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I live in a house that is easily more than 100 years old. Living here has taught me that the term ‘this ole house’ is the basis of conversation with the repairman I called last week, rather than a syndicated production. By the generosity of God, I grew up on a farm learning to do all that you can to save paying others to do what you might accomplish. Life has taught me that you are a much better person if you mow your own yard rather than get a job, that pays enough money, that after taxes, you can still afford to hire someone else, to mow it for you, and pay for their weekly service, while you also pay a monthly fee to go to the gym or health club, in order to have a place to exercise.

Think about it……..Bob

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

RABBET GAGE MAKES PERFECT SHOE SHELVES


I am embarrassed to admit that for so long, I have avoided cleaning the floor of my clothes closet.  Shirts I have grown out of, shoes I rarely ever wear, socks with holes, and other articles that I do not want to through away.  Then I began to notice the dust bunnies that have been there so long that they resemble link sausages.  I could not use the vacuum on the floor because I would suck items up the hose and clog the machine.  I finally removed everything.  After three loads of laundry and sorting those for donation to Sheltered Work Shop, material to use in another way, and finally some to burn, I put the shoes back in the closet. 


Then I realized that they are the bad guys.  They take so much of the floor that I never vacuum because I am lazy and do not want to remove them, vac, and then replace them.
The answer to my situation was to stack the shoes on shelves in a “shoe shelf” unit.  This will allow me to handle the entire group together as well as free up the amount of floor space being covered to only the area of one pair of shoes.
First was to measure the length, width, and height of the largest pair of shoes so I would know the length and width of each shelf, and the measure of distance between each shelf.

The length and width measures were increased by ½ inch.  That is the part of the shelf that will be inserted into the rabbets to be cut into the vertical uprights that are used for the sides and back.
My design was to leave it open rather than a box so the shoes would have air movement, and this also left the sides open which gave me the ability to lift the unit by sliding my fingers under the top shelf on both sides as a handle.  Then I measured the distance from the floor to the bottom of shirts that are hanging from the clothes rod.  That measure allowed me to determine if I needed a single stack unit, or possibly a width that will accommodate two pair of shoes on each shelf.
The pieces for my unit finally required:
   5    1 in. x 2 in. stock     cut 30 inches each
   6    ½ in. plywood  cut 11 ½ in. by 14 ½ in.

   1  self-developed “Rabbet Gauge”

This rabbet gauge ‘Jig’ is because I have always had a problem with adjustable dado blades and stack blades for my table saw.  They rarely ever cut the perfect rabbet, or need to be put on and then taken off for adjustment over and over.  In this unit the shelf-thickness is 7/16 inch and I wanted the vertical pieces to be the strength of the framework.  So, I needed to make rabbets that were not so loose they allowed movement, but not so tight that the back of the vertical piece might crack.  The perfect fit can be achieved with a few steps, and then put the Jig in your tool area to be used in the future whenever you need rabbets of that width again.
To start I realized that the gauge must include the consideration of the width of the cut of the current blade of my table saw, and still make a rabbet the same width as the thickness of the material to be inserted into that rabbet.  To do this I took a scrap piece of wood about 2 in. width, stood it on the side, and clamped it on the table saw fence so the blade will be beside the face when I move the fence closer to the blade.  I manually turned the blade until I knew the teeth were slightly touching the wood.                                  

Next, I had a narrow strip from the plywood of the thickness I would use for the shelves, placed it on its side so the top, or bottom, was against the piece clamped to the fence. 

Now I slide the piece forward about two inches while the blade cuts the thickness to a thinner measure.

I used my self-made fence to my band saw and adjusted it until the NEW thickness of the plywood strip is the distance between the blade and the fence on the band saw.

It might help to make the fence distance just a 1/16 in. closer, that way when you test it, you will be able to sand away the very slight amount for a micro adjustment when you test this gauge at the table saw.
I used another scrap of wood about 1 in. to 2 in. wide, turned it on its side, and cut into the piece about ½ to 1 in. 

The guide on the band saw was raised so I could cut that piece across the width and remove it without moving the fence. 

