Dressingtable WIP

[KorDes]

My wife has asked me to make her a dressing table since the one she was borrowing belonged to my sister and she wanted it back for her exchange students. Please excuse me if I have missed some parts, I sometimes get carried away with making things that I forget to take picks. I actually started this yesterday, so this thread so far is 2 days work.

The cabinet and drawers are going to be made of Pacific Rimu and the top and legs are going to be Pink Birch(maybe depending if they go together)

Day 1

Division boards straight and squared and ready for gluing.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/divboards.jpg

Division glued and clamped. I use some clamping jigs I made up so the boards line up and stay flat.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/divglueup.jpg

End boards straightened and prepared for jointing
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/endboards.jpg

Here are the 2 ends glued up after dressing the edges on the jointer
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/endsglueup.jpg

Day 2

I cleaned up the panels and cut them to size
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/panels.jpg

Rails all ready to roll, just needs sanding.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/rails.jpg

Drilled the domino holes in the panels. Domino holes go right through the division.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/holesdrilled.jpg

After that the ends are sanded and arised and sanded up the rails as well. Then the homemade dominos are glued into the end. ready for assembly
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/dominoinserted.jpg

The carcase assembled. The 90mm rails are screwed onto the division.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/carcaseassembled.jpg

All I got done for today.

[les88]

Looking good :2tsup: I will follow your progress as I will be building one soon. I like the idea of your wood clamps to hold the the timber for gluing. Would it hold the panels more securely if you used a clamp on the hinged end as well?
les

[KorDes]

probably, but it seems to do the job as it is. They actually line up the boards very well, as long as they are all the same thickness. The better they line up the less sanding I have to do.

[Ozkaban]

looking good! the panel clamps seem to work pretty well too...

It's also not a bad demonstration of how Dominoes work. I've always liked the look of those things, but there's just too many other goodies that I need before I can drop that amount of cash on a cool tool like that one...

cheers,
Dave

[Tex B]

Looking very good. It's amazing how much time the Domino saves on a project like that.

I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Tex

[KorDes]

You will not be disapointed with the domino. It not only saves time but makes a strong joint. And it can be used for so many other things, you just have to come up with it.

Day 3

Had to pay the bills so this ment taking the misses to get some money and then take her shopping before shes goes to work. Plus being friday, went and had a few cold ones at my mates shop. Managed to get some work in between things.

Made some hardwood runners for drawers and stapled those on. They should last a while. Using metal runners did cross my mind but decided to go with wooden runners to optimise drawer size. Using metal runners would have ment losing about 25mm in the length of the drawers. Dont sound like much, but its also personal choice.
Routered a 4mmx10mm rebate in the back of the carcase to accept the back. Silly me got so amped about the domino I forgot to machine the rebate before I marked out my holes for the dominos. I only realised my hastey mistake after i got to the last set of dominos i had to drill in the ends. Was originally going to use a 4mm thick hardwood ply, but decided to use some 6mm I had lying around and was just large enough to get the back out of.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/11-carcase.jpg

Decided to go with pink birch for the top and legs, as I got a 250x25x5m and a 125x55x4m boards form a reject hardwood packet I scored of an online auction for $31. Had nice selection of hardwoods of all sizes and varieties and these two boards came out really nice. Got lucky I guess. I only have an 8" jointer so had to flatten and straighten the boards for the tops the old fashioned way with my smoothing plane. I have 2 planes, the smoothing one and a block plane. When I did my apprenticeship we had nice big machines to do all the hardwork.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/12-flatteningboard.jpg

Got me a wixey digital angle box a while ago to set angles on my tablesaw. Read a thread a while ago about checking twist on a timber mill so you dont end up slabbing twisted slabs. The poster used such a device to check his chainsaw mill rails. So I used mine to check for twist all the way down the board. Worked like a charm and the boards came out flat and straight after i put it through the thicknesser.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/13-checktwist.jpg

Top glued up after skipping it through the thicknesser to get maximum thickness out of the board. Ended up with 23mm, not bad considering it was slightly bowed and rough sawn.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/14-topglued.jpg

Also got the legs machined up too. Will hopefully get then shaped up tomorrow before I have to go to a wedding reception.

