(Dedicated to the Instructables member who said he wanted more nomad furniture essays.)
SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION -- I talk more about various thing at my blog, Tristram Shandy in the 21st Century, www.tristramshandy21st.blogspot.com --wt
If any of you have a doubt after seeing the second paragraph, let me say now that this Instructable is indeed about material things you can build, and, yes, it is aptly titled nomad furniture despite that the second and third paragraph and perhaps following paragraphs (I write extemporaneously) seem at first to betray The Writer-to-Reader Contract. Enough said. I need not say anything more about lack of patience for inductive ideas in todays I want it NOW society. I need say little about some poets greatest of all lines from a poem I cant find right now (paraphrased), My students want to tie a poem to a chair and beat a confession out of it. No siree, this Instructable is and will be stripped down the merest of dripping wet skeletons....pretty soon.
The Statue of Liberty-From-Massive-Possessions would have a base inscription rather like this: Send me your over-burdened rooms, your bent-spines, your over-complexified psyches, your materially confused masses. He would look like .... (I think it should be a he in this case, and let me justify that.)
The Statue of Liberty-From-Massive-Possessions should be in the form a slender but well-made male who looks as if he would not choose to carry a lot of stuff even if offered it for free; if he looks like a weightlifter....big problems (as our Statue of Liberty does -- shes one tough one, thats for sure; if Godzilla attacked, she would thrash him to jelly with her Flaming Torch of Freedom, and head-butt holes in him with her Radiant Spike Helmet of Destruction). A beefed-up Statue of Liberty-From-Massive-Possessions would seem to have formerly lived a life-style enabling him to carry great burdens of consumer junk, and perhaps, like any addict, be ready to go back to that life again. OK.
Well, few people need to be convinced that even a settled-stuff-ridden society such as America does not have some aspects of nomad life-style. Our cars today are as good as the houses of another generation even considering the space issue (engineers can solve that easily with inflatable space) -- by the blind and earless gods! 1,000 watt radios, AC, TVs CDs, DVDs, GPS, SR, and cup holders that take, hold out, reach out, clutch dearly. With fold-down rear seats, sleeping in your car was never easier, assuming you dont have a van. What is VW Bus nostaligia but a contemporary myth used to justify our unfulfillable (if you pay taxes) yearnings for nomadism? Our daily backpacks carry survival gear that could keep us going a week (below the 40th parallel), in good books, snacks, and rain-wear, if we can only find a water source. Finally, our life-paths partake strongly of nomadism -- college-student life is the best example, but we do tend to move around a lot. Are you convinced yet?
OK, after you graduate, you may be divorced/divided (flip the coin, heads, you stay together, tails, not). You will be moving. To smaller a place. What a great time for nomad furniture? Or what if you stay married, or never marry and stay with your Other, or have a series of insignificant shallow relationships, but you have to move any way because you were laid off, fired, became bored, or promoted ( Sally, you can have that vice-president job, but youll have to move or commute to Wyoming. )....?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- You all need nomad furniture. Read the rest of this Instructable to see a nomad bookcase (an early and a later version), side stand/desk stand (was used for both), computer desk (alluded to in my Fun with Office Rectangles essay), map-table/map storage box, and night-stand (you will need some rest when you are finished here).
Note that all the stuff I build is so simple that the construction steps simply leap out at you without the need for extra words here; this leaves me room for the more important ideas surrounding these material things.
SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION -- I talk more about various thing at my blog, Tristram Shandy in the 21st Century, www.tristramshandy21st.blogspot.com --wt
If any of you have a doubt after seeing the second paragraph, let me say now that this Instructable is indeed about material things you can build, and, yes, it is aptly titled nomad furniture despite that the second and third paragraph and perhaps following paragraphs (I write extemporaneously) seem at first to betray The Writer-to-Reader Contract. Enough said. I need not say anything more about lack of patience for inductive ideas in todays I want it NOW society. I need say little about some poets greatest of all lines from a poem I cant find right now (paraphrased), My students want to tie a poem to a chair and beat a confession out of it. No siree, this Instructable is and will be stripped down the merest of dripping wet skeletons....pretty soon.
The Statue of Liberty-From-Massive-Possessions would have a base inscription rather like this: Send me your over-burdened rooms, your bent-spines, your over-complexified psyches, your materially confused masses. He would look like .... (I think it should be a he in this case, and let me justify that.)
The Statue of Liberty-From-Massive-Possessions should be in the form a slender but well-made male who looks as if he would not choose to carry a lot of stuff even if offered it for free; if he looks like a weightlifter....big problems (as our Statue of Liberty does -- shes one tough one, thats for sure; if Godzilla attacked, she would thrash him to jelly with her Flaming Torch of Freedom, and head-butt holes in him with her Radiant Spike Helmet of Destruction). A beefed-up Statue of Liberty-From-Massive-Possessions would seem to have formerly lived a life-style enabling him to carry great burdens of consumer junk, and perhaps, like any addict, be ready to go back to that life again. OK.
Well, few people need to be convinced that even a settled-stuff-ridden society such as America does not have some aspects of nomad life-style. Our cars today are as good as the houses of another generation even considering the space issue (engineers can solve that easily with inflatable space) -- by the blind and earless gods! 1,000 watt radios, AC, TVs CDs, DVDs, GPS, SR, and cup holders that take, hold out, reach out, clutch dearly. With fold-down rear seats, sleeping in your car was never easier, assuming you dont have a van. What is VW Bus nostaligia but a contemporary myth used to justify our unfulfillable (if you pay taxes) yearnings for nomadism? Our daily backpacks carry survival gear that could keep us going a week (below the 40th parallel), in good books, snacks, and rain-wear, if we can only find a water source. Finally, our life-paths partake strongly of nomadism -- college-student life is the best example, but we do tend to move around a lot. Are you convinced yet?
