Bedroom Furniture: Wardrobe

These wood working plans include:

These wood working plans include:

The following drawings:

• Gables Dadoes and Rabbet shows the layout of the shelves and bottom on the gables
• Face Frame shows the dimensions of the stiles and rails on the gables
• Drawer Slides Detail shows the stiles and rails and slides layout on the gables
• Drawer Detail shows the construction of a typical bottom mount drawer box and front with manufactured slides
• Euro Face Frame Hinge Installation shows the layout of the hinge on the door
• Front and Side Elevation shows dimensions and layout of the doors and drawers

The following photos:

• European face frame hinge
• Hinge plate

The List of Materials include materials for all the parts required to complete the project including: the gables, top and bottom, face frame, drawers, slides, pulls, doors, hinges, plates and fasteners.

The Instructions include the following topics:

• Cutting List
• The Face Frame
• Drawer Slides Layout
• Making the drawers
• Making and Installing the Doors
• Installing the Moldings
• Cutting the Drawer Fronts
• Installing the Drawer Fronts
• Tips
• Sanding and Finishing

List of Materials

• 3 1/2 sheets 4x8x3/4" cherry G2S plywood for gables, drawer fronts, top
• 2 sheets 4x8x1/2" cherry G2S plywood or G1S plywood (cheaper) for drawers
• 1 sheet 4x8x1/4" cherry G2S plywood for back
• 1 sheet 2'x4'x3/4" utility plywood for bottom
• 60' - 1x4 cherry S4S for face frame and molding trim
• 6 pairs bottom mount 22" drawer slides (Blum)
• 1 box flathead wood screws # 6x5/8" for slides
• 8 drawer and door pulls, combined
• 4 plates for face frame hinges - Blum 130.1100.23 Compact 33 Edge Mounting Plate 1/2" Overlay (or equivalent)
• 4 hinges - Blum 33.3600 Compact 33 Screw On 110 Degree Opening Face Frame Hinge (or equivalent)
• 3 lb 1 1/2" bright finish nails
• Carpenter's yellow wood glue
• Stain, if desired and Polyurethane finish (Flecto Varathane - Professional Finish, or equivalent)

Instructions

Rip the 3/4" cherry plywood to the sizes in the following cutting list, unless otherwise stated.

Cutting List

• 2 gable ends at 22 3/4" x 64 1/4" with dados and rabbet
• 1 top at 23 1/2" x 53" with rabbet
• 2 shelves of cherry and 1 bottom of cheaper 3/4" plywood at 22 1/2" x 52"
• 1 back - 1/4" plywood at 52" x 60 1/4"
• 6 drawer fronts at 25" x 9 3/8"
• 2 doors at 25" x 26 3/8"

Cabinet plywood is considered G2S (good 2 sides), but one side is usually a bit better than the other. Always rip the best side up on a table saw and the best side down with a circular saw. Use a sharp blade with the highest number of teeth for finishing work.

We want to rabbet the back edge of the gables for the 1/4" back panel, as well as dado the 2 shelves in the upper area and the bottom below the drawers. The back side of the top also has a rabbet for the back panel. For the rabbet, cut in 1/4" deep the full thickness of the panel, that's 1/4 x 1/4 for the back and 1/4" deep x 3/4" wide for the dados for the shelves and bottom. The purpose of the bottom is to keep the unit square. Either use a dado blade with the table saw (preferred) or use a router and jig.

Refer to the Cutting List, these are exact sizes, the more accurate you are here the better the cabinet will turn out. Before assembling the parts be sure to dado the two gables for the shelves and bottom and rabbet the inside back edge for the back panel. Also, don't forget to cut a rabbet on the inside back edge of the top piece to receive the back panel. The 2 shelves and bottom should be 1/4" narrower than the width of the gable to allow for the thickness of the back panel. Assemble the pieces with glue and nails. Turn the unit on its face and install the 1/4" plywood back, this will keep it square. Nail and glue the back into the shelves and top and bottom.

The Face Frame

The Face Frame drawing shows which piece overlaps and which piece comes to the other.

The hatched line shows the gables behind the stiles. The face frame is made up of vertical pieces called stiles and horizontal pieces called rails. These are ripped, from the 3/4" solid lumber stock, according to the sizes shown in the face frame drawing and cut to length by holding the piece against the frame and marking in place. These should be face nailed to the box and glued. Set the nails with a nail set just below the surface if not using an air nailer. Notice the 3/4" center shelf, as shown on the drawing. Here rip a piece of edging, 1/4" thick x 3/4" to hide the edge grain of the shelf, or use iron-on wood tape, instead, after the stiles and rails are on.

Drawer Slides Layout

Once the face frame is attached, the packing for the slides are installed. On the gables, layout the position of the drawer slides. The slides come in matched pairs, with one for the drawer and one for the gable. They are marked LH and RH for left and right hand. The drawer mounts install on the bottom of the drawer with the roller at the back. We'll get to the drawers later.

The gable mount slide is shown in this drawing. Since the gables are not flush with the stiles, pack out the gable with a 3/4" +/- ripping to bring it out flush and install the drawer slide onto the strip. The end with the roller goes to the front and is flush with the outside of the face frame and resting on top of the rail. Screw these in position using #6 x 5/8" screws, 3 per slide. Make sure they are installed square across the gable. Put the cabinets away for now, while we make up the drawers.

