Mission Entertainment Center Complete [PICS]

[John Hedges]

I finally got the large TV I've always wanted earlier this year so it was time to build something for it to sit on. After 5 months (never said I work fast) it's finally done and in the house before the holidays. It is my own design and probably violates true mission style design in a number of ways. It is made from Quartersawn White Oak and finished to match some other pieces already in the room. The interior is all bookmatched veneers which really turned out nice (although they look blotchy in the first photo, they are actually not), but it kills me that you don't really see them in the finished piece (oh well). The legs were built to show Quartersawn Oak on all 4 sides. I used a Leigh FMT to cut the M&T and it was a very nice tool to have for a piece like this as I used M&T's everywhere including the joints on the face frames (I counted almost 70 M&T total). The thing I wrestled with in the design was how to integrate the slats on the side with the shelves, and ended up deciding on the effect of floating shelves, when viewed from the side.

My wife likes it so I'll call it a success. We will be changing out the drawer pulls as we're not wild about the ones on it now. There are 2 things I'm not happy about in the finished piece. The first is the wood on the drawer fronts ,which doesn't quite blend as well as I'd like with the frame around it, it really bothers me because I spent so much time trying to pick pieces of QSWO that would blend. The second is the design of the bottom of the sides which is more shaker style, as it causes too much cross direction grain in a small area which can be distracting to the eye. Here are some pics

A pic in the finish room before the top was permanently attached.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/EntertainmentCenter/IMG_2436.jpg?t=1229350528

A full view of the installed piece
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/EntertainmentCenter/IMG_2449.jpg?t=1229350600

And a closer view
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/EntertainmentCenter/IMG_2453.jpg?t=1229350674


A view of the side, showing the floating shelves. I borrowed the design of the corbels/finials (whatever their called), and the treatment at the bottom of the legs from a recent Settee in Fine Woodworking magazine that I really liked
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/EntertainmentCenter/IMG_2452.jpg?t=1229350711

A closer look at the sides, showing the legs.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/EntertainmentCenter/IMG_2454.jpg?t=1229350846

A closer view of the grain and the finish
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/EntertainmentCenter/IMG_2455.jpg?t=1229351109

And finally a shot of the drawers. I used full extension slides so we would have access to the back of the drawers. I got a really good deal on the side mounts, so I used them, but I would have preferred to use undermounts as I think they look better with dovetailed drawers.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/EntertainmentCenter/IMG_2458.jpg?t=1229351159

Please let me know what you think, Good or bad, all input is welcome.

[Rennie Heuer]

John,

In spite of what you see as shortcomings, I think this is a beautiful piece. I don’t have any problem with the “shaker” style sides and believe they work very well with the rest of the piece. I must admit to being a bit biased as A&C is my favorite style by far. Even so, I think you did a grand job on the design and execution. Certainly something to be proud of!

[Aaron Beaver]

Great piece.

Do those 'floating' shelves fasten to the vertical slats or to the legs?

[Darren Wright]

Great job John! That is one beautiful peice. My father-in-law is planning to build one that he described just like yours. Is it of your own design?

[glenn bradley]

Very nice piece. I wouldn't worry about the absolutes of a given style. You have drawn from Mission and A&C and made it your own and that's great. I like the drawer fronts. I try to get a somewhat opposing figure on the fronts as opposed to the frames. To me, that distinguishes the drawers so that they don't vanish into the piece.

The finish came out really nice. What process and materials did you use? That coloring feels just right for the style to my eyes.

[Bill Satko]

John it is a beautiful job, but I agree with you, you should have used under-mounts. It is just a little jarring to see that bright metal covering up those nice dovetails. Other than that, I think you did a masterful job of design and construction. Beautiful wood!

[John Hedges]

Great piece.

Do those 'floating' shelves fasten to the vertical slats or to the legs?
They are sitting on the pins used in adjustable shelves which are in the legs. I had to allow for front to back wood movement as they are solid wood. I planned on doing veneered shelves but my drum sander died after I cut the veneers.

