Tapered Display Tower, from Colorado beetle-kill pine

[Neil Brooks]

Technically, it=92s just about=92 finished.

The 1/4=94 baltic birch ply that I used as backer did NOT take the stain well, so I=92ll either re-do it, or replace it with a pine backer, either T&G or half-lap.

Meanwhile, I=92m calling it done enough for pics :-)

=97

THE STORY:

There=92s a pine beetle that=92s laying waste to many of our forests, in the Rockies, creating a huge fire hazard of dead fall.

A few miles from me, I found a lumber yard that deals mostly in this beetle-kill pine. A few months back, I bought some boards.

WOOD Magazine had this piece in a recent issue. It caught my eye. So =85 from rough stock to this bad boy.

THE FINISH:

- a 2:1 mix of denatured alcohol and SealCoat

- a flood coat of Watco Danish Oil, =93Light Walnut=94 color

- Man o=92 War satin spar varnish=97two coats so far=97only on the shelves and the exterior of the side panels. - P600 wet/dry sanded - Couple a' coats of Bison paste wax

THE JOINERY:

The drawer box is dadoes and rabbets. The top is fastened on with Figure 8 fasteners, in a countersunk 1/8=94 deep x 1-3/4=94 Forstner bit-created well. The shelves are in with #20 biscuits.

NOTES:

The upper panel is a =93hidden=94 drawer. It=92s a good tight fit, and with no handle, so there=92s a 1-1/4=94 hole in the backer board through which you shove the drawer forward. The drawer is bb ply with the pine false front.

The false tenons and wedges =85 finally =85 were made from the same pine. The wedges had enough of a distinctive look about them that I thought they stood out, appropriately, from the rest.

The top has a chamfer around its bottom edge. All the angled cuts are done at 3*.

And =85 for pine =85 the sucker IS rather heavy !

I think the wood has a lot of character. I think there=92s the face of an old man in one of the sides ;-)

My next project (for which I already bought the boards) is a QSWO Wine Tower, for a friend. It=92s based ON the basic look of this tower, but =85 is an original, and will stand just over 3=92 high. Looking forward to working with the oak. It=92s just beautiful wood.

Thanks for looking :-)

[Sonny]

The Tower Display is a copy of a Roycroft piece:

like it, too. While watching this episode, I snapped a pic to make one.

Sonny

[Neil Brooks]

Bingo !

The article made quick reference to the Roycroft original.

I'll go out on a limb, though, and guess that mine won't fetch $15-20,000 ... unless and until it's been around for a couple centuries ;-)

[Larry Jaques]

That's classic, Sonny. Stained and polyed pineywood bookstand worth "$15,000-$20,000". Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!

Who's the judge, Ida Knowanybetter?

-- Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly. -- Plutarch

[Sonny]

I think something got lost in translation!

Neil's work, his link, is very good and I like it. I also like the original Roycroft, noted in my link, which is why I took pics of it while I was viewing the episode on PBS's Antiques Road Show. The original Roycroft book stand was appraised at $15K - $20K by the link's noted appraiser.

Sonny

[Lobby Dosser]

I think the wood has a lot of character. I think there?s the face of an old man in one of the sides ;-)

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If you can come up with the Virgin Mary, you could get near to the Roycrofter estimate. If the "old man" looks anything like Jesus, you could take it on the road and live high on the hog!