Black & White Wide-screen TV Stand...

[John Thompson]

A departure from my normal A & C work. Simply just a TV stand for a wide screen designed to hold two black boxes.. two speakers and a 50" flat screen TV. Nothing more.. nothing less. Five weeks work with proto-type.. finish and cure times. Maple and ebonized poplar. All joinery.. no metal with the exception of four 5" long 3/8" steel rods inserted into 3/8" holes drilled diagonally in the rear of the bottom front and rear stretcher mortise hole extending to the toe of the outside foot of the legs. A quick glance at the grain orientation on the one piece legs explains the "why".

Poplar is ebonized with Speedball Super Black India Ink with three coats of wiped oil poly after being sealed with wax free shellac. Maple finish is brushed water base poly as I don't have a sprayer. Spent several hours playing with the light on the piece trying to bring out the radiant curl in the maple but with no major success. It's definitely there on my $1.95 a bd. foot curly maple (gloat) but you won't see it unless you visit. I have no clues with photo lighting which is rather obvious. http://www.bt3central.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Thanks for looking... critique if you wish!

[Mike Zilis]

John,

I like it! That's a radical flair on the legs which really makes the piece looked hunkered down, like it's saying "I'm not going anywhere!"

-Mike

[Stephen Ash]

John, that's very nice! Clean and simple, with plenty of visual interest due to the graceful curves. I love the contrast between the maple and the ebonized poplar. Seems like the materials costs were pretty reasonable too :)

Regards,
Steve

[John Thompson]

Thanks Mike and Stephen.. The cost on this piece was under $100 with finish and ink Stephen. That's the cheapest piece material wise I have made in probably 10 years. Great deal running on curly at my local supplier. The problem is I don't use maple often.

Again.. thanks guys!

[gary Zimmel]

Quite a change from the QSWO look Sarge...
But in saying that I like the style of this one. And $1.95 a bf. for curly maple.:cool: That's like stealing up here. Good for you, I hope you got a ton of it.
The ebonized poplar and maple work very well together.
Nice work on this piece. Thanks for the look see Sarge.

[John Thompson]

Quite a change from the QSWO look Sarge...
But in saying that I like the style of this one. And $1.95 a bf. for curly maple.:cool: That's like stealing up here. Good for you, I hope you got a ton of it.
The ebonized poplar and maple work very well together.
Nice work on this piece. Thanks for the look see Sarge.

Thanks Gary.. the $1.95 is pretty much a running deal at my supplier. They cull out the bin and put the curly in the economy shed. I just dig through every time I am up which is often looking for an exceptional piece to hoard. It's so cheap I often use it for drawer sides.

I really like this piece also Gary.. First time ebonizing that kind of volume and I learned a ton about doing it by simply experimenting on scrap for days before I fired the actual shot.

Regards...

[Van Huskey]

Absolutely gorgeous! I love the design and the poplar!

[glenn bradley]

Ahh, I like it, I like it. Great look and the contrast really makes it stand out but the black will make it disappear when folks are viewing. Very cool.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Nicely done. Makes me re-think the unit I was going to make to the den.
.

[John Thompson]

Thanks Van and Glenn.. the piece looks really good in place with the TV and hardware loaded. Our female neighbors keep asking when we are going on vacation for whatever reason? That's a compliment from them as several are "picky-picky" IMO if you know what I mean. haha

[John Thompson]

Thanks Mitchell... take the idea and let your imagination run wild if you wish. Something about one of a kind that makes me smile. :)

[Brent Ring]

Very Nice Work Sarge. The lines and colors are awesome. Its seems to be perfect for a flat screen TV stand, standing out on its own when the TV is off, but leaving the attention to the TV when on. Wonderful!

[Rob Lindquist]

Awesome, I really need to do something using ebonized wood. I love the style, design and the contrasting wood. Simply beautiful, elegant yet sturdy, it seems to have it all.

[John Thompson]

Thanks for the kind words Brent and Rob.. I may do another modern piece in the near future as I did enjoy designing this one. Time will tell as I have to pop out a few Xmas gifts from the shop soon.

