[JimYoung]

Second Glue Up and Wedged Tenons

The second part of the leg glue up is pretty complicated. Luckily, my Father In-Law was in town for the holidays and he gave me a hand getting all the parts in place.

For the through tenons, I used a small amount of glue on the faces of the tenons to minimize squeeze out. Once the legs and "window frame" pieces were all clamped up, I taped off around the mortises. I then forced glue into the top and bottom of the mortise before driving the walnut wedges in place. Removing the tape left a clean joint.

After letting the glue set up, I trimmed the wedges and sanded them flush with the tenons.

The finished leg assemblies look pretty nice.

Tonight, I was able to finish up the central arches. They have wedged, through tenons, and a gentle arch to the bottom. After roughing the arch with the bandsaw, I used a hardboard template and pattern bit in my router.

It's starting to look like a desk!

Next up is the front apron and drawer supports.

Thanks for following along,

Thanks for the kind words, but I think stefang is getting a little fresh! ( ^ ;

I made a lot of chips tonight milling down the apron pieces. I had to stop and clean the shop and empty the dust collector (2nd time for this project).

Any suggestions on wood for the drawer boxes? I'm thinking about using "soft maple" rather than birch plywood.

 

[builtinbkyn]

Second Glue Up and Wedged Tenons

The second part of the leg glue up is pretty complicated. Luckily, my Father In-Law was in town for the holidays and he gave me a hand getting all the parts in place.

For the through tenons, I used a small amount of glue on the faces of the tenons to minimize squeeze out. Once the legs and "window frame" pieces were all clamped up, I taped off around the mortises. I then forced glue into the top and bottom of the mortise before driving the walnut wedges in place. Removing the tape left a clean joint.

After letting the glue set up, I trimmed the wedges and sanded them flush with the tenons.

The finished leg assemblies look pretty nice.

Tonight, I was able to finish up the central arches. They have wedged, through tenons, and a gentle arch to the bottom. After roughing the arch with the bandsaw, I used a hardboard template and pattern bit in my router.

It's starting to look like a desk!

Next up is the front apron and drawer supports.

Thanks for following along,

Beautiful and right up my aesthetic alley On no plywood on this please

 

[JimYoung]

Coming together

The front apron and drawer fronts we the next thing to tackle. The front apron is pretty straight forward, but it has four walnut accent pieces inset in it. The walnut pieces are faceted to mirror the through tenons. Also there a four slots routed on the back of it to hold the drawer supports.

The drawers were a straight forward as well. I just needed to be careful since I am using one piece so the grain matches from one drawer to the next. It took me two tries on the drawer fronts, because my router bit came loose in the middle of routing for the accent pieces. I added a chamfer to the bottom edge of the drawer to be able to grip them better when opening them.

I cut a small block with a v-groove to match the accent pieces to tap them into place without marring them.

On the drawer side, there are pieces that are tenoned into the legs. These were easy to glue in place.

The next glue up was pretty easy as well. I did not put any glue on the through tenons of the central arches. I glued up the front apron, and used several pipe clamps to pull everything.

Next I taped off the through tenons, applied glue to the top and bottom gaps and drove in the walnut wedges.

I love it when a plan comes together!

 

[pintodeluxe]

Coming together

The front apron and drawer fronts we the next thing to tackle. The front apron is pretty straight forward, but it has four walnut accent pieces inset in it. The walnut pieces are faceted to mirror the through tenons. Also there a four slots routed on the back of it to hold the drawer supports.

The drawers were a straight forward as well. I just needed to be careful since I am using one piece so the grain matches from one drawer to the next. It took me two tries on the drawer fronts, because my router bit came loose in the middle of routing for the accent pieces. I added a chamfer to the bottom edge of the drawer to be able to grip them better when opening them.

I cut a small block with a v-groove to match the accent pieces to tap them into place without marring them.

On the drawer side, there are pieces that are tenoned into the legs. These were easy to glue in place.

The next glue up was pretty easy as well. I did not put any glue on the through tenons of the central arches. I glued up the front apron, and used several pipe clamps to pull everything.

Next I taped off the through tenons, applied glue to the top and bottom gaps and drove in the walnut wedges.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Beautiful work. Looking forward to the next episode.

 

[helluvawreck]

Coming together

The front apron and drawer fronts we the next thing to tackle. The front apron is pretty straight forward, but it has four walnut accent pieces inset in it. The walnut pieces are faceted to mirror the through tenons. Also there a four slots routed on the back of it to hold the drawer supports.

