Replies

1. 
   billballeza | Oct 05, 2007 05:50am | #1

   You should be able to make this yourself. It is fairly straightforward. You might consider making two units.. each with four cubbies.. then just tack them together. It might give you the most efficient use of your ply sheets if the cubbies are approx 12" wide.

   It looks to me like you should be able to get by with four sheets of plywood which would set you back about $250-$300. You said oak veneer which means you want to stain and poly the unit. That's going to be the hardest part. You might consider staining before assembly.. save you lots of work.

   Forgot to mention.. just use veneer edge tape to hide the edges.  And consider buying a dado blade for your tablesaw if you don't already have one. It'll make your joinery alot easier. Just put yellow glue in the grooves and, making sure everything is square.. use your brad nailer to assemble the units.. don't try to use clamps. You'll drive yourself crazy.

   
   

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   Edited 10/4/2007 10:54 pm ET by billballeza

1. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 05, 2007 09:29pm | #5

   Great reply Bill.. I would add cutting up a hunk of 4X8 ply can be a challenge if you do not have the experience or tools to keep things 'square'. just use veneer edge tape to hide the edges..I for one like the solid hardwood better BUT JUST ME. Either is 'fine' I hate that word!And consider buying a dado blade for your tabelsaw ...Not consider (get one) unless you have a router! Just my opinion again!

   Edited 10/5/2007 2:30 pm by WillGeorge

2. 
   MikeHennessy | Oct 05, 2007 03:20pm | #2

   What Billballeza said, but I think I disagree with his advice on edge banding. It would be easier, but with the banging around the edges of the cubbies are going to get, I think edge banding wouldn't last very long.

   I'd also advise against a face frame, per se. I often treat ply edges by just gluing and tack nailing on 1/4" thick strips of the same wood species. (Titebond Moulding and Trim glue works great for this.) Easily ripped on the TS, they take only a few minutes to apply, are more durable than edge banding and WAY quicker than trying to make a face frame that fits perfectly. That said, if you do decide to make a face frame, invest in a Kreg pocket hole jig. Oh, and you WILL want a dado blade (or a router) to work the dados and rabbets. If you go with the dado, you may also want to add a zero-clearance insert for your TS to the shopping list as well. Also, breaking down sheet goods to final size can be a struggle on a TS. If you have a circular saw, you can make yourself an edge guide to cut the ply close to final, and trim to final on the TS, saving a lot of acrobatic TS work on full sheets of heavy ply.

   I'd use 3/4" ply for the parts and 1/4" or 1/2" ply for the back. A nice, easy finish that I use often for red oak is to wipe on a coat of Watco (clear) to bring out the grain and deepen the color of the wood a bit then (after 3 or 4 days drying time), apply some wipe-on poly. This is also a forgiving finish technique if you are new to the whole business, and accidental glue squeeze-outs don't show as much as they would if the piece was stained.

   This will be a big (i.e., HEAVY) piece -- one that I would probably assemble and finish in-place -- think old-fashioned built-in cabinetry as opposed to furniture. But if you elect to build and finish it in a shop and then move it to it's final home, by all means take Bill's advice and make it as two cabs so it's easier to move and maneuver. (Think in advance about if/how you will be able to fit it through doors, etc. and to the final destination, if you build it in the shop and then move it.)

   Around here, oak ply is about $75 for a 3/4" sheet, and less for 1/4" and 1/2".  All said, you should be able to do this within your budget, new tools included.

   This should be a pretty simple project, but measure everything 3 times. Mark your cuts and then ask somebody if they are marked correctly before turning on the saw. (My wife loves to do this -- she likes to tell me I'm wrong -- and she's usually right.) Most of the mistakes I make on stuff like this are caused by screwing up the cuts when doing mating parts -- e.g., I end up with two right sides instead of one right and one left. ;-( 

   Adding a sheet or two of oak ply because you have to re-do parts that were mis-cut will quickly inflate your budget. DAMHIKT

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

1. 
   MikeK | Oct 06, 2007 12:28am | #6

   <<breaking down sheet goods to final size can be a struggle on a TS. If you have a circular saw, you can make yourself an edge guide to cut the ply close to final, and trim to final on the TS, saving a lot of acrobatic TS work on full sheets of heavy ply>>>

   Please explain further. What exactly is an edge guide for a circular saw.

   Thanks.

   Mike K

    

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Oct 06, 2007 02:49am | #7

   Easier to make than to describe, but I'll take a shot.

   Glue/screw a straight edge to one edge of a strip of plywood about 10" wide. I use stock about 1/4" thick by about 1" wide for the straight edge. Use something straight, like the factory edge of the plywood to make sure the strip is straight. Position the strip 3" or 4" from one edge and 6" or so from the other. (The longer measurement should be a bit MORE than the distance from the edge of the saw foot to the blade on the wide side of the blade.) This strip will act as the guide for the saw foot.

   Take your saw and run it down the guide with the saw up tight against the strip, cutting through the plywood. You now have a saw guide.

   To use it, you line up the edge of the plywood with the cut line on the workpiece, with the ply covering the good side of the sheet below, and clamp it to the workpiece using the 3" or 4" edge that you left to the short side, as described above. Then, simply run the saw down the guide, cutting the sheet. The guide base will hold the ply so splintering is kept to a minimum, and the cut will be as straight as you made the guide.

   This is essentially the way both the EZ Guide and the Festool CS setup work, just a bit lower tech and a bunch cheaper. Should do well for your purposes. I use these a lot, and have made 4'  and 8' versions, set up to cut on both the wide and narrow sides of the saw foot so I have more flexibility depending which side of the line I want to protect. One of the most useful shop jigs for anyone using sheet goods.

   Hope that description helps. If it's not clear, give a shout and I'll post a pic.

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

3. 
   wood_donkey | Oct 05, 2007 06:11pm | #3

   The current issue of Workbench has this on the cover, didn't look too tough to build...

   http://www.workbenchmagazine.com/main/wb303-lockers01.html

   Donkey

1. 
   MikeK | Oct 05, 2007 08:58pm | #4

   Thanks for all the help guys. I think I'm going to try to do the project myself. 

   Mike K