Peter Mc Mahon
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2014
- Messages
- 62
I like the extension cord idea, how did you wire it? Is the 110 split?
Thanks, and keep the updates coming!
Thanks, and keep the updates coming!
Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Mid-Century Moto Mecca Makeover
- Thread starter sakurama
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
E12-535iTurbo
Well-known member
Me too. It's just a reaction to your last post on ADV.
You guys do amazing work and I'm truly jealous about the amount and quality of work you do. I know it seems to come down to getting off your *** and get things done but there's a bit more to it than that. You seem to have all the stars aligned and you're taking the advantage of that. That's inspiring to say the least.
Oh, no worries. I know I'm behind on that - I finally updated that thread tonight so you can check that out for an update.
Now this update is about closets. No, not me coming out of one.
It's about not having one. For over a year now. This weekend marks the one year date of moving into the house and it's been one year that I've been keeping my clothes in boxes and J has been sharing the only closet in the house with the kids. It was asked how I manage to do everything. Well, obviously I don't. We just sort of gloss over the things that don't get done.
Anyway, my daughter was going to have her birthday here a few weeks back and J asked me to clean up the mess that was my clothes everywhere. I realized that I couldn't because they had no home. I'm not actually messy but without a system for organizing I devolve into chaos. I am definitely a "place for everything and everything in it's place" sorta person but I had no place.
So, I conceded defeat. I needed a closet and as much as I'd like to build it I couldn't afford to and I needed a quicker way. It was time for Ikea.
I have a love hate relationship with Ikea. Many times they've come to my rescue and many times I've cursed their cheap materials yet marveled at their incredible efficiency and precision. I needed a way to make it my own and circumvent the problems. The answer was to buy the basic PAX units and then shore them up, reenforce them and make them solid. Then make them look good.
For some reason they've gotten rid of the birch finish and replaced it with oak. I hate oak. I love birch. Luckily I found several units on closeout and the rest I found via Craigslist.
The first step was to toss the backs into the trash - they're cardboard for crying out loud. I cut some prefin birch 1/4" ply to the same dimensions and then glued and nailed the bejeezus out of them to the frame. Right off the bat this made a huge difference to the rigidity of the unit. The other trick was to get them glued and nailed and then stood up before the glue cured. They're delicate things on their own.
By mixing widths I was able to get a full wall of them. The goal is to build them in and make them look custom but also to get our clothes off the floor.
Another discovery was this laundry chute that had been buried in the wall and boarded over. I'd opened it up and then measured it off and cut an opening in the Ikea closet for it.
Then lopped it off so it's not taking up room. I'll trim it out and it will replace the laundry basket we currently use. Nice and subtle.
The benefit of the units is that they're completely drilled for the 32mm system - that gives huge flexibility and the option to use any Ikea accessories should we want to.
But to take advantage I had to make them solid. I joined each cabinet together with through bolts (the black one below the hinge) and then made stretchers for the back that I pocket screwed to the frame and drilled and bolted into the studs of the wall behind. Now they're rock solid.
As the units I picked up were from various years you could see the declining quality in the accessories. Each year the veneer gets thinner, the particle board looser, and the hanger bars thinner.
For the hanger bars I copied the Ikea design but in baltic birch and with larger hemlock bars. It was a chance to make a small "production run" of parts from a template.
It's times like this that I revel in my workshop. I have all the tools I need and a whole bin of baltic birch scraps.
It's a small thing but it's a nice, well made and sturdy detail. These will not sag.
Next up was this.
One of the units came with this extending pants hanger. I like hanging pants. Mostly because I hate folding pants. Or anything really. Good idea with very flimsy and ugly execution.
It occurred to me that my Domino would make a decent sized mortise so I did a test to see how large the largest size was and it turned out to be just about 29mm. I cut some 6mm (1/4") baltic birch scrap to 29mm and then used a 3mm rounding bit to create my own plywood tenon to test the theory. It worked.
Those are pants hangers. Almost.
Another thing I did last week was finally add the metric tape I had to the fences I made. I didn't do it offset as Kreg suggests as I didn't like the idea of numbers being off to compensate for the little window. But I can still see and set the stop and it's turned out to be very accurate and helpful. And fast.
Finally I debated buying (more) drawers from Ikea but decided that I had a few extra odd sized (10mm and 15mm) sheets of baltic birch and that I could probably whip them into the needed parts if I didn't get too fancy. I designed the drawer boxes to use the supplies on hand and then went to town.
