# WIP Comp entry - TV Stand in maple - FINISHED!!!



## Ironballs (23 Jul 2009)

Right then this is my WIP competition entry for't big compo. As a reminder, my brief was to design and make a stand for the TV that would also hold the assorted paraphernalia that lives with the TV. The need arose following the demise of our behemoth of a CRT TV that had a dedicated stand, we decided to get a reasonable flat screen and went for a 37" LCD, which is not too heavy (about 12.5kg).

So the stand has to safely hold the TV at a good viewing height and underneath hold the several other boxes. The look had to be reasonably modern and as elegant as possible. So a fairly free reign.

Okay, that was about 3 ish months ago and to be fair, progress has been slow. In fact your average alpine glacier has made more progress, but that's okay, I have a reputation to uphold for speed.

Job number one then, manage the poor readers expectations (and here I feel like a bit of a charlatan), there is no progress. Well not exactly none, but close. I have in the traditional fashion gone and purchased some wood before the design is finalised. Why? Well, because I had a wood buying scratch to itch, you know what it's like...

What I have done is spent some time beavering away on Scribble It (Patent Pending) and come with some world class half assed drawings. These Da Vince-esque sketches have been beautifully rendered and at least allowed me to flesh out some thoughts and put them in front of the in-house design authority. Initial approval granted so I can move to the next stage. Erm, more scribbling.

I have a little time off coming up, so I plan to work on a few projects that need a boot up the rear, this being one. However, my design thoughts have thrown up a few questions so part of my process is to chuck some of these ideas and questions on here and consult the UKW hive mind. You know, cheat.

Anyway, here are some out of focus pictures for you to squint at:






















Quality work I'm sure you'll agree.

You'll be pleased to hear that I'm not planning to making wavy legs, I just had to draw them to prove that a) they didn't look right and b) they'd snap. I will be going for a gentle curve in the legs and a useful debate with Colin on his curved legs (on his project, not the things below his waist) has given me a few ideas for getting round the short grain issues.

I plan to join them at the bottom with through dovetail pins and attach them to the top with wedged through tenons. Rear legs/support are very much a fluid idea at the minute and could be one leg or two; as is the top, I need to lay out the various boxes and see what shape I have to work around. The top itself will be glued boards of approx 200-250mm and may be biscuited, I'm trying to decide if I need a batten underneath to give additional support. Sagulator and glue strength indicator says no, but I don't want to gamble with a TV - top width will be approx 20mm IIRC.

Components below will sit on 2 glass shelves, again numerous design issues to work though there, don't want the top expanding so much that it moves the legs apart and the shelves drop out of the supports.

Any road, all comments welcomed, if you see me heading down a blind alley or approaching the cliff of design stupidity please feel free to tap me on the shoulder before I motor on over it


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## woodbloke (23 Jul 2009)

Ironballs":ugul5o0p said:


> ...before I motor on over it


Whilst I said I wouldn't comment on these WIP threads, this has to be worth it.
What's happened to your bike Damian? :lol: - Rob


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## Ironballs (23 Jul 2009)

I keep falling off the damn thing (or things), actually it's not so much falling off as sailing over the handlebars into rocks and nettles. The run I'm on at the minute I daren't ride my bike near a cliff, it would be rolling out the red carpet for fate and waving a cold beer in his direction


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## Karl (24 Jul 2009)

Hi Damian

I like the design - your design drawings are nearly as bad as mine!

I reckon the top should be thick enough to hold the TV - and if it does start to sag, could you not just pop the battens on afterwards???

Cheers

Karl


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## Ironballs (13 Sep 2009)

Finally got round to posting an update on this, go to Projects and cycle back a couple of pages I thought, well 5 or 6 pages in I found it and realised that it was late July for my one and only update.

Well I did have a week off in August and on the Monday I sat down and drew out some scale drawings, what you might call "progress". Sorted the design issues and got the shapes as I wanted/needed them and even produced a cutting list. Displacement activities were fairly minimal (walnut reading stand aside) and the next day promised lots of cutting and wood prep.

That's when my inbuilt prevarication chip kicked in and decided that progress was being made far too quickly. The solution? Kick me in the stomach and ensure I was never too far from the khazi for most of the week....

Since then it's been busy at work and I've been too knackered to go in the garage and get some work done. What I needed was to feel the insistent pressure of a deadline at the back of my mind. That pressure arrived today...

So, here are my finely crafted scale drawings, quarter scale in case you're interested (probably not).
















The last pic shows the rear leg(s), I re-drew these several times as I couldn't get the shape right and they kept ending up looking like cooling towers. Think they look alright now though. Think

Next job was to make the templates for the legs, not too much of a job as there are only 2 shapes. Decided to draw a grid straight on the mdf and put the shape on there, thus enabling me to get the reference points right for the curves. Bit dull though and I had a break part way through to watch the grand prix.