The drawers were a straight forward as well. I just needed to be careful since I am using one piece so the grain matches from one drawer to the next. It took me two tries on the drawer fronts, because my router bit came loose in the middle of routing for the accent pieces. I added a chamfer to the bottom edge of the drawer to be able to grip them better when opening them.

I cut a small block with a v-groove to match the accent pieces to tap them into place without marring them.

On the drawer side, there are pieces that are tenoned into the legs. These were easy to glue in place.

The next glue up was pretty easy as well. I did not put any glue on the through tenons of the central arches. I glued up the front apron, and used several pipe clamps to pull everything.

Next I taped off the through tenons, applied glue to the top and bottom gaps and drove in the walnut wedges.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Jim, this is looking very good.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com

 

[JimYoung]

Coming together

The front apron and drawer fronts we the next thing to tackle. The front apron is pretty straight forward, but it has four walnut accent pieces inset in it. The walnut pieces are faceted to mirror the through tenons. Also there a four slots routed on the back of it to hold the drawer supports.

The drawers were a straight forward as well. I just needed to be careful since I am using one piece so the grain matches from one drawer to the next. It took me two tries on the drawer fronts, because my router bit came loose in the middle of routing for the accent pieces. I added a chamfer to the bottom edge of the drawer to be able to grip them better when opening them.

I cut a small block with a v-groove to match the accent pieces to tap them into place without marring them.

On the drawer side, there are pieces that are tenoned into the legs. These were easy to glue in place.

The next glue up was pretty easy as well. I did not put any glue on the through tenons of the central arches. I glued up the front apron, and used several pipe clamps to pull everything.

Next I taped off the through tenons, applied glue to the top and bottom gaps and drove in the walnut wedges.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Thanks guys.

I started working on the top last night. I cut the boards I had on hand down to ~6' and I'll take them to the local mill to have them planned and one edge straightened (I can't handle that long of a board in my shop yet). Unfortunately, my couple of mistakes and one badly warped board left me about a foot short of the total width I needed. I'll have to pick up a couple more 5/4 boards at the mill. I'm also going to pickup some soft maple for the drawer boxes.

I got my first batch of cherry at a different mill, and it was marked as kiln dried. I'm not sure what the local mill carries if it is air or kiln dried. Should I be concerned about mixing air dried and kiln dried wood from different sources? This is for the top, which will be pretty obvious if the wood doesn't match. I'm not planning on any stain or dyes, just a clear finish. The first mill is about an hour drive, and if made sense when I was buy 100bdft of wood.

Later,

 

[JimYoung]

Drawers

I trekked to the local lumber mill this morning, and picked through their pile of 5/4 cherry looking for a couple more boards for the top. I also took the rest of the top boards since my planer sled can only handle 4'. They jointed one face and rough planed them all for $8. I have them stickered and weighed down in the basement for a day or two to let them settle a bit.

I also picked up a piece of 5/4 soft maple to start the drawer boxes. I've never worked with soft maple before, but it is nice stuff. It machines well and doesn't burn when cutting or routing. The center drawer is about 17" wide and the two side drawers are about 6" wide. All are 24" deep with a "secret compartment" at 16". I re-sawed them and planed them down to 1/2" and cut a groove for the bottom in all the pieces.

I used my box joint jig and in pretty short order I had a set of drawer box frames.

I only had enough 1/4 plywood to finish up one drawer. I guess it's another trip to the woodworking store.

Thanks for following along,

 

[JimYoung]

Topping it off

I have some time off for the holidays, so I've got the top glued up. This took three days to accomplish. I put together a long ripping jig to to get a straight edge on all of the boards. I had an old oak shelf with a machined edge on it, and I used a couple of scrap blocks screwed to the board. I could then screw through the blocks into the edge of the boards to hold them while I ripped a straight edge on them. I made sure to have the top up on one edge and down when cutting the other edge. This way if my saw blade was off a little the boards would still fit together nicely. This worked pretty well and I didn't need to run next door to have my friend edge joint them.

I glued up the top in two sections. It did require a bit of clamping pressure to bring the edges together, so I made sure to let the glue dry a full 24 hours before unclamping them. Thus the three days to complete this task. I used painter's tape along the glue joints to minimize cleanup from drips and squeeze out. This worked well and the glue did not seep under the tape edge.

