Pine Dresser

[Adam Cormier]

Hey all,I am building a pine dresser for my son. I initially was wanting some VG Douglas Fir or a nice hardwood but the per BF $$$ led to me having to go with Pine instead.

Anyway, I wanted to share some pictures. Its been a bit of a challenge at times as it is my first furniture piece. The idea is a modified one that was presented in Fine Woodworking. Its been great because I've had opportunities to really get into blind dovetails, through dovetails, sliding dovetails and a whole pile of mortise and tenons.I still have to add a top to the sub-top, stain the dresser and complete the drawers. I have a question though, I know pine on pine is not ideal for the drawers/runners but I am wondering if it will still last for a good amount of time? Ideally, I would like my son to have it for a long time (he's almost two years old).

So, is pine on pine okay? Do I stain the inside? Or just keep it as is and wax the runners and bottom of the drawers? Any advice is much appreciated. Here are some pictures, feel free to comment negatively or positively....I'll learn better that way.

[Conrad Fiore]

Adam,
Great joinery work. I don't see any reason why you can't use pine on pine and get many years of service from that piece. It looks like you have wide runners and you could always maximize the surface contact by adding a drawer slip to the bottom edge of the drawer sides. That would cut down on the wear of the drawer bottom into the runners. I like to put a coat or two of shellac on the runners and drawer bottom edges before waxing. Just make sure to keep both surfaces well waxed.
Only stain what will show when the drawers are closed and the same goes for the finish, no need to finish the inside.
Again, nice joinery work, please post a picture when complete.

[Brett Robson]

Looks good to me! Great job on the joinery! I have a couple pieces of furniture that my dad made for me when i was a kid, the drawers/runners are pine, which are still working fine to this day. If you haven't already made the drawers, you could always use ball bearing slides if this is a utility piece which you expect will get years of heavy use.

[Pat Barry]

This piece is coming together very nicely. I would suggest that you reinforce the legs if you haven't already done so. Glue in some additional bracing behind the visible corner pieces since pine isn't the strongest material and may be prone to breakage if the fully loaded cabinet is dragged, slid like on carpeted floor. I also would suggest adding some thin oak drawer or hardwood runners if possible to prevent wear. Even though wax will provide a very slippery surface, which is good obviously, the pine face grain material which you basically have for the drawer runners is pretty soft and prone to wear. I don't think the hardwood strips would need to be very thick at all, just 1/8" would be a huge improvement.

[Paul Murphy]

I am as impressed with your joinery as everyone else, very well done and amazing for a first piece of furniture.

One thing I noticed is you that you intend to install a top over the solid sub-top. I did the same thing once in the past, and ran into some trouble due to unequal seasonal moisture exchange. My face side of the top exchanged moisture more readily than the side shielded by the solid sub-top, and my finishing choices were made without considering this situation. I think a finish with better vapor barrier properties would have helped in my project.

I have since noticed many sub-tops are really only stretchers at the front and back of the case, or web-frames. I believe the more open sub-tops promote a more equal seasonal moisture exchange rate for the top. I would be interested to know what others think the best approach is.

The drawer slip suggestion sounds very good to me, or self closing under-mount slides if you decide to use the modern hardware.

[Adam Cormier]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Its much appreciated. With respect to putting shellac on the inside of the case, can I use any shellac? I was looking at the shellac flakes that LV sells and their thinner used for shellac. Would this work? Or should I be looking at a different type of shellac? (I am assuming that shellac will stop any smell from being transferred to the clothes?

Now, for the wax, just wax the runners after applying the shellac to the entire inside? And maybe the drawer bottoms as well I guess?

For the outside of the case, I am staining it but then should I add wax (the same as used on the runners/drawer bottoms) or should I use a satin polyurethane, etc?

Sorry for all the questions. Any advice/feedback is appreciated

[Adam Cormier]

This piece is coming together very nicely. I would suggest that you reinforce the legs if you haven't already done so. Glue in some additional bracing behind the visible corner pieces since pine isn't the strongest material and may be prone to breakage if the fully loaded cabinet is dragged, slid like on carpeted floor. I also would suggest adding some thin oak drawer or hardwood runners if possible to prevent wear. Even though wax will provide a very slippery surface, which is good obviously, the pine face grain material which you basically have for the drawer runners is pretty soft and prone to wear. I don't think the hardwood strips would need to be very thick at all, just 1/8" would be a huge improvement.

Pat, thanks for this message. When you say it like this its quite obvious that it would have been a weak spot when the dresser is loaded and being moved around but I honestly wouldn't have thought of it myself. I just came back from the garage and while I was inside I added bracing to the bottom corner pieces (glue brace) to strengthen them.

[Todd Burch]

Good job Adam. I like pieces made out of pine. Sure makes the piece light when you have to move it around!