Once done it was off to the bandsaw to rough out the shapes and then break out the compass plane to finish the curves off. First time I've used it in anger and what a treat it is, beats the pants off sanding






The result, a couple of leg templates. This looks dangerously like progress






Best ratchet things back a notch then. And here's a golden opportunity, this fine piece of maple is where all the legs are coming from, there's far more wood in there than I need but I do have to work round the split, the knot and the rubbish around the pith line.






I did have the option of buying a straighter and cleaner piece, but this one has a nice ripple to it so will hopefully be worth the extra work. Next job was to cut the wood to make it a little more manageable, a cross cut below the knot leaves ample room for maneuvre. Hate using the handheld circular saw but it does do the job well.






Before making further cuts so that I can take it to the P/T I need to know where the best grain is and what bits I can waste, therefore a bit of hand planing is required. Some nice ripple in there.











Hopefully you will be swayed by the quantity over quality and will not see through the pics of drawings and wood and realise that I've still not done much.

Let's see if I can get another update in this week. Just need to build a time machine first


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## OPJ (14 Sep 2009)

I'm liking the way the design has progressed in to something with stability. As you've already made your templates and have begun looking at your timber properly, you can rest assured that you are already several steps ahead of me!  :wink:

...If I were you, I wouldn't take _ScribbleIt_ anywhere near the _Dragons' Den_ until that patent has been granted - Duncan Bannatyne rarely seems interested at the best of times!! 

Look forward to seeing more progress. I also like how you have proposed (in your design) to treat the edges of the top.


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## Ironballs (20 Sep 2009)

Okay a fruitful bit of shop time over the weekend. Had a good look over the wood and decided where I was going to take all my legs from and then it was off to the bandsaw and P/T. Not very exciting so no pics of that, suffice to say that I filled an entire bag of shavings that went to a friend for their guinea pig.

Then it was back out with the templates to mark up the legs:






Also did a plane (smoother and scraper) to remove the machining marks on the boards for the top:






Little bit of biscuiting to help line up the top boards and make the glue up less stressful than it need be. Don't know what it it about glue, as soon as that cap is off the blood starts to flow faster and you can feel the sweat beading out:






Glueing of the top, exciting stuff:






Done in 2 stages to minimise chances of cupping:






With that lot drying it was off to the bandsaw again to cut the legs out:






...and I made this little pile of parts, rear legs at the, well, rear






Next up was what I thought would be an easy job to clean up the legs and plane to final dimensions, starting with this:











It was here that I learned the compass plane is not my friend, whether it's my technique (or lack of) or it's just that the maple is hard and rippled. Either way I couldn't get it to cut properly, adjusting the blade by a gnat's nut meant it when from no cut to a great big thunk at the beginning of the cut.

Ended up using a combo of sanding in the pillar drill (not fun) and planing with the flat bottom spokeshave. Given that even that was finding it hard going I'm inclined to think the wood may have been the issue. On the plus side when it did work it gave up a lovely glassy finish with shimmer, ripple, birds eye and wavy grain






Rear legs down, 3 and a half front legs to go. Night class starts again this week so maybe someone will be using their Wadkin oscillating sander a lot...

After that I can start work on cutting the tenons and planing up the mating surfaces where the legs meet; I can also cut out the final shape on the top and plane that smooth


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## OPJ (20 Sep 2009)

...And only one week ago, you were loving that compass plane! 

I've never used one but I have found sycamore (vaguely similar to maple) can be deceptively tricky to plane with a spokeshave. Round-bottom 'shaves are awkward to use at the best of times but I usually get by alright keeping the iron dead sharp and setting it up (after _lots_ of trial and error! :roll to take a very, _very_ fine cut.


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## Ironballs (29 Sep 2009)

Okay, another update time. First update, took the compass plane to college to get the experts to cast their eyes over it and they also couldn't get it to plane properly. Decided it was a combo of cap iron screw not going down far enough and incorrect mating between cap iron and blade, this was leading to chattering. Anyone know if a stay set cap iron fits a compass plane?

Right, back to the real update. Seeing as the compass plane was throwing a hissy fit I abused the bobbin sander to get the curves close to the line, not hugely accurate but good enough for this stage. To clean up I went back to abusing the flat bottomed spokeshave, which just about coped with the degree of curve I wanted to do. To protect the piece I put a bit of cloth over the vice screw.






Came out quite nice











And made this, which is great for lighting the fire in the lounge






Next I had to plane the flat sections where the two halves of the legs will meet, fiddly job as the area you're planing is small and it can be difficult to to keep the plane level and the cut even






After that it was time to do a little marking out for the tenons. You know how you can be stood there thinking what is the correct ratio/orientation/angle etc etc, well I was trying to remember the rule for tenons and the thought popped into my head that it was one third of the width.

Didn't seem right and I'm a visual person, so made a little paper tenon to check






That was when I thought, you daft pillock, it's two thirds tenon, one third waste. Like this






Out with the marking gauge to scribe out the tenon






The rear legs will be cut into two tenons the same dimension as the fronts later on






To accurately mark out the two curved sides of the front legs I had to plane a short flat section into a waste area of the leg top (it also had to be square), block plane was the job for this task. I could also use this reference face to mark out the far side - waste plus tenon width, as the gauge would not sit on the other side, it being a curve.






