Art Room Project - Final

This is the twelfth post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Details

I installed the hardware. They are a pewter finish with a mixture of pulls and knobs. The contrasting silver pops against the deep red and black wood grain. I'm very happy with the results.

Also added a new overhead light. Had to move the electrical around a little, but no hassle if you've done it once or twice.

The only parts left on the room is finding the perfect chair, building some more hangings for the slatwall (see below), and organizing all my art crap in a meaningful way.

Slatwall Goodies

The slatwall allows me to add/move/remove hooks and other accessories. Here I have a hook holding up first painting (at 6 years old) and a paper towel holder. Instead of mounting the paper towel holder on a wall and then having to live with that decision until I take out the drill and screwdriver again, I just use a slatwall mount I made.












Mount Details

The mount is just a set of hooks on the back of a board. I custom make the hooks by using aluminum strips and bending brake and epoxy them to the board. A little paint and we have a mount suitable for mounting.

I can also add neat things like my old-tyme Boston pencil sharpener.


We are officially done with the interesting parts of the project, so I can finally close the books on this adventure. Stay tuned for more projects!

Serene Green Stream

I love being around the water. A lake, a river, a stream--even a full bathtub relaxes me. I finally have my serene water wallpaper for my PC. I also have the high-res image posted on Flickr.

Can you find the fish? See the high-res image for more details.

I took this picture at Chartres, France. A gentle stream meanders through this ancient town. I enjoy this picture because it shows off my favorite features of water: the translucent colors, sunlight dancing through the bed and reflecting across the surface and deep, cool shadows. The swaying vegetation provides cover for small fish. The water invites us to slow down and take in this timeless scene.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Art Room Project - Begin the Finish

This is the eleventh post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

The Finish

From my original plans, I knew I wanted a 2-tone look to my cabinets and desk. I stained all the doors, drawer fronts and desk top and painted the rest. The trick was finding the right 2 color stain/paint combo. I wanted it to be a classic style, but not too dark.

The big lesson learned with this step was patience. For a good finish, there are many steps, and each step is important.

Painting

Painting the shell

We chose a taupe color for the cabinets. The painting was fairly easy: 2 coats of primer, sanding between coats. 2 coats of paint. With the coats of primer and proper sanding, the final product was a smooth and durable finish.

Another extra step was to put a coat of Polyurethane inside the drawers and cabinets. Most skip this step, but since all sort of paint, glue and other things will be thrown around in this room, a little extra protection helps.












Staining

This was the most difficult part of the entire project. The trial and error process of finding the right stain for my oak panels was tedious and time consuming. Every step had to be documented with sanding steps, what grit I used, how long did I let the stain soak, how much did I wipe off, what type of sealer I used, etc.

I finally hit on look I wanted--a nice red/brown wood with deep black grain.

For each door, drawer front and the desk, this was my process:

1. Sand raw oak to a 220 grit finish and vacuum dust.
2. Stain with Red Mahogany, let soak for 5 minutes.
3. Wipe off stain and let dry overnight.
4. Re-sand again to 220 grit. (This was the key to getting the deep, high contrast grain. The wood lightened, but the grain stayed dark.)
5. Stain and soak for 5 minutes. Wipe off and dry.
6. Stain again and soak for 5 minutes. Wipe off and dry.
7. First coat of Polyurethane. Dry for a few hours.
8. Light sanding and wipe off dust.
9. Second coat of Poly and let dry.
10. Light sanding and wipe off dust.
11. Apply 3 coats of furniture wax.

I'm happy with the results. It has a deep color and matches the flooring very well. The Polyurethane makes it durable. The wax makes it feel silky like good furniture.



Slatwall

Slatwall is popular in retail shops. It allows for easy setup and removing of all kinds of hanging displays, shelves, hooks, whatever. It serves the same function as pegboard but is a little easier on the eyes. I'm using Slatwall on the walls around the desk. Later I'll make custom shelves and pegs for my art stuff, and the Slatwall will make it easy to hang and move around.

