A Stand and Canopy Done Wright

[jlanger]

Construction Phase 4 - Panel and Door Assembly

Construction Phase 4 - Panel and Door Assembly

Welcome back...

The next step was to assemble the side panels and the doors.
I ended up bringing all the parts back to my place, so I could be at home yet I was able to keep working.

Each panel/door was made up of seven pieces of solid wood.
There are two stiles, two rails, a mid-stile and the two painted panels.
Here's just a quick look at the parts for the two doors.
Side panels are visible in the background.

To assemble the side panels, I glued the tenons and added some glue in the groove where the tenons will fit.
I used an all-weather wood glue that is made for outdoor applications.
You do not want the glue to be where the painted panels go. You will want them to be "floating" so when the wood expands and contracts during the year, your panels/doors will not crack.
You can see in the photo below, how the pieces are being put together.
Along with a side panel clamped while the glue dries.

I let the panels sit over overnight before I went back into the shop the next day.
The next step was to run the panels/doors through the wide-belt sander to make all of the joints nice and flush.
Starting with 80grit and working my way to the 150 grit sandpaper.

I then hand sanded them with the random orbit hand sander with 120grit sandpaper to remove the cross-grain scratches left by the wide-belt sander.
And finished the sanding with 180grit.

The panels are now ready to be assembled into the stand. And the doors are ready to be stained.

-JASON

 

[jlanger]

Construction Phase 5 - Cabinet Assembly

Construction Phase 5 - Cabinet Assembly

With the sides of the cabinet done, I was ready for the front and back face frames.

I cannot find any photos of those being made, but I can at least walk you through the process. But you can make them out in the completed stand photos.

The front face frame is only four pieces of solid oak.
The two stiles with a top and bottom rail.
I ran the stiles and bottom rail through the dado saw to create the dado that the sides and deck will fit into. You'll see this during the assembly.
The face frame is assembled using glue and pocket screws.
Since I have used this process just about daily for the past twelve years, the shop has a Castle Pocket Hole Machine. The machine consists of a router bit and a drill bit. The router bit creates the pocket for the screw to fit in while it leaves 3/4" of wood for the screw head to hold against. The drill bit then drills the hole to guide the screw towards the other piece of wood.
Once assembled and dried, it was passed through the sander.

The back face frame is similar to the front, but it contains an extra mid-rail and a panel to create a half open back.
The back was put together using both the pocket screw method and the panel technique used on the side panels.
Once assembled, it was sanded along with the front face frame.

The photo of the back face frame actually shows the inside of the stand.
I wanted there to be no screws or plugs visible from looking in the stand.

For the deck of the cabinet, I used a 1/2" sheet of quarter-sawn plywood. For some reason, the wood suppliers do not carry 1/2" rift-sawn sheets of material. I could have had it special ordered, but I wasn't that particular about the difference.

I now had all the main pieces for assembling the stand.

Laying the front face frame down on the bench (covered with cardboard to protect against any scratching), I ran a bead of glue down the dado.
I placed each side panel into the dados and nailed the panels into place with 3/4" brads.
This next step was just for added strength.
Through the front if the face frame, I drilled and countersunk pilot holes so I could use wood screws to really pull the sides into the face frame. This joint wasn't going anywhere.

You can also see in the photo I drilled other pilot holes in the face frame and side panels. These holes are for the screws that would eventually hold the posts onto the cabinet.

Next I ran a bead of glue into the dados for the deck to fit into.
The deck was slid into place and tacked in with brad nails.

To finish the "box", I ran beads of glue into the dados on the back face frame and set it into place.
I attached the back the same way as the front with the wood screws going into the side panels.
From this view, you can make out some of the pocket holes and the pilot holes for the posts.

Here's what the cabinet looked like after assembly.
You can see the screw heads that hold the side panels and the pilot holes for the posts.

You will notice that I only painted the outside of the flat panels for the sides.
I wanted the inside of the stand to just be the red color of the stained wood.
The opening in the back allows for the plumbing and electrical to pass through.

I wanted to add more support to the structure of the stand.
I added some cross-bracing that ran from the front to the back. One on each end and one in the middle.
They were glued and pocket screwed similar to the face frame assembly. These braces also give me a place to screw the stand's top down onto the stand.

For added support to the deck of the stand, I added a couple of supports to help carry the weight of the sump.

All that was left to complete the cabinet, was to add the posts.

The posts were designed to look big and solid. Not the case.
The posts are built using boards that are mitered at 45 degrees so the grain of the rift-sawn oak is consistent. These were cut out of the nicest boards that came in the order.