It was the first time I used the table since I'd hung it and it turned out to be very easy to get down and set up. The track saw was bang on the numbers with the guides and that right there is 12 drawers waiting to be routed for dados. It was a good day.
Gregor
Now this update is about closets. No, not me coming out of one.
It's about not having one. For over a year now. This weekend marks the one year date of moving into the house and it's been one year that I've been keeping my clothes in boxes and J has been sharing the only closet in the house with the kids. It was asked how I manage to do everything. Well, obviously I don't. We just sort of gloss over the things that don't get done.
Anyway, my daughter was going to have her birthday here a few weeks back and J asked me to clean up the mess that was my clothes everywhere. I realized that I couldn't because they had no home. I'm not actually messy but without a system for organizing I devolve into chaos. I am definitely a "place for everything and everything in it's place" sorta person but I had no place.
So, I conceded defeat. I needed a closet and as much as I'd like to build it I couldn't afford to and I needed a quicker way. It was time for Ikea.
I have a love hate relationship with Ikea. Many times they've come to my rescue and many times I've cursed their cheap materials yet marveled at their incredible efficiency and precision. I needed a way to make it my own and circumvent the problems. The answer was to buy the basic PAX units and then shore them up, reenforce them and make them solid. Then make them look good.
For some reason they've gotten rid of the birch finish and replaced it with oak. I hate oak. I love birch. Luckily I found several units on closeout and the rest I found via Craigslist.
The first step was to toss the backs into the trash - they're cardboard for crying out loud. I cut some prefin birch 1/4" ply to the same dimensions and then glued and nailed the bejeezus out of them to the frame. Right off the bat this made a huge difference to the rigidity of the unit. The other trick was to get them glued and nailed and then stood up before the glue cured. They're delicate things on their own.
By mixing widths I was able to get a full wall of them. The goal is to build them in and make them look custom but also to get our clothes off the floor.
Another discovery was this laundry chute that had been buried in the wall and boarded over. I'd opened it up and then measured it off and cut an opening in the Ikea closet for it.
Then lopped it off so it's not taking up room. I'll trim it out and it will replace the laundry basket we currently use. Nice and subtle.
The benefit of the units is that they're completely drilled for the 32mm system - that gives huge flexibility and the option to use any Ikea accessories should we want to.
But to take advantage I had to make them solid. I joined each cabinet together with through bolts (the black one below the hinge) and then made stretchers for the back that I pocket screwed to the frame and drilled and bolted into the studs of the wall behind. Now they're rock solid.
As the units I picked up were from various years you could see the declining quality in the accessories. Each year the veneer gets thinner, the particle board looser, and the hanger bars thinner.
For the hanger bars I copied the Ikea design but in baltic birch and with larger hemlock bars. It was a chance to make a small "production run" of parts from a template.
It's times like this that I revel in my workshop. I have all the tools I need and a whole bin of baltic birch scraps.
It's a small thing but it's a nice, well made and sturdy detail. These will not sag.
Next up was this.
One of the units came with this extending pants hanger. I like hanging pants. Mostly because I hate folding pants. Or anything really. Good idea with very flimsy and ugly execution.
It occurred to me that my Domino would make a decent sized mortise so I did a test to see how large the largest size was and it turned out to be just about 29mm. I cut some 6mm (1/4") baltic birch scrap to 29mm and then used a 3mm rounding bit to create my own plywood tenon to test the theory. It worked.
Those are pants hangers. Almost.
Another thing I did last week was finally add the metric tape I had to the fences I made. I didn't do it offset as Kreg suggests as I didn't like the idea of numbers being off to compensate for the little window. But I can still see and set the stop and it's turned out to be very accurate and helpful. And fast.
Finally I debated buying (more) drawers from Ikea but decided that I had a few extra odd sized (10mm and 15mm) sheets of baltic birch and that I could probably whip them into the needed parts if I didn't get too fancy. I designed the drawer boxes to use the supplies on hand and then went to town.
It was the first time I used the table since I'd hung it and it turned out to be very easy to get down and set up. The track saw was bang on the numbers with the guides and that right there is 12 drawers waiting to be routed for dados. It was a good day.
Gregor
darganslayer
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2013
- Messages
- 30
Amazing stuff. I was recently pricing out a home build and was surprised by the amount of people who went with ikea cabinets. This gives the DIYer ideas to make off the shelf cheap stuff work well and look good. Kudos
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Modern Jess
Well-known member
Hah! So many parallel paths between you and I, Gregor.
When we bought our house a few years ago, we were really buying it for the workshop behind the house. The house itself was on the small side and had a serious lack of closet space, so I resorted to the same thing: two PAX cabinets, side by side, with those same drawers in the bottom. I didn't do any modifications, though -- just built them, tipped them into place, and bolted them to the wall with the rail system. Once in place (and if they've never been previously assembled / disassembled) they are surprisingly sturdy and rigid. Much more so than I had expected, and I've been quite happy with them. I would imagine your modifications / customizations make them that much better.
Ha. Guilty secrets!
It would have probably taken me a week or more just to drill the several hundred holes in these things so it makes sense. And, like you say, once bolted into place they're very strong. It's all about shear strength and how much is available in those little 5mm holes - a boat load.
Now that they're in I'm going to trim them out so that they're fully built in. The final step will be stealing a trick from my friend, and Revit's creative director, Gerbrandt who used Ikea cabinets and then made his own doors. I've been looking around at the local lumber yards for some interesting plywood but haven't come across the right stuff yet. J is in agreement that we should use some pretty striking grain pattern and show it off. Maybe we'll try to get sequential plywood so all the grain lines up.
Not there yet.
Today is about getting my bike ready for The 1 Moto show here in Portland this weekend. If you're even remotely close you gotta check it out. It's a great collection of very eclectic custom motorcycles and even more eclectic people. Seriously, the people watching at this thing is as good as the bikes and it's also about the only bike event that is equally mixed in testosterone and estrogen.
Gregor
That laundry chute is behind the opened door, which is probably why it was covered over. You should reverse the opening direction of that door .
1) open door;
2) step in room;
3) close door (this is the step where I’d be getting murderous thoughts);
4) open closet;
5) deposit dirty socks, one last time marvelling at the scent;
6) close closet;
7) open door again (this is where heads would be banged against walls – or doors, in this case);
8) exit room (this is where the wife would apply bandages to bleeding head – under hysterical laughter);
Oh, and call me stupid (open invitation right there), but for the life of me I can’t figure out how you inserted the coat hanger bars in your custom wood-made ‘coat hanger bar holders’. On the original (IKEA) ones, there’s a slot in the top to slide them in, but yours are closed. So that bar has to go in before the holders go in the closet. Is that how you did it?
.1) open door;
2) step in room;
3) close door (this is the step where I’d be getting murderous thoughts);
4) open closet;
5) deposit dirty socks, one last time marvelling at the scent;
6) close closet;
7) open door again (this is where heads would be banged against walls – or doors, in this case);
8) exit room (this is where the wife would apply bandages to bleeding head – under hysterical laughter);
Oh, and call me stupid (open invitation right there), but for the life of me I can’t figure out how you inserted the coat hanger bars in your custom wood-made ‘coat hanger bar holders’. On the original (IKEA) ones, there’s a slot in the top to slide them in, but yours are closed. So that bar has to go in before the holders go in the closet. Is that how you did it?
It appears that you screw in the bar ends with the rod already inserted. I think you screw in one end where you want it with (2) screws, and then insert the bar into that side. Once the bar is inserted in the fixed end, insert the bar into the non-fixed end, rotate the assembly in place, and then screw the other side in.
Of course I could be totally wrong.
BTW - This is my favorite thread I have read in years. It has honestly inspired me to step up my game and fabricate more.
Of course I could be totally wrong.
BTW - This is my favorite thread I have read in years. It has honestly inspired me to step up my game and fabricate more.
transplant_wi
Well-known member
Nice work. Please be careful with the template routing and always use push blocks or a sled. The bit can grab the work-piece and walk around to the back where your fingers might be in the blink of an eye. I know this from painful experience and now I build sleds for production jobs like that.
LifeIsStout
New member
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2015
- Messages
- 1
Gregor,
I have had a great time reading this thread over the last 2 days, and am truly inspired by what you have accomplished.
Going back a few pages when you talked about kitchen knives, I am going to point you in the direction of http://portlandknifehouse.com/ Now I have not been to this location since they just opened (and admittedly their current website is pretty poor), but I used to live in Phoenix and have gone to their sister store numerous times. I have a set of Japanese steel chef and bread knives that I purchased from them, and they are hands down the nicest set of blades I have ever gotten to use. If you have never gotten a run down on different sharpening angles for kitchen knives, it can be eye opening.
