This very simple box with its hinged-top lid panels is ideal for storing items such as copier or computer paper, old job files and children’s artistic endeavours.
The box used here is 2.4 m long to suit the standard length of MDF board, but could be shorter. The completed box can be positioned under a window and finished off with cushions, or placed anywhere in your office or study, depending on layout, so that it doubles as a piece of furniture. (more…)
9 The next task is to cut out the table top to the size 1218 mm x 598 mm. The width can be increased or decreased if desired, but the height must remain at 1218 mm to fit inside the cabinet, unless the shelf heights are also adjusted. Once the table top is cut out it is ready for laminating, which will bring the total size to 1220 mm x 600 mm.
10 The first surface to laminate will be the exposed side of the cupboard (you may find it easiest to have the cabinet laying on its opposite side for this). (more…)
3 Cut to length the shelf supports and drawer guides and fix in place. The shelf supports in this case were simply 12 mm x 12 mm cabinet timber strips cut to 350 mm (that is, 50 mm short of the front) and at 45°, and glued and nailed in place. An alternative would be to drill holes and use plastic or metal shelf supports instead. If the shelves were to be housed in the sides, the housings should be routed or cut out to a depth of 5 mm at this stage.
4 The drawer guides are 19 mm x 12 mm cabinet timber cut to 385 mm, and must be accurately glued and nailed (or screwed) to the sides. (You may prefer to fit the drawer guides when the drawers are ready, to double-check that the position is right.)
5 Mark and cut out the bottom shelf, 400 mm deep by 462 mm wide. When finished this will give a total width of 500 mm for the whole unit.
6 Mark and cut rear and front top members of cabinet from 75 mm x 25 mm and 100 mm x 25 mm cabinet timber. These are also 462 mm long. (more…)
This modular stereo and home entertainment centre can easily be expanded or adapted to suit your needs. It has been cleverly designed to accommodate equipment as well as an extensive collection of CDs, records, videos and cassettes.
| MATERIALS
Quantities are for building three units. This can be varied for more or less units. This project was made using 19 mm particle (chip) board but 16 mm thick board can also be used with the necessary adjustments to dimensions. |
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| ITEM | DIMENSIONS (mm) | QUANTITY |
| Hardwood-veneered particle (chip) board — cabinet | 1220 x2440 x 19 | 2 sheets |
| Plywood — backs and drawer bottoms | 1220 x 2440 x 3 | 1 sheet |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — drawer fronts for large drawers | 200 x 25 | 1 length (1 m) |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — front top member of cabinet, kickboard and drawer fronts for small drawers | 100 x 25 | 2 lengths (1.5 m) 1 length (2.1 m) |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — rear top of cabinet | 75 x 25 | 1 length (1.5 m) |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — edging of the top | 25 x 25 | 1 length (1.8 m)
2 lengths (0.6 m) |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — large drawer sides and backs | 150 x 19 | 1 length (2.7 m) |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — small drawer sides and backs | 75 x 19 | 1 length (2.4 m) |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — drawer guides | 12 x 25 | 2 lengths (2.4 m) |
| Cabinet timber glazing bead — optional | 12 x 19 | 2 lengths (3.6 m) |
| Cabinet timber DAR (PAR) — shelf battenslcleats | 12 x 12 | 1 length (2.4 m) |
| Iron-on veneer to suit | 8 m | |
| Connection fittings | 24 in total (8 per unit) | |
| Double-headed connecting screws | 8 | |
| Handles to stilt | 6 | |
| Record dividers (optional) | ||
| Stain and polyurethane finish as required | ||
| SPECIAL TOOLS
This project could be built using hand tools, but power tools will save you a lot of time. circular saw (with a fine-cutting tungsten-carbide tip blade) Router Jigsaw Power drill Sash cramps (optional) |
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| TIME
Three or four weekends, depending on finish |
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The project consists of three units which have a total width of just over 1500 mm. Although the centre is modular, it is also relatively low level, and a single top and kickboard draws all three units together. (more…)
Alcoves offer the perfect opportunity to make the most of otherwise small and cramped spaces.
This particular project is in a bedroom, where a solitary alcove originally made the room appear strangely offset. The space was used as additional hanging space for good clothes on two levels, as well as shoe and dress jewellery storage. The top hanging level is for seasonal or infrequently used clothes, and the lower provides ready access for more popular items. The idea was also to use two standard off-the‑shelf doors to enclose the area. (more…)
A number of materials can be used for shelving. Our table on types of shelving provides a list of those in common use, with a suggested maximum span or bracket spacing for average loading.
For supporting heavy loads, sometimes called gallows brackets. Welded steel brackets for shelving up to 300 mm wide can be purchased ready-made, or they can be constructed from timber to suit shelving up to any reasonable width (say 600 mm). (more…)
Just because a piece of furniture looks old and shabby, it does not mean it has to stay this way or be discarded.
