Popular Post bradpotts Posted March 10, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Hello Fellas, It's been a while! I am building a record cabinet for a client. They wanted a record cabinet for their records because his dad passed and left him all of his records. As such, the records have sentimental value to him, and he wants them on display. Here is the design. The wood for the project is going to be ebony veneer, Fiddleback Sycamore veneer and holly. Lets get into this! First, I am joining all of the veneer too MDF. There are some major downsides to MDF though, the main one being weight and sag. So, the solution I came up with is making my own lumber core plywood. It will be 1/2 Poplar sandwiched between two sheets of 1/4 MDF. Glued together with Ultra Cat resin glue. I actually stole this idea from Craig Thirdeau. To start, I milled the lumber to strips of 2 1/4. This relieved some of the stress of the boards. I discarded any boards that I thought might cause a problem in the future. Then, glued them together. Then, I skip planed them down to 3/4". I let these sit for a couple days to warp again. After that, I glued on a piece of MDF . I then brought it down to its final thickness of 1/2. I ran it through the sander to remove the snipe from the planer and glued the MDF Sheets on using a veneer press. I applied this same idea to all three of the shelves. Next, I drew out my design to figure out the proportions of the veneer. Mainly looking for the size of the borders. Because I can't find any Holly veneer, I made some the same thickness as the ebony. I achieved this by cutting thin strips with my bandsaw and making a small jig to run through my sander until I got the strips down to 1/64. More to follow once my vacuum press opens back up, and I can start to work on the veneer. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Nice way to go with the ply. Shoukd make an excellent substrate for veneer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 Hey Brad! Really neat looking design! Ebony veneer? Had no idea that they made such a thing. That’s gotta be up there with the price of Bitcoin? Looking forward to following this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradpotts Posted March 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 Thanks Ross. Coop here is the veneer I am going to use. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 THis is going to be a great build......I like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 Really nice, Brad! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 Yep, gotta be up there amongst the top, no pressure! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 This looks like it is going to have a "Gee I bet that was expensive" look to it. Is that piece above the arch glass? For no particular reason, I guess my mind was just running in neutral, but I got to wondering were you have been. I always enjoy your projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 4 minutes ago, Chet said: This looks like it is going to have a "Gee I bet that was expensive" look to it. Is that piece above the arch glass? For no particular reason, I guess my mind was just running in neutral, but I got to wondering were you have been. I always enjoy your projects. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 Wow this is goign to be an interesting and awesome project. I look forward to seeing how everything turns out. It's nice to see some good veneer projects, i feel like it's that woodworking medium that has been neglected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradpotts Posted March 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 12 hours ago, Chet said: This looks like it is going to have a "Gee I bet that was expensive" look to it. Is that piece above the arch glass? For no particular reason, I guess my mind was just running in neutral, but I got to wondering were you have been. I always enjoy your projects. Yeah Chet, the top will have a glass shelf. There are a couple of reasons I haven't been on in a while. The main reason was two things happened pretty close to each other. My second daughter was born, and Tapatalk logged me out. With having a new baby and trying to figure out how to get that to work just never worked itself out. I would go back from time to time to see if tapatalk would let me log back in but it never did. My business has also been so busy. When I would do anything that wasn't work, I felt like I should be working instead of doing that. I just recently realized that my mac uploads my photos on the computer. With that realization that I can just drop the photos into my posts I thought about posting again. So hopefully you will see more of me! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted March 11, 2021 Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 So.... You JUST had your second daughter (congrats!) and you JUST now figured out that macs sync your photos? Either you're the oldest new father on record or you're really Rip Van Winkle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradpotts Posted March 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 1 hour ago, Mick S said: So.... You JUST had your second daughter (congrats!) and you JUST now figured out that macs sync your photos? Either you're the oldest new father on record or you're really Rip Van Winkle. ha ha I had my daughter 3 years ago. Now she is at the age where she can somewhat be trusted to do things without complete supervision. I just got a Mac I had an HP before. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bradpotts Posted March 11, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 Todays progress. I worked on my sketchup model this morning to hone in the exact rhombus dimensions. This is crucial because of compounding error. Although there is still going to be some error, that is why I am building my case around the sides. If my sides end up being 15 1/16, I can adjust everything else around that measurement. Using a sketchup svg attachment, I was able to send the rhombus over to the cnc to give me an exact template. I also sharpened my veneer saw and put the last shelf into the vacuum press. Tomorrow should be an exciting day with cutting the veneer. