barrel staves part 2.

 Kitchen storage.

A message on the contact form for my website asked me if I could make some storage boxes for a kitchen. 

The client had obtained a second hand solid oak kitchen which had been fitted in to their cottage. Two of the units had a top drawer under which were two shelves. They had baskets on the shelves but these did not make the best use of the space so asked if I could make some  boxes to enable them to maximise the storage space on the two units.

The couple also said they were keen to use reclaim type material in the design and would like the fronts to blend with the doors on the other units.

I had managed to source some barrel staves, some of which had the hole where the bung or drain of the barrel had been, these became the box handles, the rest of the boxes being made from 12mm/18mm ply.

Three staves were needed for each box front, these were dowelled together, but I had to reduce the chamfer on the long edge in order to reduce the curvature on the box fronts. I also extended the fronts on the lower boxes to hide the mid shelf edge and enhance the look of the finished product.

Oak runners were added under the base of each box in order to make them easier to move. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off cuts

Once the box fronts were finished, I had various offcuts from the staves I had used, what was I going to do with them?. The wood was good quality oak, far too nice for the scrap bin.

In our garden we have a pole with bird feeders attached. One of the feeders  is an open mesh saucer, which is frequented by a group of Jackdaws. These large birds deter smaller garden birds from visiting the feeder, so I decided to make a roof over the saucer in an attempt to deter them.

Three offcuts were joined using dowels and the resulting board cut in to a circle slightly larger than the diameter of the saucer. I had previously turned a piece of oak so I used that as a central stem rather than the usual four uprights forming a mushroom shape, this was then attached to the mesh saucer.

Not a total success, but it has made it more difficult for the Jackdaws and provides a roof for the Robin which is now a frequent visitor.

The next project in development is a bar, so I am looking to how I can incorporate some more staves in that design either as panels on the front or as small shelves on the back for special bottles. More news when it is sorted.