Woodworking/DIY/Home Improvement Mega Thread

[MikeDeTiger]

A couple of close-ups before it got filled up.

[MikeDeTiger]

I don't think these are my books and it's not what's on there now, but I think these are what my wife sent me when she had first put stuff on it.  Kind of gives a better impression of how it looks full of stuff in the space it occupies. 





Actually, I can see from this second picture my stepson had put a bunch of his books on there. 

[MikeDeTiger]

.....and one final close up of what's on it today.  You can see my wife's priorities and how she puts a lot of stuff that isn't books all over book shelves. 

[MikeDeTiger]

Final thoughts on that:  I did a piss-poor job of lacquering the thing, and someday it needs to be redone.  Mainly the problem is the uprights, which I stupidly lacquered, well, upright.  Instead of turning the thing on it's side and applying the lacquer flat, as I now know I should have.  It ran down the sides and I wasn't fully able to control it.  You mostly can't see it, but in the morning when sunlight comes through the entryway just right, I can see the places it wasn't applied evenly, and it irritates the hell out of me.  House lighting and even most of the natural light throughout the day doesn't show it, but I know it's there, and one day I'm going to strip it and redo it all. 

The other problem was I lacquered it in very cold weather, which my dad told me not to do, but I was like "Nah....it'll be fine."  That's what I get for not listening to the guy who actually has built a lot of things in his life.  But overall, it was a good first attempt at a DIY project, and it's a pretty nice looking piece of furniture that I'm proud of. 

...just as long as I don't look at it in the morning light.  

[847badgerfan]

Looks really nice.

[MikeDeTiger]

It's 6 ft. x 4 ft., for scale. 

One of the things I thought I might should've done differently when it was finished was to have included a decorative piece of vertical trim down the middle, splitting the case into left and right, which would've added stability to the shelves.  4 feet of books is a lot of weight and I worried that the shelves would bow and sag over time.  

But it's been over 7 years and it appears the veneer I used for the back help it keep its shape well, and it gave me an extra axis to nail into which has done a good job of keeping the shelves level and sag-free. 

They're nailed on the sides as well, but they're also routed into the uprights.  Even if they had sagged, there's no way weight was ever going to make them fall apart.  

[betarhoalphadelta]

One of the things I thought I might should've done differently when it was finished was to have included a decorative piece of vertical trim down the middle, splitting the case into left and right, which would've added stability to the shelves.  4 feet of books is a lot of weight and I worried that the shelves would bow and sag over time. 

We have an Ikea bookshelf which looks like it's not from Ikea--i.e. it looks much nicer than what you'd expect from them.

But it's relatively flimsy, and the shelves are just supported on all four corners by resting on metal studs that get inserted into the wood frame. 

Well, the weight of enough books caused the back to bow out such that the metal studs spread to be wider than the shelf, and one fell. Thankfully no damage or anything, but needed a fix. 

I ended up buying ~5 of these and nailed them into the back to hold the two sides together, and now it's solid as a rock...  

That's about the extent of my woodworking prowess 

[Brutus Buckeye]

What's the most disastrous effort at a home improvement project that each of you has unsuccessfully undertaken? 

[847badgerfan]

When I built our deck I wish I made it bigger.

When I finished our basement I wish I used drywall instead of a drop ceiling.

[MrNubbz]

When I finished our basement I wish I used drywall instead of a drop ceiling.

Maybe but over time much easier to get to shut offs and lighting connections with the drop

[MikeDeTiger]

That's about the extent of my woodworking prowess

Engineering FTW! 

I can't say anything.  Lest I misrepresent myself, I did this with constant direction and supervision of my dad.  And as noted, I got him to do all of the routing. 

[MikeDeTiger]

What's the most disastrous effort at a home improvement project that each of you has unsuccessfully undertaken?

I like to think my best days are ahead of me. 

That's my positive spin on expected future failures. 

[OrangeAfroMan]

The lil coop I made, from the other thread.  It was just for 3 chickens.  My friend was just starting out.  Went over there for a few weekends.  The long arms and wheels made it so you could move it wherever you wanted.  Chickens got up and down okay and liked the middle area most.
Very rudimentary and she didn't want it finished or fancy.
Contained the chickens in a small footprint.  Places to lay and retrieve the eggs.  Mobile.  
If I did it again, I'd extend the bottom portion to extend out to the ends of the handles, just for more room.  Wouldn't change the functionality at all.

[MikeDeTiger]

That's a great idea.  I've never seen a mobile one before.