Friday, February 21, 2014

TV Stand Part IX - And that's a wrap...


The TV Stand is finally complete. I am pleased with how it turned out and want to thank all those who gave me design and construction advice.  In particular Chris Wong, Matt Gradwohl and Scott Meek from Woodchat as well as Mark Spagnuolo.  Thanks also to everyone who has spent the time to create great woodworking instruction and content online.

Now for the good stuff.  This is an original design and is constructed from solid cherry and maple with a few walnut accents. Everything is finished with shellac and a wee bit of paste wax.


100+ individual parts.
60+ mortise and tenon joints
~50bf of Cherry and Maple

The same board was used for the drawer fronts as well as the panels on the sides and back, with the best bits used for the drawers.


The top is split to allow cables from the TV to pass through into the case.  I trimmed the sapwood, following the grain, to mimic a live edge and provide clearance for plugs. The amount of figure in the top was a pleasant surprise.


Breadboard end worked well as the two boards are not connected to each other.  


The entire case is frame and panel construction.  I like the way this looks but it certainly made this a much more complex piece.


The top is held on with screws through the top blade at the front and a dozen shopmade wooden cleats.


I made the drawer pulls from some scrap walnut. They are a simple design but I didn't want anything that would distract from the figure of the drawer fronts.


The drawers are a dowel reinforced rabbet construction and ride on a center guide made of maple. All of the drawer sides and backs were re-sawn from 6/4 maple stock. (Note- It is possible to re-saw just over 7" on a std jet 14" bandsaw)


The back is of the same construction as the rest of the case and I tried to use as nice a wood as possible as the location that this piece will be in leaves the back visible.


The back panel for the center shelf is vented, as is the shelf above it.  This is to prevent the receiver from overheating.


Wiring is accommodated by the split top and by oval holes through the back edge of all the shelves/dust frames.


All set up and ready to go.



Saturday, February 8, 2014

TV Stand Part VIII - Almost There.

Hopefully the next post about this project will be the last. This has been my most ambitious project to date.  The final count is just over 100 individual parts and several new techniques for me. Another milestone is that I think I actually spent more on wood for this project than on project specific tools.


I am pleased with the way the drawers came out.  They all operate smoothly enough and the figure on the fronts really looks nice with some finish on it.


The end that gets a bit of sun through the shop window is already starting to darken.  I am looking forward to seeing the colors develop in this piece over the next year or two.


The dowel reinforced rabbet construction for the drawers worked out well.  I think the look fits the piece better than dovetails would have and they are rock solid.


The breadboard ends for the top went smoothly.  I ended up with a full width 1/4" long tenon with two narrower 1" long tenons on each end of the two top boards.  The outer tenon on each is glued and pinned and the inner one is pinned with the hole in the tenon slotted to allow for movement.  

 Any movement should be toward the center which makes makes mounting a bit easier as there should be minimal movement at the mounting points.

I've started working on designs for several new projects.  I think the highest priority is probably a side table to go with the TV stand.  Also on the list are a sideboard to go with the whiskey cabinet I made last year and possibly a Morris arm-chair.