Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Adirondack (Pt 2)

Here it is waiting patiently for paint:



And then here it is "in situ"



I love the color. I wanted something really bright, but we _almost_ went with a forest green.

Glad yellower heads prevailed.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Scrap Pile Project: Kreg Jig Storage Base

I noticed that after I went through the garage, the rafters, and the storage shed, I've managed to build up quite a pile of scrap wood: cutoffs, mistakes, extras, etc.

I saw a really cool project here (http://www.handy1.ca/kreg-jig-storage-base/) and decided to pretty much copy it as best I could with the leftovers I have.


Here it is while I was spraying it with some clear shellac. I had already put the hinge on when I decided it needed another coat.

The lid is a somewhat warped piece of cheap pine I've had for a while, but I think it will work fine.






Again, shamelessly copying the one I saw online. Turns out that once you put the jig itself up on the lid of the box, you don't really need much space inside the box for the accessories! :)






Sunday, June 5, 2016

"Japanese" Toolbox from Make Magazine

A few years ago we received Make Magazine issue #34 in the mail and I really liked the toolbox build project it contained. This was back when Make wasn't _all_ electronics... :)

Anyway, I always meant to get around to trying to make it -- I love the sliding "locking" lid mechanism. I even went so far as to buy the wood I'd need. But after a year or two I forgot about it and the magazine got buried in the pile of subsequent Makes.

Recently, though, I went through the stack and found the issue and decided to try to make the toolbox. I pulled the wood down out of the rafters in the garage. Some of it was a bit warped, but it's just a toolbox for myself, and it won't bug me if things aren't perfect.


I used my slightly accurate table saw cross sled for many of the cuts. It works well! That said, I must have done something wrong when I put the riving knife back on because wood _always_ gets pinched between the blade and the fence when I'm not using the sled...

After I cut all the wood to length, it was time to make a real mess.


 The box is finished, time to make the lid...



It came out ok -- I'm certainly happy with it. I still need to sand it down and get rid of the rough edges/splintery bits, but the lid works, and I'm sure it will hold whatever I put in there.

Not sure if/how I'll finish it. Just sand it down? Maybe some oil/wax?

If I were to make it again, I'd use better wood and maybe some more interesting methods for fastening it together. I think making one slightly smaller (this one is 26 inches long by almost 9 tall) might be fun as well.