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Projects Journal
Page 2
This page updated:
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Projects
Journal Index:
Page 1
(Bedside Table; Kitchen
Cabinets)
Page 2 (Trivet;
Writing Desk; Trad. End Table; Lamp)
Page 3 (A&C
Coffee Table; TV Cabinet; Walnut Coffee Table; A&C End Table)
Page
4
(Walnut Hall Table; Granite
Top Mission Table; Mission Hall Table)
Page
5 (708 Style Writing Table) (Mission Trestle Table)
Page
6 (Arts and Crafts
Bench)
Page
7 (New
Construction-2005 Kitchen)
Page
8 (Tool
Drawers; Stacked Tansu)
Page 9 (Plan
Rack; Door Restoration; Spice Rack; A&C House# Frame)
Page 10 (Craftsman
Chair Reproduction)
Page 11 (A&C
Kitchen Dining Set)
Page 12
(Cherry/Walnut Hope Chest)
Page 13 (Mission
Sideboard)
Page 14 (Kitchen
Drawers; Calendar Frames)
Page 15 (Corner
Cabinet)
Page 16 (2008
Kitchen Project/Trash Pullout)
 Trivet
(12/02) Made from a
leftover 12" X 12" slab of granite tile and some 1" X
2" scraps of red oak. You can build a 7' tall corner cabinet with ornate trim and
spend weeks on the details, and yet the women folk will go gaga over
something as simple as this ... there is a lesson in that somewhere.
That said, even a small project like this can justify crow barring the wallet
for more clamps ... I'd been looking for an excuse to add a Bessey
"Vario" strap clamp to my arsenal, and this one did the
trick.
20/20 Hindsight
Department: Visible splines on the miter joints, made from
contrasting wood, would be a nice design touch for future iterations.
12/05)... and here are some
made just that way for this year's Christmas gifts.
Kitchen
Writing
Desk/Cabinet Combination
(1/17/03) - A small writing desk,
originally designed for SWMBO
to use in the kitchen. I was basically shooting
for a match in style between the kitchen cabinets and an old Ethan Allen roll
top desk I've had for years. It will have a 3/4" thick Granite top
matching the kitchen counter tops, eight drawers, and is made from rift
sawn red oak, purchased at a local hardwood supplier, and oak veneered
3/4" ply. I've milled all the trim on the router table. 2/17/03 - Carcass
and sub-top finished, trim installed, drawers built, and wooden drawer assemblies
mostly finished. 3/9/03 - Two coats of Golden Oak stain to match the
kitchen cabinets applied. As wet as it's been lately, I'll let it dry about a
week before sealer and top coat is applied.
3/19/03 - Dry fit, before glue-up, of the writing desk's upper cabinet.
Found a nice piece of quarter sawn oak plywood for the back panel and dividers.
Two glass panel doors, with glue-chip glass to match the doors on the cabinet
above the dishwasher, will be the next part of the project to tackle. This
piece, because of the close quarters with the dividers, will be finished before
assembly. After the usual staining to match the desk and kitchen cabinets, I am
going to try out a Gel Varnish for the first time. If It doesn't work, at the
least it should be easy to sand the parts down and re-stain.
4/2/03 - Writing desk
and wall cabinet in place. Upper cabinet is hung using two parallel "French Cleats"
(shown in third picture from left). Under cabinet lighting wired and doors hung this morning. The desk now needs to
be taken back out to the shop and finished with Gel Varnish, which worked very nicely on the upper cabinet, and
the hardware needs to be installed on the drawers. A granite top for the desk
which matches the granite on the kitchen countertops and island is on order and
should complete the project.
20/20
Hindsight Department: I was never pleased with the proportions of the
above combination. Although matching the rest of the kitchen
as intended, the upper cabinet completely overpowered the small desk, as can
easily be seen in the pictures above. Therein lies the reason I
eventually considered replacing this desk with my
adaptation of a Stickley #708 Writing Desk discussed on another journal
page. The little desk above eventually found a much more pleasing, and
appreciated, place in my youngest daughter's bedroom where it is used for
homework, and she can fill the eight surprisingly roomy drawers to the brim with
teenage "stuff".
Traditional
End Table
4/18/03 - Traditional end table which will be made entirely from
quarter-sawn white oak. Table is to be 28 1/2" tall and the top is to be 20
3/4" square. Pictures, from left to right, are edge glue-up of four,
3/4"x6"x23", pieces of QS white oak stock for the table top, and
the dry fit of the aprons and legs prior to glue-up. The legs are tapered on the
inside edge from 1 3/16" square at the top, to 7/8" square at the
bottom.
4/25/03 - Turn a knob
for the drawer, and pick out an appropriate finish, and this table should be
ready for the living room.
5/15/03 - Finished - 5
coats of Sam Maloof poly/oil and 2 coats of poly/wax.
20/20 Hindsight
Department: Not much can be said ... perfection simply can't be
topped. This design was taken
directly from the book "Tables"
by Anthony Giudice. It is one of the most delightful and elegant table designs
ever created and I never get tired of looking at it. To me, the designer
captured the spirit and elegance of a thousand line computer algorithm
condensed into three lines. It has yet to be replaced
as my all time favorite project. In its setting, and with the addition of the
lamp below, it is a stunning combination that never fails to please the eye of
each and every beholder.
Arts
and Crafts Lamp
 5/04/03 - The plans for this Arts and Crafts lamp were in the May 2003
issue of Wood Magazine. I would not normally be interested in making
wooden accessories, but having just finished the traditional end table above,
and having enough quarter-sawn white oak left from the same tree to make
the lamp, it was pretty tough to resist making it a combo. Above left is the glue up
of the base, corbels and supports. Right is the finished combo.
Page
1 (Bedside
Table; Kitchen Cabinets)
Page 2 (Trivet;
Writing Desk; Trad. End Table; Lamp)
Page 3 (A&C
Coffee Table; TV Cabinet; Walnut Coffee Table; A&C End Table)
Page
4
(Walnut Hall Table; Granite
Top Mission Table; Mission Hall Table)
Page
5 (708 Style Writing Table) (Mission Trestle Table)
Page
6 (Arts and Crafts
Bench)
Page
7 (New
Construction-2005 Kitchen)
Page
8 (Tool
Drawers; Stacked Tansu)
Page 9 (Plan
Rack; Door Restoration; Spice Rack; A&C House# Frame)
Page 10 (Craftsman
Chair Reproduction)
Page 11 (A&C
Kitchen Dining Set)
Page 12
(Cherry/Walnut Hope Chest)
Page 13 (Mission
Sideboard)
Page 14 (Kitchen
Drawers; Calendar Frames)
Page 15 (Corner
Cabinet)
Page 16 (2008
Kitchen Project/Trash Pullout)
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