If the Portland shop is anything like what they have in Phoenix, you will really enjoy visiting them.
Thanks again for all the eye candy, makes me wish I had a garage to play in again.
I have had a great time reading this thread over the last 2 days, and am truly inspired by what you have accomplished.
Going back a few pages when you talked about kitchen knives, I am going to point you in the direction of http://portlandknifehouse.com/ Now I have not been to this location since they just opened (and admittedly their current website is pretty poor), but I used to live in Phoenix and have gone to their sister store numerous times. I have a set of Japanese steel chef and bread knives that I purchased from them, and they are hands down the nicest set of blades I have ever gotten to use. If you have never gotten a run down on different sharpening angles for kitchen knives, it can be eye opening.
If the Portland shop is anything like what they have in Phoenix, you will really enjoy visiting them.
Thanks again for all the eye candy, makes me wish I had a garage to play in again.
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cabin fever
Well-known member
Holy **** balls, you are one talented guy.
good job dude,
not gonna lie, I kinda have a man crush.
good job dude,
not gonna lie, I kinda have a man crush.
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If you lack the energy, or the time there are many vendors of door and drawer fronts for IKEA cabinet box and drawer systems. Just one example..
http://www.semihandmadedoors.com/
Of course making things with your own hands is many times more satisfying. But "order and install" is not a bad option for mortals.
http://www.semihandmadedoors.com/
Of course making things with your own hands is many times more satisfying. But "order and install" is not a bad option for mortals.
I also considered adding a second door for the chute that would open in the hallway. Probably won't though.
As for the door - it remains partly open most of the time - opening the other way would be stranger for the room in general. In the end the closet and room door will open towards each other so it should work.
And yes to the recessed capture of the bar. It is put together and then screwed in to the system holes. Similar to what Ikea did but one less screw and stronger.
Yes, I will. I shot that mostly so you could see the template. You've given me the idea to screw a "handle" to the template though which would be safer and still give good control.
Aw, shucks! That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me!
Oh, and I've found a site recently that I really want to share:
Tom's Techniques
It's basically a site of instructional videos by a long time tool room machinist and his videos are chock filled with interesting and useful bits of advice along with all sorts of incredibly concise and well explained techniques. He know's his stuff and does a great job sharing it. I've watched almost every single video and read every page - phenomenal stuff and I've learned sooooooo much.
Gregor
Denwood
Well-known member
Loving the Ikea hack stuff Gregor. I used some Home Depot (similar to Ikea) cabinets in my shop and was torn between the speed of assembly and cost vs quality. I settled in for at least clamping and gluing everything as their water activated glud dowels are not so good.
Every time I see your pics I feel slightly guilty about my iphone shots. I wouldn't feel so bad but I have two 5D bodies and a bag of L series glass. Ha. The fact that I can photo, edit, add graphics, resize and upload from one device makes it hard to go back to the shallow DOF workflow. I believe you've inspired me to at least take a few
Oh, and on the man crush thing. I'm in too.
Every time I see your pics I feel slightly guilty about my iphone shots. I wouldn't feel so bad but I have two 5D bodies and a bag of L series glass. Ha. The fact that I can photo, edit, add graphics, resize and upload from one device makes it hard to go back to the shallow DOF workflow. I believe you've inspired me to at least take a few
Oh, and on the man crush thing. I'm in too.
TimRaleigh
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2013
- Messages
- 27
Looks good, and I like the Ikea solution. That laundry shoot is great.
There's always a problem we dream up for which there is a tool.
If you are going to make doors for those Ikea units, and are going to use non-Ikea euro hinges remember the offset is different (27mm) than other hinge manufacturers.
Tim
Unlikely...
There's always a problem we dream up for which there is a tool.If you are going to make doors for those Ikea units, and are going to use non-Ikea euro hinges remember the offset is different (27mm) than other hinge manufacturers.
Yup unfortunately scraps seem to grow exponentially.
Tim
KGB Pilot125
Well-known member
Gregor,
your house and shop are looking amazing like always.
I am a little curious about cameras. I had never owned a digital camera until about 2 years ago. I was wandering through an office max that was going out of business and they had a 12mp kodak for 19 bucks or so. Never even really used it to much but lately I have been taking some more pictures during travel for work and especially after owning a drone and taking pictures with that and using some limited photoshop type software I really enjoyed it. I am not interested in spending "festool" like money on a camera but 300 to 400 or so might be within reason. Is there a camera you would recommend to a guy who occasionally takes photos?
btw, love the hanging mft3 storage system and if you ever find your self making another set of hangers that attach to the rails I would love to buy them from you.
your house and shop are looking amazing like always.
