His & Hers Magazine Caddies

[Brett Luna]

My wife and I have long kept some kind of basket or box on either side of our loveseat to hold an iPad, magazines/catalogs, tissue, etc. Nothing fancy...but serviceable. A good while back, mine started coming apart and finally exploded in a shower of candy wrappers, unread junk mail, and what-have-you. Looking for replacements wasn't as easy as it used to be, I suppose, because magazines and things to hold them are going the way of the Dodo. So I decided to make a pair.

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The design started with the idea of accommodating a box of tissue in its own compartment. Since height was driven essentially by magazine width, that allowed two standard size tissue boxes to be stacked one atop the other, so a fresh box is ready at hand. From there, I limited organization to one divider with one compartment being larger, to it can be further organized with separate containers. The plan of each was mirrored for symmetry.

Construction was of QSWO; finished with a home brew of beeswax, BLO, and turpentine; and ammonia fumed for color.

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[Yonak Hawkins]

..Very classy, Brett .. and it looks quite serviceable for your needs. I love that color. It looks luscious.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Very nicely done Brett!

Was it hard to fume the WO?

[Brett Luna]

Thanks, gents!


Was it hard to fume the WO?

Not at all. The finish is not only old school or even historical, it has an added advantage: you can fume right through it. So, I was able to finish the interiors prior to assembly, then the exterior after glue-up and final sanding. Then they went in organizer totes with half a plastic drinking cup of janitorial strength (10%) ammonia for 24 hours.

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I was unsure if the fumes would react with the lovely Brusso hinges, so they (ed: the lids) sat in the bottom of the boxes on pucks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Thanks for the response Brett! I may decide to try the ammonia fuming method on a future project!

[Phil Mueller]

Really nice, Brett. Yes, some of the organizational furniture we have come to enjoy are no longer readily available. Well thought out design. Those youngins don’t know what they are missing.

[Frederick Skelly]

Very nice Brett! Thanks for the lesson on fuming, too!
Fred

[Rob Luter]

These look great. The missus and I keep a basket between our TV chairs that serves much the same role. Perhaps I need to up my game? She'd be tickled to death with the Kleenex feature.

[Brett Luna]

Thanks for the response Brett! I may decide to try the ammonia fuming method on a future project!

You're welcome, Ken. For your future reference, two online references (of many) made the process quite approachable for me:



Make a Historic Beeswax, Oil & Turpentine Furniture Polish Finish (https://woodandshop.com/make-a-historic-beeswax-oil-turpentine-furniture-polish-finish/)
How to Beautifully Fume Furniture with Cheap Ammonia (https://woodandshop.com/how-to-fume-ammonia-fuming-experiment-cheap-ammonia/)


...both from WoodandShop.com (https://woodandshop.com/).



The missus and I keep a basket between our TV chairs that serves much the same role. Perhaps I need to up my game? She'd be tickled to death with the Kleenex feature.

I'd be glad to share the SketchUp file, if you like. Just shoot me a PM with your addy.

[Will Boulware]

Those look great! Nice work!

[Kris Cook]

Just saw this. Good idea, and nice execution.