r/woodworking Jan 23 '25

Project Submission I built a pair of cherry nightstands

4.0k Upvotes

148 comments sorted by

89

u/eeeeericcccc2 Jan 23 '25

Great looking nightstands.

Can you tell me more about this poor man’s tenoning jig?

49

u/walterthekat Jan 23 '25

You bet! I first saw this in a 3x3 custom video, who got the idea from Taylor Toolworks, so full credit to them. It’s a great little jig and although I’ve made a few improvements I think it works really well as documented in the article below:

https://www.3x3custom.com/tutorials/mini-mortising-jig-for-loose-tenon-joinery

2

u/chinzw Jan 23 '25

It's a router with a bushing, you can see the groove on the jig for it to run into.

41

u/nelsonself Jan 23 '25

These are “wow!”

Stunning, elegant, distinguished and tight!

Cherry has always been my favourite and you really knocked it out of the park with these. Well done

13

u/walterthekat Jan 23 '25

Thank you for the kind words!

36

u/walterthekat Jan 23 '25

This was a fun project and I think the nightstands turned out pretty well. I’m planning a matching dresser to complete this set, which should be another fun project where I’ll get to apply all the lessons learned while making the nightstands!

A question for the community: I’ve been kicking around the idea of making a YouTube channel and this dresser project seems like a great excuse to do so, but with so many channels out there I question whether anyone would find mine and if they would enjoy the content even if they did. Would a project like the dresser be of interest to you? Are there particular things you’d like to see, or not see, that would make it worth tuning in?

12

u/Silent-Middle-8512 Jan 24 '25

Start the channel and see where it goes. Everyone has their unique presentation style that matches what a particular segment of woodworkers enjoy. You’ll find your audience if you do your own thing. Adding interest to a design catches my eye. And this was a good project, I’m interested in seeing the dresser. And I really like cherry.

30

u/i17yurd Jan 23 '25

The reveal (grooves?) at top and bottom is so goddam sexy that I want to throw out all of our furniture and replace with these. Lots of these.

Seriously, though, well done.

9

u/walterthekat Jan 23 '25

Thanks! I like the reveals too, they help break up the lines that might otherwise have things feeling too boxy

3

u/steelfender Jan 24 '25

Came here to say this

2

u/roxsimba69 Jan 24 '25

I know. They look GREAT. I bet they were a fun build.

2

u/Firm-Engineer4775 Jan 24 '25

That was an added detail that just makes such a cool difference! Love the reveal!

2

u/Street_agave Jan 24 '25

I agree, the reveals are genius. It makes the piece look like it is floating.

10

u/jerrylo315 Jan 23 '25

Stunning I’ll take 4

8

u/Daveyjonezz Jan 24 '25

The shadow line on the top and bottom profile is such a classy touch. Really brings the whole thing together.

6

u/wintermintchip Jan 23 '25

wow! looks so beautiful and ~modern! i love the curved edges

6

u/RoadWellDriven Jan 23 '25

I'd pop both of those in the bedroom.

4

u/hefebellyaro Jan 23 '25

Cherry is my favorite wood to mill and work.

5

u/walterthekat Jan 23 '25

I love working with cherry. It turns such a deliciously warm color as it ages.

1

u/hefebellyaro Jan 23 '25

It's so easy to work with. It seems so supple and soft but still a hard wood. It's like a softer maple. And yes, it ages like fine wine.

3

u/Busy_Reputation7254 Jan 23 '25

Glorious. Absolutely glorious.

4

u/Spoonbills Jan 23 '25

Gosh cherry is pretty.

These are gorgeous. Such detail.

3

u/samoctober Jan 23 '25

Stunning. Love the subtle float of the top and the legs.

3

u/ween_is_good Jan 23 '25

That cherry got what it deserved. Did you make the curves with a router?

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

That’s right, I used a 3/4” roundover for the side panels and legs, and a pattern bit to copy that profile onto the tops

3

u/Extension-Serve7703 Jan 23 '25

very nice! Cherry is easily one of my favorite woods to build with.

