| Project by GaryK | posted 528 days ago | 715 views | 1 time favorited | 27 comments | ![]() |
I built this in two stages, First the bottom half. It is solid mahogany with the sides being 21 inch wide boards which I was lucky to find. The drawer faces are solid 8/4 cut and finished to the shape in the pictures. Since the odd shapes prevented me from using a router, I ended up grinding a bead detail into a piece of steep and used that to scrape the bead around the drawers by hand. All the small drawers and door are all hand carved.
The top half was made about a year later. It’s also solid mahogany. The doors were made following an article in a Fine Woodworking magazine. I cut each piece of glass by hand which turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. The top molding is off the shelf.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Your Online Shop - Your Support Is Greatly Appreciated - Your Woodworking Showcase - 3 Ways To Help, Financially - Your Woodworking Community




























27 comments so far
Damian Penney
home | projects | blog
733 posts in 531 days
posted 528 days ago
Wow, impressive Gary, how many hours went into it? Love the drawer fronts.
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
GaryK
home | projects | blog
8567 posts in 528 days
posted 528 days ago
Thanks. I would say that I spent about 6 months of evenings and weekends.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Bob Babcock
home | projects | blog
1807 posts in 626 days
posted 528 days ago
Beautiful Gary. We have an antique that looks almost identical to this. My wife’s uncle left it to her. A classic that is very functional. She actually uses it to display and store china.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
GaryK
home | projects | blog
8567 posts in 528 days
posted 528 days ago
Thanks Bob. I based it on a Governor Winthorp Secetary in the book “Hierloom Furniture by Franklin Gottshall copyright 1957”.
The book had ball claw feet, but I started but didn’t have the time to finish them.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
mb_BeachBum
home | projects | blog
18 posts in 592 days
posted 528 days ago
Beautiful work, impressive!
-- Don, on California's Central Coast
Don
home | projects | blog
2586 posts in 717 days
posted 528 days ago
Gary, your standard of craftsmanship is very high. This is such a beautiful piece.
I just checked out your profile to see if I could learn any more about your woodworking background. It didn’t tell me much. Have you taken any formal training or serve a cabinet making apprenticeship?
Gary, since I don’t want to miss anything you post, I’ve added you to my Buddies list.
Thanks for sharing these pieces.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/
Karson
home | projects | blog
14323 posts in 940 days
posted 528 days ago
Another great piece of furniture.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
TomFran
home | projects | blog
2371 posts in 534 days
posted 528 days ago
Gary, You are good! Wow ;^D
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
CharlieM1958
home | projects | blog
4593 posts in 758 days
posted 528 days ago
This is “master craftsman” stuff you’re posting here.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
GaryK
home | projects | blog
8567 posts in 528 days
posted 528 days ago
Thanks for all the comments.
Don – No formal training, self taught starting about 10 years ago. Every project I have posted so far was made in my 2 car garage in California before I moved to Texas. Being an engineer by trade probably didn’t hurt.
That Highboy dresser was the first peice of furniture I ever made. Just made small nick nacks before that.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Napaman
home | projects | blog
2106 posts in 617 days
posted 527 days ago
wow…even more impressive (all your work) considering you are self taught!!! I love the inventiveness and craftmanship…
-- Matt, Napa, CA...119 days to sanity...
mot
home | projects | blog
4863 posts in 576 days
posted 527 days ago
Jeez, Gary. That’s a terrific piece. I love to work with mahogany.
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
jockmike2
home | projects | blog
4506 posts in 787 days
posted 527 days ago
for being self taught I’d say you are very intelligent and intuitive to be able to make art like this. jockmike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
Jeff
home | projects | blog
970 posts in 634 days
posted 526 days ago
Everybody has pretty much covered my thoughts, Gary. Perhaps I could add ‘ingenious’ with regard to your technique and troubleshooting (to overcome not using a router). Thanks for your contributions to this community.
-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN
schroeder
home | projects | blog
479 posts in 665 days
posted 525 days ago
Beautiful! Just a work of art! I admire your craftsmanship!
-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe
rentman
home | projects | blog
231 posts in 634 days
posted 522 days ago
nice work how thick was the wood foor the drawers.
-- Phil, Chattanooga,TN
GaryK
home | projects | blog
8567 posts in 528 days
posted 485 days ago
The wood for the drawer fronts was 8/4 stock.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Dorje
home | projects | blog
1749 posts in 537 days
posted 485 days ago
Not quite sure how you do it! But – it’s pretty amazing!
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
David
home | projects | blog
1833 posts in 679 days
posted 370 days ago
Gary -
Thank goodness for the shuffle feature! Great chance to re-visit the awesome project. Outstanding work!
Would you comment on the shell carving?
I admire your craftsmanship!
Thanks!
David
-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com
GaryK
home | projects | blog
8567 posts in 528 days
posted 369 days ago
David – Thanks for the comments.
The carving are the same as I did on the Highboy dresser I made. That came from a Fine Woodworking article on building the highboy.
I just used a compass to draw an arc, and then used a penny to draw a lot of little circles along the arc.
Then just carved it out.
Gary
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
ND2ELK
home | projects | blog
2564 posts in 314 days
posted 313 days ago
Outstanding piece and craftsmenship. Is this your own design or is there a set of plans available some where?
-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
GaryK
home | projects | blog
8567 posts in 528 days
posted 313 days ago
ND2ELK
Thanks. It’s a combination of borrowed designs. There are no plans for this. The base came partially from one
book, the top, another, and the glass doors idea from a Fine Woodworking magazine.
If you are looking to make one I can help.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
ND2ELK
home | projects | blog
2564 posts in 314 days
posted 313 days ago
Gary K
My brother wanted some type of desk similar to this. I need to have the 220 service put in and the shop wired yet. Then theres some painting to do but that isnt going to happen till it gets warmer. It was 9 degrees below zero the other night! Thanks for the offer and I will keep it in mind. I used to combine different designs when building dorm furniture for the Universities. They liked different aspects of the different manufactures and I would combined them together. Thanks! Have a great day.
-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
DaveH
home | projects | blog
275 posts in 318 days
posted 284 days ago
Excellent! Great workmanship!
-- Dave Herron, Boise, ID -- “That which does not crash the browser, makes it stronger”
Charles Mullins
home | projects | blog
67 posts in 252 days
posted 246 days ago
Gary,
I am speechless—-druling all over my keyboard though!
Absolutely beautiful.
Charles Mullins
-- God makes the wood beautiful--I simply rearrange it to make it more useful, hopefully.
Beginningwoodworker
home | projects | blog
817 posts in 213 days
posted 201 days ago
That is a real nice desk.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
darryl
home | projects | blog
990 posts in 866 days
posted 201 days ago
great work Gary, it’s beautiful!
I really like the color of the mahogany.
-- ~ www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.woodworkingdungeon.blogspot.com ~