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Monday, February 24, 2014

HOW TO MEASURE YOUR HANDLES tutorial

How to measure for replacement handles and mounting screws.

99% of the time you will be dealing with a measurement on the quarter ...

Meaning the measurement will be

3" - 3.25" - 3.5" - 3.75"

3 inches - 3 1/4 inches - 3 1/2 inches - 3 3/4 inches and so on

A quarter of an inch is easy to misread so double checking is always wise

and measuring with a tape from the 1 inch mark is best.

This handle above has a 4 inch center to center mounting.

Now to the screw length ...

If you have picked a simple flush mounted handle you simple measure the drawer or door thickness

and add a quarter inch.

Flush mounting means the handle sits flat on the surface like the ones shown below.

If you pick a handle with a collar that goes part way into the drawer or door

you have to compensate for that length as seen below.

THINGS TO NOTE:

It is better to keep mounting screws with the furniture they came on than to remove them

and keep with the hardware because they already match the thickness of the wood.

Most hardware has the same thread pattern for mounting screws. Every so often

you will come across an antique piece with a smaller thread. These screws should be kept

with the hardware.

Your local home improvement store offers inexpensive mounting screws.

These are usually cutable to several different lengths.

I also offer a tutorial on How to fill hardware holes here
and a tutorial on installing your hardware here
You can find great hardware here, Etsy shop

Thursday, February 13, 2014

How to make a rustic cedar ice chest cooler box!

My wife found a picture of a wood ice chest box on Facebook and once she showed it to me I knew that I had to make one. I wanted to make something that would be easy, relatively cheap and very rustic so I went with cedar fence pickets. They are 5/8" thick by 5 1/2" wide by 6 feet long. I was able to make this entire project out of 7 pickets. The pickets were $2.05 each, the hinges were $2.17 each, the handle for the front was $2.97, and the Styrofoam ice chest was $2.99. Those materials came out to $24.65 not including tax. I also used 56 one inch screws, a bunch of 1 1/2" brads in my nail gun and some Titebond glue so I would estimate the cost of this project to be right around $30.00. It might be a little bit more if I decide to put a coat of finish on it. I am very happy with the outcome and plan on making more.

I started by cutting the legs to 31 inches making sure to keep the angled parts for the feet.

I then set my tablesaw to 3" to cut the leg pieces.

This is what the legs are going to look like. 1 board is 3" and the other is 2 1/2" roughly.

I glued and nailed all the leg pieces together and then clamped them just to play it safe. Pay attention when you glue them so that you have 2 left legs and 2 right legs. I assembled mine so that the 3" pieces were facing forward on the front.

I took the rest of the 4 leg pickets and cu them down to 20" for the front, back, and bottom of the box.

I got 8 pieces out of the 4 boards.

I cut a fresh picket into 5 - 13" boards for the sides.

I cut one of the 13" board in to two 2 1/2" strips and one 20" board into two 2 1/2" strips.

Here are all the pieces cut for the front, back, and sides.

I put a slight chamfer on all the pieces to try and minimize splinters and to add a decorative element to the front, back, and sides.

Here is everything ready for assembly.

The wood is pretty soft but I predrilled and countersunk all the holes just to play it safe.

I also glued all the joints.

I made the front, back and sides out of two 5 1/2" boards and one 2 1/2" board.

I couldnt find any coated screws in a 1" size at Home Depot so I used coarse drywall screws.

Its starting to look like a box!

I glued and screwed two 20" boards to the bottom. These were from the 8 that I cut at the beginning.

I was getting ready to cut some more 2 1/2" strips when I found this staple. It always pays to check your wood before you run it through the tablesaw.

I cut more 2 1/2" strips to make a frame for the top to close in the sides of the foam ice chest.

I made rough marks and slowly inched my way in until the frame fit tightly around the ice chest.

I glued,

nailed,

and stapled the frame together to make it as strong as possible.

Here it is assembled and upside down.

Its a nice tight fit. I also chamfered the inside and outside of the top of the frame.

I used a piece of scrap from the frame to set how far the lip stuck out in the back.

I glued and nailed the top frame and then used some water as a clamp.

I tested the height of the foam lid with a 2 1/2" scrap and it was a good fit.

I took another board and cut it down to size to tightly surround the lid. I also ripped them down to 2 1/2". I glued, nailed, and clamped the pieces over night.