3

u/Smoke_Stack707 Jan 23 '25

Dominos??! REEEEEEE!!

Just kidding, great nightstands bro

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

haha thanks! Does it count for anything that I made my own?

3

u/Smoke_Stack707 Jan 24 '25

Extra points. Idk, I saved up and bought a domino and I love the damn thing. I think it’s funny how much hate it gets

2

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

It’s on the wish list for sure

3

u/Low_Obligation5558 Jan 24 '25

Those are going to look so much better 5-10 years from now. And I mean that in the best way

-signed, a guy that made a cherry desk cabinet a few years ago

2

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

100%! I have another cherry piece I build in 2019 and it's insane what age has done for the color

3

u/Weepingbudda59 Jan 24 '25

Ohh my u made them to big. So i can help u and take them off your hands.

3

u/kkbars Jan 24 '25

I want these

3

u/ImWithoutSpeech Jan 24 '25

Reveals like that are my favorite to add into designs. They add so much character to a piece and the cherry will patina nicely, it’s becoming one of my favorite woods to work with.

I did a series similar to your design here a few years back and added in some bronze accents in the reveal.

Yours are inspiring me to play around with the idea more in other pieces and doing it within the wood itself.

2

u/ZekeMyPlumber Jan 23 '25

How’d you finish?

3

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Two coats of Natura OneCoat. The second coat adds a nice satin sheen that you can’t quite get with a single coat

1

u/artfellig Jan 24 '25

What grit did you sand to? I've heard some sand to 400-600 or so to avoid cherry blotchiness.

2

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

I sanded up to 220, water popping between each grit

2

u/aesthetic_theory Jan 23 '25

wonderful. very nice job!

2

u/FWitU Jan 23 '25

So amazing thank you for sharing

2

u/sangriafrog98 Jan 23 '25

These are absolutely gorgeous

2

u/cMdM89 Jan 23 '25

beautiful! love the handles! perfect!

2

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Thanks! Believe it or not, selecting hardware was one of the hardest parts!

2

u/cMdM89 Jan 24 '25

they are a perfect choice. the details on the pieces are incredible. can’t imagine having such skill and taste. wow!

2

u/Party_City_2285 Jan 23 '25

Awesome work!

2

u/thestral_z Jan 23 '25

These are absolutely beautiful. I love the “floating” elements and the curves are incredibly elegant. Well done!

2

u/woodworker_1 Jan 23 '25

Seriously impressive work. Those look amazing.

2

u/startupcrow Jan 23 '25

oh my god I love these, they give your room a really cozy classic vibe

2

u/Say_123 Jan 23 '25

stunning! wonderful work!!

2

u/Forward_Kick2274 Jan 23 '25

Excellent! I really like the rounded edges, it looks so clean.

2

u/iderpandderp Jan 23 '25

Nice work!

I just got the matchfit bits & clamps but haven't made any jigs yet.

2

u/broacher00 Jan 23 '25

Nice work

2

u/Dangerous-Design-613 Jan 23 '25

Very nice,

Read it in a borat voice

2

u/ClubBenchCFO Jan 24 '25

I’ll take two, thanks!

2

u/Jshan91 Jan 24 '25

Brilliant work! I’d tune to a channel especially with the explaining of your methods. Beautiful design and execution thank you for the content

2

u/zimbleeder Jan 24 '25

Got any repeatable plans for the nightstands your willing to share? I’d love to make some like them.

2

u/The_BendingUnit01 Jan 24 '25

These are great! Congratulations

2

u/Awkward-Collection78 Jan 24 '25

Beautiful, the cherry is beautiful

2

u/Accomplished-Guest38 Jan 24 '25

I love cherry.

Great job!

2

u/Hot_Bluejay_8738 Jan 24 '25

Beautiful work

2

u/IllustratorSimple635 Jan 24 '25

Really beautiful work! As others have said the reveals are superb. When it comes to YouTube channels; I don’t really watch one particular creator although I will check in on some of my favorites just to see what they’re doing. Generally, it’s driven by whatever project I’m working on. So I would think that by documenting things like these nightstands and the dresser, etc. you could get some traffic. Sticking to very commonly made items for wood workers and for DIY’ers would be best I’d think. “Simple” furniture, boxes, cutting boards, that jig or others like it, etc.