OK, after you graduate, you may be divorced/divided (flip the coin, heads, you stay together, tails, not). You will be moving. To smaller a place. What a great time for nomad furniture? Or what if you stay married, or never marry and stay with your Other, or have a series of insignificant shallow relationships, but you have to move any way because you were laid off, fired, became bored, or promoted ( Sally, you can have that vice-president job, but youll have to move or commute to Wyoming. )....?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- You all need nomad furniture. Read the rest of this Instructable to see a nomad bookcase (an early and a later version), side stand/desk stand (was used for both), computer desk (alluded to in my Fun with Office Rectangles essay), map-table/map storage box, and night-stand (you will need some rest when you are finished here).
Note that all the stuff I build is so simple that the construction steps simply leap out at you without the need for extra words here; this leaves me room for the more important ideas surrounding these material things.
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Signing UpStep 1: Early attempts: college student nomad furniture
The college student is America’s finest nomad. Grad School faces the student with the most requirments since most people have left the dorms with their minmum equipment list of furniture provided. When I moved to my Grad School apartment I needed furniture and built a bunch of it cheaply and quickly out of plywood whose edges were outlined in pine strapping to stiffen the plywood and provide a nailing surface for other sides.
First I made two long boxes (these made very strong with 2x4 structural outlining!) to hold up a queen-sized plywood bed-platform (with more 2x4 structural members) -- by the bye, the whole thing was very strong and extra quiet for non-sleeping activities such as horizontal martial arts practise. Almost all I owned could fit in those 2x2x5-foot boxes, so not only did I sleep on them, and not only did they raise the platform high enough to store duffle-bags beneath, but they also were the transport medium when my father came by with the old snowmobile trailer to bring me there and bring me back home for summer.
I also built a desk set up on two bookcases (again a simple ply top set across boxes). The desk top became 15 years later my nomad computer desk (see below). The big boxes were lost in life’s changes. The two small bookcases remain. But they are ugly, as you can see. But they are strong, and I couldn’t throw out a useful strong thing, and certainly not two of them. They are strong enough and ugly enough to duct-tape the books inside (protected by cardboard or something) when you move. I do want to replace this one -- its ugliness in my living room gets even to me -- but when a new bookcase arrives, I will relegate this one to a closet or basement for document or tool storage.
For hasty college nomad furniture, you can’t beat 3/8 plywood with structural outlining in 1x2 and 2x4 timber, and simple nails (I made bookcase shelves from pine boards because sagging shelves irk me powerful!). I recommend staining to a lighter color -- that dark stain (got for free at the time) was a bit depressing.
First I made two long boxes (these made very strong with 2x4 structural outlining!) to hold up a queen-sized plywood bed-platform (with more 2x4 structural members) -- by the bye, the whole thing was very strong and extra quiet for non-sleeping activities such as horizontal martial arts practise. Almost all I owned could fit in those 2x2x5-foot boxes, so not only did I sleep on them, and not only did they raise the platform high enough to store duffle-bags beneath, but they also were the transport medium when my father came by with the old snowmobile trailer to bring me there and bring me back home for summer.
I also built a desk set up on two bookcases (again a simple ply top set across boxes). The desk top became 15 years later my nomad computer desk (see below). The big boxes were lost in life’s changes. The two small bookcases remain. But they are ugly, as you can see. But they are strong, and I couldn’t throw out a useful strong thing, and certainly not two of them. They are strong enough and ugly enough to duct-tape the books inside (protected by cardboard or something) when you move. I do want to replace this one -- its ugliness in my living room gets even to me -- but when a new bookcase arrives, I will relegate this one to a closet or basement for document or tool storage.
For hasty college nomad furniture, you can’t beat 3/8 plywood with structural outlining in 1x2 and 2x4 timber, and simple nails (I made bookcase shelves from pine boards because sagging shelves irk me powerful!). I recommend staining to a lighter color -- that dark stain (got for free at the time) was a bit depressing.
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Anyone with the slightest interest in this subject should grab a copy (no - I don't have a vested interest, I just say what I think.)
Well done on your piece as well, though, nicely done.
Take care everyone,
Larry
Take care and strive to be as Verbose as you can.
Dan
I'm doing an entire building method from 2x2x8 lumber. Check my other stuff too:
http://www.instructables.com/member/KoffeeKommando/
If you drill the 2x2 sticks you can go crazy and make all kinds of furniture:
http://www.gridbeamers.com/
There is also slotted plywood furniture:
Playatech
Inspiring, I hope to build more with some of these ideas, both useful items and toys. So far I have built one headboard, one child-sized bench, and little else.
on a more personal note, I'd like to say:
It's really tragic that the beds were never used as intended.
I hope that things improve, I truly do. Hopefully everyone involved will see this site and think better of you.
Best wishes for smoother sailing ahead.
and that means dresser size entainment center everything has surround sound even computers there it goes again thats that pesky sound oh it the cell phone again must be thosae guys at the door can hear them knocking with surround sound up and on. I'd add a kitchen cabinet i like this one design none of the other stuff is necessary i'm a verbose minimumalist.
bed nightstand oval coffee table bookcase and monitor stand.
The change in color I will guess is from the exposure of the tenon to more light than the shelf which most of the time covered or shaded from the books. Also this can happened if the tenon got more varnish on it than the shelf, if it was varnished while assembled.
.... ITS OVER 5000!!!!!
I ould like to know if there are further resources on making furnature, but mostly I want to build kitchen cabinets that are more efficient stewards of space.