Cherry Sap Side Board

[Prashun Patel]

I made this side board for my mother who will use it as a bedside table.

I normally spend so much time working around sapwood in dimensional lumber. I tried in this case to celebrate it. The leg cuffs are walnut.

Parts are finished with Waterlox and oil, others with Poly and oil (only because I had it around and didn't want to waste).

I never thought to mix shellac into an oil/varnish regimen, but, sealing with thinned shellac, sanding back with 600, then proceeding with oil and varnish gives a flawless (if not most protective) finish.

C&C welcome. I think the tops of the legs on the front are a tad thick. I had to do it that way to allow for a curve I was comfortable smoothing. Tighter ones are hard to work.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I made this side board for my mother who will use it as a bedside table.

I normally spend so much time working around sapwood in dimensional lumber. I tried in this case to celebrate it. The leg cuffs are walnut.

Parts are finished with Waterlox and oil, others with Poly and oil.

I never thought to mix shellac into an oil/varnish regimen, but, sealing with thinned shellac, sanding back with 600, then proceeding with oil and varnish gives a flawless (if not most protective) finish.

C&C welcome. I think the tops of the legs on the front are a tad thick. I had to do it that way to allow for a curve I was comfortable smoothing. Tighter ones are hard to work.

Looks cool. I like the slip-matched back - too bad it won't be seen. And continuing the sap across panels on the front make it part of the design, rather than some odd-ball flaw.

Ayy sapwood on the top?

Last - that is how I finish virtually everything - a couple coats of 1# - 1.5# dewaxed ultra blonde [2 coats applied first L-to-R, then R-to-L, to get even coverage] sanded 400 or 600 followed by oil varnish.

On the cherry, shellac sealer should have prevented any blotching - any issues there?

EDIT - Wait a minute - you just added a photo of hte top, right? I swear it was not there when I hit reply????

[Jim Koepke]

Very nice Prashun, especially the way the drawer fronts flow from being made out of a single piece of wood.

I am sure your mother will love this piece.

jtk

[Bryce Adams]

I like it, especially the back apron with the Z of sapwood. Would have looked good on the top. I've got a fair amount of cherry with sapwood that I've always been cutting around. After seeing this, I may have to try and design the sapwood into a project.

Nice work.

[Pat Barry]

You do very nice work Prashun! Grain matching is nice on the drawer fronts. I think the dovetails look great also, not sure thinner is necessary. Nice work sculpting the leg transition. The thing about the leg width is this is the sort of thing that really doesn't become evident without a model. Hobbyists designing their own work such as many of us rarely get all the proportions perfect on the first one. If you were to make another one then you might think of a way to improve that but I think it looks very nice.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, everyone!

"If you were to make another one then you might think of a way to improve..."

Ain't it the truth, Pat? But I just have so limited shop time, I never follow through on making something twice. Despite being a computer programmer, I never mastered Sketchup and designing on the desktop. Part of me likes the thrill of designing in my head and being surprised how it turns out.

If I were to do it again, I might have 'cabrioled' the legs.

My inner goal in woodworking is been to develop my own style. I realize with each piece, though, that it is hard to make something that is not in some way derivative.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Looks great, Prashun! Inspiring. As others have said, I really love the slip-matched back, as well.

I actually kind of like the slightly "overly-wide" legs at the top; I didn't notice it in a "poor" way until you mentioned it.

If you tackle something like this in the future and want to have a more consistent thickness while obtaining the curve you want, try a gun-stock style mitered tenon joint. It's been mentioned on here recently, I think. Lets you work with thinner stock without having to worry about short end grain by splitting the curve between the two pieces.

[John TenEyck]

I like the drawers a lot, Prashun, the mellow sapwood, the way the grain flows, and the side hung design you used. Very Stickley like. But the back leaves me cold, frankly; just too much really white sapwood and maybe a worm hole as well? But that's just my personal bias; all that matters is you like it.

I'm surprised you aren't a SketchUp master, Prashun. Designing in your head or on the fly is for the brave, and I'm not that brave. But if you don't like SketchUp try a big sheet of paper. I often do that even with a detailed SketchUp model to see how something is going to look actual size. Sometimes I just draw the section I'm not sure about. There's still a place for pencil and paper in our computerized world.

John

[Sam Murdoch]

Sap wood is beautiful too. I think it's a very handsome piece. The subtle details belie your thrilling in your head design technique. :cool:

[Jim Becker]

I love this piece, Prashun. Simply lovely.

