Pear Parts

Getting into new material is always interesting. Almost like a kid opening a package of baseball cards hoping for something special. Sometimes we are disappointed, sometimes we find what we expect, once in a while we get more than we were hoping for, and sometimes it is a combination delights and frustrations.
This time was a combination. Opening up the planks my eyes grew wide to some very soft, clean, fairly straight, and sensitive grain. However there were some cracks in places I wasn't expecting. I couldn't get as thick of sides as I had wanted. The planed shaping will have to be even quiter than intended. The plank to become doors wouldn't allow me to get solid pieces out. Well I was throwing around the idea of veneering the doors anyway. I JUST got enough veneer before hitting the cracks in the middle of the plank for the doors. This throws out the possibility of the sleek recessed pulls I wanted to carve... I'll have to come up with another plan.


Small stack of carcass parts hanging out while I tend to other things.
After the multiples of stickly tables it's nice to have such few pieces to work with :).


Here is one of those other things tended to... a mold for lamination/veneering. Glue together some Poplar, shaping with a hand plane, then a thin piece of matte board for a little insurance, and packing tape over it to hold the matte board and protect against glue.
I was leaning towards lumber-core substrates for the doors but after some calculations it seemed like an ordeal to work such thin curved parts.
End thickness of the door you want, minus 1/8" of veneer, minus 1/16" of cross-banding = not much. If it was a flat piece, it wouldn't be a big deal.
I decided to go with laminations of 1/8" ply-wood.


I do not own a vacuum press yet but I tend to like mechanical devices anyway. Two extra pieces of 1/8" ply acts as a flexible caul, the big block down the center is once again insurance ;).
I've got one substrate out and it seemed to work quite well.


While waiting on the next lamination (this is part of the reason I like solid wood better... too much stop and go with veneer heh) I worked on the cabinet sides a bit.
Marked the grain graphics I wanted, cross cut, clean and square up the end-grain, and repeat.


Pear works SO nicely! No wonder it was one of JK's favorites! The end grain planes nicer than some of the face grain of other species I've been working with! I need to get my hands on more of this creamy goodness!!!

Welp I've actually been waiting for more glue to dry while making this post, so I'm going to get back to it!