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Project Information

A small traditional writing desk. It is made from West Australian Jarrah.



The main rails and desk top are enhanced with red maple burl inlays surrounded by traditional kingwood bandings. The book matched top has an accessories 'box' at the back with a couple of small drawers, together with a lidded compartment disguised as three drawers. Lifting the desk top gives access to a removable laptop tray, a lift out pen tray, and two lidded compartments. A hidden 'latch' releases the support strip that the laptop tray slides on. Behind it are the three hidden drawers.

The basic stool frame of the desk before the inlays were applied.



The book matched maple burl for the desk top.



The desk was made to match one of my earlier projects, hence the complex legs. See 'Cutlery Box'. http://lumberjocks.com/projects/222074

Thanks for looking.

Gallery

Comments

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732 Posts
Sure looks beautifully crafted. I'll bet that there's a lot of hours behind this desk.
Well done.
This one is definitely getting a Top 3 today. Congratulations!!!
 

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370 Posts
Another superb piece Martin! Glad to see you managed to squeeze in some secret compartments. Is this your own design?
Great stuff.
Jim
 

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Those interior compartments are intriguing. I enjoy the complexity.
 

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Beautiful and refined work! Do the top set of storage drawers and tray move with the top or am I looking at that incorrectly? How are they joined?
 

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Gorgeous desk, beautifully made. Thanks for inspiring
 

· In Loving Memory
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This is a beautiful desk or dresser. You did a wonderful job on this piece and the wood is great. Nice work!
 

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nice work. Are the drawers on top what are in the desk? In other words, does that little hutch tuck into the desk when you want to .
 

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One gorgeous piece very well done and an additional kudo for the details!
 

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Wow you had me at veneer, and then you started opening up all those storage bins. This is a really fine table/desk.

Thank you for posting, the additional pics were a nice touch. Congrats on a well deserved 3.
 

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Looks like my prediction on the Daily Top 3 came true. Well deserved! ;)
 

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Outstanding craftsmanship ! Well done !
 

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wonderful craftsmanship. A beautiful desk.
 

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Beautiful Martin. I'll bet it weighs a good bit, delicate as it is. Jarrah is amazing stuff.
Does it fit the traditional 19th century laptop or the modern ones? :)

Don't know how I missed the other piece but of course it is superb as well.
Thanks for inspiring us all.
 

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Thanks for the comments every one. John you were right about top 3 - I did wonder as it was showing 13 or 14 when I looked last night. Living in Australia I posted my project around 3pm local time - which is 12 - 15 hours ahead of the USA, depending on where the Lumberjocks HQ is based. So, I wasn't sure which day it would go into Lumberjocks - the beginning of a day, or the end of the day when decisions had been made about the top three. Does any one know how it works?

Any how,

Jim - yes its my design but as ever one gets inspiration from past work. I've also used the secret drawers idea in the interior before. That was on a bigger desk that I've never got round to posting … yet. The overall elements of the table design match the cutlery table I made - see below. Though that was a box mounted on a stool frame, rather than a stool frame with deep rails.


The cutlery box before mounting on the stool frame


The cutlery box stool frame.

Bill - The top box/drawers are attached to the desk top, and they don't disappear into the desk like on the old Harlequin tables. Too complicated!!

This whole writing desk was a commission to match the cutlery box I made them some years ago, with a similar lift-up lid. But without the interior trays etc and without the top box/drawer assembly.



I only do one or two commissions a year - being retired I can do without them, unless its something I really fancy making, and as many of you will know, people do not want to pay for your skills and work!!

But the customer kept adding bits - the interior fittings and secret drawers, and then the top box/drawers. So that added 8 drawers with 32 sets of dovetails, and with the structures to house them, twice as much work as the basic table/desk. They complained when the price went up! .................. !!!!! so I suggested they find someone else to make it for them. But I finished it anyway, and enjoyed making it - someone else might buy it!
 

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Beautiful desk, nicely done.
 
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