# Ash TV table - FINISHED



## Chems (21 May 2010)

I'm going for the style that mattty pioneered on the altar TV table, thats one of my favourite pieces I've seen on here. 
























I want it finished by next Wednesday, not including the weekend as I probably won't touch it over then. I do so wish I had a drum sander thou  I left it this evening having done all the rebates and the 2 end panels in clamps, the nice thing about the panels been made from 2 pieces is it shouldn't need any cleaning up I'm hoping. 

Target for tomorrow, completed frame, bottom shelf and uprights, ready then for top, door and drawer next week.


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## devonwoody (21 May 2010)

Chem, I am worried about that bit of ash coming out of the thicknesser  .

OK I know, it is lens distortion.

Keep up the good work.


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## WoodAddict (21 May 2010)

Looks like another good WIP thread from you Chems. I'll be watching this with interest. Is it me or does the top look sort of "twisted" on the SketchUp pic. I'm sure it's just an illusion with all the othe lines around it throwing my eye out :? 

Good start, busy week ahead!


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## ByronBlack (21 May 2010)

I really like the design, and ash should look great for this one. 

One small thing though: the grain doesn't match at all well on the two panel stiles - the one on the right has nice thin straight quater grain, and the one on the left has that flat-sawn kind of grain - it really pulled my eye and looks quite obvious. Its probably too late for you to change it, but I would definitely recommend trying to match the grain on the next panel.


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## Chems (21 May 2010)

I see what your saying Bryon, it checked this time it is all plain sawn. I'll really try and be careful this time in my wood selection to get a good match. Those styles are all cut from the same 1.5 inch piece, its amazing how tight to loose the grain can go in the width of a 6 inch board with ash. 

WA, I guess its like a parallax of the eye with all the measurement lines.


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## ByronBlack (21 May 2010)

Chems":2tooaowx said:


> I see what your saying Bryon, it checked this time it is all plain sawn. I'll really try and be careful this time in my wood selection to get a good match. Those styles are all cut from the same 1.5 inch piece, its amazing how tight to loose the grain can go in the width of a 6 inch board with ash.
> 
> WA, I guess its like a parallax of the eye with all the measurement lines.



This is one of the difficult things with hardwoods - justifying buying more in an attempt to get even grain. I have had a number of projects where the cost outweighed the need to match the grain, but whenever I look at those projects I always think to myself I should have waited and done something about it - I guess its one of those things that comes with experience - and paitence (something I am usually short of).

If there is enough thickness in your stock, you can actually create your own matched quater grain by looking at the end grain and drawing a rectangle/square on the grain so that it runs from corner to corner, but you may or maynot have enough thicnkess to do be able to do that.


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## OPJ (21 May 2010)

ByronBlack":3gdntib2 said:


> This is one of the difficult things with hardwoods - justifying buying more in an attempt to get even grain. I have had a number of projects where the cost outweighed the need to match the grain, but whenever I look at those projects I always think to myself I should have waited and done something about it - I guess its one of those things that comes with experience - and paitence (something I am usually short of).



That's often my excuse for buying too much wood as well!  Although, sometimes, you also have to buy boards "as they come"... (Perhaps I should try _working to them_ "as they come", one day...  :wink

Looks good so far, Chems. I notice you didn't cut the painted ends off before thicknessing - hope they didn't knacker your new blades! :wink: I know you said the new machine was noisy but, I bet those three extractors running simultaneously only amplifies the disturbance!! :wink:

Oh, buy a bandsaw and get a belt sander!! :twisted:


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## Chems (21 May 2010)

Didn't do them any harm, I think in hardness terms wood ranks higher than paint! lol. 

I was saying to someone today I could defiantly fit in a bandsaw . . . . . 

I'd really love a drum sander thou. 

Got the end panels done today but not sanded after glue, also got the main base glued up and the first upright, so I need another shelf above the drawer and I can assemble the frame. Time count so far is 8 hours.


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## Chems (26 May 2010)




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## ByronBlack (26 May 2010)

Looking good mate. How's the little p/t holding up?


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## Mike.C (26 May 2010)

Looking good James, looking very good. 

