Our first project - dorm room shelves - what we learned

[Eric Palmer]

My 14 year old daughter and I just completed our first DIY woodshop project.  We did build the Kreg workbench but have not painted it yet.

You can see the project here: http://pinterest.com/daddyohdad/woodshop-projects/http://pinterest.com/daddyohdad/woodshop-projects/

We built a shelf system for my oldest daughter’s dorm room.  Along the way we learned several things that we want to share with the beginners here.

• Having two drill motors, one for the Kreg jig and one for the Kreg screws is useful and saves time. We use a battery powered drill motor for the Kreg Screws. That one has a force clutch that is indispensible for dialing in the right amount of force.
• I attached the k2 jig to a 24” x 24” x ¾” plywood base. This made drilling the pocket holes easy.
• My daughter said that she really was glad we planned this project on paper. She said she would have done this from a design in her head and she realizes now she would not have thought of everything.
• A great miter saw blade is worth the price.  http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2020094/19150/freud-lu88r010-circu...  Cut surface is so smooth and no burn marks. We upgraded from an old delta blade and wee are so glad we did.
• Wood from the big box stores is not dimensionally consistent. We used their highest quality of pine and the thickness varied more than we would have hoped for.
• Precut plywood (24” x 24”) is not accurate. Okay so I knew this but I did not want to be carrying a full sheet and cutting it. I decided to buy the precut for now.  I wanted to teach my daughter a few things at a time. Next up will be using a circular saw and cutting plywood to dimension. Someday I will have a table saw.  A Freud blade will be in the circular saw from day one.  
• A well-stocked lumber yard is a must.  We have http://www.siewers.com/ about 13 miles away.  We will eventually buy our lumber from them. The prices are cheaper and the selection is fabulous. We assume that the wood will be dimensionally more consistent but only time and experience will tell. We could not use them this time because I don’t have a way to carry 10 foot long boards.  I may have to break down and buy an old pickup someday.
• Having plenty of clamps around is a good thing.
• Ear protection! Eye protection! Safety first! Of course!
• A few times my daughter was tired and we stopped working. Safety first!
• We need to think through the stability of the shelf system better. We drilled holes ever two inches in the leg so the shelves could be adjusted. This was great but since the shelves had one bolt inserted per leg the whole thing could be skewed a lot. We added a cross member with two bolts on each pair of legs and that helped a bunch. But still we probably need some cross members that are pocket holed attached for more rigidity.  Well we are learning.
•  We decided not to use hardwood until we start to perfect our technique. Just too much $.
• Fun! This is so much fun.  We are going to build some shelves for the garage next.

[Carlos]

nice first project, glad to see you working with your daughter, it is a very nice feeling :O)

I too have a daughter that I do projects with.. she is only 12yrs old but is really getting into it.

[John Schaben]

Hi Eric - Great project - your daughter will, no doubt, remember it for a very long time too. Congratulations.

 

Just a word of caution about that cross cut blade. It isn't very safe for use in a sliding miter or radial arm saw. A 15° hook angle is very agressive and can cause the carriage in those saws to self feed.

[Eric Palmer]

John,

Thanks. That is good to know.  My miter is fixed and does not slide.

John Schaben said:

Hi Eric - Great project - your daughter will, no doubt, remember it for a very long time too. Congratulations.

 

Just a word of caution about that cross cut blade. It isn't very safe for use in a sliding miter or radial arm saw. A 15° hook angle is very agressive and can cause the carriage in those saws to self feed.

[Ken Darga]

Eric,

A nice useful looking project.

[James Waller]

Very nice shelf system and the workbench looks great and will help you and daughter build more projects together.

I had built 4 workbench's, 1 for work, 2 for a corner computer desk and one as an assembly table (now being used in kitchen).

[David Dean]

now thats pretty cool.

[James P. Cottingham]

Good ideas/suggestions and good lookin' project.

[Chris Crockett]

If you are looking to use a circular saw, you might want to look into buying one fo the new Kreg Ripcuts.

 I have used mine on several projects and it makes cutting a straight line easy. They now sell these at Lowes.

 Chris

[Michael R. Turner]

Stability: You can add a diagonal to the legs for front to back stability.  For sideways stability, best will be if you move the back legs to the rear so you can add a diagonal crosswise to them. Unfortunately, that won't help the nice symmetry of the design.

Gluing the top and bottom shelves in place will provide some help to your existing design. If you do this, adding interior cross braces to the glued in place shelves in line with the legs should help a bit.

Triangles are much stiffer than squares.  Try to incorporate them into any grid design whenever you can.  Or close in a section of the grid with a plywood panel. Even 3/16" thick plywood will add a tremendous amount of stability.

Very nice looking design.

[jim.zakany]

Thanks for sharing. BORG lumber is fine for learning - when you move from warped sheet goods with paper-thin veneers to the cabinet-quality plys you can find at a real wood supplier, it will seem like cheating.

Keep in mind that your Kreg Jig makes face frames like there's no tomorrow, and there's nothing that will provide stability while hiding your mistakes better than a nice face frame.

[Eric Palmer]

Thanks to everyone for your support and comments. Kreg Ripcuts to be purchased tomorrow with a new circular saw blade.  I'm looking for a neighbor to loan me their pickup till I can get a trailer for my minivan.  I have more project than money and time. I guess that is good. LOL

[Lisa Hutchins]

Thanks for the tips, good read.