[Gibbo]

That's looking fantastic so far! You are certainly moving much faster than I could on a project like that.

[DJ’s Timber]

Coming along nicely :2tsup: also like the grain and colouring of the timber you have selected too

[KorDes]

Thanks for the comments. Didnt get alot done today. Slept in, being a saturday.

Spent most of my time making a test leg out of pine and a template. Want to get the shape of the leg right and in proportion to the unit. Stained the leg to make it stand out more. The top isnt cut to size yet and there will be an apron connecting the legs underneath the cabinet. That will have a slight curve on the bottom as well.

Tell me what you think.

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/legdesign.jpg

[Waldo]

G'day KorDes,

The little kick on the inward side of the legs I'm not sure about, but that depends on how and if you're putting any shape to the apron.

Maybe it's too long, but I like the ratio of the length of the overhang of the top in relationship to the top of the leg.

:2tsup:

[plino]

KorDes my friend, you never cease to amaze me:2tsup: great work, cool photos and a fantastic commentary on your project.:clap3:

See ya on Monday.

Plino

[munruben]

Nice project and good work.Great pictures.:2tsup:

[TEEJAY]

The outer shape is good.

The inner face at the bottom of the carcase step it in underneath for support and visual effect and go straight down from there.

Well that's what I think.

[Tex B]

I'm with Teejay and Waldo on the foot. The rest of the piece looks fantastic, but looks a bit odd (to me) to have the kick in. Maybe a kick out instead?

Tex

[Harry72]

Im not convinced that the bottom inwards curve would be a bad thing, need to see the cabinet as a whole to be sure?

[Ozkaban]

I quite liked the little curve in at the bottom - it's a visual element that you don't expect to be there so adds some interest and detail to the piece.

Cheers,
Dave

[I_wanna_Shed]

KorDes,

Will you be making the final legs a contrasting colour too? I think it works really well, and highlights the curves in them.

Nathan.

[les88]

G'day KorDes,
I think that I need to see the finished shape to make a comment on the foot at the minute it does look a bit lonely
les

[KorDes]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. After looking at it a bit more, the sharp curve does look out of place. Things always look good on paper, but applying them to the project is a different matter. Im going to try a shallower curve starting from the bottom of the cabinet to the end of the leg, and make a dummy apron to get a better idea of the look i want.

Back to the shop.

[KorDes]

Barely got a chance to do anything yesterday, but heres an update of the leg/apron design. I've made the curves alot more subtle, you could probably just make it out.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/legdesign2.jpg

Closer view
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/legdesign3.jpg

[Waldo]

:2tsup:

[Woodwould]

Very nice! How about a small foot on the outside of the front legs; a bit like a 'b'.

I've glued hundreds of carcases and table tops etc. and I never clamped the boards together, I only rubbed them with glue and propped them up until dry.

So, I'm intrigued as to why you adopted a belts and braces approach to clamping the panels together. Were you unable to plane the boards true? I would be concerned that if the panels were 'unwillingly' glued under pressure that they will eventually pop open again. Just an observation and not a criticism.

[Waldo]

Wouldwood, (if I may slightly highjack the thread here) you write that you've only friction glued boards together.

What are the benefits of this against clamping? If the boards were edge jointed then wouldn't they be square to each other? Or, do you prefer your method over clamping as maybe you can't be sure that all boards are edge jointed at 90º to the face, and thus your method accommodates for any inaccuracies?

Over tightening the clamps forces too much glue out, but if say a panel were clamped, but within a certain pressure (be it a bit past finger tight :shrug: ) wouldn't the result be the same?

Or, have I just answered my own questions?

[Woodwould]

Wouldwood, (if I may slightly highjack the thread here) you write that you've only friction glued boards together.

