Neander Chippendale lowboy build finished - lots of pics

[Mike Allen1010]

This is the last post of my build of a Chippendale Lowboy taken from Franklin Gottschall's book "Furniture Masterpieces", in cherry with pine secondary wood and with a few small changes to the design, primarily adding a solid wood frame and panel back in place of the plywood in the original.

The finish is Watco Cherry oil/varnish with some Trans Tint "antique maple" dye to make it a little more brown and take out some of the red of the cherry, followed by blonde shellac and paste wax. Hardware is from Lee Valley. I also lined the drawers with some cedar, but didn't get any pictures of that.

Altogether took me about 5-6 months of weekends. I am a novice carver and this piece involve the most carving I've ever done which took the bulk of the time. This was my first attempt at ball and claw feet. The carving was hard on my eyes and not my favorite part of this project, although I did begin to enjoy it more towards the end. I started with the bottom apron, then the feet, and finally the central drawer. My next project will have little if any carving and be big enough so it's not so hard on the eyes (I'm not as young as I used to be).

I apologize for going overboard on the pictures, but I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out – I even got the Bosses approval to put it in the house eventually. For now, it's going in my office.

Thanks for looking, Mike

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[Mike Allen1010]

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One of the challenges for me is the dried paste wax collects in the crevices of the carving and shows up as small white particles. I tried to brush it out but couldn't get it all. I'm wondering if there's some kind of "liquid wax" I could use next time that would avoid this problem?

Cheers, Mike

[Malcolm Schweizer]

There are just not enough words to express (a) How much I have enjoyed this thread, and (b) how impressed I am with your work. It has really inspired me to get out the carving tools and step up my game. I especially love the legs and feet. Wow. Awesome is not good enough a word!

[Daniel Rode]

Thanks for posting this build, Mike. It's been informative and inspiring. There are never going to be too many pictures for me of the build or the finished product. It's a beautiful piece!

Echoing Malcolm's comment, there are not enough words.

[Chris Hachet]

As someone who hopes to build just a basic lowboy at some point in the future, all I can say is....this thread is an inspiration.

Chris

[Dave Beauchesne]

All I can say is ' WOW ' - wonderful job to say the least.

Dave B

[Tony Wilkins]

There are just not enough words to express (a) How much I have enjoyed this thread, and (b) how impressed I am with your work. It has really inspired me to get out the carving tools and step up my game. I especially love the legs and feet. Wow. Awesome is not good enough a word!

Ditto (except I don have any carving tools)

[Jeff Wittrock]

Just beautiful Mike.

[Robert Payne]

Spectacular work ... and a true heirloom.

[Bruce Page]

Stunning execution! Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

[Dave Anderson NH]

A beautiful piece and an excellent execution Mike. For yor future reference, a dark colored paste wax and a toothbrush are your friends when finishing off a carving and inside corners.

[Greg Wease]

Beautiful, as always Mike. You should consider entering your piece in the SD County Fair this summer.

[Brett Robson]

Mike, that's spectacular! Very well done!

Question about the finish, is the Wato cherry oil/varnish you used their cherry colored Danish oil?



The finish is Watco Cherry oil/varnish with some Trans Tint "antique maple" dye to make it a little more brown and take out some of the red of the cherry, followed by blonde shellac and paste wax.

[Steve Voigt]

Beautiful Mike! The ball and claw feet look great. Thanks so much for posting, and keep em coming.

[Will Boulware]

Wow! Amazing work. Thanks for sharing the process with us. What's next? :D

[Patrick Harper]

Mike, that is phenomenal! Words just can't express how beautiful that piece is....especially considering this was done with hand tools. Great work!

[Chris Gilly]

Thanks for sharing Mike...very inspirational.

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks guys for your generous comments. Glad to know the thread was worthwhile. I've gotten so much more out of SMC than I've ever given back and it's nice to be able to make a small contribution.



Question about the finish, is the Wato cherry oil/varnish you used their cherry colored Danish oil?

Brett, yes, I use the Watco "Cherry" colored oil/varnish product. I never noticed if it's called "Danish Oil", but must be the same thing. I mixed in a little Trans Tint "antique maple" dye to take out some of the red color in freshly worked cherry and make it a little more brown. I was going for the more brown shade that aged, antique Cherry has. I didn't quite get it as brown as I would like but I'm hoping it will naturally darken with sunlight.

Finishing is one of my least favorite parts of a project. I have a couple "go to" finishes that I've learned not to screw up too badly over the years and I try and stick to those. I like the oil/varnish blend products for "popping the figure" followed by shellac and paste wax. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

For me, adding color to a finish is always a "white knuckle" experience. I'm colorblind and have zero artistic ability (as compared to my wife a photographer and interior designer). Early in our marriage I build a wardrobe outs said it had to be a lot darker to match the furniture in the house. I tried to apply a dark brown stain and ended up with a blotchy mess. Somehow the Boss never did approve putting it the house. It's been in the garage filled with miscellaneous crap for 20 years.

Dave, thanks for the tip abcarvings! I will definitely give that a try. To try and remove some of the dried white paste wax that has collected in the crevices of the carving, I was thinking about using a hair dryer to heat up the wax a little bit and then trying to brush it out with a toothbrush – what you think, is that a stupid idea?

Greg, your work would definitely fit in with the fantastic furniture at the SD County fair. I have no business in that kind of rarefied company.

