# It's almost finished!



## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

I am almost complete with an Apothecary cabinet I have been working on which will be a Christmas present for a family member. The person it is intended for is a retired Navy pilot (hence the carved Navy Pilot wings on the top) and also a retired Pharmacist (hence Apothecary cabinet). It is to be a surprise and I just hope I can wait until Christmas to deliver it.
It is made out of a bunch of Mahogany off-cut pieces - 39" to 42" long and 1-3/4" x 2-1/4" and I just did lots and lots of re-sawing. A friend of mine was able to pick up these off-cuts from a window company who were going to throw them out. I used all solid stock for everything with the exception of the cabinet back and the drawer bottoms. The wings are made from Hard Maple. I had asked on the forum a couple weeks ago if anybody had any experience with applying gold leaf, but I didn't get much response. I even visited my local Woodcraft store but I still did not get a very high comfort level. My original thought was to apply gold leaf to the wings to help them stand out, but after much deliberation I decided to leave them be.
I should start the stain work this weekend and then apply some Sam Maloof finish.
I am also attaching the original carboard full size mock up I made of this piece. I can't stress enough how important this was to my design process. This helped me get the sizes and proportions right.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Wow! That is some sweet cabinet. I even like the cardboard one. :laughing:
Make sure that you post pictures of the finished piece. I'm looking forward to seeing it done.
Ken


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Looks great so far. Perfect proportions on the top.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

I thought I saw a couple of responses to your gold leaf question, but I could be wrong. Either way, I think the wings stand out very well as they are. Very good work.


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

I'm telling you, the apothecary was the best thing I ever built. I love having one in my house for all the odds and ends. That one looks great. I am sure they will love it.


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## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Thank you for the comments. 
You are correct Frank I did get several responses but nothing that gave me any confidence in making this my first gold leaf project. I even tried to find the NYW episode on PBS.com and Youtube, but to no avail.


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

Very nice work. 

But can I ask why you would want to stain it? Why not just some leave it natural and maybe add some tung oil to bring out the color? I'm a big fan of leaving wood natural, but I know that isn't for everyone.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

That's phenomenal. I love the inlay. It looks like a very well thought out present with excellent execution.


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## billd (Nov 6, 2008)

Very nice work John :thumbsup:


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## rocklobster (Jun 18, 2008)

That is stunning work, John. Like Dvoigt, I like to leave things natural. But if you can build a piece like that, I believe you know what you're doing with the finish. Can't wait to see it.

Rob


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## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Thank you for the comments, this project was both fun and very stressful - a lot of self imposed stress - as it got to the actual cutting and fitting of the wings into the oval and then the oval into the top. 

As for the stain versus no stain - I have it in my thick head that I wanted this piece to be a warm rich 'mahogany' color. I did many sample stains and mixed stains and several natural clear samples and I do like the stain colors better than the clear. I actually start the staining tomorrow, so I have all day to talk myself out of staining it. I will be sure to post pictures of the completed piece which ever way I decide to go.


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## Al B Cuttn Wud (Oct 14, 2007)

John,
How did you make the wings? If you say carvewright...I'm buying one today..ha. I showed my boss and he wants one for his retiremement next year...thanks a lot..ha. Great work! 

Al


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

Not that is matters to me what you do, because you are more skilled then I am... but let me try to talk you out of staining!

I'm just confused about how you are looking for a "mahogany" color and can't get that with the mahogany wood that you are using? Would that be like painting ebony lumber black? It just takes me back to a "mahogany" poker table that I saw on Old Yankee Workshop... that was don't with mahogany stain... i wanted to reach through the TV and slap Norm and yell "then use Mahogany!"

I admit that I have stained a few times on oak and liked the look... but i generally make it a point to not... especially on mahogany.


