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Thread: Mission-Style Entertainment Center

  1. #1
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    Mission-Style Entertainment Center

    I modified the Mission-style entertainment center in the August/September 2013 Woodsmith issue to make an entertainment center that would serve to separate my now (very) mobile daughter from my DVR and satellite receiver. I had already gone through the trouble of mounting my old plasma to the wall so she couldn't accidentally pull it over on herself, so I didn't need the fancy lift mechanism in the Woodsmith plans. (The TV is just above the entertainment center, just out of the picture.) I kept the same exterior dimensions and style but eliminated the subwoofer cubby and drawers to make a 1/3-2/3 divided door setup, with the 2/3 section having a shelf. My homebrew DVR that looks suspiciously like a ten-year-old computer sits in the 1/3 area and the keyboard, satellite receiver, DVD player, and HD-PVR capture box sit in the area with the shelves. I naturally added locks to keep my daughter out of it and the "glass" is 0.080" clear sheet acrylic. The back is open so the electronics don't cook and also allows the cables coming from the wall to go into the entertainment center. The carcase is made out of 3/4" red oak plywood and the edging and facing is made out of a bunch of reclaimed apparently quartersawn red oak barn rafters my Dad and I saved from an old barn we tore down in the late 1990s.

    It was a fun project and my first piece of "real nice" furniture using something other than pine.


    IMG_7424.jpg

  2. #2
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    Good job, Phillip !!!

    Kidproof requires compromises - no issues there. If my parents' experience is any indicator, telling a kid "no" is just like the red cape and the bull.................

    Whadja use for finishing?

    You could, if you wanted, put some half-height dark-colored perforated panels in the back to hide the cables, but that is not a biggie.......
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  3. #3
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    I used Minwax's "Gunstock" stain and two coats of semi-gloss poly varnish as my finish.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phillip Gregory View Post
    I used Minwax's "Gunstock" stain and two coats of semi-gloss poly varnish as my finish.
    Came out looking very nice. The poly is a pretty good defense against little critters - you might have to refresh it from time-to-time, depending on how focused he/she is on finding the edge of the envelope, but still a good choice.

    Whatcha doing next?
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    I have been working on some picture frames. They are fun and a "weekend project" is a nice change of pace from a major project that took several months to complete.

    My next large project will be a nice gun cabinet. I am still working out the design details on that one. I am thinking of something that looks like an armoire but the part where you hang the clothes will be where the guns sit and the bottom part where there are usually drawers for folded clothes will be where the ammunition and cleaning/reloading supplies sit. I don't particularly care for the typical gun cabinet design as most of my firearms are not photogenic and the storage space underneath is way too small. I mainly shoot shotguns and most gun cabinets are full if you put a case or two in the storage area.
    Last edited by Phillip Gregory; 02-14-2015 at 9:16 AM.

  6. #6
    Phillip,

    Very nice work!!

    Jack

  7. #7
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    Very nice work. That fact that you used reclaimed lumber makes it even nicer. I think I'd be motivated to put back panels on it, however, to reduce the visual "unsightliness". You could make baffled vents in the back that let the hot air out while preventing straight through sight lines to the light colored wall behind. Or I guess you could just paint the wall behind black!

    John

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    Or I guess you could just paint the wall behind black!

    John

    "That's the last act of a desperate man."
    - Sheriff Bart in Blazing Saddles




    Can't resist the follow-up: "We don't care if it's the first act of Henry V."
    - Howard Johnson
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    Very nice work. That fact that you used reclaimed lumber makes it even nicer. I think I'd be motivated to put back panels on it, however, to reduce the visual "unsightliness". You could make baffled vents in the back that let the hot air out while preventing straight through sight lines to the light colored wall behind. Or I guess you could just paint the wall behind black!

    John
    I agree - that would really make the finished piece practical and easy on the eyes. Note - you have plenty of airspace in the cabinet. Just a bit of venting in the backpanel would be plenty

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