# Stickley inspired Entertainment Center



## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Thinking about this weekend*

After [mostly] finishing our XBOX 360 entertainment unit my son and I have been thinking about what we want our next project to be. We've spend months on getting the "fancy room" more or less done as my space to "get away". The kids want me in my own space and I hate coming in the room and seeing Sponge Bob playing on the TV. That was the impetus to get the "fancy room" done.

We looked at the Stickley website. After all, there were no big screen TVs in 1910 and Stickley has done their best to interpret what one would have looked like, but I'm not thrilled with any of their interpretations. Not that they aren't well done. They are. They just seem like a compromise.

We don't like the long curves and think that the corbels are unnecessary. We like the rectilinear look. We've gone back and forth between this one and this one. Looks like we may go with the second. Or the first… Still really not sure.

Did some reading/thinking about the design. The wider units (68") are with corbels. The narrower units (63") are without. The ones without corbels are intended to be used in the case where a shelf gets put on the sides and the ones without are for a standalone unit. I'm not really a fan of the big hutch style but think we'll definitely go with no corbels and no overhang on the sides. We did an overhang on the X-Box 360 Entertainment Center and it did turn out well. We could add corbels there if we want, but I really like the boxier look.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Design ideas - Plan*

Spent time thinking about what I want in an Entertainment Center. The Stickley designs are 63 in wide. Typical heights are 30 to 34 in. I drew up a plan showing what I think I want to do.










I like kick boards for the bottom better than the typical rounded Stickley design. Frankly, I am not much of a housekeeper and I end up with too much dirt/dust and am too lazy to want to keep it clean under the front.

Bottom 3 openings will be drawers. Top 6 will be shelves. I showed the shelves as dado joined but I think routing in metal slots so that I can move the shelves around would be better.

Problem is, I can dado the verticals for the area around the drawers, but what do I do about the other side? I can't put two 3/8" dados on both sides of a 3/4" piece. Maybe just dado by 1/4"???

Here's an improved version:










I think I can solve the dado problem by putting cleats along the top edge of the drawer. They will be hidden by the drawer anyway so that might work. That way I can put dados on the vertical. I think this will work:


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## interpim (Dec 6, 2008)

LegendInMyOwnMind said:


> *Design ideas - Plan*
> 
> Spent time thinking about what I want in an Entertainment Center. The Stickley designs are 63 in wide. Typical heights are 30 to 34 in. I drew up a plan showing what I think I want to do.
> 
> ...


dado's don't necessarily have to be half the thickness of a piece… you could get away with 1/4" dado's, but with the dado on the other side being 1/4" as well, I would think you may have some stability issues with having only 1/4" in the middle to support the cabinet, and whatever you put on or in it.

I would suggest putting 1 fixed shelf, and put pins for adjustable shelves everywhere else.


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## GregD (Oct 24, 2009)

LegendInMyOwnMind said:


> *Design ideas - Plan*
> 
> Spent time thinking about what I want in an Entertainment Center. The Stickley designs are 63 in wide. Typical heights are 30 to 34 in. I drew up a plan showing what I think I want to do.
> 
> ...


For the fixed shelf that separates the drawers from the shelves (that hold the vertical supports in place) I would think 1/8" deep dados would work. Also (or alternatively) you could simply use butt joints for the verticals that separate the drawers and drive screws through the horizontal piece from the top - the upper verticals will hide the screw heads.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

LegendInMyOwnMind said:


> *Design ideas - Plan*
> 
> Spent time thinking about what I want in an Entertainment Center. The Stickley designs are 63 in wide. Typical heights are 30 to 34 in. I drew up a plan showing what I think I want to do.
> 
> ...


@GregD - Yes, great idea. I was thinking about putting cletes below the shelf, but that's even better!

Thanks,

Doug


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*QCAD Screenshot*

Not sure what other people are doing for CAD programs. From what I've read, a lot of people use google sketchup. I'm running Linux and am using QCAD, It's a great *free* program and there is a windoze version out there somewhere. Here's a screencap of the Entertainment Unit:










The program saves as standard DXF files.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Materials List*

The material will be Red Oak plywood available at Lowes Depot.

