Strength of a shelf - DIY woodworking India

Strength of a shelf 

In woodworking, we build different kinds of shelves, for different purposes. Take a very simple one as described here. The strength of this shelf depends on the 2 things. Firstly, the base - how much load it can bear till it breaks. Usually, we use 18 mm or more thick plywood or solid wood. Therefore, chances are less that it will break.

If we still need more strength, see below picture. You have to cut 2 slots in both support pieces. Then fit hard wood or aluminium connecting these slots. If there is risk of making the support blocks weaker when you cut the slot, you can make slot as small as possible and then fit aluminium of steel rods.

More stronger

If you still think that the shelf needs more strength, look at the below diagrams.

Here in the back of the support blocks, we have cut slot in each. Why? It can be used to fit the mounting block. The more accurate the mounting block size, the more the strength will be. 2-3 mounting screws will be ok for a 2' long shelf. Below are 2 different mounting blocks. Second one will give more strength for the base as well.

To get more strength, use anchor screws in the wall. 

How to build a simple photo frame - DIY woodworking India

How  to build a simple photo frame

I have purchased a staple gun from Kangaro Miles recently. The sole purpose was to easily join the sides of the frame. If you have not gone through that post, here is the link. The details about the tool has been described there. Today, I will show you how to make photo frames using that device. The raw materials you will need are plain wood beadings of 1/8 inch thick 1 inch wide dimensions. The length of the 4 sides are upto you. In my frame, side length is 8 inch.

Cutting photo frame sides

Before cutting the sides in required length, I have already made the groove using my router for holding the photo frame glass. I have recorded a video, here it goes.

I have not done a few things yet. That includes adding something over the joints so that staple pins are not visible. Then I will have to buy glasses to fit it to the frame.

I will complete that part and update you the same. Till then, stay tuned.

Just stapled DIY photo frame

Hiding the pins of DIY photo frame :)

Then I glued part of wood beadings itself to hide the corner pins. It came out well, here are couple of pictures.

Here is a video about the same.

Wall mount lamp idea - DIY woodworking India

Wall mount lamp idea - DIY woodworking India

There are so many ways you can materialise this idea. I have been thinking about a plan, let me write it down here. The materials you will need are listed below:

Materials:
Iron rod - 2 feet long, it should be able to be bent
Sheet metal - 3'x6"

The sheet metal should be made into a structure like the above, a hollow cylindrical one.

One side of the cylinder is covered. If you already have a storage container which is of similar shape, that will also do. In fact, that will save you some time for sure, else, you need to make the cylinder and fix the back, which is little tricky.

Now look at the diagram below.

The iron rod need to be bent a little. If you like L shape, that is also perfect. Here, the rod needs to attached to the cylinder. For that either weld the 2 things together or if you do not have welding kit, you can attach them using screws or anything which will hold them together tightly.

Now look at the left side of the diagram where you can see that circular block. That can be made out of iron or wood/plywood block. The one side of the rod goes inside that. This circular block will be fixed in the wall.

Once the frame is ready, we can fix the holder inside the cylindrical portion and keep the connecting wires along the rod. Thats it! I will share the picture of the actual outcome.

Nailing the wood - DIY woodworking India

Nailing the wood - DIY woodworking India

"Its not always how hard you can hit"

Have you observed that when you hammer a nail into a piece of wood, sometimes the nail gets bent? Its really annoying, isn't it?  There is a science behind it. It is not always how hard you can hit, but how efficiently you should hit.

There are different categories of nails available starting from very thin, fine ones to thicker ones. The metals used also differ among different types. Therefore, the hammering force and technique depends on types of nails too.

Secondly, what type of wood you are hammering the nail into? In general, hardwoods are more harder outside than inside. Therefore, we often have to hammer lightly till the nail goes some distance into the wood. Once it gets inside more than half way depth, you can hit hard.

Another technique is, when you see your nail gets bent most of the times, pre-drill a hole which is 3/4 thick as that of the nail and 1/2 the length. Once the hole is made, hammer your nail. You will notice the improvement.

The making of cajon drum - DIY woodworking India

The making of cajon drum(fixing laminate) - DIY woodworking India

Hey everyone. Welcome to DIY woodworking India.

I have fixed laminates on both the sides of the drum. I have kept it for a couple of hours without disturbing it so that laminates fit properly on the underlying cajon structure. For first part of the cajon making, please visit my post The making of cajon drum - DIY woodworking India. I have described about the structure, plan and the final product there.

In this part, I will touch upon the steps which I have not mentioned in that post such as fixing the laminates, giving it the final touch etc.

Laminate cutters are available in local hardware shops. The one I have is shown below:

Mark the line on the laminate you want to cut, place a ruler along with it and then draw the line with the cutter along the line. You have to draw the same line or mark couple of times until the laminate piece can be removed with a gentle pull.

Once pieces are ready, apply wood adhesive on the back of those and on the cajon body. Basically, we need to apply adhesives on both the surfaces which will join.

Once you have applied adhesive, put the laminates pieces gently on the cajon body. Be careful of putting it accurately on the surface so that you don't need to remove and put it again. For laminates bigger in size for example, 4'x8', we keep 4-5 sticks on the surface and then fix the laminate over it so that we can adjust the position of the laminate. Now, we have to put tape so that the laminate is fixed properly in the edges. This tape is known as masking tape. After it is fixed, keep the cajon unit at rest for a few hours till the adhesives dry. It will be be written on adhesive usage instruction how long you should wait for it to dry.

Here is a demo of my cajon drum.