printer/network junk table

[HowardH]

For the last 3 years, my son's closet has been the home of his printer and the house network and Directv equipment.  It had been sitting on the printer box and was generally a mess.  I was looking for a project and thought this was a worthwhile task to undertake and utilize the Domino to build the frame and top.  The wood used was Poplar.  I chose boards that didn't have the green tint and then used wood conditioner to prep it for the gel stain.  3 coats of NC lacquer were used rubbed with 0000 steel wool between each coat.  On the bottom shelf, dominos are securing all the right angles.  I just eye-balled others plans so if I ever built another one, there are a few things I would do a bit differently but it was good learning experience.

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The next project is going to be a purpose built cutting board that will overlap our kitchen sink edges by an inch or so and then have an 10" hole in the middle to hold a colander.  Our sink drains very slowly for some reason so it has made draining a full pot of pasta challenging.  This way, the colander will be elevated 8 inches or so above the sink so we can pour the water and pasta out quickly.  I'll probably rabbet the ends so it can't accidentally fall into the sink.  That's on the agenda for tomorrow.  I have a bunch of scrap maple, purple heart and mahogany I can mix up to make it. 

 

[Tinker]

[member=396]HowardH[/member],
That table really looks great.  I like.

One of the earliest projects I did for THE BOSS was sort of a folding step stool/side table.  I did it all with poplar.  I picked lumber that had a "grain" to it.  Grain being an iteresting combination of white and green.  The was a lot of waviness to the grain along with the slightly more than 50% green.  I was not aware at the time that the green would age to a dark brown.  When it first began changing color, i was concerned.  I read up about the wood and the concensus in the aricles I was reading was the dark wood was objectionable.  In time, the dark part became very dark and eventually, I, and more important,  my wife liked the result.  The contrast between white and dark was very appealing to both of us.  I had used Wipe-on poly over clear Danish oli for finish.  the white turned a little yellow (I hadn't known about that either) at same time the green was turning dark brown. 

If I am planning a project using poplar, i now look for interesting green pattern and work into into the design.
Tinker

 

[mike_aa]

Looks great.  What a wonderful way to take a much overlooked wood and turn it into something so nice and useful!

Thanks for sharing!

Mike A.

 

[nclemmons]

Nice work.  Never seen poplar finish that nicely!

 

[HowardH]

I was a bit apprehensive about the poplar too.  I figured if it looked splotchy, it was going to be in my son's bedroom closet anyway.  ;D  I used some Minwax conditioner first.  That really evened out the stain.  The fuji sprayer with a #3 needle set laid down the lacquer very smoothly.  I found some really nice red oak this week for only $2.85 a bd/ft so I got a bunch for whatever comes next.