Location: Reno, NV

Hobbyist or Pro: Hobbyist

Materials: MDF and Laminate

Project Description:
OK, I don’t know if “L” is allowed on this site, L being for laminates. Yeah, I said it! But I had never worked with them before and I built these two counters for my church. The first is an 11 foot long computer counter with hidden doors on the sides which open up to reveal a pull out tray that the computer sits on and a drawer. The second is a 16 foot long two-level reception counter with storage in the back. The “S” curve is made up of 5 different radii. And the brushed aluminum on both was very expensive and easy to mess up.

In a lot of respects his wasn’t as painstaking as some actual wood furniture projects I’ve done, simply because there’s a little more room for error in something you’re going to laminate. However, in many ways this was by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever built. The shear size was a huge part. I had to build an adjustable height assembly table that could roll around and also hold 800 pounds. I used the torsion box construction that Marc demonstrated. The installation of the dang thing was nearly as hard as making it. Joining two 8 foot cases by scribing a weird shaped toe kick to the floor to make them level and remain at the same height over the whole length was a challenge.

Anyway, I could go on and on. I know it’s using laminates but I’m still grateful for the challenge and what I learned. It was a good project for a good cause!

Website: Kimberton Woodworks

Location: Phoenixville, PA

Hobbyist or Pro: Hobbyist

Project Name: Window Cabinet

Wood Species: Red Oak, Birch Ply

Finish Used: The finish was designed to incorporate a two tone look to help feature the swirling grain of the birch against the darker red oak. A de-waxed shellac was used as a sealer for all surfaces followed by a light sanding of 320 grit. I chose to use a mahogany and ebony die mixture for the oak and a light maple and mahogany for the birch. Three coats of each provided the depth of color I was looking for. I followed with 3 more coats of general finishes arm-a-seal for greater protection. Overall the project turned out great and the client is very happy with the outcome, especially with the two tone finish and the large storage capacity.

Project Description:
This piece was designed as a functional cabinet to fit below a bedroom window and incorporate as much storage as possible into the provided space. The woods used are solid oak for the cabinet and drawer frames, birch plywood for the case and drawer construction, and a hard pine paneled top for texture and depth. The drawer runs on a set of parallel wooden drawer slides waxed for smooth open and closing. The slides were purchased from Rockler.

Location: Byron Center, Michigan

Hobbyist or Pro: Hobbyist

Finish Used: The top has 5 coats of shellac; the base has 6 wiped on coats of thinned down poly and BLO

Wood Species: Cherry, Curly Maple

Project Description:
Inspiration for this project came from many hours of searching the internet for ideas for my next project. I took ideas from many different projects. I liked parts from one design but also parts from another and combined them all together.

The main case is made of glued up cherry boards joined with through dovetails. The inner frames are attached to the case with sliding dovetails and all of the drawers are constructed with half-blind dovetails. For the base I had to construct many jigs for routing the mortises for the aprons, tapering the legs in the planer and trimming each leg to size at the router table. The legs are attached to the aprons with loose tenons cut with the router. This project took many hours to complete but was worth it in the end.

I have a little bit of OCD with certain things, and my comics have to stay organized =o) So, I decided to go to one of my other loves and make something that holds about 90% of what I have. I should have made it a little bigger to allow for the growth of my collection, but now I know, and as they say, knowing is half the battle. =o) Well it’s not really anything fancy, just some big box store ply and a little solid wood trim, but it has worked out really great. There are no runners. I was worried about the weight of the drawers when they’re full. So the inside is a solid grid of ¾ ply that the drawers sit on to help hold all the weight. Each one of the 12 drawers are grooved every couple of inches so I can insert the hard board dividers to keep everything nice and organized. I wish I had done a little better job matching the grain on all the fronts but I think I got them pretty close. The drawers are all made out of ½ MDF as it allowed for the most room in the drawers themselves.

All finished off with a little stain and 4 coats of a wiping varnish. I learned about the wiping varnish from the first wood working video I’ve ever purchased. It’s by a guy who calls himself the “wood whisperer”, I mean come on, what’s up with that name. =o) One of the things I love about being able to build stuff is that I build something that is kind of a specialty piece that you can’t go anywhere else and buy. It really is a one of kind. That was until last summer when my buddy’s wife asked me to make one for him so she can get rid of his ugly long boxes. It will be my first ever commissioned piece. Since it is for a very good friend I’m not going to make a ton of money, which is fine by me. I only do this stuff for fun, but the fact that someone liked it enough to ask me to build one for them, and they’re willing to pay for it really made my day. I think I’m going to end this very long little note and just say that I love your site, and thanks for all that you do. And by the way, I think that your trestle table series is how wood working should be shown on TV. Absolutely awesome!!!

