A desk for my daughter

[woodworker9]

My daughter, 29, is getting married this October.  I made her a new desk for her first home for this past Christmas.  I will continue to make their furniture for their new place.  The desk is made of a recycled long, wide board of honduran mahogany that I had been saving for something special for a very, very long time.  My daughter has a passion for the environment and recycling, those this was the perfect way to honor her passion, by recycling this wood.









Thanks for looking.

[caveman]

That is a very nice looking desk.  It should serve her well and will probably out last all of us.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Sweet! Very nice.

[samandothers]

Love the color of the wood.  What did you use for finish?

Those or some narrow pins (may have used wrong term) on the blind dove tails.  Very nice joint man, for sure! ;D

[DPatton]

Classic style, well done.

[WDH]

OM Goodness, that is very fine. 

[muggs]

Outstanding work. Honduran Mahogany is probably my overall favorite wood.    8)    Muggs

[ToddsPoint]

Very nice.  Gary

[justallan1]

Very nice work and something hand made is generally always more cherished than something bought.

[woodworker9]

Thanks, everyone.  The finish on the desk is Teak oil, hand applied, 3 coats.  I wanted it to be a natural finish in the spirit of my daughters passion, so no sprayed chemical finish on this one.

The mahogany board was gifted to me by a friend more than 20 years ago.  He was moving, and had it in his barn since the mid 1950's, when they disassembled his grandfather's house.  The house was built in the 1920's, and this wide board (16" wide and 12' long) was actually part of the paneling in the house.  I know it was originally milled in the 1920's.  What a pleasure it was to be able to work with this material.  

I used the board entirely for the top and sides, and the front apron, drawer, and legs were made from Sapele, which was the closest thing I could get to color match.

I also received 2 similar boards of walnut from the same era.  The color is different from any walnut I can cut or find today.  Can't wait to build something from that, as well.  It has been sitting in the shop for the same amount of time.

[buzywoodliff]

Very
Very
Nice!!

[woodworker9]

Love the color of the wood.  What did you use for finish?

Those or some narrow pins (may have used wrong term) on the blind dove tails.  Very nice joint man, for sure! ;D

For furniture work, I always hand cut the joinery, and half blind dovetails are my preferred joint for drawer fronts.  The narrow pins look the best, in my opinion, and it's also a way to show that they were hand cut, as they can't be cut that way with a router.
For cabinet work,  I just use a router jig (Porter Cable Omnijig I have had for 20 years).  Fast and efficient, very accurate, and nobody cares about 80 hand cut dovetails in a kitchen, and they certainly wouldn't pay for it, either.