 Since nearly all of the widths will be 16 inches, the materials list is fairly simple. Here's my first crack at it:


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## jeffbranch (Feb 20, 2011)

LegendInMyOwnMind said:


> *Materials List*
> 
> The material will be Red Oak plywood available at Lowes Depot.
> 
> Since nearly all of the widths will be 16 inches, the materials list is fairly simple. Here's my first crack at it:


I hope your red oak plywood is better quality stuff than around here. Your project sounds interesting. I'll be watching for updates.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Cut List*

Made the cut lists using EXCEL.

Here's the amount of veneer edge banding that should be needed.










When I ran the lists for the cuts I found it doesn't quite fit into two sheets of plywood.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Dado plans*


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Replanning...*

After building the XBox-360 Entertainment Center I have some changes to this design. The height is just too tall for my "Fancy Room". I am trying for a sophisticated look in the room and the height needs to be right. I still want the drawers and shelves and the look of the Stickley unit. I've scaled down the height for a better view. Seated in a chair, the screen should be centered on your eyes. Here's where I am now.










I think 27" inches should be a good compromise in height. I have a commercial unit that is shorter, but impractical. It's also modern styled and I want something Stickley like. Anyway, this will have to wait for a couple of weeks until my son can work on it.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Sketchup model for SIEU*

I made this Sketchup Model of the Stickley Inspired Entertainment Center.










I think it turned out pretty good considering it's my first time using Sketchup.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Assembly of the unit*

Did the basic shell assembly yesterday and stained it (Minwax 215 Red Oak). Waiting on stain to dry now.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*First finish coat - Spar Urethane*

I decided to go with spar urethane (Helmsman satin by Minwax) as the protective finish. I read some reviews and thought I'd give it a try. I like the way it applies better than the regular polyurethane I used on the x-box 360 entertainment unit.

Hard to explain why it feels different but it just seems to go on easier. Maybe it's thinner? It also seems to raise the grain a bit less so maybe I will need less sanding. Somebody said it isn't better at water resistance, but if the sun hits this maybe it will hold up better?

Anyway, here's a picture.










I think it looks pretty good.


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## grantlairdjr (Apr 24, 2011)

LegendInMyOwnMind said:


> *First finish coat - Spar Urethane*
> 
> I decided to go with spar urethane (Helmsman satin by Minwax) as the protective finish. I read some reviews and thought I'd give it a try. I like the way it applies better than the regular polyurethane I used on the x-box 360 entertainment unit.
> 
> ...


Looking good!!


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Stain Before Glue*

Stained this unit before gluing and I had much better results than I did with the stain when we made our X-box 360 Entertainment Unit. . On the X-box Unit the vertical edge where a shelf meets the side support shows darker stain. On this method there is no stain inconsistency in the vertical side since it was done at one staining.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Slow but steady progress - Finishing *

Bought Mission Style drawer pulls at Rockler. They had some Stickley pulls that I really liked but couldn't talk myself into $40 each (I need 3). Something about paying as much for the drawer pulls as I did for the entire unit just didn't sit right with me. Found some mission style pulls that were more like $7.50. They look pretty good, but not as "Stickley" as the Stickley ones:










Did some sanding of the third coat which is on the top of the unit using 280 grit sandpaper. Did a fourth coat of Spar Urethane on top of that and I am really happy with the results.










Think I need to do sanding and another Urethane coat on the sides to make them "feel" like the top.


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## LegendInMyOwnMind (Apr 27, 2011)

*Finally finished*

Done!










First dovetails using my HF dovetail jig,










Fits videos perfectly.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

LegendInMyOwnMind said:


> *Finally finished*
> 
> Done!
> 
> ...


Nice job I love stickley type design well done young man.Alistair


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## scarpenter002 (Sep 16, 2007)

LegendInMyOwnMind said:


> *Finally finished*
> 
> Done!
> 
> ...


Nice job Doug.


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