Walnut crotch veneer project

[Dan O'Sullivan]

I am currently working on a desk and bookcase in walnut and walnut crotch. The upper bookcase has walnut crotch raised panels and the desk lid is a nice 14-15” crotch walnut piece. To continue with the theme I chose to veneer the faces of the lower drawers with crotch figured walnut.
I don’t care much for the thin veneer available from the leading suppliers as it is too thin, the color is cooked out and it comes with warps and cracks that needed to be addressed. I chose to cut my own veneer(1/16+” ) on the bandsaw. The veneer I cut allows me to pattern and size to something I like. Additionally, the color is much more spectacular when the wood is air dried and it seems more stable.
Here are some photos of the work in progress:
Note- the veneer was cut from one board 7”w x 38”L. Glued with liquid hide glue(Old Brown Glue-slow set up).
Photo of the lid to match the drawer fronts. I hope this makes some sense.
dan

[John Thompson]

The veneer looks good.. post picture when finished....

[Joe Cunningham]

Wow that is going to look exceptional. Yes please post photos when completed, along with in-progress pictures.

[Mike Wilkins]

Spectacular walnut figure. Would love to see the desk when you are done.
What kind of finishing schedule do you plan to use?? Thanks.

[John Keeton]

Dan, very nice work on the veneered drawer fronts. Looks like you have much of the carcass done, as well. You should post some more progress pics on what you have done so far.

[lou sansone]

looks great.. similar to the secretary I just finished in tiger maple. walnut is going to look great

best wishes

lou

[Dan O'Sullivan]

Lou its been slow going on this one as I don't have a deadline. I started the first one of these thinking it was going to be the flat top bookcase. Change 1: bonnet top with different door frames. Got it done and gone.

Having the square door frames around, I decided to make the piece from the L.Bird aritcle in FWW(150-2). The biggest challenge was finding another 15" wide desk lid. I built the first one with a one piece lid and I was hard set on doing it again. I got a slab 10/4 stuff and had to do some reworking on my old delta to get the piece resawn.

The Lenox Tri Master cut the slab on end 14.8" just dead center. I have 2 lids now. I wasn't counting on such a clean straight cut but hey.. you get lucky some times.

Project Drawers: on this one I am going to adapt the drawer fronts to cover the dividers a little more. I am going to put a small lip around the bottom off the top drawer to make it look bigger and cover some of that 7/8" divider. All the other drawers will have a small lip all the way around. I'm going to play with this a bit.

dan

[Dan O'Sullivan]

Looks like you have much of the carcass done, as well. You should post some more progress pics on what you have done so far. JK

Here is a little more of the play by play stuff. I can't tell how much interest there is in seeing the process of a build as most of the other stuff I see on the SMC is finished stuff. I'll post more if I get questions or comments. We'll see.

On the door frames: I did not build like the Bird piece. I chose to cut thru tenons a bit thinner. You will also not on the sticking that the joinery is quit different. I coped my miters and the bead is removed accordingly. I left as much wood on the stiles(backs) to give additional support to the wide top rail in back.

Desk lid: tenons are hidden. Glued in the middle, pinned at the outer ends to allow for the humidity and expansion here on the Piedmont.

dan

[Paul Murphy]

Dan, I too would be interested in seeing more progress pictures, I always learn something from them.

One question already: It looks like you mortised your hinges for the desk lid before the breadboards were installed. If so, I am interested to know why you chose that construction sequence?

Well OK, already thought of a second question: Sounds like you were able to resaw a 17" x 1-5/8" board into two finished 3/4" boards...was your thinking to make veneer out of them if the resaw wasn't perfect? I have some stock the same thickness, and had resigned myself to sawing veneer down to an inch or so, depending on how much the board cupped. I thought about splitting the plank in half, but figured the odds were against having a finished 3/4" thickness on either piece.

Stunning wood, and beautiful work...I love looking at it. Thanks for sharing!

[Jim Becker]

Really nice material! I'm also looking forward to the completed project.

[Dan O'Sullivan]

Dan, I too would be interested in seeing more progress pictures, I always learn something from them.

