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Cherry dry sink
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This authentic cherry dry sink can serve a dual purpose
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By Konrad Sauer, photos by Dave Starrett, illustration by Len Churchill
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A roundover on the base frame transitions to a cove detail of the same proportions and is echoed again in the corner bead detail
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About the same time as my furniture-making hobby started getting serious, my wife and I found out we were going to be parents. Much joy, much panic. The usual discussions ensued-we needed all the stuff associated with the care, maintenance and entertainment of a baby.
We quickly realized we had nothing. More panic, not so much joy. Calls to family and friends secured everything we thought we'd require. Everything that is, except a change table.
I remembered seeing a picture in a magazine of an antique dry sink being used as a change table and thought: what a great idea! Building a dry sink to do double-duty as a change table makes good sense. The dimensions, storage space and recessed top are perfectly suited to handling baby's, uh, needs. And long after the last diaper changes are forgotten, the project remains as a beautiful and practical heirloom.
The Design
My research into old dry sinks quickly yielded a list of good and bad design features-and defined how my dry sink would look. It would be a piece of fine furniture, not the usual rustic slapped-together variety. It would be fairly decorative: raised panel construction for the doors and sides; a wide lip around the top edge; and beading on the outside corners-to soften the look. And it would feature bracketed feet, a single, simple drawer and really wide face frames, like something you'd see on an old Waterloo county cupboard.
Getting Started
Like many of my projects, this one starts with rough-sawn cherry. Whether you dress it yourself, or have the lumberyard do it, plane all the boards to 7/8" thick. Sticker and stack the boards for a few weeks to acclimatize the wood, then lay out the pieces for the project, paying close attention to grain orientation. Make sure the grain and colour of the wood for the panels matches that of the frames. When choosing the pieces for the outside corners, match the grain and colour there too. The goal is to ensure a seamless look in the final project. When all the pieces are laid out, cut the rails, stiles, and panel boards for the main case and doors. The back of the dry sink is also built with frame and panels. Not only does this contribute to the heirloom quality of this project, but it also lets you hone your skills on three less conspicuous panels before diving in to the four that are more visible. When all the pieces are cut, glue up the seven panel blanks. Before gluing, true the edges using a Stanley No. 8 jointer plane or a powered jointer.
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