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bradpotts Posted March 13, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 The first thing I did this morning was make a jig to cut out the rhombuses. First, I made a basic mdf table with a straight edge as a fence. Then I cut a board that is the exact width as the rhombus. Next, I cut the veneer into sheets and made a packet to trim all of the edges. I was going to use my track saw to do this but I ended up using the table saw. This is the blade I use to cut veneer. I found that a lamination blade or aluminum blade work the best on veneer. I taped the joints together and cut two sides with my mdf rhombus jig. Once I had two sides cut, those sides could sit against the fence I made for the jig. I put the board that is as thick as the rhombus side and used that to cut one side. Then flipped it and cut the other. This left me with a perfect rhombus. I had to make two different sized rhombuses. One is the rhombus plus the holly boarder. which is the same size as the other rhombus with no boarder. Once I made all of the rhombuses, I cut the 3/16 strips of holly to go around the ebony. I used the same method as before. I cut a 3/16 strip and placed that against the fence and used it as a straight edge to cut the holly. It is kind of hard to tell because it is all mdf. Then I used a straightedge and an exacto knife to cut the edging angles. Once I had one cut, I taped the other holly strip to the bottom of that and used the angle from the previous cut to make the next cut. I wrapped the four rhombuses with the holly, then taped everything together and one panel is done! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 Outstanding! Loving this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 Looking back at your original post, it looks like all of the rhombuses ( I had to google that), are the same size so I assume in your next to last pic in your last post, that bottom two look larger due to them being closer to the camera? Is there considerable waste with the veneer? This thing is looking great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 Great job on making a seamless panel, with perfect grain orientation! I bet typing 'rhombus' that many times was fun... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bradpotts Posted March 13, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 12 hours ago, Coop said: Looking back at your original post, it looks like all of the rhombuses ( I had to google that), are the same size so I assume in your next to last pic in your last post, that bottom two look larger due to them being closer to the camera? Is there considerable waste with the veneer? This thing is looking great! Yeah Coop the original drawing didn't work. The reason is if you look at the right side of the rhombuses they do not go through the center line. The picture is misleading because of the photo. The larger (rhombi?) are the center and outside. There are only four rhombi with boarder attached to them. I originally didn't think there was going to be that much wast. I had it planed for the grain to run with the side of the rhombus. I didn't like that and wanted the grain to be vertical. This caused a lot of waste. Not all is lost though because I'm sure I can find a use for it later down the road for like a sunburst pattern or something. My daughter also didn't have school yesterday so she made some things for me in the shop. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 13, 2021 Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 The last picture is my favorite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bradpotts Posted March 15, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 I cut the veneer for the inside of the sides. It is fiddleback English Sycamore. I also taped it and got it ready for the press to find out that I don't have any lightener for the glue. I ordered some and it will arrive on Thursday. So, I shifted gears and started to veneer the shelves. I used the track saw because these are much longer cuts. Here is how I cut veneer with the track saw. I put the sheets on a sheet of mdf. Then tape all the veneer together so they don't move during the cut. This is the blade that I use to get nice clean cuts. Once the sheets are cut, I tape the joints with masking tape. Then flip over and use veneer tape to re-tape the seams. Flip it back over and remove the masking tape. The tape with no tape will be the glue side. I put little marks where the seam is because sometimes when you are taping you lose track of where the seam is. Apply the glue and she is ready for the press. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 Brad, what are the dimensions of the cabinet going to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradpotts Posted March 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 On 3/15/2021 at 7:14 PM, Chet said: Brad, what are the dimensions of the cabinet going to be. 6'x15"x49" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bradpotts Posted March 18, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Got all of the ebony veneered onto the three shelves. Still waiting on the glue. It is supposed to be here today. In the meantime, I decided to make a little box using the scraps from the rhombuses. I was originally going to use the scraps for the top but ended up putting on the bottom of the lid. At first, I was going to put a little marquetry piece on the bottom of the lid. I couldn't find anything that I liked that was super simple. So I picked a design that I liked and decided I wanted that for the top. So got out some veneer to pick the colors. Decided on the woods and made a packet. Then cut everything out. Then made a couple copies incase i ever need a quick inlay. Then glued the box up and cut it in half. Put the hinges on and applied some Osmo oil to it. Hopefully, I will have some more on the record cabinet soon! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Well that was certainly a productive way to kill time waiting for some glue to arrive. Very nice inlays. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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