My first dresser

[Mark]

This is kind of an old project but one of the first "real" pieces of furniture I made using my Festools. No brainer for most of you FOG'ers but I was so nervous of "just getting started" that it paralyzed me for months. Shamefully its all held together with pocket screws (you know to allow for the wood to expand and contract but proudly it still is in one piece and we use it every day.

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I like modern stuff and love using plywood mainly because I'm too cheap and too chicken to use "real" solid wood. The real lesson I've learned is that unless wood is cut, nothing will materialize... duh.

 

[The Dude]

unless wood is cut, nothing will materialize...

Very Nice Dresser and an awesome saying!  I Love that...unless wood is cut....  How much will I owe you if I use that saying?

Timmy C

 

[Eli]

I like it a lot, even if you refuse to give yourself full credit for it.

;D

And what's wrong with using plywood, sayeth the mauler of melamine?

 

[CharlesWilson]

Very nice Mark. I really like the look of it.

I have also noticed that, If the wood isn't cut ......

Charles

 

[Dave Rudy]

Even though I'm not a big fan of modern, I like that!  Just think of it, first project, looks great, and it's functional too

What more could you ask for?  Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[cparson]

I really like it!  I've been trying to think of a design for some art studio storage, and I think the style you did that piece in might be perfect.  I really like the contrast of the painted faces with the unpainted ply.  Thank you for sharing!

 

[Mark]

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. The fronts are actually laminate on the fronts not paint. I didn't do a balanced panel thinking that this is 3/4 baltic birch and it wasn't and hasn't warped on me yet. Here is a detail of the front

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We did our kitchen this way when we remodeled our house so this was a take off on that design as well.

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I didn't do the construction just the design. The "deal" was that rather than paying someone make the other furniture for the house with the same material aesthetic I would buy "tools"... er "Fes-tools" to make the rest. I only got as far as a dresser and a desk.

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The one detail that I'm proud of is the letter holder made from 1/4 stainless rod and torch bent which left a nice burly patina on the corner. The hole in the desk was finished with a small rubber o-ring.

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These were fun experiments for me to learn on. I've just got to keep "cutting wood" as I mentioned earlier.

Also check out this guys stuff where I got some of my inspiration: www.kerfdesign.com

 

[Eli]

Good link. I like that style. There's an LA company that has almost exactly the same, except the door and drawer fronts are enameled steel.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Very nice Mark. I really like the look of it.

I have also noticed that, If the wood isn't cut ......

Charles

My wife has been noticing that, too.  I have ~400 BF of walnut that hasn't been cut in over 20 years.  It moved houses when I did though!

Dave R.

 

[CharlesWilson]

My wife has been noticing that, too.  I have ~400 BF of walnut that hasn't been cut in over 20 years.  It moved houses when I did though!

Dave R.

I am finally using some oak I transported from Minnesota to Connecticut when I moved here 30 years ago. I guess I am not alone in the wood seasoning business.

Charles

 

[minimal]

Very very nice...i *love* that style. The same aesthetic as the Blu Dot dressers. The letter-holder
also fine fine fine.

I have a few sheets of finnish multi-ply in 1" thick, which is quite hard to find around here, and
am plannign something similar.

A question: how do you fix the laminate to the ply (glue of self-adhesive)? And you attach
it before you do the cutting, right? Finally, what brand did you use 'cause I love the colors!

Congrats on your project.

 

[bruegf]

My wife has been noticing that, too.  I have ~400 BF of walnut that hasn't been cut in over 20 years.  It moved houses when I did though!

Dave R.

Glad I'm not the only one.  I have around 600-700 bf of burmese teak that I bought for a boat project, but sold the boat before a single board was cut. 

Fred

 

[Mark]

Laminate... I can't remember exactly which brands but I do recall using some Pionite, Nevamar and maybe Formica. You should check the texture on the surface as it they are different between brands. There is an Italian company called Abet which makes some really nice colors but is also pretty pricey compared to domestic brands. Process: I cut out the handles in the plywood fronts first, then assembled the drawers and then did the laminate and trimmed it off with my OF1000 and a laminate bit. I just used some Weldwood contact cement which seems to work pretty good. I've also used Super77 on smaller parts and it seems to work just fine. I just saw that 3M now makes a spray contact cement designed for laminate so that might be another alternative. Glad you like the design. I just moved so I need to get my act in gear again.

 

[Eli]

same aesthetic as the Blu Dot dressers.

That was the one I was trying to remember. Maybe they weren't L.A. company but Italian or something? We would have bought a bed from them but they didn't make the right size.

 

[Mark]

Here is the laminate company I was talking abouthttp://www.abetlaminati.com/ They tend to have cooler colors IMHO, maybe because they are an Italian company producing for the Euro market.

 

[minimal]

same aesthetic as the Blu Dot dressers.

That was the one I was trying to remember. Maybe they weren't L.A. company but Italian or something? We would have bought a bed from them but they didn't make the right size.

Blu Dot? I think it's 3 college buddies from, like, Minnesota, who wanted to make cheap&cool furniture for people's first apartments. They totally rock.

 

[dkorn]

It's a great design, Mark ! Would you care to expand on how you did the openings in the drawer panels? I guess you used a router, but I'm curious as to more "how to" details. Thanks!