While I remember how is your Axminster Fine Filter going? I haven't got around to getting one yet, but I would be interested to know if they have turned out to be as good as I think they are? 

Keep up the good work. 

Mike


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## Chems (26 May 2010)

The little P/T is going strong and holding up to everything thrown at it so far. Its so good in fact, a bigger P/T has been knocked down the 2 buy list and a drum sander has taken postion no1!

The fine filter cartridge is very good, it catches a lot of dust and you can't tell its on now by the smell in the air which you could with the bags on. It doesn't catch as much as the fine filter on my RSDE but I feel that another layer of filtration like a paper layer at the bottom of even a piece of cloth would bring it down to 1 micron. I asked here. As it is according to axy its 5 micron. There has been no loss in suction. 

I do feel that if I had drum sander I'd be totally set now. Its the only bit of my work which is a real ache without the rigth tool. I can plane, scrape etc but its just not time efficent.


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## Chems (27 May 2010)

Still left to do, fit the door, make the drawer, T+G the back and do the skirts. Then the accents. So not much! 





Got the door panel made, tried to book match it but didn't really work. So can just assemble that tomorrow.


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## OPJ (27 May 2010)

Looking good, James. Though, a drum sander would certainly have reduce those many hours in to a few minutes' work! :wink:

Is this one for yourself or someone else? I hope you've learned the value in not buying enough wood, first time around! 

Will it be all ash for the drawer or are you thinking of finding something even lighter for the drawer sides? What about the base?


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## ByronBlack (27 May 2010)

Chems":1z0u4xhp said:


> Still left to do, fit the door, make the drawer, T+G the back and do the skirts. Then the *accents*. So not much!



Can I recommend a comedy german accent - that goes really well with ash.


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## Chems (27 May 2010)

I appear to have linked the same picture 3 times, that is now fixed. 

This one is for a client. 

I have learnt the lesson, I estimated about 2.5 cubes, 3.5 would have been closer.


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## Chems (27 May 2010)

OPJ":3pt6vu15 said:


> Is this one for yourself or someone else? I hope you've learned the value in not buying enough wood, first time around!
> 
> Will it be all ash for the drawer or are you thinking of finding something even lighter for the drawer sides? What about the base?



I think just ash, it will be ash heavy. Although maybe I could give it a walnut base for some serious pimpage!


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## Mattty (28 May 2010)

Looks good Jim.

I paticularly like the panel shadow detail. That really looks crisp.


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## Chems (28 May 2010)

Thanks Matty, you are my inspiration  

Doesn't look like I've done a lot. But I have. 

First off MASSIVE thanks to Riley who gifted me a pair of 270mm blum blue motion runners - the brilliance of this forum is amazing! 

I also got gift the sheet of glass by my local supplier as they let me down on my last order. 

I used the shelf domino jig I saw, I didn't do it before I assembled as I was worried it wouldn't all line up. Nearly did me in as I could barely fit the domino into the gap, 1mm less and it wouldn't have gone in. 

I got all the T+G ran through and ripped to size and also got the router set up so ready to just run through. 

Also got the shelf made. I picked up the extra materials, but still might not have enough! 





I tried to pick up some less white ash for the back panels, I wanted the contrast. The glass is rebated in, I wouldn't have done this if I hadn't changed my mind on a solid panel last night and the groove was done. The glass will be beaded in by the walnut the same as the wood panel was going to be. 

Thanks for reading. Hoping to have the back on and made a start/finish on the drawer and will be close to finishing for tuesday the finish day.


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## ByronBlack (28 May 2010)

Thats coming along nicely, looking great. What finish are you going to use?


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## Chems (28 May 2010)

I think Chestnut Acrylic Lacquer?


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## rileytoolworks (28 May 2010)

Looks really good mate. How're you getting on with the runners?
For a more detailed explanation than the one I gave you (which wouldn't be hard), check the hafele site. 
Good luck mate.
Seeing your workshop has made me seriously think about selling off some of my, dare I say, collection, and focus on the essentials.
Well done. 
Looking forward to seeing this finished.
P.S. Have you sold the two Shaker tables yet, and if so, where?

