Walnut and ebony dresser

[Matt Campbell]

This is my son's walnut and ebony dresser. I just brought it home a couple of hours ago. I didn't even have a chance to smooth out the final coat since mama-to-be wanted it home today, and we'll be leaving for the hospital in less than 3 hours.

Anyway, the handles you see will be replaced. I'm going to make some curvy ebony handles that will tie in with the ebony beading near the bottom. I've made the jigs for the handles; I just haven't had time to make the actual handles.

If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to ask. Also, critique anything as much as you'd like.

Here are some pics:





This picture best shows the actual color.

[Mac Cambra]

I really like the dresser and the drawer fronts are beautiful. Are you planning to make any accompanying pieces?

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful dresser Matt and congrats to you and mama-to-be on the birth of your son!

[Prashun Patel]

That is a wonderful piece.
Your execution is really good, but I gotta give big ups to the design.
Those legs and that beading are really perfect.
Do you have any sketchups of this? I'm designing a bedroom set for my son and would like to see more details.

What is your finish?

[John Keeton]

Beautiful color on that walnut!! You did a very nice job on this piece, and as Shawn said, the design is excellent.

[glenn bradley]

Ditto on the great color. A very nice piece indeed. Well done.

[Brian Effinger]

Very nice, Matt. I really like the Asian feel to it. I am looking forward to seeing it with the forthcoming ebony pulls. The only critique I can think of would be my desire to see a little ebony near the top, but that is just my opinion.

And congratulations to you and your wife.

[Jason Strauss]

Matt, nice choice of wood on the drawer fronts! The movement in that walnut is spectacular! Was this a purchased plan or did you design it?

[John Thompson]

The color is all good.. I like the way you handled the feet on this more or less modern design also. You did a nice job all around.

[Kirk Smith]

It's a very nice color and style.
Would you care to tell me how you stain that color and the finishe type you put on.
Thanks
Kirk

[Dean Karavite]

I like it all too, but want to point out the sides - I really like what you did there! Can you tell us about the finish? If you have time.

[David Keller NC]

Nice piece - particularly nice job matching up the grain on the drawer fronts. Personally, I'd leave the hardware as-is. To my eye, it fits the style of the piece.

[Mark Valsi]

Very nice project. good all around !! good job !

[John Loftis]

It is beautiful. My guess is we won't get many questions answered in the near future. Daddy Campbell is probably a bit preoccupied. Grats on the little boy!

John

[Matt Campbell]

Mac, I will soon start his crib.

Shawn, I made full-size drawings for the front and sides. Sorry, no Sketchup.

Brian, I struggled with how I could incorporate ebony near the top to tie in the bottom. My first thought was to make breadboard ends with ebony splines. I definitely would have, but I just couldn't do that if I was going to meet the deadline. I also considered a small cove molding under the top, but it really wouldn't be seen well. I settled on making ebony handles. I think they will tie the bottom beading in as well as the curved feet. It might make more sense once I post pics with the ebony handles.

Please continue to read my post from another forum that I will simply copy and paste:

Thank you, all, for the replies.

The finish used is Waterlox high gloss. I sprayed it with my Earlex 5000. Between coats I wet sanded with either 600 or 800 grit, and I smoothed the final coat with Liberon's 0000 steel wool.

This is my own design. I love subtle curves that don't catch your eye immediately. That's how I came upon the design for the side panels. If you notice, I sort of chamfered/shaped the inside edges of the rails and stiles. For example, check out out the top of the bottom side rail (see 3rd pic in first post). That was all done with a sharp block plane. Here are a couple more pics that hopefully show what I'm talking about:





Also, I added the feet to reduce drawer depth. Mama said she wanted two small drawers on top and then two big ones below those. So I had to figure out a way to meet those demands and combine them with a good dresser height. If I left the feet off (approx. 4" tall), then I'd either lower the dresser or make very deep drawers. The bottom drawer is 9 1/2" tall. Also, I thought the feet would be a great way to lighten the look of a big, bulky dresser.

Rokjok, I appreciate your good eye regarding the weighty look of the figured grain on one side. I wrestled with that when I was cutting the drawer fronts. I completely agree with you, but I have a reason behind my placement. It may be slight, but if you notice, the figured grain on both drawer fronts flows upward. I find it more pleasing to bring the eye upward.

Finally, the ebony beading was not initially planned. It's a "mistake hider". When cutting the rails and stiles, I didn't anticipate matching the grain with the grain of the saber foot base. So when I assembled the base on the carcase, I concluded a dark ebony beading would be a nice way to break that up visually.

Again, thank you for the replies. I'd love to read more about what someone might do differently.