The railroad desk... finally

Here's the finished desk that now holds my computer up in my little garret room (behind a cut because, as Lincard says, pictures make Baby Jesus cry):

( The finished refinished desk )

It's called a railroad desk, not because it's some special desk used by the railroad, but because it was my great-grandfather Collins' desk when he worked for the Southern-Norfolk Railroad. He started out as a coal boy, became an engineer, and finally was moved to a desk job when he got too old to run the trains. He's the one whose father was a Cheyenne who sold horses to the Army... then stole them back to sell to the next remount station down the line.

I've just finished building a Shakeresque hat rack for Mike, no pics of it yet. I used Minwax Gel Stain on it (Mahogany) when the regular liquid stain (Golden Oak) didn't do much for me. I built it of 12" pine shelving. I'm going to finish it tomorrow with several coats of BriWax so that it has a nice mellow sheen to it; don't want a shiny high gloss on it. Pictures after it's finished and hanging up. I did it for two reasons: first, it's an early birthday present for Mike, and second, to teach myself some basic to intermediate cabinetry skills. I feel better able to handle minor repairs on the antiques around here now.

I'll get Mike to take a picture of my next project: The Poor Chest of Drawers With The Paint Jobs From Hell. I expect to start on it later today or maybe tomorrow.

Lorri