Posted by Jerry on December 30th, 2004 — Posted in DIY, Journal, Woodwork
Well, the most expensive part of the makeover so far was today – AU$25.00 for a half sheet of peg-board and about six bucks for some framing timber. I did get some hinges, so I was able to hang the door on the corner cupboard as you can see here;
The next thing I did was to fit a proper woodwork vise to my workbench. The thing is now recessed so that the fixed jaw is in line with the bench. I had to add a packing piece underneath so the whole vise would be flush with the bench top. It was fiddly work and took me about an hour. As you can see, it’s not the world’s neatest job, but it works. The vise is a cheap Chinese import but will do the job. I will eventually add some wooden jaw protectors, but that will be for another time
The reward was going to get some pegboard – Carba-Tec in Fyshwick is selling off some excess pegboard sheets at a discounted price – I picked up a half-sheet (there was no way I could fit a whole sheet in the van!
Anyhow I got the sheet home and cut it to fit between two horizontal frame members of the shed. It is awkward stuff to handle – and to get around the problem of trying to support it with one hand while attaching it with the other, I screwed a small piece of spare pine stock to the lower wall beam to provide a stable base to rest the pegboard on while I attached it at the top. It was then easy to add two more screws to the top and the same at the bottom before removing the temporary support.
I then cut two pieces of 45x19mm pine to length for the upper and lower surrounding frame, then cut two pieces to fit the sides and I added these to the pegboard starting with the bottom and then the two sides and finally the top which then had the side pieces to rest on. Here is the result:
So that’s it for day three of the shed makeover. Tomorrow, being New Year’s Eve I’ll tackle one of the smaller cupboards and paint the doors. And I can start to put my tools away properly. And that will be one end of the shed completed – I dare not turn round because in order to get one end cleaned up, of course I had to move everything to the other end which is now TWICE as cluttered as it was before! It’s like the Cat in the Hat all over again 🙂
But I have a plan for the other end…
Until tomorrow then
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on December 29th, 2004 — Posted in DIY, Journal, Woodwork
Day 2: The day dawned cool and bright. Today would be the day of the cupboards. I set to with gusto levering off the floorboarding that comprised the bench tops. Whoever put this together must’ve used a whole carton of nails! After a close examination of the bench tops I made gentle but firm use of the oft-maligned ‘wrecking bar’ or crow bar.
There was an unholy screeching sound as the nails came free, and I quickly had a large pile of really grotty floorboards cluttering up my carport. Then a revelation… this was not one integrated cupboard set, but three units bolted together!
So it was time for a re-think and a coffee. This opened up new possibilities for re-engineering the existing cupboard space. I checked out the mess in the other corner:
Hmm. Time for another coffee… perhaps I should have a little lie down until the spring cleaning feeling passes. I went back for another look and a think. Meanwhile the other inhabitants of the shed came out to see what I was up to, and whether I would disturb their plans for an afternoon nap on a sunny part of the cement floor.
At that point, inspiration struck – I could reconfigure the cabinets to produce a continuous bench along the entire width of the shed. So with much grunting and emptying of cupboards, a relocation of the stored melamine-faced chipboard, and a relocation of my timber off-cuts stash, I set about moving the cupboards into position.
I settled on a straight across configuration after considering the merits of building another corner cupboard, and with the cabinets in position I fitted new tops to form a continuous bench. With the tops screwed into place I moved the bench I had made off to the side where one of the cabinets had been. I then brought the power tools back in and found suitable uncluttered cupboard space for them. And here is the result at the end of Day Two – a big improvement so far (compare with the before photos!):
Tasks for Day Three: purchase some pegboard to organise my loose tools and attach it above the mitre saw, I also need to fit the corner cupboard door (I did cut one to size but I still haven’t been out to buy hinges), and build perhaps two more standard overhead cupboards – I’ll post the design when I build them – tomorrow or the next day
cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on December 28th, 2004 — Posted in DIY, Journal, Woodwork
With the rush for Christmas projects over I went out to the shed to have a play on the lathe, when I was confronted with my own slack work practices! Just look at how cluttered this corner is!
So that was that. It is time for a major reorganisation and de-cluttering of my shed – I have ten days in which to transform the shed into a an efficient workspace.
After checking out the excellent Fine Woodworking site for some ideas on good workshops, I decided to build some more cupboards, saving money where possible by re-engineering some existing cupboards and building in some decent storage.
I figured that kitchens were equivalent workspaces and so I looked for plans for kitchen cupboards – especially corner cupboards which i figured would present the greatest challenge. There are plenty of cupboards to buy and assemble, but no plans!
So here it is folks:
How to build a corner cupboard.
First a detailed plan is needed to get the sizes right:
Then select some chipboard – you can use MDF – I had a piece 1800x600x19mm (6’x3’x¾”)
Measure and cut three squares of 600x600mm (3’x3′). This will form the top, bottom and middle shelf.
Then draw a diagonal and measure 300mm along two adjacent sides and draw a diagonal to join these marks – this is then cut leaving you with a diamond shape. Repeat for the other two pieces.
From the opposite right angle corner measure out about 100mm along the two adjacent sides and connect with a line and then cut along this line so you have a truncated diamond shape – repeat for the other two pieces. The top, bottom and shelf are now ready.
Now take another sheet of MDF and cut two rectangles 450mmx300mm (1’6″x1′) for the two sides and one piece 450x150mm (1’6″x6″) for the back
Using sturdy corner clamps connect the top and bottom with one of the sides and screw, dowel and glue the side to the top and bottom pieces. Repeat for the other side.
