# Notes from the workday.



## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*July 7th, 2010 Daily progress*

Hello everyone,

This is my first attempt at blogging and I want to thank LumberJocks for making this effort possible. I have really enjoyed the projects, comments, and talent of the people on this site.

I have had lots of positive response to the walnut tables I finished last month (my first project posted on LJ). A woodworker friend wants a piece to display in his showroom. Most of the woodwork he has is rustic and he would like to show some more refined pieces.

Today I bought enough 12/4 walnut stock to make the legs for a coffee table. Very straight grain, no knots and only minor checking on the ends ($79.00). I didn't like the flat stock they had so I will be looking at a few other sources for that. My intent is to follow the same basic design but change the shape and position of the inlay. I have had both positive and negative comments regarding the oval Koa inlay. Mostly positive but a few declared that it was unnecessary for the design. I like the contrast and feel that it makes the table more artistic and unique.

I believe I will alter the leg dimensions also; slightly narrower but keeping the straightened cabriole outline.

Otherwise, I worked on completing some small projects that have been hanging around for weeks waiting for attention. I also got a commission for two doors and a top panel for a vanity. Paint grade plywood flat panel rail and stile design with beading around the inside of the frame. I will use alder for the frames as it is very easy to work and not too expensive for a painted door. They should take two days, but I will lose time this week to family business. My brother is having an open house and I will be busy helping him with setup.

More later.

vicrider


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *July 7th, 2010 Daily progress*
> 
> Hello everyone,
> 
> ...


After working on bro's place last week I bought some solid core ply and 4/4 Alder at the big box for about $50 and 4 32mm 5/8 overlay Euro hinges ($9.70) and went to work yesterday. I bought a 1/8" beading bit (Rockler) to make a beading insert around the panels.

Planed, sanded, and did the tongue/groove work in Alder for the rails and stiles. Determined the size of the panels from the pre-fitted frames, cut and then rabbeted the back and front of the panel. The front rabbet was larger to accommodate the beading. Assembled the doors, installed the beading, drilled and mounted the hinges and routed a dado in the top panel for the beading. I used a strait 5/16" bit and adjusted the side guide to complete a 7/16" dado in several passes. This morning, I installed the beading in the top panel and called the customer to say they were complete. He delivered a check this afternoon. Yeah! that works…. and he ordered a custom maple knife rack to match his new kitchen..

These were ordered 'ready to paint' so I didn't have to apply a finish.

I think I actually made money on these…..


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*Aikiko's knife rack delivered. New old project.*

I finished the knife rack and delivered it to Aikiko. She was very appreciative and felt it would compliment her new maple kitchen. I hope she gets another several decades of use out of this one.

Also took delivery of a Homack ball bearing double tool box that I traded for some bathroom repair work back in February. This resulted in 1/2 day of sorting and repositioning hand tools. I even have a few empty drawers! One benefit was that I located a few things I thought were missing; including a brand-new-in-the-box Veritas cabinet scraper, which, of course I had to stop and hone, polish, and burnish. I had received it as a gift from one of the kids and had put it away without ever using it. Dumb. Now I just have to relearn where I put everything. Another benefit was that I had to clear a space for the new box, (I have two other tall boxes) so I got rid of a small barrel of scraps; mostly sticks of softwoods and a few chunks of checked maple slab ends. Mom likes the kindling.

I was looking at poppatom's projects and his desk reminded me of one had built back in the eighties. We didn't have room for it when all the kids were home and I didn't build it to sell, so I put it away and hadn't thought about it for a long time. I built it to practice dovetails, locking drawer joints, and mortised drawer guides. I think the design was inspired by a desk I saw in Fine Woodworking magazine.

So off I went on the search, moved a lot of boxes and wood, suffered thru the dust sneezes, and there it was; one of my lost and ignored orphans. Well, the finish had not held up and the poor thing looked pretty ratty. So I spent yesterday afternoon stripping the old lacquer from it, (I really hate that process; don't like the material, the mess it makes, the rags and crud you have to discard, etc.)

It's now ready to be refinished. I will use polyurethane this time and it should hold up better. I will post pic's when it's done.

Perhaps I will get to that today. Or not; it looks like a very nice 'ride the Vegas' motorcycle day. As you may have realized from my signature; I ride a 2004 Victory Vegas for fun and relaxation outside the shop. We are getting the best weather in the States right now. Everyone else is suffering thru some high temps but here in the NW. we are having 70's and low 80's. Perfect riding weather.

More tomorrow.

