On Mar 19, 6:42*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:54:34 -0400, Greg Guarino
wrote:

Having marveled at the craftsmanship of some of the other "rec"
denizens, I feel a little sheepish "showing off" a project as relatively
simple as this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...t-721576277517...

... but hey, you have to start somewhere. Thanks for all the tips.

Hey, a hearty Well Done, Greg. *Kudos on your accomplisment. *That's a
far larger and more complicated project than most of us started with.

Well, it's not the very first thing I've done. In fact, I made the
cabinet boxes (sans doors) fifteen years ago. I cut them down about 6
inches for this project. I've also built and finished a couple of
wall-hung cubbyhole shelf units. And I've had a fair amount of
experience in home repair. It's a different pew, to be sure, but a
related denomination of church, at worst. The techniques may not
always be similar, but both require a problem-solving mindset.

That said, the desk is certainly the largest project so far, with the
most time-consuming finishing. And the panel doors were probably the
biggest challenge I've taken on yet. But as so often happens, I'm sure
I could build another set now in a fraction of the time and with fewer
errors. Except, of course, for the finishing.

The whole experience has given me more ideas than I have time for, but
I intend to keep at it when I can.

So, how do you like Waterlox now that you've used it? *Other than the
smell (and it smells far, far better than Watco, lemme tell ya) I
simply adore it.

I'll tell you some things I've learned for the next project. The most
important lesson seems to be wood selection. The waterlox on the oak
rails and stiles is probably the nicest finish I have yet
accomplished; smooth with a little gloss, but with no plastic-y
thickness. I used some garden-variety birch ply for the panels. The
contrast in color is nice, but the panel surface didn't give nearly as
nice a finish as the oak.