Laundry Basket

[wizer]

Well it's been a total of 26 weeks (52hrs) at my local Woodworking Night Class... but here it is... FINISHED!

It is a laundry basket made of White Beech and Pink Beech. The base is a single peice of MDF. The finish is just a clear coat of Briwax. Dimensions: 60cm wide by 40cm deep by 80cm high. Total cost of wood was £130 The combination of White and Pink beech was down to my own error. When I ordered the wood for the rails and posts, in my ignorance, I just asked for beech. Picked it up and started making the mortice and tennons. When it came to the rails I rang the same place and on this occaision was asked if I wanted Pink or White... "err White" I asked. Turns out the first lot was pink. However it worked out well in this instance as there is a slight 2 tone effect. The rails were biscuit jointed into place. Clamping up was a scary prospect!

There are a few mistakes to note on this project. My mortice and tennons were a little ropey and the finished joints are not as perfect as i'd hoped. Also a couple of rails were too short ans show a small gap up close. The other mistakes are all design related. You have probably guessed it's a little on the big side! Go on then, its probably the biggest (and most expensive) laundry basket ever made! It does however fit it's new home well and not look too out of place. My initial plan did not allow for a base and so had to make do with MDF. This is fine but if I had thought about it early on I could have rebated the base inso the bottoms rails, no biggy.

I have learned a tremendous ammount from this project (and even more from my mistakes!). This is the first time I have ever made anything out of wood. I did not learn any woodworking, CDT etc at school so this is all brand new to me.

More pics at http://www.wizer.co.uk/lb

 

[Gill]

Errors? What errors? I can't see any, and I doubt anyone else could unless you pointed them out. One of the big problems whenever we make something is that we're never satisfied - to others, it may be a thing of beauty but we focus on the little details that could be improved.

So sit back, WiZeR, and take the well-earned plaudits for a nicely designed and well constructed piece. I think it looks impressive, especially considering your lack of experience. Thanks for showing it to us and explaining how it was produced.

Gill

 

[DaveL]

WiZeR,

Very nice, the contrast works out OK, looks like a design feature.

My experience of laundry baskets is they are NEVER too big

Pity it was not finished a bit sooner, you could have entered the competition with it. :roll:

 

[Chris Knight]

It looks great and you have to know the mistakes are there to appreciate them!

FWIW, there aren't really two kinds of beech - the pink colour comes when it is steamed during kilning which is done to make the colour more uniform.

 

[Alf]

=D> That's so nice the laundry will be throwing itself in. Oh, and the pink/white beech thing? That's not a mistake. That's a design opportunity, and I'd say you got a good result. And as you say, you've learnt lots from the process, which is what it's all about. So what's next then? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[wizer]

thanks all for your kind words. I am very proud of it, tbh I didnt think it would turn out anywhere near as good. when I did the first dry fit and it was square I nearly fell over! :wink:

I had hoped to enter this in the compo. But ironicly my drill/driver died at the last moment! ...and the prize was a drill! Still, the winning entry was a hard act to follow.

Next? Well I have a Decking Project to complete first. :? Once this is complete I will have a clear area to build a workshop/shed. I have signed up for another year of evening classes and am thinking about using the time to make lots of little inexpensive things like jigs, tool boxes and router tables. Oh, and I want to have a go at the lathe next year too!

I am slowly building up a set of tools. Its hard when you start off because you want everything! Need to sit down and make a list of what I really need first.

 

[tim]

Very nice - well done. Glad you took a photo without the laundry in it! :lol:

Cheers

Tim

 

[wizer]

Very nice - well done. Glad you took a photo without the laundry in it! :lol:

Cheers

Tim

not sure LOLM would have allowed that! :lol:

 

[Waka]

WiZer

Looks too good for laundry to me, as has been mentioned above, don't worry about the contrasting colours, it looks just great.

Thanks for posting and look fo0rward to viewing the next project.

 

[Bean]

Nice One WiZer

Bean

 

[dedee]

Wizer, well done, very nice piece, there is certainly plenty of room to loose the odd sock in there.

Andy