Mid Century Modern Entertainment Credenza

I'm running out of pieces of furniture to make for my own house so when I get the opportunity to make something interesting for someone else I'm happy to oblige. In this case this was actually a house warming gift for my brother who moved in several years ago but it took a few years for him to decide what he wanted and then a year for me to get inspired and then a year to get around to finishing it. He provided the basic specs of three sections for stereo equipment, records and CD's where the CD's would go in the drawers. That was the most nerve wracking part. I was pretty sure I had enough room but wasn't 100% sure until I installed the first drawer.

The main carcus is made from Sapelle with a two part Rubio mono-coat finish. Although this finish is fairly expensive in the small quantities I'm buying it in it's actually for floors so it should hold up well. The back is a single piece of 3/8 inch birch plywood and I chose Classic Avocado for the paint colour. The general style of this piece is mid-century-modern which was a common colour at the time. It goes really well with the darker wood. I wasn't worried that he wouldn't like it because you can't really see it once you fill it with stereo equipment. It was more just a fun detail. 

The drawers were where I decided to go a bit modern. Sort of. I have a CNC and this particular pattern is actually called 'hand carved'. It replicates the action of using a round gouge to hand carve a surface. In this case it was done with a 3/4 inch bullnose bit. The only tricky part was that I also had to inlay some Sapelle into the drawer front so that I could make the hole deep enough to act as a drawer pull. It's an oval carved from the front and then a bigger oval from the back. The drawers are 3/8 finger jointed. The drawer fronts and case are the same wood but the carving gives a lighter feel to it.

The base isn't complicated but it took a bit of time to get the proportions right. I started by curving the sides in but it left a weak point on the outside edge so I went convex instead. I also had a bigger rail at one point but wanted a lighter look. I cheated the rail slightly higher and have two cross pieces on either side. It attaches with some bolts from underneath. The compartments are 20" vertical and horizontal and are all the same size. The depth is 18 1/2" and the drawers are sized to max out the space. I used the CNC to cut the shelf pin holes and there are holes in the back for running wires. This was a fun project. 

Craft Fair Sign

My daughter has entered a craft fair in for several weekends this year so I told her I would make her a sign. This was the first time I tried using AI to assist with the design process. I knew the style I wanted but I also knew it's often difficult to find good fonts that flow together so I figured AI could do a good job. The prompt was simple, asking for a craft fair sign for a business called Callie's Crafts and the initial response was more elaborate than I needed. It had extra bits around the edge and a few difficult to CNC pieces so I took it as a start and turned it into a vector to clean up. I liked the stylization of Callie. Sign is Sepele with white epoxy and Rubio Monocoat. 

Shoe Rack

I grew tired of seeing frequently used shoes strewn about my front hall so decided I would build a shoe rack to accommodate them. We already have storage in our closet but no one seems to want to put their everyday shoes there. It's not a complicated project. I used Dominos for the joinery, the wood is cherry and I used Rubio Monocoat for the finish. One thing I was concerned about was having wet shoes on wood so after a bit of searching I found some satin black metal balusters ini the bargain bin at Home Depot and worked out a way to fit them in from the bottom. I didn't want to do joinery where they were permanent in case I run into rusting issues. So far no issues. 
 

Three Legged Table

This project could easily be done with traditional woodworking tools but a CNC takes it from a week long project down to a weekend project. With traditional jigs and fixtures to make the circle and locate the leg hardware it takes longer to get things laid out and even with a drill press if you are off even a bit the hardware doesn't fit properly. With a CNC I was able to precisely locate the four holes for each leg and size the holes to sub millimeter precision to ensure the threaded inserts fit perfectly. I was also able to make three-leg and four-leg versions. I could probably cut out a half dozen of them in an evening and do the finishing the following day.

The tops for two of the tables are cherry and the third one is poplar. The poplar was just a prototype and I had some 2 inch stock laying around. I wanted the tops to be beefy. The taller table is 18 inches and the shorter one is 24 inches. After I CNC'd the circle and cut out the holes for the inserts I use the router table to cut a 22.5 degree chamfer on the underside. It provides a lighter look for the thick top. The legs are metal and purchased off of Amazon which has a lot more selection than just hairpin legs. Finish was Rubio Mono-Coat which is now my favorite finish even though it is a bit expensive. They are of course not designed to be sat on but they are surprisingly sturdy considering their light look. 

 

Coffee Bar

I wanted to make a tea box but we didn’t have room for a tea box on the counter. Then my wife and daughter started making fancy drinks with syrup and we had those syrup bottles on the counter. Then my wife started making coffee at home with our very old drip coffee maker and that needed a place on the counter. That was the last straw. Time to make a coffee bar. I started by figuring out what I wanted to do for the fridge. Previously we had a chest freezer in this location and it was my intention to buy a two drawer freezer to replace it. Turns out small undercounter freezers are incredibly expensive. I suspect because they are a niche market for large custom homes. I switched directions and went with a drink fridge instead. Another issue we have is too many drinks in our main fridge and rather than have a second fridge in the garage the plan was to move the chest freezer to the garage and install a drink fridge here. Once I knew that it was quick work to figure out the dimensions of the space. The wall is straight in this spot but curves off to the right so I maximized the drawer width and set the depth to align with what the fridge needed.

The cabinets are made of poplar and birch plywood and painted white. For a small project like this a I prime with a roller and then use a few cans of semi-gloss spray paint which gives a nice finish. The top was white oak which was surprisingly expensive even though it wasn't quartersawn. I did some projects with this wood a few years ago and it was much cheaper. There was already power for the fridge and I ran the led lights from a transformer in the cabinet to the shelf above and used a remote for the light switch. That door has a sliding door so I couldn't really run wires. I used a metal bracket for the floating shelf. I was amazed at how much tea and coffee we owned in other cabinets. It barely fit. 

Tea Box

I've wanted to build a simple tea box for a while but never had any place to store it which is why my next post will describe the coffee bar I designed and built. I thought about going bigger but I wanted to keep it on the counter so I figured more compact would be better. Each of the squares is wide enough to hold your standard tea bag in a package and there are six spaces. The idea is you can present this to your guest to allow them to pick out the tea they want. I did mess up a bit when I built it and it wasn't as deep as I intended. I measured incorrectly and was off by a half inch. Turned out okay though as I just don't cram the tea in and they lay down a bit which is better for viewing the packaging anyway.

The wood is Sapele and I wanted something interesting for the top and went with a subtle Disney theme. The box lid is set in grooves as is the plywood bottom. The hardware was brass hinges and I had some 1/8 inch brass lying around so I decided to make my old lid lift hardware. It's just a brass plate with a curved front inlaid into the lid with countersunk holes for the screws. It's very effective for how the box is used since it mostly stays where it is and you just need to lift the lid. Finish was a wipe-on poly. 

 

Coffee Bar Sign

In a later post I will explain the steps that lead to deciding to build a coffee bar but this post is focused on the Coffee & Tea sign for the coffee bar. I'd recently seen some white oak and white epoxy signs and really liked the look. I wasn't sure how epoxy and white oak would behave but I had a few tricks to reduce risk. For some woods, epoxy can bleed through the grain but white oak is very close grained. In addition after I carved the lettering I sprayed on several coats of poly before pouring the epoxy. The only issue I had was there was still some holes in the wood and I got a lot of bubbling that happened during the cure despite using a heat gun. Next time I will use a wash coat of epoxy first. Still turned out great!