New guy with some past projects

[Lee Horst]

New to this board but have been making furniture for awhile. Here are some Of the peices I have at home. A number of the commissioned peices I've done I don't have digital pics of, may have to work on that sometime.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0979-1.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0980.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0981.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0982.jpg
Living room set. All Q/S red oak.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0985.jpg
Walnut cabinet. Went for a minimalist entertainment center.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0986.jpg
Oldest daughters bed. Can't tell it but the spindles are all sequenced from the same board.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0987.jpg
This thing turned out way too heavy.Side panels and drawer fronts are all 4/4, top 5/4. It's a beast!
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0988.jpg
Jewerly box. I lost the ear peircing argument.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0989.jpg
Another beast. I wish I had this one in my office.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0990.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0991.jpg
Early scrapwood project, but she's played with it for 6 years now. The middle daughter wants one too.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0992.jpg
One of the few things I've done in pine. The kids have beat on this one. It has added character.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0993_2.jpg
Little man's train table. In constant use for Thomas the Train.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0994_2.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0995_2.jpg
[IMG]
Every kid gets a stool. They been used to brush teeth, get on the "potty", get into bed, launch pads, get things they shouldn't, desks. They are handy.

[Lee Horst]

And here are some more.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0996.jpg[/IMG]
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0997.jpg
I've made a ton of these. Quick and extrmemly handy.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_0999_2.jpg
The contractor argued with me over not reccessing this light over the kitchen island. Told me I'de never be happy with the way it looked with the stuff you could get to put around it. When he came back to finish some stuff and seen this he want to know where I got it from. Used molding from the kitchen upper cabinets to make it match.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_1000_2.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Furniture/IMG_1001_2.jpg
Wenge top and Q/S red oak. the field for the doors and the drawer fronts were from a single board with great fiddleback pattern I stumble across and saved just for this. Wanted to build a uppe portion, but wife doesn't want it, she like this way. I used full extension slides for convenience. It's funny on a pices that looks older to have such a modern slide.

[Brian Kent]

Welcome Lee.

That's some fine work you do. Excellent balance and use of grain.

Best of all you already know that we love pictures here.:D

Brian Kent

[Mark Stutz]

I really like your use of Red Oak. I have never been much of a fan because of the sometimes too prominent grain of plain sawn stock...makes it too busy sometimes for my tastes, and makes grain matching a challenge. Your use of QS stock is great! Do you have a custom sawyer? I have seen much QSRO.

[Chris S Anderson]

I love those desks....so perfect for my daughter's room. More info, please. And some larger pics of them if you can. :rolleyes:

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful work Lee.
Welcome to SMC!

[gary Zimmel]

Welcome to the Creek Lee...
Nice way to make an intro, with all the pics.
That oak desk is a beauty....
From a plan or is it your own design?

[John Keeton]

Welcome Lee!! Those are some really nice pieces - especially the desk, and the LR TV stand. Very nice color and grain match.

[Lee Horst]

The desk is out of Woodsmith. I get more close up picks after nap time. http://www.woodsmith.com/plans/craftsman-library-table/

I can never copy someone's plan exactly, have to tweak it a little to make it mine.I changed a few things.

I'd bet I end up spending maybe 15-20% or more of my time on project matching grain. Guys like you will notice, everyone else just thinks "oh that looks nice" but don't know why unless it's pointed out to them. If its not matched, they may or may not notice but they know something isn't right. Painted projects almost seem like cheating, I mean you can get away with murder! My wife used to think I was crazy when she came in the shop and I was just looking at stock from different angle, or marking to keep it oriented right. Now when she sees peices she likes she say can you make that, I don't like how they.......

Thanks for the comments. I wish I'd found this site years ago. I've read through a lot of posts. Lots of things I've read and thought yeah I ruined/remade/struggled with "that" learning the hard way - if'd I read some of it here would have sped up the learning curve.

[Sam Layton]

Lee, welcome to the creek. I really enjoyed looking at your photo's. You do great work.

