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Thread: White Oak Trestle Desk Journal

  1. #1
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    White Oak Trestle Desk Journal

    The wife is retiring after 20 years in the US Marine Corps. She has requested a desk and I found a design that we both agreed on. She chose white oak because she is from Thousand Oaks, CA. I didnt argue at first because I have seldom used white oak and it seems like a good challenge. After buying the lumber, all I can say is that Im Glad I have a teenage son who can help me move this desk when its done.

    The pictures below represent what I got done over the weekend. I work alot so progress might be a tad slow, but my favorite thing about this hobby is that you can work in bite size pieces that eventually amount to a finished piece.



    Made a template while eating breakfast and having some coffee.



    Laid the templates out in an effort to save material. Because of this I had some weird cuts to make with the hand saw. Note to self: Just make straight cuts when rough cutting boards.





    This is one of those weird cuts





    This is my moderately cambered #5 that I use for roughing. It left a pretty decent finish already so I got to see a glimmer of what might become later





    Cutting numerous cross cuts so that wasting will be easier with a chisel. Is this how you guys would do it? Aside from using a bandsaw, of course.



    Of course I cut myself.....Ill be surprised if this is the only blood I spill.

    Blood...check
    sweat...check
    tears....not yet

    I'd love to hear any thoughts you guys have and any ideas you might have that could make this project better. I am using 8/4 for the legs and probably 5/4 or 6/4 for the top depending on what I can find locally.

  2. #2
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    Mike, you can use a turning saw or bow saw to knock out that waste as well.

    I credit white oak for having taught me how to sharpen.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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    Ahh good call Brian. I only have a dinky coping saw and the blade heated up so fast trying to cut 8/4. It gave up the ghost so fast. I have been eyeing a kit from TFWW for a while now. Love to make my own from some left over white oak! Just need to figure out a blade or two for it I guess. I'd really like to try a round tenon like the bow saws have.

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    Looks like off to a great start, beautiful tenon saw!

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    Looking good. I also christen every project with a little blood. It is a tradition I need to break from!

  6. #6
    Or an axe, that's even faster. The axe was used a lot in period workshops. A bow saw is nice but is rather slow and hard to keep the cut square.

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    Depending on the material I sometimes just make cross cuts like you have done (maybe I make them a little closer, hard to tell from the close-ups), and then snap the waste out with a flat screwdriver inserted in the cross-cuts. You still need to clean everything up with a chisel, but it is quick and easy with 90% of the waste gone.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Cherry View Post
    Ahh good call Brian. I only have a dinky coping saw and the blade heated up so fast trying to cut 8/4. It gave up the ghost so fast. I have been eyeing a kit from TFWW for a while now. Love to make my own from some left over white oak! Just need to figure out a blade or two for it I guess. I'd really like to try a round tenon like the bow saws have.
    Mike

    You might want to re-think the WO. As you will find working it, it splits very easily. I've busted two TFWW bow saw arms by splitting them while tightening the saw. Careless I know but, the last time I made a new arm out of Beach and it has not split....yet . Could be I don't go Conan on 'em anymore as well.

    BTW, the saw, the TFWW bowsaw, is great and I use it all the time. It is much better than a coping saw. The TFWW bow saw blades are between a coping saw blade and a fret saw blade in thickness and are very good. With one of the Bad Axe dovetail saws (little set, thin blade) I can not easily use a coping saw to clean out the waste, either the fret saw or TFWW bow saw is needed. I've finally learned how to use a fret saw for cutting dovetail waste and it is the best but I broke a ton of fret saw blades getting there.

    ken

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zuye Zheng View Post
    Looks like off to a great start, beautiful tenon saw!
    The badaxe in the photo is actually a 12 inch carcase saw. I do have the tenon saw so we will see that one later! Stay tuned��

    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    Looking good. I also christen every project with a little blood. It is a tradition I need to break from!
    Good to know I'm not the only one haha.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kees Heiden View Post
    Or an axe, that's even faster. The axe was used a lot in period workshops. A bow saw is nice but is rather slow and hard to keep the cut square.
    Thats also a good idea Kees, I have looked at axes over on LN's site. They are all beautiful, but I get a little overwhelmed with all the choices because I'm not sure which one would suit me best. I would love to have an axe that I can use to quickly split material along the grain and clean up with the number 5. Maybe avoid the rip saw every once in a while.


