Cherry Writing Desk Completed

[Prashun Patel]

I just completed this TimMahoney inspired writing desk. It was my first attempt at multiple inset drawers. There are a lot of imperfections, but I'll let you find them. Pulls are walnut. I have an affinity for legs that taper but terminate in a foot. However, I haven't found something yet that's well-defined without feeling too formal.

The drawer insides and all the drawer supports are beech from a yard tree taken down last year. This beech was pretty stable and easy to work and finish, even if it's a little boring to look at. The cherry is from a curly slab from Pete @ Horizon. I've purchased a good deal (for a hobbyist) of wood from Horizon sight-unseen and ALL of it has been very wonderful; Pete is generous about pulling things out and taking pictures so you know what you're getting. I find this process very efficient.

Thanks for any C&C.

Finished in oil varnish (mostly ArmRSeal with a dollop of BLO).

Signing furniture always feels weird to me. Instead, I tucked away a couple inlays on the inside drawer rails that represent my kids.

PP

[Yonak Hawkins]

Very nice, Prashun. I like the length. It looks like it's long enough to be a hunt board.

Interesting decision to put sapwood on the edges. Did you do that to coordinate with the beech front ?

The feet add a finality to the legs. They are certainly a unique design element. I like the well-rounded-over centers of the stretchers. Does that foot rail stretcher arch ?

Well done. Is it for personal use ?

[Jim Matthews]

Nicely done.

Thanks for including your fitting steps.
The sculpted stretcher assembly is elegant.

Kudos

[Dave Kirby]

Beautiful work!

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks guys. Yonak, The top is bookmatched. The sap was evidence of how straight this board was. Seemed a pity not to leave that in tact. Sap wood rarely bothers me as it does many.

The fronts are cherry, as are all visible parts. The dividers appear lighter because they are from a separate piece than the slab comprising the top and drawer fronts and legs.

the center stretcher is arched front to back.

I dont have a home for this yet.

[Paul McGaha]

Nice Prashun,

A beautiful and useful piece.

PHM

[George Bokros]

Beautiful work Prashun.

[glenn bradley]

What a home-run. I really dig the blended joinery, the foot detail and that top is outta site. I love playing with sap wood and your use on the top is . . . well . . . tops. Is the stretcher really arced or is it the picture?

[Jim Becker]

Wow....that's really awesome! Prashun, you've become on of my favorite makers here! One outstanding piece after another!!!!

[Andrew Hughes]

Nice table Prashun,The Knobs are my favorite style.Looks like it was a difficult glue up.Thanks for sharing.Aj

[Prashun Patel]

Thank you for the comments! (Jim, I'm humbled!)

Andrew, I cannot take credit for the knobs. I could have turned them myself, but it just wasn't worth the time; I bought them from a supplier here in NJ. I did labor over the decision though, so I'm pleased someone else thinks I chose wisely.

As for the glue up, this is an interesting point, as I made the interior assembly specifically to be easy to glue up. I glued up the legs and aprons first. The dividers were placed in next. They slid in from the front. They rest on a cleat attached to the rear apron. This allowed me to square them one at a time without sweating to beat the glue set. Then I attached a top ledger to the rear apron that was dadoed to capture the dividers laterally. I screwed on the kickers and runners for the drawers which was very helpful for fitting; they could be removed and shaved as necessary.

i.e., I took the easy way out!!!

I am not completely happy with the thickness of the dividers and upper and lower rails. They feel a little chunky at 3/4". Is it acceptable to make them thinner, say 5/8" on something this long (64")?

[alex grams]

Very nice Prashun. Inset drawers are always a pain for me. Squareness and a consistent gap between the drawer/door and the frame are areas I obsess on.

I agree on Horizon, I have bought a few things from them sight unseen and they go out of their way to make sure I get something that suits my needs and is good quality. They are always first on my list when I am looking for something unique. The effort and time they put in for a hobbyist such as you and myself is impressive.

[Cody Armstrong]

You've knocked another one out of the park Prashun. Beautiful work as always. I like the sapwood on the top.
What species is the bowl? Is that your handiwork also?

[lowell holmes]

You do nice work!

[Terry Beadle]

Well...every one is praising your work....and they are right!!!

Beautiful. If you love wood, that top is tops!

[Pat Barry]

Very nice Prashun. The top looks perfect and the drawer grain matching is really nice touch. It will be a family treasure

[Prashun Patel]

That bowl is zebrawood. It definitely smelled like a zebra when i turned it.

[Jim Matthews]

I am not completely happy with the thickness of the dividers and upper and lower rails. They feel a little chunky at 3/4". Is it acceptable to make them thinner, say 5/8" on something this long (64")?

I would experiment with insulation foam template cut to full size.
Overlayed on your drawer front material, you could get a good idea of proportions.

FWIW - At this thickness, you get an shiny nod to the Shakers.

[Scott T Smith]

Very nice Prashun! I echo Jim's comments; I always enjoy your work.

