# my recent projects



## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

Thought I would upload some pics since I haven't kept up on it First one is what I was using to route the dados to make a shelf that had several compartments to hold the red and blue boxes of screws and bolts. It replaces the one that will show up under the clamps. The second one shows why the dadoes didn't end up matching  Next two are the magazine rack that still isn't hung, shows front and back. Mortises ended up way to big after I rounded over the slats


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## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

The next pics are of the first cabinet I made, basically the first thing made with the new table saw and router/table combo. Also shows my faithful scrap picker-upper.


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## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

This one shows what got made to hold the clamps after the clamp rack failed. Also the original holder for the red and blue boxes which was a real pain to replace the boxes on and which lead to my making something to hold them. 

Some of the next ones show my little work area and the box holder being clamped up with almost every clamp except the tiny ones and the 4' bar clamps being used.
'

Things have been rearranged since then with the white cabinet moving where the large metal shelf was, the dust collector where the white cabinet was and it now has a separator and a thien baffle, and of course the table saw is gone.

I still need to take pics of the dust collector in it's new spot with the separator and the new table saw if it ever gets fixed and put together.


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Derek good to see some pictures finally! That bin cabinet looks like it will be very sturdy. Once again you have proved the saying "you can never have enough clamps!"


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## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

The bin cabinet is sturdy even those some of the shelves broke at the dado. I just glued in the separators and they supported the breaks. Several of the dividers are lopsided and will only fit the small bins in sideways  But it is still much better than that piece of plastic they were supposed to attach to or the older case we got from Builders Square (no longer in business around here) about 17 years ago. It had some of the pieces of acrylic that would swing down to hold the bins in place while moving it break. So it could be a challenge bringing it to the work area. Now it is easy to stand up and just search for the right one. Or is most of the time...do need to get my brother over to wire in some more lights in the garage along with more outlets there and the basement.

Now for clamps....I have some coupons for Harbor Freight to get more of the larger black and red (or is it orange?) ones for under $2.00 a piece.

I won't get anymore of the red corner clamps from Harbor Freight though. They only cost a buck less than the Menards ones and don't hold half as well. Just a little bit of metal not there can make a huge difference in how well it clamps. I am pushing for a trip there as I really want a drill press and if the repair guy doesn't put the new saw together, want to buy one of their hydraulic lift tables or even a shop crane to lift it. I know I can resell the shop crane if I get it (think the coupon is for only $70) or trade it in for metal work from a friend. If it is the lift table instead, well I have wanted that for years.


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## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

Someone's been busy.

Good use of space behind the door.

Thanks for taking time to post some photos. They are appreciated.

I may have to make a magazine rack similar to yours if I ever get finished with my current project.


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

I have some clamps similar to those black and orange (or red) ones. I am not very fond of them. The nylon the heads are made out of will give when you apply enough pressure meaning that you actually aren't applying more pressure at all. Mine were cheap when I bought them too and that was the attraction. But I wouldn't buy any more of them. JMHO.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Good shots Derek, Those HF clamps work much better if you rough up the slides (I guess that is what you would call it). I took mine apart to see if I could help them. Seems the mechanism inside pinches on the slide, by roughing it up with 80 grit it grabs better. Does this make sense? I will take pics later to show what I mean. I do know that I improved the performance by at least 2X. Just a thought.


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## Stefang (Feb 10, 2010)

Good work Derek. Glue-ups are usually a nightmare and require a lot of clamps. I always do a dry run first to make sure that I have enough clamps and that everything fits together the way it's supposed to. This has saved me a lot of grief in the past. 

If you're not happy with the clamps you buy, you might consider doing a little research into shop made clamps on the net.


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## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

I found the harbor freight clamps had the plastic on the ends coming off while they were still in the bag yet. So I asked my Wife to go out to the garage and get me some super glue (need to restock again now) and glued down all of the tips. Other than that they seemed to work pretty good for me.

As for the red harbor freight corner clamps I haven't looked into trying to fix them in anyways yet. sanding them so they catch might help. I did think about taking them over to my buddies welding shop once things warm up, but the time and effort put into them would probably be better spent just getting better clamps as they were so cheap.

One reason I used so many clamps on this project was because of the broken shelves. I needed to clamp them down tight onto the separators so that everything would glue up solid. The clamps also some what hide how crooked a lot of the separators are 

I saw the magazine rack on some other site. That one was different on the top (mine would have been the same, but I had done the mortises on a different edge than originally planned and forgot to erase the pencil line for the cut. So I had to salvage it by rounding over the whole top. The plan also didn't have a bottom piece/stile/tenon, so I couldn't understand how the magazines would stay in it, so added it.

My recliner that doesn't recline is to the right of the right hand door. The table saw is right in front of that door. The little ryobi router table sits right next to the left hand door next to the white closetmaid pantry/wardrobe and the dust collector is where it used to be, straight in front of the door and table saw. (or soon to be fixed and put together new saw will be). I think it is a 12x12 room or close to it and I get a bit under half of it minus the 2'x'4 closetmaid thing by the left (garage) door. Bit smaller than I would like, but I am also only using a rolling stool and not my mobility scooter like I would if I was out in the garage during warmer weather. As it is I still have to either rest a lot or ask my Wife to go grab things from the other side of the area or even get things out of the closetmaid thing. The cabinet I made is right over my head when I sit in the recliner and over it is a 54" (I think) wide home depot cabinet that is almost all MDF and why it was decided I had better up my wood working skills as the budget won't call for custom, non mdf cabinets in the new house unless I learn to build them.

If we stay in this house long enough (plans already been pushed back almost a year) there is a blank wall in the kitchen that She wants the RTA stuff taken down and replaced with cabinets and possibly another counter as our kitchen doesn't have enough counter space or storage space. Only problem will be matching the doors. I searched the web for 2 weeks, emailed several cabinet makers and no one does the style of door we have. Must be a 1986-1988 thing as my parents have the same door on their cabinets. At least the drawer detail will be easy. Solid doors, no panels in them.


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## tdublyou (Jan 8, 2010)

Derek,
Those doors and drawers are MDF core oak plywood. The detail in the face can be done with a router using a pattern and a template guide on the router. The originals were probably done in a mass production cabinet shop with a CNC machine.

Tim


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## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

There doesn't seem to be any mdf in them when I have drilled into the other ones for various reasons. No edge banding either. My parent's house was supposedly custom cabinets or so mom says. This house we have no clue as a lot of stuff the owner thought was done wasn't and his nephew that he paid for the house was in federal prison by the time we moved in.

I didn't know they did the mdf core back in the mid 80's.

I figured I was going to need to learn how to do use a template and a lot of practice to matched the doors. Kept hoping there would be another way and have even looked into the cnc builds on Instructables - Make, How To, and DIY, but they are a bit beyond my skills to build yet.


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