Buffet-Mahogany and Sapele Ply-planning stages and first cuts

My wife had picked up the hinges and knobs/handles she liked.
She asked me to finish a drawer front(a phony drawer front), to see what it will look like.(just too damp to finish off the door frames today, my fingers wouldnt bend anymore, besides, I ran out of clamps)
I didnt cut enough 5 inch wide wood to make another drawer face, and ofcourse, one of them has those worm? bug holes?(about 6-8 holes)
I think I can go two ways to repair it, or have to finish off another piece, which I dont want to do at this point.

Can I shove some splinters into the holes,(very fine holes) with glue, then sand flush, or should I mix up some saw dust from same board, with a few drops of polyurethane and fill the holes with that peanut butter like stuff?

I appreciate the help, and patience.
 

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good work on the table allen! :thumb:

if it were me, i would leave them as is (unless the frau disagrees), as i think they add character to the item. if they were big gaping holes maybe, but this is just nature being nature.
 
on any part but the face of a drawer I might, but its too late.
I forcibly rubbed fine sawdust into the tiny pin holes. Then dabbed one drop of crazy glue onto each spot. Ill sand it out tomorrow and see how that worked.
 
Allen, as a precaution, I would watch those holes VERY closely for a few days before applying a finish, to be sure those holes weren't made by "Powder Post Beetles", and that there aren't any of those "Pesky" little critters still alive in there, (IF that was what made the holes). "If" that was what made the holes AND they are still alive, they will continue to eat away at the piece and can also migrate to other wood in the house unless you do a treatment to kill them first.
 
...I forcibly rubbed fine sawdust into the tiny pin holes. Then dabbed one drop of crazy glue onto each spot. Ill sand it out tomorrow and see how that worked.
That's exactly what I was going to recommend if you decided to fill them. I think I probably would have left them as they were, but the sawdust and crazy glue (CA, in turner's talk) works good.

I know nothing about powder post beetles, so I'll let others advise you on that one.
 
well allen from what i know about the pesky rascals is that they are tuff critters have had some trouble with them in my stash.. ash in particular.. so in your case i would put your drawer front in the micro wave and give them a fry job. and then watch for any other dust pies in your wood storage area.. they will set dormant then al of sudden come back t life again... kiln drying is supposed to kill the larva.. and like norman said they can come out and haunt you in the finished piece.. saw a raised panel of cherry in a cab door that had one come out and rear its ugly face ate a nice trail in one corner of the panel.. after it was installed and finished... the cherry was air dried.
 
somewhere when I first mentioned I was purchasing ash, the white stuff, I was advised about the beetles.
I constantly look for any little piles of dust to see if anything is digging.

While I know these critters live in wood, Im sure the guy I purchased the lot from is 10 times more educated about wood infestations then me.
He had amazing pieces of mahogany stored there.8 inches wide by 30 inches, things like that.......he must have had over a million bf of this stuff in that place.
As Ive mentioned, he restores sailboats, brownstones, and anything else mahogany is used on.
I find it difficult to believe, althought nothing suprises me, he would not have taken some type of pre caution or knew these were from old infestations, which I understand is common in south american mahogany, bugs usually looking for new cut wood.

I havent had one visit us yet on my dining table, although they could be shy.

I wonder how well if there were any they did during the minus temps out there in the garage?
 
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allen wood is a good insulator,, they can survive the cold temps..and if this guy is reputable as you make him sound ,then you probably got old work that your looking at.
 
I called him today, .
He assured me the wood he buys directly from reputable people and have properly dried and treated all the lumber, and took any necessary steps when processing the different species.
He told me how I should handle the pinholes, with the sawdust idea, then went on to assure me, I dont have to question him about the quality or condition of his lumber.The way I see it is his livelihood depends on it, and his reputation is worth a million times worth what it would cost to treat lumber, restoring multi million dollar sailboats and brownstones in Manhattan, and being around the business for 35 years dealing mainly in mahogany.
I spent over an hour this morning lifting every board I own and looking to see if any dust piles were visible, but I was realized the guy has a milliion board feet of this stuff in his place, and anyway,I wasted my time.
I trust him entirely, enough that Im going to pick up a bunch of clear pine he has, some more 8/4 mahogany to build chairs, and some red oak, and if he has any left, some cherry.
His prices are good, hes very convenient, and I gotta strike when the iron is hot.(not to mention hes just a nice fellow, doesnt hesitate to answer a question if I ask him, explains things)
Back to this unit. I made the typical few goofs today, but was able to correct them without damaging any wood or tossing anything.
Just a few more pics of my progress. The lower back leg joint I was thinking about, how strong can it be, so I whacked it with a rubber mallet, and on the second whack, the joint came loose. Ill fix it with a screw through the tenon, its on the lower back, noone sees it.The unit has nothing but mahogany and sapele plywood. No other wood will be used.This is not an easy thing for me to build, IM learning a few things.
 

