In December 2001 I made this piece out of walnut and
from my own design. I didn't set out to follow Shaker style when designing
the piece; I simply chose a design that I thought was within my abilities,
and it turned out strongly resembling something a Shaker would have made.
Or so it seems to me, anyhow.
It was a project of
firsts: first hardwood project, first tapered legs, first mortise-and-tenon
joints, first glued-up panel (the top surface). The finish was one
application of boiled linseed oil and three applications of satin finish
polyurethane, all wiped on.
Mistakes? Plenty. Flaws? Yep. Lessons learned? Those too. But I was happy with the outcome of this first project.
The first one was a Christmas
present for a relative. I built another out of walnut for myself, as well as
a couple out of cherry (as in the photo) just so I can observe how the cherry
darkens over time. The cherry pieces will probably end up being gifts later
on.