Campaign style desk finished

[msweig]

Finally finished a desk I've been making for my daughter.  Campaign style (think British Military from late 18th and 19th century), allowing the furniture to collapse for transport.  There are blocks on the underside to keep the side aprons from collapsing.  The plan is from Chris Schwarz's book, but I added the sliding bolts to the base because 1) I had slight twist in the top and this helped stop that, 2) I know my daughters are going to move it around the room and will probably not remember to pick it up by the apron.

The base was definitely a bit of a challenge compared to a normal "M&T in each apron" kind of thing.  Getting everything lined up well was tricky, and there is no "clamp across the diagonal" to square everything up.  Mine is decently close, but not perfect.  Definitely need to work some more on making M&T joints by hand.  Slight errors were magnified with this desk.  

Base is soft maple, top is purpleheart (daughter's favorite color).  Finish is the Osmo UV-resistant finish.  

   

   

   

   

   

   

[goredsus]

Very nice.  Looks like a new family heirloom to me!

[barryvabeach]

Very nice,  at first ,  I thought it was just a regular table, the folding nature of the frame is pretty well hidden.

[gboot]

Looks great - love the breakdown construction ?

[jteneyck]

For anyone who plans to move much, that's a great design.  And well done.  

How long does purple heart stay purple?  I'm curious if it stays that bright or ages to something else.  

John

[msweig]

Purpleheart eventually turns brown. Mainly from UV light IIRC. But there seems to be some variation on how fast. I've seen some boards turn pretty quickly. I've been working on this desk for like 2-3 years (I am blaming the time needed on two children and being the head of a PTA) and it was still pretty purple without a topcoat.

My daughter loves purple, so the color change could work in my favor as she potentially ages out of that phase.

[Philip1231]

I like it: very clever!

[FrankAtl]

That's a cool design! Thanks for sharing.

[Gary G™]

Well done. Great execution.

[J-W-P]

That's a really nice looking table and the folding design is cool.  I've always liked the purpleheart and maple combination.

Purpleheart's color longevity seems to vary quite a bit for me.  I have some some projects that have retained a rich bright purple even after 20 years while others have taken on some brown tones.   

Even if that top browns over time, it will still look nice with the maple.