This is the completed cabinet with all the doors closed and locked. The bifolding door on the top works in a similar way to the lid on a piano. By unlocking the 2 locks and then using the little handle the door is moved up and then back to a positive stop position.

Here is my good friend Stuart Wulz comforting the cabinet that we have just finished building.. This shows the bifold door open and secure in the service position. The black panel in the right forefront is the sound system amplifier that was custom fitted. The wireless microphones and charger will be stored on the left.

Church Project

This shows the opening for the amplifier on the right forefront. Those little signs are all snap on units with rare earth magnet mounts. The little sign on the inside left identifies myself and Stuart as the builders. Note the right end is unfinished. Next photos show why. 

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This page is under construction 

Those 2 little silver buttons in the center of the face panel are inlaid rare earth magnets. I made little snap on signs for each group that would be using the podium.

The door is made exactly like the cabinet raised panel sides. 

The podium cabinet and base are shown here. All three cabinet sides are raised panels. The material in this piece is all solid genuine Honduras mahogany. I must explain because this wood is an endangered species and has been banned from import by the US Government.

It is well known in the industry that the lumber folks are raping the rain forests in Honduras to get these trees out. I attended an auction in about 1991 and about 125 board feet of this wood was on the auction block. My bid was successful and I became the owner. I talked to the previous owner and he told me that he bought 1000 board feet in 1956 and this is all that was left. I put it in my warehouse and there it remained until a voice in my heart suggested it would make a fine podium for the church.

The completed podium with a conversion varnish finish. Behind the door are 2 adjustable shelves. The drawer just under the desktop is quite spacious. There are no drawer slides. The drawer box is built just a fraction smaller than the opening. Actually, there are no screws, nails or other hardware fasteners in this entire piece. All of the construction is done with blind joiners.

This shows the podium from the front. Notice how I use mitered corner joints in the cabinet box frame. Also note how the base deck has mitered joints that fall precisely on the cabinet box corners. This kind of detail is an absolute necessity in fine woodwork.

A few months after I delivered the podium to Hazen Hall the Fellowship group leader approached me and asked me if I could build another piece to accommodate the sound equipment and cordless microphones being used in this room. I told him I would love to help with that and also, there just happened to be enough mahogany lumber left to do the job.

At about the same time a new member, Stuart Wulz entered the group. I soon learned that

he was not currently working due to an injury and that he had some woodworking experience.

​I asked him if he would like to volunteer some time to help me build the component cabinet and he was eager to help. Together we designed and built the cabinet that is shown in the photos below.

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The first Fellowship meeting that I attended at the North Hill Christian Church in Spokane was held in a meeting room named Hazen Hall. It was a speaker meeting and the guest speaker was a young woman

who was positioned at the end of the large room. She was standing next to a folding chair and she had her notes and her reference books on the seat of the chair. She repeatedly went to these materials as she was making her delivery and I took notice of how uncomfortable she appeared to be with this setup.

The following day I called the pastor Chris Snow and told him of my experience at the meeting. I shared that if we had a podium in that room it may be more comfortable for the speakers. I continued that I had in my warehouse more than enough Honduras mahogany to build such a piece. He accepted my offer and we made an appointment to meet for the design.

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This is the sound cabinet installed. Stuart and I both had a great experience building this cabinet for the church and in the process became the best of friends. It is better to give than receive for in the giving, one truly receives