Walnut Secretary Build Part 5 –Pigeonhole Drawers, Apron, Pulls, Finishing

This is part 5 of building a Walnut Secretary desk with Cabriolet legs and a pigeonhole/bookshelf unit on top. The previous parts of the build are posted under separate threads here in the Cave.

Even though I pay for premium account at Photobucket so I could include pictures on this SMC post in a larger format, apparently I failed. Regrettably you will have to click on the pictures to make them visible. My apologies, I find toggling between reading the text of the post and clicking on the pictures to enlarge them a terrible way to communicate, but I am once again defeated by technology – probably why I hang out here on the low-tech, hand tool forum.


The pigeonhole section has 2 rows; open shelves on top and small drawers on the bottom. The drawers are simple pine boxes with drawer sides joined to front and back with nailed rabbits. The soft pine work easily with hand tools and this was really fun aspect of the project. Walnut drawer fronts were shaped to match the profile of the curved vertical dividers.
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I turned Holly pulls for the drawers and the 3 doors covering the bookshelf. I’m a novice Turner and I had lots of problems with the narrow diameter of the pulls breaking off in the jaws of the chuck. I think if I had sharper lathe tools I would’ve had better luck because I wouldn’t have had to apply so much pressure to the work piece.
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Next was dimensioning the stock for the apron of the desk. The front apron will house 3 drawers. To get consistent grain matching of the apron and drawer fronts, I ripped the apron into 3 parts and then re-glued.
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I really like this jig from Jim Tolpin’s book “New Traditional Woodworker” for jointing edges of thinner stock.
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Dimensioned apron stock.

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Aprons are joined to the Cabriolet legs with M&Ts. The show surfaces of leg/aprons are flush. I’ll finish planing the show surfaces after glue up. I plan to add a half round profile skirt will to tie the curve of the upper part of the Cabriolet to the aprons.

Laying out tennons on the apron pieces using a mortised chisel to establish tennon width. I sometimes struggle to get straight, consistent tennon shoulders which is important to ensure no visible gaps. Something that works for me is using a marking knife to establish the initial shoulder on the narrow part of the Tennon and then referencing the marking knife into that line to layout the shoulders on the long dimension.
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To maximize strength, mortises for adjacent faces meet in the middle and tennons extend all the way to the bottom. I’ll saw a 45° miter on the edges of the tennons.
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I’ve been avoiding making the Cabriolet legs because I’m not confident drawing a template with decent curves. I like to use flipchart sized graph paper to draw the leg blanks in ink and then layout the curves for the legs in pencil so I can inevitably erase and redraw them to try and get what I’m looking for.


I glue the graph paper layout of the leg to poster board stock to create a more durable, yet still flexible template. The flexible template comes in handy when I have to redraw the layout lines after shaping rough shaping the legs on the bandsaw.

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It’s easier for me to create the circular pad on the bottom of the legs with hand tools rather than using the lathe. The giant black arrow which indicates the show sides of the leg is mandatory for me. I’m horrible at visualizing three-dimensional shapes and have ruined leg blanks by getting this confused.

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Here are really cool sand cast brass catches for the bookshelf doors.

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High-quality hardware like this is not usually in my budget. These catches, along with a bunch of other cool brass hardware showed up unexpectedly in the mail one day, gifted to me by a fellow Creeker. Needless to say that kind of generosity left me speechless! (Thanks again CW)! The kindness and generosity routinely demonstrated by Creekers on SMC is literally amazing to me! The doors are flush it inside the bookcase. Installing the hinges and particularly the catches to get a consistent reveal was a painstaking process requiring multiple iterations of drilling screw holes, testing the fit and re-drilling the holes – rinse and repeat.


Here are some pictures of the completed desktop. I still need to carve a central drawer for the pigeonhole unit. Given the kinda Federal/Queen Anne style, I’m thinking may be a shell? I appreciate any suggestions!

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Finishing is my least favorite part of a project, mainly because I’m bad at it. For this piece I relied on my “go to” Finish; a couple coats of Watco oil/varnish wet sanded with 600 grit. I’m not sure, but I think this helps fill some of the open pores. After allowing 3 days to dry thoroughly, I pad on/French polish shellac followed by paste wax. If you’ve never tried a shellac French polished finish I would encourage you to give it a try – I find it a lot more forgiving and easy to use than I anticipated. I used a 1 pound of cut and apply multiple very thin coats that dry almost immediately, which allows you to build the finish fairly quickly. If you have a defect a little alcohol and steel wool removes it easily and you can reapply the shellac to blend in the repair to the rest of the finish in short order.

Next will be shaping the Cabriolet legs and assembling the apron. To be completely candid, the IT challenges of laboriously posting one picture a time via SMC and my inability to make Photobucket work are wearing me out. I really value the SMC community and all the friends I have here and I'm grateful to have an opportunity to make a contribution, feeble as that may be.

I'll try to post pictures of the rest of the build, but I'm kinda wearing out and can't make any commitments. No criticism of anything, just where I'm at.


