One of my "Scrapboxes" - what did you expect from ME!?

[Dale Thompson]

Hi Folks,
My daughter is into "Scrapbooking". And since she just gave us our first grandchild back in September, I thought that I should do her a favor in return. Hmmmm? Is a grandchild REALLY a FAVOR??!! ;)

As you may know, "Scrapbookers" use 12"x12" paper instead of being normal. Anyway, she gave me a catalog picture of a special "Scrapbooking" cabinet that she wanted but the $1500 price tag was a bit too steep. On inspection it looked like a bunch of particle board with some basic pine drawers. One "feature" was a pull-out desk top. The problem was that the unit had two full-length doors which made it necessary to open both to use the desktop.

Another thing was that "scrapbookers" use 15" hanging files in their file drawers. Don't ever ask a women, especially if she is your daughter, why you need 15" files for 12" paper!! The answer: DAAD!! If you DON'T want to make it - then just DON'T!! HMMM thought I. I'll get YOU!! I can check the strength of the foundation of your new house if I make this thing out of solid 3/4" OAK.

I used four doors instead of two so the desktop could be pulled out independently. I added a 2" and a 4" drawer to each side of the bottom to add storage and take up some "wasted" space. The top section will be divided by some sectional verticals and have three shelves on each side. I tried to turn some spindles for the divider but they look sort of bourgeois in this particular design. :(

Before you inundate me with criticism, I must admit that I have a few changes to make. First off, the front of the desktop should be even with the outside of the carcass - not the inside. I forgot about the way the doors would look. Secondly, I have a drawer where my splitting maul must have been dull when I made one of the rear dovetails. That has GOT to be fixed. NEVER cut dovetails with a DULL splitting maul!! Lastly, the unit is WAY to heavy for me to move out of my shop. No sweat. The answer to that one is easy. I will simply have to bulldoze down most of the house so that I have room for a boom crane to lift my
"Scrapbox". ;)

Thanks for looking. I would have included a pic of my new grandson but he is working on the lathe. Besides, I can't post his picture when I don't even know how to post MINE on my intro thumbnail. No problem. My wife has already posted all pictures of me, YEP - you guessed it - in HER scrapbox!! :o

By the way, if you have any comments on the pictures, please be kind. I am an ultra-sensitive person with absolutely NO self-esteem. :D

Dale T.

[Lloyd Robins]

No criticisms here. I think that it looks great! You daughter is luck to have you as a dad. Thanks for posting.

[John Christiansen]

I'd say creating something like that, should help to boost the self esteem thing.

Excellent!!!!!

[Dick Parr]

:D OutStanding :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Very fine job there Dale..!!!! A job well done and I'm very sure that your daughter will be most pleased.!!! Thanks for sharing.

[Dave Arbuckle]

That's one beautiful cabinet, great work.

You mentioned the pull-out not being flush with the doors. Is it far enough back that you could fit it with a false front and come out flush?

Dave

[Bob Lasley]

Dale,

That dang thing looks horrible, horribley good that is! I think your daughter will be proud to have it in her home. Sure would like to learn your technique for cutting dovetails with a splitting maul. Best I've been able to do with mine is box joints.

Excellent work sir,
Bob

[John Miliunas]

See there your rotten, no-good, lyin' blankety-blank-blank! :D I *KNEW* it! I just *KNEW* it! I *KNEW* you were holding out on us! You and all your talk about not having anything decent to post. Grrrrrrr.....Ahhhhh. A man after my own heart! (Must be the brat & beer diet!) :rolleyes:

Anyhow, that is really a beautiful piece of furniture! I could easily see that lending itself to many different collecting hobbies with little or no modification. Very, very well done, Dale! Oh, and for those dovetails, I've got a pretty sharp splitting maul over here, which I'm no longer using.....You're welcome to it! :cool:

[Jim Becker]

That's an impressive piece of furniture, Dale. Very attractive and it looks like it will easily handle it's intended purpose. Great job!

[Ray Dockrey]

That is very, very nice. That is something that can and will be passed down from generation to generation.

[Chris Padilla]

Nice clean and flowing design. With some of the drawers full of reams and reams of paper, I do not think it will fall over any time soon! :)

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Dale
I have to echo everyone else and also say that it sure looks well thought out and beautiful. I'm sure that your daughter will find it very functional.
Daniel :cool:

[Jason Tuinstra]

Dale, I'm sure your daughter is going to love this! It seems like it is going to fit all her needs. Excellent job.

[Jim Hill 2]

I have got to find a way to make sure my wife never, never, never finds this site or figures out how to read these posts. She is a big time scrap booker and has been complaining about needing more room and a better way to store her stuff. I'm so backlogged with projects this would make my problem even worse.

Great job Dale! Your design is beautiful and functional. What else could she ask for? Good luck with the crane!

Jim

[Kurt Aebi]

BeeeaaaAAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!
Fantastic job - there is no need to critisize.
You did a fantastic Job.
What type of finish are you planning to use?
Did you use plane, make your own or just wing-it as I usually do.