<my opinions>

No poly finish.
No stain - it reverses the grain.
Paint it - milk paint would be awesome.
Pine on pine is fine. Keep it waxed whenever you feel drag.
Absolutely NO ball bearing slides. This is a piece of furniture (dresser). You have a web frame - the drawer can ride on that just fine. That's part of the point of the web frame. (And since you used all that other joinery to hold the carcass together - pretty much the only functional point now.)
I would have not used a web frame rail (especially in the front) with a spike knot. It will move.
No finish on the inside.

</my opinions>

Todd

[Adam Cormier]

Good job Adam. I like pieces made out of pine. Sure makes the piece light when you have to move it around!

<my opinions>

No poly finish.
No stain - it reverses the grain.
Paint it - milk paint would be awesome.
Pine on pine is fine. Keep it waxed whenever you feel drag.
Absolutely NO ball bearing slides. This is a piece of furniture (dresser). You have a web frame - the drawer can ride on that just fine. That's part of the point of the web frame. (And since you used all that other joinery to hold the carcass together - pretty much the only functional point now.)
I would have not used a web frame rail (especially in the front) with a spike knot. It will move.
No finish on the inside.
</my opinions>

Todd

Thanks for the reply Todd. I have to be honest, I had to google your 2nd last point. You make a great point and to be honest as soon as I made the cut and realized what I did I thought I may regret it. I should have immediately cut a new piece and saved myself the trouble, but I took the lazy route and kept it as is. Another learning point for me....don't be lazy!

[Mike Wilkins]

Wow!! That is a really nice first project. Those are advanced-level joinery techniques used in the dresser, so you should be proud. I would only use Shellac on the interior of the dresser, as poly will leave odors for a long time, and polyurethane smelling undies is a real nostril blaster. Pine on pine runners should be OK; but I have restored furniture items in the past that used softwood runners, and had to replace many of them. Try to inlay a hardwood, like maple in the runners for a hard-wearing material, and use wax for a lube for easier sliding. Keep up the great work and watch those fingers.

[Todd Burch]

... polyurethane smelling undies is a real nostril blaster...

Too funny! I'm visualizing how one might "blast their nostrils" with poly-smelling undies... and the visual I cam up with, I'm glad to say, isn't something I might do by accident! :p

[Adam Cormier]

I finally finished building the drawers and I will post some pictures once I locate my camera! They don't fit as absolutely perfect as I would have liked but they open and close and don't have that much space on any end so it will do for my first furniture piece I guess.

I did just realize one pretty big mistake that I have made! Where I dado'd my side drawer supports to the center divider and the two sides....I actually glued them in the dado instead of letting them just sit in there freely and allow the front and rear mortise and tenon to do their work! I'm not sure if I explained this good enough but essentially, the center divider and sides won't be able to expand as they should have been able to.......

dammit! Any guesses on how long before this becomes a major problem??!??!!

[Peter Koutsovitis]

Out of curiosity, we're you inspired by Christian Becksvoort's four-drawer chest? I absolutely love the form - very practical, functional piece....

[Van Huskey]

I really like the design and execution so far! Keep the pictures coming.

[Adam Cormier]

Out of curiosity, we're you inspired by Christian Becksvoort's four-drawer chest? I absolutely love the form - very practical, functional piece....

Peter, you are right on the money. I took Mr. Becksvoort's 4 drawer chest and added two drawers. I find his work very inspirational.

[Adam Cormier]

Hey everyone,

I have finished the pine dresser and a matching bedside table. It was a learning experience and there are some things I would do a bit better if I had a second go at it but I am happy with it all the same. The finish is one coat of boiled linseed oil (rubbed on), one coat of shellac (rubbed on) and one coat of shellac (brushed on) followed by a nice coat of wax.

I appreciate any comments/critiques so I can get better at this. Thanks for looking.

Adam

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[Jerome Hanby]

Those look pretty classy. Reminds me of the furniture in my Grandparents home when Ii was growing up.

[Todd Burch]

Good job! Everyone always learns with every project.

Your projects reminds me of how much I hate to apply shellac.


Todd

[Sam Murdoch]

Nicely done! We are all still learning :confused: :D

[Terry Beadle]

Those drawers look great !

With regard to the solid top on solid cap, that is a risky design due to wood movement issues. You may get a crack or two but probably not in an air conditioned house. If you were putting these in a cabin in the woods or such, then the risk would go much higher.

Even if you do get a crack or two, you can fix it with a bowtie and reapplication of the finish.

I like the color. There's some thing about pine that just says HOME on it.

Congrats !

[Peter Koutsovitis]

Very nice work, Adam! I really like it.

I noticed that you used offset knife hinges for the bedside table door. I have never installed one, mostly due to the fact that they scare the crap out of me. Tim Rousseau's "Build a Frame-and-Panel Cabinet" video workshop on the FWW site has an episode dedicated to their installation, but it still intimidates me.

Can you share how you went about installing them, and if you did some research, what were your sources?

[Mike Palmowski]

Any finished pictures?