Dovetail Desk

well done Joel. Achieving a personal goal. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?!

The desk is beautiful and wow… the planning, the skill, and the patience involved. I am very impressed!

Well done.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Thanks Renissance Man – I have repaired many antiques (in bad shape) that we pickup at auctions. Even when the glue has dried and cracked over time, the dovetail drawers still stay together. That was some of my inspiration for the dovetails. The sides that are tongue and grooved are what fall apart and nobody wants to take the time to fix them. Saved many from the burn pile or dump

-- Joel Tille

Great looking Desk Joel. Nice job on the sliding dovetails. Did you use a router table or another jig?

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

MsDebbieP – Thanks for the kind words, I played out the sequence of how to assemble the desk over and over in my head. trying to solve my obsticles that may arise. It ultimately became a puzzle after while, what parts to fit together first then second so you could continue without having to disassemble to put a piece in.

-- Joel Tille

Karson – I used a router table (cruedly made). I learned to use a spacer when making the tongue of the dovetail.

If all boards are not exactly the same width, you can not set up the fence and flip the board front and back. At first I got tight and loose fitting joints, then I solved it with a spacer against the fence for one side of the board and removed the space to router the other side.

-- Joel Tille

Great job! The dovetails are a great stroke.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Very nice Joel truly amazing!!!

-- http://rjoneswoodworks.com/

Really a nice piece.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

wow, awesome job Joel. Great photos also, very informative! Thanks for the comment about your trip here, you were pleasure to meet and host while in Kansas. We look forward to another chance to meet in person.

What’s next on your project list?

Mark

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flinthill's Artisan

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

-- Joel Tille

Mark – Thanks, and i enjoyed my trip to Kansas, look forward to the next trip.

The extra photos hehe, i had to go back to the learning center, setup an account with photobucket. The summer challenge has made me learn more than just woodworking. I had a terrible time getting the photos to be small enough to see in the text area. Then when I was loading one of the three photos that goes at the top, I had some kind of application error. had to reload everything, so finally got correct size photos.

Next on project list – have niece and nephew come and stay this week, and next week go to the Omaha Zoo. 3-1/2 hr drive, well worth it. Niece asked yesterday at a family get together when she could come and stay, usually would have happened last week. The desk got the better of me, would not have finished on time.

Beyond that – father-in-law has friend that has a 55’ boat. In order to get it home he cut the top wind shield off of it. Now he wants a removable windshield, the father-in-law gave him my name. So we will see what happens. My first set worked good.

-- Joel Tille

What a great project.

With all the high skill projects that are being showcased here I am almost embarrassed to show off my amateur efforts.

Very well done.

Perhaps one day when I have the shop space and the time to devote to it I will be able to do work like this.

Aubrey

-- Jesus was a Jewish carpenter.

Great work Joel – gives us amateurs something to aspire to!

Don’t worry Aubrey, my project got upstaged by this great piece just after I posted :)

John

-- John, Auckland New Zealand - http://www.farmgeek.co.nz

Joel;

Very nice joinery work! I especially liked the sloted sliding dovetails you used.

Also, attatching the handles was very creative.

An excellent project, I must say, and well written article.

Thanks,

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Joel, this entry is indeed a real tribute to your woodworking skills and ingenuity. This is truly a classic piece considering it is entirely done without glue. I never expected an entry of this magnitude, because as the piece increases in size and complexity, the greater the nature of this challenge.

Although, needlessly as it turns out, I was a little concerned a few days back that the joinery category was really struggling to get some worthwhile entries, then Karson and you produce two spectacular projects.

Simply outstanding!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Awesome… I am not kidding… you better catalog how to undo the thing as it would be a bugger for anyone else to figure out how to undo.

I am amaized as to the degree of talent involved in this contest.

Drew

-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah

ambitious project for this category, and a informative step by step… well done! What a innovative way to attatch the handles. Great desk.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh

Very impressive. Very neat way you doweled the handles.

-- Brent - Shreveport, Louisiana

There’s no place for a hobbiest here! Awesome work and design. Great looking solution on the drawer handles as shown by your cross section cut a way. It’s perfect…there’s nothing else to say.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Thanks for all the comments …

Aubrey – Don’t be embarrassed, be proud of what you have accomplished in your journey of woodworking. I joined LJ’s after reviewing some other sites, This one seemed very inviteing. On one of the other sites people were almost to critical of up and coming woodworkers that i felt would discourage them. Time is another issue, I wasn’t sure I could finish on time when I started. Not being able to glue definately created challenges on how to hold it together.

Farmgeek – I get inspired everytime I log on. I look at some of the projects that are posted and hope someday i can build like that.

-- Joel Tille

Don – Yes the size, at first I thought I could build it all with sliding dovetails no problem. A piece that would push me further than most of the antique furniture repair we occasionally work on.

