To make things more challenging the desk is made of black walnut (legs, aprons, rails and stretchers) and cherry for the top, two species that reacted quite differently to the finishes I chose.

Before you start

With so many finishes to choose from, the amateur woodworker is usually clueless as to where to start, and the usual choice may not be the easier one. When thinking of a finish many will quickly think of varnish and while some of its variants may be easy to apply and yield a great result – think of a wiping oil and varnish mix – other synthetic or acrylic varnishes may prove quite difficult to apply if you’re not prepared.

The first mistake is usualy using the finish straight out of the can. Not only you’re dust and any other small particles to your finish, it is slowly drying and after a while it will feel quite different. What started as a fluid and easy to apply finish may get thicker and more dificult to apply leaving brush marks everywhere.

You should always pour a small ammount of finish to a secondary container and be prepared to add some solvent in order to make it easy to apply and more suited for the job at hand. While you work you may feel the need to add more solvent in order to keep the finish fluid.

Also some finishes should be diluted based on the type of application. Shellac for instance should be well dilluted in the first coats (1 lb cut or less) so it can penetrate the wood whereas the top coats should be thicker (1.5 to 2 lb cut). A water based acrylic varnish on the other hand may only be diluted as far as 10% or it may loose its properties and wont cure properly.

It is important to know the finish you will be using in order to prepare yourself for the application. Some of the questions you should be asking are:

• What solvent should I use?
• How much should I / can I dilute it?
• What should I use to apply it? – brush, rag, spray?
• How long should I wait between coats?
• How long will it take to fully cure?

To be continued….

In the last few days I’ve been busy designing a traditional crib for my baby daughter and thought it would be a nice feature project for the blog. You can download the 3D SketchUp model for free and check all the measurements and joinery details for yourself.

This project will be my first furniture piece and I feel nervous just to think about it. For one I have never build anything of this size and I want to try a few new things both in terms of construction and finishing.

The frame will have to be a knockdown design so it will be easy to get it out of the shop and into the bedroom. Instead of using standard hardware for this purpose I decided to join the side rails to the posts with a wedged mortise and tenon with a loose wedge made of ebony. This will be one of the design features of the piece influenced by the arts and crafts style.

Another design feature will be a drop side rail for which there are no details in the drawing yet. I have a few ideas in my head at the moment and will post an update in the future.

The crib will be built with solid cherry and will have a shellac and wax finish which are both non-toxic finishes, something to pay attention when making furniture for babies. Both shellac and beeswax are approved by the FDA and are widely used in the food and drug industry.

I also tried to follow all the guidelines regarding crib design. The distance between the slats in the rails is 60mm, the rails are approximately 600mm high and the posts don’t protrude above the top headboard.

The images on the left show some of the joinery details.

The first image is a simple mortise and tenon used to attach the top headboard to the posts, nothing fancy here.

The second image shows something I’ll be very proud of if it works out well.

The bottom footboard will attach to the post with a mortise and tenon which will have to make enough room for the through tenon in the side rail which in turn will be wedged to lock thinks in place.

I guess that if this isn’t sturdy enough I’ll add some screws to the joint and cover these with some ebony pegs. What do you think?

Attached files

• Traditional crib