New Member looking for advice

[Ken Prater]

Hello All,
I'm looking for advice on how to proceed with building an Intertainment Center. I have the lumber for it and some of the tools I will need. The lumber is from a walnut tree that I harvested from the family farm about 40 yrs ago and had a local sawmill saw it for me. At the time, I wanted it for a fireplace mantel so I wound up with a piece 6"x9"x9' and the rest of the tree I had sawed into boards. I still have most of it including the mantel piece. None of it has been planed.

I will need to have the large piece cut into boards and then I will need to to have it all planed or maybe purchase a planer and do it myself (I like the idea of doing it myself).

I don't have a Planer or a Jointer and I'm thinking I definitely want to get myself a jointer and maybe a Planer that I could sell later or if I get into more projects I could upgrade it.

I welcome your thoughts.

P.S. I have been associated with a couple of other groups on the web but I'm amazed at how active this group is!!! Really refreshing to see all the interest out there!

Ken

[Prashun Patel]

I'm all for jumping in and just doing something. But my instinct is that an entertainment center out of walnut is an expensive and ambitious starter project.

Do you have a design? Let's see it.

The first big construction decision will be whether to make a plywood or solid wood carcass and reserve the solid stock for veneer or face frames.

The next decision will be your joinery choice.

If it were me, I'd save the walnut for pieces that will show it off more completely. You'll save yourself a LOT of milling, gluing, and surfacing work by going with a plywood construction. You can purchase walnut-veneered plywood from many hardwood dealers. While it may appear pricey, the work saved is worth it. JUST MY 2cents.

But keep the discussion going. You'll get lots of input and will be extremely informed by the time you take blade to wood.

A jointer and planer are good investments for this or future projects. The Ridgid jointer and planer from HD are excellent starter machines (I still own the jointer) and can be had at criminally low prices every couple months when they go on mysterious clearance sales.

I think you should reserve some of your budget for tools/machines for the joinery. Two machines of worthy note are the Festool Domino and the Dowelmax. While pricey, they make professional-quality and strong joints a breeze. Another contender is the Jessem Doweling jig, which is less expensive than the DMax and also gets rave reviews. There are a million ways to skin this cat, though.

[Frank Drew]

Ken

Even though your lumber was milled decades ago and should be pretty stable, if you have the 6" x 9" resawn into boards I'd still stack and sticker them with some weight on top for a week or two to let the boards acclimate.

[Chris Ricker]

Welcome to the Creek, Ken
Shawn.....I mean Prashun (sorry!) has some great advice. I think the plan is most important, after that its a matter of execution. Seeing that we are neighbors, if you need any help, let me know. Me shoppa- U shoppa. I am always available to help a fellow creeker and I have most of the big tools you should need. If you ask more detailed questions on the creek you would get more detailed answers. This is the best place to get useful information.
If you need help, PM me
CR

[Ken Prater]

Prashun, Frank & Chris,

thanks a lot for responding. My learning curve is pretty steep right now, even tho I have some experience (I built a Oak end table about 20 yrs ago with the help of friends that had the tools....planer, jointer and lathe. They did the planing and turning for me and loaned me the jointer. I have some tools: pipe clamps, a Porter Cable Biscuit Jointer to name a couple. Frank, thanks for reminding me that the lumber should be aclimated. Prashun, I stopped by Home Depot yesterday here in North Canton, Ohio and they didn't have the Ridgit jointer....one of the floor clerks said they don't have it anymore but I saw it among their inventory on line.

Chris I really appreciate your offer of help. Did you really sell that Harley to buy your tools? I've had suggestions from another forum here to maybe sell the large piece of walnut to finance tools. I'm going to try to hang on to my 1999 Road King. The Odometer is approaching 100,000 miles and I probably wouldn't get much out of it. I didn't inow about Craig's list classifieds until I got on here. I bought a lathe and a jointer/table from there yesterday. The lathe is a vintage Craftsman. I looked it up at Sears "Parts Direct" and found that most of the parts for it are no longer available....maybe it won't need any parts for a while if I don't break it trying to use it without an operating manual, if so....... There is a machine shop just down the street....

Thanks again guys
Ken