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This is a plywood box wearing a solid-wood face frame, which is how most good dressers are actually built — plywood holds its shape better than solid panels this large, and the face frame gives you the clean Shaker lines and something solid to hang drawer fronts and hardware on.
The single biggest lesson in this plan is about batch-cutting: when you rip your plywood into drawer sides and front/backs, label each crosscut by which rip-cut row it came from. Pair a front with a back from the same row, and sides from the same row, and every drawer box comes out square even if your rip cuts aren't perfectly consistent sheet to sheet. Mix rows and you'll fight square the whole way through assembly. The center divider gets its cutouts either with a jigsaw for a clean look, or with applied 1x2 trim if you don't have one — both are shown, and neither is wrong.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Pine, 1x2, 8 ft | 4 each |
| Pine, 1x2, 6 ft | 1 each |
| Pine, 1x3, 6 ft | 2 each |
| Pine, 1x5, 6 ft | 1 each |
| Pine, 1x8, 8 ft | 3 each |
| Birch plywood, 3/4", 4x8 sheet | 1 each |
| Birch plywood, 1/2", 4x8 sheet | 1 each |
| Birch plywood, 1/4", 4x8 sheetYou may only need one sheet if you have 1/4" scrap on hand for drawer bottoms. | 2 each |
| Euro drawer slides, 14" | 8 pair |
| Drawer knobs | 16 each |
| Finish nails, assorted (2", 1-1/4", 5/8") | 1 box |
| Pocket hole screws, 1-1/4" | 1 box |
| Wood glue | 8 oz |
| Wood filler | 1 container |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Side trimPine | 4 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 14 1/4" |
| LegsPine | 4 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 35 1/4" |
| Front trim / legsPine | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 62 1/4" |
| Back bracePine | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 62 1/4" |
| Drawer dividersPine | 6 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 30 3/4" |
| Small drawer frontsPine | 2 | 3/4" × 4 1/2" × 30 1/2" |
| Large drawer frontsPine | 6 | 3/4" × 7 1/4" × 30 1/2" |
| Top trim, frontPine | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 67 1/4" |
| Top trim, sidesPine | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 18 1/4" |
| Carcass sidesBirch plywood | 2 | 3/4" × 14 1/4" × 32 1/2" |
| Center dividerBirch plywood | 1 | 3/4" × 17 1/4" × 31 3/4" |
| Top and bottomBirch plywood | 2 | 3/4" × 15 3/4" × 62 1/4" |
| Large drawer sidesBirch plywood | 12 | 1/2" × 5 3/4" × 14" |
| Large drawer front/backsBirch plywood | 12 | 1/2" × 5 3/4" × 28 3/4" |
| Small drawer sidesBirch plywood | 4 | 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 14" |
| Small drawer front/backsBirch plywood | 4 | 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 28 3/4" |
| Drawer bottomsBirch plywood | 8 | 1/4" × 14" × 29 3/4" |
| Back panelBirch plywood | 1 | 1/4" × 32 1/2" × 65 1/4" |
Buy 28 boards at 8 ft.
4 boards
1 board
2 boards
If you're having plywood cut at the store, get the 32-1/2" rip cut done there for the two carcass sides. Having both sides at the exact same measurement is what makes the whole dresser come out square later — a 1/16" difference between the two sides will show up as a lean by the time you're fitting drawers.
Rip your plywood into strips for drawer sides and front/backs, and label every crosscut by which row it came from — for example, every front/back from the first rip cut gets labeled "row A." Pair two "row A" pieces for one drawer front and back, and match sides from the same row too. Two pieces from the same row will be exactly the same length even if the rip cuts vary slightly sheet to sheet; mix a row-A piece with a row-B piece and that drawer box won't be square.
Cut the eight 1/4" plywood drawer bottoms. You may not need a full second sheet if you've got usable 1/4" scrap on hand.
Attach the front legs to each carcass side with pocket holes and 1-1/4" screws, keeping the tops flush.
Attach the bottom panel to the sides with the back of the bottom flush to the back legs, leaving a 1-1/2" gap at the front. Lay the whole assembly on its back on the floor, check every corner for square, then attach from underneath with pocket holes and 1-1/4" screws.
With a jigsaw, cut the insert openings into the center divider. Draw your lines first, and use a straight edge to keep the corners square — a wandering jigsaw cut here is visible every time a drawer's open.
No jigsaw? Cut the center opening to the plan's alternate dimensions and cover the raw edges with applied 1x2 trim instead, using pocket screws from the center section into the trim. Either method works; place the trim where it won't interfere with a drawer divider or slide.
With the dresser still on its back, glue and screw the center divider in place from underneath using five 1-1/4" screws.
Attach the front trim pieces using your cutouts as alignment guides. Glue and use 2" finish nails or pocket screws from underneath for the bottom trim, screwing directly into the cutout with 2-1/4" screws. For the top trim, use two pocket holes per side underneath plus a screw straight down through the top into the center cutout, and glue every joint.
Attach the 1x2 back brace with pocket holes underneath, screwing directly into the cutout with 1-1/4" screws.
Drill two pocket holes into each end of the six drawer dividers. With the holes facing down, attach them to the center divider and sides. Cut a 7-1/2" and a 4-3/4" scrap block to use as spacer jigs for each opening — every opening needs to come out square, or the drawer above or below it won't fit right.
Build six large and two small drawer boxes, checking each for square as you go. Put pocket holes at the front and the very back — the drawer front covers the front holes and you'll never see the back ones.
Glue and 5/8" finish-nail the plywood bottoms into both the large and small drawer boxes the same way.
Install the euro slides per the package directions, allowing a 3/4" inset for the drawer front. Working one drawer at a time, set the box in the dresser, use 1/8" spacers on all four sides to position the drawer front, clamp it, and tack it with a few 1-1/4" nails — avoiding wherever a knob will land. Label each front in pencil with where it was fit (e.g., "L4" for left side, fourth drawer down) — plywood and pine both vary slightly board to board, and a front that fits its own opening perfectly may not fit another.
Assemble the top trim with glue and pocket holes from underneath, or 2" finish nails — miter the corners, or for a simpler build, cut the two side pieces square and butt-join them to an unmitered front piece. Set the top upside down on the floor, remove the drawers, and set the dresser upside down on the top with the backs flush and a 1" overhang on the front and sides. Attach with pocket holes and 1-1/4" screws, and drive screws through the back brace into the top as well.
Glue and 5/8"-nail the back panel on. Fill screw holes with wood filler, sand the whole piece, finish as desired, and install the sixteen drawer knobs.
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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 →