A Secret Compartment

I am also submitting this table into the ”Knot like no other” contest. The original design is for a table I was building for a retiring Officer (our Commanding Officer). But I wanted to incorporate both contest theme’s in its final build. So what inspired me, well one the veneer did but I with me being a very beginning woodworker I wanted to put some work out there and se if I have the potential to do things like this. I truely do not expect to win anything but wanted to try my hand at it.

See the entire build here:

Additional Photo's are also attached below...

_The Project:_ When I seen the contest announced then I wanted to try my hand at it. The table is made from re-sawn 8/4 white oak, Ash (secondary wood) and Mappa. The Mappa is the knotty veneers inset into the top and drawers. The Mappa is a veneer with numerous knots in it and it comes from the poplar species. It is extremely hard to work and mend to your will... I seen all of the other entries, so I guess I may have missed the true "knot" concept. Nevertheless, this Mappa is definately like no other knot I have seen and I have been wanting to use it for some time now. The drawers are full extension made from Ash and pegged to the drawer front. The drawer bottoms are also panels of Ash I re-sawn; book matched and glued together then coved the ends to fit in the grooves of the drawer sides. The drawer fronts are the same wood removed from the front aprons to maintain grain direction. I hollowed out the center core and then inset the knotty Mappa veneers.

The legs are of my own design and something I drew one day in a book and thought it would go good with this type of table. The fret work at the top was a first for me.

The top is frame and panel style with again the Mappa inset into the center panel. The finish is oil and wax.

The secret compartment is in the center of the two drawers underneath. Access is by reaching under, removing the peg and lowering the drawer. The top panel slides down and then locks in place. The box is designed to allow for document, cash, or personal info to be stored. As the drawer is lowered the items will not come out until the top is slide into position.

Again, I just wanted to try my hand at a contest and hope you like it.

Here are some more additional photo's:

Billy

-- When you are at a point in life and you think there is nothing more to learn, then you must understand that you have learned nothing at all. Billy