Each back post only consists of two pieces.
And the front posts each consist of four pieces.
Each post was glued and nailed together before being added to the cabinet.
In the above photos, you can see how the face frames extend beyond the side panels. This is so that these extensions are butt-jointed into the posts and create another glued joint for added stability and strength.
Each was glued and then screwed onto the cabinet.

So now, many of the screws that were visible on the outside of the stand are now covered by the posts. The rest will be covered by the decorative trim.
To finish the bottoms of the posts, I planed a 5" wide board down to 1/2" to trim around the bottom of the posts.
The last thing to do was to create the look of false-inset doors.
I love the look of inset doors, but the hardware to do so takes up much more room inside the stand. And it's also a lot harder to keep the doors centered in the opening and keep the door flush with the face frame.
To achieve this look, I added a false top and bottom rail that will flush out with the installed doors.

All that was left was quite a bit of hand sanding to prep it for staining.

-JASON

 

[jlanger]

Construction Phase 6 - Some of the Details

Construction Phase 6 - Some of the Details

Before I take this project into the finishing room, I thought I would show how I made the cove molding that will be going on the stand and canopy.

Since I designed this stand to have many elements of the craftsman style, I knew I wanted to have corbels in the details. Corbels are just a fancy word for shelf supports, but these are definitely more decorative than functional.
I knew going in that I wasn't going to find anything close to what I wanted in a home center molding rack.
So I would have to make them. On the table saw!
Router bits at this size really go up in cost. Plus it was another project inside of a project.

The size of the corbel is 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" with a 3/4" radius.
I sat down and used our shop's AlphaCAD software and drew up the corbel to determine just how I was going to make these using a table saw.
I also had to factor in the grain of the wood so that after I milled the cove, I would still have the look of the rift-sawn grain coming through.

It turned out I had to glue-up quarter-sawn stock that was 1-1/2" thick by about 2" wide.

I had to build a jig that had the correct angle and blade height to give me a 3/4" cove.

This first pass through the saw blade gives us the actual cove.
It looks small at this point, but it will get there.

The next step was to knock off the corners that meet the cove.
This involved setting the saw blade at 45 degrees and running the stock through until the blade met the cove.

The next cut gives us the back side of the molding.
Still set at 45 degrees, run the stock through until the blade leaves 1/2" of stock at the bottom.

And the for the final cut, set the saw back to 90 degrees and set the fence at 1-1/4" and square off the molding.
As a reminder, I use push sticks and take other safety precautions when cutting these smaller pieces.

When I began this process i figured out just how many lineal feet of the molding I was going to need for the stand and canopy and I doubled that number. I knew I was going to have more projects that I would want these pieces for.

To finish the molding, I needed to sand all the surfaces smooth.
For the cove, I just took the adhesive backed sandpaper and wrapped it around a 1-1/2" dowel and hand sanded the saw marks out. A very long and tedious process.
I also used a oscillating drum sander to help sand out the shorter pieces when I got to cutting them down.

You can see in the finished photos all of the places that I used this molding.
It definitely was worth all that work to achieve such a distinctive look.

-JASON

 

[peppie]

Before I take this project into the finishing room, I thought I would show how I made the cove molding that will be going on the stand and canopy.

Since I designed this stand to have many elements of the craftsman style, I knew I wanted to have corbels in the details. Corbels are just a fancy word for shelf supports, but these are definitely more decorative than functional.
I knew going in that I wasn't going to find anything close to what I wanted in a home center molding rack.
So I would have to make them. On the table saw!
Router bits at this size really go up in cost. Plus it was another project inside of a project.

The size of the corbel is 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" with a 3/4" radius.
I sat down and used our shop's AlphaCAD software and drew up the corbel to determine just how I was going to make these using a table saw.
I also had to factor in the grain of the wood so that after I milled the cove, I would still have the look of the rift-sawn grain coming through.

It turned out I had to glue-up quarter-sawn stock that was 1-1/2" thick by about 2" wide.

I had to build a jig that had the correct angle and blade height to give me a 3/4" cove.

This first pass through the saw blade gives us the actual cove.
It looks small at this point, but it will get there.

The next step was to knock off the corners that meet the cove.
This involved setting the saw blade at 45 degrees and running the stock through until the blade met the cove.

The next cut gives us the back side of the molding.
Still set at 45 degrees, run the stock through until the blade leaves 1/2" of stock at the bottom.

