Gurnee, IL=-

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