Second to the estate sale bit. We went to one a few weeks ago, and I had to actively stop myself from buying like half a dozen extremely well made chests and drawers.
I definitely resonate with this. I have wanted to do these things for so long, but in my earlier was definitely constricted by space. I admit I am in my 30’s now, with a garage capable of storing and working in. I don’t have much to offer to remedy the apartment situation, only suggestion would be to ask friends/family if they have the space, to work out of there.
I know it’s less than ideal, and it may not be the season for you to do so now . But keep that desire in the back of your head for when you do get the space, you can foster the creativity.
I really enjoyed this encouraging read. I fell in love with my husband because he builds. He repairs, restores, and makes old, broken things new again. He still amazes me. Stay at it.
I have a floor height kitchen cabinet door with a handle over the middle of it that you can pull out on a slide to reveal a trash can, which you can remove and dump. We've all seen these.
Last week, mine bit the bullet. One of the metal slides was bent to hell and the door was crooked by about 15 degrees dangling off of one side. Time to buy a new slide kit.
Well as luck would have it, the local Home Depot had exactly one kit left! For like $75 bucks, yeesh.
I came home, dismantled the old drawer sliders and rack, cleaned the cabinet out, installed the new slide--rollers, actually, this looked promising, less chance of wear and tear over time.
Then when I went to install the door... there was no front bracket for the door to go back on. I looked at the box again: It clearly shows a SIDE hinged cabinet door with the can rolling out. Shit.
I debated ripping this out and trying to refund it, then going to Amazon to look for a kit with a front-mounted door bracket. Or maybe going back to Home Depot that day and buying some hinges to side-mount the door like the picture. Except my cabinet door would then have holes from the old handle, that I'd have to wood putty up...
Then I decided naw. I'm the sovereign in this house. I popped a Mentos, started humming the commercial, and chiseled off some rivets from the old rack, drilled holes in the sides of the new rollers to hold the old brackets, had to bend some metal tabs out of the way with pliers to make it fit the front of the roller base, unscrewed the old brackets from the back of the door and had to mount them lower down on the door, after measuring with a level of course, and then Voila! A new, Frankensteined, functioning, top-handled cabinet stow-away trash can!
An easy, and cheap, way to next level up what you can do is add a Kreg jig to your list of tools if you have a tablesaw and room to work. It will make it so that you have the ability to do cabinetry and other items that involve plywood and pocket screws on the cheap, without having to invest in an air compressor (or worry about nails shooting out of the side of your project!). The other part is that there are some projects that simply do need screws, rather than nails, to hold them together.
It can turn a hobby into a side hustle, once you get the skills.
This is the equivalent of third world/whatsapp/tiktok inspired reclaimed pallet furniture. As good as it may feel to 'just build something', this is not American Excellence™. Shoe racks were made to smash when drunk, not post on substack.
disclaimer: This comment is 100% cope. I have been DIY renovating a home for the past year and working with your hands is hard.
You can do most anything with a power drill and second-hand table saw. Consignment shops and estate sales (thanks boomers) are your friend.
Second to the estate sale bit. We went to one a few weeks ago, and I had to actively stop myself from buying like half a dozen extremely well made chests and drawers.
I've been wanting to get into building our own furniture. The issue is I live in an apartment, and don't have the space to store tools or make a mess.
I definitely resonate with this. I have wanted to do these things for so long, but in my earlier was definitely constricted by space. I admit I am in my 30’s now, with a garage capable of storing and working in. I don’t have much to offer to remedy the apartment situation, only suggestion would be to ask friends/family if they have the space, to work out of there.
I know it’s less than ideal, and it may not be the season for you to do so now . But keep that desire in the back of your head for when you do get the space, you can foster the creativity.
See if there’s a makerspace near you
I've never heard of this, but it seems like there's one in my town. Thanks for the suggestion!
I really enjoyed this encouraging read. I fell in love with my husband because he builds. He repairs, restores, and makes old, broken things new again. He still amazes me. Stay at it.
This is the way! Great article!
This is awesome!
I have a floor height kitchen cabinet door with a handle over the middle of it that you can pull out on a slide to reveal a trash can, which you can remove and dump. We've all seen these.
Last week, mine bit the bullet. One of the metal slides was bent to hell and the door was crooked by about 15 degrees dangling off of one side. Time to buy a new slide kit.
Well as luck would have it, the local Home Depot had exactly one kit left! For like $75 bucks, yeesh.
I came home, dismantled the old drawer sliders and rack, cleaned the cabinet out, installed the new slide--rollers, actually, this looked promising, less chance of wear and tear over time.
Then when I went to install the door... there was no front bracket for the door to go back on. I looked at the box again: It clearly shows a SIDE hinged cabinet door with the can rolling out. Shit.
I debated ripping this out and trying to refund it, then going to Amazon to look for a kit with a front-mounted door bracket. Or maybe going back to Home Depot that day and buying some hinges to side-mount the door like the picture. Except my cabinet door would then have holes from the old handle, that I'd have to wood putty up...
Then I decided naw. I'm the sovereign in this house. I popped a Mentos, started humming the commercial, and chiseled off some rivets from the old rack, drilled holes in the sides of the new rollers to hold the old brackets, had to bend some metal tabs out of the way with pliers to make it fit the front of the roller base, unscrewed the old brackets from the back of the door and had to mount them lower down on the door, after measuring with a level of course, and then Voila! A new, Frankensteined, functioning, top-handled cabinet stow-away trash can!
oi guvna yoo got a loicense for shoo rack fabricashion?
Great job on the shoe rack.
this is great! I am currently in an apartment but my wife and I have plans for her to garden and me to make things like this, can't wait!
My wife got something from IKEA last year and it was so poor quality I told her never again.
Lovely work. I swear the division of labor was a psyop
An easy, and cheap, way to next level up what you can do is add a Kreg jig to your list of tools if you have a tablesaw and room to work. It will make it so that you have the ability to do cabinetry and other items that involve plywood and pocket screws on the cheap, without having to invest in an air compressor (or worry about nails shooting out of the side of your project!). The other part is that there are some projects that simply do need screws, rather than nails, to hold them together.
It can turn a hobby into a side hustle, once you get the skills.
Bravo, this is exactly what society needs. Building things is a revolutionary act.
This is the equivalent of third world/whatsapp/tiktok inspired reclaimed pallet furniture. As good as it may feel to 'just build something', this is not American Excellence™. Shoe racks were made to smash when drunk, not post on substack.
disclaimer: This comment is 100% cope. I have been DIY renovating a home for the past year and working with your hands is hard.