1st proper project - HELP!!

[BHwoodworking]

i have been tasked with making a shelving unit ( (hammer) ) and would like some help. i was thinking 18mm ply would be OK for the best part of it. B&Q do it pretty cheep if you have a trade card. or would using ply be shooting myself in the foot?

i need a table saw 1st though.

should i use pocket hole and glue for the best part of the assembly or what?

any help would be apreciateD

 

[Yojevol]

Some rough dimensions would be helpful. What are the shelves going to support, heavy books? What's the situation? Is it going to be painted?
Brian

 

[thetyreman]

when you say unit, how many shelves? what size? what design?

 

[sunnybob]

B&Q are at the lowest end of the quality spectrum for wood.
If youre thinking of just clear varnish it might be worth finding better quality at a woodyard.
If its going to filled, primed and painted, then theres no problem.

 

[MikeG.]

You don't need a table saw. A simple hand-held circular saw and straight edge is fine for breaking down sheet material into usable sizes. Any table saw that can handle sheet materials is going to occupy a huge amount of space and cost a lot of money.

If you use ply then you'll need to do lipping. Have you done that before?

Don't ever buy wood or wood products from B&Q. Ever. Find you local builder's merchant, or timber merchant, and start there.

No, pocket holes will show in your completed project, and look terrible. You need to house out for the shelves.

Edit...

If you're really 15, then you might just give us an idea of what projects you've tackled to date, what sort of kit you have, and what sort of workspace you have.

 

[sunnybob]

I think at 15 he's not legal with ANY power tools :shock: :shock: =D>

Be careful lad, powered saw blades are very unforgiving. :roll: :roll:

 

[Trevanion]

As what's already been said, the stuff you'll find at rip-off merchants such as B&Q will be of poor quality and very high price usually, you'd be better off looking for an alternative supplier such as a proper builders merchant which stocks decent plywood (not shuttering ply!). Alternatively, you could also call around with local joiners and cabinetmakers and scrounge for some off-cuts of plywood if you're not looking for anything too particular if you're going to paint it or something like that, If you're planning on persuing a job in the trades once you leave school it won't hurt to have networked with some local craftsmen anyway

Personally, I would forget about the pocket screws. They have their place in some jobs but you can't beat traditional methods for the strongest and best lasting work and if anything it can be easier to work traditionally with proper housing joints since they self-align and are very easy to produce.

As Mike said, give us a scope of what equipment you have access to right now and that'll help us advise you on the best way to tackle the job. If it's a straightforward bookshelf kind of shelving that can be done completely with just a regular hand circular saw and some very rudimentary hand tools and be done to a very high standard.

 

[BHwoodworking]

Edit...

If you're really 15, then you might just give us an idea of what projects you've tackled to date, what sort of kit you have, and what sort of workspace you have.

i am really 15!

i have (list as follows)

18V makita drill and impact driver
Tackwise pinner
router
sander
210mm miter saw.
RP DMLSH36SH Mk2 lathe
makita 240v jigsaw
and varied hand tools.

all in a garage

and things like a play house for my sister, an outdoor mud kitchen for the same person, various hollow forms for mum, some shot glasses, a few bookends, varied wooden guns and some planters (oh and a chopping board) and many other projects that i cant remember. ive been butchering wood since i was 6.

 

[BHwoodworking]

I think at 15 he's not legal with ANY power tools :shock: :shock: =D>

Be careful lad, powered saw blades are very unforgiving. :roll: :roll:

ask anyone ive worked with. i dont prat about with power tools. ive seen 25 year olds using tools in more dangerous ways. and i have seen the dammage saw blades can do. its very nasty.

 

[BHwoodworking]

I think at 15 he's not legal with ANY power tools :shock: :shock: =D>

Be careful lad, powered saw blades are very unforgiving. :roll: :roll:

ask anyone ive worked with. i dont fool about with power tools. ive seen 25 year olds using tools in more dangerous ways.

sorry. that sounded really arrogant. i will happily admit i have a lot to learn and will learn from anyone. appoligies if i upset anyone

 

[Trevanion]

You've basically got all the kit you need to make something decent without spending too much extra cash to get there.

In an ideal world, a circular saw would be best for breaking down a sheet of plywood into smaller pieces, but you could totally do it with a jigsaw if you're patient and use new sharp blades. Mark a line which you want to cut to, follow the outside of the line with the jigsaw trying your best to cut to the line rather than cutting on the line, which may sound confusing but you want to leave the line on rather than cut through it. You can true up any wobbliness in the cut with a hand plane presuming you've got one and then you can cut the pieces to length with your mitre saw. With all the pieces cut you can trench out the housings with a router against another straight edge of plywood that's perpendicular to the edge of the plywood to give a straight cut across your shelves, you may need to put a packer in between the router and the straight edge to give the desired width of the groove. Drill holes through the housing to the outside of the shelves, countersink the holes for the screws, glue it up and screw it together.

Something I learned when I first started out is to practice patience, it doesn't come easy but once you've become patient you can really create good work rather than trying to complete work as quick as possible.

 

[MikeG.]

