Project Information
I just completed work on a germination stand for my better half's birthday. It is based on a stand I saw over at Indoor Gardening Supplies. Their design didn't really suit my needs, so I re-imagined it to have multiple growing bays and an adjustable light. Each of the "growing bays" has a removable cover that slides into a slot underneath the bottom skirt for storage. This way if we want to put full sized plants onto the bottom shelf we can. There is a timer that allows her to control how often the plant light comes on.
It is 30" high, 30" wide, and 11" deep. Everything is Red Oak from a big-box. There are levelers on all four legs. The bottom shelf was assembled using pocket screws and then I routed out the area for the trays using a rabbeting bit. The trays were simple glue-ups, I used a silver dollar, a jigsaw and some sandpaper to make the rounded edges.
Joinery
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There is virtually no joinery here. I used corner brackets from Rockler to secure the legs to the aprons. The tops of the shelves are secured to the aprons using pocket screws.
Finish
==================
This was my first decently sized furniture project so I really focused on the finish. There was a lot of trial and error involved (as was evidenced in this forum posting). In the end I used Olympic's Dark Mocha oil-based stain and Minwax satin polyurethane to topcoat. After staining I used a 1/2 lb cut of clear shellac to seal the stain and prevent the stain from lifting. The last two coats of polyurethane were hand-rubbed. After finishing I polished everything with Minwax finishing wax.
I used steel wool between layers of poly but wasn't pleased with the smoothness on the top. So, on the last three layers of hand-rubbed poly I wet sanded with 400 automotive sandpaper. I can definitely tell the difference.
Lessons Learned
==================
1. I learned a TON about finishing for this project. I really had no clue when I began.
2. I'm slowly getting faster when it comes to cutting and assembling. The finishing on this project took 80% of the time.
It is 30" high, 30" wide, and 11" deep. Everything is Red Oak from a big-box. There are levelers on all four legs. The bottom shelf was assembled using pocket screws and then I routed out the area for the trays using a rabbeting bit. The trays were simple glue-ups, I used a silver dollar, a jigsaw and some sandpaper to make the rounded edges.
Joinery
==================
There is virtually no joinery here. I used corner brackets from Rockler to secure the legs to the aprons. The tops of the shelves are secured to the aprons using pocket screws.
Finish
==================
This was my first decently sized furniture project so I really focused on the finish. There was a lot of trial and error involved (as was evidenced in this forum posting). In the end I used Olympic's Dark Mocha oil-based stain and Minwax satin polyurethane to topcoat. After staining I used a 1/2 lb cut of clear shellac to seal the stain and prevent the stain from lifting. The last two coats of polyurethane were hand-rubbed. After finishing I polished everything with Minwax finishing wax.
I used steel wool between layers of poly but wasn't pleased with the smoothness on the top. So, on the last three layers of hand-rubbed poly I wet sanded with 400 automotive sandpaper. I can definitely tell the difference.
Lessons Learned
==================
1. I learned a TON about finishing for this project. I really had no clue when I began.
2. I'm slowly getting faster when it comes to cutting and assembling. The finishing on this project took 80% of the time.
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