( http://lumberjocks.com/projects/7749 )
I decided to add some gilding to project using Sepp Mica Powders.

I started by gilding these applied carving pieces. I mixed the powder with Seal Coat and brushed it on.

I applied two coats letting the shellac base dry in between coats.
I was somewhat concerned that subsequent coats would dissolve the previous layer but I was please to find that these powers fill in quite readily. It is a matter of mixing the desired concentration. I have gone for a rather heavy mixture….

After playing around with the carvings I moved onto the legs. I taped off the areas that border the designated gilding segments-

I removed the tape and began applying a stain to the remaining areas. I am giving this a wash of a red mahogany stain.

I applied the stain with a small artists brush-being very careful to let the stain ease up to the gilded borders…I was happy to find out though that even if a good deal of stain washed over the gilded segments-the stain did not penetrate those areas. A paper towel or rag removed any stain on the gilded areas.

Here are the legs set into the case and the desk.

The glided drawer casing is glued in place. The other gilded carvings are taped on for now.

It’s a challenge to gild enough but not too much in a busy piece like this. The top will have profile that closely follows the perimeter of the casework-in other words I plan on just enough overhang or lip to allow for wood movement. The top will have a a fairly “busy” profile routed along it’s edge and that edge will receive a gilding as well.

Thanks for looking…
Alan

I am aware of a number of furniture makers that send out periodic newsletters to their clients, friends, and other furniture makers. I do also. A few folk on my list will no doubt recognize this from a recent newsletter. But I’m actually building a piece so it seemed like fun to share the progress…....here goes…...

A couple of months ago I was reading a AJ Hammler’s woodworking blog. In one entry he made mention of a novel that has a furniture maker in the plot. Thinking about furniture in a novel forced me to admit something:

I like Jane Austen stories.
Yup, I admit it. I am a romantic. It started innocently enough when my wife, Eileen, was watching a video and said “Hey Alan look at that table”. I casually entered the room and looked at the TV and was struck by the elegant period furnishings in the movie she was watching- It turned out to be “Sense and Sensibility” with Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant. So I finished watching the show..to see the “great furniture”….
Sometime later “Mansfield Park” turned up at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. I didn’t even know it was a Jane Austen story at the time- Hey I didn’t really know who Jane Austen was, but I looked at the previews and I knew Eileen would like that movie so I took her to see it. Then dear wife obtained the new version of “Pride and Prejudice” with Keira Knightly and Donald Sutherland.
Well of course I had to take advantage of the chance to see more great furniture -not to mention architecture and lovely English gardens. So I watched that too. —Once or twice, or thrice, fourthice or fifthice—what ever!
Finally, this winter PBS began running all the Austen stories. By this time I had entered the state of complete denial…

….The thin facade of a furniture enthusiast claiming to take advantage of the opportunity to see great furniture was now totally crumbling away as my wife laughed at my constant reminding her that “Sunday night at 9:00 is the next Jane what’s – her – name show that you want me to see….”
Yeah right…Well ..I’ve seen all of them now… I think….Emma, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park,…well all except for Northanger Abbey…I missed that one…. Look at that! I can even name them all! What’s Next? I guess pretty soon I’ll be buying CD’s by John Tesh and Josh Groban.

I admit then that I watch the Austen stories for the relational plots…but I do look at the furniture…..realizing all along that I will probably never be cast in the role of Mr.Darcy. However, I decided I could vicariously live out the role by building a piece of furniture the would gain Mr. Darcy’s “Good Opinion”

This illustration settled the matter:A writing desk it would be

<”You write html code uncommonly fast!”>

Here is the design.
This desk is based on the Curved Corned Cabinet I built in 2006
This design features turned and fluted legs, a drawer with tamboured front and a case with compound curves.

Now then- For chapters 1-3 of my “Furniture” Novelette read on….

Alan

http://www.woodwardwoodworks.com/MrDarcysWritingDeskp1.html

The Table is Poplar-The finish is flat black enamel with Black Lacquer. The corner pediments are all brass-except the top sphere-which is a maple wood ball with Gold enamel and Clear Lacquer.

