PDA

View Full Version : Sapele sewing cabinet



Rocker
14th April 2005, 03:17 PM
Finally got around to completing my other Easter project. The cabinet carcass was built in the same way as my CD cabinet, posted in December, using biscuit-reinforced mitre joints to join the top to the sides. The quarter-sawn sapele looks rather like some commercial office furniture, but that is normally built of sapele-veneered chipboard.

The recent wet spell resulted in the taller drawer fronts expanding quite considerably between the time that I made the drawers and when I applied the finish; so I had a good deal of fiddling about to make the drawers fit. Making the drawer fronts just 2mm less in height than the height of the opening was insufficient. They should have been at least 3 mm less.

Sorry about the indifferent picture quality.

Rocker

silentC
14th April 2005, 03:27 PM
Rocker,

Looks great as usual. Why is it a 'sewing cabinet'? Is there some fit out in the drawers, or is that just it's intended purpose?

Those wet spells are a problem, aren't they?

Wongo
14th April 2005, 03:33 PM
Rocker,

Usual (high) standard. A beautiful piece of work. Cheers. :)

Rocker
14th April 2005, 03:59 PM
Silentc,

It is just a chest of drawers, but that is indeed its intended purpose. The other purpose was to use up the sapele boards that I had bought because they looked so nice in the timber yard's racks, and were bound to come in useful one day :) The only trouble was that the boards were 38 mm thick, so I had to resaw them. But now I have lots of 10 mm sapele for toy-making.

Rocker

LineLefty
14th April 2005, 04:26 PM
Looks great rocker, as usual. Just a quick question on the construction.

The sides of the carcasse have the notch cut out in the middle to produce the 'legs'. Got that, but whats going on at the bottom of the front? IS that jsut moldigns to give an appearance of 'legs'? The pic isnt clear but it looks separate from the frame under the drawer.

beejay1
14th April 2005, 04:57 PM
A very nice piece of work rocker Nice finish too.
I thought quarter sawn was less likely to move as other cuts or had the material been stored somewhere damp?
Better piccies next time pleasehttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon7.gif
beejay1

http://community.webshots.com/user/eunos9

bitingmidge
14th April 2005, 05:29 PM
r had the material been stored somewhere damp?
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
(Maroochydore is 40k's north of Rocker's place!!

Cheers,
P

Rocker
14th April 2005, 05:32 PM
Adam,

Here is a detail view of the base of the cabinet. The front of the base is in three parts mitred together and then trimmed (on a crosscut sled) to the exact measurement of the distance between the sides. I then applied glue to its top and sides and slid it into position. The three-part construction is needed to avoid any significant amount of end-grain being glued against the inner faces of the sides. I stole the idea from Christian Becksvoort's 15-drawer cabinet, see

http://www.chbecksvoort.com/cases.html

Rocker

DaveInOz
14th April 2005, 05:50 PM
A very nice piece of work rocker Nice finish too.
I thought quarter sawn was less likely to move as other cuts or had the material been stored somewhere damp?
Better piccies next time pleasehttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon7.gif
beejay1

http://community.webshots.com/user/eunos9

My understanding is that quartersawn moves just as much as any wood, but only in one dimension i.e. no cupping or twisting.
When timber moves it moves relative to the growth rings, wether moving them apart or bringing them together. If the timber is backsawn then the edges get wider (growth rings at 90° to the face) but the centre gets thicker (growth rings in the same plane as the face) and all the varietys in between as you move from centre to edge, the result is cupping. In quatersawn it will only get wider as all growth rings are at 90° to the face

beejay1
14th April 2005, 06:09 PM
Thanks for that Dave...smart ****http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon7.gifhttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon7.gif
After i posted I checked my reference books and of course its as you say.
Cheers,,beejay1

http://community.webshots.com/user/eunos9

Rocker
14th April 2005, 06:12 PM
Dave,

Quarter-sawn wood, like any other wood, moves in two directions - radial and tangential. The tangential movement is normally about twice the radial movement. In quartersawn wood, the larger tangential movement merely increases the thickness of the board, as the board takes up moisture, but the radial movement, which is still significant, will increase the width of the board - which is what happened to my drawer fronts. In this part of QLD, the humidity is normally between 60 and 75%, but, during wet spells, it is often 95% or more, which accounts for the movement in my drawer fronts.

Rocker

R. McCarthy
14th April 2005, 08:48 PM
Sorry about the indifferent picture quality.

Rocker[/QUOTE]

Picture quality fine - workmanship superb !!

Harry72
14th April 2005, 10:49 PM
Nice work Rock.

Different
15th April 2005, 01:21 AM
Nice job as usual Rocker! What was the sapelle like to work being a "Rowed" wood?


Ross

Rocker
15th April 2005, 08:33 AM
Ross,

Sapele is subject to a fair amount of tear-out because of the interlocking grain; I didn't have the skill or patience to get rid of all the tear-out by using a cabinet scraper, so I just hit it with 60-grit paper on a random-orbit sander, and filled any deeper spots of tear-out with 5-minute epoxy.

Sapele is a good substitute for mahogany, if you are happy with is brown, rather than red, colour.

Rocker

boban
16th April 2005, 12:17 AM
I like, I like.

Just one thing, no one seems to take photos of the guts of their projects. I think this would pass on knowledge, give people ideas and generally be a good idea.

What ya think?

ryanarcher
16th April 2005, 03:22 AM
Rocker,
Outstanding craftsmanship as usual. Well done my friend!
-Ryan

Rocker
16th April 2005, 08:58 AM
Boban,

I don't have a photo of the guts of this cabinet; but here is one of a similar cabinet that I posted back in December. The webframes are made with mortice and tenon joints, as shown in the diagram. They are slid into their dadoes, but only glued on the front 50 mm. The remainder of the drawer runner just sits in the dado without glue. If the whole of the runner were glued into the dado, it would cause the cabinet's sides to split.

There is an excellent article by Christian Becksvoort on building chests of drawers in the Fine Woodworking book 'Traditional Furniture Projects'. Also, an article on building the CD cabinet, from which the picture below is taken, will be published in the Australian Woodworker later this year.

Ryan,

Thanks for your kind words.

Rocker

Bob Willson
16th April 2005, 11:22 AM
which accounts for the movement in my drawer fronts.

Getting a bit past it nowadays are we then Rocker, or is it just in this (in)continent?

Rocker
16th April 2005, 12:05 PM
Getting a bit past it nowadays are we then Rocker, or is it just in this (in)continent?

Bob,

I confess that the meaning of the second part of your comment escapes me; but watch it, now that you are in your seventh decade, you may soon be enriching Pfizer yourself.

Rocker

Bob Willson
16th April 2005, 04:42 PM
:D The second part was a sort of a pun on the meaning of the word movement which can also refer to an involuntary movement (incontinence) of the bowels. And also because you have lived on different continents st different times of your life.
And yes, you are correct. I'm not to far off that stage myself, so I'd better make the most of my ability to poke fun at my 'elders' while there are still some around. :D