2008-06-28

Getting close to completion...

2008-06-28

Lately it's seemed to me that this project is taking an inordinately large amount of time.  And as it goes, it looks like I've got a few more days to go before I can call this one done.  All the same, I managed to add nine doors to the cabinet today and have only three doors left to go.  Each of the door sets needs a bit of tweaking to improve their fit.

I'll resume this project tomorrow and hopefully have it completed by the end of this week.

Cabinet with more doors installed

2008-06-22

Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-22

I had a lot of odd jobs to do around the house today, so I wasn't able to devote much time to the storage cabinet, but I did manage to fashion a couple more doors and affix the requisite hardware to them and get them mounted to the frame.

Second set of cabinet doors

The fit was a little tight, but I'll be fixing that later this week.  Everything works fine, though.

Second set of cabinet doors open

And here's a close-up of the door catches that I've installed.  They're cheap.  They work.  That's all I need.

Door catches

2008-06-21

Still More Progress on the Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-21

I spent a lot of time today just ripping boards for the door mounts and door panels.  Because I work alone in the garage and often use only pieces of scrap lumber to push wood past the spinning table saw blade, I figured it was time I made a permanent tool for this job.

What you see here is the product of two ½" MDF boards glued together and then cut out with a jig saw.  The forward lip allows me to both push and stabilize the board I'm cutting as it moves past the blade.  Best of all, it keeps my fingers out of harm's way in the event of kickback.  This tool may look crufty, but it is elegant in its function and simplicity.

Home-made tool for moving boards on the table saw

Anyway, after a whole lot of prep work, I finally managed to mount the first pair of cabinet doors to the frame.  The fit is a little tight where the door edges meet, and I'll be fixing that tomorrow.  That said, the overall installation went very well and I think progress will pick up speed as I install the remaining 14 cabinet doors.

The first set of cabinet doors installed

2008-06-20

Today's Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-20

Work continues on the storage cabinet.  Today I finished cutting the door openings on the front panels.  Then I reattached the panels and secured them to the frame.  The sections went on well and now the next step is to prep the panels for the door hinges.  Meanwhile I'll measure the ½" MDF boards for the doors and see about finding some outside corners to tidy up the edges of the storage cabinet.

I figure I'll be working on this project for a few more days before I'm convinced that it's done.

Front panels with door openings cut out

2008-06-17

Test Fitting the Storage Cabinet Front Panels...

2008-06-17

Today I finished cutting the front panels and test fit them to the frame.  Everything fit pretty much as expected, and I'm pleased with the results.  After fitting the fourth front panel to the frame, I drew up the cabinet door openings and drew the lines using my 2' level.  This assures that the door openings and mounted doors will all line up fine after I take the panels down and cut out the cabinet openings.

I figure I'll spend the next few days taking down the front panels, cutting out the eight openings and cutting the sixteen cabinet doors.  With luck, I'll be able to affix all the cabinetry hardware (hinges, knobs, door catches) this week and finish up by this weekend.

Test fit of front face to frame

2008-06-15

Continuing Work on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-15

After dealing with a nasty summer cold, I resumed work on the storage cabinet. Work's resuming slowly, but steadily. Today I affixed the ¼" MDF board to the side as shown here.

Left end of the cabinet with siding

Then I secured the ¼" MDF to the opposite side as shown here. Then I got to work on affixing the MDF on the top.

Right end of the cabinet with siding

All MDF sections were affixed using 1¼" screws. Next I'll be making the face of the storage cabinet. This will be comprised of four 36½" x 90" panels; each having two openings.

MDF panel affixed to side and top

Oh yeah...Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-10

Garage Storage Cabinet Framework Complete...

2008-06-10

I'm coming down with a nasty summer cold, but it's not severe enough to keep me from working on this project...at least today. So I start out by test fitting the remaining shelves.

Test fitting the remaining shelves

Everything went just fine, so I proceeded with the cutting and mounting of the horizontal supports. About an hour and a half later, the storage cabinet frame was complete.