I am a little curious about cameras. I had never owned a digital camera until about 2 years ago. I was wandering through an office max that was going out of business and they had a 12mp kodak for 19 bucks or so. Never even really used it to much but lately I have been taking some more pictures during travel for work and especially after owning a drone and taking pictures with that and using some limited photoshop type software I really enjoyed it. I am not interested in spending "festool" like money on a camera but 300 to 400 or so might be within reason. Is there a camera you would recommend to a guy who occasionally takes photos?
btw, love the hanging mft3 storage system and if you ever find your self making another set of hangers that attach to the rails I would love to buy them from you.
There's a few brands that I tend to find do better than others or seem to stay at the front in terms of image quality for compacts. Fuji, Sony and Panasonic. Canon too but not quite as much in the compacts. In compacts it also tends to change quickly as the product cycle is shorter than in full frame pro cameras.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100
Fujifilm X-A1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50
Fujifilm X30
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
More of these are around the $600-800 range and the reason is that they have faster lenses. My first priority is a lens of at least f2.8 (and preferably f2.0 if possible.) It's more important than the zoom range. I am not into the megapixel wars and generally prefer a smaller pixel count since that typically means larger pixels (the receptors) which always give better low light quality. Same with the fast lenses.
Part of the focus (ha! photo pun) of fast lenses and better low light performance is that on camera flash is the kiss of death. Really, there's nothing worse than on camera flash. It should be taped over, glued shut and never used. Do that and bump your ISO up instead and you'll have better photos.
Back when I did my last big road trip and trip thread I included a photo primer at the end. Here's a link to the primer - it's not exactly all encompassing but it does include some decent tips.
Adventure Rider Photo Primer
The rest of the thread is pretty entertaining too if you like travel threads. It was a very magical trip.
Gregor
Modern Jess
Well-known member
So, as promised, I've just gone back and re-read the entire thread, from start to finish. There were gaps in my recollection, due to not actually having read the thread very consistently while I was off doing other things. And then there were a whole bunch of things that I just plain forgot, and was reminded of.
Epic. Really, truly. I know it's been stated over and over again in this thread by many different people, but I really don't have a better way to say it, or impress it upon you. The work you have done here is as brilliantly executed as it is utterly insane to have taken on to begin with. You're a maniac, Gregor.
I don't know if I would qualify for that invite, but if you give me enough advance notice, I'll happily ride up for that.* I've done the trip up the West Coast a couple of times, and it's always a great ride. And having not done much riding for the duration of my project (which roughly corresponds to the timeframe of your project) I could use the excuse to get out and ride. I'm sure you can relate.
* But I'll probably ride the R12R, rather than the Vespa.
Epic. Really, truly. I know it's been stated over and over again in this thread by many different people, but I really don't have a better way to say it, or impress it upon you. The work you have done here is as brilliantly executed as it is utterly insane to have taken on to begin with. You're a maniac, Gregor.
I don't know if I would qualify for that invite, but if you give me enough advance notice, I'll happily ride up for that.* I've done the trip up the West Coast a couple of times, and it's always a great ride. And having not done much riding for the duration of my project (which roughly corresponds to the timeframe of your project) I could use the excuse to get out and ride. I'm sure you can relate.
* But I'll probably ride the R12R, rather than the Vespa.
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Rockcam
Well-known member
Love the photo primer.
It clearly explains what all those controls actually do, in English rather than "Photospeak." Now I need to play around with them on my camera and see what happens.
I'm afraid the link to the whole ride thread will **** me into that vortex as well - but can't wait to check it out!
Are you kidding? I think anyone who's slogged through this whole thread once, let alone twice, is deserving of an invite. You're officially invited! Given enough notice I'd ride down the coast and meet you somewhere along the way and ride up with you. I am looking for any excuse I can get to ride this year. Too much building and not enough riding the past few years.
It's one more reason get the place far enough along to warrant a party this summer.
Thanks. My wife has nicknamed me "the explanation" for my incessant desire to take apart or demystify a process or thing. I "think" it's a compliment?
I've been very lucky to have great teachers in my life and I like to be able to give that back when I can. Someday it would be fun to teach.
