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One desk, two versions

June 3, 2010 By

I am offering my client some options in this computer rendition:

Two desk options.

Members at the WoodNet Forums and also at  Tommy MacDonald’s 207 forum gave me some terrific feedback on options available to prevent sag of the version with the unsupported top. The “shell version” on the left allows removal of the two drawer cabinets — the cabinets will be on casters, for flexibility in office use.

I seek further opinions on HOW best to prevent sag of the desk top in the “shell version”. I will be mocking up the shell design in a half-size cardboard model; I might even try sitting on it, or putting some selected weights on the top, to determine the weakest point. My guess: the weak point is that closest to the center front edge. Any other guesses?

Please use the Comments section below to leave me a suggestion, or send me an e-mail to sandal_woods@bbwi.net. Thanks!

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Design, furniture Tagged With: ,

Drawer stops for the stand-up desk

April 6, 2010 By

If you follow the blog, you already know I dislike stuck drawers, and sloppy fitting drawers. In the sloppy category I place a drawer that goes into the opening crooked, such that you must fiddle with it to align it to the opening. The solution to avoid this is to install drawer stops, and to carefully trim them to ensure perfect alignment of the drawer front with the apron.I use a variation of the technique used by Mario Rodriguez, which he discussed during his presentation at Woodworking in America at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; I shot and edited a video that you can watch at this link.

To ensure proper alignment, I insert a drawer stop into a mortise I mark and then chop with chisels. I also use liquid hide glue, to make it easy to replace the stops if needed:

The right drawer stop.

The following photo shows the taper I put on the bottom of the front edge; this allows me to tweak the position of the stop during the glue-up (once the glue has cured, I simply trim the edge to ensure perfect alignment of the drawer front):

The left stop.

In the next photo I show the two drawer stops installed, and ready for trimming — I set each stop 2-5/8″ from the drawer openings. In this photo I have removed the drawer bottom, to make it possible to peek at the front edge:

Both stops installed, ready for trimming.

Once the glue has set on all stops, I will do the fine-tuning with the small #75 bull nose rabbet plane.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Design, Education, furniture, Mortise Tagged With: , , , , ,

Woodworking in America at Valley Forge: 17th century carving for furniture makers, with Peter Follansbee

February 22, 2010 By

Download this episode in Quicktime format
(In Windows, Right-click | Save Link As…)
Duration: 26:14 minutes

From the session announcement:

Early American furniture was decorated with bold and lively carvings that are straightforward for the modern woodworker to reproduce. Find out how to prepare the material for this low-relief method and watch the tools being used to produce a simple for a chest. Close-up camera work will show all the details.

— Woodworking in America announcement
October, 2009

I first met Peter Follansbee at Valley Forge just minutes before he started his session. He was attentive and totally focused, although many people were already finding seats in the room; the room would be quite crowded before long. But he was relaxed, ready to get to the job at hand: Showing us how he carves panels in the style of 17th century craftsmen, and to share wonderful information on carvings and details of furniture of the period.

Peter was introduced by Steve Shanesy, Publisher, F&W Media, Inc., who called him a historian, teacher, one of the “wonderful people” who found a craft and has pursued it for well over twenty years. Peter works at Plimoth Plantation’s Living History Museum; he also makes and sells wonderful period pieces. I encourage you to visit his blog, where he documents much of the work he does.

Peter proceeded to give a wonderful slide show of very old furniture pieces and carvings, placing them in historical perspective, and in preparation for the techniques he would later demonstrate. Then he proceeded to demonstrate the carving techniques that result in wonderful panels, to be used in chests, stools, tables, cabinets, etc.

About the video: I hope I have given you a good sense of the terrific work Peter does in carving panels, and the joinery techniques he demonstrated for use in various period pieces. To see a wonderful carved pattern emerging from a flat piece of gorgeous, “true quarter-sawn” (riven) oak, is a wonderful thing. But to experience it in person is something else again.

Now I want to whet your appetite – this is a sample of Peter’s work, which I posted some time ago:

Details on carved box, by Peter Follansbee, Joiner.

Note: I will also be posting video of Peter’s hands-on session, which he conducted the day after I filmed this “formal” session.

Looking forward to October 2010, in Cincinnati: I also hope you will get a sense that the Woodworking in America conferences are a unique experience, where we have an opportunity to see fine craftsmen like Peter demonstrate their skill and knowledge. I hope to see you in Cincinnati!

I would love to hear from you about the following:

  1. Please let me know if you liked this video, and the techniques Peter shared with us during this session.
  2. Do YOU do any carving on furniture pieces you make? If you do, I would love to highlight it here!

— Al Navas

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Filed Under: Blog, Cabinetmaking, Conference, Education, Valley Forge, Video, Woodworking in America Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

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