Crispin a great start so far let me know if you need any help.

I think I have console envy....

Quote from: rox on Sep 25, 2009, 06:19 pmI think I have console envy....

Well, there's only one cure for that.... 

Not too much progress, but I'm hoping to get more done in a few days.
I got a couple more panels done a few days ago, and started roughing out the corner details:


I put a 30° angle on the sides of a couple of the panels with the table saw, and also on the back of some mouldings. It's all just propped up for the photo - the panels aren't attached to the base yet.

I haven't added the top and bottom detail for the little decorations as yet. The grooves you can see along the top and down the sides of the panels are from the tongue and groove of the flooring I'm cutting up to make this.

I don't have a very detailed plan of how I'm going to build this - I'm sort of making it up as I go along.

Crispin

Well, what can I say? Wow! This has to be one of the most exciting console builds to happen for a while!

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Nice one Crispin - looking good already.

C.

Crispin this is coming along really well. I look forward to seeing more progress.

A bit more progress.

I worked on the edge mouldings a bit, and came up with a prototype. It's clamped together, but not glued.


I made the fifth wall, and also the little door and a frame for it, which was quite fiddly. I wanted the door panel recessed into its edge, which I did on the table saw. It's glued and pinned and was clamped for a while.

I've used a staple gun to attach the panel backs when glueing them together, and 2" screws (pre-drilled) through the sides of the panels to pull them tight.

Here's a general view of where I've got to:


The door frame is clamped in the foreground.

Here's a top view just because.


I'll probably defer making the little decorative edges for the plinth until I'm feeling less impatient. There are also quite a few more moulding strips to add to the base and the inside edges of the panel recesses. 48 cuts to make for the panels - if they were all to perfect length.
Strangely there's a huge amount of detail on the plinth, which was barely ever seen during the series. There's far more to it than the top panels...

Once the remaining panels are glued, I'll put the 30° angle on their edges and attach the door hinges, at which point the plinth parts will be ready for assembly.

I'm undecided whether to start staining and varnishing now, or when it's assembled.

So far the table saw and the chop saw have seen heavy use for milling and cutting strips to length. I've occasionally used the jigsaw for those awkward recesses that don't show, and the cordless drill/screwdriver has been busy.

Crispin

Woh! Highly impressive!

I've just skipped over to the reference gallery as I'm not too familiar with this console - and for a little fella, it's a seriously heavy build...

Great progress. Any thoughts on how you're going to tackle the mouldings? Those rams heads are a tricky one. The smaller ones below look like they may be lions' heads...

C.

Brilliant work so far Crispin, it looks quite a complex build. 

Could this be the first replica of this particular prop?  I've not seen one before.

Crispin - re. the staining/varnishing...

I don't know if you've done staining before, but from the little I've done, and what I've read - the end grain stains much more quickly than the other exposed areas. It might be wise to stain all the wood first, and assemble afterwards so you can adjust the amount of stain where necessary to get an even finish. Plus - any surface glue will tend to stop the stain from penetrating the wood.

C.

Quote from: celation on Sep 30, 2009, 10:51 pmAny thoughts on how you're going to tackle the mouldings? Those rams heads are a tricky one. The smaller ones below look like they may be lions' heads...

It looks like I'm going to have to get artistic with the modelling clay and some moulds. I'll give it go anyway.

Neither have I, so perhaps it will be the first! It has a lot going for it in terms of being living-room friendly and not too big, so I'm surprised I haven't seen one. There are a few wooden consoles around, but they've tended to be the Movie console and variants of it.

Quote from: celation on Oct 02, 2009, 08:49 pmCrispin - re. the staining/varnishing...

I don't know if you've done staining before, but from the little I've done, and what I've read - the end grain stains much more quickly than the other exposed areas. It might be wise to stain all the wood first, and assemble afterwards so you can adjust the amount of stain where necessary to get an even finish. Plus - any surface glue will tend to stop the stain from penetrating the wood.

Funnily enough I've done more staining around the house in the last week than I have for years, which is partly why I haven't been working on the console.   I've got several different kinds of wood to stain on the console, so I'm planning to do some test fragments before I start on the finished assembly. I'm hoping not to have any end-grain showing, except when the little door is open.
Thanks for the tip about glue over-spill - I'll watch for that.

One tip I have discovered is that it's better to wipe off any excess and use more coats than to risk getting tramlines in the stain finish.

No update just yet - I've been busy with other things, but I'm hoping to get back to it soon.

Crispin

This is looking great! I have actually thought of making a version of this console so I could have it fit and transport easily enough too.

Will be following closely!

I'm really rather jealous of this one

*seethe*seethe*seethe*seethe*seethe*seethe*

I finally got the remaining panels angled to 30° and fitted together. Nothing's attached yet, as I may still want to stain them separately.



I've decided to press on with the next level up, so I cut a plywood hexagon and some supports from 2x4s.

I cut another hexagon to act as a framework for the main part of the console. Having previously dismantled the console I built for my dalek movie (because it was in the way), I found the base I'd built for it was very close to what I need here.

So here's the dalek console base, right in the middle of my new console.

At this point I stacked up some junk to get a feel for what the console would be like assembled.


More to come in the next post, as I have more photos....

Crispin

Here's the dalek console base, with its 2x2s trimmed to the correct size and reattached.


I've decided to clad the edging, which involves a lot of angled edges.
before I started, I trimmed the corners to make space for the brass ram bosses. I made a template so I would trim them the same amount, and did this freehand on the table saw.


Here's the result with some cladding held in place:


I also added some supports for the opening panels and the top plate. I cut these on the bias to avoid having a grain end on view.


Here are the cladding pieces being fitted:


Next I cut top plates for the cladding.

The corners are rather complicated, so I'm probably going to revert to cutting a little triangle to fit in the gap there. It's more pieces, but simpler to achieve.

And here's where I'm at so far:


Crispin

Quote from: scarfwearer on Oct 06, 2009, 08:44 pm
And here's where I'm at so far:


Crispin

Mr Scarfwearer, Sir, you are a very clever man - I love how fast you work and how well.   Inspiring.