Dresser 90% finished.

[camwyn]

Well, the only reason I can't say the dresser is now finished is that the hardware store only had nine of the knobs I wanted to use on the front in stock. The remaining three are due in on Monday. Meanwhile, here are the pictures:


This is the dresser straight on, exactly as it arrived from Bostonwood. 3/4" thick Eastern white pine in all regards save for the bottoms of the drawers, which are 1/4" thick birch.

According to Bostonwood, their lumber is grown on New England tree farms and their furniture is all manufactured locally. I'm down with that. I should note that this and the other unfinished pictures were taken using the room's lighting and/or my phone's flash, as the dresser was delivered at night.


A view of the unfinished top.


Another view of the unfinished top.


The unfinished side.


One of the unstained drawers after I sanded it down with 180 grit paper, but before I did anything else.


Another unstained drawer.

Once I got everything sanded down, I used Minwax's pre-stain wood conditioner on all of the exterior surfaces, then Minwax's Wood Finish Stain in Ipswich Pine 221, which I let soak in for ten minutes and then wiped off. I then let the wood dry overnight, went over it with 00 steel wool, and applied two coats of Zip-Guard Water-Based Urethane finish (I let it dry for at least two hours between coats).

The following pictures have been taken with natural light only, as I was able to open the room curtains. I realize this may skew the color somewhat in comparison to the unfinished shots.


Two of the drawers- possibly the same two. They've been stained, varnished, and fitted with replacement knobs, as the original knobs were fairly plain wood.


A closeup of one of the finished drawers.


The dresser, with two of the drawers out so I could fasten new knobs on them. Also my cat, who actually matches the dresser surprisingly well when he's not in semi-shadow.


The finished top of the dresser. Not sure what caused that horizontal scratch. I suspect one of the cats; I'll deal with the scratch later. You can see what the original wood looked like on the inside there, as I didn't bother staining or varnishing the interior.


And the dresser as it currently stands. Once I have the remaining knobs I'm going to get a friend or two to help me move it into my bedroom.

Comments

[ceitfianna]

That's a beautiful dresser.

[camwyn]

Seriously, Bostonwood does very good work. It was worth the time and stink, I think.

I'm contemplating buying one of their wooden beds to replace the Ikea model I have. Same wood craftsmanship, same materials.

[ashen_key]

Ooooh, that looks really nice.

[camwyn]

Thank you!

[jothra]

Nice work!

[camwyn]

Thanks!

[derien]

Beautiful. You did a really nice job. And I'm amazed you managed to keep the cats off it - when I had cats I don't think they'd have let me do something like that. ;)

[camwyn]

I used that room partly because it was open enough for the stink not to be as much of a problem on days when it was too cold to open the windows for ventilation, and partly because I could close the door and lock the cats out of it. They were very upset about not being able to join me in there, but they seem to have forgiven me now.