My brother and sister in law asked me to build an entertainment center for their house in Burlington Colorado. I immediately said “sure” without really knowing too many of the details that they wanted. I did know the space where the piece would go but I did not know the final dimensions. I drove the two and half hours out to their place and talked design and such. It will be 92″ wide and about that tall. It will consist of four pieces, a base with drawers and doors, two bookcases with adjustable shelving, and a larger cabinet for their television. This cabinet will also have a lighted display shelf above the TV. It will be made from Alder and Cherry and will have a Shaker design. I will also be building this large piece of furniture with only hand tools. I’m inviting my readers along for the journey from the design to the finish.

A few months ago, Pam, my sister in law gave me a wooden jointer plane (see below) that had been her fathers. So I decided that since the piece was for her I would use this plane along with some other wooden body planes for the build. I spent a few hours the other night getting these panes into shape and learning how to tune and adjust them. These are some of the tools that I will use for this project. From the left: 1″rabbet plane, smoothing plane, scrub plane, jack plane, jointer plane, plane adjusting hammer, and my new homemade mallet.  This is the space where the entertainment center will go. I have already purchased the lumber for this project. It’s in our basement bedroom acclimating to being inside. David and Pam will have the enjoyment of the center and I will have the enjoyment of building it.

Thanks for perusing,

Gary