Recent Work

[SketchUp Guru]

Since I haven't got any pictures of my recent work, I thought I'd show off a piece my brother did.

3/4" plywood case. Doors are pine rail and stile with tempered hardboard raised panels. The top is slate--44Kg.

 

[Waka]

Dave

Lools pretty damn posh for the workshop, any specific reason for the slate top?

 

[Shultzy]

I thought hardboard was only 1/8" thick?

 

[SketchUp Guru]

I thought it was pretty nice for a shop, too. Of course our house is decorated in early rummage sale and poor college student, anyway.

The slate top is because he got it for free. the corner posts on his cabinet are the original legs for the table which had the slate top.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

We get it in 1/8" and 1/4" over here. Of course the hardboard bushes grow here so maybe that explains it.

 

[Shultzy]

It looks a lot thicker than 1/4", but maybe its the photo.

 

[Roger]

Dave - can you explain that a bit. That's about 60 - 70 lbs of equipment sitting there, so it stays there I guess! Does he pull up a chair to use it down at that level or what?

What happens when that weight is levering down against the cabinet? No tendency to tilt at all?

 

[SketchUp Guru]

It looks a lot thicker than 1/4", but maybe its the photo.

I though it did, too. He said he ran the groove in the rails and stiles with a single pass on the tablesaw. BTW, there's another door on the left end built the same way.

That's about 60 - 70 lbs of equipment sitting there, so it stays there I guess! Does he pull up a chair to use it down at that level or what?

What happens when that weight is levering down against the cabinet? No tendency to tilt at all?

He said the sander weighs in at 90 lbs. He plans to lift it up on to the table when he wants to use it. I told him it's his back. He said there was no tendency at all for the cabinet to tilt or tip. The drawer glides are rated for 150 lbs so they aren't working hard at all. I suppose the weight of the cabinet and the top counter balance the sander pretty well.. Once he loads up the other side, I imagine you could about stand on the pullout shelf and not tip the thing over.

 

[Roger]

He said the sander weighs in at 90 lbs. He plans to lift it up on to the table when he wants to use it.

I wonder how long that'll last :wink: Glad it's him not me .....

 

[SketchUp Guru]

He'll probably end up making a very low stool to sit on while using it.

 

[CYC]

Very nice job, makes my workshop units look a little... trashy!

Excuse my ignorance but is "tempered hardboard" MDF?

 

[SketchUp Guru]

CYC, his projects always make me think I should sell my tools.

Regarding the tempered hardboard, it is known commonly in the US as Masonite. It is similar to MDF in that it is made up of bits of wood but it isn't quite the same. The following is quoted from the wikipedia.

"Masonite is a type of hardboard formed using the Mason method (invented by William H. Mason) by taking wooden chips and blasting them into long fibres using steam and then forming it into boards. The boards are then pressed and heated to form the finished boards. No glue or other material is added. The long fibres give Masonite a high bending strength, tensile strength and stability. Masonite was invented in 1924 in Laurel, Mississippi. Manufacturing started in 1929. In the 1930s and 1940s Masonite was used for many things like roofing, walls, desktops, electric guitars, canoes, etc. Later, the popularity faded, but it is still used, most notably by hobbyists. Masonite is very smooth and has found use in table tennis tables and skateboard ramps. Masonite is also popular among theater companies as an inexpensive way to construct walls on-stage. Moving companies are large users of Masonite. Their use applications are varied, ranging from protecting the walls of buildings they are moving in and out of and laid down on the floors and halls of office buildings to enable the smooth rolling of their dollies loaded with packed goods. A large move can entail many hundreds of 3 x 5 foot sheets.

Also called Marsonite. In Europe, this product is also known as Isorel.

Here are some clipboards I found that are made with Masonite

 

[dedee]

Dave,
did your brother take the complete table and just make the cabinet inside it? Or did he pull the table frame apart and reuse the legs/top?

Whichever way he did it is sure looks useful.

Andy

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Andy, I believe he disassembled the table and reused the legs for the cabinet.

Thank you to all for thew compliments. I'll pass them on.

I always tell him his woodworking isn't too bad for a machinist.

 

[Johnboy]

Dave, very posh for the workshop. Any idea why he mitred the rails and stiles on the doors? Seems a hard way to do it for a painted cabinet.

John

 

[SketchUp Guru]

John, one word should answer your question. "Machinist"

It did make it easier to cut the grooves for the panels without having holes to fill on the ends of the of the stiles. And considering he used pocket screws, the mitre gave him room to get a longer screw in.

Who knows. If he'd asked me before he built the doors I'd have advised against the hardboard panels but they seem to work.