Bookcase/Nightstand combo.

And now, the first project that kickstarted this whole thing.

One summer, I was contemplating gifts for Keelyn.  I wanted to get on the birthday/Christmas bandwagon sooner rather than later because at the time I was working for Craig's Cruisers as a video game tech and taking classes, and as such was rather poor.  I wanted a gift that would reflect her as a person, and me as not totally useless.  I decided on a book case.  The dimensions were to be 4 feet tall, approximately 2 feet wide, and 1 foot deep adjustable shelves.  I took a sheet of graphing paper, drew up a bookcase, then mapped out a 4'x8' sheet of plywood and figured my measurements.  I noticed that I only needed a little over half the sheet to make the book case, so using the other half, I designed a nightstand out of the remaining part. This way, I had 2 gifts to present to her for both her birthday and Christmas (which are within a week of each other) since I was commuting three hours once a month to see her.  Sadly the progress pictures are non-existent, as I really wasn't planning this sort of thing 3 years ago.  But here are the finished products (as well as a mirrored set I made for myself while living with her parents).

The first set was assembled using nothing more than a circular saw, guides and clamps, a drill press, wood glue and a finish nailer and 1.25in nails.

Since they are all made of plywood, the edges would show layers.  I got iron-on veneer to cover the edges, and make it look more like solid wood.  Even though it was made of birch, the grain and color matched the maple well.

The second set was done using a legitimate table saw, a drill and countersink bit, drywall screws, a drill press with plug-cutter head, wood glue, and finish nailer with 1.25in nails.

The second set isn't quite done yet.  The shelves are set by 2 drywall screws, 3 finish nails, and a liberal application of glue..  The holes were plugged with maple pegs, glued into place, then sawed and sanded down to be flush with the sides.  The bedside table only needs the door hardware installed and a back nailed on.

First refinish project

This project was done summer of 2009.  It was the first refinish, and was actually a lot of fun, very rewarding and one of the easiest projects to date.

The table started out looking like this:

I saved this little gem from the dumpsters at Grand Valley.  I was an RA, and one of the residents was going to throw it out, so I took it of their hands. As you can see, it was very badly abused by all previous owners.  The top was scratched deep into the finish, the shelf was scuffed up and sloppy on the edges, and the legs were spotty and pock marked with dings and scratches.

Luckily, this was an easy save.  All that was needed was some painters plastic, plastic scrapers, Citrustrip (my personal choice for stripping compound), plastic scrapers, mineral spirits, rubber gloves, and high grit sand paper.

Apply an hearty coat of the Citrustrip, and let stand for 30 minutes to an hour.  Begin scraping the slop off of the surface, and it starts to transform instantly.

It was my first time using it so it took a couple of tries, but I eventually removed all of the finish with the Citrustrip.  I then rubbed it down with mineral spirits to remove any excess chemical residue, sanded lightly, and rubbed down with tack cloth.  The result:

The end result was a slightly discolored table top with a lot of fantastic grain to it, and a deep and rich red coloration on the shelf.  It was left to sit for a day or so in order to make sure that all mineral spirits had evaporated and were not present in the wood when it came time to polyurethane.





With a few thick coats of polyurethane, and a light sanding between each coat, the end product looks something like this:

And now this piece sits in our entryway by the staircase, with a small lamp, and bowl for keys.

The picture quality on this isn't great as it was taken with my phone, but you get the idea.

In my humble opinion, this was a way better route to go than to trash this beautiful piece, or to paint it.  It's much easier to salvage this dirty gold than people would like to believe.  I'm very glad I did because this was the perfect addition to our foyer area.

Granite Top TV Table (Summer 2011)

These first posts will go a bit out of sequence, as I'm simply recapping old projects as I find the photos of the progress.

For the first three months of our marriage, I lived with my wife's parents in Clarkston, MI.  Keelyn's step-dad had a barn full of lumber, ranging from raw timber that he cut himself to birdseye maple floor boards to cherry planks.  They also had a large number of spare granite tiles from a past house they had remodeled.  The project I settled on was a TV table.  I wanted a wood table, but I wanted the top to be able to support a TV without getting scuffed, scraped, or dinged up.  The table had to have a shelf for a DVD player, Wii, Cable box, or whatever else would accompany our TV.  I drew up the plans, and started digging.

The lumber pile

 The granite was a beautiful deep black with reddish brown spots and lots of character.  The wood I selected was the birdseye maple tongue-and-groove floor planks.  The spots, grain, and general character complimented the granite well.  With the appropriate stain, the whole assembly would pop.

After stain, the wood and granite.

