Hello all, my name is Brandon, I am new here.
Introduction (skip if you don’t care)
I am an aspiring woodworker in South Florida, east coast, with interests in Japanese woodworking (as well as blacksmithing and laminated metals), fine cabinetry, minimalist furniture, tiny houses and trick cabinetry, Native bow/arrow making, and someday instrument making (flamenco guitar, violin, traditional banjo, possibly wooden drums). Tobacco pipe making is very enticing as well but no way can I fit a metal lathe anywhere, tiny warehouses cost $2,000/month here. Nope.
I have barely any space to work, so I don’t own power tools except for an angle grinder and Dremel. Maybe I will add a very small and cheap drill press and band saw someday. I dream of owning a power hammer... but again, will have to relocate! I have plenty of Japanese chisels, a few planes, a router is my only specialty plane (been waiting on a Veritas right-hand plow plane for months now), Japanese saws, gouges, carving tools, and the standard miscellaneous things, gennou, measuring and marking tools, etc. Standard tiny setup, it could all fit in a Harry Potter closet.
For now, I sleep on the ground and roll my bed up each morning to utilize the space I have. Any power tools would be outside use only. A small floor bench is all I have for now, a Western bench for instrument making in the future would be necessary, I think.
Project
It's possible this could've been posted in the project section, but with the hand tool restriction I have, I figured I'd post it here.
I would like to make a very simple hardwood hamper on wheels, using hand tools, for my grandmother, as she has trouble carrying the load to the washer. It’s last minute, as it is always is with her, trying to pry out a small bit of information as to what gift she might want. This was a little bit of a gem if I can overcome my mediocracy.
Dimensions (inches) : 12x12x30 (LxWxH) on wheels with hinged lid. Rectangular cuboid?
I have mostly been sharpening, watching, studying, and practicing the past year, so when it comes to design it is a big step that I do not feel confident tackling on my own. All I’ve really done is copy other people. I am a decent problem solver but since this is a gift, I don’t want to botch it or waste my money.
I am guessing the majority of builds online will involve plywood, unfortunately you can’t chisel plywood, and I really love chiseling, so that’s out for now. If it comes to that, I suppose I would but I’m trying to avoid it, might as well buy one premade at that point…
I am hoping to have some foundational suggestions to approaching a hardwood hamper on wheels. I have the feeling I might have to cut a ludicrous amount of dovetails. How about just a few gigantic dovetails, like absurdly sized cartoon puzzle pieces, with some dowels implemented vertically through the edge tails? Mostly kidding... I could go the box making route, or I could go the 4 corner post route with paneling… 1x12 is not unreasonable if it's pine, but I might have to laminate two 1x6s for the sides if they're hardwood accents.
Honestly, I just barely know where to begin, it's overwhelming to me. I can picture something but I can' really arrive at the point where I say this should work. Not to mention the dozens of structural tips and innovations that you develop with actual experience.
I have access to a small number of hardwood lumber, but I will likely have to tackle this using select pine from Home Depot, accented by hardwoods as mentioned.
Perspective drawing is something else I need to practice, so I can post photos of my idea, but they're bad for now... It should be pretty simple though to picture, small yet tall box on wheels with hinged lid.
Regards!
Side note: I am still looking for a proper lumber yard here in South East Florida, I have extremely small ones locally, relatively small ones about an hour away, and it looks like the decent ones, as per a search on this forum, are about 3+ hours away. I really, really hate driving so these journeys will have to be worth it for me whenever I go.
I am especially interested in Osage orange staves for bow making and as per a blog, some absolutely beautiful hammer handles.
If anyone has land in FL, I am sowing dozens of Osage orange trees, also have a tamarind available and I’m always growing things made of wood, but mostly vegetables. Contact me in half a year if you want some Osage wood to grow.
I would like to make a very simple hardwood hamper on wheels, using hand tools, for my grandmother, as she has trouble carrying the load to the washer. It’s last minute, as it is always is with her, trying to pry out a small bit of information as to what gift she might want. This was a little bit of a gem if I can overcome my mediocracy.
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