Entertainment Center w/ Album Drawers

[Julie Moriarty]

The plan is this:
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtrScreenShot_02.jpg

The bottom corner unit (under the TV) will house the bass speaker so the doors will have speaker cloth in place of a panel. Above will be lighted for whatever we put there. The tall sections will be for a turntable, receiver, DVD with album drawers underneath. Drawer slides will be Blum 150# rated soft-close Blumotion. Not sure if the third tall section will be necessary though. It all depends on what's needed for album storage.

In the land of scarce hardwoods, sheet goods will be used for cabinet sides. Some hardwood will be used for face frames, paneled doors and paneled drawer fronts. The sides will be whitewashed with General Finishes whitewash. Everything after that will be coated with General Finishes poly.

[Julie Moriarty]

The units were drawn up in AutoCAD and all dimensions were created from there. Cut sheets for 3/4", 1/2" and 1/4" plywood were also created as was a list for all of the pieces of hardwood needed.

The furniture in the lanai was stacked to the side and covered to make for a workshop extension. The storm shutter was lowered and foam board insulation covered it to keep some of the heat out. It's in the 90s every day here.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_001.jpg

I first cut up all the 3/4" plywood pieces
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_002.jpg

Then the 1/2" ply pieces including the trickier top and bottoms of the corner sections
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_003.jpg

The sides for the bottom corner pieces were lined up for routing the dado for the shelf
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_004.jpg

[Julie Moriarty]

The pieces for the bottom corner were fitted before glue up. This is looking from the back
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_006.jpg

Same for the top corner
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_010.jpg

Those sections are now glued up. Next is to see how this will fit into the corner...

[Dale Murray]

I'm looking forward to seeing this completed.
I have a full shop but for some reason building large cabinets from plywood intimidates me, however, building furniture with complex joints from solid wood does not phase me at all. Seeing you build this with what you are using just may kick me into gear on a few things I want around the house.

[Julie Moriarty]

Hi Dale,

Until 2015, I lived in Willowbrook and made frequent trips to Owl Hardwood, both their Lombard and Des Plaines locations. They completely spoiled me! Then I move to Florida and it's like being in a wood desert. For the first time I'm buying plywood from Home Depot to make cabinets. UGH!

I've had to sell myself on the idea that 1) I'm getting old so the furniture doesn't have to last that long, 2) I live only 7 feet above sea level and one good storm surge can ruin anything I've made, and 3) Will anyone really notice anyway?

It's like selling your soul to the devil. But the plus side is if it gets dinged or scratched, who cares?

Anyway, if you ever take the plywood plunge, dado all the joints. It makes working with large pieces so much easier. And in a strange way, makes me feel like a craftsman... well... sort of.

[julian abram]

Nice thing about whacking up plywood, you get to make a lot of sawdust and if you make a mistake, oh well. I was curious about your router guide that works on the track saw track. Is the router guide a Dewalt model or aftermarket? I have the same Dewalt tracksaw setup as you but have never used it as a guide for dados, pretty slick ideal. thanks-

[Jim Becker]

Nice thing about whacking up plywood, you get to make a lot of sawdust and it you make a mistake, oh well. I was curious about your router guide that works on the track saw track. Is the router guide a Dewalt model or aftermarket? I have the same Dewalt tracksaw setup as you but have never used it as a guide for dados, pretty slick ideal. thanks-

I'm not familiar with her setup, but I've often used my Festool system with a router for guided grooves and dados. A guided router can be a great way to do a lot of this kind of thing accurately and easier than just an edge guide.

[julian abram]

I looked up router guides, Juile's units appears to be a Dewalt model but description says it adapts to PC routers which would work for me. I've about given up using edge guides, one second of lapsed attention and you wish you had attempted something different. A guide that locks into a track would certainly be a better method. Don't really need it now but think I'll order one for future projects.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, that's the key...the guide and the router are linked in a way that there's less risk for, um...straying...like there might be with an edge guide.

[Julie Moriarty]

I was curious about your router guide that works on the track saw track. Is the router guide a Dewalt model or aftermarket? I have the same Dewalt tracksaw setup as you but have never used it as a guide for dados, pretty slick ideal. thanks-
Yeah, the router guide is made by Dewalt. Fits perfect with the Dewalt track and router. Hook the vac up and it's almost dust free.