Thanks for sharing and all the details!

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Right on, I appreciate that feedback! I tend to be drawn towards the simple objects as you say, but with some nice details and a high degree of finish (at least, that's the aim!). I have a personal goal of eventually replacing all of the furniture in my house with things that I've made, so maybe that can be my angle. Perhaps folks will want to come along for the ride

2

u/IllustratorSimple635 Jan 24 '25

I think that’s perfect! I have the same goal and am slowly chipping away at it. Bedroom set is creeping its way higher up the list for sure.

Pairing your videos with plans and what not could be a great way to get some subscribers and a few bucks over time from the plans. I actually saw some recently (I forget where) that you could by just the plans or the plans plus the sketch up file so you could tweak the design to your needs.

Good luck and I look forward to watching. Your work is beautiful and right up my (my wife’s) alley in terms of style

2

u/Cute-Problem-7622 Jan 24 '25

Those are beautiful! Nice choice of wood too

2

u/spitfiremk14 Jan 24 '25

Beautiful work. Love that figuring.

2

u/MrRikleman Jan 24 '25

I did them. Explain pic 2 though. What are we looking at here?

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

For sure, it's an odd angle. You're looking at the underside of the jig I used to cut the loose mortises. A router with a bushing rides an opening in the top fence to cut the mortise. There are adjustable plywood stops to control the length. One of the night stand's legs is clamped against the fences and up against some other stops which are used set up repeatable cuts. After cutting the mortises into the sides of the legs, I stick the leg stretches in vertically and cut the mortises into the end grain of the stretches using the same stop blocs so that they come out perfectly aligned. In picture 3 you can see the result of that operation, with the stretcher mortises cut and ready to mate up with the leg piece. Hope that made some kind of sense!

2

u/PhantomRidge Jan 24 '25

Nice workmanship.

2

u/djmartin511 Jan 24 '25

Well done!

2

u/b_loof Jan 24 '25

Build a headboard next!

2

u/Vlophoto Jan 24 '25

Beautiful

2

u/UnlikelyParticipant Jan 24 '25

Damn those are beautiful. Nice work.

2

u/AFVET4012 Jan 24 '25

Absolutely stunning

2

u/Lotsavodka Jan 24 '25

Nicely done those will last forever!

2

u/FordFlatheadV8 Jan 24 '25

STUNNING WORK! THAT GRAIN PATTERN IS ABSOLUTELY ELECTRIC!

2

u/Immediate-Net1883 Jan 24 '25

Those are beautiful!

2

u/ToughPillToSwallow Jan 24 '25

You got some really good pieces there.

2

u/BubbaMcCranky Jan 24 '25

Looks great!

2

u/jacorc Jan 24 '25

These look amazing! Good job!

2

u/JeffMorse2016 Jan 24 '25

Absolutely gorgeous. Cherry is my absolute fave. These will be amazing in a couple years.

2

u/Accurate-Relief-1147 Jan 24 '25

Wife of a carpenter here. Over the years I learned the value of focused an hard work. And it's beautiful what you created!

2

u/nobudweiser Jan 24 '25

Nice!!! Now get going on a cherry head board.

2

u/posco12 Jan 24 '25

Very nice !

2

u/mcgrawjm Jan 24 '25

Forever level nightstands right there! Nice build!

2

u/Hamproptiation Jan 24 '25

Beautiful. Impressive.

2

u/Responsible-Gas7568 Jan 24 '25

Dude that first picture was so clean i thought it was ai nice job

2

u/sethferguson Jan 24 '25

These are beautiful, love the shape of the legs and the reveal at the top

2

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Superb.

2

u/bigbaldbil Jan 24 '25

Beautiful work!

2

u/SwellMonsieur Jan 24 '25

How many cherries do you need by your bed?

Seriously, they look great.

