First off, thank you Marc for your videos and website. Everything I know about woodworking, I have learned from your videos and website. This is a walnut entertainment console for my ginormous TV in the basement. This project is the most complex I have built to date, and a culmination of skills I have developed from the previous five serious woodworking projects I attempted. The start of the process was sitting in front of my Mac and creating the project on sketch up. I had found a picture of a similar console in a Fine Woodworking issue and wanted to create the project for myself. I knew many of the skills I had learned would come to good use, but had to try some new things. Honestly, the day that I stop trying new things will be the day I stop woodworking.
There was a lot of veneering with this project. This gave me the opportunity to book-match and control the direction of the grain to maximize visual appeal which was one of my original goals of the project. I wanted the flow of the grain to be smooth and move naturally through the project. I used heavily figured bees-wing walnut. I made sure all the figure curved up, as if the project was smiling at me. Sure it sounds lame, but it looks nice! This was the first time I made full sized templates for project parts. I would seriously recommend to anyone,take the time to make templates. I was able to use a flush trim router bit in combination with the templates to make perfectly proportioned parts that were consistent throughout the project. All of the curves match and flow evenly in the console. The style is Greene and Greene inspired. It’s not totally authentic, because I didn’t think the real thing would match the rest of my furnishings, but the contemporary hybrid works very nice.
Finishing proved to be trickier than I expected. Because this was a combination of solid wood, sheet goods and veneer, I had various different shades of color to work with and even out. I wanted the walnut to be dark in color, so I used Watco walnut colored Danish Oil. Depending on the color of the the wood, I used medium walnut color and dark walnut color to make sure the sheet material matched the darker solid wood components. Some parts required one coat while others needed two. The process took time, but eventually the color was even enough to my satisfaction. The original plan was to top coat with my tried and true Arm-R-Seal wiping oil varnish blend, but I thought the color was still a little too bland. In a last minute finish change, I went with 3 coats of amber shellac. The amber gave the walnut the warm glow I wanted to achieve. I am very happy with the results.
Veeeery nicely done. Being a fan of the Greene & Greene style (thanks to Marc’s recommendation to William NG’s school) I really like the influences you’ve included. The meticulous detail of the grain flow was also nicely done. Time consuming I’m sure, but well worth it in the end. Excellent job!
The design is beautiful and i love the wire routing holes in the back.I built an entertainment center last year and just used a holesaw for the wire routing.I may have to steal your idea:)
I love the curly walnut. This is an impressive project and displays some sharp skills.Bravo
I like your smile effect! I don’t think it’s “lame” as you say. Marc always says that anything looks better when you start thinking about grain direction, and you certainly did!
Great job!
Great Job Veneering .
Andy, you put everything together beautifully, the choice of wood, the design, the build. I really like your finished product. Looking FWD to your next design/build.
Andy,
Great design and execution of the curly walnut on this project. You definitely did a great job with the grain on the veneer!
I don’t know the technical word for that grain pattern. I see a few folks calling it “Curly” but it almost looks more “Quilted” to me. Either way that is absolutley beautiful. Where did you get the lumber?
I don’t know if I should watch the TV or look at the cabinet.
Great job.
I love curly Walnut. One of my favorite woods.
Very nice work Andy. This piece seems to be very robust (I mean strong and solid) and the details as the curve on the legs, the G&G style and the grain patern give a beautiful elegance.
Just read the poll on how much it would take to give up woodworking. You should hold out for the the-million dollar payday. Job well done.
Way to go Andy! I can see the G&G, the tapered legs similar to the chest of drawer project, and really like the symmetry of the doors (cloud lifts or whatever they call that feature).
Crazy curly walnut… Love the design and very well executed!!!
Very nicely done. Nice blending of woods, form and color. I’m sure you’ll continue to be pleased with the outcome for years to come.
I love the grain pattern, that is beautiful.
Outstanding! I love the “smiles” on the front. The piece has a look of classic, solid furniture and the smiles kind of lighten it up a bit. Thank you for sharing this with us; it is inspiring for those of us who want to move forward with the craft.
That is a great looking cabinet, my friend! Well done, you can enjoy that forever with a sense of pride. Bravo!
I really like this and love the extra “design elements” you added. This is one reason we build our own furniture. Very nicely well done.
Great looking piece- may I suggest one thing- Instead of using side mount drawer slides I highly recommend using under mount slides. My favorite are the Blum Tandem soft closing undermount slides. They do not hide you beautiful dovetails.
It looks great.
Plus 1 on the Blum. Everything else looks amazing. Great Job!
Nice!
Fantastic job, love the design! I also love the dedicated spot for the PS3.
That is beautiful. I have been looking at doing something like this. I am a beginner at woodworking and a little intimidated about these kind of projects. Any idea where I could get some plans and try to attempt something like this. Thank you and once again it looks beautiful.
Nice selection of wood Andy. I personally like the effect you chose. Great job overall!
Very nice cabinet! First time I’ve seen curly walnut, I like it a lot.
You are smart to pay attention to the grain orientation and it is greatly a matter of personal preference. I prefer “mountains” vs “smiles”. The panels on the back of your cabinet are a good example of orienting the grain as mountains. Mountains help direct the eyes upward toward the top of the cabinet which is certainly better then towards the floor.
I like the “smile”…its different…in a good way. Nice job.