poplar

Just in time, my vanity is complete

Written on May 28, 2010 at 9:59 am , by Bob Hunter

Last night I put the final finishing touches on the vanity table I’ve been building over the past few weeks. And good thing—because this morning it left on its way from Iowa to Indiana. I built this as a gift for my niece, who graduates this weekend from high school. When I offered to make something for her, she chose a vanity table and wanted it painted white. So this project led me into several areas (and skills/lessons learned) I’ve not gone before.

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Vanity table update

Written on April 26, 2010 at 9:37 am , by Bob Hunter

I’ve got the desk portion of the vanity table built and the top on it. This past weekend I finished making the mirror frame and supports that will sit on top of a small three-drawer valet on top of the desk. I made the frame from laminated MDF after a solid-wood attempt twisted and proved unusable. For the mirror supports, I cut two uprights from 1-1/4″ poplar and joined them with a 2′-long base. I forgot to predrill the holes for the cheval swivels before cutting the supports to shape, so I had to make a jig with the matching profile to get a perfectly centered and horizontal bore. This project is coming together nicely.

My vanity is growing!

Written on April 9, 2010 at 9:26 am , by Bob Hunter

No, I’m not overly proud of myself, but I am building a vanity table for my niece. She found one she liked on the Internet, and sent me the image:

Now I’m two weekends into building it. Because she wants it painted white, I’m making it from poplar and plywood. She didn’t like the contoured legs in the original, but wanted simple tapered legs. The side drawers for the “desk” part have a curved front, so it will be a new challenge for me to make curve-front inset drawers with half-blind dovetails. I’ve finished gluing up the carcase for the desk portion (here’s a shot of a dry-fit).

Now I’m ready to begin work on the top. Next up will be the three-drawer valet that sits on top and holds the mirror. Finally, I’ll add the drawers. It’s a different feeling working on a project that you know you’ll paint: Minor scratches and gaps that I’d normally agonize over can now be filled or smoothed over much more easily. I hope to be finished with this in the next few weeks, so more to come.