Old or antique furniture was usually made from quality timber and had a craftsman- like finish. Furniture makers of yesteryear had time to create well-designed pieces that were both functional and very stylish. These qualities alone make furniture recycling a worthwhile exercise. (more…)
Sanding is the other method used to remove accumulated layers on timber surfaces. It is hard work but rewarding, and the effects will be most gratifying.
Start with a coarse grade of sandpaper graduating to finer grains as the sanding proceeds. Once the timber has been reduced to its (nearly) ) original state, the process of filling and smoothing must be tackled. Whatever finish you are to apply, be it natural or a painted one, it is important that the surface you are working on is as clean and free of imperfections as possible. Paint, wax or sealants will not adhere to dusty, damp or grimy surfaces. (more…)
The art of renovation is not limited to demolishing walls and raising the roof Recycling should always be a priority and small-scale renovation projects offer great scope to the homemaker who likes to be creative.
Mangy storage items lend themselves perfectly to renovation — so why not trade new looks for old?
When you’re considering storage, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the only way to improve the situation is to start again. Firstly, it is not always the most practical solution. Secondly, the constraints of budget rarely allow such luxury, and thirdly, in the interests of the planet, recycling should always be a priority. (more…)
Step by Step
1 Slate must be laid on a firm base that will support it. Timber floors present a problem in that timber and particle (chip) board expand during humid periods, and shrink during drier times. Timber floors can be prepared in several ways. Care should be taken with all the procedures however, bearing in mind that timber or particle (chip) board is not the best base material for slate.
2 A number of slate suppliers have specially developed membrane systems available for the installation of slate on a timber floor. The one used here is the hessian and bitumen method and will provide the necessary `slip’ joint between the rigid tiles and the timber. (more…)
Choosing the right floor and floorcovering is an important aspect of furnishing your home — it is not only one of the most dominant decorative surfaces, it will also claim a large proportion of your furnishing budget.
The type and quality of the floorcovering you choose should be appropriate for each room, just as the right colour and design are important. Poor quality flooring, ill-suited to the requirements of the room, will wear out quickly and end up costing you a lot more in the long run. (more…)
Although timber is a renewable, natural material we are using the resources at such an alarming rate that they may cease to be sustainable. The tropical rainforests are fast disappearing and, in the West, acid rain and the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers are damaging vast tracts of woodland. The practice, for commercial gain, of replacing slow-growing deciduous forests with the faster conifer plantations places increasing demands on the import of hardwood, and causes the degradation of the landscapes from which they come. And the demand is not only for construction and joinery timbers; we fell millions of trees annually for the production of woodpulp for paper and packaging materials.
We can help to conserve the dwindling supplies of timber by making better use of existingresources. We can reuse old construction timbers, purchase second-hand furniture, and recycle others; for interior use we can also use certain composite boards if they meet health and ecological criteria. Cork and linoleum are again popular and far healthier than their synthetic counterparts. (more…)
Huge forests once covered much of the primeval world, making wood, branches, and leaves readily available to the hunter-gatherers as shelter for their temporary campsites. Frameworks of branches were covered with hides or cloth, palm fronds, or woven grass mats. Such shelters have not completely disappeared today and they are still used by the bushmen of the Kalahari and the Mbuti pygmies of central African forests. American Indians moved their tepees and the nomadic Kazakhs of Asia their felt-covered yurta to summer pastures.
With the development of village settlements, timber and organic materials were still the preferred building materials, from the circular kraal of central and southern Africa to the pole-and-thatch huts of Yucatan Mayas and the Maoris of New Zealand. In northern climates, dwellings were constructed with solid log walls, which were sometimes further insulated with earth to form the earth-covered lodges and hogans of the North American Indians. (more…)
Fig: Fitting a box in a hollow wall: (a) Tie the string to a small batten. (b)
Pull the batten into place. (c) Screw the box to the batten
On a brick or stone wall, the screws should be driven into wall Plugs. Such a fixing might be suspect in breeze block, however, because the outlets need to withstand some force when plugs are withdrawn. It is better to cement or glue to the wall a thin piece of wood slightly smaller all round than the box, then make the fixing with woodscrews driven into this timber. (more…)
Timber is classified as hardwood and softwood. Softwood, from conifers which grow fast, is comparatively cheap. It is used for constructing buildings and cladding. Formerly it was used only for cheap (nursery and kitchen) furniture, but now “pine” is fashionable and not so cheap. Hardwood has denser grain, matures more slowly and is therefore always more expensive. It is used for fine furniture and sometimes for parts of a building that show — the doors, the window frames and occasionally also the wall cladding.
Because both mass production methods and the prevalence of central heating call for a dimensionally stable material which solid timber is not, (more…)
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