Thanks for looking.


All the best, Mike

LOVING all of it Mike! Thank you and congrats on a great build!

Thanks for posting Mike. I love to follow your build threads, l learn something with every thread.

Hi Mike

You are far too modest about your work. I think of you as the consummate craftsman. Beautiful, beautiful work.

However, I must take you to task about the drawers with the planted fronts. I would have expected curvy dovetails at least!

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Laying out tennons on the apron pieces using a mortised chisel to establish tennon width. I sometimes struggle to get straight, consistent tennon shoulders which is important to ensure no visible gaps.

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I found I was having a similar problem until I realised that the knife line was not vertical. If off vertical, the chiseled undercut will create a slanted wall, and the saw will follow that. Better to make a shallow knife line and a shallow wall for the saw.

There is nothing else I dare comment on! :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks for posting and taking the time and effort to deal with the IT headaches. Looking fantastic. I have also found that shellac/french polish is becoming a favorite finish because it is forgiving and (relatively) fast.

Look forward to seeing more,
C

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Originally Posted by Derek Cohen

Hi Mike

However, I must take you to task about the drawers with the planted fronts. I would have expected curvy dovetails at least!

Regards from Perth

Derek

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Derek,


I've really been enjoying your thread about your sofa table build. Unfortunately I've had some IT challenges that have prevented me from responding in a timely way. I love the table and particularly the hidden drawer because….well, who doesn't like hidden compartments? Come on - I can't think of a more definitive example of the difference between handmade furniture and something that came from a factory.


Regarding my current project, you're far too kind. As you correctly identified, I failed to attempt appropriately curved dovetails corresponding to the curved drawer fronts. I have no excuse, except to point out that I'm old, fat and and increasingly prone to pursuing expeditious joinery that I can rationalize as "period appropriate". That's my story and I'm sticking with it!


All the best, Mike

Hi Mike,
Beautiful piece of work and great craftsmanship. That finish really brought out the beauty of the Walnut with the contrasting inlay. Which brings me to my question on the egg and dart carving. I was really surprised that the carving on the ends of the top which is all open end grain didn't just soak up the finish and turn it real dark but you stated that you used the same finish though out right? Maybe I don't understand the value of really sharp chisels to produce a such a smooth surface or maybe I now that I've seen it I do understand. Please keep us informed of your progress.
Chet

Mike, I must say, the beauty of your pieces, combined with the speed and efficiency with which you execute them, truly do make you (thank you Derek for putting it so nicely) 'the consummate craftsman'.

My compliments too. Allthough it is not my style, I highly enjoy your posts and pictures.

I am not very familiar with this type of furniture. What comes next? Legs and aprons? Looking forward to it.

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Originally Posted by Chet R Parks

Hi Mike,
Which brings me to my question on the egg and dart carving. I was really surprised that the carving on the ends of the top which is all open end grain didn't just soak up the finish and turn it real dark but you stated that you used the same finish though out right? Maybe I don't understand the value of really sharp chisels to produce a such a smooth surface or maybe I now that I've seen it I do understand. Please keep us informed of your progress.
Chet

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Chet, you are far too kind. I really appreciate your message.


You ask an excellent question – I would also expect the in grain of the egg and dart carvings would soak up the finish in a way that waited make them appear different than the long grain carvings.


I don't have a great answer – as I mentioned finishing is a weakness for me. My only possible explanation is that I used multiple coats of a penetrating finish - oil/varnish mix that I guess could soak into the grain uniformly. Paul that with multiple coats of shellac and paste wax and perhaps a difference in absorption is hidden.


I certainly couldn't attribute the uniform color/tone to my carving tools – goodness knows I struggle to get them sharp. I think I probably spent as much time sharpening is I did carving.


Chet, thanks for your interest. The very least I can do is share updates as the project continues.


All the best, Mike

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Originally Posted by Kees Heiden

My compliments too. Allthough it is not my style, I highly enjoy your posts and pictures.

I am not very familiar with this type of furniture. What comes next? Legs and aprons? Looking forward to it.

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Hi Kees,


I'm not sure this project really conforms to any "defined" furniture type. That's a good reason why likely the final results could end up looking like a "horse" designed by committee – a donkey. I prefer to copy existing designs of pieces I admire. My experience is when I tried to "design" something original, typically turns out pretty crappy.


Next steps will be shaping the legs, joining them to the aprons, building the drawers and slide out tabletop extension, and probably most importantly, the profile skirts that joined the curved upper portions of the Cabriolet legs to the aprons. I suck at curves. And frankly I'm hitting the point (typical of many of my projects) when I not really excited about the remaining steps and consequently am eager to get it done ASAP. I'd like to think I'm self-aware enough to realize this is a character flaw that bites me in the butt more often than not, in multiple dimensions.


Best, Mike

It is idiosyncratic. At the rate you are doing these pieces you might well become a "towering figure" of folk furniture. It's not enough to just have talent, one has to have a burning desire to design and build, pressing on right or wrong by his own judgement; and you certainly have it!