Sideboard for the Dining Room

[gee-dub]

I went ahead and laid in a first color / finish coat for the pulls.  The pulls get a bit more top coat than some other surfaces due to their use so I get a head start.

The long splines get a taper appied just like the smaller items mentioned above.  The 'rounds' at the ends are roughed out at the sander.

I set the angle on the sander table to match the bevel on the long sides.  The goal is to get the insert to fit like a cork to some degree.

The rounding gets me here.

 

To dome, or pillow, the surface I use whatever method is handy at the time.  This set of shaped foam blocks has proven quite useful over the years.  They don't include every profile but usually include some profile that I can use to my advantage.

The low profile dog (now with the new and improved brass screw) comes into play once again.  A card scraper allows me to remove any tool marks leftover from the initial fitting operation.

This is the general look I am after.

You can see that the spline is not pressed into the mortise yet.  I like to get all three ready and then glue and seat them at the same time.

[Chet]

In your sanding process of the splines do you shoot for a burnished finish?

[gee-dub]

@Chet - Yes.  I sand up to 400, then hit them on a stacked buffing wheel . . .

One loaded with white diamond and one with red rouge.  I use this on ebony plugs as well.

 

[gee-dub]

Limping along . . . . Actually I'm making pretty good progress. My gimpy wrist is almost a memory and many of the next few steps require a "do and wait" situation. Gluing / clamping the splines in place.

I got a laugh out of some of my Jorgies.  It is easy to tell the ones I bought when I re-started my woodworking efforts 20-odd years ago versus the ones I have left over from my college years when I used to make tuition money by building flying sound reinforcement speaker cabinets . . . note the rich patina

At any rate, the splines are in place and I am moving along . . .

[RichardA]

On 5/16/2023 at 2:53 PM, gee-dub said:

Limping along . . . . Actually I'm making pretty good progress. My gimpy wrist is almost a memory and many of the next few steps require a "do and wait" situation. Gluing / clamping the splines in place.

I got a laugh out of some of my Jorgies.  It is easy to tell the ones I bought when I re-started my woodworking efforts 20-odd years ago versus the ones I have left over from my college years when I used to make tuition money by building flying sound reinforcement speaker cabinets . . . note the rich patina

At any rate, the splines are in place and I am moving along . . .

Does that patina come in rolls, and are they from amazon?

[gee-dub]

I sometimes feel like I am pushing way too much info for a given build. I am not trying to bore folks to death but hope that some folks who are newer to the craft may get some good out of things and not have to go thorough he same painful mistakes I have made . I know I sure appreciated the threads by folks back in the day . . . we all start somewhere, right?

That being said here's the small pullouts after a first finish application.

I hope to get to the top and backsplash this evening . . . we'll see.

 

[Coop]

Dang, that’s some pretty lumber! 

[pkinneb]

On 5/16/2023 at 2:53 PM, gee-dub said:

Limping along . . . . Actually I'm making pretty good progress. My gimpy wrist is almost a memory and many of the next few steps require a "do and wait" situation. Gluing / clamping the splines in place.

I got a laugh out of some of my Jorgies.  It is easy to tell the ones I bought when I re-started my woodworking efforts 20-odd years ago versus the ones I have left over from my college years when I used to make tuition money by building flying sound reinforcement speaker cabinets . . . note the rich patina

At any rate, the splines are in place and I am moving along . . .

Glenn I assume apply finish over the whole piece including the inlays correct?

[gee-dub]

@pkinneb - Correct.  Depending on the base material (walnut for example) I may finish the bulk of the piece, add the ebony accents, and then apply the final top coat.  For the sepele I am not adding a lot of coloration since it tends to darken on its own.  Therefor I will just finish the whole piece, accents and all, as a unit.

[Chet]

On 5/16/2023 at 6:22 PM, gee-dub said:

but hope that some folks who are newer to the craft may get some good out of things

Heck Glenn, I have been enjoying this hobby for decades and still get nuggets out of your's and many other journals here.

[Mark J]

Do you give the ebony an acetone wipe just before the finish is applied? Or not necessary? 

[gee-dub]

@Mark J - I am going to go with 'not necessary' as I do not do that step.  There are definitely some exotics that are oily and require some extra attention prior to gluing or finishing.  I am not contradicting anyone who recommends that this be done.  I have used a fair amount of ebony over the last 20 years.  I have never taken this precaution and have not had issues. 

