Curly cherry desk.

[Jameel Abraham]

I asked a few questions about this project here as I made it, namely about idea on how to do the parallelogram drawer joinery, so I thought I'd share some pics. Somebody suggested finger joints, so I went with it. Thanks! The faces of all the rails on the table section and drawers on the upper section are all sawn veneer, from a piece of 12' long cherry baseboard I "rescued" from a millwork house, unfortunately already milled into 6" wide baseboard. It was about 5/8" thick, but I still got a fair amount of veneer from it. The rear of the desk is narrower than the front, the side rails and middle drawer front are veneered curved-bent-laminations of cherry, as is the crest rail of the upper cabinet. Upper cabinets are parallelograms, widening towards the front. Doors are veneered with fiddleback sycamore, bird's-eye maple and cherry. The style is my own take on the Federal style, with a modern twist. Pulls are Lee Valley brass insert knobs inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

[Kyle Stiefel]

Jameel,

That turned out wonderful. I like the sap wood running through, fine work!

[Roy McQuay]

When I saw your name on the post, I knew it would be beautiful. I am not disappointed.

[Gail O'Rourke]

When I opened this post - I gasped! Absolutely breathtaking. A gorgeous desk.

For you? or a lucky client?

[Philip Glover]

Jameel,
That is one beautiful desk. The design is elegant, but the wood really sets it off. You should send pictures into FWW - we'll all be looking for them in an upcoming issue.

Regards,
Phil

[Don Bullock]

Jameel, I must say that your modern twist to the Federal style desk is outstanding. I agree with Phillip. I'll be looking for pictures in FWW because they definately need to be shared with their readers. Thank you for posting the pictures here first.

[Roy Wall]

I'd like to know what the first museum to have this "on loan" will be......I'll get my ticket.

Jameel - superb!

I've love to see any tutorial you have on the resawing, veneering, the beading, etc..

What are the dimensions?

[Nancy Laird]

Jameel, that is one beautiful piece of work. I'll also be looking for it in FWW. I really like the door design.

Nancy

[John Timberlake]

Very nice design. I like the subtle difference in wood colors and the use of the sapwood in the cherry. Overall a wonderful piece. Somewhat traditional with interesting variations.

[Loren Zachary]

Unbelievable.

Zach

[Jameel Abraham]

Wow! You guys are unbelievable! FWW? Museums? Sheesh. Thanks Kyle, Roy, Gail, Philip, Don, Roy, Nancy, John and Warren! I wish I got paid for this one. I built it over the last year or so for my father. So this one won't yield any financial bonus. I guess it's already been paid for, so to speak, and many times over at that.

Dimension are 30" deep, 64" wide, 52" high. I didn't take any pics of the process. I used basic techniques for everything. Only the fiddleback sycamore is true sliced veneer. The rest is sawn, all glued in a press or with curved cauls. The bead I cut from some curly maple and ran it through an inverted laminate trimmer with an improvised fence and tiny roundover bit. If anybody wants some detailed info on any specific part, glad to explain.

BTW, I love cherry! All this cherry is from native Iowa logs, sawn by a local one-man shop. Paid less than $5 a board foot for this figured stuff.

[Dan Forman]

Spectacular, lovely, and everything that everyone else said too. What is the substrate upon which the veneer was placed?

Dan

[Jim Becker]

Um...

WOW!

[Eugene A. Manzo III]

VERY VERY SHARP !!!! The detail hits you in the face .

[Jim W. White]

Thanks for posting. Your work is really phenominal. I've looked at the pictures time and again and there is absolutely nothing I don't appreciate about your design. It's awesome!

[Jim Tobias]

Jameel,
This is one of the most beautiful and appealing pieces that I have seen ANYWHERE!!! I'm sure we have all look at a lot of pictures of many extremely well designed pieces, but IMHO, this is one of the best!!
Congratulations on a fantastic piece of design and execution!

Jim

[jonathan snyder]

Jameel,
That is beautiful, your are very talented. I enjoyed following your oud making thread also. The cherry is gorgeous, I like the sapwood. How about some more pics!

Jonathan

[scott spencer]

That's amazing Jameel! The wood, the design, the craftsmanship...all amazing.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Very nice.