I Madonnari 2010

For the past 20-plus years I have been an artist at the Santa Barbara I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival. This event is held over Memorial Day Weekend in front of the iconic Mission Santa Barbara. I began participation as a father-daughter activity when my daughter, Crosby, was five years old. Now grown up and living in Los Angeles area Crosby still comes up to assist when her schedule allows. Alas, this year’s plan was superseded by work demands. The past five years my wife, Gastil, has provided much appreciated assistance.

In the past we’ve done images of classic art including Picasso (4x), Diego Rivera (2x), Kadinsky, Titian, Cezanne (2x) and others. Contemporary images have included a few from Cirque du Soleil shows as well as images from photographs taken on travels. These included Portofino, Italy; Trevi Fountain, Rome; a cafe in Recco, Italy; and some domestic images such as Chaco Canyon and New Orleans.

This year we produced a tribute to James Krenov who passed away in 2009. He was an outstanding woodworker, designer, teacher, mentor and author. For the image we created a border of details from several of my recent pieces. Then we used an image of James from the cover of his book, “THE IMPRACTICAL CABINETMAKER: Krenov on Composing, Making and Detailing” for the larger area.

I Madonnari is an annual benefit for the SB Children’s Creative Project. It is a treat to work alongside highly skilled artists as well as school kids, and hackers such as myself. All are very supportive and helpful of each other. The compliments fly in great abundance. Sunday and Monday afternoons draw large crowd of locals as well as SoCal day trippers, all coming to view the art and artists and to enjoy Italian food, beverages and music. I’ve look forward to the event because as I work on my piece, I’ll see and visit with friends and associates that I haven’t seen in over 20 years and make new friends as people comment on our project.

Should you find yourself in SoCal next year come up to Santa Barbara and say hello. My drawing compelled a number of woodworkers to introduce themselves. Others shared stories of their father or grandfather who were woodworkers. Fun stuff. Thanks for checking it out. The photos here are just a few of the incredible images created for the event. To view my full, best of, collection of images please visit my website.

Krenov-style Display Cabinet

With the passing of James Krenov in 2009, I felt a need to finally read his books and produce something in that style. Jim Budlong’s FWW article(s) provided a nice starting point. Woods selected were Pecan for primary case components, Lacewood for top and back panels, and Alder for the stand legs.

Rather than dowels I used enclosed mortise and tenons for the top, and wedged through tenons on the bottom. Narrow sidelights have small stub tenons top and bottom to secure them vertically. The sidelights and door used brindle joints with the rails running unbroken (sort of) along the top to allow unification of the grain patterns. The outer stiles on the sidelights run full length and were butt joined (glue) to the case side for a somewhat seamless look on the side profile. Back panel consists of two Lacewood panels with the rails, once again, running full width.

Shelf supports, door pull and door stop/catch were created similar to Budlong’s article and consistent with the Krenov look. Brusso knife hinges were used, not without some issues. Opps. With the top/bottom overhangs greater than some similar cases, I could not get the screws closest to the pivot point inserted without gouging the top. which of course I did and still couldn’t get ’em properly set. One broke off and the other hole remains empty. Hopefully, the tight hinge mortise and construction will allow the door to hold up with only one screw on the door side of the hinge. The door is usually opened only for me to show off the inside. So perhaps…

The stand was a bit tricky as I wanted it to reflect the slight mitre of the sidelights (nine degrees). The front legs have that same mitre as well as the more obvious curve. The front apron was created from three pieces glued together with a spline. This didn’t seem very strong so I made a “hidden” structural apron which was perpendicular to the legs. I used glue blocks between the show and structural aprons to further strengthen that area.

Finish was thinned poly with just a bit of linseed oil applied with rag. After the initial coat, I wet sanded subsequent layers with a progression of wet/dry sandpapers from 320 through 600 grit. I was stunned at how beautiful the Pecan looked once it received a bit of finish. It seemed a bit brittle to work with, but I love looking at it.

To continue the exploration I think I may produce a similar case but this time with bent laminations of the apron, door and sidelight rails. That will be my first bent lamination attempt. Many small steps have so far led me to great fun and challenges. I look forward to many more. I do not remember any specific issues but I am positive that Marc responded to several queries I had while producing this piece. His help and encouragement is amazing.

I built this cabinet on a stand a few months ago. I love the works of James Krenov and decided to pay homage to him by building a cabinet in his style. The cabinet itself is made of Beech. The doors of the cabinet were coopered and shaped with hand planes, with sides being in at a slight angle are also shaped with a hand plane. Inside there are 2 small drawers with hand-cut dovetails with curved fronts. The stand is made of Red Oak, with the rails having odd angles cut on the ends to match the angles of the cabinet, also have curves and bevels. The cabinet was finished with a light coat of shellac while the stand was finished with a few coats of oil.

