May 21, 20197 yr Author 16 hours ago, Gerald said: Looking like build from scratch instead of rebuild. Going good there. Getting to kind of look that way Gerald, but reusing as much as I can is saving in the cost factor, and I doubt whether I could have captured the character of this old desk. I'm not currently set up to work from scratch. The stripper I've been using is a gallon of the Jasco BIX (The good stuff with the MC) that I found in a box of supplies when we were out picking. So the only cost in stripping the old parts is my time. I've got more time than money, so felt it was worth the effort to salvage what I could of this old desk. Most anyone else would have probably left it for the curb pickup due to it's broken condition. A lot of the wood I'm using came from our picking outings also. It's amazing what some people toss out. I've had to purchase a few pieces and was rather sticker shocked at the prices of SFS Oak.
May 23, 20197 yr Author Popular Post Made some more progress today, actually had a pretty nice day weather wise. Managed to get picked up in time to beat the rain that just started a few minutes ago. So today I cut and installed the new lower shelf. It was made from one of those glued up 3/4" X 16" X 3' panels that Menards sells ($19.99) but a real time saver. Following is a photo of the old shelf before removal. The new lower shelf cut to size. And the new lower shelf installed. I then went about making up the side panels for the drop front printer drawer. These were made from 1/4" X 7 1/4" Oak stock. 7 1/4" was not quite deep enough so I added an extension made from 1/2" X 3/4" Oak stock. This was notched to provide clearance for the drawer front. These got installed like so. I then added 1/4" X 1 1/2" Oak stock to complete the side panels. I'll be using full extension drawer slides and they will get mounted to the doubled up lower section. I finished the front edge with quarter round to avoid end grain showing. Here's an outside view of the left side. And the right side. And a bottom view of the completed lower section. A view of the new shelf from the front. Notice the rebuilt upper drawer fits! I also started work on the printer drawer front panel. I cut the panel above the dado, and replaced that section. The drawer bottom will be made from another glued up 3/4" thick panel. The drawer front was only 11/16" thick, I 'll be leaving the replaced section at 3/4" so I can add a trim piece to cover the 3/4" gap that will be below the drawer front panel where it will meet the drawer bottom panel. This trim piece will also help support the drawer front when it is in the open position. That's what I managed to get accomplished for today, so until next time.
May 23, 20197 yr Author Just now, Woodbutcherbynight said: Slow but sure, maybe even get some more cooperation from mother nature. She hasn't been making it easy lately!
May 28, 20197 yr Author Popular Post I've got a few days of progress to report today. Between playing hide and seek with Mother Nature I did manage to get a few things accomplished. Since I'm working from mental plans there were a few steps forward, and several steps back along the way. I started by test fitting the drop front printer drawer front into the opening. I ended up having to add the lower cross braces to keep the opening square. There was a slight bow to the front legs that pinched the drawer front in the opening. I then cut the bottom of the drawer to length, and installed the hinges. Then went to work at installing the drawer slides. These were salvaged from some cabinet that the neighbor threw out. This is where one of the steps backwards occurred. I forgot to allow clearance for the ears on the cabinet part of the slides. So it was time to do a little surgery. First I clamped a piece of scrap wood to use as a saw guide. I then used a hack saw blade to cut slots so I could remove the offending material. I had to provide clearance at both the front, and rear cross braces. Thankfully this won't be seen when the cabinet is finished. Here is the drop front drawer installed. This type of drawer leaves a gap at the bottom that will have to be trimmed out. For this I'll be using the old desk top trim board. It had a missing chunk that had to be cut back. So I used the old clamp a straight edge as a guide, and removed the bad section with the circular saw trick. I also had to trim the width to fit the drawer front, and ended up with this. I then stripped the piece, and installed it to the drawer front. Here's a view of the drawers installed. And a view of the drop front drawer in the open position. I'll be replacing the hinges for the drop front desk section with the same style I used for the drawer, so I filled the mortises from the old hinges. I used two layers of thick veneer to accomplish this. And the filled in mortise. I left it partially un-sanded to provide a better view. That's about all for now folks, so until next time.
