Project Information
This project was in the March 2011 issue of Wood magazine. This is a great workcenter when working with longer material. No more balancing the wood on the jig, which wasn't a huge problem anyway. It's also a great storage organizer. I'm able to keep everything together, but separate. It's great. And when it's not in use, it can be hung on the wall.
I pretty much went by the plans in the magazine with a few exceptions. Instead of using a draw catch to keep the lid closed, I used 3/8" rare-earth magnets. There's two in the base, and two in the lid. I drilled holes using a 3/8" forstner bit so they sit flush in the wood. I changed the piano hinge only because I didn't like the look of the way they did it in the magazine. I rabbeted the base and the lid for the hinge, so the lid would sit flush. It was a personal preference. And lastly, I made a solid base for the stock to rest on, on either side of the jig. The magazine had two thin pieces of wood at the edge of the base for support, which is probably fine. But, just in case I would be using smaller stock now and then, it might not reach the edge. I was going to go with four thin strips for support after seeing Vrtigo1's workcenter, but decided on this instead.
The entire project was made of baltic birch with the exception of the MDF for the stock supports on the lid. The only reason I used MDF was because I needed 1" for height (two 1/2" pieces). The baltic birch was 11.5 mm, which is around 7/16". So, if I were to use two pieces of baltic birch, it would be 1/8" too short. I don't know why these people (companies) do this to us. I'll pay for the extra 1/16", just leave it at 1/2" for crying out loud. The dividers were dadoed and glued for strength. The bottom of the base was glued and screwed to the box. I probably went into overkill with the screws, but there is quite a bit of weight there when you add the screws and bits in the storage compartment. I didn't want this thing falling off the wall. You'll never see the screws anyway. It's screwed from underneath.
I really like the way this turned out, and I think it will be around for many years to come.
I pretty much went by the plans in the magazine with a few exceptions. Instead of using a draw catch to keep the lid closed, I used 3/8" rare-earth magnets. There's two in the base, and two in the lid. I drilled holes using a 3/8" forstner bit so they sit flush in the wood. I changed the piano hinge only because I didn't like the look of the way they did it in the magazine. I rabbeted the base and the lid for the hinge, so the lid would sit flush. It was a personal preference. And lastly, I made a solid base for the stock to rest on, on either side of the jig. The magazine had two thin pieces of wood at the edge of the base for support, which is probably fine. But, just in case I would be using smaller stock now and then, it might not reach the edge. I was going to go with four thin strips for support after seeing Vrtigo1's workcenter, but decided on this instead.
The entire project was made of baltic birch with the exception of the MDF for the stock supports on the lid. The only reason I used MDF was because I needed 1" for height (two 1/2" pieces). The baltic birch was 11.5 mm, which is around 7/16". So, if I were to use two pieces of baltic birch, it would be 1/8" too short. I don't know why these people (companies) do this to us. I'll pay for the extra 1/16", just leave it at 1/2" for crying out loud. The dividers were dadoed and glued for strength. The bottom of the base was glued and screwed to the box. I probably went into overkill with the screws, but there is quite a bit of weight there when you add the screws and bits in the storage compartment. I didn't want this thing falling off the wall. You'll never see the screws anyway. It's screwed from underneath.
I really like the way this turned out, and I think it will be around for many years to come.