Vicrider


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*July 20th, daily progress*

Well, we went for a short ride (awesome weather) and I was able to get back in time to apply the first coat of finish to the disassembled desk. I will do the another coat today.

The top and base came out very nice. The desktop will need some sanding, the weather was a little too warm and the finish did not flow quite as well as I like. I think I should have thinned the finish a little more.I t might also be the fact that I am using a new spray gun, a Sata Minijet4 that I picked up used from a car repair buddy. This is a German made HVLP that is WAY better than any spray gun I have used before. Lots of adjustments, works at 29 lbs of pressure, and it really does hold down the overspray. I'll have more on that after some additional practice.

Off to the shop.


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*July 20th, continued*

Well, disappointingly, the desk top needed a complete re-sanding. In the higher temperature conditions late yesterday afternoon the finish did not flow well and left an unacceptable orange peal surface. The orange peel was just too rough, another coat wouldn't help. the other parts were quickly brought to smooth with a 220 grit rubdown.

I sealed the desktop's new surface with shellac, which dried very quickly; warm today. Knocked down the nibs, and shot a coat of thinned poly. I appears that it's critical for proper atomization with these HVLP guns to have a consistency in viscosity, and that needs to be thinner than I usually use for spraying. This will necessitate ordering a viscosity cup so I can test small batches of finish.

Normally with small projects, I only mix 2-3 ounces of finish. That's about the minimum that you can test in a cup. I don't know if you are all familiar with how a v. cup works. An appropriate thinner or reducer is added to the finish, mixed, and then poured in to a viscosity cup. The time in seconds that it takes for the finish to drain completely from the cup indicates the viscosity of the finish. After some trial and error testing, a record of results will build a table of thinner/finish mixes which can then be adjusted for temperature and humidity. Short answer: finish needs to be thinner. (Can't seem to find one locally, so will rely on the internet. Really strange that Paint stores and Auto Supply stores wouldn't have one, but that's the case).

I was very impressed with the reduction in over-spray. The literature on the gun indicated a nearly 85% transfer rate; which means only 15% is lost to the atmosphere. Compared to standard sprayers (40%) I did expect some improvement. I was pleasantly surprised with how little of that usual surrounding cloud of vapor was evident. Odor was greatly reduced also.

Today's weather was the same as yesterday, cool in the morning and warming to the mid 70s in the PM. I adjusted the mix and applied a nice thin coat of semi-gloss poly to the top, desktop, drawer, supports, and base. I am very pleased with the result today. The top, supports, drawer, and base are finished and ready for the rub-out waiting week. The top will need at least one more coat, possibly two. I expect to get to that tomorrow. Weatherman says cooler with a slight chance of early drizzle. Hmmmmm, looks like I'll need to adjust my thinner ratio again.

I am not aiming for a filled semi-gloss finish. This piece was constructed from a large billet of walnut that I scavenged from a farmer in Pasco, WA, and some wormy oak that had been milled from a dead tree in North Dakota and brought out here a few years before. So there are interesting spots and various colors throughout the piece, but I wouldn't claim it as really fine furniture.

I anticipate posting pic's when it is complete. I haven't taken the time to make a record of this process, since I am basically just refinishing an older piece. I'm sure the LJ's will let me know what they think when they see it.


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*July 22nd, Workday notes*

I decided to lightly sand and re-coat all of the parts of the desk. Had to mix finish anyway. All parts are now in the 'drying room' (a shed we don't go into often). I should be able to assemble it tomorrow. This process burnt the morning.

I got an emergency repair call from one of my buddies. He has broken a front leg on one of his dining room chairs. He is packing for a two year stint in England and asked if I could fix it so he could take it. First impression; make a new leg. No time, says he, need it tomorrow or Saturday latest, the container leaves his driveway Sunday.

It is a turned leg with a top tenon and a stretcher mortise.The tenon is snapped off right at the bottom of the chair (top of the mortise). I cleaned out the stub and glue from the mortise, pulled out the stretcher, and then took a half hour to think about options and plan the repair. The legs and stretchers had square drive screws in each joint driven through the tenon into the back of the mortise. Those had to be removed to loosen the joints. Fortunately the glue didn't hold up very well and I could get the leg structure apart from the seat.

The neck of the leg curves dramatically from 2" down to 1 1/8" diameter. The tenon is 15/16" X 1". The mortise is 15/16" X 1 1/16". Thus there is a very small shoulder right where the break occurred. Also the leg split slightly about 1/4" below the tenon.

