Oak Writing Desk

[Guy Ashley]

Sadly this is the last furniture commission on the books, so its back to the more profitable but less enjoyable joinery and kitchen fitting.

It is a writing desk made from European Oak with maple drawer sides. Finished with three coats of oil and two coats of beeswax.

The inside of the drawers have been wipe finished with Lemon oil which leaves a pleasant aroma.

First time I have done curved legs on a desk but I think they are elegant and will try similar again.

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[jonny round boy]

Guy,

That is a fantastic piece!
[jawdrop]

 

[woodguy7]

As i said earlier, stunning.  I also cant beleive it only took you around 30hrs to make this  [eek]  I would have taken this long to only do the drawers but maybe when the new lie neilson d/t saw turns up it might speed me up a bit.

Congrats, Woodguy.

 

[WoodChuckWoods]

Looks amazing. Did you hand cut those half blinds?how are the legs attached to the desk.I love it just my style.

 

[jmbfestool]

You wasnt lying your band saw is still der! lol

Very nice job! Like it!

JMB

 

[Frank Pellow]

Guy, I think that this desk looks very elegant and modern because of the curved legs  but at the same time it captures someting traditional because of the drawers.  

I like it so much that I might be inspired to try building something in the same style.

I hope that your kitchen cabinet work will soon be interupt by another commission.

 

[BigHonu]

Excellent looking piece! I like your drawers and the overall look of the desk.

 

[Guy Ashley]

Thanks everyone!

Looks amazing. Did you hand cut those half blinds?how are the legs attached to the desk.I love it just my style.

Yeah the pins are hand cut with the LN Dovetail saw. The legs are attached at their tops with two 6 x 40 dominos (28 into leg, 12 into case) and a 1 1/2" pocket hole screw just below half way to allow for movement. Thank you Festool C12 angled chuck! [big grin]

You wasnt lying your band saw is still der! lol

Very nice job! Like it!

JMB

Wow JMB, a site chippy complementing a bench joiner!! You been on the Prozac!! ;D ;D

Guy, I think that this desk looks very elegant and modern because of the curved legs  but at the same time it captures someting traditional because of the drawers. 

I like it so much that I might be inspired to try building something in the same style.

I hope that your kitchen cabinet work will soon be interupt by another commission.

Thanks Frank, I cant claim the kudos for the design, the client spent ages on Google images and bought me a picture saying "can you do something like this". A few individual touches but to her specifications. If you PM me I will send you the original picture she gave me.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks Frank, I cant claim the kudos for the design, the client spent ages on Google images and bought me a picture saying "can you do something like this". A few individual touches but to her specifications. If you PM me I will send you the original picture she gave me.

Thanks for the offer Guy.  I have sent you a memo via email.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Guy, dat is da bomb!  BU T full piece.  Nothing like dose Lie-Nielsen saws eh?  I'm kinda gettin used to JMBSPEAK  [big grin].  The only thing I would change if I were making it for myself would be the color of the knobs.  Thanks for posting your piece!

 

[upscale]

First time I have done curved legs on a desk but I think they are elegant and will try similar again.

I really like the legs. The rear legs appear to be solid. Are they solid or did you glue facing boards together to get the thickness? I ask because solid pieces of thick hardwood are hard (read expensive) to come by.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Wow - what an elegant piece!! 
Sorry I'm slow, but what is the joinery where the legs intersect?  Whatever it is, it flows beautifully!!!

 

[tiralie]

Wow - what an elegant piece!! 
Sorry I'm slow, but what is the joinery where the legs intersect?  Whatever it is, it flows beautifully!!!

Guy:
Same here, nice piece! How did you do those legs?
Could you post the picture your client found?
It would be fun to see how your design differs from the "picture."
Tim

 

[nclemmons]

Guy

Really nice design and execution.
Would love to see some more photos as well as dimensions.

Thanks for sharing!

neil

 

[Guy Ashley]

Thanks for the comments chaps! [big grin]

Guy, dat is da bomb!  BU T full piece.  Nothing like dose Lie-Nielsen saws eh?  I'm kinda gettin used to JMBSPEAK  [big grin].  The only thing I would change if I were making it for myself would be the color of the knobs.  Thanks for posting your piece!

Ken, I'm not much on the knobs either, I was trying to steer the client toward ebonised oak, but she's a bit "Bohemian" and paid £8 each for these hand beaten pewter things! [eek]

First time I have done curved legs on a desk but I think they are elegant and will try similar again.

I really like the legs. The rear legs appear to be solid. Are they solid or did you glue facing boards together to get the thickness? I ask because solid pieces of thick hardwood are hard (read expensive) to come by.

Hi Upscale, the legs are solid 2" European oak. I did a run of oak doors last year and when I planed these boards up and saw the figure on them this board went into that "special project" pile. One of the advantages of doing joinery I suppose.

Wow - what an elegant piece!! 
Sorry I'm slow, but what is the joinery where the legs intersect?  Whatever it is, it flows beautifully!!!

Jesse, simply a cross halving joint. The difficult part was getting the curve into the joint. First cut a rebate at the thinnest point of the intersection and having marked the true curve with a marking knife then paring away slowly with a very very sharp chisel. (Hope that makes sense?)

Tim & Neil, I will post some photo's and explanations today but have to resize them first. 

 

[tiralie]

Tim & Neil, I will post some photo's and explanations today but have to resize them first.   

Guy:
Thanks, much appreciated.
Tim

 

[Guy Ashley]

Heres how the legs were done. Like I said first time so others more knowledgeable may have alternative methods.

Having looked at the design I was given by the client I cut out some 6mm ply templates overlength and using a spokeshave got the curves smooth.

Then calculate the height of the desk (without top) 755mm, and the width 560mm draw these measurements out in a square on a sheet of ply. Place the overlength templates on the drawn square and adjust until you have the intersection right and then where the overlength template crosses the square lines that is your cut line to ensure the legs sit level top and bottom.

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Next using the 6mm templates draw a cut line on your oak board and bandsaw out the legs.

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The next stage could have been done on a spindle moulder (Oops, a shaper!!) or with a bearing guided router bit, or if you prefer and have a Record 020 compass plane then smooth out the curves by hand.

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Finally once the legs are joined together again reference them against the square dimensioned on the ply sheet, they will have moved a millimetre or two and then mark the "final cut " line.

Place them onto a true squared board, clamp them and using your crosscut fence on the table saw run them through to get the level.

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And thats about it. Hope I have explained it well enough for everyone.

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[Jay Knoll]

Guy

Great work, and thanks for the "how to" pics!  Do you have any pics of the drawer assembly?  I'm wondering if it is like a torsion box to provide a rigid structure to hang the legs on?

Jay

 

[Guy Ashley]

Jay

As you say a box assembly dominoed together

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[Frank Pellow]

Guy, thanks for the excellent illustrated explanation of the technique that you used.  I might attempt to do something like this project in the future, and this will be invaluable should I choose to do so.