I had to make a TV console and really wanted to try some good joinery techniques. So I took this project to try it out and in the end I did like the way it turned. I will probably do more wood project like this one.

Of course I did not end up with perfect joints but using some wood filler fixed everything. Certainly with more practice I will get better result but for now let's me get you throw the process of making this dovetailed TV console.

Step 1: Dimensioning the Wood

I started by buying rough lumber of beech wood. Their width was different and had to make some calculation to get the most from each board. I had the 3D model I made and like a puzzle I managed to feel all the gaps. It turned out that I had some of the boards with crooks, bows and cups. To get better result with those wood deformations resulting from the drying process, I had to change some of my calculation. I used a circular saw for rough length dimensions and some of the boards where sawed on their length to get used in different pieces. I had to finish all the cuts with the hand saw because the cut depth of my circular saw wasn't enough. I ended up with some good pieces remaining for other future projects.

Step 2: Planing the Rough Lumber

On my last project I used a jig on the table saw to square up but in this one I have boards with larger width. So I had to make a jig to my power planer, so I can use it as a jointer and a thicknesser. In the video you can see the jig in question, the depth is controlled by bolts and washers. It took me some time to get all the pieces throw but in the end the job was done. The original thickness was 50 mm and I ended up with 45 mm to get off from the bows. Faces done and parallel, I squared one edge with the circular saw and a homemade tracksaw and moved to the table saw for the second one. Ready for the glue up!!!

Step 3: Glue Up and Final Dimension

Very straight forward, the glue up want very quick and since I had the boards well refined with the power plane jig, I did not have a lot of sanding to make. I had to split the process because I didn't have enough clamps.

I sawed to the same width all the boards and the big piece was a bit of a struggle on the table saw cause of the weight, but worked fine.

Step 4: Joinery

I made some modification on the go for the joinery, the 3D model I made was just to see the overall shape.

I started making the tails by tracing them and then sawing. For the inner part I used an oscillating saw at first but the blade broke and I ended up using the chisel. For the pins, same process and to make every thing fit correctly, I want back and forward with the chisel and a rasp until it was a good fit. I think it was the most enjoying part but also the most stressful.

For the through tenon, I had to go from both sides and likely the wood wont crack. So the tracing has to be perfectly aligned in both faces of the piece for a perfect meet of the mortise.

The regular tenon and mortise for the cross middle leg were also enjoyable but I had to dimension it step by step to have the right height and it ended up better than I thought.

Step 5: Final Assembly

Nothing more satisfying than a project getting its final assembly.

I did the glue up in 3 steps and had to fix the squareness of the through mortise by applying more clamping on a side than the other.

I cleaned most of the glue with water but since I'm going to feel some gaps with wood paste, I will have to do a lot of sanding anyway.

assembly.mp4
Download

Step 6: Final Sanding and Finish

The exceeding portions of the joinery were sawed then flashed down with the orbital sander.

I started sanding with 150, 220 then 320. It was a long process and after applying the finish I found some missed spots of glue and paste wood. Since I'm using teak oil I tried to fix most of them by sanding and reapplying the oil

I applied the teak oil with a brush in 3 coats and wiping off the excess after 40 minutes for each coat. I will probably added some cabinetmaker's wax. It will give more protection and fill up any irregularity in the wood.

Really happy how it ended up, I certainly will make more dovetails, they look gorgeous!!!