Rock-solid stable, but also easily removable if I decide to alter or upgrade it: the plinth box is tacked to the skirting board with just a bead of silicon, same again for the connection between plinth box and cabinet, and the cabinet is held to the wall with a single screw.
7 Likes
You are a regular Harrison Ford.
4 Likes
wow, it even matches the walls! itâs beautiful.
6 Likes
I spent all day working on a project for Donald Trump.
2 Likes
On one of your in-process pics I was going to ask why you went with the horizontal grain on the doors, but now it has become clear! 
Very nice!
5 Likes
In that theme, a catalog of imperfectionsâŚ
I didnât cut the half-laps for the door crossbrace quite deep enough or clamp them well enough. As a result, the crossbrace forces the plywood out a bit, creating a small gap between it and the frame:
I made a complete hash of the magnetic latch installation. Initially, I drilled holes to sink both flush with the wood, but (a) the holes were slightly misaligned, and (b) one or both needed to be a little bit proud in order to make contact. Installing one magnet and then using it to align the other turned out to be the key.
Alternately, I couldâve just used one magnet plus an oversized piece of steel, making the whole precise alignment thing unnecessary.
If I were doing it again, I would probably add some sort of thin face veneer to cover the frame joinery when the door is open. Lap joints arenât that pretty.
There are a few spots that would have benefited from a bit of sanding pre-varnish.
When I first bought my wood, I got four 3m lengths of pine for the frame. Four 1.6m verticals, and four 1.4m cutoffs to make the eight 0.6m crossbraces.
And then I went and cut four of the crossbraces from one 3m length, leaving me with only three long pieces for the verticals.
So, I hurriedly went out and bought another 3m length of the same dimensions. But I wasnât paying attention, so I accidently grabbed a length of tasmanian oak instead of pine. Which (a) costs three times as much, and (b) doesnât match in colour or hardness.
But never mind, it doesnât show from outside. 
Although I like the way it echoes and camouflages against the structure of the wall, if doing it again I might have replaced the trim strips and doorframe with a dark-coloured contrasting wood. Maybe some nice Tasmanian hardwood. I also shouldâve just bought thin square strips and moulded them myself rather than paying for premade mouldings; it wouldâve been cheaper.
The mitre joints on the doorframe corners are a bit rough:
When building, itâs common to add small pencil marks to keep note of the orientation of parts. For example, you might write âTâ on something to mark the top. The idea is to later remove these marks with an eraser or sandpaper before varnishing.
Oops:
But, as I said:
6 Likes
Iâve spent all day working in a project for Kushner.
4 Likes
Itâs an 8-page book with 2 pages of data, and this has been going on since last night. And now they think the data might be totally wrong.
4 Likes
You poor thing.
2 Likes
For example:
3 Likes
This would fit well in the Olds/Tech thread.
I have a lot of antique hand tools that were my grandfatherâs and my fatherâs. I used to be fascinated by the brace-and-bit. And planes; thereâs something soothing about using those.
2 Likes
One of the grannies at the craft store has asked me to make her a small writing desk.
Iâm going to make it from Tasmanian Oak, loosely based on this design:
Gonna be 900mm wide by 400mm deep, about 750mm tall. Just gotta wait for a non-stormy day to make a run to the timber yard.
4 Likes
How it startedâŚ
How itâs goingâŚ
Handle is from a branch off my red maple that has been in my garage for four or five years.
Mallet is likely ash as it is obviously beetle chewed that I picked up off the side of road.
Danish oil finish since that was the can I grabbed
7 Likes
Iâve got two black walnut trees in my yard. Great stuff.
2 Likes
Nice.
â
Ever tried using a round carpenterâs mallet?
Theyâre great for tapping chisels at odd and constantly-changing angles (because thereâs no need to realign the striking face), and are simple enough to make that you could knock one out even on an improvised powerdrill lathe or unpowered pole lathe.
You just need a toolrest, a spike at each end and some way to make it spin a bit.
5 Likes
I want a lathe of some sort, but I lack the space.
My improvised attempts at lathing have never turned out well.
3 Likes
Lack of space is a bummer. Have I mentioned that Iâm planning on building a third shed? 
If you ainât got room you ainât got room, but: at the smaller end of the wood lathe market, you can still get useful work done with something that requires only a couple of square feet of benchspace.
The main use of big lathes is for long spindle work; table legs and walking sticks and so on. For normal sized bowls/doorknobs/toolhandles/etc, you only need a very short bed.
5 Likes
Iâve considered that size, but Iâd need to find my workbench again.
Which is what I started out doing today before getting sidetracked on some mallet thing.
5 Likes
Whose did you use and are you happy with it?
1 Like