Dionysus Desk(s) W I P. Completed

[Mattty]

I was commisioned a few months ago to design and make a smallish stand for a much loved sculpture- a bust of Dionysus (god of wine and drunken revelry in Greek mythology) My kind of god!

The brief was very loose with me having quite a free hand in the design. The sculpture itself is very heavy, and the design will need to be strong. The sculpture currently sits on a crappy 80's stereo cabinet on the clients landing and this is where the new piece will sit.

So after many sketches and drawings i finally came up with this-

(Edit- the rail underneath the drawer isn't there, so just ignore that line)
I haven't mastered sketchup so the drawings may be a little difficult to see. Anyway, the client approved the plans, paid the deposit and agreed the timber.
Somewhere along the way i suggested to her that the stand could be made as a desk so she could use it as a seperate piece of furniture if she ever decided to move things around.
I made a start on the machining this afternoon and have also decided to make 2.
The frame is all in spalted Beech and the top and other details will be in American Black Walnut.

Face and edging the leg pieces.

Once planed, they where ripped to size. These wixey gadgets are great!

I made a jig to taper the legs, the legs will be Octagonal when finished-

Thats as far as i got, i'll update again soon.

 

[JonnyD]

Once planed, they where ripped to size. These wixey gadgets are great!
.

surely it will fly off as soon as you press the start button

Looking good matty

Cheers

Jon

 

[wizer]

I read today that those angle gauges are accurate to 1/10th of a degree. Brilliant bit of kit.

Love the design, looking forward to the rest of the WIP

 

[JonnyD]

Hows does that guage work. I presume you zero it too the bed and then attach to the blade else the saw would have to be perfectly level to a 1/10 of a degree.

Cheers

Jon

 

[Mattty]

Hows does that guage work. I presume you zero it too the bed and then attach to the blade else the saw would have to be perfectly level to a 1/10 of a degree.

Cheers

Jon

Thats it. It really comes in for different angles 45 degrees etc, where the accuracy is vital. They only cost about £20 off ebay. I have an alluminium fence on my planer, but that would be another good use.

 

[Ironballs]

Looks like it could be a fun one this Matty, like the leg design. You don't have a picture of the sculpture do you?

Nice looking shop too, some good pro stuff in there

 

[Mattty]

Looks like it could be a fun one this Matty, like the leg design. You don't have a picture of the sculpture do you?

Nice looking shop too, some good pro stuff in there

I don't mate- something similar to this though-

 

[BradNaylor]

I was commisioned a few months ago...












...Thats as far as I got, I'll update again when I've started.

Fixed it for you, Matt!

:lol:

Nice commission. Funnily enough, I've started getting more requests for one-off freestanding pieces in solid wood.

My local member of Northern Contemporary Furniture Makers meanwhile, has been making MDF alcove units...


:shock:

 

[woodbloke]

Face and edging the leg pieces.

Once planed, they where ripped to size. These wixey gadgets are great!

Does cast iron saw well?...nice start btw - Rob

 

[Mattty]

I was commisioned a few months ago...












...Thats as far as I got, I'll update again when I've started.

Fixed it for you, Matt!

:lol:

Nice commission. Funnily enough, I've started getting more requests for one-off freestanding pieces in solid wood.

My local member of Northern Contemporary Furniture Makers meanwhile, has been making MDF alcove units...


:shock:

That sounds about right with your new sig mate.

 

[Mattty]

Face and edging the leg pieces.

Once planed, they where ripped to size. These wixey gadgets are great!

Does cast iron saw well?...nice start btw - Rob

Cheeky- That was in the fence when i got it.. honest guv. Actually the fence is Aluminium, the clamp is cast. Damn cheap Sedgwick machinery.

 

[Mattty]

Ok- A full day on this today and some decent progress.

I finished machining the legs to the full tapered Octagon shape-

I was very pleased with these

These where cleaned up with a sharp no4.
They where then cut to length and the top end faceted-

I'd machined most of the rails and draw frame components already, so they just needed marking up and attacking with the domino. This is a massive labour saving tool on a job like this, especially where the shoulders of tenons would be angled.

A quick trial fit of the componets so i could check the proportions- The front rail is just a temp lath.

Showing the detail of the leg tops-

I made up the draw runner frame, this will fit just behind the front legs and attatch to the side rails and rear rail. Not how i would normally do it but hopefully a good solution-

Finally i managed to get one of the tops planed and glued up, The Walnut has for the commisioned top hasn't been delivered yet so that's on hold. I'm using Am. Cherry for the other one. I'm hoping it oxidises to the darker red it normally is.

I even shot the joints by hand! This hand work malarky is hard work.

All glued up and ready for the drum sander tomorrow..I won't be hand planing the top thats for sure!

Any comments welcomed

 

[wizer]

Looking good Matt.

 

[Karl]

Coming together very nicely Matt.

Cheers

Karl

 

[JonnyD]

looking good mate

cheers

jon

 

[Ironballs]

Yep, coming along quickly and nicely. Is this the next instalment of the convince Rob to get a Domino pitch!

 

[OPJ]

I really like the look of those octagonal legs.

By the way, is that mitre saw the DW712? Is it really as accurate as DeWalt claim?

 

[Lord Nibbo]

I really like the look of those octagonal legs.

By the way, is that mitre saw the DW712? Is it really as accurate as DeWalt claim?

Yes it is, I've had mine about five years, everyone said the slide bearings would wear allowing the blade to deviate from being true,but mine is still precise.

 

[TrimTheKing]

I'm liking this WIP, more, more, more!

 

[Mattty]

I really like the look of those octagonal legs.

By the way, is that mitre saw the DW712? Is it really as accurate as DeWalt claim?

Thanks Olly.

I really like the Dw712. I've had it for about 7 years. As LN said it is very accurate, and very consistent. I recently gave mine a full strip down and reset the gauges and it's like new.

I'm suprised your not as keen on your Bosch. All the bosch stuff i have had has been pretty decent.