Popular Post Leaseman Posted June 21, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 Hello Everyone, I've been woodworking for about two years now with about a dozen or so projects under my belt. No false modesty here; I'm truly a slow learner. My approach to woodworking is to take cheap pine boards from the big box stores and attempt to make furniture; coffee tables, headboards, etc. I just finished building a dresser using dowel joinery everywhere but the attachment of the dresser "case" to the "stand" whereI just used screws. It's finished with one coat of Minwax "Natural" stain and three coats of polyurethane. Some of the struggles I have in my projects are how to get truly flat glue ups on my tops and sides (see the picture with the level laying on top) and how to line up dowel joints perfectly when attaching edges to the sides of the boards. Here are a few pictures of the dresser. I'm very much looking forward to helpful criticisms and advice. I don't work with any other woodworkers; totally solo so I don't get any real feedback. Fire away! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 Nice looking piece! You didn't mention your tools or what you have to get things like this flat? At first glance, either you could benefit from a jointer or a drum sander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaseman Posted June 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 I first run the boards over the jointer and then through the planer. I use my Dewalt jobsite saw for most of my cuts; sometimes using my Festool track saw when appropriate. I'm curious to hear from you folks anything about the "flatness" of the top of the dresser. In my opinion it's not nearly flat enough but that brings up the idea of tolerances. I don't hear that word in woodworking videos/blogs, etc very often. What is considered acceptable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 I’ve always liked the pine personally. You really don’t need dowel for a edge to edge glue joint just glue is plenty strong enough. I use to use a biscuit joiner for all my panel glue ups an my panel nearly always requires excessive sand an rarely came out flat. But since I just starting using glue a a few cauls they came out so much better now. An one more thing the breadboard end you have on the ends of the top. They say that if don’t leave room for cross grain movement the piece will self destruct. I’ve started using a tongue groove glued in the middle then pinned underneath with room to move side to side I usually do a 16th each way per foot it is wide. There are actual calculations out there if you want to get extract bout it. But contrary to that statement i have several piece in my house now that was glue all the way an are still perfectly fine that I built before learning the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Something else to pay attention to is moisture content. If the boards are too wet, they're going to move even more. Best practice is to use lumber that has a moisture content relative for your area and to mill a bit over sized and then let them sit for a day or 2. This gives you the opportunity to fix wood that moves after initial milling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Usually pine isn’t mentioned on here and I don’t say that to be demeaning. But now having said that, your dresser looks darn good for having used it. I think what Kev was alluding to is that you’re more than likely not going to get kiln dried pine from HD and your top reflects that. If you take that darn straight edge off of the top though, probably you’ll be the only one that notices. Just curious, what was your method of constructing the top with the breadboard ends? And yeah, I’m with you, I hate dowels if it involves more than just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Wood moves with humidity changes, and varies with wood species, drying method and manner, as well as grain orientation. Different woods move at different rates, and amounts. Pine is on the higher end of that scale. That why it's called woodworking, and not simply building stuff. I believe you did about as good as possible with what you were working with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 In all honesty, I don’t think your drawers will open, in 6 months from now, as they currently might. But, keep us posted and hopefully I’m wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 To be quite honest, your dresser looks pretty darn good. I'll say the lack of flatness in the top has little to do with your milling or construction methods, and everything to to with material choice and moisture. The boards chosen are flat-sawn (showing cathedral grain), the least stable cut of a log. Being "cheap pine", they likely come from farm grown, relatively small diameter trees. And it is very likely that they were not really dry when you bought and used them. All these things contribute to wood movement. My suggestion for future projects, if you prefer to continue using home center pine, is to shop 6 months on advance. Look for the widest, clearest boards you can find, or at least pick boards with very tight, solid knots. Rip them in two to eliminate pith, if present. Even without pith, ripping out the center cathedral leaves you with much more stable rift or quarter sawn grain from the sides. Stack and sticker the boards in a dry place with good air circulation. A moisture meter is helpful, but generally the wood from the home center will be pretty dry after a few months, sometimes only weeks. Dry wood will be much more stable. As for using dowel joinery, I see nothing wrong with that. A simple drilling guide like this will really make it easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 9 hours ago, K Cooper said: Usually pine isn’t mentioned on here and I don’t say that to be demeaning. But now having said that, your dresser looks darn good for having used it. I think what Kev was alluding to is that you’re more than likely not going to get kiln dried pine from HD and your top reflects that. If you take that darn straight edge