Chest of Drawers Material

[buckeyeguy]

I have drawn plans for a chest of drawers to put in my son's play room. The plan is to move it into our spare bedroom as a dresser as he grows out of play toys.

The chest is 36"H x 60"W x 20"D with 6 drawers. This is not my first piece of furniture, but it is the largest project to date. The design itself is 2"x2" legs that run the whole height up to the bottom of the top. Sides are recessed 1/2" from the face edge of the legs. Front will be recessed 3/4" to allow a 3/4" drawer front to be flush with the face of the legs. Top is going to have a 1" overhang in front and sides, flush in back.

While designing, I was thinking about using hardwood plywood for the side panels thinking it would be cheaper, but after looking at the price of materials, I am considering just doing solid glued panels.

As of right now, the finish would be a black stain over the base, with the top and drawer fronts having a lighter stain color.

In my area, red oak is the least expensive, but I have enough oak in my house with our cabinetry and trim. Our hardwood flooring is a stained character grade hickory and most of our other furniture is cherry.

Other than not being oak, I don't have a preference as to the material species, but am concerned about selecting a hardwood that will work well with a black stain.

In my area, I have access to hard maple, cherry, hickory and ash. Black walnut is ready available, but is not in the budget. All material will be kiln dried S4S as I do not have a jointer (nor do I have the time to "jig" around to get material milled up).

Is there a material that you prefer over another? Particularly one that stains well with a dark stain.

 

[justaguy]

If you are going to stain most of the "base" black have you considered using poplar and painting it? You can use hardwood for the top and drawer fronts.

 

[buckeyeguy]

I did consider poplar, but I always thought of it as being too soft to hold up over time for furniture. The price is definitely right, but was looking for something a little more dense.

 

[justaguy]

Poplar is a medium density wood. It holds up to use better than pine.

If you want to hold down costs and use hardwood ash, hickory, oak or maple are probably your best options. I personally don't like working with red oak I'd use white oak instead.

 

[buckeyeguy]

I built a hallway table for my wife last year and used red oak. I didn't like working with it either. I went to a place where you order at a desk, pay for it and then drive around to pick up the entire order bundled together. It was my first time purchasing lumber for furniture and will never leave without inspecting again.

The last time I picked up S4S lumber for a smaller project, I looked it over before leaving. They had to change out several boards that were not to my liking (completely different color tones from the rest and one had a knot that would not have worked with the project). They were nice about it, but couldn't imagine placing a large order and looking through it all.

I was looking at ash for the main body as it is cheaper than maple in my area. Since I'm staining the bulk of it dark, I don't see any benefit to use cherry as the price is nearly 40% more than ash.

By the way, when those of you who purchase S4S lumber, how much longer of a piece do you order? I was thinking 6" longer than my finished dimension for some extra wiggle room. The lumber yard I prefer to go to has a price break when you order boards under 6' in length.

 

[tjbnwi]

Quatersawn white oak if you can get it. If not, use maple.

This is maple dyed black.

Tom

 

[Birdhunter]

I just finished a bed frame and headboard using quarter sawn white oak. It’s a delightful wood to work with. My wood was planed on one side and one edge and just a hair under 1” thick. The other side and edge were rough cut. I got to pick my boards. Even so, I needed a jointer, planer, and table saw. There is no way I could have built the project using the wood as delivered.

Maybe your boards are straight and true. 

 

[sancho57]

Like others suggested,

I would use hard maple, Id use ply with solid edging

samples of stained/finished maple

 

[Dan-]

USA Cherry A-2 is about $90-$120 a sheet, depending on thickness, around here which works out to be ~$3-4 per board foot. That has to be cheaper than s4s?

 

[Stone Message]

Have you considered using veneered MDF for the panels?

I regularly use 9 mm veneered MDF with oak, mahogany and walnut veneer.

Peter

 

[grobkuschelig]

Hi Peter,

Can you share product names for the veneered MDF?
I have tried my local wood supplies here in Germany and they always look a little strange, when I utter these wishes.

Maybe a product name would help me find someone who stocks this...

On topic:
If solid wood is doable with the budget, I would always go that way.
Ich anything happens (dings, nicks etc.) You can always come back every 5 years with a hand plane and make a nice renovation...

With MDF, Plywood etc. You might have more damage, especially in a child’s room.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Peter,

Can you share product names for the veneered MDF?
I have tried my local wood supplies here in Germany and they always look a little strange, when I utter these wishes.

Maybe a product name would help me find someone who stocks this...

On topic:
If solid wood is doable with the budget, I would always go that way.
Ich anything happens (dings, nicks etc.) You can always come back every 5 years with a hand plane and make a nice renovation...

With MDF, Plywood etc. You might have more damage, especially in a child’s room.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Hi Grob

In the UK we tend to just ask for "veneered MDF". I agree that it is nice to use solid wood but that is not as traditional as one might think. A lot of very old (and classic) pieces were made with veneers many years ago. They have stood the test of time and can be repaired reasonably easily.

Peter