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Thread: Entertainment Center w/ Album Drawers

  1. #1
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    Entertainment Center w/ Album Drawers

    The plan is this:


    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.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  2. #2
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    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.


    I first cut up all the 3/4" plywood pieces


    Then the 1/2" ply pieces including the trickier top and bottoms of the corner sections


    The sides for the bottom corner pieces were lined up for routing the dado for the shelf
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  3. #3
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    The pieces for the bottom corner were fitted before glue up. This is looking from the back


    Same for the top corner


    Those sections are now glued up. Next is to see how this will fit into the corner...
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  4. #4
    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.

  5. #5
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    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.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  6. #6
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    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-
    Last edited by julian abram; 07-15-2018 at 8:07 PM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by julian abram View Post
    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.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8
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    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.

  9. #9
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    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.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by julian abram View Post
    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.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  11. #11
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    The end base cabinets




    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.


    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


    The album drawers taking shape
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  12. #12
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    The album drawers are done, dividers included. And the albums fit nicely.


    I picked up the face and top wood on Wednesday. 4/4 for the faces and 6/4 for the tops.


    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.


    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.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  13. #13
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    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.



    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.



    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!
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  14. #14
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    The design looks great and can't wait to see the finished product. Like the walnut!

  15. #15
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    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.



    Now I'm trying to decide it I nail them on the face or hide evidence of how they are secured.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

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