Linda’s Drop Front Desk

Inspired by a design in Woodsmith magazine, this drop front desk will fit nicely into Linda’s office, which does double duty as our guest room. With the desk closed, the Murphy bed will have plenty of room to open without having to rearrange the furniture, as we have to do now. This desk will have three drawers and two pullouts behind doors. We’re still thinking about the cubbies that will be separate inserts behind the drop front door.

: The Marietta Wood Works version of the desk design done in SketchUp and LayOut

: Linda’s custom design was adapted from this design in Woodsmith Magazine

: Every cabinetry job starts with a trip to Chelsea Lumber for birch plywood

: The plywood rolls into the shop in the same orientation from the truck

: Each sheet slides onto saw horses to be broken down in the long direction with my track saw

: Sheet goods ready for final width sizing on the table saw

: Laying out cable access in the upper and lower carcass backs

: One inch radii cut with a two inch Forstner bit

: Plunge cutting the straight portion of the openings by raising the table saw blade

: Cutting rabbets and grooves in carcass members with a stacked dado blade and sacrificial fence

: Lower carcass first dry fit

: Shop view

: Sanding interior surfaces to 150 grit before assembly

: Using my track saw to pad cut the sixty-nine degree angle on the upper carcass sides

: Pad sawing makes both sides identical

: Using a dial indicator to make 0.010″ adjustments to the rip fence for cutting a twenty-one degree bevel on the upper carcass top panel to match the sides

: Upper carcass first dry fit

: Upper and lower carcasses assembled and stacked in eventual final configuration

: Linda and Murphy getting a first look at the new desk

: Maple sides cut for base assembly

: Base first (upside down) dry fit

: Laying out cutouts in base sides and front

: Ready for the bandsaw

: Bandsawing 2 1/2″ radii, leaving the line for the drum sander

: Base second (upside down) dry fit

: Oscillating drum sander makes quick work of cleaning up band sawn edges

: Oscillating drum sander overview

: Cutting coves with a 1/2″ radius on the router table

: Router table overview

: Base third (upside down) dry fit and clamping trial

: Base detail showing corner blocks

: Using my DIY self-centering drill press vise to drill holes in base cleats

: Using the painter’s-tape mitered corner folding method for base glue up

: The painter’s tape acts as a hinge, maintaining joint alignment and preventing glue squeeze out

: The old angle drive adapter comes in handy every so often

: Base bottom (never to be seen again) with blocking details

: Base, right side up

: Lower case temporarily set on base

: Front view

: Base, lower and upper cases, to get a feel for the volume of the finished desk

: Adding mitered strips to upper and lower panels, to be bullnosed in place on the router table

: Quarter inch thick edging strips cut and ready to attach

: Edging strips for lower case

: Edging strips attached to upper case with Titebond III glue and 3/4 inch, 22 gauge pin nails

: Simulating panel construction with thin sawn maple from Hardwood Solutions, Inc.

: Completed simulated panels on lower case

: Lower case with bullnosed lower panel

: Hardware for drop front and doors, including magnetic catches

: Completed simulated panel on upper case

: Test stack of major subassemblies

: End view of test stack

: Machining stock for drop front and doors

: Stock is machined to ~80% finished dimensions and allowed to sit over night to allow internal stresses to relieve before machining to final finished dimensions

: Blum Tandem Blumotion undermount drawer slides

: Milling grooves in door frame components

: Tenon shoulder cuts on the table saw

: Tenon cheek cuts with the tenoning jig

: Before cheek cuts

: After cheek cuts

: Drop front assembly, using 1/2″ plywood for the panel so the writing surface is even with the frame

: Assembling one of the lower doors

: Drop front and doors set in place

: Making a jig for the sewing machine hinge mortises

: Refining the jig cutout with the oscillating spindle sander

: A good fit on the hinge outline

: Layout tools and the 5/8″ diameter top bearing router bit

: Hinge instructions directed a 1/32″ gap between components, but a 1/16″ gap would have been better

: Removable inserts allow for using the same jig to cut clearance for the hinge knuckles

: A technique from the CNC router, painter’s tape on jig and components with a few drops of CA glue hold the jig firmly in place for routing the hinge mortises