One of the many frustrating things about being an audiophile is finding the proper piece of furniture that will accommodate your equipment. After deciding that I could stand looking at the existing piece of black foil-covered cabinetry no more, I sat down and began designing what I would desire most for a stereo cabinet. It would have to house a hi-fi receiver, compact disc player, turntable and an extensive collection of rare LP records. As you can imagine I had my work cut out for me, but I had an idea of the direction I want to go in. I have an appreciation for arts and crafts period furniture, particularly those pieces produced by Limbert and Mackintosh and I began to take a few ideas from the works of these old masters. So began my journey to build this cabinet. The drafting and research process took close to a year, and would include 23 separate schematic drawings and require no less than 11 complete re-drafts of the entire project. I persevered onward, determined I was going to complete this project even if it killed me, and I confess there was a time or two where I thought it just might do that. Finally, I got down to fabrication in October and worked throughout the winter on this project. What you see here is the finished result. The cabinet is made of solid red oak, stands 44” high by 27” wide by 19-1/2” deep. The Asanoha kumiko pattern set in the front doors is made from Chakte Kok (Red Heart) and sealed with a UV resistant finish to restrict color change due to sun exposure. The cabinet itself is finished with Danish oil and then a Tung oil & bees wax amalgam. Now at long last I can relax to the musical strains of John Coltrane and a tumbler of Maker’s Mark with a much more aesthetically pleasing view. Cheers.

Launch Gallery