Life in America - I made the move.

[dieseldawie]

Eish, Mr Z, do't rub it in.

Dop shops are closed here until 15 Feb... 
at least. 

Can't get hold of a pineapple at a decent price to save your life...

Go and find the African beer thread or the homebrew beer thread. No shortage of beer in my house and its not pineapple.

[Blou Zebu]

Eish, Mr Z, do't rub it in.

Dop shops are closed here until 15 Feb... 
at least. 

Can't get hold of a pineapple at a decent price to save your life...

@BigEd Ginger, Pineapple, IVermectin all readily available here. Only problem= zero transport.

[Mr Zog]

Yesterday evening I got my paycheck and paysheet.

For the two weeks work I did 17 hours overtime.

No wonder I felt so tired, I'm still feeling the effects of having had covid, shortness of breath and lethargy. Eish... 

Anyways, this morning I started off by dismantling the rest of the crates that I dragged home Thursday evening. Some of the planks were too badly cracked and moertoe, so they got discarded, but I ended up with a reasonable stack of rough pine timber. All for free 

Then it was the turn of the garden shed. Dragged almost everything out, cleared it put, swept it out, didn't find any rats nests. Packed everything back in neatly.

And then I started on what is going to become a pretty big project.

I made a box. 

Just a small box. It's 30 cm deep, 10cm high, and 15 cm wide. Outside dimensions.

This took me the rest of the day. 

But. I have a reason. You see, I want to make 100 of these boxes. I want to make a storage solution for my workshop for all my hardware; nuts, bolts, washers, wood screws, stainless steel screws, and a shit-ton of other bits & bobs that I have stored in various places around the workshop...





It's always a mission to find stuff, and with the way stuff is now, I usually end up having to unpack half the shelf to get the little jar or bottle or whatever from the back.

So the idea is to build a shelf with 10 drawers high, and 10 drawers wide, 100 drawers. And each drawer has the option to be divided into 4 sections...

Like this.



Each corner will have a couple of box-joints, or finger joints.



And the dividers are just in slots so they can be added or removed as needed.



The bottom sits in a groove 1/4 inch from the bottom all the way around.



So no screws or nails required in assembly. Just some wood glue.





My biggest headache during the build of this simple box was figuring out how I was going to make the other 99 in such a way that it resembled an assembly line... And not doing any of the steps out of sequence in order to make my life easy. I also built a couple of jigs to make things happen much faster with the minimum off fuss and bother.

So now I just need to figure out how much wood I'll need, then get to it.

Oh, and also deciding how I'll be opening the drawers. I'm thinking just a simple "U" shape cut into the top of the side that my finger can grab, and that will not let any of the contents fall out.

The drawers will be a close tolerance fit into the frame they will sit in, so no sliders or whatever required, and I can remove a drawer quickly and easily if I want to take the contents back to the workbench or whatever. 

Comments, suggestions, hints, tips, appreciated 

[Mrs. Zog]

I have informed SWAMBO "no more projects until the boat is done"

I smell hypocrisy ("the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform") 

 

[Mr Zog]

I have informed SWAMBO "no more projects until the boat is done"

I smell hypocrisy ("the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform") 

 

Call it what you like. 

When the weather is good enough for me to work outdoors on the boat I will do so. But when the weather isn't great, like it was today, I will "entertain" myself inside my workshop with other stuff that desperately needs doing. And in doing so, I will refine my skills and techniques for when the time comes to start on the complicated and difficult projects in the house   

[frankmac]

But. I have a reason. You see, I want to make 100 of these boxes. I want to make a storage solution for my workshop for all my hardware; nuts, bolts, washers, wood screws, stainless steel screws, and a shit-ton of other bits & bobs that I have stored in various places around the workshop...

So the idea is to build a shelf with 10 drawers high, and 10 drawers wide, 100 drawers. And each drawer has the option to be divided into 4 sections...

Looks great. My only concern is how much space the planks will take up.

I see this bloke had the same idea roughly.

I managed to get quite a few of those metal framed ones with two sizes of plastic drawers some years back and works well.

I also scrounged some of those plastic drawers which one sees in the spares shops. I think if you got hold of some of those and made a wooden frame it would take up less space and save you time.

That said, I like seeing your projects and ideas. 

[thabogrobler]

I have informed SWAMBO "no more projects until the boat is done"

I smell hypocrisy ("the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform") 

 

Call it what you like. 

When the weather is good enough for me to work outdoors on the boat I will do so. But when the weather isn't great, like it was today, I will "entertain" myself inside my workshop with other stuff that desperately needs doing. And in doing so, I will refine my skills and techniques for when the time comes to start on the complicated and difficult projects in the house   

With such smooth arguments you could be a lawyer or even a secondhand car salesman!

[tok-tokkie]

EDIT.  There was supposed to have been the image of the crates you threw over the fence.  Not showing.
Those are strange crates.  Look like someone was making planter boxes then chucked them out.

[woody1]

Once you are done making them make yourself a mixture of bees wax and liquid paraffin.
Rub that on the shelf runners and bottom of each box.
They will slide easy .
Rub it in with your hands and polish it up with a rag.