Ready to paint

You can order Slatwall in 4' by 8' sheets, but I decided to make my own. I used 1/2" MDF, cut the strips to size and routed the backs. I then glued each strip to a hardboard panel. This allowed me to customize the look with a simple border and trim, making it feel a little less utilitarian.

The Slatwall is installed and ready for primer and paint.

In the picture, also note I've installed under-cabinet LED lights for a little extra brightness.

What's Next?

After the finishing details are done, we need to pick out a new overhead light, some knobs and pulls and a new task chair.

Almost done!

Art Room Project - Project Drawers

This is the tenth post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Project Drawers

A project drawer is used to organize project supplies: drawing, painting, sculpture, fly tying, or whatever I tackle in the future. I can remove them and set them aside while working, then slide them back to their cubby holes when finished. Organized and neat, like I like it.

This is a small box, made from 1/2" inch birch plywood with an oak front.

Plywood on its way to being useful.

The cubby holes with their project drawers. They sit about 1/4 inch proud and will be easier to get out once Teresa picks out some hardware.

A drawer ready to serve. Note how the wood grain lines up when the drawers are closed. That's not an accident.

The bigger drawers in the middle could get heavy when loaded with big stuff. To remove them, sliding wood on wood wouldn't work. I added rollers on the back to help.

The rollers sit a fraction of an inch lower than the frame, and only on the back. Lift and remove from the cubby, and when it sits on the desk, there's no worry of it rolling off.

Next I'll start the finish. A few coats of stain and poly and it'll be ready for the final touches.

Art Room Project - Cabinet Doors

This is the ninth post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.


Your Door is Ajar

I built and hung my first set of doors. I'm happy to report my math worked. The doors cover the right amount of cabinet, 1/2" all around. They are relatively square, and meet close to the middle where required.

I splurged and bought the European style hinges, the fancy style with the six way adjustment, so that helped with how they fit. Plus, the hinges were super easy to install and hang. No trouble at all.

Here we are with the far set of cabinets. The red oak looks a little strange on the white poplar, but remember I'll be doing a two tone finish later.

The same image with the door open, in case you can't use your imagination for some reason.

Here you can see the fancy hinges.

View of the side cabinets from the door.

Side cabinets from inside. Door open for dramatic effect.

No more doors to build. Now ends another phase to this huge project. Only a few more phases left!

Next Post: Cubby Drawers

Art Room Project - Drawer Panels

This is the eighth post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Time for the Details

The bulk of the cabinets are made. Now we work on the details, starting with the drawer face panels.

Bits...

A friend, Andrew, let me borrow a set of door making bits for my router. These are heavy duty, 1/2" shank bits, designed to shape a lot of wood. I was a little intimidated by them at first, but after a few test runs and a couple of real panels I'm comfortable with the process. Any woodworker with a good router table and a little patience can make some great doors.

...and Pieces

The frame and panel is easy to cut. Edge glue and clamp some boards for the panel. Trim two rails (top and bottom) and two stiles (left and right) to size (standard 2") and you are ready to go.

The trick is knowing what size to cut the pieces so when they are put together, the door covers the opening at the size you expect. The math is easy once you see it work a couple of times.

Finished Look

I finished the top two drawers with a solid oak board with a beading trim around the edge. The larger door is an oak panel.

Finally, we have an oak panel to finish off the trash drawer.

Next I'll be finishing the doors. This will be fun with installing hinges and adjusting for how the doors meet up.

Next Post: Cabinet Doors

Art Room Project - Upper Desk

This is the seventh post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Scratch the Surface

Now we are getting to some fun stuff: creating the desk top. This is the surface where I'll work, cut, paint, glue, scrape, bleed, etc. The issue, which I had not addressed until I got to this point, was what material to use for the top? It didn't seem important until now.

