I Need Help!!!!

[Dale Thompson]

Yeah, I KNOW! What's new? Anyway, there are two things:

- Does anyone know if the diamond pattern on the attached link to an entertainment center is a reasonable project for a klutz with a pitifully small mind and a very intelligent home workshop? :o :)

http://www.hookerfurniture.com/largeview.cfm?filename=photos/large/HF10970003RS_5_03.jpg

- The wife and kids are looking for birthday present ideas for me. That's assuming that I will last for another week or so. :eek:

I'd like to ask for a remote-controlled sailboat or power boat. I have enough hobbies already, however, so I am trying to resist those evil thoughts. Can anyone think of a kind of off-the-wall tool that I may not have and that you find useful for one or more applications. I know that this is an unfair question but it's easier to ask it this way than try to list the tools that I DO have. ;)

Sorry and Thanks!

Dale T.

[John Lucas]

Dale,
The diamond pattern is not that hard but it is veneer and I dont know what veneer skills and equipment you have. In my book, it asks to be done with a vacuum bag. You culd do without but very difficult and may well give you years of headaches.

http://www.hookerfurniture.com/photos/large/HF10970003RS_5_03.jpg

It would be fun to pick the veneers and cut and tape them together. I would glue down to MDF as a substrate. A fun project but, in my opinion, I wouldn't touch it without the vacuum bag. If you are not familiar with them, try this site: www.vacupress.com . You will see that they offer two how-to videos that will bring you up to speed quickly (I did them with Darry Keil the expert).
ANyway, let us know what you do.

[Bill Arnold]

... Does anyone know if the diamond pattern on the attached link to an entertainment center is a reasonable project for a klutz with a pitifully small mind and a very intelligent home workshop? :o :) ...Dale,

I would have balked at something like that until I worked in a commercial shop for a while for the experience. I wound up doing a lot of similar panels for use on motor yachts. We used quality paper-backed veneers and created acrylic patterns. Since your piece will be a one-off, you could probably dispense with the patterns and just mark off the cuts on the veneer.

As to the process, I cut the veneer to the pattern then sanded the edges using a straightedge as a guide. The final step in the prep sanding was to back-bevel the edges a bit to provide to aid in glue-up. The veneers for one panel were taped together along the edge to be glued, then flipped over for glue to be applied along the seam.

Prior to gluing the veneer to the panel, match lines are placed on the veneers and the panels to aid in alignment during glue-up. The panels were then placed in a vacuum bag for a few hours.

Another thing to consider is the order in which veneers are applied to the panels. The inside face of the panel could be straight veneer unless you want to repeat the appearance of the outside. In any case, apply the inside veneer first, then the edge-banding, the the outside veneer. Applying in this order minimizes the appearance of the seams.

Here's a great resource for veneering and vacuum bagging information:
http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/welcome.htm

Good luck on your project!

Regards,

[Bill Arnold]

It's hard to determine the dimensions of the doors in the photo. If they are more than 48" high, you'll need to use veneer that is called (depending on source) 8x4 (rather than 4x8), cross-grain, or counter front.

If you don't already know, here's a good source of veneer:
http://www.oakwoodveneer.com/

You can do it!!!

[Dale Thompson]

Dale,
The diamond pattern is not that hard but it is veneer and I dont know what veneer skills and equipment you have. In my book, it asks to be done with a vacuum bag. You culd do without but very difficult and may well give you years of headaches.

http://www.hookerfurniture.com/photos/large/HF10970003RS_5_03.jpg

.

Hi John,
I've enjoyed your website for years! :) That, John, is a compliment and has nothing to do with chronological inevitabilities. ;) Unfortunately, I missed much of the expertise available on your site due to the pretty young ladies that you so adeptly recruited to assist you in your instruction. ;)

Anyway, I think that the problem is solved and I am off the hook. The unit in question does not break down into modules and, therefore, could never be transported into their basement. :D I also told her that the veneer, as you and Bill identified it, could be subject to the deleterious effects of the potential humidity variations possible in a "basement" home theater. I don't know if that is REALLY true but my daughter, at age 37, still believes that I have an omnipotent "Robot Arm", I think! ;) :) I think that she believed me. :confused:

Thanks again. :)

Dale T.

[Dale Thompson]

Dale,

I would have balked at something like that until I worked in a commercial shop for a while for the experience.

