Top Rail

I was able to get the top rail fit.

Getting rid of the waste with the palm router.

Chiseled out the waste - made so much easier with the fishtail chisel (yay!).

Pretty good fit...

Desk Update

Today I was crafting the top rail of the desk that will hopefully hold the two legs together. I'm especially hoping that it will add stability (that was lacking on the prototype).

The rail laid out with the dovetail at the end....

On its side.

I transferred the lines to the top of the legs.

Ready to hog out the bulk of the waste. Will it work? We shall see (ran out of time tonight).

EW Desk progress

I received my new chisels in the mail this week (3/4 & 1") - I put the new chisel to work today with shaping up 4 mortises and as many tenons.

This mortise on the leg was cut with hand saws only. The cleanup wasn't too bad...

The fit on this leg really isn't very good. Ugh, thank gosh for sandpaper.

The leg and the side went together OK, but it was way off initially (actually, because of a cut on the table saw). It had to be cleaned up with the hand tools.

The 2 front legs and their sides connected along with the future stock.

Next Desk

The next desk up is the one being made with the english walnut I purchased a couple of months ago. I had to cut off a 5" chunk of the large slab in order to get large enough stock for the front legs. I was able to get the legs into shape and picked out the pieces for the rest of the carcase. Still lots of work ahead.

This is from last week with Milos, making the stub tenons.

What's left of the large slab. (Still quite a lot, and no - I didn't pay $475 for it, only $65...)

The 2 front legs, what will become the sides, the front stile, the back legs and the back.

Further Along

I was able to add the hinges to add the middle cubby. Unfortunately, the lid stays I purchased last week won't work for this, so I'll either have to purchase additional hardware, or just use a chain or something so that it doesn't open up too far. It would probably be best to buy a better type of lid stay -of course that will probably cost more than $0.45 per unit. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be so cheap.

Finishing the desk

Almost done - put on the first coat of finish. I don't like finishing plywood.

The middle shelf is being finished separately until I receive the hardware later this week...

What I've learned: thicker legs, much thicker legs; figure out something better with the back shelves in terms of construction. Thicker legs will hopefully not allow it to wobble as much.