Hardwood casing options: Input desired

[en480c4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher It looks even better in person! I think the end grain on the sides is fine, I'd just hate to see it break up that beautiful face plate on the ends! N

Thanks!
Here's a shot that shows a better look @ the end of the faceplate...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thaddy Geez you two in NH sure pump out some gorgeous work every once in a while! Nice work Ian

Well, every once in a while I get of my ass and instead of a lazy day on the couch or listening chair @ my place, I drive the hour to get to a well-equipped wood shop! Some days I have the motivation... Other days? Not so much!!!

 

[smeggy]

I like a bit more in the way of lumps myself.

I designed my case to fit a bunch of stuff together in one small box for neatness. Inside this small case is a crossfeed circuit, a Tripath 2020, alps pot and the guts of an ASL headphone transformer with added 3.5mm jack and a set of phono sockets on the back.

The alloy plates were cut to my specs and I made the brass top plate from an offcut. The wood decoration + feet are from some small battens of Cocobolo. It looked a little plain without those wood ears and puting the Volume knob on the top was unusual enough that I had to have it that way.

 

[rickcr42]

very impressive,damn fine work

 

[Clutz]

Hi guys,

I have the possibility of getting the joints mitred. There is a really nice metal/plastic/wood shop in my Department - and I get along with the guys who work in there pretty well. I think I could get them to mitre the joints so that I don't have to see any endgrain - they've got a super nice set up. A couple nice table saws, radial arm, two gian band saws, a lathe, scroll saw, etc... Emmmm.

Pros: No end grain showing.

Con: I didn't do it all myself then - and I'm kind of proud of what I can do with a freaking jig saw and some elbow grease.

What do you think? Worth the trade off?

 

[smeggy]

Personally I think mitres would look very nice and worth a little trade off.

 

[Blooze]

With access to that kinda setup, go with the mitered joints.

 

[Clutz]

I don't personally have access to it - e.g. they won't let me do it, they'll do it for me.. :|

 

[Blooze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutz I don't personally have access to it - e.g. they won't let me do it, they'll do it for me.. :|

Just saying if I had someone that could cut accurate miters for me, I'd let them. I also understand doing it all yourself. But in actuality many people, including myself, don't do everything involved in a build ourselves. Many don't make their own PCBs for instance.

You might ask if they can show you how to use their equipment then "supervise" you cutting them yourself. It only takes a minute or two if the equipment is set up already. Be worth asking.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Clutz- get the edges mitered if you can. And if they have a joiner, have them get everything perfectly square. It'll look a lot better if you do that.

A few posts back, you mentioned that you were interested in some different varieties of wood. You *should* have a specialty lumber/woodwork shop in town. The little local places are best (House of Hardwood in Los Angeles is wonderful, by the way), but if you can't, try:

http://www.rockler.com

They have a store in Seattle, and I'm sure they'll ship to you if you don't want to make the trip. I was in the local store last weekend and they had some nice specials on Bloodwood and Purpleheart. I've worked both and like them a lot. But if they're not your taste, there should be 30-40 other species to look at.

 

[Clutz]

Hey Uncle Erik,

You're right - they probably do, I'm just having difficulty finding them. It's easy to find Home Depot, but it's hard to find much of anything else. I'll check out the Yellow Pages though- that is a good idea someone suggested a while back.

The link you provided looks really good. I like some of the woods they provide, nice.

I'll be near Seattle at end of April, so I could always stop by then if they don't ship. I think though, I'm going to have to get myself an inexpensive tablesaw. I've seen them for about $100 at Home Depot, and I could set it up when I wanted to use it either in the garage in my apartment building (I think), the balconey, or if need be - in my on-suite storage room.

Damn you Head-Fi!

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutz I think though, I'm going to have to get myself an inexpensive tablesaw. I've seen them for about $100 at Home Depot, and I could set it up when I wanted to use it either in the garage in my apartment building (I think), the balconey

I would look around for a local woodshop where you can rent time or take some classes. A $100 table saw is not going to give you the results you want as it will not be stable enough and a blade that comes on a $100 saw is going to make a mess of your lovely hardwood. Setting it up on a balcony seems dangerous.

Anyway, give this place (http://www.vancouverwoodarts.com/) or this guy (http://www.lindsaystaniforth.com/contact_links/) a call. I bet one of them can steer you in the right direction.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Looks like the poster above found a couple of good people for you. And I'd have to recommend against a $100 tablesaw. For starters, a good blade can cost that much. And a lot of them don't have great fences, either. The fence is the part that moves back and forth parallel to the blade.

However, there is a good solution. I'd bet that either of those places mentioned above have mill shops. Many of them will cut the wood for you. I've seen prices around $1-$2 per cut or $40 to $60 per hour. Not cheap, but if you're only building a few projects per year, it's a good way to go. You'll have a pro cutting it on a $5,000 commercial saw with an excellent blade. To cut a box for an amp, I doubt you'd spend more than $20 or so.

There's no shame in having someone else do the cuts. For me at least, the intimate part of woodworking is final assembly and finish. I'll let lumber yards/stores do the rough cuts and I'll finish up with hand tools and traditional finishes. You get the best of both that way. If you want to learn more, Taunton (http://www.taunton.com) has great books.