[Christopher Charles]

Hello Prashun,

Thanks for sharing and I too love the top (i'm sucker for cherry). I don't find the rails too thick when looking at the piece at a distance. Approaches to consider are to make the drawers slight taller (reducing the apparent thickness of the upper and lower rails), or make the upper rail thicker as it will hidden by the overhang of the top (if structural issues are a concern). Narrow dividers could be fine and agree that mock-ups are always a great help.

BTW, I also like that the set-back on the stretcher and all of the lines. Well done! If you haven't, i'd be interested to see the approach you used for jointing the stretcher and for shaping. (apologies if i missed it).

Cheers,
C

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Christopher. Not quite sure what you mean by jointing the stretcher. The joinery to the lower rails is straight forward: it's a double slip-tenon. It makes the math easy. The rails and stretcher started from 3" wide s4s stock. I trace the curves first and cut the joinery when everything's still square blocks. Then I bandsaw to the curve, leaving the joints proud. I do a lot of the shaping with the parts dis-assembled. But I leave extra meat at the joints. After glue up, I plane the joints flush and then use a rasp to fare everything, and finally a ROS with a soft backing pad.

For aggressive faring, I sometimes use an angle grinder. However, I've gotten better (read, braver) at getting closer to the line with the bandsaw such that a rasp is usually enough cowbell.

Faring long sweeping curves on legs and stretchers is my favorite part of any project. Planes and spokeshaves just find the true north of the curve so well. I always fare all faces first. Only after that's done do I manipulate the corners for rounding over. There's an art to that. Sam Maloof was a genius at finding the 'soft lines'. It took me a while to understand that concept, but it's basically getting edges to sweep and move around corners gracefully instead of being strictly abrupt and linear. My tendency in shaping is to round things over too much. It's easy to fall into that trap. But figuring out how to make, say one of the edges of the leg sweep down into the center of the lower rails instead of following the top edge strictly creates a shadow line and sense of continuity that is just so lovely. It's easy for even hobbyists like me to appreciate, tricky to copy in a replication, and very difficult to visualize and do on an original piece. I didn't quite get the line right on the lower rail. However, there's also a danger in over-working it. Sometimes less is more. When shaping I do notice the temptation to overdo it, so I tried to practice a little restraint on this.

[Sean Hughto]

Great piece! Definition of an heirloom. First rate all around.

[Steve Friedman]

Prashun,

That's just stunning. I love the joints and the top is amazing. Love the way the joints and the stretcher break up the straight lines.

Steve

[David Weaver]

That's a super nice top, Prashun! Striking to say the very least.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Prashun, you answered my question. I couldn't agree more that getting the lines right (as you have) is the definition of grace. If done well, very easy on the eye. If not...

Congrats again on a beautiful piece.

Cheers,
C

[Mike Allen1010]

Well-done Prashun both design and execution– you should be very proud! Thanks for taking the time to share your work/pictures.

Cheers, Mike

[Jim Becker]

For aggressive faring, I sometimes use an angle grinder. However, I've gotten better (read, braver) at getting closer to the line with the bandsaw such that a rasp is usually enough cowbell.

This is absolutely the "quote of the day", if not the year! LOL

[Prashun Patel]

Mike, I did more than a little conditioning of the aprons and drawer fronts with a very lovely ECE Primus jack plane I recently received ;)

[Gary Muto]

That is a great piece of furniture. Your selection and bookmatching of the top is outstanding. The leg/stretcher joinery looks great too. So many things to catch the eye.

[joe valsi]

Very nice indeed. Great proportions and great choice of woods ! Good job!

[Brian Holcombe]

Thank you for the comments! (Jim, I'm humbled!)

Andrew, I cannot take credit for the knobs. I could have turned them myself, but it just wasn't worth the time; I bought them from a supplier here in NJ. I did labor over the decision though, so I'm pleased someone else thinks I chose wisely.

As for the glue up, this is an interesting point, as I made the interior assembly specifically to be easy to glue up. I glued up the legs and aprons first. The dividers were placed in next. They slid in from the front. They rest on a cleat attached to the rear apron. This allowed me to square them one at a time without sweating to beat the glue set. Then I attached a top ledger to the rear apron that was dadoed to capture the dividers laterally. I screwed on the kickers and runners for the drawers which was very helpful for fitting; they could be removed and shaved as necessary.

i.e., I took the easy way out!!!

I am not completely happy with the thickness of the dividers and upper and lower rails. They feel a little chunky at 3/4". Is it acceptable to make them thinner, say 5/8" on something this long (64")?


Gorgeous work Prashun!

I don't think the rails and dividers are chunky by any means, but one way to slim them down visually is to rabbet them and have a drawer front that overhangs the drawer. You can also set them back and just have drawer fronts visible.

I would not go slimmer than 3/4 for the stretcher, it counteracts a large force if you have weight on the center front of the desk (like someone sitting on it)

[Prashun Patel]

Thats a great idea. I will rabbet them next time. This would also provide a natural stop for the drawers. Also, i notice that if there is light behind or under the table, then the lower drawer reveal appears stepped where the runner ends. Rabbeting the rails would mitigate this unforseen issue as well.

