Here it is, no laughing at the spindles but chuckle at the cat you want! I was fairly pleased with how well the red oak from the top, apron and legs all matched up. There's only a little difference in color and grain but overall they match.

The project is finished with Bartley's Gel Finish and at least it's strong enough to hold the cat! The spindles came with holes drilled and circular plugs for mounting so all I had to do to the tray was center the holes and drill a 3/4 inch mortise with a forstner bit.

Here's a better shot of the lacewood bead, it was shaped using a 1/4 inch round over bit on the router table. The top lifts off to function as a tray, like a Butler's Tray. That way she can load it up with tea and other goodies and just carry the whole kit and caboodle upstairs to her studio.

UPDATE 2008: Here's a shot of the new top. I routed a curved lip on the interior using a dish cutting bit. It took awhile to get everything out but it was worth it as the few times my wife spills some tea, it doesn't go running off all over the place.

UPDATE 2008: This is the bottom of the new top, I routed finger grips on either side and the entire piece rests snugly inside the frame.

UPDATE 2008: It can still hold a cat.

Here's the ugly old table before I went to town on disassembling it. It seems like it was made by a hobbyist woodworker a few decades ago so it is even more fitting that it's being used again by another hobbyist!

Here are all of the pieces cut and ready to assemble. The apron is joined to the legs via #0 biscuits, and the curved pieces are joined using 1/4 inch dowels. The top is attached using table fasteners from Rockler.

Now the stand is assembled and ready for use. I made sure to put five coats of finish on the top to deal with any standing water issues. I think the set-back apron and stretchers add some nice shadow lines. I also rounded over the BOTTOM of the top. On a short piece like this I wanted to draw the eye upward to the plant, so I thought that might work better.

Since I neglected to realize that making the joinery decision for the top AFTER I cut and assembled the apron to the legs was a bad move on my part. Fortunately, I found another use for the mini biscuit joiner: the fasteners fit nicely into R1 slots.

Here's a good view of the top, that grain was barely visible on the old table.

Here's a pic of the template routed pieces. They are a bit unbalanced and I have some learning to do but at least it's a start. I rounded over the outside edges with a 1/8 inch round over bit. I wish I had a pic of the template to show but it cracked right after I finished the final piece (thankfully).

The apron is set back from the legs 1/4 inch. It's pieces are joined together using R3 mini biscuits. I have to say I've found more uses for the mini biscuit joiner than I would have originally thought. I also rounded over the BOTTOM of the top. On a short piece like this I wanted to draw the eye upward to the plant, so I thought that might work better.

The stand was designed to hold this hefty plant. UPDATE 2008: I'm glad to say that both the stand and plant are in great shape. The plant is been transferred to an even larger pot but that doesn't seem to phase the stand. Furthermore, both have survived being knocked over by our cats on two occasions.

Here's the feeder with our first cat, Storm - doesn't she look thrilled? She's was an averaged sized cat so this gives you some reference to size. Ultimately, I think this size would work fine for a small dog as well as cats.

Here's a better shot from the front. The frame is joined with dowels and the panels are set in a 1/4" deep rabbit. The bloodwood trim is simply glued into place.

The 4" holes on the top were cut using a Jasper Model 400 circle cutting jig. The accommodate standard size 1 pint stainless steel food dishes available at just about any pet supply store.

Here is another red oak unit but with purpleheart trim, this was actually the first attempt but I inadvertently switched the measurements for width and height so it was too tall for the cat to use comfortably - doh!. Fortunately, it found a purpose in life as a music storage box for my wife.

The grain in butternut is just so creamy, I love working with it. I think the end grain and face grain make the dovetails stand out nicely. I used a 1/8 inch round over bit on the sides of the case and a 1/2 inch round over bit of the front of the door.

A V groove bit cut the lines on the face of the door which I had to use a detail sander to get really smooth. Everything is finished in Bartley's Gel Finish.

Here you can see the rare earth magnets used as a "catch". A cove bit cut the finger recess on the edge of the door. Barrel hinges complete the project although I'll say I probably won't use them again.

Next to a pair of sunglasses, you have a better idea of the box's size. Each weather instrument is set in a 2 3/8" through hole drilled with a forstner bit.

Here's a shot that shows the dovetails. The box is joined with half blind dovetails using the PC 12" dovetail jig - a jig I later sold because it was simply a pain to use and not worth the results. The Stots dovetail template has worked much better for me.

Here you can see the lip cut into the lid and the rabbit on the top of the box. Both were cut on the router table using a rabbit bit. The original idea of a top that opened 90 degrees and mounted with butt hinges didn't work so well so this was what I ended up with. You can also see how the padauk "skirt" helps to keep the lazy susan from sight.

