Dining Room wall 2

        The last pictures take you on site and to completion.

 

     Here you see the basic problems; existing work; large window; radiator; and walls of two different depths.  The base cabinets are in.

    The tall  wall units are in place.  It's starting to take shape.

 

    Everything is complete!  The radiator, (which isn't centered on the wall or under the window), now looks like it belongs there.  Counter is in place, the trim is in and matches the older work, and the glass doors are finished.  Looks great in the morning light.  Whew!  On to the next event............

Dining Room window wall

     This project took awhile to complete for many reasons.  The first was that the area of shelving had to match the existing section that I had made two years before.  The second problem was fitting around a large window, a radiator and uneven walls.  Added was the angles necessitated by the design.  The two sides of the window were not the same and the shelves weren't cut at a 45.   However, in all the project turned out very well and provided plenty of storage space.  Now the window and the wall are a focal point in the room.

Here are some pictures showing the progress of work.

 

The pieces are all stained and on the rack.   Second begins the hard part, dealing with all the angles pieces.

 

 

Here begins fitting doors on the base cabinets.

 

 



Building the radiator cover was tricky because you have to be able to take it out
to service the radiator.  It also had to fit perfectly under the counter.  Grill work let air circulate.

 

Not all woodworking involves making furniture.  There are infinite projects that you can be invited to do if people know you are a woodworker.  This project comes from a friend who owns pizza shops.  He is making a 28 inch pie and, of course, needs super-sized peels for getting the pies out of the oven. 

These "paddles" have to taper toward the edges so they slip easily under the pie in the oven.  When I made the first one a few months ago, I hand planed the entire surface.  This time I used a sled for my planer which gave me most of the taper I needed before  the final glue-up.  This cut my hand work in half, but it still was a bit of a job.

The final piece was 26" by 54".

Here is another "common sense" tip, born from experience.  This refers to the table saw and is important to note when cutting without the guard.  I know you do sometimes. 

When you are through with the cut and the pieces are past the blade on the off feed table, don't lift them up and over the spinning blade, even if the saw is coasting to a stop.  If by chance you drop the piece and it hits the blade it can become a wicked projectile.  The smaller and thinner the piece the worse it can be.  The piece can spin and travel like a disc and travel in any direction high or low. 

This is another reason for using guides but I know that some procedures won't allow you to.  If this is just one cut I'm making, I'll turn the saw off and lower the blade before retrieving the pieces.  Then I can just slide the pieces off the table safely.

Sounds simple but you have to think about doing it each time and form the habit.  It only takes one miss or slip to create an accident.  And you can ruin a beautiful piece of material and lose all the work you spent making it.

This is not so much a tip as a common sense idea.  If you are out to cut a small piece, cut it from a large piece.  The idea here is not to work with small pieces of trim  or anything, and put your fingers in danger. 

How many times have you started with a length of molding and worked your way down to the last few inches, then thought, "I just need one more two inch piece and I can get it out of this three inch chunk I have left".  Imagine the picture of you trying to hold this tiny piece of wood and making an angled cut on it with your chop saw. 
I've seen it.  You just don't feel like taking another eight foot piece for such a small piece.  What a waste.  I only have one more to cut.  I'll have to go out to the truck and get it... and it's raining...  and it's getting late...... and.... and....

Starting to see my point?  Don't yield to laziness, tiredness, or stupidity when your fingers are concerned.  Think, breath deep, use your brain.  You may have used a ten dollar piece of molding for two inches, BUT you can still count to ten!

This project was building a cabinet around a laundry sink.  The cabinet had to be matched with the existing cabinets, both style and color.  The consruction had to take into account the inside demensions to make the sink fit. 
A face frame has a false drawer front and a door on Euro hinges, giving access to bottom storage.

The sink was disconnected and I was able to remove the legs.  Then I  provided a platform for it inside the cabinet, leaving the bottom portion clear for storage.

The back was left  open for ease of replacing the plumbing.  A solid surface material is being used to frame the sink opening and will be attached to the top to provid a clean look that is easy to clean.  Here it is installed but without the top surface...... to be added later..........

A few weeks ago I showed you a handy dandy jig for keeping the jaws of your end vise parallel.  When you clamp a piece using just the corner of the vise, the jaws want to twist and won't remain parallel.  Using this jig alleviates the problem no matter what the width of the piece you are clamping.

 

 

 

The jig is just a number of 2 x 3 inch pieces held together with a bolt and a wing nut.

Swing down the number of pieces to match the thickness of the board being clamped.