Dressing Table Build


h3nry

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3 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

H3nry, is that Sapan stuff oily? Maybe you need to wipe the joints with acetone before glue-up to get a solid bond.

That's a good question. It's not oily like rosewood, but probably more than I'm used to. It's also pretty dense. I scuffed up the joint with 60 grit sand-paper for the second go. If that doesn't work I'll try wiping it down with a solvent.

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Getting started on the legs:

After cutting out the template I thought it looked a bit anaemic under the knee, so I gave it an extra inch to beef it up a bit. Then some more work with a saw - And I have four very rough-sawn leg blanks. It's going to take quite a bit of work to shape them up.

leg_template.jpg

leg_template2.jpg

cutting_leg_blank.jpg

leg_blanks.jpg

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As I suspected it took quite a bit of work with the rasp, spokeshave and planes to fair up all the leg blanks to the template, and (crucially) make sure that they are all the same length.

leg_balnks_faired.jpg

Then it was time to make sure all the case parts fit together ... not bad, but not perfect, nothing that can't be fixed, but that can wait until after the legs are morticed ... which isn't going to be so easy, since the legs are going to be attached at a 45° angle.

case_dry_fit.jpg

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Slowly starting to take shape ...

to mount the legs at 45° I first needed to plane bevels on the corners of the leg blanks:

planing_bevel.jpg

ANd then chop the mortices:

more_mortices.jpg

Finally dry-fit all the parts to see what I've got ... well, it stands up on its own, so not too bad, it'll take a little more work to make it all fit tightly, and then that should be the easy part of the project done.

frame_take1.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

The centre drawer at the front is going to be set back 2" from the side drawers. This means that I have to make some pieces to extend the frames to the front.

P5215213.JPG

Plan-A is to have a curved front to the side drawers, but if the curves seem to complicated then plane the pieces flat for a straight front.

So I made the pieces to fill in the space, and then had a D'oh moment as I realised that I had cut them the correct width for a flat front, and not left any extra for the curve that should extend 1/4" forward. I was just about to throw them on the firewood pile, when I realised that I could just cut a 1/4" shim and add it to the back, and nobody would ever see it.

P5215214.JPG

 

So the piece that has me most intimidated for the curved front, was the moulding that will run along the bottom.

This post, more than any other, will probably have most of you screaming through your computers "use the correct tool for the job, you knuckle-dragging Neanderspawn!" - yes I'm well aware that a router could have done this in a few seconds. But for those of you who want to watch a masochist self-flagellating ...

First cut the rabbets for the top and bottom beads using a chisel and router-plane:

P5305223.JPG

Then add the beads using the Veritas beading-tool. For the upper bead I used the reeding cutter mounted sideways...

P5305226.JPG

P5305227.JPG

Then the main ogee curve was cut out using a chisel:

P5305228.JPG

and finally some 60 grit sandpaper to smooth out any remaining roughness:

P5305229.JPG

It's not CNC precision, but I think it'll pass.


The other thing that I wanted to practise before completely committing to the curved front idea was cutting a curved drawer front...
First I made a series of relief cuts down to the profile line:

P5285215.JPG

Then chiselled out the bulk of the waste:

P5285216.JPG

Then attacked it with a rasp and finally a scraper to smooth out the curve. I managed to rescue the chip that came off the corner and glue it back on.

P5285218.JPG

P5285219.JPG

Now I have to actually fit all these pieces to the frame, which is ever-so slightly not square.

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Henry, you remind me of the painter i seen down the shore. He takes rattle cans and some templates...starts spraying colors on top of colors...nothing really makes sense and it looks rather muddy. Then all of the sudden there is art that only someone with special skill can create. To me, you're that guy but with wood. 

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Thanks Guys,

3 hours ago, Janello said:

Henry, you remind me of the painter i seen down the shore. He takes rattle cans and some templates...starts spraying colors on top of colors...nothing really makes sense and it looks rather muddy. Then all of the sudden there is art that only someone with special skill can create. To me, you're that guy but with wood. 

I feel more like the kid who took the toaster apart without paying attention to how it went. Then when trying to put it back together has to bend pieces to fit, has a few bits missing and a few bits left over. The end result looks like a toaster, but it will probably burn your bread.

I have an idea (with a bit of help from sketchup) of what I'm looking for, and I've mentally pulled it apart, and now I have a pile of pieces in my brain that need putting back together again. So I build the pieces and see if they fit together properly. Some do, some don't so well. Hopefully the end result will look like furniture.

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4 hours ago, h3nry said:

Thanks Guys,

I feel more like the kid who took the toaster apart without paying attention to how it went. Then when trying to put it back together has to bend pieces to fit, has a few bits missing and a few bits left over. The end result looks like a toaster, but it will probably burn your bread.

I have an idea (with a bit of help from sketchup) of what I'm looking for, and I've mentally pulled it apart, and now I have a pile of pieces in my brain that need putting back together again. So I build the pieces and see if they fit together properly. Some do, some don't so well. Hopefully the end result will look like furniture.

LOL...good analogy, i suppose. :D

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14 hours ago, h3nry said:

Thanks Guys,

I feel more like the kid who took the toaster apart without paying attention to how it went. Then when trying to put it back together has to bend pieces to fit, has a few bits missing and a few bits left over. The end result looks like a toaster, but it will probably burn your bread.

I have an idea (with a bit of help from sketchup) of what I'm looking for, and I've mentally pulled it apart, and now I have a pile of pieces in my brain that need putting back together again. So I build the pieces and see if they fit together properly. Some do, some don't so well. Hopefully the end result will look like furniture.

Either way brilliant artist or mad scientist i enjoy following along. In a way it's almost comforting to know that doing things the hand tool way works just as well if not better than the power tool way.

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