Shaker style CD Rack

[GaryMGg]

One of the reasons I've been otherwise occupied not making pens is the push to complete this 7-shelf CD rack. When finished, it will hold roughly 460 CDs.
Overall dimensions are approx. 45" X 30" X 6-1/4".
The rack is my design -- no plans.
The shelves fit in stopped dados angled back at 5 degrees.
The back of each shelf is matched to the shelf, mitered to 5 degrees to be parallel to the back of the rack and joined with stub mortise and tenons.
This is the dry-fit. One more thing to tweak, then I start final scraping and sanding. Should be done in a week or two.

Solid figured, lightly spalted Black cherry will get a natural finish of Shellac, BLO, and most likely rubbed out with Original Waterlox gloss:

The template for the shelf back showing the stub tenon:

One CD jewel case in situ:

The overall look of the CD Rack:

All comments and criticisms welcome. Thanks for looking.

 

[rincewind03060]

Very nice! Please post a picture when you finish it.

 

[alamocdc]

Lookin' good so far, Gary. Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[Ligget]

WOW![:0] That looks superb, well worth the effort you are putting into it![]

 

[VisExp]

I recognize that workshop in the background Looking good Gary. That cherry should look amazing finished with BLO and Waterlux.

 

[rjwolfe3]

That is very nice.

 

[NavyDiver]

Beautiful job! Make sure you show us a picture of the finished project!

 

[GaryMGg]

Thanks y'all. I'll post more pics as I progress and complete it.
Time permitting, I'll get it glued up this weekend and maybe get a coat or two of
shellac on. Depends partly on the weather, mosquitoes, and principally LOML's demands

 

[GaryMGg]

For those who'd like to see what's shakin':
Last weekend the weather wasn't cooperative, so I did lots of the final scraping
and sanding in preparation for gluing the sub-assemblies.
By taking the `easy way out' on the joinery, I complicated the glue-up.

So, to back up a little:

Here's the inside of the side of the unit cut for stub tenons and stop dadoes:

Here's the shelf and back being glued as a sub-assembly:

That's a pretty complicated glue-up but necessary in order to put everything
together. Had I used more complicated sliding dovetail joinery for connecting
the back to the shelf, the glue-up would've been much easier.
I ended up cutting blocking with a 5-degree bevel and clamping it in position,
then clamping the back to the blocking and using hand screws to clamp the back
to the shelf along its length.

This is the completed shelf and back sub-assembly; the color is washed out but you get the idea:

Because of the number of clamps needed per sub-assembly, I only got four done today. If all things go well, I should finish
the rest tomorrow morning and glue up the main unit tomorrow afternoon.

Then it'll be time to apply the Shellac and hand-rubbed finish. I'm ready.

 

[VisExp]

Originally posted by GaryMGg
Because of the number of clamps needed per sub-assembly, I only got four done today.

You mean you don't have enough clamps! I thought everyone had to many clamps

The upright piece in the first picture is showing some very nice figure Gary.

Thanks for the update.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Shakers played CDs? [:0]

 

[GaryMGg]

Originally posted by Rifleman1776

Shakers played CDs? [:0]

Who said played; it's where they stored their CDs, 401K earning statements, IRA Roths, and all their other investments.
Learn somethin' every day.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by GaryMGg

Originally posted by Rifleman1776

Shakers played CDs? [:0]

Who said played; it's where they stored their CDs, 401K earning statements, IRA Roths, and all their other investments.
Learn somethin' every day.

That's even funnier.

 

[NavyDiver]

Beautiful work Gary!

 

[GaryMGg]

The never ending journey has reached a conclusion.
Saturday, after a little tweaking, I put this thing into restraints (clamps!)
Definitely not an easy glue-up:

The grain is really interesting. Some is spalted, some mineral streaked, some curly.
This morning, I put a few coats of freshly made dewaxed shellac on followed by a coat of BLO:

The white-ish flash near the bottom is an area that's spalted.

Guess I've been away from flatwork too long. I'm not 100% pleased with my work;
it's got a few small gaps I'm going to have to fill. Overall though, it'll do.

 

[ahoiberg]

nice job gary, will this hold all your cds?

 

[Bluewing92]

Looks great from here.

 

[VisExp]

We are our own harshest critics I think it turned out great Gary. I was curious about applying the shellac before the BLO. Do you lose much of the effect of the BLO because of the shellac sealing the wood? Are you going to apply any other finish over the BLO?

One last question, will the black cherry darken as it ages?

 

[GaryMGg]

Andrew,
I don't know if it'll hold all my CD's but it's for a cohort at work and it holds roughly 1/2 of his.
There'll likely be another one in some months.
Keith,
I used Shellac to seal the grain so it didn't take on a splotchy effect. The BLO still pops the grain although not quite as much. The cherry will get deep red over time; some is already pretty deep.
If you look closely, you can see a roughly 1/8" gap on the left of the second shelf.
There are two others like that on the right hand side. I've figured out how I got so far off and will use a different production process on the next one. In this instance, I think my self-criticism is justified.