The front and side panels were fabricated from 1/2" birch

plywood, given a white pickling stain for better contrast with

the cherry.  One of the most difficult steps was fabrication of

the "omega" piece for the front panel, a semi-circular arc of

cherry with short wings to mirror the glulam beam arcs in the

sanctuary itself.  I glued up short lengths of 3/4" cherry

boards into a rough stepped arch, jig-sawed it into a a rough

approximation of a semi-circular arc, then attached that to a

temporary plywood base with offset spacers.  I then made up

a special router radius jig so I could use the router to machine

both inner and outer arcs to perfect circles, leaving a 4" wide

"omega".  This took considerable time, but ultimately worked

very well.  I sanded the "omega", put finish coats on it, then

fastened it to the birch front panel with wood screws.  The

cross was made from cocobolo, a member of the rosewood

family.  The circular ring behind the cross was turned on a

lathe, and is maple.

For the rear of the altar, I made two paneled doors from

cherry, allowing access to an interior shelf that can be used

for storage. 

All cherry surfaces were finished with four or five coats of

wipe-on Minwax plus four coats of hard furniture wax.

To allow the altar to be moved, I made special internal box

structures on the bottom frame to receive four heavy-duty

casters, one for each leg.  These casters can be locked into

place, and also can be removed so that altar rests on the

chancel floor.  I recommend that the casters be removed in

normal use so that the weight of the top and side is

transmitted through the frame directly to the floor, not

through the casters to the floor.