[Julie Moriarty]

The end base cabinets
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_011.jpg

http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_012.jpg

For the center cabinet, there will be a slide out shelf for the receiver and DVD player. The doors will be inset with Blum soft close hinges so I had to frame it out more like a frameless cabinet would be.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_013.jpg

I but the height of the bookshelf cabinets down 5". Having the sliding sled on the table saw makes cutting the short side of long pieces so much easier
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_014.jpg

The album drawers taking shape
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_015.jpg

[Julie Moriarty]

The album drawers are done, dividers included. And the albums fit nicely. :)
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_016.jpg

I picked up the face and top wood on Wednesday. 4/4 for the faces and 6/4 for the tops.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_017.jpg

From this point it's figure it out as you go. The top angled cabinet will be supported by the shelves on either side. I'm thinking I'll use cleats so the spacing on the bottom pieces has to be right.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_019.jpg

The 4/4 boards are a full 1" thick. I'm thinking of leaving them like that but I'll have to make sure they are all the same thickness. Once I decide which way to go, I can determine the final width of the tops.

[Julie Moriarty]

The top pieces are rough cut to size and glued up. After glue up, I trimmed them to final size and beveled the exposed edges to 45 degrees. The intent is to keep the rough timber look as much as possible while making the surface and edges friendly for use. I did a quick seal coat with General Finishes High Performance poly in satin.

http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_020.jpg

Next step was milling the walnut for the cabinet faces. Bolivian walnut is pretty hard and my Dewalt 735 struggled mightily trying to plane the 8" wide boards. The 4/4 raw lumber runs a bit thicker than 1" and it took 7-8 passes before I could get the boards down to just over an inch. Several times the planer head dropped from the vibration and tripped either the overload or the 20A dedicated breaker. Rather than keep fighting it, I opted to resaw 3/16" off the boards and then plane them down to the final 3/4" thickness needed for the faces.

http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_021.jpg

FWIW, I found I had to tension the Resaw King blade quite a bit to get the blade to track properly. This Bolivian walnut makes you work!

[vince dale]

The design looks great and can't wait to see the finished product. Like the walnut!

[Julie Moriarty]

Thank you, Vince. The B walnut certainly is interesting. One of the things I like about it is you don't have to be perfect, like perfectly combed hair. Don't know why, but I've always liked messy hair. I think that's why furniture building never appealed to me. Though I totally respect and am in awe of those who excel at it.

I got the face frames done today.

http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_023.jpg

Now I'm trying to decide it I nail them on the face or hide evidence of how they are secured.

[Jim Becker]

One of the things I truly appreciate about your projects, Julie...is that your home is your shop. :D Looking great!

[Julie Moriarty]

One of the things I truly appreciate about your projects, Julie...is that your home is your shop. :D
Boy, is that ever true! I was thinking about that just this morning. I've got everything apart now so I can do all the glue ups. I look around and see clamps on the coffee table, drills and pocket hole tools strewn about the floor, rules and squares on another table when I realize "my workshop" is everywhere - garage, one bedroom, lanai and now the living room! :rolleyes:

[Julie Moriarty]

I know I'm slow but without a planer (in for repairs) I'm really slow! My hand planing skills are getting a workout.

The pecky Bolivian walnut certainly has a mind of its own. I have to rip it 1/4" or so wider than needed, joint it straight and rip it to final width for just about every board. The two rails down the sides of the bookshelves had to be perfect. There's no support for 55". I used biscuits to keep the walnut flush with the sides of the cabinet. The sides are trimmed out with more walnut so when I used the biscuit jointer I had to make sure the walnut spacer was tight to the plywood. Spring clamps worked great,

http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_024.jpg

The shelves will be maximum thickness I can get out of the walnut. After running it through the drum sander it ended up being 1-1/16". Here's how the shelves started. Pretty rough.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_025.jpg

And here's where I am now. The top of the center section will be flush with the tops of the shelves. The TV will be under it. It's starting to look like something!
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_026.jpg

[Julie Moriarty]

All of the six shelves for the bookcase are milled, drum sander planed and RO sanded to 180. The rough boards were 12"-14" in width but didn't take much time on the drum sander to get them flat. I had read Bolivian walnut was pretty stable but when ripping the 8-9" wide boards, I didn't find that to be true. However with these wider boards I found them to be very stable. Working without a planer or jointer, I was happy they could be flattened so easily.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_027.jpg

The fronts for the album drawers are glued up. The panels are made from QS maple and whitewashed. Once a finish is sprayed on, some of the wood tone will bleed through and you'll see the grain better.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_028.jpg

The top center piece gave me fits. Trying to get all the pieces to sit flush against a wall that was not quite square was a challenge. And getting the face frame of the center piece required me to haul the carcase back and forth several times until I got it just right.

