Other Examples of Cabinet Shop Projects

Sled showing the front bearing plate

There were three projects which were given to me that were interesting and with some challenges since parts of them I had not done before. They were the building of two rope making sleds (one being a backup), making spokes for a handcart and building new window frames with wooden bars.

One day one of the missionaries brought a drawing into our shop. It was of a rope making sled to be used in the Family Living Center. He said that they needed to replace the one that was currently being used because one of the bearings was getting loose. It has two bearings one of which is mounted on a thin steel plate and the other just sits in a drilled hole on the sled.

Sled with twine twisting wheel attached

The current sled has been in use for several years and everyone was worried that it could fail which would be a disaster since there are so many visitors who go the the Family Living Center. Dave asked me if I would take on the project.

Finished sled in Family Living Center

The sled is beefed up to be a lot stronger than the old one and both bearings are mounted on steel plates. I also mounted oak strips on the bottom to serve as skids which could be replaced so that the frame would not wear out sliding on the floor. I also applied three coats of linseed oil.

When I finished the project, everyone was pleased. The facilities management people came to us and said that they wanted a second sled made as a back up. So, I ended up making a second one also.

Hammering shaped ends into steel hub

Making replacement spokes for one of the handcarts was an interesting project. The wheels were originally made by an Amish wheelwright. 

Tapered ends with tapered tenons

Finished wheel mounted on handcart.

I made the new spokes out of oak. They had to be turned on a lathe with a tenon on the one end to fit into a drilled out hole in the fellow (outside wooden part of the wheel) and then shaped on the hub end to match up with the existing spokes including a tapered tenon which had fit into the grooves on the cast hub that fit onto the axle. Everything had to be just the right length and shape so that it would fit tightly.


This was a challenging but fun project that didn't take too long to do.

Assembly of window frames

The third project took more time and included doing some new things which I hadn't done before. The project was to replace two basement windows in the Print Shop. The bottom of the window frames were pretty much rotted out which included the bottom of the wooded bars. The bottom of the windows themselves were even seeing some rotting.

Completed window frames

Dave made new windows out of African Mahogany while I made the frames with the wooden bars for the window out of pressure treated pine.

The bars had tapered bottoms to match a tapered angle on the bottom of the frame so that water would run off. The bars also had to have a tenon on both ends to fit into the frame. The frames had to have a series of mortises along the top and bottom of the frame into which the bars needed to be fitted.

Completed and painted window and frame

Once the windows were made and painted as well as the frames, I had to install them. This was interesting because the old window frames were in cased  in concrete. Since the bottoms were rotted, it wasn't as difficult as it could have been.

The new windows and frames were fitted tightly in place using shims . Using mortar mix with just enough water to make it like wet sand, I tamped it into the space around the window frame until it was a solid surface.

Installing window and frame

This installation was completed in November when we had colder temperatures. It also required a lot of time on my knees which was some what hard on an older body.