I finally finished the dresser I’ve been working on (it’s #2 of 2, built to fit in our closet). No drawer slides, just paste wax, and made pretty much entirely from plywood and glue.
The project was pretty simple, but I went for (fairly) tight tolerances (a few mm clearance), so I was grateful for having made a crosscut sled on this one.
Here it is from the front:
And here’s the “matched” dresser:
I’m just here to observe as I lack any real woodworking skills, but I’m impressed. My woodgrain obsessed ass would definitely purchase that. Can I ask why you didnt want to include slides though? Will it be hard to pull/push when it has weight inside?
It slides really nicely without them, and doing it this way made each drawer about 5cm wider, which is a nice space bump. The other one opens quite well when fully loaded with heavy clothes. I hand-planed and waxed the drawer slides, so it’s quite smooth. I was a little worried, too, but figured I’d give it a shot.
Woah! I love this, it looks great.
I don’t have a ton to offer since I’m a complete novice, but I think you did a great job!
Thanks! I definitely still feel like a novice, too. It’s definitely more about the process and making stuff that’s “mine” than getting it perfect. I actually have a few (minor) screwups on this one that I’ll always notice, but whatever. It beats Ikea!
Not to actually throw shade at Ikea though… some of their stuff is a great deal haha.
Very nice! What type of plywood did you use?
Standard birch (not the super fancy stuff). I think B2 grade, 18mm (marketed as "3/4 inch shop birch here in the USA). It’s pretty good stuff as far as I can tell, but Baltic birch fanciness would’ve obviously been nicer… I just couldn’t justify the cost.
that’s stunning!! beautiful work you must be very proud 😍
Thanks! I’m mostly just relieved to have it built… it only took a few real weekend days of work, but spread out across an embarrassing number of absolute months.
Part of my excuse was “glue won’t cure right when the garage is too cold”… but I also just got busy. Oops.
Sounds like every project I start. “Oh, this will only take 2-3 weeks.” Fast forward 5 months, and it’s ready for finish.
Great work! The continuous grain is impressive
Thanks, and lol, that’s maybe even a little faster than this timeline if I’m being honest…but we don’t speak of these things.
The continuous grain worked out better on #2 than it did on #1.
As someone who also works in a shop that lacks climate control I recently learned than polyurethane construction adhesive is an excellent alternative to wood glue because it is able to bond correctly at much lower temperatures. It also has a longer open time if you prefer to take your time during glue ups like I do.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll look into it for some future projects. I’m sure Project Farm has a video comparing adhesive performance somewhere haha.
Also, I saw the oxytocin art you posted - it’s awesome!
Hey thanks for the compliment! That project was a bear and I’m glad to have it done. Also thanks for the new YouTuber to check out, I’d never heard of Project Farm before.
