Project Finished, and a big thank you to the wreck

My sister is getting married next month. For their gift I've built this chest. I must explain before looking at the pictures that they had their first date at this gazebo, and her fiance is an astronomy buff and they have a thing with the moon.

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for those on dialup, the total size of the images is about 700 kb.

The dovetails on the corners were the first time I attempted anything larger than a drawer, cuts on the bandsaw and chopped out the waste. They aint perfect, but I'm surprised at how well they came out. It was also the first time I chop out mortises by hand, and after all those I now understand why people buy dedicated mortisers. The bay for the gazebo was an assembly nightmare.

Because I'm limited in the number of longer clamps I have, one cabinet set of K besseys and then everything else is 12" or less, I took what I guess is a fairly unconventional approach to assembly. I put together the corners first, which let me load them up with short clamps to get the dovetails tight. Then I assembled the front and back, and then put them together with the side panels.

I won't say I couldn't have done it without the wreck, but it wouldn't look like it does. It wouldn't have dovetails. It would probably have poly on it instead of shellac and wax. Whether it googling the group for info on veneering or asking questions, or just knowing if I really got myself into a jam I could come here and find a solution, or at least a sympathy "Doh!"

And finally, when the budget was toast and I really wanted a piece of birds-eye for the moon I made a plea on the wreck. Not only did I get it, he also turned it for me, and sent two of them, and only asked for postage in return. He contacted me privately so I will leave him anonymous. Because I had two to work with I was able to experiment with carving larger craters into it which was never part of the plan, and I'm thrilled with the results. So, thank you again.

-Leuf

Reply to
Leuf
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AWESOME!!!

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

VERY nice work. Of course the gazebo has special meaning to them, but you did a great job on making the miniature.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

First Class Work Leuf!!

I am sure that the bride and groom will be thrilled. Nobody else is going to give such a present. Both unique and personalized. It doesn't get better than that! As the giver or the recipient.

Reply to
Lee Michaels

That is a master piece. Really unusual and different and very nice. A pat on the back and great big well done. I'm sure it will stand out in you sisters and BIL's live as one of the most significant gifts they will receive. Regards John

Reply to
John B

Doing a piece for someone you know well can lead to some wonderful pieces - with an occassional nightmare along the way. What a great, very personal, gift - to both of them (the bride is usually the one who scores on the wedding gifts). From the ideas to the execution, all just so.

Take a bow, smile sheepishly and mumble "Aw shucks..."

A hundred years from now - on whatever is the equivalent of the Antique Road Show - a great, great, great grand niece will tell the tale of two ancestors falling in love in a gazebo, moon struck, and how the woman's brother made the piece as a wedding gift. The two lovers, both fascinated by the moon, AND one being an astronomer, will make quite a provinance. An early 21st century, very personalized wedding chest, done by a very creative and talented amateur (amateur meaning one who does what he does for the love of it, and spends the time and effort to make very special pieces). An heirloom that's been in the family for a hundred years, and likely to remain a treasure for generations to come. The dollar value the appraiser gives the stunned woman won't even come close to the value she places on the chest.

You did put the right sized craters in the correct locations right?

Nicely done!

This one goes in The Keeper Folder. Thanks!

charlie b

Reply to
charlie b

| Leuf wrote: | || My sister is getting married next month. For their gift I've built || this chest. I must explain before looking at the pictures that || they had their first date at this gazebo, and her fiance is an || astronomy buff and they have a thing with the moon. || ||

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|| AWESOME!!!

My exact response!

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

Aw shucks, guys... :)

I did my best. I'm sure he'll tell me if I didn't get it right;) Well, maybe he'll bite his tongue on the first day...

-Leuf

Reply to
Leuf

Leuf wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

As well he ought! This is a great gift. Nice work!

Patriarch

Reply to
Patriarch

special for the recipients. While we often do projects where we spend $400 on wood to make something we could buy for $300, something with a special meaning like this must have been a rewarding project.

They look to be very nicely executed -- light enough that vertical cuts pretty much disappear in the grain!

I'm curious about your choice to use dovetails there. This is the first time I have seen dovetails used in a long-grain-to-long-grain joint like that. I almost always see them where end grain meets end grain at 90 degrees, such as drawer sides to front, box ends to front and back, etc. These are so nearly invisible (in the photos, at least) that I assume you are not using them as a visual design element. I would think they would be weaker than a miter joint, which would have

40% more long-grain-to- long-grain glue surface. I guess if the glue ever gives out, this would have some mechanical linkage.

Anyway, beautiful work. I bet you will see it in their home 25 years from now!

Reply to
alexy

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Whoops! Make that "tight enough".

Reply to
alexy

Reply to
Prometheus

Plus personalizing for them makes it easier to give it away, rather than say screw it, I'm keeping it and giving them a gift certificate ;) Either that or I'll have to start arranging dates at gazebos...

There isn't the dramatic difference in end grain vs face grain. I used QS for the corner pieces, so there is a noticeable difference in the grain. It's a more subtle textural difference than a light/dark which is more apparent in person than the photos. The corner on the left side that you have the closest view of in the 2nd photo just happened to end up with the grain in the two pieces almost perfectly matching so it really blends there, the other corners its more apparent.

-Leuf

Reply to
Leuf

UPDATE: Well I thought it was finished...

Yesterday my sister was over and she happens to mention that they have concerts at the gazebo that's right near them. Someone says, "Oh, that's *the* gazebo, right?" As she is walking out of the room she says, "No, we met at the one in " and didn't see the look on everyone's faces.

'Measure twice, cut once' and make sure you're measuring the right building... How many giant gazebos out in the middle of nowhere can there be... Apparently, two.

So, I have three and a half days to make the *right* gazebo. Fortunately this one is a little simpler. Fortunately I didn't glue glue the other one in. And fortunately I didn't find this out three and a half days from now.

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the shop...

-Leuf

Reply to
Leuf

"Leuf" lamented

LOL! That is hilarious! Women are a master at obscuring little details needed for design and construction. DAMHIKT

The plus side is that you now have one expertly constructed surplus miniature gazebo. I am sure that another great project/drama is in your future!

I have seen/experienced things like this before. It is real funny when it happens to someone else. Not so much fun when it happens to you.

How do you come up with your gazebo plans?

Reply to
Lee Michaels

| UPDATE: Well I thought it was finished...

| If anyone needs me, I'll be in the shop...

Groan.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

You know I've always sensed in them a deep longing to start a miniature gazebo collection...

Well we'd gone hiking on wed, it was after that I found out. I was just too exhausted to do anything but laugh at the time. Every time I head down to the shop if Dad happens to pass by we have a chuckle. I mean, one gazebo is an octagon, and one is a hexagon. How can you not laugh at not even getting the right basic shape?

I actually got started woodworking with doing scale models. Dad got a train set and I started making buildings. I don't do it too often anymore, but it's something that comes fairly easy by now. The main thing for me is I don't try to do an exact scale model. There are limits to what I can reasonably cut, 1/16th thickness for example. So I just take stock of what I can do, and what it's supposed to look like and find compromises that work.

A picture that's square on and from far enough away to mostly eliminate perspective distortion is a big help. I'll load up the picture in an image editor and write down dimensions in terms of pixels. Then it's just a matter of picking one dimension and then scaling all the rest based on the pixel dimensions, rounding off to convenient numbers.

Two days down, one and a half to go. The base, posts and railings are done except for railings on the stairs. Stain is drying on it now. Tomorrow it's on to the roof.

*yawn*

-Leuf

Reply to
Leuf

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