Revived from suspended animation

It’s definitely summer in Florida. Try as I might, the shop is always just too darned hot to get into to do a lot of woodworking. So, projects like the dresser top valet – remember when I started that project? – tend to sit in suspended animation. I was, however, able to get some time and energy this weekend to revive that project from its slumber and get it back on its feet. Kinda like the crew of the Nostromo mining ship in that movie Alien.

suspended-animation-alien

When last I left the project, I had pretty much gotten it to the phase where the frame was set up, ready for the top to be crafted.

The next step was to create a frame that would fit into the dados in the sides and back. This would be the outer edge of the top shelf where I could put my keys, wallet, multi tool… the works. Cut from four pieces of stock milled to one half inch thick, the frame was joined with stub tenons and grooves I had cut on the table saw.

After gluing and clamping those suckers together, I rabbeted out the bottom tongue of the groove out to capture a middle panel.  With some sanding to round over the edges, I glued it into the middle area to serve as the base of the lid.

The frame glued in

The original plan had that panel covered with some padded vinyl, but I opted instead to go with some anigre veneer. I thought that would be a cool contrast with the walnut. I stuck the veneer to the plywood substrate with hide glue and let it dry, then mounted it into the frame.

With the shelf

I dunno, but this is really starting to take shape. Now, I need to get the time out in the shop to build the drawer. Once that is done, it will be sanding and finishing… then I can declare this project done, and start thinking about batching out some of these for the nephews.

Once the weather cools down … or I am eaten by an alien. Whichever comes first.

One thought on “Revived from suspended animation”

  1. That project is really coming along nicely Tom.
    That Anigre veneer is really nice looking.
    I know what you mean about the heat.
    I made the major mistake of starting a big dresser project in mid June. BIG mistake…lol
    It will probably be mid September by the time it’s done.
    I love no-snow winters here, but summer is a bear.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.