    Quote Originally Posted by Nicholas Lawrence View Post
    Depending on the material I sometimes just make cross cuts like you have done (maybe I make them a little closer, hard to tell from the close-ups), and then snap the waste out with a flat screwdriver inserted in the cross-cuts. You still need to clean everything up with a chisel, but it is quick and easy with 90% of the waste gone.
    That's really smart Nicholas. I didn't think about using just a screw driver. I have really come to love the times when I can just take mallet and chisel in hand and waste things out. It's relaxing and fast. The white oak isn't as fast as other woods but it's still a pleasure.

    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    Mike

    You might want to re-think the WO. As you will find working it, it splits very easily. I've busted two TFWW bow saw arms by splitting them while tightening the saw. Careless I know but, the last time I made a new arm out of Beach and it has not split....yet . Could be I don't go Conan on 'em anymore as well.

    BTW, the saw, the TFWW bowsaw, is great and I use it all the time. It is much better than a coping saw. The TFWW bow saw blades are between a coping saw blade and a fret saw blade in thickness and are very good. With one of the Bad Axe dovetail saws (little set, thin blade) I can not easily use a coping saw to clean out the waste, either the fret saw or TFWW bow saw is needed. I've finally learned how to use a fret saw for cutting dovetail waste and it is the best but I broke a ton of fret saw blades getting there.

    ken
    Thanks for the heads up Ken. I noticed also when this wood splits, it's not a clean split like cherry or something. No sir! It's got some gnarly scary sharp as hell shards of pain spikes waiting to taste blood haha.
    While we're one the subject, what about hickory for a bowsaw. I understand that it is a bear to work, but it would seem like a good choice for the application no?

  10. #10
    This is a great thread. Looking forward to it!

    For that curve, I might have drilled the curve with a forstner bit, and then cut in straight from both sides. From there, cleanup would have been easy with a rasp or spokeshave.

  11. #11
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    For my family and me, thank your wife for her service to our country.
    For roughing in curves and such, I have gone to saw shops and bought short lengths of 1/4" or less bandsaw blades. They are fine for roughing in but they wouldn't be my first choice for dovetails.

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    I think it was Folansbee who said, " The nice thing about white oak is that it splits really nice. The bad thing about white oak is that it splits really nice."
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

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    Mike, this is a great project and a great occasion – thanks to you and your wife for your service!

    I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of the build. Thanks for posting

    All the best, Mike

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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    This is a great thread. Looking forward to it!

    For that curve, I might have drilled the curve with a forstner bit, and then cut in straight from both sides. From there, cleanup would have been easy with a rasp or spokeshave.
    Thats. Really good idea as well! So many ways to skin the cat haha

    Quote Originally Posted by Rollie Kelly View Post
    For my family and me, thank your wife for her service to our country.
    For roughing in curves and such, I have gone to saw shops and bought short lengths of 1/4" or less bandsaw blades. They are fine for roughing in but they wouldn't be my first choice for dovetails.
    Thanks Rollie, my wife and I met while in the Marine Corps and It doesn't seem like 20 years but time flies. Thanks for the saw blade tip, seems like a good way to get some blades for a bowsaw.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Glenn View Post
    I think it was Folansbee who said, " The nice thing about white oak is that it splits really nice. The bad thing about white oak is that it splits really nice."
    that sounds about right I do like the finish left after a sharp blade has had a go at this wood though.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Allen1010 View Post
    Mike, this is a great project and a great occasion – thanks to you and your wife for your service!

    I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of the build. Thanks for posting

    All the best, Mike

    Thanks Mike, means a lot. I got the white oak from San Marcos Hardwoods, at your recommendation. Those guys have fair prices from what I've seen and a decent selection. I might have to go elsewhere for the top though, planning either 5/4 or 6/4. By the way, I got the design from one of the books you loaned me. I just realized I got a lot to thank you for haha!

  15. #15
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    I was thinking something like the Woodjoy saw, the turbo cut blade is too big for small curves but cuts larger curves in a hurry. Bow saws are much like other saws in that you need a few sizes to do your full range of cabinet work.

    Frankly I might approach this differently, but it's a bit riskier so I didn't recommend it. Since we're on the topic I'll bring it up. Kerf it like you are doing, then heavy knife marks at your stop line. Then take the chisel, bevel down (bevel toward the good side) and chop the waste out. It's a splitting action so it's quick. The risk on something like white oak is that it'll blast off an important part of your piece.

    Splitting and sawing are fast, splitting is faster in many cases. The last resort is chopping out where you have to shear across the grain.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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