Finally Finished!!! (Mesquite Dresser)

[Tom Winship]

After almost a year, before and after total hip replacement, I finally have finished the mesquite dresser. Drawer fronts are same board individually. Black streaks are what you have to put up with on a lot of mesquite, just cracks and voids that you have to fill with epoxy. Some people use turquoise in the epoxy, however, that doesn't look Shaker to me.

Finish is 3 coats of tung oil applied liberally, wiped off after 5-10 minutes and rubbed with 4/0 SW after 24 hours.

Drawers are all handcut half blind fronts and through D/T's in the back of drawer. Cutting half blind in epoxy is a new experience.

Please feel free to comment and hope you enjoy looking.

[Norman Pyles]

Like it!!!:cool::cool::cool::cool:

[Karl Card]

Needless to say I would have it in my house any time...

Very nice.

[Jim Rimmer]

Very nice. Other than the epoxy, how is mesquite to work with?

[Tom Winship]

Jim, I really like working with mesquite. Normally, the voids are not as bad as I made it sound. In finding a board wide enough and long enough for the drawer fronts, I had to give up finding perfect ones.
It mills well. The sawdust is very fine and covers you pretty well when you work with it. It is closed grain and has a reputation for being hard. I've heard that it dulls tools quickly, but haven't found that to be true. It has a lot of checks in it which made turning the drawer pulls treacherous.
As I said in the title, it is very expensive, between $8.50 and $10.00 per foot.

[Bruce Page]

I like too!
I love the unique character of mesquite.

[Cody Colston]

I love that dresser. You did a great job on it and the Mesquite is just special.

I love the smell of Mesquite when working it and, like you, I haven't found that it dulls tools any worse than normal. Sure wish it wasn't so expensive, though, especially long stock.

[gary Zimmel]

Good things take a long time Tom...
Great work on the dresser.. And bonus points for the handcut dovetails.

[David Christopher]

WOW, very nice

[Tom Winship]

Good things take a long time Tom...
Great work on the dresser.. And bonus points for the handcut dovetails.

Thanks, Gary! Forgot to mention that you mentored me from several thousand miles away on the dovetails. Thanks again!

[John Thompson]

I really like the look of this in mesquite. The end result was worth the drama of the epoxy apparently.. ;)

[Dave Gaul]

Very nice... I like what you called "the black streaks"... lots of character IYAM!

[Julian Nicks]

I really like this one! The dovetailed carcass really sets it off.

[Dave MacArthur]

Love it. Clean and simple, with a few stylish touches on the dovetails. enjoyable to look at. Mmmmmesquite! I just smoked a steak tonight with some while grilling...

[Van Huskey]

Very nice, the figure is wonderful.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

As a Texan I love the idea of using Mesquite. Thats beautiful. It truly is. I have a question and please excuse it as I am new and have not even built anything but two little benches that I am ashamed to even put on here.

The question. How come only the faces of drawers are finished? I see that is the case with most things that have drawers. Seems like we would want them finished so that we the drawer is opened it does not show raw wood.

Please do not take that as critique, it aint, I am just curious.

[Jeff Monson]

Very nice Tom, I like the wood choice, dont see too many projects made from mesquite, kind of has a cherry look to it. Very nice job!!

[Tom Winship]

As a Texan I love the idea of using Mesquite. The question. How come only the faces of drawers are finished? I see that is the case with most things that have drawers. Seems like we would want them finished so that we the drawer is opened it does not show raw wood.

Please do not take that as critique, it aint, I am just curious.

Joseph, I do not know why that is. I just gave the mesquite furnitures predecessor that my parents had bought about 50 years ago (solid maple) and it didn't have the drawers finished either. If I had used a secondary wood that was closer in color, it is not quite so noticeable. I have even seen antiques that are finished similarly. Sorry I don't have a better answer.

(BTW, I spent roughly 50 years of my life in Spring, so we were close to neighbors at one time, I guess. Still have two sons in Kingwood)

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Joseph, I do not know why that is. I just gave the mesquite furnitures predecessor that my parents had bought about 50 years ago (solid maple) and it didn't have the drawers finished either. If I had used a secondary wood that was closer in color, it is not quite so noticeable. I have even seen antiques that are finished similarly. Sorry I don't have a better answer.

(BTW, I spent roughly 50 years of my life in Spring, so we were close to neighbors at one time, I guess. Still have two sons in Kingwood)

I have an antique piece too and its the same. Yeah, Kingwood is just a skip away. They have really built up 59 going into and out of Humble really nice and they are carrying it futher north. Even the famous speedtrap woods in center of the highway in Splendora are gone now.

Nice to meet you.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I finish my furniture on the interior just so the wood can't absorb moisture as easily.

I know that some finishes off-gas for a long period of time and thus shellac is one finish that is recommended for interior/drawer finishing as it cures rapidly.

I really like the project and especially like the mesquite. The wood seems to have so much character. I haven't seen a piece yet that I didn't just really like it!