Hello all:

I'm in the process of building the Jefferson lap desk that was featured in
FWW several years ago An MBA graduation gift for my daughter). The parts I
thought would be hard... really tiny dovetails, working with thin material,
keeping everything square, plumb and straight... we pretty much cruised
through. It's really a lovely little box. I used traditional drawer-making
skills taught to me by on old crusty Brit, and I've got a really nice box
with a tight drawer.

Dilemma #1: The gentlemen who wrote the article referenced Crown City
Hardware in Pasadena for all the hardware... OK, but the numbers don't match
Crown City's numbers, they don't have a catalog on-line, and my first
attempt at ordering over the phone resulted in the wrong item showing up at
my doorstep earlier today. So, where do all you fancy-pants boxmakers order
your plain brass (Quality!!!) hardware. I need 3/4 x 1" butt hinges (already
checked my usual supplier - Brusso... nothing). Woodcraft has the size I
need, but the quality is suspect. I also need a relatively small drawer lock
(the front of the drawer is only 1/2" , so do the math).

Dilemma #2: I decided to outline the drawer with a very small inlay (more of
a banding) with Holly. I'm coming up short here too (no jokes, I am
vertically challenged). What I need is a strip of Holly, 1/16" thick and
about 1/4" wide. I would love to go out and buy that Performax I've always
wanted, but SWMBO would find no humor in an $800+ purchase for about $20
worth of materials.

I've done the DAGS thing till my eyes crossed and I'm hoping the literati
out there can help.

And I thought restoring a 50 year old Italian car was tough (4 hours and
lots of blood to remove two Weber carbs... UGhhhhh!!!).

Ciao,
Don