Hi everyone!! It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything here at LJ. So since quite a few of you begged and pleaded with me to share what I’ve been doing lately…O.K. actually there was like one, maybe two of you that said hi and asked how I was doing…and never really did any kind of begging, but it really did feel like all of you were writing.

So this latest project is child’s bookcase…hence the name! I’m not very creative at stuff like catchy titles. A good friend of the family approached me about building a bookcase for his young daughter. He wanted something that looked different than the straight old, plain looking bookcases they were finding everywhere.

The profile of the bookcase has a slight angle starting about 3 inches up from the bottom and has the two fixed shelves. The entire project is made from red oak. The sides and top are all from the same board, although the sides did have to be glued up to the proper width at the bottom.

I wanted the back to match the rest of the project and even though it’ll be hidden by all the books I wanted something more than just a flat plywood panel. I chose to resaw some of the red oak and then applied a chamfer on each edge. By cutting a half-lap, I was able to assemble a great looking solid wood back that I think works for the design.

You’ve probably noticed the half-blind dovetails that join the top to the sides. I don’t own a dovetail jig, anymore, so they’re all cut by hand. Glad I took that class with Christopher Schwarz!!

Since the bookcase is meant for a small child, I wanted a safe finish for her…just in case she decides to gnaw on it someday. While a totally cured poly would have been fine, I chose to use Amber Shellac. Alright, I also chose the shellac because it dries fast too, but that’s between you and me alright??

If you’re interested in seeing me build the project, I’ve documented the project for my show and I’ve started releasing the videos on Wednesdays. As of this posting I’ve posted to videos, but by the time they’re all up it’ll cover the entire project from design to finish. Thanks for checking this out and thanks for remembering me here at LJ!!

One of my coworkers, one of the bosses to be exact, heard that I was a woodworker. Her and her familiy had been wanting a wall of bookcases and a media center for more books and their new flat screen TV. Looking back on it, I probably should have taken on one project at a time. Either the bookcases and then the media center or vice versa. But as usual I can’t help but jump in over my head and swim to the surface. My little shop was awfully cramped, but with a little creative organization I made it through. The only downside is that the paint job didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped, but with all the books in place you can’t see my oops!!!

My son’s clothes were scattered between two different chest of drawers. Both chests were o.k. but not much to look at or easy for him to open either. The time came to build something worthwhile for him and perhaps something that will be passed from family member to family member over the years. I’ve never worked with Cherry before, so I decided this was the project to experiment with. The body is made of No.1 Common Cherry and the drawers are of made of poplar. I used sliding dovetails to attach the drawer rails to the sides and another first for me was in the construction of the drawers. For this project I decided it was time to try my hand at handcut dovetails. I was so nervous I was going to mess up the pieces I chose for the drawer fronts, but I had been practicing for about a month so I knew it was now or never, they turned out great. I’m very proud of this project and couldn’t wait to share this with you.

We have way to many CDs and needed some place to put them. This seems to do the trick. It holds about 300 CDs. Each drawer rides on through dovetails. It’s made of clear pine and is one of my first ever projects.

I built this chest of drawers for my wife and I to replace our two mismatched chests we’ve had since we married six years ago. It’s made of Knotty pine with Poplar drawers and walnut inlays (my first ever). I used through dovetail joiney on the rails and stiles (my first also).