Chestnut Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Learned recently that the room mate is buying a house and will then obviously be moving out. Something about his bride to be wants a place to live. I thought it was silly his rent is super cheap and goes in my pocket. Well now i need an entertainment center / tv stand / place to put my stereo. I don't know what to call it because i don't actually own a TV and probably never will. This is a rough sketch. Drawers under a shelf arch bottom and arch sides i don't know if I'd put a panel on the side or leave it open and able to see the drawer. If any one has some ideas to improve this I'd appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 To me, it looks like the arches are too high & the ends have too long a radius. Makes it look bottom heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Or should i do something with the greene and greene step on the bottom? I just can't find a tv stand / entertainment center thing that i like they are all just meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dknapp34 Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 1 hour ago, drzaius said: To me, it looks like the arches are too high & the ends have too long a radius. Makes it look bottom heavy. Agreed. Maybe a thicker top and thinner arches would look more balanced. If it were me, I would do panels on the sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 I agree that the arch looks too thick in the front. I usually define arches by the difference between the height at the center and the height at the edge. For that size the difference should be around an inch. Try two inches thick in the center and three inches thick on the edge and see how that looks You can add a skirt under the top to make the piece more balanced. For the sides, I think a solid panel would be fine but a bit boring. Some ideas are a solid panel over the bottom and arts and crafts slats on the top, headboard, or arts and crafts slats top to bottom to expose the drawer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Play with the spacing and the arch just a bit, and you have room for another set of drawers. Unless you plan to execute some killer joinery to show off, I'd probably go with side panels to emulate the drawer fronts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wdwerker Posted February 10, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I often draw pieces like this full size on a sheet of 1/4" MDF. Then you can see the proportions. Erasing is easy with a Random orbit sander. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Thanks for the input guys i really appreciate it. I'm probably going to buy some MDF and draw this out. I also have a 48" plotter sitting a room over that might just see a 1:1 plot appear on by accident. I changed some dimensions and took your advice on the arches. I kept the arches 2" tall but made the parabolic and it really helped the look. The drawers are 7.25" tall and i want to keep them that size so i can make a panel front and have it not look weird the top will be open for electronics equipment. Torn on the A&C slats the sides will be up against something and more than likely won't bee seen. In the future if it's stand alone it might look better but nothing i currently own follows the A&C slats style. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 That looks much better. I wonder is the top should be just a little thicker & maybe a little more overhang? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I drew it as a .75" top but it will be closer to 7/8". i don't mill down the lumber i use for tops much. I also will throw a 45 on the edge and that will make it seem thicker. All of my other tops are the same 7/8" should i deviate? I can't get 5/4 or 6/4 lumber would a trim edge be a good way to add visual thickness? I don't know if i like the thought of a seam all the way around the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 7/8" would be better. I wouldn't want to have a built up edge either. Try drawing it with more overhang & see how that looks. It just seems to me that something about the top is lacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Added 1/2" all around for overhang chamfered the edges. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 That looks better to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I agree, the added overhang helps a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Thanks again everyone for the input, now i get to decide what to make it out of. If it's sitting next to 2 end tables that are oak should i match them or go crazy and do cherry, or something I've never used before like Alder or ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrrhode04 Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 How are you attaching the top? Might need to add some pieces between the legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 8 minutes ago, mrrhode04 said: How are you attaching the top? Might need to add some pieces between the legs. Ya, the addition of some aprons would help with the look as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Legs to top would be in the corners with a z bracket that I've used before that helps hold the top but leave it floating. Every inch I'd add in apron I'd have to loose from drawer in order to keep enough space for my stereo. I also like it open for heat and somewhat looks. I'll draw it and see what i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Still been kicking around this design. I figured out that it could be cool to make the top out of one of the chokecherry slabs i have book matched and then make the main body out of regular cherry provided they don't look too different. I got around to making a template for the front as suggested and the one thing that i can see is that towards the end there isn't much wood and the end of the arcs might get weak. If I'm going to mortise and tenon the parts in to the leg would there be enough wood there to give it strength. It's about 3/4" at the narrowest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 I would consider thicker top and if that is not feasible, 1 to 1 1/2" edging. I am concerned that the top might sag a little depending on the weight what you put on the top. The pic of the lower apron looks good. Think of the apron as having being only as deep as it is in the center of the span, The extra height at the ends it basically for looks. Just use a good sized tenon into the legs. The weakest part of the apron is at the center of its span but looks like you have enough depth there. Without an apron under the top, you are depending on the bottom apron and the legs to form a frame to keep the piece stable. The top won't help much. My gut feel is that your proportions will be OK but I would consider making a front frame mock-up out of some scrap and try to rack it to see if you think it is stiff enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Sagulator Gave me a sag of .001" with a load of 75 lbs in the center of the shelf. I used a worst case scenario a .8" top with a 39" span. It took all the way to 550 lbs to go from acceptable to borderline. All I'm ever going to do is put a flat panel TV on it (If i ever sell my soul and buy a TV). I think it's going to be pretty sturdy the legs will have 3 points of contact in the front and the back i might use ply between the legs beings that it will never be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 11 hours ago, Chestnut said: Still been kicking around this design. I figured out that it could be cool to make the top out of one of the chokecherry slabs i have book matched and then make the main body out of regular cherry provided they don't look too different. I got around to making a template for the front as suggested and the one thing that i can see is that towards the end there isn't much wood and the end of the arcs might get weak. If I'm going to mortise and tenon the parts in to the leg would there be enough wood there to give it strength. It's about 3/4" at the narrowest? you will be fine on the strength of that bottom rail since the thin part is purely decorative. If you are doing integral tenons then make them 1/2" smaller than the piece. If you are doing loose tenons then I would put a tenon toward the top and use a single 2" brad nail to reinforce the curved part on the bottom (since it is on the underside of the table the brad will never be seen) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlau Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 i like it with the frnt apron and the side apron but i think a top rail on the side would be in order and would help in securing the top on the piece.. also the face frames on the doors look to heavy, but if you thinned down the center mullion it would help that out some,, looks like to much wood in the center to me.. just my opinion:) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 I updated everything from the suggestions and also to show the thicker top that I'll end up going with. It's 1.25" thick instead of the milled down 4/4 thickness. I plan on doing a project journal when i start this one. I'm currently stressed out because i have a lot of household work to get done in the next 3-4 weeks and don't know how I'm going to finish it all with everything that goes on in every day life. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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