Corona Virus Projects

[SideShow Bob]

Daym,

I learned to use the “Dewy Decimal System” in a cabinet very similar to that one except it was aged & worn way back then.

[JohnnyEgo]

Haha yes, two additional days of vacation and the incessant demands of my 11 year old certainly helped motivate me to finish. Just for a quick recap,

Before:


After:










So the after-action lessons are as follows:

At some point, I am going to need to build two replacement boxes for the two that hit the shop floor and dented their corners. In the future, I think if I have something critical to the appearance, I will budget the wood, time, and effort to make spares, even if they go in the scrap pile.

I don't think I got a whole lot out of making the drawers first. They were nice to have during the fitting process for the carcass, but I think I would have been better off to just build the carcass and fit each individual drawer. 10 of the 12 are interchangeable, which is nice, but I don't think it is all that critical.

I did some needlessly complicated things, such as integrating the beading into the carcass. Would have been easier and faster to just mill the beading and apply it to the carcass like a face frame. That would also have the advantage of being a lot less critical for a lot of things. There are a couple of face miters that I would have loved a do-over on, but had to grit my teeth and fill because I couldn't afford to remake the panel.

There are a few relatively inexpensive tools that make a tremendous difference in a project like this. The hardware alignment jig that BnB complimented me on was $27, and made for very consistent hardware mounting across 13 total drawers. My $13 Zona Razor Saw was very useful for cutting little shims, cleaning up rabbets, and doing minor precision trim cuts. The Veritas Side Rabbet is not nearly as inexpensive these post-Corona days as when I bought it, but even at $150, it is so useful for fitting drawer bottoms that I would fork over the money again without hesitation.

Lastly, hand-sharpening is not that hard and does not have to be tremendously expensive. I did spend a couple hundred bucks on my water stones, but there are cheaper options. And any time spent sharpening is 1/3 the time and frustration of using a not-quite-sharp-enough tool. I sharpened my chisels at the start and mid point of every day, and it was the right call to stop every time and do it. I am coming out of this project with a lot more knowledge and appreciation for my non-powered tools, although I am never going to give up my tablesaw or jointer.

Thanks all for joining me on the 16 month adventure!

[Duman]

You had beer left over?!?

[JohnnyEgo]

Look closer. Different beer.

[Irving]

Left over beer is left over beer...