Decided I would rout out the waste on the flat sides of the legs, after the fiddle of setting up it would be quicker overall and should produce consistent results with clean and square shoulders that will need minimal cleaning up with the shoulder plane.

Setting up the fence was easy and did the old trick and holding up the router to the piece to check the distances. This was when I realised I'd measured off the wrong side of the cutter and nearly had a cut twice as deep as I wanted. Once rectified it was a simple job to set the depth of the cutter, dead easy with these Trend depth setting gauges






Routing away was quite straightforward but I did have to be careful, the area for the router to rest on is very small and it's easy to tip over. Not only that but the direction of tip changes halfway through the piece. Did get some minor dig ins as I went along but only in the middle of the tenons, not at the shoulder or top






End result was this. Will remove the remaining waste with bandsaw, tenon saw and shoulder plane. Then it will be onto joining the legs together before turning attention back to the top


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## wizer (29 Sep 2009)

This is coming on nicely Damien (You daft pillock :lol: ). Looking forward to seeing it done.


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## devonwoody (30 Sep 2009)

Your dedication and craftmanship looks good to me, I'm interested and I am picking up some 3" thick maple today.


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## OPJ (30 Sep 2009)

You were actually correct the first time - tenons are generally cut using the one-third rule!  But, in your situation, it is often a bit different... I would've done the same as you and maximum the tenon width by cutting a smaller shoulder.

One month to go and it looks as thought you're on course to finish in time.


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## Ironballs (1 Oct 2009)

These little ruler/square things are dead handy, today I was using mine to mark up the next cut one the tenons






Which gave me this, exactly what I had planned in the drawings






However... looking at where the tenon was in relation to the leg I had an uneasy feeling, I had a load of waste on the inner part of the leg where there was more wood below it and the tenon itself was out on the weaker edge. Proper angel and devil moment on each shoulder, angel says, you know that's wrong, re-do the tenon marking, devil says, but you've already marked it out and it'll probably be okay. And quicker.

Well, part of the luxury of following your own plans and having time on your side is the ability to amend as you go along, I had already left a little length on the tenons so they could be planed flush, so i moved them over and knew the marking lines would be removed.

Cut the remaining sides on the bandsaw as it's quick and accurate, then finished with a pair of shoulder planes and a nice wide chisel. Bit of a traditionalist, I like to use shoulder planes for cleaning up tenons and they do the job very well






Having cut half with the router and half with the bandsaw/planes/chisel I'd have to say that I prefer the latter. A bit slower, but much more controlled, much less chance for cock up and much more satisfaction derived. As a result the quality was higher. This is what I ended up with and you can see the difference between the different methods






Next job was to create a flat area on the front legs where they will be joined to each other, this needs to be accurate and consistent. Decided to come in 3mm from the faces. Marked up on 3 sides for accuracy and also put a mark on the cut area to show the limit of the amount to be removed






I mucked about trying to decide which was the best method to do this, accuracy was most important, followed by ease. Quickly ruled out table or bandsaw as I would struggle to get the pieces square and me safe. My shooting board and plane combo were not deep enough. Finally decided upon a bit of a heath robinson combo involving a bench stop and a pile of scrap. Took off the bulk with a No 5.5 and then moved to the block plane - these new Veritas blocks really are the dogs, the winner of this category is really going to get a nice plane.

Kept checking the lines but also used the square to keep and eye on progress






I'd already put my legs in pairs, so once I'd got them planed and square I married them up to each other to check for fit. One pair was fine, the other required a minor fettle. This was the result, a pleasing moment






Because of the curves it was vitally important that I cut the legs perfectly square and to final dimensions before I cut out the leg shapes. This was the only way I could get datum points for cutting the tenons and the faces described above. I can always do some fettling later, but I'm saving myself pain by getting this right up front.

Next jobs, rear leg tenons and the joining dovetails on the legs


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## MikeG. (2 Oct 2009)

Damien,

I'm sorry I hadn't spotted this thread before. It's been interesting catching up on your progress though. I'm glad that you do your design work the same way as I do, although mine is a bit more minimalist than yours usually.

You do seem to have an excess of fancy tools, but much more importantly, that looks a really nice piece of wood. You are clearly doing a thorough job both on the bench and on the computer, with some excellent photos and explanations so far.

My one slight worry is about the design. I wonder if it will seem to have too much wood and not enough air in the final analysis? In my view it doesn't need such chunky legs either structurally or visually......but I may well be wrong.

All the best with this......keep the photos coming!

Mike


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## oddsocks (2 Oct 2009)

Mike, I to have just seen the thread and thought the same - I have made a number of items in the past and ended up reducing the thickness of the legs once the item was 'real'. On paper/computer they looked fine but the opinion of management was that they were too thick.


Damien, looking at the thread and the challenge you had of planing the joining pieces of the legs, was there a reason why you didn't do that before cutting the inner curve profile (as then you would have had a long straight edge to plane). I know hindsight is wonderful!

