As with all summer projects over the past few years, this one took forever to finish. But, I’m very happy with the way that things worked out.

To recap, this plan came from Wood Magazine, and it is the proof of concept for building others for my nephews. The project didn’t take a lot of walnut, and I did make sure to grab a 2′ x 4′ sheet of high quality 1/4″ plywood for the drawer bottom and the substrate for the anigree veneer top.

Once the final sanding was done, I started the finish by spraying on some dewaxed shellac. Because there were so many cubbies in this piece, I thought spraying would work better than wiping on, and my suspicions were confirmed. After a sanding with some 320 grit paper, I decided to press my luck and spray on a few coats of lacquer, which came out looking really nice.

The drawer has some great storage capacity. The original plan called for dividers, but I decided to go without, figuring later I could build or get some small containers to store items in there. The drawer runs beautifully on the two runners on the sides, and I was sure to wax up both the runners and the sides of the drawers.

For the handle, I picked up a simple pull from the local home improvement center. I think the antique brass look matched the walnut well, and I like the look a little better than a simple knob.

Once I got the piece into place, it was fun to load it up with stuff. The top is a great place to drop the watch, keys, iPod and other goodies, and the cubbies in the back hold the wallet, work ID, my multi-tool and other goodies. I took the time to drill out the back side of the middle cubby so I can eventually thread a USB charger cable through and move my phone there, but that would involve me moving the dresser… and right now, that sounds like too much work.

A beer sounds much better.

Now, time to clean up the shop and start planning the next adventure!