Thanks for the encouragement Tommy. Here are a few pics of the cubby after I applied a couple of coats of General Finishes Danish Oil.

Left end view of the side and the top

Left end top DT Close up

Right Side view with some awsome grain patterns

Front View. Still need to select the hardware for it.

Wow, those dovetails are too good - they look painted on Very nice work.

Bruce,
I think the "Smokey" Danish oil adds a lot of character to the cubby.. JJ.. looks really great.. do you plan to shellac, poly or varnish it later?

Scott,

The plan was to top coat it with some General Finishes Satin Arm-R-Seal, then apply a coat or two of the GF Satin Wax. Right now the 'mental' debate that's going on is my selection of drawer pulls. Since I have some medium sized brushed stainless/nickle pulls, I think I will use them. Here are a few pics of the knobs.






FYI, Double Faced Tape was used to attach the knobs for the pictures and I just 'eye balled' their placement.

Please comment on the knobs and their placement. Feel free to offer other ideas. Thanks. Bruce

Bruce
Take a look at your own design. On a 'long' project it is easy to forget what your original ideas were (in this case regarding pull location).

Pulls are accessory and thus it is typically desirable to integrated them into the design structure. As you are currently showing them they don't appear to have much of a relationship with the openings above the drawer. Viewing your original design sketch it appears that you may have located them on the center line of the openings, thus 'tying' them into the design.

JL.

You are absolutely correct that my original design had the pulls centered under the upper cubbies. When I placed them on the drawer in those positions they just looked ODD to me, being too close to each other. I will try it again using my original idea, take some more pics and compare the two. Thanks for the feedback.

Bruce

I agree, I would move them in more. Also, having them that close to the edge, you may cause binding if trying to open that drawer by pulling only on one knob, since that drawer is extra wide.

Ok.. so let's compare alternate positioning.

Original design:


Pulls in Original Design Position:


Pulls set wider:



Let me know what you think guys. I think the more centered look looks better.

Bruce

Hi Bruce.

The centered locations look a lot better, but those pulls look a tad large to me. Got anything kicking around the shop a bit smaller? I kind like "teardrop" pulls for this kind of project, but that's just me...

Paul
the little guy

Bruce

There is more going on with the pulls than just placement (which may explain your poor reaction to centering the pulls). I realize you are using pulls that you already have but let me illustrate why you may want to consider another solution.

Here is an approximation of your cubbies (the dashed line to indicate centerlines) with the round pulls. Circles are unidirectional by their nature; they have no direction, only a center and an edge. Their geometry is difficult to integrate into a large whole.

Here is a square pull the same size and location as the circle. The square has 2 primary directions (perpendicular to it’s edges) and 1 secondary, the diagonal. Being square the two primary directions are ‘equal’ (there is a case to be made for the vertical to be dominant but I am ignoring this in this illustration). You can see how a square pull relates directly to the squareness of the case but its relationship with the proportions of the piece is weak (maybe even non-existent).

Finally, here is a rectangular version that gets its proportions directly from the openings above (the diagonal is there to illustrate the proportions). Proportions do not dictate size, so you still have to determine the actual size (dimensions) of the pull but as I think can clearly be seen the proportional rectangular pull looks like it ‘belongs’ in comparison with the other two examples.

I know your shop is down but I would urge you to reconsider using those round pulls just because that is what you have hanging around.

PS If there is any interest in an explanation of why I chose the cubbies' proportions instead of the case or drawer just ask.

JL, Paul and Jimi..

Thank you for posting your opinions. FYI, I had my DIL look at the pictures of the pulls and the two positions. She likes the pulls and prefers the more centered position. I will ask her to consider the rectangular pulls suggested by JL.

On a related note, I think it is great that folks here are willing to comment/critique/recommend, etc regarding design elements. I find it helpful. In the end, I will go with what my 'client' prefers. After all, it's a "labor of love" and it's what pleases her that counts the most.

Thanks again.

Bruce

Rat, I really do like the cabinet, but I would like to comment on JL's post for a second. That was pretty impressive. I really like the fact that you took your time to actually diagnose a "problem" (at least as you see it) and then offer AND SHOW your thought process, solution and reasoning with diagrams Damn impressive. Thank you from the rest of us for adding to Wood Rats post. I kind of like the round pulls (I actually happened to coincidentally pick up about 20 similar ones a Lowes on sale), centered by the way, but your explanation, logic and diagram for using the rectilinear shaped pull was excellent. Thank you for your contribution.
Wood Rat, Keep on keeping on. Hopefully you can still get some version of work done even through your re-build. I know that I bought a Fat Max portable clamping table and used that in my barracks room with hand tools so I could work while I was at a school away from home. Remember that there is a always a way, and there is always an excuse. Use the way!

Cop, Chop!

Adam, I won't chop any Cops, but I am keeping on keeping on, just at a slower pace. The latest pics of the cubby were taken in my new "Temporary" shop. When wifey found and rented the apartment we are now staying in, she also rented a 'single car' garage stall for me. I asked her why she did that and she replied...Well you will need somewhere to go and putz, might as well be close. Gotta really love a woman like that. Besides, I think she just wanted me out of her way in the apartment. She does tend to plan ahead more than I do. LOL.