My plan is to first shorten the leg by trimming it below the split. The wide parts of the leg are all 2" so I should be able to clamp and trim it square. I have a jig that I use on my drill press that will hold the leg vertically, centered and square to the bit. I think I will bore a stepped 3/4"-5/8" mortise about 2" deep into the end of the leg. Then I will turn a matching stepped tenon that begins at 5/8" x 1", steps up to 3/4" X 1", then up to 1 1/8" X whatever I cut off, then down to 15/16" X 1". Epoxy that puppy into the leg, then re-assemble the chair.

I think that short of making an entire new leg, and I haven't done any real lathe work in a while, this is my best option. the plug will be long enough to get to the meat of the leg and i believe it will hold. No money in this, just an exercise in furniture repair. If it doesn't hold up, I'll make a new leg for it later.

Got the jig all lined up. Now to sleep on the idea prior to drilling…..

Remarkably, I was able to locate all the tools I needed today, even though I had just moved most of them…..

vicrider


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *July 22nd, Workday notes*
> 
> I decided to lightly sand and re-coat all of the parts of the desk. Had to mix finish anyway. All parts are now in the 'drying room' (a shed we don't go into often). I should be able to assemble it tomorrow. This process burnt the morning.
> 
> ...


It is always when the need is now that you get the most creative and get those juices flowing. Sounds like it should work to me.


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*July 23rd, Chair leg repair*

After sleeping on my repair plan, I ventured out to the shop and tackled today's business. After starting I realized I should be taking some pic's. We'll see how well I have learned how to post.

Here are a few pics of the leg after drilling out the mortise. Kinda gives you an idea of where I started.


















After measuring the leg six ways from Sunday I turned this stepped tenon.










Here are a couple shots of the prefit.


















Then it was just glue up, stain, and finish for this result.









All in all, I am pretty satisfied with this repair. the glue is still fresh on the new part so I haven't tested it yet, but it felt really strong when I assembled it. time will tell.

Now on to assembling my desk. Pic's of that later.

vicrider


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## Paul2274 (Nov 17, 2009)

vicrider said:


> *July 23rd, Chair leg repair*
> 
> After sleeping on my repair plan, I ventured out to the shop and tackled today's business. After starting I realized I should be taking some pic's. We'll see how well I have learned how to post.
> 
> ...


Sheer Genius! I would never have thought to do that.

I Love LumberJock's ! This is exactly the type of thinking and problem solving that makes this site incredible.

Ideas like this really expand the thought process for solving problems in a practical way.

Thank you for expanding my brain….. now I need some motrin….. small brains can't grow to much in one day 

Paul


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*July 23rd, 2nd half, Desk Assembly*

I finished the re-assembly of my desk. A more complete description and more pic's are in my LJs Projects.

Originally finished in lacquer, the piece needed a complete stripping and refinish. This time I used semi-gloss poly. Hopefully it will last.


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*Hickory travertine entryway*

Well,

I've been absent from LJ's for quite a while helping friends and relative's around the state do remodel work on their homes. I thought I would share a couple things we worked on.

First up is an entryway of 1X4 hickory flooring inlaid with 18" travertine tile. The space is 6'x10' and the Mrs. wanted the pattern to be set on the bias. Neither my pal Ken nor I had ever done a mixed media floor like this so it took us nearly a day to just plan how we were going to fit 4" x 3/4" hickory with 1/2" thick travertine. Travertine tile is very brittle and needs to be very well supported by the thinset mortar. Then we planned the layout against the front wall, an existing angled threshold to a cherry floor in the front room, a bi-fold coat closet and the new flooring in the hallway, family room, dining room. Here are a couple pics. Each piece of hickory is tongue and groove jointed on sides and ends.



















We went with 1/16" grout lines so everything was a very tight fit. This design element turned out great but added lots of labor in fitting and laying each tile.
We also laid a 30" hickory floor around the family and dining room and down the hallway.










Then travertine inside that…. about 250 square feet….the Mrs. sorted and hand selected each tile for color and pattern.



















Needless to say, the old guys spent way too many hours on hands and knees. The entire flooring project took two us weeks, but this was a beautiful upgrade from linoleum and carpet.

Next blog will be on the Pantry cabinet built into the space left when the refrigerator was moved across the kitchen.


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## poppatom (May 21, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Hickory travertine entryway*
> 
> Well,
> 
> ...


Excellent Vicrider!! The workmanship from your coffee tables has spilled onto the floor! I stand in aw of your craftsmanship! Thanks for sharing.


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Hickory travertine entryway*
> 
> Well,
> 
> ...


Thanks, Poppatom!!

