Get ready to find out how I cut a chest of drawers and made one of two projects. If you follow me on facebook, you’ve already been teased with the a photo of this chest of drawers.
Beware—it is a long post.
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Cathy and I curbed this chest of drawers a long, long time ago. I can’t even remember exactly where it came from. It only had two drawers with it.
I wanted to make a bench or something from it, so I . . .
. . . . cut it apart with my circular saw—freehand! I just followed the line and was very please with how well it looked.
Suddenly it is so petite!
Looking at the bottom, you can see that some support needs to be added.
This is a section of the chest of drawers that I was not using. I used all of the parts of this unwanted piece except the two side sections. Note that it has three long “cleats” with tenons that fit into the mortises (grooves). There are four short cleats (two on each side) that were also used.
I added one long cleat across the back and a short one on each side. I added the extra pieces for strength, because of the thin luan plywood.
This is the inside view looking at the original top of the chest. It is held on with pocket hole (screws). I removed the screws and the top of the chest.
The pocket holes toward the back were not accessible, so I drilled some new ones so that I would be able to re-attach the top when the time came.
Now the top is off, it’s time to give it a facelift.
Tools of the trade. Sander, protective eyewear, mask and the much needed gatorade. It’s been really warm off and on here, and I must drink it. Long time friends will remember that I landed in the hospital twice from lack of electrolytes.
I sanded the finish off and chose Jacobean by Minwax for my stain.
While the stain dries, I work on some trim for the bottom of my new piece…
I measured the width of the front, then I cut my first piece.
If you already know how to trim out, skip over this because I’m going to give my explanation of how I keep track of the right miter cut. I needed an outside corner on each side of the front trim pieces. As I lay it on my saw, I say to myself “don’t see wood”. What that means is that I need the long cut in the front. See the piece in the foreground? That would be for an inside corner and I would say to myself “see wood”. (as in see the wood that was just cut).
I generally cut my trim pieces a little long. You can always trim some off, but you can’t put it back on. (That’s why my hairdresser always tells me when I ask her to take some extra length off my hair) Look closely and you can see that I drew a line right up against the edge of the side.
As I start to put the trim on the front, I realize that I need a little more support to help steady the trim piece.
This is where I used one of those long cleats with the tenons.
Now the trim piece has something for me to nail/glue it to.
Of course I used my Gorilla Wood Glue.
I also used some finishing nails from my nail gun. You can see that there is a small “overbite” on this left side.
Nothing that a little sandpaper can’t take care of.
On this side there is a small gap, nothing a little caulk won’t hide. I’m not perfect with trim, nor is this chest of drawers in perfect shape. I worked through it.
That piece up there earlier in the post-#19-I used another long cleat to support the new shelf I made out of the back of said piece in #19.
New cleat in the back . . . .
. . . for the shelf to rest on.
It’s shaping up, eh?
I tested the top to see how it looked. (after staining the top, I applied two coats of wipe-on poly)
Off it went to the paint booth to get a coat of paint with my HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer
.
Time for some glazing.
Then it was time for the bottom to get glazed. Notice there aren’t any pictures of the glazing process? It is impossible to stop and take pictures when your hands/gloves are covered with stain. I used the Jacobean stain to glaze the white.
I re-attached the top with the original pocket holes and the 3 new ones I made toward the back.
Because the top was on, I was unable to get a nail gun inside to attach the shelf. I used Gorilla Wood Glue on all of the cleats. Additionally I used my nail gun to shoot a few nails in the front rail.
I love the stained top and glazed bottom look.
I’m calling it an entertainment center. It’s a great height for a flat screen tv, with space for a cable box or dvd player. What purpose do you think it could serve?
I used the bottom of the chest of drawers for another project, Chest of Drawers Repurposed into a Bench.
gail
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Awesome….two for one! Great job.
This is amazing!! I have a sewing table I just bought for $40 that I want to refinish. I want it to be an “eyecatcher”, if I send you a photo, could you make some suggestions? donnaunderscorelynnunderscorewoodsathotmaildotcom
This is just adorable and so is your blog…so glad I found it. I’m your newest follower!
Hi Gail,
Very cool transformation!
Dee
That’s a great TV stand! I love the stained top. I could really use something like that.
I think it would be good for shoe storage too. The ones you wear the most in the space on top, the others in the drawer. It looks like just the right height to sit on while putting on shoes, too.
I love it! You did an excellent job explaining your process! It’s just great!
Holly
Wow Gail, you really know how to rework a piece! Another great transformation!
There you go again… being all creative and all! 🙂 I would not have seen this out of that chest of drawers! WONDERFUL!!
Great repurpose, Gail! Can’t wait to see the other half!
This is great! I thought for a second that you had watermelon shaped sand paper 🙂
This turned out awesome Gail! I love LOVE that stained top! It looks perfect with the glazed gray! Great job!
What a lot of work, but worth it. You have an antique one of a kind piece. Fantastic!
Jody
Circular saw? Free hand? YOU ROCK! This turned out so awesome!! I really like the color stain you chose. We just used a 50% Jacobean blend on the hardwoods in our “soon to be finished” home. Such a rich color.
Great job! I did something similar with a larger dresser for my large flat screen. Turned out perfect.
Debbie
I love it! We are in the midst of re-organizing our kitchen cabinets so the kids could reach things and do more on their own. I kept thinking what a great microwave stand that would be. I know it low, but the kids could reach it and it has room for cups, bowls, spoons and placemats!
You are so responsible for me Nolonger Throwing Away every unwanted item … of course my Alley Guy has experienced a decrease in business, but I have saved soooo much money by just Repurposing a item here and there. Thanks for your Blog and Ideas.
You did an awesome job, Gail. It turned out Beautiful. looks like alot of work went into this. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day!!
I’m applauding…because this tutorial was great!
You did a wonderful job explaining the process and with pictures… I think we can figure the glaze part out…(and there are plenty of tutorials out there for that if we can’t)
I think the purpose you mentioned/specified is perfect!
great job!
Pat
Fantastic piece. I learn so much from your blog…such as “cleats with the tenons”…would have just been a piece of wood to me. When I grow up..I’d love to be as good as you are on making beautiful new pieces out of discarded items.
With all the support you placed inside I bet it would be strong enough to sit on in an entry way to remove your shoes and a place to tuck them out of the way. If the drawer is still functional…you could toss ballcaps or small umbrellas inside that.
That looks so amazing – and OLD! Great work!!
Great repurpose! I have 2 old built-ins that needed the sides replaced. I finally got so frustrated I sent them off to my dad to fix. :@
that looks fabulous! and i LOVE the finish! great job, friend!
I love how this turned out Gail. You are quite the carpenter, I wouldn’t even know what a cleat was. I need you to move down the street from me. I have lots of stuff to do, but I don’t have your talent to put it all together.
Wow, this seems like a lot of work…but it looks awesome! A great finished piece!!
You’re amazing. I’m super impressed. It looks great. Most people would not have seen the potential in that piece. So cool.
Great way to rework that piece. It came out fantastic! Oh, the possibilities….
You are so genius! One really has to have an eye for it to see the things in furniture the way you can!
Still not really warm here, expecting a high of 54 F today, the “warmest” it’s supposed to get this week, umpf.
Have a happy week and drink plenty,
Sue
Awesome! You did a great job, you have such a great eye for seeing the potential of something!
I agree, this would be fantastic as an entertainment centre.
Fabulous work! It would make a nice bedside table, overstuffed armchair end table, hallway lamp table, front porch iced tea table… Love little stands like this.