First grand child dresser

[Rick Herrick]

Finally got this dresser finished for my daughter.  First grand child due in July.  I found a YT'r video and he had plans that I bought.  She wanted contrast so it matched other things.  Originally its all white oak but I showed her some walnut and it was lighter than she wanted so I found this Peruvian walnut.  I like satin finishes but this walnut just didn't like it, too much cloudyness.  Thanks to the folks here I found I needed to start with gloss.  Once I had 5 coats of MinWax wipe-on gloss, I was to afraid to do anything else so I checked and she approved it as is.

The drawer boxes are pre-finished 3/4" maple with 1/4" maple hard wood edging.  I haven't worked up to doing real rail & stiles so I went with my default domino drawers I learned from Sedge.  Got the white oak 8mm tenon stock from WP but wished I had paid better attention.  Grain didn't always run the way I wanted.

I wanted to use Blum under-mounts but they seem to be unicorns for the time being.  I ended up with Accuride ball bearing, soft close slides.  Honestly, they are not any better than the boxes of 10 I buy from Amazon with names I can't pronounce.  Every time you remove and replace the drawer you have to follow a little bit of a dance get them in synch.  Hope my daughter never takes them out.

I am working on a topper that will hold the changing pad and other items but I need to get more Peruvian before I can do that.  All in all, it looks very nice and my wife really likes it.  Obviously there are little boo-boos here and there but it should last longer than the press board items they carry at the big retail stores.  I take it to her this weekend.

 

[rubber_ducky]

Nicely done! Looks great!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DynaGlide]

Great job Rick!

 

[mike_aa]

Thanks for sharing!  Looks fantastic and should provide many years of service.  How do you plan on keeping the topper on for now so it can be removed when the baby grows up?

Thanks, Mike A.

 

[Muttley000]

Really nicely done Rick!

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have never seen Dominos used like that on rails/styles, but I sure like it.
The whole thing looks really good and something she can be proud to own.

 

[Rick Herrick]

Thanks for the nice words guys, really appreciate it a lot.

I have never seen Dominos used like that on rails/styles, but I sure like it.
The whole thing looks really good and something she can be proud to own.

Sedge had a nice video, #35, where he did both drawers and doors using this method.  I made a number of laundry cabinets and drawers using the same method but using the Sipo tenons for more contrast (also the prefinished maple).  I guess not everyone would like them but I think they look pretty cool.

Thanks for sharing!  Looks fantastic and should provide many years of service.  How do you plan on keeping the topper on for now so it can be removed when the baby grows up?

Thanks, Mike A.

Thanks Mike.  I used these little 'mending brackets' that simply attach to the topper and the table top.  Its really just a simple strap about 1/2" wide and 2" long.  I will have some felt spacers attached to the bottom of the topper to help minimize any scratching to the top. I think that is a lost cause though, after talking to more recent parents, that the top is going to get trashed anyway so I may as well be prepared to refinish it in a few years.

 

[squall_line]

Looking great!

Thanks Mike.  I used these little 'mending brackets' that simply attach to the topper and the table top.  Its really just a simple strap about 1/2" wide and 2" long.  I will have some felt spacers attached to the bottom of the topper to help minimize any scratching to the top. I think that is a lost cause though, after talking to more recent parents, that the top is going to get trashed anyway so I may as well be prepared to refinish it in a few years.

We managed to find a sweet little mid-century dresser in a washed-neutral color and with a laminate top that we use for our changing table and to store clothes, swaddles, changing pad covers, etc.  I always had an unhealthy aversion to laminate-top furniture until I took the time to research that it's period-correct.  It's turned out to be a near-perfect changing table for the last 7 months because it's been so easy to clean the few times it's needed a wipe-down.  I think our boy has hit the floor (and us) more than he's hit the dresser top with any of his random fountains!

 

[batmanimal]

What a beautiful piece and an act of love. Your daughter will treasure it.

I like how it isn’t “babyish” in style, it will grow easily with the child.

Congratulations on grand baby #1 by the way

 

[Rick Herrick]

What a beautiful piece and an act of love. Your daughter will treasure it.

I like how it isn’t “babyish” in style, it will grow easily with the child.

Congratulations on grand baby #1 by the way

Thank you for pointing out the style.  I was just trying to point her in a style that I thought I could build.  Looks like I got lucky  8)

 

[Sparktrician]

Wonderful job, Rick!  Don't forget the safety strap on the back in case the wee one decides to learn climbing skills.  [scared]

 

[Rutabagared]

Great job!  It will be appreciated for generations to come.

 

[Rick Herrick]

Wonderful job, Rick!  Don't forget the safety strap on the back in case the wee one decides to learn climbing skills.  [scared]

Thanks Willy.  Are you referring to something like an earthquake strap to tie it to the wall to keep it from tipping?  I gave that some thought but once the top and back are on, and all the drawers are in, its a heavy son of a gun, so I thought I would be ok.  Appreciate anymore insight you have on that. 

 

[woodwise]

Looks great! Its obvious you spent a lot of time on the details. I hadn't seen dominos used that way before either, will keep that in mind for future projects.

 

[FestitaMakool]

Well done! I was sure about rail & stile until I read something about Domino.. neat!

 

[Sparktrician]

Wonderful job, Rick!  Don't forget the safety strap on the back in case the wee one decides to learn climbing skills.  [scared]

Thanks Willy.  Are you referring to something like an earthquake strap to tie it to the wall to keep it from tipping?  I gave that some thought but once the top and back are on, and all the drawers are in, its a heavy son of a gun, so I thought I would be ok.  Appreciate anymore insight you have on that.

That's exactly it, Rick.  It's just too easy for wee ones to tip over even heavy items like a dresser, while so easy to prevent them from getting hurt, should they become "investigative".  Think of it this way - even with drawers in place, once they are loaded out, a wee one getting curious can pull out many drawers and cause it to tip over on them. 

 

[rmwarren]

There were a number of tragic infant deaths related to a particular IKEA dresser a few years back, drove home the need to secure anything topheavy to the wall.

RMW 

 

[rvieceli]

The tipping problem also comes up if they pull all the loaded drawers most of the way out and then try to climb them.

Something like this would work:
https://www.amazon.com/Furniture-Proofing-Anchors-Earthquake-Resistant/dp/B08C7T7L95

BTW, very nice work on the chest.

Ron

 

[Rick Herrick]

Crap, I won't get to sleep tonight...  Have to put my thinking cap on.  Thanks for the tips.