Rustic Low Entertainment Center

Work is under way on the low entertainment center out in the wood shop. We had some good progress yesterday, ending last night with the carcass dry-clamped on the bench.

 Here I'm creating a jig to rout out the multiple dados for the cabinet joinery and shelf brackets.

 Routing the dados for shelf dividers.

Cutting down a full sheet of Birch plywood for cabinet pieces.

Cutting a stringer from a long rip of ply. After using power tools all morning, it just felt great to get to get into some hand tool work.

Johnny Utah, showing no excitement about my progress whatsoever.

The cabinet carcass, just before shutting off the lights for the day.

A new tool for design

     The latest project I've been working on didnt come out of the shop, but instead from Google Sketchup, a kind of auto cad design program for woodworking. It took me all day to get this design on the computer, after many hours at the drawing table using pencil and paper. I'm excited to have Sketch up as a tool I can use for project design, and for proposals too. I dont know that I'll be using it on a daily basis by any means, but it'll give me a chance to provide a 3D view to clients when necessary.
     This model is an entertainment center for a client to match some logwork I did in his house, as well as some other log furniture he and his wife have. It's a pretty wide entertainment center, balanced really well with the large screen of the tv in my opinion. It's standard cabinet construction really, with some tricky log corner accents and a live-edge slab top. Seeing it 3D like this really brings it to life for me. I cant wait to get started on it now!

2 Days in the Think Tank.

Some interesting ideas are floating around the shop right now. With a whole lot of muse from my friend Nick, my next few projects just might go in an unexpected direction. I happen to have a surplus of live-edge walnut slabs with beautiful grain pattern that I cannot bear to mill into board stock. The plan is to craft several choice progressive slabs into one of a kind architectural masterpieces for wall art and even accent lighting. It's not even down on paper yet, so stay tuned as the project develops over the coming months. In the mean time, I'll work on getting some more photos posted from previous projects.