Pecan Desk - From Log to Desk

[alex grams]

This has been on my to-do list for a while. I milled the log up about 1.5-2 years ago and have used the top pieces for several end tables, but I have been wanting to make a desk from one for quiet a while. It is from a tree that was being cleared for an easement near Lake Brownwood, Texas that was going to be pushed in to a ditch to be burned.



The log:





Fresh cut green, before drying:





Dried:





leveled, sanded, dovetailed and epoxied:





It is pretty cool to see that when the tree was ~7-9 years old they trimmed a bunch of lower branches that grew over. Surprisingly, for being 32" average width, I counted the tree to only be about ~30 years old. Some of its first years it put on 1" of growth per year, but an average of about 1/2" an inch per growth ring, coupled with a spurt from about 5-10 years ago where it hardly grew it all, it obviously was sitting in a nice area.



I wanted a lighter design on the base, so I didn't carry the cabinets all the way to the floor, but this meant I needed to do some accent on the legs to keep them from being so monotonous. I put a taper on them and inlaid a strip of walnut about 1/4" in on the two outside faces of each leg:


Test piece:





four legs tapered and inlaid..



The end cabinets glued up:







The drawers are hand cut dovetailed 18" full extension soft close drawers on each side. Not my best dovetails, but it has been a while since I did any by hand.


I have about 5 more slabs from this tree that I have some ideas I want to try out with.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Very nice Alex.
How is pecan to work with??
Dave B

[Keith Winter]

Wow! Spectacular work Alex!

[Dan Kirkland]

Very cool! I do love the combination of the live edge slab with the modern drawers, very classy.

I have to ask though, did your thumb get into a fight with a weed wacker or something?

[Jim Becker]

Wow...stunning!! Really interesting mixing the natural slab top with the more traditional pedestals, too.

[alex grams]

dan, the finger found a chisel one day (or maybe it was the other way around..). The pros and cons of sharp tools. It didn't take much of a slip (and admittedly me doing something not the smartest way) to make a nice cut.

Dave, I actually am a big fan of pecan. It is a little brittle at times, similar to ash, but so durable and tough with good character. One thing I did debate on this desk was if I wanted to make it from First & Seconds or select. The select grade has a lot more heartwood coloration and knot holes for some good character, but ultimately I decided to do F&S, as I did not want the lower part to be too 'busy' and pull the eye away from the top.

Thanks Jim, I have 4-5 more slabs from the same tree I am playing with designs on. I really enjoyed this project. I think I may do a more open writing desk style for one. I have a co-worker who started his own metal working business that I am doing some jobs with, so may try to do a more modern style with a metal base.

[James Pallas]

Very nice work Alex. I really like your wood selection. The top drawer faces and panels give the piece a nice balance and the walnut is just enough.
Jim

[Jay Jolliffe]

Very nice work. Thanks for showing the steps of the project....

[Tom Giles]

Outstanding piece.

[Greg Parrish]

Thats extremely nice. Very beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[Ray Vivian]

Nice work Alex. Great looking slab.

[Jeff Maberry]

Looks real nice, good jod on the blue inlay to

[Rob Luter]

Nice. I like the stringing on the legs. The stringing on the finger, not so much.

[Mike Wilkins]

Really fine wood working. Love that natural Pecan slab.
I can identify with the chisel meeting finger episode. Sent me to the emergency room one night from a recently sharpened chisel.

[Todd Burch]

Nice job Alex! Did you mill it yourself? Chainsaw mill? Just air drying? Looks great!

Todd