Make a pair of nightstands
This turned out to be a busy week. I designed these nightstands on Monday, got lumber on Tuesday and completed the project yesterday! The only reason I was able to complete these so quickly is because of pocket screw joinery. It saved the day.
I made these out of cherry plywood and solid maple for the legs. For the drawers, I used scrap 1/2″ pine plywood.
We’ve been needing nightstands in our bedroom for years and it has been one of those projects that I’ve just been putting off and putting off. I recently saw an end table similar to this design and knew that was what I wanted the nightstands to look like. They have a minimalist feel with lots of empty space and no round edges or curves. The drawer has no pull on it and is not even noticeable as a drawer. It’s easy to pull open though.
Plans
- WWMM Nightstand (pdf)
- Sketchup file
October 4, 2013 @ 3:59 pm
If you work from home and set an alarm, you’re doing it wrong.
Looks like you got the new Kreg jig. When I first started using pocket holes I bought a Porter Cable jig primarily because the clamp was on the front and Kreg’s was on the back and I planned to use it on large panels and didn’t want to have to reach around them. After a couple of thousand holes the PC was starting to wear out and has some design flaws in my opinion. Looks like Kreg has overcome the one drawback. Too late though, I bought a Kreg machine and my shoulder has been grateful ever since.
October 4, 2013 @ 4:08 pm
Oh yeah, you really out to find a lumberyard where you can buy rough sawn hardwoods and mill them to size instead of gluing them up from 3/4″ stock. I know you don’t have a jointer at the moment, but you can use your router table for that when you’re doing smaller pieces like those legs. Your material costs will be cheaper since you’re not paying for milling and the extra labor of jointing and planing is offset by no time spent gluing up thicker boards and having solid stock without seams/splices. You can also cut down on waste since you can typically buy 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, and 8/4 in common species like maple. To me there’s a lot of satisfaction in taking a rough board and making some precisely the size I want it that’s flat, straight, and square. Good luck finding that at the borg. I know you want to keep the projects simple with limited tools for your target audience, but you used a router table in the project anyway and showing how to set one up for jointing would be a nice skill to demonstrate also.
October 5, 2013 @ 7:32 am
Yet another great video, Steve.
One thing I noticed in this video is that you have been tape happy when it comes to the brand names on your tools. Your drill, random orbit sander and mitre saw all have their names covered over with blue tape. I just wondered what the reason for this is.
Thanks
Darren.
October 5, 2013 @ 7:51 am
Because they aren’t Kreg or Porter Cable? 😉
October 5, 2013 @ 11:11 am
Beautiful. You make it look so easy.
October 5, 2013 @ 2:53 pm
nice project. pocket holes don’t get the respect they deserve. But next time you go crazy screwing butt joints, maybe get Ana White to join you. she is the undisputed kreg jig queen and no offense, better looking too.
November 1, 2013 @ 4:31 pm
seriously, Ana white is a hack compared to this guy, and an insult to most women who are real woodworkers.
October 5, 2013 @ 10:50 pm
What’s with all the tape on the tools. The mitresaw. Craftsman drill, Dewalt sander….what’s that all about? So if you’re not getting paid to use the tools that you already had by these companies, you won’t show the names on your video? See….it’s all about money. It’s not enough that you beg every week for donations, now you won’t show the brand name of the tools you are use. This is sad and pathetic, what an arsehole.
October 6, 2013 @ 4:20 pm
How long has running a business *not* been about the money?
I’m just jumping to conclusions here, of course, but I’m assuming Steve and his family need to eat and pay their utility bills and so on. Shooting and editing high-quality professional videos takes a lot of time, not to mention the time spent actually devising and making the projects. I’m guessing that if he didn’t get enough money from sponsorship, advertising and donations, he’d have to get a conventional job and wouldn’t have time to make all these woodworking videos for the rest of us to watch. For free.
October 8, 2013 @ 12:04 am
to arsehole complaining about a great free video showing a quality build that any one can build.
every vid he does is with positivity and having fun while building worthwhile stuff, while im willing to bet you little to nothing for any one and spread crap every where you go .. take a long walk some where else ..
keep up the good work love the vids man and i think every single brand you show should send you tools and or cash..
October 8, 2013 @ 3:20 pm
What?
October 9, 2013 @ 4:03 am
Listen to this clown sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong just so he can hang off of Steve’s nutsack….get a life you mere mortal foot puppet
May 9, 2016 @ 10:15 pm
I made the 3 tiered planter this weekend. Its in the garden brimming with flowers as I write this. I really like the simplicity of your projects as you try to introduce woodworking to newbies. I have one request/criticism or what have you…can you please include a regular cut list with your projects? Its something I rely on to speed up the production of projects especially when it includes multiples like the night stands. I was going to make those for my adult son. K, Thank you,
Sean in Vancouver
Nightstands – Free Woodworking Plan.com
May 8, 2018 @ 5:39 am
[…] free woodworking planYou would never know these night stands feature a drawer!! Build a pair of them using these free woodworking […]