Next steps on Sassy's Hutch

This is my 100th blog post!

Wow

And it is 100 days til I leave. Today. As I post this blog.

Strange how those two numbers are trending together like that..

Anyway, sorry for the lack of blog yesterday. I went home in the evening and did do some stuff for the hutch but I just used a bit of wood I already owned and couldn't face the drive  to B and Q to get the flat joints, catches, hinges and thicker wood to do the shelf.

Makeshift saw-horse

So last night I put the back board on behind which I will stuff loads of insulation before nailing the access panel closed. I have already taken my saw-horses over to the storage unit (which was stupid) so last night I put the board across between my dining chairs as I was only doing a small amount of cutting.

I got the old jigsaw out for this and this was much easier than with the manual one on the first night; I should have got it out for then but never mind.

Backboard fitted

Within very short order I had the board fitted and screwed in to the frame I had built the night before. This progress, while small, helped me to feel not too lazy as I went and sat on my backside for the rest of the evening.

And so to this Thanksgiving day (yesterday as you read this). I got home and didn't make the same mistake twice, very quickly was back out in Julian driving to B and Q to pick up the aforementioned items and while there I saw some really nice saw horses and picked them up too. As per I hadn't got a trolley and so I was juggling towards the checkout. I never learn.

Preparing to cut the shelf

I set the saw horses up just outside Julian and dragged the extension cable, and all my kit, inside to the cabin so I had everything I needed to hand. Using the jigsaw made this task a thousand times easier than it would have been. It was a little noisy, and I didn't half get some strange looks from passers-by (including one kid who came and had a chat with me for a few minutes, telling me just how cool he thought Julian was).

The ramp, measured and marked out

Having cut the correct sized shelf I then wanted to cut out the ramp. My concept was to have it so this was hinged and able to be secured in a "closed" position so, once I had travelled, this hutch could be easily converted into a cupboard.

Hole drilled to start cutting out the ramp

The first challenge was how to start cutting it out. I got a large drill bit and chose one corner and went for it, careful to make it drill through inside the shape for the shelf. I then took the jigsaw and went around the shape, having a bit of fun trying to turn each corner as the board was a little thick to do this without shaving back and forth and curving the corners.

Ramp cut out

As someone who has never really excelled at this kind of thing I am so proud of myself for designing this and then being capable of making it to design with careful measuring and the use of the correct tools.

Catch and hinge

Anyway, back to the task; I now wanted to secure the ramp with a hinge at one end, and a catch at the other. I fitted the catch first and the screws were just the correct length however when I came to do the hinge I found the screws were about 5mm too long and went through the other side. To ensure Sassy doesn't get caught on these sharp protuberances I cut a couple of blocks and screwed through into them.

Shelf with counter-sunk screw holes, fitted

So the only thing left today was to fit this shelf onto the framework and again I was careful here, drilling guideholes for the screws and then counter-sinking these to ensure the screw could be flush with the floor.

This is solid as a rock and looks great; I'm really pleased. The only mistake I've made is the shelf is too high above the base for the length of the ramp which means the ramp is too steep. I will need to come up with a solution for this.

I may not do any more to this tomorrow evening but Saturday I am going to put the doors on. These will be two separate doors, the bottom one solid and the top one with chicken wire.