Mathieu Davy

Finally, my first real piece of furniture is complete! . The brief was “a box to hide bottles in my kitchen”… Which morphed into a “let’s match your existing furniture and learn an absolute boat-load of new-to-me and untested techniques on a solid ha… instagr.am/p/Csi5QD8MvzC/

Before making any holes in the finished piece, a simple test with scraps help figure out where to drill! . #jigsJigsJigs #customFurniture #woodworking #hafele #t instagr.am/p/CsUieu0o0Xg/

Time for @rubiomonocoatuk ! First time user and it’s so easy to apply! Lovely smooth finish. . #customFurniture #woodworking #rubioMonocoat #t instagr.am/p/CsD9OHKMTsC/

I might not say this absolutely all the time, but the more I work with wood, the more I believe that fixing issues during a build are doors opening for learning and creativity. . I broke the tail of the sliding dovetail when assembling the rear panel. I … instagr.am/p/Cr8fQe8otIr/

Gluing the handle wasn’t straightforward. Not least because I had in mind to install the brace whilst sliding in the rear panel. . However, the reality of this idea was much more complex. Wrestling two sliding dovetails (one of which broke 🙄), glue t… instagr.am/p/Cr52Y0nITis/

Now that the front panel is installed, I had to finish the top chamfer before I can apply finish on that edge. . A little bit of chisel work and patience for a nice result! . Finish has to be applied now because the pre-finished charred oak bar would mak… instagr.am/p/Cr4A42LMEZY/

Assembly has started! The front panel went down well, dovetails being a little too tight for my liking, but hopefully they’ll hold well! . I’ve glued the top part so expansion should only happen towards the bottom. 🤞🏻 . #customFurniture #woodworking #whi… instagr.am/p/Cr0X7-gMhGb/

Bottom layer is 18mm birch ply, all varnished and adjustable feet are on. . Ready to start assembling! . (That’s an expensive box bottom, right now 😅) . #customFurniture #woodworking #t instagr.am/p/CrygpufMcgU/

Pre-finishing the inside of the chest with @rubiomonocoatuk super white. It looks lovely! . Lots of taping off areas where I’ll need glue and for assembly of the dovetails, but easy process! . #customFurniture #rubioMonocoat #whiteOak #woodworking #t instagr.am/p/Crp753mstg4/

Green was the answer! Well… almost… I ran out of black PET, but the green wasn’t the same brand so there’s been a few rejects. . Then my printer was throwing layer shifts and layer adhesion issues on every print 😩 . So I resorted to this somewhat Fra… instagr.am/p/CrgsihvM7KT/

It works! It works so well! . Now…. If it was the right width… 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️😅 . Back to the printer we go! . #woodworking #routerTemplate #jigsJigsJigs #customFurniture #t instagr.am/p/CrbbXq4sBKa/

It’s is much more like it! Arguably, I could have made them out of wood, but the template with the smaller hole also has locating pins that go in the large one. And it’s always fun to tinker anyway! . #t instagr.am/p/CrbQ76esp3h/

End panels and leg assemblies are done! I still have to round-over the edges but I’ll need to visit @edge68 to use his router table for that, as that will be safer, not to mention more powerful to spin a large bit. . Fake dominoes to the rescue for those… instagr.am/p/Cq43K8ss956/

Another tool bites the dust. Bye bye cheap old combo square. Time to upgrade to something nicer too! . Any recommendations for a combination square? . #woodworking #fail #t instagr.am/p/Cq0G-JOsSe2/

Curves 🥰! . This is yet another “can’t 🦆 it up step” but it came out very good! . Front panel recess to allow grabbing the lids from underneath . #routerTemplate #customFurniture #woodworking #whiteOak #t instagr.am/p/Cqs77R2sgBN/

Squeaky bum time over! 4 sliding dovetails pieces ready for the next stage! That was stressful! But there’s nothing like learning new techniques and making progress! . #customFurniture #whiteOak #slidingDovetails #woodworking #t instagr.am/p/CqqaFdNsCJD/

Decisions decisions… There’s enough material for an extra 100m in length…. . The question is: “is there room, dear client?” . I hate to waste material. It’s milled, it’s glued, it doesn’t have to be trimmed that short, and first measuring for the pie… instagr.am/p/CqBqUipsyor/

First test run of the portable router fence jig thingy. It’s not bad at all and it fits! . Weirdly, even keeping the bit at the same height in the router between cutting the slot and the shoulders (is that the name?), there’s a gap. See last photo. . So … instagr.am/p/Cp-gJQkMnb-/

Carzy contraption.. from sketch to reality… Now… To attempt full width sliding dovetails in white oak! . Thanks @3x3custom for the fantastic router jig with the handles that sits on top of the “saddle”. That’s an extension option you could have as an… instagr.am/p/Cpx00oUsnVu/

Put your hand up if sketch-out crazy contraption jigs before launching into a build without any idea where it’s going! 🙋🏻‍♂️ . Let’s see who understands what this one is for! . Maybe one day I’ll be able to sketch cleanly… . #woodworking #jigsJigsJigs #… instagr.am/p/CptJyptsAE9/