Adam.


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## OPJ (29 May 2010)

I like the Domino jig! Do you then fit Dominoes to support the shelves or do Festool produce some special lugs/brackets, designed to fit inside Domino holes? 

I agree with your decision to stick with ash for the drawers, by the way. I was only asking to see what you were thinking of doing. :wink: Even if you got a nice piece of maple or sycamore for the sides, the grain would be totally different to the ash and it may not look right.

Is this the job you were hoping to have finished by Wednesday...? :wink:


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## Chems (29 May 2010)

Riley, the tables are at a gallery on the Kingsthorpe road called the Primrose Gallery. I had a play with the drawer runners, its just fun to push them in an see the little piston working! I have downloaded the instructions and will print them off when it comes time to fit them. 

With the domino jig, you just fit dominos into the holes. Or you could make your own little shelf supports with dominos in them. The bottom of the shelf will have a half depth, so partially exposed domino that the support will sit in. To see the jig in action I linked a video of it in the jigs section a few weeks ago.

I got a whole pack of ABW veneers for £16 delivered and am going to use them for the drawer base on an MDF/Pine/Ply base which ever is easiest. Also going to use it for the inlayed pieces on the skirting. 


Yes I wanted it finished by Wednesday, I set myself a week with the hope that if it overshot I'd still be done in time. My dairy says I have to complete this by tuesday and start on the next order on wednesday. :shock:


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## OPJ (29 May 2010)

I'd veneer the MDF for your drawer base. It's the cheapest of the three but, it's certainly adequate for the job. It'll also be much more stable than pine! 

Have fun shooting the edges of those veneers!  If you don't already have a plan, woodbloke did a post recently (either here or on his blog - or both!) on doing this with hand plane, using a purpose-made shooting board. You could probably build a very similar jig and trim them with a router but, it all depends on what the grain's doing... 

Hopefully all these jobs will pay for your sander _and_ the new workbench!! :wink:


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## Chems (29 May 2010)

Router and bearing guided bit I'm going for.  I think I have some MDF that will do.


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## Chems (29 May 2010)

Stack to be T+G:





Got round to putting in the drop box below the router left attachment is router, right is table saw.




I did all of the grooves and tongues using my biscuit bit, much better than a straight bit for this sort of thing. Heres a rare action shot!


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## Chems (29 May 2010)




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## Chems (29 May 2010)

I need more wood. . . . . which is excellent as the guy at goodtimber said I could put a few bits through his drum sander. So I'm going to take the top and one of the shelves with me on tuesday. I only need enough to make the drawer body, I have the base and the front just not the slip!


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## Chems (1 Jun 2010)

Back on it today. I'm very nearly done, just the skirt to do with some fun arched routing to do. Hopefully the walnut veneer will arrive tomorrow. 

I totally cheated and had the top and a few other bits put through the wide belt sander at good timber, I gotta get one of those.


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## OPJ (2 Jun 2010)

I think you've done a nice bit of grain-matching on the top but, on the sides (ends), I think I may have flipped each of those boards 180°, so that the grain was meeting to form an 'arch' in the middle (almost like a full-width board)... Then again, if the grain doesn't match up properly, it could look odd. Nothing wrong with what you've done, of course, just an opinion. 

I like the T&G back panelling.


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## Chems (2 Jun 2010)

Thanks olly, I think I've still got a lot to learn about grain matching and bits. I saved the best bits for the top. I did want the grain to run a certain way on the end panels so I could plane it without tear out between the boards. I'll have to keep practising


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## woodbloke (2 Jun 2010)

Chems":1jil3c4d said:


> Thanks olly, I think I've still got a lot to learn about grain matching and bits.


It's always tricky to match the timber to get the right effect...downside is that you can go through a lot of timber to find the right bit, but more often than not it's worth doing. If part of a project has mismatched boards (or even differently coloured boards) it can look distinctly odd. 
One of the Krenov books has a particularly good section on this sort of thing as it's something that he was big on - Rob


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## WoodAddict (2 Jun 2010)

nice solid looking cabinet chems.

