Walnut table hutch - in progress

[Jim Kountz]

John I wouldnt worry about cleaning a little dust off before taking the pictures, no one is going to be looking at that when they have that beautiful piece of furniture to drool at!!
I love this thread and was just telling the wife that I hoped you got some shop time this week so I can see the progress!!

[Ken Werner]

doing dovetails in the curly maple is going to be a challenge. I will need all the uplifting I can muster to tackle those.

From what I've seen of your previous dovetails, you'll be fine.

[Roger Gilmore]

Wow-thank you for the detailed pictures-your helping an eager novice learn with your documentation-What a fine piece of furniture you are constructing-I will keep watching and learning-thanks again for taking the time to document!

[Russell Tribby]

Looks great John. Don't you just love the Domino? Did you mill the crown yourself?

[george wilson]

Great work,John!! You are always so self effacing about your woodwork,but obviously you do very well.

[Bruce Page]

John, have you done a shop tour yet?

I for one would like to see one.

[John Keeton]

George, I appreciate your comments, but I will never accomplish the level of craftsmanship you exhibit. I realize the work I do lacks the quality that would set me apart. But, I do enjoy what I do and it gives me a sense of fulfillment.

Russell, I do enjoy the Domino - but wait 'till you read the rest of this post! And, no, the crown was left over from another project.

Bruce, I have never done a shop tour, but I guess most of it was shown in the thread on the install of my DC system. Perhaps when this project is done I will do a thread on the shop - although it is nothing special.

I had a lot on my plate today, so shop time was going to be limited. We had a birthday party to attend for a grandson, my ¼ mile gravel drive did not do well in the storms and needed grading, and we are getting ready for the big family Easter egg hunt that we host every year for about 45 family members.

But, went to the shop and thought I would get a few things done. Well, the day got off to an exciting start.

I knew I had developed a bad habit in the very short while that I had been using the Domino – I often hold stock and find my fingers directly on the opposite side of the mortise being bored. This wouldn’t present a problem assuming everything goes as planned. But, as we all know – it doesn’t always go that way.

I was doing a test cut, but had forgotten to change the depth setting on the Domino from the 25mm it had been set on. On ¾” stock, that is going to go completely through – and it did.
START OF THE DAY.jpg

Let me assure you that the cutter will eat away flesh just as efficiently as it will wood. I am glad to say that my reflexes are still good - I moved my hand very quickly. Fortunately, this was a minor situation, and a very cheap lesson. It could have been much worse. I have changed my habit, and have a much greater respect for the Domino.

No blood on my walnut stock as I was using scrap. After I went to the house, cleaned up, and put some bandages on, I went back out and cleaned up the bench.

Then I was able to complete my mortises in the bottom shelf.
BOTTOM SHELF DOMINO.jpg

[John Keeton]

Roger, I am glad you are enjoying the thread, but there are much better woodworkers on the creek from which to glean knowledge! But, maybe the best lessons learned are from the mistakes of others, so perhaps you can get something from what is shown here

The last time I did a butt joint with the Domino (not counting the one earlier today through my fingers!), I clamped a board against the stock for the perpendicular cut using a square to align it.

There had to be a better way, so I took a couple pieces of MDF and made a “square” that I could clamp to the piece to receive the perpendicular mortise.
MORTISE LAYOUT 1.jpg

I had marked the point where the bottom shelf met the sides while everything was dry assembled.

I checked to make sure the shopmade square was doing its job.
MORTISE LAYOUT 2.jpg

Then made the cuts to receive the bottom shelf.
PANEL MORTISE.jpg

Then I laid out the location for the other two shelves.
SHELF LAYOUT.jpg

And now, all the machining is done on the paneled sides, with the exception of the hinge mortises.
SHELF MORTISES COMPLETE.jpg

I had ordered what I felt were good hinges. At $15 each, they should have been. But, they had much more slop in them than I could tolerate. So, I will be returning them.

Finding oil rubbed bronze hinges in the correct size is difficult, but I located some unfinished quality hinges (I hope!) from WhiteChapel, Ltd. I will either paint them, or find some other way of getting the proper finish. I would rather deal with that issue than sagging doors.

With Easter tomorrow, and turkey season next weekend, I am not sure how much will get done over the next few days, but I will report any progress.

Again, to all that comment, I am humbled by the remarks. This has been a fun project, and I have learned a lot in the process. Most of my efforts are just a compilation of trial and error. Any positive outcome is more directly related to the hours and hours of reviewing the work of the fine people that post here on the creek.

[Bruce Page]

Yikes John! The Hutch looks a lot better than your fingers!

[Ken Werner]

Yikes!! Stay safe.

[John Keeton]

Just a very short update. I had a little shop time yesterday and this evening, and was able to get the paneled back completed. The pic is horizontal because of the clamp setup. It will install vertically.
PANELED BACK.jpg
I will go back to the shop in a few minutes and take off the clamps and remove the glue squeeze out before it sets up too much. I don't like having this much clean up, but gluing this panel together was a little more frantic than I had planned. But, it is together. I made the rails/stiles so that after setting the back in the 3/8" rebate I will have the same reveal for all members of the frame.

Notice that part of the walnut ply has already oxidized some and has picked up some amber color. This may not show after the finish is applied, but in any event, it all will oxidize at some point!

And, no injuries on this task

My step MIL will be visiting for nearly a week, so I may get in more shop time than planned this week

[Jim Kountz]

You just keep pluggin away John, kinda like me with my lowboy. Im really enjoying this thread alot!!

[gary Zimmel]

Looking better with every update John.

Hope those fingers are feeling a little better....

[Brian Frances]

John,
Very beautiful indeed! Your drawers are a touch of perfection! Did you use a dovetail jig to cut them? If so, which one?

[John Keeton]

Brian, thanks for commenting. I need to get an update posted, even though turkey season got in the way. Been working on the finish on the hutch top.

The dovetails were handcut - thanks to the encouragement of Gary Zimmel, Mark Singer, and others here on the creek. This was my first project with handcuts, and I really enjoyed them. Sold my Keller, and gave my SIL my old PC jig. I am jigless!! And, never going back