Two Pennsylvania Secretaries

[Tim Dorcas]

Tim, most challenging aspect of the project was definately the attempting to balance honey do's, family life, work and a interstate move during construction. I find it increasingly tough for me to find much time for working in the shop as I get older..

The plans in FWW by Lonnie Bird are pretty good in general, there were details that are hard to see or not well documented that can get you (old story of the devil is in the details). For instance the top drawer in the lower case does not have a rabbit on top or bottom of the drawer, I can safely tell you if you build it that way (not that I know) the upper drawer interferes with the lid, thankfully its an easy save. Speaking of the lid, it is an absolute pain in arse to fit to the case.

I figure there is over 400 hours in each desk.. I figure to make any money when building such a project the number has to be reduced to 160 to 200 hours..

Thanks for filling in the gaps. I remember the article you are talking about. I don't know if I have the patience for a 400 hour project...but you never know.

Last question....Had you made anything like this before? I consider myself an intermediate woodworker and I'm interested to know if this is something that stretched your skillset.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Thanks for filling in the gaps. I remember the article you are talking about. I don't know if I have the patience for a 400 hour project...but you never know.

Last question....Had you made anything like this before? I consider myself an intermediate woodworker and I'm interested to know if this is something that stretched your skillset.

Tim,

I have been working with wood is some way or another for 20 years, I would say that I was an intermediate woodworker also.. The project was a stretch, many firsts were attempted, such as handcut dovetails, and vacuum veneering.. But half the fun is stretching and learning..

[Mark Singer]

Truly excellent! Great craftsmanship and thoughtful construction!

[C Scott McDonald]

The finish on them is fantastic. The dye and shellac sure makes a rich finish on already rich wood.

Thanks for sharing.

[Joel Ficke]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing them with us.

What was the most difficult part of fitting the lids, or said differently, what did you learn to watch out in that process?

[Lucas Bittick]

Robert-- those are stunningly nice. Definitely heirloom pieces. Any technique you wish to share is greatly appreciated!

[Robert LaPlaca]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing them with us.

What was the most difficult part of fitting the lids, or said differently, what did you learn to watch out in that process?

Joel,

The lid is 38" x 15 " x 7/8 piece of Walnut with breadboard ends, rabbited on three sides. The real pain is fitting the hinges perfectly so the top does not bind on the sides, top of the lower case or get hinge bound. The hinges are very much in clear site and any oops will be clearly visible for all to see.

I felt the best way to get the job done was to make a prototype top out of scraps and use it as the test bed for the fit.. I later found a book written by Glenn Huey and he recommended the same procedure.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Robert-- those are stunningly nice. Definitely heirloom pieces. Any technique you wish to share is greatly appreciated!

Lucas,

I found coloring crotch Walnut to be very challenging, you can think of crotch as long and end grains combined. The first dye sample produced way too dark a dye color (even with a diluted 1 part dye to 3 parts water) as used on the rest of the case. Used 1 lb cut Zinzer Sealcoat shellac as a stain conditioner on all the crotch, I still think it stained darker than I really wanted. All I wanted to was to warm up the color of Walnut so I lost the 'blue' tint.

I later found that Lonnie Bird actually bleaches the Walnut using a two part bleach, then dyes the Walnut. I could not bring myself to put bleach on Walnut.

[Zahid Naqvi]

That's great, excellent workmanship and attention to detail. I bet making two saved a lot of time.

[Calvin Hobbs]

Robert,

Truly beautiful work. The details in a large piece (or 2!!!) really make it but they add so much time. The finish is outstanding as well. I love period work so thanks very much for posting.

So what do you have lined up for your next masterpiece? Cal

[Robert LaPlaca]

I bet making two saved a lot of time.

Zahid,

Thanks for the kind works.

Yes that is the theory, but I only wish it worked in practice. Seemed like making two pieces seemed to take time squared instead of time * 2, maybe it only felt that way.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Robert,

Truly beautiful work. The details in a large piece (or 2!!!) really make it but they add so much time. The finish is outstanding as well. I love period work so thanks very much for posting.

So what do you have lined up for your next masterpiece? Cal

Thanks Calvin, after finishing some more honey do's, I was considering the Curly Cherry Highboy by Randall O'Donnell in FWW 1996

[Don Eddard]

Gorgeous work on both of them, but I like the one on the left best.

The recipients are two very fortunate ladies indeed.

[Lucas Bittick]

I later found that Lonnie Bird actually bleaches the Walnut using a two part bleach, then dyes the Walnut. I could not bring myself to put bleach on Walnut.

Robert, what made you decide to go with a dye instead of a stain? Is it the nature of the walnut? I imagine that dye absorption is much harder to control in open-grained areas (but, I am only familiar with staining technique).

In any case, I appreciate that the veneered areas are a bit darker-- you could say "I meant to do that" and no one would doubt it. The veneer panels are in harmony with the rest of the piece, and they have the same effect as many classic pieces of furniture I have seen. Maybe the old masters had the same absorption problems.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Robert, what made you decide to go with a dye instead of a stain? Is it the nature of the walnut? I imagine that dye absorption is much harder to control in open-grained areas (but, I am only familiar with staining technique).

In any case, I appreciate that the veneered areas are a bit darker-- you could say "I meant to do that" and no one would doubt it. The veneer panels are in harmony with the rest of the piece, and they have the same effect as many classic pieces of furniture I have seen. Maybe the old masters had the same absorption problems.

Lucas,

I am not a finishing expert, so you can take all the below with a grain of salt..

I went with dye for a couple of reasons, first dye is very clear, I could dilute the dye quite easily with distilled water (1 part dye to 3 parts water) since I only wanted to kill the coolness of the Walnut and the very wide selection of dye colors (almost too many).

I think is this case the veneer staining darker is more of a function of the swirling "end grain like" crotch figure, the veneer is 1/16" thick shopsawn, nothing like the "normal" 1/40" standard veneer.