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Thread: And the pulpit project begins.........

  1. #1

    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.

    pulpit1.jpg

    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.

    111806 (2).jpg

    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.

    111706 (125).jpg

    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. The boards I'm using here range from 18" to 20" wide.

    111706 (122).jpg

    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.

    111706 (129).jpg


    That's where I called it a nite......................
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  2. #2
    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.

    111806 (3).jpg

    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.

    111806 (6).jpg

    111806 (5).jpg

    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
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  3. #3
    Terry, looks like you have got a good start. Good cause also.

    Rick

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Douglasville, GA
    Posts
    776
    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.
    Chapel Hills Turning Studio
    Douglasville, GA

    Hoosier by birth, Georgian by choice!

    Have blanks, will trade.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    Looks like a fine project, Terry! And plenty of angles to keep you happy!
    --

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

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker
    Looks like a fine project, Terry! And plenty of angles to keep you happy!

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

    t
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Farmington, AR
    Posts
    1,465
    Hey t! I'll bring you some walnut. Save all the dimensions for the next one. Lookin' GOOD!

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

    David

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Conway, Arkansas
    Posts
    13,181
    OK T.....you're making my head hurt with all the danglin angles you got all spread out there. 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

    Excellent work by an excellent craftsman.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  9. #9
    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
    You still remember they way to my house?????

    t
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by David Rose
    Hey t! I'll bring you some walnut. Save all the dimensions for the next one. 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.

    Still hungry in Springdale,

    t
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Farmington, AR
    Posts
    1,465
    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.

    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.

    Still hungry in Springdale,

    t

  12. #12
    Terry,

    Good to see that this project is underway. Can't wait to see the finished project. Keep the pictures coming!
    I have been black and blue in some spot, somewhere, almost all my life from too intimate contacts with my own furniture. - Frank Lloyd Wright

    I have been black and blue and bloody in some spot, somewhere, almost all my life from too intimate contacts while building my own furniture. - Rennie Heuer

  13. #13
    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.

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