I'm looking forward to watching this progress.

Dave


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## Ironballs (2 Oct 2009)

Thanks chaps, I did do a lot of pondering about the leg thickness and decided to err on the side of caution given what they would be supporting. They also fit with other furniture in the house, so hopefully won't look out of place. I'll be doing a dry assembly before the glue up so should get a good idea of whether it will work or not. If they need to be thinner then I can plane/sand some more thickness off - I really do hope not as that stuff is a pipper to plane and my spokeshave is the only one that cuts it (pun intended).

I know what you mean about the straight edges too, where possible I have kept and used the straight edge from the thicknesser, but it only really worked out for the rear legs as they came from one piece each each. For the front legs I had to cut them as close to each other as possible to minimise wastage and maximise the ripple as that petered out across the board, so there was little opportunity to build in a straight edge. I also made use where possible of the grain direction, one of the reasons for selecting this board was that the grain had a natural curve, which the legs could follow, plus on some of them the grain straightened at one end, so I could have vertical grain at the tenons transitioning into the curved leg grain.

Looked up some glass shelf brackets in brass from Rutlands last night, nearly sh*t myself, 20 quid a pop and I need 12 of them (maybe 8 at a stretch). Could buy a new TV for that.

Did some google-ising and found a place on good old fleabay that knocks them out much cheaper, think I can get all of them for under 20 quid. Jaw retrieved from floor....


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## Ironballs (2 Oct 2009)

Rear leg tenon time, bit of marking up first






Then chopping out on the bandsaw






Temporary extraction system until a bin type extractor arrives on Monday  






Decided to go for the paring approach rather than shoulder plane for cleaning up these. Used the piece of mdf clamped over the shoulder line technique






One set of cleaned up rear legs






Once again, deciding final dimensions of non-critical parts on the hoof, drew up a little paper dovetail template. Seems to fit well so I think I'll go with that






The dovetail pieces are coming out of this lump of English Walnut






Unfortunately it's not square in any plane, so needs dimensioning. Against my better judgement I decided I could run it over the planer using a push block :roll: After some bad snipe and a nasty kickback, I turned the planer off and cursed my laziness and stupidity.

So it was out with the trusty number 5.5 and with Planet Rock on the radio I got down to some hand dimensioning. Rewarding but slow. Really slow. I'll finish it tomorrow


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## OPJ (2 Oct 2009)

I look forward to seeing how you tackle those 'butterfly' dovetail keys as it's something I haven't done before. George Nakashima used to use them frequently in his work, which I quite admire.


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## Ironballs (2 Oct 2009)

I'll be using some maths plus another favoured technique known as winging it


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## Mattty (3 Oct 2009)

Great progress mate and it looks to be an interesting design. I like the dovetail idea especially. 
I do agree with Mike about the 'weight' of the legs though, an alternative to cutting them down if your concerned about the loading they will have to take, is some chamfering, maybe even some tapered chamfers. I think these could look especially nice and you will still maintain the bulk of the wood whilst giving a lighter look.
Keep the pictures coming. 
Ps- you sure you have enough handtool bling there..! 8)


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## Ironballs (3 Oct 2009)

Matt, like the idea of the tapered chamfers, that one could well work. Probably won't decide until the dry assembly and can see how it all looks.

By the way, what's wrong with a little hand tool bling!! If a man can't flash a nice plane what can he do...

In my defence, every plane shown here has been used. It's just the other ones you need to worry about 8-[


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## wizer (4 Oct 2009)

ahh good, so if I use the Festool Domino then it's justified. Cheers Damian :lol:


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## Ironballs (4 Oct 2009)

Dammit!

Do Domino offer a wedged through version?


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## Mr Ed (4 Oct 2009)

This is coming together nicely. A very thoroughly documented WIP, or is it a thinly veiled stealth gloat for plane ownership - by god you've used some kit so far!

Looks like nice timber as well.

Ed


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## wizer (4 Oct 2009)

Ironballs":2xmnnki5 said:


> Dammit!
> 
> Do Domino offer a wedged through version?



The Wood Whisperer made a stool with through Dominos

You could wedge them too I guess 8)  :lol:


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## Ironballs (8 Oct 2009)

Got the mating surfaces on the rear legs sorted







Then marked out the dovetails on the legs, can just about make it out on this picture






Then it was off to the bandsaw to hog most of the waste out and making paring a bit easier






This is a slow process and if I was having to do it more often I think I'd invest in a big enough dovetail router cutter. It's also not a good idea to have these thoughts when you're paring hard maple and have broken your golden rule of using a chisel - always have soft fleshy bits behind the blade. At least the cut wasn't too bad :roll: 






Was a bit worried about these dovetails at the bottom of the rear legs, i noticed it when marking up, they're a bit close to the end and I'm going across the grain. However I didn't have any choices about re-positioning. Shouldn't be a problem as it won't be a stressed joint, just need to take care when paring...






And I did!