And the for the final cut, set the saw back to 90 degrees and set the fence at 1-1/4" and square off the molding.
As a reminder, I use push sticks and take other safety precautions when cutting these smaller pieces.

When I began this process i figured out just how many lineal feet of the molding I was going to need for the stand and canopy and I doubled that number. I knew I was going to have more projects that I would want these pieces for.

To finish the molding, I needed to sand all the surfaces smooth.
For the cove, I just took the adhesive backed sandpaper and wrapped it around a 1-1/2" dowel and hand sanded the saw marks out. A very long and tedious process.
I also used a oscillating drum sander to help sand out the shorter pieces when I got to cutting them down.

You can see in the finished photos all of the places that I used this molding.
It definitely was worth all that work to achieve such a distinctive look.

-JASON

Great detailed build thread!
That is exactly how I would have done it!! LOL
One of the best steps of this whole build is the full size drawing.
I sometimes do a detailed drawing of All parts, sides views. ect.. it is a tremendous help in designing the jointery.
Big KODOES, Job very well done!!

 

[sp0k]

Really nice work.....

 

[Carlwilliams]

From one woodworker to another, That is amazing craftsmanship!!!

 

[Twin Reefs]

Wow....a true professional at work!

 

[madean]

Yeah I wish I had access to equipment like that. Simply wonderful!

 

[la1fan]

This is stunning, you're quite talented.

 

[inferno3436]

I might have missed it by being preoccupied by pictures. Did you "enamel" or seal the spray paint in at all?

 

[SexyRob]

that is awesome, I wish I had access to some of those tools.

very nice work.

 

[Kawi9_cf]

Really good work! My favorite stand and canopy I have seen by far!

 

[jlanger]

Thanks everyone for all the compliments.

I might have missed it by being preoccupied by pictures. Did you "enamel" or seal the spray paint in at all?

When I get to sealing and finishing the cabinet, the panels got sealed with the lacquer finish.

-JASON

 

[biecacka]

Very very beautiful work my friend
Corey

 

[jlanger]

Finishing Phase

Finishing Phase

It's time to bring some warmth to this cabinet.
The stain color that I use is a custom mix that I came up with way back in 2001.
We had just moved into our new place and we purchased a lot of mission style furniture. The warm colors of the woodwork really set the relaxed mood of the rooms, so at this time I knew that I wanted all of the projects I was going to build had to match this color.
That process took about an hour. In the end, I had a custom mix of Minwax stains that was spot on. It took 2 parts Golden Oak, 5 parts Red Oak and 2 parts Special Walnut.
Over the years I've tried other stains and have even gone into Sherwin Williams to have them make a match. Nothing has worked out. The hardest part of trying to get the match was getting the grain to hold onto the very dark Walnut color. I could get the reds and oranges, but just not the dark brown in the grain.
I think I have gone through about 5 gallons of this custom mix over the last 12 years, and it still holds up today.

Back to work.
We use an air sprayer to apply the stain.
The first step is to spray the inside of the cabinet and then wipe the stain into the pores and clean off any extra. Most people think that you just apply the stain and try to wipe it off. You need to rub the stain into the wood. The pigments in the stain are forced into the pores of the wood. This is what gives you the nice rich color of the stain while allowing the grain of the wood to show.
From there I sprayed the back and sides.
I sprayed the entire surface of each side; including the painted panels on the sides. Since the paint already sealed the wood, the stain just wipes off but I was sure that the stain was able to get into the joints and not leave any unfinished spots.
I saved the front face frame for last.
This was just because of doing this for so long with kitchen cabinets, it's the way it was done.

After the stain has had time to dry.
The cabinet is ready to be sealed. We use a pre-catalyzed lacquer for finishing our cabinets at work. Using a HVLP spray gun, I spray the finish on using the same steps as I did for staining (the inside, the back, the sides and the front). The HVLP spray gun really makes this process go very fast. You only need to apply a thin coat, as this will be pulled into the pores and seal the wood.
This first coat takes about 30 minutes or so to dry.
Once dry, I took a 200grit piece of sandpaper and "scuffed" the entire cabinet. What this does is it knocks off all the tiny bumps left by the lacquer as it sealed the cabinet. You're not really sanding the finish off, just smoothing it out. I took an air hose and blew off the fine dust from scuffing the cabinet. I think I even took a dry rag and wiped it down for good measure.
I repeated this last step by spraying on another coat of lacquer. This will take a little longer to dry, but now the wood is getting a layer of finish on top of the wood. When this layer was dry, I scuffed the finish again. Cleaned off the dust and applied another coat.
When all was said and done, there was one seal coat and two finish coats.