The first challenge was how to turn tongue-and-groove flooring into a framework.  Luckily, my father-in-law had the appropriate tools to make this project work.  The first step was to remove the tongues and grooves.  I took the boards to a table saw and carefully removed the edges of the boards.  I cut each to length, and cut 45s on each of the corners on a Dewalt compound miter saw.  Using a PorterCable disc joiner, I cut grooves into the ends and glued the discs into the ends.  I did this to reduce the risk of glue overflow onto the top during clamping.  Using a strap clamp, I secured the entire top together with discs and glue, clamped it together, and let sit for a day.

The table top frame with granite tiles sitting in it.

 The next step was to create the skirting to disguise the platform for the granite.  Using the same birdseye maple floor boards, I stripped the tongues and grooves, cut 45s on the corners to create a vertical box, and before gluing, I cut 45s on the top of each board using the table saw.  With the frame together, and failing to plan ahead, I also cut 45s on the bottom side of the outside edges of the top frame.  This would allow for the top frame to sit inside of the skirting frame, rather than on top of it.  It would provide more surface area for glue contact and reduce the profile of the entire top assembly by about a quarter of an inch.  The skirting was assembled with glue and a strap clamp, and while it was setting up, I used large C clamps to adhere the top frame so it could all set up together.

The corner of the framework, finished product.

Next comes installing the granite.  A much more troublesome process than I anticipated.  With the frame together, I had to install and support the platform for the granite to rest on.  Using scrap plywood, liquid nails, and a couple of drywall screws, the platform was securely anchored inside the bottom of the frame.  Because the granite was not as thick as the maple planks, I had to add a sheet of 3/8s plywood to the top of the platform and screw it together with short screws.  I then laid the cement on the wood, and inserted the tiles with spacers for caulking.

The granite platform.

Because it is difficult and expensive to find large chunks of maple, I instead decided that the legs and shelf would be crafted from 2x1 planks of maple.  I cut 8 equal lengths of maple boards, and clued them face to face.  They were clamped and left to sit for a day to cure.

1 leg.  2 boards

The same had to be done with the shelf.  6 strips of 1x3 comprise the shelf.  They were cut to length, glued together, and clamped.

The shelf, multiple boards.

To remove any imperfections, unevenness, and glue squeeze-out, I ran then through a planer, and hand sanded minor remaining issues.  The legs were then screwed into the top, notches were cut to support the shelf, and a hefty amount of glue was applied to hold the shelves in place.  After a good staining with a dark stain, and numerous polished coats of polyurethane, we have the finished product.

The finished product sitting in a garage.

The finished product in our house and in use.

Genesis

First post, and I'm going to try to make it a good one.

A bit of history.  My grandfather (my dad's dad) built furniture from scrap, "junk" and otherwise unsellable lumber he got from people he knew in the furniture business.  He would go to burn piles and dump sites, as well as home remodel dumpsters, etc. and take lumber that was otherwise going to be disposed of.  He would use this imperfect lumber and build gorgeous pieces of furniture ranging from planter stands and side tables for his own home, to doll houses, small barns, trucks, cars, and other wooden toys for his grand children.  He lived in Iowa, so I rarely saw these items, but they always took my breath away.

Fast forward a few years.  I am dating a wonderful, intelligent woman who is a college student working at Best Buy to pay her bills.  Much of the furniture she owns (like most college students) is comprised of that fabulous Ikea/Meijer particle board.  Being that she is an intellectual, an actress, musician, reader, and writer, books are a bit of a hassle for her.  I was strapped for cash, being a poor, unemployed college student myself, and decided that creating a present would be much more meaningful than purchasing one.  I spent a lot of time talking with my dad, who showed me some of my grandfather's "early works" as well as some of his own works.  I wanted to emulate some great things I have seen, but add my own flavor.  I did the math, discussed materials, and decided to take one 4'x8' sheet of maple plywood, and create a 4 foot bookcase with 5 shelves, and a nightstand for beside the bed.  The bookshelves would be adjustable, the nightstand would have a shelf for a book, space on top for a phone on a charger and a lamp, and a door on the front to provide some storage.  These were to be christmas and birthday presents.  I started them in July, and spent about a month cutting, gluing, nailing, applying vaneers, drilling holes for shelf brackets, staining and varnishing.  What came out of this process was two things, as imperfect as they are, that made me more proud than any other accomplishment to date.  I had taken $90 in materials, and creating useful and beautiful (albeit a bit utilitarian) pieces of furniture.

Fast forward three years.  I am now married to that lovely woman, and get to behold my successes daily.  In between then and now, I've also had the pleasure of happening upon some less fortunate dumpster-bound furniture.  I took the time to refinish this furniture, and now have lovely installments in my home. (Photos of aforementioned pieces will be coming shortly.  We're still moving in.)

This blog is a way for me to finally showcase some of the before and after shots of builds, refurbs, refinishes, and home improvements that I have undertaken with limited equipment, funds and talent.

I hope you enjoy.

Josh