# Cherry Serpentine Dresser build thread



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

2 years ago a friend gave me a dresser, it needed work, bad. But I didnt have the experience to repair, let alone copy it. So i took it apart and stuffed it in crates.

Last month I unboxed it, inventoried it, and started nagging the wife. However I knew nothing about the dresser, era, etc. I vowed to not destroy the original as I now can repair it.

My daughter needs a bigger dresser, so time to duplicate, but with my own touch.

What I am doing is I am building 3 of these, a prototype, a Cherry version, and a walnut version. One for each child.

There is alot of bandsaw work to do, considering the curving drawers and frame.

So, lets get going...

Phase 1.

Prototype.

I decided to build a prototype out of cabinet grade plywood w/ hardwood. I am glad I did this as When I started this last night at 9pm (I stayed up all night no sleep) I must have made several changes. First change, sides will be solid, not rail and stile. Second change is I ditched the wierd mortise and tenon method used to join the individual frame pieces, instead opting for a solid side of 3/4" ply with dados. Third change is still up in the air, but I might try to add another layer for a total of 8 drawers instead of 6

Here are the original frame layers and the one good side frame


































The new frame layers....














New Side panel.













More to come today.....I promise, as I am about to do the 3rd dry fit.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

Looks good Jim. Any pics of the original before you took it apart, just wondering what it looks like. Can't wait to see one done in walnut.


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

buggyman1 said:


> Looks good Jim. Any pics of the original before you took it apart, just wondering what it looks like. Can't wait to see one done in walnut.


Yeah ill get a bunch of pics uploaded tonight, and I'm gonna see if I can assemble the old one for a side by side shot.

However, got it all glued, brads, assembled. Not bad for 12 hours.

I tell you what, I'm shocked its so strong, pure plywood, pretty lite, and Mega ridgid. Next step is to make all the serpentine pieces for the kicker, and do a basic top. Might go as far as to see if original drawers will fit.





















Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Okay, I'm in on this one Jim. It looks fantastic so far and I'm sure that it's going to look great when it is done.


----------



## Capacity Workstation (Jun 6, 2011)

Wow, this is a good one!


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

I know I said id upload pics last night, however I got started on the base molding and before I knew it, it was 10pm. A 24 hour non stop build, did a lot in a 24 hour span.

So, here are pics of the original, I have all the pieces save for the 1/4" material.
The dresser had alot of rot, the base was 30% there and at best the more important pieces were missing.






































The whole thing is made with what I am going to guess is poplar with a veneer and 8 coats of various paint from purple to pink, white, and even a nice red. There was a clear coat under all the paint, but the veneer was so damaged I couldn't tell you what the veneer was.

I always found this dresser to be cool, I have seen bow front dressers before, but never one like this. I myself don't see a reason to try and "restore" the original unless it is some rare breed in which I cant identify anyway.



You can see how the flow goes down to the base, and in taking it apart (what was left) it appears to have been a glue up to gain a 1 1/2" wide base for the front of the dresser, I plan on taking that a little farther this time around.

So I flipped my prototype (which is going so well, I might have to reconsider it being a prototype) and put it on my little benches.

I was surprised to see that the original parts did fit, and even lined up pretty well against my build, it just tells me that I obviously was paying attention, lol.





















I had to figure out how to duplicate that lower piece, obviously the drawer access needs to be done with a router, laying the original on the bench you can see it has a peek of 2 5/8", and like the drawer fronts it is a glue up of 1x1" pieces.





























I don't have any mdf left for me to make a copy and play around with, I have some chip board, but remembered I was saving that to make a doll house bookshelf for Emmaleigh, so thats out of the question, I do however have plenty of checked, bowed, and otherwise crappy pine boards fresh from the Cull bin at the Borg, so why not?.

I traced the curve, so it would match, and made a 11' trip to big greenie...






















and then proceeded to glue up enough to start shaping the base, I didn't run through the joiner, or planer, I just glued up, as this is just a test piece, I didn't want to use Ash or Oak, needed a soft material to allow me to experiment.










I put the base on, now instead of the original depth of 2" for the front molding, I opted for 4", something that I will carry over to final, since the dresser is so lite prior to adding hardwood, I figured having a nice wide front footing wouldn't hurt one bit.

And the future owner giving an inspection.......











So for now, and today I will be continuing to work on the new design of the base, I was thinking of carrying over the flowing base to the sides, might see what I see today, Maybe go get some mdf for that as its more forgiving to make molds with mdf, and I have a little time before the raw carbon fiber and resin gets here to make some molds.

I really am wondering about bringing the base and wrapping it around to the sides, not sure if a simple inward bow might work, or if I would need to scale down the flow of the front and extend that down the sides, so Ill take ideas from y'all.

I really am not all wet and excited over how the front molding is looking right now, in a way it looks kinda bland, but I dont want to take away from the rest of the dresser by putting an over emphasis on the base.

Maybe Ill cut the top today, let me clear my mind of the base for an hour or 2, oh, I forgot.....

