Finished Cabinets

Good news! I finally finished off a project I started last year. The big kitchen remodel has been wrapped up since this past winter, but there was still this loose end I needed to tie down. We found space behind the walls, so I built some cabinets. But I needed to build drawers and hang some really long slides to make the cabinets actually usable. What else do you do with one hole in the wall that is 3' deep?

Starting point - 2' deep on the left, 3' on the right

I started by attaching the drawer slides to the walls. That gave me the measurement for the width of the drawer. These are kind of high off of the ground so I needed a short side to the drawer, and a high back to prevent stuff from falling out.

Turns out, I made the drawers too exact on the width. It fit in between the slides, but they wouldn't actually slide. Eventually I had to plane and sand my way to a more narrow drawer.

It fits but won't slide

That works! Attached the door and now it mostly slides

It's actually 35" deep

So I started with the right side drawer. Built the box, fitted it into the hole, and attached the slides. Then attached the door front and handle so it looks natural.  Hopefully I can apply these lessons learned onto the left drawer?

mmmmm slides

This one was easier

Finished product! Looks natural

This one is only 2' deep

I'm really glad this kitchen remodel is finally done. After my surgery, I couldn't lift anything heavy but the recovery time was really messing with me mentally. I had to do something with my hands.These drawers were light and fit the bill. Great way to keep my hands busy, keep the wife off my back about finishing these things, and give me that feeling of accomplishment. Of course, they could have been better, but the drawers get the job done.

Chines and Clamps

When last we left our sailboat, the chines and clamps had been scarfed and the epoxy was curing on the deck. Now the fun begins. This is the first time I've had to bend boards around the frames. These boards are actually the lines of the finished product, so it's kind of a big deal.

My plan is to notch the frames and attach the chines and clamps first with drywall screws. Then after they stay in shape for a while, let the frames get some rain. The wet and dry should help the piece hold its shape. We're getting into some weird bends here.

The first chine coming around the wide part of the boat

Notched into the back end

D'oh!! Got a break in the scarf

Starboard got the scarf joint on a frame - stronger that way

The boatbuilder is not looking forward to attaching those angles in the chines

But I did it anyway

Got a different problem attaching the clamps

The starboard clamp is on there

Transom is really shaping up, still have to trim off that last clamp

The port clamp broke at the scarf too

Transom is cleaning up nicely

This view really shows the lines

After the frames are all notched, the keel, chines and clamps are screwed in place. Then the lines of the final hull really start to show up. These boards are all just screwholds for the plywood in the cold molded hull. I drilled pilot holes, then countersinks before attaching with drywall screws. I got it this far before I went out to Colorado for a marathon and a few days of solo exploring. When I got back I finished the job by taking out the drywall screws, adding glue and sinking the final copper screws.

Chines and clamps on the stem

Check out the bend after I took the temp screws out!

The same board glued back in place

I like these lines, but that port clamp isn't exactly fair

And there you have it. This is as far as I can go with this boat right now. So far I've got about $150 into this setup. The next step is to buy about $500 in plywood and $250 in epoxy and fiberglass. Cold molded plywood gets the same treatment as the chines did. Cut, shape, form it just right so it fits between the keel and the frame edge, and secured every 3" with pre-drilled pilot holes & drywall screws. Then when it fits just right, pull out the drywall screws and coat every side and the inside of every screw hole with epoxy, then secure finally with copper screws and glue against the frames. But it's going to be at least September before I can save up enough cash for the plywood and epoxy. Until then, we'll just leave this boat under the tarp.

Btw, Colorado was an amazing trip, even if running at elevation did produce my slowest marathon ever. Still mind-blowing how beautiful the terrain was. A couple of weeks after I got back I had a hernia surgically repaired, so I can't train at all or lift anything over 10 lbs for 4-6 weeks. That shuts down all landscaping, boatbuilding, the front porch project, everything until sometime in August. So far recovery is going really well.

Before - the old porch

My next big project is going to be replacing the crumbling front porch. It's going to take concrete block, lots of brick work, plenty of woodworking, we're even going to add to the roofline. But it seems like every time we tackle big renovations like this, we forget to take "before" pictures. So here you go, all the before pictures I could get.

