Guest Bedroom Dresser

[gee-dub]

On 5/26/2026 at 2:20 PM, Von said:

I like how you added some dowel stubs pointing down, I assume to helps with some inside corner situations.

Yes.  If the angle is too sharp the dowels seat in the corners.  Otherwise you have to make the wooden tapers so fine that they are not very resilient.  Lee Valley includes couple of sets of the brass dowels with their gauge heads but sawed-off screws could work as well for shop made versions. 

[gee-dub]

And here's the two end panels all glued up.

I need to taper these leg blanks.

I cross cut them to final length.

I don't know why I built this taper sled so heavy. I must've thought I was going to be batching out parts for a ship builder or something.

At any rate, the blank gets marked out and laid in place.

The taper is cut.

And it ends up like so right off the machine.

A little hand plane work and it is ready for some joinery.

Three more to go . . .

[gee-dub]

Not much this morning. Family activities. 40 mortises, legs tapered and dry fit for my first look at the side panel/leg assemblies.

Oh, forgot to mention . . . if you do not have along blade for your combo square pick up a second at Harry J. Epsteins.  You really want one.

I just need to surface prep the legs and then I can glue the legs to the already glued panel assembly.

[curlyoak]

  l love the end panels. Great work as always. I would make the ends a little different. I would make the styles the full length. I have seen it both ways and either one works. The sight of polished walnut puts me at ease.

[fcschoenthal]

On 5/27/2026 at 11:30 AM, gee-dub said:

if you do not have along blade for your combo square

Almost 2 years ago, I found this at an estate sale. I grabbed it quick, as they didn't really know what they had.

And yes, I paid $3 for it.

[gee-dub]

On 5/27/2026 at 4:54 PM, fcschoenthal said:

Almost 2 years ago, I found this at an estate sale. I grabbed it quick, as they didn't really know what they had.

And yes, I paid $3 for it.

You dog!

[gee-dub]

So I am having one of those episodes where you can't seem to get things right.  I botched a glue up by clamping across a joint that had only set for a few hours and broke it loose.  I believe I have it repaired but decided it was probably time to go in and watch some TV.  Tomorrow is another day and I'm retired 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 5/27/2026 at 10:26 PM, gee-dub said:

So I am having one of those episodes where you can't seem to get things right.  I botched a glue up by clamping across a joint that had only set for a few hours and broke it loose.  I believe I have it repaired but decided it was probably time to go in and watch some TV.  Tomorrow is another day and I'm retired 

You're a wise man sir. I struggled with this for years... 

Walking away and picking it up tomorrow is the best possible move in that scenario. 

[fcschoenthal]

On 5/27/2026 at 10:24 PM, gee-dub said:

You dog!

That's OK, I've been called worse.

[curlyoak]

On 5/27/2026 at 11:26 PM, gee-dub said:

I botched a glue up

It appears that you are managing the issue affectively. First I yell 0r cuss real loud for about 2 seconds. Then I turn the lights out and close the shop. TV is good. I'm retired too. Then I sleep on it and I'm in thought of what is my next step. I get in the shop the next day emotionally comfortable and ready to resolve the issue and move on. I find the shut down to be the medicine to right the ship.

[Von]

On 5/27/2026 at 11:26 PM, gee-dub said:

So I am having one of those episodes where you can't seem to get things right.  I botched a glue up by clamping across a joint that had only set for a few hours and broke it loose.  I believe I have it repaired but decided it was probably time to go in and watch some TV.  Tomorrow is another day and I'm retired 

It does feel like there are some days when nothing goes right. I hope today is better.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 5/28/2026 at 7:08 AM, Von said:

It does feel like there are some days when nothing goes right. I hope today is better.

I definitely feel you. 

And the further along you are in the project, the more catastrophic the mistakes become. 

It used to be that I'd make a mistake and instantly become like a gambler on tilt - frantically trying to undo it as fast as possible. I don't think that ever once produced a good fix. I've learned to walk away. Usually, the best solution will come to me after a day or two, and always when I'm thinking about something completely unrelated to woodworking. It'll just pop in there. 

[gee-dub]

On 5/28/2026 at 6:25 AM, Ron Swanson Jr. said:

And the further along you are in the project, the more catastrophic the mistakes become. 

I think this is why so many people fear finishing.  After all the work and all the hours, the glue up and the finishing are your big chances of tanking the deal. 

We have hardwood floors in most of the house. I tend to chamfer the bottom edges of legs and then apply a heavy felt pad. This lets me slide the pieces out from the wall to clean without jacking up the floors. I made this jig a few years ago. I marked out the base with some common angles to allow for quick setup. It has an upper and lower platform that ride perpendicular to each other on dovetail ways. Be that as it may, it sets in the miter slot.

Here you can see the dovetail ways. I believe I used some Rockler aluminum dovetail bars that I picked up on the cheap at one of their "garage sales".

I use an expansion style miter slot stop to set the position. Anyone who has gotten past center on a disc sander and ended up with a part launching into outer space knows why.

So it sets like so.

Moves up to the stop

This is not precision joinery so a speed square sets my 45 degree angle.

You can mark the end of the leg but I have done this so often I am comfortable with just going for it.

And the end of the legs end up like so. I shellac or varnish the end grain and apply the self adhesive heavy felt after the finish is applied.

This is going to seem dumb because I did not take a "before" picture . . . why didn't I take a before picture!?! . Now the story begins . . . I am doing surface prep on the legs. I have one in my hand and reach for a scrap of sandpaper on the bench. I whack the leg into the end of a bar clamp and ding the sharp corner edge to about the size of a BB. My first thought is that I am glad I made an extra leg because this thing is toast. In a rare moment of clarity I break out my little iron and a damp paper towel. After three or four applications of steam the ding swells back out and I get to move on.

