Heath has submitted a great project! It was nicely executed and its awesome that he has honored his father like this. Let’s check it out.
My dad is a Vietnam veteran who never misses an opportunity to let other soldiers know they are appreciated. I wanted to return that and let him know that he and his service was appreciated. His medals were never cared for or displayed properly so I wanted to fix that. I wanted to do a Greene & Greene project and I was inspired by an earlier viewer project – the Greene & Greene style display case for the Bible.
I’m a very novice woodworker without many tools or resources for project wood and am always on a tight budget. I couldn’t afford to 
order good wood for this. But I had been given a stack of pallets so that’s what I used. I believe they are oak. I have a jointer but I don’t have a planer. So after removing nails and a very thorough inspection for any other foreign materials, I dimensioned them using my table saw and the jointer. I also don’t have a band saw to remove the center piece so I used a dado blade. A hand chisel cleaned up the joints. It took a few practice pieces to get the process down.
I then used my dado blade to cut a rabbet on the back of the pieces for the back panel, and a saw kerf to hold the Plexiglas front and marked the location of the pegs. The square pegs intimidated me at first, but turned out to not be a problem. Since I can’t afford ebony, I made them out of a scrap piece of oak and used ebony stain. I cut a rabbet with the dado blade set to about 1/2″ wide and the height set so that the material remaining was 5/16″ thick. I then ripped off a 5/16″ square strip. With my miter saw set to 15 degrees and using a stop block for consistency, I cut all four sides of the end forming a pyramid. Then I used a fine toothed hand saw and miter box to cut the end off about 1/8″.
To make the 5/16″ square holes in the boards, I used a 9/32″ bit to drill a hole, then squared it with a 1/4” hand chisel. I tapped the pegs into place with a piece of soft wood and light taps with a hammer. Using the disc sander with the table set to 15 degrees, I created the pyramid shape on the end of the fingers. This was followed by some final sanding and a couple coats of “natural” Watco Danish oil. It gave just the type of finish I wanted – it brings out the grain and gives good protection with a slight sheen and it still feels like wood, not plastic. While the case was clamped and glued, I put the inside display together using foam board and spray adhesive. After everything was dry, I attached it and the plywood back.
I see all the little flaws and blemishes, but, I must say I’m still pretty darn proud of it. My goal was to make something nice for my dad 
to show that his military service was appreciated and to challenge my very novice woodworking skills. I think I accomplished both goals. I made a couple mistakes along the way but having watched Marc fix his mistakes, I was able to fix mine which boosted my confidence. So I owe Marc a great deal of thanks for his inspiration and guidance and for introducing me to the Greene & Greene style. I would also like to thank the person who submitted the Greene & Greene style display case for the Bible.
20 Responses to “Heath’s Display Case”
Very nice work! I would say the “blemish’s” make it that much more special. I know when I look at display cases and similar things, if it looks custom made as opposed to hand made, it is much more thoughtful and sentimental. I’m sure your father appreciates it much more the way it is than if you were to have gone down to the local craft store and had them make a picture frame for you and added some glass. Well done!
Ditto Billiam! What a great way to honor you father. I’m sure he will treasure it for life.
It looks Great, and the thought that went into it makes it even more special.
I am building myself a TV cabinet and I hope it comes out nice enough to share. I’m what you may call a noob, relatively speaking. I’ve built chairs and cabinets, but this is my first attempt at proper joinery.
I love it. My five year old son caught (chased down) a Albert Pujols home run baseball a few weeks ago at a Cardinals game and I have been looking for some sort of display case to build for it. This looks perfect for that, great insperation!
Very, very nice.
Too often woodworkers think that you always need the right tool for each operation. Thank you for showing that you can produce really meaningful work with only a few basic tools. This is a real inspiration!
A beautiful project. I am sure your father will appreciate it. Make sure to let him know how much his service is appreciated by everyone.
Nice job Heath! I think the case looks great, and I’m sure your dad is proud. I also really like the resourcefulness with materials and tools. I know we all fall into the “I could build that if I only had a [insert tool name here]” trap sometimes, but you didn’t let that stop you from building a great looking display case.
Very Nice. I’m sure your dad loves it.
Very nice!! I have a couple origami models I’ve made some time ago and always wanted to do a dsiplay frame to protect them from collecting dust. This is a the prefect design. I’m also limited in tools (table saw and router) but will certainly try this out shortly.
Thanks for sharing.
Great display case and inspiring resourcefulness.
Tell your Dad thanks for his service. I am a Viet Name Era vet (never in country) and I know how they were treated at the time but his sacrifice is greatly appreciated.
We always see the imperfections though no one else really does. Saw marks make the antique. Hope you signed it as a piece on your way to being a first rate craftsman. It comes from your heart. Can’t be better than that.
what a beautiful and fitting tribute – thank him for me!
Great looking display case. I think I’ll make one of these in the near future.
I’m sure your dad will love it.
From one novice to another – nice work. I’m going to have to make one of those.
Thanks for the comments, everyone. And Marc, thanks for letting me share it here.
The machine I used the most on this project was my Shopsmith 10ER – a cast iron, multi-function beast from the late 1940s that was given to me. That was my drill press, table saw, and disc sander.
It was a pretty simple project, but being a noob, I learned a lot. And it was an honor to restore some dignity to my dad’s medals and to let him know his service was appreciated. He was very proud of the display case. His medals are in rough shape and he’s in the process of getting replacements and also applying for the Combat Action Ribbon to add to them.
He never got the CAR? A Recon Marine in Vietnam? Sometimes it’s shameful how slow bureaucracies work. The project looks great. I like to read the descriptions first and then look at pictures, it’s just the process I use. Your written description doesn’t do the finished project justice! As primitive as you made it sound it turned out great! All the above comments say what I would have already said. Let me just say this: I feel the need to pass on, from one Marine to another, thanks for your service. I think that those guys back then still had the toughest time. Today at least, the majority of the country being afraid to repeat the mistakes of the past, get behind our veterans and cheer them on, and most of it is sincere, but there’s a least a part of it that is guilt. Today’s active military (me included) have it easy. We go over, and come back, and nobody is going to spit in our face, nobody is going to protest us and say all the descipable things that people said back then. That those guys went over there in that climate back then and did their jobs and had to come back to the political and cultural landscape and face what they faced is a national travesty. My point is, us current vets still give props to that generation of warrior and recognize the greatness of what they did. Please pass that on to your dad. The case looks great.
Semper Fidelis
Frank
Thanks for the comments, Frank. I will pass along your comments (and the others here). And thank YOU for your service. You certainly have my respect and appreciation. And while you give my dad’s generation props, I hope you know that his generation of warrior recognizes your greatness as well. My dad is the kind of guy that will stop and shake hands and talk to anybody he sees in uniform. If he’s at a restaurant and soldiers are there, he buys their meal. Doesn’t matter how many are there.
He was discharged before the CAR was issued. He definitely qualifies for it. But you’re right – the bureaucracy is slow.
Very nice project that is the best kind, from the heart. I am sure that the case will mean more than the medals themselves, as it comes from you.
Nate
Your display case idea is exactly what I have been wanting to do for sometime. My dad was a pilot during WWII and has many items that would make a great display. You have now inspired me to get it done…Thanks