Wip

[Derek Cohen]

I have posted installments of a challenging WIP - a sideboard-entertainment centre - elsewhere. It occurred to me that I had not done so here, so .. hoping it may create a little discussion of design and handtool work, here are the sessions completed to date.

First post: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Sideboard-EntertainmentCentre.html

Second: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Curvingandgroovingtheframe.html

Third: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Sideboard-Buildingtheframe.html

Just completed: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/SEC-ACompletedDoor.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Archie England]

ooooooooooouuuuuuuu! wow!

Always, impressive. Since my skill levels is so far beneath this, I can't even dub it a "tutorial" for me. Thanks, though.

This is inspirational at what skill plus creativity can accomplish!

with much appreciation,

Arch

[Philip Duffy]

Derek, Wonderfully instructive and congratulations on a beautiful set of doors! Phil

[Eric Brown]

Beautiful so far Derek. I like your choice of hinges as it puts more of the stresses on the bottom instead of the side of frame. Curious as to the handle style and latches you plan to use.

The part of your tutorial though that I like the most is your method of process. You try one tool, and even though it worked, you then try another to try doing it easier or better. In the end it shows that you can do almost anything with what you have, but that having a variety of tools to choose from does have advantages.

I also like how you approach designs you have never done before. You find that once you get into it that that the hard part was getting started.

A fellow I work with asked me to replace a broken neck on a guitar. I had never done anything remotely that shapely before but once I started I found I could actually think past the problems as I ran into them. The key for me was taking my time and not trying to rush.

So Derek, you just keep going and encourage us to challenge ourselves. Just remember you learn from your mistakes - not your successes.

Thank you.

Eric

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I enjoyed that very much, and it looks amazing.

I can see the hinges (pivots) causing much consternation (the doors do not look light). I assume that there will be on the bottom and another on the top. This causes all of these ideas to run through my head (about bracing and such), but they are likely not needed if the door and support frame are sufficiently strong, and the hinge is appropriately rated.

Thanks for the post. I have learned much by browsing your site in the past.

[Sean Hughto]

Ambitious. And impressive.

Whenever I do something for the first time, I almost inevitably have thoughts of how I might have done it differently or what I might try if I were to do it again. So I'm curious, do you have any such thoughts about these two doors? Are you pleased with the frame proportions relative to the panel? Are you pleased with the wood choices? Are you pleased with the panel being flat as opposed to having beleveled edges? Etc.

I'm starting to think about veneering. Those panels look like good candidates - make a poplar substrate and then veneer something with a striking figure over the front and back.

Anyway, looks really good, and obviously got me to thinking about how I'd play with something like that. Thanks for posting, and G-day!

[Jim Koepke]

Impressive and inspirational as usual.

jim

[Derek Cohen]

Ambitious. And impressive.

Whenever I do something for the first time, I almost inevitably have thoughts of how I might have done it differently or what I might try if I were to do it again. So I'm curious, do you have any such thoughts about these two doors? Are you pleased with the frame proportions relative to the panel? Are you pleased with the wood choices? Are you pleased with the panel being flat as opposed to having beleveled edges? Etc.

I'm starting to think about veneering. Those panels look like good candidates - make a poplar substrate and then veneer something with a striking figure over the front and back.

Anyway, looks really good, and obviously got me to thinking about how I'd play with something like that. Thanks for posting, and G-day!

Hi Sean

Good questions.

Firstly, I like the proportions and I like the contrasting woods. If you look at the intended plan again you will see that everything is in a unit of 300mm/12" and 600mm/24". I feel that this aids in the pieces and features being complementary.

One of the decisions early on was the choice of construction. I could have laminated a frame, grooved the inside, then simply slid in a thin veneered ply panel. This would have bend to the required shape. But it wouldn't have looked "right".

I wanted a clean look, where the wood did not detract from the shape. So the absence of a strong figure in the doors is not something that I miss. There is a lot of figure, but it is subtle.

Another option I considered was to use mitred joins for the frame. This was suggested to me as a way to avoid end grain showing, which may have detracted from the clean lines. I liked the idea but realised that mitres would introduce another angle into the mix.

Building curves is hard work (for me). I still have a bank of curved and dovetailed drawers to build (in the centre section), as well as the curved face frames to support the doors. Oh such fun! The challenge keeps me on my toes.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Sean Hughto]

I hope you didn't take any of my questions as implicit criticisms. I find that in the shop, expecially when it comes to matters of design, I can't help but think about future versions of what I'm making even as I'm making the present one! So really, just sincerely curious, not about "mistakes" but much more "new ideas."

Again, really good.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Sean

Not for one minute did I consider anything you wrote as a criticism. I took it as enquiry, and great questions. They gave me a chance to comment, and I would have written more ... but it was late at night. Perhaps others will come in with observations and thoughts, not necessarily about this piece, but about what they are inspired to design.

Regards from Perth

Derek