This could certainly vary with your finish.  My varnish component used to be a modified phenolic (Cabot's) until it became difficult to get on the left coast . . . now I use a modified alkyd spar product (McCloskey's).  Both have some flexibility after curing.  I (non-scientifically) credit this to my lack of problems with finishes over splines and inlay, breadboard ends versus table tops and so forth.

[gee-dub]

My efforts this morning put a second coat on some items and a first coat on the balance. Finishing will take up the rest of the day. When I reach the finishing stage I tend to just relax and go with it. There is no hurrying some things and attempts to do so generally make you sad






The flash went off on the last pic so the colors and the chatoyance look a bit weird. I will post more pics as I close in on the end of this effort so you can get a better idea of how things look.

[Chet]

I honestly have not paid attention, is you finish a wipe-on or brush-on?  I don't see a lot of drop clothes so I am assuming you aren't spraying.

[gee-dub]

On 5/17/2023 at 9:31 AM, Chet said:

I honestly have not paid attention, is you finish a wipe-on or brush-on?  I don't see a lot of drop clothes so I am assuming you aren't spraying.

It is a wipe on finish.  This one happens to be a 3:2:1 of varnish:mineral spirits:BLO with a bit of Transtint Medium Brown to warm up the "reddish-orange" in the sepele.  The sepele really sucks up the varnish so I imagine there will be 4 or 5 coats for the service surfaces like the top, pullouts, and pulls with 3 to 4 coats for the balance.

[wtnhighlander]

Finishing is really making the grain stand out. Shows off your attention to material selection beautifully!

[gee-dub]

Not a lot to report. Just moving through the finishing process. This morning I sanded with 800 any areas that required it. I also have some finer non-woven stuff that I use here and there.

 

The top has a coat or two to go.

The main carcass is pretty much done and I am feeling happy with the coloring.

More coats for some parts tomorrow morning.

[Mark J]

11 hours ago, gee-dub said:

Curious about where you source your non-woven abrasives?  The only maker that I've seen give specific grit (rather than coarse -- fine) is Mirkalon.  

[gee-dub]

Correct.  Mirka Mirlon 1500 and 2500 through Amazon or whenever I see a good price.  I find having a half dozen or so pieces around keeps me well supplied for a long, long time.  For "finishing the finish" tasks I find 800 - 1200 grit wet dry and a cork block padded with a worn out piece of non-woven does a nice job.  The higher grit non-woven is only for spot dressing any small details.

[Chet]

I really like the color and warmth you finish is giving the project.  Sapele has become on of my favorite woods to work with.

[gee-dub]

Thanks to everyone. I know the last few posts in a build tend to drag on.  Right now I am just watching finish cure.  Tomorrow I will put on another coat and do much of the same

[Coop]

On 5/19/2023 at 11:26 AM, Chet said:

I really like the color and warmth you finish is giving the project.  Sapele has become on of my favorite woods to work with.

Of the three known to me, hardwood suppliers in my area, only one carries Sapele and they sell it as an exotic. And their price is per linear foot and the price sheet says “Market Price”. You’d think I was ordering lobster tails at a restaurant in New Mexico! 

[Chet]

On 5/19/2023 at 6:50 PM, Coop said:

their price is per linear foot and the price sheet says “Market Price”.

Never quite understood this.  For the most part everything is sold at market price.  But I guess it is mostly associated with Lobster and Sapele.  

[gee-dub]

Some out of the ordinary weather the last few days has slowed me getting to the "finishing the finish" stage on the latest effort. The top and a few other parts got done today . . .

The balance should be ready tomorrow (wait . . . I've been hearing that for the last three days!?!) so I hope to have it ready for delivery in a couple more days.

[gee-dub]

Wax on . . .

Wax off . . .

Here's the "pull" for the pullouts.

The shop lighting is not ideal but this will give you some idea of the design and the elevations.

The pullouts are pretty utilitarian (and will probably only come out at Christmas and Thanksgiving) so I didn't mind the hardware showing.

The coloration variance is not quite as extreme as it appears under my finely tuned photographic skill . You can see the actual coloration in previous pics.

I will get some pics in place in a couple of days. The paste wax is still off-gassing.