The next project!!

Started working on some "lockers" for a niece's house.  The lockers will go in the garage and help her organize five little one's coats, boots, gloves and backpacks.

This is the picture of what Lisa wants in her garage.  Still not sure if we are going to have doors on all the lockers, but this is what we have started.  Going to make it out of knotty alder and stain them so they match the rest of the cabinets in the house.

This is the area the lockers are going.  The door way on the left goes in to the mud room and kitchen.  The cabinet or closet on the right is where the hot water heater is.  There will be seven lockers and will go floor to ceiling.

So I got the lockers started this past weekend.  We hauled in 4 sheets of 4 x 8 alder MDF plywood and got to cutting.  My new work bench with the expandable wings worked awesome.  I could rip the 4 x 8 sheets without any trouble and nothing fell on the floor.

Got 5 of the bottom cabinets put together this weekend and then ran out of wood.  Had to run to the wood store and buy more plywood.  Should have enough plywood now to do the upright lockers and the top cabinets above the lockers.

The bottom cabinets are 21 1/2 inches wide, by 15 inches tall and 34 inches long.  These cabinets will have either baskets or drawers in them to hold boots, gloves, and any other little things the kids need to put away.  The tall lockers are about 12 inches deep, so the kids will be able to sit on the front part to take boots off, hang up coats, etc.

Love starting new projects!!

Shop Time again!!

Over the last two months, shop time was pretty scarce.  I have my work bench at the end of my table saw and use it as an outfeed table when I cut long pieces of wood on the table saw.  That all works good unless I am ripping 4 x 8 sheets of plywood.  Whenever I rip sheets of plywood, one piece usually falls off the table and it is very dangerous and awkward.

Found a building plan for a work bench that expands to cut sheets of plywood.

 The table is made out of 2 x 4 and 2 x 6's.  I built the table about 36 inches wide and about 70 inches long.  The bottom is built to hold sand to give the table some extra bulk and so it does not walk away when sanding, hand planing or cutting dovetails.

On each of the long sides, there are wings that allow the table to expand another 25 inches on each side. 

 This picture shows the wings expanded a bit.  On the wings, there are T-track channels to allow the expansion to be controlled and secured by tightening the knob on the side of the leg.

 I bought a butcher block table top for the table.  I built the bench in such a way that the butcher block fits in the top of the table.  I was just a hair too wide with the table top, so I used the router, with a trim bit and a straight edge to fine tune the table top.

I have already ripped a sheet of 4 x 8 MDF for the bottom shelf.  Expanded the wings and ripped the sheet without any trouble and without anything falling off the table.

Still need to put the drawers in the bottom of the work bench, but I think this is going to work really well.

Added Nov. 17, 2014

Got the end vice installed on the bench this past week.  It was a bugger to get installed, but finally got it done.  I bought a vice that allowed for an 1 1/2" top, which I thought would be just fine.  After I got the holes drilled for the "workings" to go through the side, it was too close to the top of the bench and the inside hardware could not fit.  Had to redrill some holes and make some adjustments, but finally got it to fit.  Now I need to fix the extra set of  holes, but it is all good.

 In the bottom of my old bench, I had these drawers to put small tools and pieces.  With the longer, wider bench, I needed to build two extra cases for the red drawers.  Got the cases installed and the red drawers installed.  Had to order additional red drawers last week, and they should be here this week.

On to the next project!!!