[Joseph Valsi]

Wow !! I really like that table ! The dovetails should be required viewing for anyone using a machine, as your are THE WAY they should be made! Great craftsmanship all around !

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Joe. I find I like a hybrid approach to dovetailing now. I have the Incra LS Positioner, which allows you to make dovetails. The problem is I never seem to have the right sized bit or template for the thickness of my stock or height of my drawers or desired tail spacing. I'm also impatient, and the set up is a big drawback for me. Don't get me wrong, the LS Positioner is worth every penny for me for a host of other reasons, but for dovetailing, no thanks.

I bandsaw my tails. First I scribe the depth of the tails, and then rabbet the inside. This is an undercelebrated trick that makes all the difference for me. I then bandsaw the tails to the scribe line and nibble away at most of the tail waste on the bandsaw. I trim the shoulders on the table saw, and finally clean everything up with a chisel.

I mark the pins with a knife (the rabbeted back of the tails makes registration a snap).

My big breakthrough on this project has been on removing the pin waste. I use a trim router with a 1/4" or 1/8" bit. There are jigs you can make to keep the router from tipping, but if you clamp a 3/4" board to the side, it's enough. You just have to work slow to avoid runaway. This gives you a perfectly flat bottom, and avoids having to chop across the end grain with a chisel. That's never been fun for me. I find it does not take much practice at all to get within chisel-paring distance to the layout lines. Then you can line up a chisel right in the knife line, pare straight down, and it's practically a perfect fit. That paring cut, into the end grain, feels so wonderful, I'd do it even if I were able to route perfectly up to the line.

I pencil the sides of my tails, tap the tail boards into place, and pare the pins or rasp the tails as the transfer marks suggest.

There are a million ways to skin this cat, but I've found mine for now.

The other thing I've learned is that after glue up, minor sins tend to disappear (especially if you never open the drawers ;)).

Thanks for the compliment.

[Andrew Joiner]

I normally spend so much time working around sapwood in dimensional lumber. I tried in this case to celebrate it. The leg cuffs are walnut.



Beautiful Prashun. I've always loved the contrast of sapwood. I like your celebration.

[Phil Thien]

Not sure how I missed this thread because I typically watch for your completed projects.

Love this one. I like the cuffs, I like the radius at the leg/apron, I like the proportions, and I like the sap wood.

I like that it is a very functional design/piece.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Phil. I really appreciate the comment.

[Bill McNiel]

Very, very nice. I really like this piece. One change I would like to have seen is the back material with the "Z" pattern used for the front. You have created great movement with your use of these boards and the juxtaposition of the sapwood and I think it might have brought another, highly unique, dimension to the piece.

Mahalo for sharing.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, bill. I put it on the back to make it a little easter egg style secret. Its like wearing red underwear. Half the fun is just knowing its there...

[Al Launier]

Nicely done indeed! Your talents for woodworking & finishing are top notch. I do agree that the top of the legs are just a "touch" too wide, but they are beautiful. Plus for my taste I think the knob on the RH drawer would look better if centered with the board between the two LH drawers rather than matching the same height as the LH drawer, or have a small matching pull centered on the drawer. As is, it seems to leave too much "vacancy" below.......... just my taste.

[Prashun Patel]

Great thoughts, Al. I love that kind of feedback. Like all of us (I'm sure) I agonized over the placement of that right knob. I think if I were to do it again, I'd make the whole piece about 9" wider, with matching deep drawers on each side of the skinny ones. I would also (per your suggestion) center the knobs of the flanking drawers. I think the pulls would have then created a nice pattern, and it would have lightened the thickness of the legs.

There is also something unfinished about the legs. While I enjoyed making those inlaid cuffs at the bottom, my eye wants feet or 'ankles'. I would have enjoyed some texture down there.

[Joseph Valsi]

Prashun, very nice indeed. One criticism would be that the dovetail angles are too big. thinner more tapered would be more pleasing to my eye

[Barry Dima]

Looks cool. I like the slip-matched back - too bad it won't be seen. And continuing the sap across panels on the front make it part of the design, rather than some odd-ball flaw.


Very nice Prashun, especially the way the drawer fronts flow from being made out of a single piece of wood.


I like it, especially the back apron with the Z of sapwood. Would have looked good on the top. I've got a fair amount of cherry with sapwood that I've always been cutting around. After seeing this, I may have to try and design the sapwood into a project.


You do very nice work Prashun! Grain matching is nice on the drawer fronts.


I like the drawers a lot, Prashun, the mellow sapwood, the way the grain flows, and the side hung design you used.


