Thread: Blackwood CD cabinet

Absolutely smashing, Rocker!

Like I said in my PM to you, I've fallen in love with Blackwood. What a spectaculair species!

Wow!
do you have 340 cd's?!!

The mitred frame looks really good. it stands out more than I thought it would. I guess because it's unusual. Great Job!
-Ryan

I'm building one at the moment (actually a prototype out of pine first!)
Yours makes my plans look outstandingly average
I will use the base of yours as a model for mine, though, as I was struggling how to fit a fascia to the front base without any external joinery.
What is blackwood like to work with? The problem with building a prototype out of pine is working with pine - it splinters when I look at it.

Ryan,
The cabinet is for my niece who has 200 CDs at present, and I thought I would build in a bit of redundancy.

I was very happy with how the mitred joints worked out. They were much quicker and easier to make than dovetails, and, with urea formaldehyde glue, and biscuit reinforcement, they have plenty of strength. But you need a biscuit joiner like the Porter Cable, whose fence tilts at 135°, to cut the biscuit slots effectively.

Rocker

Kbn,

I just glued the base fascia between the sides and put a couple of screws through the drawer divider underneath the bottom drawer to hold it in position.

Blackwood is not too bad to work with. It tends to burn and tear out when routed, if you are not careful. But I like the look of the timber - it looks just as good as American walnut IMO.

Rocker

Great work Rocker i like the way you have used the multi colour timber as well,i have milled some logs just like that and have a stack of it drying,it has a multi colour range in it and i think it looks spectacular......we will soon have heaps of blackwood from a salvage operation so if you want some let me know what sizes you want before we mill it...... .........Again a great job well done.........

Reguards Tasman.

A very nice cabinet Rocker and the mitred corners came out well . IMHO dovetailed corners would not have suited the piece . What finish did you use , as it has brought out the character of the blackwood really well and also is that some of Tasmans blackwood ?

Peter

Thanks for kind comments. The finish is gloss polyurethane; the first two coats were thinned about 30% with mineral turps to allow the finish to penetrate the wood.

Tasman,

I am afraid the freight from Tasmania would be a killer for the small quantity of blackwood that I am likely to use - I am only a hobbyist. But I am sure the Victorian forum members will be interested in your stock.

Rocker

the mitre is fine without biscuits. maybe if you are worried about the glue up you could use them. forget web clamp and cumbersome jigs, tape is fine.

Snapperhead,

You may be right that biscuits are not essential; but there doesn't seem to be any down-side in using them, and they do give the assurance that the joint definitely will not move while the glue is setting. They also help to align the joint properly, in case the side or top has a tendency to warp. I would be happy to do without them when glueing a small box, but I would be wary of relying solely on tape with a larger cabinet like this one. Also, the biscuits must add some mechanical strength to the mitre joint, which would otherwise be relying entirely on the glue's ability to adhere to end-grain on the mitre faces.

Rocker

To Rocker from John.

Your craftmanship and output of furniture projects is still leaving me with envy.

I would like to suggest that your pictures would look even better if you changed over to using the hyperlink.

I have found a free and worthwhile host which you might like to peruse.

http://photobucket.com

They give free hosting upto 25mb and a massive 250mb for a very small charge.

Anyway have a happy and productive new year.

A picture sample using the photobucket link

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v330/devonwoody/snow1.jpg">

John,

Thanks; I already have a number of photos stored on the Yahoo site. I am afraid any deficiencies in my photos are down to my rather obsolete digital camera and my lack of photographic expertise. But I think the pics gave an adequate idea of what my cabinet is like.

Rocker

no doubt they help for the glue ups but they add no mechanical extra, the mitre is the weakest of all joints. having said that, with modern glue and with your use of biscuits its very sound, especally for a cd cabinet. nevertheless, i never bother with biscuits - just prime the end grain of both surfaces and tape them and check the diagonals of the carcass. i have never had a problem with one i have done yet.