I turned the chess pieces from aluminum. The board is maple and walnut.

The bases for the nights are actually-cold rolled steel. I cut the aluminum horse profiles on a bandsaw then finished the look with files and punches…

I had hoped to make one set from Aluminum and one from Brass- the brass costs were just too far from my budget. So I made both sets from aluminum and finished them in enamel..The dark set was sprayed flat black first then “dusted” with the gold….I like the bronze tone that resulted…..Thanks for looking….
Alan

Some time back I posted pictures of jig I built to run the grooves in the legs. http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/AlanY/blog/4559

This plan was short sighted too. If I were to have glued doweled legs into the case work, the resulting desk would have been to big to get through the doors of my basement shop….So I was forced to design the legs as “removable”. A idea which in the end is probably a better plan anyway-as removable legs will aid in negotiating tight corners. So the plan now is to glue a threaded rod into the end of the legs and a matching threaded insert into the corresponding section of the casework.

Back to the turned legs-whether I was to glue the entire leg to the upper case work or proceed with a threaded rod, I still needed to drill a hole through the top of the legs. Now I was face with another dilemma. I have a bench top drill press that is not big enough to accommodate the length of the legs, Neither is my nifty-recently acquired Mill/Drill… So I have to drill the hole “free hand”...This of course requires a means of making sure the drill is parallel with the leg. So I came up with this little jig.

The jig is more or less-self centering with a 1/4-20 screw turned to a point as the centering pin.

The jig is placed on top of the turned leg. The centering pin is set in the hole that is left from the lathe nut.(of course this ENTIRE jig would have been unnecessary if I had thought to drill the holes while the legs where still square stock!)

But here we go..Then the jig is closed tight against the leg as two opposing pivot points move along the slide bars.

At this point all the screws are tightened and the jig is held firmly in place centered over the leg.

The upper and lower slide bars each have a centered 1/4 inch hole. These are space about 1” apart and form the parallel line for the drill to follow into the leg.

A bit of tweaking could be done but the resulting hole was “acceptable” :^)...

After the four legs were drilled for a the 1/4 inch hole I enlarged them to 3/8. The 3/8 drill easily followed the smaller diameter hole.

I will probably continue the precess up to a 1/2 inch and then insert a threaded rod….

Thanks for looking….
Alan

I want the legs to have “flutes”. I made a jig from some roller bearings and 80-20 aluminum extrusions.

I turned one of the four legs this past weekend then ran the leg through the fluting jig.

The jig construction and operation can be seen at this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/woodwardwoodworks/FlutingJig

Alan

But whether the machine is for metal or wood, moving heavy machines can be a chore even when you have help. I have a series of pictures here, showing the unloading of the crated machine on a pallet from the street all the way to setting the machine in place in my basement shop. With proper planning and some long laminated beams, I was able to accomplish this task acapella.

http://picasaweb.google.com/AlanYoung138/MillDrill

Alan

I have designed a bookcase that has a “flavor” of the early American Secretaries by cabinetmakers such as Townsend and Goddard etc… But rather than a quill and ink- my design allows for more modern conveniences such as a lap top computer- while still making plenty of space for books.

My new design for a bookcase incorporates a good deal of moldings, and features a slide out drawer/desktop.
The lower case has doors. Each case has applied medallions and fluted columns.

The top features a built-up crown molding.

All the shelves are adjustable. The shelves are constructed as torsion boxes with more molding applied to the front. This will allow for a very sturdy shelf that will avoid sagging over time

This design calls for moldings around the doorpanels and side frames as well as a beaded molding that lines the
face frames. So the router will see a great deal of work fabricating the moldings.

The lower case has a slide out desk top where you can set reading materials or a laptop computer.

The slide-out top also opens to reveal further storage.

This entry is based on a combination of two previous bookcases that I’ve already built.

A painted bookcase

and a bookcase with many brass details in the Empire Style:

Here is the SketchupModel

http://www.box.net/shared/bzlxo75c8o
Alan Young