Lectern Panel Prep

The lectern project is essentially to carcasses joined by an adjustable column. Each carcass is a dovetailed box sandwiched between two panels. Today I made some headway on the panels. The panels were marked out based on the carcasses +7mm, sawn, planed, and rounded over. 

There's still a little work to go. The bottom bottom panel needed a glue up to make the width. The top bottom panel will need a hole for column cut at 15 degrees.

The Lectern Dry Fit

 It's always a good time when the pieces come together and the project comes to life. 

The internal frame of the lectern top is complete. The joinery (all done by hand) is formed by interlocking half-laps and rebate. The angles sat at 15 and 30 degrees made for a bit of fun. 

The design at this point again becomes complicated. A series of holes need to be drilled for the adjustable height mechanism and to tunnel the wiring. Final decisions need to be made in relation to the location and size of the holes. This is not a step to be rushed.

(And I really need to clean up my bench.)

Lectern: Locating the XLR sockets...

 

Part of the lectern design brief was to incorporate microphone cabling within the structure. Essentially this acts as an extension cable from a socket at the tope to one at the bottom and looks neater. By using two increases flexibility; it allows redundancy should one break, stereo microphones if required, or one can host a gooseneck lamp. 

Now I need to decide which of two options would be best to place the mounts. The first  inside the top carcass, the second outside it. Placing them inside is easier and neater, but runs the risk of the documents on the lectern overlapping. Placing them outside requires extra pieces of wood as the top is too thin.

Any suggestions?

More to come on the construction of the top carcass. But here's a sneak peak.

Internal frame of the lectern base

I completed the joinery for the cedar carcuss sometime last year. With the post now finished I could size up the internal framework.

I''m using a light soft timber I sourced from Boutique Timber. The timber was ripped and cross cut by hand but dressed by machine.   

Impressed upon me again is how nice it is to use good quality tools. My Lie Nielsen saws makes quick and easy work of this sort of joinery work. And the Chris Vespers marking tools are still as solid and comfortable as ever.

The internal frame is rabbetted into the external carcuss and then half lapped to each other.

Before final glue up I need to fine tune the plan for the electrical components. This will involve a series of holes for the wiring and mounting the XLR microphone cable plates into the timber. Should be fun.

The Lectern Project: The Post

So anyway... two years ago I started building a simple adjustable height lectern... and today while procrastinating from needed study... I did a bit more. 

The adjustable main post is made of two sections which telescope together. Each section is made of four 3/4" pieces of cedar, mitred together and re-enforced with a long spline.

The mitre was cut by machine on the jointer. The groove and the splines where hand planed. A bit of fun. 

The pieces fitted together reasonably well. A small gap along one edge which I burnished into shape with the edge of a screw driver. The twin leg vises served well to hold the piece while the glue dried.

The next step will be trim the edges and fine tune the fit with the smaller section. 

To 'lock in' the adjusted height, I'm planning a series of holes and a wooden or metal rod that slides through to lock the selected height. I'm happy for any further suggestions on this. Remember though that two microphone cables will run through the centre smaller section.

Lectern Project: Dovetailing the Top

The dovetails for the top piece are made more complex by both the 30 degree tilt and the tapered side pieces. Some careful layout, and a good portion of the morning lead the basic carcass is complete. 

I originally planned to have a series of floating panels for the base. However, I had considerable difficulty cutting the grove due to the angles and the small dovetails. I may just have attach a smaller panel that overhangs like the top. Happy to hear peoples thoughts on this.

A clean work bench to finish the weekend.

Lectern Project: Dovetailing disappointments and other progress...

Yesterday considerable progress was made. All the pieces rough cut and dressed (by machine.) The base was dovetailed (by hand), and the center column's mitre's planned (also by hand.)

Dovetailing set up. Good times.

 

To cut the dovetails I used a different technique to normal - using measured marks with an irregular edge compared with using dovetail markers on  a square edge. The tails worked well - happy enough. The pins - below average. It's a shame, it took time and nice timber, but I think it will have to be scrapped and started again.

The lectern base (overhang will be 5mm when cut to size.)

The lectern table top ~360mm x 640mm.

The two large boards were cut from a single piece. Ripped, machined, and re-glued.

The strength and aesthetics the center column is going to be formed by splined mitre joints. This center column (whom's joinery is hidden within the larger column) was formed by hand. The mitre rough cut to 45degrees by a no 4 1/2 jack plane (which was surprising accurate) and then smoothed with a no 7 jointer (which went a little far on the inside.) The groves cut with a small plow plane. No perfect but for a first time technique it proved it can be done. 

Communion Table Design

The second piece in the church furniture project is a small communion table. A table to be situated at the front of the church and at times  hold ceremonial items like communion bread and wine while the rest of the time blend into the background.

I have some very interesting (and probably extremely difficult to work) coastal blackbutt burl which I plan to resaw into panels. The frames would be made of cedar.

Lectern Table

I'm in the process of fine tuning the details of the lectern design. The desk is 500x300mm - comfortable size for  2 A4 pages. It is tilted back at 30 degrees. Below is a dovetailed case reducing the angle from 30 to 15 degrees. The bottom which will show from below would be frame and panel. 

Edge to Edge Mitres with Roy Underhill

I started thread over at Woodtalk Online about how best to strengthen the long edge to edge mitre joints that form the lectern's column. Bob Rozaieski (of Logan Cabinet Shoppe fame) pointed me to this helpful (and free) video by Roy Underhill (of The Woodwright's Shop fame). Thanks Bob.

Watch the full episode. See more The Woodwrights Shop.

Lectern Design

With the Shaker Table complete it's time to ponder my next few projects. After a big shop clean up and the construction/installation of the lumber rack I'll be working on some furniture projects for the local church. The first and most complex being a lectern.

The design brief: simple single column construction, adjustable in height (0.9 to 1.3m), table to hold 2 A4 pages, and two XLR panel mounts for gooseneck microphone and LED light (with cabling tunneled within). It will of course be solid timber (cedar and huon most likely), dovetailed base and top, and probably an inlayed cross.

Getting the proportions and the visual weights of the different elements I see as the  biggest challenge.