Cup/Lid Shop Fixture (Live Edge Walnut/Quilted Maple/Maple Ply/Brass)

I built another fixture for my cousins coffee shop. His project requirements, “make sure its custom.” Well, I was just going to go to Amazon and buy a cheap plastic cup holder until he said that! But he wanted to make sure it went with the other fixture I made him so he wanted quilted maple and walnut. Side note: Q Maple is absolutely gorgeous but decides to tear out on a whim, so working with it is a waking nightmare, but worth it.

I started out with the book matched back panel by resawing a 4/4 piece to what I THOUGHT was going to be 1/2” less the kerf of the blade…wrong. I had blade drift so it ended up coming out to around 1/4” after planing. I HAVE to get better at resawing, any tips would be appreciated on that aspect. After planing I routed two rabbets to join them together, worked out pretty well and the seam is almost unnoticeable. (i.e. its blatantly obvious to ME but no one will ever notice it)

I then took a piece of live edge walnut I had and cut down the side accent panels to size along with the longer support panels that would house the channel for the back panel. I used my kreg plug cutter to craft the dowels (turns out quilted maple dowels aren’t readily available for purchase.) After gluing the accent, live edge panels to the support panels, I guided the back panel into place. I routed a dado about 4” from the bottom to house the shelf for the fins and a 1/2” rabbet at the bottom to reinforce the base with another piece of walnut.

For the shelf that houses the fins, I planed the fins to around 5/16” and cut a dado to match the thickness. For the fins themselves, I used a piece of 1/4” ply to make a template. I sanded the curve on the spindle sander and attached it to the fins to use a flush trim bit. (thank god I had a spare fin because I had a horrific blowout on one of the curves from climb cutting) After the fins were attached I started out on making the bottom tray.

I took the sides to the router table and cut the box joints, and routed the dadoes that would house the dividers. After cutting the dividers I noticed they were missing something to hide the view of the dadoes in the top of the tray. So I crafted some trim for the tops with 1/4” walnut I had left over and routed a chamfer on the tops. Now comes the tough part.

I am sure you guys have seen the brass cup washers that lee valley sells that really give fasteners a pop. Theirs are like 10 for $8.00. I found 100 on eBay (from UK) for around $50 after shipping. the seller is kayfast1. Definitely worth checking out if you guys are interested in a great deal on these brass detail pieces.

The entire fastening system includes the brass cup washer, a threaded insert and a brass screw. I drilled the counterbore for the cup washer with a 3/8” forstner bit, and drilled out the counterbore with a 1/2” in brad point. After attaching the trim pieces to the divider slats I buffed and waxed since you cant really sand them without scratching.

I am pleased with how everything turned out and I am sure my cousin will be thrilled. Hes already got another project for me to work on that I pray will not include quilted maple.

Thanks for viewing!

Dimensions: 24”D x 23”W x 22”T
Materials: Live Edge Walnut, Quilted Maple, Maple Ply, Brass
Finish: General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Semi Gloss/Carnauba Wax
Tools: Table Saw, Router Table, Bandsaw, Planer, Drill Press
Time to Build: 24 hours

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