Charging Valet/Organizer

[mschrank]

A couple weeks back I asked y'all for some advice regarding biscuit joinery and 1/2" stock for this project. I ended up using mortise & tenon joinery for the most part.

The wife asked for one of these for Christmas. I got it done in time, but the glue was still drying as I handed it to her

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is definitely more function over form. Nothing real fancy. Given more time, I would have maybe used a couple different contrasting woods, and spent more time on the finish. I simply stained it to match the kitchen cabinets (near where it now resides), and gave it 3 coats of poly.



Lid slides to reveal hidden power strip:


All loaded up:


I drew the plans in Sketchup....don't know what I'd do without that excellent software!

All in all a good project for me. Not too big, but had a good number of joints to try and get right. One scary part during the glue up: I glued it up in stages, starting with the front panel. I had a bit of wiggle room in my mortises, and ended up gluing and clamping that panel in too low to fit the shelf in later. I realized this after the clamps had been on for about an hour. I was able to use the wifes blow dryer to warm up the glue enough to nudge the panel into its proper position.

[SARGE..g-47]

There is much beauty in function through my eyes. Simple design that serves a function and IMO... looks great.

Those M&T's will get easier as you get a few under your belt. Here in Georgia tis the season to keep them somewhat loose as we are having a drought and the moisture just isn't there. In summer we tighten em up a tad as the moisture is most definitely there in most cases.

Well done and very pleasing to the eye... keep up the excellent work!

[MikeMcCoy]

I hate to disagree with you but I think you hit the form AND function very well.

[ChrisD]

Form, fit, and function are fantastic! Great job!

[John Hunter]

Very nice.

[wareagle]

Looks great - simple and elegant. Nice job!

[prlundberg]

I would have to say the form is quite nice.

Off the top of my head, I can think of about a dozen people I know, including me, that could use something like that.

[George Cole]

That is great. I wish I had your talent.

[big tim]

Looks great, I'm sure your wife is happy with that. Done in a couple of weeks or so in your spare time, I think that's phenomenal.

Tim

[Pappy]

Looks great! I need a pair of them...One for the 'Boss' and another for me.

[mater]

Very nice. I need to build one myself.

[lrogers]

I like that! If you had the time and desire, I'll bet you could sell a ton of those at local flea markets and/or craft shows.

[bigstick509]

[boblon]

I too find beauty in a 'form follows function' approach sometimes...

..and this is one of those times.

Nice work, looks great.

BobL.

[mschrank]

Thanks for all the compliments! For those of you considering making one, it really is a pretty quick project. I'd say about 8 hours overall. I machined all the joinery on the router table with a 1/4" straight bit.

I like that! If you had the time and desire, I'll bet you could sell a ton of those at local flea markets and/or craft shows.

I thought about that. It's kind of a unique item that you don't think you need until you see one (It's really helped clean up the clutter on our countertop). Now that I've made one and figured out the router table set-ups, it would be a cinch to start cranking them out. Thing is, I've got a list a mile long of more ambitious projects I need to get done first.