Making the Drawers

The drawer boxes are made of 1/2" plywood. The sides are rabbeted to receive the front and backs, which are the same size. The outside width of the drawer must be 1" less than the opening between the stiles to allow for the drawer slides. You'll notice that one slide mounted on the drawer is flat on top and the other side has a rounded top which grabs the roller. There is a bit of adjustment with this design, better to be a bit too wide on the 1/2" gap rather than too tight. I'm talking a maximum of 1/16". At 1/2" on each side the drawer will slide nicely. The bottom is simply nailed and glued to the sides, back and front since the slide supports the bottom anyway. With plywood, glue and nails work well. Don't fasten the drawer front onto the drawer box yet, wait for this step later. The height of the drawer, less the bottom, is about 3/4" less than the vertical opening, to allow for clearance to get the drawer in place.

Making and Installing the Doors

Cut the doors out of the 3/4" cherry as sized on the Cutting List, including wood tape edging. The European hinges are attached to the back of the doors and listed in the Materials List. As shown on the small drawing, drill a 35mm (about 1 3/8) shallow hole with a forstner bit. This bit has a short point on the end with short side cutters, specifically designed for this type of hole. The hole is only 7/16" or so deep, measure the hinge to confirm this. Follow the measurements, below, to layout the center point for the hole. For 1/2" overlay hinges, I find that 13/16" in from the finished edge to the center point works well. Make sure the edging is on the door first before measuring. Use the #6 x 5/8" screws to hold the hinge in place. Install the doors in place by attaching the plate to the face frame, as shown, with the hinge attached to it. The doors should overlap the face frame by 1/2" all around, the same as the drawers. These hinges adjust two ways: in and out in the opening and up and down in the opening.

Installing the Molding

At this point we will fasten the molding profiles around the top, as shown on the elevation drawing. Cut them to the approximate length adding extra for the miters. The profile is best done with the router under mounted to a table. I'll leave the profile to your taste.

Rip the 3 1/2" base for the bottom unit and router a profile on the top of it. The two front joints are again mitered. Fasten in place with glue and face nails. The toe kick is 2", rounded out in the front, as shown on the drawing.

Cutting the Drawer Fronts

Cut the drawer fronts out of the 3/4" plywood. The edge grain can be covered with cherry wood edging tape or rip a profile out of the solid cherry stock. If going to router a profile on the drawer fronts be careful where you place your nails. We don't want to hit them with the router, since it is easier to router the edge after it is fastened to the front.

Tip: When installing a strip of solid wood onto the edge of a door or drawer front for later shaping with a router, use masking tape instead of nails to hold the strip in place until the glue dries. This works better than taking a chance of hitting a nail.

Installing the Drawer Fronts

The drawer fronts are lined up with the doors above. Insert the drawer box into the slides by tipping the drawer down to engage the roller and lift up again and slide the box in. Start by drilling 3/16" holes through the front of the drawer box about 1" in from the corners. Clamp the drawer front into place with the drawer open with the use of spring clamps or C-clamps. Don't mar the surface. From the inside of the box, screw through the 4 holes into the front. Careful with the length of screws, you don't want to go through the face of the front. Remove the clamps and slide the door in. When happy with the position, install the pulls by drilling with the same bit through the face of the front as well as the box front to match the spacing of the holes in the pulls. Most times the pulls come with a 3/4" machine screw as well as a longer one. You may have to cut off the screw to fit the length of going through the two pieces or buy a longer screw to fit.

Tip: When cutting a machine screw to length, thread on a proper size nut first, cut the screw and back off the nut which cleans the threads in the process.

Tip: When drilling through a finished frame, as when installing drawer pulls, hold a scrap block of plywood on the inside to prevent the drill from chipping the wood as it penetrates the frame.

Sanding and Finishing

Time to sand and apply the finish to your project. Fill all nail holes with a putty pre-stained to your liking. Plywood and lumber has a mill glaze on its surfaces when purchased. This has to come off before applying a stain or clear finish. Use about a 100 grit sandpaper for the first pass. It doesn't take too much to remove this, always sand with the grain. Don't sand any finer than 150 grit before the application of stain. I've had people wonder why stain won't grab the wood when they sand with 400 or 600 paper- they sealed it off by trying to do a perfect sanding job. Don't sand too much of the veneer off the plywood, it is very thin. Remove any saw or router marks on the edges of the solid lumber.

For a choice of finish, I prefer a satin or semi-gloss clear Polyurethane product. Varathane is such a product. I use the Varathane Professional Clear Finish, which can accept a number of coats in a day, yet is oil based. If stain is your choice, it goes on before the final finish. I prefer a gelled stain applied with a lint free rag. Rub it on and wipe it off. Allow the stain to dry overnight before applying the finish. In my opinion, stay away from the stain and finish applications in one step. If the stain is not to your liking, after it dries, that's it. By pre-staining you have the option to sand it lightly to lighten the color or add a bit more to darken it. Apply at least two coats of the clear finish.

Enjoy your wardrobe.

Dave