Before adding the back, slide in the shelf and clamp it in place leaving a gap of around 250mm between the shelf and the top, and 300mm between the shelf and the bottom. Screw it into place with the two sides.
Now add the back. The corner cupboard is now ready for mounting on the wall.
I’ll tackle the doors tomorrow. As you can see, I removed the existing cupboards, and decided to re-engineer them for better strength and fit. The taller one I cut down to 450mm by removing the door handles and sawing the the cupboard along the face and sides down to the first shelf. I then re-fitted the top hinge to the doors and after a clean-up, I re-hung the cupboards next to the new corner cupboard, making sure that the bottoms all lined up to give a clean eye line. By reducing the taller cupboard and raising it a little, I have also opened up the work-bench area in this corner. Here is the result at the end of the first day – total cost about AU$30 for the melamine chipboard and about $2.50 for about a dozen screws and glue:
Tomorrow I’ll do the cupboard doors and replace the bench top. If I have time I’ll build two more cupboards to provide added storage.
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on November 17th, 2004 — Posted in DIY, Journal, Woodwork
Galvanised into action as it is only a week and a half before Majors Creek I have set about building a new fiddle case – a compact one – this one measures 70cm x 40cm x 15cm and will hold two fiddles. The length means the bows will sit diagonally in the lid – but it also means the case can be used on stage to put drinks on 🙂 as well as to be sat on during festival sessions – this will be one strong case. The sides and ends are from red cedar with full width dovetail joints. the top and bottom will be sheets of aluminium with a couple of wooden braces for the mid-top and bottom – it will be as strong as any flight case but hopefully will be fairly light too.
The inside will be lined with foamcore – a paper-covered polystyrene art board that is really strong and provides great cushioning. This will be covered in fabric – like a velvet or velveteen secured with spray adhesive.
I made the frame in about an hour tonight between other things – luckily the dovetail jig was finally set up right and the whole thing went together as though I had planned it! I had real trouble last week setting it up – then I downloaded the instructions to an Axminster dovetail jig of virtually identical design and suddenly it became much clearer – you have to picture the box or whatever inside-out when you lay out the pieces. And the offset between the pins and tails is exactly a half inch. The rest is in getting the right depth for the dovetail bit in the router – too high and the joint is loose, too low and the joint will need to be hammered together. After a load of test pieces using cheap pine offcuts I managed to get the height just right. So I’m pretty happy with the result so far.
With the frame built from Australian red cedar and the aluminium cut to size I need to assemble the box once the varnish on the timber frame has dried, and then put together the lining to provide a comfortable nest for the fiddles.
Method:
Here is the start of the process – I cut two sides and two ends in Australian red cedar, and using the dovetail jig dovetailed the pieces together and glued them on final assembly. Then I cut two cross braces and dovetailed those into the upper and lower sides. The lower brace has been shaped with a belt sander to accommodate the belly of the fiddle – the other part provides support for the neck join on the hardanger.
I then cut a sheet of aluminium (3mm thick) to fit the top and bottom, and aluminium angle stock for the edges, so it will look like this:
The cross braces will provide support in case the box is knocked on the top or bottom – I’m aiming to have it strong enough to stand on when it is finished! More on progress later – I’m hoping to have it completed in time for Majors creek Folk Festival – and then the China tour!
A quick tip on cutting the mitres in the aluminum angle stock – I used my mitre saw – but replaced the the saw blade with a metal cuttoff wheel – works a treat and keeps the angles neat 🙂
I then ran a bead of Tarzan’s Grip – general purpose building adhesive – around the frame and over the cross-braces and secured the aluminium sheet by holding it in place with the aluminium angle stock and drilling through the angle stock and sheet into the frame timber and screwing it down using bronzed chipboard screws. I then attached the corner protectors by drilling into the aluminium and pop-rivetting them to the aluminium.
With both sides clad in aluminium you have a closed box with no means of opening it, so I took it to the table saw and set the saw guide so that the blade would clear all aluminium bits plus the depth of the screws and neatly cut the box in half along its length – voila! a box with a lid 🙂
Now fit a couple of hinges and case catches – and of course a carry handle and the basic box is complete – ready to be fitted out for two fiddles (or photographic equipment etc as you choose). More on the fit-out in the next post. In the meantime, the case looks like this:
Cheers
Jerry
cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on September 27th, 2004 — Posted in DIY, Technology, Woodwork
A while ago I made a primitive electric motor using instructions from an old school science book – My excuse was that I wanted my then pre-teen daughter to see how they worked, but really it was as much for my own satisfaction and fun 😉
The one I made used a large bolt (with corresponding nut and washers at each end for balance) which was inserted transversely through a pre-drilled hole in a cylinder of wood. The axis of the cylinder had a couple of nails inserted as axles – and the rotor assembly was supported on thick wire supports. I wound a fairly long length of insulated wire around the bolt and set up two electromagnets made the same way and lined up with the head and nut of the bolt. I used a couple of pieces of tin can tacked to the wooden shaft as contacts for the brushes (which were themselves made from the springy tin cut from a tin can and sanded to make a good contact surface. There were not that many windings so it took four of the big square ‘dolphin torch’ batteries to make it go – but it worked – to the amazement of my neighbour 🙂
A slightly similar (and simpler) one can be found at this site – their motor looks like this:
and they give instructions for making it.
Today, doing a bit of surfing I came across a web site with images of a wide range of early electric motors and their precursors – some fascinating devices! I loved the magnetic beam engine…
Enjoy!
Cheers
Jerry
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