Giant ambitions... Midget abilities

[Dan Larson]

I aspire to create beautiful furniture. But since I’m a rank amateur woodworker, I set my ambitions for projects this year to be more in line with the level of my limited skills. I chose a few small projects this year that would force me to stretch beyond my comfort zone, and I tried to focus on executing them as well as I could. Looking back, it’s been a fun journey. These projects lead me to lots of new territory… building a router table… learning to properly sharpen neander tools… chisels, handplanes, & scrapers… building & using a shooting board… chopping mortises by hand… using a handsaw... and many other new experiences.

The first project I’d like to share with you is a cutting board. Woods used in this project are sheuda, panga-panga, and ebony... I made the board for my mother-in-law who is fascinated by exotic woods.
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I experimented for quite a while with scrap wood to find the right finish to use. Every oil based finish that I tried turned the sheuda into a lifeless black mess. A tip from a fellow Creeker got me to look into wax finishes. I ended up going with just a good coat of plain old beeswax.

[Dan Larson]

The next project was modeled from a few projects posted a few years ago by Mark Singer. I always admired his “extruded” trays and thought I could learn a lot by trying my hand at one or two. I tried to be faithful as I could to his design aesthetic, but I think I missed the boat on a few aspects. Oh well… a true learning experience! My first attempt is white oak and walnut with a Tried & True oil finish.
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There were a few things about my craftsmanship on this piece that make me cringe, so I tried again on a second tray.

[Dan Larson]

The second tray is padauk and wenge. A little more refined this time…
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It’s tempting to try another one, but I think it’s time for me to move onto something new. Thanks for looking… and have a Happy New Year!

Dan

[glenn bradley]

Looking good! I have commited to turning out some smaller scale items. I began developing my limited abilities by building shop cabinets and jigs. I kinda got stuck on large scale. Time to back it down to my ability level till I get a bit better at this.

[Jim Becker]

That end detail on the cutting board is pretty kewel, Dan, and the tray is exquisite! Great work!

[John Shuk]

All very nice. Spectacular jod on the cutting board. I can't see where you missed the "Mark" on any of these.

[Don Bullock]

They all look great to me. The cutting board detail is excellent. Nice work. Thanks for sharing.

[Roy Wall]

Dan -

THose are EXCELLENT!! Beautiful details - I love em!

The "Singer Tray(s)" is on my short list for this coming year.....they look great!

Greene and Greene meets cutting board......:)

[Karin Voorhis]

Very nice work adn congrats on starting on wood working I too I just beginning and very excited. You have really either crushed my idea of a newbie or else given major conifendence to exceed seeing your lovely work!!!!! show more pics soon!!!!!!!!!

[Mark Singer]

Dan,
Terrific work! Great attention to detail also. They look just like many that I have made.
A couple of points ...be carefull of the tray width...if you go to wide it may get unstable.

Second point...the base doesn't need the extra spacer to create the reveal...try doing it in one piece and detail the leg at the edges to creat a "floating" look.

I am honored you chose my design to build ..thank you!

[Dan Larson]

Thanks to you all for your words of encouragement... they were really fun projects!


Second point...the base doesn't need the extra spacer to create the reveal...try doing it in one piece and detail the leg at the edges to creat a "floating" look.

Mark, I'm glad that you brought this up. I spent quite a bit of time looking at the pictures of your trays, but the details of the bases are hard to see. Your zebrawood tray almost looks like the base is held slightly away from the tray by the tenons? Your oak tray the base has a crown on the top and is attached to the top by a single loose tenon in the center?

Dan

[Mike Cutler]

Dan. It's time to move on bro'.

Those are some very nice pieces. The attention to detail is extremely evident in all of them.

A piece of furniture is just a bigger assemblage of pieces of wood. It's the willingness to adhere to detail, discipline and patience that counts, and you've got it.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can do on a larger scale.
Nice work.

[Ralph Barhorst]

I like both the trays and the cutting board.

It looks like the main part of the cutting board was made from 10 pieces of book-matched and end grain shedua. It that correct? However it is done, it is beautiful.

[Hans Braul]

Dan,

I love your work. The pieces exude a passion for wood and attention to detail that is really fine. Well done! Thanks for showing.

Hans

[Dan Larson]

I like both the trays and the cutting board.

It looks like the main part of the cutting board was made from 10 pieces of book-matched and end grain shedua. It that correct? However it is done, it is beautiful.
Ralph, you are correct about the sheuda... it is end-grain slices from a nearly 12" wide 8/4 board. It took a lot of snooping around the lumber yard to find the right board for this project.

Dan