Spoon racks, pot hangers and other kitchen utilities

Well a sure way to ensure that woodworking gets family support is to make things around the house and to be more specific around the kitchen. These are some of the projects that have found their place in our kitchen over the years.

Spoon Hanger

Spoon hanger made from wood and many nails

This was one of the earliest things I made. There is nothing to it. It is a piece of laminated fiber board that I felt was redundant on my computer table and so I had elevated it to other uses. I plonked as many nails as I could at a slight incline and then placed as many spoons as I could over them. It was able to house most of our spoon collection for some time. This was the first time I actually realized how useful the holes in the base of spoons actually are.

Spoon hanger (version 2.0)

Spoon hanger and spice rack

Well after getting a jigsaw and making investments in woodworking tools, I could not repeat the same thing to make our next spoon hanger. I took a 4 inch wide  and about 3 foot long plank of block wood and covered the faces (except the  side on the wall)  with teak wood beading. I applied primer, wood putty and then brown paint in that order. I fixed as many hooks this time at regular intervals to hold up spoons.  I used two L clamps to fix the plank on the wall. (They are not visible in the photo as the spoons are hiding them).  The top of the hanger can hold a light weight as the L clamps are the only support. This serves to hold all our masala racks and the spoons hang from this.

Spoon Hanger version 3

Spoon rack from a steel toothbrush stand

This stainless steel thingy was actually a toothbrush stand. However the holes, though attractive were either too big or too small to hold any of our toothbrushes. ( I have learnt that it is probably good to take a toothbrush while trying purchasing a toothbrush stand, and your kids when buying clothes for them. My children are almost always of a different size from what I imagine. It turns out my toothbrush also was).  It needed a small piece of wood to give it an offset from the wall. The piece is some packaging wood that was planed and actually looked quite beautiful. Two large two inch screws fix the hanger right into the wall which has a plastic  screw holder. Stainless steel holder for all the small stainless steel spoons. Sounds logical.

Pot hanger

Pot hanger from a towel rod and plastic S hooks

This is a towel hanger hung over a kitchen window that will always be closed. We found   a set of plastic S hooks in a mall in Ludhiana. Metal S hooks are also available in hardware shops for about Rs 30 a piece. However you will have to open them out to the right size in some shop where they can bend metal. The plastic hooks were way cheaper and easier to use and we thought we would use them for as long as they last. They seem fine now after a few months.  This holds many of our pots and pans. It has also serves to keep the vessels out of reach of my younger one and a half year old  daughter. She can reach them. However taking them out involves lifting it out of the S hook, a motor task she has thankfully not learnt as yet.

Convert a circular saw to a table saw

Since writing this update I have made a better and safer table saw

I have seen videos on the web and instructions on how to do so and decided to try this out. Having seen so much on push sticks and feather boards and the dangers of careless use of a table saw, I decided to treat the project with a lot of respect and caution.

I have a skil circular saw. The table is made of one inch block wood.

Step 1 :  Drill holes into the base plate of the saw. The base plate of this saw cannot be removed. Therefore the holes are not symmetric

Four holes drilled at the edges of the base plate 

Step 2. Place the saw on the underside of the wood and mark out these holes. Drill through the wood at these points.

Step 3. Mark the position of the blade.

4. Using a router and many passes, make a long linear hole in the wood.

5. Using a router rout out small counter sink holes on the upper side of the wood.

The table showing routed groove for the blade, holes with routed counter sink holes.

6. Using nuts and bolts fix the table saw on the board.

7. Using a clamp, hold down the switch of the table saw so this can be kept on all the time.

8. Positioning the table saw. The only place that I can position this well enough is the kitchen. Instead of saw horses or a real table I position the plank of wood over two identical bedroom shelves.

The table saw placed on two shelves of identical height

9. Guide. Given that the saw blade is not exactly parallel to the routed groove, the edge guide has to be placed parallel to the blade. To do so just insert a block of wood of the desired thickness and place the edge guide flush with it. I use a small piece of left over wooden decorative beading. I plan to upgrade this to an aluminium piece later

Positioning the guide rail parallel to the blade

10. Push sticks : Though not very pretty these serve the purpose. I never get my fingers anywhere near the blade.

Always use push sticks to feed the wood when near the blade

11. Feather board. I still have not exactly thought about how I would attach it, but I am building a feather board using strips of veneer wood
12. Extension box. The on off switch is near me in case of an emergency. This is the final assembly after I had cut a one inch thick strip of veneer wood.

