SGnTN Casey Fleser / Some Geek in TN

Dining Room Floor (more on flickr)

So about a month ago I finally got around to a long planned hardwood floor installation in my dining room. And despite it taking more time, money and obscenities, than I originally planned on, it really was pretty enjoyable experience overall. It also got me thinking: “I wonder if I can create something real out of wood that I wouldn’t be ashamed to admit was my creation”. I already had most all the tools I’d need (so I thought). I’d just need to get the wood, and hardware… oh and a router, may to have to cut some rabbets, dados and such… I bet I can use my $90 benchtop table saw to rip 4′ x 8′ sheets of plywood just fine…

I thought I’d start by creating something for the garage that would serve as storage for that increasingly cluttered area and serve as a mobile work surface for any future projects I might undertake in the future. With that in mind, I begin sketching up my mobile tool cabinet / work table thingy. And then I discovered Google Sketchup which made design much easier and also revealed a few problems. The final design for those with playing along at home: Cabinet_40x26.skp.

Design in hand I figured on two 4′ x 8′ sheets of oak plywood. Later some oak edging from in the few exposed ends to preserve the illusion of a solid piece of wood, some casters, hinges, screws, polyurethane, other assorted hardware and poof! my cabinet would be done. Not exactly. I screwed up the bottom straight away. I cut it a bit too small, so I figured I’d just adjust my dimensions elsewhere and I’d be fine. A nasty kickback with the table saw gouged up a one of my shelves later on (and also taught me to keep the guard on my table saw unless there was no way around it) and so I bit the bullet, bought another sheet of plywood and pretty much started over. I’d like to say from there, things went smoothly, but I made plenty of mistakes. Several pieces were not square, the mitered edges didn’t turn out exactly right (though surprisingly inconspicuous), a 1/4 of dado cut before realizing it was in the wrong location (the worst of the mistakes, but inside the cabinet on the back), minor tear out here there and everywhere, etc., etc.

The Completed Cabinet (more on flickr)

So the cabinet is all done. I learned plenty and I am actually pretty happy with the finished product. So much so that I’m considering a companion cabinet / miter saw table with shelves for the next project. It should actually be easier. Maybe next time I’ll post updates as the project goes along. I considered doing that this time, but I kept imagining that the final post would be something along the lines of: “Took sledgehammer to cabinet today. Renewed WoW subscription.”