I’ve by no means seen the unique of this Shaker desk in individual, however after I noticed it in {a photograph} I knew without delay I wished to breed it. I discovered it strikingly elegant—from its spherical prime thinned on the edge with an underbevel, to the dynamic splay of its legs and the only, refined bead down the legs’ outer nook. Made within the Harvard Shaker Village outdoors Boston, it’s now on the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine.
Working from the picture, I made a drawing of the desk utilizing three-point perspective, figuring out the scale, angles, and particulars of the piece as finest I may. As soon as it was constructed, I noticed slight variations from the unique, however after making some revisions I used to be happy with the likeness.
I used hand instruments to chop the mortise-and-tenon joinery, after which each hand instruments and machines to do the remaining. It’s a very good piece on which to make use of—or sharpen—your hand abilities, however machines would make the desk simply as good-looking.
Begin on prime
After gluing up a clean for the highest of the desk, aircraft it degree and do a preliminary smoothing. Then lower it to form on the bandsaw. I made a rapid circle jig—a chunk of plywood with a runner beneath and a pin on the middle that match right into a gap on the underside of the desk prime. I took the clean for a spin after which faired and smoothed the sawn perimeter on the workbench with a block aircraft and a card scraper. Bear in mind that you simply’ll should work the sting in quadrants to keep away from planing towards the grain.
To put out the underbevel, run a marking gauge set to three/8 in. across the fringe of the highest. Then with the highest the wrong way up, draw a line inset 1-1/2 in. from the sting. I do that with a shopmade marking gauge.
Start the bevel by working your manner across the desk with a jack aircraft—ideally arrange with a cambered aircraft iron—to take away the majority of the wooden. Then for the ultimate smoothing, change to a block aircraft for ease of management.
Jeff Miller builds furnishings and teaches woodworking in Chicago.
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