I purchased a large screen TV that sat on our hearth for quite a long time. I gave the design much thought and did a mock layout using Adobe Illustrator. It is all red oak plywood carcass, with solid trim pieces. There were several issues to consider. It couldn’t be taller than 27″ and no longer than 52″. Half of the case had to sit on the fireplace hearth. Each end bay had to be able to hold a 17″ device. It had to hold a lot of DVDs, VHS tapes, and video games. It is also notched on the sides to fit on the hearth, with the front sitting on the floor. After pondering for days over how I wanted the face to look. I finally came up with the idea of 2 drawers in each bay, where one sits above the other, and the bottom has the full frame attached to it. The drawer faces are built with the stiles sitting horizontal. When closed, the grain runs across the top and bottom. I used a standard joint, with a 1/2 plywood insert. The insert has 1/4″ dados on the back to bring the insert flush with the frame. This was glued and screwed to the drawers. The handles are from Rockler.

The design took on a life of it own. I usually change designs in my mind several times before I come up with the final one. I did have a moment of panic. I had placed the vertical pieces to cover the dividers and the ends. The next day I woke up panicked. I had forgotten that I needed at least 17″ space to allow for equipment. I had left 19″, which was great, but forgot that I still needed the clearance. I got up and went out immediately to my shop and measured it. The space was 17 1/2″, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

There are 2 VHS recorders, a DVD player, the cable box, a mac-mini, audio receiver, iPod, UPS, and storage for all the DVDs and tapes. I still need to wire in my Playstation2. I will save that for another day, because I am running out of audio ports on the receiver.

Joe’s Cherry End Table

Thank you for the advice you gave me along the way as I built this project (via your podcast, live chat and emails). This was my first “Real Furniture Project”…. so your podcasts videos help push me to try new joinery and your answers to my email questions concerning finishing cherry were right on the mark. The Bulls Eye Seal-a-coat and Arm-R-Seal worked great.

Another unique part of this project was how it morphed from a simple “arts/craft” style end table (no drawer) I prototyped in sketch-up, to its final design with a drawer and turned legs. A picture is worth 1000 words so I attached 5 pictures: 1) The original sketchup picture; 2) My Cherry End Table view 1; 3) My Cherry End Table view 2; and 4) My Cherry End Table view 3.

Cory’s Cutting Board

Here are some pictures of my completed Tucson Mesquite cutting board made from some logs I pulled out of the fire wood stack. This was my first attempt at a cutting board and although I did not follow Marc’s design exactly since I was not using contrasting wood colors, I was pretty happy with the results. Anyway, I also attached a picture of what I felt was a more efficient design for finger holds, enabling either side of the board to be used without loss of workspace. Also a picture of the simple setup I used to make the finger holds. I look forward to making some more for friends. Thanks for the site, I really enjoy it.

Joe’s Cash Drawer

Well I thought you might enjoy seeing my version of a Wooden Cash Drawer. I built this wooden cash drawer for a very good friend who helps out with collecting the admission fees for girls basketball games at our local High School.

This project was a bit of a challenge for me since I usually follow plans or a picture to build projects, but since I could not find any plans or designs for a cash drawer…I simply improvised. I’m quite proud of how well it a came out. It was built using more common wood from the local Lowe’s, I used red oak for frame, top and the bottom. The dividers are birch plywood and the coin scoops are poplar ( I already had the 2×2 poplar at home). Each divider is inserted into mortises and interconnect. The top slides on via a mortise as well. The frame corners are mitered. I need to work on miters a bit :-) The bottom is set in a rabbet on the bottom of the frame. The coin scoops were a real challenge, I ended up slicing a 2×2 diagonally and then sanding out the curve on a stationary belt sander. As for the finish, I simply wiped on 3 coats of Formby’s Traditional Tung Oil Finish. I have had good luck with this finish in the past.

Well Marc I’ve been watching all your videos and reading up for a couple months now and I finally built up the confidence to take on a “big” project. I saw a design for a bookcase which I really liked and decided to incorporate it into the entertainment center. I used Ash and Peruvian Walnut. Only the panels for the doors are veneered MDF. I had to hand cut the notches in the shelf support and cut it to 10 degrees so my DVR would fit. Finished only with two coats of shellac with a 220 grit sanding in between. Just wanted to say thanks for the great and most helpful videos. Keep up the great work.

Hey Marc. I just finished a project I’ve been working on for a while. It’s an entertainment center designed around a top my customer bought on Ebay from a closed Starbucks coffee shop. The top also had a hole right in the middle where a garbage can used to be. Talk about a design challenge!

Anyway, based on the tones of the top, I chose maple and black walnut for my materials. The construction is all loose mortise and tenon joinery. Since this unit houses home theater equipment, the back of the right side has a false panel to hide all the wiring behind. All the shelves are adjustable.

Now…about the hole in the top. After visiting the customers home, I noticed that the throw rug in the living room where this piece was going to live had circles randomly placed in it. Also I found a 7.1 channel surround sound system waiting to be installed. Based on the room layout, I devised a small stand that sits in the hole to hold the center channel speaker. The stand is basically two plates. The bottom plate rotates in the hole allowing the speaker to be aimed left or right, while the top plate pivots in grooves cut into the lower plate allowing the speaker to be aimed up or down. Cool, huh? Anyway, here’s the pics. Hope you like it!

Kevin put up a series of blog posts over at Lumberjocks.com describing the entire process. So if you want more detail, check it out!