I did need to borrow a couple of 4' clamps for the final glue up (it helps to have neighbors who are also woodworkers).

For all the glue ups, I used some scrap boards with clear packing tape and clamps to keep the joints flush. This worked pretty well and I was able to clean up all the joints with my RO sander.

I do have one small knot hole in the middle of the top that I'll fill with epoxy and filler stained dark brown.

Next, I used my circular saw to cut the ends of the top square. The overall dimensions will be 36" wide and 68" long after the two 4" wide breadboard ends are attached. With a straightedge clamped to the top, I routed the tenon that will fit into the end pieces.

I milled the breadboard ends and started routing the mortise, but my router made a horrible noise and the 3/8" spiral up cut bit spun out of the collet! Luckily the end piece wasn't ruined, but the bit left a larger hole than planned. This also happened on the test piece I used while setting up this cut. I thought I just didn't have the collet snugged down enough, and made sure to tighten it before starting on the real piece. The bit has been used, but I didn't thing it was that dull.

Have I damaged the collet on my router? Looking at cut, the bit must have been trying to climb up as I cut and as it did the slot it was cutting got wider and wider. Like the bit was not spinning straight anymore. Anyhow, I ordered a new bit and it will be here in a few days. I 'll double check my router and see if I can see anything with the collet.

In the meantime, the plywood to finish the drawers showed up, so I glued them up and mounted the hardware.

Two of the drawers fit a little tight, so I'm going to run them through the table saw to shave a little off.

Thanks for following along.

 

[pintodeluxe]

Topping it off

I have some time off for the holidays, so I've got the top glued up. This took three days to accomplish. I put together a long ripping jig to to get a straight edge on all of the boards. I had an old oak shelf with a machined edge on it, and I used a couple of scrap blocks screwed to the board. I could then screw through the blocks into the edge of the boards to hold them while I ripped a straight edge on them. I made sure to have the top up on one edge and down when cutting the other edge. This way if my saw blade was off a little the boards would still fit together nicely. This worked pretty well and I didn't need to run next door to have my friend edge joint them.

I glued up the top in two sections. It did require a bit of clamping pressure to bring the edges together, so I made sure to let the glue dry a full 24 hours before unclamping them. Thus the three days to complete this task. I used painter's tape along the glue joints to minimize cleanup from drips and squeeze out. This worked well and the glue did not seep under the tape edge.

I did need to borrow a couple of 4' clamps for the final glue up (it helps to have neighbors who are also woodworkers).

For all the glue ups, I used some scrap boards with clear packing tape and clamps to keep the joints flush. This worked pretty well and I was able to clean up all the joints with my RO sander.

I do have one small knot hole in the middle of the top that I'll fill with epoxy and filler stained dark brown.

Next, I used my circular saw to cut the ends of the top square. The overall dimensions will be 36" wide and 68" long after the two 4" wide breadboard ends are attached. With a straightedge clamped to the top, I routed the tenon that will fit into the end pieces.

I milled the breadboard ends and started routing the mortise, but my router made a horrible noise and the 3/8" spiral up cut bit spun out of the collet! Luckily the end piece wasn't ruined, but the bit left a larger hole than planned. This also happened on the test piece I used while setting up this cut. I thought I just didn't have the collet snugged down enough, and made sure to tighten it before starting on the real piece. The bit has been used, but I didn't thing it was that dull.

Have I damaged the collet on my router? Looking at cut, the bit must have been trying to climb up as I cut and as it did the slot it was cutting got wider and wider. Like the bit was not spinning straight anymore. Anyhow, I ordered a new bit and it will be here in a few days. I 'll double check my router and see if I can see anything with the collet.

In the meantime, the plywood to finish the drawers showed up, so I glued them up and mounted the hardware.

Two of the drawers fit a little tight, so I'm going to run them through the table saw to shave a little off.

Thanks for following along.

That's going to be one nice desk. Breadboard ends are a pain, but I'm sure they will come out great.

 

[DanMelander]

Topping it off

I have some time off for the holidays, so I've got the top glued up. This took three days to accomplish. I put together a long ripping jig to to get a straight edge on all of the boards. I had an old oak shelf with a machined edge on it, and I used a couple of scrap blocks screwed to the board. I could then screw through the blocks into the edge of the boards to hold them while I ripped a straight edge on them. I made sure to have the top up on one edge and down when cutting the other edge. This way if my saw blade was off a little the boards would still fit together nicely. This worked pretty well and I didn't need to run next door to have my friend edge joint them.

