The Secretary Desk

Finally, pics of the finished product. The customer took delivery in December and somehow I forgot to take pictures of it both when it was finished in the shop and when it was sitting in its final resting place in the living room. Over this past weekend, I went back to have a visit and snapped these photos:

In the lid closed and everything tucked away position.

Cuts were made from long horizontal boards so the grain matches on adjoining drawer fronts. The large drawer on the lower left contains a vertical file hanging system.

Dovetailed fronts.

Drawers (again).

Dropdown hardware. These pieces from Rockler have an adjustable brake control to reign in the speed of the dropdown action. This way it won't just slam down when you open it. Also, a magnetic catch secures the desk in the upright position.

The lived-in look. While a laptop is currently being used in this space, the opening is large enough to accommodate an iMac if the customer so desires in the future. The intention here is to pull out the laptop onto the desk portion when in use. Note also the cubbyhole shelving on the right - these are sized to fit standard 8.5x11 sheets of paper.

Drawer hardware detail.

And finally, the desk paired with a cool chair. Hiding in the back is a Nelson bench!

Construction notes: Solid cherry case and drawers. Plywood exceptions: drawer bottoms, case back, upper shelves. Dropdown hardware from Rockler. Brushed nickel drawer pulls. Dimensions? Approx 4' tall, 3' wide, 2' deep.

Price: Sold.

To discuss ideas for your own secretary desk, please send an email to craigwoodworks at gmail dot com.

Spoons!

Over the course of a few months I've been experimenting with turning spoons. Every now and again I'd find a random piece of maple or cherry, turn the handle on the lathe, and rough out a spoon shape using a variety of techniques: straight chiseling, spoon chiseling, routing, dremeling, flapwheel grinding, scraping, etc. I'm not quite sure which method works best, but that's part of the figuring out process and that's why I ended up with about a dozen spoons in varying styles.

So for xmas, I sanded these prototypes down, finished 'em with mineral oil (plus beeswax and carauba wax), put a pretty ribbon on 'em, attached some care/feeding instructions, and gave 'em away. In the true spirit of xmas, the best present is the type that actually can be crafted in Santa's workshop and not something that can be bought at Wal-Mart.

Each spoon had a different handle/spoon shape and was personalized with the iron/toner transfer technique that I use on lots of my other projects.

Once I figure out a streamlined modus operandi, I'll start selling these too.

Again, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

The Headboard

The latest addition to the Nelson series, Project Mike: The Headboard.

This was inspired by a customer's request about eight months ago who wanted a slatted headboard. I ended up not making one for that customer, but went ahead and built one for our brand spanking new kingsize bed.

I often wondered if a mattress really did matter when it comes to sleeping comfort. After all, it's just a thing to lay on, right? And I can fall asleep anywhere -- the couch, the floor, the car, the bus, hard surface, soft surface, whatever. So when it came time to replace our 10 year old queen mattress, the woman suggested we go big. Real big. As in King.

Of course this meant scrapping the queen frame too. Now we've got a king (and a split boxspring) that's planted on the floor, sans bedframe.

And to answer my question about whether a mattress has anything to do with sleepability, I have to conclude with a resounding yes indeedy. Now I sleep completely uninterrupted without waking constantly in the middle of the night -- why I thought waking up constantly was normal, I don't know. Now we frequently have trouble getting up in the morning 'cause this new mattress is just so darn enveloping and soft and warm and cozy and squishy and joyful.

Anyway, to the headboard! Slats, all cherry wood, a couple of coats of tung oil (with lots more finishing to do later), and no frame yet. Due to various other projects piling up on my to-do list (a secretary desk, tons of giant scrabble tiles, various turned pieces, and a custom quadruple size scrabble board (to be played with 400 standard scrabble tiles)), I'll have to wait a while before attempting to make a frame. More details on the secretary desk and the ginormous scrabble board are forthcoming.

Dimensions are as follows:

Length: 80"

Height: 42"

Price: not for sale

Cherry wood. Preliminarily finished in tung oil.

To arrange commission of your own slatted headboard, send an email to craigwoodworks at gmail dot com