tv stand WIP

[tombo]

hi all, thought i would share what has been going on in my work shop over the xmas break including all my mistakes.
I realy want to get a new flatscreen telly, but i want to try to hide the equipment beneath so came up with this.

it will have sliding doors and an open back to make cabling up easy

to make sure that doors are going to work and i can get them in and out i knocked up a quick test piece in pine and mdf. with this i found that a 10mm x10mm groove in the bottom and a 10mm by 20mm in the top works pretty well

Skipping all the stock prep here are all my cabinet parts square and to length

quite pleased i managed to save some stock by glueing up the offcuts to make the internal shelf supports hard to notice except if you look at the end grain

cutting the grooves for the doors, i never seem to be able to cut grooves without a slip so i added extra pieces the router fence to guide from both sides

No slip up on the grooves but a bit disapointed by the chipout on the groove sides. I' think i will have to sand them somehow

Cutting the tenon shoulders, norm style

first mistake, i was so intent in pressing against the stop block that the piece slid a little as a came off it screwing up that shoulder. I discover that its all about technique. Firlmly against the stop block then hold tight to the mitre guage. Not a major problem i just moved the fence over 2mm and recut

Finally get to use my tenoning jig, cant beleieve it only cost £35 how did i manage without?

Cutting leg taper and second mistake, went over the line on the first piece and it will leave a gap :x lucky i have enough spare cherry for another leg

next mistake is a biggie routed the groove for the side panel completely wrong put the leg the oppsite way round on the router table and started the cut at my markout line for the taper. i took a break at that point :?

After some caffeen...
No more spare wood for another leg so I had to fill the groove, offcuts to the rescue

next day planed down, and its true what all the reviews say the veritas low angle jack is a wonderful tool, the repair will be on the inside of the cabinet so i'm pretty happy

mortices cut testfit and glueup

Shop time is precious to me and i cant get much done outside the weekends, Just gotta stop making mistakes they are such a waste of time

 

[PowerTool]

Going well,looking forward to seeing the finished piece

And thanks for taking the time to take/post all the pictures.

Andrew

 

[Shultzy]

Was the "chipout on the groove sides" due to using a 10mm cutter, or did you use a 6mm cutter, in which case I don't know why it happened.

 

[RogerM]

Looking good Tombo. I really appreciate you taking the time to post the WIP piccies. There's so much that can be learned from these and how to get around the cockups. I thought I had cornered the market in these so very relieved to see others making them as well.

This is going to be a nice piece. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[dedee]

Yep the end result will look great so don't dwell on the mistakes - you'll now better next time.
I did a similar thing when routing the groove on the frame and panel door on the chisel cabinet - a year on and even I have to look twice to find the repair.

Andy

 

[CYC]

A nice project and excellent WIP pictures, thanks.

Well done on keeping cool and handling your mistakes that well. Fixing groove like you did takes some skill :wink:

 

[woodbloke]

Great pics - every one makes cockups on their jobs, IMO there's no such thing as a 'perfect' piece of work. Its what you do to get round the mistakes that's important and then trying to learn by them and make sure that the same type of thing doesn't happen with the next job...with me, it usually does tho' - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

Thanks for posting those excellent pictures, Tombo. I like the way you solved the mistake with the groove - it looks really neat.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[spadge]

Great WIP report.
I think reading this sort of report is far more instructional that many books or magazine articles that nearly always show a perfect construction. It's true we learn from mistakes so seeing yours is really helpful and thanks for that.
It will be great when it's finished but if you are anything like me I bet the main thing you will see is the mistakes you have corrected even though nobody else can!

Thanks Again

 

[Corset]

Really like the design, Its good to see how people approach projects and the little difficulties that they encounter. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

 

[Philly]

Nice one, Tom!
Looks like it is going to be a beauty-don't worry about the mistake. Just think how "experienced" you are becoming? :wink:
regards
Philly

 

[Jez]

looking good so far

can i ask what programme you used for the design ?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tombo, just a tip from a professional point of view, I see some pencil marks on your work but not many. When I make free standing furniture I have pencil marks all over the place, ie labeling each face, roughly drawing on grooves / rebates etc, yes its more cleaning up at the end but far fewer mistakes.

 

[woodbloke]

Agree here with Senior...all sorts of scribblings and scrawlings on my work as it makes identifying what goes where much easier - Rob

 

[lucky9cat]

Nice job Tom. Great pictures showing the warts and all behind what looks to be a very nice piece. It's funny that however careful I am to avoid the mistakes I still make them! I guess in the end it's all about how well you can work around them.

How did you cut your tenon cheeks prior to getting the jig? I also cut the shoulders as per Norm but I then use my router table to take off the cheeks.

Cheers

Ted

 

[tombo]

thanks all for the encouragement, and an update on progress.

but first another mistake to confess to, i took some snaps of what i was doing but the flash card from my camera was still in the reader in my PC .
Camera did not complain much just a small warning on the top of the review screen. Oh well the next installment will be better documented.

I finally got into the shop on saturday afternoon thinking i'll get a jump on glueing up the top. Just cross cut, flatten thickness and clamp. 2 Hours max I thought.

In fact it took me over two hours setting up my planer, its always been a little out of whack but i got by because most boards i have been using were short.
The in feed table had to come off to be shimmed, what a PIA still a wee bit out but i am finally able to flatten long boards.
I just want to do woodwork not service machines so it will have to do till i have some more time

The top is 4 boards 6 inches wide and one had quite a twist, (probably cause the muppets that delivered it let it get wet) so by the time they were all flat and square i had lost more thickness than i wanted about just under 5/8" and i wanted 3/4" :x. But i ain't got no more so that is how it will have to be. I felt the top was too thin for biscuits so just a but joint.

Sunday final fitting and assembly of the frame went to plan

Next weekend i'll have a crack at the doors and shelves if i have time.

Also any suggestions for attaching the top? I was thinking pocket screws Though with the width of the rails i could just screw straight up.

Shulty - yes 10mm cutter
Corset - i designed it with google sketchup, this is the first time i have used it. Dead easy and does all i could need including producing the materials list
Senior - i am with you on that, i have just got to remember not to forget :roll:

 

[wrightclan]

Looking good.

Also any suggestions for attaching the top? I was thinking pocket screws Though with the width of the rails i could just screw straight up.

Whatever method you use, you should allow for wood movement across the grain.

Brad

 

[Anonymous]

Tombo- this is the 21st century, 3/4 5/8 what next 31/64, I hope you measure in mm's :lol: :lol:

 

[Paul Chapman]

That's coming on well, Tombo. Metal stretcher plates would be a quick and easy way to attach the top and would allow for any movement - if you used pocket screws any movement might cause the top to split.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Shultzy]

tombo - I'm only guessing, but if you had used a 6mm cutter to create the grooves you would not have had the "chip out", but I stand to be corrected.