For staining the doors, the process is the same.
Starting with the back side of the doors, apply stain, rub and wipe.
Flip the doors over and repeat on the front.
Finishing with the lacquer was the same as with the cabinet. One seal coat and two finish coats.

My next step was to start adding all the details to the panels.
Next time. (Modern Family is about to start.)

-JASON

 

[rovster]

What, no 2x4's?




Very inspiring build:thumbsup:

 

[jlanger]

The Details and Finishing It Up

The Details and Finishing It Up

With the cabinet and doors stained and finished, it was time to work on adding all the little things that make the cabinet show the craftsman style.

There is something I'll call the false top that was added to the cabinet.
I took a sheet of 1/2" quarter-sawn red oak and cut the shape to match the stand with a 1-1/2" overhang completely around the entire cabinet. I then applied a 1/4" trim piece completely around the false top to finish the edges. This gave me a 1-3/4" overhang that my cove molding would butt up against.
This was sanded, stained and finished just like the cabinet and was attached to the cabinet with screws. The quarter-sawn side is facing down to be visible (if laying on the floor).

The cove molding I made earlier was then cut to the sizes I needed and stained and finished.
The corbels all line up with the stiles that are on the doors and side panels. This molding was also used to wrap the posts.
To create another level of detail, I made some thin strips of oak trim at 1/4" thick by 1" wide. This was sanded and spray painted with the oil-rubbed bronze spray paint. This trim would run tight under the false top in between the corbels and cove molding.
All of these pieces were glued and nailed on with brads or micro-pins.

The final details went onto the painted panels.
I made oak trim strips that were 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide. These were cut to fit inside the flat panels. Since the trim was 1/4" thick and the reveal of the frames were 3/8" thick, this creates another level of detail and craftsmanship. The strips were applied with a small bead of glue and tacked on with micro-pins.

This last detail was also applied to the doors.

It was time to attach the doors to the cabinet.
We have a hinge boring machine in the shop that drills out the three holes that are needed to install the concealed hinges. After the holes are drilled, the machine also presses the hinges into the door. This machine makes hinging doors extremely quick and easy. It only takes about ten to fifteen seconds to put two hinges on a door.
I was ready to install the doors.
Remember that I added the false top and bottom rails to the cabinet face frame so it would look like the doors were inset.
Once the doors were installed, the stand really came together. The side panels matched the doors and it really looked clean and sharp.

The last steps to complete the stand was to purchase the hardware and order the laminate top.
I chose to go with a laminate top because I know how much water is dripped and spilled in any given day with a reef tank. (I just can't keep from getting my hands wet!) I chose a HD laminate that mimicked granite and accented the oil-rubbed bronze in the panels and the reds in the stain.
Yeah, I know. I could've made the laminate top. I built trade show exhibits for three years prior to working in this shop, so I have quite a bit of experience working with laminates. And for the cost of purchasing and shipping the laminate, it wasn't much more for them to just make it for me.
I had the countertop supplier build the top 1" thick and laminate all six sides.
I had them laminate the bottom first, then the ends, then the front and back and finally the top. This way I kept any water from finding its way into any seams of the laminate.
The laminate top was attached from inside the cabinet with wood screws.

The hardware I chose was in an oil-rubbed bronze finish.
And I chose these 5-1/2" pulls that are normally used horizontally on drawers, but I turned them and have them as my door handles.
These pulls add a nice simple and straight (but heavy) accent to the doors.

The stand was now complete!
But I wasn't done. What was I going to do for a canopy?

-JASON

 

[Twin Reefs]

More to come......right?

 

[sfsuphysics]

All I can say is daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

But I guess once you get all the busy work of making sure your wood is square and flat, and notches datoed out, and... then it goes together fairly easily like a lego kit

 

[d_sinsley]

Beatiful

Beatiful

I have been following this thread and it is a very nice stand and your attention to detail is awesome. A question though on the bronze pieces between the corbals (I didn't know they were called that until this post) and the crown molding... it looks as if there is a piece of maybe 1/4 round that goes below those pieces and the cove molding. Is that so?

Also when I originally saw this I thought those bronze pieces were actually cut outs not painted wood. That could and an interesting detail as well. Just a thought.

On the top did you choose laminate over granite because granite doesn't do well with constantly being wet? or is the laminiate an alternative to wood because granite would be costly and wood would not do well being constantly wet? I guess my question really is why didn't you use real stone?

Devon