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- Constantine, MI
A couple of weeks ago I began work on a wall shelf for a customer/friend here in Boise. He did the design work and gave me the dimensions he wanted, I had the choice of woods dependent upon some wood he already had in the house. He wanted the top shelf to match his bar stool/chairs in the adjacent kitchen, and the lower shelves to match a coffee table in the family room or the floor that runs throughout the house. The floor is a rather light, knotty wood that I think might be hickory. I felt this might be hard to match, as it would be so near the shelf that a comparison was too easy, so I went with the coffee table which I believe to be knotty alder. The chairs are an almost black surface coating on what might be poplar or maple - very hard to tell. However, they are devoid of any grain pattern, something he likes (note the floor and coffee table). So I decided to go with ebonized black walnut.
The lower shelves are 3/4" thick and dovetailed. They attach to the 1 1/8" thick (Originally planed for 7/8" but did not like the look) top shelf via a sliding dovetail (I was originally going to go with through tenons but feared the different movements in the wood might cause one or the other to split).
I have completed the dovetails and just glued up the top shelf - will post pics soon.
The lower shelves are 3/4" thick and dovetailed. They attach to the 1 1/8" thick (Originally planed for 7/8" but did not like the look) top shelf via a sliding dovetail (I was originally going to go with through tenons but feared the different movements in the wood might cause one or the other to split).
I have completed the dovetails and just glued up the top shelf - will post pics soon.