May 28, 20197 yr Author 3 hours ago, lew said: Love that drop front drawer idea! Thanks Lew, I saw one on an antique Secretaries Desk that the neighbor had for sale awhile back. That one had sides that the front used elbow catches to secure the drawer front in the upright position. I'll be making up a pair of corner brackets, instead of putting sides on the drawer bottom. I've been trying to find a coffee can of old hardware that I salvaged over the years for some elbow catches. Menard's, and Lowe's don't have a clue what an elbow catch is.
May 31, 20197 yr Author Popular Post I decided to work on the frame, and mounting system for the upper 24.5" Acer monitor that will be mounted in the old mirror harp above the desk today. But how to go about doing so without voiding the warranty? Well here's what I came up with. First a look at the rear side of the monitor without the factory stand. First I made up the top piece, and sides from some Oak outside corner trim I found a bunch of during one of our picking outings. Here's a look at the side pieces being matched up. I also cut a bottom piece from a piece of 1/2" X 1 1/2" Oak stock. This view shows a trial fit of the pieces. This view shows the frame glued, and clamped up. I then used the monitor mounting bracket from the Sanus TV wall mount kit that was also found during one of our picking outings, along with a piece of 1/2" X 3 1/2" Oak stock and some 1/2" X 1 1/8" Oak strip stock to attach the frame to the monitor. I'll be using the inner bracket holes to secure the monitor bracket to the Oak back brace. Now for a view of the front side. And now a side view. I'll be drilling a hole both sides through the 1/2" X 1 1/8" Oak blocks to mount the monitor to the old mirror harp with a 1/4" bolt and knurled brass nuts. The monitor will now mount just like a mirror would. I do believe I succeeded at framing the monitor without voiding the warranty! Now where did I stash that piece of plexiglass mirror?
May 31, 20197 yr 9 hours ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: That monitor had better last a long time.... My thoughts exactly.
May 31, 20197 yr Wow that is really coming along Larry! Nice engineering and re-purposing. I noticed you mitered the tops of the monitor enclosure and have a straight support for the bottom of the monitor, now that was smart!
May 31, 20197 yr Author 13 hours ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: That monitor had better last a long time.... 4 hours ago, Gene Howe said: My thoughts exactly. I hope so, but if it lasts as long as the one it replaced!
June 2, 20197 yr Author On 5/31/2019 at 8:03 AM, John Morris said: Wow that is really coming along Larry! Nice engineering and re-purposing. I noticed you mitered the tops of the monitor enclosure and have a straight support for the bottom of the monitor, now that was smart! Thanks John, The straight support at the bottom of the monitor was done for both ease of assembly, and to create a ledge at the lower front edge of the monitor. I'll be making a plexiglass mirror cover for when the computer is not in use that will set on the ledge.
June 16, 20197 yr Author Popular Post Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this, but allergies, that turned into a very bad cold for me and pneumonia for the wife has slowed things down some. The wife's still in the hospital, hopefully to be released tomorrow. I've got a bit more done than the photos show, but I'll have to take some photos. First off, the Silver Box has been replaced with a built in lower case section on the lower shelf. Rear View Front View Here are photos of the chassis installed. Front view first. Rear view. And with the upper case set in place. This is the power strip I'm using, it was one of those finds when we went picking. It originally had a twist lock plug which I replaced with a standard plug. This photo shows it mounted into the desk. (Sorry about the blurry photo) I was having a hard time trying to figure out where to put the SoundWorks 5.1 Surround Sound Amp. When it suddenly dawned on me that it would fit in the upper drawer! So I modified the drawer slightly to accommodate the Amp. I'll simply use longer panhead screws to mount it into the drawer. It's been awhile since I had a dual monitor setup. Surprisingly easy to get setup in W10. I'll try to post more later.
June 16, 20197 yr Author 45 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: Hope you and your wife recover soon! Some nice work on this project. Thanks Curtis, The wife and I are both hoping she can come home tomorrow. She was supposed to be released on Friday, but that didn't happen. One of the meds spiked her blood sugar level, so they're keeping her until at least Monday.
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