My Third Covid-19 Project; MESDA Inspired Corner Cupboard

robliles

Rob
Corporate Member
I have just finished my third Covid-19 project. I hope this is my last virus related and that we are approaching the end of this nightmare. My first was an armoire for my sister's 37th wedding anniversery, posted here on 09/06/2020, my second was a walnut Maloof style sculpted rocking chair, posted here on 01/10/2021 and finally this, a MESDA inspired corner cupboard.
DSCN0084.JPG
DSCN0085.JPG

My piece is modeled after the original at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston Salem and I used a detailed measured drawing done by Carlyle Lynch that I acquired about 35 years ago and have held onto until I could finally get around to and complete. I say modeled after as mine is not an exact duplicate of the original and I'll go into that more shortly.

Details;
Primary Wood; Cherry
Secondary Wood; Ash
Hardware; Antiqued Brass from Whitechapel, Ltd. and Horton Brasses
Finish; General Finishes satin Enduro Var II, six coats sprayed and wiped down between each coat with progressively finer Scotch-Brite Abrasive Pads
Gass; Full Restoration from Bendheim Restoration Glass
Dimensions; 77.5" tall, 40.25" wide, and 23" deep

I said I "modeled" this after the original in that I made the following changes;
1. Used a beaded face frame because I like beaded face frames
2. Made a drawer with the waist moulding. The original just had the waist moulding and even Carlyle Lynch recommended making a drawer with this, what would be, wasted space
3. There are nine or ten different moulding profiles on the original especially on the pilasters. I could have spent $1,000+ on custom router bits but chose to use what I have on hand to come close in size and profile as well as purchase a couple of bits that matched the larger profiles very closely
4. The original had a flat scalloped base. I chose to do an ogee base and used the original scallop design.
5. I enhanced the crown moulding to more balance with the ogee base

This was a really fun build and there were some nice challenges involved. I particularly liked the scalloped shelves;
DSCN0088.JPG


and the dovetailed drawer using a 60 degree sloped side instead of 90 degrees...a real challange
DSCN0093.JPG


In any event, thanks for looking!

Rob Liles
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
HOLY MOLY!
THAT is a nice piece.
You might just be getting the hang of this woodworking thing! LOL
 

creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
Beautiful craftsmanship! Really nice work. Can you provide more details on how you created all the custom molding, fluting, etc?
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Beautiful! It looks like to would be a complicated build, but you did an excellent job! Thank you for posting.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Awesome and Beautiful !! Your sister is lucky to have you as a brother......... an awesome gift to be sure !
 

BKHam

Bradley
User
i was immediately drawn to the figure in the panels of the lower case. very nice lumber choice. the second thing i noticed was the satin finish accenting the sharpness of the feet / scroll work / lower moldings. all the shapes look so crisp.

how does the drawer track?
 

robliles

Rob
Corporate Member
Thanks for the comments. Bradley, the drawer tracks on a center under-drawer wooden track which keeps it centered no matter how far out the drawer is opened. The panels in the lower door and the bottom of the pilasters is an "extreme" piece of curly cherry. I'm feeling like the color will slowly darken and match the rest of the cherry with time.
 

Roy G

Roy
Senior User
Rob, could you show a shot of the pilaster where the grooves change over? I can't figure out what happened there. Nice work, by the way.

Roy G
 

Linc H

Linc
Corporate Member
I have just finished my third Covid-19 project. I hope this is my last virus related and that we are approaching the end of this nightmare. My first was an armoire for my sister's 37th wedding anniversery, posted here on 09/06/2020, my second was a walnut Maloof style sculpted rocking chair, posted here on 01/10/2021 and finally this, a MESDA inspired corner cupboard.View attachment 202408View attachment 202409
My piece is modeled after the original at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston Salem and I used a detailed measured drawing done by Carlyle Lynch that I acquired about 35 years ago and have held onto until I could finally get around to and complete. I say modeled after as mine is not an exact duplicate of the original and I'll go into that more shortly.

Details;
Primary Wood; Cherry
Secondary Wood; Ash
Hardware; Antiqued Brass from Whitechapel, Ltd. and Horton Brasses
Finish; General Finishes satin Enduro Var II, six coats sprayed and wiped down between each coat with progressively finer Scotch-Brite Abrasive Pads
Gass; Full Restoration from Bendheim Restoration Glass
Dimensions; 77.5" tall, 40.25" wide, and 23" deep

I said I "modeled" this after the original in that I made the following changes;
1. Used a beaded face frame because I like beaded face frames
2. Made a drawer with the waist moulding. The original just had the waist moulding and even Carlyle Lynch recommended making a drawer with this, what would be, wasted space
3. There are nine or ten different moulding profiles on the original especially on the pilasters. I could have spent $1,000+ on custom router bits but chose to use what I have on hand to come close in size and profile as well as purchase a couple of bits that matched the larger profiles very closely
4. The original had a flat scalloped base. I chose to do an ogee base and used the original scallop design.
5. I enhanced the crown moulding to more balance with the ogee base

This was a really fun build and there were some nice challenges involved. I particularly liked the scalloped shelves;View attachment 202410

and the dovetailed drawer using a 60 degree sloped side instead of 90 degrees...a real challangeView attachment 202411

In any event, thanks for looking!

Rob Liles
Beautiful piece!! thanks for sharing.
 

Roy G

Roy
Senior User
That detail on the pilasters makes it pop. You're going to make all the amateur furniture makers bonkers in the future when they see that. Great.

Roy G
 

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