Modern Chest of Drawers & Nightstand

Marc Spagnuolo

A 5-drawer chest of drawers and a 2-drawer nightstand featuring clean lines and modern styling. Something unique about this build is the frame and panel construction. Most chests of drawers are traditionally made with solid panel sides/tops, but our design incorporates a beautiful frame and panel design which presents a number of challenges to the builder. Fortunately, it's incredibly easy to do once you know the process and I'll walk you through every single step!

  • 13 lessons
  • 190 min
  • $79.00

Here's what we'll cover:

  1. Project Tour

    A quick virtual tour of the Modern Chest of Drawers and Nightstand.

  2. Legs & Rails

    Milling our 8/4 stock down to size and cutting the notches for the lower rails.

  3. Mortise & Tenon Joints

    The loose tenon joinery will be cut using the JDS Multi-Router.

  4. Mortise & Tenon Alternative

    A basic alternative for the mortise and tenon joints.

  5. Grooves & Notches

    Time to get groovy! And notchy?!

  6. Panels

    The beautiful solid panels come together as we review panel construction strategy and cut the rabbets.

  7. Web Frames

    The web frames are like a small project within themselves, but we’ll need to measure and cut carefully to make sure they fit properly.

  8. Assembly

    The cases come together with a little glue an dead blow hammer!

  9. Drawers: Measuring, Milling & Box Joints

    Measuring drawer opening, cutting parts, and cutting box joints.

  10. Drawers: Grooves, Dados, Assembly, & Guides

    The final drawer details bring our drawers together!

  11. Drawer Fitting

    Evaluating the fit of the drawers and making adjustments as needed.

  12. Oil Finishing

    Applying an oil finish for a soft natural look.

  13. Hardware

    Elegant Rocky Mountain Hardware provides a classy finishing touch!

After building the Modern Platform Bed, many folks requested a chest of drawers and nightstand to complete the set and that’s exactly what this is: a 5-drawer chest of drawers and a 2-drawer nightstand featuring clean lines and modern styling.

We will provide plans for both the Chest of Drawers and the Nightstand but the videos will focus primarily on the Chest of Drawers. The projects were designed to incorporate the same joinery, materials, and methods so if you know how to build one you also know how to build the other.

While the version I build will incorporate Bubinga and Wenge woods, you should feel free to use any species that suits your tastes and budget.

What You’ll Receive:

  • Detailed cut list and plans including a PDF and a SketchUp file (metric and imperial).
  • Hours of detailed video instruction showing every step of the build, from wood selection to finishing.
  • All videos and plans are digital and will be available to download upon purchase. Closed Captioning available.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Mortise & Tenons with Table Saw and Router, Festool Domino, and JDS Multi-Router
  • Frame & Panel Case Construction
  • How to Make Dadoes, Rabbets, and Grooves
  • Box Joints using the Bandsaw
  • How to flatten boards wider than your jointer
  • Drawer Fitting
  • Web-frame Construction and Fitting
  • Jig-Building
  • Pure Oil Finishing

 What You’ll Need:

The milling is done using a jointer, planer, and table saw. Parts can be cut to length with the table saw or chop saw. The joinery was done using the JDS MultiRouter just because it’s cool, but I also show an alternative method using more traditional tools: a router for the mortises and a table saw for the tenons. A bandsaw is used to cut the base rail cut-outs and the box joints on the drawers.

About Your Instructor:

Marc is a podcaster, video producer, woodworking enthusiast, and author of Hybrid Woodworking and Essential Joinery. He has contributed articles and video content to FineWoodworking.com, Popular Woodworking Magazine, WOOD Magazine, and Woodcraft Magazine. He is also the host of The Wood Whisperer, an instructional woodworking video series that’s been going strong since 2006. He is also one of the hosts of the Wood Talk podcast. He has taught classes at the William Ng School, Marc Adams School, Weekend with Wood, Fine Woodworking Live, as well as at various Rockler and Woodcraft stores. He also speaks periodically at woodworking events like AWFS and IWF.