Since the barometer requires an unobstructed supply of fresh air to operate properly, I found this vent at Rockler to set into the fourth side. I would have preferred to find something brass, but it will do.

Here you get a view of the top of the box. The lid has a round over profile cut into it using a round over bit on the router table.

Here you can get a better look at the swivel mechanism. It sets inside the padauk skirt so as to hide it from view. This was a simple solution to mortising into the walnut base. The base has a chamfer edge along the top cut into it using a 45 degree chamfer bit on the router table.

The lumber is from Groff & Groff Lumber, Inc. in Quarryville, PA, here I am (or at least part of me) at the yard after selecting these fine pieces. My brother-in-law came along for the trip to help select which pieces he preferred.

Here's all of the raw lumber used in the entire project, save the MDF for the component shelves and plywood. The tiny window is one of three tiny windows in my shop.

The front door panels are DuPont Nomex paper. It is very inexpensive and much more durable than either rice paper or fiberglass "rice paper." Unfortunately it only comes in the color you see and it has "DuPont Nomex Paper" printed in green about every 12 in. on one side. One advantage of the Nomex is that it is 100% waterproof, so it will not sag or shrink with changes in humidity. Can you believe that all of the infrared signals from his remotes pass through the Nomex?

Here is a pic with the front door removed (notice it's still a 27" TV) and a better perspective of just how big this thing really is.

A close up of the striped tiger maple drawer front. I learned the hard way (HARD!!) that Blum slides have a small drop that creates an uneven gap in your painstakingly fitted slush drawer front. If I could do it all over again I would have used ball bearing accuride slides instead!

I came back a month later to install the doors and noticed he'd been feeding the 27" TV steroids. It grew into a 40" flat screen and it maximizes the foot print of the top! Thankfully, the piece is designed to hold the added weight. The matching speaker stands are featured here.

The shelves are mounted on Blum drawer slides to facilitate accessing the rear of the A/V equipment from the front of the unit. The two bottom drawers can hold DVDs, CDs, Game Console Cassettes or VHS tapes. The edge of the MDF shelves are faced with lacewood left over from the frame.

Here's a good pic of the side. The maple panel is 1/4" plywood and the top and bottom pieces are solid padauk. The padauk pieces have a 1/4" round over profile along the top and bottom respectively. Padauk really is a lovely wood and although it has a tendency to chip when tooled it has an absolutely silky feel when sanded smooth. You don't see it used much on larger components like this, granted, it will change color and darken over time but I took that into account with the design and the changes will complement the case as nicely as it did when it was freshly cut.

Here are the parts cut and ready for assembly for the matching speaker stands. The parts are all solid Hard Maple and Padauk.

The design is based on a Frank Lloyd Wright print stand I saw in Popular Woodworking . The top desk is joined to the base via mini biscuits. The profile on the top desk and base was cut using an ogee bit on my router table. The wider pieces were joined using #20 biscuits. It measures 13.5" w x 13"l x 13"h. The plans are available free on the plans page. In these pics, it is not yet finished, but when it is it will be coated with Bartley's Gel Satin finish, applied by hand.

Here's a good picture of the shadow lines created by the vertical supports, alternating the end pieces from the three center pieces is a great design, thanks Mr. Wright!

From the side you can appreciate the alternating pieces some more. I believe there will be the addition of speaker stand spikes, which will raise the stand about 3" but I don't think that will make a difference on looks given the unit rests on padded carpet.

The stand supports a (now extinct) standard 19" tube monitor. The ugly boxes flanking the stand are now gone and replaced with matching butternut speaker stands. (modern retrospctive: checkout the now prehistoric CRT monitor and Palm Pilot V)

Here's a close up of the leg, I really like how the color contrast came across. You can also see the mortise the power strip is set into. (Update 2008: the power strip is now mounted directly to my desk in rack-mount fashion)

Perhaps one of the best design features, the front panel is mounted on hinges so I can just flip it up to change any of the connectors as desired, completely eliminating the need to reach behind the computer.

Another shot from the left so you can get a look at the shadow lines created by the curves. The A/V jacks include a NTSC video, S-video, and R-L audio. Later on, I mounted a mini-clock in the center of the panel.

Here is a better view of the coat hooks, I added a brace in the other side of that panel to help support the stress and of people using the hooks. The non-slide drawers now run smooth and clean thanks to nylon tape from Rockler - a simple, inexpensive and entirely effective solution to old wood-on-wood draws.

The double drawer works beautifully for my files. One problem I encountered was how to add a counter weight since I was unable to mount the credenza to a stud in the wall. The rest of the drawers are for general storage.

I finally came up with a solution to the balance problem: can you see the counterweight? They are two 25 pound weights I picked up at a used sports equipment store for $5.00. Both are bolted to a support strip I added to the rear of the case. Sometimes, our plans come together better than expected