All the legs done, a long and back breaking job and I had to remember to re-sharpen the chisels periodically. Made a big difference






I think faithful 2B has nearly had it, I can't grab enough of it to turn it in the sharpener. It's served me well though






Ebay delivery today, a box full of shelf supports, should do the job nicely






That chunk of walnut is now dimensioned and so I needed to mark out the dovetail keys, erred on the oversize side to allow trimming for fit






Then chopped them out on the bandsaw, mind those fingers!






Decided to mark up the keys for their eventual home and will then fit them in "halves" to keep it simple. Again a slow job and I've done half of one so far, just another 7 halves to go. pipper...


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## oddsocks (9 Oct 2009)

They are very impressive. Until I saw the WIP I had assumed that the dovetail keys were going to be thinner (not 'through') and partly for decoration. Getting a tight fit at that thickness when viewed from both sides shows skill.

Dave


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## Ironballs (10 Oct 2009)

Well getting all of those keys fitted was a pain, long and laborious, some are a better fit than others but they pull up okay. Today was sanding prior to the leg glue up, dull but necessary and it brings the surface up nicely. Decided to stop at 220 grit as I plan to use a Behlen rattle can finish and don't want the wood too smooth so it can't adhere.

Did the glue this evening, glue ups are always fraught and I keep thinking I should find a glue with a longer open time then TB 3 - especially as it grabs as soon as you slide a dovetail key in :x Only called the legs a ****ing ****ard once but did have to break out the persuading device to get them seated on one of them. No pics of the glue up as I can't do that kind of multi-tasking. More will follow though and I'll be cleaning up post glue up and might get on to the top tomorrow


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## OPJ (11 Oct 2009)

Ironballs":o24lr0d2 said:


> I think faithful 2B has nearly had it, I can't grab enough of it to turn it in the sharpener. It's served me well though



Have you tried holding it with a pair of pliers? There could be more life left than what you thought!


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## Ironballs (11 Oct 2009)

Yes Olly, I'm that sad I've thought of using pliers to sharpen it next time


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## devonwoody (11 Oct 2009)

I recall back in the 40's & 50's there used to be metal pencil holders specially made to hold short pencil ends.

Never saw any for sale after the war.


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## Lord Nibbo (11 Oct 2009)

How you going to tuck that behind your lug them, can I suggest "Blue Tack" :lol:


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## neilc (11 Oct 2009)

This is a really great thread, keep it coming.
Neil.


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## big soft moose (11 Oct 2009)

devonwoody":1m3fuwvc said:


> I recall back in the *40's & 50's *there used to be metal pencil holders specially made to hold short pencil ends.
> 
> *Never saw any for sale after the war*.



how long did the war go on for in devon then ? - in most areas it stopped in '45

that aside its an interesting idea for those of us who have embraced the roundside to try to replicate


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## Ironballs (11 Oct 2009)

Okay, prior to the fun og the leg glue up there was another of my favourite jobs to do. Sanding. Doesn't his look like fun...






Made a couple of curved sanding blocks to make life a little easier






There was then the aforementioned glue up. Cleaned up the legs today after that, I'd left the keys a little oversize to allow for any "issues" when glueing. So planed them down and then sanded overall to clean up the finish. Hopefully this is as close to the bandsaw as they'll get and I won't be doing a Rob






Time to turn attention back to the top, which has been sat in a corner for a couple of weeks. Cleaned off the glue over runs from each side, sanded the bottom and then flipped it over to sand the top. Which was when I noticed this. I did swear, quite loudly actually






I'd neglected to put the t-shirt on the bench to protect the wood and there was a little bit of something that had dug in as the top moved around. Would be on the top side wouldn't it. Sanding wouldn't fetch this out anytime soon so had to break out the scraper. I also hate scraping. After destroying my thumbs I thought it might be a good idea to use the Veritas scraper holder under the bench :roll: it is easier on your thumbs but I don't think you have the same control as when freehanding. Anyway it worked. Ta dah






T-shirt now inserted under top on bench and a quick spin over with the sander (ROS) at 120 grit. Will give it a finish sand later after I've finished doing the mortices and edging






Marked out the dimensions again before going to the bandsaw too trim the waste






Getting closer to the finish, last tricky job is the mortices. Oh and I've never cut wedged tenons before. Well okay, one, but it was a while ago


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## devonwoody (12 Oct 2009)

The Pound shops (bazaars) sell a form of lattice rubber matting I use when I want to protect a surface from scratching, they also prevent slipping and dust drops down. The catalogues ask a lot more.

Your project is coming along nicely.


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## Imperial (12 Oct 2009)

IB, you can usually steam out these marks with an iron and wet cloth, or at least bring them much closer to the surface! One of the boards for the top is a different colour or is the grain going in the other direction? perhaps its a trick of the light? Liking the butterflies on the legs :wink:


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## Ironballs (12 Oct 2009)

No you're right, one of the boards is a little darker, ideally I'd have them all the same colour but my choice was limited and also once in situ with the TV on it you won't really see as most of it will be covered.