Thought about adding a small 2-3" full width "hidden drawer between the top and regular drawers, might look into that more.


As always, I like input, so if this turns into a community "build", if you have suggestions, a solution to something I am having issues with, or more design experience than I do, jump in, water is warm.


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

So, I got the side molding shaped with some pine, got it matched up to the front molding with a nice rounded corner.











I then made some supports for the sides, to make the bowed side panel, I only went up the side about halfway, then attached some 1/4" ply to check that it matched the flow of the molding evenly down the side.































Then I worked on making the corner piece out of some mdf, was a pain to cut and shape, going to try pre-cutting pieces then glue them together, to see if it'll be easier to sand down the final shape.
































So now the next step is to duplicate the side molding so I can make one for the right side, then remove the whole molding assembly from dresser so I can make the torsion box to attempt......to bend a single piece of cherry as well as walnut starting from back left corner all the way to the right rear, I want to have a solid unbroken flow of grain all the way around. That small corner is probably going to be an issue. But, ill probably buy some long stock and give resawing veneers a spin and just laminating them together. I'm thinking even 1/4" material might be to thick to roll around that corner.

Other option is 3/4" cherry ply, kerf cutting it, then gluing stock to edge, but I don't want lines.

As you can see an original drawer front fits fine, however the drawer fronts will most likely be the last thing I make. Top will be solid 3" stock.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

I got the form built today for bending the front molding, will cut the shape out tonight, maybe get lucky and try it out with some crummy walnut I have.

Tomorrow I'll build the 2 side forms, and then give bending one long 107" solid piece, just to see how bad it is going to be.

I know, this has got to be boring for some, hoping the steam bending goes well, kind of excited to see if I can pull off such a long piece with no breaks.

Sent from my Xoom using Woodworking Talk


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

OK, got my very first ever cold bend lamination in the mold. Used some ash and walnut, not expecting anything more than a learning experience for bending the cherry.





















Work the bugs out, and ill start doing final laminations this week.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

I love this hobby, there is always something new to learn, skills to expand, techniques.

Guess I'm in a good mood because my cold form test worked, even with odd size scraps.

3/8" thick, this will make creating the molding easier and with less waste now.





















I will admit, I didn't expect it to work.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Nice !!*

Very nice work so far. 
Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

It's looking great so far. Nice work on the curves and bending. I'll be watching this one. So I expect to see flawless results! :laughing:

It looks like the future owner approves of the progress so far :yes:


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

Phase 1 is complete.


I've worked out the improved design, made master templates based on the prototype pieces, a cold bending jig, time to hit the sawmill up for cherry, walnut, and cherry and walnut plywood stock.





















Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

Worked on prototype starting last night, figured it'd be a waste not to finish it. So decided it would be my first painted piece.

Here is how she looks now.





















Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

Looks good Jim, thats gonna turn out nice.


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

buggyman1 said:


> Looks good Jim, thats gonna turn out nice.


Thanks Terry. I hope so, though its going slower than expected, this is my " bucket truck and boom Crane " build. It went from a full on duplication of one old dresser to make 2 new ones for kids, to a full on custom set "based" on the design I like from the old one.

Today, taking it very slow and easy, my arms hurt so bad, hands numb, can't do a lot, so I'm making the corner moldings and will patch and sand them, once that's done, ill make the molding for just below the top, and prime the whole thing before I make the drawers. Tomorrow I head up to the sawmill to get supplies for the cherry one, and the walnut one.




















Corner trim profile.








Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## buggyman1 (Nov 16, 2011)

The walnut one is gonna be sweet.


----------



## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Looking very good.


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

Well,

I'm very tired, 4 days non stop. 

She is ready for bondo then priming.









































Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Nice Progress*

Nice progress so far.

Don't get too stove up so you can't finish this wonderful project.

Be praying for ya. :thumbsup:


----------



## CasinoDuck (Jun 15, 2011)

Very exciting! I'm loving this build:thumbsup:


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

I took the week off, started cleaning shop today in preparation for getting back to work starting Friday evening through Saturday evening. I am hoping to get it bondo'd, sanded and primed, and start on the drawer fronts.

Sent from my Xoom using Woodworking Talk


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

Wow, those curved drawer fronts were......interesting, but I got them. Perfect gaps, smooth operation, time for a full sanding, then maybe I can start on the bondo part, then paint.

Oh, we are actually thinking of a 3 stage Pearl White using automotive paint. 











Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## CasinoDuck (Jun 15, 2011)

I'm interested in see how you mounted the drawer fronts. can you post a pic?


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

It's looking pretty cool, man.


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

First coat of primer.











Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Looking really cool!


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Looking really good. Nice curves; reminds me of a girl I used to know :laughing:


----------



## oldmacnut (Dec 27, 2010)

I couldn't help myself.

Between sanding, spraying, sanding, spraying, I took 2 hours and made a matching shelf.













Sent from my Galaxy S2 using Woodworking Talk


----------