Good work


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## Chems (2 Jun 2010)




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## OPJ (2 Jun 2010)

Good progress! 

How did you do the veneering, then - did you press each panel between two MDF sheets?

Did you get any breakout cross-cutting the panels on your table saw? With a zero-clearance insert plate, I'd guess not... :wink:


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## Chems (2 Jun 2010)

yeah the MDF panel it was been glued to and another panel. Then a big slab. I don't think TB3 is the best for this kind of work, you need something more tacky from the tube. 

I didn't get any cross grain issues, as I was cutting veneer side up the cut was supported by the MDF substrate I guess. 

I jointed with just an edge of ply, clamped onto it and then router with bottom bearing guided bit. I tried sandwich between two pieces but It didn't work for some reason. 

I fitted the other veneered piece to the bottom shelf of the main cabinet behind the glass door. I need to make some handles too.


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## woodbloke (3 Jun 2010)

Chems":3tzwfa3p said:


> I don't think TB3 is the best for this kind of work.


I've been doing a fair bit of veneering recently with bandsawn stuff and have used TBIII...no problems with it in any way (apart from using a hell of a lot of it :x ) That veneer tape is best removed by scrubbing with a wet nylon scourer and then peeling with a cabinet scraper, if you use the original TBI (the yellow stuff) you'll find that the veneer will bubble and lift   not so with TBIII as it's waterproof - Rob


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## Chems (3 Jun 2010)

I was thinking about you as I was doing it actually Rob, a whole cabinet veneered, the stress! I just used masking tap and it came off fine and the marks left were gone when I sanded it to 240. It was commercial veneer at 0.6mm and I was thinking about what you were saying about not having to worry about sawing through your slightly thicker home made ones whilst I was doing it and fretting that any second MDF would show through! 

The TB3 did the job, I would have just liked to have been able to sort of stick it down by hand before applying final pressure. But the TB is so liquidy which is normally great that the natural curve of the veneer kept lifting up. Came out great in the end so thats all that matters right


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## Chems (3 Jun 2010)




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## woodbloke (3 Jun 2010)

Chems":3g9fluhn said:


> I was thinking about you as I was doing it actually Rob, a whole cabinet veneered, the stress! I just used masking tap and it came off fine and the marks left were gone when I sanded it to 240. It was commercial veneer at 0.6mm and I was thinking about what you were saying about not having to worry about sawing through your slightly thicker home made ones whilst I was doing it and fretting that any second MDF would show through!
> 
> The TB3 did the job, I would have just liked to have been able to sort of stick it down by hand before applying final pressure. But the TB is so liquidy which is normally great that the natural curve of the veneer kept lifting up. Came out great in the end so thats all that matters right


I was doing mine though in the AirPress which does make it slightly easier as you don't have to worry about uneven pressure (as you would do if pressing 'twixt boards, which is how I used to do it) 
It is a concern with 0.6mm commercial veneers that too much scraping and sanding will go fairly quickly through to the ground. I usually find that a bit of light scraping and then sanding brings up an acceptable surface which is then ready for a finish. 
If you were to do any more veneering, I'd suggest making a veneer shoot as it makes jointing the edges easier. I tried the router method (which works if the mdf edge is guaranteed straight) but I now prefer to use the veneer shoot and a nice long plane...the longer, the better. 
The main thing is though, that you got a good result and like we've said many times on the forum, there's lots of ways to go about various tasks - Rob


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## OPJ (3 Jun 2010)

Yeah, that's one of the things I don't like about Titebond glues - they're very runny! It doesn't usually take much for me to make a complete mess with ordinary PVA, either! 

If you wanted something with more 'tacky', you could try cascamite, which can be mixed to your desired consistency. But then, you have to be careful not to mix up and waste too much each time... I was using Titebond's Cold Press Veneer glue the other day and that, like all their others, is still very good for making a mess. 

To be honest, I don't think PVA is any different at this time of the year. :wink: I won't mention contact adhesive.... :shock:


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## Richard Findley (3 Jun 2010)

Fantastic WIP mate. Cabinet is looking great =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> 

When ordering your wood you always need to allow for 50% wastage I've found, this way you'll have enough... DAMHIKT !!!!!

