Considering I work with paper all the time, it was incomprehensible that I didn't have proper storage arranged for it. Although to be fare, years of living on the smell of an oily rag, moving and having to accept hand me down furniture had a lot to do with that.
Until, I settled into number 11 and attended: A Girls Guide to woodworking, classes. Then a world of possibilities opened up. My latest project is a new desk with custom made drawers big enough to house a collection of paper.
To begin with, I printed off a picture that I found on the internet, that was the closest to what I wanted. When you're going down the path of custom-made and you have endless possibilities, you have to start with some kind of plan! At least I knew how long, high and deep I wanted it to be, so that was helpful.
Next, we got the wood out of the container and dressed it (took off the rough cut and planed it to the thickness we wanted). I make a good tail ender now! (The person who catches the wood when it comes out of the planer).
The wood was cut to size giving ourselves a kit-set to work with.
Once the kit-set was made, it was time to start putting it together.
We made two carcasses to house the drawers. I can never envisage this part until it's put together and it's the right way up, then I get it, saying, "OOOOOH, ok, that's how it goes together!"
The drawers in their raw state - Mr G created a jig so I could put the drawers together easily. Jig's are great when you have lots of the same sized items to make (such as drawers). It's a bit fiddly but once the jig's in place, it speeds up the process.
I put gesso on the 'fronts' before attaching the shipping charts and painted the carcasses with paint I bought at Madder & Rouge in Newmarket.
Meanwhile, back at the shed, after the wood for the top had been joined together (with biscuits) and the edge added to stop it splitting, I was able to polish it.
I wanted the shipping charts to represent places I've travelled to. So when I found this one, I was thrilled as I love San Fran. The nautical handles came from exotic imports in Rotorua. The beautiful cast iron handles came from visual hardware, in Auckland, New Zealand.
It's almost finished but I couldn't wait to show everyone! I'm waiting on some brass name holders to put on and now it's installed, I can make one more drawer for the middle. I'll update the blog when I've done these. Oh, and yes, I need a higher stool now too!
A massive thanks to Graham,
The Wood Master NZ - if you're in New Zealand and would like a custom-made piece of furniture for your home or studio - get in touch with him here.
He's also on instagram and he'd be thrilled with follow!