Hutch/Sideboard

[Alan Turner]

Below, some pix of a hutch, or sideboard, that I finally completed this past summer. Cherry, full width for the carcase sides, mostly all from a single flitch of 5/4. Drawer fronts are book matched figured cherry veneer. Secondary wood is hard maple, my favorite for drawer sides. Dovetailed carcase, etc. Thanks for looking.
Alan

[Bob Lasley]

Alan,

Nice job! Classy joinery and I love the cock beading around the drawers. Great looking veneer too. Looks like an heirloom piece to me.

Bob

[Rusty Hughes, Indy]

Excellent piece of work! Very Well Done!

[Tyler Howell]

Very Sweet!

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Did you make the feet?

That is one fine piece of craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing.

Noah

[Chris Padilla]

Superb piece! Nice character in the beadboard backing. Did you stabilize the knot(s)? Epoxy, maybe?

Chris

[Mark Mazzo]

Alan,

Very nice work indeed! The drawers look to be maple sides and cherry fronts. Did you do a cherry veneer over solid cherry on the fronts?

How about some info on your finishing method?

--Mark

[Alan Turner]

The know was tigher than it looks, and I did not stabilize it, although I sometimes do. I turned the feet, but had to glue it up as I had no 16/4 cherry, unfortunately. The drawer fronts are veneered over cherry, and counterveneered in cherry as well, just to be sure. Wasn't worried about the top ones, but the lover ones were a bit of a worry.
As to the finishing, I was worried about blotching. So, I wet sanded in some thinned varnish with 400 wet/dry, and ragged it off. Dry thoroughly. Then sealed it with shellac, and then sprayed a large number of tinted coats of shellac to final color. Started with honey amber as a base, and then went to the red side till SWMBO approved. Then clear cloated it with shellac again, and rubbed it out with steel wool and a dark wax.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Alan, great looking piece. I love it!!! The figured cherry is perfect for the drawer fronts. Your craftsmanship and ability oozes from this piece. Thanks for sharing.

Jason

[Dave Brandt]

That is one beautiful piece! And the finish really invites touching. Man, if I had your skills. By the way, what happened to the 4th pin in the center of the last drawer? It's missing! ;-)

[Tyler Howell]

Very observant Dave. I want to know that too.

[Eric Sanford]

Gorgeous work Alan! I love the DTs, but like the others wonder where's #4? :) Great looking finish, too!

Eric

[Wes Bischel]

Wow, that looks fabulous! I'm glad my wife isn't here right now - not only would she want one, she would also find out how lame my skills are! :D

The design is cohesive both in overall scale and in the fine details. Really really nice job.

Wes

[Jim Becker]

OUTSTANDING. One again you raise the bar for us neophytes!

[John Scarpa]

Alan, Very nicely executed. Shows that you took the time to get it right. Maybe some day I can build something like that. thanks for sharing.
John

[Todd Burch]

Alan, I like this piece a lot. Thanks for posting, and the continued inspiration. Is that your home? I'm a fool for yellow walls with white trim. Todd.

[Lloyd Robins]

Very nice! The look is wonderful! How did you cut the dovetails (by hand or machine)?

[Mark Singer]

Below, some pix of a hutch, or sideboard, that I finally completed this past summer. Cherry, full width for the carcase sides, mostly all from a single flitch of 5/4. Drawer fronts are book matched figured cherry veneer. Secondary wood is hard maple, my favorite for drawer sides. Dovetailed carcase, etc. Thanks for looking.
Alan


Alan,
Great work! Are the drawer fronts one piece or is it a drawer front "planted" on the the drawer? Are you leaving the pins and tails proud of the drawer sides? I can't tell from the photos. Great work!
Mark

[Byron Trantham]

Alan, its all been said... very nice work!

[Ted Shrader]

Alan -
I can only echo the other's comments, Very well done!

What wood is the cockbead around the drawers?

BZ,
Ted

[Steve Roxberg]

Excellent piece, I only can hope that I get to that level someday.

Thanks for sharing.

[Alan Turner]

Thanks to all for the kind words. They are encouraging. This was a very fun piece to build. Many of the construction details can’t be seen in the pix. I will share a few.
The base molding is a cross-grain situation, so I cut a dovetail socket in the back of it, and keyed it to the carcase. I then glued the first 2-3" to hold the miter tight, and the balance floats. This piece must come apart to be moved, and I was worried about the top section being independently strong during a move. To solve this perceived issue, I made the bottom shelf wide, then ripped off the back 2", and used a stopped sliding dovetail on both the front of the shelf, and the back. I drove the back two inches of rip into the sockets, and made the edge glue up at the some time, then trued it with a hand plane.
Bunch of questions here which I will try to answer.
The pix were taken in the dining room. There is no DT missing pin. I prefer dovetails which are asymetrical. I don’t always get it like I might upon further reflection, but that is almost always the case, with almost everything. Mark, yes the pins are proud of the sides by just a drop. To do it again, I wouldn’t do this, but I did have a reason. This piece is 4 feet wide, and three of the drawers are full width. I was concerned about binding, so wanted to leave a drop of extra room, except on the drawer fronts. I won’t do that again. It annoys me every time I look at them. That said, the drawers open and close like velvet. No binding, completely smooth, etc. The DT’s are hand cut. I have my father’s jig, but have never even tried to use it. No false drawerfronts. The cockbeading is hard maple.

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Alan
It is beautiful.
What a wonderful show of craftsmanship and skill.
Best Regards, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Daniel :cool: