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pecan desk + Dodgy Loner's projects

Started by pigman, June 19, 2007, 08:30:28 PM

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pigman

I milled a pecan tree for a customer about six years ago. He informed me that he was going to have a desk made out of part of the wood. It seems that the woodworker he commissioned had health problems soon after he started  on the desk. I was told that all it needed was  a little sanding and a finish applied.The partially completed desk showed up last month at my shop to be completed. Well, the basic case was built. :(
All the desk lacked was making the drawers, shelves, door, keyboard pullout, shelf support holes and attaching the full 24" extension slides. With the back already in place in the 28 inch case, mounting the slides from the front was no easy task for this stiff old man. ::) Since the first woodworker had been paid in full for the desk and since I had very little to do to finish the desk, I didn't charge but $100 to do the light sanding and spraying on some finish.


Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

ellmoe

   Nice job Bob. I've got a desk that needs only a little more work to be finished, how about $125 for you to complete? I'll let you know when I finish sawing the log! :D

Mark
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

WDH

Pigman,

I have been thinking about a desk.  I have been formulating it in my mind, in fact, it is almost complete ;D.  Since formulating it must be the hard part, maybe you could complete the project since it is near finished (in my mind :D).

You did a very fine job in making that desk a reality.  I bet that is one satisfied desk owner ;).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Left Coast Chris

Bob.. very nice.  :o :o    Since it looks like you shot it with lacquer or other volital illegal air polluting substance .... it will have to be confiscated.  8) 8)   I have a California address to ship it to so this harsh action will be avoided ::)
Home built cantilever head, 24 HP honda mill, Case 580D, MF 135 and one Squirel Dog Jack Russel Mix -- Crickett

Burlkraft

That's awesome Bob.........My birthday's not till February tho... :D :D :D
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Patty

Nice job Bob. The desk is beautiful. I especially like how you made up the story about completing the desk for your friend....when we all know my birthday is Friday. You can't fool this old lady!  8)   I will make shipping arrangements for you.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Norm

Looks great Bob! I love the look of pecan.

mike_van

I like it Bob, I've done that drawslide thing too, so I know what it's like - Pain in the you know what.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

TexasTimbers

Nice job Bob. Pecan is so varied it can look like many different species.
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

brdmkr

Great job Bob.  I have some pecan and the wife has already designed a bookcase.  I could likely finish most of the work and maybe get you to sand and finish.  I'll cut the lumber to length and then send it to you with the plans.  I would put it together, but this should save on shipping ;)

Seriously, you do good work!
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

pigman

Thanks for the compliments, but you got to remember, all I did was a little sanding and finishing.  ;D  I am beginning to hate pecan. It is hard, it tears out bad and it is heavy. I do like to look at it though. ;)   This is the seventh piece of furniture I have built out of the same pecan  tree I milled for the customer. I am hoping that it is all gone.
I said I only charged $100 , but the customer's wife left a check considerably larger. 8)  I just hate it when the customer pays more than the bill. It messes up the paper work. ;D ;D

Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

WDH

From the looks of that desk, you earned every penny, and then some :D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

mike_van

Bob, is pecan like hickory?  Same thing?
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

WDH

Same genus, Carya.  Very hard like hickory.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

TexasTimbers

Bob it's hard to tell if they are wood or not, but did you make those pulls? If so how about a close up. I need to make some for our cabinet drawers - never can have too many ideas.
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

pigman

The customer furnished the pulls. They are just some plated thin metal pulls he found at a yard sale. ::) I am not going to get a close up of the pulls, they look better at a distance. ;D

Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

Furby

Quote from: pigman on June 20, 2007, 10:27:51 PM
I just hate it when the customer pays more than the bill. It messes up the paper work. ;D ;D

I have a solution to that problem........... just send the difference to me and save the hassle with the paper work! ;D 8)

WDH

You can just put it in the COOKIE jar, Furby.  The same one that you will fill up with Paschale's Chocolate Mint Explosion cookies we are all so fervently waiting for........... food6
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

TexasTimbers

Quote from: pigman on June 21, 2007, 11:54:58 AMI am not going to get a close up of the pulls, they look better at a distance.

Yeah, that's the same reasoning people use when they put a picture of their deceased loved ones in the obit section, which is of a 40 year old, and the man died at 90. ;D

I don't want to see a close up of the pulls now because the desk is too beautiful for cheap pulls.
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

WDH

That is an excellent point kevjay.  I built a small 3-chest of drawers for my daughter for her college apartment.  The pulls on it cost $60, but they were Horton Brasses and well worth it.  A beautiful piece deserves quality hardware.  This was made from cherry cut off the property.

Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Haytrader

WOO WOO!!

I don't care what everyone else says, that is purdy.

