A little under a year ago I started on a woodworking venture and built Paul’s YouTube workbench. I made a six foot version from $3 SPF 2x4s from HD. The studs came in 8 foot lengths, and I was left with a stack of 2 foot off cuts.

I decided to make a little 8 drawer cabinet to sit on my bench and hold the stuff I need regularly but not regularly enough to keep in the bench well.

The 2 foot off cuts sat under my bench for a long time before I used them. I also had some longer pieces that, after settling, proved to be too twisted to be used back when I was building the bench:

I started with the 2 foot lengths. First, I ripped them in half with my mostly terrible saw:

Then I squared and surfaced them. I was careful to keep track of book matches, but that probably wasn’t worth it in the end:

Next I glued them into panels of appropriate size, using the book matches wherever possible. It was about here I learned about book matches and opposing grain direction, and how nasty it could be:

The wood was generally terrible. Knots everywhere, reversing grain, and variable hardness like farm-grown, kiln-dried SPF can be. It was incredibly brittle in spots, and joinery was a challenge. I decided to skip the half blind dovetails I’d planned for the cabinet because the panels ended up being too thin. One centemeter tended to be my final thickness:

I made a couple of measuring errors that wouldn’t have happened if I had the discipline Paul always says is so important to learn. I remain part gorilla while in the shop. The cabinet, assembled:

Next up was making the drawers. They were more work than I expected but the practice was good. I had two drawer sizes, tall and short. This is a neat method for ganging up dovetails (but you have to be careful not to push through to the piece underneath):

After I’d finished assembling the cabinet, and after my girlfriend saw it, the cabinet became destined for the living room instead of my bench. So I cheated a bit and bought a piece of pine for the drawer fronts, so I could have a nice grain pattern in the face. Also, in hindsight, the extra thickness of the fronts allowed for better half-blind dovetails. I used 1/4 inch Russian/Baltic birch ply for the bottoms.

Tall drawers, assembled:

The drawers are friction fit. This was a huge problem for me, because Toronto, Canada, where I live is undergoing a massive humidity wave that has lasted for 3 weeks. Humidity levels in my shop are 40% higher than normal, with the average humidity ranging from 85-95%. It’s a far cry from winter levels, when the baseboard heaters remove most of the moisture from the air. As such, the drawer sides kept expanding as I worked. The first fit:

I finally got the drawers to fit, and finished them, and installed the pulls. In that time, perhaps with the added moisture of stain and finish, they expanded AGAIN, requiring another round of fitting. I went with some traditional ring pulls from Lee Valley:

And finally, the finished project in its living room home:

I cannot with a clear conscience suggest anyone undertake a project quite like this. It was a royal pain, for mediocre results. Sure, it didn’t cost much, and I learned a TON (like never to do friction fit drawers again), but the end result could have been nicer had I started with better wood.

The project was on and off my bench over four months.

Thanks for letting me share!