The table saw with a cut piece of veneer placed  next to the blade

CAUTION  :  Although this is simple to use the design is potentially extremely dangerous. Please use push sticks for feeding the material in and wear appropriate eye protection. There is no blade guard. I plan to add these in due course.
Upadate : June 6th 2012 Although the saw can work in this configuration this is not something I would use at all for routine cutting in its present configuration. Many of the readers have contributed safety necessities in their comments.  I would probably just use it in its present configuration for just a few cuts until I install a proper table fence, splitter and blade guards. I will add updates to this post as the safety features are installed.

My experience with the table saw.
It is very noisy for someone in an apartment. But it cuts so clean. I always thought one had to push the wood with a lot of force. I was surprised as to how easy the blade cuts through wood and very little pressure is needed to feed the wood in. I was delighted to be able to get accurate cuts in thin veneer. I managed to get a five foot piece of veneer just 4 mm wide.  This would have been impossible with the circular saw. Trimming edges is now very easy. I have not tried any serious wood cutting with this as I am still making feather board and will do so after that is installed and I have a better guide rail. Later additions may perhaps be a portable saw horse, blade guards and a table extension. I may also replace the base wood with slightly thinner wood to get a bit of height on the blade. However if used with care I think this will be an alternative to a commercial table saw once all safety features are added. 

Children's wooden wagon

I have toyed with the idea of building a wooden wagon. However while I was reasonably certain of the structure of the wagon, the steering mechanism and fixing the wheels was a deterrent. However this May day I decided to take the plunge and go ahead with the wagon.

The Base

I used 3x2 feet of half inch plywood for the base. There is nothing special about the dimensions. The wagon can be made smaller and lighter if one wants. I used this as I had a large plywood piece lying with me and I wanted a wagon to seat two four year olds. There is no supporting bar underneath for the plywood as yet. If this tends to sag with weight I will have to build some supporting cross bars later.

The sides

I went to the wood shop (Om Timbers) and asked them for the cheapest wood they had. They asked me for my use and when I described my plan, they suggested I go in for second degree teak wood. This was available for Rs 1800 per sathram (or cubic foot) I purchased four 2x1 inch reapers, each 6 feet long. This cost about Rs 700.  I got them planed in a nearby shop. Three horizontal bars for the back with vertical bars to support them. The lowest horizontal bar is fixed from the under side of the base. At each joint, I used two one and a half inch screws. Using one screw will allow the whole joint to shift sideways. Therefore I used two.

For the front I used two horizontal bars with vertical bars to support. For the sides it was a continuation of the front and the back. I decided to leave a gap between the front and the back, something for the kids to get on and off. I also made each level smaller than the other to give it a stepped look. This was both for the design and also because I was running short of wood and did not want to make the trip to the timber market again.
The wheels

Ah the wheels! I scourged the internet for wheels. All wagons made abroad seem to have fantastic wheels with good axles and bearings. They look rugged. However although there are websites for such wheels in India, they are wholesale. I have yet to find a good online or offline shop that provides good wheels. Automatic wheelchair wheels are an option, but I am sure they will be sold at a premium. I finally went in for tricycle wheels. These were available for Rs 60 per wheel. This is a plastic tricycle back wheel. (The front wheel and back wheel are different in a tricycle as the front wheel has a square shaped depression for pedaling and is not so robust for free movement)

The axles

I used normal cycle axles for the wheels. These are available for Rs 20 a pair. I used four for the four wheels and two for the steering mechanism for the front wheels. Although I initially mounted them on small blocks of wood, it was shaky and bent with the weight. I decided to go in for a solid piece of lumber. This time I went to a different lumber mill and purchased 4x4 inch beam of Veppam wood (Neem) This was available for Rs 900 per cubic foot.  I cut off the required height and drilled through it at its lower end. I mounted the axle with the wheel. Four screws from the top of the base fixed the wooden  block in place. Small blocks of wood drilled through serve as thick washers. This wheel assembly is not perfectly aligned. There is a slight wobble anyway, but it moves freely and supports weight.

Steering mechanism
Mounting the front wheels required the wheels to turn left and right in addition to rotating. Some sort of steering mechanism was needed. I modeled my steering on the picture given at this link at the welders forum. I used one inch strips of plywood for the steering beams.

The steering mechainsm was as shown in the picture alongside. The front wheels were mounted on smaller 4x4 blocks. In addition to the hole for the axle of the wheel, another hole was drilled vertically. Through this a cycle axle was inserted. The whole assembly was not fixed directly to the base, but indirectly on a small platform. This enabled the vertical axle to turn left and right. The central beam had a hole to pivot the steering bar. From each 4x4 block small strips of plywood projected forwards and these were articulated with a connecting cross beam that was also pivoted on the steering bar.

