A convergence of inspirations lead me to design a book cabinet. As many woodworkers know, Lost Art Press publishes a unique catalog to very high standards. Such books deserve an honorable and secure home. Bookcases and shelves in our home serve to attract and store dust, lots and lots of dust. so book cabinets are strongly preferred for books that matter to us.

Inspiration Number Two came from an 2015 FineWorking article by Hank Gilpin on his very cool leg design. I wanted to flatter his work by incorporating his ideas into a project.

Inspiration Number Three came from a shipment of sinker Honduras Mahogany from Greener Lumber. They salvage material from rivers in Belize (formerly British Honduras) that had been harvested perhaps 150-180 years ago and floated down the river to ships waiting to take the material to England. Many of those logs sank and have been waiting for us ever since. Check out Rich Petty’s web site for more details including videos. I love working with material with a story.

I began the process by making some legs in poplar to see how the process might go. After milling the leg blanks, I cut some mortises for the stretchers. The long rip cuts are marked on the leg ends. First cuts are 45 degrees, followed by perpendicular cuts to create the “fin.” The fin is tapered at the band saw using a sled to hold the correct orientation. I marked a curve on the outer edge and made the round over with a block plane. Rasps and chisels created a tapered, scalloped look on the inner leg bottom.

I made this mockup back in February and have worked intermittently on the next stages over the past five months. A number of smaller projects and activities also slowed the process. One disadvantage of working in this manner is that you lose continuity and confidence. I create a rough outline of a plan for overall dimensions and material planning, but do not flesh out the details on paper. After being away from a project for a bit it is challenging to remember all the grand ideas and intended sequencing floating around the memory banks.

I believe I am on track now, so I’ll be updating the blog with posts of the process. I like working slowly and savoring the process, but I prefer to work in a more regular fashion when possible. If you’d like to follow along, you can subscribe to the blog on the left of these pages. This should be a good ride. Thank you.

The leg tenons were created extra long. Once the seat was shaped and legs inserted through the mortises I marked the tenons for 1/8 inch proud.

Hickory pegs created to draw bore the stretchers into the leg mortises. After a final dry assembly, the stool was glued together, wedges driven and proud pegs rounded over.

Several coats of my usual shop-made varnish/BLO blend wiped on and wet sanded to soft, satiny feel.

The seat blank was created from two pieces of chestnut. After milling the blank to rough size the mortises were created for the leg tenons [see earlier posts].

Three holes were drilled as guides for the deepest area of scooping. A #9 curved gouge was used to rough out the interior shape, followed by sanding and scraping. The external shape was cut at the bandsaw, then shaped with spokeshave, rasps and sandpaper.

In the gallery below is an image of seat with legs in place. This gave me an opportunity to assess the look. Next up: glue and wedges.

The chestnut legs had previously been cut to rough dimensions and joinery cut. A 3/4-inch round over bit was used to create round over for the inside edges. This was done at the router table. Then the two outside faces were tapered (smaller towards the seat) at the band saw and cleaned up with sanding block.

The stool was dry assembled to check fit and marked to cut legs to length.

With asymmetrical shaping and compound angles, complete and screamingly clear layout is critical. Once the mortises and holes for draw bore pegs are created it will be easier to keep track of orientations. Although positioning (FL, FR, BL, BR) will be important. Keeping track of all this is a challenge for me because much of the work is done with the stool upside down. Which makes Left and Right and all else easy to mess up.

After selecting orientation and positioning of legs, the mortises and location of draw bore holes are marked. Holes (3/8 inch dia.) are drilled using the drill press. They are perpendicular to the outside faces.

The router with spiral upcut bit is used to create some of the mortise. Because the mortises are angled, care is taken to mark how much and where material is to be cleared with the router. A 3/8 inch mortise chisel is used to complete the angled mortise walls. The layout lines on adjacent face are used to guide chisel orientation.

Next up: Cutting through tenons at the leg tops

The circular shelf unit is completed. For now it is on the mahogany chest of drawers, but I plan to design a lower cabinet for its ultimate resting place.

I am very pleased with the look and feel. The walnut and black milk-painted poplar create a luxurious richness. Soft/round sections contrast well with some crisp edges both on the shelf and its supports.

The supports are not glued as I will create a variation of the walnut horizontal pieces. I expect that will create a much different reaction. I do not have a timeline on that exercise.

I will do an extended post mortem over a period of time before attempting a stronger execution of this project. Perhaps some day you will find this version at a garage sale near you.