B2704 Journeyman Base – DIY Kit

The B2704 Journeyman Base starts as a woodworking project and finishes as four drawers beneath a chest. Gerstner supplies the parts pre-machined for the joinery, with three smaller drawers above a full-width lower drawer. Its documented chest pairing is the 2610 Journeyman.

Before the first glue-up

Read through the assembly instructions before clearing a place on the bench. The documented process includes dry-fitting the parts, gluing and clamping the case square, assembling the drawers, sanding and finishing. Pre-machined joinery saves the work of cutting the joints, but it does not remove the fitting, assembly and finishing from the project.

The manual calls out a veneered plywood back and warns against sanding through the thin surface. It also recommends keeping unfinished parts weighted if assembly is delayed. Those details are worth knowing before you decide when and where to begin the build.

Once assembled, the base has a front panel that closes across the drawers and a flat top for the chest above. Guid Wark’s current kit choices are Cherry, White Oak and Walnut. They are unfinished manufacturer-defined kits; the final appearance depends on the finish and workmanship you bring to the project.

The factory-finished B2705 is a different base rather than a completed version of the B2704. It has five drawers, a deeper lower compartment and different outside dimensions. Compare the layouts before choosing between the project and the finished base.