Dresser/Chest-of-drawers plans

[tfischer]

I would like to build both a wide dresser with a mirror over it, and a matching taller/narrower chest of drawers. In searching The Googlez for plans was surprised how little was out there.

Anyone know any good resources for such a thing, besides the ones that come up at the top of the google search for such a thing?

Thanks in advance.

[aiyou]

I seem to recall a bedroom furniture series from WOOD a number of years back that had a bed, dresser, nightstand, and perhaps lingerie chest. They may have done this more than once, with different styles. Link below shows a "country" style suite, and there are a couple other individual pieces listed within that slide show of different styles.

http://my.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-plans/bedroom-set/?catref=wd151&page=7

I may have the actual magazines if you find something you like - I'd need to dig through some boxes as they were packed when we moved and I've not touched them since.

Rob

[poolhound]

While this isnt specific plans I can't recommend this book enough.

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Cabinetmaking-Construct-Furniture-Woodworker/dp/1565233697

It provides lots of design ideas and gives you the key proportions and dimensions e.g. heights for desks/tables and depths for chairs etc. It shows a good variety of construction options but leaves you to plan out the exact details. It covers most items and styles of furniture and I have found it great to understand the first principles of building various pieces and have quite easily been able to adapt to the specifics of a given project.

[tfischer]

Just ordered the book - thanks!

Rob thanks for the post and offer. I saw a few of the WOOD plans but not that one.

-Tim

[atgcpaul]

The one that Rob posted seems pretty good. You're right. There really is a dearth of plans for a set like you want although it seems people have made them on their own.

I didn't see any sets on these two sites but they should give you some ideas.

http://plansnow.com/bedroom.html

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/35240/free-plan-cherry-chest-of-drawers

http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodworking-plans/article/building-a-chest-of-drawers.aspx

There are more plans including mirrors here. I just wish there were thumbnails of the finished project:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodworking-plans/all-plans

[tfischer]

The one that Rob posted seems pretty good

Yeah, not big on the styling of that one as all but of course most of that can be changed with the choices of wood, finishes, and pulls.

[poolhound]

Even with plans you would probably end up adapting to your own style and preferences. At the end of the day you decide how long you want it and how many drawers and for most of the construction you have choices at every step. The joinery options will then open up depending on material and your desired style. e.g. will you use solid wood, Ply or a combination. There are at least half a dozen, probably twice that many, ways to construct a drawer and a similar number of ways to have them work from traditional wooden slides to fancy hidden mechanism.

I always find that a good way to go with furniture is to start (usually with LOML) by looking online at pictures of finished items and then go walk around a few furniture showrooms to get an idea of design features close up. You can also take a peek at how they have been constructed. with that in my head we design what we want and then go for it. Half the time things change along the way as construction challenges force a move in one direction or the other.

[vaking]

You might want to search for plans for "tall boy". Taller narrower chest is often built in 2 pieces stacked on top of each other and that combination is called tall boy.

[capncarl]

I like the suggestion about the tall boy. Not because of the height but because it is constructed in 2 pieces that can be easier to move than 1 large box. Cabinet construction gets heavy quickly vrs lighter weight store bought cabinets. My ability to move and handle the items I build in my shop determine their maximum size/weight. That's the reason I build tiny tables to sell and not farm tables although there is waaaay more profit in a large table. Size and weight was also the determining factor in building my laundry room cabinets in 2'x4' cabinets instead of the easier route of 4'x8' cabinets. I would rather my family remember me as someone that built a really nice chest of drawers rather that that big heavy sucker they can't get up or down the stairs!

[tfischer]

Well I ended up picking up these plans from Woodcraft and they came in the mail yesterday: http://www.woodcraft.com/product/149...all-chest.aspx

The plans are a single HUGE sheet, maybe 4x6'. They got poor reviews but I took a chance as we like the style and it matches our existing bed and nightstand. Plus they have plans for a matching wide dresser as well that I plan to build if this goes well.

I think the reviews were due to expectations... these are *plans* not *instructions*. All the dimensions are there, but very few text instructions. Pretty much a full-size cutaway picture of the dresser showing all the parts, plus an exploded diagram, and only the occasional note where they figured something needed amplification. If people were expecting the type of plans where you're coached through e.g. "now cut the rabbit on the table saw, here's how..." then they would be sadly disappointed.

But we shall see. I have a wood order in progress that should be delivered/picked up soon.

[JimD]

I like Woodsmith plans, available from PlansNow. I built a couple of their classic cherry beds, one in oak and one in cherry, there is a matching tall cabinet, nightstands, and low dresser. I changed the dresser to add another row of drawers and I made it significantly wider. I like Woodsmith plans because they are pretty straight-forward to execute, do not require a lot of tools, and the end product is what I consider a nice piece of furniture.

[tfischer]

I was mistaken.. there are actually instructions with the plans also. They're fairly rudimentary but do give you a step by step plan for the build. Knowing that, I dont' know why people were giving them such low reviews, they seem pretty complete (although it's a complex project). I guess I'll find out as I do the build.

[JimD]

You may want to double check dimensions as you go. If there are mistakes on the plans, that would be a major put off.

[tfischer]

You may want to double check dimensions as you go. If there are mistakes on the plans, that would be a major put off.

Definitely good advice! The plans are full-scale (although it doesn't include the entire piece, since it's mirror image) so I should be good to measure right off the plans... except we may be tweaking drawer sizes a bit as I don't really need the 4 tiny drawers at the top (I think I'm going to stick with 2 as "junk drawers" and then divy out the space from the remaining 2 small drawers to make the others a bit larger).

My wood was delivered today so I can get started soon!