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Optimizing the den ...

Would like to share the latest improvement to my den with you gents.

My den is a old farmacy cupboard from Warshava, Poland, made of steel and glass back in the 60ies. It is placed in the basement of our house where I use to shave.

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The cupboard has glass shelfs and it is used for storing razors, brushes, soaps and fragrances. Most of my razors were just placed on the upper shelf but space was running out.
The idea was to organize the razors safe and secure in some kind of drawers so I started defining a shape that would fit most of my DE’s and SE’s and than multiple this shape to a pattern optimize storage of the the collection.

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While the first idea was to build some drawers fitting the existing cupboard and than made some inserts for the razors, a building project left me with some pieces of 26 mm birch plywood. This material is so firm and solid, I decided to drop the drawer / insert idea and went with a one piece solution.

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A 22 mm round nose bit and a electric router was used to cut the pattern into the birch plywood. While groves for handles and for grabbing the razors are 16 mm deep, the groves for the razor heads are 20 mm deep. I was tinking of creating a stencil for the electric router but ended up with simply glueing a 1:1 print of the pattern to the plywood and use a spirit level to guide the router.

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The solid plywood was quite a challange for the router so the 16 / 20 mm deep groves were made in several passes.

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After creating the pattern on two boards, a lot of machine- and handgrinding was necessary to get the plywood and all the goves smooth and ready for final surface treatment.

I went with several layers of high gloss varnish normally used on wooden boats and yachts. Fine grinding between each layer and long drying / hardening periods finally gave a smooth surface finish pronouncing the layer structure of the plywood.

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While full extension rails were sourced from Gernany, a local machinst made custom brackets to mount the drawers inside the vintage cupboard. Bracket were painted cream white to match the color of the vintage cupboard.

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All pices are mounted with stainless hardware and the plywood pieces finally get their tight fit inside the cupboard. They are placed right in the midle so access is overview is as optimal as possible.

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And here some final shots with razors in place.

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Should have made more then just two ...

Best Regards
Marco
 
I was going to make a joke along the lines of "don't post in this thread again until you fill in all of those gaps with razors".

And then I scrolled down and you did.....

Love that setup man. I'm assuming that the door has a lock and key? That would be great if there were kids in the equation.
 
This is awesome. Next maybe a few sliding trays for the brushes. It’s a great way to get access to the stuff at the back.

I’m always impressed with the things that people with wood working skills are able to create. I’ve got the ideas but lack the tools and skills.
 
Awesome to see and excellent skills you have...I wish I have your talent for my own little project...hahahaha
I just completed "Optimizing" my own den today too...
This was my first shave rack "den"...then I join B&B...
20210103_210353.jpg

After joining B&B...I move to a proper multi-storied "den"
20201214_132557.jpg

Due to the Brush AD...I knew it's about time for an extension...and today completed this...
20210103_210558.jpg

20210103_210636.jpg

20210103_194139.jpg
 
I was going to make a joke along the lines of "don't post in this thread again until you fill in all of those gaps with razors".

And then I scrolled down and you did.....

Love that setup man. I'm assuming that the door has a lock and key? That would be great if there were kids in the equation.

Yes, cabinet is lockable. In addition to this, all my razors are stored without blades.

This is awesome. Next maybe a few sliding trays for the brushes. It’s a great way to get access to the stuff at the back.

I’m always impressed with the things that people with wood working skills are able to create. I’ve got the ideas but lack the tools and skills.

I am thinking of drawers for soap storage as next step.
 
Awesome to see and excellent skills you have...I wish I have your talent for my own little project...hahahaha
I just completed "Optimizing" my own den today too...
This was my first shave rack "den"...then I join B&B...
View attachment 1203622
After joining B&B...I move to a proper multi-storied "den"
View attachment 1203623
Due to the Brush AD...I knew it's about time for an extension...and today completed this...
View attachment 1203624
View attachment 1203626
View attachment 1203627

Love it. What kind of hooks are you using for hanging the brushes upside down?
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Marco: very clever design, well executed. I imagine that router bit is tired now after all that glue.

Nice work.
 
Marco: very clever design, well executed. I imagine that router bit is tired now after all that glue.

Nice work.

Thank you very much.
You are right, router bit is not as sharp as before. Anyway, CMT are quality tools. This particular round nose bit in 22 mm is normaly used to cut groves for floor heating tubes so it is designed for heavy duty tasks in this kind of material.
 
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