| Project by ScottAlan | posted 378 days ago | 299 views | 1 time favorited | 9 comments | ![]() |
This is an oak version of a Woodsmith project from their plans. This was the second piece of furniture I had ever made. It was made for a loved one. It was stained to her taste (too dark for me). The door pulls are made from wood reclaimed from an old door (room 3029) that hung in the Wisconsin State Capital building in the early 1900’s. I bought the door at auction. The state hung new doors sometime around the 1940’s and then these doors sat in storage until put up for sale in 2006. I’ve been putting pieces of this door into furniture (where appropriate) since. I thought it would be cool to have a little history in some of the furniture I make and learn from.
Scott Alan in Madison, WI
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9 comments so far
Lboy
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114 posts in 516 days
posted 378 days ago
Very Nice!
Dorje
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1736 posts in 431 days
posted 378 days ago
Pretty ambitious for a 2nd piece – that’s great! Again – can you tell us a bit about how you put it together…nutshell or extended versions are fine…
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
MsDebbieP
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11437 posts in 595 days
posted 378 days ago
very cool re: the historic piece.
Gorgeous unit!!!
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
snowdog
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565 posts in 417 days
posted 378 days ago
“Pretty ambitious for a 2nd piece” I agree, a bit dark but very nice.
-- "so much to learn and so little time"..
Dale
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27 posts in 416 days
posted 378 days ago
Great bookcase! I have been looking at these plans myself, you have given me the inspiration I need to start building it. Again, awesome job!
-- Dale, Pittsburgh PA
schroeder
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462 posts in 560 days
posted 377 days ago
Wonderful work Scott, I made the same piece, so I can appreciate the work that went into this piece! – wonderful craftsmanship! – your second project? – you need to change jobs man!~
-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe
ScottAlan
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13 posts in 477 days
posted 377 days ago
I was asked about construction. I used mortise and tenon joinery. Back then, I cut mortises on my drill press with a mortise attachment and a dado set on my tablesaw for the tenons. It worked fine, but now I cut my mortises on the router table. It is so much cleaner and faster for me. I cut mortises first, then I sneak up on the measurement of the tenons to fit.
I cut the 4 pillars first. Then the side horizontal cross members. I used mortise and tenon joints and glue to make the sides. I used oak plywood for the side panels too. I used pins to help reinforce the joints
I cut the stretchers for the front and back of the unit. I used a big, flexible ruler to make my arc. I used a jig saw to cut the arc. The stretchers were mortise and tenoned into the 4 pillars.
I biscuit joined boards to make the shelves and the top. Z type clips hold the top on.
The doors were tough to make. They were so tall that despite my best efforts, they each had a slight bow in them, which made them hard to fit to the case. ANY ADVICE someone has for me to make tall door building easier next time, would be appreciated!! I put tempered glass in the doors so kids or dogs don’t accidentally break the glass. Each door is a single sheet of glass. I put catches at the top and bottom of each door.
I used to build whole projects then try to sand and stain. I learned quickly. Now every piece is sanded nearly to finish grade and stained where possible prior to assembly so I get a much more even color throughout the piece.
I have a lot to learn.
Scott
Dorje
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1736 posts in 431 days
posted 377 days ago
me too! (a lot to learn)...and no help here on the tall door – seems like it would be pretty dependent on the wood used (not type – just actual specific pieces used for the project after they’ve been milled and acclimated to the shop).
Thanks a lot for sharing the low-down on construction! Appreciated!
One more Q- What method did you use to fair the curves after cutting them with the jig saw?
ooh – and one more…do you have an estimate on how many hours you put into building this?
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
ScottAlan
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13 posts in 477 days
posted 374 days ago
Regarding the bottom arc, I used my belt sander mounted upside down in my vise. I ran the piece over the round end of the sander, up and down, the piece of wood. Then, I used a few strokes with a power palm sander, then I sanded by hand.
This piece was built ver part-time, but I would estimate about 80 hours.