Woodworking 101

[Grandpa Shooter]

After I got done building in the closets in our bedroom, I couldn't stand the thought of wasting space, so I built in a dresser. It is 24" deep by 40" wide and 33" high.





I finally got around to unpacking my books and needed overflow storage, so put this together one afternoon.  I don't have any room for new purchases, so I will likely end up putting together more.

[Jamisjockey]

Nice work!  I've got some projects for you to do here, if you get frisky... 

[Jim147]

That looks great. My wife would want it a little darker when you do one for her.

jim

[Grandpa Shooter]

The pieces are currently unfinished so you guys could pick the color your wife wants and surprise her! I spent years doing other folks stuff and finally have time to do work at my own home.  We are getting this place finished up so we can go out to the property for a few months.

I am going to do an addition on the travel trailer out there using some ideas I picked up from folks around the country.  It will start with a 13 x 20 Quonset style frame and some sheet metal roofing my FIL gave us and will include a wood stove he made himself and had in his "camp" for years.  The most used room here is our 14 x 20 Arizona room I added on 3 years ago.  The idea is to go as green as we can out on the property so as to be self sufficient.

[41magsnub]

Those are beautiful.  I am currently planning in my head a nightstand with drawers.

[Nick1911]

Very nice work.  Always feels good to craft something of quality with your own hands. 

[Mabs2]

Pretty.

[AZRedhawk44]

It's pine, right? I've never been a big fan of pine, but it's good work.  The router work on the drawer faces is very clean.  The knots irk me.  My favorite woods to work with are mahogany and black walnut.

[Silver Bullet]

Very nice, Grandpa.   

Is that a window above the dressers, in a walk-in closet ?

[charby]

It's pine, right? I've never been a big fan of pine, but it's good work.  The router work on the drawer faces is very clean.  The knots irk me.  My favorite woods to work with are mahogany and black walnut.

I'm a 1/4 sawn white oak guy but I love the look of sycamore, hickory and curly maple too.

[Grandpa Shooter]

Very nice, Grandpa.   

Is that a window above the dressers, in a walk-in closet ?

Yup, it is.  You work with what you got.

As far as the wood goes.  The hardwoods are rather pricey up here in the mountains.  We are not hard on furniture or trim, so the pine does the job for us.

[Tallpine]

13 x 20 Quonset style frame and some sheet metal roofing

Are you going to run the corrugation/ribbing lengthwise?

If so, have you thought about how the seams overlap?

It seems to me  that you would need to reverse the overlap as you go over the top 

You're probably way ahead of me on that one. 

The only quonsets I've worked with were the pre-fab curved sections where the ribbing runs vertically.

[Grandpa Shooter]

Are you going to run the corrugation/ribbing lengthwise?

If so, have you thought about how the seams overlap?

It seems to me  that you would need to reverse the overlap as you go over the top 

You're probably way ahead of me on that one. 

The only quonsets I've worked with were the pre-fab curved sections where the ribbing runs vertically.

I am going to bolt the entire frame together and then run wood ribs lengthwise up and over the top at 2 foot intervals. The wood ribs will be secured to the frame with U-bolt style brackets.  The metal roofing will be attached with washer head roofing screws at 6" intervals with caulking run the length of the seam.  I will have to anticipate the effect of high winds since we get them up to 70mph out there but so far what I have built stands up to it.

The interior will be the same idea with insulation sandwiched in between.  The ribs will be 1 x 3 and the interior surface 1/4' plywood so we can maintain the curve.  It will be a work in progress over a period of time.  I have to figure out light panels and hook ups for solar panels, batteries and wiring for 12 volt, but hey, that's what an active retirement is all about in my book.

[Tallpine]

Ok, but what I was getting at is any corugated/ribbed metal roofing is not going to bend if the ribs run up and down as normal.  So you would have to run the ribs lengthwise so it will bend.

But you want any upper piece to overlap the next lowest piece like a shingle.

So if you start the steel at ground level on one side and go up, at some point just over the top you will want to slip the next piece in under the edge of the last piece instead of laying it on top of the last piece.

Make sense...?

[Leatherneck]

I think Tallpine is thinking a "Quonset Hut" is typically a semicircle in cross-section. Is that what you intend, GS?

If so, his ideas are spot-on.

TC

[Grandpa Shooter]

Ok, but what I was getting at is any corugated/ribbed metal roofing is not going to bend if the ribs run up and down as normal.  So you would have to run the ribs lengthwise so it will bend.

But you want any upper piece to overlap the next lowest piece like a shingle.

So if you start the steel at ground level on one side and go up, at some point just over the top you will want to slip the next piece in under the edge of the last piece instead of laying it on top of the last piece.

Make sense...?

Yup, that is the plan.  There is no way I could run the metal up and over the top with the ridges collapsing with every bend.  My OCD would run amok with that.

[geronimotwo]

if you start the metal at the bottom on both sides, then put the middle strip on at the top last, it saves some aggravation.  my dad had bought three of the gi quonset huts at auction back in the early 70's. back then we used a brace and bit to remove and install all the screws. i think he paid $65 each for them.

[Leatherneck]

^^^ THAT is an excellent solution.

TC

[geronimotwo]

you do need to measure correctly at the bottom so the ridges interlock properly on the last piece.

btw,  nice drawers.  how did you join the faces?  i like the look of pine.  it does get beat up with abuse though.

[Grandpa Shooter]

you do need to measure correctly at the bottom so the ridges interlock properly on the last piece.

btw,  nice drawers.  how did you join the faces?  i like the look of pine.  it does get beat up with abuse though.

I simply built the box for the drawer, attached the bottom to make sure they were square, and then positioned the fronts and screwed them down.  The screws for the pulls will go through both the front of the box and the face of the drawer, so it is unlikely anything will come loose.

[Tallpine]

you do need to measure correctly at the bottom so the ridges interlock properly on the last piece.

That was my concern, but I don't think measuring will work in real life. 

Might be better to do it backwards: run a panel right down the middle of the top, and then slip the panels on either side under the edge of the panel above it before screwing down the edges 

Somebody offered to us the frame for one of those portable soft cover carports (the cover of course long since gone).  We were thinking of making a greenhouse out of it, by running some translucent panels (lexan?) lengthwise.

Also, another neighbor gave us a whole pile of timbers from the garage that they tore out to build a new metal one.  As soon as the snow melts and the mud dries we're going to haul them over here.  What I would like to do is build a detached root cellar with them 

[Grandpa Shooter]

Starting at the top and getting the overlaps correct is the simplest approach by far.  The frame is what TP mentioned.  We had it up here in town for a cover for the garden, but since we have herbivore dogs, the garden didn't last long.

I could haul my work trailer with us in the Spring, after the muck and mud are done.

[Tallpine]

Trouble is I might not have enough money for the screws, let alone the lexan or whatever we might use :(

[PTK]

This thread inspired me to finish a load of projects I'd planned nearly six months ago. Thank you.