The 2 handplanes inside? Well before Krenov stopped making planes/passed away i asked him for one. After receiving it, a bad crack had developed in the cross pin. I told him about it and he sent me another one, insisting I keep the first one.

To learn more and James Krenov, check out the Wikipedia page and the Krenov Website.

Cypress Planter by Dennis

This is a cypress planter I made for my mom. The panel assemblies were constructed using a 90-degree jig and some spacers for uniform gaps. The vertical slats are screwed to the rails with stainless steel screws. I cut mortises in both the posts and the horizontal rails of the panels and assembled them with loose tenons and Titebond III. Inside the planter are 2 horizontal stretchers that support the plastic liner purchased from Lowes. The legs are chamfered on the bottom to avoid chip out. The mitered top assembly was reinforced with glue and pocket screws to ensure they do not separate. The liner fits snug, but it can be removed and replaced if needed.

A majority of my time was spent on the finishing of this project. I consulted and went with the finish recommended by The Wood Whisperer. 9 coats of Epifanes Marine Varnish later, I was done. I applied 6 coats of gloss and then 3 coats of satin to get a perfectly smooth finish. I am very pleased with the look and with some luck, it will hold up just as well.

Cedar Lined Chest by Micah

The majority of materials I purchased for $1.70 Per Board foot and planed them down to just over 3/4″. I got the inspiration for this project from my dad when he built five of them years ago. I used one of his as a model but made mine slightly larger. This is my first project with raised panels in it. I did not find them hard to route, but I couldn’t take very much material off at a time. The base of the chest is made of 1×4 with 1/2in dcx ply on the top.The dimensions of the chest are 52 1/2” wide x 22 3/4” high x 21 1/4” deep. For the finishes I used Golden Oak by Minwax and for the sealer I used clear Satin by Minwax. All in all it was a great learning experience.

Ben’s Kitchen Cabinet

I am a student and got into woodworking the summer of 08. My apartment had no counters in the kitchen so when I went home for a visit I made this. I thought the top was cool, it is end grain ash. Nothing fancy about the rest of it but I was happy for the experience. Most people don’t even notice the mistakes. The whole project is ash but some as you can see is stained. I used a linseed oil finish for the body and a mineral oil and mineral oil/beeswax for the top which I just use as a large cutting board. I know ash has open grain and is not ideal for cutting boards but it has attractive end grain I think and it is cheaper than maple or walnut, so I just make sure to keep it clean and stay on top of re-applying mineral oil/beeswax. I enjoy looking at the projects on the site and I hope someone enjoys seeing this and gets an idea!

Dave’s Shop Cabinet

This a cabinet I made for my new Delta Planer. The base and shelf is made from 3/4 birch ply. The door and drawer front are Oak that I had left over from a blanket chest project that went horribly wrong. The drawer itself is made from poplar and 1/4 birch ply for the drawer bottom. The top is made from 15/32 Arauco ply (never heard of it but it was cheaper than most) doubled up and then routed with a 1/2 inch round over bit. My only regret is I used screws instead of brad nails, but I do not have a compressor or brad nailer yet. It’s on the list though. I used bullseye sealcoat for a finish, (two coats with a light sanding with 120 grit in between). I think it really brought out the grain in the Oak. I have only been woodworking seriously now for a little over a year and have made some decent projects so far, but this is my very first attempt at cabinet making.

Tall Cabinet:
Made from bubinga and walnut, this was my first moderate sized case piece with a dovetailed case. It is about 60″ tall x 24″ wide, x 12″ deep. Dovetailed drawers, hand carved pulls, brass hinges and frame and panel doors added to the complexity of this challenging build. I have used this to inspire another piece of a similar style for a bathroom cabinet. I’ll post some links to the plans soon.

Bathroom Cabinet:
This cabinet was inspired by a taller version I made years ago. The case and frames are made from bubinga, the top, bottom, door panels and shelves are walnut. It measures a little over 24” tall, 8 ” deep and 18”wide. The smaller parts on the door were a definite challenge, and reminded me that smaller doesn’t always mean faster for a project. I figured that the downstairs bathroom is probably one of the most commonly used rooms in the house. It deserved a hand-made piece. I’ll probably do a floor cabinet as well for this room sometime in the future. The plans to this will be posted to Gorilla Glue’s website.

About a year ago, FWW emailed an ad for their 102 Contemporary Furniture Designs publication featuring a writing desk created by Don Green of GreenTree. I was captivated by the creation, and decided to make a version for myself. The base is constructed of mahogany, uses loose tenon joinery, features a small drawer, and is ebonized and top coated with semi-gloss lacquer. The top is African ribbon mahogany veneer over a poplar substrate. The lid was formed by coopering and the finish is linseed oil and shellac.

The piece now sits in my entry hallway and functions as a storage unit for our china and silverware. I have to give Marc credit as well for this piece particularly the use of lacquer and shellac from his videos.