Darren, Yes it is my own design. Design is one of my favorite parts of WWing so I haven't made anything from plans.

Glen, for the finish I used the Jeff Jewitt schedule, (see http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/pd..._rev4-2008.pdf). Basically some dye (in my case a mix of Transtint vintage Maple, Red and Dark Mission Oak), Followed by a 1# cut of dewaxed shellac, followed by a coat of Bartleys Dark Walnut Gel Stain, and finally 1 coat of Original Waterlox (3 coats on the horizontal surfaces) followed by 1 coat of Waterlox Satin. The last coat was applied with 4 0000 steel wool to rub it out. I think i must have made 50 various samples before I found one that my wife and I both liked. I would have liked to try the fuming method but as I mentioned earlier I was trying to match some existing pieces we have in the room.

[larry merlau]

very nice job on the design,, the finish looks very inviting to the touch,, i would say yu dun real good on that.. its tough to get good qtr swn oak and you have some real nice stuff in this piece,, i think you might have been able to show it off better by having some rift sawn in some areas to contrast againts the good stuff.. but over all you done very well:thumb::thumb:

[Vaughn McMillan]

Beautiful job, John. The design and execution are both great. :thumb:

[Darren Wright]

Glen, for the finish I used the Jeff Jewitt schedule, (see http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/pd..._rev4-2008.pdf

The link doesn't work, will have to right click the link from the homesteadfinishing.com site and copy it from the properties window (or copy Shortcut if using IE).

[allen levine]

great stuff, thankyou for posting pictures...really fine work.

[Ed Nelson]

Well done! I wouldn't beat yourself up about the things you don't like. I think it looks really good!

[Rob Keeble]

I love the design and finish. This is my favorite style. Thanks for the pics and post. Wish i could half or even quarter as good. All the defects that you see other people not directly involved never notice.

[Tom Niemi]

I really like that John :thumb: Great design you came up with. I favor mission A/C design and have plans on building some also. Will have to mark this for reference :D

Tom

[Reg Mitchell]

John...if your njot happy with it you can send it to me and try again....:thumb:
I think its very nice, love the rays
Reg

[Donald Stonecipher]

Oh Boy, I love it!! Now that is nice! Wish I could get my wife to like that style. If I built that for her she would want it painted. Do you know a good counselor I can call?:rofl:

[Ron Jones]

That is certainly a piece to be proud of. Excellent work and I really like the design.:thumb: Thanks for sharing!

[Bart Leetch]

Oh Boy, I love it!! Now that is nice! Wish I could get my wife to like that style. If I built that for her she would want it painted. Do you know a good counselor I can call?:rofl:


I thing you already know one called Mr Eastwing, he doesn't say much but he is ugly & will most likely scare those thoughts right out of her head without doing thing.:wave::doh::rofl:

[Toni Ciuraneta]

Just fantastic piece!:thumb::thumb::thumb:

[Jason Tuinstra]

John, that's a very nice piece of quality furniture. You should be very proud of that. What an accomplishment. The fit and finish look first rate. I really like the look of the wood as well. Normally I don't like oak, but this is some great looking qs oak. Nice job picking it out. Thanks for sharing with us.

[Bartee Lamar]

Excellent piece. I love the style an finish you accomplished.

However, a Question??

I was looking at the open drawer. Are the slides installed backwards.

I install the larger part of the slide to the carcass and the smaller goes on the drawer itself ??

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oHfKrHmaVuo/SV5Pfkgm_aI/AAAAAAAAEmw/O9iOes_6nAc/s400/IMG_0816.JPG

[John Hedges]

Are the slides installed backwards.


Funny you should ask that. When I bought them I was a bit perplexed because that is how I have always seen them, and I scratched my head for a bit trying to figure things out. I actually had to look at the instructions that came with them (I know reading instructions is a clear violation of man laws), to figure it out, but that is definitely how they should be installed. They are 100 lb full extension accurides and the way that they attach and detach from the slide is pretty slick.

[Bart Leetch]

From what I can see on the bottom drawer the small part is on the drawer sliding into the big part which is on the case side.