Getting My Wood.

I started looking for a project soon after internationals last year. I started by browsing projects on fine woodworking and a small portable writing desk caught my eye. I showed my dad and we contacted the man that built it. He said that he didn’t have any plans for it because he had constructed it from a similar piece. From there we started researching variations. We found a site with over a hundred in many different forms. A tri-fold stood out to me because of its unique three opening lid and hidden drawers. Through the summer we worked on plans and tried to guess from the pictures how it was constructed. I started practicing cutting the joinery that was required. We started building a prototype out of poplar to identify problems, check overall proportions and practice the techniques required. We stopped when we had a complete shell, but stopped short of the small details.


It was now time to buy my wood and start the project. I chose mahogany and accented it with Wenge. I also used white maple as a secondary wood of the inner drawers because it has a good contrast. We needed some mahogany thick enough to re-saw to make the outside grain appear to connect all the way around. We found some 16/4 mahogany that was 11 in. wide and 6 feet long. This was enough to create the whole project out of the same board, ensuring that all the grain and colors matched. When we brought it home we let it acclimate in the shop for about five days.

1. I cut the piece at 40 in.


2. I skim planned it in the planner to get a flat surface for re-sawing.

3. I jointed it to create a 90 degree side.

4. I sawed two pieces at an inch and an eighth to get the sides.

5. I re-sawed two pieces at five-eighths to get the top and bottom.


6. I was left with a piece that I was able to mill to a quarter inch for dividers and miscellaneous parts.

7. I clamped all the pieces flat on the lay-out table to keep them from warping and cupping, as re-sawed boards tend to.

8. I let them re-acclimate for several days then milled them to their final dimensions.

9. I put them back in the clamps until I was ready to cut the joinery and glue them up.



Here is a short video of the process so far.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jwaggoner20 ... SshgqWw_zA
See more on this project at http://www.planeoldwood.com/writing-box-2010.html

-- Jeff Waggoner, http://www.planeoldwood.com

Great to see young people getting involved in this work rather than watching TV and playing computer games. I made my 1st table when I was 14 but your ambition seems a little higher than mine I'm glad to see

There is nothing like picking a perfect BIG piece of wood for a project and then taking it from that huge HUNK of tree and making something beautiful out of it. Gives you a great sense of accomplishment. Keep up the GREAT work Jordan!

The writing desk will be a nice project, Jordan. I often do as you have done and practice before I begin the piece. As you have found, it helps to work out any problems you may encounter. Keep us posted on your progress.

Best,

Kirk

Very cool!!!

10. I cut the two sides for my case, taking care to cut one small side from opposite ends of each board, to make the grain line up around the box. I cut them with a sliding stop to ensure that all pieces were exactly the same.
11. I then put it together with rubber bands to test the joints and see if the grains were matching. I rubbed mineral spirits on the corners to test it.
12. I measured all of the joints from corner to corner. The box was dead square.
13. I cut two inches off of all the tops of the pieces to make the lid for my box. I did this on the band saw to get the smallest cut possible.
14. I double-face taped the two short sides together and marked out the writing slope.
15. I double-faced taped a template along that line to ride against the fence of the band-saw, making sure to stop at the line… ooops! I’ll figure out some way of hiding that. Suggestions?
16. I split the top and bottom panels in half so i cold book-match them.
17. I jointed the edges and glued them up. More later!


[youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRsLOp9buPA[/youtube]



See more at http://www.planeoldwood.com/writing-box-2010.html

Glue a piece of veneer in the over cut, with the grain going in the right direction. That should make it "nearly" invisible when planed/sanded flush.

Thanks all have to try that. Hopefully I can do it well enough that it will be noticeable.

Jordan,

I have heard that the sign of a good woodworker is how well he hides his mistakes. I should know because I've had lots and lots of practice!

Kirk

That's some piece of wood. For a minute it looked like your in my shop working - have pretty much the same tools.