;)
Haytrader

pigman

WDH,  I agree, I don't like to put cheap hardware on furniture I build.  When I can't afford nice pulls I just make something that looks appropriate.

I like that cherry chest of drawers. 8)    I made a cherry chest of drawers for my youngest that is twice that size. We have moved that thing five times already and have to move it to Ga. in August. There is an advantage to smaller furniture for a college student that moves a lot. ::)

Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

WDH

Pigman,

Cherry furniture is heavy too.  Let me know if you need another strong back.  You got a girl going to UGA?  I have two there.  One likes walnut,  One likes cherry.  The third daughter is one year away from going there.  She likes eastern red cedar ;D.  Keeps a little sawyer like me on my toes :D.

I really like the stuff you build :).  That pecan is fine.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

pigman

WDH, 
QuoteYou got a girl going to UGA? 
.     Yes, my youngest is going to be a Bulldog.  She is going to be studing bugs, or as she says , insects. We keep asking her if she is going to be responsible for keeping the fleas off of the mascot, UGA the dog. ;)

Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

WDH

Get ready to make some more furniture!  I have made 2 desks, 2 chests, 2 bedside tables, 2 bookcases, 1 filing cabinet/printer stand, and 1 mirror for college apartments.

(Get a furnished one ;) ;D).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

SwampDonkey

What they staying in? Condo? I did well to get the bedding and clothes into my dorm room.  :D

Nice work Pigman, I like the pecan to, although I haven't one of them unfinished desks up this way. ;)


Nice cherry chest of drawers to WDH, I like the streaks in it.  :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WDH

Thanks SD. 

The Southern Cherry will commonly have mineral steaks and some pitch pockets.  But I like it anyway :D.  You have to make do with what grows and what you can mill.  Better to have it come from our property and have the streaks than be the finest pennslyvania cherry as far as my daughter is concerned ;D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Dodgy Loner

That's a purdy chest, WDH.  I agree with you about the cherry - I'd rather work with cherry lumber that came off of my property any day.  It's got more character and a better story behind it to boot!  Good thing I've got plenty of it ;).
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

WDH

Now you need to build something ;D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

SwampDonkey

Yeah, to take a line from the movie 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly', and put a twist on it here...


Don't talk, if your going to build, build it.  ;D :D ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Dodgy Loner

Oh, I've been building...what I haven't been doing is posting pictures :-\.  I guess I'll have to remedy that sometime soon :).
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

WDH

The recalcitrant picture poster syndrome, huh ??? ;D
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

OneWithWood

 smiley_policeman horn_smiley
Forum police

That type of behavior (picture posting avoidance) cannot be tolerated here

Get some pics posted now!

smiley_whip
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

WDH

The gauntlet has been dropped on the Dodgy Loner :) ;D :D
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Dodgy Loner

Sorry for the delay - been on vacation for the last 6 days, but now it's back to work.  Pictures shall be forthcoming tomorrow, I promise ;).
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

OneWithWood

One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Left Coast Chris

Bob and WDH,

Would you mind showing a pic of your drawer construction?  Im in slow motion on a computer desk project and need to start the drawers.  A pic or two on the drawer joint conections (especially the front piece to the sides) would help me get out of the analysis paralysis mode. ::) ::)
Home built cantilever head, 24 HP honda mill, Case 580D, MF 135 and one Squirel Dog Jack Russel Mix -- Crickett

WDH

Farmer,

I don't have any drawer pics of that chest, but the drawer boxes were joined to the front with half-blind dovetails.  I made a matching night table that I happened to take a pic of the drawer connection.



I have also used a sliding dovetail to join drawer sides to the front.  You cut a dovetail groove in the back of the drawer front on each side leaving about 3/4" of wood from the edge of the groove to the edge of the drawer.  Then mill the pin (male) part of the sliding dovetail joint on the drawer sides, and slide the drawer sides up into the dovetail groove on the back of the drawer front.  Very strong.  If you want a pic of that, I can take one for you.   

The disadvantage of the sliding dovetail is that you have to leave the drawer front full thickness on the overlay of the drawer to the face frame.  With the half blind dovetail, you can cut a rabbit on all the back sides of the drawer front that allows the drawer front to be inset about 1/2 inch.  That makes for a more elegant look in my opinion.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

pigman

Farmer,
My pecan desk is at the customers house about thirty miles away. :(
I do my drawer fronts like WDH does his drawer fronts. I sometimes will make the drawer box with the half-blind dovetails and then screw on a false front.  If you go with the metal slides that fasten on the side of the drawer, don't forget to allow for the width of the slide, usually onehalf inch on each side. The picture below is of the back conner. I just cut a dado in the side and glue in the back. I also brad nail through the side " until the glue dries". The back sits on the bottom material. If the bottom is plywood, I will brad nail the bottom to the back, but if the bottom is made of solid wood, I will fasten the bottom to the back with a screw in a slotted hole to allow for movement.



Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

Dodgy Loner

Alright, you asked for it, so here it is.  These are most of the projects I did this spring.  There's a few that I couldn't include here, primarily because I gave them away before I took any pictures.  All of these projects were done with wood from trees that I cut myself.  WDH did most of the sawing, but a few of the trees were sawed by one of my friends up near Athens.  It sure makes these projects a lot more special to be so closely connected to every aspect of processing.  Hope you enjoy!

This project in still in the works.  I'm remodeling the extra bedroom in my small house with T&G cherry wainscoting and flooring.  All of the cherry came from a tree at my childhood home that my family has since sold.  It's the darkest cherry I've ever seen.  The walls are faux-finished plaster.


This cherry table is a reproduction of a piece at a Shaker village in Pleasantville, KY.  I made it from one of the sorriest-looking cherry trees I've ever seen, and it turned out beautifully.  The log was less than 10" butt diameter, it had several knots and lots of sweep, and it had been dead for over 3 years, so the sapwood was rotting off.  I flitch-sawed it to get the most out of the wood.  I ended up with enought to make two nice end tables.  I'm still working on the second one, which will be a Craftman-style table.

This is the log:


The table before finishing:


The table after a coat of linseed oil and several coats of orange shellac:


And a close-up of the grain in the top:


The next piece is a Shaker-syle cedar chest that came from an equally ugly tree.  I didn't take pictues of the lumber, but I did go back and find the stump to give you an idea what I was working with.  The tree had been dead for at least five years when I found it.  I put my flip-flop in the picture for comparison (it's about a foot long ;) :D)


When I went to get the pictures, I decided to count the rings while I was at it.  I counted 125 rings in this stump, which was less than a foot wide.  Pretty tight-grained stuff!


Now the good part.  Construction was pretty simple, except for the dovetails.  I don't have a dovetail jig, so they're all hand-cut.  I pattern-routed the outline of the plinth.


Here's a close-up of the dovetails:


I've actually been doing quite a bit of hand-cut dovetailing lately.  It's become my favorite part of woodworking.  I still have the first box I ever dove-tailed, which I built out of ash.  I cut them with a $5 Stanley flush-cut saw and a dull $10 Stanley chisel.


After I bought the proper tools, dovetailing got a lot easier.  This is the fourth set of dovetails I cut.  It's just a little box of walnut and sycamore:


Well, now that I'm caught up on my picture-posting, it's time for the rest of you to do the same.  What has everyone else around here been up to this spring? ???
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

Norm

Beautiful craftsmanship DL. :)

Thanks for showing us, well worth the wait.

Patty

My goodness! Those pieces are absolutely beautiful.  :o
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

metalspinner

I love the wainscoting.  I'm in the middle of that as well.

My problem lately is that when I look at a log, I see specific projects, so my list just gets longer and longer.  Even those scraggly logs seem to have projects in them.

Your shop sure is nice and bright.  Look at all those tools hanging neatly on the wall. :)  Is that a Jet lathe I see back there?
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Dodgy Loner

My shop is definitely well-lit, but the tools are only hanging neatly on the walls when I'm preparing for a picture ;D.  Good eye, that is a Jet lathe in the background - a 1442, to be exact.  It's been a great little workhorse for the last year and a half :).
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

pigman

Beautiful projects.  8)  They even have hand cut dovetails smiley_thumbsup . I haven't tried any hand cut dovetails yet. :(  That word  "plinth" did cause me to go to the dictionary. I  put  bases on some chests, but I don't think I ever put a plinth on any to my knowledge. ;)


Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

WDH

Good stuff Dodgy Loner.  I like the pegs on the cherry table and the hand cut dovetails.  The remodeled room with the cherry is just what I like ;D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

OneWithWood

DL, thanks for posting the pics  8)

Beautiful work by the way  :)
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

SwampDonkey

Nice work DL. White ash wood and the tree are about my favorite. I like the cherry too and the dovetailing is really great in your projects. You are so right about using wood of your own, grown locally.

Here is an old bruiser of an ash for ya. I think the tree was 22" DBH. That's a couple inches wide. ;D

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Dodgy Loner

That's some nice tight-grained stuff.  Is it black ash?  Looks a little dark to be white ash, but it might just be the light.  If you like ash, you would love the living room in my aunt's house.  The ceiling is about 20' high and the entire room is done in select T&G ash paneling.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

SwampDonkey

It's a white ash. Black ash up here is a small tree, maybe up to 12 inches, but mostly around 8. Those rings are close to the pith. Taken from a 6" wide board. But I do have some black ash yard trees that must have tight rings. They were planted over 20 years ago and might be 1.5 inches wider since then. They are even open grown. Now, on other hand, I have a couple white ash lawn trees that are growing almost as fast a aspen.



;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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