Top Type

During the design, I assumed it would be a Formica or other laminate top--maybe a pre-built one from the hardware stores and cut to fit. As I built the cabinets, this didn't feel right. I had all this custom work, only to drop in a kitchen top? So I talked to Teresa about my ideas. Maybe I should just make an oak top. I could even do end grain up, like a cutting board, so it would be tough and easy to sand and fix.

Teresa's concern was the look. After a few months of use, the top would be glued and painted and all-around-ugly. Her suggestion was a having a top that could easily be changed out. This triggered an avalanche of ideas where we finally settled on what I made below. I'm glad to report we are both very happy with the design. Well, I like it and Teresa doesn't hate it, so that's a win in my book.

Desk Panels


The design was easily updated where the desk top is a solid 1.5" thick and 3" wide, red oak frame around the desk edges. The center part is divided into 5 panels that can easily be changed out as needed.

The image on the left shows the frame with temporary MDF panels in place.

Naked Desk

The desk shuns modesty and sheds its panels. I have three larger panels across the front and two smaller on the side.

The core of the panels will be MDF. It is sturdy, stable, and flat. I'll top one side of the panels with oak plywood which will be finished pretty. I guess I'll turn it to this side when company visits.

The other side will be some sort of work surface, such as a laminate or cutting board material.

Panel Support

The panels must have a sturdy but adjustable support. The panels could be different thicknesses and if the panels move while working, it will cause all sorts of frustration and gnashing of teeth.

This details shows how the supports are made.

1/2" plywood parts with tee-nuts inserted to hold standard bolts. To protect the desk panels, the bolt heads were dipped in a plastic dip, covering the head in a durable rubber coating.

To raise and lower the panels, just screw the bolt in and out.

The larger panels have 8 bolts, but the smaller panels just have 4.

Panel Ideas

Having the two layer desk and removable panels have opened up all types of options. One idea is to make a light box panel made with a frame, glass top and LED lights. Another option is to have a panel with recessed spaces for paint or paint brushes or other organizational feature. Yet another idea is to have a panel on an angle like a drawing table.

I love when a design opens up options rather than shutting them down. I'll keep you posted on the types I end up building. For now, however, I need to move on to finish this project!

Next Post: Drawer Panels

Art Room Project - Lower Desk

This is the sixth post in my Art Room Project. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Work on the Work Area

Time to focus on the work area. I built the trash cabinet first. This holds up the lower desk on the left.

Trash Cabinet

Having a trash can in a cabinet is nothing new. I looked at many pre-built options, but realized it is just a drawer turned upside down. Cut a hole for the bin, add some structure to the bottom and we have a good solution.

I used 100 lb rated drawer slides. If I'm throwing away more than 100 lbs in this little trash can, I have bigger issues than the drawer slide rating.

Here you can also see the lower desk installed. I cut a small hole so trash can be pushed in without needing to open the drawer.

Secret Stash

Here is the secret drawer in the toe-kick area. This area is normally just blocked off, but it seemed like wasted space. I added a small drawer and angled the facing so the seams blend in when closed.

Everyone likes a secret stash. I like having a secret stash. Don't tell anyone where mine is.

I wish I had a secret stash on my other side cabinet, but this idea came late in building.

Lower Desk

Here's the lower desk in place. It is finally starting to look like a real work area.

You can see my old wire shelves coveting my new cabinets. It is like a furniture standoff. Your days are numbered, wire shelves.

View from the inside. The desk top is 1/2" birch plywood with a 3/4" trim on the edges to clean up the profile.

Next Post: Upper Desk

Art Room Project - Project Cabinets

This is the fifth post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Project Yourself

Now the corner and side cabinets are in, I can work on the project cabinets that span the two.

This was part of the project needing the tweaks I spoke about earlier. My SketchUp design expected certain distances between the two cabinets, but due to imperfect wall and wood measurements, the spacing was a little different. Not a problem. Just re-measure and design to fit.

Measuring Tricks

As you can see, there was a lot of measuring, but it wasn't too difficult. Instead of constantly relying on my tape measure, I just cut scrap wood to the regular sizes and used them to make sure it fit. This is like the 'story stick' method of measuring used by most woodworkers. (Nice story stick method video here.)

