What is the 32 Millimeter Cabinet System?

In the days immediately following World War II, people across the European continent came to the realization that there was a tremendous amount of rebuilding ahead of them.  The deadliest and costliest war of all time had ravaged the continent, destroying millions of housing units and  a great number of factories.

What was needed was a smart, efficient and resource-conserving building method for interior cabinetry to simplify construction.

The solution was the 32 mm cabinetry system. Through standardization and mass production, a new cabinetry style was adapted from the simple strong lines of the Bauhaus movement.

Today, the Euro-style cabinet system is widely used for cabinetry in Europe and beyond. This site offers a primer on how the system works for cabinets and with many of the commonly used pieces of cabinet hardware such as cup hinges and drawer runners.

While reading this won’t make you an expert on the 32 mm system, it will give you an idea of how it works and what elements you can incorporate into your work.

The Village Carpenter

There is a wide variety of woodworking styles out there. Some  focus on the latest and greatest developments in woodworking  technology.  Then, there are those  which embrace the older aspects of the craft, demonstrating the amount of sophistication and skill required by the woodworking masters of days long ago.

Kari Hultman, also known as the Village Carpenter, is one of those woodworkers who falls into the second camp.  She’s a talented carver, plane maker and – from what I understand – she can handle a a brace and bit like a champ. Her site is loaded with how-tos and explores the fine details of the craft. She has traveled to several historical sites and interviewed the interpreters demonstrating their techniques, showing how you can bring elements of these older forms of woodworking into your shop.

The best part is that Kari does it with a great sense of humor, making the topics more approachable and giving the reader a chuckle along the way.

Greenwoodworking

Most woodworkers have to wait a while to use wood cut from a tree.  It needs to either have a trip to a kiln or spend some time in a stack to get its moisture content down.

Then, there are woodworkers who take the wood directly from the tree to build their creations.  At Greenwoodworking, Jennie Alexander takes readers through the techniques of working with wood fresh from the tree and shows a host of projects that can be made from green wood.

Sure, it takes a little bit more thought and consideration when working with the fresh stuff, but the results are well worth it.

The Basics of Woodworking with Stone Age Tools

Are you a woodworker who likes to use old tools?  You know, hand planes from the mid 19th century? Reproductions chisels from the 18th century?

That’s not old…

Try knapping a piece of flint to use as a plane and then tell us about old woodworking tools.

Torjus Gaaren of primitiveways.com takes readers on an adventure into really-old-school (up to 2.5 million years ago) woodworking with stone and antler tools for splitting, hewing, sawing, carving and planing wood.  While it may seem like a crazy thing to even consider with today’s modern steel tools, the write up is fascinating and can give you a unique look into the history of our craft.

Hinge Dummy

When you need to build a set of cabinets and you need to install some doors, the choice of hinges can make or break your design. Do you need the hinges to make a design statement or do you need them hidden? Simple or high tech? Adjustable or locked into place?

Confused?  Don’t be. Hinge Dummy may have your answers. This site, run by D. Lawless Hardware, gives readers the low-down on hinge history, the choices available and tips on how to measure and installation pointers.

On each page, there are little nuggets of information.  For instance, I discovered that the Romans had a goddess of hinges named Cardea.

If hinges are in your future, Hinge Dummy should be a first stop.

Cooperage – Making of a Wine Barrel

It’s a skill that was critical wherever people lived. Coopering, the craft of building barrels, was in demand for a wide variety of daily functions.  Carrying dry goods, liquids, construction materials … whatever needed to be contained.

Today, plastics and metals tend to fill the need that barrels once filled.  Now, the greatest demand for barrels is with distillers, brewers and vintners. This site, run by Maryland woodworker Tom Crowl, shows the step-by-step process of how to make a wooden barrel, helps define the specialized parts of the barrel and offers numerous links to additional barrel-making websites.

If you ever wondered how these beautifully-crafted workhorses were made, this is a good place to start your exploration.

Woody Bicycles

It’s not often that a blog post just reaches up and slaps me in the face, but that’s exactly what happened on the seawall in Cape May last week. On my way back from the candy store to lay in a supply of famous saltwater taffy, I saw this chained to a fence:

Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is… it’s a bicycle with a wooden frame. Local carpenter Max Samuelson, owner of Woody Bicycles, had a vision of a bike made out of wood.  Between jobs in his shop one day, he took some choice wood scraps and put together his first prototype bike frame.

Customers can choose from oak, mahogany, ash, birch, walnut, bubinga, purple heart and others upon request, and each frame is built to order.

It’s a very unique design and an interesting story. Definitely worth a look.