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My mom is scared to death of all rodents. Although my parents' cabin could
very well look at home in a residential suburb, they still catch mice in the trap
every time they come back. So my mom keeps all the shoes and boots on a
rack in a closet underneath the stairs--far from the entry door. So before I
left their cabin this past Memorial Day weekend, my mom said she wanted a
bench to store shoes and have it rodent free. She is scared to death that
she would slip her foot into a shoe and have a mouse or its nest waiting for
her.
When I got home, I fired up Sketchup and made a sketch of what I had in
mind. My mom wanted something that looked like a church pew but I just
wasn't feeling it. My mom didn't want me to spend too much money on it so
I used whitewood from Lowes and I had some cherry for the legs. Legs are
2" square glued up from 1" boards.
Here's the final product. 18" high x 18" deep x 42" wide
The design does not lend well to being glued up because the gluing the sides
and back to the legs would prevent their expansion and contraction. I have
always admired the ingenuity and forethought it takes to design IKEA
furniture with knockdown fasteneres, so that's the way I went. I had 19
cam bolts and screws laying around but I needed 20. The 2 shelves aren't
really load bearing so the back of the shelves are supported in grooves cut
in the back. The fronts are supported by the KD bolts. New design only
needed 16 connectors. When I see my parents next weekend at my cousin's
wedding, I will hand it over in pieces and my dad will assemble it later. You
can't tell how it's held together unless you look at the back or you get on your
hands and knees and look inside.
By the end of the first weekend, I had shaped the legs (curved on 2 faces--
first time for me) and done my first assembly of the sides and back with KD
bolts. I also got the two shelves sized and mounted.
The location of all the KD bolts had to be laid out ahead of time and drilled. I
made a little "jig" to help me screw in the bolt perpendicular to the wood. The
sides and back sit in grooves cut in the legs.
I didn't like the premade top I bought so I ended up returning it and buying
some rough 5/4 red oak. Aside from labor, it was actually cheaper to do it
this way and looks a lot better.
2nd weekend I surfaced and glued up the top. I also made the two front
doors. They pivot on wood dowels. I applied finish to the base unit. Amber
shellac on the cherry legs. Dewaxed shellac on the whole piece and then
water based lacquer.
This past week was all about the top. The through tenons are just inlayed
into the top but look like they pass through from the base. First time for me
doing this. Used a small router and chisels to get them in there. They're glued
on. I wanted to fill in the grain and used drywall compound--yes drywall
compound. The excess was sanded down and the whole top was flooded with
BLO which turned the compound clear. I then sprayed shellac over the BLO
and then sprayed on WB lacquer. The top was finally rubbed out with steel
wool and wax.
Paul
very well look at home in a residential suburb, they still catch mice in the trap
every time they come back. So my mom keeps all the shoes and boots on a
rack in a closet underneath the stairs--far from the entry door. So before I
left their cabin this past Memorial Day weekend, my mom said she wanted a
bench to store shoes and have it rodent free. She is scared to death that
she would slip her foot into a shoe and have a mouse or its nest waiting for
her.
When I got home, I fired up Sketchup and made a sketch of what I had in
mind. My mom wanted something that looked like a church pew but I just
wasn't feeling it. My mom didn't want me to spend too much money on it so
I used whitewood from Lowes and I had some cherry for the legs. Legs are
2" square glued up from 1" boards.
Here's the final product. 18" high x 18" deep x 42" wide
The design does not lend well to being glued up because the gluing the sides
and back to the legs would prevent their expansion and contraction. I have
always admired the ingenuity and forethought it takes to design IKEA
furniture with knockdown fasteneres, so that's the way I went. I had 19
cam bolts and screws laying around but I needed 20. The 2 shelves aren't
really load bearing so the back of the shelves are supported in grooves cut
in the back. The fronts are supported by the KD bolts. New design only
needed 16 connectors. When I see my parents next weekend at my cousin's
wedding, I will hand it over in pieces and my dad will assemble it later. You
can't tell how it's held together unless you look at the back or you get on your
hands and knees and look inside.
By the end of the first weekend, I had shaped the legs (curved on 2 faces--
first time for me) and done my first assembly of the sides and back with KD
bolts. I also got the two shelves sized and mounted.
The location of all the KD bolts had to be laid out ahead of time and drilled. I
made a little "jig" to help me screw in the bolt perpendicular to the wood. The
sides and back sit in grooves cut in the legs.
I didn't like the premade top I bought so I ended up returning it and buying
some rough 5/4 red oak. Aside from labor, it was actually cheaper to do it
this way and looks a lot better.
2nd weekend I surfaced and glued up the top. I also made the two front
doors. They pivot on wood dowels. I applied finish to the base unit. Amber
shellac on the cherry legs. Dewaxed shellac on the whole piece and then
water based lacquer.
This past week was all about the top. The through tenons are just inlayed
into the top but look like they pass through from the base. First time for me
doing this. Used a small router and chisels to get them in there. They're glued
on. I wanted to fill in the grain and used drywall compound--yes drywall
compound. The excess was sanded down and the whole top was flooded with
BLO which turned the compound clear. I then sprayed shellac over the BLO
and then sprayed on WB lacquer. The top was finally rubbed out with steel
wool and wax.
Paul
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