Cabinets

 One year ago I made the case work for a stereo stand,

last week we made the doors.

 Finally, here is the finished project. Since the cabinet was to be painted the case work is 3/4 plywood while the doors are poplar and the inset panels door skin. 

  Having the proper place to put your stuff makes for a neater and more efficient work/living space. I have been trying to address that issue in our house lately.

  My wife makes quite lovely stained glass panels, and as with all crafts, she has acquired many little bits of useful material and a few special tools.

 4 boxes of glass bits and pieces.

     

All the glass  in a wheeled unit

  The storage unit is made from chip board that a neighbour gave away last summer. Ordinarily I would not use chip board for anything but sub-flooring but since it was free, I took it knowing I would find a use for it sometime. 

chip board.
It certainly is chips, but is it board?

 There is no real trick to making a unit like this if you have a table saw or a circular saw with a guide.  The only real trick is to have the three sides square, and it is easy with enough space and  tools.  Chip board doesn't have much strength when screwing into end grain so  I made for square frames from 1 1/2 by 1 inch spruce to which I attached the chip board by screwing though the side and into the wood frames.  Four casters are attached to the bottom frame so the unit can be moved around when we want to get to the books on the shelf behind.  The whole project is satisfactory and given that the sheet stock was free, very cost effective. 

  Since chip board is so ugly I even painted the rolling cabinet. I bought a litre of paint for $3.00. 

   How so cheap you ask?  The paint was an "oops" mixture from a big box store.  I always check to see if there are "oops" cans at those stores.  An "oops" for those of you that don't know is paint where the customer doesn't like the colour the base is tinted. Usually the can is full or very nearly and dead cheap. This time is was a greyish sort of colour, perfectly useful in a basement craft area.  Chip board is thirsty, I used 2/3 of the litre painting the rolling cabinet.  I also painted it to try to glue down the thousand loose feathery edges on chip board.

  This rolling glass storage cabinet is exactly why I like having a workshop. For a bit of invested time, and limited material cost Eva's craft space is 100% improved.  I really like making things that have a purpose.

Why all those knives.

 When I made the knife holder the other day it just seemed a matter course that a wood shop needed all those knives. As I thought about it I wondered why I had so many knives when other woodworkers seemed to have so few.

 One reason I think is that I learned how to sharpen a knife long before I learned how to sharpen a chisel and so when I needed a really sharp blade to trim something I opted for a knife. As well I have carried a pocket knife almost everyday since I was ten years old. Even in school I had a jack knife, no one seemed to care in those days. As an adult I had a knife in my briefcase, the glove box of my car and the top drawer of my desk. Over my adult life I have owned, lost or retired dozens of folding knives so for me the knife is a go-to tools.

 I thought I would explain what all those knives are for,as they mostly have a use.

  First the knives for nasty work:

  These blades are sharp, but they are mostly used for scrapping, prying and splitting. I bought the blades un-handled years ago and have expected these knives to do terrible things and clean up ugly gluey, paint covered messed, and they have never let me down.

 The two knives that sit in the top rack with the scrapping knives are:

razor sharp, (left) for fine trimming and the centre knife for food. When I want a snack I like to peel my orange and cut up my apples, don't you?

Mora Sheath Knives

 In the lower pouch I have five sheath knives. These three are working knives. On the left is a Mora chisel knife which I mostly use it out the shop because I can take one tool and get two fine cutting edges. The middle knife is a Mora Shop knife that does heavier trimming that the other very fine bladed knife. With the moulded plastic handle this knife is nearly indestructible and it was very reasonably priced. The knife on the right is a Mora carving knife, I use it to add little details.

  These knives are just historic. The top one was my Grandfathers, it is old, bent and fantastically sharp. I don't remember where the lower knife came from, the blade is very think and heavy but I like they way it the knife looks. I am not a collector, but I see, to have collected a few things just because.

 The knives in the middle holder are a marking knife, that I don't use much and a utility knife that I use to cut plastic and plywood mostly.

 While I am sharing knife information I'll share a knife that lives in a drawer, was cheap, won't hold a edge and I bought because it caught my eye.

  It is an imaginary skinning knife. It looks the part, sort of, but won't hold an edge, at all. I think I knew it was junk when I bought it, but it just looked cool.

  That accounts for the knives that I keep close at hand, in my shop. Maybe one day I'll share my folding knives' story too.

  cheers, ianw

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