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by:
Paul Lewis
photos: Bert Klassen
illustration: Len Churchill |
WASTE MANAGEMENT |
| A
wastepaper basket with a lot of good ideas thrown in |
Toss out
any notion that simple construction makes for a less-than-elegant
project and build this stylish wastepaper basket. The tall stance
and gently tapered sides are inspired by old maple sap buckets,
and the Baltic birch plywood and stripped-down construction
are a nod to Scandinavian design of the 1960s.
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| Baltic
Birch is the aristocrat of plywoods—a layered sandwich
of thin veneers that's strong and lightweight with
clean edges that don't need disguising |
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Four of a Kind
Begin
by cutting four 13" x 19" blanks from 6 mm Baltic birch plywood.
Sandwich the four pieces together with double-sided tape, so
you can cut all the sides at once. Lay out the tapered sides
by measuring 1/2" in on the top, and 3" in on the bottom. I
free-handed these cuts on my bandsaw about 1/16" outside the
lines, then cleaned up the edges on a jointer. You could use
a tablesaw, but you’ll need to fashion a jig to cut the tapers.
Pop the pieces apart and drill finger holes in two of the pieces
using a 1" bit. I used a Forstner bit, and backed up the plywood
with some scrap stock to ensure a clean cut.
Playing the Slots
| You
Will Need |
| Part |
Size |
Qty. |
| Sides |
6mm
x 13" x 19" |
4 |
| Bottom |
6mm
x 7" x 7" |
1 |
| Bottom
Cleats |
1/2"
x 3/4" x 2" |
2 |
|
To mill
the single dado on the inside face of each side member, I used
a tablesaw with the blade height set to half the thickness of
the plywood and the fence set at 1/2" from the blade. If one
face of the plywood is better than the other, mill the dado
on the bad side. Make one pass along the edge of all four sides,
then adjust the fence a bit and make a second pass. Cut a test
scrap at the same time, so as you continue adjusting the fence
you can determine when the slot is the right width. Run a bead
of glue in each slot and assemble the sides, being careful,
of course, to keep everything square. To clamp everything tight
I used surgical tubing stretched around the bottom and four
lightweight bar clamps for the top.
No Math Skills Required
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Click
on the image
above to enlarge it |
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To make
the bevelled edges on the bottom and the bottom blocks, use
the assembled sides as an angle gauge. Set the whole assembly
on the tablesaw bottom end down, and adjust the angle of the
blade against one of the sides. Now set the fence 7" from the
blade and cut the four edges of the bottom. With the fence repositioned
1/2" from the blade, run a small scrap of hardwood through it,
still set at the same angle, and cut the bottom blocks from
this piece. Drop the bottom into the assembled sides and it
will settle into the right location. Nudge it around a bit to
make sure it’s flat, then flip everything over (friction should
hold the bottom in place) and affix the bottom blocks with some
glue. Masking tape will hold the blocks in place until the glue
dries.
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| Tapered
blocks glued into position give the bottom all the
support it needs |
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Pistachio of Raspberry?
Add
visual interest to this project by finishing the inside surface
only. I custom mixed the pale green milk paint for the this
project, but other colours are equally handsome. Stick to pale
shades—they work better with the light wood.
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