Handyman

Something Out of Scrap

2010-04-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Following one of our never ending improvement projects, such as building a new deck, the Inn inevitably is left with a lot of scrap. Rather than tossing it aside, Plant Manager Gary Wince often devises creative ways to re-fabricate such material, including wall mounted binocular holders and decorative waste baskets - just two of many examples of how Gary imaginitvely re-uses the Inn's own scrap to craft something both functional and attractive.

Material List

As not everyone is lucky enough to have storage space for scrap material, the instructions below are based on standard 1" x 12" pine shelving and ¾" plywood available at any lumberyard.

Tool List

Table saw
Router with radius attachment
Hammer and nails or finish nailer
Square
Wood Glue

Directions

Cut bottom and top ring out of ¾" plywood, using router with radius attachment (or any device that will cut circles such as a jig saw).
Cut plywood circle 1” larger than desired bottom size. As an example, for a 12” bottom, cut 13” circle. Then reduce radius by ½”.
Cut outer ring. It's important to plunge cut to keep top ring intact and in one piece. This will result in a 12” bottom and a 13” top ring.
Cut the pickets or side pieces to the desired length of waste basket.
Router, dado or saw a notch ½” from bottom of 1" x 12" pine shelving to fit snugly into edge of bottom piece.
Slice board into pickets ¾” to 1” wide (no more for ¾” stock).
Note: For a 12” bottom with 1” wide pickets, approximately 36 to 38 pickets will be needed.

Assembly

Take a picket and apply wood glue to notch.
Press or tap onto edge of bottom piece, using square to make sure picket is 90 degrees off of bottom piece and nail.
Continue adding pickets in this manner around bottom, keeping pickets tight together.
When roughly half of the circle has been completed, attach top ring using wood glue and nails.
Continue to attach pickets to top ring with wood glue and nails, working from center picket around each side until all pickets are installed.

Comments

The waste basket does not need to circular in shape but can be oval, square, rectangle,etc. The resulting structure does not even have to be used a waste basekt but can be utilized as a planter, magazine rack, etc. As always, use both your imagination and your scrap. Hopefully, you'll have both in abundant supply.

For a video tutorial, click below.

French Cleat Shelf

2009-11-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

All of our overnight accommodations feature French Cleats - shelves that appear suspended from the wall without any support and which also serve as great space savers. Plant Manager Gary Wince fabricated all these shelves and offers both written instructions as well as a video tutorial for their fabrication below.

Material List

2" x 4" x 8' cut of wood
1" x 4" x 10' cut of wood
1" x 12" x 8' cut of pine shelving
1.25" & 3" galvanized deck screws
wood glue
small finish nails

Of the wood material outlined above, all are standard lumber yard items. Length will vary according to the desired shelf size. The lengths called for above will make one 8' long shelf, or two 4' long shelves and so on.

Tool List

tape measure
table saw
stud finder
drill/driver
level
hammer

Directions

Cleat Fabrication

cut 2" x 4" to the desired shelf length, less 3" for shelf skirts
3" space allows 1.5" on each side for a .75" skirt and overhand reveal
cut 2" x 4" on table saw that is set at a 45 degree angle
set saw fence to leave roughly 1" before cutting

Wall & Cleat Combination

attach one cleat to wall at studs (stud finder helpful), using 3" galvanized deck screws (drill/driver helpful)
angled side of cleat should face wall, creating a triangular shape between wall and cleat
leave 1" lip toward wall with pointed part of cleat on level facing up

Shelf & Cleat Combination

using wood glue & finishing nails, attach shelf to the other cleat, leaving 1.5" on either side of cleat
the longest flat side of cleat will face the wall with pointed part of cleat facing down
cut two wood pieces for side skirt, leaving the pieces 3" shorter than depth of shelf
cut one wood piece for front skirt, measured from outside to outside of each side skirt

Finish

slip cleated shelf into the wall cleat - enjoy, stain, paint, go wild

Comments

Use your imagination with French Cleats, as they can be used to hang a variety of objects other than just shelves, including hanging headboards, large portraits and so on.

For a video tutorial, click below.

Illuminated Spirits

2009-09-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

The most popular items in our gift shop are what we call Illuminated Spirits, that is, decorative vodka bottles filled with colorful Christmas lights. They create a festive ambiance particularly suitable for the holiday season.

Immediately below is a material and tool list as well as written instructions for their fabrication. At the very bottom is a video tutorial hosted by Plant Manager Gary Wince.

Material List

empty liquor bottle: thicker ones work best as thin bottles tend to crack when drilling; decorative vodka bottles work especially well
strand of 35 to 50 color or clear bulb Christmas lights with no female plug at its end, which can be found at Hobby Lobby for around $2.00
red wire butt connectors (smallest size available), which can be found at any hardware store for around $2.00 for a box of 20
small tube of clear silicone, which can be found at any hardware store for around $2.00
on-off thumb switch (optional)

Tool List

quarter inch glass/tile drill bit
drill press or stand; very difficult to do if not impossible with hand-held drill
stripper/crimper
WD40
wire coat hanger

Directions

Drain the bottle of all contents (fun part)
Secure bottle to drill press or stand, using bungee cord or duct tape
Drill hole on backside of bottle near the bottom, spraying often with WD40 to keep glass bit cool
Cut light wire between plug and first light, leaving approximately 2” from first light, therefore leaving long pig tail on plug end
Insert plug side wire (consisting of two entwined wires) into bottle through hole all the way to plug
Take special wire retrieval tool (made from wire coat hanger) and fish wire up and out of bottle neck
Using stripper/crimper and two wire butt connectors, strip wires on both sets of wires and re-attached plug side wires to light sides wires
Insert lights into top of bottle and pull plug out away from bottle and silicone hole
Plug in and enjoy
Optional: on-off thumb switch available (follow instruction on thumb switch box)

For a video tutorial, click below.