Popular Post Robby W Posted January 1, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Several years ago, I made a podium from a picture our minister picked out of a catalog of a podium she really liked. When designing the podium, I started out fretting all the details: Should I use solid wood? Where would I get 2 1/4" thick red oak that we could afford? How could I keep the weight down enough so that it could be easily moved? How do I hide cables? I finally realized that nobody would be within 10 feet of it, so it didn't really matter what I used as long as it blended in properly. Because of its thickness and because I didn't want it to weigh 200 pounds, I built it out of red oak plywood (matches our chairs) and 8/4 solid red oak milled to form the end cap/spacer for each piece. With the hollow legs, I was able to hide the microphone cable in the leg and it my minister really liked it. Here is a picture of the podium: The men's group at my church approached me about building a new table for use on the stage. The table we used as an altar table was an old table that didn't really fit our decorating scheme after the Sanctuary was remodeled. They wanted a table that matched the podium. At the same time, I wanted to get rid of that hideous table complete with faux grain finish that was next to the podium, and change out a speaker that is normally beside the podium, which was sometimes used to hold things too. So I designed up a table that was made in a similar manner to the podium and also created a small table for use beside the podium. I constructed each of the pieces of the tables using the same sandwich construction I used on the podium. Here is a picture of how the sides and end cap of each panel were constructed: On the feet and tops, I added some blocks that were sized to go into the legs like tenons. You can see them on the feet in the picture above, covered in green tape for finishing. They are glued and screwed to the top and feet. I used a single spreader with sliding dovetails to hold the legs together. It worked pretty good. The base is nice and stiff. After applying a coat of golden maple stain to match the rest of the furniture and three coats of semi-gloss poly, I glued everything together. Here is the table in its final resting place: I have been wanting to replace the large monitor speaker next to the podium with something more compact, but we still needed something to place papers, Bible and the all important water bottle on, so I created a table with a shelf and cup holder. The feet of the table are really long in the back so the compact monitor speaker could be placed on it and I wouldn't have to worry about it tipping over. Here are front and back views of the finished product: Because of leg injuries and a bad case of "I'm not in the mood to put the stain and finish on it", this project dragged out far too long. But I have finally healed to the point that I couldn't delay any longer in good conscience and finished it up. It is amazing how much more room I have in my shop now that all of the parts are out! One blunder I made was cutting the plywood for the table top with the grain running the wrong way. I was really bummed out about it, as I didn't have enough plywood left and out of budget to by another sheet of it. Then I remembered that the table is always covered with a runner and you can't really see the top surface from the seats anyway, so I finished it up. It will be that one nitpicky thing that will drive me nuts when I look at it, but I doubt anyone else will notice it. After I finished the cup holder, I realized that I should have rounded off the back edges of the cup section and changed the way I stacked the layers so it was smooth with the top of the shelf. Rats, another thing that will bug me for awhile. Sorry the pictures aren't better. My cell phone is the best camera I have nowdays. Now I have to finished some projects for my wife and some shop cabinets. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Very nice work Robby, you're church must be happy to have you as part of the congregation! I look forward to seeing your next projects. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Awesome work Robby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d8nk Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Nice work! I like the hollow thick look, very cool you did that for your church! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Good job, Robby! Nice way to overcome the design challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby W Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Thanks, all for your comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 You done good Robby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Grondin Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Mining old threads for resurrection ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 17 hours ago, wdwerker said: Mining old threads for resurrection ? resurrection - I see what you did there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Grondin Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Very nice... I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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