Yesterday morning I went to glue the face frame to the box using biscuits. I had it all together when I realized the face was upside down! So I had to tear it apart, scrape off all the glue and let it dry before refitting it. ARRRGGGGHHH! But it's glued up now and the interior is whitewashed.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_029.jpg
On the left is all that remains of the 67 bd/ft I originally bought. I thought I'd have plenty left over.

Now I have to get started on spraying. And I have no idea where I'll do it and how I'm going to lug all those pieces around.

[Jim Dwight]

Nice looking project. You comments help me understand your planner comments in another thread. I've never planned that wood, never worked with it, but I do have to make a lot of passes with my little lunchbox planner. I'm taking something on the order of 1/32 off on each pass. I sometimes do more on narrow boards, expecially if they are hardwood.

I also have a DeWalt track saw and the router attachment. It works well with one of my PC690s. Best way I know to make long dados. I do not have a router with good dust collection, however. I've been thinking about that DeWalt. I can't bring myself to pay the asking price for a Festool.

[Julie Moriarty]

Nice looking project. You comments help me understand your planner comments in another thread. I've never planned that wood, never worked with it, but I do have to make a lot of passes with my little lunchbox planner. I'm taking something on the order of 1/32 off on each pass. I sometimes do more on narrow boards, expecially if they are hardwood.

I also have a DeWalt track saw and the router attachment. It works well with one of my PC690s. Best way I know to make long dados. I do not have a router with good dust collection, however. I've been thinking about that DeWalt. I can't bring myself to pay the asking price for a Festool.

Jim, with the pecky Bolivian walnut, it will bring the 735 to its knees. Or maybe I just got a bad one. But the track saw as a jointer is pretty impressive. On a badly bowed board, the track saw will cut jointing time to a fraction of what most jointers will do.

[Julie Moriarty]

I've been told I'm a wood hoarder. Today that paid off. I got the speaker grille cloth today which compelled me to find wood to make the frame. Leaning against the wall of the garage was two strips of northern maple I refused to throw away. "Some day I will need that."

In the center cabinet will be two doors. Inside that cabinet will be the bass speaker. With the rails and stiles milled, all I needed was the frames for the speaker grilles. And those two strips of maple jumped out at me.

Rather than risking nails spitting out, I just glued and clamped the pieces together.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_031.jpg

I was tinkering with a white or off-white grille cloth but black won out
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_032.jpg

The frame hasn't been finished but maybe the black will work
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_033.jpg

I think I can hear David Byron singing The Wizard, somewhere off in the distance...

[Jim Becker]

I think I can hear David Byron singing The Wizard, somewhere off in the distance...
And if you're lucky, he'll come marching through your house with the current "fully mobile" band once you have this project completed. :) :D

[Julie Moriarty]

That was good, Jim. Put a smile on my face. :D

[Julie Moriarty]

Yesterday we dismantled the entertainment center and, one by one, dragged the pieces out front to spray them. I'm using General Finishes High Performance poly in satin for everything, even the tops. This is my spray booth
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_035.jpg

I almost got a coat on everything but clouds started rolling in. Earlier, we had just taken the two end base cabinets out to spray them when we started feeling drops. I looked up and didn't see any dark clouds. It was mostly sunny. Pretty soon the drops turned to rain and we were scrambling to bring the cabinets back in the house. So when the dark clouds rolled in, I shut it down for the day. Good thing because just as I was rolling up the plastic, the rain started and soon it was pouring. Maybe I need a drier spray booth. :rolleyes:

[Julie Moriarty]

While I'm waiting for another gallon of poly to arrive, it seemed like a good idea to get the back wall done. I took some rough sawn 2x6 cedar boards and resawed them into thirds then whitewashed the planks. I didn't plane the boards, just left them however they came out of the bandsaw.

http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_036.jpg
I moved the HVAC return from the floor to the ceiling. Rather have it draw heat off the ceiling than cold off the floor.

I ran out of planks, just a little shy of finishing. So I had to push everything back in place until I resaw and whitewash some more planks.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_037.jpg

[Julie Moriarty]

Applying the finish on all of the cabinet sections was completed on Friday. Then the rain rolled in. What's left is manageable except the top for the base center cabinet. Its size and weight are at the upper limits of what I can handle alone. But after a couple of coats of poly, slippery is added into the mix. While carrying it from the family room to the lanai, it slipped right out of my hand and crunched the laminate flooring. :(:mad:

So rather than try to lug it outside to the saw horses, I decided to use the roll and tip method boaters use when painting the boat's hull. The poly is spray only but roll and tip worked pretty well. I still want to spray the final coat but I'll need to recruit a neighbor or wait for the weekend again.