A metal rod was fixed on the front end of the steering bar. The nuts and bolts were not fixed tight so as to enable movement. When one turns left or right with the bar, each wheel pivots on its vertical axis to the left or to the right. This is a more complicated way of making the steering mechanism. A simple cross bar and central pivot would suffice. But the wheels would change position on turning and this could make the wagon unstable. Now the wheels do not change position but just turn where they are.


The finished product

The wagon is functional now. My kids enjoy being pulled on the wagon. It can seat two comfortably and three to four with a squeeze. However when two kids sit on the weight increases by 30 kilos and it is an effort to pull them. Pulling toys and one kid is a breeze though.
Some things need some changes though. I plan to gradually change all screws to stainless steel screws. The wheels wobble a little. This needs to be addressed and I plan to fix some wooden wheel caps for decoration and stability. Right now we use a rope as a handle. I plan to make a wooden handle later on. Perhaps stain and polish the wood too.  However I think none of these matter to the kids. They seem to love it the way it is so any major work will only be when something breaks down. 

Drill long and straight with a hand drill

One of the problems I faced in my present project was the inability to drill straight through a 4x4 inch block of lumber. I started off on one side in the center but when I ended up on the other side the hole was off center very badly. One option is to use a drill press/stand  or take the block to someone with a drill stand. I wanted to do this at home and finally got to do it reasonably correctly.


To do so place the drill horizontally on your work table. Thus one axis will always be straight. Now make sure that during drilling you are perpendicular to the edge of the table. This minimizes movement on the other axis.

While drilling your drill now is stable horizontally. As long as the perpendicular direction is maintained (you can also draw a line on the table to facilitate this) there will be minimal left and right shift. The wood piece has to be clamped such that the point being drilled is exactly at the right height for the drill placed on the table.

Using this method I have been able to drill fairly centrally in 4x4 lumber without a drill press. It will not be very accurate, but far better than just eyeballing the whole process.

Work table from a computer table

I have always wanted a work table. Let me say this is one of the few things that I could actually say I really needed.
When I initially started woodworking I used to saw placing the plank of wood on one chair , stamping it with one leg, and cut balancing on the other. Crude, but it used to work. I needed newspaper to prevent the chair from getting scratches. All hammering was on the floor at times when I hoped the downstair family was away at work. Some cutting was even done placing a plank of wood on my balcony wall.
I visited a number of websites showing one how to make a table. However there were three problems.
1. Most of the websites described a liberal use of wood. Wood is expensive in India.
2. A table has to be solid. If your joining skills are not good, even the best and thickest beams will wobble.
3. I did not have space for a large table.
Dremel does offer a small project table for about Rs. 2000, but I decided against that as this had to be anyway fit on another table. However this still remains a tempting proposition.
I did think of a folding table and looked up designs on the web. But then you can't leave things lying around on a folding table, and it is not as though one can use the freed up space for other things after all. I was not sure if I would be able to get it stable enough.

What I finally did was to convert an old computer table into a work table. I have added a carpenter's vice on it. This serves the purpose. It is not elegant, but reasonably functional. I say reasonably functional as it serves all the functions that I need it to (which is not saying very much as of now).
Most computer tables are made of fiber board or particle board with think laminates covering it. They look appealing in their design. But a more careful look at the design will identify weal joining : invariably only screws are used to join the shelves. Often the design incorporates a large flat table top with poor support in the center, so the top can sag. Many of them also have wheels which adds to their instability.
However this table was a solid combination of metal and ply. I got this in Oddanchatram in 2004 and has served as my computer table since until we started using laptops. It was now free. I had already stripped the non essential plywood to make up a hanger for spoons for the kitchen.
It has a metal framework. Solid and heavy that form the frame of the table along with the crossbars. It also has some leveling screws on the bottom. (Do not assume your floor is uniform)
So a functional (not very beautiful table can be made by carefully selecting any old table. If you cannot find an old table, consider getting a local welder to weld together the legs and cross bars and drill holes at strategic points. You can add the plywood to any desired dimension on top.
One important thing is that the table must be heavy enough not to move. If wood is clamped and one is using a hand planer, there is a tendency of the table to wobble. A lighter table can be pushed against a wall.
Having a dedicated table is really useful, whatever table it is. Having clamps is like having an extra pair of sturdy hands.