Wonkey

Hi Crookhouse. Thanks for your interest. I used two heavy duty ball bearing rails on the wall side stacked next to each other to manage the majority of the torque. The bottom of the drawer actually slides slightly on the support board you see stretching across the front of the shelf (under the drawers)which absorbs the load if the drawer is carrying weight. I originally had an idea for a hugely complicated system to support the drawers while extended but once I had the case assembled this was a much better solution. The difficult part was to ensure that the drawers were level when closed but still glide cleanly. I also had to get the correct sized slides so that the stop would engage before the drawers pulled too far out and lost support. In the end it’s a relatively simple solution.

I echo the rest. Inspiring. And not a single woodworker who looks at this can honestly say they have no envy. Congrats on creating a true heirloom that will live past all of us to be sure.

Fantastic. The more you look the more well conceived detail you find on this piece. A true work of art.

Thanks Trout. The finish is Danish oil. The cocobolo has a lot of natural oil and it can be difficult to get a polyurethane to adhere correctly without a lot of pre-treating with shellac and such, so I went with the old standby of sanding like mad and the oil. Also, the ironwood is so dense that it took an amazing polish on its own, so the oil was the right choice in the end anyway. I actually had to back off the ironwood a bit when sanding because areas were starting to burnish and it was getting uneven, but 320grit and patience solved it.

Thanks MV. The heartwood of cocobolo is the very dark chestnut color, but the sapwood is nearly the same tone as the mahogany. If you look closely you'll see that the sapwood has a straight edge where it's joined to the mahogany, so the organic curve is actually organic.

I actually get that same question often when people see it in real life. Once you see the sapwood it's pretty obvious, but the curvilinear contrast is surprisingly intense and it takes your attention away from the joint.

Thanks Dennis. I posted a better pic of the base from a different angle as well...I hope it helps to see the form a little better.

Thanks Max. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback P. Sorry for the color shift on the top…cheap camera! It’s a medium sort of Paduk-like red that you see in the one photo. The white sapwood contrast makes it seem a little darker than it is as well. Otherwise it’s just a low-cost photography problem.

It’s actually a table not a bench, so weight is not really a problem. But as it is, the 2in+ thickness and density of the materials all around are extremely stable. Plus, the geometry of the base design and tenoned joinery actually sets up a tremendous static load capability. Basically, you can park a truck on this thing with load to spare. That being said, it is a three-leg table, and rather tall, so the truck better not wiggle very much or it could come crashing down. In normal use it’s very stable, and I did design it to be mated with a built-in set of shelving, so it will be attached and even more stabilized when it’s all said and done. Trading off design for stability can be good, but it has to be safe as well. Not always an easy problem to solve to be sure.

Really fantastic. Design and execution are both top notch. Love the mix of materials and precision in the non-linear shapes. Great work!

Awesome! Great proportions and excellent design. Very bold idea, and I hope the people who have the pleasure to see it in real life appreciate the technical effort and expertise….

Nicely done.