Media unit.

I have been slowly but surely making myself a media unit to house all my DVDs and games. While at the same time have areas made to a specific size to fit in DVD players, consoles and a freeview TV box.I have to many DVDs that are just stacking up at the moment and all due to lack of places to put them, hence the reason to make this!

I designed this with maximum room to store everything I needed in a smaller space taking piece. While being nice and different at the same time. The main thing I wanted to try with this was to include oak in its 3 forms. Green, Air dried and Kiln dried. This is to show off the beauty and unique properties this wood offers in all stages of the drying process. I want the green oak to dry quickly resulting in splits and cracks right up against kiln dried oak that wont have these issues. I hope every piece of green oak I use moves and splits. I want this to happen!

A very exciting piece I am creating for myself here. Hopefully I can get it finished and started on my mums Christmas present.

Busy busy!

Using green wood issues.

The first 2 coffee tables I made were made using green oak off cuts. I cut them to size and left them to dry out more before I used them but I couldn't wait that long. I just wanted to build something I designed! But now I can see the issues that have developed which will now have to be sorted out. I spent a lot of time squaring every edge to sit perfectly to each other on the top so minimal joint lines were visible. When I finished the table everything was perfect. But now after 3 months of being in a room temp environment the heat has taken its toll on the water in the Oak that was still there when I made it. It caused everything to shrink which caused all the joints to open up as you can see from this picture. 

I have from this table learned that only seasoned wood will need to be used to make something that will not move in a room. The listed at least 12% MC (moisture content) in wood to be used for interior furniture construction is there for a reason. What happened here with the top shrinking is only 1 of many things that can happen from using green (wet) timber.

I have learned not to use green oak for my work even though I have a regular free off cuts supply
 of this ( A friend of mine has an oak framing business). I am keeping hold of the bits I can use still but storing them to dry them out after cutting them to approximate size so I could possibly use them in the coming years. Remembering the rule of thumb. Every half inch thickness should be left to dry for a year.