Polyurethane On The Cover

I started the process of applying polyurethane to the pieces of the desk that glue together.  Now that I settled upon the finish and process for the finish, I believe finishing the parts will go well and smoothly.

I am using a wipe-on from Minwax that I like a lot.  It is easy to apply in several layers, with no clean up mess, and it leaves a nice luster along with great protection.

These pieces will require several coats, and I am able to do that in the morning and in the evening — allowing the coats to dry while I am in the office or sleeping.

Polyurethane On Shelves and Sides

I have several other pieces to finish for this desk, but these are the pieces that will be glued together at one time.  I want them to all be ready together.

I love the character of white oak when the stain and finish are applied!

Staining the Inside of the Oak Cover

This desk will be for my son Jess and his wife Jill.  They picked quarter-sawn white oak for their desk, and the same stain color that I used for my office desk.  Since the bulk of the pieces were cut out many weeks ago, I had just a few small ones to cut and shape this weekend before I was ready to finish sand.

Everything went pretty well considering that Friday night and Saturday my wife and I attended a conference.  With everything sanded, I began by staining the insides of the side pieces and letting them dry overnight.  I moved them off my workbench, and  finished the prep work for the other pieces that were ready to go.

Staining Oak Bottom Shelf

The first picture shows the wonderful color of the Candlelite gel stain.  In the foreground next to the stain can lies the top shelf still in natural color.  The figure of the quarter-sawn oak starts to pop when the stain is applied.   I really love this wood.  The density, heft and beauty of white oak appealed to me even as a youngster.

I have included just a couple of the pictures that Judy took while I stained.  Everything now has stain on one side except for the feet and the top piece.  Since those go on a bit later, I am focusing on the pieces that all have to be ready to assemble at the same time.

Inside Oak Cover Stained

I will probably flip the pieces in the morning and stain the opposite sides of many of these pieces.  I am happy with the speed with which this desk is coming together.

Sycamore Desk With Lid Closed

I added the last piece to the quarter-sawn sycamore desk this afternoon.  The first desk reaches the finish line only two months after I hoped to finish all four.  Although fun to work on, these desks contain a lot of pieces and special fittings.

I laughed with my wife this morning about attempting this project in 1905, the year when Stickley published the plans in The Craftsman magazine.  I found much of it challenging with the tools, and nice work space that I possess.  To pull this off in 1905 when sandpaper existed, but must have been rare would be tough.

I took advantage of finishes, techniques and equipment that most homeowners in 1905 could not even dream about.  I wonder how many people started this project and made firewood instead.

Sycamore Desk Opened

I made adjustments to the plans that made this version both easier and harder.  For one, I changed the pull to a typical Arts & Crafts pull.  The original would have been a sculpted piece of wood that rotated so that the long, slender end slid into a slot under the top shelf.  That clasp scared me a bit with grandchildren around.  I found myself afraid that the lid might come crashing down on the head of a little one that might bump it from underneath.  So, I changed the clasping to a rare earth magnet.  I am happy with the feel, but the look is definitely not of 1905.  That change made it easier to implement though.

The second change I made to the desk was to change the through tenons.  Originally the tenons extended nearly two inches and they were pegged to hold the desk together.  I figured out why as I began dry fitting the desk together before gluing.  Since my tenons would be glued and not pegged, I would have to bring everything together at once and get it clamped right the first time.  I think that made it harder than the original.

As you can see from the picture, there are 3 shelves and 3 smaller pieces inside the carcass that served to hold envelopes and paper.  All six pieces and the lid must come together at the same time during the gluing.  No doubt in my mind it would have been much easier to fit it, and drive the wedged pegs into the tenons to lock it all together.

Side View

I am going to allow the desk to sit for a week or so now to allow the wipe on polyurethane to cure completely.  Afterward, I plan to buff down the entire piece to eliminate shine and any little rough spots that the finger feels as it moves over the surface.

The last difficult part will be for my wife to find a spot in our furniture-full house for one more piece.

I am now ready to pick up the quarter-sawn oak pieces and take that desk to a finished product.

Sycamore Lid

Yesterday, my wife and I glued the sycamore desk together. The cover definitely shows a lot of the figure of the quarter-sawn wood.  I found the wood to be quite blotchy and rather soft.

Oddly enough for such a soft wood, it tears pretty easily, and I found a lot of rough spots in the wood that I believed to be in better shape after going through the planer.  Even with a hand plane, the wood tears pretty easily, so I probably will not use the wood again.

However, if you look deeply into the wood grain itself, it is beautiful.  The cover in the picture to the right shows a good deal of interest, and once I rub it out, I think it will be very nice.

Sycamore With Lid Open

I spent a lot more time getting to the glue-up stage than I expected due to issues with the finish.  I tried the Minwax sanding sealer, and I hated it.  It was extremely rough, and did not sand well at all until I left it set for a couple of days.  I then tried brushing on a Minwax polyurethane , and I ended up with lots of runs.  After a rough time recovering from tough sanding and some runs, I went back to the wipe-on version of the poly and made progress again.

The project requires an extra hand due to the number of pieces that must come together at once.  As you can see on the picture to the left, there are 3 shelves, a cover and 3 smaller separator pieces of wood that all have to come together in one brief  5-10 minute period.  Thanks to my wife’s two hands and willing spirit, desk one is together.

Front of Stained Cover

Last night, I stained one side and the edges of the pieces for the sycamore desk.  As expected, it turned out a bit blotchy.  But I chose that risk when I did not get the deep color I wanted when I tried a test piece with a sealer.

It is difficult to see from some angles, but the beauty of the flecks on this quarter sawn sycamore are wonderful in the right light.  A couple of the pieces on this panel were much lighter and appeared in raw form to have much less beauty.  But, once the pieces were stained it really popped.

My wife and I experienced some trouble picking a color that would fit this desk and bring out the best on this wood.  Most of our furniture has that rich red and brown color so common with mission pieces.

At first we thought of using a dark walnut because the beauty of the wood appeared best with a darker stain.  Then we gravitated toward and settled upon a special walnut that was lighter and contained more red.  But right before I applied stain, I tried another couple pieces of test wood,  and neither of us liked it.  We decided upon red chestnut.

I stained the shelves first and left them dry a bit.  Too red!!!  I then took my sample and put a coat of special walnut over that.  Much better.

So, I ended up mixing 3 parts red chestnut with 2 parts special walnut to get a color that we both like and which seems to have brought out all the beauty of the wood.

This morning, I flipped the pieces and stained the other sides.  I plan to finish the pieces before gluing, so I will let these dry a day before I start that process.

I still have to size all of the back pieces and get them sanded and stained too before this desk can come together.