Toolerable: Wall Shelf Build Off - Part I

OK, it's 12:30. Half the day is gone already, and I am just getting started.

Perfect.

I did cheat a little, in so far as I smoothed one side of a board I am using and ripping it to width. My excuse is I needed to know the dimensions of this board in order to finish the design of my piece.

Which I am doing in my head and on the fly.

Here is my plan so far:

Basically it will be an open-topped bookshelf, but instead of shelves, there will be a bank of two drawers.

I want it to be a bit modern, as well as a bit rustic. Therefore I have chosen an idea to be angular, with a couple of old Bavarian piercings.

The wood will be pine Leimholz from the home center, which isn't ideal, but it is what is available to me, as well as a rather special board for the drawer fronts.

The drawer fronts are from a board that was sent to me from Australia. Kerryn Carter of @toolschool fame was randomly selected in a giveaway I did on Instagram. The only way I could get her to accept it was to allow her to send me a couple of bits of scrap Australian wood in return.

One of the boards she sent was this really neat flat sawn bit of black wattle. I look forward to seeing what this piece will look like.

Start of the drawer fronts.

My planing setup for this piece.

The start of today - nice and clean. Not for long, I fear.

I am going to try a new finish for this piece, a soap finish. I found some soap flakes at the local grocery store a while back, and this is the perfect project to try it out.

I want to use a soap finish on the pine parts, and a beeswax finish on the drawer fronts.