[Stan Smith]

Damn Dale! That's a real nice piece of work! I'm a grandpa, too, and you will have to make stuff for your grandson as well, my friend. Please don't tell my daughter or wife about your cabinet. They do scrapbooking, too. ;)

Stan

[Rusty Hughes, Indy]

Wow, excellent work. Now I just need to keep my wife from seeing this.

Thanks for the pics.

[Walt Pater]

Nice piece. About the weight: let the son-in-law carry it out.

[Dan Stuewe]

I don't mind showing this to my scrapbooking/sewing/stamping wife. I've got her so well trained she never expects anything out of me! (one of these day's I'll get that Pottery Barn Doll House/Bookshelf done too - 18 months and counting...)

[Dale Thompson]

Coming from you guys, anything more than, "That is the crummiest piece of junk that I have ever seen" is a REAL compliment. My self esteem has just sky rocketed to a 10. That's an easy number to remember because it is also my IQ. :o

Dave, Yep! That is what I plan to do. I've got room for the "false front". I just have to be careful with the cut so that I maintain the dovetail on the original front. Going from two doors to four doors made me totally forget the "flush" thing. :( It was pretty obvious when I did the first "dry" assembly.

Kurt, my "plan" was a catalog picture. I did some guessing on the scale of the shelves and drawers and sort of sketched out my own "plan". I'm sure that I will get better when I advance to pencils for making plans. Crayons are great for color but they do have their limitations when it comes to accuracy. :( I plan to use a light Oak stain on the unit so that it will match the "paper holder" which I made for her a couple of months ago. My shop is no where near big enough to varnish all of those pieces. I will bring the whole pile over to a friend who will spray laquer on the finished product.

As for YOU, SPRING GREEN -- SHUSH!! You guessed it. I've been fourth and twenty-six all of my life. Why should I change? Oak Express had a special on these things so I stole one. How far is Spring Green from Waupun? :eek:

Two other comments. First, I want the emails of the wives of you guys who are too lazy to make them ALL of the stuff that they need for scrapbooking. Shame on you!! They tolerate YOUR hobby! You should be thrilled to support theirs. (Do I know how to make friends - or what??) :D Second, I packed the two lower sections with so many drawers that I don't have enough room to install a latch to keep the doors closed!?! :o SHOOT!! My self-esteem is back in the pits - where it belongs.

Thanks again, folks!! :)

Dale T.

[John Miliunas]

As for YOU, SPRING GREEN -- SHUSH!! Oak Express had a special on these things so I stole one.

"Oak Express" my @$$! They wouldn't dream of having *anything* THAT nice! Very well executed, my fine Packer Backer friend! Very nice, indeed! :cool:

[Jeff Skory]

Beautiful piece Dale. I love all the drawers. But seriously dude, you need to be a little less hard on yourself. ;)

Jeff

[EliotMason]

Let's see, my daughter is 7 months old. I can hope that gives me at least 21 years before grandchildren. I just might figure out this woodworking thing by then so I can make something as nice!

Sweet work!

[David Blangger]

You gotta work on that self esteem thing......or your work will continue to look that great:)

[Tyler Howell]

Dale,

Your daughter will be very happy, now send one to my daughter so she can be happy too.:p

[Jay Kilpatrick]

Hi Folks,
My daughter is into "Scrapbooking".

Hah! So is the LOML.


As you may know, "Scrapbookers" use 12"x12" paper instead of being normal. Anyway, she gave me a catalog picture of a special "Scrapbooking" cabinet that she wanted but the $1500 price tag was a bit too steep.

SO TRUE, that thing looks like a piece of dung (even in person, as one of my well to do friends bought one for his LOML.)


Before you inundate me with criticism, I must admit that I have a few changes to make.

No critism, I'm just wondering why you didn't choose to make the bottom part of the cabinet an enclosure to house roll-out cabinets for paper, scissors, markers, doo-dads etc. That would give the person sitting at the desk clearence for their legs while working...or "scrapping" as it is called. But we'll not get into all the particulars of scrapbooking :eek: , much less rubber stamping... :eek: :eek:

Good looking project, congrats!

Warmest Regards,
~Jay Kilpatrick in Dayton, Ohio

[Dale Thompson]

Jay,
I'm not sure how to answer that one. On the other hand, I'm not sure that she will be "sitting at the desk". I think that the desk is just another place to put her "junk". That's why it is designed to carry a 150 lb. load - she is a "real" messy "scrapbooker". The special "Scrapbooking Room" which I finished for her last Spring has about 20' of desktop space which has plenty of legroom. Whatever, if you are a parent, you know that you can never apologize enough for your kids, regardless of their age or hobbies. :o I can only hope that HER kids will turn out better than MINE did!! ;) Is anyone good for some bail money?? I'm plumb dry!?! :D

Dale T.



No critism, I'm just wondering why you didn't choose to make the bottom part of the cabinet an enclosure to house roll-out cabinets for paper, scissors, markers, doo-dads etc. That would give the person sitting at the desk clearence for their legs while working...or "scrapping" as it is called. But we'll not get into all the particulars of scrapbooking :eek: , much less rubber stamping... :eek: :eek:

Good looking project, congrats!

Warmest Regards,
~Jay Kilpatrick in Dayton, Ohio[/QUOTE]