In walnut, of course. Collaborative design with the client, made to fit between two doors. Natural finish with hand rubbed oil & varnish. Fussiest part of the job: After gluing up the door, the client wanted to change the slats from pure rectilinear form with lightly eased edges to bullnose edges and ends. I wasn't about to re-do the whole thing if I could avoid it. So, after a couple of hours holding my breath while whittling away with a block plane it actually came out pretty nice. Good call on his part. Very flattered that it shares space with a Hans Wegner piece. What I like best about it: Never touched by sandpaper (except for the legs). 100% blade and scraper finish adds amazing depth and brightness to the surface. Just be sure everything is REAL sharp What I liked least: Walnut sure does stink!
Beautiful build Statler, this looks fantastic. I agree with you on the no sandpaper finish, I only use it when the grain is so undulating that chip out occurs planing in all directions - a rare event.
Good looking cabinet, well designed for the stereo use. I allso apreciate your plane-finish-only dogma. I would love to see how the original door. I suspect that a less rounded over look would go better with the top, frame and the base that the record player sits on. What Wegner piece is it that you mention?
"The good chair is a task one is never completely done with" Hans Wegner
Thanks for the kind words. Good eye for the Emotiva components. We share an interest, although the client is way more into it than we are. We play vinyl through an antique Mac 1700 and a set of old Bozak speakers, a gift from father in law back in the day. Here is the door before hand shaping. Definitely a good call by the client to do the bullnoses. This looks pretty austere. The Wegner piece is a vintage teak & rattan coffee table; several examples online. I'd love to try making a reproduction but the raised lip is intimidating!
Slats were glued to the verticals (stiles I guess), so I figured it would be less work IF it turned out. It worked, but after seeing some of James Krenov's work and technique, I feel like a 3rd rate hacker. Below is the raised lip from a file photo of the Wegner table. The only way that's gonna happen in my shop is with a router! As the great philosopher Harry Callahan once said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
Making a table top like that is a lot of work, but absolutely doable. Prefereably if you have a large bit with rounded corners, but this could also be done with a separate bit. The one used here probably was costum made for the job. A good sled and accurately set stops - and away you go!
"The good chair is a task one is never completely done with" Hans Wegner