Good luck on your project!

Regards,

and I am an expert at NOTHING!!?? :o

Bill,
Thank you most sincerely for your comments on my post! :) As I mentioned to John, I think that I am off the hook on this one. I always like to try new things but with the costs and talent involved in this one, I would have found it necessary to "bail out" even with the assistance of EXPERTS like you.

Thanks Again!! :D :)

Dale T.

[David Klug]

Dale I know you can do it. What I want is a blow by blow w/pics when you do it. I've been thinking about doing that type of thing on a smaller scale.

DK

[Bill Simmeth]

Boy, Dale, I kinda like the idea of a b-day gift from a place called "Hooker Furniture"... ;)

[Dale Thompson]

Dale I know you can do it. What I want is a blow by blow w/pics when you do it. I've been thinking about doing that type of thing on a smaller scale.

DK

David,
You CAN'T aim your talents at a SMALLER scale than I do things. :eek: You've got to age a lot and destroy your brain cells on street drugs. :D Moving to Peshtigo would guarantee small scale accomplishments but that may be overkill!! ;) :)

Dale T.

[Dale Thompson]

Boy, Dale, I kinda like the idea of a b-day gift from a place called "Hooker Furniture"... ;)

Bill,
VEERRYY FUUUNNNYYY!! I am in desperate need of help and all of a sudden you become a comedian. :( :eek: It's just my luck since you were the LAST person whom I was depending on for help! :rolleyes: Do you have an economic interest in "Hooker Furniture"? :eek:

Thanks for the help, bud. :p :)

Dale T.

[Dev Emch]

Hooker Furniture... Ya, now that is a name that needs explanation when it shows up on the visa statment! Hey Dale, is this a business expense or is this personal?

Good Jokes Aside. First of all Dale, I concure with all the others here. Vacuum Bags are a god's send! You will really get some nice milage out of one of these.

There are two types of veneer work. Cheese-mo and top drawer. In cheese-mo, the idea is to shave a 1/64 in thick layer of nice wood and guber it onto an MDF or particle board substrate. Cough when sanding and you have a hole. This is the work that has given veneer a bad rap.

The orig. use of veneer was for decor and I think the french were among the first to really exploit this medium in styles such as louis XIV, etc. The federal movement in this country also used veneer to a high degree. Done right, its killer!

With a little work and practice, those doors should not be all that hard. But the vac-bag is really the nice tool of choice here.

As for the cabinet itself. No Worries! I have seen some furniture in european sources in which this type of unit was broken down into four sections. There were three main "boxes" along with a single top. In the box was a brass screw and face plate that allowed you to screw the units into one section. This type of hardware makes this problem a breeze.

You lift the top off. Then unscrew the right section. Then unscrew the left section. Then transport the four items on their own. Easy.

Now the millon dollar question is where to find that hardware. If anyone has seen this hardware in the rags or stores, please pipe up as I too could use some of these fittings.

Best of luck...

[Lee DeRaud]

As for the cabinet itself. No Worries! I have seen some furniture in european sources in which this type of unit was broken down into four sections. There were three main "boxes" along with a single top. In the box was a brass screw and face plate that allowed you to screw the units into one section. This type of hardware makes this problem a breeze.

You lift the top off. Then unscrew the right section. Then unscrew the left section. Then transport the four items on their own. Easy.

Now the millon dollar question is where to find that hardware. If anyone has seen this hardware in the rags or stores, please pipe up as I too could use some of these fittings.Probably not exactly what you're talking about, but I've used bed rail fasteners to hold chunks of entertainment centers together. Rockler catalog ID 28589 and 28597 (same thing, two different sizes).

[Keith Christopher]

Dale,


Yes this is possible, of course as others have said vacuum press (VP) will make things go ALOT quicker. but you end up in speciality land here. for a large panel you would want to minimize creep from the glue so a urea resin cold press glue would be warranted. Then there's the cost for a VP and a "full panel" bag. Figured veneers, while cheaper than the full board version are not cheap, especially if you screw them up in cutting or alignment or bleed through... Then there is veneer tape, edgebanding, veneer softener for those crinkled up burl veneers. However veneering is really fun and with some skills and practice some AMAZING pieces of furniture can be produced.



I would start my marquetry project on something smaller to get an overall idea on the process. Then graduate to something this size.

I'll go back to eating my bagel now.