Or a man with lots of hats at the very least!
Every man/boy has them, baseball hats. Some men have more than others. Matt is one of those men he has a TON of hats and they are stored in a box on a shelf in his closet!
Impressive isn’t it?
Every time Matt needed a hat he got to dig through this box
to find the one he was looking for.
Not a very good system.
That combined with Matt’s constant frustration over the wasted space
in the closet got me thinking…
Matt needed a custom closet.
Something he could compartmentalize his clothes in that would not leave the rib marks
like the wire coated shelf does.
He not only needed a closet makeover, Matt needed CUBBIES.
Nope not the baseball team (though I am a HUGE fan), channel your inner 4 year old.
Think back to kindergarten when you had a nice little cubbie to store you items.
Perfect organization!
While Matt was at work I measured out the closet and did some quick sketches
of how I wanted the closet to look.
It’s even complete with a stick figure picture frame of us … aweee!
Please ignore any and all spelling errors on my sketches 🙂
At this point I was so excited I could hardly contain myself but I held it together
and was able to keep from spilling the beans to Matt!
My father is what I consider a craftsman.
He has been making furniture for as long as I can remember.
He was taught how to make things old school and to make things that will last!
In this post I am going to share some of these awesome wisdom’s he has bestowed onto me.
Rule #1 “Measure twice cut once!”
(Seriously memorize that one, it will save you a ton of frustration in the future!)
Rule #2
“Wood that has been glued and clamped will always be stronger
than wood held with screws.”
When I asked for his assistance and for use of his workshop he was
more than happy to oblige. Especially after I showed him my awesome drawings!
One Sunday while Matt was working at the Fire Department I headed over to my dads workshop and we got started! Before I got there my dad had cut the 3/4″ plywood into
12″ wide lengths. Go DAD!
We went over my math before we started cutting the pieces to assemble.
Always a good idea!
Thankfully I second guessed my height measurement and decided to
shorten the cubbies by 1.5″. Just in case I might need some wiggle room.
(At this point it’s okay if you want to drool over his workshop because it is
Ah-MAZING!!!
Everything in here was hand built (cabinets included) and installed by my father.)
Let the cutting begin!
I even got over my fear of the Radial Arm Saw!
Rule #3 “Respect the radial arm saw, never cross over the blade”
My dad is demonstrating the proper way to cut with a Radial Arm Saw …
Did I mention he used to be a shop teacher?
Well he was and I can promise you he is all about safety!
I’m okay with that, going home with all of my hands and fingers in tact was
well worth it!
With everything cut we used this awesome shelf drilling jig from Rockler so that Matt could have two adjustable shelves (as per the handy dandy drawings).
Now it was time for the fun part ASSEMBLY!!!!
The cubbies were built using a biscuit jointing system and of course wood glue!
Sorry folks they aren’t the kind you get at Cracker Barrel …
How cool is that machine it cuts out these perfect little slots for the biscuits to go into …
Phase 1 of the gluing & clamping …
Phase 2 … enter the ratchet straps!
Even with all of the clamps my father owns …
He did not have any long enough to clamp the entire width of the cubbies.
We improvised and used two ratchet straps around the perimeter.
VOILA!
Rule #4 “You can never have too many clamps!”
Amen!
After the glue had enough time to cure Mr. Caray was ready for paint.
Yup, I named him!
I find the name very fitting, they are “Cubbies” after all …
HOLY COW!
(Sorry, no more Cub’s Baseball humor … )
These look awesome!
Now I just had to sit back and wait for Matt to have a weekend shift at the fire department
so the install could be completed without his knowledge.
Squeeee!!! I love a good surprise!
Stay tuned you are going to LOVE what you see this is one amazing closet makeover!
-Jacque
Oh my you can come to my house when you are finished! Going to be awesome. thanks for sharing with the newbie party.
Oh shoot I've seen your house! Not sure I could improve on anything in there! Thanks again for hosting Debbie!!
SQUEEE!!! I can't wait to see it finished!!