Back To My Woodshop

Gettin' Jig-gy
Joe showed me how to make this jig for drilling the peg holes. The wood block on the drill bit keeps it from going too deep.


Gut Check
The moment of truth is when you slide the bins in that the cabinet was made to hold... they fit. Whew!


Almost There
It is assemble, nail holes puttied and sanded. Now for the trim!

Things at work have settled a bit lately and I've found the time to get back into the garage to work on some projects. One of these projects is a toy bin area for Julia's room. Sadly, I haven't been using my garage workshop much lately, but this project dates back much further than the summer. We had big plans early on for Julia's room and a few of them (the ones I was in charge of) never came together - wall cut-outs like we did for Isaac and this toy cabinet. But, I'm back at it now.

This project is unique in that it will mark the first real 'cabinet' I've done on my own and in my own 'shop.' I've done a lot of projects and even some pretty big ones, but none like this where the finished product will be a nice piece of furniture. A few years ago, I started hanging out with my friend Joe at his shop (he does woodwork). We built the pantry that stands in the kitchen now. But that was built at Joe's shop - with a sizeable bit of input, labor and know how from Joe. Since then I've assisted him on 3 or 4 entertainment centers and even an on location install. I've been learning from the best! Joe did come in and give some input on this project, to be sure, and for that I'm thankful.

Some details: The cabinet is around 36" tall, 14" deep and 28" wide. It has an off-center divider and adjustable shelves for both sides. It's made of 3/4" furniture grade plywood with hardwood trim and nosings to hide the the front edges of the plywood. At this point the cabinet is almost done. It needs a back piece to be cut from 1/4" ply and all the hardwood trim. Once that is done, it is off to the painters. It will be painted at Joe's dad's shop where he has all the gear for a professional finish. (I have no plans for installing a vented paint room!).

I'll post on it again when it is done!