Curly Maple desk on frame (poor photos)

[Rob Millard]

I made this desk, based on an original shown on page 142 of Fine Points of Furniture (1950) and a Israel Sack ad in The Magazine Antiques from February 2001( I think). The original was in plain maple, but I talked the customer into using curly maple. The original is listed in the best category, but I think that is a stretch. The original must have been made outside an urban area, by a decent cabinetmaker, but one not schooled in the best joinery practices, and with a somewhat stylistic interpretation of urban carving and cabriole legs.
The upper rail of the frame is joined with a mortise and tenon instead of the more common dovetail. The two horizontal boards surrounding the drawer in the desk section, are just dadoed into the sides. I liked this idea, as it would eliminate the tedious sliding dovetails. Well, it turned out the sliding dovetails would have been easier, because I had to add hidden screws to keep everything tight. The legs have a fairly odd profile that remain pretty thick until about half way down. The feet were nice with the ridged pads. The fan was rather crude ( which suited my carving skills) All in all without the figure of the curly maple this would be at best a mediocre piece.
The hardware came from Londonderry Brasses. The finish is Moser’s honey amber maple dye, two coats of linseed oil ( the first applied hot) with a touch of Japan drier added. The oil was allowed to cure and a thick coat of Minwax mahogany gel stain was slapped on and wiped off, to give some age and accentuate the moldings and shell. The top coat was shellac on everything but the writing surface which got several coats of Behlen Rock Hard Varnish. Sorry about the picture quality, the customer showed up early and left me no time to take a proper photo. In fact I wasn’t going to photograph until we got it outside in sun, and the color a figure jumped out , so I ran and got the camera.
Rob Millard

[Richard Wolf]

Looks like a great job from here. Nice wood, these reproductions always look great in figured maple. And I am a sucker for drop front desks, very classy.

Richard

[tod evans]

nice work rob! very well executed. tod

[lou sansone]

boy o boy rob.. your just gonna have to do a better job next time.. :)

seriously, very nice piece. I take it you work full time on all of this. If so, how many hours do you work a week building ? just wondering. I find that after a long day at work I am not as sharp at 9 at night. I often try to get out in the shop @ 5 am to get a little fresh time before the day starts. My most productive days are duing my days off and such.

lou

[rick fulton]

Rob –

Your desk is fantastic. If you consider that piece mediocre than the best I’ve ever done must be scrap. The customer picked a desk with great proportions, but your selection and outstanding placement of the woods figure makes the whole unit flow together. I would have a hard time letting something that beautiful go out the door.

Excellent work. Thanks for sharing.

rick

[Chris Barton]

What an incredible piece Rob! Can I apprentice for you when I retire?

[Dave Anderson NH]

Very nicely done Rob. I'm a sucker for furniture made from figured maple. Am I correct in guessing that this is a relatively early QA piece based on the style of the drops on the front apron?

[Vaughn McMillan]

Excellent desk, Rob. Great wood, beautifully put together and finished.

- Vaughn

[Dan Forman]

Looks like a keeper to me! I'm another figured maple fan, and the wood and finish look super. I like the way you accented with the gell stain.

Dan

[Dan Oliphant]

That is awsome!!!! Well executed, by the way, the photos ain't that bad.

[Roy Wall]

Thanks for sharing another outstanding piece - your work is tremendous!!!

I notice HB DT holding the top carcass together......??

and

The dividers.....did you profile the edge of 8/4 , 10/4 maple with a BS, then resaw to equal thicknesses (hand planing of course...)??

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well done Rob!

[Rob Millard]

Roy,

The top was joined to the sides with half blind dovetails.

I resawed the dividers from S4S 4/4 stock. and after looking at the photos, they are too thick. I should have made them 1/4" and not the 5/16" I chose to make them.

Rob Millard


Thanks for sharing another outstanding piece - your work is tremendous!!!

I notice HB DT holding the top carcass together......??

and

The dividers.....did you profile the edge of 8/4 , 10/4 maple with a BS, then resaw to equal thicknesses (hand planing of course...)??

[Martin Shupe]

Another candidate for the FWW Reader's Gallery page. Tremendous work! Well done!

[Mark Singer]

Rob,
Wonderful! Your work is terrific! I really love the proportions and wow the crafstmanship!

[Rob Millard]

Lou,
I do indeed do this full time. I work about 45-55 hours a week. If you count the 3 tea chests individually, I made 15 pieces in 2005.
It would be tough to have to make furniture before or after work. I know another woodworker I talk to often who owns a large construction company and he works most nights and all weekend in the wood shop. I don't know how people do it. I'm just way too lazy for that.
Rob Millard


boy o boy rob.. your just gonna have to do a better job next time.. :)

seriously, very nice piece. I take it you work full time on all of this. If so, how many hours do you work a week building ? just wondering. I find that after a long day at work I am not as sharp at 9 at night. I often try to get out in the shop @ 5 am to get a little fresh time before the day starts. My most productive days are duing my days off and such.

lou

[John Lucas]

Magnificent. Your customer must have been overjoyed. What a possession.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Superb!! Nicely done Rob

[Martin Lutz]

Gorgeous work. Great use of the figure.

[Byron Trantham]

Just beautiful. I see another Creeker in FWW being published.

[Tim Farrell]

Amazing - I am not worthy of SawMill Creek. Great Work.

[Shelley Bolster]

Speechless............:eek:




OK - I came to.

Rob that is, simply put, the definition of Craftsmanship!

[Ernie Hobbs]

Rob,

Thanks for posting your work. I always enjoy looking at your work. I looked up the page in Fine Points and I think I like yours better. The wood in yours has much more character, as it looks like the maple in the original wasn't curly (at least not in the lower portion that is showing). I also see that the drops are missing in the original, evidently lost over the years. It's nice to see this piece as it was intended to be.

[Bruce Page]

Fabulous! The craftsmanship and choice of materials are magnificent!

Well done!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Rob that is absolutely beautiful. Magnificent craftsmanship.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Rob, the desk turned out great. The figured maple looks fantastic. Your finish choice really turned out great. I'm sure the customer is happy they were talked into it. This is going to be a real show stopper for a long time to come. Thanks for the pics.

[Jim Becker]

One almost has to speak with a certain "refined society" accent when describing this kind of wonderful work! Lovely, Rob. Thanks for sharing it with us.