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Thread: Cherry and English Oak Writing Desk

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    Cherry and English Oak Writing Desk

    I decided to make a Writing Desk. Lately I have become very reliant on my software and CNC equipment, and I found I had gotten very sloppy at a few tasks when I tried to do them by hand. I decided to use only basic machinery and hand tools for this project starting with a simple sketch. On a trip thru Stockholm I really like the look of the english oak flooring in the City Hall building. I had ordered some English Oak veneer with another order recently to try, and this seemed like a good project to try it on. All the joinery is traditional mortise and tenon, except between the legs and stretchers. The day I did those I opted to use the domino. I do kick myself for that. Next week after the finishes are fully cured I will rub out the table top finish and then take some better pictures.

    This was the only drawing I did. I made a few modifications during the build. That is very little for me.
    WDesk_Dwg.jpg

    Table Top with tools.
    TableTop.jpg

    Table base after glueup.
    BuildPic1.jpg

    Here is the completed desk.
    WritingDesk.jpg

    Hand chopped dovetails. These did not turn out nearly as well as I would have liked, but I decided not to re-make all of them.
    WDesk_Drawer.jpg

    I thought I would share.
    Last edited by Brad Shipton; 11-13-2018 at 12:05 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
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    Cincinnati, OH
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    Looks very nice. Thanks for sharing.
    Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!

  3. #3
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    Very nice. I like the bridle joints at the corners of the top.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  4. #4
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    Oct 2007
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    Thanks guys. It was a lot of fun, and now I need to make a better chair to match.

  5. #5
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    Apr 2017
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    Clarks Summit PA
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    That is a beautiful desk Brad. Did you work with 4/4 stock? It looks like you had to glue up to get the thicker legs.

  6. #6
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    Thanks Mark, I had some 6/4 wood in the shed I used. It was wide enough that I could rip into two to make legs out of wood that matched reasonably well. The legs on the backside are not quite as pretty as I did not want to waste some of the nicer stock.

  7. #7
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    Looks great. So you used bridle joints on the top. Are they breadboard ends, or is it a frame with solid panel? I can't quite tell.

  8. #8
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    Stan, the center panel is 1" baltic birch with english oak veneer. The perimeter is attached to the center panel using domino's as well. English Oak can be found in NA, but it is too expensive for this piece. If it were a solid top I would not have built it this way. The width of the rails is a bit on the large side for my comfort with wood movement, but I have others with edging close to this width that have held up fine.
    Last edited by Brad Shipton; 11-16-2018 at 9:08 AM.

  9. #9
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    Jan 2004
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    Lewiston, Idaho
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    Nicely done!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
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    MT
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    698
    Very nice.
    Regards,

    Kris

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