OK... so it was for SWMBO, but it was still a 'pay for play' (no, not that kind of play) type of job. As part of a deal we made, I could buy some new tools to start a decent amateur woodworking shop in the basement. Her payout was my first few projects have to be stuff she wants for the house. Suits me... I just wanted to build stuff.
Her hobbies are scrapbooking and stamping. So the first thing she wanted was a cabinet for all of her scrapbooking and stamping stuff. I took a look at all the 'stuff' she had and together we came up with a rough design. I used Visio and drew up some plans that were as complete as I thought anyone could get them. She liked the design so I went to making saw dust.
It came out pretty nice. There are pics on alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking if you care to see them. During the project, basically my 2nd _real_ project, I learned a ton! So in the interest of giving a little back to those who have helped me learn so much posted below are some of the lessons this newbie learned:
- Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan I created.
- It does take white wood glue a pretty good amount of time to dry... enough time to frantically put a Forrest WWII blade on your saw to cut a piece of 3/4" Red Oak plywood, change over to a Frued stacked dado blade, cut 3 dados and 2 rabbets, and then reset the new piece in place of the old (damn it looked ok during the dry test fit phase ) top and still have time to clamp and square everything.
- A clean shop is a lot easier to work in than a messy shop... not sure I learned this one or just observed it and let it pass.
- There has to be a better way to tell if you're done sanding. I haven't learned the way yet, as you'll see by the, um, 'figure' on the left door which wasnt recognizable until I stained it. Good thing SWMBO thinks it 'Tiger Oak Plywood' since one of my new tools was a ROS specifically for this purpose.
- I now know why Norm has such a big assembly table.
- One stupid, and never to be forgotten, mistake later... A 12" x 1/2" x
- Glue covered Oak doesn't stain the same color as non-glue covered Oak.
- When using plywood, you may have to think Edge Banding if you're not careful in planning - see #1.
- A 3 year old with 9 Care Bear Stuffed animals has a hard time understanding that this cabinet is for mommy's stuff and not her Care Bears.
- WOW! This is fun! (But you guys make it look easier than it is)
There were quite a few more lessons learned along the way, but those were the ones that came to mind as wrote this.
Any constructive critiques gladly accepted.
Thanks. Mike W.