Shopsmith Forums

Very nice.

masonsailor2 wrote:The drawer fronts are finally finished. These were without a doubt the most challenging drawer fronts I have ever done. They took bloody forever to complete but they are in the drying room and first coat of finish on. Now it is on to complete the doors and install the handles on the pull out shelving.
Paul

Those drawer fronts are truly stunning, Paul! I can't wait to see the finished sideboard.

Looking at the drawer-front photos, it struck me that the joints between the four quadrants are effectively miter joints, with respect to the relative grain direction at the joints. Did you use biscuits or anything to reinforce them? Of course, those joints are considerably longer than a typical miter joint, so strength may not be an issue.

There are some biscuits in there but they were mostly for ease of glue up. I don’t think strength of the joint was an issue. Although the zebrawood is very hard it is also very porous so glue penetration is very good.
Paul

The drawers and pull out shelving have finish applied and reinstalled. Tomorrow I will start finishing the cabinet doors which will involve wood overlay.
Paul

Finally back in the shop after the holidays and the whole family having the flu. Yuck. I had to remake all the door blanks. The designer did not like the edge detail and felt the lap lamination gave it too busy a background for the final design. I remade them using a birch ply with an mdf and plywood core with alder edge banding. I spent yesterday building a press for the appliqués and also got the appliqués milled and glued, and started the glue up. It’s an involved process and with the taping and takes about 1 1/2 hours per application. There are three per door going from wide to narrow. The outer and inner are Paduak and the center one Honduran mahogany.
Paul

Did the 'designer' also provide fabrication details?

BTW they do look very nice.

I actually agreed with her. Once we had the drawer fronts layed out and the lap jointer doors next to them the angular look of the lap joints in the background were just too busy. They will not be wasted. I have another cabinet to build and they should work out fine for that cabinet.
Paul.

Back on the dining room cabinet today and finished up the appliqués on the doors. The drawer fronts are still in the drying room and turning out to be a challenge. Even though the Danish oil is building up on the surface the Zebrawood is so porous it’s taking a lot of coats to get enough build up to get a glossy flat surface. Laquer May have been a better choice. I will start on the counter top tomorrow.
Paul

Major progress today. Drawer fronts are on. They have been one of the major challenges of my woodworking career. Nothing really complicated but painstakingly slow. Now it’s on to the countertop which will be much easier. The door handles are getting problematic. The plan is for an opposing woman’s head with flowing hair wrapping around the the blank space in the appliqués. The three possibilities are brass, wood or a cast polymer to mimic the lucite of the Art Deco period.
Paul

Spectacular!!