This project was submitted by Aaron. Let’s see what he has to say:

I should preface any description of my block with my credentials. This is the first project I have ever done that involved some form of joinery without screws or nails. I started out with every intention to build the block just as “The Schwarz” had. My first mistake was in the layout. Maybe a carpenter’s pencil was not the best marking instrument (joking). I also did not use a marking knife on the first pass, and I experienced a great deal of tearout. I used the jigsaw blade recommended and a fence, but this was not adequate. I experienced a huge amount of deflection from the blade, which led to unsightly joints. Then I tried to figure a way to salvage the project and dadoes were my solution. A live Guild session a while back helped me finish my router table which I had not used yet. I picked up some curly maple from Bell Forest for the body of the block (utilizing my Guild discount of course). I figured it was a good time to try it out. I did not like the look of the finished piece so I decided to add the base. It was a scrap piece of paduak with a slight chamfer on the edge. I had an extra bag of bamboo skewers so I decried to add some reinforcement to the dadoes. I simply dropped some skewers in a small cup with some old dark mahogany Minwax for a day then pulled them out to dry. So that is where the dark colored dowels came from. I finished the piece by popping the grain as shown in “Pop Goes the Maple” with SealCoat and Dark Maple Transtint. Followed up with four coats of Arm-R-Seal. The block did not end up like I originally planned, but I enjoyed the process. Thanks again for all of the help and late night emails.

I found this amazing Bubinga at Soboba (in Santa Barbara) and knew I’d find a special project for it. There was enough for most major parts. The amount of figured wood limited my ability to completely match horizontally and vertically, but I am pleased with the outcome.

Sideboard begins as a dovetailed case. Double thickness sides let me make the half-blind dovetails the easy way. That approach also means the sides and legs are flush on the inside, with a slight reveal on the outside. Vertical dividers have through tenons let into mortises top and bottom. Case is joined to the Legs with various stub tenons and dovetails on the outsides of top and bottom pieces. Legs have a very slight taper. This case is so bloody heavy that I was afraid to remove much material from the Padauk legs.

Doors are hung using Soss “invisible” hinges thanks to Marc’s video of the Gadget Station while I was designing this piece. Which created a problem…identified after all else was assembled of course. Without a face frame, the legs interfered with the doors. So last minute taper and rounding of the outside stiles was necessary. Opps. Drawers are hand-cut dovetails with solid bottoms. Inside material is Philippine Mahogany. I had planned to use ebonized something for the pulls but eventually decided to use Padauk which darkens quite quickly and visually ties to the legs rather than creating a separate contrast. Back is composed of ship-lapped slats in grooves at bottom and held at the top with a simple molding strip.

Check out this slick entertainment center made by Collin in Canada. Here’s what he had to say:

“Hi there Mark, I just can’t get enough of your web site and the fantastic video that accompany it. You are one very talented wood worker who takes pride in his workmanship and inspires us all to do the same no matter what our skill level may be. I have posted some photos of an entertainment unit I have just recently finished to house my home theatre gear. The main carcass is maple ply with veneered edges, solid maple legs with a slight taper at the bottom and 7/8 thick top of padauk. The top is 2 boards 12 1/2 inches wide by 6 feet long. The top was glued up using biscuits and the entire carcass is dowelled. I made a jig to attach to the base of my drill press to slide to carcass panels through on edge to drill the dowel holes I have used lots of other joints before and this was a first attempt for this many dowels. I am very happy at how they all lined up, case came out very square. The center section that houses the center speaker and 2 drawers was glued up first as a unit. Then the rest went together around it. I made a long trammel for the router to finish the curved ends. Drawer front and hand pulls are also padauk. Store bought handles are just so..store bought. All parts are finished with many coats of tung oil, the top has 7 coats of oil buffed into it sanding with 400 between each one. The oil really brought out the colors and highlight in the padauk. All the maple pieced received a coat of paste wax and nothing else was applied to the top. As a note to anyone else using of finishing padauk, I finished a test piece same as the final top and tried a coat of wax on it. I did not like the results as I was unable to buff the wax back out of the grain. I already have a list of projects ready for spring. My garage shop is not heated so my equipment is all oiled and greased and tucked away for winter. Thanks again Mark for all your efforts to promote the wood working hobby in a fun, entertaining and safe manner. Looking forward to your next online project.