Desk

[alex grams]

A follow-up from my in-progress thread earlier on a desk for my father, some updated photos.

The finish is transtint dye (dark mission) follow by about 5 coats of waterlox, 4 base being semi-gloss then 2 coats of satin on top.

The sides are figured oak, framing is QSWO, and the top is white oak burl framed in QSWO with a 1/8" thick walnut inlay between the burl center and oak frame.

I need to work on taking better pictures, but with a piece so large it is difficult to get good shots encompassing the entire project. From wing to wing point is is about 10' and assembled takes up a huge area in the shop, so moving around to get perspective for pictures isn't feasible from most angles. I hope to have some more pictures which are better when I deliver/install it this weekend.

[C Scott McDonald]

Wow that looks great! Well done!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Alex,

You are right. You need to work on the photos and redo them because I just drooled all over them.

Incredible desk. Your Father will cherish it. A family airloom today!

Very well done Sir!

[Mike Watts]

WOW. Makes me feel like going home and burning the QSWO desk I am making for my son. You have set the standard for desks.

[Charlie Gummer]

Stunning. I really like the figure in the panels, the whole package comes together beautifully.

[Scott Dodd]

Absolutly AWESOME! Hopefully in 200 years someone from Antiques Roadshow will be drooling over it as such a fine example of 21st century craftsmanship!

Excellent,

Scott

[alex grams]

Scott, a funny thought regarding what we build now as being antiques in 200 years. When we look at stuff from 19th century and older, we typically can find a shop/craftsman and locate it back to that person or company via maker marks/initials or style. What are they going to do for us? Go scour an archive of sawmillcreek.org and match our 200 year old work with a 200 year old thread on this desk? Funny thought. I imagine with so many smaller 1 man shops and so much information out there on the internet, it would be a daunting task to allocate a project to a particular individual from then until now. It is probably easier for us to tell who made what in the 1800's than it will be for someone to tell what we made in 200 years.

[Sparky Norton]

Wowzers! The grain in those front panels and the top really came "alive" with that finish. Beautiful wood. Awesome craftsmanship!

Sparky

[gary Zimmel]

That is one beautiful desk Alex... A true family heirloom. Thanks for giving us a peek of it all done.

[glenn bradley]

That is just great stuff there Alex. A treasure to be treasured for sure.

[Ryan Sparreboom]

Amazing! Where did you get such figured oak (side panels)? And the burl on top is amazing too. Great work indeed!

Ryan

[Bret Duffin]

Alex,

I like your Sketchup drawing. Your drawing talent is only exceeded by your woodworking talent.

How do you like the vacuum press? How much do they cost?

I completed a desk for myself about a year ago. It's quite a bit different than your's but there are some similarities such as bookmatched panels and use of burl veneers.

Thanks for sharing, Bret

[alex grams]

Ryan,
The panel veneer was from certainlywood.com. This was my first time using them as a supplier. They did an exceptional job going out of their way to help me find veneers that worked for me. They dug through several stacks to find a burl veneer which was clear over the large area which I needed.

The panels were from this flitch from certainlywood.com

Bret,
The vacuum press kit is the Excel 1 from Veneer Supplies. It ran about 450$ all-together with a bag. However, I also got the heavier 30 gauge poly bag, which made things a little more expensive. I also had to get a 4'x6' bag for the desk tops. I was very happy with the results. I had a few bubbles on the desktop which I had to fix afterwards, but I couldn't be happier with the results. It is absolutely the best tool I have purchased in a while.

[Doug Carpenter]

I would love to see the look on your Dad's face when he sees that desk.

I think he is going to be really proud.

Nice Job.

[eugene thomas]

i built a air powered kit think called the v2 for around $350 for the kit and a 2'x4' bag. Works great now just need to get some veneer to use it with.