I did in fact need to micro adjust the fence and make a second gauge after I tested the first one at the table saw.  The first one was too loose. 
To test the gauge, set the table saw blade to cut a depth of ¼ in., clamp the gauge with the bottom face against the table saw fence and use a 6 in. scrape of wood for the test.  I made the first cut by sliding the scrap to butt against the “true thickness” of the piece clamped on the fence, and cut

Next butt the scrap to the “adjusted thickness” of the piece clamped to the fence and make the second cut



Now just slide the scrap with the table saw miter across the blade until you have the wood between the two cuts removed.

The test of the fit is for your judgment.  If loose, I make another gauge.  If too tight, I simply use sand paper to remove a micro layer and test again until it is just PERFECT.

I inspect each vertical piece to determine the inside face and the foot.  Next, I use my belt sander to chamfer the four edges of the foot as a marking of that end.

Now I’m ready for the first rabbet.  I place one of the vertical pieces against the miter with the foot towards the fence and inside face up to mark ¼ in. from the bottom of the foot.

Align this mark to the blade cut on the plywood face of the table miter so the cut will leave that full ¼ in. for the foot

and hold the piece to the miter while you move the fence closer until the foot makes contact to the rabbet gauge at the true thickness.  Lock the fence and flip the vertical piece over so the back face is down, then make the cut.

slide the vertical piece to the adjusted thickness of the gauge

and make the second cut, and then remove the wood between each cut.

Place this vertical piece aside and repeat the steps for the rest of the vertical pieces.  Now move the fence away from the blade so the next adjustment can be made for the second rabbet on each vertical piece. 
For the second rabbet on each vertical piece, I measure the desired height, for me it was 5 inches, of the shelf from the first rabbet and mark for the next cut.

Align this mark to the cut in the board on the miter, hold tight to the miter, and move the fence in until the foot contacts the true thickness. 

I now follow the same procedure.  Flip it over so the inside face is down, make the first cut with true thickness, set foot to gauge adjusted thickness, second cut, remove wood, go to next vertical piece, and so on until all rabbets are cut in all vertical pieces at each setting of the fence… except the cut for the rabbet for the top shelf.  I ran out of table saw railing for the fence because the vertical piece is 30 inches long.
I thought about this problem and suddenly my answer came to me.  I made the mark just as before, 5 inches, but I turned the vertical piece around so the top of the piece would butt to the gauge.  I realized this also needed to be aligned differently. 
The mark for the measure between shelves was now to be aligned to the opposite side of the cut in the wood mounted on the face of the table saw miter and the fence had to be moved gently to butt against the top of the vertical piece so that now the adjusted thickness, not the true thickness,  is making contact with the top of the vertical piece.

Now the same procedure is used for the two cuts and then removal of the wood between. 
BECAUSE OF THIS GAUGE, YOU WILL MAKE ACCURATE AND PRECISION CUTS ON ALL VERTICAL PIECES AND THEY WILL ALL BE PERFECT MATCHES TO EACH OTHER no matter how you place them side by side.

At this point I chamfer and sand to get ready for assembly. 
If you wish to paint the unit after completion, it is a good idea to paint all shelves on the faces, but leave thin sides so the glue will make better contact during assembly, and the inside face of each vertical, but not in the rabbets.
By placing two of the vertical pieces on my table, I use a third vertical on the top as I add each shelf to keep the measure between shelves correct. 

I lay the fourth vertical piece on the top of this assembly with the inside face up so I can put glue in each rabbet.

When that fourth piece is in place and flush to the shelf front, I secure it with 2 nails through each rabbet into the shelf.
The fourth vertical will hold the shelves, so I can now rotate the unit, place the back vertical for the application of glue and then nail.  My front vertical is placed flush to the front edge, but the back vertical is placed 4 inches towards the front from the back corner so it will act as a guard to prevent the side of the shoe from extending too far outside of the shelf.
Being very careful, I eased the assembly over to the other side as I held one of the bottom vertical pieces against the shelves to maintain the measure between shelves.  Now I can glue and nail the other side vertical pieces, then set the unit on the table with the front down on the table so I can glue and nail the back vertical.

With all the vertical pieces glued and nailed, I place the unit on a flat surface and make sure it does not wobble.  If it does, I slightly tab the top of the vertical piece that is not in contact with the surface.
I leave it there to allow the glue to set and cure.
I like to see the wood and its grain, so I often do not paint my work.  Since I do mostly use recycle wood, there is many times pieces are already primed so I usually just give a couple of coats of polyurethane.



Thanks for looking and I hope this helps you....

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