If you’ve ever watched woodworking shows on Public Television, it makes you wonder what goes on behind the scenes. How is it that every time the wood is perfectly cut, and then slipped carefully into place with no problem whatsoever? It makes one wonder how many times a piece was miscut and then the woodworker had to start over. One can easily work for an hour or two, and then find out that a simple mistake can render those few hours a waste (except for what was learned when the mistake was made.) On those TV woodworking shows I imagine a lot of angry screaming goes on behind the scenes, but I’m sure that’s not what really happens. After all, those guys are skilled professionals with the finest tools, who have been doing this stuff for years . . . but wouldn’t you just like to see the outtakes?

I will label this series of blogs the Imperfect Woodworker, because my work is far from perfect. However, if you want to add your two cents or just shake your head at my techniques, feel free to go in either direction.

When I was first married, I realized how little we had prepared for combining each other’s households. When you combine households you really have quite a hodge-podge of furniture, as well as a limited amount of closet space to be shared between the two of you. My wife happened to have what in furniture terms is called a “chesser” which at first glance appears to be the combination of a chest and a dresser. What I have found though, is that it doesn’t really fit my needs. I just need more space. Therefore, I recently determined to build myself a wardrobe.

Feel free to copy any of my design here if you like it, but remember if you do any kind of woodworking that you should always carefully follow the proper safety procedures. Be aware that there are many ways of completing different projects, and if you should find a better way, by all means do so. My training is very minimal. I had the basic shop class in junior high, and when I first got back into woodworking my father showed me some very basic techniques. From there, I have experimented with various techniques to produce the result I would like, and here and there I have learned things in woodworking magazines.

I may not do things the best way, but generally I like to do things my own way. The design for the wardrobe is my own. By the time you read this, I will actually be quite a bit further along than what my initial picture would indicate, but I wanted to share a visual here.

Here you can see the outside leg supports in place as the project is slightly beginning to take shape. Sorry – it may be blurry as the lighting for photo was poor, and I didn’t readily have something steady to set the camera on. (Click on the thumbnail for a larger image).

The wardrobe will be built in three stages, and because it will be quite a large piece, each stage will be separable from the others for easy moving. The ground stage includes legs for supporting the entire piece. It will have a lower shelf and an upper shelf. The lower shelf will be for storing larger items, but the upper shelf will be partly for supporting the structure (by making the legs more rigid) as well as being a smaller storage space for items like shoes. The bottom will have decorative trim (still yet to come according to the first visual) and triangular pieces with decorative trim have been fastened in the corners, for aesthetics. The front of this bottom piece will have doors on it (also yet to come).

The shelves will be made of ¾ inch plywood, with the outside of the cabinet covered with ½ inch plywood. The ½ inch covering will be so that the piece will be lighter, but will also not be flimsy (as opposed to using a ¼ inch ply for the sides). For the legs I’ve glued together pieces of plywood that have been specifically cut for that purpose. I used plywood because I wanted to use some of my scrap wood. However, none of the edges of the plywood will be visible on the outside of the project. All the trim will be maple.

Some day I may get into using some more exotic woods than these, but the reason it is this way, is because they can easily be found at your neighborhood Home Depot. Be sure and check out the project as it progresses. -Cal Samuel August