Wood, glorious wood ...

[Derek Cohen]

It's amazing how much wood is needed for a piece of furniture.


I have enough that I believe will work well together. There is Makore for the entire carcass, and some nicely figured Jarrah for the drawer fronts. All I have to source now is a light wood for the drawer sides. I may go with Tasmanian Oak, as most of this is sold quarter sawn.





These are to be resawn for the panels ...





Here is the Jarrah for the drawer fronts. This is 1 1/2" thick ..








I got lucky with the Makore for the side rails. This piece (2" thick) has a naturally curving grain that will suit the curve of the side rails ...








Marking the saw cuts ...





Regards from Perth


Derek

[Chris Hachet]

Impressive looking stack of lumber. Have been busy and away from woodworking for a little bit, this is great motivation tog et me re started!

[Dave Beauchesne]

Very nice Derek - look forward to the end result.

[Daniel Rode]

The wood you use always seems so exotic. Makore, Jarrah. I've never seen these in the US, so it sounds like making furniture out of moon rock to me

From this vantage point the color favors mahogany a bit. I can't wait to see your project as it progresses.

[David Weaver]

That wide and thick board is dreamy stuff!!!

[Tony Shea]

I also love seeing your builds, mostly because of the types of woods you use. The part I don't envy is actually working your wood choices with my hand tools. The small amount of figured wood I do work usually keeps me at the stones a whole lot more than I like. You really set the bar super high and keep us others very inspired. Thanks for taking the time to document the process! You are at probably my favorite part of starting a new project, buying the wood and laying it all out into pieces.

[ken hatch]

Derek,

Beautiful wood. I love the first steps of rough marking out and sizing. Like a new love, no mistakes have been made and every thing is still fresh. I will enjoy watching the build progress.

ken

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've never seen these in the US, so it sounds like making furniture out of moon rock to me.

Have you worked with what the Aussies consider "lumber"? The moon rock might be easier.

[David Weaver]

This is finally one that Derek could plane by hand if he wanted to. Not that I would if I had that pimp jointer.

[Bill Moser]

This is finally one that Derek could plane by hand if he wanted to. Not that I would if I had that pimp jointer.

Wait! You mean that Derek has been using the A3 to dimension his Jarrah all this time, rather than hand planing it??!! I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take him down a notch from superhero status

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Bill

Sorry to spoilt the illusion!

Actually, the A3-31 is new and hardly used. It replaces a lunchbox that was never used as too noisy, and an 8" jointer that was difficult to use as stuck in a corner. The new machine has a small footprint and easier to use. I hope it gets plenty of use.

I do not have an issue with machinery, certainly not with the wood I have to process, both from the point of it being very exhausting to do the donkey work, and because any woodwork I do is only on weekends. I'd rather save my energy for handworking all the joinery, shaping and finishing. The donkey work is not the important part.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Stew Denton]

Derek,

Beautiful stuff! I am looking forward to seeing the progress.

Speaking as one who does not have a real shop yet, just a bit of the garage which I have to set up and then tear down to put the car back in it, I love your shop. I may be getting closer to having a real shop though.

Regards,

Stew

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Stew

I have a double garage. I designed and built this about 5' longer than the average to get in a work bench, etc. All the machinery is on wheels and on one side so that one car (mine!) can park inside as well. It's probably a good thing as I am forced to keep it all tidy so there is space for all (still a squeeze). I envy you in the States with your basements. That is not the style here in Oz.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[John Sanford]

I envy you in the States with your basements. That is not the style here in Oz.

Derek,

Just know that much of the US doesn't have basements either. Until I moved up to Utah, less than 1/10 of 1% of homes in where I lived had basements. Here, basements are the rule, lack is the exception. Sadly, I'm living exceptionally.

[Jeff Ranck]

Hey John:

I live just down the road in Provo. This is the first house I've ever lived in with a basement (30+ years). The good news is it does give some extra space to carve out a shop. The problem with basement workshops is the ceilings tend to be a bit low, unlike my 15 foot ceilings in my shop in Seattle.

Jeff.