# New audio cabinet



## Howard Ferstler (Sep 27, 2007)

I just completed a new equipment cabinet for the control hardware for my main audio system in the big den area. The old cabinet, assembled many years ago, was cobbled together from vinyl-covered mdf boards derived from an old Sauder Woodworking printer stand. The fake-oak look was not to my taste, and I finally got around to replacing the thing. I have a list of furniture replacement projects and this one was some distance down from the top. The old cabinet was built back in the days when I did not have any money for proper tools.

The new cabinet is solid cedar wood, 1.5-inches thick on the top, bottom, and sides. I bought the rough-cut boards, 1.75-inches thick, planed them smooth, glued the initially cut pieces side by side (using Kreg pocket screws for reinforcement, along with Elmer's carpenter glue) to make the wide boards, and routed the edges to give a rounded look. I used more Kreg screws to attach the shelving, with regular screws holding the bottom board in place from below. (An additional smaller, but still pretty thick board is on the very bottom as a base, and it give the cabinet a floating-above-the-floor look.) I used PL construction adhesive to glue in the top, bottom and shelves, because it allows one to work slower than the Elmer's glue does. The shelves are mdf, 0.75 inches thick, and fitted into routed dado grooves in the side panels. 

The cedar was not stained, but was given four coats of Minwax urethane (the first three brushed on; the fourth sprayed), with a satin finish. Cedar will shade down to a beautiful color without any staining. The shelves were given three coats of dark-walnut colored, spray-on enamel. The cabinet is rigid as can be, with 54 screws and the Elmer's Carpenter glue and the PL construction adhesives to tie things together.

I started the thing back in the spring, but it got too hot to do much more than get the top, bottom, and side panels assembled. (I live in Florida, and my shop is small, so I do much of my work out on an adjacent work deck with tools on wheels.) Also, cedar can sometimes be wet inside, and this stuff was no exception, so I let the panels air out under the guest-bedroom bed for a couple of months. It is still hot outside, but, heck, I got tired of waiting.

Two project photos are attached. One shows the just-completed unit out on the work deck before hauling the monster into the house. (It is only 30 inches tall, but it still took me and my neighbor to carry it; it is unliftable by an old guy like me.) The second shows it installed, with a DVD player (used exclusively as a CD player in that non-video room), a vintage, but good 7-channel Yamaha DSP-A1 integrated surround amp, and two multi-band equalizers. (All three front speakers, Allison Acoustics models, are equalized for ruler-flat response, and four smaller Allison models are mounted on the side walls as surround speakers.) There is also a small Hsu "optimizer" equalizer for one of the two subwoofers in the system, a big SVS job that I have modified. The other sub, a self-contained Hsu unit, has EQ built in.

A third photo shows the speakers on the front wall of the room that the equipment operates. Four surround speakers are mounted on the side walls, mostly out of sight. (The new cabinet is also out of sight on the left wall of this room.) The left and right speakers are big Allison IC-20 units; the center speaker was built by me (the building project was described by me on this site some time back), using Allison components. You can see my back-yard workshop through the window.

Howard Ferstler


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

Very nice. I really like the color contrasts.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Looks great


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Nice looking cabinet. With the cedar and the darker shelves, the black audio units blend right in with the stand. Very professional looking and clean looking as well. Nice job.


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## Warnock (Apr 4, 2011)

Good looking piece!! I like the contrasts and vertical striping.

Well done. Like the photo of the room also. Looks comfy.


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## jlord (Feb 1, 2010)

Nice looking cabinet. I like the design. The finished project looks great!!:thumbsup:


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## Howard Ferstler (Sep 27, 2007)

One footnote. In the text I said the thing was 30 inches high. It was going to be that tall at first, but after thinking about possible future components it might have to hold I made it 34 inches tall.

Howard Ferstler


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## ghart33 (Aug 25, 2011)

Very nice, great work! It looks like something you'd get off the display floor.


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