Progress on the Entertainment Center

Here I am gluing up the oak boards which will become one of the sides of the main cabinet:



This next picture shows one of the bookcases getting its face frame glued onto the carcase:



Another photo of the bookcase:



Here the center unit is getting glued up. And people will look at my clamp rack and say, "Do you REALLY need ALL those clamps???"



There are around 20 clamps used for this glue-up!



Here's the first picture of the three units temporarily joined together using clamps:



And here's a more recent picture, with the top of each unit installed:



Next the backs will be installed on the lower part of the bookcases, and on the entire back of the main center unit. After that, the final sanding before the finish goes on. Glass shelves for the bookcases are on order and should be ready by Tuesday (8/24). Doors are in the works!

The Bookcases Get Assembled

The bookcases have been mostly put together. Backs still need to be added to the lower part of the unit (that part will also have a door, which will match the doors on the bottom of the main unit).



Next step is to get the main unit constructed, then I'll start working in the tops of each piece, then the doors.

The Entertainment Center

I got a call from a friend who just bought a new big screen tv and needed an entertainment center for it. So I drew up some designs and we went back and forth on dimensions, before settling on a final design. The unit would house the TV, a sound system, a cable/satellite receiver and a DVD player. He also wanted room on the side for general display space. Red oak was to be used for strength and durability. So it was on to the lumber store for some oak:


Do you see the entertainment center hiding in those oak boards? I do, and it's going to be a work of art when it's all done! By the way, it's going to take more than these six boards to build it!

When I build cabinets, I like to make the face frames first, then work my way back to the other pieces which attach to it. Here's a look at the face frames for this project:


These are the face frames for the "bookcase" units that will attach to either side of the main tv unit. They will have a door at the bottom, and provision for glass shelving in the upper part of the bookcase.

Here's a look at the face frame for the main tv unit:


Wow, that's one big face frame! 54" wide by 68" high to be exact! The lower part of this unit will have two doors, and an area in between the doors which will be open (for "clicker" visibility).

I decided to make the sides of the cabinet out of solid oak, although I usually use oak plywood. I was going for maximum strength, and durability in case of an occasional ding. For the bookcase units, I glued-up two pieces of oak to get the full width I needed:


In my next posting I'll post images of the pieces coming together. The plan is to assemble the three pieces, join them together, and finish applying the moldings. Then I'll disassemble the pieces and finish them separately. The units will be joined back together upon delivery at their new home.

Ta-Da: They're D-O-N-E!!!!!!!!

The two end tables and occasional table are now done! Just picked up the glass today for the occasional table.


A picture of the trio:


Nice drawer!


I am still waiting for the customer to pick out a couple of knobs for the drawers on the end tables. Table delivery in a couple weeks.

First Coat of Finish

I put the first coat of finish on the end tables. I figure it will take 2-3 coats on the parts unseen by the user, and 5-6 coats on the parts which are exposed to touching and spills.

More Progress

I finally got around to building a jig for making accurate miter cuts: a miter sled. It's basically a piece of plywood with wood framing attached at a perfect 45 degree angle to the saw blade. Under the sled, there are "miter sliders": aluminum bars which fit tightly into the miter slots on the table saw surface. These sliders are specially designed so that they can be adjusted to tightly fit into the miter slots. This is critical in getting accurate and repeatable cuts.


I used a piece of our old kitchen countertop for the sled base. It worked well, it was a 3/4" piece of particleboard with formica laminated to the surface. Way better than just sending it to the landfill. The red aluminum strips in the photo are pieces of "T-track". Handy stuff, you can mount it to the sled, then use a 10-24 bolt to fasten all kinds of helpers to the jig. In the picture you can see I have hold downs placed in the T-track, to keep the wood from moving when the cut is being made.




After cutting the 4 pieces for the Occassional Table top, I used the biscuit joiner to make cuts into each joint. I am using picture frame clamps to keep things squeezed tightly together, and square, while the glue dries:



A close up of the clamps and one corner of the table top:



After routing the edge and an initial sanding, the top is looking good!

End Tables Coming Together

The end tables are finally coming together. I got the drawer slides put into the tables, then built the tops and glued them onto the frames.






From here they will get their very last sanding before the finish is applied. After sanding, but before the finish, I'll wipe a little alcohol on the wood. This will make any scratches show and I'l be able to sand them out before the finish goes on.