As for the new shop, I was able to hold onto a lot of my hand tools, my chop saw, compressor, router table and my TS outfeed table/work bench. I've started sorting things out and hanging some wall shelves to help me get organized. I know that I will be able to finish the cubby there.

By the way, I too really appreciated JL's response. One of the reasons I keep visiting this place.. Always something to learn.
Bruce

Well as I always say (and mean) it is always nice to be appreciated. Since I do this stuff (design things) for a living hopefully I know what I am doing and I am quite use to my 'suggestions' being appreciated but rejected all the same, it comes with the territory.

Currently I am completely redesigning a project after 6 months of design work (I have lost track of how many design schemes) because the client decided they didn't like the current design 'enough'. It's part of a large remodel of a residence and the demolition is already completed. Just another day in the life...

Btw I agree with Tiny that the round pulls seem a little big (but may be the best size available). My design goal was to illustration what type of pull would be the most integrated into the design. The round pulls would in fact provide the most contrast (round, metal, bright) with the existing design which is just as valid of a design idea (even if it is one I don't prefer).

JL... I do like the rectangular pulls. Can you provide the 'approximate' dimensions of the pulls you incorporated? They could be fun to make with just hand tools being available to me. I do have some more of that curly sapele I can use for them.

Again, thanks for your design guidance. I just know Neil L is probably lurking back there and thinking.... "Maybe the Rat will understand this design stuff some day. There's always hope."

By the way.. please don't take that comment about Neil with a negative conotations. I really like Neil and greatly appreciate how he drives his passion for us to discover and develop our own design skills. I know he has helped me grow.

Bruce

I'm not really sure if passion is a strong enough word to describe how Neil feels about W/W. Seeing Tommy work is very inspirational, but when it comes to just pure and unadulterated passion for the craft, nobody gets me going like Neil.

Rat - Its looking very good. I like the pulls centered, its more appealing. (originial design position).

PS any updates on the shop and how things are going?

It’s the old story of giving someone a fish or teaching someone to fish. I am more interested in the latter. So even if I did know the dimensions, I wouldn’t tell you and while I am confident you can figure this out for yourself, if you need a little help getting started I would suggest you establish what the most desirable dimension for the thickness of the pull (or make several samples of different thickness to test).

The thickness x the proportions of the cubbies (length/height) = the length of the pull.

JL.....Thanks...Really... I like to fish and often enjoy mental gymnastics. Your response is totally appropriate. I will assume that the Formula you provided for determining the pull length is my first fishing lesson. Thanks.

Bruce

Bud

Right now the shop is a shell of its former self.

For the most part my garage/shop has been stripped down to the studs. No ceilings, no electrical, no plumbing, and only one wall still has some drywall on it. To mitigate smoke damage, my contractor has also removed the ceilings and ceiling insulation on one half of the house (Kitchen, dinning room, living room and TV room. The other half of the house (bedroom wing) was relatively unscathed. The contents of our home were removed. What we did not keep for use in our temporary housing has been put into short term (~6 month) storage. Currently we are waiting on the contractor's estimate for repairs. It appears that he will have to rebuild a significant part of the garage (roof and walls), replace most of the electrical system in the house, replace the HVAC on the west end of the house and, of course, replace all of the ceiling insulation and ceilings that he removed. Once his estimates are in and approved by my insurance company we will have a better understanding of when we might get back into our home.

Good to see you plugging away! Must feel good to get something done.

I also like the rectangular pulls. They do seem to go better with the shape of the case. As to their size, if you are up to making your own I'd say use the proportion of the upper cubbies. Say about 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" tall and whatever width the proportion works out to be. That would be their footprint. After shaping them their profile could look a little more refined than just a rectangle.

You have a very rectilinear design for the cabinet so maybe just a hint of curve and shadow lines in the pulls would be good. Too much with the sexy curves and it would look out of place. And too crazy of an orientation (say rotating them 20 degrees or so) would be weird too. Like the ghost of Krenov snuck in during the night a re-arranged your shop.

Just something subtle in the shaping. A little under cut at the bottom for the finger tips and just a hint of a reverse curve at the top for the thumb perhaps.

Without endorsing the specific as to the shaping (for this is the job of the designer), I concur with rwyoung's advice as to the rectangle formed by the proportions should be the 'blank' from which the final shape of the pull is made.

Rob,It does feel good to be taking even small steps towards completion. Interesting that some folks have commented that the pulls look 'big'. They are 1-1/4" in diameter and 1-1/4" tall. I'm thinking a 1" thick and tall rectangular pull should look fine. I just have to take some measurements, calculate the width/height of the cubby slots and come up with something that appeals to my eye.

Hi WoodRat old buddy!

Sounds like "the committee" has solved the question of the pulls.

As for that lady of yours, she sounds like a keeper to me. Maybe a dozen long stem red roses are in order? Maybe adding a nice dinner she didn't have to cook or clean up after too?

Paul
the sentimental little guy

So if it is established that the 'idea' of the pull is for it to be integrated into the existing form, should the test for whether it is integrated be that it is "something that appeals to my eye" or is appealing to the eye something the form needs to be in addition to being 'fully' integrated into the design? What if you focused on integration, how might you go about it (beyond what is already been established, proportions and location)? How might you generate the actually dimensions of the pull if your goal is integration? And no this isn't a trick question.