Nightstand #1

[J. Z. Guest]

Looking at the dates of the photo edits, I see that I brought the lumber home in mid-January. Phew that is a long time for a seemingly simple project.

Its mate is not assembled yet, the drawer's not built; it will probably take me another month.

It's made of Ash and built from this plan (http://woodstore.net/mini1.html) at woodmagazine.com.

This was my first project with Ash, I didn't know what to expect. I really like it. The coarse grain is similar to the Red Oak I've used before, but the grain patterns are much more wild. The smell of the sawdust is much more sweet, and it isn't quite as hard as oak. It splinters a little easier until the milling is done. The finish is two coats of gloss polyurethane, applied with a rag. After the first coat, I wet-sanded with 400 grit, and after the second, I wet-sanded with 600 grit.

The customer (wife Kate) is very happy, and is slowly starting to forgive all the machinery expenditures over the past few months. :o

Next up:


The other nightstand
Two of these (http://woodstore.net/arandcrdr.html),
Two of these (http://woodstore.net/arcrbemist.html),
One of these (http://woodstore.net/arcrbemist.html),
and one of these (http://woodstore.net/foblch.html).


But I think I'm going to take a break and build some other stuff between.

Anyway, here's the evidence:

[J. Z. Guest]

I did learn a few things during the course of this project, as you can see in this batch:


Either use poly glue everywhere, or make damn sure I get every last bit of TBIII sanded out before finishing.
When using pocket screws as a means to glue up panels, don't put them so close to the edges.
Don't bother trying to match boards for glue-ups with Ash. The grain is too wild to make it look seamless.They can't be seen unless you look from underneath, and the glue blotch is near one of the rear corbels.

I couldn't bear to throw out the board with the small knot-hole, so I filled it with epoxy. I didn't mix any sanding dust in, which I should have.

I also will not saw the groove for the drawer bottom until the dovetails are cut, and I won't saw or rout it all the way through unless I plan to use false fronts. (I filled in the fronts of those grooves with sanding dust & epoxy, no close-up yet, but they look OK)

[Jim Becker]

Nice work, Jeremy. I'm looking forward to the next installments in your "series"... :)

[Tyler Howell]

Well done J.
Nice job

[gary Zimmel]

Jeremy

Great job on the night stand! I like the looks of it in Ash.

I have made a suite with the same plans out of QSWO. Just have to get the dresser done. You will really enjoy doing the head and footboard.

The dovetails on the the drawer add to the plan.

Great job again....

[John Thompson]

Very nice Jeffery. I love ash.. hickory and oak as they are locals down south and I prefer to keep things local. The ash and hickory can splinter but it is not as large a problem after proper drying. That's why you see Appalachian chair and basket makers using it. When green they just beat on it and it peels off in thin strips easily for webbing and basket reeds.

I would go ahead and make the second one now from experience. If you don't.. she might not see it anytime soon and that can esculate into more of a problem than the tedium of two in a row when "she" is not happy". ;)

I'm faced with something similar now.. I just finished a low chest of drawers with a tall chest on order. Would I rather do something else to avoid the same basic process I just finished. Probably.. but the wood is in the ready area in my shop and the tall chest gets started tomorrow. Dang the torpedoes and full speed ahead. :)

Sarge..

[Carl Heidesch]

Nice work! I like the wild grain and exposed joinery.... There's nothing like putting work into dovetails and then covering them with milk paint!:D
The backsplash is a good detail, I like how it mimicks the base...
Carl

[J. Z. Guest]

Sarge, you're 100% right. I'm going to finish the other nightstand first. The pieces are all done except the drawer, so it is mostly done. (I did everything in parallel) Plus, I'll have that lumber out of the way for othe projects.

Kate is keen to have the matching one done too, so our bedroom looks more like a "proper bedroom" instead of a hodgepodge of Ikea and Wal*Mart particleboard stuff.

-Jeremy

[J. Z. Guest]

Nice work! I like the wild grain and exposed joinery.... There's nothing like putting work into dovetails and then covering them with milk paint!:D

Hahaha. The dovetails are not really anything to be proud of. They were too tight originally, then I sanded them down a bit, and they were too loose. Gaps were filled in with epoxy. Also, I must've gotten some glue on the end grain of the left dovetails, because they didn't get nice & dark with the poly like the right ones did. :( Oh well, I'll be more careful next time.

[Patrick Nailon]

so our bedroom looks more like a "proper bedroom" instead of a hodgepodge of Ikea and Wal*Mart particleboard stuff.

-Jeremy

Ha! Amen to that. I think that's one of the main reasons I got into woodworking - I was tired of my wife buying Ikea stuff for everything in the house, and me putting things together thinking, "I can build better stuff than this!"

Now I do, and my wife loves it. And our furniture will live on thru generations, instead of falling apart the first time it has to be disassembled, moved and reassembled.

Great work - I'm still very new to this, but I love corbels.