I hate these stairs. And the handrail.

This concrete is crumbling

Child added for size reference

Long back view of the front elevation profile

This one, I really like. As we build & landscape, think I'll try to recreate this angle

Shows you where I'm building the boat

There are a number of problems with getting in the front door. The entire hardscape is this stone L shaped path that hides a hedge and divides the front yard. The steps are pointed toward where you park the car, but the house faces a different road. Corner lots are fun. I was raised to believe that the steps should go straight in front of the front door. That stoop is barely wide enough to open the storm door. So trying to move a couch or large piece of furniture into the house means you have to lift it over the handrail from the ground. Azaleas are not supposed to be shaped into a hedge like that and those are very overgrown for the space that they have available. The stone pathway is all broken up too, the concrete just didn't hold up. The entire thing looks ok, sometimes, but is a complete design and usage failure.

So what is the correct way to layout the front entrance and landscape? We're going to start with a 10' x 16' front porch with stairs coming down directly in front of the door and three pillars going up to support a roof extended from the existing shingle lines. Concrete blocks support a painted wood floor, brick veneer around the foundation and stairs. Add rocking chairs, a porch swing, and some hanging baskets. For the landscape, a curved loose brick or stone path swoops around with an accent piece in front of the stairs, then continues towards the garden & shed. Add accent trees that get up around 20' tall with understory shrubs creating a variety of visual interest points. 

I should actually do some drawings, but I'm ready to get some concrete & block and start demo. I know what I want to do here, and I'm ready to get started.

Cold Molding

On the sailboat, I was debating how to construct the hull. After reading this book, I'm going to give cold molding a try.

This is the bible of cold molded construction. It samples using much larger boats than the one I'm building, but the process scales down. Hull construction is the only thing that is significantly different from traditional boat building concepts. The book has a great section on how to build out cabins, build masts, all kinds of interesting stuff around the deck. Great section on lofting. But a lot of that is also available in other books too.

What makes cold molding unique among plywood hull techniques is the layering. My biggest problem is leaks in the plywood joints, and cold molding solves this with layers and epoxy. In my sailboat, first I'm going to scarf the plywood joints going left to right. Second I'm going to use two layers of 3/8" plywood so I can stagger the joints over the layers. This should give me a leak-free hull. Plus I'm going to have to use copious amounts of fairing compound and epoxy.

If this is your first book on boat construction, you picked a good place to start. If, like me, you've read a crap ton of books on boat construction, this is a really informative read on a very specific aspect of boat construction. It feels like I gain something new from each book. In addition to the hull aspects, I also learned a ton about building your own mast & booms and other sailboat-specific aspects. Most books will focus on general concepts and throw in stuff like "if you're building a sailboat try this..." but this book is specific about sailboat construction. I'm sure there are other books about motorboat construction that have details about the electrical systems or steering consoles. But this one is specific to sailboats and covers sailboat-only details better than any other book that I've read.

Let's get scarfed

In boatbuilding, when you don't have planks that are long enough you have to scarf two boards together to get the length you need. Scarfing is establishing a ratio to taper the end of the boards, then glue them together. There are different type of scarf joints, including taper, keyed, and notch. Boatbuilding typically uses a 12:1 ration, which means you taper out 12" of board for every 1" of thickness. For me, this means I planed my boards down to 3/4" thick, and used a 9" scarf.

Cut the boards to width on the table saw

Got the rabbet cut into the stem

Chines ready to taper

Chines and clamps cut to width and planed

Planed the first 9" of the boards to a taper

taper station in full effect

I cut the chines 1.5" wide and the clamps 3" wide. None of the source boards I was able to start with was long enough, so I ended up with 8 boards total that glued up into only 4 boards between 18' and 20' long.

Scarfs in the clamps

One of these is longer than the rest

Now that the scarfs are all filled with epoxy, the final long boards are ready to attach to the frames. I'm going to notch the frames to inset the boards, then bend everything in place.