As can be seen here, the storage cabinet is essentially eight open-back 36"W x 45"H x 18"D boxes. This affords the structure a fair amount of strength and sturdiness with a minimal amount of framing. With the shelves individually rated for up to 200 pounds load each, this structure could conceivably store nearly 2.5 tons of material.

That's a little bizarre to contemplate now that I think about it...

Completed storage cabinet frame

Not one to waste time or space, I quickly set to work loading up the shelves. This also served as a good test to make sure everything I wanted to store would fit properly. I'm happy to report that everything fit with much room to spare.

If I'm feeling well enough tomorrow, I'll start bolting on the ¼" paneling on the top and sides of the storage cabinet. Then I'll get down to the business of fashioning the front panels and doors.

Storage cabinet loaded with stuff

2008-06-09

Further Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-09

Got to work in the late afternoon on the project and finished the left frame box by adding two horizontal supports and the 2x4 vertical post.  This completed the left frame box, so I moved on to starting the right frame box.

Completed left section

Next I added three short horizontal frame stubs to support the left corner 2x4 vertical post.

Right side with horizontal support stubs

Once the three horizontal supports were in place, I levelled the 2x4 post against them and secured them with screws.  I also checked for level on three axes and made minor adjustments to keep everything true.  I then proceeded with the next column of horizontal supports and added the next vertical 2x4 post.

Right edge end frame

Once that part was completed, the shelves slid in for a nearly perfect fit.  Tomorrow I'll add two additional long horizontal supports in the right frame box to keep it sturdy, level and square at all corners.  All told, I was pleased to have accomplished this much in only two hours.

Nearly completed right section

2008-06-08

More Progress on the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-08

I got a late start this morning, but got things rolling quickly.  First I marked up all vertical boards for notch cutting, then I started checking the floor boards for level.

Vertical boards ready to go

I quickly figured out that the slope of the floor was not a perfect mathematical slope, but had slight imperfections along the length of the rise.  To accommodate for this, I put together a number of shims to have the concrete and wood slope edges match up.  This is a good lesson learned that I'll carry over to a project I plan to undertake early this autumn.

Floor boards with levelling shims

I used my table saw to cut out notches in the vertical boards.  First I sliced the notch areas as shown here.

Notch cuts in 2x4

The I used a slotted screwdriver and a hammer & chisel to clear out the notched areas of the vertical boards.

Hammer, chisel and screwdriver used to clear notches

Once all the boards had been notched, I began assembly of the cabinet frame. I got enough done to test fit the shelves into the frame end and horizontal support wedges. Though incomplete, the frame and shelves are remarkably sturdy. I'm looking forward to resuming work tomorrow afternoon and getting more done.

Test fit of corner shelves

2008-06-07

Constructing the Garage Storage Cabinet...

2008-06-07

It's always interesting starting a large project on an uneven surface.  The garage floor is sloped to accommodate quick water runoff with an appreciably significant rise over a 20' run.  The area I chose has a net rise of 2½" over a 12' run, but it also has a level beveled edge where the floor and wall meet that I also had to take into account.

Uneven and beveled corner

To get accurate measurements, I engineered a temporary tool which allowed me to assess level and plumb at the same time.  I made this using a right angle protractor and a small level.  This helped me verify that the measurements I was taking were valid in spite of the uneven work area.

Temporary tool to assess level, plumb and measurements

Once I'd measured and cut the 2x4 to complement the floor's slope, I used the shelves to assure that my measurements would accommodate the space they required.  I made a ½" tweak and marked the floor for later reference.

Test fit of shelves to slope complement

Then I got to work cutting up eighteen 8" horizontal support wedges from a length of 2x4.  These wedges will be mounted to the wall to support the back corners of each shelf.

Horizontal support wedges

I drilled one pilot hole into each wedge and threaded a 2½" screw into it.

Horizontal support wedges with piloted screw holes

I spaced each wedge 36" apart horizontally and 15 & 3/8" vertically.  Each wedge had Liquid Nail applied to its wall-mated surface and was then secured to the wall with the screw.  Once secured, each wedge was individually checked for level, then collectively checked for level across the horizontal span.  Once I was satisfied with each row, I moved up to the next level.

