Wooden Chest of Drawers

[Cadillac]

Looks great! What are your plans for filling it? without a vertical center support sag might become a Issue down the road depending on weight

 

[erikmannie]

Looks great! What are your plans for filling it? without a vertical center support sag might become a Issue down the road depending on weight

I don’t know yet know what I’m going to put in it. I agree that I would need to keep the contents on the lightweight side.

 

[erikmannie]

Yesterday I glued on the top & applied putty on 4 sides. After allowing the glue and putty to dry overnight, I spent 2 hours today sanding & applying the last bit of putty.

Not the most exciting pictures ever posted on the forum, but here are the 4 sides:

 

[erikmannie]

After a long & extra punishing work week, I was at my Dad’s at 8:00 in the morning for the final sanding of this chest.

There were a lot of issues! I ended up failing to sand off some of the wood glue from the *bottom* of the chest. I didn’t realize this until I was staining it.

Also, I didn’t sink 2 of the finish nails deep enough, so there is exposed metal after the final sanding. If I were to sink these nails any deeper, it would crack the trim.

At that point, I sanded the faces of all the drawers, & drilled holes for the tiny knobs that I will use. I had some leftover knobs from the first chest, & I ended up having *exactly* as many knobs as I need.

Finally, I applied 8 ounces of stain (2 coats). In 1 or 2 areas, the chest would not accept the stain; I don’t know why. I had sanded it down plenty, but there must be some wood glue there. As everybody knows, you can’t apply stain to dried & sanded wood glue!

 

[erikmannie]

Tomorrow I will apply 2 coats of varnish, once at 10:30 AM, and once at 6:00 PM.

The varnish will have plenty of time to cure when I go back to work next week.

Next Saturday morning, all I will have to do is screw on the knobs, & clean my Dad’s garage.

 

[woodchucker]

first, your blotching is a result of soft wood that blotches.
I always treat with a wash coat of zinser seal coat , I cut it 75% alcohol to seal coat. That way it just prevents the blotching.
You will find that using a gel stain is your friend with blotchy woods and a light wash coat.
You will get closer to a furniture grade even coverage using both.
I use shellac for most finishing, unless alcohol will be on the top (drinking). It's a quick finish, and in a short time you can have a durable coat. its repairable. And if you use sealcoat (dewaxed shellac) you can top coat with anything you would prefer for alcohol durability.

For some reason your state has eliminated denatured alcohol, I don't know if you have other choices. Shellac is one of the safest finishes, it's used to coat pills (drugs) for easy swallowing, it's the least environmentally harmful, and one of the quickest drying.

 

[erikmannie]

first, your blotching is a result of soft wood that blotches.
I always treat with a wash coat of zinser seal coat , I cut it 75% alcohol to seal coat. That way it just prevents the blotching.
You will find that using a gel stain is your friend with blotchy woods and a light wash coat.
You will get closer to a furniture grade even coverage using both.
I use shellac for most finishing, unless alcohol will be on the top (drinking). It's a quick finish, and in a short time you can have a durable coat. its repairable. And if you use sealcoat (dewaxed shellac) you can top coat with anything you would prefer for alcohol durability.

For some reason your state has eliminated denatured alcohol, I don't know if you have other choices. Shellac is one of the safest finishes, it's used to coat pills (drugs) for easy swallowing, it's the least environmentally harmful, and one of the quickest drying.

Thanks for the explanation. The soft wood in question is the pine trim.

I live in CA, & CA has banned denatured alcohol.

For this chest, I have already bought the varnish.

 

[Firstram]

A coat of Minwax natural stain applied first and allowed to dry will allow stain to tone more evenly. I think they also make a wood conditioner that will do the same thing.

 

[erikmannie]

A coat of Minwax natural stain applied first and allowed to dry will allow stain to tone more evenly. I think they also make a wood conditioner that will do the same thing.

Good to know. I have never aspired to working with wood, but my Dad will only do a joint project with me if it is a wood project.

 

[erikmannie]

I came over to my Dad’s on Mother’s Day. I sprayed 1 can of varnish on what you see in the pictures.