Makeup Vanity wedding gift - Brazilian Rosewood and Figured Maple

[martin felder]

It was a wedding gift for my Jiu-Jitsu instructor.  His last name was Gracie, and I used his family logo as part of the piece.

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[martin felder]

I was fortunate to have some help towards the end of the project from my friend David Wade, who was one to Sam Maloof's 3 "boys" who worked with him for many years.  Some of the wood was Sam's.

The Brazilian was used on the drawer pulls, the front parts of the pull outs, the screw hole plugs, and the logo on the center of the mirror.

David's skill was most helpful with the Maloof style lathe turned drawer pulls and curved pieces on the shelves.  I added the docking drawer receptacle on the bottom of 1 of the drawers (saw that at an AFWS show).

 

[Vondawg]

Awesome ! Wow! That wood could be  AAA acoustic guitar top material ...nice design, great job!

 

[Svar]

Are the sides bent lamination?

 

[martin felder]

Yes:  The curved sides were made by taking some figured maple, resewing to thin pieces, then sanding them in the wide belt, then Titebond glueing them together and immediate clamping in a form cut from a 4x6 on the bandsaw to create the desired curve.

 

[ForumMFG]

Very nice work and it looks stunning, thats for sure.  So the gift for his wife? Or does he wear make-up for some reason?

 

[duc996]

Wow! Amazing wood choice and amazing craftsmanship!

 

[sancho57]

Wow very nice work. Im sure he'll love it

 

[Mario Turcot]

Outstanding piece... the knobs are pretty sexy  [wink] and I like the pull out shelves  [thumbs up]

 

[MikeGE]

What a beautiful piece, and very appropriate to use a Brazilian product for a Gracie family member!

 

[butzla]

Wow!  The figure on the wood is stunning!  Great job in both design and execution, Marty!!
Would love to see more of the build.  I assume you used the Keller jig for your dovetails?

 

[nclemmons]

Very cool design, Martin!

I was fortunate to take a course from Sam Maloof in 1989 out in Colorado.  What a gracious guy.  He could make a bandsaw do things most people would never try due to safety!

I've been to his shop and museum in the LA area a couple of times, most recently a couple of years ago.  That team still turns out some beautiful work as indicated by the piece you built!

Thanks for sharing -

neil

 

[Bob Wolfe]

Beautiful piece.
What did you use for the white parts?
BW

 

[Oldwood]

Nice! You did justice to the wood. The quilted maple grain pops. Is it a oil finish? Did you use anything else to make the grain pop?

I worked with a craftsman who was a fantastic carver, he would do adze finished work, the maple looks like it is 3D like the adze finish in a couple of the pictures.

Well done!!

 

[martin felder]

So the gift for his wife? Or does he wear make-up for some reason?

I asked him what he wanted, and he said a makeup vanity for her.  He does not wear makeup for  any reason.

I assume you used the Keller jig for your dovetails?

I did use my modified Keller jig, and started a thread on that here given the positive interest in it.

What did you use for the white parts?

Maple

 

[jarbroen]

Awesome work!  The curved, figured maple looks amazing! 
The method you described for achieving the curved pieces is something I'd like to try eventually(when I actually have some time).

I noticed the power strip drawer.  What kind of setup did you use for that?
I recently built some kitchen cabinets with a 'tablet' drawer and haven't powered it yet.  I don't want to spend $300 on the scissor hardware, but don't want pinched cords either.