DIY WOOD PROJECT — open shelf cabinet with birch and poplar

DIY WOOD PROJECT — open shelf cabinet with birch and poplar

In which Nick builds something out of wood and that makes everybody happy.

Our charging station — an open shelf cabinet out of birch and poplar, custom built to hold all the things in our home that use electricity, so we can charge everything all at once! (Especially in these winter months when solar power is low we have to run the generator to charge things.) Made out of scraps and on hand materials.

–Over the next month I’m going to be adding videos that are not in real time, but I will make sure they are in chronological order on our various playlists. Look for LITTLE HOUSE VLOGS for kid stuff and daily life, MOUNTAIN DREAM HOME for the build projects, and a playlist called STORY HOUR for long-form chats. Look for “PROJECT” in the title if you like videos like THIS ONE!!!

Sweet dreams and good night from the little house.

Enjoy!

__

About the Fouch Family: We are Nick and Esther, and our three kids Milo, Stella, and Sadie. We have lived off the grid — in the sense of not connected to the power grid — for four years on three acres of wooded land in Southwestern Idaho. Nick is a finish carpenter working on building his own business. Esther is a writer, the author of a recent memoir called “What Falls From the Sky,” and a daughter of the homesteading teacher and activist Carla Emery, who wrote “The Encyclopedia of Country Living.” Nick and Esther were both raised in Idaho, near where we live now, but we’ve also lived in Massachusetts, Utah, and California. Our kids are ages 10, 8 and 5.

Esther’s book: http://amzn.to/2xd3V2r

Esther’s mom’s book: http://amzn.to/2woLudq

Mailing address:

**Cards and letters only, please, unless you’re sending Nick a tee shirt.

***Stella is your best bet if you want someone to write back. πŸ™‚

Fouch Family
6568 S Federal Way
Box 173
Boise, ID 83716-9277

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Comments

Craig F says:

small thought that maybe you did and I didn't see, but did you put cooling holes in the bottom of the top box where all your transformers are? They can get hot and with multiple in the same place could be an issue, or just keep an eye on it for awhile.

Koality of Life says:

Very nice. I need to work with wood more often so I can get better at it. My wood working skills need a lot of polishing. lol πŸ™‚

Chris says:

Using vertical space, isn't just great for the garden. πŸ˜‰

Mary Reynolds says:

Awesome Nick, well done! Now I could use a white one, Brown one and one the same as yours. πŸ™‚ How handy is that!

Chum Robarge says:

I know your a pro but just a suggestion; NEVER wear gloves around rotating machinery. Ever.

Gary Baris says:

This is a great idea and has just triggered my OCD brain into over the top designs (as per usual). I'm not off grid and to preserve the laptop batteries, I'd put a timer on each laptop charge point and a wireless charging shelf for all the mobile phones.

Noneof Biz says:

every thing you do has such a quality look. eager for when you can finish your rocket stove! Have you seen mylittlehomestead they have made like 4 different rocket stoves. one looks like a gargoyle it's really cool!

James P says:

I understand but a saw is pretty cheap compared to a finger or two. Best of luck and we enjoy your videos.

Jack Patteeuw says:

A laughing camera woman !!

Nick, is that an aftermarket fence system on your saw ? What brand ?

EJ D says:

What a marvelous project! However, be careful of daisy-chaining your power strips like that. They aren’t designed to do that, and it may be a fire hazard

Wayne VS says:

Nick's woodworking = πŸ˜€. Nice job. Always a pleasure to see your design and carpentry skills.

TheCanadianBubba says:

Wish i had more skill in planning for builds like this… half the little details i dont think about at all until it is already finished. To go back and integrate them after the fact always seems to add a more worn look to the workpiece. Thank you for all the recent uploads… nothing as nice as catching up : ]

Martijn Heeroma says:

Great work Nick, 'declutering stuff',
We off-grid-ers know we want charged batteries all time and not having to search for it.

John Puccetti says:

Nice. Don't forget do not use WiFi. Hard wire the lap tops very very important. Make your little truly safe.

Pam Hartley says:

Nice! I hate charging cord clutter!

metamud says:

How did you solve the heat buildup in the top 'cabinet' with all the power converters?

Tom Robertson says:

Who would of thought the future would need a charging station ?
I'm near retirement and I had to buy an Anker 10 hub USB charger
Just the hub on the dresser , no station yet

Jelle B says:

It is a nice cabinet and I can understand your desire to de-clutter your power bricks. But I fear for the life of said bricks, as I see very little cooling opportunities for them. Perhaps it will just make them warm, but please check on them when all of them are charging. It would be such a shame if your house burnt down from such a (lack of cooling) oversight.

James P says:

Nice work using what you have. Please lower the blade on the table saw. If you make a mistake and hit the blade it is better to get a bad cut than losing some fingers.

Ildiko Mester says:

it takes a lot of patience to be as precise as you are Nick! Impressive work!!

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