NotchLoading plan…
Loading plan…
The look comes from a wall of small drawer faces, but only two of those openings are real doors behind them — the rest are fixed decorative fronts, which is exactly how the antique printer's cabinets this design borrows from were built too, since a real chest of that many individual drawers would have been impractical furniture. Build and hang the two working doors before attaching anything to the box; it's much easier to true up a door to its opening now than after the case is fully assembled.
Every face-frame and box joint gets a pocket hole drilled before assembly, hidden on the inside, underside, or top edges — plan those hole locations before any glue goes down, since a joint assembled first and drilled second usually means drilling blind into a corner you can no longer see into.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Pine, 2x2, 8 ft | 3 each |
| Pine, 1x2, 8 ft | 5 each |
| Pine, 1x4, 12 ft | 2 each |
| Pine, 1x6, 10 ft | 2 each |
| Pine, 1x3, 8 ft | 2 each |
| Plywood, 3/4", 4x8 sheetRipped into 15-3/4"-wide strips for the box. | 1 each |
| Plywood, 1/4", half sheetOptional back panel. | 1 each |
| Hinges, euro-style inset or narrow-profile | 2 pair |
| Knobs or handles | 24 each |
| Pocket hole screws, 1-1/4" | 1 box |
| Brad nails, 1-1/4" | 1 box |
| Wood glue | 4 oz |
| Sandpaper, assorted grit | 4 sheet |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Face frame stilesPine 2x2 | 4 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 35 1/4" |
| Face frame top and bottom railsPine 2x2 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 35 1/4" |
| Face frame vertical dividersPine 1x2 | 4 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 26 1/4" |
| Face frame center railPine 2x2 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 26 1/4" |
| Working door facesPine 1x4 | 2 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 26" |
| Decorative drawer faces, tallPine 1x4 | 10 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 26" |
| Decorative drawer faces, widePine 1x6 | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 26" |
| Decorative drawer faces, narrowPine 1x2 | 10 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 26" |
| Decorative drawer face trimPine 1x3 | 4 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 30 1/2" |
| Box top and bottomPlywood | 2 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 56 1/2" |
| Box sidesPlywood | 2 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 33" |
| Box center dividerPine 1x6 | 1 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 30 3/4" |
| ShelvesPine 1x6 | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 27 7/8" |
| Top boardsPine 1x6 | 3 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 59" |
| Top front trimPine 1x3 | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 59" |
| Back panel1/4" plywood | 1 | 1/4" × 58" × 33" |
Buy 22 boards at 8 ft.
4 boards
2 boards
Build the face frames first, so you can be sure the door and drawer-face openings fit before anything else is built.
Build the two working doors to fit their openings and hang them with hinges, keeping them in place with catches for now. Do this before attaching anything else — it's much easier now than later. Keep track of which door goes in which opening.
Before attaching any of the box pieces, drill 3/4" pocket holes on the front and back edges of every box piece, so the face frame can be attached easily in a later step. Hide these holes on the inside, underside, or top of the cabinet.
Assemble the box from the top, bottom, and sides.
Attach the face frame to the box using the pocket holes drilled earlier.
Attach the decorative (non-functional) drawer faces across the remaining openings, trimmed with the 1x3 face trim.
Add the center divider and shelves inside the cabinet at the desired locations. Install knobs or handles on every drawer face, including the decorative ones, so the whole front reads consistently.
Attach the top boards and front trim to the cabinet.
Attach the back panel with glue and brad nails, if desired.
Sand every surface and finish.
No reviews yet
Sign in to review this plan or share your build.
No reviews yet. Be the first to build this.
4 boards
4 boards
2 boards
5 boards
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →