Small Writing Desk

Here is my completed version of the small writing desk.  I have to say even with me only working on this on Saturdays that this was one project that took me entirely too long to build!  It just goes to show you that when you cheat it comes back to bite you in the butt!

Early on during the construction of the case I thought I'd cheat & use my Festool Domino to knock it out. I had used it on other projects before & it allowed me to save alot of time.  However this was not one of those projects...

I have it admit it did work great while constructing the lower section but it proved to be a bit of a challenge on the top section.  (There was zero traditional mortise & tenon or dovetail joints used.)

So after I survived having the carcass completed I decided to have a bit of fun & continued to use the Domino for the construction of the drawers. (Apparently I was a glutton for punishment.)

And this is where the Domino & I started to part ways.

Using the Domino vs dovetailing the drawers was nothing but a challenge due to the drawer sizes, the fronts being 1/2 blinds, layout spaces of the domino, lumber thickness & anything else you can thing of.

If you look at the photo of the drawer above you will see that there is a very small amount of wood in between the domino & the drawer front.  This was a critical breaking (and cussing) point while assembling the drawers. (Lucky for me I had plenty of scrap!)

In the end it all worked out & no one was harmed during the construction of the piece.

However I do believe there is a lesson to learn with everything we do.  My key lesson for this project is: "Just because you can do something with a tool doesn't mean you should!"

I'm sure in the future I'll continue to use the Domino for case construction depending on the project & need.  But I'm sure I will think twice before using it to create drawers again!