Why no hobby time for me lately

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kustomkb

Project of the Month Winner!!!
Project of the Month Winner
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Dec 14, 2007
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I've been wanting to finish my Hoglet;

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=1831.0

But most of my time has been spent with my 18 month old Son (lots of fun) and working on my 55+ year old house (not much fun)

I tore out some kitchen cabinets which were built from 2x4's and cedar planks and added counter top outlets and a dedicated circuit for the microwave. Our kitchen is small and we need maximum storage space. The ultimate goal of this exercise is to make room for a dishwasher, aka "The Relationship Saver", which we need desperately.

I thought I would share some of the machining aspects of the project.

So of course before we can build anything we need to design and build our jigs and fixtures.

I decided to go with 32mm frameless cabinets. Here are a few shots of the drill jig I made for locating and drilling the shelf pin holes and door hinge holes as well as holes for the drawer slides.

Kitchen%252520Cabimets%252520003.jpg


To cut the panels I needed a sled for the table saw. I started by machining teflon runners to have a sliding fit in the mitre gauge slots;

Table%252520Saw%252520Sled%252520%2525285%252529.jpg


I put double sided tape on them, dropped the base on and installed the counter sunk screws;

Table%252520Saw%252520Sled%252520%2525286%252529.jpg


Plastic laminate was used to cover the face and I made a fence with t-track to take a sliding stop;

Table%252520Saw%252520Sled%252520%25252814%252529.jpg


Table%252520Saw%252520Sled%252520%25252811%252529.jpg


After trying the "5 cut test" method, my piece measured 2 thou taper over 12 inches. Dividing by 5 would suggest I was out .0004" over 12 inches. So I immediately went out and bought a lottery ticket.

I went out and purchased some nice maple plywood and roughed out my panels. After cutting over a dozen pieces I took a closer look and I was out closer to a thirty second over 20 inches. Unacceptable! I know my luck is never that good and it took 3 more adjustments to finally get the fence square to within 2 thou over 15 inches. I think I can live with that.

Here is my set-up for adjusting the fence;

Table%252520Saw%252520Sled%252520%25252818%252529.jpg


And the stop, which is keyed into the t-track to be square vertically;

Table%252520Saw%252520Sled%252520%25252815%252529.jpg


And the blade guard which is to be installed once I am sure that I am happy with the squareness of it all;

Table%252520Saw%252520Sled%252520%25252816%252529.jpg


This is a practice cabinet I made, to familiarize myself with joinery technique's, from 2x4's and pieces of scrap wood I had laying around;

cabinets%252520001.jpg


Thanks for looking!



 
Go Kevin!!!! ;D

This is the first time i have ever seen a table saw being set up with machinist tools!!!! ;D

Just a thought since you seem to be into it....
Have you trammed the blade??
LOL!!!

My 1960's Atlas table saw is a beast but she sure does cut beautifully!!!
And is so much more quiet than the old Delta i used to own.

Have fun with the kitchen cabinets!!

SWMBO put in a request for to picture frames and i have just finished them off.
Maybe i can start back again with the metal....

Andrew
 
Nice One Kevin! That has to be the Squares't Cabinet in the World.

Kel
 
Every time I have my wood working friends over when I am doing wood working it drives them nutz. I guess its hard to suppress the machinist in me, its just plus or minus a 1/32" feels wrong. ;D

Dave
 
Nice work Kevin. I took the easy way out some years back and bought an Incra Jig (+/-.001") which serves as a table saw fence and router fence. The router is mounted in the table saw top off to one side.

-Trout

DCB0000399.jpg
 

Thanks fellows!

Have you trammed the blade??
LOL!!!

Oh Yeah, the tenth's dial had to come out for that one! ;)

Kel, - I thought it might be a good chance to show off the army of squares I've collected over the years. :)

plus or minus a 1/32" just feels wrong.

I hear ya Dave, the wings of the saw are below flush .002 and it's bothering me to no end!