Beautiful Prashun. I've always loved the contrast of sapwood. I like your celebration.

^Quoted for truth. The fact that you kind of winged the tables versus meticulously, painstakingly planning it this way is wonderful. The art of the wood—and your use of the art of the wood—really show.

(To your comment about derivativeness: Celebrate it, I say. TS Eliot says something on that matter, and he, like, wrote poetry and cats and stuff.)

As for the legs, I kind of like their boldness. With the flowing, contrasting sapwood and elegant colors, the kick of the legs adds strength without clashing, I think.


Plus for my taste I think the knob on the RH drawer would look better if centered with the board between the two LH drawers rather than matching the same height as the LH drawer, or have a small matching pull centered on the drawer. As is, it seems to leave too much "vacancy" below.......... just my taste.

Maybe for the RH drawer (if a similar layout pops up again), a barbell pull with the knobs at either end aligned with the with LH knobs? That may be too modern/Crate & Barrel, though.

Regardless, the table is terrific. Thanks for sharing.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Barry! I planned this piece around the top, which was hanging around in 8/4 form in my shop for a year. I couldn't figure out how to use it. Then I remembered the Bugs Bunny Hairdresser episode, and I was inspired to resaw it. That's not a joke...

Joe,
I hear you on the dovetails. I'm still trying to get the aesthetic balance of spacing + thickness + a skinny kerf at the top + wide enough at the base for the chisels I have. With thin drawer fronts this can mean a steeper angle than I want.

[Paul Cahill]

I like it a lot. Very contemporary feel with very pleasing proportions. Well done!

Paul

[glenn bradley]

That came out great Prashun. I like the "broad at the shoulders" stand the wide leg tops provide. Once mentioned, I pondered it a bit but, you beat me to it :eek:


If I were to do it again, I might have 'cabrioled' the legs.

That's it! Again, I don't find any issue with the design as is but, if you wanted to lighten the leg-tops a bit of shoulder stepped in toward the case would sure do it. This would allow you to use some more of the curvature that I always enjoy in your work. IF you wanted to change this one you could also add a bit of carving, flutes or vertical slots as design details to lighten that area and justify the width. I enjoy playing with the sap patterns I find and you did a great job of exploiting the arc across the front versus the drawer proportions :)

[David Utterback]

You have great talent, Prashun. I have loved every one of your creations that you have posted since I started frequenting this site last winter. I also incorporate cherry sap wood into pieces but mostly boxes. You inspire me to greater use of it.

David

[David Ragan]

Man, that is so nice. I feel like a complete amateur when I see the quality of the things you all produce.

But, having had no formal learning, and just a few hours on the weekend, what is reasonable?

[Prashun Patel]

David, i am like you. I have to squeeze this hobby into my life too. There will always be something to aspire too. I see the work of a lot of people here and think its hopeless for me to try. But there is room for admirable work at all levels. just keep climbing. If you love the journey as much as do i, its not work. before you know it, someone will post about your work as you have mine and you'll think, "he cant be talking about me."

Thanks for the post.

[Vivek Deshmukh]

Great work Prashun. Your work is truly inspirational.

[Prashun Patel]

New Hope Arts Works in Wood 2016 was kind enough accept this for display.

I remembered it more fondly when I first made it than I do now, having made a few steps further up the mountain of learning.

I am looking forward to meeting the other entrants. Last year, the crowd was warm, interested, and friendly.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Outstanding and congratulations!

[Bruce Page]

Congratulations, and well deserved. That is beautiful piece.

[Jim Becker]

New Hope Arts Works in Wood 2016 was kind enough accept this for display.

I remembered it more fondly when I first made it than I do now, having made a few steps further up the mountain of learning.

I am looking forward to meeting the other entrants. Last year, the crowd was warm, interested, and friendly.

That's great news to hear, Prashun...we really have to get together while you're in "my town" (more appropriately, "my zip code" LOL) and hopefully I can manage to actually get to the exhibit this time around. Congratulations!

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Jim. Hard to believe we've never met.

The reception's tomorrow, Jim (6-8). Our own, Brian Holcombe will be there too.

[Jim Becker]

I'll be around this weekend, Prashun, if you need a breather or something. It's about 15 minutes to my house from downtown New Hope. PM me for contact info if you want it.

[glenn bradley]

Well deserved Prashun. I always enjoy your work. This is a great opportunity for others to appreciate it as well.

[bob cohen]

That is a very handsome piece. Excellent grain flow

[Christopher Charles]

Prashun,

Congrats on the acceptance of the piece. Hope the exhibit goes well.

C