Sideboard in Ambrosia Maple

[themachine]

After many months of occasional Saturday work, I have finished this sideboard. It is made of Ambrosia maple, so-called because of the ambrosia beetle that burrows holes in the wood and cultivates fungi for food. This results in characteristic holes in the wood plus some very striking stain lines. The carcass is typical mortise and tenon, as are the doors. The drawers are dovetailed secondary wood with maple fronts applied. Door inserts are an etched glass from Bendheim in NY. Behind each door is one shelf. I finished this with amber shellac first to draw out the color and then had a colleague spray on pre-catalyzed laquer. The pictures do not do it justice - must have been a bad photo-op day.
Edit several people wanted a better shot of the top, and I have added one of the end that really shows the ambrosia maple character.

[jhart]

That's one beautiful piece of work and wood. Nice job.

[Uncle Cracker]

That is a beautiful piece!

I think the only suggestion I could make would have been to introduce a slight curvature to the upper edge of the top drawer. The arched effect of the lower stringer is carried up to the upper rails on the doors, but a disconnection is made with the horizontal look of the top drawer. A curved profile added to the top edge could bring the three components together in another gentle arch. Feng shui for furniture!

I do love ambrosia maple, and think more furniture should be done with its unique character. And it certainly is cheaper than a lot of the exotics.

[SARGE..g-47]

Very nice job, Machine. I don't believe I have ever seen an entire large carcass piece done exclusively in ambrosia and it looks quite good. Gcod execution of the mechanics here with the use of M & T's, etc. I am curious as too if this is your design or from a plan?

I will also give you a few ideas to consider as this is an excellent piece over-all. First.. I agree with UC that a continuation of the top arc on the front would have complitmented the over-all look. You might also consider making the top just a hair thicker to proportion on the mass of the bottom carcass. I know there might be a delimna there as ambrosia is hard to find in other than 4/4 which is going to bascially redue to 3/4" after prep.

This is an excellent piece and sometimes the smallest of details make the difference in an excellent piece and an outstanding piece. I hope you don't take this as criticism as it's simply not. Merely suggestions to consider on the next go to possibly hone excellence and you certainly reached excellent on this piece. I certainly appreciate the amount of hours you put into this piece as I know personally it is many.

Extremely well done... keep up the outstanding effort!

[3thumbs]

Excellent work! Is the top inlaid?
Dave

[themachine]

Thanks for the comments guys. You can't see it in the picture (I warned you they were poor), but the doors and top drawer tops all follow the same curve as the bottom stretcher. In fact I did it with the same template. And again, you can't see it but the top is actually a little over one inch thick. I put a bevel on the front and side edges of the top to cut down on the apparent thickness, so maybe that was a mistake.

[SARGE..g-47]

I do see it after viewing it a few times Machine. I not only see the arc on top but if I look extremely close you tapered off the top radically under the top to meet the bottom carcass it appears. That makes it look very thin from the angle you shot the photo. I do these kind of things often and get picked by the camera oriented guys offering advice on shooting.

1" perfect for proportion to the bottom case you have and I am sure you can see that if viewing in person. I have been told to get a tripod for shooting furniture pics for years and I finally broke down and got a $9 one on Amazon a few weeks ago.

So..... your excellent gets an Outstanding from my view-point as I just shifted angles a bit to view.. ha..ha..

Well done...

[3thumbs]

You still didn't answer my question. I see a dark line around the perimeter of the top.

[Norm in Fujino]

After many months of occasional Saturday work, I have finished this sideboard

Very attractive design. I wish I had a "colleague" I could get to finish my pieces. I can hardly get mine to sew a cushion.

[Mr__Bill]

Nice work. Wood Mag has a contest, if that were mine I would send a pic and see if I could win.

Wood Mag contest

Bill

[Uncle Cracker]

As I blow up the photo, I can now see the slight curvature of the top drawer edge, but the ends do not flow seamlessly into the top rails on the doors. I think the look would be even better if they did. This could be accomplished by making the upper door rails narrower than they are now.

[Ed62]

Nice work. I really like it.

Ed

[mschrank]

Very sweet...you should be proud! I hope to attempt something that ambitious and beautiful someday.....

[chabin76]

If those are bad pictures then the real thing must be something else to see. The pictures make that look fantastic. Excellent work.

[lrogers]

Very nice work in deed.