How to Build a Modern 5 Drawer Dresser

hey guys it's Shara from woodchop Diaries and today I'm super excited to be bringing you this modern dresser video I've waited two years for this let's get building two years ago I sold our bedroom suit and built a new one just the bed and the two nightstands now at the time we were in the middle of moving buying land and building a garage apartment so we really didn't need a dresser and we really really didn't have any room in our new home to put one but I'd always kind of wanted to build a dresser to match the bed in the nightstand so I waited as long as I could and I finally just built it anyway I'm sharing the printable plans for this dresser and the matching nightstands in bed at the link in the description below but keep watching here to see how it came together by the way I'm planning a matching console for this set to come out soon so be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on that okay time to get building so just like the bed and the night sense that I built I built this dresser from poplar wood it came roughs on in varying widths and links so the first thing that I did was run everything through the planer to get it smoothed out I don't have a jointer shorter boards are easier to runs at the table saw to get a straight edge so after I planed the boards I cut them down to the rough links that I'd need before cleaning them up on the table saw the frame of this dresser is made from two by twos and the wood I got was only one buy so I had to laminate them I actually did the same thing on the nightstands that I built to do this I rip strips from my board roughly one and three-quarter inches wide and glued them up once the glue is dry I ran them through the table saw again to clean up the glue joints and to get both sides one and a half inches thick to make it a true two by two then I cut them down on the miter saws to their final links now that the frame pieces were built it's time to start making the side panels our rip boards down on my table saw to glue up for the two side panels I simply add glue these panels up and then trim them to their final length on the miter saw once the glue is dry and everything was sanded I assembled the dresser sides now there's a million ways to do this but I used a combination of pocket holes and dowels so I use pocket holes at the top of the frame and for the panel and then I use dowels at the bottom so that you couldn't see the joinery so I drilled all of my pocket holes and then I drove my dowel holes [Music] once all of the holes were drilled it was time to start putting it all together I glued the bottom section with the dowel holes together first then attach the top frame piece and the inside panel with pocket hole screws [Music] I use the bar clamp to clamp the dowel joints tight wiped off the glue squeeze-out and then set it aside while I made the second one after both sides were dry I assemble the rest of the frame using dowels and glue I drilled what seemed like a million dolls into the side panels and the supports that will go between them I glued the supports into one side panel first and then because my workbench was so tall already I had to grab a letter for the next part to help me reach also if you aren't working in rain boots you're totally missing out [Music] [Music] anyway once the dresser was clamped tight I let the glue dry completely and then I came back the next day without my boots since the top two drawers were split in the middle I needed some sort of divider to mount the inside slides on to so I cut some scrap plywood strips a scrap two by two block and a piece to use as a spacer I drilled pocket holes into the ends of the plywood and two by two and then started installing these into the dresser I centered the 2x2 in the top of the frame and use the spacer block to help me install the plywood strips six inches down from the top piece because the drawer fronts are inset I made sure that the front piece was inset as well so the drawer front will cover it I cut another scrap piece of plywood to place between the 2x2 and the plywood strips this piece had to be perfectly centered because this is where I will mount the slides on if its installed off-center or off square it'll screw up the drawers so a double and triple-check that it was centered and installed using wood screws now I could install the slides I use five pair of 16 inch ball bearing slides for this dresser and I installed them so that they would allow for the inset drawer friends I won't go into detail here because I've got a super detailed post that I'll link below for how to build drawers and how to install slides also I'm eating an ice pop here because we had a random day that it was like a million degrees outside so ignore my unprofessionalism [Music] at this point all that's left is the drawers and the top so let's go with the drawers first I cut down all my drawer box pieces from 3/4 inch plywood I've got a video about how I cut down my plywood sheets if you want more details on that then I cut my pieces down to size on the miter saw and cut a quarter inch dado to place the bottom in [Music] I like you to assemble my drawer boxes with pocket holes and screws so I drilled pocket holes and began putting the boxes together [Music] [Music] once I had all five drawers built I installed them into the dresser frame I typically start at the bottom so that I can use spacer blocks to install all the drawers above it but it's a little challenging installing a large bottom drawer with only two hands so in this case I use my foot in my shin as an additional support once the bottom was in I could work my way up using scrap blocks to space them out I installed the drawer fronts the same way working from the bottom up there are a lot of tricks to evenly spaced drawer fronts but I'll be honest I just eyeball it so I held the bottom front up where it looked right and then screwed it in from the inside of the drawer I did the same all the way up once I got to the top I measure the space and ripped a board to the correct width to use as the top drawer front I cut it in two and installed it the same way using screws from the inside of the drawer box [Music] one little detail that I added on my matching nightstand was a small rabbit along the top of the frame that way it kind of looks like the top is floating on the frame it's a super subtle detail but it's easy to add and I really like it so I installed a rabbeting bit into my router and ran it along the top of the frame now I could add my top I'd blue to the top panel that would be the exact same size as the frame so no overhang once the glue is dry and it was sanded down I was ready to install it and here's a disclaimer I'm fully aware that this isn't technically the correct way to install a top like this I'm also aware of the potential for splits and cracks as the wood moves however I simply glued the top onto the frame if you're concerned about it you can definitely use figure eight tabs or attach however makes you feel more comfortable but I've used this method on my two year old nightstands in my current dining table both about two years old and they haven't even had the hint of a crack or a split so I'm just taking my chances here the beauty of building things yourself is that you can build it however works best for you and you're allowed to take the chances that you want to take once the glue is dry I gave it a quick final sanding and finished it off with this walrus oil for an interpreter I stuck the dresser in the Sun while I was finishing it up because the poplar was a little green and the Sun turns it more Brown and gives it a warmer tone I install these simple modern handles because I felt like they match the vibe that I was going for here then I step back and admired the dresser that I've waited two years to build I can now say that I've built a complete set the bed the nightstand and the dresser I've got one final piece to add to the collection next week so be sure to stay tuned and subscribe so you don't miss it if you're interested in exact dimensions for this project be sure to grab the plans available at the link below and check out all the tools and materials using this project there as well thanks so much for watching and until next time happy building [Music]

Channel: Shara Woodshop Diaries

Views: 112,953

Rating: 4.9498887 out of 5

Keywords: easy diy dresser build, modern dresser diy, how to build a mid century modern dresser, how to build a modern dresser, 5 drawer dresser plans, 5 drawer dresser woodworking plans, diy bedroom furniture build, furniture bedroom sets modern, matching bedroom set diy, matching bedroom set build, matching bedroom set build plans, bedroom set build plans, modern bedroom set build plans, bedroom dresser building plans

Id: Rdv8Kxahy6Q

Length: 11min 26sec (686 seconds)

Published: Fri May 29 2020