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Bow-front dresser
Sep 29, 2012
I made this dresser a few years back out of birch and some local Maine cherry that I found someone selling on Craigslist. I’d never seen cherry like this. It has three color regions. There’s the dark red in the center, which was already like that when it was sawn; then the “normal” cherry color, which was pinkish brown when first sawn; and the finally the sapwood. Also, these colors were sort of marbled together in places. Very cool stuff, and just goes to show that you never know where you’ll find beautiful wood – I picked this stuff up for $1.50 a bd ft, partially air-dried. I’d encourage everyone to do some sniffing around for alternative sources of wood – some of the best stuff I’ve found has been by looking off the beaten path.
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Comments
Beautiful piece and you did a great job with the photography of it. What did you use for a finish?
Thanks, Mkreb!
The finish is Minwax Antique Oil - a wiping oil/varnish blend. I no longer remember how I applied it, but these days if I use it, I flood the first coat, let it soak in, the wipe it ALL off. Then two more coats, each time putting it on pretty wet, then waiting a few minutes, then wet sand it with 400 (1st time), then 600 grit (third and last coat), again wiping it off afterwards. You could probably rub it out with steel wool after a few days, but I haven't found the need. It's a really nice, silky smooth satin finish. Looks great, but hasn't held up to the cats all that well - but a rubout and another coat would probably have it looking new again.
As far as photography, the article in FWW from a year or two ago really taught me a lot. My set up is basically an old drop cloth, two halogen lights on stands, sometimes diffused with parchment paper (which won't readily catch on fire) clipped over them, and a pretty basic digital camera on a good tripod. I'm still fairly clueless, but no longer feel the need to say, "It looks a lot better than the picture, really!" I use a lot of flame birch, and so far the hardest part has been trying to balance a well-lighted shot and also bring out the figure, which is entirely dependent on lighting.
Outstanding job! how many hours did it take to make? Great job on photo aspect as well. (two thumbs up) :)
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