What are the benefits of this against clamping? If the boards were edge jointed then wouldn't they be square to each other? Or, do you prefer your method over clamping as maybe you can't be sure that all boards are edge jointed at 90º to the face, and thus your method accommodates for any inaccuracies?

Over tightening the clamps forces too much glue out, but if say a panel were clamped, but within a certain pressure (be it a bit past finger tight :shrug: ) wouldn't the result be the same?

Or, have I just answered my own questions?

I'm not that familiar with modern glues and I know with most non-porous materials, the less glue that's used; the stronger the joint and therefore clamping is required. However, I can't believe the same can be said for joints in wood, although, as I say, I'm not au fait with modern synthetic adhesives, so maybe clamping is required to achieve ultimate strength in the joint. What I do know is; gluing and clamping boards to correct ill-fitting joints is a recipe for disaster, though I don't honestly believe that's what's occurring here.

Wood being porous, it sucks glue into the pores, thereby drawing the boards together by capillary action and as long as the edges are accurately jointed, the boards will stay flat and the joint will be extremely strong.

The method I used for jointing boards was to hold the first one horizontally in the vice and then using horse sauce, I gently rubbed the edges of the boards together until they just began to drag. After that I would rub one or two subsequent boards (depending on their width – usually to a total of 500mm wide) whereupon I would pick the two or three glued boards up by the top one and lean them against a stick which in turn was leaning against a wall.

About half an hour after that, I would snap off any excess glue with a blunt chisel in one swift movement along the length of the boards.

As long as the joints are tight when dry and the glue is freshly made, there's no need for tongues, grooves, biscuits, clamps or whatever and the resultant assembly is very strong.

[yowie]

A blunt chisel? Whats that then?

[Ozkaban]

A blunt chisel? Whats that then?

I've got tons of 'em. Especially after I've 'sharpened' it :D

Cheers,
Dave

[jw2170]

KorDes,

A beautiful piece of furniture in the making.

Almost inspires one to rush and and buy some timber. :D

Did you work off a plan or was it self designed?

I like the way you have worked the legs...

I know there are many on the forum much more experienced than myself and give advice in good faith, however,only change the design if you feel that it is not working for you . Don't change just because others have suggested a change. (I would hate to see what it would look like if I had any input :B)

PS to all the other forumites, this is not personal against any of the members.. I have seen some of your results and I am a minnow........

Can't wait to see the finished result.


Rgds
James

[Waldo]

I know there are many on the forum much more experienced than myself and give advice in good faith, however,only change the design if you feel that it is not working for you . Don't change just because others have suggested a change. (I would hate to see what it would look like if I had any input :B)

I was thinking exactly the same when I gave my input. Very well said.

Thanks Wouldwood for your reply to my questions.

[KorDes]

Very nice! How about a small foot on the outside of the front legs; a bit like a 'b'.

I've glued hundreds of carcases and table tops etc. and I never clamped the boards together, I only rubbed them with glue and propped them up until dry.

So, I'm intrigued as to why you adopted a belts and braces approach to clamping the panels together. Were you unable to plane the boards true? I would be concerned that if the panels were 'unwillingly' glued under pressure that they will eventually pop open again. Just an observation and not a criticism.

I guess its just the way I've been taught during and after my apprenticeship. Also with these yellow/aliphatic/PVA glues, manufacturers recommend clamping the boards together. I planed the boards as true as the timber and the jointer allowed me(which is fairly good) but if I spent time getting every joint perfectly true, It'd take me forever. hence the clamp. Also if the boards dont clamp up tight, you end up with a glue line that stands out like a white line on a blackboard when you go to finish it.


KorDes,

A beautiful piece of furniture in the making.

Almost inspires one to rush and and buy some timber. :D

Did you work off a plan or was it self designed?

I like the way you have worked the legs...

I know there are many on the forum much more experienced than myself and give advice in good faith, however,only change the design if you feel that it is not working for you . Don't change just because others have suggested a change. (I would hate to see what it would look like if I had any input :B)

PS to all the other forumites, this is not personal against any of the members.. I have seen some of your results and I am a minnow........

