Monthly Archives: November 2013

DIY Cabinets, Pocket Holes, Holzmiete Construction.

Posted on by
2

This weekend was cabinet weekend.  I have built 10 cabinets this past week.  I really enjoyed the project, the total cost was about $200 in materials.  All of the cabinets were built out of 12″ wide pine boards.  These were also my project using pocket screw joinery.  A popular name brand for this tool is the Kreg Jig.

I am using a Harbor Freight knock off, and it works great.  The major issue with this joinery system is drilling hundreds of holes.  Other than that it is strong, easy and pretty fast.  Less than 10 hours of work to cut, drill, assemble and hang a set of cabinets.  That is pretty good for an amateur.

We also finished filling the woodshed and started building a holzmiete.  This is a round wood stacking method that is native to several cultures.  The Germans call it a holzmiete.  Here is a good description on building one: http://www.holzmiete.de/.  It was a bit fiddly, when we started out but I think it will turn out ok.  Once I finish this one I am going to build another one and take better pictures during the entire process.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Weekend Projects

Posted on by
Reply

Got a bunch of stuff knocked off the list this weekend.  Lots of futzing, drinking and working.

I learned how to build face frame cabinets.  I built these two for by my desk to learn the process and work out some bugs.  They turned out really nice.  It was my first time using pocket hole assembly.  It is pretty damn simple and much stronger than I thought it would be.  I do feel like it is sort of cheating but they look nice and are pretty sturdy.  Next comes building uppers for the rest of the kitchen.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Winter is Coming

Posted on by
Reply

To quote the Starks of Winterfell, “Winter is coming.”  That is for sure, a few small snowfalls have us preparing for the inevitable large snow occurrence that will happen in the near future.

We really finished cleaning the yard this time, I put on the last 6 shingles on the shed, and we putzed about completing a bunch of small tasks that needed to be accomplished.

The big task of the day was clearing some brush on the side of the driveway to put the camper in there.  After running the saw for about 2 hours I had everything cut down, cleaned up and moved over to the wood area for splitting into next years kindling.

IMG_0221IMG_0220

 

Speaking of kindling, I have always wanted taller chopping block.  Something that is easier for me to work at with the hatchet without having to bend over.  I have aspirations of making a nice one with log legs and boring holes in the bottom of the chopping block.  Well, this was way faster.  It is not pretty but Works.  I think it needs a larger base to be a bit more stable but for now, It works great and I used more scrap lumber from my cleaning out my folks garage to make it.

IMG_0222

Easiest firewood splitting method or how to reuse a junk tire.

Posted on by
2

I have no idea who invented this thing, but it is seriously the best way to split wood ever.  No more chasing pieces, no more bending over, just insanely fast wood splitting.  I am way faster than a hydraulic splitter.  It is not even close. Granted, I get tired eventually but I am easily splitting 5 times as much wood as I was without the tire.  I figure at least 1-2 face cords an hour with reasonable effort.  I used to be faster with the saw, now I am faster splitting.

Anyways to make this, get a big chopping block, and screw some scrap 2×4’s to the sides, then put a scrap tire on it.  I screwed the tire down but I don’t think it would actually move too much if you didn’t.  Then fill the tire full of wood, and go nuts.  Very rarely one piece will pop out but the best part is you can fit 4 pieces in sometimes.  That cuts down on all the chasing and wasting time.