Chris Hornberger 10/4/24 Chris Hornberger 10/4/24

A tele on sapele

Lazy Gretl Wood Works built this lovely sapele mid-century inspired tv stand for our friend, Marcuss.

A friend of the family wanted a custom TV stand, and my part timer and step son wanted to help with the design and build phases. Together we drew up this mid-century inspired piece with storage shelves, a thick top deck to hold a large screen tv, and a reasonably low-profile footprint in the room. We presented the drawings and material costs, got the go-ahead on the build, and used it as a teaching project to help my step son understand new (to him) joinery methods, milling large boards, and bringing a whole piece together in a cohesive design.

Shown here in situ, the stand consists of 5/4 sapele top, 4/4 shelves, and 2x2 legs, with a 3/4 x 1/5 stringer structure supporting the table top. The lower shelves are pinned with hard maple dowels, adding just a touch of tasteful contrast to the beautiful fields of chatoyant sapele. The piece is topped off with a linseed and beeswax finish, hand rubbed to a silky smooth satin sheen which should last for years without much maintenance or refinishing.

Chris Hornberger 7/21/24 Chris Hornberger 7/21/24

Anniversary bar cart

I connected with a lovely family celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. They wanted a piece built that would incorporate some of the redwood from a picnic table they got as a wedding present back at the beginning of their journey.

Through a friend and contact in the business, I connected with a lovely family celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. They wanted a piece built that would incorporate some of the redwood from a picnic table they got as a wedding present back at the beginning of their journey. John & Katherine were thinking of a patio bar cart, and had sent along a few images and inspirations for their ideas.

There wasn’t quite enough wood salvageable from the picnic table to do the whole piece in redwood, and I wanted it to be built from something that would last the years to come, and to be handed down through the family. We had some air-dried oak in stock and we decided to use that to build the frame and structural parts of the cart, and use the redwood for aesthetic and non-structural elements. For the top we decided to use some sapele as it is naturally resistant to weather and insects, and has a tight, closed grain, and would be well suited for the purpose. Its natural coloring works well as a contrast to white oak, and sits well with the redwood.