Interestingly enough, when I find a piece like this, I get very excited, and then very, VERY nervous. I have just one chance at getting it right. One mistake and I could be weeping sawdust tears and tossing the wood (and my hopes for a great piece) in to the trash. So I squirrel the wood away and build up the courage required to take on the challenge.

In the end, I couldn't be happier with this piece. It is the perfect companion during the hours of computer work that I do during the week. When I need an afternoon pick-me-up, this project is right there, reminding me of my courage and the victory that comes from allowing yourself to try.

This project is also special because it features copper drawer pulls that were shop made. I must have made about a dozen of these in order to get comfortable with the process. I knew I had to make two, so I wanted them to match reasonable well (come on, if they were perfect, they wouldn't look hand made, right). It was fun work and I plan to do more shop made pulls in the future. Igniting the propane torch in my sawdust covered wood shop to solder the pieces together was very nerve wracking.

The drawer fronts are Red Elm, which I harvested myself. They join to the Poplar sides with a sturdy rabbet joint that is pinned with dowels. I really like the way Red Elm compliments the colors of the copper pulls.

I routed two recesses to the left of the drawers. These flow along with the current of the wood grain as it courses around the knot. I carved their bottoms with a gouge. The random pattern is a delight to the fingertips, but also makes it much easier to pick up the paperclips and coins that have found a home there.

Thanks for looking,

David J.