Cherry Sap Side Board

[Prashun Patel]

I made this side board for my mother who will use it as a bedside table.

I normally spend so much time working around sapwood in dimensional lumber. I tried in this case to celebrate it. The leg cuffs are walnut.

Parts are finished with Waterlox and oil, others with Poly and oil (only because I had it around and didn't want to waste).

I never thought to mix shellac into an oil/varnish regimen, but, sealing with thinned shellac, sanding back with 600, then proceeding with oil and varnish gives a flawless (if not most protective) finish.

C&C welcome. I think the tops of the legs on the front are a tad thick. I had to do it that way to allow for a curve I was comfortable smoothing. Tighter ones are hard to work.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I made this side board for my mother who will use it as a bedside table.

I normally spend so much time working around sapwood in dimensional lumber. I tried in this case to celebrate it. The leg cuffs are walnut.

Parts are finished with Waterlox and oil, others with Poly and oil.

I never thought to mix shellac into an oil/varnish regimen, but, sealing with thinned shellac, sanding back with 600, then proceeding with oil and varnish gives a flawless (if not most protective) finish.

C&C welcome. I think the tops of the legs on the front are a tad thick. I had to do it that way to allow for a curve I was comfortable smoothing. Tighter ones are hard to work.

Looks cool. I like the slip-matched back - too bad it won't be seen. And continuing the sap across panels on the front make it part of the design, rather than some odd-ball flaw.

Ayy sapwood on the top?

Last - that is how I finish virtually everything - a couple coats of 1# - 1.5# dewaxed ultra blonde [2 coats applied first L-to-R, then R-to-L, to get even coverage] sanded 400 or 600 followed by oil varnish.

On the cherry, shellac sealer should have prevented any blotching - any issues there?

EDIT - Wait a minute - you just added a photo of hte top, right? I swear it was not there when I hit reply????

[Jim Koepke]

Very nice Prashun, especially the way the drawer fronts flow from being made out of a single piece of wood.

I am sure your mother will love this piece.

jtk

[Bryce Adams]

I like it, especially the back apron with the Z of sapwood. Would have looked good on the top. I've got a fair amount of cherry with sapwood that I've always been cutting around. After seeing this, I may have to try and design the sapwood into a project.

Nice work.

[Pat Barry]

You do very nice work Prashun! Grain matching is nice on the drawer fronts. I think the dovetails look great also, not sure thinner is necessary. Nice work sculpting the leg transition. The thing about the leg width is this is the sort of thing that really doesn't become evident without a model. Hobbyists designing their own work such as many of us rarely get all the proportions perfect on the first one. If you were to make another one then you might think of a way to improve that but I think it looks very nice.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, everyone!

"If you were to make another one then you might think of a way to improve..."

Ain't it the truth, Pat? But I just have so limited shop time, I never follow through on making something twice. Despite being a computer programmer, I never mastered Sketchup and designing on the desktop. Part of me likes the thrill of designing in my head and being surprised how it turns out.

If I were to do it again, I might have 'cabrioled' the legs.

My inner goal in woodworking is been to develop my own style. I realize with each piece, though, that it is hard to make something that is not in some way derivative.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Looks great, Prashun! Inspiring. As others have said, I really love the slip-matched back, as well.

I actually kind of like the slightly "overly-wide" legs at the top; I didn't notice it in a "poor" way until you mentioned it.

If you tackle something like this in the future and want to have a more consistent thickness while obtaining the curve you want, try a gun-stock style mitered tenon joint. It's been mentioned on here recently, I think. Lets you work with thinner stock without having to worry about short end grain by splitting the curve between the two pieces.

[John TenEyck]

I like the drawers a lot, Prashun, the mellow sapwood, the way the grain flows, and the side hung design you used. Very Stickley like. But the back leaves me cold, frankly; just too much really white sapwood and maybe a worm hole as well? But that's just my personal bias; all that matters is you like it.

I'm surprised you aren't a SketchUp master, Prashun. Designing in your head or on the fly is for the brave, and I'm not that brave. But if you don't like SketchUp try a big sheet of paper. I often do that even with a detailed SketchUp model to see how something is going to look actual size. Sometimes I just draw the section I'm not sure about. There's still a place for pencil and paper in our computerized world.

John

[Sam Murdoch]

Sap wood is beautiful too. I think it's a very handsome piece. The subtle details belie your thrilling in your head design technique.

[Jim Becker]

I love this piece, Prashun. Simply lovely.

[Joseph Valsi]

Wow !! I really like that table ! The dovetails should be required viewing for anyone using a machine, as your are THE WAY they should be made! Great craftsmanship all around !

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Joe. I find I like a hybrid approach to dovetailing now. I have the Incra LS Positioner, which allows you to make dovetails. The problem is I never seem to have the right sized bit or template for the thickness of my stock or height of my drawers or desired tail spacing. I'm also impatient, and the set up is a big drawback for me. Don't get me wrong, the LS Positioner is worth every penny for me for a host of other reasons, but for dovetailing, no thanks.

I bandsaw my tails. First I scribe the depth of the tails, and then rabbet the inside. This is an undercelebrated trick that makes all the difference for me. I then bandsaw the tails to the scribe line and nibble away at most of the tail waste on the bandsaw. I trim the shoulders on the table saw, and finally clean everything up with a chisel.

I mark the pins with a knife (the rabbeted back of the tails makes registration a snap).

My big breakthrough on this project has been on removing the pin waste. I use a trim router with a 1/4" or 1/8" bit. There are jigs you can make to keep the router from tipping, but if you clamp a 3/4" board to the side, it's enough. You just have to work slow to avoid runaway. This gives you a perfectly flat bottom, and avoids having to chop across the end grain with a chisel. That's never been fun for me. I find it does not take much practice at all to get within chisel-paring distance to the layout lines. Then you can line up a chisel right in the knife line, pare straight down, and it's practically a perfect fit. That paring cut, into the end grain, feels so wonderful, I'd do it even if I were able to route perfectly up to the line.

I pencil the sides of my tails, tap the tail boards into place, and pare the pins or rasp the tails as the transfer marks suggest.

There are a million ways to skin this cat, but I've found mine for now.

The other thing I've learned is that after glue up, minor sins tend to disappear (especially if you never open the drawers ).

Thanks for the compliment.

[Andrew Joiner]

I normally spend so much time working around sapwood in dimensional lumber. I tried in this case to celebrate it. The leg cuffs are walnut.

Beautiful Prashun. I've always loved the contrast of sapwood. I like your celebration.

[Phil Thien]

Not sure how I missed this thread because I typically watch for your completed projects.

Love this one. I like the cuffs, I like the radius at the leg/apron, I like the proportions, and I like the sap wood.

I like that it is a very functional design/piece.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Phil. I really appreciate the comment.