A Case for the Party Stands (A Work-in-Progress Thread)

[Mike Henderson]

I put the spacers behind the trays, and attached the back. That long drill extension worked fine to get the screws in. Here's a picture of the cabinet in the house, waiting for the doors.

I'm working on the marquetry design right now, but it will be a while before I can start cutting.
TrayBox107.jpg

Mike

[Andrew Hughes]

Looks good mike ,I bet this cool weather helped move things along quicker,Thanks for the reminder about chilling epoxy for longer open time I had forgotten about that.

[Mike Henderson]

I did not get many comments or questions on this thread so I'll ask you (the reader) whether a build thread like this is of any value to you. I know that many of the techniques I used are pretty standard so the process may not be very interesting or instructive.

I'd appreciate your comments either way: You can say

1. "It's pretty standard so I wasn't that interested" or

2. "I was interested but didn't have any questions or comments", or

3. Any other comments you want to make about the thread.

Mike

[Andrew Hughes]

For me it was uneventful, only because the tv has so much drama my brain is hardened.
I'm glad you your case done safely.But if let's say your router would have went poof and left you hanging,And that got you so mad that you bashed it flat with a hammer,that not something you see everyday,and don't ask how I thought of that.I think it's just hard to convey your woodworking energy without a video.Andrew

[Mike Henderson]

For me it was uneventful, only because the tv has so much drama my brain is hardened.[snip]
Andrew

Yeah, I'm a no drama type of person. I would think producing a video would be a lot of work. With still pictures, I can work at my own pace, taking breaks when I want to. In doing a video, I'd have to have everything planned out and do things fairly quickly or it would get really boring. And I'd have to have someone to shoot the video while I worked.

Also, I don't like videos because it's hard to skip the parts that don't interest you and find the part that does. I find it much easier to do that with text and pictures.

Mike

[Trevor Howard]

I was very interested Mike, but found your explanations and pictures very self explanatory. Sorry my only question was to point out a slight hiccup on your part regarding the Black Blobs I thought I was going to learn a new technique.
Can't wait to see the doors when you get to them.

[Gus Dundon]

Very well detailed. Thanks for posting . You certainly did a great job on this!

[Gary Muto]

Mike,
i really enjoyed the thread. I've been planning and executing a move from MI to CO so I haven't been online much the past 3-4 weeks. Although a lot of your techniques are straight forward, the details in your comment are helpful and interesting. The piece came out great. it's too bad that the top will be covered by a TV. How's that for Drama!
Thanks for sharing!

[Mike Henderson]

I'm making progress on the marquetry design. I'm not finished yet, but I have enough to be able to lay out the front of the cabinet.

Here's a picture of the front with the design in its approximate place. The field will be a 16 piece radial match of wenge, with banding of tulip wood and holly. The border will be mahogany. The border will be about 4" on the sides and about 3 3/8" at the top and bottom.
TrayBox108.jpg

For anyone who's interested, here's the design. I'm finished drawing it (except for some minor revisions) and now I'm numbering it. I sometimes miss numbering a piece and have to add the number when I'm cutting the pieces out.

I had planned to make all the roses white, but my wife is now telling me to make the roses different colors. I'll have to see what she comes up with as far as colors are concerned.
TrayBox109.jpg

Mike

[Gary Muto]

Mike,
I'm very interested to see the process that you use. Feel free to discuss the mistakes/challenges that you come across. I think that is where we tend to learn the most. I'll be watching for sure.
Good Luck!

[Mike Henderson]

I have the design pretty much finished and have copied the original drawing. I made two copies, one will be glued to the packet and the other will be used to orient the pieces when I'm putting the design together.

I copy the original drawing on my scanner so I only get a letter size "piece" of the drawing. I then have to put the pieces together to make the complete image. I probably should take the original drawing somewhere and pay for them to make some full size copies - it'd be a lot less work.
TrayBox115.jpg

I also put the background together - 16 pieces of wenge laid in a radial match. A lot of the wenge will be cut away by the design but I wanted the pieces left to be pointing to the center. I thought that looked better than just laying it vertically or horizontally. Here's the radial match before trimming.
TrayBox110.jpg

And here it is after trimming (you're looking at the glue face). The required size is 22 1/2" by 16 7/8" so I went about an inch larger in both dimensions. After everything is put together, I'll trim to size.
TrayBox111.jpg

Here's the show face.
TrayBox112.jpg

When doing marquetry, you generally need to put paper on the show face to hold the veneer together. Often the pieces are complex and it would be easy for a fragment to break off - and, of course, you'd never find that broken fragment. The paper helps to hold those complex pieces together.
TrayBox113.jpg

Putting all that wet veneer tape on the face can cause the veneer to buckle so I press it until it dries. The weight on top is a couple of pieces of Trex. If you ever worked with Trex, you know how heavy it is. I'll let it dry for a day.
TrayBox114.jpg

Next, I need to get with my wife and select the colors for the roses and the vase. Then, I'll prepare those veneers in a similar way, and make up the packet.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Well, the design didn't cut it with the client (my wife) so I have to go back to the drawing boards. But it'll just be some modifications to the design - not a start over from scratch.

I'll post again as soon as I have the new design done.

Mike

[Gary Muto]

That stinks! but better to find out now than after you finish it.

[Mike Henderson]

The first design did not make it past the client (my wife). She had a number of suggestions which led me to do another drawing. It's similar to the first one, but different. We did decide that the roses will all be white, and she wants the vase to not be a strong color, so I'm going to make it in an earth tone. Here's what the design looks like now.
TrayBox116.jpg

And a close-up.
TrayBox117.jpg

Now, I can get started on the more enjoyable aspect of the project, working with wood.

Just a note to explain the drawing. Note that every element is numbered. This is so that when I cut out the pieces, I can track them and put them back into the proper place.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

To begin creating the packet, I start with cardboard, approximately the size of the background.
TrayBox118.jpg

There's a top and a bottom, which I hinge by cutting part way through the cardboard so it will fold easily and in the right place.
TrayBox119.jpg

I've drawn a horizontal and vertical line on both the top and inside bottom. I've also cut a small window in the center of the top. This helps me align the background veneer. I replace the cut out cardboard after I have everything aligned.

Note that I have the veneer with the veneer tape up. You can work with the veneer tape down, which helps you see the location of things a bit better, but then your design comes out as a mirror image.

Notice that I've located the center of the background veneer. I do this by bending the veneer along the seams, which allows me to see exactly where the center is.
TrayBox120.jpg

Now, I can place the background veneer exactly where I want it and then replace the cut out piece of cardboard, using a tiny amount of glue to hold it in place.
TrayBox121.jpg

I position the cartoon where I want it to be and tape it in place. Then I draw a couple of marks on the cardboard at the top of the cartoon and on each side, at the top. These will be used to align the cartoon when I glue it down.
TrayBox122.jpg

I use 3M 77 spray adhesive and spray it on the back of the cartoon.
TrayBox123.jpg

Once the back is sprayed, I have to place it carefully. I hold the bottom end in my mouth and use my hands on the top sides. I align the top of the cartoon to the marks I made earlier and place it down, starting at the top and moving downward. This will allow you to lay the cartoon without any bubbles or wrinkles.
TrayBox124.jpg

Next, I start to build up the packet by adding the other colors of veneer. There are more colors to go here but I'm close.
TrayBox125.jpg

Mike