Rustic office furniture suite

[bobcrosley]

This could be, without a doubt, one of the dumber project journals on the site, but I tend to lack self-respect, so what the heck.

 

I work for a high-tech company, working from home. My current desk is the definition of 10 pounds of... stuff, in a 5 pound sack. Way too much stuff crammed on a desk that's way too small.And even then, I have small folding tables I set up occassionally for the laptops I don't use full-time.

 

So I need office furniture. And I have limited budget. With my budget, the stuff I can buy is too small and too limited. Craigslist hasn't really panned out either. While I spend most of my time working with high-tech stuff, I wanted something rustic. So, I've decided to build what I need myself. 

 

I have some experience, but not much. And I'm working with a minimum set of tools.

 

A recent Kreg newsletter had this farmhouse table from Ana White:

 

 

I liked the overall look, and came up with a small version that I could use as a rustic farm table/desk. And an even smaller version to be a credenza. I plan to build a desk, credenza and some wall-mounted shelves. 

 

While I appreciate the idea that the table was designed to be quick to build from cheap materials, I'm going to try a few things differently.

 

You can't really see it in this picture, but in the original, some of the boards in the top don't even line up. This might be ok for trying to make it look like it's a 100 year-old table, but it won't work for my desk. I'm looking for a better result than that.

 

I have come up with some design tweaks to customize the look of the table, including some rustic hardware ideas. And while I'm going to be working with the same cheap materials as the original design, I'm going to try to get the best results by being careful about lumber selection, (within the bounds of 'cheap') and using my limited knowledge of fine woodworking to get the best results possible.

 

I'm not being unrealistic about my goals for this project. I'm not expecting perfection, and I know I'm working with limited quality materials, a limited selection of tools and a very limited skill set. I'm treating this project as a learning experience, and an opportunity to improve my woodworking skills while not risking lumber that will make me cry if I screw something up. (And I'm sure I will) And I'll get some much-needed furniture for my office that will certainly outlast anything I'd get from a big-box store.

 

I see this journal as potentially doing one of two things:

 

It can encourage other newbies to attempt projects even with limited skills and limited tools, by showing with care you can improve your skills and get good results.

 

Or it can serve as a warning against hubris through horrible failure. 

 

I'm hoping for the former.

[Bombarde16]

Not much we can make of the thumbnail of Ms. White's work, other than the overall proportions of the piece which are rather pleasing.

 

Only comment so far is therefore concerning your choice of materials.  What's worse?  a.) The distant risk that you might be led to tears by making a mistake with "real" lumber or b.) the absolute guarantee that you'll be driven to madness by the defect-ridden lumber of the home center.  (Their solid lumber is bad enough...the plywood will push you over the edge.)  This is a piece for you to enjoy, both in the building and the having for years to come.  By all means, splurge on wood from a real hardwood dealer.  Even if it's "only" the humble yellow poplar, you'll get a better price, better quality and you'll waste less time picking through the stack to find good boards.

[Eric.]

There's nothing dumb about it, Bob.  I personally enjoy watching any project unfold, no matter its simplicity or complexity.  And it's a great way to get tips while you build if that's something you desire.  It makes questions much easier to answer since we'll all have a good idea what you're doing.

 

But I have to agree with Rob...spend just a wee bit extra money on some real wood...if for no other reason than to save yourself the frustration of it moving all over the place on you, and ultimately standing back and looking at your finished project, trying to take pride in your work but wishing you'd sprung for nicer lumber...that little voice will gnaw at you.  It would me, anyway.  I couldn't handle that.  Anything worth doing...

 

My dealer has some poplar for $1.50/bf...that's nothing.  He's got soft maple for $2something, hard maple for $3 and even cherry is less than $4.  The cost difference will be so insignificant in comparison to the difference in finished quality of the piece and overall enjoyment of the build.

