Got Mrs C.J. in a right lather here. I've decided in my wisdom that I'm going to attempt to make a cabinet to go in the corner of our lounge to house my hi fi., c.d.'s newly refurbished turntable and amp, and my monster collection of vinyl singles and L.P.'s...about 800 of 'em.

Now woodwork DIY rates on my hobby's about one click down from I.T. knowledge and enjoyment, and Mrs C.J. is therefore just a little concerned that we are going to be appearing on the next 'DIY Disasters from Hell' series.

I'm determined though to see this mammoth task through..all part of my stunning new image and capability strengths for the New Year.

What are the basic requirements that are required for such a task. I'm drawing up a bit of a plan with some measurements, I've got a jig saw, a hammer and some screws and nails.

Is it just therefore a case of doing a bit of cutting and nailing it all together, or is there more I should know before I start. :confused:

I believe patience is a virtue, but not too sure what that's all about...where's me dictionary?

Psssst. Ikea.

MFI, IKEA, Argos....

Magic words in the world of "D.I.Y."

Nah, that's taking the challenge element out of it Jase....and the potential disaster and mess too, as Mrs C.J. says. :confused: Women...no faith.

Trawled around a few furniture type shops..not Ikea granted...but lost intrest very rapidly when I saw some of the prices for stuff that I didn't even particulary like.

I like that good old fashion home made look anyway...trouble is I won't know how it'll look 'til it's 'anging on/off the wall. :eek:

Mrs C.J is VERY worried granted...she's seen some of my bad tempered GOM attempts at DIY in the past, but I'm feeling very excited and wound up for this latest challenge

Been to B&Q to check out some planks of woody stuff, but I'm just a bit worried I may cut it wrong somehow.

cutting it wrong... yep... I can't cut a piece of wood straight to save my life (at least not without using a circular saw)

I think first step is put pen to paper and work out how big you need it to be for what you want to put in it, then try and do a diagram of it, with the measurements needed on every dimension (you know the arrow to arrow thing with ____mm in the middle) That should give you the amount of timber you'll need. Then double it! :P Also screws will be needed, so work out where a screw will be needed at each point on the unit. Try to do all cutting with a circular saw as it gives much neater (straighter) results

Finally, good luck! Wear your crash helmet.

I've done measurin' and cuttin' before but it always seems to turn out that I've cut it too short somehow...one of lifes greatest mysterys to me that. Don't do mm's by the way...feet and inches man me!

Circular saw! :eek: Now there's a recipe for demolition if ever I saw one.

Taking the challenge out of it?

The quality of the instructions musthave improved recently :P

Good luck with the project!

Words of wisdom...

'Measure twice and cut once!'

Use KD (knock down) fittings to simplify construction techniques - as used on alot of flat pack furniture that way you don't have to get into more complex joinery!!!

Draw it up to scale too! And make a 'cutting list' so that you know what you need and that you have all the bit available to complete the project.

Watch Norm Abraham on Discovery Home & Leisure!!!

If your screwing it together.... make sure u drill pilot holes.... saves wasting wood when the good old suff cracks!

If your using your jigsaw... go for slow speed... much more control u can stick to your lines then!

And remember one thing... symetrical! Make sure woods the same lengths when they are on opposite sides or you could have a very wonky stand!

ATB with the project... ive just finished doing decking outside.... :eek:

Colin just go to Ikea.

The cost of the raw materials for a fresh DIY build will be a major percentage of an Ikea unit in comparison.

Yes go to IKEA

I can put those things up blindfolded now!

do it around the end of october plenty of wood left over for bonfire night

your gonna need a router for decorative edges,or straight flat wood is gonna look more shed than living room,but then the stuff ikea turn out is more similar to the shelves in my shed,though its not all bad,are you gonna build in solid would or mdf?you'll need masks and stuff for mdf ,the dust off that stuff is BAD very BAD .good luck though i wouldn't have the time or patients

If you're determined to DIY it, pop down to your local library as there's often woodwork books with designs in there that you can use as the basis for it. If you're using a jigsaw and are like me and can't cut straight, clamp a couple of metal rules in place and run the jigsaw's guide along this. Fine blades and slow speeds are the order of the day too. I always cut outside the lines I've marked too as it's easier to plane/sand wood down than try and stick it back on

If you want to fix it permanently, wood glue is good or No More Nails, otherwise drill some pilot holes and use screws. If you're not into doing proper joints, you can drill holes and use dowling (sp?) for additional strength.

