I had piles of wood in my basement and outside that I wanted to do something with. I looked on ana-white.com to see what night stand plans she had. I found this plan for a bedside table with 3 drawers. I've only made one drawer before but I really liked the idea of storing away our nightly reading material out of sight.
Off subject, but I just have to say this for the people who have never built anything out of wood but would like to - YOU CAN! If you can read, follow instructions, have patience and common sense then that's all you need. Your biggest hurdles to start building is most likely 1) you probably don't have the tools needed and 2) the confidence to use them. Go buy yourself some tools and mess around - that's the best way to learn! Anyways...
DAY 1
I got to work gathering all the wood I'd need and figured out what else I needed to buy. I printed labels to stick on for each piece I'd need to cut because I had scrap boards everywhere and it was too hard to keep track of what I had measured and marked, plus I was also building another single-drawer nightstand for a friend and that was going to complicate things even more. I cut all the pieces then grouped the same ones together to make building faster.
After my wood was cut I drilled pocket holes in all the boards that needed them.
Here's a close-up of the best tool for joining 90-degree corners with pocket holes (from rockler.com)!
I was able to finish the boxes of the drawers and the main structure of the nightstands the first day then had to put everything away for a full week while it rained!
DAY 2
Started and finished assembling single-drawer nightstand.
Finish drawers: nail plywood to bottom and glue plugs into pocket holes. Sand plugs and plywood flush with sides. The plan called for metal drawer slides but that would have been about $50 so I elected to make my own wood drawer slides. It took ALOT of time and patience but I like the natural look and feel of the wood compared to smooth metal slides... plus let's face it.. my wood working skills aren't quite high-end enough for expensive drawer slides!
Attach drawer faces. That sounds easy but it requires more time and patience then you'd think!
Here's the sides of the drawers. You can see the wood plugs inside the pocket holes. I love the look! I used wood filler to fill in all the gaps and holes the next day and sand better.
DAY 3
They look finished, right!? Well, only about half way! Day 3 was all about wood filler, sanding, more wood filler and sanding.
DAY 4
Stain! I used Minwax Grey! I stained the drawers separately on a tarp and did the entire inside and outside of the nightstands. I started with the nightstands upside down to get all the underneath-hard to reach places then flipped them over to finish. Make sure to wipe your stain off really well after about 5 minutes - so you need to work in sections. If you wait too long your stain will dry and become sticky and hard to get off. I let them sit overnight under a tarp to fully dry.
DAY 5
Drill holes in the legs for adjustable metal sliders. This wasn't in the plan but I wanted to make them look nicer - plus our wood floors are uneven! Also, drill holes in drawer faces for whatever knobs you're using.
Sliders on and ready to do some polyurethane! You MUST do polyurethane! It makes them look and feel so much better. It doesn't matter the finish (matte, satin, semi-gloss, gloss), you just need to do it! I did the drawer faces and sides of the drawer faces, and all the outer edges of the night stands. There's no way I was going to do it inside when you don't see the inside. Wait 4 hours and lightly sand the surfaces with 220 grit paper until the surface is smooth. Sanding is a must too! Although it is recommended to do 3 coats of poly I just did 1. I couldn't spend anymore time on these or I was going to die - plus I was going for a sleek-professional look to these.
Put knobs on drawers (best part)!
I wanted to cry right here just knowing that I was DONE! Done with tools in my living room and hauling tools outside everyday, done being outside in the sun for hours and hours and done with being tied up in a project for days at a time.
I made drawers...
...and they actually slide in and out!
Oh... and I used finish-wire nails for the top and drawer faces because I liked the rustic look they give.
They fit!
While I was fixing up my room nice and pretty I decided to use the boot box from downstairs (it's not winter after all) and stack it on the larger chest. I store books and blankets in these babies. See that big pillow? It's actually a quilt inside! Great way to store quilts and add them into your decor!
Labels: DIY, furniture, tutorial, woodworking
They fit!
Remember the chair make-over I did? 
