custom entertainment center

Very nice looking. You did a great job on the trim.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Nice work and have fun in the finishig class.

-- Hope Never fails

I really like the workmanship.

An interesting comment about the finish. I have just procured a ton of cherry (literally #1900) to build among other things new office furniture for a space my wife and I will share.

I have always enjoyed that reddish finish that seems to be popular with commercially produced cherry products, and was planning the same for my projects. I would agree that the agressive lacquer layer might turn it into a hideous beast and would lean toward a more satin oriented finish such as something hand-rubbed or a satin-poly.

Is this a can of worms I am opening up or am I misspoken, if I were to suggest that some people might revel in the grain pattern of particular woods as opposed to its coloration?

In what I have done so far I found that I prefer to keep highly figured woods like oak close to if not in their natural color. Cherry seems to be more subtle in my mind and benefits from a darker stain that could possibly bring out/emphasize more character in the wood.

Bill.

oh im looking foward to the class alright. ;-) its unbelievable how much crap is involved with finishing. but all that crap will benifit my carreer. if it was up to me i would finish everything with tung oil, linseed oil, shellac and wax.

-- i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

Very nice work Mike…I’m with you regarding finishing!!

-- gbear, Carmichael, CA

very nice job mike its a great feeling when you finish and it turns out looking good doesent it?

-- Terry,SARTEL,MN

Great job, Mike.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Mike,

This is a very nice piece of furniture. The molding and raised panels are nice details to the piece. I agree with you about the finish. Cherry looks bests, at least in my opinion, with an oil base and a varnish top coat. Let it achieve its own patina. At times we work too hard to imitate nature. If we just use patience with cherry it will develop a gorgeous color all on its own.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Hi Mike

Great job on the cabinet. A finish can either make or break a cabinet job. Good for you in wanting to take a class, but time will be your best teacher. I used to laugh when the big boss from DeMoines would come for a visit. He could not under stand why the oak boards in most of our furniture did not look the same color. Most of our furniture was lightly stained or natural. Your talking 1000 of pieces in one production run. Then he would ask my finish forman what we could do. The finish forman would say “Paint them black”. Wrong answer!
Keep up the good work.

Tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

Hey Mike,

I really, really like this design. Sunk into the wall like this is a great way to save floor space. Can you provide more details on the construction? Like sizes, pull out shelves, how do they get to the equipment, etc. I’m very interested. It looks fantastic.

Finish, the best advice I’ve found is to use scraps from the project and do test pieces. Taunton’s book by Jeff Jewett is the best book I’ve found for explaining the process of finishing. You might try that. And I agree, it would be a shame to block it out with a really dark finish, but you’ve got to give them what they want. Not sure if you can get to this but Andy Rae has a really nice formula for cherry http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/subscription/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=26295 . If you can’t get to it let me know (send me your e-mail address) and I’ll try to e-mail it to you. Hope it helps.

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

That’s a great built-in! I wouldn’t have wanted to cover it up with anything too heavy, either. But the customer is always right, I guess, as long as they’re paying the bill!

-- Robb

Nicely done. I don’t get some people’s ideas on finish, either. I want to see the grain of the wood.

-- Maplewood, MN