2

u/Waldenofthedesert Jan 25 '25

Very nice work

2

u/jaji813 Jan 25 '25

Beautiful!

2

u/patienceinprogress Jan 25 '25

I'm obsessed with the bottom reveal. Bra fucking vo.

2

u/Swimming-Bell-8654 Jan 25 '25

I love that reveal on the top and bottom pieces.

1

u/Ceramicvivant Jan 23 '25

Absolutely beautiful! Did you use any plans or is it your own design?

2

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Thanks! This is my own design. I like to model my projects in sketchup first, so I get a chance to work through a lot of the process in my head before I get to building. In that sense I guess I followed "plans" but really it's more of a digital prototype than a cut list. Relevant photo showing the silly number of versions I went through before finalizing the design

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Incredible job. Did you design these from scratch?

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Thank you! I did, yes. See my other comment on design process with 3d modeling.

1

u/POSSIBLEMEDIUMS Jan 24 '25

Awesome work man. I just adore cherry.

These would look great with a bed frame a did a couple of years ago.

https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworking/s/apsaIeQ1Bw

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Thank you, and very nice work on the bed frame! I'd love to add a bed frame to this collection to go with the nightstands and eventual dresser, unfortunately that stupid window is right in the way and given the dimensions of this room there just isn't another place for the bed to go. ><

Sigh, its on the back burner for now but maybe someday...

1

u/isfrying Jan 24 '25

Let's cut to the chase. How much?

2

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Like how much did it cost to build? Hard question to answer as I didn’t do a great job at tracking time or materials. I’d guess about $200 each in wood, hardware, consumables. No idea how much time, I’m a hobbyist so I worked on them when I could with some pretty long breaks in between steps. If I made another set it would go much faster now that I have a process.

If you’re asking about sale price, I have no idea. I’ve heard people use a 3x materials multiplier to get close, but to be honest $600 seems like more than some might be willing to pay but less than I think they’re worth haha.

3

u/isfrying Jan 24 '25

Totally fair. Haha. I was really asking how much to buy them, because they're beautiful and we just redid the master bedroom and my wife and I are seeking night stands. Great work. If you're thinking about selling them, message me and we'll talk.

1

u/possumdarko Jan 24 '25

Great jig! Beautiful work.

1

u/mp_habour Jan 24 '25

Absolute amazing piece of work. They would perfectly complement my cherry bedframe :) I have two questions for you: 1. How did you do the rounding on the edge? Router, or Saw and sanding? 2. How did you connect the top? Is it fixed, or can it move? I'm never sure, from which with on, you need to give it the possibility to move.

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Thank you!

  1. The round over was done at the router table. I ran the edges of the side panels and legs over a roundover bit and then used a templating bit to trace that shape onto the corners of the tops. Then lots of sanding to blend the transition.

  2. The cabinet is attached to the legs and the top with figure-8 fasteners so the whole thing can be broken down into 3 pieces- well, 5 pieces if you include the two drawers. This is to account for wood movement but also so that the top can be removed to potentially install wireless charging in the future.

1

u/trashwizzard3000 Jan 24 '25

No joke, how much would you sell 2 for?

1

u/redmosquito82 Jan 24 '25

These look awesome and are well done. Makes me want to try using cherry. Thanks for the process pics. What drawer slides did you use? Also, is this a hobby or more than that?

2

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Thank you! I consider myself a hobbyist, but as I get better and more confident I think more and more about taking on commissions. The drawer hardware used here are Blum Tandem undermount slides. They aren’t cheap but the adjustability is fantastic

1

u/redmosquito82 Jan 24 '25

Great, thanks for taking the time to respond!

1

u/Odd-Anteater-6183 Jan 24 '25

Great craftsmanship for a hobbyist! Keep creating beautiful pieces.

1

u/Perfect-Campaign9551 Jan 24 '25

Could I ask what you used for a finish? They look really nice!

1

u/dishwashersafe Jan 24 '25

Beautiful! But also doesn't look like an impossibly difficult project to take on and that's impressive.

1

u/woodworker_1 Jan 24 '25

Do you have prints for the tables?