Another measuring trick I learned the hard way: Buy a good, accurate tape measure and only use that one tape measure for your real cuts. If you are like me, you might have 2 or 3 tape measures lying around, and you will be tempted to grab whatever is handy for a cut. Each tape measure, regardless of quality, has a degree of accuracy and slop in the measurements--even in the same brands. With woodworking, consistency is more important than accuracy. My tape measure may be off by 1/16", but if I use it everywhere, all my measurements will still be consistent and reliable.

My Tape Measure

I don't get money from this tape manufacturer (I would gladly take it if they sponsored me), but I love this product. It is by a company called FastCap, and I use their Story Pole Tape measure.

What makes this tape unique is the markable surface. I can easily mark points on the tape with a pencil, and erase it later. The black on white with red 16ths are easy to read, and the lines are thin enough to feel accurate. Also, I'm still working on my fractional math, so having the fractions on the tape have been wonderful.

Would it be nice if the numbers were on both sides? Sure, but I've been able to work around any issues with it. Just flip the tape and read it upside down. No biggie.

I've had an issue with durability in the case, as the lock has broke, but this is after two years of constant use. I would easily recommend and buy this brand again.

Where to Spend Money

One can usually skimp and save money on most tools. Is a $10 screwdriver better than a $1.50 screwdriver? In some ways, yes, but they will both drive screws (at least for a while). With measuring tools, however, it is usually worth the extra money to get the higher quality. The money goes into insuring that measuring 16" is always accurate and easy to see, a square will always be 90 degrees or an angle always 45 degrees.

On some projects, a 91 degree right angle can be tolerated, but usually that 1 degree error, or fraction of an inch error, is multiplied over many pieces, creating an exponential problem.

Machinists live in a world of thousands of an inch tolerance. Woodworking is more forgiving, but when you can trust your equipment to a high tolerance, it makes building much more predictable and enjoyable.

Next Post: Lower Desk

Art Room Project - Side Cabinets

This is the fourth post in my Art Room Project series. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Side to Side

Next we have the side cabinets. Here they are installed.

Since the cabinet goes floor to ceiling, I had to make them in two parts, the lower drawers made first and installed, then the top shelves built on last.

The top will have adjustable shelves I will install later.

Drawers

The drawers are basic. I built the bottom drawer to handle hanging files if needed. I'll be adding doors and drawer fronts later.

See the Seam (not)

The view from the inside shows the seam where the top and bottom cabinets meet. I put the seam where the desk top will line up, so the seam won't be visible.

Now I have the anchor cabinets in the room, it is time to build around them.

Next Post: Project Cabinets

Art Room Project - Upper Cabinets

This post is third in a series outlining my Art Room Project. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Time to Build

I've never built a cabinet before. The most I've made to this point are some small shelves and cubby holes for a closet. Before I started cutting, however, I felt confident I would be successful, mostly because of my work in SketchUp doing the designs. I already built the entire project digitally. I knew what size every board and panel should be and where they should go.

Materials

I wanted to use materials easy to find (and replace if I screw up) in my area, so I decided on a motley mixture of Birch plywood (3/4" and 1/2") for cabinet carcass, 3/4" poplar for face frame and trim, and 3/4" red oak for doors and drawer fronts. Since I planned on the two-tone look, I could get away with mixing the wood types.

Expected Issues

The only issues I had to overcome were the reality issues all carpenters must master, such as: walls not being level, rooms not being square, not all 3/4" boards being 3/4", seasonal wood sizing, etc. In my little experience, I knew I had to work around these problems rather than trying to solve them. The best way to do this was to build in stages, starting with the immutable parts first, and adapt where I could.

Start in the Corner

I started with the top corner cabinet for this reason. It was big and bulky and it's shape couldn't be adapted easily, whereas the shelves could easily be adjusted to fit the remaining space.

