Of course the first procedure is the selection of lumber and for this project I choose Cherry some of which I've had stored for several years. The individual pieces will be selected for grain pattern and structural strength then processed through planning and joining to insure square.

The picture below is a few of the pieces selected for the start of the bottom carcass.

The lower case will have four drawers so the drawer dividers will be joined with dovetail sockets. The middle section will be in a Dado the width or the sides. These will be cut with the router and the setup shown.
The upper top is jointed with half blind dovetails. Below is a dry fit to begin the fitting of the drawer stretchers and runners.

After all the front and rear stretchers and runners and cut, the stretchers are mortised and the runners are tenoned on each end.

The dry fit is again done with all the stretchers, runners and leaf support dividers.

The profiles on the drawer shelves will take a while to sand and refine. At this point the total labor hours including sizing lumber, joining, planning, cutting, shaping and dry fit come to about 96 hours so hopefully the rest will come along a little quicker. Next we will be making the lower trim base and feet.

The Base has been sanded and glue up is done by gluing the front drawer stretcher in to place. The drawer runners get glued to the front stretchers and float loose in the rear stretchers. The runners are screwed to the side panels to act as battens and with the screw holes elongated it also allows for the expansion of the panels.

The Bracket feet are miterd, glued and final sanding is done. The rear feet have a dovetailed support at the rear then all are mounted to the base frame.

The top is constructed with breadboard ends and three tenons per edge. The ends will be pinned with The center tenon being glued, the two outer tenons will be pinned but no glue but elongated pin holes for expansion of the top .
The slant top edge gets a coved edge treatment then three inside edges are rabbeted to fit the inside. The top edge is cut to match the angle when closed. The lopers have been added along with the hinges for the desk front.

Quite a bit has been accomplished in the last few weeks so to not bore anyone with a lot of particulars of cutting dado's, tenons mortises and scroll work , we're going to fast forward to the present completion of the upper case. The case is simple dado construction with a gooseneck top face frame and shelves with scrolled dividers. At this point it is only a dry fit and inspection for misfit of any areas then a breakdown to final sanding before glue up. Some edge treatments will need to be done and a mid section molding made. Next will be to fashion a template for the top gooseneck crown to be cut and shaped with.

The inside edge of all door rails and stiles are grooved for the tombstone panels. Mitering the coped edge is hand done with a guide block and hand paring with a sharp chisel.

With the doors glued, the outer edges are shaped with a radius profile bit. The doors over lap in the middle so rabbets are router in each door at the inner stile.

The desk hinges and lock have been mortised in for the dry fit.

Well, here it is Dec 24th and our little project and Christmas gift our in the shop but yet to have a Finish put on it. We spent some late evenings working on the Top Gooseneck molding then finishing all the drawers and hardware and Prospect Box. All the drawer sides are Maple and dovetailing the smaller drawers was time consuming but I think we spent the most time on the little Prospect Door and still I might make another one. The backs will be installed after finish which will be a Cherry panel for the bottom and 1/2"cherry slated planks for the top.

There are some little sanding details to work on and then some finish.

After all the boards have been planed, jointed and cut to size the process of layout the different joints to be used in it's construction.

The lower case is constructed of through dovetails for the lower Poplar Bottom.

The Pins are cut then they are scribed to each side.

The Drawer Stretchers are dovetailed using a tenon jig on the router table and 3/4" bit.

Here I'm setting the mortiser for the mortises.

The layout for the desk organizer is next.

The Drawer Dividers and center door section is complete and dry fit. Two dividers between the two drawer shelves have yet to be installed but at this point it's ready for sanding to 220 and glue up.

The lower base frame is built mitering the front corners and mortise and tenons in the rear.

The Ogee Bracket feet are made from 1 5/8" x 5 3/4 " glued up stock and roughed shaped on the table saw. After the rough shaping, a variety of planes and scrapers are used to smooth and refine the shape.

Well, we finally have the base and feet to compliment the lower section. The molding that transitions the base to the lower section has been cut but not installed as yet.

I normally don't work on the drawers until the last thing but since I waiting on some hardware to arrive I thought I'd shape the cubby hole drawers. The drawer faces are cut from one single piece of 12/4 stock then custom fit to each opening. Once the fitting is done each is scribed to the shelf profile, cut on the bandsaw, further shaping with the spindle sander and fine sanded with 220.

We made some headway in several areas one of which is the doors and the other the gooseneck molding.

The doors are simple mortise and tenon construction with a beaded inside edge and Tombstone arched top. The stock is cut and sized with one stile cut wider for an overlay door then a 3/16" bead cut on the inner edge. Mortises are then laid out and cut and the tenons cut with the tenon jig on the table saw. Each corner is then mitered at the bead detail and dry fit done.

The tombstone panels are 5/8" thick and raised with the router table. The upper arch is then squared to form with a chisel to form the tombstone style panel.

Working on the gooseneck molding we had to design a jig to cut the profile and be able to follow the curved molding so this is what we came up with. It's a simple and somewhat crude design made adjustable both vertical and horizontal.

Even though we haven't got a completed gift, we'll still wrap up a box of keys that go to the desk.

After quite a few hours in the shop final sanding and a few coats of finish we are finally at a delivery stage. The finish started with two coats of Tung Oil sanding with a synthetic white pad between dryings. Then two coats of Gloss Lacquer where applied in the same manner. On top of that a coat of Satin Lacquer were applied.

All in all it was a fun project and is very good project for those who wish a skill builder, I must say I think I used every machine and hand tools in the shop. We're not really satisfied with the prospect box door so we're going to fabricate another one.

All hardware is from Horton Brasses and Ball & Ball.

I hope you enjoyed the long detail in construction and hope for the newcomer it will help in some of their projects.