I’m trying to turn over a new leaf this year, with a much more consistent attempt at recording finished projects. There was a burst of productivity at the end of last year, so I’ve got lots of catching up to do to help me along!
First, though, was my very successful rehabbing of an old radio cabinet. Last time I think I had successfully removed the odd bits of plywood and new wood that someone had put inside the cabinet, and some very necessary dusting and vacuuming was done.
With some great help from dad, and a lot of borrowing of supplies, the outside surface of the cabinet got help next. First, some wood oil applied to the nicks and scratches helped darken them and add to a more uniform color and appearance:
Before (notice the nicks along the top and inner corners)
After (though a bit blurry)
Dad the handy man helped me by making some custom fit shelves from some scrap wood:
We were originally thinking of three shelves, but I had forgotten to measure what clearance I needed for the middle shelf (thinking that my sewing machine would fit nicely on the lowest one). Next? Fun with fabric and spray adhesive!
I had done some testing with fabric – with, of course, my ever-present supervisor – pinning in some potential pieces to see how I liked them. It took a little bit of experimentation, mostly with the size of the pattern needed (I originally thought I needed a bolder print, but it turned out that smaller, or a mix of medium and smaller, looked more balanced and natural).
Two fabrics would cover what had been the speaker panel, and the second fabric would also be used to cover the interior shelves. That’s where the spray adhesive came in. Even in my well ventilated balcony area, the fumes were intense!
For the speaker panel, panels of the two winning fabrics were sewn together and stapled to another piece of scrap wood from my dad, on which I had marked the pattern of the cabinet’s front slats.
Next, the cabinet needed some serious help with mobility. I wanted to keep the open back of the cabinet tight to the wall, but have some way to easily slide it out and back. Solution?
Little holes were drilled in the existing framework on the bottom of the cabinet,
and the Sliders were screwed in
Finally, after several months and trips back and forth to my parents for the use of my Dad and his handy workshop, my new sewing cabinet was born:
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