I glued up the top in two sections. It did require a bit of clamping pressure to bring the edges together, so I made sure to let the glue dry a full 24 hours before unclamping them. Thus the three days to complete this task. I used painter's tape along the glue joints to minimize cleanup from drips and squeeze out. This worked well and the glue did not seep under the tape edge.

I did need to borrow a couple of 4' clamps for the final glue up (it helps to have neighbors who are also woodworkers).

For all the glue ups, I used some scrap boards with clear packing tape and clamps to keep the joints flush. This worked pretty well and I was able to clean up all the joints with my RO sander.

I do have one small knot hole in the middle of the top that I'll fill with epoxy and filler stained dark brown.

Next, I used my circular saw to cut the ends of the top square. The overall dimensions will be 36" wide and 68" long after the two 4" wide breadboard ends are attached. With a straightedge clamped to the top, I routed the tenon that will fit into the end pieces.

I milled the breadboard ends and started routing the mortise, but my router made a horrible noise and the 3/8" spiral up cut bit spun out of the collet! Luckily the end piece wasn't ruined, but the bit left a larger hole than planned. This also happened on the test piece I used while setting up this cut. I thought I just didn't have the collet snugged down enough, and made sure to tighten it before starting on the real piece. The bit has been used, but I didn't thing it was that dull.

Have I damaged the collet on my router? Looking at cut, the bit must have been trying to climb up as I cut and as it did the slot it was cutting got wider and wider. Like the bit was not spinning straight anymore. Anyhow, I ordered a new bit and it will be here in a few days. I 'll double check my router and see if I can see anything with the collet.

In the meantime, the plywood to finish the drawers showed up, so I glued them up and mounted the hardware.

Two of the drawers fit a little tight, so I'm going to run them through the table saw to shave a little off.

Thanks for following along.

Some nice tips on the glue up. I plan to use them for my next table top.

Dan

 

[Macan]

Topping it off

I have some time off for the holidays, so I've got the top glued up. This took three days to accomplish. I put together a long ripping jig to to get a straight edge on all of the boards. I had an old oak shelf with a machined edge on it, and I used a couple of scrap blocks screwed to the board. I could then screw through the blocks into the edge of the boards to hold them while I ripped a straight edge on them. I made sure to have the top up on one edge and down when cutting the other edge. This way if my saw blade was off a little the boards would still fit together nicely. This worked pretty well and I didn't need to run next door to have my friend edge joint them.

I glued up the top in two sections. It did require a bit of clamping pressure to bring the edges together, so I made sure to let the glue dry a full 24 hours before unclamping them. Thus the three days to complete this task. I used painter's tape along the glue joints to minimize cleanup from drips and squeeze out. This worked well and the glue did not seep under the tape edge.

I did need to borrow a couple of 4' clamps for the final glue up (it helps to have neighbors who are also woodworkers).

For all the glue ups, I used some scrap boards with clear packing tape and clamps to keep the joints flush. This worked pretty well and I was able to clean up all the joints with my RO sander.

I do have one small knot hole in the middle of the top that I'll fill with epoxy and filler stained dark brown.

Next, I used my circular saw to cut the ends of the top square. The overall dimensions will be 36" wide and 68" long after the two 4" wide breadboard ends are attached. With a straightedge clamped to the top, I routed the tenon that will fit into the end pieces.

I milled the breadboard ends and started routing the mortise, but my router made a horrible noise and the 3/8" spiral up cut bit spun out of the collet! Luckily the end piece wasn't ruined, but the bit left a larger hole than planned. This also happened on the test piece I used while setting up this cut. I thought I just didn't have the collet snugged down enough, and made sure to tighten it before starting on the real piece. The bit has been used, but I didn't thing it was that dull.

Have I damaged the collet on my router? Looking at cut, the bit must have been trying to climb up as I cut and as it did the slot it was cutting got wider and wider. Like the bit was not spinning straight anymore. Anyhow, I ordered a new bit and it will be here in a few days. I 'll double check my router and see if I can see anything with the collet.

In the meantime, the plywood to finish the drawers showed up, so I glued them up and mounted the hardware.

Two of the drawers fit a little tight, so I'm going to run them through the table saw to shave a little off.

Thanks for following along.

