Because Bow Ties are Cool

Posted on / by Stephen /

So yesterday I had a day off as I do today and was able to get out into the shop and putter about for a bit. I was able to test out the aluminum plate repair on the DaVinci Duo which worked like a charm and should perform better than expected. I was also able to start on another project…

Presently I have this MDF monstrosity of a desk/workstation in our bedroom that is simply put… ugly as sin. I promised the wife I would build me a right proper desk to replace it so I started on it yesterday.

The plan is to join to large 2×10’s together with dowels and glue, then secure the seam with bow ties… for no other reason than bow ties are cool. Just ask the Doctor !!!

So with that in mind I got the boards jointed, a first for me and it didn’t go to awful bad. I was also able to get all the bow ties cut out and inlaid the first one before coming in for the night to watch some Curse of Oak Island and get caught up on Doctor Who.

So here’s where I left off last night…

I have to say the bow ties isn’t perfect but it’s my first and I’m pleased I was able to do it. I gave that side a quick sanding just to get a rough idea of what things would look like. I still have a plan to route out a channel around the bow ties and fill it with either a black resin or epoxy… or perhaps something more colouful.

You’ll also see in the first pic I was playing with various planes. That Japanese one was fun to play with and took some getting used to but worked great as did the Stanley No. 27 Transitional Plane.

Still a long way to go and this is only the top, I have not even started to plan out the legs and storage/shelves that will be part of this… but it all has to look good.

UPDATE 3-11-20: Got all the bow ties inlaid and the surface mostly smoothed out, need to get some more sandpaper and start thinking about what finish I’m going to go with now. Still need to add the trim and outline the bow ties but the top is coming along nicely and I’m pleased. I also need to fill in the small gaps running in the middle from where I didn’t quite get it squished together all the way.