Nowhere near as fancy as some of the work posted here, but a fun project none the less. Mostly I’m posting this as my way of saying thanks to all who have given so much of their time to this site and especially to the Photo Gallery. Many of the techniques I used I learned here.
Here is the problem statement: My daughter’s new tract home with the really ugly wart over the fireplace:
She has a contemporary aesthetic, “more Pottery Barn than Crate & Barrel”, whatever that means, and wanted something simple. Also, it was getting built 500 miles north of the install, with ideally minimal demo at the site.
Given the layout of the tile and how close the TV niche on the right is I didn’t have a lot of room to play with, so planned to tear off the sheetrock first. I started with a simple box idea to slide over what I guessed the framing to be, with maybe a bit of overhang for the top, but wasn’t gettig too excited about it. DW came up with the idea of the curved front and that really made it gell.
Figured a 16′ radius was about right to a nice subtle curve that didn’t stick out too far. Anything bigger and I couldn’t fit the guide into the shop! Made the template from some 1/4″ hardboard scrap.
Edited 11/2/2008 1:27 am by wrudiger
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I had a bunch of leftover maple from the kitchen project. Resawed and planed two boards into 1/4" thick pieces to do the curved front. Here's the form, glue-up and resulting curved board. Used riverman's (at least I think it was his) trick of wrapping the boards in shrink wrap first to help keep them (and the glue!) all together while clamping - worked great!
Used the very cool Starrett Prosite I learned about here to figure out the miter angle from the front to the sides.
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Edited 11/2/2008 1:38 am by wrudiger
Given the design - hollow box with no back, needing to travel, I wanted it sturdy. Pocket screws to the rescue - inspired by all of Stan's pocket screws on his stair treads!
One of my definitions of a good project is that it justifies a tool purchase - in this case the Collins Clamps, as recommended by so many folks here.
The top was too wide for the jointer so I got to flaten it by hand - a good exercise in patience. I roughed out the curve on the bandsaw; about 3/8" overhang all around. Forgot to get pictures of this step, but I used my ancient massive Makita plunge router to cut the curve to the front & sides. It came with a bearing guide that was perfect for this application.
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Edited 11/2/2008 1:49 am by wrudiger
The daughter wanted a dark walnut look; I had light maple. Cool, I've always wanted to play around with coloring wood. I chose TransTint dye to get the color without hiding the character of the grain. It can be diluted with a number of solvents; I chose water. After the finish sand I wet the piece and resanded to reduce grain raise from the dye; that worked great.
The challenge is that maple can be blotchy. At Jeff Jewett's suggestion I just misted it on with the HVLP gun and then let it dry. That worked great. I used a pruple synthetic pad (similar to 0000 steel wool) to lightly knock off any rough spots.
The finish is Target Hybrivar waterborne varnish. First time I used it but I really like it. Flows on very nicely and gives a richer look than some waterborne products. This and the dye are available from Jeff's company - Homestead Finishing. I've only run a few gallons through the HVLP gun so I'm still learning. The dye & finish were very forgiving as I corrected all my rookie mistakes. I think it ended up with 5 or 6 coats of finish.
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Edited 11/2/2008 1:03 am by wrudiger
On to the job site, in the So Cal desert near Palm Springs (not too worried about humidity fluctuations here!). Framing was a bit different than I guessed but the strategy still worked. After pealing off the sheetrock I had a bit of trimming and shimming to do, but it installed in a couple of hours.
It's a nice fit, tight but not too tight. I planned to screw it in with trim heads but it fit so nice I just applied glue at a few spots along the top - it's not going anywhere.
A fun project, made possible in many ways by this forum. Best of all, a very happy customer!
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And best of all, I didn't go all the way down there just to install a mantle. It was my youngest granddaughter's first birthday - now that was a fun party!
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Edited 11/2/2008 1:13 am by wrudiger
bravo!
Nice presentation of the project, nice transformation to the fireplace and the room, and cute grandkid too!View Image “Good work costs much more than poor imitation or factory product†– Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
great rendition and display of skills for these young guys to learn from
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Great thread sequence! - just showed my son (8), and described how the bending of the front was done. Now he wants to make a bent part.
Forrest
Nice work. Now that your bending jig is built, you can make more and sell them to her neighbours. They probably all have the same thing.
Very nice.
No Tag
Very nice thread. Getting ready to redo my own mantle, this was a good inspiration.
"We don't throw the first punch, but we'll throw the last" Barack Obama Oct.2008