Chest of Drawers FAIL!!

I recently got into woodworking, as a way to bring my designs for acoustical traps, component racks, and loudspeakers to life.  Those who've visited before may know my first project was a 2'x4' foam acoustic panel, and my second was a chest of drawers.

So ambitious was I!  Funny, so many people raised their eyebrows when I told them my first "real" project was a bureau.  The pinnacle of cabinetry and craftsmanship!  A nest of grooves, angles, and shapes that must be assembled in a particular order, and made with zero tolerance for errors in angle or dimension.  My own chest was based on the memory of a friend's similar chest I had looked at the previous week.  No plans, just the memory and a dream.

I proudly boasted on this blog that I expected to be finished with my chest in a matter of days.  But those paying close attention read on my blog that - mid-project - I discovered a tool called the joiner.  Turns out one requires a joiner in order to make a chest of drawers, and just about anything else requiring rectangular boards.  I got a joiner and made my drawers (too wide for my chest's carcase), and then I bit into the front edge of my chest while trying my first-ever flush trim with a free-hand router. 

Pressing on, I decided to build a new carcase, to fit the drawers I had made.  After fitting that one together, I discovered I had cut several of the side dadoes in the wrong places.  Another major FAIL.

It was then I realized that I needed to work from somebody else's plans.  I simply don't know enough about woodworking to design my own pieces yet.

:(

But I press onward!  Armed with a plan for a simple bookshelf, I am going to start with something slightly simpler, and see how I do...

Until next time, thanks for reading, and please come back soon!

-isaac