Will, for the next project I would like to build a little cabinet for our audio gear - may be something like a small Pennsylvania country "Pie" sideboard with open spaces in doors/carcass for air circulation. I don't have a example in mind but would welcome any suggestions (I suck at design and much prefer building reproductions of something made by someone who knows what they're doing). Regrettably, this would require the boss's approval to put my embarrassingly speakers in the family room , which the boss has categorically rejected for years. (such are the perils of being married to an interior designer).

This means I will either have to put my foot down (fat chance!), Or more likely and up building dressers for our boys. I really like the Chester County dresser that is on the cover of one of the books by a past editor of popular woodworking Glen (these I can remember his last name). I really enjoyed working with the pine I used as a secondary wood in my last project and am considering that for the dressers as it's fun to work and relatively inexpensive, which means I won't feel so bad when the boys get married in their wives absolutely hate them!

All the best, Mike

[Brian Holcombe]

Gorgeous work Mike. I think it will make it's way into the house rapidly!

[Dave Anderson NH]

It's a fine line Mike between enough heat to melt the wax and so much that the shellac bubbles. Work slowly and carefully in small areas. You might also be able to blot up some of the wax with a paper towel if you heat it carefully and then go with the toothbrush.

[Robert Norman]

I'd have to take a week off and just look at it for hours on end! Absolutely amazing!

[Brent Ring]

As someone who hopes to build just a basic lowboy at some point in the future, all I can say is....this thread is an inspiration.

Chris
Agreed! And Very Nice work to inspire us!

[Christopher Charles]

Congrats on finishing this build Mike! And many thanks for the posts--build threads are my favorite and yours are among the best.

cheers
c

[Harold Burrell]

What an absolutely stunning and beautiful piece! I'm really not sure what to say that hasn't already been said.

However...as I was looking at the pics...I tried to pretend for a second that I was looking at pics of something that I had made. It made me smile. Seriously...you should be proud of yourself. :)

[Winton Applegate]

Rarely being at a loss for words, at least in print . . .
Your post is important to me.
I was saving it for the weekend when I could get enough sleep and fully appreciate it properly with a shot of espresso and a cinnamon croissant.

And that is just what I am doing.

THANK YOU !


I like the oil/varnish blend products for "popping the figure"
ahhhh, I was wondering why you used that. I was thinking you could just add the tint to the shellac. I too have found the need for a little help to bring out the beauty of the wood before the shellac finish I like so much. Thanks for letting us in on that.

As far as the wax removal in the corners, no expert here obviously, . . . I have seen brushes listed for this vary use. They are to be used with no heat to polish the wax and remove the excess (tooth brush might be a bit soft and not long enough bristles) Seems like the good brushes for this have black bristles. I will give it a try to locate them. There is an article I have for sure that shows them . . .


(I suck at design and much prefer building reproductions of something made by someone who knows what they're doing)
I think I am pretty good at design, from an engineering stand point anyway . . .
Pretty much I would always prefer doing a direct copy of the old dudes. For my money one can’t beat those (granted there can be some engineering issues though). I love the period furniture such as you have built.

Keep me in mind when you come up with that media project. I think it might be time to get my DVDs out of the card board boxes in the closet and into a real cabinet. I need some ideas for that. AnThasAfactJack.


embarrassingly speakers in the family room
Can’t they go into a cabinet behind an "appropriately" "appropriate" cloth facade ?
By the way I love these speakers (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SS-F6000-Floorstanding-4-Way-Speakers/dp/B000OG4E20/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1423426976&sr=8-16&keywords=sony+speakers), especially for orchestral music. I had just bought some other speakers and liked these so much better I got these too. An they are pretty minimalist. AND DIRT CHEEP. I don’t know how they provide this good of product and free shipping. They weigh a ton (70lb each). Decent low end for the double bass and organ (considering they are so narrow) (I have to EQ the bass for everything but classical) lots of separation for the higher end (my favorite). Are yours better ? I would honestly like to know. I would like to learn more about speakers.
PS: the price has gone up some. It is embarrassing what little I paid for them a few years ago.
My point is maybe SWMBO would go for these cheepy speakers. Unobtrusive / killer sound.


Put my foot down
yah and right into a bear trap.

any way THANKS Mike
Winton

[Winton Applegate]

PS: I would go ahead and order the speakers and if she doesn't like them . . .
guess what ?
They would be banished to the shop to "get them out of sight".
I got a second pair for the shop because they suit me so well. Pretty much I listen to classical type stuff while woodworking.
I was looking around for the most killer boom box I could find for the shop stereo and look what I came up with for the same price . . . (much less actually) . . . after all they are so narrow they are "unobtrusive" . . . ish.

gee honey !?!?!? . . . I can't imagine how they shipped me a second set of speakers !?!?!?
Gosh these are SOOOO heavy can you imagine what the shipping would be to send them back !?!?!?
I may as well keep them.
No
I have learned my lesson. I won't do this ever again.
Honest.
:o
:)
:cool:

PPS: they are on a dolly (for pin point pleasure)

[Winton Applegate]

OK, to get back on track
sorry about that excursion
This is the article on brushing wax (http://www.woodworking.nl/upload/attachments/32268=6288-Wax%20primer.pdf) that I was thinking of
He lists one of the sources for the brushes ( ? ) as :
Liberon/Star Wood Finishing Supply
The site seems to be in transition
so
ph = 1800245-5611