Solid Walnut Desk

This is my first attempt at a woodworking project. I spent a great deal of time looking at desks and joinery to figure out what I wanted, but eventually it just came down to actually starting the work. I was also fortunate enough to have an uncle who has done a good deal of woodworking himself, so I had access to some very useful tools as well as a host of invaluable information (the desk would have been much different without his assistance, and I owe a great deal to his help). All in all, it was a tremendous learning experience, and although I love the way the desk came out, the greatest thing I got from this was all the knowledge I gained from working with an experienced teacher and the many mistakes along the way.

The first thing I learned was that wood will be wood, and I have to be able to work in coordination to it. If there is a bend in the grain, then it won’t always fit with a long, straight piece for making the top. Also, the process of matching color and grain type for panels was far more involved than I had ever noticed. Again I have to mention how fortunate I was to have someone to bounce ideas off of and have input from while dry-fitting.

All of the panels and the top are assembled from 3/4 walnut boards from a local hardwood store. I had access to a biscuit cutter, so everything was fairly easy to align while gluing. The side panels are rabbeted into the legs about an inch and secured with dowels and glue (with wide slots to account for expansion of the panel around the dowels).

The drawer frames are made out of 1×6 poplar that has been lap-jointed. This is were I first started seeing how many clamps can be used at one time. The side panels were dadoed to fit the frames (it was really cool to see the first dry-fit and how all the tedious measurements made everything fit perfectly).

The drawers are boxes of 1/2 inch Baltic birch plywood with 1/4 inch red oak veneer plywood bottoms and false drawer-fronts of 3/4 inch walnut set back to be flush with the desk front.

I used a random orbital sander on everything from 60 grit up to 220 and then went to hand sanding to 600. It took a really long time…. The finish was a clear stain, satin gloss poly and wet-sanding before applying a carnauba wax.

Hope you all enjoy it!