Here's My Woodworking!
by Anthony DiSabatino
Union, OH
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
I am just a wood hobbyist. My skill level has improved over the years with more experience and with acquiring better woodworking equipment. I made both of these projects in Shaker style as they fit in with our home design. Both pieces were finished using Watco's Danish Oil in natural finish tone. I hope to complete more projects in the near future. My next project will be a Shaker style end table. I also plan to make a quilt rack for my wife out of the salvaged barn oak. She makes quilts, so I thought having a display rack made from her family barn wood would be a real treat!
The first project I am showing is a modified reproduction Shaker blanket chest with drawers that I made recently as a birthday present to my wife. It was constructed from cherry wood, modified from a design I found in the book Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture by Pierce. There are detailed drawings in the book, and the piece was modified from that design. The piece is finished using Watco Danish oil in natural tone, two coats, as I wanted the natural beauty of the cherry wood to develop over time. The finger joints were made using a Leigh D4R jig with finger joint templates. I used a 3/8 inch beadlock tenon system to attach the legs to the bottom frame. I've used my mortiser and cut my tenons in past instances, but the beadlock system worked very well and the piece is as solid as traditional mortise and tenon construction. I made the drawers slightly oversized from the original plan so as to provide more space to store items.
My second project below is a Shaker trestle table I made last year. The Shaker trestle table is a unique story. Two years ago my wife and I had an old barn on our property restored. The barn was built in the 1860s, and there was plenty of wood to salvage from it. I planed down a number of pieces and discovered some very nice oak boards. I had to be careful about any hidden nails. I decided to make a Shaker trestle table as a special present for my wife out of the old boards salvaged from the barn that was in her family for generations. I planed the wood to inch thickness for the majority of the table except for using several two inch thick boards planed down to one and one-half inches for the legs. The trestle legs and stretcher board were constructed using mortise and tenon joints. I made a breadboard top out of 3/4 inch oak boards. The boards expanded and contracted a bit as they were stored for over a century in the old barn in varying weather conditions, but I was pleased with the project overall as it looked rustic. Our house is a converted barn with old pegged rustic beams from the 1800s, and the simplicity of Shaker design seems to fit well with the decor.
You can email Anthony at
adisabatino@woh.rr.com
.
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