Greetings Workateers! Often, I have likened this blog to an unsolicited advice column. Today is precisely one week before Valentine's day. For the potential celebrants of said holiday in the audience, I have a bit of romantic advice: Build this.
A combination vanity and dressing chest with jewelry drawers is the mother-and-uncle of all would-be wood gifts. Sure, the spice rack, ashtray, candlestick approach is fine for a time. Chocolates, bubbly, and greeting cards likewise have their place, albeit for a brief moment. Generally though, woodworkers of substance don't specialize in fleeting gestures, and those of us with an eye for finishing don't skip a chance to shine. Nothing says, "I love you" quite like spending a week of workshop nights on someone special. Working flat-out, there might just be enough time to pull it off too.
The contributor, A. Tischler, kindly points out that primer materials for this kind of project can be found in "Lessons from an Old Bureau" back in Vol.1 of Work. It's worth checking out, to be sure, but I would also advise a certain amount of "winging it." Complex projects have a way of tamping down personal flourish over time, and it's worth preserving some sense of gesture if you're going to make your workbench speak for your heart. -T
Disclaimer: Articles in Work: The Illustrated Weekly Journal for Mechanics describe materials and methods that would not be considered safe or advisable today. We are not responsible for the content of these magazines, and cannot take any responsibility for anyone attempting projects or procedures described therein.
The first issue of Work was published on March 23rd, 1889. The goal of this project is to release digital copies of the individual issues starting on the same date in 2012, effectively republishing the materials 123 years to the day from their original release.
The original printing was on thin, inexpensive paper. There are many cases of uneven inking and bleed-through from the page behind. Our copies of Work come from bound library volumes of these issues and are subject to unfavorable trimming, missing covers, etc. To minimize harm to these fragile volumes, we've undertaken the task of scanning the books ourselves. We do considerable post processing of the scans to make them clear but please bear with us if a margin is clipped too close, or a few words are unreadable. We would like to thank James Vasile and Karl Fogel for their help in supplying us with a book scanner and generally enabling this project to get off the ground.
You are welcome to download, print, and pretty much do what you want with the scan for your own personal purposes. Feel free to post a link or a copy on your blog or website. All we ask is a link back to the original project and this blog. We are not answering requests for commercial downloads or reprinting at this time.
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