The basic corner cabinet was relatively easy. The holes in the side and selves are for under cabinet lighting and wiring options later.

Hang Time

And now it is time to install. Corner cabinet up first, then I checked the measurements for the shelves and adjusted accordingly.

We're off to a good start! Everything is level and secure. The face frame is on. Time to move to the big, side cabinet next.

Next Post: Side Cabinets

Art Room Project - Plans

This is the second post in my Art Room Project. Find the Table of Contents at the first post, Getting Started.

Decide to Design

I had many options to fill this small room and make it useful. I could just buy a desk and put up shelves, hire a cabinet maker to design and build, or continue to use the card table and wire shelves already in there. Once I decided to do the designing and building myself (carpentry is yet another hobby), I had to have a good way to visualize what I wanted.

SketchUp

I studied many design applications and chose Google SketchUp. The application is free, easy to use, and after going through all their tutorials and some testing on my own, I felt SketchUp would work great. With some minor setup, it can be adapted to do woodworking plans.

Note: Fine Woodworking has an entire blog on the SketchUp here.

Requirements

My requirements were fairly simple:

• Plenty of storage - with most items being small.
• Plenty of desk space - room to spread out.
• Standing and sitting working height.
• Plenty of light, ambient and task.
• Places to attach more lights and magnifiers for detail work.
• Adaptable area to fit different project types and ways to organize for future projects.

After many designs and false starts, I finally decided on the following:

Side View, with left wall invisible.

It shows the upper cabinet with open shelves, a corner cabinet, and smaller project drawers. These drawers can be easily removed when in use. I call them my "Project Drawers" because I plan on keeping like things in each drawer. For example, when painting, I'll pull out the paint drawers with all the paints and supplies, put them on the desk and work away.

Another detail is in the desk. It doesn't go all the way back on the large side. There is a 3.5" gap to the wall where it drops down to the lower desk below. I took this idea from old wood working benches with the tool trough. I can put an electrical strip there and run wires under the main desk top. I can also put in any organizers I might need.

Front View, with wall invisible.

The desk is a double layer, with about a 3" gap. This is for flat file storage, running wires and other things. There is slatwall between the desk and upper cabinets so I can hang shelves or other organizers. The small cabinet on the left holds a trash can.

Top View

This is the view from the ceiling. There is plenty of space to move around and still have enough storage.

Now that the plan is set, I'm ready to start building!

Next Post: Upper Cabinets

Art Room Project - Getting Started

Art Room Project Series


This is the first post in a series taking you through a cabinet building project I've worked on. The Table of Contents of the series:

1. Getting Started - You are here.
2. Design and Plans
3. Upper Cabinets
4. Side Cabinets
5. Project Cabinets
6. Lower Desk
7. Upper Desk
8. Drawer Panels
9. Cabinet Doors
10. Project Drawers
11. Protect and Finish
12. Final Details

Introduction

I'm lucky to have a home office which is a second Master bedroom. It is big with plenty of windows, double doors to the back patio, a full bathroom, and an utterly useless walk-in closet. It is too large for storage, but too small to be its own room. Its size is roughly 5.5' x 9.5' with normal 8' ceilings.

Repurpose Room

Those who know me know my hobby is having hobbies, so I wanted to convert this space to a workable area to hold all the fiddly bits for painting, sculpture, fly tying and whatever else I tackle. It was easy to imagine the area as a large, work cubicle with a desk and storage cabinets. The task for me was to design and build this cubicle.

Starting Space

Here's a picture of the space before I started. The wire shelves will be removed when finished. Now it holds all the crap I'm trying to hide/organize with these new cabinets.

I added an outlet near the ceiling for under cabinet lights. More on that later.

Over the next few posts I'll report my progress and mention anything interesting I learn.

Next Post: Design and Plans.

JavaFX Snowflake

EDIT: I took out the samples. The code is old and dated.

This simple project shows off several basic features: arrays, random numbers and unique ways to use JavaFX's built in effects. Nice results from a simple, one page script.

