And the pulpit project begins.........

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11-18-2006, 7:13 PM
Terry Hatfield

5 Attachment(s)

And the pulpit project begins.........

Howdy everyone,

Hope ya'll are having a great weekend!!!

I got a start last evening on the new pulpit for our church. The pastor has a lot of "things" he apparently needs to see all at once whilst he is preaching and he says the current pulpit is too small for him to be able to lay everything out that he would like to... so on the heels of the sound booth project...http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=45612 ... a new pulpit is in the works.

We searched for pulpits online and found lots of nice ones. Man, if you haven't ever searched for ready made pulpits it's an eye opener. They are SUPER expensive!!! This basic design with the octagon top and bottom ended up being the favortie but it needs to be quite a bit larger and I'm doing raised panels instead of the applied moulding on plywood look.

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I began trying to figure out the proper proportions and that turned out to be a bit of a challenge. I made a few templates out of scrap plywood and finally got what I hope will be big enough without being over powering. Here's me trying to figure the dimensions on the lower template. A sketchup user I ain't. LOL. Measure, mark, allow for the crown moulding, try to get a good looking reveal on the base and still leave enough for the raised panels to look good...it was a bit of a head scratcher for me but I enjoyed figgerin' it out. The base ended up being 21 1/2X29 1/2 including the 3/4" edge banding.

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Here's the top template with the bible rest base template on it. The top is 28X36 plus the edge treatment which will make it 30X38 overall.

Attachment 50368

I dug out some more of my big white oak boards that I've been hoarding and started sizing and milling. I do love being able to make nearly and entire project from one or two boards from the same tree. The consistent grain and color makes a project flow much better than a bunch of little boards that don't even know each other. :D The boards I'm using here range from 18" to 20" wide.

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Here's the board I selected for the bible rest itself. It'll be 18X30 finished. If that ain't enough room for him to lay out his goods, he's in trouble.:D

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That's where I called it a nite......................
11-18-2006, 7:26 PM
Terry Hatfield

3 Attachment(s)

This morning I went out to the shop and got going again. I began by finishing milling and getting all the boards for the stiles, rails and raised panels sized. I then fired up the router table and did the cope and stick and raised the panels. Here they are just dry fit together.

Attachment 50373

I was afraid that the raised panels on the sides were not going to look good being so narrow but I think they look OK.

I milled the corners from some solid 2" white oak and cut a "V" in the back so they fit over the corners of the panels. I debated on doing this with glueups but I have the solid stock and I decided to go that way. I think it worked out preetty well. Here's the pedestal portion of the pulpit dry fit.

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Attachment 50374

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to get all the pieces parts sanded and guled up for real. I'm going to make the tops and bottoms of the octagons from plywood and I have already milled all the edge banding material and the moulding I cheated and bought so it feels like I'm well on the way!!! I'll post more when I get more done.

Thanks for looking,

Terry
11-18-2006, 7:36 PM
Rick de Roque

Terry, looks like you have got a good start. Good cause also.

Rick
11-18-2006, 7:47 PM
Tom Hamilton

Hi Terry:

It is such a pleasure to see you back in the Creek with some frequency. Your latest two projects are wonderful. You don't need Sketchup with your eye.

Thanks for sharing.

Tom, in Houston, who can't wait to show his Pastor SIL what you are doing for your Pastor.
11-18-2006, 7:54 PM
Jim Becker

Looks like a fine project, Terry! And plenty of angles to keep you happy! :D
11-18-2006, 7:56 PM
Terry Hatfield

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Becker

Looks like a fine project, Terry! And plenty of angles to keep you happy! :D

I here ya my friend. If nothing else. I got angles aplenty on this project. I bought some extra crown moulding just in case. :D

t
11-19-2006, 12:26 AM
David Rose

Hey t! I'll bring you some walnut. Save all the dimensions for the next one. :D Lookin' GOOD!

You're getting serious about tithing, aren't you? ;)

David
11-19-2006, 12:47 AM
Dennis Peacock

OK T.....you're making my head hurt with all the danglin angles you got all spread out there.:p Looks GREAT and if that won't be big enough? I'll come take it off your hands and deliver it to our church. :P :D

Excellent work by an excellent craftsman. :D
11-19-2006, 10:52 PM
Terry Hatfield

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennis Peacock

Looks GREAT and if that won't be big enough? I'll come take it off your hands and deliver it to our church. :P :D

You still remember they way to my house????? :p

t
11-19-2006, 10:55 PM
Terry Hatfield

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Rose

Hey t! I'll bring you some walnut. Save all the dimensions for the next one. :D Lookin' GOOD!

You're getting serious about tithing, aren't you? ;)

David

Walnut???? You are on your own with that one my friend. That nasty stuff makes me sneeze but I'll be glad to copy the cut list so you can tithe one for your pastor. :D

Still hungry in Springdale,

t
11-20-2006, 12:21 AM
David Rose

Yeah, but isn't oak that stuff that is good for utility trailor floors and mangers and nasty splinters and broken hammer handles on all the bent nails? Oops! Guess my experience with oak started before my furniture woodworking experiences. :o

About 35 years ago I tried to help my grandfather recycle a bunch of old oak from a barn. All he needed were some stanchions and a manger for his goats. He and I neither being old farm boys got a workout. The little milk barn was 300 feet from the house. Grandpa would NOT buy that much extension cord for a drill! And where were cordless drills then? Anyway, we ended up puting it together with masonry nails that were hard enough to break rather than bend. And we broke plenty. We had already tried blunting the points of nails and soaping up the tips after. With that old seasoned oak, it didn't make much difference. Grandpa sure would grimmace when one of those "expensive" nails would break! Of course, I don't think either of us knew what hardwood was other than firewood.

David, hungry in Prairie Grove (we were just annexed), but loves walnut

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry Hatfield

Walnut???? You are on your own with that one my friend. That nasty stuff makes me sneeze but I'll be glad to copy the cut list so you can tithe one for your pastor. :D

Still hungry in Springdale,

t
11-20-2006, 8:22 AM
Rennie Heuer

Terry,

Good to see that this project is underway. Can't wait to see the finished project. Keep the pictures coming!
11-20-2006, 9:44 AM
John Timberlake

Nice looking design and I love the seeing the progress. Looks like you got a good start already. Can't wait to see the rest of the story. Someday, I might make one for my church. We have a new church with an old pulpit.