Cutting Miniature Chest LumberHow to make a miniature chest of drawers begins with cutting miniature chest lumber from the proper miniature lumber inventory. 
Print the Miniature Chest Cut Sheet...To download the miniature chest cut sheet, click on the image. A PDF file will open in a new window. You can print directly from this image, making sure the [1" reference square] measures 1"...or... you can save the file and print it from your hard drive.
To see how to make adjustments to the printout, review my information on printing to scale. Sand each of the cut edges to make them square and free of the fuzzies. I use my little homemade miniature sanding block described here. Be sure the drawer fronts are the same size, or only a whisper larger, then the chest's top. We will sand everything even after we've assembled the drawers to the frame. Painting or Staining this Miniature Doll House Chest of Drawers...If I plan on painting this miniature doll house chest of drawers, say for a child's room, I will do that once the piece is completely assembled - just before placing the handles on the drawers. 
If I'm planning on staining, then I want to be prepared to stain some of the sub-assemblies as I go along. I'll want to stain these sub-assemblies after I have done some dress-up sanding to my miniature chest lumber. The reason I work this way is so that the amount of stain and its resulting color on the wood is more consistent throughout the entire finished miniature chest. If I were to stain all of my parts prior to assembly, as suggested by others, I would have to be very accurate in cutting each piece, and, equally as accurate as I assemble the various parts. Then if there is any sanding to bring some edges into line, I'd have to retouch with stain, creating an area of differing color because of some areas getting stained twice. By using my method of how to make a miniature chest I can perform some "true it up" sanding operations on the sub-assemblies, then stain them. I will still get into all the nooks and crannies because the sub-assemblies are open and accessible. Once the miniature furniture reaches a certain point then I can stain the remaining parts, after a test fit, and continue assembling all the parts to complete this miniature furniture chest. Continue on to Miniature Chest Assembly Step 1...
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