[Jim Grill]

Truly inspiring! I hope I'm able to build something at least half that awesome when I grow up.


Beautiful work! I can't stop admiring the photographs.

[Howard Rosenberg]

Gorgeous - just gorgeous.

Thank you for sharing your photos.

Howard

BTW - I don't think anyone here is being coy - FWW IS NOT out of line!

[Rich Torino]

That's just an outstanding piece of work..

[John Schreiber]

That's beautiful. I love the modern take on the federal look.

I feel bad to say anything slightly negative about such a wonderful piece, but I don't like the pulls. I don't know why, but they don't work for me.

[Mikail Khan]

Excellent work. I hope to one day have the skill and patience to do work like that.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Absolutely wonderful The combinations of woods and figures is just stunning. Of course the craftsmanship is par excellence.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Jameel, stunning desk! Truly a work of art. Great job!

["Gary Brewer"]

Jameel: I don't usually care for Federal furniture but your piece is so darn beautiful. The enhancements are just wonderful and it is really inspiring. Did you do all your resawing your self? What is the base wood under the veneer? What kind of finish did you use? Thanks again for showing it.
Gary

[Eric Lewis]

Beautiful! The symmetry in the desk and contrasting inlays are amazing.

As an Iowa-native myself, I'd really be interested in getting to know your one-man sawyer.

[Lori Kleinberg]

Wonderful piece of craftmanship. Beautiful. I have not been particularly fond of the Federal style,
but that desk has made me rethink that idea .

[Ralph Okonieski]

I'm grasping for words that accurately describe how much I like it but not finding any. The design and combination of woods is extremely well done, not to mention the constructing and finishing. Very, very nice!

[Ron Brese]

Jameel,

Usually when I see sapwood in a cherry piece I think it would have been better without the sapwood, however in this piece you actually turned what some would have considered a defect, into a beautiful feature of the desk that compliments and exist with the other lighter parts of the desk in wonderful harmony. Just beautiful.

Ron Brese

[Jerry Strojny]

Yowser! Wow! Ooooo! Ahhhh!

Very nice all around.

[Nate Rogers]

Dude,
What amazes me the most is the balance, sooooo many details..yet it isn't overdone!! I think the sapwood in the desk top is what really does it, if that was a solid cherry color...It would really throw it all out of whack, but with the sapwood it is perfect....Just awesome!!!

Nate

[Jameel Abraham]

Thanks everybody. My philosophy about forums is to give and receive. I've taken lots of great info here, but contributed little. This is my way of giving back a bit.


That's beautiful. I love the modern take on the federal look.

I feel bad to say anything slightly negative about such a wonderful piece, but I don't like the pulls. I don't know why, but they don't work for me.

I had a hard time coming up with the pulls too. I never liked buying pulls for a nice piece, none of them seem to be just right. I thought of making some wood pulls out of perhaps rosewood or blackwood, or even birdseye, but I wanted to incorporate mother of pearl. Admittedly, I didnt spend much time on the pull design, I probably should have done some mock-ups...laziness prevails!


Did you do all your resawing your self? What is the base wood under the veneer? What kind of finish did you use? Thanks again for showing it.
Gary

Yes. I veneered the doors over 1/2" baltic birch. The rest of the veneered parts (the rails and drawer fronts) are veneered onto solid or bent-laminated cherry. Wipe on varnish for the outside, and shellac for the insides of the drawers and cabinet. I prefer the ease of oil-varnish, and I think I'm going to return to that. Wiping varnish sets up to fast. I like to wet sand with the finish for the first couple coats, and wiping varnish doesn't allow it really. At least my formulation doesn't. I get a silky smooth finsih with oil-varnish wiped on that I haven't been able to duplicate with any other method. It's time consuming and slow-to-build, but it's very deep and luxurious once done, without making a plasticy film.


Beautiful! The symmetry in the desk and contrasting inlays are amazing.

As an Iowa-native myself, I'd really be interested in getting to know your one-man sawyer.

The guys name is Alan, and he runs "By the Foot" sawmill in Norway. About 15 minutes west of Cedar Rapids just off 30.