Ash Dresser

[Rutabagared]

Sides and top book matched from 8/4 stock.  Drawer fronts book matched from single board.  Carcass assembled with 8x50 dominos.  There is a bit of a color mismatch between the drawer fronts, carcass and base.  Rather than go with the typical bracket-style feet I’ve done in the past, I experimented with a different type of base similar to ones I’ve made for display cases.  Four coats of Target Coatings EM6000 satin production lacquer.  I was able to apply all coats in about 4 hours due to favorable conditions.

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The drawers are all NK style. A bit of extra work when constructing, but since the runner/bottom assembly is glued-up in it’s opening, they are incredibly easy to fit and operate super smoothly for years and years.

Drawer bottom/runners glued in situ
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Drawer box glued to bottom/runner assembly
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I wanted to spice up the typical know/pull applied to a flat surface so I made oval recesses for finger clearance behind what I planned on originally as rectangular drawer pulls (obviously, I ended up using round knobs from niceknobs.com, their Iconic Shaker 1-1/8) .  The template was cut using the Shaper Origin.  I used the Whiteside 1406B round nose bit with bearing.  The bottoms of the recess required some hand sanding to remove the tiny ridges left from the routing.

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My Freud saw blade is dull and left saw marks on the end grain of the applied drawer faces.  I’m always trying to apply hand tools when possible.  In this project their application was limited to smoothing out these saw marks.  I broke out the LN low angle jack and actually bothered to switch to the low angle spare blade I have for it.  It was incredibly efficient at removing the saw marks, just a few swipes.  A quick touch up with 400 grit and job done.

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I’m still on the fence between an ash or walnut knob.  Opinions?
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[Holzhacker]

I'm not generally a fan of the blond skando design stuff. A lot of it to me looks like, 'uh so when are you going to finish that'
Have to say though you hit a homerun on this. Looks fantastic. Really great work and choices.
The recesses around the pulls are a great little detail that make the drawers look great. Don't know if you spent a lot of time deciding on which board to use where for grain appearance or if it just happened. Worked out great. I like the solid looking base as well. Not those cheesy skinny little legs that will break when you move it to get to the receptacle behind it.
It looks so vibrant and alive.

 

[Rutabagared]

Thanks, Holzhacker.  High praise from you indeed.  I did take care in choosing the boards, mostly stock wide enough to cover the carcass widths with a book match.  The sides and top ended up a bit skinnier as a result.  The drawer fronts came from a single 8/4 board that was book matched.  The rails of the bottom skirt were "rip-and-flipped" from 8/4 stock and edge glued to achieve straight grain.  I'm with you on the legs.  I've seen plenty of antiques with leg repairs.

We were in that first user group that went to Festool HQ a while back (circa 2007?).  I recall you traveled on your BMW two-wheeler.  Do you still ride?

Joe

 

[Birdhunter]

Beautiful work. I made a large 60" wide dresser from quarter sawn white oak. I was my most difficult project ever. Getting everything perfectly straight and all the joints at 90 degrees. The hardest task was to get all the drawers lined up horizontally and vertically.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

That looks really great. The care/attention to the grain flow and matching is very evident, especially to guys like us. Some people would never notice.
I'm with you on the pulls, I can't decide either. Maybe it's the oval recess, giving the Ash knobs more contrast, than they would have gotten alone? I also like the Walnut, it always looks good.

 

[Rutabagared]

That looks really great. The care/attention to the grain flow and matching is very evident, especially to guys like us. Some people would never notice.
I'm with you on the pulls, I can't decide either. Maybe it's the oval recess, giving the Ash knobs more contrast, than they would have gotten alone? I also like the Walnut, it always looks good.

Thanks.  I hadn't thought of the recesses giving the ash knobs more contrast.  I agree.

 

[Rutabagared]

Beautiful work. I made a large 60" wide dresser from quarter sawn white oak. I was my most difficult project ever. Getting everything perfectly straight and all the joints at 90 degrees. The hardest task was to get all the drawers lined up horizontally and vertically.

Thank you. It is challenging working with larger pieces.  My carcass is square in this case (the Goddess of Fortune smiled upon me), But I messed up the center divider. It is skewed from front to back so the drawer cavities (left and right) are out of square in opposite directions.  This is where the NK drawers saved my bacon - the bottom assembly with the runners are assembled in place, and although they are out of square as a result, the drawer boxes can be applied to them square with respect to the front of the carcass.  I spaced the applied drawer fronts using 1/8" Handi-Shims and attached them to the drawer boxes with four screws.  A larger gap than I prefer, but I had to allow for the movement of the larger fronts.

 

[Muttley000]

Very nice indeed!  I really like the knob recess detail, and to my eye the walnut knobs set it off a bit more.

 

[Michael Kellough]

You really make ash look good!

 

[Rutabagared]

Very nice indeed!  I really like the knob recess detail, and to my eye the walnut knobs set it off a bit more.

Thanks.  Maybe I can mount the knobs with switchable magnets, changing them out at my whim .

 

[Rutabagared]

You really make ash look good!

Thanks, Michael.  It's become my favorite.

 

[Birdhunter]

Re drawer alignment…. Whatever you did to accommodate the center divider issue, the resulting alignment looks perfect. Beautiful work. I built my dresser as a gift to some young friends. They say it has given them great pleasure.

 

[onocoffee]

Woah, nicely done!

 

[Rutabagared]

Looks fantastic! The grain really shines, and the dovetail craftsmanship is top-notch. How did you finish it? The tone looks great, and I’d love to know the process.

Thank your for the kind words.  I simply sprayed several coats of Target Coatings Emtech lacquer on the bare wood.  Though I don't remember which.  It was eithter the EM6000 or EM7000.  They spray and look very similar when applying.  The EM6000 yellows to a more traditional varnish look over time.  So I'll have to wait to find out.

 

[Rutabagared]

Woah, nicely done!

Thanks.

 

[nclemmons]

Fantastic wood choice and grain match.  That takes a lot of time and a good eye!  Really well done.  I like ash and your work really shows its incredible grain and color.

Oval recesses are a great addition.  I'd go with ash knobs to keep it consistent with the rest of the piece. 

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Rutabagared]

Fantastic wood choice and grain match.  That takes a lot of time and a good eye!  Really well done.  I like ash and your work really shows its incredible grain and color.

Oval recesses are a great addition.  I'd go with ash knobs to keep it consistent with the rest of the piece. 

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, neilc.  I did go with the ash knobs.