I completed a Project! (Long)
Joe in a Cleveland suburb
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Hi everybody. This doesn't seem to happen often but I finished a project. I'm so happy this is done. This started out to be a small cabinet for my brother. He plans to put it next to his desk at work to place his laptop on. He gave me size requirements and the requirement that there be a hole in the top to put the wire through (the back of the cabinet faces his clients and he wanted them out of view. The other requirement was that it look similar to his monster old desk. His current desk style is way beyond my abilities so I took the liberty of simplifying it... I bought the rough lumber in October of 2005. Yes. I've been working on it that long...
The wood is walnut. Finished with shellac and wax. The panels are resawn and of course not glued in. They have grooves for the dust panels to ride in. I used a lot of hand tools on this. Well, I did where I could and when I had the right tool to do it. I will admit, this did require some new tools and stuff... a really nice Dozuki saw for cross-cutting, a really really nice LV Bevel Up smoother (don't know how to use it but it's fun to look at!), better sharpening stones, riser kit for the bs, nice WoodSlicer bs blade, Hock iron for my 4-1/2... you get the idea... The hinges are Rockler's "Good" ones. They're kinda junky - not happy with them for what they cost. I had problems getting the door to fit nicely and as a result is not perfect. I couldn't find knobs to come close to what is on his current desk so I made a feeble attempt at turning a few. Not super happy with those either but they're ok. I had to drill a hole in the top for the grommet thingy. I really hated doing that.
Some of the techniques I used were a first for me. Actually a lot were I guess. I didn't have a plan other than the final size in my head. It ended up a tad larger than he wanted. I just kinda made things up as I went.
So, here's the pics not in exact construction order. Some of you may recognize some of them from when I posted with questions about something.
Here is the walnut (and a few poplar boards) when I brought it home.
Here's a 3/4 shot from the right. This kinda shows the figure in the walnut and how the dust panel was going to fit. You can also see the dt's and how the rails hold the sides together.
This is just a shot from the back while I was doing a test fit.
Here's a 3/4 shot from the left prior to glue up.
Here is what it looks like from the back (back panel removed). All the secondary woods are poplar.
This is the drawer front as I was working on the dt's.
Drawer prior to glue up. These were my first ever half blind dovetails.
The other side of the drawer.
Gluing up the door - I later cut the horns off.
Here's a front shot as things started to come together. I pre-finished the side panels prior to glue up. That was a first for me. Glad I did.
Here's a shot of the top pullout writing surface thingy. You can see here that I'm using those little top attachment things from Rockler. I believe, in this case, it was a mistake. I hope there is enough allowance for movement of the top.
Shot from the side. Not done yet. No finish yet. But getting there.
Now it's done!
Here's the front - not too happy with the door alignment. I really wish I didn't use those top attachment things. But you can't normally see them.
Shot from the left. The figure is amazing when the sun hits it just right.
The knobs.
A 3/4 shot of the completed cabinet.
I'm so glad this is done. Now I can move onto another never ending project...
Thanks for looking. Oh, and I'd be happy to hear all positive and negative comments.
Joe
