Shop built washer / dryer pedestals with two drawers. Finished dimensions: 56 1/2 inch wide, 16 inches tall, 27 1/2 inches deep. This one built for Zeek.

The frame was made from 2×4 construction lumber with extra support in the center to help support the weight of the two machines.

Six 1-1/2 inch rubber feet were counter-sunk under the frame where the weight of the appliances would be concentrated – 2 on each end and 2 in the middle. They were secured with a 1/4 inch lag bolt.

Top, sides and front were made from melamine covered particle board to provide protection against spills. 1/4 inch oak trim was glued and pinned to the exposed particle board edges to enhance its appearance and to protect the particle board.

2×4’s were glued with epoxy and screwed to the inside faces of the melamine components to provide a secure method to attach them to the frame. This attachment method obviated the need for unsightly screws on the finished surfaces.

Rabbets were cut into an added center 2×4 to make a convenient place to mount the full extension slides.

Here you can see the front being attached to the fame. 2×2’s were glued and screwed to the inside of the front face, and after the epoxy dried overnight, were screwed to the frame using a right-angle attachment to the driver.

The drawer fronts were made from the waste cutouts from the front. The addition of the oak trim to the edges made them large enough to be used. They were sized to provide an 1/8 inch gap between the drawer front and all edges. We used pennies and dimes to elevate the bottom of the front and then stuck it to the drawer with double sided tape. This allowed the pilot holes to be drilled from the inside of the drawer into the back of the drawer front.

Anti-Vibration pads were placed under the feet that came with the appliances to protect the top surface of the pedestal and to provide vibration dampening.

Here is another one I built for my wife’s Laundry Room. I used oak pulls on the front of the drawers.

The biggest chore in making your own shutters is maching the slats. I made mine from basswood, which is stable and easy to work. However the sheer number required is daunting. My project required 18 per door x 6 doors.

I sized the basswood blanks so I would end up with 2 slats per blank with enough extra to allow for planer snipe on each end. I made a special jig which tipped up each side of the blank so I would create the desired profile.

Each slat was sanded after planing and before cutting to length. Vacuum was connected to orbital sander to reduce dust.

Special jigs were used to drive a crown staple into the top of each shutter and then through that staple into the shutter bar control.

Here are the slats attached to the control bar after driving the crown staples. The end of each slat has a hole drilled in the center to accept a plastic pivot pin which resides in the shutter frame stile.

Here are the finished shutters. The shutter frames were made from popular, which takes paint well. The plans were obtained from the New Yankee Workshop. Warning: there is a lot of figuring to do, since the shutter size must be matched to the window. Now I know why wooden shutters cost so much - it is quite an undertaking.