Sam

[Lee Horst]

Here's some more picture of the library table. Someone had wanted to see more of it.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1023.jpg
The fronts of the legs are matched. The legs are made with a locking miter joint on the router table so that all sides have Q/S face.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1021.jpg
The under side of the lower front rail has a hole drilled to allow for attaching the desk top to the top front rail.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1020.jpg
This is back underside where the top is attached. I used pan head pocket screws. The slots, are long, real long. A little paranoid maybe? The front is locked in place, so all movement will be towards the back.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1018.jpg
cross bracce is from 8/4 stock. I veneered the edges with veneer made from the same stock so you wouldn't see any plainsawn edges and it would match.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1017.jpg
Here's one dissapointment. tried very hard but couldn't get even stain uptake on the endgrain of the top. In person doesn't look as uneven as the pictures show it. These pictures are unforgiving!
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1015.jpg
the front upper and lower rails are also veneered on the edges. I was going to use plainsawn then the edge would show quarter sawn, but was afriad the color wouldn't match. so I used Q/S stock with very little ray and flake and the made slipmatched veneers on the edges.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1014.jpg
Cove cut on the inside edge of the drawer. The drawers are made from colonial maple (a soft maple).
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1013.jpg
The corbels I changed and made from the template I had saved fron making the bed. Helpls draw the pieces together as a set. Under the faux tennon are two 2 1/2 screws. Thought about skipping the stretcher, but in the end I liked the way it looked too much. I think if it had been for me rather than my daughter I would have gone without it.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Library%20table/IMG_1012.jpg
Drawers are dovetailed and run on hard maple runners. Initially wanted to use a smaller spacing, but this looked and space the best I thought after mocking a couple samples up. Hardware I bought from Woodcraft.

[John Thompson]

Excellent job on all Lee and to many to comment on each one but... I especially like the library table as it is basically a modified Stickley design. You have done an excellent job with the QSRO in all the pieces with execution of design.

Regards...

[Adam Slutsky]

I really enjoyed looking at your work - thanks for the photos.

Adam

[Jeff Hallam]

Welcome to the Creek, and very timely post as I was just looking into building a train table for my daughter. Is there any storage provided for it? If you were building it again, would storage drawers be something you would include, or are they unnecessary?

Great work on your other Oak projects too, you seem to have the finish just right to keep the fleck showing.

Jeff

[tyler mckee]

Welcome to the Creek, and very timely post as I was just looking into building a train table for my daughter. Is there any storage provided for it? If you were building it again, would storage drawers be something you would include, or are they unnecessary?

Great work on your other Oak projects too, you seem to have the finish just right to keep the fleck showing.

Jeff
I'm interested too, my 2 year old really loaded up on train stuff this christmas and now i need to get it all of the floor.

[Chris S Anderson]

That is really really nice. I love the drawers. Nice contrasting wood. I wouldnt worry about the endgrain on the top. I think it looks nice, and I know how unforgiving pictures can be. I am going to use some of your techniques for my daughters next desk. Thanks.

[Lee Horst]

The dimensions on the train table came from a catalog my wife showed me, and then I adapted ( I think it was from Mellisa and Doug.) http://www.melissaanddoug.com/dyn_prod.php?p=2371&k=87147&name=Multi-Activity%20Table

Designed it sitting at the kitchen table with her. I made the entire thing from a single sheet of RO plywood, and had a little scrap left. Unfortunately don't have the cutting diagram I penciled out anymore.

Top
Overall finished with the apron\edging it measures 51 1/8" x 33 1/8. The top itself is 50 1/4" x 32 1/4". I put two cross braces dadoed underneath to reinforce. To be honest not sure they are needed, may have added more if they were lengthwise.

Apron\edging (not sure what you'd call it)
3 1/2 inches mitered at the corners and reinforced with biscuits. Dado 5/16" deep, 3/4" from the top to leave a lip above the field. This left great plenty of perch for the legs.

Legs
4" at the top tapered to 2 inches at the bottom. Height in the legs by themselves is 15 5/8". (Final assembled height is 17 1/8.) Mitered and reinforced with biscuits. Attached with 3/8" stainless steel carraige bolts, wing nut with flat and lock washer. Two bolts on the long side and one on the short side, centered on the lower apron and evenly spaced.

Everything is rounded over with 1/4" bit except the mitered joints, took the edge of with sandpaper there.

You can see in some of the picture my wife found large flat plastic storage bins for the train stuff. They are marketed for under the bed storage. They work well. I wanted to be able to easily move and store this thing; and let it grow with him if needed by replacing the legs with taller ones. If not, easy storage for the next generation. I considered making underside storage but decided against for those reasons. It is also been much easier to move out of the way when needed. I like the idea of the storage, but didn't work for our needs. It's plenty sturdy, all three kids at once have been up on it. I've stood on it myself, it feels solid.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Train%20Table/IMG_1024-1.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Train%20Table/IMG_1025-1.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Train%20Table/IMG_1026-1.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Train%20Table/IMG_1027-1.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/clhdo/Train%20Table/IMG_1030-1.jpg

[Jeff Hallam]

Thanks for the detailed follow up Lee. I'll be referring to your pics as I build one for my daughter. In an effort to make some room and use up scrap I plan on making mine out of 3/4" Ash. It'll be a little on the heavy side, but I am going to leave the top removable for easier moving.