That's a serious piece of hardware you have there Trout! I've been drooling over those for a while. One day... I also want to build an extension and move the router to share the fence as well.

Here is an auxilary fence I made. I copied the clamping mechanism from a Biessemeyer parts diagram. The clamping force is transmitted diagonally through the stock fence to help keep it square;


Auxillary%252520Fence%252520002.jpg
Auxillary%252520Fence%252520004.jpg


Have fun!!

 

Here are a few shots of the cabinets going in;

Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520071.jpg
Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520073.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520075.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520083.jpg


The inspector reviewing the interior finish, he said it looks okay;


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520085.jpg


Of course I had to make a drill jig for locating the handle holes;

Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520049.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520047.jpg



Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520088.jpg
Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520130.jpg


I pick up some "Flexible strip LED's" and must say how impressed I am with the light they put out. I got 10 feet of light strips, a 12V transformer, a switch and a bunch of wire for $50. They can be found cheaper on E-Bay, but I wanted to see them in person first. The guy at the small store front where I bought them said there are new ones coming out which are even brighter. They have an adhesive backing which I stuck to a strip of aluminum and screwed that to the cabinet. I'm getting all kinds of ideas for around the shop...

Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520094.jpg



The "temporary" counter tops until the other two thirds of the kitchen is finished;


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520131.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520132.jpg



So now the drawers need to be made. I could slap something together, but I've come this far so...

A router table was needed to accommodate a heavy router.

I made a frame to fit snugly between the rails to the right of the saw's table and some laminated mdf to fit snugly into the frame;

Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520127.jpg
Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520119.jpg


This was laminated with plastic laminate and the cut-out for the insert was milled as well as slots to receive miter and t-track;



Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520148.jpg


I also built a router fence which will clamp to the table saw's fence;

Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520136.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520139.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520137.jpg


And here is the extension wing getting installed with threaded inserts;

Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520149.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520151.jpg


Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520153.jpg


And the finished set-up;

Kitchen%252520cabinets%252520154.jpg




Sorry for the long, off topic post. I just wanted to show what I have been up to lately and try to keep myself from running off and joining some crazy wood working forum.

All in all, I figure it came out pretty good for a guy who's not even into wood working. I just wanted to save a little money and be able to say I built them myself. Also, I am not a big fan of formaldehyde soaked particle board going into my house.

So I am hoping these must have earned me a couple of points, certainly some shop, hobby time. ;D


I have noticed that the cast iron extension wings have drooped down in the middle about .020"

I read on line about a guy who said he had no problem bending them back. Do you guys think it is worth the risk? Or should I have them Blanchard ground? -It would be nice to have a large flat surface in the shop.

Thanks for looking!

 
Nice work Kevin.

I usually make my jigs out of scape wood then loose or miss place them. Going to have to make some nice metal ones. I like those large squares, wish I have a mill to make some.

Kitchen looks great, keep up the good work.

John
 
Great job on the cabinets Kevin, the led's are a great touch.

I can't say weather or not trying to bend it back is a good idea, but a ground flat table saw table sounds like a pretty awesome idea ;),


Kel
 
Looking good Kevin!....shame the masons don't align bricks that way isn't it....maybe they'll read this and learn!

:bow: :bow: :bow:

A Karma from me.

Dave
 
Thanks fellows!

John- I'm glad I made them. I know they are square and won't flex. They were made from scraps found at work.

Kel- It seems Blanchard grinding won't be too expensive and they can do the whole thing in one shot, if I do a little machining prep first.

Dave- yes, it's not the straightest thing I've ever seen. Let's say it adds "character"...ya right.
Thanks for the point. Do you mind if I transfer it to the account I have open with the Mrs.?
I was admiring the bank of drawers in your shop. I'd like to set up my shop in a similar fashion. Now that I know how.

So I think the moral of the story is, never hire a machinist to do a the work of a cabinetmaker.
The job will take ten times as long and be foolishly accurate.

Cheers!

 

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