Horizontal support wedges affixed to wall

Having finished the installation of the horizontal wedges, I applied Liquid Nail to the underside of the slope-countering boards and placed weights on the wood to ensure adhesion to the (freshly cleaned) garage floor.

Slope complement with weights to assure adhesion to garage floor

It's been a busy day and I got a lot done, so I took a few preliminary measurements on the vertical 2x4 supports and called it a day.  Now it's time for pizza and a movie!

Vertical supports measured and ready for resumption of project tomorrow

2008-06-06

Designing Storage Cabinets for the Garage

2008-06-06

Time to take on another large project!  This one will be for my workspace in the garage.  About a year ago I purchased several Workforce Storage Organizers for storing things in the garage.  They work fine and all, but with the increase in woodworking I've been doing, everything they hold gets covered in a fine layer of sawdust, which is kind of problematic after a while.  So to overcome that issue, I've decided to construct a wall-mounted storage cabinet replete with doors to store my things in the garage.

Current storage area

This design takes away one column of shelves, but it adds two rows, so I'll be able to store as much as before.  I'm planning on purchasing a radial arm saw later on this year, so it will be good to have some additional room near my workbench.  This cabinet will be 7½' tall, 12'1" wide, and 19" deep.  To save a little money, I will be reusing the Workforce Storage Organizer shelves within the new storage cabinet.  I plan to start this project this weekend and finish it by Father's Day.

Proposed wall-mounted storage area

2008-06-02

Craftwork Area Project Complete!

2008-06-02

As with all projects, there are invariably mid-project course corrections and revisions.  The craftwork area project is no different.  I had originally planned to make the wall-mounted shelves with backboards and mount two units to the wall.  But in the process of making the shelf, the wife indicated that she preferred a single shelf without a backboard.  Seemed reasonable, so I revised the design to make it a little more simple and added some mid-area reinforcement.

Revised wall-mounted shelf design

First I cut the 2x2 board down the middle at a 45° angle for structural support boards at each corner.  Then I used wood glue to affix the diagonal cuts to the side boards.  As the glue set, I used 1¼" screws to secure the diagonal boards to the side boards.

Side board shelf constructs

As the glue on the side boards and supports dried, I affixed the 47" 2x2 board to the top board of the shelf.  This will be the main board I'll use to secure the shelf to the in-wall studs.  Pilot holes are also drilled on the top and bottom boards for screws to be affixed to the support boards on each corner.

Top and bottom shelf constructs

Here's the finished shelf unit, completely painted, with all support boards affixed.

Finished shelf unit

Since I'll be mounting the shelf by myself, I built a temporary support structure to hold up the shelf while I tweaked its positioning for stud alignment and assuring that the unit is level when bolted on to the wall.

Temporary installation support structure

After a few minutes and a couple of tweaks, the shelf is completely bolted to the wall.  The temporary support structure is removed and busted down, and a couple of base supports are added to the shelf for additional support.  And with that, the craftwork area project is complete!

Finished wall-mounted shelf installed

2008-06-01

Craftwork Area Cabinet Doors Built and Installed

2008-06-01

Yesterday I cut out the door panels for the under-table storage area.  These panels were cut 20" wide and 24" tall from ¼" MDF board.  This morning I drilled the pilot holes for the hinges, door handle, magnetic catch and catch plate.  I drilled the holes on one board and then used that board as the template for drilling the holes in the second board.  The task went so quickly that I only managed a few photos shown here.

Hinges, handle, magnetic catch and plate

I chose to use nuts and bolts instead of screws since the MDF board was fairly thin and I tend to have better luck with bolts in those kinds of conditions.

Installation of the storage cabinet doors went pretty quickly.  I used my 24" level to assure that the doors were lined up properly and centered over the cabinet openings.  Now to resume work on the last phase of the project: the wall-mounted shelves.

Completed storage cabinet doors