Replies

1. 
   salty201 | Jan 12, 2007 08:18am | #1

   Be extra careful sanding the plywood as it is easy to go through it if you sand aggressively.  Danish oil finish looks great on walnut, finished with paste wax.

2. 
   frenchy | Jan 12, 2007 08:24am | #2

   fgnoel,

    poly looks too cheap and plastic While  satin poly simply looks cloudy.  Shellac on the other hand is tough, easy to apply, and finishes to a beautifully deep rich finish that adds dramatically to the richness of walnut..

    

3. 
   Troy | Jan 12, 2007 09:31am | #3

   ditto on the shellac

   Troy

4. 
   forestgirl | Jan 12, 2007 10:04am | #4

   You will love the walnut.  Jeez, I like working with that wood.  There seem to be two camps about whether shellac is durable enough for a table(like)-top surface, but it's easy enough to replace if you want to change over to poly or something else down the road.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

1. 
   frenchy | Jan 12, 2007 10:36pm | #6

   Forestgirl,

         You of course know my love for Shellac..I think if you take both shellac and poly and drag a pencil across it  (not so deep as to score the wood)  you'll find no mark with Shellac and a grove with poly.. poly is softer than shellac!

      Once you score the wood you'll find Shellac flakes off easier, but since it's so easily repaired and once repaired will leave no trace of damage Shellac clearly should be the Finish of choice.  Poly on the other hand needs to be sanded back and or stripped in order to attempt at making a repair that is difficult to detect..

     Difficult to detect versis no trace of damage..

    The repair with Shelllac consists of wiping a rag soaked with denatured alcohol back and forth briefly. please decribe the way to repair poly that has been damaged will you?

    

    

    

    

    

5. 
   GRW | Jan 12, 2007 09:34pm | #5

   My 0.02$.. Walnut is pretty soft wood.  Not a choice I would make for a writing surface.  If you plan to used blotters, or a leather writing surface It should be fine.

1. 
   frenchy | Jan 12, 2007 10:44pm | #7

   GRW,

    Few woods are perfect,  Maple Ash or oak would be harder, yet their beauty is usually in the craftsmanship rather than the wood itself.. Black Walnut has these rainbow of colors in it that simply pop out  with shellac..

    Look closely and in air dried walnut and you will see purples, greens, brown, reds, black, and other colors..

    If all you see is a monocromatic color of brown either you have bad eyes or you are looking at steamed walnut that has been kiln dried..

       The real beauty of Walnut is how wonderfully it works.. Run a sharp plane across it and the result will be a surface that looks as it's been waxed.

     Few woods cut, shape, plane, or mill as nicely as walnut does.. The only thing it doesn't do well is accept paint.. If you attempt to paint black walnut I have a virus designed to flick boogers on your computer screen.  <G> 

    

1. 
   pzaxtl | Jan 13, 2007 08:29am | #9

   You seem to like flicking boogers -- that's about the 5th time you've threatened someone with a "booger flicking"  (Is that how you keep your wife and kids in line?)  Personally, I prefer a good fart! <G>

   Michael

1. 
   frenchy | Jan 13, 2007 10:41pm | #11

   pzaxtl,

        Yeh, I know when I find something I think is funny I tend to beat it like a dead horse..

     I'm not sure others would be really able to smell my virtual farts as well as they can imagine virtual booger flicking..

    Besides lately with all the sanding I'm doing I have a fair supply of really stringy boogers available <G>    Most tend to be extremely dark since I'm doing a lot with Black Walnut.

6. 
   sapwood | Jan 12, 2007 11:15pm | #8

   I've never been a fan of polyurethane finishes but I have to admit that Minwax Wipe-On poly is pretty nice. It goes on easy and gives an oiled wood look.

   Shellac is a good choice unless there is a possibility of alcohol on it...... like a bit on the whisky glass in the evening while writing letters with a favorite fountain pen at that nice new desk.

