That’s right, folks.  It’s in.  Done?  Not so much; but there is so little left to do that I might as well call it so.  I’ve got to make the top piece for the upright portion, and I have some different ideas still on how to do that.   I also want to add some sort of shoe-management into the shelving.

 

 

This.  Took.  For. Ever.

 

I designed this in February, and started construction a few weeks later.  I’ve probably got about 40 hours into it.  It really shouldn’t have taken that many, but hey, it’s my first piece of furniture.

 

I learned a lot.  I also learned that I need to learn a lot.  There are known unknowns and unknown unknowns to take away from this project.  Here, this pretty much sums it up.

 

 

I learned the critical importance of both following your plans too much and not following them enough.  I’ll explain.  In the beginning, I followed them without thinking each thing through, and I ended up building the shorter bench the same length as the longer bench.  Why?  Because I had copy/pasted the longer bench in SketchUp and then neglected to correct the length of the copy.  And so I ended up with a bench too long.  There was something a bit surreal about that, by the way…  having a copy/paste mistake on my computer end up as 3ft of extra bench on the floor of my shop.

 

 

I also didn’t follow my plans enough towards the end of construction, because I figured it was like putting together a puzzle and at this point, the last pieces would just fall into place.  This is how I ended up having trim pieces that were too long or too short because I forgot about the lid height or the the overlap… you get the idea.  If I had gone back to my plan instead of re-measuring from the build itself, I would’ve seen the issues right away.  But overall, the plan worked.. it’s pretty dang close.

 

 

 

I think I would like to spray next time instead of roll. I bought some ProClassic from Sherwin Williams and used some microfiber rollers, and the results are really very good. I did the finishing prior to assembly, which helped with preventing globs in corners. However, if I could prime, then assemble, then spray, that would be better, because I could fill in little gaps and cover seams in the trim.

 

 

 

As for the “known unknowns”.. well, I need to learn how to cut things perfectly square and straight.  There’s likely a good tool for that.  Using the guide on my table saw did a pretty good job, but where the lids meet, I had to plane some to get them to sit nice. 

 

Oh, the cushions.  Dani might write about that; we’ll see.  She picked the fabric and made them, I just cut the supporting wood and helped staple. 

 

 

 

Oh, I submitted the design to Google’s 3D Warehouse, so if you like it, you can download it and play around with the design till your heart’s content.

 

So, I can’t officially cross it off the list, but it’s in and useable, and I’m quite happy with that.

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The construction continues!

 

I took a few weeks off from this project, but I do have some progress to share.  I’ve finished construction on the 3 pieces and they are ready for their first coat of primer.  Today, I filled in holes and ridges with some wood putty and installed the divider pieces.  The only thing not constructed yet is the trim.  I don’t want to put that on yet because it will be much easier to prime and paint without them.

 

 

 

The shop is still a huge mess because I have yet to really get it organized since moving in.  It’s functional; but barely.

 

So that’s where I’m at.  Hopefully I’ll get it primed and sanded in a couple of days.

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A while ago, I blogged about my design for the corner storage bench I’m building for the Sun Room.  This weekend was a three-day weekend, and I started building it.  The unit is made up of three sections; 2 benches and the end piece.  I’m starting by making the plywood boxes that are the primary component of the benches.



This is how I decided Dad told me to rip the plywood.  I considered using my table saw, but ripping a 4x8 sheet by myself just didn’t seem doable.  I called my Dad and asked him how he would rip it, and he told me to do it this way.  His tone of voice made me think that this was the only way to do it, and I probably should have figured that out.  Which, come to think of it, is probably true.  Basically, lay the sheet on something to prop it up, clamp down a guide piece, and run the circular saw down the length (after making sure the blade depth won’t hit the floor, of course).  Speaking of circular saw….



Look what I got! 

This thing is awesome.  It’s the Makita 5007MG Magnesium 7-1/4-Inch Circular Saw.  I bought it at Home Depot because I needed it quickly; it’s a few bucks cheaper on Amazon.  It’s light-weight, has a work light, and it rips like the wood is butter.  Oh man, did this make a difference.  My old mid-80’s hand-me-down Craftsman saw was great for the price (free), but it doesn’t hold a candle to this one.  I called Dad about this, too, and asked him which saw to get.  “Get mine.  Nothing better.  I love it.”.  Ok, that was an easy one. 

