Recent content by claptonkid

Very nice! Was your gear attached to a carcass too? Or it that a frame construction wardrobe? This client has a massive damp problem, so I'm having to go the carcass route and leave gaps at the back of the alcove, top & sides etc for good airflow. And I'm also severely restricted by a spiral...

Hi all, I'm soon to build a run of wardrobes. It's a near 3m long run, i.e. 3 lots of 890mm wide x 1890mm high carcasses all fixed together. Made from 18mm MFC. The client has specified sliding doors, but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with straight sliding door gear which...

Hi all, I've a client who's trying to persuade me to put down plywood as a finished floor. It's going in a modern house with a chipboard subfloor. Not sure if she means douglas fir or birch. Has anyone experience of doing this? Any success? Any recommendations on procedure? I'm not really...

Hi again Pete, Finally getting onto this alcove shelf project - now I've got the compressor and brad nailer. One last question, if you don't mind. Do you machine up your softwood battens or just buy from the timber merchants? I'll be making 40mm shelves so I could machine up some 28mm thick...

Thanks for your suggestions. Jason - So, household bleach applied with an artist's brush? And leave for a while? Matt - And the Aeroply - apply it with contact adhesive in situ? And would you know of any suppliers in the London area? Thanks for your advice.

Hi all, I've just come to the end of fitting a coffee bar in a new shop and the client is unhappy with one of the plywood panels on display. The panel in question has a kind of flaming effect at the bottom and the client wants it replaced with a more uniformly-grained bit of ply. I've...

I managed to get a barely-used Bambi HP3-2P compressor for £200 off ebay. And also a 2nd hand bostitch 18g pin gun for £35. Still waiting for the gun to arrive, but I'm pretty sure I made the right decision; the compressor will be useful for other tasks too like you say. Karl

Great. Thanks Brian! Now I need to find a PC to try it out - sometimes I regret buying a Mac! Thanks again.

Hi all, I was wondering if there was a (free!) piece of software out there for optimizing cutting lists when using sheet materials. Has anyone used one? Thanks for any assistance. Cheers, Karl

Hi all, Can anyone recommend a good book on the subject of fitted furniture? I've been following my own (generally successful) methods for a few years now, but I'm interested to see how others do it. I've got a Taunton book called 'Built-ins and Storage', but it's a bit too...

Great. Thanks for all of your advice. As such, I'm now erring towards the compressor route. I've seen a cheap and compact Bambi model and there are a fair few 2nd hand Bostich 18g nailers out there for a decent price. Thanks again for all your suggestions. Karl

Hi all, Can anyone recommend a reliable and good quality pin gun? I'm guessing that I'll probably only use it for jobs like MDF torsion box shelving and attaching beading. So nothing too powerful is needed. I haven't got a compressor, so is there a good electric one available? (It looks...

Thanks Pete. You've been hugely helpful. It's not a method I've ever considered - sounds great! Thanks again. Karl

Thanks Pete - that's really useful. So, just to clarify - battens are screwed to sides and back of alcove first - then you scribe top and bottom skins to alcove. Do you next glue timber reinforcing frame to top skin and lastly put in place and screw bottom skin to top skin? Thanks

Brilliant - really useful advice. Thanks chaps. Impressed by the scribing cleat idea - fortunately, these shelves are just going to be hand-painted MDF. So, if alcoves are dovetailed awkward way round, I'm now thinking of gluing up the shelves in situ; top skin with battens already attached to...