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Jim Benante
05-21-2006, 6:24 PM
Since it has taken me way too long to finish the changing table/dresser for my son, I now only call it a dresser to avoid harrassment. My son is 10 months old now and I started this thing when he was about 1 month old, but I never knew just how much time and energy I would spend caring for the little guy and how much harder it is to get motivated to work in an unheated shop in the winter. For the first 4 months I accomplished very little in the shop. When the weather started turning I really kicked it back into gear and now I am done, well almost.

I plan to make some drawer pulls still, but it was time to get this thing in action. Any design ideas for the drawers pulls would be greatly appreciated.

The details- Western maple with a canary wood top.
Solid frame and panel contructin for the sides.
Solid wood drawers (pocket screws)
False fronts
Concealed drawer slides form Custom Service Hardware
Ferrari concealed face frame hinges for the cabinet
BLO, blonde dewaxed shellac, 3 coats of WB laquer
Matches the crib I built before my customer was born.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=22150

David Duke
05-21-2006, 6:27 PM
Great job and congratulations on the newborn, yep the little fellows have a way of eating away all the "spare" time!!..............Oh yea the dresser looks nice too!!!

Jim Becker
05-21-2006, 6:45 PM
That looks great, Jim!

Brett Baldwin
05-21-2006, 7:05 PM
Best laid plans and all that. I'm sure you'll find the dresser/table useful for many things as you go. In any case, it is a good looking piece.

Corey Hallagan
05-21-2006, 7:31 PM
Excellent work Jim, that looks great!

Corey

Harvey Chute
05-21-2006, 7:54 PM
Very nice - - and the crib looks great too. I'm impressed you got it done - SWMBO had twins a few years ago and since then it seems most of my woodworking has consisted of "visualization".
I'd go with low-profile round wooden pulls, looks better than metal hardware to my eyes.

Jim Benante
05-21-2006, 8:43 PM
In my haste to get the pics posted and run out the door earlier, I forgot to thank Ralph Barhost, Byron Trantham, and Lee Schierer for their help many moons ago in the planning phases of this project. I used some of their drawings and measurements in laying out my design. Thanks fellas!

John Miliunas
05-21-2006, 10:01 PM
I really like it, Jim!!! Goes well with that wonderful bed. Great job on all three!!! (The bed, the dresser and that little guy up front!:) ) :cool:

Norman Hitt
05-21-2006, 10:12 PM
Looks Great, Jim. I think for the Drawer Pulls, a design style matching or complimentary to the dark Decorative parts you have on the Crib, and made from the same wood, would really look nice, AND would tie the two together as a "SET".

Ps: That's a Mighty Fine Looking "Customer" you have there.

Shelley Bolster
05-22-2006, 8:35 AM
You know Jim, except perhaps for say ..........Tod, I bet most of us underestimate, more often than not, just how long it will take to complete something. Don't be too hard on yourself - you done real good guy! :D You have made a nice piece of furniture that will be used and appreciated for years to come. Much better that you spent time with your son as an infant than all your free time in the shop! You have the rest of your life to spend making him something (and believe me - the list is never ending) but he is a baby for such a short time.......enjoy him!

Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan
05-22-2006, 8:47 AM
Looks great Jim, I love the simple style!

Nice pic of the little guy too, mid-crawl shot :D

Wait until he starts walking, then you will really be out of energy, as soon after the walking come the running...... :eek:

Cheers!

Tim Solley
05-22-2006, 10:46 AM
Hey Jim, that looks great! I too am building a dresser for my soon to be born son's room. I knew that like you, time would be precious, so I'm busting my rump to get all the furniture done before he arrives. Because they're only in diapers for so long, I opted to lose the two tier design so that it would look more like a standard dresser later in life.

Perhaps some band sawn pulls made from a darker wood or stained dark?

Congrats on the baby. Tim

Jim Benante
05-23-2006, 6:01 PM
My wife likes it without pulls, but I was thinking of making them with two blocks of maple with a piece of canary wood between them. I need to make a prototype to see how they will look. I don't have a lathe or a bandsaw so I would rely on routers and sanders for any rounding that I would want.

I was also thinking of a design that would match the crib buttons. Here is a close up of them.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=21648

Don Baer
05-23-2006, 7:05 PM
I don't have a lathe or a bandsaw so I would rely on routers and sanders for any rounding that I would want.


Sounds to me that you have a perfectly good reason/excuse to get some new tools..;) . Nice job on the dresser. Cute kid too.

Frank Guerin
05-23-2006, 7:19 PM
but your best work is the little guy. Congrats and be proud.