Hey guys, I am Sarah. Every week I comb through hundreds of DIY videos preparing projects for our weekly Maker show, Maker Break. Along the way, I find some good projects… and some GREAT ones, And right now, I’m going to share them with you! This Sarah’s Top 5 DIY – Dressers!
#5 – Addicted 2 DIY
Let’s Get to It with #5! Katie from Addicted 2 DIY used a few different types of wood for this dresser and wasted no time milling up her lumber to start building the frames. She assembled the frame using pocket holes and glue making sure to add a few stretchers for extra stability. Once the frame was completed it was time to attach the side plywood panels and frames for the drawers. Next she built the boxes for all of the drawers and staining the carcass. After attaching the top with inlay fasteners, the backing, the shelves and doors all that was left was to add the hardware and this was completed!
#4 – Cow Dog Craft Works
Cow Dog Craft Works is #4! This beast of a dresser has a boatload of complex details and features that may seem daunting to a beginner woodworker, but is still a beautiful piece to use as either inspiration, or a goal to be able to one day accomplish! Chris built this modern dresser with a lot of patience, trial and error and learning new techniques! The detail I love most about this build is the joinery on the base that combines a lap joint and a bridle joint. Even though this is not so much a DIY simple build it is totally worth the inspiration for your next build!
#3 – Chris Salomone
Next Up is #3. If you have ever watched one of Chris’ videos you know that you are most likely going to get a lot more out of it than just a woodworking tutorial. Chris really seems to enjoy sharing his life, thoughts and experiences just as much as he shares his woodworking projects. In this video he builds a modern, minimalist dresser with clean lines and simple details for one of his closest friends’ new baby. Honestly my favorite part is that his domino inlay detail was actually an accident, and he just made it work. This is so simple, but so pretty at the same time.
#2 – Shara Woodshop Diaries
# 2 is Shara Woodshop Diaries. Seriously she makes this look so easy. Shara started off her 5 drawer dresser with vanity legs, plywood, and cutting down her 2×2’s for the frame. She said she always mills up her own 2×2’s from 2×4’s but if you don’t want to do that, you can just buy premilled 2×2’s from your local home improvement store. Using pocket holes she attached the 2×2 pieces to the legs and plywood side panels. Next she built the supports for the drawers and attached those, then got to making the actual drawers. I really like that she made two giant drawers for the bottom of the dresser instead of several little ones, I feel like that really helps keeping things organized. Finally she stained the entire thing, added drawer hardware and put it all together!
#1 – Wes Hamstra
Finally, coming in at #1 Wes Hamstra! Wes started off by milling down his boards and cutting them to a rough length. His materials of choice were red oak and birch plywood. After his boards were milled down he started making the side panels. There’s just something magical about joinery coming together like this! Wes then went on to make the face frome, back supports and the skirting along the bottom. Next he made the top of the dresser, then moved on to the drawers. He assembled the drawer faces with the same tongue and groove joinery like he used on the side panels to make it all look uniform. Once he got the drawer boxes built he put it all together and this piece is done!
That’s It!
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