Gregor
Modern Jess
Well-known member
memphisnate
Well-known member
Agreed with Rockcam, that photo primer was brilliant!
E12-535iTurbo
Well-known member
Well if that's the case. You should buy me a plane ticket. I think I've read it three or four times and have read and reread all of your ADVrider topics too. I'm actually making little digital notes of things I really should remember including pictures etc. You could call me your digital stalker.
I guess it's a result of too little time at home and too much desire to get work done while being stuck at work with just a little too much time behind a computer.
(However I did get up at 4:15 this morning because I couldn't sleep. Went to the garage to paint my way way way overbuild dual compressor + after cooler sound enclosure box, inspired by the ASYLUM)
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks Locul. I know you understand the feeling.
It's funny but sometimes if I have an update that isn't about the house I feel almost guilty. Like working on or in the garage is "cheating" since the house isn't finished. I've been spending a lot of time working on the Revit project which is going to wrap up next week so we're in a frenzy with last minute ordering and details.
And since I haven't decided what to do about the cabinets yet I've just been taking time to chip away at small projects in the garage that I can finish in an afternoon. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to impart a bit of organization to something, anything, so I pick small battles and ones I will enjoy.
Since the Ducati got me started on welding aluminum I've taken a "when you have a hammer everything is a nail" mentality and I've been looking for projects that I can do in aluminum.
One of those is a better way to organize my tool holders on the lathe. My friend Scott, who's helping on the Revit build (see his beautifully organized shop here) is a freak for a clean and organized shop and he's my hero and inspiration. He made a lathe tool holder I've always liked so this is my tribute.
So I had some 1" square aluminum stock and decided to make a small jig (that triangle shaped block with lips) to hold blocks that I cut 30° wedges out of to hold the dovetail AXA toolholders. Much nicer than my current method of a rail in the back of the lathe that isn't in reach and they fall off of all the time.
I'm starting to get the hang of aluminum welding. It's very tricky as the sweet spot is very small but once you get it it's very satisfying. This is just an aluminum angle welded into a frame.
And the final tool holder which still needs a few wrenches hung but keeps all the lathe tools in one place. Any time I'm working on bikes and replace bearings or parts with bearings I remove them and put them into a bin with the stock. Same with springs. Then, with a project like this, I can pull out an old bearing and use it for something unimportant like putting this holder on a pivot so it spins.
The other nice thing about having my dream shop right next door is that sometimes, after the kids are asleep and J has work to do, I can just walk through two doors and sit down and practice running beads for an hour. In NYC I would have to drive 1-2 hours round trip to do that plus pay tolls. Talk about a disincentive.
So I watch some Youtube videos in bed and then see something new and I can go downstairs and do some tig welding in my pajamas. Nice!
Now that I've enjoyed some quality shop time I'm going to come up with a project to knock out on the house and then do that. Small steps.
Gregor
Great work as usual.
I would love to see some pictures of this toolholder holder mounted on your lathe when you get time.
Mike.
There you go. I placed it at the tail stock so as to be out of the way. It pivots because... I had a bearing and figured why not. It might have been nicer to mount it on the carriage but I didn't want to risk cluttering the working area.
Gregor
PS This shot also makes me realize that I need to either fit the cover or put a shield up on the back wall. Kinda too late I guess...
MajorLeeGassole
Well-known member
How are the closets coming along? Sorry, I'm just a sucker to see the level of detail you put into every project.
I'm dying to see the finished product.
They're turning into a big pain in the ***. Mostly due to Ikea not following the rules. Bastards.
The first pain was that their drawer slides negate hinged doors so I had to notch the slides that were existing.
Next the drawers then interfered with the hinges.
I've wanted one of these bevel router bits for a long time and found it on sale a while ago (it's expensive) and decided I'd find a use for it. This was the use I'd been waiting for.
Almost...
There.
I finally got paid by some late clients and immediately plunked down on the plywood for the closets.
After several hours looking at everything from Walnut to Birch to Teak I chose this flat sawn Sapele veneer plywood for it's color and grain. They had quarter sawn Sapele but it's extremely consistent grain repetition felt more like a bank lobby than a home - the flat sawn is cheaper as well.
I laid out the sheets to get an idea of the order that I'd cut them in but first I needed to finish the drawers for my side of the closet.
