Maple and walnut desk drawer

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mickthetree

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Hey all

I started documenting this in another thread here, but thought I should make a seperate thread for the remainder.

I have the drawers completed and fitted, I have scraped the carcass all around, filled in the two grooves on the sides with more walnut and I'm ready to make some handles.

I turned up a rough knob in walnut. Chucked a small piece in the drill press and went at it with some files. I quite liked it (can be seen in this pic just infront of the bottom drawer, but I dont think it really went with it.

6214926385_1bc5d78e97.jpg


So I came up with this (rough mock up again) which seems much more fitting.

6214928191_5cceb3f97a.jpg


front and side edges rounded over and underneath hollowed out a bit.

I'm just not sure how to go about attaching it when I've made the real ones. A small tenon on the back glued in? Dont really want to screw from the inside of the drawer if I can help it.
 
Perhaps a dowel joint would be ideal for that little handle.

A really nice unit and the inlay is a great way to make a feature of the mistaken routing, I did a similar thing once on some panels I cut to short!

I see you've got a few of those nasty plane chatter marks on your edges I'm sure they'll sand out just don't forget, I've got more than one reminder around with that same signature on it!
 
Cheers guys

I was probably trying to over complicate things again by using a tenon on the handle morticed in. I could drill the dowel holes before I shape the wood so it sits flat on the drill press table. Great suggestion, thanks.

This is certainly something I have learnt a great deal with. The chatter marks are particularly annoying, but the drawers fit so well I dont have the room to remove them. They look a lot worse in the pics as they have some sanding dust in them. Hopefully wont be too bad when finished.

I cut the wrong side of my line when making the top drawer so had to add a piece of walnut to the top of that.

I have really enjoyed using a cabinet scraper on this. Something I've never quite got the hang of before. I still need some practice in getting that burr, but I'm getting much closer.

Actually that is another question. What finish? I was going to use finishing oil as I have some some other pieces, but I saw a beautiful box at the European woodworking show that was finished with Shallac and carnauba. I can get both from work but haven't used them before.
 
couldnt you make a mortice the size of the handle in the drawer fronts and glue them in, it would give greater glue surface than a small dowel.
 
Hi Den

If I were to make a mortice then I think it would be sensible to make it smaller than the whole handle size and use a tenon with a shoulder. That way it would hide any minor discrepancies in my chisel work ;-)

I'm liking the dowel idea. Will have a god this weekend when I get some more shed time.
 
mickthetree":2g6bt4b7 said:
The chatter marks are particularly annoying, but the drawers fit so well I dont have the room to remove them. They look a lot worse in the pics as they have some sanding dust in them. Hopefully wont be too bad when finished.

Trust me, they'll look just as bad/noticeable with finish as they do with sanding dust in them.

Don't know about any fancy finishes, but I do love Danish Oiled Walnut.
 
Grrrrr, I was hoping they wouldn't show too much. Trouble is they drawers are a perfect fit. If I sand them out I'll loose that.

I have been going through the finishes at work and as I understand it, sanding sealer is a shallac based product, so I could build up a few coats of this then use black bison wax (which is a caranuba wax product) on top. Very similar to what I have done before. Just understanding the different terminologies I suppose.

I think there is a shallac sanding sealer which is different to the spirit based sanding sealer I already have. Going to do some more research at lunchtime to get my head around it all.
 
Why are you having to use a scraper, apart from possibly on the walnut front? Whilst I hesitate to mention it, is there a problem with the plane ie sharpening? Most of it should be no problem. I think it would be better to lose a little of the fit to get rid of the marks which won't disappear with finish.
 
Thanks for the input Modernist. The Walnut front is pretty swirly and I had some tear out issues which the scraper soon sorted. The top and bottom are the only bits without walnut in them, so I decided to get some practice in and scrape the whole thing. Quite enjoyed it!

The chatter marks are from planing the drawer to fit. I didn't have the jaws of my vice tight enough and it grabbed.

As I'm keeping this for myself (probably for the workshop) I will probably live with the marks as a reminder to do better next time.

Cheers
 
mickthetree":4deph8va said:
Thanks for the input Modernist. The Walnut front is pretty swirly and I had some tear out issues which the scraper soon sorted. The top and bottom are the only bits without walnut in them, so I decided to get some practice in and scrape the whole thing. Quite enjoyed it!

The chatter marks are from planing the drawer to fit. I didn't have the jaws of my vice tight enough and it grabbed.

As I'm keeping this for myself (probably for the workshop) I will probably live with the marks as a reminder to do better next time.

Cheers


It's not long until Christmas, put in for a BU smoother :D
 
Ok, now I'm more confused than ever.

Is sanding sealer the same thing as premixed shallac? Does it equate to a 1lb cut?

If not, is there another name for premixed shallac that you can buy?
 
I think your right, its only for the workshop and will be a good reminder, take solace in the fact that even an LN will chatter from time to time!
 
I make my Shellac from Blond Shellac Flakes ( bought from Axminster) dissolved with Meths.
A thin mix makes a good sander sealer.

Rod
 
Bit further along now, I have applied two coats of Liberon sanding sealer. I sanded the first after 45 minutes, the second I let dry overnight and have tried to sand it down now.

It feels a bit odd. Not tacky or sticky, but not quite dry. Maybe claggy is the word I'm looking for.

Anyway, what I wanted was to build up a few coats, rubbing them down between each coat, then put on a wax finish.

I can see tiny scratches in the sanding sealer finish where it goes over the endgrain of the pins and tails. Should I use 400 grit instead? OR webrax? I have grey green and brown I think.

Should I stop at 2 coats of sanding sealer and add the wax now?

Any ideas welcome.
 
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