Can't wait to see the finished result.


Rgds
James

This is my own design. All the measurements and curves are done by me. Although alot of other woodworkers have inspired me with the design and look of this dresser.

I know what you mean by changing things because others suggest otherwise, but sometimes you can be blinded by your own vision. Asking for some opinions help clear things up.

As you noticed, I still have a curve on the inside, its just not as pronounced as before and does look better than before.

More updates later tonight, time for a snack break now.

[TEEJAY]

Thanks for the comments. Didnt get alot done today. Slept in, being a saturday.

Spent most of my time making a test leg out of pine and a template. Want to get the shape of the leg right and in proportion to the unit. Stained the leg to make it stand out more. The top isnt cut to size yet and there will be an apron connecting the legs underneath the cabinet. That will have a slight curve on the bottom as well.

Tell me what you think.


Some of you guys just don't read the posts.

I said what I think because I was asked for an opinion. Not because I want to change it or impose in any way.

Won't bother next time

[Tex B]

I like the revision KorDes. The lines look great. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Tex

[KorDes]

Some of you guys just don't read the posts.

I said what I think because I was asked for an opinion. Not because I want to change it or impose in any way.

Won't bother next time

Aww dont be like that Teejay, I valued your opinion as much as everybody else's. If I had legs that were 20mm wider I would have cut them so that they would sit 20mm under the ends. But I had to make do with what I got.

Okay, so far this is where I'm at...


Happy with my final design, I first drilled domino holes for the apron and then I routed the legs to shape with the template and a table mounted router.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/17-legs.jpg

For the drawer fronts I got some 100x50 rimu, resawed it in half on the bandsaw and bookmatched them and glued them together. This will get me 4 sets of matching drawers
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/18-dfronts.jpg.

While they were drying I cut out my drawer sides and backs. I'm just using some pine that I got for next to nothing and that they are 190mm wide so I dont have to go joining wood together to get the width I wanted for my drawer sides. Here they are ready for machining which I will do tomorrow because it was dark by then and didnt want to disturb the neighbours with the thicknesser going full bore.
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/20-drawers.jpg

So I thought I'd cut and shape my top. Routered a table top mould on the underside and ends of the top with the OF2000. Thats a beast of a router and ate through the timber like it was butter, even with such a big cutter. Next I cut a curve on the front with the jigsaw and cleaned it up with a block plane and sandpaper
http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/21-top.jpg

I start my new job tomorrow, so I wont be able to get as much done. It was a good 8 month break of helping look after my daughter, and know trying to get back into the rythm of a daily grind is gona get abit of getting used to again. Should be fun.

[Scally]

Looking good.

I like the molding on the underside of the top.
It gives it a bit of a lift.

It is interesting hearing different thoughts on the side-piece/leg. And I know what you mean about being blind to what you have designed.
Thoughts from others often helps you get a better feel for the overall effect.

Nice to see you putting your style on a basic cabinet.

[plino]

Hey Buddy how is this project going?:) any updates?

[KorDes]

Hehe funny you mention that. I managed to get some time in today. Got the drawer components half machined up and also managed to stain up the top and legs a while ago. Try to get some pictures of my latest progress up tomorrow.

Had an order for a coffee table to do, thats why theres been a lack of updates on the dresser.

[KorDes]

Sorry for the lack of updates, been busy with my new job and running around to sort stuff out for my baby girls first birthday in 2 weeks.

So far I have oiled the carcase and stained the top/legs with a jarrah stain. I will be spraying a couple of coats of lacquer once the whole unit is finished. Screwed in tops and legs ready for the drawers.

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/22-endshot.jpg


Also got the drawers machined up and dovetailed. Will put those together tomorrow after work (hopefully)

Need to finish this before the my baby girls bday to free up some room in the garage. I've also got to build the new deck ready for my baby girls bday too, so hopefully this weekend will be fine enough to concrete in the posts.