Cheers

Richard


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## Chems (4 Jun 2010)

Thanks Richard 

Yeah I don't mind going back to much, especially when they will put stuff through the wide belt sander for me  

Hoping to be able to declare mission complete tomorrow by fitting the top (dominos I think) and the skirts. I've made the skirts and mitred them with the table saw, just need to draw my arc's and route it out then inlay with the walnut veneer. Also need to decide on some nice handles either made or bought.


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## Einari Rystykaemmen (4 Jun 2010)

Very nicely done so far! 8) 

Keep it up!


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## Chems (4 Jun 2010)

Thanks ER.

I almost got it finished today, an extra hour would have done it. Hope to get back to it tomorrow afternoon. 

I spent hours faffing around with the curved then inlayed skirt, I had one of those I'll do it this way days then realized hours later it was much easier to do it another way so in effect wasted hours. Got the glass beaded in front and back. All thats left to do is screw the skirts on and danish oil the beading on the end panels and it will be ready for lacquer and a new home. 

No pictures as not much of interest to show I'm afraid.


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## JonnyD (5 Jun 2010)

Looking good was just wondering whether you have accounted for seasonal movement in the timber when assembling the carcase as you have a solid timber base which will move across the grain attached to a frame and panel end that wont. A change in humidity or drynes of the timber could result in the base splitting if its dominoed and glued to the framed end panel. This happened to a cabinet i made when i was first starting out and the base opened up along the glue lines of the base as the timber dried out luckily the furniture was for a family member so i got away with it.

cheers

jon


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## Chems (5 Jun 2010)

I've never had any movement out of the furniture I've made luckily. I made my first TV table the same way 2 an half years ago and its never moved at all. 

Fingers crossed this one stays the same!

Out of interest what could I have done to allow for movement in the base?


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## Chems (5 Jun 2010)




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## Chems (11 Jun 2010)




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## Henning (11 Jun 2010)

Great work Chems! 

Nice grain and interesting utilizing of it in the design. Especially on the drawer. 

Beautiful!


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## mailee (11 Jun 2010)

Very nice piece there Chems. I do like the contrasting wood on the sides.


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## Einari Rystykaemmen (12 Jun 2010)

Very nice, Chems!

You gave me some ideas for upcoming cabinet project. I hope you dont mind if I "borrow" some ideas from you..? :wink:


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## Richard S (12 Jun 2010)

"Nice one Cyril ! " very impressive, nice tidy workmanship. Is this one for home or a client, either way I bet someones happy. Well done

Richard


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## motownmartin (12 Jun 2010)

Nice job Chems.


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## softtop (12 Jun 2010)

Very nice clean lines and I like the contrasting materials - thanks for sharing.


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## OPJ (12 Jun 2010)

Nice one, Chems. You've made a really nice job of it an I'm sure it will be very well received by its new owner. :wink:

If I can be slightly critical... :roll: I would've reduced the curve on the base so that it was a little thicker at the top. I can see why you've done it, though. It does help to lighten the look and it should sit help the unit to sit evenly on any floor!


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## Chems (12 Jun 2010)

Thanks guys 

This went to a client, its great to do something you love for money.


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## WoodAddict (12 Jun 2010)

Looks great. Nice work chems. I agree about ash. It's a nice looking wood. some of the grain in this project is very nice.

8)


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## TEO (12 Jun 2010)

It looks great Chems, you've done a excellent job and the WIP's been good to watch.
T


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## Chems (12 Jun 2010)

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the WIP, I always enjoy others so try to pay it back.

That drawer front grain, I decided not to make the drawer a panelled drawer as its shown in the design on page 1 because the grain was so nice. I had to glue back on the corner thou as the grain ran across it and it fell off.


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## Richard Findley (14 Jun 2010)

Hi Chems,

Great job mate and a great WIP too, I do enjoy reading these thorough WIPs that you and Olly and others post, so thanks!!

Richard


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## Chems (14 Jun 2010)

I'm glad you do as I'll be finishing off the other one I have on the go tomorrow 

Thanks


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