Project Wire House

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Start Date:

April 25, 2010

Project Status:

In Progress

Projected End Date:

May 12, 2010

Final Product(s):

a cabinet with 3 shelves

The Project:

Now that our den is finally coming together, it's time to tackle and house all the electronic equipment that lives in the room, along with the wires/cables they connect with. Currently needing housing are:

a TiVo
a DVD player
a cable modem
a router (Time Capsule for you Mac fans)
an AT&T 3G Microcell (to get coverage AT&T doesn't provide me)
all their incoming and outgoing wires and cables

Luckily I was able to move these all to one place, directly under the flat panel TV (which I mounted to the wall--project not included here). Now I just need to house them with as few showing wires/cables as possible. My sketch for the project is here:

The doors will cover two shelves (three if you count the base), where the majority of the items will be stored. The space between the doors and the top will house the TiVo and DVD player, so they can be seen by the remote controls. The top will probably have be a place for some more decorative items. The top and bottom will also extend a little bit past the frame and have a slightly designed (read: routed) edge.

The goal is to get the project done before my in-laws come on May 12th.

Project Updates:

Project Wire House Update: Done-ish

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Project:

Wire House

Project Update #2

Yesterday's progress left me with two pieces left: doors and feet. Let's start with the feet. I had previously bought the shortest feet the Depot (still trying to find a way I feel comfortable sharing how much time I spend there) had to offer. However, as the cabinet came together, I had my doubts. Ilana confirmed that not only were they a little too tall, but they were slightly falic and ornate (quite the combination, I know) for our taste. So I decided to make my own feet. Here they are:

They're a bit less than centered, but oddly enough that doesn't actually matter with this design. I'm pretty pleased considering I've never used this "technology" before, and it'll give me some good options for future projects.

Now the doors. The doors were actually pretty straight-forward, except cutting two smaller pieces out of a large piece of wood was difficult with the tools I had available to me. But with a little careful planning I was able to figure it out and make some of the more accurate cuts I've made to date (apparently I am improving at woodworking). I routed the inside edges to give a softer look to the line between the doors. It's hard to see in the photo, but it's there, and will probably show up in the final project photos. Here is the whole thing:

You'll notice the electronics on the left investigating their future home. The doors are not yet hinged because we're still going to stain/paint this thing and it'll be easier to do so without the doors on. We'll also need some door knobs, especially since this design doesn't allow for grabbing the top of the doors. But for the most part, the woodworking portion of the project is done. And I'm happy with my work. For a fun comparison, here's the original sketch.

Project Wire House Update: A House Without Doors

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Project:

Wire House

Project Update #1

After the satisfying completion of Project Mantle, this weekend I turned my attention to Project Wire House, still hoping to get it done before the in-laws come on Wednesday and life gets a little busy with some upcoming festivities. I actually did more than I thought I could in a day, though I guess that's not surprising when I take a step back and realize that it's pretty much just a box. What I'm learning, however, is that a lot of working with wood is just making a box; it's what you do with the accents that make all the difference.

So, let's start with the more box-y part:

These are the "guts" of the cabinet: the two walls and three shelves. They are not spaced evenly because a couple of the items that need to go in here are a little taller than the rest so one of the spaces needs to have a bit more head room. This part was pretty straight forward, but kudos to Ilana for suggesting L-brackets over screws for connecting the shelving; it'll keep the sides a bit cleaner.

After cutting the pieces for the top and bottom, I took on the most challenging part of the day: routing those same pieces. 40 inches is a long way to rout (is that the correct verb?) with my impermanent condo deck workshop setup. Even with a talented assistant, a few bumps made their way into the final product. Luckily this piece has a back, so my secret should be safe. Here it is with the top and bottom attached:

The top shelf extends a bit because the doors are going to close under it (also, it's not warped, that's just a shadow).

Right, the doors.

I was considering whether I should get a start on the doors today until I realized that my Home Depot math somehow led me to buying the wrong size wood for this part of the project. But after a nice 9pm run to the HD, I'm all set to get those doors (and legs) on tomorrow.

Comments

1 comment posted

Hi, I like your article. This

Hi, I like your article. This is a great site and I wanted to post a note to let you know, great job! Thanks MiMi

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Project Wire House

Project Wire House Update: Done-ish

Project Wire House Update: A House Without Doors

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