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It is sure coming along Nicely, Allen, and looking really good.:thumb:

I'm glad you didn't find anything in your lumber stash too.:clap::clap::D I didn't want to cause you any undue worries, when I mentioned the Beetles, but it sure doesn't hurt to double check for any living bugs when you see holes, because they really are HARDY little critters.

I bought two pieces of wood for a small project one time and then the project kinda got shuffled behind a few other projects and just laid there for a good while and when I started to use it, I found the little rascal's dust piles. Unfortunately, they had also moved over into some other wood that I had had for years with no problems before. I ended up tossing those two pieces and about 80 bf of my older wood just to be SURE I got rid of the problem, since at that time, WE DIDN'T HAVE INTERNET,:rolleyes: and I couldn't find anyone in my area that could tell me "for sure" how to get rid of them.:(
 
Im not sure How I messed up the dado cut on the side wall, but at the base, theres more cut out than width of wall, so Im not sure how IM going to handle it yet. Cant recut base, sapele is 140 a sheet, Its maybe 1/32 gap.
Could put a fine molding over it to cover, or just jam a sliver in and sand to surface.
My time is being limited again, do to health concerns once more.
Lousy pressure spiked up today and Im having vision problems adn its been recommended I slow down on the build until everything is corrected.
I did glue up the top today, best glueup Ive done so far.
 
Hey Allen, be sure to take care of yourself; we depend on you to keep things interesting. Seriously, I hope you manage to get control of your blood pressure soon.
 
Im the best advertisement as to why you should eat healthy and excersize.

just gotta get things adjusted right.

warm day tomorrow, Id like to finish cabinet assembly, attach drawer fronts, and cut up and assemble cabinet doors. Im in the home stretch.
 
didnt notice where you trouble was in the dado allen but if you gave us a closer pic perhaps the group could give you some ideas to fix it.. possibly push the joint tight at the top and most folks arent gonna get down low enough to see the bottom and you could put your trim on the bottom and outa site..:huh:
 
I took the issue up with my wife, I showed her the bottom outside and inside, she told me while Im at the doctors to get my head checked.

My progress so far. If you look at the pic with the bottom and wall, the space between bottom and wall was evident, didnt come out great in picture, but Im leaving it alone.

I had to mount the draw fronts, so I cut some of the leftover small pieces of ply I wouldnt be able to use for much else, and the pic shows how Ill mount it.

Top glueup came out fabulous, at least in my eyes, no gaps, not one gap or space anywhere. Nothing that would require touch up work. One or two small dings Ill have to touch up. a few pics of where I am at, next week Ill start the doors, and that will be the bulk of the construction and assembly, cut down the top to size, sanding and finishing. Im going to use a 50/50 poly/mineral spirits mixture and rub it on, sanding 220 grit after each 2 coats, up to as many coats on the top as I need to get the look and thickness I need. I will let finish cure for a couple of weeks, then compound polish the top and buff it.(Im going to make the back of the drawer/support block smaller so it wont interfere if anyone sticks their hand up there while taking something out of the center cabinet.)

Its very heavy, I can move the cabinet now by myself, its bulky, must weigh close to 150 lbs without the top or doors added.
 

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thanks, for the laugh allen. on the wifes comment to get your head checked:rofl: i think you are gonna like using wipe on finish but i wouldnt hit it with 220 after wards,, try some 320 instead and just kiss sand it,, all your gonna want to do it take off the nibbs allen,,wait for it to dry over night if its warm enough and then hit again your probally find that you will need around 4 coats to get where your headed.. these will be real thin coats allen,, the 1/4" sponge sanding pads work well for me on it. you just rub it lightly and you will feel the smoothness came back then wipe off the dust and give it another coat.
 
hey allen, looking good. for future reference if you want a simpler way to do the false front attachment, just cut a couple of pieces 2" x height of opening and pocket screw them top and bottom. (assuming you have a pocket hole jig) if you don't then I guess it ain't much help.

by the way that wasn't my idea, i did it like you for a long time till i saw someone else do the P screw idea. much easier. i just put a screw in it from the back on each end and done


hope you get to feeling better. take it easy. no need to hurry, you're already making great progress

chris
 
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