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Eric Brown
12-31-2009, 5:20 PM
Taboret, (in this case an artists utility cart) made for one of my sisters. She specified the requirements.
The basic requirements were: Solid walnut (no plywood!). Traditional hand cut joinery. Slot above drawers for watercolor palette. Folding side wing. Self-Closing full extension drawer slides. Places to hold: drawing boards, drawing paper, spray cans, paper towels, wet waste, watercolors, etc. MinWax satin polyurethane finish.
I ended up making the top and side wing together and incorporated a wooden hinge (brass pivot).
The top and main divider are attached with sliding dovetails while the ends are attached to the bottom with half-blind dovetails. The back was rabbeted into the top, ends and bottom. It consists of a frame, three main panels and two dividers. The back is tongue & Groove construction with rubber panel barrels (Lee Valley).
The top shelf slides out as an additional work area, but can also be reversed so it looks like another drawer. The drawers were all made with sliding dovetails, rabbets, and solid bottoms. The drawer pulls and slides were from Lee Valley. All the drawers are 22”W X 16”D. The two top drawers are 2” H, the 3rd and 4th are 4” H. (All inside dimensions). The top drawer has four rows of 21 divided areas. The dividers are 7/8”W grooves 3 ¾”L on 1” centers. The bottom drawer 8 ½”H has a center divider. The left side is for the spray cans while the right side has three shelves for drawing paper (11”W x 16”D x 2”H). Some of the bottom drawer shelves are accessed on the right side of the drawer. Removal of the very bottom paper shelf reveals a hidden compartment.
On the right side is a door which when opened reveals the towel and waste can holders. Inside is the drawing board storage 7”W x 13”D x 19” tall with two removable vertical dividers and a small cubbyhole 7”W x 13”D x 6”H. The door latch was homemade and latches in both the closed and open positions (with side wing up).
Basic size is 36”W x 32”T x 20”D. Side wing is about 12” long. The top and side wing are about 1” thick. Ends, divider, drawer fronts and back are about 3/4”. Drawer sides are 1/2” and drawer bottoms are 1/4”. End handle is held on with ¼” all-thread with acorn and barrel nuts. Castors are maple from Rockler. 7” Magnifying lamp is by NaturalLight and has a daylight bulb. Weights about 75lbs. Comments or questions welcomed.
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Margaret Turco
01-01-2010, 12:39 PM
Eric, this piece is beautiful, ingenious, and I'm sure very much appreciated. I like the size of the drawers and the shelves in the bottom drawer. I love walnut!

Dave Westover
01-01-2010, 1:14 PM
Very nice. I like the design alot, and you pulled it off exceptionally well.

John Thompson
01-01-2010, 1:20 PM
Awesome in both looks and function right down to the drawer inserts...

Well done!

Chris S Anderson
01-01-2010, 1:26 PM
Wow. This is one of my inspiration pieces. When it comes to making things for utility, I tend to stray from making them equally useful and eye pleasing at the same time (as I am a avid follower of Handyman and various woodworking magazines that make work furniture designs with quickness and utility in mind). This project cleary shows that beauty can be incorporated into workshop design. Thanks.

chris anderson

Eric Brown
01-02-2010, 11:49 AM
The back and wing support. Thanks for the comments. Eric

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John Grossi
01-03-2010, 5:59 AM
Eric, that is a beautiful and functional artist utility cart. It seems the cart is as important to an artist as the workbench is to a woodworker. My wife is an artist and loves her cart, your sister will also. John

John Keeton
01-03-2010, 7:24 AM
Eric, there is a lot going on with this piece! you did a great job with the design, and bringing it all together in a very functional piece. Great work, and beautiful wood. I just hope it doesn't end up with paint all over it!!:eek:

Gene Howe
01-03-2010, 10:16 AM
A piece of art for an artist!
Really nice. Beautiful execution of her design requirements.
She knew beauty would be the result when she selected walnut....... and her brother's talent.

Gene Howe
01-03-2010, 10:45 AM
A piece of art for an artist!
Really nice. Beautiful execution of her design requirements.
She knew beauty when she selected walnut and her brother's talent.


Edit...sorry for the duplicate post. But it deserves saying twice.

Eric Brown
01-03-2010, 10:50 AM
Thanks all for the comments. So far my sister has only seen the pictures. She lives in Wisconsin and won't make the drive until the weather gets better and she gets a break from teaching school. (Maybe Easter?) She said she was "stunned" and was drooling over the top drawer dividers. Wait till she see's it in person.

Just to be clear, I'm really still learning about woodworking, but I'm not afraid of trying things and sometimes I just don't have time to be in the shop. Most of the taboret was build during my Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations. People like JR (Harry Strasil) and Derek Cohen have inspired me to think beyond the normal limitations and to sometimes just dive in.

Thanks. Eric