[Julie Moriarty]

Almost done! Just a few finishing touches - deciding on handles, making a pullout for the stereo equipment and finding something to keep the rope light on the top center cabinet in place.

http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_038.jpg

The 150# Blum Soft-Close Tandem slides work great with the album drawers. When I was loading in the albums, I was worried about the weight. But those slides are so smooth it's a pleasure to using them.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_039.jpg

A close up
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_040.jpg
The band saw marks were the result of the planer dying. Rather than taking all the wood to the drum sander, I went with the rough sawn look.

[Jim Becker]

That looks really nice, Julie.

Something you might experiment with is to put a black curtain behind the screen to blank out the white wall. It will catch the eye less that way, especially during daylight hours, but not interfere with your ability to make changes, etc.

[Robert Engel]

Nice work. Different take on rail/stile direction works with this piece.

As for the lumber, have you tried a Google search? From the looks of those palms, I'm guess you in SW FL. Close?

Personally I gave up on the local distributors around me I just hate dealing with surfaced lumber.

So once a year, I make a 7 hr trip to sawmill in NC where I can get some really nice stuff. Me and my brother make a road trip out of it and have a good time.

393213

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well done Julie!

[Julie Moriarty]

Thank you, guys! This pretty much took up all my focus for two months. When wake up in the morning now, I have to remind myself it's time to switch gears and focus on the next project. You have to know when it's time to let go.

[Bill McNiel]

Not too shabby for a "non-woodworker" ;-) Julie, someday you are going have to own up to your skill set, not only as a woodworker but as a designer.
Unique and well executed solution - Bill

[Julie Moriarty]

Not too shabby for a "non-woodworker" ;-) Julie, someday you are going have to own up to your skill set, not only as a woodworker but as a designer.
Unique and well executed solution - Bill

You made me blush, Bill.... But thank you. That means the world to me.

[Julie Moriarty]

Next up is to make the slide out base for the stereo equipment - a receiver and DVD player. I'm just going to stack them but I want to be able to slide them out to make connections easier.

I chose a piece of walnut veneer plywood that I acquired so long ago I don't even remember where I got it and wrapped it with the pecky walnut.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_041.jpg
I ripped the walnut edging to a depth that hides the slides. The slides are longer than the base to enable the equipment to pull out sufficiently past the face of the cabinet to allow for easier connections.

I cut in biscuits and glued up the pieces.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_042.jpg

And put a few coats of GF High Performance poly on it
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_043.jpg

Today I'll install it and see how it works. This has been three years in the waiting.

[Julie Moriarty]

Saturday I installed the slides and the pull out platform. The slides are designed to be side mounted but I needed every bit of the opening for the equipment.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_044.jpg

When it was pulled out it couldn't support much weight so I made temporary support legs. I placed the DVD player on first. The receiver needs 8" of breathing room above it so it has to go on top. And since it has a larger footprint I had to make up a platform out of 1/2" plywood, which I painted black. After I placed the DVD player on, I remembered I needed to connect the digital audio cable to it. So I leaned over, placing my hand on top, and down it came! The temporary legs slid right out. The slides were destroyed.

Bad plan.

So I took a piece of 1/4" HDMW and secured it to the bottom of the cabinet with turner's tape. I didn't want to screw it down because that could create some drag points. Then I placed the walnut platform on it and checked to see if I could rotate it inside the cabinet. Next went the DVD player, the plywood and the receiver.
http://julimorcreations.com/2220/GrtRm/EntCtr/EntCtr_045.jpg

For the first time since we moved here (8/15) we've got real home theater sound.

Took long enough!

[Greg Parrish]

Looks great. And nice Pioneer Elite components. Thumbs up. :)

[Julie Moriarty]

Thanks, Greg. Had a worrisome moment with that old equipment. I couldn't get any sound out of the front or rear speakers. The speakers are Bose Acoustimass and connect from the receiver to the bass unit with a printer cable kind of jack. When you wiggle it the bass pops. So I thought the problem was in the connector. A few years ago the Bose didn't work at all. I took it apart and followed some online instructions and got it working again. Then I hook it up now and only the front side speakers work. I was pretty bummed.

I took out the instructions, studied them carefully (it's 92 pages) and all day yesterday tried this and that to get them to work. No luck.

This morning I'm going through them again and I see I had "STEREO" instead of "THX" selected. I switch to "THX" and guess what? :o