Also have some of that lattice matting but it's currently wrapped around a part finished guitar body. I know, I know....

Anyway, I've been prevaricating again tonight after trimming the edges of the top. I'm going to rout a profile around the edge and ideally I think I want a curved profile, ie a section of a sphere. However a thorough search of my router bits and those available in the shops seems to suggest that such a cutter doesn't exist and you have to make do with a cove cutter, these are okay but you don't have two straight edges with a curve in rather than a sphere.

My other thought is perhaps a straight chamfer, but that seems a little plain. I'm trying to get something that looks modern and will sit well with the gentle curve of the legs. Any views one or the other will be appreciated, until I get this sorted I can't mortice the leg holes as I need to know how far in the cut will come.

Ta muchly


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## OPJ (12 Oct 2009)

I think I understand what you are wanting to achieve with the edge detailing, having looked back to your initial ScribbleIt drawings... However, I doubt that such a cutter exists, unless you had access to a spindle moulder - but, having a set of cutters ground especially for this one job would be a bit much. :?

Unless you could hog most of the waste away (very carefully!) using a 'golf ball' router cutter in several light passes? Then, you could go over that with a curved sanding block or similar?

I think you really want a wooden plane with a rounded sole - but, I doubt they exist either, unless you're prepared to make your own! :roll:


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## Ironballs (12 Oct 2009)

I think I've come to the same conclusion Olly, i want something that doesn't exist and even the spindle moulder cutters of that profile make too deep a cut for my needs.

I may have to break out Scribble It! TM again


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## devonwoody (13 Oct 2009)

Oddly enough I have come to the same position for legs on my laptop stand re inlays.

So please post your solution ASAP


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## Ironballs (19 Oct 2009)

Okay, have been able to steal chunks of time over the last week and make some progress. My next job was to mark up the mortices, made sure I checked from the glued up legs rather than the plan, to allow for any deviation, there was some but not much.







My attempt to drill out most of the waste was thwarted by my cheap Clark forstners, I've always thought that sycamore is a softer hardwood, my experience on this piece is that it's about as hard as maple, ie very. So out with router to freehand the waste from the middle.






This worked fine but left far too much waste to pare away as I was losing the will to live. So made a template to use with a smaller bit, this would leave much less paring






All was going well until the template slipped, was it on the back, no, of course it wasn't, it was on the front...






There's a nick out, not too big and I'll until the leg is in before deciding what to do about it. Added another clamp






Here are the finished mortices, the paring to fit after routing took all of the afternoon football on Saturday. My hands are mincemeat but on the bright side, Up the Villa

 






Went for a steep angled chamfer on the edges eventually, hopefully will blend in the curve of the legs. Once again there wasn't a router bit to fit and I didn't fancy attempting it on either saw. So out with the handplanes, slight gloatage again but both planes were well used. Mincemeat hands now burger meat






Back to the legs, bit of masking tape on the glue areas to protect from the finish






Which is this, a spray lacquer. Never used one before so a bit of a leap into the unknown. Having used rattle can spray paint before I know that a mask is essential, this is one of Screwfix's finest chemical masks, works a treat.






Legs received all bar the final coat before attaching to the top. Look good so far though. Cut the tenon slots on the bandsaw, marked up a line and then cut just either side of it to have accuracy and a wide enough slot






Dug out a bit of walnut and marked roughly the wedge width, before bandsawing











Initially got out the sandpaper to shape and fit each wedge to the slots. Approximately 48 seconds later realised that this was a bad idea and moved on to the power sander. Worked well and only re-profiled my fingertips a couple of times






As I had fitted them individually to their slots I decided I could do without any more stress at glue up, so marked up where they were going to go once I took them out






Finally onto glueing the legs in, fairly painless (unlike the dovetail keys) and inserting the wedges went well and it was most satisfying to drive them home with a solid twatting from the mallet. Here the legs have been rubbed down to accept their final coat and the top has no finish at all yet






Pressure is on to get the finish on so I can take it to the glaziers


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## Ironballs (20 Oct 2009)

Bloody hell, one rattle can down and I still have two more coats to go on the top. May have to get on the phone to Behlen again....

Bit darker than I wanted but boy does it bring out the figure in that sycamore and maple


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## paininthe (20 Oct 2009)

Not that my critique means much but I think it looks great. Good photography will be the killer touch. Showing how the inverted curves on the single leg side matches those one the two legged side is fundamental.

Great stuff.


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## Ironballs (20 Oct 2009)

The curves on the rear legs are a slightly different radius than the fronts, but deliberately so, I mucked about for ages at the design stage to get them right. The problem I had with the rears was that they kept coming out looking like cooling towers, not what I was after!

Feel free to comment away, whether about construction techniques or design, anyone can comment on the look of something as it either appeals to your eye or doesn't.

This is the first piece of furniture I've designed so am on a pretty large learning curve


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## Mattty (21 Oct 2009)

Looking good mate. You need a spray gun though. You'd have half paid for one with the price of those cans 8) 

This made me laugh "and it was most satisfying to drive them home with a solid twatting from the mallet" :lol:


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## Ironballs (24 Oct 2009)

Thanks Matty, I aim to please!

