2008-07-19

Shelf Project Completed.

2008-07-19

After applying a couple of coats of polyurethane and letting it set for a couple of days, the shelf is now complete and ready for installation.  The shelf went in very easily and looks pretty good.

Shelf mounted to the wall

At the wife's request, I mounted a 14" mini fluorescent light on the underside of the shelf.  The installation was pretty easy, and the fit was practically perfect.  Then I secured the electrical cord to the wall using ¼" nylon cable clamps.

Shelf with fluorescent light attached

And here's the shelf with the light turned on.  This should provide more than ample illumination for the wife's craftwork projects.  Now it's time to fire up the barbeque and cook up some dinner for the family!

Shelf with fluorescent light illuminated

2008-07-14

Putting the shelf together...

2008-07-14

Now that all of the wood sections to the shelves are stained, I did a test fit with all the dowels in place.  Everything went together well, as shown below, so I went ahead and glued everything together.  Next I'll be putting on a couple of layers of polyurethane.  After that, I'll install the shelf in the wife's craftwork area.

Shelf parts glued together

2008-07-13

Adding a Shelf to the Craftwork Area...

2008-07-13

After completing the craft area for the wife, I added a fluorescent light under the wall-mounted cabinet.  She liked it so much, she asked me to make a mini-shelf to accommodate both her thread spools and another under-cabinet fluorescent light.  So I drew up a quick design.  Nothing too fancy; just enough to do the job she needed.

Mini shelf design

For this project, I chose to use up the remaining scrap wood from when I made the oak windowsill.

Scrap wood from an earlier project

It didn't take too long for me to cut the wood on the table saw. Then I ran the outer board edges over a 3/8" rounded router bit and sanded it down with my power sander.

Wood cut and sanded

Then I got out the Golden Oak stain and stained the top side of the prepped wood. I'll resume this project tomorrow afternoon and then put on a few coats of polyurethane to keep the wood looking nice. I should be done with this in a couple of days.

Wood with the first stain treatment applied

2008-07-04

The Garage Storage Cabinet Project is Finally Done!

2008-07-04

Geez!  It's hard to believe it was almost a month ago that I started this project, but it's finally done!  Today I finished installing the last of the door catches and making the last of the adjustments to the cabinet doors.  This long project is finally over.  And not a moment too soon.

Finished storage cabinet with doors closed

Looking back on this project, I can honestly say that this is perhaps the most poorly-engineered but best built project I've undertaken in years.  The original plans were completely inadequate, but the course corrections I made as I went along made for a very strong and resilient structure that should hold up for a decade or more.

Finished storage cabinet with doors open

Oh yeah...Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-03

A Small Side Project...

2008-07-03

I've been working on the garage storage cabinet for so long, I just had to take a break and do something else for a day.  So I drew up some quick plans to make a brick liner around an Ash tree we recently had planted in the yard.

Brick liner design

I picked up a set (18 each) of different colored 3" x 6" bricks: plum, red and yellow, as shown here.  I picked these colors to approximately match the pavers we already have.  The colors worked well, so I started work immediately.

Comparing bricks for color match

I tied a length of string to the trunk of the tree and measured 23" from the edge of the 2" trunk.  I laid the bricks along the edge of where I measured to make sure I was making something remotely approximating a circle.  Then I used a spade to make cuts in the grass and lifted the earth out with a garden trowel.  From there it was a task of making sure I had enough dirt dug out to accommodate the next brick.

Brick liner partially completed

It took me a few hours to dig and arrange the bricks, but the job was pretty straightforward.  I'll spend the next week weeding out the grass and adding a little mulch to the dirt area to make things look tidy.

Brick liner completed