[plino]

KorDes, looks great, up for a beer on Friday 29th?:tequila: See you at the shop if you are keen.

Plino

[Tex B]

Looking great, KorDes.

Won't the drawers fall out like that?:wink:

Tex

[KorDes]

Beer sounds good Plino, need to get some sanding belts and talk to you about my account.

I have no idea what you are talking about Tex :wink:

[Tex B]

Picture was rotated 90 degrees when I first saw it.

A rather lame attempt at humor I suppose.:wink:

Looking very nice. Drawers ought to stay put now.

Tex

[KorDes]

Okay its been a while, been very busy with ceremonies going on at the Cambodian temple, my Mums a devout buddhist and I have to drive her to the temple and back. And with work, bbqs, and doing things, has left me with very little time to work on the dresser.

So here is an update with what I've managed to do this week.

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/25-sandingdrawers.jpg


Here I am in the process of sanding up the drawers, sanding the oval recesses and wax the drawer sides for smoother sliding. The oval recess was made with a template, of2000 router and a big cove shaped router bit that I borrowed from work (lucky me, saved me from having to buy one)

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/26-oileddrawers.jpg

After sanding the drawers gave them a coat of finishing oil, this brings out the grain before I spray lacquer on top. Because the drawerfronts are from 100x50 and bookmatched, the light reflecting of the grain orientation makes it look like theres a light and dark timber used. Kinda like when you cut a piece of timber, one way you look at its dark and turn it the other way its light.

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/27-handles.jpg

I was wondering how I could do the handles, originally I thought a strip of wood say a 40x20 sized piece running through the oval, but couldnt figure a way to implement it in a pleasing way. Then had a thought of using contrasting timbers and decided to laminate 2mm strips, 3 light timbers sorrounded by 2 darker ones. Had to crank the living daylights out of my vice just to get the strips together in between the curved blocks. Now I just have to figure out a secure way of fixing them to the drawer fronts.

Its nearly finished, hopefully get a couple of coats of lacquer on it after work tomorrow.

[KorDes]

Its finally finished. The top and legs are stained a western red jarrah color and the carcase/drawers were coated with a finishing oil, and then the whole dresser was sprayed with 3 coats of lacquer. The handles were finished seperately with polyurethane and just screwed on.

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/33-finlow.jpg

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/28-finfront.jpg

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/29-finleft.jpg

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/30-finleftclose.jpg

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/32-finleftfar.jpg

http://www.kordes.co.nz/pictures/31-finhandleclose.jpg

[Waldo]

Very nice, very nice - I like it. :2tsup:

The accents of the legs and apron work very well. :brava:

[AlexS]

Very nice, KorDes. Like Waldo, I reckon the tops of the legs set it off well. Also, Like the handles very much.

[NCArcher]

Beautiful job KorDes, I like it a lot. :clap:

[Ozkaban]

wow! That's stunning!

Love how the handles go with the gentle curve of the top at the front. also like the contrasting legs.

cheers,
Dave

[KorDes]

Thanks for everyones kind comments, I'm glad it's finished now and my wife loves it. It's also freed up some space in the garage for future projects.

[Wongo]

That is beautiful.

[plino]

Mate, great work.

:yourock2:

Plino

[plino]

Had to have another look:2tsup: WOW,

[KorDes]

Hahaha thanks Plino.

[Harry72]

Thats a nice piece of work, well done mate!

[Christos]

Very nice.

I like it.

[Tex B]

Outstanding stuff KorDes. Very nice.:2tsup:

Love the handles.

Tex

[rhancock]

Very nice work. Those handles are very cool.

[KorDes]

Thanks everyone again for the positive comments. Its very encouraging to read what everyones written. Just need to figure what my next project will be, maybe a dining table. Our ones abit dated, so who knows whats next on my list.

[spokeshave]

Great job KorDes.

You know, when i first saw the handles lined up on the bench, i wasn't sure how they would look.
But on the dresser they look sensational. The whole thing looks fantastic.

Absolulety brilliant.:2tsup:

Steven.