I always appreciate your appreciation ;-) !!!


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## superstretch (Jan 10, 2011)

vicrider said:


> *Hickory travertine entryway*
> 
> Well,
> 
> ...


Been watching from the sidelines for over a month until new registrations opened and I bookmarked this just so I can say how awesome this is. I have this gross, white tile through the main hallway in my house, front-to-back, and seeing how well you brought this tile and the wood together made my jaw drop and my wife jealous. Great job!


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Hickory travertine entryway*
> 
> Well,
> 
> ...


Thanks Dan,

This was a fun but laborious project.

We used several plywood templates to ensure the tile areas between the hickory 1×4's were exactly the right size. Lots of extra work but the end result is remarkable. I'm not patting myself on the back too much 'cause the idea was from my friend's wife. We just worked out the details of installation.

There was also lots of painstaking work due to matching 11 (yeah, eleven!) thresholds; some with carpet, some tile, and some hardwood, none of which were the exact same height.

If you decide to do something like this I would be happy to share more details with you.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

vicrider said:


> *Hickory travertine entryway*
> 
> Well,
> 
> ...


I like this, and so would my wife, Sherie.

Thanks for stopping by on my profound pencil review…......(-:


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## travertine (Mar 16, 2012)

vicrider said:


> *Hickory travertine entryway*
> 
> Well,
> 
> ...


wow, very nice and creative, are you willing to do this for people in your area?

I'm planning to get some travertine tile at Stone-Mart, but where did you get the wood flooring at?


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Hickory travertine entryway*
> 
> Well,
> 
> ...


Hi Travertine,

I am sorry but I am now too heavily employed (and old) to do another job like this. I did this (gratis) for a friend over a two week vacation. He had traded for 3 pallets of the travertine and had purchased the hickory flooring from a flooring store. The materials had been sitting in his garage for two years. He and his wife have been my personal friends for over 40 years, and she called in some large favors to get this done. This was a tremendous amount of work for two old guys (lots and lots of hands and knees work). Plan on working out a lot of layout details before you start. We ended up with 1 6 foot and 1 4 foot piece of hickory flooring left over (and no where to buy more that matched); that's cutting it a little too close. No waste more than a foot long.

We did have two table saws set up to do the tongue and groove ends, another saw set up to do the ripping, a chop saw for cutting to length, and a tile saw to cut the travertine. We had mortar mixers, lots of shims, a flooring nailer, air compressor, floor scrapers, trowels, rubber mallets, tile spacers (1/16"), and lots of other tools. We were VERY proud of the detail and fit on the entryway, at the thresholds, around the heat vents, in the dining room and in the kitchen. On my next vacation we did the roll out cabinets that you can see on another of my blog entries. My pal Ken is the old guy doing all the sanding.

I haven't been on the LJ's site lately since I have been concentrating on working my day job (10 to 12 hours/day) to pay off debt and get ready for retirement. Should be ready in about 18 months. Maybe then I can get back to my true love, crafting in wood. Unfortunately, I was never able to make a very good living at the artistry and craftsmanship in wood that I feel is so much more rewarding than what I do for an adequate income. We have 5 children, now all grown up, who all had the nasty habits of wanting to eat and wear clothes.

I am fortunate in that I have been able to gather a complete set of high quality woodworking tools (hand and power) over the years and my plan is to touch them everyday after I retire. I have also been honing more of my hand tool skills so that the electric bill will stay within reach. I still have many projects in my head that are waiting for me to have enough time to create them.

If you decide to tackle a project of this size, take your time, plan thoroughly, and don't get discouraged. It also helps if you can tolerate lots of take-out food while the kitchen is disrupted.

The best part is that anyone who enters the house for the first time remarks positively on the entryway and flooring. We haven't seen an installation like it before or since. It's a great feeling of accomplishment.

sorry to be so long winded but this is my first day off for a while and I am having fun revisiting the site and looking at all the great projects that continue to be shared here. I am envious of all the skill and talent displayed on these pages, and grateful for everyone's participation.

Have a great and productive day.

Vic


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*Refrigerator space Rolling Pantry*

I guess I should first apologize for being away from this blog for so long. It just seems that my life is so full, some things get by me. Mea culpa and lo siento.

At any rate, we did finish the pantry mentioned in my last blog entry.

Here is a series of pics and some description of the assembly work and units.

First the hole on the left created by moving the refer.