[Fudmucker]

Great Idea, Mr Z. 

The easiest way to open the drawer is a single hole about 1" diameter on the centre line about 3/4 way up the front
I built drawers for my clothes cupboards using ply and shutterboard.
I drilled two holes 1/4 distance in from each end.
Alternatively, just cut the front panel 20mm lower than the sides.
Then you can also look into the drawer far more easily. 

For assembly line process, cut / have your side panels cut in strips to the height you need.
I would use board for the base, front and rear, cut to width and I'd use ply for the sides.
With the timber in manageable strips, set up a guide and stop for the side panels.
Cross cut to length, then raise the saw to cut the grooves for the divisions - first and last the same distance from the end.
Adjust the stop and cut the middle groove.
Cut the base, back and front to size.
Assemble base,front and back upside down, glue and nail.
Fit the two sides, glue and nail into the side of the front, base+ back.
The nails act as shear structural members.

If you want it to look less utilitarian and more "professional", glue a thin face piece onto each drawer to cover the joints and/or gaps.
If you use strips of a nice veneered 1/4" ply, match the grain grain pattern across each row of boxes or down each column of boxes.
That way you will see if drawer is out of position.

I saw that brilliantly done in a shelf of lever-arch files.
The occupant glued an art poster onto all the files, then trimmed them and covered each with clear vinyl.
When placed back on the shelf, they formed a lovely artwork instead of a boring old bunch of files.

If you want smooth running drawers, use polypropylene strips fixed to the framing as runners.

[CraigRK]

Hi Mr Zog,

Opened up YouTube and spotted this which may be interesting to you. 

As an aside, some pictures of a similar job I undertook (although not as neat as your work), my boxes are about 20x10x10cm.  (The wall pigeon holes were created for the plastic container, but a failure to measure twice, cut once meant it didn't pan out).  So I made the plywood boxes and then hinged another set of pigeon holes in front for the plastic tubs..





Most of the above was from salvaged wood or offcuts from pieces left over from other projects.

[Mrs. Zog]

A fiery sunset tonight...

[Mr Zog]

Great Idea, Mr Z. 

The easiest way to open the drawer is a single hole about 1" diameter on the centre line about 3/4 way up the front
I built drawers for my clothes cupboards using ply and shutterboard.
I drilled two holes 1/4 distance in from each end.
Alternatively, just cut the front panel 20mm lower than the sides.
Then you can also look into the drawer far more easily. 

For assembly line process, cut / have your side panels cut in strips to the height you need.
I would use board for the base, front and rear, cut to width and I'd use ply for the sides.
With the timber in manageable strips, set up a guide and stop for the side panels.
Cross cut to length, then raise the saw to cut the grooves for the divisions - first and last the same distance from the end.
Adjust the stop and cut the middle groove.
Cut the base, back and front to size.
Assemble base,front and back upside down, glue and nail.
Fit the two sides, glue and nail into the side of the front, base+ back.
The nails act as shear structural members.

If you want it to look less utilitarian and more "professional", glue a thin face piece onto each drawer to cover the joints and/or gaps.
If you use strips of a nice veneered 1/4" ply, match the grain grain pattern across each row of boxes or down each column of boxes.
That way you will see if drawer is out of position.

I saw that brilliantly done in a shelf of lever-arch files.
The occupant glued an art poster onto all the files, then trimmed them and covered each with clear vinyl.
When placed back on the shelf, they formed a lovely artwork instead of a boring old bunch of files.

If you want smooth running drawers, use polypropylene strips fixed to the framing as runners.

Great points R, thanks.

For the finger grip I will probably just go with a small (about a 3/4 inch) half-round at the top of each drawer, less chance that the contents may spill out.

I don't want to use any nails or screws or any other form of metal fasteners. Just wood glue. And I'm actually going for the utilitarian look, I want to see the joints on each box 

I'll probably stick a label to each face describing the contents. And I'll also wax the bottoms of the drawers and the tops of the inside of the frame to facilitate easier sliding. No budget for sliders or stuff 

[Mr Zog]

Hi Mr Zog,

Opened up YouTube and spotted this which may be interesting to you. 

As an aside, some pictures of a similar job I undertook (although not as neat as your work), my boxes are about 20x10x10cm.  (The wall pigeon holes were created for the plastic container, but a failure to measure twice, cut once meant it didn't pan out).  So I made the plywood boxes and then hinged another set of pigeon holes in front for the plastic tubs..





Most of the above was from salvaged wood or offcuts from pieces left over from other projects.

Howzit Craig!

I actually did see that video a few days ago during my "research" for this project, he did a brilliant job! Only thing is that I don't have a thickness planer or edge planer to get the pallets anywhere near what they would need to be to work them. Eish... one day 

I see what you did wrong      We have all been there boet, but nice catch with the additional hinged  shelves 

I have been wanting to make a really nice set of workshop drawers for many years now. My grandfather made the best storage systems when he was a young man, and I actually inherited a lot of them when he died, but unfortunately I wasn't able to bring them with me to the USA, so I gave them to my couzin who now treasures them.

