Cherry Nightstand

[decibel]

Well this is my 2nd version of a nightstand for the wife. Built the first one out of walnut and decided to make this one out of cherry. It's basically a design I modified from fine woodworking and made it a 3 drawer version. So first the disclaimers..

• I screwed up my dimensions and oriented the grain the wrong way on the top
  
  • There is a bottom shelf that not in the pictures if you look closely you see the supports. And I'm too lazy to take another picture
    
    • The drawer fronts came from a different board because of my terrible planning and are actually my 2nd go at it since I used undermount slides and screwed up the first drawer box so the grain and color is not exactly what I was looking for.

  [*]Glue squeeze out one the side rail . But it will become our son's nightstand once we decide on if we like this one or not.

  So here's the pics

  

  

  

[Pbmaster11]

looks great!

[USMC6531]

Great work, love the grain color on the top.

[mhein68]

I think it looks great.. I like the top... Nice grain and color..

[Vic]

Your son will enjoy it for years. I'd say you caught most of the problems that I'd mention in a critique. Definitely be better at cleaning up the squeeze out. I notice a couple spots on the side panel you show, too. You may want to consider an under bevel to lighten the top a bit and sneak up on the fit of the drawers. You ultimately want a nice fit of say 1/16 or so all the way around. Keep on!!

[Stampy]

Looks good

I think you missed the book match on the side panel. One of the boards is upside down.

[decibel]

Thanks for all the feedback. The gap around the drawers is definite miss at least on the side because I didn't set the slides off to the back I had more gap than I thought I know how to fix it next time but it was a disappointment to say the least. I did fit the top and bottom using a hand plane. I'm not sure why I missed the bookmatch on that one side. I know that was my "trouble" panel and I think I had some rough lumber and wanted to face it on the inside. It was either go really thin or hide the on the inside of the case. Live and learn

One question about the top. I wanted to bevel the top but I didn't thinkI had enough overhang left to do so. I don't know what thickness I should shoot for I only had maybe 2 inches of overhang (wife decided to make it 3 inches bigger in all directions AFTER I glued up the panels.. thank goodness I had extra). With that small of an overhang would beveling the top look weird?

Thanks for all the feedback and being gentle

[ChetlovesMer]

Thanks for all the feedback. The gap around the drawers is definite miss at least on the side because I didn't set the slides off to the back I had more gap than I thought I know how to fix it next time but it was a disappointment to say the least.

Although, I would say that even with the gap it doesn't look that bad. I think you made a really good choice with the hardware which helps to either make the gap look ... dare I say "intentional" or at least minimize it by drawing your eye away from it.

I think you've done a great job being fair to yourself in your assesment of the piece. Sometimes I talk to people who are either too hard on themselves or too quick to make excuses. You seem to have it in perspective. Good work.

[Pete Bennett]

You may feel you've screwed the top but I actually quite like it the 'wrong' way. Listen there is hardly ever a wrong way, it really depends on the finish you're after. If you have as much as 2" overhang a chamfer will be fine, maybe a third of the final thickness, suck it and see, when it looks right to you, and your good lady of course, then it must be right.

Your self criticism is rewarding, however, I certainly wouldn't be too hard on yourself. I've seen far worse, and none of us ever become so perfect we never screw things up from time to time. The really important thing is to recognise it when it happens, do what you can to correct it, and if you can't, either make another if really is too bad, or, try no to repeat it on the next one.

We all aim for perfection and no matter how close we get, NONE OF US ever achieve it. We just kid ourselves that this one will be. If we didn't we'd pack up, and then what?

As my Form Master always used to say 'Great try, better luck next time'

[Stampy]

We all aim for perfection and no matter how close we get, NONE OF US ever achieve it.

Shhhhhhhh....I keep telling my wife that I'm perfect. And so far I think she buys it.

[bois]

The grain orientation for the top is actually a bit more than just personal preference. By orienting the grain so it is parallel with the longer edge minimizes the amount of seasonal movement across the piece. The way this is oriented, the amount of movement will be about twice as much (assuming the front is about twice as long as the sides). A top is also more likely to want to bow or cup along the grain, so the more stacked grain you have increases that likelihood as well. Attaching the top properly can minimize both these issues, but you typically want to stack the odds in your favor if you can. Lastly, this grain orientation gives you end grain on the front of the piece, which you typically would want to avoid. That being said, the top looks fantastic. It looks to be four pieces edge joined, but you can barely tell since the lighter edges toward the sapwood are helping ease that transition.