.....And the Dresser, Too!

I finally finished the dresser this week (the one I was painting to match the desk). When I was painting the desk, it was so hot and dry that by the time I finished the one side of the writing surface, the other side was already dry, and I couldn't smooth out the brush strokes. The dresser was even bigger than that, so I decided it would be wise to wait for cooler weather.

We finally got some rain Sunday night and Monday, and it cooled down (it was "only" 90!) and the humidity was up, so I got to painting. The drawers were already finished (I did them when I did the desk), so it didn't take me long.

I forgot to take a true "before" picture, and I'd already started the work when I remembered to take this.

Ugly, huh? (I really don't like veneer. That's what the desk was, too.)

But it's really nice and solid, which is why I wanted to keep it. You don't see drawers like this on anything made today:

The old drawer pulls were one-hole pulls, but they looked like a handle that should have two holes. As a result, the pulls had started to spin and etch the wood as they loosened.

I knew I wanted bar pulls to match the desks, so I filled in the single hole, and drilled new holes. Not as simple as it sounds, folks.

First, you have to fill the hole. This requires hammering a piece of 1/4" dowel (about 1/4" inch long) into the hole. Good luck not hammering your fingers!

(I forgot to take my camera out to the shed for, and was too lazy to walk back inside to get it, so you have to deal with horrible-quality phone-camera pics.)

Then spackle, sand, spackle, sand. Prime, prime, and finally......

Find out that your little "helpers" had decided this drawer needed "fixed" and had hammered the crap out of it when you weren't paying attention. At first I was really upset - I had worked hard to fill in all the nicks and dings! But then I realized - it's a child's dresser. If they're going to use it, it's bound to get more of these along the way.

Sigh. Oh well. Slap on that blue paint!

(The handprint was after it was long after it was dry, or I would have had a conniption!)

Then comes the nerve-wracking part. Originally, I thought measuring and drilling a few holes? No problem.

(oops. forgot to turn the pic before uploading!)

Um, yeah.

First off, the drawers are 7 27/32" deep. What is halfway of that, pray tell? I rounded to 3 7/8", which is pretty darn close. But when it's not exactly middle, you need to remember to always measure from the same side (top or bottom) of the drawer. Or else you have one end of the handle slightly higher than the other.

Grr.

Please tell me you can't even notice!

But in the end, I'm very happy with it.