After I ripped all the sides and bottoms for the two benches, I wheeled out some of my cabinets as saw horses and started sanding.  And sanding.  And sanding.


 

Dani took these shots, so I was actually in a picture for a change.

Once everything was cut and sanded, it was time for assembling the first box. 
 

Above, you can see how I used a straight piece of 1x4 and some painters tape to make a nice 3/4” strip where I’ll be attaching one of the sides.  The tape will protect the wood underneath from the wood glue oozing out of the joint.  Nobody likes oozing joints.



After a lot of gluing, clamping, and screw-gunning, all four sides are now attached.  But wow, what a sag!  This isn’t supposed to happen with plywood!  I need to be more careful when I buy the wood next time.  I called Dad and asked him what to do.  He said “plywood isn’t supposed to sag; be more careful when you buy the wood next time”.   Thanks, Dad, I’ve already reached that conclusion; now what?  He advised me to weigh it down overnight.  I flipped the whole thing the other way around and put some big heavy bags of concrete mix on each side to hopefully counter the bow.  The next morning, I took the bags off and there wasn’t much of a difference.  I put the bags back on and glued/screwed on the base anyway, and it seems to be holding the bow in check. 
 

After the bottom was attached, I used my planer to even out any inconsistencies, and then attached the back lip piece, which is just a 8ft 2x4 that I sanded down.  I started the second box, too, but I ran out of screws, so it’s back to the store for me tomorrow.

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As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been tying up some loose ends in the kitchen recently, which has freed me to start a new project.  My wife, Dani, has asked me to make a corner storage bench for the sunroom as a birthday present to her.  This is a bit of a sneaky move on her part, because she’s wanted one of these for a while, but by asking for it as a birthday gift (admittedly a belated one) she’s managed to bump it to the top of the projects list.  She’s a wily one.

 

She recently repainted the sunroom, which I think she’s going to do a post about.  We’d both like to see the room put to use other than as a temporary kitchen or a tool storage area.  The room is a bit awkward, because it serves as the primary entrance to our house, but it’s supposed to be a relaxing room. 

 

We’ve decided to put a rather large corner storage bench in the…well..the corner.  We think it will look great, and it will be very functional for things like parties and holiday dinners.

 

 

That’s the corner we’ll be putting it in.  The room is in a state of disarray as it’s just been painted.  If you’re quick enough to notice that there is a chainsaw at the door and snow on the ground outside, it’s because we lost some branches from the recent snow storm, and I need to go out there and take care of it.  I placed the saw there this morning hoping I’d be motivated to do so…. yeah, not so much.

 

I’ve been playing with Google SketchUp recently.  It’s a very nice 3d modeling tool for designing just about anything; and it’s free.  It has a bit of an initial learning curve, but after I got the hang of it I could do some pretty cool things.  I used it to design the bench seat.  Here’s the design as it exists right now.

 

 

 

The higher end-piece there has cubbies for shoe storage.  If you look closely at the first picture, you can see that the far left end piece has a notch in it.  That’s to accommodate the baseboard heater that you can see in the picture of the corner we will be putting this in.

 

This past weekend, I went to Home Depot and dropped a lot of money for the supplies and tools that I needed to build this thing.  Probably about the same amount of money it would have cost to buy one from the Amish Market, but at least I’ll have the tools and learning experience to take on to my next project.

 

So hopefully sometime this week I’ll get started on this.  I need to sit down and bust through our taxes first, though.

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The other day I started thinking about a project my Mom did when I was a kid. She found an antique icebox and refinished it, turning it into a very handsome filing cabinet. Her brother bought it from her and uses it in his office to this day. I've always loved it.

So, as frequently happens when I think of random things, I turned to the internet. Well, hey, here's a nice one on Craigslist. And it just happens to be close to my house. Hmm...

I don't know when or where, but I'm going to use this for something nice.

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