bgrella Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 I completed my cherry bookcase. All panels are bookmatched from 4/4 cherry. Finished with polyurethane. Watch the video build series here. Comments welcomed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Very nice looking book case. Clean lines. did you use water based or oil based poly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamer777 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 That is a very beautiful bookcase. I like the cherry wood. Did you use Cherry for the whole bookcase? I know that some people use plywood for the sides, etc. The Cherry wood look's very light. I know it will darken as the time goes by. How long did it take to darken? Anyway, it is a job well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 nice simple strait line i like it but are shure it cherry its very light almost like a maple....probably just the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgrella Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Very nice looking book case. Clean lines. did you use water based or oil based poly? Oil based. I'm not brave enough to try water based yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgrella Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 That is a very beautiful bookcase. I like the cherry wood. Did you use Cherry for the whole bookcase? I know that some people use plywood for the sides, etc. The Cherry wood look's very light. I know it will darken as the time goes by. How long did it take to darken? Anyway, it is a job well done. It's all solid cherry minus the cherry ply shelves. It will definitely darken over time. Thanks for the comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgrella Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 nice simple strait line i like it but are shure it cherry its very light almost like a maple....probably just the photo. Yepper, all cherry. I'm a huge cherry fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Nice! Well done! The peg holes in the back corner; if you had made them from the sides instead of the front they might have been less obvious standing in front of the bookcase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bois Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Wow, it looks like you even used bookmatched cherry panels on the back. Probably won't get noticed once this is full of books, but a nice touch a more discerning buyer or customer would appreciate. A few minor critiques I would offer. I would have undercut the top or given it a light profile just to make it feel a bit lighter. Maybe it's just the cherry, but my immediate reaction is that this is shaker-inspired, and I expect to see a bevel under a shaker top. I liked that you used quartersawn or nearly quartersawn stock for the stiles, but would have gone with straighter grain or quartersawn grain on the rails as well. The bookmatched cherry on the sides looks fantastic, but the curvy grain pattern on the rails competes with it a bit. I'm definitely jealous of your cherry supplier though, that's some great stuff and it will only get better over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgrella Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Nice! Well done! The peg holes in the back corner; if you had made them from the sides instead of the front they might have been less obvious standing in front of the bookcase. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgrella Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Wow, it looks like you even used bookmatched cherry panels on the back. Probably won't get noticed once this is full of books, but a nice touch a more discerning buyer or customer would appreciate. A few minor critiques I would offer. I would have undercut the top or given it a light profile just to make it feel a bit lighter. Maybe it's just the cherry, but my immediate reaction is that this is shaker-inspired, and I expect to see a bevel under a shaker top. I liked that you used quartersawn or nearly quartersawn stock for the stiles, but would have gone with straighter grain or quartersawn grain on the rails as well. The bookmatched cherry on the sides looks fantastic, but the curvy grain pattern on the rails competes with it a bit. I'm definitely jealous of your cherry supplier though, that's some great stuff and it will only get better over time. Yep. All bookmatched panels. Probably over-kill, but I needed the practice bookmatching. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bois Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 I've actually started moving a bit away from bookmatching for the simple reason that a bookmatch by definition leaves you with two halves with grain running in opposite directions. I do have a drum sander, but it pains me to have to use it when I could do the same job with my smoothing plane in half the time (and a lot less noise and dust). So for most of my projects, I've been slip matching to ensure the grain runs in the same direction on both halves. This has accomplished a few other things I hadn't initially thought of. For one, you get less of that "matchy" look, and usually the glue line is very well hidden. Secondly, I noticed that bookmatched panels reflect light differently on the two sides. So one half might show some chatoyancy from one angle but the mating half does not. Of course bookmatching will always have its place, I just tend to slip match much more frequently than I did in the past. Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but it's something I've been giving a lot of thought to recently (I clearly need to get out more). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenMinshall Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 I like the deviation from the traditional location of the peg holes. They're sort of a "necessary evil" on anything with shelves and I like that you were able to put a little different twist on it to make the piece more interesting. The legs actually raising the case up off the floor is also an interesting detail. Overall a very nice bookcase! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgrella Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 I like the deviation from the traditional location of the peg holes. They're sort of a "necessary evil" on anything with shelves and I like that you were able to put a little different twist on it to make the piece more interesting. The legs actually raising the case up off the floor is also an interesting detail. Overall a very nice bookcase! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alindsey Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Oil based. I'm not brave enough to try water based yet. Water based poly on cherry and walnut doesn't look so hot. Those woods need the ambering effect of the oil or they look very cold under the clear coat. General Finishes has a new-ish product called Enduro Var (in a black labeled can) which was made to address that issue. It's a modified water-based urethane topcoat, makes walnut and cherry look gorgeous. Just a heads-up for when you decide to try the water-based stuff. I spray a lot of my finishes and since I do not have a proper spray booth and do not want an errant cigarette butt from my neighbor to cause my house to explode I only spray water-based finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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