I’m old fashioned and so use a hand saw to cut my wood, but whatever method you use, make sure it’s a nice straight line. Also, one tip, if you’re making multiple cuts into a piece of wood, measure each new cut after you make the first, otherwise, the measurement you made will be wrong as cutting wood will always result in a small amount being lost (It may only be a few mm, but it’s enough to throw things out of line!)
Eventually, you’ll end up with the bits you need to make the bottom inner skin (if you’re going to make a design like mine that is).
Because this bottom is going to take a lot of weight, I decided to really strengthen it by securing everything together with a frame at the bottom. I think this is necessary as I wanted something that was going to be really strong, and secure to move if necessary. You can probably do without it if you’re making a smaller size, but because I used thin plywood and it is going to be a large enclosure, I decided I should make things as secure as possible!
So, I got some 34mm x 34mm wood to make a frame around the bottom. Here’s where my favourite tool comes into play! I used a chop saw to cut the wood into the lengths I needed (it’s a brilliant tool that I use all the time!)
Once I had all of the bits cut, I laid it out on the floor to make sure it all fitted together as I expected (thankfully it did). I then put one screw into each supporting piece from the top to make sure they stayed in place when I turned the base over and put the rest of the screws in. Always make sure that your screws ‘bite’ deeper into the second bit of wood than the first, this will make it a stronger join. You can use glue on these bits if you’d like, but I didn’t see the point as this was only an internal support that you’re not going to see (plus, there will be an outer skin anyway). I then turned it over and put what I thought was an appropriate amount of screws in (this can be your judgement, but I only used 4 (not including the initial placement screw) on the long edge and 2 on the short.
(not the best picture, but you get the idea!)
Eventually, you’ll end up with the bits you need to make the bottom inner skin (if you’re going to make a design like mine that is).
Because this bottom is going to take a lot of weight, I decided to really strengthen it by securing everything together with a frame at the bottom. I think this is necessary as I wanted something that was going to be really strong, and secure to move if necessary. You can probably do without it if you’re making a smaller size, but because I used thin plywood and it is going to be a large enclosure, I decided I should make things as secure as possible!
So, I got some 34mm x 34mm wood to make a frame around the bottom. Here’s where my favourite tool comes into play! I used a chop saw to cut the wood into the lengths I needed (it’s a brilliant tool that I use all the time!)
Once I had all of the bits cut, I laid it out on the floor to make sure it all fitted together as I expected (thankfully it did). I then put one screw into each supporting piece from the top to make sure they stayed in place when I turned the base over and put the rest of the screws in. Always make sure that your screws ‘bite’ deeper into the second bit of wood than the first, this will make it a stronger join. You can use glue on these bits if you’d like, but I didn’t see the point as this was only an internal support that you’re not going to see (plus, there will be an outer skin anyway). I then turned it over and put what I thought was an appropriate amount of screws in (this can be your judgement, but I only used 4 (not including the initial placement screw) on the long edge and 2 on the short.
(not the best picture, but you get the idea!)