[Jon Lanier]

I love it!!!! Do you have plans for it?

[Seth Dolcourt]

Sarge,

Nice work! I like everything about it; proportion, contrasting colors, style...it looks right, so it must be right.

Alright, if you will, can you shed some insight on the Speedball ink? Was that just good old fashioned stamp pad ink? Straight from the bottle or mixed with an alcohol carrier?

I'm asking because what a great idea to apply to a drum shell, go for that inky black / piano black.

Cheers,

Seth

[John Thompson]

I love it!!!! Do you have plans for it?

Thanks Jon.. I have pretty much designed my own for several years so my plans are basically crude drawings on note-pad paper with pencil. I can paint a straight line with a brush but can't draw one on paper. I took a shot of them this morning so you get the real picture. Once I have determined the main dimentions from width and depth of TV.. w & d of cable boxes.. over-laps.. tenon lenghts.. and the list goes on the rest is pretty much visualized in my mind and I add notes to actual dimensions of each piece.

Here is the actual "plan" I made for this piece. You have to free-lance the dimentions depending on the equipment you have. The first thing I did was determine the height to a point that the screen will be eye-ball level in my room seated which is where we like it. You might like it higher? In this case I added over-lap to the rear table top even though this will sit against a wall. I designed the shelving to be removed by simply taking the top off. With rear over-lap that gives the TV stand versatility to become a coffee table by simply adding two maple speed bumps in the bottom dadoes that the current vertical shelves sit in. At some point we might go to a wider TV for who in-herits this piece might decide to use as a coffee table?

Sorry I can't provide clearer plans but most of the actual plans are simply visualized in my mind. Just the way I have always done things. ;)

[John Thompson]

Sarge,

Nice work! I like everything about it; proportion, contrasting colors, style...it looks right, so it must be right.

Alright, if you will, can you shed some insight on the Speedball ink? Was that just good old fashioned stamp pad ink? Straight from the bottle or mixed with an alcohol carrier?

I'm asking because what a great idea to apply to a drum shell, go for that inky black / piano black.

Cheers,

Seth

Afternoon Seth.. I have never done this volume of ebonizing before.. never on poplar and never using India Ink. I spent several days experimenting to find what I was looking for. The first thing I found was not all India Ink is the same. I purchased several brands in 2 oz. bottles from local art supplies and craft shops and used it on poplar and maple. What I decided was best for me was Speedball (brand name) Super Black India Ink and I purchased a qt. from Dick Blick art supply as in www dickblick dot com as I don't think I can post a web-site here.

They have Black Cat and if you google the search box for Speedball you will find it there. The Super black is just that.. super black. Free flowing.. non clogging.. water-proof.. permanent.. fadeless.. and 100% carbon black pigments. Again all India ink is not the same as I found. This stuff penetrates much deeper than I ever could imagine even on maple. I used it and took it to the planer to find it could penetrate up to 1/4" in spots in tight grain. That surprised me highly.

I also tested as to how to best apply in this quantity. I found a 2" chip brush and brushing on liberally in a pass was my best approach. At the end of the pass if any was left in the surface standing I would gently (and I emphasize gently) make a light sweep with a soft terry cloth towel to remove it. Once the entire surface was covered I allowed it to dry for 24 hours. I doubt it really takes that long as it dries very fast but better safe than sorry when duplication of component of this size are at stake.

Once dry.. I rubbed out lightly with 1000 grit abralon to take any minute raised wood fiber off. BTW.. I took my actual stock to 220 grit.. then raised the grain with dis-tilled water before a final pass with 320 grit to remove it before application of Ink. I intentionally wanted to burnish the pores. If that actually helped I cannot scientifically answer? Worked for me even though it might have worked as well without taking the sanding to 320?

Hope that helps.. I knew nothing about ebonizing a surface this large before but.. I know quite a bit about how to approach it at this point. You cannot look at a piece and determine just how much home-work and detail goes into it unless you do it yourself. Most are going to just look at the finished product and either approve or dis-approve in reality. That's just the way it is.... :)

Good luck.. any further questions ask and I will give them my best shot based on what I know about the use of India Ink to ebonize wood at this point. ;)

[Seth Dolcourt]

John,

Awesome info, thanks!