One question already: It looks like you mortised your hinges for the desk lid before the breadboards were installed. If so, I am interested to know why you chose that construction sequence?

Well OK, already thought of a second question: Sounds like you were able to resaw a 17" x 1-5/8" board into two finished 3/4" boards...was your thinking to make veneer out of them if the resaw wasn't perfect? I have some stock the same thickness, and had resigned myself to sawing veneer down to an inch or so, depending on how much the board cupped. I thought about splitting the plank in half, but figured the odds were against having a finished 3/4" thickness on either piece.

Lid and Hinges: The lid is the central visual point. When the lid is closed, your eyes go right to it. The dead center of the lid(side to side) is killer important for me when I make 2 decisions: how to align the crotch feather for maximum positioning and getting the key hole for the lock in the right place. So many times I have seen the lock plate centered and the key hole is off center. The builder forgot... the selvage pin is off set.

Why the hinges so early. I set the hinges in the writing surface(piece glue in case) first. I might add, the lid and the writing surface edges are tight after a few passes with the jointer. I then align the lid and writing surface hinge points and set the hinges in the lid. If there is any gap between the lid and the writing surface or I can not open and close it easily, I can still adjust the edge of the writing surface, and reset the hinge a bit for a fit tighter than a tick. If you wait till your writing surface is glue in, you have to shave your lid. Not me. This is my technique, it is just ONE way to skin this cat. With a little wiggle room I tend to stay loose.

Resaw: actually the photo is misleading.. sorry. That is indeed 1 5/8" stock that I used to make 2 more panels. The slab I cut for desk lids was 10/4 stuff. I have 2 lids 1"+ for use down the road. Stunning stuff.

Cutting veneer: Most if not all of my veneer is cut to 1/16+. If you start out with a board that is flat from side to side(not end to end) you will get beautiful veneer. Now- understand the fence you make to guide the stock is not a flat fence 24" long and parrell to the blade. I make a fence that is a "V" at the point the board meets the blade. The pointed edge of the V is perfectly aligned with the blade to give me a 1/16 cut. Even if the board is shaped like a banana, it will give you flat sheets if you have the surface flat side to side.(see the 6 veneer sheets I cut from a 4/4 board).

Note: I hope this helps on thinking. I have posted a bunch of photos of the project with "wow wood" I am using in the project. I love wood and most guys here love it or we would be off reading golf forums. My intent here is to share the building phases. I wish there was a forum here that was only step by step stuff that builders want to share. Again, in the earlier shots I hoped to reveal the joinery I chose. Once it is glued up, its hard to tell if the guy mitered it or coped the joint. Did he use a haunch or skip it? So.. there you have my 2 cents(maybe 5 I am long winded sorry)

I will post some techniques of the desk drawer construction if there is interest. This is a 3 layer construction to speed up construction and allow for fine tuning.

later
dan

[Paul Murphy]

Dan thanks so much for explaining your thinking on your method of hinging the lid. I hadn’t thought about leaving the writing surface loose to allow for adjustment, but it makes a lot of sense after reading it.

I am looking forward to seeing more details, as walnut is my favorite wood, and the secretary has lots of demanding construction details. I for one am interested in how you do the drawers.

Thanks again for taking the time to share the photos, and answer questions.

[Dan O'Sullivan]

If you have wondered about hide glue and thought: why would I use that stuff? Maybe this video instruction from a skillful builder/instructor will perk your interest.

I have been using Pat Edwards Old Brown Glue for a few years after meeting Pat at one of the Colonial Williamsburg/FWW seminars. We talked veneer and hide glue and I was convinced this guy knew his stuff. The Old Brown Glue is not a substitute for hot hide in my woodworking -- its an addition. The OBG has a slow set up time and it can be repaired and reversed with heat and water. I like to warm up the OBG when I am using it to assemble windsor chair joints. Good stuff.

Take a look at this video on hide glue and hammer veneering. I think you will enjoy it and you might learn something interesting and new. Maybe?

http://woodtreks.com/category/techniques/veneering/