Last Weekend and Yesterday

Last weekend was the Hamilton Wood Working Show. I didn't need anything so my trip to the show only cost me about $100.00, including admission, coffee, fudge and.....

this large slab of tulip wood.   I see a small coffee table for our living room sitting there.  It is filled with hair line cracks that I will have to address as part of the project.  I am thinking epoxy, or maybe just many coats of varnish, since most of the cracks are quite narrow. Anyway that is sitting there awaiting my attention.  Also I bought some new style sanding discs by Freud.  I'll report on the disks when I have used them a bit.

  Yesterday I did a shop maintenance project that has been hanging around since before Christmas.

 Last fall I was walking in the neighbourhood and found this cabinet sitting on the side of the road.

    The cabinet is missing a door and needs two shelves made but is basically sound. Beside it was free and that is the best price. Oh yes, the small plastic bag has hinges in it. My plan was to put it on the wall near my table saw and get rid of a chest of drawers I was using for storage.

  You can see that the three drawer chest doesn't make the best use of space. Also the chest was old and cheap and the drawers didn't slid very well, several times I have pinched my fingers closing the bottom drawer. 

  I used French Cleats to hang the cabinet on the wall. 

   This project was made complicated by the fact that the wall was not very stout or straight.  I have put the wall up as a quick divider in the basement and hadn't expected it to carry much load.  This wall is only one step stronger than a canvas partition designed to keep the saw dust out of the pantry and storage in the back.  When you are building a wall, don't build a cheap/flimsy wall, even it you are in a hurry and don't think it will matter in the future, sure as heck it will matter in the future.  I made extra work for myself yesterday because the wall had been made with very crooked 2 x 3 I salvaged and so hanging the cleats were a challenge, only over come with lots of long wood screws and magic words.

  Once the task was completed (mostly, I still need to make and hang a door) I discovered that the chest of drawers was filled with crap, much of which I threw away anyway.  I think it is a good idea to go through every cupboard and drawer in your shop occasionally to see what you have hidden away for a rainy day. Then throw a bunch of it out. Be honest, be ruthless.

  

     

   So... this is what is left of the dresser.  Most of the wood will end up in a fire pit someplace this summer but there is a bit of it that will be used for some small projects, boxes and the like with K and C.  There even  maybe enough to make a door for the cabinet.

  I will sort out the wood bits and make a door and it will all be good.

cheers, ianw