[OP]
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Well, I'm back in the building mode after an extended time of not building anything.
My wife found this Bookshelf for sale in England,and now it is my job to recreate it. It's supposed to be English A&C, but it kind of has a secessionist feel to me also.
Attachment 507068
I'll try an post some progress pics as I go.
Last edited by Mike Cutler; 09-03-2023 at 1:45 PM.
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)
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That English brown oak might be tough to find here in the US – not that it's essential. Classic design that would look great in lots of different timbers.
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Hearne carries it...I generally am not a fan of "oak" but I absolutely love English Brown Oak and every time I visit Hearne, I seem to buy another stick or three of it. Since they have their open house in about a week and I like going to them, if I do show up, there will likely be some more of the stuff in my rack. LOL (It's only money...)Originally Posted by Mike Allen1010
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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The shelf fronts appear to have nail holes, as if the shelf material is plywood, and the edgebanding is nailed on. If that is true, it seems odd to me. If you're going to use edgebanding, glue it on.
[OP]
Contributor
Jamie
Apologies for not responding sooner.
No, I won't be putting any nails in it. When she first showed it to me, I told her it looked kind of "roughly" made. ( The price to have it bought and shipped from the UK was going to be close to $3K!!)
The bookshelf will be made from solid, sap edge, air dried, walnut. The walnut is 1" thick for just about everything except the feet.
The shelves will be dado's and internally pinned to register from the front for seasonal movement. The shelves are face sawn walnut, some nice figure in the boards, but it will be mostly hidden.
The top and sides are book matched, Q-sawn, walnut. Behind those fake "stretchers" at the top and bottom will be hidden cleats to tie the front into a single plane.
The back will be 1/2" baltic birch, with some series, book matched, walnut, sections. I had a piece that had an interesting knot in it, and the book matching is going to appear as "raised arms".
The only mechanical fasteners used will be to tie the top and bottom to the sides, and the back to the case.
The sides will be recessed into the feet, and I still have to work out the expansion and contraction, of the sides, in relation to the feet. In the end, they will probably be attached with screws in slotted holes .
The Q-sawn material should be less reactive to seasonal changes, than the shelves, which is why the shelves will be free floating.
All of the wood is cut to it's near final dimension right now, and has been acclimating in the house for the past month.
The finish is a toss up right now, between my "go to", General Finishes process, or Odie's oil. The client, my wife, likes the Odie's oil. It's a workout to do Odie's on this scale.
I should be cutting the shelf dado's this weekend, and can have the basic form freestanding. I still need to make the back and the feet.
It's funny that you mentioned the plywood. Believe it, or not, I've actually made a full sized mockup out of a sheet of plywood . It came out nice too. Maybe,I'll glue some edge banding on that one and who knows??
Sometimes camera shots can "fish eye" a piece, and getting the final proportions can be difficult
Last edited by Mike Cutler; 10-05-2023 at 7:37 PM.
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)
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