Gunsmith tool and supply box

[Ian]

Couldn't find anything the right size so....have to make it from scratch.

One full sheet of 3/4" and two sheets of 1/2" BC sanded plywood make the box and nine drawers, got everything cut out except the 1/4" bottoms and fronts. Fronts will be cut out of a single piece of 1/2" so the grain pattern all matches.

 

[Brad]

Just glue or using nails/screws too?

Nice work man, nice work.

 

[Ian]

Lots of Titebond II and 15-gauge nails delivered by the Rigid slant load. It's for indoors so no screws needed except on the back because I got tired of running clamping bars across the panels to suck out the bow while the glue dried and just pulled it flat with six screws into the back of the horizontal braces.

 

[fiver]

full sheet of plywood,,,
you find some gold nuggets in one of those post holes?

 

[Ian]

Burned up a couple of gift cards, so that helped. $277 for four panels, some stain, poly, and a fresh bottle of glue.

 

[Missionary]

Good looking cabinet. Sold be very use full getting the tools in one area.
You going to put wheels under it ?

 

[Ian]

No wheels, I put a toe kick on the front instead. It will go under my work counter permanently and replace the space-wasting cheapo garage top/bottom box I have crammed under there now where the lid won't even open.

 

[Bret4207]

First thing I caught was a pickup with a Bush/Cheney sticker on the bumper of the Chebby. If that was here in NY, "The Rust State", all that would be left holding the bumper on the truck would be what was left of the sticker!!!!!

Remember back in the Dark Ages when plywood was looked upon as a building material and not something to be handed down to your grandchildren or perhaps as part of a dowry for when you girl kid married off??? Oh, how times change...

 

[Ian]

Drawers all made and sanded, cabinet sanded and stained. Time to take a break and make a teddy bear float for my daughter's school "bear parade".

 

[fiver]

chuckle.
i have the end of the garage, and some of the wall finished off in plywood, as well as some 3/4" nicely finished plywood shelves.
i keep looking at them thinking how much they'd cost now versus them just being cheap easy strong enough wood just a few years ago.

 

[Ian]

Yep. I have about 25-30 sheets of AB sanded birch 3/4" in the house cabinets and shelves, and maybe 10 of 1/2" and about 1200 board feet of straightlined 4/4 and 8/4 pecan. I don't even want to guess how much that would cost today in wood alone, the 3/4 birch was about $45 a sheet in 2008...at my cost from the cabinet shop.

I did my whole gun room and Meg's craft room upper shelf units and benches in 2x12 dimensional yellow pine, it was the cheapest thing I could get and when sanded nicely, stained, and with doors added makes passable cabinets. Now all that is too expensive to buy, too.

 

[Jeff H]

I have a bunch of projects on hold for the sake of lumber prices. It was bad enough not being able to find anything usable, now it's not affordable either.

EDIT:

OH! @Ian, that's some nice work there! I like the layout too.

 

[fiver]

i was at the lumber store today.
some old stock pressure treated stuff was 1$ a 2x4x12 board more than the new bundle of pine they had just opened.
shoulda bought some 8' 2x4's since i was already commited to the 12 footers and tin for the next garden box.
or just sucked it up and picked out the rest of the 12 footers i plan on using to make the other boxes for that section of the yard.

 

[358156 hp]

At this point, I think the post-WWII economic boom is now ancient history. I know a lot of people taking a hard took at the old ways. Just yesterday I was at the supermarket and recoiled in horror over $4.00/loaf bread. Some brands were on sale for around $3.50. Today I baked 2 loaves of whole wheat bread at an estimated cost of perhaps .35 cents per loaf, for materials. Electricity was probably another .18 cents or so.

 

[RicinYakima]

Growing up in Appalachia, I've lived my whole life that way. Guess that is why I have money in the bank at this stage of my life. I will spend good cash money on things that I want/need (custom C. Sharps rifles) but not $7.99 hamburger at Safeway last week.

 

[Bret4207]

At this point, I think the post-WWII economic boom is now ancient history. I know a lot of people taking a hard took at the old ways. Just yesterday I was at the supermarket and recoiled in horror over $4.00/loaf bread. Some brands were on sale for around $3.50. Today I baked 2 loaves of whole wheat bread at an estimated cost of perhaps .35 cents per loaf, for materials. Electricity was probably another .18 cents or so.

Over $4.00 a loaf for bread?!! Is this some special type? Haven't seen anything like that- yet! I have access to a local Amish supply house, maybe I should take a harder look at my options.

 

[RBHarter]

Whole grain bread , honey wheat , Roman Meal , 7 grain run $5 and have for some time bleached and fillered white store brands are available for $1.50ish .
2.50-3.75 isn't unusual here for the bulk of the selection .
I can get generic or quaker grits but no Albers .

 

[Ian]

It ain't the price of bread that's breaking our backs, it's taxes and medical insurance, and God help you if you DON'T have medical insurance.

8% of last year's GROSS household income went to property taxes, and 13% went for medical insurance after the taxpayers covered both my kids and my employer kicked in $550/month toward mine. This year I'll be laying out more like $26,000, with only about $3,000 pre-tax, just in premiums for the four of us not including what my employer contributes. That's more than a lot of people MAKE. Over half of my gross income goes to taxes and insurance, not counting sales tax, fuel tax, vehicle insurance, and homeowners insurance. If I make what I did last year, we will end up having about 12-14 hundred a month to live on and pay for fuel, utilities, groceries, and clothes. Funny how a feller can knock down 70 grand, have EVERYTHING 100% paid for, and still be dirt poor.

 

[popper]

Ins. companies have to get 're-funded' for all the China flu costs. Prop. Ins. Co. have to make up cost of last Feb freeze damage. Health ins? Ha. got a call from moes doc today, 1500$ charged for removal. Cost for a crown is 1600$ per. She got some kinda special bread (small loaf) on sale for 1.50$. Sil wants to get a P.U. truck but 100K$ for anything appropriate? Sharpen your toenails, hang on - it's gonna be a wild ride for several years.

 

[462]

I've mentioned this before, but when the phone company bought out my wife, part of the contract stipulated free medical insurance for the two of us for the rest of our lives. Then came Obamacare. Since 2015 we've been having to pay Medicare Part B monthly premiums, then the phone company pays us monthly reimbursements. However, our Part B premiums cost more than the reimbursements, and by October or November the premiums are on us. How the federal government was able to override a legal contract still has us more than a little upset.

No one will ever be able to convince me that Big Insurance and Big Government aren't colluding.