Okay, after the fun of the glueing and whacking it was time to appraise the results. All looked okay so out with the block planes again to remove the excess wood and glue, wasn't worth sawing off as they weren't that proud and I wanted to avoid potential damage to the top.

A quick plane of the first tenon (which I had deliberately made 1mm proud remember) showed that we should be alright. As a plus this was also the one where I had the routing accident and I managed to whack the wedge into the gap so that the nibble is almost gone






20 mins later and a lot of fun planing and even more fun listening to the whingeing scousers on 5 live following the loss to Lyon and I arrived at this...






I could then move to a finish sand for the top and spray it. This went very well, I ended up giving it two coats before cutting back with 400 grit paper (which loads up very quickly with lacquer) and doing the last coat. It has come out beautifully but you aren't going to see it just yet.

Once dry I marked up the holes to be drilled for the shelves, again a nice simple job and it felt fairly final to be screwing in the hardware, a bit like the woodworking was behind me and I was adding the final touches.

The chrome looks nice I think






After that I sprayed another sealing coat on the underside and it was then ready to be taken to the glaziers today. Dropped it off with them and now feel a little nervous in case it takes any knocks and/or doesn't get done in time. Used them before though and they're good chaps so should be okay. Final pics and the submission a week today hopefully


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## OPJ (24 Oct 2009)

Wow! That finish has really bought out the grain! 8)

I also find that lacquer can clog 400g paper quite quickly. So, instead, I've started using 320g very lightly, which does seem to last longer.

Looks like another project on course to finish in time.


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## Ironballs (27 Oct 2009)

Bump. Only because we were asked to.

First progress chasing call goes in to the glaziers tomorrow, fingers crossed for a positive answer [-o<


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## Waka (27 Oct 2009)

Another stunning entry. 

From what I've seen so far this competition is going to be so hard to judge, the standard is exemplary.

Well done all, I look forward to viewing them as the posts continue.


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## Ironballs (28 Oct 2009)

So desperate to edit the first post and change the title to "finished"

Call went in today to the glaziers, no word yet but they're chasing through and ringing me back. They're still aiming for Friday but did utter the dreaded words "it's out of our hands"

Sphincter setting now moved up to Defcon 3 :?


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## Mattty (28 Oct 2009)

Ironballs":1e4vi1de said:


> Sphincter setting now moved up to Defcon 3 :?


 :lol: I hope they come through for you mate.


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## Ironballs (30 Oct 2009)

My special toughened glass hasn't come back from the folks the glaziers had to outsource it to, it won't be till next week.............. however, because the nice chaps at Designs on Glass in Leeds are such pros and they knew I was on a deadline they have used their templates to cut some temporary shelves from offcuts.

They haven't got the nice rounded egdes and aren't toughened, but they do fit nicely and will allow me to install the TV stand and thereby finish it and fulfil the design brief.

In other words. The project is complete. Just need to do the photos and write the smegger up \/


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## Escudo (30 Oct 2009)

Well done IB, glad you could join the fray.

Tony.


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## Mattty (31 Oct 2009)

Ironballs":165e68eh said:


> My special toughened glass hasn't come back from the folks the glaziers had to outsource it to, it won't be till next week.............. however, because the nice chaps at Designs on Glass in Leeds are such pros and they knew I was on a deadline they have used their templates to cut some temporary shelves from offcuts.
> 
> They haven't got the nice rounded egdes and aren't toughened, but they do fit nicely and will allow me to install the TV stand and thereby finish it and fulfil the design brief.
> 
> In other words. The project is complete. Just need to do the photos and write the smegger up \/



Good news mate. I'm looking forward to seeing this finished.


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## OPJ (31 Oct 2009)

Sounds like a decent company who will no doubt receive your business again in the future. I'm also looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.


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## Ironballs (31 Oct 2009)

They are a good company Olly, used them before on the shelves for my hi-fi stand.

Right then, final assembly and transferring the TV and other rubbish onto the stand and taking of the pictures.

Here's the glass






And a few pictures of the top with the finish on it
















What the hell, and some more, the figure in there is great
















And now the erm, "studio", shots for the compo write up. At the last minute I had a design change, the original plan had the shelves going across all the legs at the front. However, they didn't need that much support and I thought it would look neater if they didn't extend beyond the inner leg. Which was borne out when the glass went in











Couple of angled shots
















And finally, in place doing the job it was made to. Makes the corner look much lighter and airier now and the TV balances out the shape of the stand - I was worried it looked a little like the legs were too far out to the sides before. In house design approval committee thinks it's wonderful and loves it - thumbs up for more pieces  











Really enjoyed doing this, I'm still learning most of my skills and beginning to hone a few more. Doing your own design has been one of the biggest challenges and the dovetail keys and through tenons also required some detailed and accurate work.

Hope you enjoyed reading the build thread

Cheers

Damian


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## Mattty (31 Oct 2009)

That looks very smart mate. The legs look great. You'll just have to get some cable tidys now!