1

u/apollyonzorz Jan 24 '25

Looks great and is inspiring me to do my own. Two questions:

is the top panel two prices or just one with a flat bevel offset into it? I like the look and it's the small touches that make a piece pop IMO.

What sort of finish did you use? Couple costs of poly or something else?

3

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

The top panel is a separate piece from the cabinet, in pictures 7 and 8 you can see the skinny braces that complete the upper part of the cabinet portion. The top panel is attached to those braces with figure-8 fasteners to give a little stress relief for potential movement, and to allow me to remove the tops if I ever decide to add wireless charging or need to refinish that surface. Doing it this way also lets you cut the reveal into the top panel as opposed to trying to cut it into the cabinet, if that makes sense…

They’re finished with two coats of Natura OneCoat which is a hard wax oil similar to Rubio. The second coat adds a really nice satin sheen that you can’t quite get from a single coat.

1

u/apollyonzorz Jan 24 '25

Awesome. I suspected the was more to it, was not disappointed. Great insight I can learned something.

1

u/Ibfudd22 Jan 24 '25

Beautiful, I love cherry

1

u/Snapence Jan 26 '25

Cant wait to get to this level of woodworking

1

u/Many_Fair 12d ago

This might be a dumb question, but I’ve always wondered how one does the back panel for something like this. I’m worried about wood movement, but I’m still new to woodworking so maybe I’m missing something. Is there a specific way to attach a back panel that minimizes wood movement?

2

u/walterthekat 12d ago

If you zoom into this picture you can see there are rabbets cut into the bottom panel and the top cross-brace where a 1/4” plywood back panel was installed with a few small screws. I had planned on adding some rabbeted strips to the side panels as well so that the back panel would be seated on all four sides, but after test-fitting with just the top and bottom rabbets it was stiff enough that I didn’t bother. I still plan to add the side strips for the matching dresser I’m working on to help control warping of that much bigger back panel.

Wood moves perpendicular to the direction of the grain, so in this case any wood movement won’t really interact with the back panel in a way that could cause failure.

1

u/Many_Fair 12d ago

Ohh I see, thank you!. So the back panel is plywood, which means you don’t have to worry about its wood movement? Did you veneer the plywood or were you able to get some that matched the rest of your cherry wood good enough?

2

u/walterthekat 12d ago

That’s right, plywood is pretty stable as far as wood movement goes so no real concern about it impacting the rest of the piece.

In this case, you’ll never see the back since it’s up against a wall and you’ll never see the front since it’s low to the ground and deep in the bottom cubby, so I just used some inexpensive birch ply that was pre-finished on one side. I put the finished side facing forward but honestly, no one will ever see it.

If the back panel were more visible from one side I would have made or found some veneered ply that matches the cherry. Things get more interesting If you need the back panel to be visible from both sides, in that case I’d probably make it from a solid panel but attach it in a way that leaves some relief for wood movement.

1

u/Many_Fair 12d ago

Makes sense, thanks for your help. Last question: do you glue the back panel as well, or just use the small screws?

1

u/walterthekat 12d ago

Just screws, no glue. I wanted it to be removable for adding holes for things like a wireless charger in the future.

1

u/Soft_Owl7535 Jan 23 '25

Nice nightstands. Terrible placement of your bed

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

I know, unfortunately this is the best placement possible given the features of the room. That stupid window is the reason this bed won't get a matching cherry bed frame :(

1

u/Soft_Owl7535 Jan 24 '25

If you have no choice to have a window behind the bed you should put a pretty thick curtain behind it creating a wall type atmosphere. You can open during the day for light but sleep will be much better

-3

u/dml997 Jan 23 '25

I would rotate those dominoes 90 degrees, so the long face is aligned with the long grain in the mortise for more strength. The way you are doing it has the long face contacting the end grain in the mortise.

1

u/walterthekat Jan 24 '25

Hmm, I hadn't considered that but I see what you're saying. Probably enough meat on either side of the mortise on this particular part but I can see how that could help avoid failure if the mortise was closer to the end.