this piece didnt make it.

allen levine

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new york city burbs
I tried, Im not happy with it. I only continued till the end for my wife. she wants it, so Ill let her stick it the spare bedroom where it wont be seen other than a guest now and then. I take blame for alot of the miscuts dovetails, but I dont think I used the right jig for this job.
After a few builds, I will start over again on one tiny small solid cabinet project.(I will get a different jig by then)
I dont mind posting my failed attempt. I think I had a nice little design going.
If you need to know, I used only short pieces and didnt want to take anything off the wood rack, so the rear right leg is spanish cedar while the other 3 are mahogany. Just what I had and didnt mind playing with.
My wife is gone for the weekend, so when she gets home, she can buff out the oil if she feels the need, Im done with this piece.I fixed another cracked edge of a tail, and then carrying the piece in yesterday, the screen handle nipped off a tiny piece on the edge of one of the right front tails on the drawer.My son gave me a new camera, 12 mp, with a closeup button he showed me how to use, one that wont shake even when my hands are bad, not a bad picture that last closeup shot. I like this little camera.
 

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allen, you did one heck of a job. you've learned new things with this design. how else do we learn, other than to try, and then improve upon what we have done? you did good work, now get cracking on the next one.:thumb:
 
allen i have to disagree,,,your wife is right!!! this a completly differnt style from your norm and is just fine..those mistake that yu know so well and told us of wont be seen by anyone but another woodworker, and alot them wont see them either..that style you got there is something i have seen similar by a very well know master so continue on and make yur ideas and wood into something new.. and stop tellun us yur mistakes just show us the project ,,go allen go:)
 
There are projects that seem just a list of mistakes one after the other, I felt the same with my seven drawer dresser, and I finished it to prove it and myself it was not going to beat me!

That is good looking piece Allen, and only you know where the mistakes are, so if you don't point them out nobody will notice, but if you do people (not us woodworkers) will cling onto that and they will look for every single detail and point them out to you, which they wouldn't dare if they were talking to a "pro".

So don't give them the cue. I'm sure that when you forget about all the problems you had and look at it again, you will tell to yourself " It wasn't that bad", because in reality it is not but good.!:thumb:
 
and the pictures of this seven drawer dresser are where????/?:D:D

Not yet Larry, not yet...
I'm waiting for the wind to calm down so I can spray it with lacquer, I've got everything ready but it keeps on blowing on weekends.
I haven't a spray booth and I have to spray outside, and I don't want to get dust or tree leaves on it while I'm spraying it.:(.

We'll see tomorrow...
 
I appreciate the kind comments, but Ive invested way too many hours into a one drawer small table to not have it come out better than this.
I went back to the garage updating today.
Its bitter cold outside with winds kicking up low wind chills. It feels like snow is in the air.
I dont need much to just keep the chill out of the air. I might give my neighbors propane patio heater a try, with the tank outside, the heater inside.
I just have to find out if I can work in an indoor space with that heater.
 
I appreciate the kind comments, but Ive invested way too many hours into a one drawer small table to not have it come out better than this.
I went back to the garage updating today.
Its bitter cold outside with winds kicking up low wind chills. It feels like snow is in the air.
I dont need much to just keep the chill out of the air. I might give my neighbors propane patio heater a try, with the tank outside, the heater inside.
I just have to find out if I can work in an indoor space with that heater.

allen rome wasnt built in a day, and sometime we have many obstacles in our way to get threw to get somewhere but we still need to get there..yu didnt quit ,yu keep going and made it into something very usable and unique in a good way
 
I can understand your attitude of "I'm done with this piece", but add me to the list of people who wouldn't have noticed the mistakes unless they were pointed out. (Still not sure I can see them in any of the photos.) I like the design...as Larry said it's a departure for you, but I think it'd be an interesting path for you to explore. I know you weren't copying anything in particular when you made it, but it does have similarities to some other work done by James Krenov, one of the great furniture builders. That's a good thing. ;)
 
I love shaker style furniture.(for me I find it easier to make, keeping it simple)
I have drawn up many pictures of furniture pieces and now that I have alot more time to devote to this hobby, I want to attempt to follow through with some designs(I have to first make pieces I promised to complete first)

Id never be so bold as to try to make a piece similar to one of the greatest and most well known furniture makers.
To me, thats like a 15 y/o trying to sing Celine or Mariah songs.
Before I made my first buffet unit, I wanted the design with the legs coming up at the sides, not into an apron, sort of spider legs, but my wife and kids told me uh-oh, dont go there.
I posted pics of misfitted dovetails, cracked out tails, and Ive tried to correct or repair as much as I could. It got to the point where I was making the mistakes more noticable, and I want to make a piece that is correct from the beginning, not have to repair mistakes after Im close to finish.
My wife will be happy when she gets home Ill have the cabinet attached to the base and a drawer stop in, and she can tell me if she wants any poly on it, (Ill hand her the wipeon), or if she wants to buff it out.


*one good thing happenned recently-my son made a halloween party at his home the saturday night before halloween.
He invited people he works with, and friends who havent seen his home along with his regulars. He told me he recieved compliments on some of his furniture, and when he told people his father made it, well, they were impressed.
Im happy to hear things from strangers like that who dont have to say anything, or are put on a spot if someone would say, hey, my father made that table, what do you think of it?
 
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allen, you need to take and go out there and try those ides yu have and all of us the little people and the masters out there never go threw a piece without any errors,, somewhere they have had to fix it and are just much better at it than we are..and they dont talk about them.. you dont read about errors in the magazines just do this and that and volahh its done and beautiful looking:)

so go and explore your thoughts allen and show us your new styles:)
 
Allen who said that it had to be a certain way? a book? You have designed and built something unique that looks pretty darn good. If you feel that it isn't quite what you expected or wanted then just take it for what it is and work to do better next time. No one is perfect and even the masters make mistakes the only difference is that they learn to hide them better and when caught they claim they were designed that way and it is an artistic feature ( or something like that). We are all our own worst critiques. Take it for what it is, a learning lesson in the long run of learning lessons that are still ahead of you. It is not a failure by any means. I think you will find everyone here has made projects at one time or another that didn't turn out as expected. Why should you be any different? :rofl:
 
allen, as much as you want to complain about this piece, and like as much as not, you do provide inspiration. here's a short tale of how you inspired someone...


pic 1 shows a drawing that you sent me a while back.
pic 2 is the sketchup drawing of the item to your dimensions
pic 3 is the sketchup drawing with a few changes your idea inspired me to make
pic 4 is the idea for a grandfather clock that your buffet idea inspired
pic 5 is the grandfather clock built.

are there mistakes? more than i can number. a lot of them i hadn't thought about until time for construction. but, in spite of my misgivings, the judges thought of it highly enough to give it 2nd place, and another award for design and workmanship. set me back on my heels, as i thought it wouldn't be good enough for 4th place. would i have normally taken the leaps i did to design and build it? not really. but your taking a design chance got me off my designing butt, and give it a shot. now keep going.
 

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