I went with a simple box with a dado for the bottom and a rabbet for the sides. They were glued and nailed. I used a 23ga pinner but in retrospect I should have used the 18ga finish nailer. Still, they turned out fine despite a little needed clamping.
And that was up to yesterday when I discovered a problem while installing the drawers. One is that Ikea made their first set of 32mm holes set back at around 28mm instead of the traditional 37mm. The same 37mm that the entire world has agreed upon and that the hinges that I've already purchased are set for. Jerks.
So last night I quit early and debated redrilling the hinge holes back or facing the whole closet out at exactly the right offset so as to correct the set back to 37mm. I'm going to face them as it will be cleaner.
Oh, and while I was putting the drawers together I needed a wooden hammer but didn't have one. I decided that since I have so many small scraps of baltic birch I could make a hammer out of that. When I searched for "baltic birch hammer" I came up with zero results so I'm either an idiot or a genius. Or just a guy looking to get ride of some scraps of baltic birch.
I literally only wanted to make one but kept screwing up little things. By the third one I got it right but realized that, hey, they're made of wood, I can sand out my mistakes! So I just rounded over the edges, sanded the mistakes and then wiped them down with Lemon Oil. I guess time will tell but they work fine so far. Since I'm still using my baltic birch knock box for my espresso station and that was just glue with no finish. Every day for two years it gets whacked and it's held up better than I expected. So much so that I wish I'd finished it.
Gregor
MajorLeeGassole
Well-known member
I will not be surprised at all when I see your future post that reads, "I had some leftover birch, so I decided to construct a portable operating room. It took about 3 hours, but would've taken less time if I hadn't decided to craft a filtration system from leftover Ducati spokes from my last photo shoot. I didn't have to gold plate them, but I figured 'Why not?'" Thanks for sharing, Gregor.
Thanks for sharing, Gregor.GDPossehl
Well-known member
I will not be surprised at all when I see your future post that reads, "I had some leftover birch, so I decided to construct a portable operating room. It took about 3 hours, but would've taken less time if I hadn't decided to craft a filtration system from leftover Ducati spokes from my last photo shoot. I didn't have to gold plate them, but I figured 'Why not?'"
Hahaha, This got me.
I will not be surprised at all when I see your future post that reads, "I had some leftover birch, so I decided to construct a portable operating room. It took about 3 hours, but would've taken less time if I hadn't decided to craft a filtration system from leftover Ducati spokes from my last photo shoot. I didn't have to gold plate them, but I figured 'Why not?'"
That's really funny. But I would never gold plate something. Too bling for me.
What's even funnier is that I actually have a cup of leftover spokes sitting next to me right now that I was intending on using for pot rack hooks. I guess that means I've officially become a parody of myself...
But seriously. They're stainless and have a perfect flanged end. It seemed like the natural thing to do.
Gregor
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with that spattered wall problem.
tjpavlov
Well-known member
Gregor, can you share with us where you source all of this amazing plywood? The big box stores near me never seem to want to carry anything more than a five ply maple.
I am assuming that you found a lumberyard. Do they carry everything that you need, or do you have to special order some of these cool plywoods?
I am assuming that you found a lumberyard. Do they carry everything that you need, or do you have to special order some of these cool plywoods?
MotoDave
Well-known member
OK, those hammers are wicked cool. Now I need to come up with some project to make out of nice plywood so that I'll have scraps left over to make hammers out of.
You seem like the kind of guy who doesn't hate nice tools - check out these air hose quick disconnects: http://www.mcmaster.com/#6534k26/=w5w4um
They're push to connect, and I find they're a lot nicer to work with than normal air hose QD's. I've ordered them several times from McMaster and they've always shipped as Parker branded parts - nice quality, and in my experience don't leak down at all if I leave tools plugged in for a few days. I even use a larger size as the QD for my water cooled tig torch. The cartoon on the left is what they look like, not the 2D cad drawing.
You seem like the kind of guy who doesn't hate nice tools - check out these air hose quick disconnects: http://www.mcmaster.com/#6534k26/=w5w4um
They're push to connect, and I find they're a lot nicer to work with than normal air hose QD's. I've ordered them several times from McMaster and they've always shipped as Parker branded parts - nice quality, and in my experience don't leak down at all if I leave tools plugged in for a few days. I even use a larger size as the QD for my water cooled tig torch. The cartoon on the left is what they look like, not the 2D cad drawing.
abstamaria
Well-known member
Amazing thread.
Andy
Andy