The LOML finally has been making noises about kitchen remodeling, quiet ones, but noises nonetheless. I decided that today would be a good day to go pick up a couple of sheets of plywood and start on the first of many kitchen cabinets I'm going to build. This will be a Pantry Unit, built in top and bottom halves so I can get it in the house without too much fuss.
I decided to go with birch ply with maple doors, the LOML wants a light kitchen, but I can't swing full on maple ply for the carcasses.
Anyway, back to the BORG.
I grab a plywood cart, the one with the three upright sections, and head for the appropriate aisle.
Orange 'temporarily closed' sign across the whole aisle, but no sign of the requisite forklift . Ahh, he's in the next aisle over, and headed this way. No biggee, today is 'Sunday' on my weekend from work, so I have time available. The time is now just about 11:30. He lets himself into the aisle (the other end wasn't blocked off, so a guy was shopping down there, which greatly amused the growing crowd of plywood shoppers with me.
He chases the shopper out of the aisle and starts moving several piles of underlayment, consolidating a couple of lesser piles into one larger one. As he is doing this, a guy dashes up, lets himself into the aisle and approaches the operation.
This turns into at least a 20 minute operation, including getting the consolidated pile thinned down a bit, (he spent five minutes getting the stack out, after it got stuck the first attempt). He ruined several sheets of that product, plus there was a sheet of 1/4" something which wound up bent nearly in half, splinters flying every which way. (made me glad I was 30' away. about this time a Third drone approaches, and amongst the three of them, they manage to get the stack put away. Then the excitable 2nd drone, proceeds to start pulling other product for a contractor order, but won't open up the aisle for us other customers. I left my cart there and went to peruse the tool crib.
when they finally opened up the aisle, there was a mad rush, which I let disperse, then went and picked my two sheets of ply. Somewhere in mid pick two more drones approach, (drones 4 and 5) seems they need the forklift, but drone 1 isn't finished, so I now have to pull my cart out of the aisle, so he can drive a stack of 20 or so sheets of ply out of the aisle and down to the front for drone2. At least drones 4 and 5 scurried to help when my cart rolled away as I"m trying to put the plywood on it.
I go looking for someone to cut down the ply for me, just rough cuts, so I can put it in the van, without removing the seats.
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insert sounds of crickets chirping here
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no less than 5 drones had transported themselves out of the area. eventually drone 3 reappears, looking somewhat harried, with drone 2 not far behind, with a gal who wants two sheets of ply cut longitudinally into 6" strips.
I bide my time, playing a game on my cell phone as drone 3 passes the gal off to drone 6! He at least is efficient, and gets the job done in short order. I then ask him to help, and he cuts down my sheets for me as requested.
I check my cellphone (don't wear a watch anymore, for some reason), and am shocked to see it is 1pm by the time I check out and load up the van. *sigh* so much for lunch at home, I grabbed a McBurger and headed for the shop, arriving by 2, once I had dealt with traffic etc...
the two sheets, plus one I had in the shop already are all cut down now, and I'm home the night, need to do a plans and adimensional check with the LOML. "Honey, just how tall do you want the space for the microwave?" etc...
This cabinet this is replacing a prefab thing from her ex hubby, and I can't wait to get rid of the particle board POS. My cabinet will be good and solid, 3/4 Birch ply throughout, planning on maple edging for the shelf fronts and a maple faceframe and doors too. Overall dimensions, 80" tall, 20" deep and 36" wide.
oh, I had some pretty nice scrap ply left over, nothing huge, but enough that just before I left the shop I whipped up a rolling cart for under the right wing of my tablesaw. Total scrap project, dimensions determined by what was available, in this case it is 20" wide, by about a foot deep, with a shelf on top that is 15" deep. Sturdy little beast, all 3/4 birch, with HF wheels. somwhere I saw a pretty slick cabinet where the blades were stored vertically on slide out panels, I need to search for that thread, it was someone's cabinet here I believe, within the past couple of months, Terry maybe? I'll put pics up once I get the digital camera from John.