Changing Table Build

A few months ago, I began collecting ideas for the baby's room.  Right about the same time, Ana White posted a new plan for a small dresser.  It looked perfect for a changing table, and so I pinned it, and started working on the bedding and other accessories for the room.

Late January, Sam bought the lumber, and started to build it.  We've learned a lot with our previous builds.  One of the most important things is to sand as much as you can before you build.  It's so much easier to sand pieces before there are tight corners to get into and such.  So, we took a lot of time to sand the boards before we started building.

We sanded on Sam's table saw.  He got some new saw horses for his birthday, that made using the table saw (and sanding) so much easier!

We took the advice on Ana's site, and used a spacer to make sure the drawer openings were perfectly spaced.  Worked like a charm.

We got a lot done that first Saturday, but then life seemed to take over, and it sat in the garage for what seemed like forever.  We got a lot more done a couple weeks later on a Saturday.  And then last week we spent every evening for about a week to get it all finished up. 

This was our first project that included drawers.  We wanted to make sure we did them right, as we had read there's a lot that can go wrong with drawers.  We decided to cut a groove into the sides of the drawer, to slide the bottom into, to add to the strength.

This is one of the large drawers, with just half of the bottom slid in.  We used bead-board left over from the locker system as the drawer bottoms. 

 
And for the larger drawers, we added a middle support, and had 2 bottom pieces, to prevent bowing.  And then we took the advice of someone on Ana's site, and used square dowels for the top 2 drawer slides.  Sam used his table saw to cut all the grooves.  A tedious task, but one that has made Sam very familiar with using his table saw.  Which has opened up a whole world for us in building.

We did a lot of clamping when building the drawers, to make sure they came out perfectly square.  One lesson we learned - do the kreg jig screws on the outside of the drawers, so they will be hidden on the finished product.  We figured this out after we put the 2 large drawers together. 

These are the home-made drawer slides we used for the top two drawers. 

I started to get really excited when it started to look like a dresser.  I just couldn't stop working on it, because I couldn't wait to see it all finished!

We  used spray paint to finish it - I wanted it white to match the other furniture in the nursery.  I think Sam was dying to stain it, but that will have to wait for another project.  I've found that I perfer Rustoleum paint (good coverage), but I love the Krylon clear coat in Satin for a top coat.  I tried both the Krylon primer, and the Kilz oil-based primer, and didn't see any difference.  Next time I'll stick to the much cheaper Krylon primer.

Here she is, all finished:

One interesting thing about this project is how many of our tools we used.  I think almost all of them, and they were all helpful in making the build easier: miter saw, nailer/air compressor, table saw, lots of clamps, including a right angle and face clamp, kreg-jig, squares (big and small), level, measuring tape... What am I missing?

Here's the break down on cost:

1/2 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood ~ $15
1/4 plywood for back and drawer bottoms - we used scraps for FREE.  But would have been about $12
2 - 1X8's - $15
4 - 1X6's - $30
6 - 1X2's (we used furring strips) - $6
5 - 2X2's - furring strips again - $7.50
1 - 1X3 (just 4 feet) - $2
2 sets of drawer slides (for bottom 2 drawers) - $12
2 square hardwood dowels (for top 2 drawers) - $5
Lots of Kreg Jig Screws - $10
Hardware for drawers (6) - $15
Spray paint (primer, paint, clear coat) - $25
Misc. supplies (nails, glue, wood filler, sandpaper) - $10

Grand total: ~$165

Time spent: ~40 hours?  I really have no idea.

Not bad when compared with the Pottery Barn version, which sells for $650 + $100 for delivery.   Not to mention ours is solid wood, and not MDF + veneers. 

When we got finished with the dresser, I started working out plans for a side table to match.  The dresser is a knock off of Pottery Barn's Camp dresser, and they have a side table that goes with it.  I used it as a guide, and then changed the measurements for what I wanted.  I wanted a table to go next to the rocking chair, to hold a lamp, and have a spot to set books, bottles, pacifiers, burp cloths, etc.  We were able to make all if it from scraps we had left over from the dresser and other projects. It was so satisfying to use up all those scraps, and make something for free - the only thing we bought was the hardware for the drawer, and a single dowel for the drawer slides.  I believe it came in under $5.  Pretty good considering the one at pottery barn goes for $200.  I did much more of the building on this piece, as I really wanted it done fast - I worked on it here and there during the day.  Pretty much anything that didn't involve the table saw, I did on my own.  This we got done in about 2 days.

For the side table, we did a planked bottom.  This was much easier than the flush bottom we did on the dresser, and I think it looks just as good - maybe even better!  All it's missing is the drawer!

And here's a look at each piece in the room: