Yet Another Quick 'N Dirty Project That Got Out of Hand
I have this problem.
Though I start out fully intending to do a quick and dirty "thing" to fill some shop need, things quickly get out of hand about a quarter of the way through what I thought I'd do. A simple little cabinet for under the drill press - a few drawers to hold all the stuff that drill presses seem to spawn a "need" for.
By the time I start cutting up ply for the carcase - it's cherry ply - and is going to have two columns of drawers. And while making the carcase - another wide drawer gets added on the bottom. And then, as long as I'm gonna have solid wood overlayed drawer fronts - WHY NOT more Cherry. And since the cherry board is nice and wide and pretty long - with nice flowing grain - why not do graduated drawers - and have the grain flow acrossed horizontally adjacent drawer fronts?
Where I finally ended up was a 7 drawer unit - with maple drawer sides and back - and half blind dovetailed together. Since there was still some cherry left over - a solid cherry top - with - naturally - breadboard ends. Should I mention the top's french polished - maybe 15 or 20 coats of "blonde" dewaxed shellac I mixed up from shellac flakes?
So I've got this WorkSharp 3000 sharpening system - with Extra Glass Wheels - and Extra Slotted Wheels - and Extra Sharpening Paper Disks - some slotted and some not. I finally got tired of chasing all the stuff that wasn't on the machine around my shop - and decided to make something to coral all those suckers. I'm thinking a little box with a little cubbyhole for each of the wheels / disks. Little boxes are fun to do - especially if there are little compartments to build into them.
Then the voice of reason starts yelling "Keep It Simple Stupid! Get a piece of scrap 3/4" ply, route some grooves in it and cut some thinner ply to fit in the grooves - and be done with it!"
But the only 1/4" ply I've got is Birdseye Maple - and I sure as hell ain't gonna cut up some from a full sheet for this quick and dirty project. BUT - I've got some 5/8", 5/16" and 1/4" dowels lying around . . .
A little figuring on spacing and location, a little time on the drill press, a little glue and the wheels / disks are coralled. Of course picking up there now occupied home is a problem - and there's still all the sanding disks.
Some quick and dirty slicin' and dicin' on the table saw and what I'm now calling The Top sits down in a rabbet in the top of the "sides" - and some ply fits in a rabbet on the underside of the "sides" - leaving the "front" open for - what else - a nice little drawer for the "supplies". By that point I'd found some 1/2" Finnish Birch ply scraps that'd work just fine. "NO DOVETAILS" - that little voice SHOUTS!
OK - but I've GOT TO at least miter the corners. More slot cutting for the drawer bottom and the little drawer is almost done - except that it needs a solid wood drawer face. It's just a little drawer face - not requiring much wood at all . . .
Soon the little drawer had a 1/4" thick rosewood face - I just happened to have enough in The Wood Scraps Stash to do the job nicely. Of course, since the little drawer, with its rosewood drawer front, fit its drawer opening "just so", if I pushed the drawer in I'd have no way of getting it back out.
More rummaging through The Wood Scraps Stash, a little playing on the lathe - a nice simple little turned Tulipwood drawer pull. Perfect!
There was still the matter of handles for this thing.
A little Rube Goldberging, some more fun on the lathe and I had
-Two turnded "handles" - with holes in the ends for doweling
- Four turned pegs - with turned button ends - in Purple Heart - to join the handles to - something
- Four turned Mahogany "grommets"
- Four more turned pegs - with a decoratve turned end - with a ball on top - out of Black Walnut
Some Redwood scraps, some drilling, some shaping the ends on a little oscillating belt sander (Rigid), some glue - and a few rubbr bands to hold things together 'til the glue dries ...
The results - so far?
Now I'm thinking about face framing over the ends of the ply around the drawer - and maybe make some molding for around the bottom - and little corner feet . . .
I REALLY have to develop at least a little self control. On the other hand - it's sure fun to Wing It - and see what happens.
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