[Marty Gulseth]

Really, really nice!

REgards, Marty

[Brian Holcombe]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/e91fe5ff-7802-468d-8430-4c0de66ae99f_zps876f928b.jpg

Here's one I built a few years ago, the upper is rabbeted and the lower is completely covered along with the uprights. I also scalloped the back of the drawer face so that I could avoid using hardware.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Prashun,

I must agree with Jim; your workmanship and design are OUTSTANDING! Another beautiful piece . . .

[Floyd Cox]

Astounding work!

[Bobby O'Neal]

Prashun, this is an absolutely stunning piece. Very well done, indeed. I am truly a fan of yours. Keep it coming, please and thank you.

[Gus Dundon]

Such a beautiful wood work! That is just too pretty to use. I admire your wood working skills.

[Prashun Patel]

Update:

I was accepted to display this piece at the New Hope Arts Center's Works in Wood Competition this November.

Nervous!!! It's one thing to take a selfie in your best light. But to go in front of judges is a whole 'nother thing.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Prashun, will this be your first juried show ? Best of luck. I will be pulling for you to take the top prize. It's a beautiful piece.

[Scott DelPorte]

Not sure how I missed this thread. Beautiful desk Prashun. Good luck with your show.

[glenn bradley]

I'm glad this one popped up again. I really like that desk.

[Jim Becker]

Update:

I was accepted to display this piece at the New Hope Arts Center's Works in Wood Competition this November.

Nervous!!! It's one thing to take a selfie in your best light. But to go in front of judges is a whole 'nother thing.

That's very exciting! I guess I'm going to have to see the exhibition this year...I missed it due to scheduling last year. One of my neighbors usually has something qualified and I know one other local maker who has participated. The judges for this year are excellent...

[Julie Moriarty]

It's beautiful, Prashun! I really love the way you joined the legs with the trestle. And those inlays, very cool! All very nicely done. Thanks for sharing. :)

[Christopher Charles]

Congrats, well deserved and will be pulling for you.

C

[Brian Holcombe]

Congrats! I think you will do well, your desk is spectacular.

I'll have to stop by and check out the works on display.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks guys. Brian, your work makes this look like 7th grade ship class. And that's not false modesty. I wish they had picked something with hand cut dovetails. I machined these ones 😟

[Brian Holcombe]

That's false modesty :p

I appreciate the kind words, but I have a feeling you're going to do very well in the competition.

[Jerry Olexa]

VERY nice work!!! You should be proud!!!

[Jay Jolliffe]

I agree with every one else Prashun great job...Looks really nice & fits the spot you put it...

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks. The Works in Wood competition at New Hope Arts Center happened this past weekend. WOW that was one humbling experience. It was inspiring to see so many craftsman from around here. They came out of the proverbial woodwork!

If any of you are in New Hope, I'd take a trip before Dec 16. There are some truly wonderful pieces in there. My two (I also was accepted for a walnut 'waterfall' style bench) sat humbly but respectably on the side.

[Barry Dima]

The Works in Wood competition at New Hope Arts Center happened this past weekend. WOW that was one humbling experience. It was inspiring to see so many craftsman from around here. They came out of the proverbial woodwork!

If any of you are in New Hope, I'd take a trip before Dec 16. There are some truly wonderful pieces in there. My two (I also was accepted for a walnut 'waterfall' style bench) sat humbly but respectably on the side.

You don't say. I'm down in northern Wilmington, DE, but a mini road trip seems in my future.

[Al Launier]

Incredible craftsmanship, something I could only dream of doing.

[Prashun Patel]

Al, I'm flattered, but it's really overstating it. If you are willing to take a long time, and a lot of trial and error, anyone can do it. I think the difference between the masters and the rest of us is that they don't need the trial and error; they can go straight from concept to implementation and their eye and hand are skilled to not let them down. For me, the results - especially in the design - are hit or miss. If I had a nickel for every false start...

Also, there are a lot of tricks in this that make it look harder than it is. For instance, the little collars around the stretcher are to give the side rails more girth so that the curve can be scribed on it. It's a happy coincidence that once you round it over, it makes an eye-pleasing ring. All the joints are cut square before the transitions are made, so fitting and clamping is straightforward. The 'carving' is also very forgiving. You do a little, stand back, and do a little more.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks. The Works in Wood competition at New Hope Arts Center happened this past weekend. WOW that was one humbling experience. It was inspiring to see so many craftsman from around here. They came out of the proverbial woodwork!

If any of you are in New Hope, I'd take a trip before Dec 16. There are some truly wonderful pieces in there. My two (I also was accepted for a walnut 'waterfall' style bench) sat humbly but respectably on the side.

Ooh...thanks for the reminder. It completely slipped my mind! And yea...there are some outstanding and creative folks around here.