Having said all that, all my furniture has come from IKEA and Argos, but it sounds a good project

Chris

a good jigsaw with a guide on it is invaluable,not always possible to use on big stuff or curves. but variable speed and maybe directional for the bendy bits

Draw a plan and then build it out of cardboard first. This should give you an idea of any weak spots in your design.

Other than that have fun and try not to get frustrated

I built a desk for our office in our old house.

hi cj ,

hope this helps just was laxing around doing nothing decided to check it out myself if any resources were available

hi spindrift thanks for the encouragement in the intro section

here are a couple of links to help you out i think both would suit in combination for your corner display

believe me its a pain to cut and drill the least amount of tools you should have is the wood workers drill and as the others have posted alrady a solid plan rectangles are best for beginners and a selection of screws if your determined to do it on your own there are lots of plans out on the internet that are copyright free and that you can work with

ex

How To Build A Rack Mount Cabinet

Materials:

Four sheets of 3/4" plywood cut to the following dimensions:

Two at 20 7/8" (530mm) by 21" (533mm) and two more at 22 1/2" (572mm) by 21" (533mm)

* It's very important that the width of the top piece (first set of measurements) is exactly as written otherwise you won't be able to fit the equipment in the rack. The second two pieces are the uprights, so if you want the rack to hold more equipment simply increase the second to last measurement (don't forget to get longer rack mount brackets if doing this!).

A sheet of good quality laminate (Italian Black Metallic Ridged is highly recommended) that easily accomodates the above measurements (about 4' by 6' (122cm by 183cm) should do it).

Two 21" (531mm) rack mount brackets (12 space)

One can of environmentally friendly contact adhesive

A small box of screws

Tools you will need:

Power or Hand drill

Assorted drill bits

Screwdriver

Power or Hand saw

T-square

Laminate cutting thing

Router

Cheap or old paint brush

Instructions

First of all you need to find a flat surface that is well ventilated (you'll be creating sawdust when cutting the wood to size, using highly toxic adhesive and shaving laminate). Next you need to cut your wood to size and make sure that everything is true and that all the corners are at exactly 90 degrees.

Then, join all the wood together by drilling pilot holes and then fixing with screws. Make sure you put the longer pieces at the sides and make sure that the inside width is no less than 19" (483mm) otherwise your equipment won't fit.

When everything is all screwed together and nice and straight and true, and all that, you can cut your laminate to size with the laminate scoring thing.

Once it's all cut to size read the instructions on the can of adhesive and stick it all on.

Top Tip - you can stick the adjacent surface pieces on and trim using the router before sticking the remaining pieces on to save time - End of Top Tip

All that remains is to fix the rack mount brackets inside the box and make sure you fix them so that the knobs and buttons of your stuff don't stick out proud of the case (this will help prevent bits getting broken off when you drop it down the stairs or whatever).

The measurements we chose are enough to hold standard 19" rack mountable equipment that also include those 19" deep power amplifiers and some effects processors. If you don't need it for those deep things just reduce the overall depth from 21" (533mm) to 15" (382mm).

If you want your case to hold more equipment simply increase the size of the uprights and the length of the mounting brackets.

To armour your rack just add aluminium edging and corner pieces.

Installing Module Mounting Brackets

Materials:

2 x 19" (483mm) lengths of Aluminum Angle Bracket (1/2" x 1/2" x 1/16">

4 x Self-tapping stainless steel screws (to fit the angle brackets to the mounting brackets)

4 x Self-tapping stainless steel screws (to fit the synth module to the angle brackets)

Tools you will need:

Power or Hand drill

Assorted small drill bits

Screwdriver

Instructions

Make pilot holes in the ends of the angle brackets so that you're able to screw them to the vertical mounting brackets on your rack mount cabinet. Make sure that the angle bracket is fixed behind the mounting bracket lip and that the other flat side is facing upwards.

Once the angle brackets are in place (making sure that there are seven empty holes between each pair of screws) hold the synth module in place and make pilot holes for the smaller screws that will be used to hold it in place.

Easy!

the link for this diy site is

http://www.electronicmusic.com/features/siu/studiohelp/rackmount.html

the links for the argos thing are :

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=2501&productId=112182&Trail=C%24cip%3D16362.Furniture%3EC%24cip%3D16377.Living%2Broom%2Bfurniture%3EC%24cip%3D16378.Entertainment%2Bunits&categoryId=16378&clickfrom=name

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=2501&productId=103842&Trail=C%24cip%3D16362.Furniture%3EC%24cip%3D16377.Living%2Broom%2Bfurniture%3EC%24cip%3D16380.Display%2Bcabinets&categoryId=16380&clickfrom=name