Some of these old tricks still work. Sorry there was no "before" pick. The ding was bad enough that I though the leg was done for. Total recovery. A win right off the bat after a not-so-good day yesterday. This bodes well for the rest of my shop time today.

[gee-dub]

Time for some rails/stretchers/whatever-you-want-to-call-them . I resaw this rougher material at the bandsaw to create some blanks.

As usual infeed and outfeed support for longer material is a good insurance of success.

Slightly oversized blanks.

We sometimes experience more stress release in material than expected. This material has been in this shop for 7 years and was in the previous shop for a decade but still . . . . more stress release than expected.

I will keep working the material. I wish I would have cut it more oversized but we can't tell the future, eh? I do find it amazing the amount of spoil we can create when doing larger pieces. I save anything I think I can use for frames, boxes and such. The really useless stuff goes to the burn barrel or the kindling bucket.

I also keep an old recycle trash can for things that the grandkids should never roast marshmallows over; MDF, ply, painted material, and so forth.

At any rate it looks like I have gotten some usable stock out of that bowed resaw material.

I'll keep you posted as I move along.

[fcschoenthal]

I had to go back and look at your original drawing, but what are you going to use for the rails and verticals in the back?

[gee-dub]

On 5/29/2026 at 10:07 AM, fcschoenthal said:

I had to go back and look at your original drawing, but what are you going to use for the rails and verticals in the back?

I often use maple or poplar.  I have an old red oak table left over from before the remodel.  I have considered resawing that down and using it as slat material in a maple frame.  Generally I use something like a  3/4" frame with 3/8" tongue and groove slats laid in.  I like the slat version of a back panel since it so easily breathes with the seasons.  Since I am only building for myself now I tend to try to use up extra stock in non-show areas.  I never did this when building for others but it serves me well now.

Something like so between the vertical stiles:

 

Sometimes I do an all slat back based on the carcass structure. 

This one is wide and I am not using dust frames so I want the vertical dividers for some structural strength.  There are so may ways to do these things.  Carcass design is a virtual Swiss Army Knife of construction methods.

[gee-dub]

OK, first off . . . bless my wife and her incredible level of understanding. I have been a music enthusiast since I could talk (thanks dad). I occasionally hear something come up on the random play list that strikes my fancy. I will crank the shop sound system to a level that will stun goats in the next property an acre away. Just now it was Leslie West, Mississippi Queen circa 1970. I think some things fell off the wall I had it so loud. There are only a few songs that I play air guitar to (I do not play guitar) and this is one of them.

Be that as it may . . . I have resawn some red oak from an old breakfast table that was destined for the dump. I will try to use this material for the back slats which will never be seen.



I am going to make the rear frame from some poplar. It is resilient enough and stable.

I resaw some blanks.

They end up roughed out like so,

I mill them down. I need a flat face and a perpendicular edge on each piece.

I use witness marks as usual.

I plane the faces parallel

If I am going to use high force on the feather boards I back the fence up with a clamp

I keep old gift cards that are reliably 1/32" for such things.

And I get two fat 3/4" blanks to mill down to final thickness.

[fcschoenthal]

On 5/30/2026 at 5:05 PM, gee-dub said:

I keep old gift cards that are reliably 1/32" for such things.

I see the card between the fence and the clamp, but unsure of the reason. Is it just to dial in the cut?

[fcschoenthal]

On 5/30/2026 at 5:05 PM, gee-dub said:

I will crank the shop sound system to a level that will stun goats in the next property an acre away.

There are quite a few from that era that have the same effect on me. Mountain is one, James Gang, Steppenwolf and AC/DC to name a few. I try not to play them in the car, as my right foot tends to react instead of air guitar.

[gee-dub]

On 5/30/2026 at 3:25 PM, fcschoenthal said:

There are quite a few from that era that have the same effect on me. Mountain is one, James Gang, Steppenwolf and AC/DC to name a few. I try not to play them in the car, as my right foot tends to react instead of air guitar.

Ha-ha-ha-ha . . . . Funk 49 brother!

[gee-dub]

On 5/30/2026 at 3:15 PM, fcschoenthal said:

I see the card between the fence and the clamp, but unsure of the reason. Is it just to dial in the cut?

Yes.  When I get close and need a specific amount more it is often easier to use a "set up block" (in this case a gift card) to add a specific additional amount rather than to nudge the fence.  Don't get me wrong.  I nudge the table saw fence all the time but, I have a DRO to tell me exactly how much I am nudging 

[Beechwood Chip]

On 5/30/2026 at 8:13 PM, gee-dub said:

use a "set up block" (in this case a gift card)

I use old decks of playing cards.

[fcschoenthal]

I keep a stack of old business cards around. They're 1/64", so I can really sneak up.

[gee-dub]

For whatever reason LOML and I have been lazy today. I did get the milled poplar crosscut to length for the back frame.

I got the M&T work done so it goes together like so.

The router table setup is pretty simple. As long as you keep your reference faces common you can be off a smidge on the height setup. It just has to be consistent and within reason.

Same router table setup is used for the slats. Red oak is a bit fibrous and can want to tear out. I run a wheel gauge along the ledge of the rabbet to combat this. I marked it here with a pencil line to make it easier to see.

This gives me a nice clean edge and reveal even though few will ever see it.

Ever onward . . .

[curlyoak]

On occasion I crank it up for the rolling stones or Dire Straights...