• Snowflake Project

Code

Download/View the JavaFX Script here: Main.fx

Prerequisites

Familiar with JavaFX. See my Getting Started with JavaFX post for links.

Code Notes

Creating a Flake

The createFlake function is the heart of the application, called when the application is loaded and when the Create button is clicked. It sets up a Polyline created from a series of random integers which create the x and y points along the line. The random numbers are constrained so the line is contained in a certain area.

var x1 = random.nextInt(20);
var y1 = random.nextInt(20);
var x2 = random.nextInt(100);
var y2 = random.nextInt(100);
var x3 = random.nextInt(40) + 60;
var y3 = random.nextInt(40) + 60;
var x4 = random.nextInt(20) + 80;
var y4 = random.nextInt(20) + 80;

Flake Effects

I used two different effects, but in unique ways.

First, to give the flake a slight glowing feel, I use the DropShadow effect. Instead of using Color.BLACK, I use White and set the offsets to zero. This keeps the like crisp (unlike the blur effect) but gives it a nice glow.

effect: DropShadow {
   offsetX: 0;
   offsetY: 0;
   color: Color.WHITE;
   radius: 16;
}

Second, on each Polyline I put in a Reflection effect, but keep it at full opacity. This just throws more randomness in the snowflake lines.

effect: Reflection { //Note the settings for the reflection. Doesn't fade away at bottom
           fraction: 0.75;
           topOffset: 0.0;
           topOpacity: 0.6;
           bottomOpacity: 1.0;
       };

Things to Play With

• Try the sample yourself and modify how the random numbers are generated.
• Add a slider to create more or less points on the Polyline.
• Add more or less lines in the flake's content by changing the values in the for loop. Be sure the rotation amount ends up with a total of 360 so you get a full flake.
  
• Try different effects in each group to see how it changes.

Getting Started With JavaFX

There are many tools to build RIAs, and I found JavaFX interesting, fun to use, and though still green and growing it fits my needs for my current projects.

These are a set of links any resourceful person can find on their own. I distilled the sites I found useful, and I use this post as a reference point for those asking me about JavaFX. I also revisit this post's reference section for myself, so I'll try to keep it updated.

Prerequisites

You should be familiar with RIAs (Rich Internet Applications) and some coding experience with similar or related tools such as Flash, Silverlight and some Java.

What is JavaFX?

• JavaFX Main Site
• Sun's JavaFX Overview
• JavaFX on Wikipedia
• JavaFX Overview
  

Learn the Basics

• Getting Started with NetBeans - Steps through setting up NetBeans and building first project.
  
• Getting Started with Eclipse - Steps on using the Eclipse IDE and JavaFX
  
• JavaFX Language Reference - At the time of this post, the Reference is incomplete but still valuable for learning JavaFX script.
• Learn JavaFX Script
• Build JavaFX GUI
  

Learn More

• JavaFX Reference Hub - Great collection of JavaFX tutorials
• JavaFX 1.2 API

Stay in Touch

• JavaFX forums
• JavaFX Blog
• JFXStudio Blog
  
• Jim Weaver's JavaFX Blog
• Carl's FX Blog
• The JavaFX Journey Blog
  

Personal Notes and Suggestions

I'm using NetBeans IDE for JavaFX. In the past I always used Eclipse for my Java coding (and still like it), but I since I was learning a new API I thought I'd try a new IDE. So far it is working great.

I'm developing on a Windows 7 virtual machine, but I also use an Ubuntu virtual machine on my laptop. NetBeans and JavaFX has worked great in both environments so far. I downloaded my Ubuntu 9.04 VM from Linhost.info and it has worked perfectly.

For me, the declarative style of JavaFX script took a while to get used to, but now I love it. I suggest opening your IDE, creating a JavaFX project and step through the
JavaFX Language Reference. Run the samples yourself and get a feel for how it all fits together. By the end of the trail, you'll have a good grasp on what the scripts can do and the samples will make more sense.