American Walnut · Brass · CNC
Brittney’s Cart
The Commission
A Bar Cart That Became a Buffet
Brittney is a returning client. ALISO built her dining table years ago — a piece she and her family have lived with, fed guests on, and eventually moved with them to a beautiful 1920s-style home with an open, light-filled dining room.
She originally asked for a bar cart — something to hold her turntable and record collection. Then the turntable migrated to the living room. Function, it turns out, is stubborn. She still needed somewhere to stash the records, the glasses, the board games. Somewhere mobile. Somewhere close to the dining table, which is the heart of the house.
So the cart stayed. It just became a buffet.
The design language blends Bauhaus × Art Deco × Mid-Century Modern — the architecture of her home married to her personal taste. A CNC-cut panel inspired by vintage speaker grilles is the detail that lifts the whole piece. Once the Fusion 360 renders landed, they both committed.
The Design
Bauhaus × Deco × Mid-Century
Walnut is the body. Brass is the punctuation — a curved rail fence on the open shelving side, retractable casters that drop when you want to push it across the dining room and disappear when you don’t.
The signature move is the speaker-grille door: a CNC-cut pattern that gives a single flat panel rhythm and depth, filtering light like an old radio cabinet. Buffet on one end, bar on the other. Mobility underneath.
45.9″ long · 17.9″ deep · 20.9″ tall.
The Build
Cast Every Board
20 boards of American walnut — roughly 60 board feet against a 42 BF need. A 40% margin, deliberately, so every board can be cast into its role. Which face becomes the top. Which edge lives at the glue line. Which stick gets assigned to the CNC door where every millimeter of figure will show.
The order of operations is: crosscut every board to rough length first, then mill. Shorter pieces joint easier, plane flatter, rip straighter. Milling an 85-inch board is a wrestling match. A 20-inch piece is a conversation.
Once surfaced, the grain that was hiding under sawmill marks and oxidation finally showed its face. Deep walnut, real figure throughout. Glue-ups are on the bench now. Next: the CNC cut, then the brass fence, then the casters.
Status
On the Bench
Brittney’s Cart is still in the shop. Milling is done, glue-ups are in progress. Next: CNC pattern cut, box assembly, brass fabrication, casters, and finish.
- Design approved (Fusion 360 renders)
- Wood purchased — 20 boards, ~60 BF walnut
- Board assessment & inventory
- Crosscut boards to rough length
- Mill all pieces (joint, plane, rip)
- → Panel glue-ups (Top, Base, Sides, Back)
- CNC door panel glue-up
- CNC pattern cut
- Remaining panels (Middle, Cross L/R, Circle)
- Box assembly
- Brass fence fabrication
- Retractable caster installation
- Finishing (Aliso’s Wax)
- Delivery
Specifications
The Details
