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Our church pastor asked me if I could build him an open pulpit because he wants to be seen instead of hidden by the traditional boxy pulpit. After some research I came across this one design that he and the trustees like.

The arcs of the circular top and bottom are not concentric which makes the middle part wider than the ends. The tops and bottoms are made of 1" thick red oak with an 1" spacer in between the two tops. The two legs are 1 1/2" thick. Since the pulpit will be moved regularly so the joinery must be strong enough for the task. I decided to go with the tenon and mortise joints for both top and bottom. The top is angled 15 degree up from back to front and about 4 degree from side to the middle. The cutting of the top tenon was somewhat complicated which involved compound angle cuts.

After the initial 15 degree cut, the following sequence of pictures show how I cut the top tenon for each leg. The blade is set at 4 degree from vertical throughout all the cuts.






This is the final outcome of the cuts


In order to hide the microphone wire and to allow the cable to be replaced in the future I cut a channel in the back of one of the legs and used a 1/4" strip to cover the channel (see picture #5).

Finish is 3 coats of waterbased stain and 3 coats of Polycrylic semi-gloss clear coats.

Thanks for looking.

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Comments

· In Loving Memory
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Most of the Priest around here prefer to be hidden below the waste as they have nothing on but ladies underwear and suspenders .Alistair
 

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Interesting, different, not your traditional desigh but then what is traditioonal. Looks diffacult to build with the tapered legs and top and bottom piece. Overall a very nice woodworking project. I hope that all who atten, enjoy His message.
 

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Love it! Great execution.
 

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Very nice

jamie
 

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nice design and build
great job
 

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Very nice compound joint!. May I know what wood did you use for the legs. I have exactly same wood that I cannot identify. It is hard and very strong too. Thanks for posting.
God Bless,
 

· Premium Member
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Nice work and design.
 

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Thanks Simon,
Now I know. I got 6 pcs of 1" x 5" x 6 ft with T&G (previous floor) given to me free and it will be good for a table arbor…
 

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Man! Thats A nice piece of work. I have been thinking of building another podium. Thanks for the ideas. I have pictures of my first podium in my photos!
 

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That's really nice! I love the design. I'd love to have one like that at our church. Maybe I'll have to do some designing on this.

Thanks for posting.
 

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I thought that was a cup holder for a second. I see it's for the mic.

I like all the pictures you included, too. Good detail.
 

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45 Posts
I deliver the pulpit to church this morning. Here are a few pictures of the pulpit on the podium.





 

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Sorry, no plan available. I just saw a picture of this and built it from there.
 

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Outstanding! I went to our SS class and someone had taken our metal and Formica pulpit/stand from the room. Reminded everyone of the commandment about stealing. Looked in some other rooms but to no avail! Had to teach with my notes on a table about waist high for me. I can see some modifications for our use or may copy the whole thing. Thanks for sharing.
 

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Hi Simon, I'm part of a church in northern Virginia and we are looking for a pulpit similar to your circular pulpit design. Do you build them for others?
 

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Just be glad they didn't want it hanging on an inside wall!

 

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