Burr oak TV cabinet

[craigmarshall]

Hi All,

Thought you might be interested in my new project I started today. I'm making a TV cabinet (for a customer) out of oak. It will have burr oak panels. I only have a Sketchup model to show you so far:



I have planed up some stock for the legs, and made the panels for the ends. The two "panels" on the front of the cabinet are actually doors and will be fitted with brass butt hinges.

I'll try and take some photos as I go along and post them here.

Cheers,
Craig

[dom]

Hi Craig,
If the T.V. is going inside, don't forget cut outs at the back which will enable a three pin plug to pass through, obvious, I know, but sometimes we forget, a 65 or 70mm tank cutter will do it.
If it's going on the top and the back of the top is going up against the wall, some clients like a small cut out for cables.

Dom

[craigmarshall]

Hi Dom,

Yes- its going on the top, and they asked for a slightly larger overhang at the back of 35mm instead of 20mm to cover the depth of skirting, plug etc. i.e. so the top butts up against the wall. I hadn't considered a cut out there for cables though, that makes a lot of sense. I'll keep it in mind and check whether they want that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers,,
Craig

[engineerone]

cable management is one of the main overlooked items when people design tv stands/ hi fi spaces etc.

another is the removal of hot air.

although you can get a lot of things to help, the biggest problem is of course the amount of cable you get these days with most tv/videos/hi fi stuff.

same for computers of course.

isaac lord have some wire space grommets which are a lot cheaper than the ones in the trend catalogue, they ensure that the wires do not chafe.

as dom says the biggest thing to remember is the size of the plug.

basic design looks good though can't wait to see the photos

paul

[mrgrimsdale]

You could have a prob with the doors. Being set in, with ordinary butt hinges, means they won't open beyond 90 deg. Either look at special hinges or make them flush perhaps.

cheers
Jacob

[andy king]

mrgrimsdale said:

You could have a prob with the doors. Being set in, with ordinary butt hinges, means they won't open beyond 90 deg. Either look at special hinges or make them flush perhaps.

cheers
Jacob

Yep, that's true. You can get over it to a degree with ordinary butts if the inset isn't excessive - maybe just a couple of mm or so for a quirk line detail.
If you don't let the leaf fully in so that the knuckle sits a little forwards of the leg, it will allow the door to swing beyond and not foul the quirk detail.
Jiggling hinges by letting them in or out can also overcome slight twists in frames or doors in 'normal' domestic situations such as house doors. You have to be a little careful not to introduce strain on the knuckles though as they will wear and start to creak and squeak.

Andy

[Keith]

Personally the frame looks a bit chunky to me to have the doors just floating and I would put a rail across the bottom to frame them. I've done a quick CAD drawing, sorry I don't do Sketchup!




Top your design, mid design has30mm bottom rail,

Bottom design has slightly thicker +10mm top

Keith

[craigmarshall]

Hi Paul,

engineerone said:

another is the removal of hot air.

The inside is for a DVD player and CD player (there will be two shelves, one fixed and one on pins), and they will only realistically be used when the doors of the unit are open. So there will be plenty of air available. Hopefully it shouldn't get too warm in there. We can always add extra ventilation later!

as dom says the biggest thing to remember is the size of the plug.

Yep - I might have to rout it with a template, or jigsaw it and clean up with a drum sander. I don't know whether I have a 70mm holesaw/forstner available to me...

basic design looks good though can't wait to see the photos

Coming soon!

Cheers,
Craig

[craigmarshall]

mrgrimsdale said:

You could have a prob with the doors. Being set in, with ordinary butt hinges, means they won't open beyond 90 deg. Either look at special hinges or make them flush perhaps.

andrewking said:

Yep, that's true. You can get over it to a degree with ordinary butts if the inset isn't excessive - maybe just a couple of mm or so for a quirk line detail.
If you don't let the leaf fully in so that the knuckle sits a little forwards of the leg, it will allow the door to swing beyond and not foul the quirk detail.

I'm pretty sure I don't need the knuckle to protrude in front of the leg at all, all I'll need is for it to be at the halfway point between the closed corner of the door, and the corner of the leg. I have both halves of the hinge to help cover that distance, if that makes sense? I might add half a mm or so just to make sure, but I'm quite sure it will be okay.

Here are some pics that demonstrate what I'm talking about better than words:

[craigmarshall]

Hi Keith,

woodsmith said:

Personally the frame looks a bit chunky to me to have the doors just floating and I would put a rail across the bottom to frame them. I've done a quick CAD drawing, sorry I don't do Sketchup!

