I've been working on this sideboard since early January, life keeps interfering with my doing it any faster. But at least I've got the building part done. I still need to order the mirror, go over the whole thing removing tick marks, etc. and sand some of the burning off the edges of the wood. I also need to drill holes for the pulls and knobs as well as rabbet for the mirror. but it's downhill (I hope) for now. I've mentioned before: this is that last serpentine anything I'll ever build, and making the drawers first is a really bad idea. But once I get the things above done it's on to finishing, and then hope it's acceptable to the person that instigated the whole project.

Looks awesome! The "little details" are what makes this extra special.

That is an awesome build and showcases your patience and skills. You are a braver man than me, Fred!

I like your sawhorses. Looks familiar to the ones I built 50 years ago from lumber from a construction scrap pile behind my apartment at the time. Got the plan from Mother Earth News magazine. Still in use

Looks to be a top notch job. I am sure the one who requested will be pleased. Now if the finish goes on well.

Fred, I love the classic style of this. How many hours do you have in it?

9 minutes ago, Ron Dudelston said:

Fred, I love the classic style of this. How many hours do you have in it?

Geez, Ron. I have no idea. I had to build it in dribs and drabs as time allowed. But I think just for the drawer fronts I have probably 12-15 hours, not counting the glue drying time in the vac press I used. There's little doubt if I did it over i could shorten the time a lot, but I have no intention of doing another.

That looks awesome Fred a sure classic piece of furniture.

Make sure to leave a message or something on the bottom of a drawer so your great greats that are arguing over who gets what have something to find and add to the treasure. Assuming this is meant for family, this project should become a treasure.

So here's where I'm at with this effort. Everything is finished except the top, which gets some nibs smoothing and another coat of 2 of the varnish I'm using. The whole thing has a coat of garnet shellac, top coated with an alkyd resin varnish. I wanted to make to lower doors with the same veneer I used on the drawers, to have a better color match. So I took plywood and veneered it with that veneer, and didn't like something (can't put my finger on exactly what) about them, so made these out of solid cherry. Over time I have no doubt this color mismatch will even out a lot, I'll just have to wait. The doors were cut from one glued together board, so I have grain matching across the 2. What i forgot was that infernal divider between them which kind of messes things up. You can see the drawer pulls still aren't on it, and the top right drawer sticks a little when being opened, I need to address that. Anyway, the 2 pics show the serpentine of the drawer dividers and top, the second shows the piece as it stands right now.

Edited September 15Sep 15 by Fred W. Hargis Jr

Absolutely beautiful, Fred!

Gorgeous! So many details in a project like this that merge into a wonderful outcome.

Absolutly beautiful I can see why it took so long .

Man, that really looks great! I love it. Nice job!

Wow Fred that is awesome!

You are at the point where you can toot your horn. Looks nice. Like those serpentine drawers. Danl

Man, that is gorgeous!

I agree with all the above!

Wow if we had not watched you go thru this build would have said it was a refinish on an antique. Great job

My last pic. It's now finished (I still have to rub out the top, but the varnish needs to cure for a few days first) but here it is with a coat of garnet shellac topped with an alkyd resin varnish. The mirror is installed, I had no idea what bevel edge mirrors cost but they are expensive. In the last pic above there wasn't a mirror in the frame, though it looked like there was a reflection. You can tell from the glare on the drawers that it's a gloss finish (our preference). The difference in color from the drawer veneer and the lower doors is a little more pronounced than I though it would be but that will change with some time. That divider between the doors probably should have been made with a piece that had a little more figure in it. Maybe it's just me, but those doors just look a little out of place on this piece. Anyway, it is what it is and I'll be glad to toss out the old piece that this replaces. Assuming that Marie is OK with this one, of course. Otherwise it goes to the local thrift store.