Simple Bookcase

[Steve Peacock]

Hi all,

I'm a beginner woodworker (both flat stuff and turning) from Durban in South Africa. I've been hanging around here for a while now, but haven't gotten around to posting much.

For the last couple of months, I've been working on a bookcase for my daughter's bedroom. It's quite simple and just held together with biscuits. I've tried to add some pics ... I hope it works (but I doubt it will).

The piece is made from East African camphorwood, with some 3 mm hardboard for the back. The wood has a strong camphor smell and quite beautiful grain - there's even some "shimmer" in parts. I tried to achieve a "Greene and Greene" look. Originally, I wanted to have the shelves attached to the sides with wedged through-mortices (two per shelf on each end), but I couldn't pull it off well enough and ended up simplifying the design.

It's finished with four coats of boiled linseed oil, then two coats of polyurethane diluted with linseed oil, then a coat of paste wax.

Cheers
Steve

 

[drillbit]

That's a nice looking piece of furniture. I'd definitely be happy to have that in my living room. What are the little details on the top back panel?

 

[Steve Peacock]

Thanks. They're square pegs of African Blackwood. In Greene & Greene furniture, they'd be actual pegs inserted into the wood (usually to peg tenons) - but I couldn't achieve that easily using the tools I had available, so they're just applied to the surface. They were shaped by rotating them against a sanding disc at an angle (using a jig) - so that they are slightly pointed on top.

 

[mailee]

That does look very nice. I really like the grain in that wood, it is beautiful.

 

[BTR]

I have to say that looks lovel and the wood is eye catching

 

[Titus A Duxass]

Nice, simple but oh so sweet.
Love that wood.

 

[woodbloke]

Quite a well balanced piece, nice timber and well finished with some good G&B detailing...but what exactly, did you do to the back? Purple doesn't seem to fit in very well, unless it's a trick of the light :? - Rob

 

[Lons]

Hi Steve - that's nice, bet your daughter loves it.

I love the wood. We were in your part of the world few a few weeks 3 years ago and I tried very hard to squeeze a large chunk into my luggage but just couldn't manage so gave it away locally.

We stayed down the coast at St Michaels Mount and went to St Lucia wetlands for a few days as well - had a great time, I'm envious.
Our friends are there at the minute and take great pleasure emailing me with weather updates :evil: (hammer)

Look forward to seeing more of your work

cheers

Bob

 

[jimi43]

Hi Steve

That is a beautiful piece which does great justice to that exotic wood.

I am a bit of a wood fanatic..timber that is...and it never ceases to amaze me when I see the huge variety created by Mother Nature...across the world. Almost every week I find a new wood that takes my eye...and this week it is flame camphor wood!

I particularly love the flame in the far piece top part...

I don't think I have come across camphorwood in the "flesh". Is it hard? Does it work well?

A great welcome to the thread! Stay around and show us more...I love the pictures!

Jim

 

[Steve Peacock]

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Bob: We are a bit spoiled with the weather - if you like it warm (it's 33 degrees centigrade today). Thank goodness for airconditioners.

Jim: The "proper name" for the wood species is Ocotea usambarensis. You can type that into Wikipedia if you're feeling brave . Because it's native to east Africa, we can get it relatively cheaply - which is why I bought some in the first place (I didn't realise it was so attractive until I started working with it). It's not too hard and it works quite easily and gives no real trouble (no tearout, etc). I bought mine from a local dealer (http://www.countrywoods.co.za) - there are pictures on their website - it's listed simply as camphor wood. The smell is really quite overpowering when you plane it with a machine.

Rob: The purple back is a trick of the light. The backing is a piece of 3 mm hardboard. The brand name here is "Masonite". It's made of pressed & glued wood fibres that are steam treated (I think) for toughness. It's a "standard" product for backs in cheap commercial furniture and makes life much easier. I just put two coats of linseed oil on it - and it's a dark brown in real life.

Of course, now the wife wants a headboard and a bedside table and ...

 

[Steve Peacock]

Hi all,

Actually, now that I've been thinking about it, I'm confused.

I was sure I bought East African camphorwood (Ocotea usambarensis). But I see from the Country Woods website (where I bought the wood), they now seem to list the true camphorwood (Cinnamomum camphora). From the various online pictures, they look so similar that I can't actually tell which one I used to build the bookcase with.

Ooops. Now I'm lost.

 

[woodbloke]

Rob: The purple back is a trick of the light. The backing is a piece of 3 mm hardboard. The brand name here is "Masonite". It's made of pressed & glued wood fibres that are steam treated (I think) for toughness. It's a "standard" product for backs in cheap commercial furniture and makes life much easier. I just put two coats of linseed oil on it - and it's a dark brown in real life.

...

...or oil -tempered hardboard as we know it in the UK, a little used product for many projects but it's something I use a lot. Tough as old boots and cheap as chips (or French fries in SA?) - Rob