Wow, 1/4" penetration on the ink? My drums are usually 3/8", so I shouldn't suffer bleed-through of any sort. But masking the inside is definitely called for, the drum forums to which I post are notoriously picky about needless drips and spots on the insides.

A good buddy of mine posted a high shine finish to a piano black shell, and described the mental anguish he endured to perfectly polish the shell with no visible scratches. This will be quite a challenge.

Cheers,

Seth

[John Thompson]

I would most definitely test on whatever species you use as I did Seth. Again.. better safe than sorry. And yeah.. to get the finish shiny with no visible scratches is gonna be a bear. Your probably going to have to take it up to 4000 grit in my guess-timation but testing on scrap will hold the answer I suppose. Without "any" visible scratch is a tall order and a bit anal for an old rough and tumble as me. Patience and a lot of dedicated hard work indeed! :)

[Andrew Hughes]

Nice looking table i like proportions also.Black has got to be the hardest finish to tackle by hand.Even a small ebony box can be a time thief.What i also like about the table it looks like its ready to go somewhere.:)

[Justin Bukoski]

Sarge, that's a really inspiring piece. Thanks for posting the pics.

[Bret Duffin]

Sarge,

You're right, it's quite a depature from your usual style, but it's very nice. I like the design and execution looks top notch as usual.

thanks, Bret

[John Thompson]

Thanks Andrew.. Justin and Bret...

You're correct about black being hard to tackle. If you saw the post by Seth stating he has to attempt to do a drum head without any visible scratch you can feel the hurt for him as I do. That's a very tall order! :eek: I like the comment about it being ready to go somewhere. It doesn't have GPS so hopefully it won't wander farther than the immediate neighbor-hood! I suppose I should anchor an eye hook in the floor and chain it down in case it has gypsy blood in it's veins.. :D

[Chris Padilla]

Tight, open, and airy...like it could fly away! Love it...nice job.

[John Thompson]

Thanks much Chris...

[Jeffrey Makiel]

John,
I really, really like the contemporary design. Absolutely beautiful. This piece is a work of art as well as a furniture piece. Nice going!

-Jeff :)

[John Thompson]

Thanks kindly Jeffery. I have had two local interior design shops on the Historic Square of my home-town (outside Atlanta) call me as they saw the piece on my Facebook account contact me in referecne to the piece. That makes me feel very good about the design of this one regardless if I pursue their request or not. :)

[Lee Koepke]

Thats very nice Sarge.

Its quite different from what you typically do, I really like it!

I am intrigued by the $1.95 maple ... I like to use maple in my pieces, usually pay a little more but dont have the opportunity to pick my pieces ...

[Jim Becker]

Sarge, that's really outstanding! Nice work! Great design.

[John Thompson]

Thats very nice Sarge.

Its quite different from what you typically do, I really like it!

I am intrigued by the $1.95 maple ... I like to use maple in my pieces, usually pay a little more but dont have the opportunity to pick my pieces ...

Thanks Leo.. Suwanee has an economy bin on the right of the entrance driveway that they cull the curly from the standard soft for whatever reason and sell for $1.95. It used to be $2.05 but I suppose the economy has driven the price down. haha The normal stock bins get gone through about every three months which loads up the economy bin.

I go up pretty often just to look as you never really know when the event will happen even though I know Oscar and the guys in the warehouse. It's hit or miss with exceptional but they are very close to me and sometimes you run into some very exceptional. Like that box of chocolates in the Forrest Gump movie.. you just never know what you're gonna get. At least I can make drawer sides from curly maple about as cheap as poplar. ;)

Have a good day over in Carroll Co. my friend...

[John Thompson]

Sarge, that's really outstanding! Nice work! Great design.

Thanks very kindly for the compliment Jim.. this is not normal Southern Cooking for me. Had to hold back on the fried green tomatoes on this particular piece but I didn't take any short-cuts with curves! Seven different templates on this one. :)