AMarshall Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 I've been toying with an alternate design for the Wall Hanging Cabinet that has a G&G spin. I was watching an old live demo Marc did back in 2008 as part of the Gadget Station build - it dealt with the finger joints for the cabinet. This struck me as being a little simpler than the dovetails, and that thought started the slide toward other Greene & Greene elements. I will freely admit that I haven't done my homework on G&G designs. I shamelessly plundered Darrell Peart's site (www.furnituremaker.com) because I have a man crush on his designs, particularly the Aurora Desk. Here's what I came up with. I started with finger joints on the case and drawer, with 3/16 or 1/4 square pegs to reinforce. I would probably hide a screw underneath for strength, at least on the case corners. Next I added a cloud lift design to the upper rails, and widened then so that the narrowest dimension is the typical 2 1/4". They ended up a little over 3 1/2" at the widest part. I widened the bottom rails to 3 1/4" for balance. I also shortened the inner door stiles so that the upper and lower rails meet. This seemed to flow a little better, and again I found a piece on Darrell's site that had a similar detail. I didn't show any door or drawer pulls for a couple reasons. First, I was too lazy to draw them. Second, I couldn't come up with anything original and didn't want to rip Darrell off any more - the ones he uses are simply elegant. I'd be happy to hear any suggestions or comments that could improve the design. I'm really just hacking at G&G here through a foggy lens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Wish I could do that in Sketch Up; maybe I should try it more often But, dude! you didn't pillow the fingers in SU?! I presume the final product won't have protruding fingers that are so pronounced. I also often see G&G stiles pegged with 2 pegs like you show, but usually they are biased. Maybe move the outermost one out to the outside corner. That's about all I can say for what I see. Very nice; those are the only things that jumped out at me. For handles, I haven't seen everything on Darrell's site (but have the -signed- book ), but maybe Blacker-style handles. That is, 3 Ebony inlays vertical (on door), middle inlay is longer. Handle is a bit like an over-sized Mahogany staple that mostly jumps over the Ebony. For the drawers, same thing horizontally. For reference, see "Poems of Wood and Light" page 122 for an example. Actually that piece also shows the biased stile pegs and they are of two different sizes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Yea the joinery will be a bit less touchy, but still challenging, especially if doing it by hand. For that many finger joints make sure you have a good fine rasp or file to round all those over. Having done a few G&G pieces let me tell you they are fun, but finicky and time consuming with all the exposed joinery and ebony plugs. That being said I think I'm going to take some design elements for mine from the back of FWW #216 with some exposed joinery http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/32342/a-case-for-apprenticeship I second the biased plugs; look into making the 2 pegs different sizes as well. See: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Wish I could do that in Sketch Up; maybe I should try it more often But, dude! you didn't pillow the fingers in SU?! I presume the final product won't have protruding fingers that are so pronounced. My OCD was turned off yesterday, so I didn't pillow the fingers in the model. Heh. I only had to wash my hands eight times afterwards, so that's pretty good for me! Seriously though, what are the typical fingers like? I have them protruding 1/4" on the case, too much? I show them protruding 3/16" on the drawer because the scale is smaller. Are the fingers typically rounded over like with a router, or simply pillowed like the pegs? I also often see G&G stiles pegged with 2 pegs like you show, but usually they are biased. Maybe move the outermost one out to the outside corner. Good call on the pegs from Paul-Marcel and Nik too. I'll play with the sizing and spacing of the pegs. I had 1/4" pegs on the case and 3/16" on the drawer and door, so I can mix them up a bit. I'll check out the Blacker style pulls. I had been thinking of the Krenov inspired ones Darrell uses with a round dowel between two blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 I don't think there are really any hard and fast rules on the amount of protrusion. In my opinion, it usually looks best if you can size it so that there is no flat visible after pillowing (where the fingers meet). So I think you'd be safe to go down to 3/16" on the case and 1/8" on the drawer. I usually do my pillowing by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexWood Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Hey Aaron, have you been looking over my shoulder the past few days...lol I've been working on a Wall Hanging Jewelry Box with G&G design influences for the Guild Build. I also watched Marc's Gadget Station videos for some design cues; and found the attached G&G Curio Cabinet for some additional design cues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Well Kyle, I'm not saying that I'm watching but would you please put on some pants?!?!? Ha ha, I just made myself sick a little. I like the picture you posted. The more I look at old G&G stuff the more I see, and the more I learn that I really don't know very much about their designs. There is so much more variety than I ever imagined. I like the bottom rails on the curio cabinet doors that you showed, though I might have the double lifts meet in the middle and span the two doors to make it flow. I also noticed the scalloped shape of the vertical interior dividers. Somebody out there in the blogosphere just finished an entertainment stand with similar dividers, but it's escaping me at the moment where I saw them... Oh a little Google Reader browsing and I realize it was Jeff over at Woodfever.net. I'm still not sure how quickly I will get to this build, but my mind keeps wandering back so it will happen eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexWood Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Pants are for wimps...lol G&G furniture is really amazing. So many variations off a common theme and building materials. Besides Darrell Peart's excellent book on G&G Furniture and their associated building techniques, you may also want to check out Mathais David's book "G&G Furniture". As I'm sure you know, there are a ton of links and pics out there. One of my recent favorites is this one: http://www.gamblehou.../nnb/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellpeart Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi Aaron - Great G&G design! Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi Aaron - Great G&G design! Darrell Well, I think that settles it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi Aaron - Great G&G design! Darrell Thanks for the feedback, Darrell! And thanks also for the inspiration via the images on your site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wood&Light Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 TexWood - thanks for the mention of my book. I hope you enjoyed it. Pants are for wimps...lol G&G furniture is really amazing. So many variations off a common theme and building materials. Besides Darrell Peart's excellent book on G&G Furniture and their associated building techniques, you may also want to check out Mathais David's book "G&G Furniture". As I'm sure you know, there are a ton of links and pics out there. One of my recent favorites is this one: http://www.gamblehou.../nnb/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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