[Mr Zog]

So a slight change of plan... 

When I did the final work-out of the wood I'd need to get the job done I found that to do 100 boxes would mean that I'd need an extra sheet of MDF (Superwood) with a whole lot left over. So I cut the numbers down to 90 boxes, this meant  that I could get it all done with just 3 sheets of MDF and 2 sheets of 1/4 inch ply. The cost thereof at Home depot means that each box will work out less than a dollar. The plastic bins are between 3 and 4 dollars each, depending where you get them, and they are nowhere near as nice as the wooden ones.

So this morning I went off to the Home Depot and bought the sheets I needed, and back home I sliced them all up into the strips I needed.

I also video called my mom on Whatsapp and showed her the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch LIVE from my back yard this morning    She loved that!

Then it was setting up a jig on the table saw to cut the MDF to the 2 different lengths I needed; 12 inches for the sides, and 5 - 7/8ths for the fronts and backs. That was easy enough...

Then I set up another jig on the table saw to cut the groove for the bottoms on all the sides.

Finally I set up a jig to cut the grooves for the dividers in the sides.

This was a very laborious and repetitive task... and it made a LOT of dust...   

The sides with all their grooves... all 180 of them 



And the fronts and backs...





The dust from cutting the MDF was everywhere 







Anyways, after making all those cuts it was pretty dark outside so I called it a day and cleaned up. I'll cut the edges of all the sides for their box-joints next time. I really need to come up with a decent dust-capturing solution for my table saw. 

And yesterday I forgot to take a pic of the reclaimed wood I scored. The wood crates were from a couple of submersible well pumps that we uncrated at work for a big job coming up. Hence why they looked like planters... long and thin, so they can fit down a 6 inch well pipe 

[KiLRoy]

Dont forget about the boat Gary

[allan.cawood]

So a slight change of plan... 

When I did the final work-out of the wood I'd need to get the job done I found that to do 100 boxes would mean that I'd need an extra sheet of MDF (Superwood) with a whole lot left over. So I cut the numbers down to 90 boxes, this meant  that I could get it all done with just 3 sheets of MDF and 2 sheets of 1/4 inch ply. The cost thereof at Home depot means that each box will work out less than a dollar. The plastic bins are between 3 and 4 dollars each, depending where you get them, and they are nowhere near as nice as the wooden ones.

So this morning I went off to the Home Depot and bought the sheets I needed, and back home I sliced them all up into the strips I needed.

I also video called my mom on Whatsapp and showed her the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch LIVE from my back yard this morning    She loved that!

Then it was setting up a jig on the table saw to cut the MDF to the 2 different lengths I needed; 12 inches for the sides, and 5 - 7/8ths for the fronts and backs. That was easy enough...

Then I set up another jig on the table saw to cut the groove for the bottoms on all the sides.

Finally I set up a jig to cut the grooves for the dividers in the sides.

This was a very laborious and repetitive task... and it made a LOT of dust...   

The sides with all their grooves... all 180 of them 



And the fronts and backs...





The dust from cutting the MDF was everywhere 







Anyways, after making all those cuts it was pretty dark outside so I called it a day and cleaned up. I'll cut the edges of all the sides for their box-joints next time. I really need to come up with a decent dust-capturing solution for my table saw. 

And yesterday I forgot to take a pic of the reclaimed wood I scored. The wood crates were from a couple of submersible well pumps that we uncrated at work for a big job coming up. Hence why they looked like planters... long and thin, so they can fit down a 6 inch well pipe 

Looks awesome!
Build and sell for $2 per box
I know I’d rather have the wooden vs the plastic


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Welsh]

Gary,

Looking at those box sides, something just looks wrong with the dimensions, just asking. 

[Blou Zebu]

Gary,

Looking at those box sides, something just looks wrong with the dimensions, just asking. 

It's because they are in inches and not centimeters! 

[Mrs. Zog]

Finished last night - Book 3 of 2021

An epic 1078 pages. I read it before, but, oh, 10 or so years ago? I know it's time to re-read when I forget the plot.

The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Welsh author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket, but focuses primarily on the Anarchy. The book traces the development of Gothic architecture out of the preceding Romanesque architecture and the fortunes of the Kingsbridge priory and village against the backdrop of historical events of the time.

The sinking of the White Ship leaves King Henry I of England without a clear heir, and The Anarchy begins upon his death. Henry's nephew Stephen of Blois and Henry's daughter Maud fight for the throne. Ambitious nobles and churchmen take sides, hoping to gain advantages. The novel, which is divided into six sections plus a prologue, explores themes of intrigue and conspiracy against historical events. It explores the development of medieval architecture, the civil war, secular/religious conflicts, and shifting political loyalties.

This was a great education in architecture. I've visited a few of the great European cathedrals, and I was awed by them (Notre Dame, Cologne, St. Vitus cathedral in Prague, St. Stephen's in Vienna, and a couple more). But if I had known as much about the architecture as I do now, after reading this again, I would have appreciated it much, much more. Most of all, I finally understand what "flying buttresses" are.