Your desk is awesome. I found this desk on Kevin Rodels web site a few years ago and have wanted to build
it ever since. I finally finished remodeling my kitchen and bar area so I can get back to building furniture. This
desk will be a challenge because the pieces are pretty large. I do have a 12 inch planner and an 8 inch joiner so it should work out.
Would you be willing to share the dimensions of the desk? I've determined the overall dimensions (LxWxH) but I'm
unsure of cross members and uprights.
At this point I think I'm going to build a mock up out of some extra plywood I have.
Thanks

 

[JimYoung]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

 

[DanMelander]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Your table is looking great! How are you attaching the top of the desk?

 

[JimYoung]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

I've ordered a bag of heavy gauge "figure-8" fasteners. These allow for movement of the cross grain top to the long grain side aprons. I've used these in the past on my other tables, and they work nice. I figure I'll use 4 along each side to make sure it is strong enough to lift the desk by the top.

 

[DanMelander]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Please post of photo of the figure-8 fasteners when they are attached to the base. I would be interested in how you install them.

Thanks, Dan

 

[avlamonte]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Table looks awesome! I have used the figure 8 fasteners also…they work great…

 

[pintodeluxe]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Looks great. Really sharp.

 

[JimYoung]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Thanks guys. I picked up some Arm-R-Seal Semi-Gloss today and have done a few test pieces.

I also have a 2" cable guide since I will be using this a desk for my computer. I'm not looking forward to drillings a 2" hole in the top! 8^o

 

[Macan]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Your desk is awesome. I found this desk on Kevin Rodels web site a few years ago and have wanted to build
it ever since. I finally finished remodeling my kitchen and bar area so I can get back to building furniture. This
desk will be a challenge because the pieces are pretty large. I do have a 12 inch planner and an 8 inch joiner so it should work out.
Would you be willing to share the dimensions of the desk? I've determined the overall dimensions (LxWxH) but I'm
unsure of cross members and uprights.
At this point I think I'm going to build a mock up out of some extra plywood I have.
Thanks, Jim

 

[JimYoung]

Breadboard Ends

I've been pretty productive over my holiday break. I received a new 3/8" up cut router bit and collet. I tried finishing up the mortise on the breadboard ends on my router table, but was still getting a lot of vibration and weird sounds from my router. I tried slowing the speed down even more, but that didn't help.

I ended up going back to my plunge router base with guides to finish them up. I was concerned about using this setup, since I would be routing a pretty deep slot in the edge of a 4" wide board. In the end this worked out better and gave me a cleaner mortise. I still got some vibration when routing, so I'm wondering if the bearings I replaced a year or so ago have gone bad already. I don't feel any play in the bottom bearing, but I do see a lot of electrical arcing from the motor brushes when the vibration happens. The vibration is more pronounced when cutting a full slot. When widening the slot with the bit only cutting on one side, the vibration is much less if at all. Not sure it this is a characteristic of the spiral bits grabbing the wood?

The original plans called for a 2" tenon into the breadboard ends. The $50 carbide bit only has a 1 1/4" cutting length, so I cut down the tenon to 1". We'll see if this is enough.

Next, I faceted the ends of the breadboards and routed a series of 1/4" deep slots on the outside edge for some walnut accent pieces. These pieces will cover the screw holes that mount the breadboard ends.

I used a 3/8" forstner bit to make counter sink for the mounting screws. I slotted the screw holes to allow for movement. I had some 2" screws with a hex head and wide washer surface left over from my deck. With all four screw snugged up, the breadboards are very solid. No glue used here.

The walnut accents match the ones on the drawer fronts and front apron. I milled a 3/8" strip, then ripped a 30 degree bevels on it, and finally cut them to length. They are just tapped into place with no glue in case I need to remove them later to access the screws.

With that, all the major construction is done. I have a couple of the wedges to repair where they broke when I was pounding them in. This left a ragged edge that I'll fill with tinted epoxy and filler. Then it should be a final sanding and shop clean up before applying the finish.

It's back to work on Monday.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Hi Jim,

The base is 44 1/2" x 30 1/2", and the height is a standard 30" for a table/desk. My top will be 36"x 68", but this is easy to adjust for your needs and space.

Dan and I have a full Sketchup drawing with all of the pieces exploded that you are welcome to, just send me a private message with your email, and I'll pass it along.

I have a 13" planer, table saw, and a router. It is not terribly difficult to build, but once you glue up the legs and top you have some big pieces to move around the shop. I still consider myself a noobie, by what I see on this site, but as long as I take my time and plan things out it is doable.