Floating entertainment center made of rustic walnut, stained with Danish oil. Two panels can be slid left and right, hiding a PS4 on the left and a record collection on the right.
The record player sits in the middle, on the top. I cut a panel and then installed inset hinges.
My mother wanted a dresser for her piano sheet music. I used mahogany–which is a bitch to work with, by the way, because it warps–and then used a red dye and walnut stain mixed together to get that brownish-red color. Lots of shellac to make it nice and glossy. The frame was the hardest part–not perfectly square, so it took a lot of sanding. But it turned out great.
A simple cherry end table, but it turned out amazing. The drawer is perfect and the poly coat really made the cherry’s natural color pop.
An entry table made of oak, cherry and walnut. Originally an old table with a simple wooden surface. Took out the surface and kept the metal frame. The arrows are all cut at a 45-degree angle for the sake of simplicity–otherwise, it would have been impossible. I had a little room for error on the measurements because the table has a metal frame that hides about half an inch.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. All right, here’s how we did these:
- 4 of the bookcases are Billy bookcases from IKEA. Just prime them and paint them, then install them so they’re level (tricky when your floor is uneven).
- The middle bookcase is bigger, and custom-made with pine. Installed last, then painted.
- The bottom is hidden by baseboards, cut to size.
- The top is hidden with crown molding and a baseboard nailed together.
A pretty decent gaming table. It’s got a little spot on the righthand side for the PC tower. Made with red oak. Frame is stained with ebony stain and the tabletop is a cherry-tinted Danish oil.
I used a dovetail jig to make this simple box made of cherry. It was mostly just a test of the jig–a Rockler dovetail jig–but it turned out to fit some tea and Altoids perfect … all I need at work. The jig was really easy to use … after I went to an in-store demo.
I was told to make a food dehydrator, and I was given instructions on how to do (I tried to find the web link, but couldn’t … try to Google the design). It works pretty well, but it might need some tweaking. There are vents at the top that can be pulled open to increase airflow.
A simple shelf for the microwave and coffee and tea below. The shelf itself is a trapezoid shape, and it was fucking difficult to measure out.
Built the table, built the bookshelf. Table is just red oak stained with English Chesnut Minwax. The bookshelf is made of Sapele that was on sale. I used a stencil for the curved top.
Ken Brosky, Author 