Maitre ‘D Station

I was asked by our “adopted” son to make a Maitre ‘D station for his restaurant. He gave me a couple of requirements and rough size. Not wanting to create something that he may not like, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to expand my Sketchup abilities and create a virtual piece for their approval. At this point, I want acknowledge the invaluable help of DaveR- who spent an afternoon tutoring me. His guidance and patience helped me create the station and gain a much greater understanding of the capabilities Sketchup.

I learned a bunch of stuff making this seemly simple project (besides the Sketchup stuff). First, 45 degree angles look good on paper but are a bear to assemble- especially when dados are involved. Secondly, after reading all of the praise of wipe on Poly finishes, I don’t really care for them. The finish seemed to dry, as advertised, on the solid wood components, but left a tacky residue on all the plywood surfaces even after 12 hours. I ended up going back to a regular brush on Poly finish. Third, I tried “gilding” (no- not gelding) for the first time. The restaurant is called the “Copper Kettle” and one of the requirements for the station was to have an integral business card holder- the old one kept falling on the floor. I thought- hey, why not use a “copper kettle” for the card holder. I turned a blank into a kettle shape, used a hollow mortise chisel to cut a ½” slot in the center- for the cards, added a couple of handle holes, painted the inside black, used copper leaf over the outside and added a brass rod handle. To keep it in place, I used the magnets from an old computer hard drive. Recessed one set in the bottom of the “kettle” and the other set in the underside of the station top. These super strong magnets keep the little “kettle” securely in place.

The next to last picture is the station in place at the restaurant.

Thanks for looking and Thank You DaveR for all your help!