So, I got to hang out with John for two weekends in a row. Score!
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Also, he built me a chuck box/ drawer for the back of my truck.
We started the morning with a visit to The Home Depot for supplies.
(I got to go for a ride in John's 78 Jeep pick up truck which is awesome)
Then, we needed to get some drawer slides, so we headed to a place called Rockler. It's fantastic. Old retired dudes selling fine wood working equipment and supplies. John and I both agreed that we probably could of spent all day in there talking to the guys. Fun bunch for sure.
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
After gathering all of our necessary materials, it was time to get started.
Work began around 9:30.
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
We were able to find a beautiful piece of plywood at the Home Depot. John did some serious hardware store engineering and concluded that we would only need one 4x8 sheet of plywood for everything except the cutting board. He had some extra plywood at the Klewer Woodshop, so we would be good if we ran a little over. (we ended up using exactly 1 sheet of plywood plus a small piece for the cutting board, exactly like John said we would!)
I feel like I need to share that my capacity for woodworking is not high. I've never really been exposed to it, but John hat the patience to explain what he was doing and why the whole day. Totally awesome teacher.
I was mostly the sand stuff and apply polyacrylic guy, but occasionally I was called into service as a grab stuff off the table saw and hold this here guy. It was awesome!
Cutting aluminum angle for the cutting board slides. We figured out that it works better when you cut angle at a 90 degree angle. Who knew? Us, now!
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Here are some more shots from the day. A lot of John doing work things and me taking photos!
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
This is my wheelhouse! (now) I painted this stuff on all the surfaces!
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
When we went to the hardware store in the morning, it was our intention to paint the exposed surfaces with black spray paint. So we bought some. Once we got to building it, we both kind of agreed that the "raw" look of the wood was too nice to cover up.
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Ready for fitment. I hope it fits!
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
It fits!
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
Chuck Box v2 by Sir JohnOfFullerton
I can't thank John enough for helping me with this project and his wife Michelle for putting up with us all day.
I am over the moon for this thing. It's amazing that we went to the hardware store in the morning, and by 5:30pm we had this awesome creation.
Some things we learned.
We could probably get away with some thinner plywood.
The floor in the cargo area of the second gen X slopes towards the rear bumper. We overcame this with a shim. There is probably a more elegant way to do this, but I was impatient and wanted it done on Saturday
We'll think of something for the next one.
For the drawer, John wants to recess the slides a little further so that there won't be a gap around the edges. This was his first drawer, so now we know for next time.
Speaking of next time, John really enjoys doing this sort of stuff. The possibilities are endless. Chime in here if you're interested.
I can't wait to show it off at MRV and future SCCX events.