A challenge in Woolybut

[jacko]

Got the right one this time!!!


The attached image is of my latest project to be finalized.
The timber is Woolybut, air dried 15 years
The finish is oil and wax hand rubbed
The design is mine, for my sins
Now all I have to do is to sell it as it does not fit our decor!

[Suresh]

That is gorgeous, consider changing your decor and keep it. Something to be proud of. I like your design, different to the rest of the pack.
Suresh

[derekcohen]

Jacko

Stunning work. Both the design and craftmanship.

Tell us a bit about the construction.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[journeyman Mick]

Nice one!:)
I didn't realise woolybutt was such an attractive timber.

Mick

[jacko]

First, while W'but is very attracive, like jarrah but denser, it is also rather dimensionally unstable, so take care if using.
The doors are from a single fitch, double bookmatched. There are 10 peices to each door with a one degree chamfer on each edge to create the coopered shape. The apron is laminated out of 8X3 mm thick peices, then cut apart to create the drawer front so that the grain matches. All joints are double tennons (above and below) with the tennons into the legs being pinned with dowels turned out of the same timber.
The "outriggers" were coved on the table saw by gluing them together, then cutting appart again after the cove operation.
Side and bottom panels are also bookmatched.
Guess this enough but will be happy to answer any questions on techniques used.
jacko

[journeyman Mick]

So Jacko, how do you work around the instability? Do you have a moisture meter, check before you start, then rip timber down oversize, leave to stabilise before dressing? Once assembled and finished is it stable, or could it still warp badly, say if left where the afternoon sun was on it?

Mick

[Evan Pavlidis]

Nice work Jacko; visually light and good design. I'd keep it if I were you even if you don't use it, it's nice to just look at.

Cheers Evan

[jacko]

While I did check with a moisture meter before going to the band saw, oversize and wait. there are still some issues. The timber shows no sign at all of warp, cupping, or bowing. But I did seal with shellac a soon as I cut/glued any piece, just to make sure


After it was finnished, it was coming on to winter and things started getting a little damper around here. The width of the doors kept growing, in spite of being sealed off, first with the shellac mentioned above and later with a poly/oil mix. So after finnishing i brought it inside, in two days the gap at the centre of the two doors (500 mm wide in total) has grown from a near interference fit to a 1.5 mm gap. Inside it is heated and warm! No further signs of any movement