Monday, January 5, 2009

Nightstands - (prototypes?)

While we scrimp and save for our landscaping I've had some time to test my carpentry skills. I wanted to start with a set of nightstands for a couple reasons. First off, neither of us remember ever having nightstands. The thought of getting the books, clock, phones off the ground and up to eye level seemed very luxurious. Secondly, I wanted to see what I can do because I am considering building all the kitchen cabinetry.

It spent an afternoon designing and purchasing materials. The next day the pieces were cut and assembled. The following day they were sanded, stained and finished. Having built this first set I have a few ideas of how I could economize the process and improve the results... which got me thinking. What if I did a small run of these to sell on Etsy or some site like that? It's kind of a fantasy of mine to be able to do this for a living, but a little test run of ten or so might be fun if I can gauge enough interest. I would need to be able to sell them for around $250 a piece/$500 per set. Customers could select the cubby color, and even send me the paint to use if they wanted. Please leave any comments regarding the design, potential price, possible interest, or anything else really.

Having completed these and watched a lot of the DIY network programs lately, I am now leaning towards building the kitchen myself.

Here they are.


Legs attached with glue and counter-sunk screws. If I were going to build these to be disassembled and shipped I would need them to be bolted on instead.


Grain.


Back panels drop into a dadoed groove during assembly.


Birch plywood and rabbet joint.


Adjustable glides keep them from teetering.


They work!