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## Karl (31 Oct 2009)

Excellent work Damian.

The only thing that would bug me is the board with a differing shade in the top - you may not see it with the TV in-situ, but it would annoy me just knowing that it's there. But perhaps that's just me.

Good luck in the competition.

Cheers

Karl


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## Ironballs (31 Oct 2009)

True, if I'd had more time and timber choice I would have left it out, however it is under the TV so you can't see it. In its defence it has some great grain and figure on it  

Might play around with Scribble It and knock up a design or two for a similar styled DVD storage unit to go next to the TV


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## Escudo (31 Oct 2009)

Nice one IB, glad you completed the project in time for the competition.

Good luck.

Tony.


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## Paul Chapman (1 Nov 2009)

Very nice, Damian.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Ironballs (1 Nov 2009)

Thanks Tony and Paul (and others). Keep staring at the flame on the legs and on the edge of the top rather than the telly


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## OPJ (1 Nov 2009)

Pleased that you were able to finish in time. 

I like the overall 'lightness' in the appearance of the piece (that works well in a corner, I think) and the finish looks to have come out very well, also.

Where did you get the supports for the glass shelves from?


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## oddsocks (1 Nov 2009)

A really nice design and well documented WIP. The decision to limit the glass shelves to just the inside front legs makes it look elegant.

Dave


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## Ironballs (1 Nov 2009)

The shelf supports came from ebay, there were several that came up in a search, but I went with this guy who stocks loads of different shelf supports and also plenty of other useful hardware/accessories and turned hardwood knobs with spigots

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Tuxford-B ... QQ_armrsZ1

Saved as a favourite seller.

Actually I have 8 of those supports left over, I had to buy more than I needed and the shelf re-think meant I used 4 less than planned. If you want them Olly just PM me your address and I'll send them on - my thank you in lieu of a beer for the bandsaw spot earlier in the year


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## Mike.C (1 Nov 2009)

What a beauty IB. Good luck in the compo.

Cheers 

Mike


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## Mr Ed (1 Nov 2009)

looks really good Mr. Balls. It looks the part even without the final glass, though I can see thats been a frustrating process for you...


Ed


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## wizer (1 Nov 2009)

as they say in this neck of the woods, Pukka! :wink:


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## tulsk (1 Nov 2009)

Well done sir, I reckon you've done a great job of designing and constructing a grand piece of stylish and functional furniture there. Here's hoping for a Wezzy winner, best of luck- John


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## Ironballs (1 Nov 2009)

Thanks again chaps, one of my mates who hails from Skipton uses Wezzy as a term of derision! Bloody yokels


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## jeffm (4 Nov 2009)

Hey IB well done. I'm a n00b here, but I've followed this project since it kicked off. My first impression of your design was like, 'ugh - retro cack'. 

But your end product is sublimely beautiful, kinda like a Bose in a world of Wharfedales. Tip o'Hat to you.

And my OH says she wishes I had the quality of tool that you seem to get your hands on every day.

Good luck in the compo, and congrats on producing a quality thread.

Awesome!


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## Ironballs (4 Nov 2009)

Thank you very much Jeff and I'll try and avoid all the innuendo to do with tools in hand, though it will be hard. Argh rubbish...  

Interesting that you thought it might be retro at the beginning, was that based on my ace Scribble It drawings or the early stages? Hopefully it has come across as classical but with a modern touch, but that's only my opinion (and it's biased) and one man's classical is another man's mock tudor hell hole :wink: 

Thanks for the comments


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## Imperial (5 Nov 2009)

A very nice piece of contemporary furniture IB, you should be well pleased with the outcome and standard of workmanship you've achieved :wink:


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## Mattty (5 Nov 2009)

Has the proper glass turned up yet mate?


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## Ironballs (5 Nov 2009)

It has, thay rang me today and I'll pick them up tomorrow. Don't need the temp shelves returning either as they were made up from offcuts. Which will help as we have a cunning plan to slide one shelf out and the other in by just lifting up the boxes.

Forty quid for two bespoke shape 6mm toughened shelves doesn't seem too bad


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## Mattty (5 Nov 2009)

Yep thats a v good price


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## Ironballs (5 Nov 2009)

They're on Easterly Road just past Harehills heading out of town if you're interested


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## Mattty (5 Nov 2009)

Cheers mate- Noted.


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## jeffm (6 Nov 2009)

Hey IB,

To me, your ace Scribble It drawings said 'Renaissance' or 'Medieval'. Even 'Gothic'. Nothing wrong with that, I hasten to add, except there's scant evidence that they had TVs in those times. Trust me, I Googled it.

When do we find out the compo final result?


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## Ironballs (6 Nov 2009)

Still waiting for the results in the General Woodworking section, hopeful but there are lots of strong entries in intermediate so won't be surprised if I miss out. Good competition in this section anyway and there are some, such as the mechanism on the sliding table leaves that warrant further investigation and development as they represent a leap forward in their areas


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