1. 
   frenchy | Jan 13, 2007 10:37pm | #10

   Sapwood,

       It honestly depends on the spill.  If quickly wiped up there may be little or no damage done.. Look at most drinks,  you take 60, 80 proof alcohol and dilute it with fruit juice or mix or whatever..  it spills and is quickly wiped up and there is a decent chance of nothing happening..  Sure if you are drinking single malt scotch neat and spill you'll have to do some repair work.

    If damage occurs I have enough confidence now in Shellac that me, the worlds sloopiest painter  could fix it without creating a mess while wearing a tuxedo. That is the real beauty of shellac, the ease it's fixed.

    Back to the spill, if you manage to spill a shot of single malt scotch, you really should stop drinking at the desk! (and probably stop drinking altogether at least untill you sober up!)

    Damage from drinking can ruin a leather chair or couch, it can also damage a rug or your clothes..

    Should we all wear painters suits when drinking to eliminate the risk?   Or should we use a moderate degree of care when drinking around fine things?

    The same answer goes for spilt water, quickly wiped up and there is no damage, left in place and the damage can still be quickly and simply erased.

        Poly by it's nature tends to look plasticy unless made satin in which case it looks cloudy..

       Shellac and To a degree Lacquer can be repaired(in the case of shellac easily) while never at risk of looking cheap or plasticy. 

7. 
   cadiddlehopper | Jan 13, 2007 11:10pm | #12

   There are several problems with walnut and plywood.

   If you leave articles on the desk top in the same place all the time, their images will be photosynthesized into the wood. Even if the walnut is hard enough for your purposes, if it is backed up by softwood, it may dent easily. The veneer is extremely thin on plywood; there is little room for error or sanding. The veneer will probably be a consistent brown rather than having multiple colors but still beautiful.

   You may be content with these conditions. That is your call. I presume your den is a formal, quiet place, not a rumpus room which somehow acquired that monicker for a while. A walnut desk would be a good looking addition to that sort of room. A less formal look with another wood might be appropriate for less formal space.

   I recently built a desk for my wife who is height challenged. It is a bit lower than standard. It has a solid wood top made up sort of like butcher block. It can be simply lifted off two four-legged pedestals which have drawers. The pedestals are constructed as you plan to do. I used mortise&tenon joinery. I am considering building another with more solid wood parts using one of the many mahoganies available.

   Good luck with your projects.

   Cadiddlehopper

8. 
   dtraversi | Jan 14, 2007 12:19am | #13

   fgnoel-

   I have made several walnut pieces in my den. It will make a gorgeous desk.

   I'd suggest making the carcass of solid edged walnut ply as you mentioned but make the top of pure solid wood.

   It really won't be that much more expensive. A little yes but the long term advantages win out.

   First- you can select the boards yourself- picking the most dramatic grain (or straight) whatever you prefer- for me that is 1/2 the fun. (with ply, you get what you get)

   You can also more easily shape the top to your tastes; oval, eased corners etc. (with ply you'd likely end up with a rectangle).

   As for the finish .. protection or warmth....???

   I don't set to many drinks on the furniture I make for our home nor does my wife :)- never once had an issue. I suggest Danish oil- easy to apply -stunning on walnut- easy to refresh- 5-10 years later if you want to bring it back to stunning- re-apply Danish oil. No stripping or prep work.

   Last thing about the solid top- if any disaster ever befalls the top- you don't have to worry about sanding through the veneer in the refinish process.

   And as GRW mentioned- a blotter will help no matter what the finish

   good luck
   dave T

9. 
   upstateBill | Jan 14, 2007 01:15am | #14

   I have a Eastlake cylinder desk in walnut that has oak under the leather writing pad. I didn't know if the oak was there because it was harder or cheaper.Bill.

1. 
   fgnoel | Jan 14, 2007 02:28am | #15

   Thanks so much for all your input.  I am now leaning toward shellac (even though I will need to do some practicing first as my experience with shellac has been marginal) and also a solid top.  I'll post some pictures.  First I have to build my wife a sewing center cabinet and then start on the desk.

   Thanks

   Frank