This post is not about technological or professional stuff, yet it’s still about improving skills and learn new things, which is one of my top need, and way of life. I learn computing topics since i’m ~8, but I also love manual activities, like .. gardening, and making my own things. I also love wood, and I’ve always been admiring carpenters or cabinet/furniture-makers.
This very particular period that we worldwide have to bear, has often led to the necessity to find new activities. I defined one first challenge during the last months: make my own “big” furniture, with oak tree, which could proudly stand in my living room, to tidy decoratives stuff and books, and later to receive a yet-to-be-made-by-myself … big marine aquarium.
If you are in a hurry, i’ll first display the result, and i’m very proud of it actually, and then pictures about the making of.
The result
So here it is … the massive, oak tree, furniture, with three layers, and small brass embedding on the top layer. It’s heavy, around 70kg, because I want it to be able to support an incoming heavy marine aquarium.
The gap at the bottom back of the furniture is normal, it’s made to be able to pass wires inside the furniture, for water wiring of the incoming aquarium, and various power supply equipment.
Building the main furniture required a lot of hours & days … blood, sweat, errors … But I think it’s worth the effort. Finishing also required a lot of work, especially sanding, again and again. The oak tree I used is clearer than on the pictures when it’s still raw material. I first used Walnut stain (Brou de noix in FR) to tint just a little bit the wood, then sanded again, and i finally protected the whole furniture with linseed oil (huile de lin), mixed with turpentine (essence de térébenthine), and sanded again … Within a few weeks or months, the wood will start again to become clearer.
The making of
I wont explain everything sorry …. I think pictures are self explaining. I started with the top frame (I lack a few pictures abour this step).
Then the main structure was globally assembled.
Then the side panels … They required a LOT of work …
Then i add the second floor of the furniture, and complete the back and front and lower (floor) panels.
Now the furniture is globally finished … Another step must be completed: finishing touches. As I love the mix between wood and metal, I wanted to try to incruste some brass at some places on the top of the furniture.
Another small step was to ass the legs. As this furniture shall be able to handle an heavy weight, it needed to be strongly fixed.
And now we are ready for a lot of sanding, and use the walnut stain + linseed oil to tint a little bid and protect the wood.
After more sanding … The furniture is ready. I still need actually to polish the brass. The final result was already posted at the beginning of this article. This work actually gave me a lot of confidence in my hability to develop new skills, and to make myself some of my furnitures, even if it requires several day and errors. It’s the proof that every difficulty in our life can actually be converted as an opportunity.
Hope you enjoyed ! Cya soon for new articles.
Arnauld