Many builder's merchants have a panel saw, and will cut your sheet materials for you. It's often a free service, but sometimes attracts a small fee. These saws can have a stop set so the resulting pieces should all be the same size. If you can find a place offering such a service, then take advantage of it.

Ply isn't the easiest stuff to make furniture from, because of the edges. As I said previously, these will need lipping in solid wood. Have you thought about using MDF? Moisture resistant MDF can have just a painted edge, and this would save you a lot of work compared with lipping. However, the downside is that MDF isn't as strong as ply so you'll need to have your shelves supported at closer intervals. Again, an idea of your design will help.

 

[BHwoodworking]

Ply isn't the easiest stuff to make furniture from, because of the edges. As I said previously, these will need lipping in solid wood. Have you thought about using MDF?

TVM for the advice everybody.

@MikeG ive tried using MDF before and i find it nasty to work with. it may just be personal preferance but i'd rather use ply.

And on that note

does anyone know a decent timber merchant in the harrogate area? i know of duffeald timber (great place) and AFIK they dont to ply? so could anyone help in that respect

oh. and here are the plans

EDIT

sizes updated

 

[The Bear]

Hi
How about something like this. I made this a few years ago immediately after moving house when all my machines and some of my power tools were in storage. Only power tools used were a router to house out the back, elec drill driver and track saw (which i used for cross cuts, your mitre saw would do that). Its 2 x25mm hardwood ply boxes with 6mm backs. All ply cut to dimension by the timber yard. The 2 boxes can be separated easily to move the unit if need be. The front face frame is softwood in whatever finished sized Champion had, it was designed to accommodate standard sized stock. Shelves are 25mm ply with a front lipping hung on adjustable pins, they're not fixed through the sides. That shelve of cookbooks is very heavy, this project is 5 years old, there is no noticeable sag in that shelve.
Build a simple plinth and head trim and your done. You have the tools you need to build something like this, you sound like you have the skill

 

[BHwoodworking]

ok cool.

i have been looking to get a track like this
https://www.axminster.co.uk/ujk-technol ... p-ax975938

i dont know if they are any good

i was thinking it would be helpful for ripping sheets and suchlike and things like trenching with router.

does anyone have one or simmilar?

 

[Yojevol]

i have been looking to get a track like this

That is just a self clamping straight edge. You could do the same with a straight batten and a couple G-clamps at no cost

 

[MikeG.]

BH,

firstly, your images aren't showing, so we have no idea what you are proposing. Secondly, stop falling into the trap of thinking you need new kit. You don't. Discuss the stuff which is mission-critical, as I believe some people say these days. Trivia about new tools is for another day.

What you need to do is settle on a design, and to work out how to best deliver that design. As I said in my previous post, slicing ply up can be done at the point of purchase, or, as I said in an earlier post, you can clamp a straight edge to the work and push a circular saw along against it. That is not the issue. The issues are these:

- how are you lipping the ply?
-how are you planning to join the corners of the outer box together (ie form the structure)?
-how are you planning to support the shelves at the uprights?
-how are you planning to rebate the back edge to take the back panel?

Secondary issues include:
-will you want a face-frame?
-do you want to raise the bottom shelf off the floor on some sort of plinth/ skirting arrangement?
-will there be a pediment/ cove?

Show us your design and most of those questions answer themselves. You have a design and construction issue here, NOT a tool issue, so it is difficult to understand why you keep talking about tools, and don't talk about your design proposals at all.

 

[nev]

Hi BH
Your images don't show because the (img) tags are use to link to a pic hosted elsewhere. You need to use the upload attachment function from below the save draft / preview/ submit buttons (don't forget to click the 'add the file' button.)

more info in the picture guide at the top of the forum page picture-posting-guide-t63716.html#p1138049

 

[That would work]

I would second what Mike has said about having the sheet cut for you at a builders merchant, just give them a cutting list/diagram showing how you want it all cut from the sheet. I would say that simple but well made is always best. Stick to what you know you can do by hand as far as possible.

 

[BHwoodworking]

BH,

firstly, your images aren't showing, so we have no idea what you are proposing.

- how are you lipping the ply?
-how are you planning to join the corners of the outer box together (ie form the structure)?
-how are you planning to support the shelves at the uprights?
-how are you planning to rebate the back edge to take the back panel?

Secondary issues include:
-will you want a face-frame?
-do you want to raise the bottom shelf off the floor on some sort of plinth/ skirting arrangement?
-will there be a pediment/ cove?

Show us your design and most of those questions answer themselves. You have a design and construction issue here, NOT a tool issue, so it is difficult to understand why you keep talking about tools, and don't talk about your design proposals at all.

sorry about the immages. i cant get them to work.

i was going to paint it so i'm not sure what lipping to do

i am going to support the shelves at the uprights

i was thinking about trenching out the backs a bit to make the shelves sit in a bit.

sizes are

Front - LH - 1660mm
base is 1000mm
RH is 740mm
the main base is 350mm deep then 400mm up it recesses to 200mm with shelves every 300mm high.

sorry if not clear. it is correct that it is lop sided.

i will put a face frame on. (what would be the best wood for this?)

and for clarification there is a bit of storage underneath that is 350mm deep and the area that is slightly reasesed has a lid to get to it.

it will just sit right onto carpet.