 

I'll take a slightly different position than Rob on the big box plywood, though...if you're using plywood.  HD has some USA made ply (look carefully at the print on the edges) that is FAR superior to the Chinese ply at my hardwood dealer.  The HD stuff has fewer plies and a lower grading than the Chinese stuff, but I've found it to be far more stable with less voids...for about the same price.  I made the mistake of thinking because it was a higher grade that it was higher quality...and I paid the price with some shop cabinets I built.  I'll never buy that import garbage again, even if it means slumming at HD.  Better is better, I don't care where you get it.  Mind you, the hardwood dealer also carries truly top-quality plywood that will cost you an arm and a leg.  And HD also carries complete crap.  You just have to pay attention.

[bobcrosley]

Thanks Rob and Eric for the replies. You've had me thinking all weekend.

 

My original thought for going with the project as designed and using the home center 2x4 and 2x6 and whitewood boards was to be quick, easy and cheap. Given the rustic nature of the project, some defects and abuse on the boards was OK. My thinking was I could be careful and get a decent result without breaking the bank and with my limited tools and skills. I also thought it would be mostly a temporary (3-5 years) set of furniture, as it will fit in the office of my rental house, but may or may not work well in the office of the house we plan to buy in 3-5 years. But I figured it would last much longer if I chose to keep it.

 

But you have me thinking about this from several perspectives. First is the overall quality of the end result. Regardless of lumber selection and care of construction, the end result is going to be affected by the quality of the lumber, in ways I can't manage via selection, etc., especially since some of the lumber movement is going to occur after the piece is built. Second, my ability to use this to improve my skills is limited because the work I do is going be negatively affected by the quality of the material. Lastly, if I choose to keep this longer than I planned, then I might not be able to, given the condition of the piece over time with wood movement, etc. 

 

So the big question to me is, can I find better lumber for a price that is not terrible given the amount I'm going to need. I can't buy rough sawn lumber, as I don't have a jointer or planer, nor do I have easy access to one.

 

So I spent some time looking for options locally to see what I can find.

 

For a reference, the Lowes whitewood boards work out to $2.23/bf for S4S 1x6x8 boards. Lowes poplar is exactly 2x that price at $4.46/bf.

 

One local hardwood dealer has poplar for $2.20/bf, but that's rough sawn. Their S4S poplar is $3.94/bf. Not much better.

 

The guy I bought my table saw from told me about a local custom millwork guy who sold S4S poplar "cheap." Turns out he's $3.60/bf. Better, but not "cheap" by any stretch.

 

So with a 61% increase over the cost of the pine for materials, I still think I'm going to return these uncut pine boards and pick up poplar. I figure the higher yield from better boards, and some design changes to reduce the amount of material, should help reduce the price difference somewhat also.

 

(And at some point, I'm really going to need to get a jointer and planer...)

[Eric.]

Yikes, those prices seem high for poplar.  S3S poplar here is $2/bf.  Granted, there are always regional differences.

 

Don't you Florida boys have southern yellow pine out the wazoo down there?  I might try to look into that...

[bobcrosley]

Good idea, Eric. SYP is about $2.52/bf S4S.

 

That might be the way to go, as it's virtually no increase in cost over the home center stuff.

[Chris H]

Thanks Rob and Eric for the replies. You've had me thinking all weekend.

 

.....

 

(And at some point, I'm really going to need to get a jointer and planer...)

 

 

I feel your pain!  I made the decision to get a planer, and that is one of the tools I have never regretted, not even for a moment.  It is definatley one of the few tools you can tie a specific ROI (Return on Investment) to.  

 

I went with the DeWalt DW735, so it took a couple of projects to pay for itself (well, one big one actually, bedroom set), but it has been pure margin since.  I believe the Rigid 12" came in second for value, at a much lower price point, when I did my research (a year or two ago now).  Even if you can't afford a studly Powermatic, a few of the big box brands do some pretty fantastic work, and will save you a ton in material costs.

[bobcrosley]

Thanks to the input here, I've returned this:

 

 

This was the wood for at least the top of the credenza. I bought it, and then had to travel for work, so it had been sitting. Thankfully, since it was while it was sitting that I got the valuable input from Rob and Eric to go with a better material. And during the 10 days it sat, some of the boards that were flat when I put them in the stack had developed some noticeable twist.