Top your design, mid design has30mm bottom rail,

Bottom design has slightly thicker +10mm top

Yes - the idea of the floating doors was to match the ends of the unit. The single frame theme is on the sides and the front, so it looks quite nice. If the ends weren't frame and panel, I'd agree. From the front only your design looks nicer.

I'm working with 1 1/2" wood for the top, so I was hoping to get slightly more than 30mm anyway, as it turns out, I've managed to get 33mm. Would have been nice to have more.

Cheers,
Craig

(Edit: Oops, I meant 1 1/2" not 1 1/4")

[craigmarshall]

Hi again,

Well - I've spent three days on the unit so far, and am about half way finished.

There is to be a concealed mechanism full-extension drawer inside the unit at the bottom with a false front. Two shelves with oak lipping inside too. Neither of these was on the original drawing I posted, so I though I'd mention it.

So far, I've got the end panels, legs, rails and back all assembled. Some of it went together unsanded, so I've made it difficult for myself. I still have to glue up and fit the top, make two doors, make a second shelf, make a drawer front and fit the drawer. I was hoping to finish by Christmas, but that isn't going to happen!

The whole lot will have two coats of oil and some wax too.

Here is one representative picture of how far I am:



And click here to see all the photos so far:

picasaweb.google.com/craig9/BurrOakCabinet/

Cheers,
Craig

PS: This thread should perhaps be renamed to Pippy oak TV cabinet. I don't think the oak I'm using for the panels really qualifies as burr, but nevermind, it's very nice anyway.

[9fingers]

craigmarshall said:

Hi Dom,

Yes- its going on the top, and they asked for a slightly larger overhang at the back of 35mm instead of 20mm to cover the depth of skirting, plug etc. i.e. so the top butts up against the wall. I hadn't considered a cut out there for cables though, that makes a lot of sense. I'll keep it in mind and check whether they want that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers,,
Craig

Craig, I don't know if you have resolved the cable issue but one problem I've had in the past is that if cables touch against emulsion painted walls for any length of time, the paint adheres to the cables more that it does to the walls. So however you deal with the cable paths, it might be worth devising a method to keep them away for the wall surface.

Nice Cabinet btw

Bob

PS Please could we have more pics featuring Meg. A lovely lady who really brighten up the settee making thread

[dom]

Really like the way you demonstrate your work in progress.

[craigmarshall]

9finger said:

Craig, I don't know if you have resolved the cable issue but one problem I've had in the past is that if cables touch against emulsion painted walls for any length of time, the paint adheres to the cables more that it does to the walls. So however you deal with the cable paths, it might be worth devising a method to keep them away for the wall surface.

I haven't given cable paths that much though, just that there was a way for cables to get out of the unit. It's a standalone piece of furniture and won't be "bolted in" anywhere, I think it will be fine.

Nice Cabinet btw

Bob

PS Please could we have more pics featuring Meg. A lovely lady who really brighten up the settee making thread

Thanks and thanks. I'll let her know what you said. It's a bit of a struggle to get Meg interested in furniture itself, let alone furniture-related modelling :-)

Cheers,
Craig

[craigmarshall]

dom said:

Really like the way you demonstrate your work in progress.

Thanks Dom, I'll try to keep it up then.

Craig

[craigmarshall]

Hi All,

For various reasons, I've been unable to go back to work for the last couple of weeks (since New year), so my boss completed the second half of this TV Cabinet project. I thought you might like to see the pics anyway.

Here it is complete and in the customers home (I helped to wax and deliver the piece - It must weigh more than me).



For a couple more pics, go here: picasaweb.google.com/craig9/BurrOakCabinetPart2

Cheers,
Craig

[engineerone]

looks good mate, thought it would look heavier than it actually does.

well done on the design.

paul

[dom]

Nice looking unit Craig

[staffie]

Great looking cabinet, Thanks for sharing with us.

Jock

[thallow]

very nice mate!

[afterglow]

I really like that piece, Craig, nice and solid without being heavy. The oak doors (hmm, not sure that pippy quite describes it either!) are great - like big vortexes spiralling their way up the panels (dust collection on my brain after a fair bit of sanding yesterday ).

I like the way the doors are designed to become the front feature of the unit, right between the legs without any framing - looks really special.

Great work.

Lee

[craigmarshall]

Thanks all! I'll pass on the comments about the design (The design was mostly my bosses work, reading through my stuff above, I may have forgot to mention that).

I started a bathroom vanity unit today with a very similar structure, but a more slender design. It will be made from Sapele, and will have a granite top. I'll post some pics as I go along if people are interested.

Cheers,
Craig

[dom]

'Course we're intersted, it's why we're here