Next a few pics of the shop work. We hadn't done this before so it took a little more time than expected. Fronts and backs of the shelf casements were 1×12 pine with inset adjustable shelf supports. Lateral stability created by attaching 1×6 side supports, and the bottom was inset 2 1/2 inches to conceal 3 inch straight running casters. The casters limit the movement of the pantry units to only in and out directions.

Fully adjustable shelves (except the top and bottom) were made to fit inside the spaces created by the side supports. Each unit has 6 shelves; each shelf measures 10 1/2×22 inches (really lots of space)

Parts cut and lots of sanding….










Hmmm, hit the pic limit will continue in next blog entry…..


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## C_PLUS_Woodworker (Jun 10, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Refrigerator space Rolling Pantry*
> 
> I guess I should first apologize for being away from this blog for so long. It just seems that my life is so full, some things get by me. Mea culpa and lo siento.
> 
> ...


Looking forward to the rest of the pix.

Your work is always so "crafty", impeccable and attractive.

I should pm you photos of our new log home in the mtns that we are moving into mid-July.

Wife is DEMANDING a replica of your pot/pan rack for her hickory kitchen. Luckily I will have the present one to scavenge hardware from.

Best….....Bruce


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Refrigerator space Rolling Pantry*
> 
> I guess I should first apologize for being away from this blog for so long. It just seems that my life is so full, some things get by me. Mea culpa and lo siento.
> 
> ...


Hey C+ (aw c'mon, it's A+ isn't it ;-) ), nice to hear from you.

It would be great to see your log home. Back in the late seventies, I lived up in the north woods of Washington and did lots of work on log homes. Sliders, decks, windows, and cabinets. I remember having to make lots of allowances for walls settling and then mating straight cabinets to curved logs. Then there were the visible wiring issues. Lots of challenges keep one interested, tho.

Best back at ya,

Vic


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

*Pantry continued*

Pics of two of the three pantry sub assemblies; if you look closely you can see the flush inset shelf supports.



















Then came a full oak ply surround, with partitions at the top to mount full extension 22" drawer glides to the sides which support and align the tops of the rolling shelf units. Here it is installed.










Double checking level and plumb as first unit is attached at the top glides….










Second unit….










And the third, note the minimum clearance at the floor…...



















Now we attach 1×12 oak fronts, stained and edged to match the existing cabinets.










and finally, here they are in use!










The Mrs. of the house was using deep drawers for her canned and bottled goods. She was ecstatic with the room and visibility provided with this installation. The units are heavily loaded, but roll quite nicely, and hold a surprising amount of pantry goods. Now she uses her deep drawers for pots and pans. I am suggesting a pot and pan rack (see my projects) but she is pretty content with her new kitchen floor and pantry.

I welcome comments on this installation as it is the first time I have done this and am interested in how you LJ's feel about it.

vicrider


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## C_PLUS_Woodworker (Jun 10, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Pantry continued*
> 
> Pics of two of the three pantry sub assemblies; if you look closely you can see the flush inset shelf supports.
> 
> ...


Oh, jeez..those are fantastic. What a great use of that space for all the heavy stuff. Wife looking over my shoulder now deciding if this is a change order for tomorrow.


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## Servelan (Oct 15, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Pantry continued*
> 
> Pics of two of the three pantry sub assemblies; if you look closely you can see the flush inset shelf supports.
> 
> ...


The only thing I don't like about those kinds of cabinets is that there's no easy way to store cans. Yours has the excellent idea of adjustable shelves, however, and that's not a usual feature. Now, if someone can come with some of those gizmos to enable proper rotation of canned goods…


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## poppatom (May 21, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Pantry continued*
> 
> Pics of two of the three pantry sub assemblies; if you look closely you can see the flush inset shelf supports.
> 
> ...


Good to see you back on LJ's Vicrider! Also glad the wife isn't with this project you've done or I know what I'd be doing! 
Great job on the design as well as the finished product!


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

vicrider said:


> *Pantry continued*
> 
> Pics of two of the three pantry sub assemblies; if you look closely you can see the flush inset shelf supports.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the comments, LJ's,

One thing I missed mentioning is that each shelf has a lip on each side to prevent the contents from sliding off. Also, the fit is snug so they don't rattle or move.

As for visibility, the Mrs. is pretty organized and with this many shelves she doesn't have to stack cans or boxes so access is pretty good. I think it is at least as good as a typical pantry. But, I agree that rotating units would be better. I just don't have that engineered yet. We did the whole install for about $600, including pine, oak, oak ply, casters, shelf supports, glides, stain, and finish. I did this for my best friends with their help, so the labor was free…..

I don't know if you can tell but the Mr. of the house made sure his items were on the nearest unit.


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