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## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Al B Cuttn Wud said:


> John,
> How did you make the wings? If you say carvewright...I'm buying one today..ha. I showed my boss and he wants one for his retiremement next year...thanks a lot..ha. Great work!
> 
> Al


Al I did not use a Carvewright to make the wings I did them by hand. I am new to carving and this was my first attempt. I bought a set of carving chisels from Woodcraft for about $45.00 and spent a couple days practicing – there really is quite an art to it and I know I only scratched the surface but I have an absolute new found respect for those who do it so effortlessly and skillfully. I started out practicing with some scraps I had in the garage and found that Basswood was the easiest to carve and Curly maple was the most difficult. I practiced the cuts on all the different scraps and defined how I wanted the feathers to look. I did the final piece on Hard Maple and it took about 6-hours. I did it over a two day period as my hands kept cramping up from holding the chisels so dang tightly. 
I was able to use Google Images and found an image on-line of the Navy Pilot wings and I enlarged it to the size I wanted (approx 8" x 5"). I printed off the image and used 3M’s Spray-90 to stick it to the wood and then just kept inside the lines while I used the carving chisels. Just use the basic woodworking principles of going with the grain to make a cleaner cut and try not to take too much off at one pass. I won’t pretend and tell you it was super easy, as it wasn’t – but it is insanely addictive – and if you’ve never tried it I would encourage you to. A relatively small investment in the tools will go a long way. I will definitely use an element of carving in future projects.

Dvoigt I do understand your point and I thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have a color in my head that I am looking for and I’m not sure I could get there with just a clear finish.


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

The Everyman Show said:


> Dvoigt I do understand your point and I thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have a color in my head that I am looking for and I’m not sure I could get there with just a clear finish.



Well I tried! It looks great unfinished so I'm sure it will only look better no matter what you do.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

That's an impressive piece of work John!


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## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Dvoigt said:


> Well I tried! It looks great unfinished so I'm sure it will only look better no matter what you do.


Dvoigt - I couldn't do it. I got to the point where I had applied the pre-stain conditioner and I just couldn't go through with it. I couldn't put stain on it. The top really did darken up significantly with just the conditioner applied and the drawer fronts took on a much warmer color than the samples I had prepared. So as it sits right now I have one coat of Sam Maloof's finish and I am pretty happy with the appearance so far. I plan on at least 5 coats in total so I should be all done by the end of next weekend.

I really do appreciate your comments and advice. Well, that and I didn't want you slapping me around like you were threatening to do with Norm.:laughing:


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## icrusbound (Jan 19, 2009)

John,

I really would like to see pics of the progress making it if you have any (and are willing to post/send them). I may do another and I just want to see different methods of constructing one, and that one looks very nice. I like the ability to avoid a face frame and might give it a go.

Thanks,

Anthony.


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## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Anthony I would be more than happy to share any pics with you. If you send me an IM on this website forum with your address I'll put them on a disc and mail them to you.


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## Ken Johnson (Nov 8, 2007)

Um.....WOW!!! That's awesome. Do you have any more photos of how you did the emblem and fit it into the top? I love the way that looks. Please post pics once it is in finish!


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## Peter Benders (May 31, 2009)

*very nice work*

i am impressed. by the work, by the perfection of the work, and the worker. man that is some nice cabinet. a very great tribute to a retired navy officer for his sacrifices.very patriotic.:thumbsup:


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## edp (May 25, 2007)

*Have you given any thought*

to filling the engraving with a clear epoxy prior to the final finish? While I do appreciate the feel of a carved embellishment, I don't think I would like it as much on a horizontal surface.

Just my $.02

Excellent execution by the way. Truly a one-of-a-kind heirloom piece.

Ed


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## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Ed thanks for the suggestion and the comments. I had not thought about the idea of filling in the carving with Epoxy or some other resin. Worth considering for future projects though. 
I currently have 4-ea coats of finish on and it is looking very rich. I am happy that I took dvoigts advice and did not stain the piece. It has been pretty rainy here for the last week so I have left it two to three days between coats instead of 24-hours. I was aiming for five total coats but it may take six or more coats. There are a couple of spots that are still soaking up the finish so it looks a little patchy right now.


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## Dvoigt (Dec 6, 2007)

The Everyman Show said:


> I am happy that I took dvoigts advice and did not stain the piece.



WOOHOO! that makes 2 of us :thumbsup:


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