New Lowboy

[Ralph Dobbertin]

Am just about finished with the finish (handles were put on just for the pics). So far I have 2 coats of a boiled linseed oil mixture and I'll probably add 2 more but I wait about a week in between applications. The top will get a coat of "Tried and True" varnish as well. This is made out of Mahogany with Pine on the back and for the drawer sides.

Am pretty happy with it as it is my first effort at a piece with this much detail. The carving is OK but not as good as I hoped so I will try to fix that on the next piece by taking a 2 week carving course with Dimitrios Klitsas.

Calvin and Joel: Thanks for the encouragement but I hope I did not embarass you too much with this effort.

This took quite a while...phew! I can think of a ton of improvement for the next one but as I think Voltaire once said: "One never finishes a book, one simply abandons it"

Any comments are welcome..thanks for looking.

[Jim Becker]

Oh, wonderful work, Ralph! That's really a great project result. The carving is...wow!

[Bill Zollinger]

Very nice. What role did power tools play? How much by hand?
Thanks. Bill Z

[Ralph Dobbertin]

All carving, dovetails and fitting were done by hand. Boards were dressed and ripped by machine. Top was routed. Columns were turned on a lathe and the flutes were scratched in by hand. Mortises drilled and then squared with chisels.

[Mark Stutz]

Ralph,
That is outstanding! We are all our own worst critics. Don't think I can find anything to criticize. Carving is something that will be a long way off for me. Great job.

Mark

[Bill Zollinger]

Wow. Impressive. I'm new to this, and am tring to get a feel for what sort of fine construction can be done by hand, especially the planing and ripping and joining. Thanks. Bill Z

[Greg Crawford]

I can barely draw stick figures, so carving like yours leaves me in awe. That's one beautiful piece. I can understand the time it took.

[gary Zimmel]

Ralph,

Now thats something you are going to admire for a long time.
Great job...

[Joel Ficke]

Ralph...CONGRATULATIONS!!!

The lowboy really does look fine. You're quote is good though, there's always things we wish were better, but in 6 months they won't bother you anymore anyway.

You say the primary wood is Mahagony...is that true? It really looks like walnut from the photo's. If so, that's even more of a feat as walnut is harder and difficult to carve.

One more question, did you pattern this after a museum piece or design your own carvings?

Thanks for sharing!!

[Don Bullock]

Ralph, that's beautiful!!! I once dreamed of making furniture like that, but I soon realized that I didn't have the talent. By the looks of that piece, you certainly have great talent for that kind of work.

[Ralph Dobbertin]

Ouch: After all that work with WALNUT I said Mahogany!!!! Of course it is Walnut!! Can't believe I screwed that up. Thx for pointing that out The carvings/piece were patterned after Gene Landons plans....I made a few changes, but they are basically his..

Thanks for looking

Ralph

Ralph...CONGRATULATIONS!!!

The lowboy really does look fine. You're quote is good though, there's always things we wish were better, but in 6 months they won't bother you anymore anyway.

You say the primary wood is Mahagony...is that true? It really looks like walnut from the photo's. If so, that's even more of a feat as walnut is harder and difficult to carve.

One more question, did you pattern this after a museum piece or design your own carvings?

Thanks for sharing!!

[Zahid Naqvi]

I don't know Ralph, I'd be very happy if I could do the kind of carving I see on this project.

[Lee Hingle]

Ralph,
As the others have already said, that is incredible work. The carving and the legs look fabulous!

Some people like the contrast of sapwood and heartwood, I feel it is a little distracting - so I personally would have selected the sapwood out of the project. The cost is a little more, but very small in the grand scheme of things (like your time invested). This is just my opinion, some will disagree. Please do no take offense, I really love the piece.
Lee

[Von Bickley]

Ralph,

Great looking piece of furniture.....

[Chuck Hamman]

Ralph,
Great piece - I'm impressed by your talent and your patience - the fact that you desire to improve insures that you will.
I'm especially impressed with the quarter columns on the rear legs. That's a detail you don't often see.

-Chuck