Work in Progress

[Brad Maudlin]

184541

Big drawers are a pain to fit. These are my first handcut dovetails, through in the back and half-blind in the front. Spent about 10 hours in the shop today. It is now ready for finish. I plan to give boiled linseed oil and Waterlox a try. Hopefully it will make the grain in the cherry pop.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png

[Mark Baldwin III]

That's purdy! Can't wait to see it with the finish.

[Prashun Patel]

Nice looking piece. Can't wait to see it finished. Do you have any garnet shellac? You might try some of that between the BLO and Waterlox. It'll give the color a jumpstart.

Also, which Waterlox are you using? The Original Sealer/Finish or the Gloss or Satin products? Know that the Sealer/Finish is already at Wiping consistency and has a darker cast than the gloss product. I'm partial to the OS/Finish for both those reasons even though that makes it more expensive than the full strength versions...

Anyway, nice dovetails. I'm jealous of yr hand.

[Brad Maudlin]

I had not given a shellac intermediate coat any thought. I used shellac on my pine tongue & grove ceiling for my new shop. That stuff dries so fast that it did not have time enough to level out the brush marks. Is there any way to thin shellac to obtain additional dry time? I plan on using the original formula Waterlox. Are there any compatibility problems between BLO and shellac or shellac and Waterlox?

[Prashun Patel]

There are no compatibility issues between waterlox, BLO, and shellac. I don't mean to complicate yr schedule; you're doing fine without my hobbyist advice. I only suggest the shellac because it can add some color to the cherry - which'll happen naturally over time anyway. You can thin the shellac with ethanol. In fact, isopropyl alcohol works too, and extends application time.

[Terry Beadle]

Another thing you can use to adjust the color of the finish is to use asphaltum ( mixed with mineral spirits to thin it ) after you've sealed the surface with BLO or whatever inital coat you use. This is particularly easy to control and to adjust color differences of grain. Once the asphaltum dries, apply what ever compatible top coats you want ( oil based ).

[george wilson]

I don't advise that you experiment with finishes you aren't familiar with at this stage. A wrong move,and you've got a huge mess to get off your piece.

[Sean Hughto]

Really nice piece. I've found that wood runners can help with big drawers.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3588/3574320125_64e644e103_z.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2427/3575129018_e4d888a0cc_z.jpg

Just something to think about for what it may be worth.

What sort of pulls are you going to use?

[Brad Maudlin]

I used BLO with a couple of coats of Waterlox Original to seal the bottom of the top before I attached it. The war department okayed the color as it matched the wood color on her new couch. I did use a bottom single drawer runner that seems to work well, and presumably better after they are finished and waxed. The hardware selection is in progress. The wife brings proposals and I have veto power. I am hoping she will find a mission style double handle for each drawer as this piece is loosely based on Stickley design.

[Brad Maudlin]

By the way Sean, that is really nice work! How wide are those drawers? Mine are 42 inches. It sure doesn't take much misalignment in the runner to throw things out of wack.

[Sean Hughto]

Thanks, Brad. I wasn't meaning to show off be any means, just to share something that's worked for me. That drawer is only about 30" wide, but it's deep and can be heavy when loaded up. I used teak for the runners, and the waxiness seems to really help it slide nice.

[Brad Maudlin]

186849186850186851 Here it is with one coat of BLO and the first three coats of Waterlox. I am hoping that with two or three more coats the grain on the top will be completely filled so I can do a final rub out and wax it.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png

[Mark Baldwin III]

That's looking really good! Hope the stuff I'm working on looks that nice!

[Adam Cormier]

Great looking project. Those dovetails look tight.