Newbie in Raleigh

[rosschilen]

Hey, my name is Ross and I live in Raleigh. I bought a foreclosed home a year ago and have been remodeling it. The bones of the house are back together, but it is a little empty.

I would like to gain some wood working skills and have a few DIY projects in mind. With big dreams I would like to build a built-in cabinet/media unit, console table, and kitchen table. Unfortunately, I have no fine wood working skills and no planer or jointer. Hopefully I'll pick up knowledge and tips for you.

 

[woodArtz]

Hi Ross! Great to have you in the group. Lots of great tips and helpful ideas from the folks here, so jump on in:icon_thum.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Ross, Welcome to NCWW, it's great to have you! Here I'm sure you'll find excellent advice for each phase of your remodelding project. All you have to do is ask. Oh, and in case no one has told you, we LOVE pictures!

Travis

 

[Canuck]

Welcome to the site, Ross!:icon_cheers

Lots of experience right here for the asking when needed. Nothing better than standing back and looking at your own custom built projects. Quality many times surpasses what you can buy at the local furniture store!:wsmile:

Post often, stay safe around those power tools and post plenty of pictures of your progress.

Enjoy and don't forget to holler if you get into a jam!

Wayne

 

[eyekode]

Welcome Ross!
No planer and no jointer will make it pretty tough . There are some places however that will sell s3s lumber but most of them want a pretty penny for it and it probably isn't even face jointed. If you like Oak you may want to try Scott Smith on this forum (scsmith42).

Good luck and speak up if you need help!
Salem

 

[Gregory Paolini]

Ross,

Welcome! Great to see you here! There's a lot of wonderful folks here, ready and willing to help out!

Welcome!

 

[Trent Mason]

Welcome to the site Ross. :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap You're undertaking a project that I have dreamed about doing for a long time now. There are definitely plenty of knowledgeable DIYers on here. Feel free to ask away. Glad you could join us. :icon_thum

 

[red]

Welcome to the forum.

Red

 

[Sealeveler]

Howdy there Ross and welcome to a friendly and knowledgeable crowd.
Tony

 

[rosschilen]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I've got a couple questions and would like any advice you're willing to give.

The first project I would like to work towards is a built-in media cabinet. Below is a picture of the current space and a depiction of what I would like.

Notice that this will not be a true built-in because the one side of the unit will be exposed. I don't want to extend it to the corner of the wall due to width and it would impede a walkway. The unit would have cabinets down low, shelf for A/V equipment, shelf for tv, then a couple shelfs up top.

The unit will be painted white to match our white cabinets in the adjoining kitchen. What should I do for doors? I would not want something elaborate, but solid wood would be nice. What should the unit be made of, popular, plywood?

View image in gallery

View image in gallery​

Lastly, I guess I am in the market for a planer and jointer. My budget for tools is low so I will be looking for used ones. Any words of caution when looking for these items? How much benefit will an 8" jointer provide over a 6"?

 

[scsmith42]

Hi Ross, welcome to NCWW! You've certainly come to the right place for woodworking advice; we have lots of folks - from beginner to expert - that participate and share advice.

Re the jointer and planer, you can shop for these used on Craigslist, and often times our members will post something for sale in the classifieds. Also, you can purchase rough sawn wood from me or other suppliers and have it joint/planed at the time of purchase.

If you can give us an idea of what equipment and tools that you already have, we can offer up some suggestions as to what to buy first and how to best stretch your tool dollars.

Regards,

Scott

 

[rosschilen]

The tools I have related to woodworking are hammers, chisel, miter saw, table saw, pad sander, some clamps, (un)corded drills, a hand planer, and a coping saw. Probably some other misc tools but no other big power tools.

 

[rosschilen]

What about this, http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/1862825970.html, 6" jointer on craiglist. It's hard for me to tell the value of a jointer or planer.

Also, why are planers usually bigger than jointers?

 

[MomNextDoor]

Hi there, I'm new and don't really know about building but have several professional designer friends, who fill my head with...well anyway, two suggestions.

Have you considered how to visually balance the space? I don't know much about this, but having shelves on one side, you might want to add something to visually balance on other.


Also, have you considered creating a hearth, even if just one layer of bricks or about three bricks high, that extends the length of the wall on both sides, and would be under your built-in? It could be a safety thing for fireplace, but also visually tie everything together a bit.

Also, one the side where the hall is, have you considered making quarter-circle shelves, that could hold nick-nacks, but mainly to soften that corner as you come around it from the hall, both visually and physically? it can make the space seem more open, too. It might mean making the shelving width just a little narrower.

(If it were me, I'd also make any hearth addition curved on that side too.)

Also, I frequently see people giving away large shelves or old entertainment centers--wonder if you could use something like that to fit into the space (modifying as needed)?

Please don't take these little suggestions as an indication I know what I'm talking about, because I don't.

 

[Tarhead]

What about this, http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/1862825970.html, 6" jointer on craiglist. It's hard for me to tell the value of a jointer or planer.

Also, why are planers usually bigger than jointers?

Welcome Ross (and MomNextDoor too!)

That jointer would probably work but at some point you'll probably want to upgrade to a wider or longer version. Consider this:
http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=1293

You get a Swiss Watch quality piece of equipment and it converts to a planer. These have a strong following and parts and support are still available. If I didn't already have a DW735 and an 8" jointer I would be all over it.

You can get by with just a planer, a home made face jointing sled and a Glue line ripping tablesaw blade. Search for "face jointing with a planer" and you'll see a bunch of listings.

Good question about the width of planers vs jointers.
I imagine it has to do with the amount of cast iron required to make a planer bed vs the infeed and outfeed of a jointer. The big jointers aren't called aircraft carriers for nothin'.:gar-La;