Glue-ups: or - can you guess what it is yet ?

Here's a current project I've just glued up.  I've had to do it in a hurry because C-H Jnr wants it ASAP.  It's made entirely from offcuts of oak I had to hand, and almost entirely without power tools, as I enjoy the tranquility of hand work (see my woodworking unplugged thread).  Your challenge is to guess the exact purpose of the piece.  I've scattered in some clues to help.


The first end frame glued up, and a pile of bits.  It has to be quite strong, enough to support about 70kg, I reckon, hence chunky twin mortice and tenon joints.  The diminished haunch at the top helps keep things in line (it doesn't really need to be diminished, a standard haunch would have done but I wanted to practice).  All those grooves and rebates were cut with an old Record 050C plough plane and a Stanley 78 rebate plane.


The top fits inside a rebate leaving a raised lip all round.  A piece of marine ply forms a concealed shelf underneath the top with access holes cut through the the back rail (using a 2" holesaw and a coping saw) to keep things tidy.



All done.  The boards that make up the top are tongue and grooved together, and sit into a groove in the rails. They have just a dab of glue in the middle of the end of each board, and I've deliberately left a small gap between each board for movement - it is likely to get a little bit wet from time to time.

It will now get a clean up, and be finished with Osmo Polyx oil - I love this stuff, it gives a hard smooth finish like a satin varnish, but is still feels like wood, it resists water, and best of all you can do spot repairs on scratches etc without re-finishing the whole thing.

Any ideas ?  At least three good clues above.  I'll post a spoiler later when it's in use.

Is it a computer case mod?

A handmade wooden computer case. I love the idea, it would capture a lot of the paradox which is my lifestyle . I might even make one ! But no, it's not.

Not a clue, but it does look nice.

A DVD/CD cabinet, but with a table on top - hence the allusion to getting wet ( spilt drinks?)

OR a fish tank holder?

Whaterver it is, I guess it has cables going inside through the holes you cut?

Hah ! Well done CW, you have it with your second guess - it is a stand for an aquarium, and the holes/shelf are somewhere to hide the cabling/multiway adaptor for light/heater/pump. C-H Jnr has acquired a 60 litre tank (hence the 70kg load) from his cousin, and wants to get it set up over the Easter break. I'll try to remember to take a photo when the fish are in.

I will have to give fewer clues with the next one

Chilli-head wrote:Hah ! Well done CW, you have it with your second guess - it is a stand for an aquarium, and the holes/shelf are somewhere to hide the cabling/multiway adaptor for light/heater/pump. C-H Jnr has acquired a 60 litre tank (hence the 70kg load) from his cousin, and wants to get it set up over the Easter break. I'll try to remember to take a photo when the fish are in.

I will have to give fewer clues with the next one

I was thinking DVD/CD player plus table but then realised the object would be too heavy.

THEN I wondered just why the top needed to be re bated, and what 70 Kg item it could hold, needing the electric cables ( see photos) but with water around ( oil clue)

Only things which came to mind that a child might use were various pet tanks, so frogs, snakes or fish....

Brilliant. I love this build.

BTW, I have seen both hardwood case mods as well as veneer on conventional PC cases. They're an interesting effect.

I've also seen a VERY high end speaker made by an artisan audiophile in Japan who soaks hardwood veneer in saki for an extended period of time to form the cones for the speakers. I can only guess at the rich dimensional tone these beauties produce.

mr_sfstk8d wrote:Brilliant. I love this build.

BTW, I have seen both hardwood case mods as well as veneer on conventional PC cases. They're an interesting effect.

I've also seen a VERY high end speaker made by an artisan audiophile in Japan who soaks hardwood veneer in saki for an extended period of time to form the cones for the speakers. I can only guess at the rich dimensional tone these beauties produce.

Oh Gods, do not let Compostman see this or he will want to build one ...he was an audio engineer for a hi fi company when younger, has never stopped interest and making things since and is slowly building some speakers of his own......when he finds the odd nanosecond of his own, from renovations....

As good a use as any for Sake, I suppose

Hmmm.. is it one of them there football game thingies? Like Joey and Chandler had?

Whatever it is, it's bootiful

Mmmmm... Audio Engineer... How do I get THAT gig?? I'd love it.

Does he ever identify a song on the raido, down to the studio it was recorded in, by the lead in gap before the music starts? I've done that more than twice, lol. I think I've got the ear for it. I'm an audiophile and a perfectionist. So, what that means is I've got carp stuff in my house, and car, because I know I can't afford the stuff I REALLY want, lol.

First four nervous looking glowlight Tetra arrived this afternoon to test out the waters.  They are too small to make out in the photo, of course ... but here is the aquarium on it's stand.  Of course the "features" in the tank are C-H Jnr's choice.  Excuse the extraneous Lego in shot ...


I made the mantel piece from the same piece of oak.  Originally this fireplace had a nasty gas fire in it; I opened it to the builder's opening, tiled the hearth (mosaics are from Fired earth I have to admit, not homemade).  I made a steel closure plate for the chimney and rendered with a lime putty based plaster, finished with limewash,  in case we ever want to put a second stove in here.  But for now, the fish tank fits nicely.

And very nice it looks too. Well done