off of the top though, probably you’ll be the only one that notices. Just curious, what was your method of constructing the top with the breadboard ends? And yeah, I’m with you, I hate dowels if it involves more than just one. Hey Coop? Have you ever seen such a nice piece of pine? I picked a few bits up like this the other day. It’s the palest, nicest looking bit of construction pine I’ve seen. As far as the dresser goes, you’ve done well considering what it’s made of. As the others mentioned, it will be interesting to see what it looks like down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 If your edges are not jointed square that could cause serious problems with flatness. The biscuit system is excellent for glue joint alignment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaseman Posted June 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 That's the main reason I use dowels to glue up panels; it makes lining them up easier. I only have five or six dowels in each panel so it's really not for strength so much. I live in Arizona so the air is pretty dry here the exception being the monsoon season. If I can remember I'll repost some pictures six months from now to show how it looks. Hopefully it will look the same! Thanks for all your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Jim Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 I'm an Arizona guy too! Hello neighbor! I absolutely hate pine (super wood snob here) but I absolutely love that dresser. I like the style of it and the color the pine ended up being. 19 hours ago, Leaseman said: I'm very much looking forward to helpful criticisms and advice. I don't work with any other woodworkers; totally solo so I don't get any real feedback. Fire away! I'm pretty new at this woodworking thing myself so I don't know how much helpful criticisms and advice I could give you but would love to meet up and talk shop any time. Well done Leaseman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaseman Posted June 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Thanks Coyote Jim, we will definitely have to compare notes some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Jim Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Almost forgot! Here at my company we get a lot of crates shipped to us. Most of the crates come from Mexico. Here is a picture: This is NOT normal pine (SYP). The normal SYP we are used to here in the USA does not grow in Mexico, and those guys sure are not going to import foreign wood across the border just so they can build crates out of it. So this stuff is some other kind of pine that is native to Mexico. I am not positive but I believe it to be Caribbean Pine but who knows. The stamps on the crates say they are heat treated. Here is the kicker, a lot of this is quarter sawn and as you can see in the picture below it has a very tight grain. It's actually pretty nice pine whatever it is. The moisture content seems to be pretty low as well, much lower than the stuff from the big stores. Why am I posting this? Well, we typically just have this stuff hauled away, but if you (or anyone else here on these forums) are interested, you can have it. As much or as little of it as you would like. If anyone is interested and in the Phoenix area just let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Nice project. I agree with the comments above, it looks like you did darn well, even if the pine makes it difficult to be as precise as you'd like. For what it's worth, my local HD sells "select pine" which is fairly nice and actually kiln dried (for real, not the 5 second kiln visit they do for the construction lumber). It is basically as expensive as hardwoods because of this though. Like anything else, there is some pine out there that is fairly nice when you compare it with alder or poplar or other affordable hardwoods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Welcome and nice project! I am also pretty new to the forums, but have already seen a lot of friendly and constructive criticism and advice on here. A recent issue of FWW had an article about some nice pine furniture. I'll add a pic when I find it. It reminded me that not all pine is the big box variety of pine. Though, in some settings, I do really like the look of SYP furniture. You may enjoy looking at some of the older builds on Jay Bates' youtube channel, he has several project videos using SYP. We have a mass produced "rustic" pine coffee table that was given to us, and it the top has similar cupping to the boards. If you're looking for a bit of constructive criticism, I'd offer that you may want to work on grain selection, especially for the most drawer fronts. For instance, I don't think that the right middle drawer front looks nearly as nice as the bottom left or the middle left. It just sticks out that it is two boards glued together and draws your attention to it. It's something that I am forcing myself to work on and isn't always easy, but can make a big difference in the final product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaseman Posted June 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2018 On 6/22/2018 at 12:12 PM, Coyote Jim said: Hey Coyote I just may take you up on that. I drive a Pilot so I'm going to see if I can borrow a friends pick up or something. I may get back to you if I can figure out the transportation, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Jim Posted June 24, 2018 Report Share Posted June 24, 2018 Funny thing is. about 30 minutes after posting that picture the company that hauls these away came and took a bunch. There is still plenty though. One of the crates is around 12' long and has runners that entire length so a Pilot will struggle to fit boards like that. Bring a saw. And when you are ready just PM me for the address. I'm in the east valley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaseman Posted June 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 Sounds great Coyote, thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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