Dear Bob Patty and Others,
It's has been just a bit over a week since my last Report, and the completion of the carcase for the camp kitchen seems a good place to take a break and update. I won't bore you with secrets of the joiner's art, but a hollow chisel mortiser for under $250 is a wonderful investment. Having two table saws set up, one for the tenoning jig, the other for the shoulder cuts of the tenons increases efficiency, and having five routers, each set up for a different operation doesn't hurt. Do I tread dangerously close to bragging?
The metal drawers are a stock size for industrial first-aid kits, and I was able to have them custom fabricated without internal shelves and with the handle moved to the latch side by the Merriam Manufacturing Company (www.merriammfg.com)) of Middletown, Ct. for under $20 each. They and the tin plated steel Emu boxes from Ikea should provide sufficient mouse-proof food storage. The slides for the metal drawers, utensil drawers, and ice chest are all full extension 100 pound test. The framing was constructed of kiln-dried 2x4 spruce, joined and planed, and the plywood is 9-ply half inch Baltic birch. Biscuit joinery was used on all the plywood carcase work, assembled with 1 5/8 inch stainless steel screws to eliminate the need for clamping while the glue dried.
In this age of compulsive gentrification, when waterfront camps of a bygone era are torn down to build McMansions, it tickles me to be building the anachronism of a non-electric camp. This kitchen-on-casters makes me smile. Its an amusing combination of compact design, accurate craftsmanship and funky materials. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeha! Hope all are well......love BSB
Posted by Bennett
at 3:44 PM EST
Updated: Thursday, 25 March 2004 7:39 PM EST