In the Gallery at FineWoodworking!
Yet another commission from the lovely folks of Christ City allowed me to build a lectern from which our pastors could preach. I was stoked.
We had just moved into a new building for worship, so I had a pre-existing aesthetic of 60s-70s quazi modern straight verticals in a warm red oak to think about. Should I match it or contrast it? An organic, obsidian black podium would definitely make a statement, but I had gone that way before (see below blog) and decided to go with the grain on this one.
The sanctuary looks like it wanted to be cool with mid-century modern style, but needed to back off a bit to not be so hip. Thus there is a kind of dusty, endearing minimalism one might enjoy in a hospital chapel or a 1970’s wood paneled living room. It’s sparse, but still warm and rich. Going off that I went with a dowel base, round top, and vertically oriented parallel lines.
The top needed to be able to adjust from horizontal to diagonal with minimal effort, so I routed out the spalted maple top and had it both lock in place and tilt upward by using a small brass pin. The pin acts as a kind of kickstand when in use. The shelves are spaced apart enough to allow an average height water bottle. The entire piece is a smidge taller than counter height.
One of my favorite details is the off-centered brass crosses on either side of the main body. I used brass rods to inlay into grooves cut on the dado saw. In hindsight, I should have bought brass square stock instead of round, because I spent a few hours sanding down the convex half round of the rod until it was flush… ‘Tis the nature of learning I suppose.
Overall I am very proud of this piece. In terms of craft, it might be one of my best. Going back, I would shorten it, fiddle with the ends of the rods, and maybe make the tilt mechanism a little more sophisticated, but in all, I like it in the space. It blends in, but like the hip pastor’s sneaks in the photo, is still fancy enough to notice…
