The Floating Credenza - Build Thread

[Brian Holcombe]

Good morning! I've started off a new build, creating a pair of wall hanging credenzas, one for media (TV) and the other for general storage. Both will featuring sliding doors, one will featuring drawers in addition to those sliding doors.

Please check out my post here;

https://brianholcombewoodworker.com/2016/09/26/the-floating-credenza/

I look forward to your comments.

[Prashun Patel]

Brian-
That medicine cabinet looks familiar.... Love the design. I thought you made that in cypress. The wood looks very much like beech.

[Pat Barry]

Cool! This will be interesting, as usual. ;)

[Eric Schubert]

Nice work, Brian! As a beginning woodworker, I'll be following along and hoping to pick up a few tips along the way. It's looking fantastic, so far.

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian-
That medicine cabinet looks familiar.... Love the design. I thought you made that in cypress. The wood looks very much like beech.

Thank you! They do look similar but that is white cypress. It's enjoyable to work on but not quite as much as yellow cedar.


Cool! This will be interesting, as usual. ;)

Thanks Pat!


Nice work, Brian! As a beginning woodworker, I'll be following along and hoping to pick up a few tips along the way. It's looking fantastic, so far.

Thanks Eric, if you have any questions please fire away.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks Eric, if you have any questions please fire away.

If you insist... :)

Can I ask how you edge plane your boards to make sure they're straight, and not concave along the edges? Looks like you got a very nice glue-up on your panels.

[Brian Holcombe]

I will answer with a video;


https://youtu.be/vvwUICq2vQk

[Prashun Patel]

Great video. Your movements speak so much more than words. I appreciate your presentation style.

[Eric Schubert]

Excellent video. Thank you, Brian!

[Brian Holcombe]

Thank you both!

[James Pallas]

Brian, Great design and nice panels. I like wall hung (floating) furniture and also furniture with long legs. It seems that those designs are a hard sell in today's world. If nothing else there are far fewer dust bunnies to chase. Oh and that piece would look great with full blind dovetails:).
Jim

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks Jim! It's fairly popular in and around NYC. I like to eliminate legs where possible, no need for something up against the wall not to simply attach to the wall :D. Which also allows one to hide wires, I have a pass through behind that credenza and all of my wiring plugs in behind the wall, I also put the subwoofer behind the wall.

Hah! I agree but I worry that they will be easily confused for floating tenons.

[Phil Mueller]

Ok, Brian, I just have to ask. So you have these new floating cabinets in your family room. Your wife decides to have some friends over for Saturday afternoon college football. Now what sort of friends are going to scratch their head, interrupt the ongoing conversation, and ask loudly "hey, Brian, are those floating tenons?!"

[Brian Holcombe]

Hey, it could happen! :p

One of these cabinets is for a client, the other is built on speculation. I plan to enter it in a show, if I'm successful than it will be in the show for a few months. If not then I will shop it around to galleries and hopefully hang it on one of their walls. In any case, it must speak for itself while I'm not in the room to explain my joinery. :D

[Phil Mueller]

Ha! Fair enough. Look forward to the build.

[James Pallas]

That explains it. From your first description I thought you were replacing one. You have to do what a client wants and dovetails do sell. In any case I'm confident that the work will be a fine example. After all you have set the bar pretty high for yourself. Nothing at all wrong with that.
Jim

[Brian Holcombe]

To make matters more interesting, the show entry deadline is 10/4, so I've got to get it looking like a cabinet by then and if it's accepted then finished by the delivery date.

[Matthew Hills]

I will answer with a video;
I wouldn't have the confidence to do a glueup with the clothes you're wearing.

Looking forward to the series.

Matt

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks for sharing Brian. And nothing like a deadline to sharpen the mind. Best of luck with the show entry; I'm sure it will be accepted. Also, I really liked your approach with the grain matching on the cherry top.

Best,
C

[Brian Holcombe]

Hah, Matthew, I make up for it with my footwear.

Thanks Christopher! Fingers crossed as they say. I'll probably put a few weeks worth of work into the shop this week(end).

[Mike Allen1010]

My goodness Brian, at the risk of sounding like a blathering fan, I have to say I think your posts/blog are fantastic!


I wish you had a TV show so I could sit on the couch, cocktail in hand and watch you work. The "Brian Holcombe Channel" would constitute the bulk of my TV watching (at least until the Dodgers are in the playoffs!).


In all seriousness, I really enjoy your use of hand tools – not just to achieve a final fit and finish (which are exquisite), but also as a fundamental part of your building process. I envision preindustrial cabinetmakers working in a way very similar to you.


I also appreciate you taking the time to describe tool setup and methods of work. I've learned a lot from you, particularly about Japanese tools, that I try (feebly at best) to apply to my own hand tool work.


Although the wall hung credenza is a bit modern for my personal taste, I very much look forward to the rest of the build.


Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience and expertise – very generous of you!


I hope you meet the deadline for the upcoming show and sell tons of furniture!


Best, Mike

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks Mike!

A channel....hah, that would be interesting to a few and boring for many. The time I spend sitting and contemplating would seem like an episode of 'The Fly' from Breaking Bad.

My pleasure! Always happy to share.

I hope to sell! I've long ago run out of room in the house of more furniture so I need some buyers to keep the work moving, haha.

[John Kananis]

Looking good; also, the quality of your YT videos is getting much better - thank you for your efforts.

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks John! Funny as it was the smallest change that fixed the video quality. I stopped using the editor I was filming through.

[David Eisenhauer]

I saw an apparently just-introduced YT video of yours a few days ago on the subject of (I believe? faulty memory?) chopping dovetails? or something while sitting on the work piece placed on your saw bench. The wood working was informative as usual, but I was dismayed, nay shocked even, to take note of an apparent deterioration of or a lack of regard towards maintaining your (previously meticulous) personal appearance concerning your work clothing. Paint-spotted work slacks? What? "Say it ain't so Joe." What next - stained-torn jeans? Stretched-neck tee shirts? The ever-popular shorts and cowboy boots combo? Forsooth Mr Holcombe - you know your duty and please attend to it.

[Brian Holcombe]

Hah! Thanks for the laugh.

Those slacks are not shoddy, they are Jackson Pollock addition! :D