New Desk

jacko9

Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
2,378
I just finished building this desk out of Quatersawn White Oak with a Brazilian Boxwood top stained with General Finishes water based and gel based stains to get the sapwood and heartwood to match.  The desk top was finished with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Semi-Gloss top coat.

All of the wood was milled from rough cut boards in my shop with the boxwood taking a toll on my bandsaw blades (it is dense and very hard).

I used my Domino DF500 and XL700, my RO90, ETS125 and ETS 150/3 sanders, my new Kapex which arrived in the middle of this project because of the sale timing and the CXS and T-18 were invaluable in final assembly.

The Drawers were dovetailed with my Leigh Dovetail jig with the Festool CT22 attached to the Leigh VRS dust collection fixture.  I hand cut the dovetails on the smaller drawer, top rail connections, and the apron connection where I omitted the center leg.

Dimensions were to the customers specifications (my wife the accountant) and even though it was a bit late for this years tax work she loves the space she now has on the desktop and in the desk file drawers.

Jack
 

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Super impressive. Makes my desk from last year look like child's play. Very well done bud.
 
Staniam said:
Super impressive. Makes my desk from last year look like child's play. Very well done bud.

Thank you very much but keep in mind that my wife drove the design and since she never tells me I can't buy new tools I try real hard to make her what she likes ;-)

Jack
 
Nice work, Jack. I really like the contrasting top. Also, good job remembering to snap some photos along the way during the build.

Shane
 
Shane Holland said:
Nice work, Jack. I really like the contrasting top. Also, good job remembering to snap some photos along the way during the build.

Shane

Thanks Shane,

I have more photos for anybody that wants details.  The point I was trying to make is that with Festool Tools this kind of project goes a whole lot faster and a lot easier.

Thanks for you kind comments.

Jack
 
Really nice craftsmanship. Love the quarter sawn look with all the rays that emanate form the center.
 
Thanks, I may not have mentioned it but, I use my Domino joiner to cut four 6mm slots on the edge of one piece and the end of the other top piece and used 6 x 40 domino tenons to register the two top pieces while attaching the top to the rails.  I cut the narrow settings on one side and the middle width on the other and the fit is perfect - I really do love my Domino Joiners (both the 500 and 700).

Jack
 
What's the top made of and how did you get it so glossy? Hopefully those aren't dumb questions  [big grin]
 
Staniam said:
What's the top made of and how did you get it so glossy? Hopefully those aren't dumb questions  [big grin]

Not dumb at all.  The Top was cut from some old Brazilian Boxwood timbers I bought 35 years ago and almost forgot about.  I ruined two bandsaw Highland Woodslicer bandsaw blades resawing those timbers since it was so hard and dense.

I stickered the resawn wood while I made the base cabinets and drawers.  The after I glued up the tops and surfaced them smooth and flat I used my Domino Joiner to cut four indexing slots that gave me a tight fit when assembling the desk top.

The sawn timbers had both sapwood and heartwood which were totally different in color so, I spent several weeks trying different color matching which led to the final finishing schedule.  As luck would have it all of the 62" lengths were sapwood and all of the 50" lengths were heartwood (I didn't even notice this as I was hefting those heavy timbers around).

The final finish was General Finishes water based stain on the sapwood which didn't give me a good match but gave me the correct tones under the darker General Finishes Java color Gel stain.

I put on several coats of darker Java Gel stain wiping carefully each time to keep a smooth finish.  When dry I very lightly sanded with 1200 grit wet/dry paper.

The final top coat (after letting the stain dry a week) was General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Semi-Gloss Oil and Urethane Topcoat (which is just a varnish).  I have used this finish before and found that the best application was to apply very thin coats wiped on with Scotts Paper Rags folded over and dipped into a shallow pan of finish.  Getting the smooth finish requires that you get the rag just wet enough to swipe one length of your project (about 3" wide) and then move from wet across your width.  It's important that you don't rub hard and resist going back over the finish (it will level).  I put on five thin coats waiting 24 hours between each coat and if I saw any nibs of dust/bugs between coats I hit it lightly with 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper.

Jack 
 
Thanks for the info, Jack.

I've got a couple paying side projects coming up soon and that info will definitely help.
 
Staniam said:
Thanks for the info, Jack.

I've got a couple paying side projects coming up soon and that info will definitely help.

PM me if you need any additional information.

Jack
 
Absolutely stunning top !
Very, very nice.

You deserve a sweet tax return from your accountant!
Seriously nice. Thanks for the finishing info too.

Nigel
 
I use a similar wipe on technique with Mohawk brand polymerized tung oil.
7-8 coats with a 1200 grit sand in between and you can get a mirror finish on just about any hardwood.
Wow I love that top. Such uniformity. Almost looks like granite..

Nigel
 
Jack,

The desk looks great, especially the QSWO!!!  Great job!  I'm sure the wife was extremely happy.

Gary
 
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