I put the lid in the cooler to get the proper sitting height,

and then put the frame around it.

The easiest way I could think of to attach the lid to the frame was hot glue.

It worked great as long as I didnt touch the tip of the gun to the Styrofoam.

I put a bead of glue all the way around the frame and then attached two 5 1/4" boards and one 2 1/2" board to keep the 3 board look throughout.

More clamping pressure.

I used that same piece of scrap to set my hinges in 2 1/2" from the ends.

I marked the holes and predrilled. The hinges came with their own screws that worked great. I had to go underneath and cut off the ends of the screws because they stuck out a little. I put a dab of hot glue over the cut pieces so hopefully they wont rust to quickly.

Here is the completed ice chest/cooler box!

I might put some handles on the sides but with the foam ice chest the entire thing is very light. I might also put some exterior finish on it but I am interested to see how long the untreated wood lasts so I might not.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

How TO apply greek key trim to a pillow

Victory! Yesterday, I successfully applied the greek trim after my first failed attempt. My process was very similar, but a few key differences that made ALL the difference.

Heres how I did it.

First, I got out my cutting mat, metal ruler with cork backing (for anti-slip), and my xacto knife. I used basically the same measurements as my first attempt, with a few tweaks to accommodate the new shams. For a standard sham (mine are these), I used {16} 4", {8} 6", {2} 7", and {2}14" pieces of ribbon (diagram a few images down). My ribbon is 7/8" pewter grosgrain ribbon from Joanns, Wal-Mart has the same though.

I started by cutting the end at a 45, the cutting mat made this easy because I could line the ruler from corner to corner of the 1" square. For the edge to be clean and straight, it helps to hold tightly on the ruler and change your blade frequently (I have a pack of 100 I purchased on Amazon since buying a few at a time is so expensive and I use them a lot)

Then measure your desired length for the straight edge. Again, the cutting mat helps with this too, since each square is 1". My measurements above are from the tip of the 45 to the straight edge. and repeat this for all of your pieces.

I love putting my hiccups on here because you help me figure them out! A big thank you to Jani for giving me the idea to burn the ends!

I found that using a lighter gives the most control since you want it to be as even as possible. I did use a candle (to save my finger) for a lot of the ends. Since that gets covered, it isnt as important if it is straight.

Then I centered it on the pillow (adding up the entire width and height and subtracting the respective difference from the ends). Its really easy to get the spacing off, I recommend laying it all out and double checking your measurements before adhering.

* pink outline shows original ribbon and how the edges meet.

I started with the long 14" piece on the bottom (45 pointed left and straight edge right) and worked right overlapping the 45s on the straight edge. After testing two samples of adhesive that I had (to make sure that it didnt show through) I used one roll of 3/4" heat n bond super. Last time I used heat n bond regular and had issues with it showing through, but Im thinking that its because I had to iron so many corners that it got too liquid and bled through. The important thing is not to iron too long. I had my iron on fairly hot, pressed for a few seconds and then if it felt pretty secure, I would move to the next. Its hard to tell until it is cool if it is really adhered, so I went back at the end and touched up any spots that were a little loose. For the touch up spots, I flipped the sham over and ironed from the back. The extra layer of fabric helped prevent it from getting too hot and bleeding through. Make sense? :)

I tried to make the heat n bond as close to the edge as possible, but after I was finished, I put little pieces in the corners that needed a little more and then ironed. and make sure that your iron is dry (I had just dumped out the water in mine).

and thats it! This was so much easier to get precise then folding every corner and ironing!!

It took about 30 minutes to cut and seal the trim per pillow and about an hour to hour and a half to lay it out and iron it down. So about 1.5 to 2 hours per pillow.

Also, for those who dont want to cut at a 45, cutting straight with scissors would also work well and give a very similar look!

Price breakdown:

Ribbon - pewter grosgrain 7/8" x2 = $4.00
Heat n Bond 3/4" Super = $2

Total = $6

So is it worth the time or would you rather buy? I think its worth it, but that may be because I enjoying doing this kinda stuff :)

Also, I havent forgotten about the trim on the draperies for the bedroom ... just trying to find something that doesnt cost more than the draperies themselves ... looks like I may be adjusting my idea!

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Update: Also see my latest tutorial on how to apply greek key trim with one continuous piece of ribbon, here