Thread: WIP - Lowline TV console

I can relate to some of what you said. Sometimes it can be slow in progressing. I find that I set small tasks to complete and once that is done I do the next one. This holds true for almost everything in my life.

I just could be a little slower then most.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

You'll find that brushbox is very hard on jointer/thicknesser blades - it has a lot of silica in it. Might be an idea to use one set of blades to get everything close to final dimensions, then either sharpen or fit a new set of blades for final finishing to size.

Yes I was initially worried about how quickly things would wear. I did get a bi metal blade for the bandsaw. However I've had this pile of wood sitting around for so long. I picked it up while renovating our last house when we re-laid the brushbox flooring and I needed some odd bits and pieces to fixup around the stairs and door thresholds. I can't remember how much the pack cost, but it was only like $50 at an auction. This is really very much seconds, probably thirds

I'm actually a bit more worried about how the hand tools will stand up to it. There are a lot of tenon saw cuts to make. I guess I'll be get some practise resharpening the handsaws.

Not much progress on this WIP. After cutting up some of the brushbox last year, I got disheartened by the twists, bows and cracks in the boards and reevaluated my design.

After trying to straighten and flatten some of this stuff I got diverted on trying to fix up an old HABCO jointer I picked up. The jointer has been pretty much a waste of time and money as a functional tool but it has been a practical lesson in tuning and fixing up old machinery, not to mention learning about under estimating the value to be placed on having a good working tool. The combination monster is actually more functional and paid for itself during the house renovations a few years ago where I was only working with hoop pine, but if I go much further I'll be junking the jointer and getting something newer.

The same could probably be said about persevering with an attempt to make something out of the brushbox. In all probability it might be better used as BBQ fuel, however, having come this far I'm inclined to continue and see where this all ends. I have a high tolerance for under achievement.

Reevaluating how much usable timber I'll get out of the stack and how difficult the internal web frame layout for drawers would be has led me to try and simplify things. My new design calls for making some of the frame from thicker members than I currently have, so I am now investigating the possibility of laminating to make up 40x40 pieces to use as legs and rails. However this seems to also be problematic using brushbox.

Pictures attached showing my latest concept and efforts to cut, flatten and straighten pieces ready to laminate. Trying to get the board faces flat enough to laminate has been challenging, but I seem to now have some close enough to have a go at gluing. I just have to decide on which glue to use.

Cool your back. Well never actually left just got side tracked like the rest of us.

I decided on Titebond III for laminating. The trued up faces seemed to match pretty well and clamped together evenly, although watching the lack of squeeze out on my first attempt had me recalibrate my glue dispensing motion and try again. I think the joints are all pretty well full and further dimensioning of the stock isn't showing up too many bad glue lines.

I planed down the laminated pieces on the jointer to get 2 square sides, but the faces are not coming off the planer all that smooth and I have moved on to finishing the dimensioning by hand.

Even with my best try at sharpening my stanley blades, I'm still getting some fuzzy tearout (not to mention some new cracks appearing from the depths) on the stock and I'm guessing I will be able to fill this somehow during finishing. Will this be possible with say a first coat of shellac?

I've just placed newly sharpened blades in the combination machine and I'll use that tomorrow in the thicknesser to help bring things down to dimension, but I'll still be doing the final faces by hand.

With the cracks I filled with Epoxy.

The bits and pieces are starting to come together. Here is a picture of the parts stack growing in the small lengths storage bin.

The panels for the sides were cut from this twisted, figured board which I chopped into suitable lengths, flattened then split. They are now acclimatizing but I think the ones cut from near the knot end are twisting a lot and will need further work.

I think I'll use these 3 boards for the equipment shelf. The colour variation is actually more than is showing up in the photos but it will be hard to see with the media equipment sitting on them.

I haven't actually had a lot of options for choosing the grain and colour as I am struggling to cut the pieces from what I've got without further glue ups. In any case the top will have to be glued up from the other pieces I still have on hand.

I cut the drawer fronts from the only wide enough flat sawn plank I had. It is almost completely opposite to quarter sawn. I'm hoping they are not going to move. It will be quite a while before I get around to starting the drawers so I'll have some idea if they don't look to be stable.

Time will tell.....

I looked at what's left in the Brushbox pile today and decided I could use these two boards to make up the top.

The smaller board is heavily cracked and was a bit too twisted and kinked to put over the jointer blades without a bit of manual hogging off first.

I had previously discounted the wider wany board because it is also cracked and I wondered how it would finish, but I decided to at least dress it a bit before making a final decision to glue up smaller stuff.

The cracks shouldn't be too visible from the top, but the underside will be pretty ugly. I think the figure should however compensate for the defects.

So that's all the case parts selected. The web frames will have to be made of something else.

Like what you are doing there Fuzzie!!

I am a big fan of Brush Box.

I'm wondering how it would go if you rip the splitting board and join it using a narrow strip of different timber as a feature.

One thing experience tells me is that once you finish that piece it will surely keep splitting.

Originally Posted by artme

I'm wondering how it would go if you rip the splitting board and join it using a narrow strip of different timber as a feature.

I'm hoping that given it has had 10 years drying most of the shrinking and cracks will be full extent by now. The worst cracks in the top boards are diagonal across the board thickness. Cutting it out would only yield small sticks to glue back together . I'm wondering about trying to squeeze some glue in or drop in a key somehow to stabilize.

Since the plan is to have the boards held frame and panel style around all edges it may just become a seasonal movement issue. It will just have to come prefinished with original patina, no need to distress it to make it look old.

True enough Fuzzie.

The keys sound like a good idea - Bow ties, dog bones, dumbells = take your pick.

Originally Posted by artme

True enough Fuzzie.

The keys soun like a good idea - Bow ties, dog bones, dumbells = take your pick.

Create dumbells and dog bones. I have not seen that before.

I've started looking at the web frame. There's not enough brushbox left so I dragged out a couple of old junker hoop pine boards that look like I could cut around the knots to get enough pieces.

I cut these down to size then cleaned them up. Several pieces bowed a fair bit when cut so I'll keep an eye on them before committing to using them.

I'm not all that sure about using this old hoop as the internal frame, but it's all I have on hand that looks suitable. I've also got a stack of old hoop chamfer boards which I think I'll be able to use for drawer sides, so the finished drawers will be hoop running on hoop which I think should be OK.

The old Hoop should be fine if you don't whack it with a hammer!

Gets brittle with age. Oh, and don't overtighten any screws or it will split. DAMHIK