Man Cave Update and Storage Options
It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve ripped out all the old shelving and re-painted the shop (aka, the man cave). Jeeze, 2 years. That’s a long time it seems, and I’m still slowly getting things organized to the point where I can work without tripping over myself.
I’ve managed to get all of the old shelving torn out, and below are a few before and after shots of one of the walls. These shelves were too hard to get to, and didn’t allow me to use the space as efficiently as I’d like:
Before: Shelving built by the previous owner.
After: Lumber storage with room for equipment underneath
From what I’ve experienced so far, there’s a lot of things to consider when setting up a shop for woodworking. Workflow, wiring, heating, and tool storage are all paramount in establishing a shop that is both efficient and comfortable to work in.
When it comes to tool storage, not only do you want a place to put all of your crap, but you also need to keep your crap protected from dust (my shop gets a ton of it). Wall-mounted tool racks and tills are cheap and easy, but some tools warrant a little more protection than a few pieces of wall-achored plywood can offer.
Cheap 'n easy - plywood clamp racks built in an evening
More simple than a hanging tool cabinet, but offers no protection from dust
So far I like the idea of putting everything in some sort of rolling toolbox or cabinet, so I can easily move things around the shop. Or, in case I ever move, it’d be easier just to roll everything onto the truck without having to pack it all. I’ve already built a router table on wheels from Norm Abram’s plans, and it keeps all of my router equipment in one location protected for the most part from dirt and dust. Plus it’s easy enough to move it around the shop if you need to.
Now, I’d like to do the same for all of my hand tools. After reading Christopher Schwarz’s book on tool chests, I think I’m going to build a traditional tool chest that will house all of my woodworking tools. That way everything is in once place and protected. I guess that will be my next big shop project – that is, if I can find time to squeeze it into my kitchen re-model…
Simple Lathe Tool Rack
I’m just a simple man with basic needs, and I’m slowly building storage cabinets/shelves/racks for the tools and equipment in my shop. Today this is one of the smaller items I was able to mark off of my to-do list.I contemplated building a fancy hanging cabinet with plexiglass sliding doors to hold my turning tools, but I came up with this idea instead.
Tool storage doesn’t have to be complicated – it just needs to serve its purpose. In this case I’m not so concerned about dust protection (my shop gets pretty dusty), but rather getting my turning tools easily accessible while I’m using my lathe. This rack puts my tools within a short arms reach which requires very little movement to quickly get retrieve or put away the tool.
No fancy joinery or materials were used here, just left-over maple plywood from my kitchen project, along with glue and screws. Sometimes it’s best just to keep it simple.
Designing Kitchen Cabinets in Sketchup
Learning Google Sketchup has been a liberating experience. Just a few weeks ago before learning Sketchup, I was resorting to grid paper to layout my kitchen design. I was getting frustrated trying to get all the details just right on paper, and after many hours of drawing and erasing, I finally broke down and decided I’d learn to do this on the computer.
If you haven’t tried to learn a CAD tool for furniture design, I’d encourage you to do so. With a tool like Sketchup, you can draw every part down to the last detail. It’s become an invaluable aid in designing the rest of my kitchen since I can design all the details and measurements without guess work.
Below are some examples of the sink cabinet box I recently finished last week. I’ve made all my boxes (including the backs) out of 3/4″ maple pre-finished plywood, not unlike the “Dream Kitchen” article by Norm Abrams. Buying pre-finished maple is a tad more expensive, but it’s much less of a hassle since I don’t have to finish the insides of the cabinets.
Sketchup model
Completed box
Stay tuned for some more photos as I progress. Now that the boxes are built, the next step is the face frames which have been rough cut and are acclimating in my shop – I just need to get off my duff and start working on them.
The Anarchist’s Kitchen Remodeling Project
Okay, so what does anarchy have to do with kitchen remodeling? It’s kind of hard to explain really, but if you read the book The Anarchist’s Tool Chest by Christopher Schwarz, you might have a better understanding of where I’m coming from. The book conveys a philosophy that can be carried over from building high-quality furniture to building high-quality cabinets. When it’s all said and done, I just want a kitchen that’s durable, maximizes the existing storage space, and is built to last.
I’ll be honest. Up until a few months ago, I really didn’t pay one iota of attention to our 70′s era kitchen cabinets, that is until the drawer bottom to our silverware drawer fell out one day. I guess drawers made out of thin, MDF just aren’t made to stand up to constant use by an active family – imagine that! A few weeks later another drawer bottom fell out of yet another drawer, and it seemed like the whole kitchen was falling apart.
I started to inspect the rest of the cabinets in an attempt to come up with a repair/refinishing plan, but even the insides of the upper cabinet sides were in pretty bad shape – heck, everything was in bad shape. Re-finishing would be a waste of time. I contemplated gutting the kitchen and building all new cabinets from scratch, but it seemed like a daunting task (and it still is), but then I ran across a kitchen building article by Norm Abram in Fine Woodworking Magazine. Norm made it sound doable, so I decided to go for it.
I’m posting this blog rather late in the process. I’ve actually been working on the cabinets for a few months now after work and on the weekends. The photos you see are the fruits of my labor thus far. I’ve already finished the upper cabinets, but I’m still in the process of building the lowers.
I’ve decided to go the traditional, custom cabinet route. Since I’m taking all the time to build from scratch, I might as well go the extra mile – maple face frames and doors, custom bead work, and inset doors with traditional hinges. 
Here’s a picture of one of the larger cabinets before painting. I’ve borrowed some construction techniques from Crown Point Cabinetry. I happened to stumble across this company on the web, and they happen to be one of the top custom cabinet making companies on the east coast.
Yes, that’s MDF I’ve used for the door panels. Now before you call me a heretic, please hear me out. Making good choices in building materials are all about context – it’s perfectly fine to use this type of material for door panels. In fact, I prefer it. Since the panel resides in a frame, there are no stresses on the material that will wear it out over time, as it would in a drawer side or bottom. MDF is dimensionally stable – I can even glue the stuff in my door frames without worrying about them swelling and destroying the door. Plus it’s dirt easy to cut. If you’re going to paint your cabinets like I am, then MDF makes a good economical choice for door panels.
I’ll try to provide more construction details as I progress. Although I drew the upper cabinet plans on paper, I’ll be designing all the lower cabinets using Google Sketchup in order to make sure I get all the details right, so stay tuned.
