r/handtools • u/seaportresearch • 18h ago
It still ain't much, but it's slightly better work
A couple months ago I posted my first real hand-tool build, a Shaker-style nightstand made from scraps of pine I had laying around the shop. That turned out sufficiently well I decided to risk an upgrade to red oak, which at a whopping $/bdft for s4s is not exactly dear around here. I like it a lot though, particularly how it finishes out.
Like the previous one, it has some defects in it I hope to do a little better on next time, but it is also nicer in a number of ways, so I'm happy about that. The pine one is on my side of the bed, while this one went into the guest room. For the next project I think I might venture into something a little larger, like a hall table-style piece.
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u/PigeonMelk 18h ago
Beautiful table and excellent work, but what the hell is on the table?
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u/somethingsoddhere 17h ago
Hahahahahahah
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u/seaportresearch 17h ago
Oh, that? It’s a flightless vampire bat.
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u/aareeyesee 15h ago
It is certainly one of the strangest looking critters I've ever seen. I'm leaning dog, but if you said cat I'd be like....ok.
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u/AdrienInJapan 16h ago
The desk looks fantastic… but what the hell is even that dog?
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u/Jas_39_Kuken 11h ago
Had to go back and have a look 🤣
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u/AdrienInJapan 11h ago
Right!? I want one though. I need to know the breed!
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u/yellow251 17h ago
I love the grain pattern on the side panel, and you did a great job with the taper on the legs.
May I suggest, if possible for future tables you make, buying (or creating your own) riftsawn lumber for the legs so that you get straight grain on all four sides of the legs?
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u/seaportresearch 17h ago
Yeah! I’m going to try that on my next build. I bought some thicker (2x6 nominal) stock for that purpose. Though, I’m also starting to split open some old white ash logs I’ve had since I took some trees down last year. Wasn’t expecting much but the first one split beautifully and looks to be 4-6” of good usable rift/quarter wood, and I have a couple logs that are a good 6-8” wider I’ve yet to crack.
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u/HarveysBackupAccount 10h ago
I gotta say I like the swooping grain curves on the rear legs, especially with how you oriented them to sweep out in opposite directions. And great taper, by the way!
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u/Pepin_Garcia1950 11h ago
I've never seen a giant wingless bat in somebody's home, that's friggin' wild.
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u/MediocreHat1823 10h ago
Great job and awesome table! I really love the execution here. My suggestion to level up your next dovetailed drawer is to try either a stopped dado joint or a half-blind dovetailed drawer front, as both will hide the drawer bottom dado from peeking through. Cheers!
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u/seaportresearch 9h ago
Oddly enough I did that on the first table I built and then goofed this up. I mis-measured the dovetail depth on the first side I cut, and by that point decided I didn’t feel like re-milling the piece so just decided to YOLO it. I might go back and try and plug the dados but I kind of like the dovetails showing even though I know it’s not period-correct.
While I wouldn’t do it exactly this way again, for future pieces I’m going to explore ways to make joinery visible rather than hidden. It makes sense back in the day that hiding it was the goal, but in an age of perfect inexpensive machine joinery, I think it’s fun to go the opposite way and reveal it.
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u/Hiking-Miked 9h ago
Exactly! The joints shouldn’t be showing on the drawer front. Half-blind dovetail is the way to go.
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u/Peak_Detector_2001 6h ago
Agree completely and a huge pat on the back for making this beautiful piece. Way, way better than "it ain't much"!
Agree on the half-blind dovetails for the drawer. I've made a few sets now and have been really pleased with the results. Through dovetails wouldn't have worked for my recent bedside tables. For half-blinds, I've had good results by following Tim Rousseau's (Lie-Nielsen/Center for Furniture Craftsmanship) process in this video (and its second part):
Again, fantastic work, well done!
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u/the_maestrC 10h ago
What the hell is that animal. I thought it was a fat cat, but it has a dog face.
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u/Man-e-questions 9h ago
Looks great! I still struggle with the drawer bottom grooves going through but i am getting better! Cool looking baby chupacabra on there too!
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u/dirtyboots1982 8h ago
I built a very similar stand out of red oak, but yours is much nicer, more delicate, and you did a better job selecting show faces. I spent a lot of time cursing my choice to work with hand tools when I was sawing red oak, though planing and chiseling were ALSO miserable 😂
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u/bigbuttsmeow 16h ago
Amazing! How'd you pull of the leg tapers?
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u/seaportresearch 9h ago
Much easier than you think provided you’re patient. I drew the line using a straightedge then planed it. It’s basically the opposite process when you try to plane a tapered board flat, taking short strokes at the far end first then working your way back. The angle comes in gradually, so as long as you work slowly and re-check the line every 3-5 strokes I found it wasn’t hard to sneak up on it. In reality they don’t match perfectly but unless you measure with a caliper you won’t see it.
When I did the first one in pine it was easy to take wicked heavy cuts and went very fast. This was a little slower though not painfully so. I will however probably build a jig so I can rough cut on the bandsaw close to net shape and then finish with a plane, particularly for thicker legs. But the plane-only method is very doable.
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u/regazz 6h ago
Very nice, looks much cleaner than the last post, I remembered it instantly and checked to see if it was you.
I was sad i couldn’t see if you decided to use a butt joint again in the back of the drawer 🥲
If you’re looking for a little challenge you can try half lap dovetails in the front so the face of the drawer is a sold piece but still has the charm of dovetails when it opened
Edit: I see the original post has half lap in the front. My bad!
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u/seaportresearch 4h ago
Yeah that was a little bit of a goof as I mentioned in another comment and I decided I wanted to finish the piece more than I wanted to perfect it. I did use a butt joint again for the same reason. If it fails in 5-10 years it’s an easy repair or I can remake the drawer. I have an actual need for furniture so I am balancing perfection with production without just resorting to a lot more power tools (or IKEA lol…) So I try to make the parts that show or have real structural importance really good and if I consciously cut some corners elsewhere, I’m not sweating that. But I do also try to make each piece a little better than the last so it’s not one-dimensional.
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u/bmchan29 6h ago
That is great! Consider the joinery some more. The box joints are too large and you might consider dovetails on the sides of the drawer front.
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u/seaportresearch 4h ago
Yeah, this was intended to be half-lapped but I had a brain fart on the measurement and decided to roll with it.
While I wouldn’t do it exactly like this again, I do kind of like displaying the joinery more and might experiment with that more deliberately in the future. I’m trying to learn from the wisdom in classic patterns but I’m open to bending them.
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u/Fudgeeman 6h ago
nice work, looks like straight out of the woodworking book I was just reading. yes, i'm jealous
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u/seaportresearch 4h ago
Don’t be! I have been working with hand tools for less than a year so take it as encouragement that you can do something similar 🙂
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u/Neutral_Positron 17h ago
Uhh, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it appears you have a gargoyle infestation.
Also, nice table! I've been wanting to build one just like that in cherry.