Whats the problem?, Every once in a while I would hit a wall and not sure how to proceed, I would finally walk out of the shop sit on the porch and mull over how to proceed. I finally took vacation time from the day job to help finish on time.

-- Joel Tille

no glue? I missed that in the article. Wow, what an entry for the challenge, and a day early!!!

I’ve been using Flickr for my photos to use in articles. Now, they tell me I have to upgrade to a paid subscription, as I am over their 200 photo limit. I may have to try photobucket now.

great job joel,
mark

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flinthill's Artisan

Beautiful piece, masterful building! Too bad there had to be glue in the plywood you used, otherwise it’d be perfect.

I hadn’t thought of the glue in the plywood in the beginning, I was going to build it without myself using any glue, screws or nails.

Karson highlighted recently in a blog about the plywood which set me back. I did not have enough lumber on hand to finish with slats. The base had already been stained and finished. I still accomplished what I first set out to do, not to use glue, screws or nails myself.

-- Joel Tille

What a magnificent entry. This one will be high on my list.

After all, it wasn’t you that made the plywood.

Your wood must have to be all at the same moisture level for a project like this, because I’ve made some things ,that after a period of time, the joints would loosen up.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

An amazing project. I don’t think the plywood should effect voting at all. That was brought up kind of late in the conversation. Veneer I could see…clearly a use of glue. You certainly could have used solid panels had the concern for plywood been stated at the beginning.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Thanks Dick and Bob … One of the drawbacks of living in a small community. Grain elevator, meat locker, post office and a bar. Nobody sells lumber. Nearby town’s lumberyard’s selection is very limited and high priced; mainly to home construction. Next big town is about 30 miles, has a chain store there, not orange or blue. I like to coordinate my lumber purchases with a visit to the sister-in-laws in Des Moines. Woodsmith has much better selection of many species of wood. Des Moines is about 100 miles one way. So just running out and getting more wood didn’t neccessarily fit my schedule late in the challenge.

Thanks again to all who have viewed and commented.

Maybe next week i will post photos of a desk I made for my mother years ago. using a circular saw, jig saw and a kids imaginations. Laughing will be permitted, probably required.

-- Joel Tille

Joel, this is a wonderful piece of craftsmanship. Outstanding. Am looking forward to seeing that desk you made for your mother, and any other projects you post as well. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

Wow! – I can’t even describe how impressive this is! wonderful craftsmanship, very inspiring, thank you for posting the process!

-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe

Thanks Chip and Schroeder – I will need to get some photos of moms desk to post. Keep your handkerchiefs handy.

-- Joel Tille

Awsome job!

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

This is really amazing. I am very impressed. One could only hope to be able to do something this nice. Very nice work.

-- robbi

Fabulas… got my vote

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

Beautiful!

-- I'll see you on the Dark Side of the Moon

A++ for detail. Great job.

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

Again thanks for all the comments everyone, this was a very interesting project.

-- Joel Tille

Great job Joel. Congratulations!

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Wow! couldn’t be closer – congratulations on the win!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Unbelievable piece Joel and well deserved win! Congrats!

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

WOW! Just fantastic work. I cannot think of anything that hasn’t already been said here. Thanks for sharing the picture show. Congradulations.

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

Thanks everyone, this was very interesting. When I first explained to Susie what I wanted to build and how I had planned it in my head for a couple of weeks. I told her I wanted to win the hand plane (missed that one), she said after I told her my estimate on materials “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy the plane” . My response: Where is the challenge in walking up to a shelf and picking one up. Guess I’ll have to do that now.

Thanks to everyone that voted for my project, and thanks to all who entered.

-- Joel Tille

Hi Joel…..................even a photo finish couldn’t determine a winner.

Your desk was a very bold statement of your woodworking abilities. I loved how you reached for the next level and that’s what these challenges are really about. Not so much fir winning, but testing your skill-set, then looking for the next project. Can’t wait to see more of your work.

Neil

Joel;

This is a great display of your talent and imagination for problem solving. The joinery is very creative and beautifully done. A job to be proud of for sure.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

What can I say that hasnt been said.Wow! That is some very tedious joinery and alot of it.You really went all out on this project, and you did well.Very well.

-- " Stubborn tenacity substitutes for natural ability" ANDY

Thank you for being such a craftsman and sharing your skills. I am truly motivated

-- RMH Designs

What an amazing desk. Just it’s appearance alone has a commanding presence. The joinery, detail, technique, and creativity send it off the charts! Absolutely masterful and thank you for sharing it.

-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!

Hi Joel

You are a true master of the craft! While being in woodworking for over 40 + years I have seen none better. Thank you for allowing us to see this beautiful desk. You can go to ND2ELK and see the kind of work I enjoy doing.

TOM

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

I am glad this came out of the archives so I got to see it. Great job.

-- Maplewood, MN