 

So, back to the home center for you! And yesterday, I picked up this from the lumber yard.

 

 

It's about a 20% increase over the cost of a comparable board from Lowes, but that's not even accurate, because there really were no comparable boards at Lowes, or Home Depot. 

 

Unfortunately, duty calls and I have to hit the road for work again this week, but should be able to get started this weekend.

[Bombarde16]

There's twists and there's twists.  Sometimes a board is born to twist and there's nothing you can do to stop it.  Other times, we cause an otherwise happy board to do bad things.  Stacking boards one on top of another with no room for air circulation is a good way to encourage uneven drying.  (The good news is that boards which have warped because of this can sometimes be salvaged.)

 

If you have a few minutes, try stickering the boards while you're waiting for the next window of shop time.  It may be irrelevant or it may make the difference between happy boards and profanity-inducing boards.  Either way, it's a good practice to get into.

[bobcrosley]

I did manage to get some time in the shop this weekend and made some progress on the top of the credenza. The top is a frame and panel design, with 2 panels of 3/4" stock set in a frame of 1-1/2" thick stock.

 

Since the S4S stock I was able to buy was all 3/4" thick, I am creating the frame pieces by gluing up 2 boards to give me the thicker stock. I cut the pieces for the panels and was able to get the pieces for the short portions of the frame from the same boards.

 

The edges of the SYP boards were fairly clean, but not perfect. Without a jointer or #7, I used my table saw to shave a thin slice off each side of the board. The Freud Diablo blade I was using gave me a very good, glue line rip. 

 

I ripped the remaining pieces from that board in half, and laminated them to make the short parts of the frame. Also glued up the 2 panels in the top. These were my first panel glue ups, and the second definitely went smoother than the first. Tried Marc's 'let the glue set up a bit and then scrape it' approach. Definitely does not work as well in the Florida swamps as it does in the Arizona desert. Next time, I'll focus a bit on less glue and more set time before trying to scrape. Or I'll go with the tried and true wipe it off approach.

 

 

Had to put the outfeed table back on my saw so I can rip down the longer parts of the frame tonight, (hopefully) and get those glued up. Then I'll trim the panels to final dimensions and start on the grooves, etc., for the frame and panel construction.

[bobcrosley]

Did get to spend some time in the shop this weekend. Got the long pieces of the frame ripped and glued up. Then I trimmed the edges of all of the frame pieces to a consistent width and to get good edges on them.

I cleaned up any dried glue on the panels with a block plane. I also cleaned up a couple spots where my panel glue ups weren't perfectly flat.

I have to say that I think I could develop a pretty serious plane addiction. Prior to this project, the only plane I had used was a big box buck brothers block plane right out of the box. Not a pleasant experience. My block plane now is just this Footprint low angle block.

http://www.amazon.com/Footprint-280014-Angle-Block-Plane/dp/B000VKUQSA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367174346&sr=8-1&keywords=Footprint+low+angle+block+plane

Probably not any higher quality, but I spent some time this week getting the sole flat and the blade very sharp. Works much better. There's just something about the feel of that plane blade slicing a shaving off the board, and that sound that I find addictive.

Last thing today was spending a the time with some setup pieces I made to get the setups right for cutting the grooves and panel pieces for the frame and panel construction.

[chopnhack]

Hey Bob, I have used two methods on panel glue ups. Nothings perfect but, if the squeeze out is not too bad, I have let the "beads" dry until they were somewhat hard and gummy inside and used a razor to scrape them off (not cut, but dragging perpendicular to the wood, like a scraper). If the squeeze out is pronounced and dripping... well, then there is the "norm's magic eraser" method. Wet sponge, liberally rinse and rub dry

[G S Haydon]

Nothing wrong with the plane. I think it's more valuable to know how to sharpen and use a tool than to just spend big bucks on premium brands and not know how to use them. 

SYP was a good choice, in the UK it's a premium clear softwood. Keep the updates coming.