The drawer guides are made from hardwood. Glue together a 1/2" x 3/4" piece and a 1/4" x 1" side piece to form two L-shaped runners. Both get screwed or nailed to the inside of the legs. Also, two pieces of 7/8" x 3 1/4" x 11 1/8" pine need to be biscuited to the top front and back rails, slightly above the drawer opening. These parts have two jobs: they help prevent the drawer from tipping forward when fully opened, and they act as an anchor point to secure the top of the nightstand.
The door is as simple as frame-and-panel construction gets, with a solid wood frame surrounding a pine-veneered plywood panel. If you prefer not to prepare mortises and tenons at the corners, a pair of double #20 biscuits work perfectly on a door of this size. While you're making door parts, chisel out pockets to accept the butt hinges the door will swing on.
The bottom of the cabinet is made from solid pine, notched around the legs and attached to the front and back rails with biscuits. That said, the floor panel is only glued at the front rail, to allow for seasonal expansion and contraction. Just to be safe, make the floor panel with a 1/8" gap at the back, in case the wood expands during humid weather. Prepare the top now (with a chamfered edge all along the bottom edge), then get ready for assembly.
Fit and Finish
Dry-fit everything for a final test without glue. When it looks good, take the project apart, complete one more final sanding with #220-grit paper, then stop. You have a decision to make. It's always easiest to stain a project like this before the parts go together with glue. On the other hand, this also means you have to mask off joint areas that won't hold together strongly with glue if they aren't bare and dry. Regardless of whether you stain before or after assembly, final sealing comes last. My choice was easy since my nightstand was built to accompany the bed Jerry Weber made, so I just asked for his recipe and didn't lose any sleep over my choice.
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2 Comments
I did not see any plans.
I saw the plan is linked at the place "Download the plans for this project here!", it is very detailed. Thanks for sharing this project! Nice job.