|
Materials:
- Old shutters
- Lazy Susan hardware
|
Tools
- Drill/driver
- Drill bits
- Screwdrivers
- Pliers
|
Steps:
|
Find some old shutters that are fairly small and elegant.
Test them for width to be sure they will accommodate a CD
case.
Communities and individuals are beginning to reclaim all
kinds of things from houses that are being torn down or from
the curbside waste piles. There are several in the Toronto,
Ontario, area. These salvage depots are wonderful to look
through for discarded objects that can have a second life.
Many of the materials used in homes today are reproductions
made from pressed wood or plastic. In these reclaimed materials
warehouses, one can find originals made from high quality
wood that isn't available any more. It's a shame to just put
the good stuff in a landfill and replace it with plastic or
pressed-wood preserved with formaldehyde, when the same or
better objects can be found in the salvage shops.
For salvage resources worldwide, check with Habitat
for Humanity, a charitable organization that
sponsors great reclaimed materials centers around the globe.
|
|
Drill off the heads of stripped screws |
Use pliers to back out the headless screw |
|
|
The first thing to do is to remove any unwanted hardware.
Sometimes with old materials the hardware is actually great
and can be incorporated into the project. In our case, the
old hinges have to come off and some of them have stripped
heads. Which means there's just no way to get a screwdriver
to work on these babies.
So the remedy for this situation is to choose a drill bit
about the size of the head that's stripped. Drill enough of
the head off (brass is soft so this happens pretty easily)
to allow the hinge to be pulled off over the drilled screw.
Don't drill away any more of the screw than you absolutely
have to because once the hinge is off, the screw will have
to be removed by backing it out with a pair of needlenose
pliers.
|
|
Pan head and counter-sink brass screws |
Pre-drill for the screws |
Use brass pan head screws and drive them in by hand |
| Once the shutters have been cleaned up sufficiently, lock
the louvers in place so that they won't move when a CD or tape
is placed in the slots between them. The louver can be locked
in place with screws into the side of the frame effectively
stopping the movement of all the louvers. The screw will act
sort of like a doorstop. |
|
Use 1x2 pieces to space the shutters apart |
|
|
| The shutters will fit back to back but they will bump into
each other unless a spacer is placed between them. Cut a piece
of 1" x 2" lumber (or wider if it fits your design) into three
pieces, two long and one short, to fit between the shutters
and space them effectively. Cut them so that they are inset
¼" on the two sides and top. |
|
Clamp the 'sandwich' together and fasten with screws |
|
|
| Sandwich the 1x2 pieces between the two shutters and clamp
them together. Use old screw holes (if there are any available)
and new brass screws to attach the shutters to the 1x2 on both
sides. Be careful not to strip out the heads of the screws!
Enlarge the holes if necessary with a drill bit. |
|
| Window hardware is very common in the reclaimed materials
outlets. Find a handle that works with your project and attach
it to the top piece of 1x2. The handle will allow you to carry
the CD rack or to turn it easily on the spinning base we're
planning for the base. |
|
The large hole in the 'lazy Susan' is a peep hole |
Center the lazy Susan on the bottom board and mark for the peep
hole |
|
|
A 'lazy Susan' is the device that is used to allow one surface
to spin on top of another. They aren't terribly expensive
and can be purchased in a hardware store or home center. Each
brand is installed a little differently so you'll have to
read the directions or ask the hardware specialist to help
you with how it is installed (if our directions don't make
sense).
The lazy Susan used on this project is first attached to
the base, which is stationary. Cut the base square large enough
to balance the shutters or at least two inches larger than
the width of the shutters. Cut another piece of wood square
and an inch smaller in each direction than the base.
|
|
Drill a hole in the base the size of the peep hole |
|
|
| Attach the lazy Susan to the larger piece of wood after first
drilling the access hole. Because the spinning hardware is sandwiched
between the two pieces of wood there has to be an access hole
for the screws that will attach it to the smaller piece. |
|
Attach the lazy Susan with the two peep holes lined up |
|
|
| First, center the lazy Susan on the larger bottom piece of
wood. Trace the location of the large access hole, the biggest
hole in the ring. Drill out the hole using a spade bit. Then
attach the lazy Susan to the base with the screws provided.
Be sure to line up the big hole in the metal with the one in
the wood! Center and attach the smaller base piece to the shutters.
Use at least four screws, one in each corner. |
|
Attach the smaller base to the shutters |
Place the larger base on top of the smaller one with the lazy
Susan in between |
Attach the lazy Susan to the smaller base through the peephole
|
| Next, attach the base with the lazy Susan to the base with
the CD rack/shutters. Place the shutters upside down and center
the very bottom piece over it. Look through the hole in the
base and locate the holes in the metal. Drive screws into each
of the open holes. |
|
Touch up bare spots as needed |
Completed CD rack |
|
| Apply any appropriate finish to complete the project. In this
case, some turmeric in water was the right color to cover the
spots where the hinges had been. Dry artists' pigments are also
handy to have around to mix just the right color. |
|
|
Artisans'
work featured on this episode:
(click pics for Artist info and larger
images)
|
More topics
