Changing Table - WIP

[thrytis]

I'm currently working on a changing table, based on a plan from Amateur Woodworker with various modifications. It is a dresser design so it'll be useful beyond having a baby in diapers. A picture from the plans (not mine):

I don't want to paint it like the original plans, so i decided to go with soft maple. I didn't have a planer when i started this so i got it surfaced from Wall Lumber. It was pretty flat when i got it, though there was a bit of tear out i'll have to deal with. I spent a bit of time laying out the cuts to get the best pieces for the most visible parts and match grain patterns. The wood with the cuts marked in chalk:

Next i ripped most of the pieces to width and rough cut to length, and got a couple of panels glued up.

I was just starting to pick up some speed, and then my daughter arrived a month early! This was a little over four years ago, and due to moving, higher priority projects, and general lack of time, i hadn't touched it beyond stacking in my lumber rack since she was born.

Now i have another child due September 4th, so i get another chance to finish it. :eusa_danc I've worked on it a little bit in the last month, but up until now i've been busy with other projects around the house. I'm finally finished those up, so now i can concentrate on the changing table. I only get a couple of hours to work on it at night after my daughter goes to bed and maybe half an hour at lunch if there is no outside work to do, so it is going to be a tight race. I'm hoping this one is more cooperative than my daughter and waits a while longer to come. :eusa_pray Here is where i'm at now:

I'll try to post as i have visible progress, and i'm sure i'll have some questions along the way.

 

[Trent Mason]

That looks great so far Eric. :icon_thum I tried to layout a bunch of cuts once and ended up with a bunch of pieces that were 1/8" too short, but I did it with a pencil, not chaulk. :BangHead: Live and learn I guess. Can't wait to see the rest of the progress. :icon_thum

 

[thrytis]

That looks great so far Eric. :icon_thum I tried to layout a bunch of cuts once and ended up with a bunch of pieces that were 1/8" too short, but I did it with a pencil, not chaulk. :BangHead: Live and learn I guess. Can't wait to see the rest of the progress. :icon_thum

I've done that too :embaresse, but having that experience for this project i drew my parts oversized, cut out oversized, and trim to exact size later.

 

[sapwood]

Hey, you are making progress :icon_thum
And if you don't finish in time, you will have a good start for the next one :mrgreen:

Roger

 

[thrytis]

Between imperfect alignment between boards and tear out when the lumber was planed, some of the glued up panels needed a fair bit of sanding to make them flat. The first panel i tried a scraper (i need a lot of practice honing/using them) and quite a while with a ROS with very coarse sandpaper. Since a drum sander isn't in the budget, i ordered some Microplane sanding discs and gave them a try over the weekend. They work great, much faster than sandpaper. :thumbs_up The coarse was a bit too aggressive for my tastes, but the medium still made fast work of leveling out the panel. Their estimated "grit" is way off though. The fine disc (120 grit equivalent) left a visibly rougher surface than the 100 grit sandpaper i followed it up with.

I have all of the panels glued up now unless i decide i need one for the door.

 

[thrytis]

I took yesterday off of work and made some more progress on the changing table. Photos are of the back sides of each.

Face frame:

The drawers being evenly spaced is probably a mistake visually, but it didn't occur to me until after i had it assembled. Not sure why i changed that from the original plans four years ago. :eusa_thin I'm sure i'll make worse mistakes, so i'm not worrying about it.

Back:

 

[thrytis]

Need more clamps

 

[thrytis]

I'm still making progress, but not much visually to show. I've started thinking about finishing now so that i will have the supplies i need and have tested before i am ready to start. I'm still a novice, especially when it comes to finishing, so i would appreciate comments.

The plan is a satin finish with an amber color to match the crib. I was thinking of a base coat of shellac (dewaxed), both inside and out, to seal and add color, with a satin lacquer on top (outside only). The choice of lacquer is largely speed (quick dry, no sanding between coats except to fix problems) plus future repairs. I'm going to try spraying with my Critter spray gun (probably a large project for this gun, but hopefully doable with some patience), rolling it out to the driveway on dollies to spray.

Assuming this sounds reasonable, what lacquer to you recommend? Is Deft as good as any (and easy to find locally), or is it worth getting something like Target Coatings EM6000 lacquer, or something else? Can i do all coats of satin, or should use gloss except for the final coat?

Thanks!

 

[thrytis]

I spent a while testing the finish, and my son arrived on September 1st so things have been moving slower since then. He is hanging out with me while i write this. The state shortly before his arrival:

I didn't like the base in the plans, so i came up with something different. I'm working on applying the finish to the carcass now. The door and drawers still haven't been started.