Pennsylvania Chippendale Slant Front Desk - Plans and Prototype Step 1

I am starting a new project. A Pennsylvania Chippendale Slant Front Desk that I picked out of some pictures that I found on the internet.  This is not a reproduction of a specific piece that I found in a museum. 

I don't have the dimensions of this desk so I will pick my own.  Most of these desks are slightly higher than they are wide.  This one is going to be 40 W x 19 1/2 D x 42 H.

I started by making full size drawings of the desk.  I'll make a story stick later from the drawings that I will use as I build the piece.

For the inside of the desk or gallery I am going to use an article by Lonnie Byrd from Fine Woodworking 2002 as a pattern.  I really like how it looks.

The joinery around the lid and the quarter columns is a bit complicated so I decided to build a prototype.

I had some soft maple laying around the shop so I used it to build this small prototype.  The depth of the prototype is 19 1/2 like the full size piece but the width is obviously narrower.

Here is where the joinery gets a little tricky.  The quarter columns need a 1 1/4 inch recess, so to create it you cut back the side and the front. Then put a 45 degree miter on the writing surface.  The vertical divider has a matching 45 miter to hide the joint.

This makes the first divider, you can see the 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 recess on the corner for the quarter column and second one would be tenoned to the right to create a space for the lopper or lid support.

Here is a sample of the quarter column.

Now the most complicated piece.

It has a turning of the capital for the quarter column and the balance of the 1 1/4 slope that is needed for the desk side.

It fits in here.

This piece is made by gluing together 4 - 1 1/4 in pieces with craft paper between.

Here are the way they looked when glued together.

Then I placed it on the side and cut off the excess to match the slope of the desk.

There you have it.  I think I now know how I am going to do the joinery.  So I'll get started my making my story stick and milling the wood for the sides and top.

Here is today video: