[waterfall]

I just wanted to share with the forum a recent project I embarked on. I was looking for a storage solution for my photography gear. I was tired of keeping all my gear in various bags laying on ground beneath my computer desk. I had a small set of plastic drawers which I kept a majority of my accessories in but my lenses would just end up scattered on top of my computer desk and in my bags. I started searching for photography cabinets online, but I came up with nothing. Every thing I found was just a large bag/case that cost hundreds of dollars. I decided to start searching for other pieces of furniture/cabinetry on craigslist that I could use. I came across an old dry bar. The cabinet was the perfect size, but needed some slight modifications.

Attachment 208713
It's a little banged up, but perfectly fine for the upstairs office.

Attachment 208714
The top shelf is perfect for the various chargers I have.

Attachment 208715
I added some dividers to the top drawer and stained them to try to match the original color. I used multiple removable dividers and one larger side to accommodate various accessories. I then used some thin yellow foam(almost like puffy poster board) that I found at the craft shop to line the bottom. I figured the foam would give some padding and the bright color would make it easy to find things.

Attachment 208716
I made the two drawers out of plywood. The stain didn't take as it well on the plywood even after 4 coats.

Attachment 208717
I then lined the drawers with pick and pluck foam.

Attachment 208720
The top drawer holds my camera bodies and flashes with a little room left over.

Attachment 208719
The bottom drawers holds my lenses with maybe room for one more prime

Attachment 208718
The side compartment is perfect for my collection of tripods/monopods and some other larger accessories.

The total cost was about $120
Cabinet $40
Pick and Pluck foam $40
Plywood and slides $40
I had the stain and other pieces of wood lying around

Overall I am very happy with the project. The drawers didn't come out perfectly, but they are functional and slides are breaking in nicely. The cabinet top also gives me a nice working surface for cleaning and readying my gear for shoots. It doesn't quite hold all my gear, but it does hold everything I need for my everyday shoots. I also wanted to thank my father for helping with the construction of the cabinet.

Nice work! I note that the top shelf of the cabinet is about 36" above the floor (even with the door knob), so scaling it I estimate About 42" wide. The drawers behind doors are a great add. I will use my router table with dovetail jig to copy your work!

[dansamy]

Great! Now, I have furniture envy...

[mtux]

Wow!
But I can't have it because of humid weather, I just have to keep the whole kit in a drybox. which is better than laying around or in bags.

[scunning14]

Thank you all! I posted this with the intention to inspire others. I hope it gave you all a few ideas.

---------- Post added 02-28-2014 at 09:28 AM ----------

Nice work! I note that the top shelf of the cabinet is about 36" above the floor (even with the door knob), so scaling it I estimate About 42" wide. The drawers behind doors are a great add. I will use my router table with dovetail jig to copy your work!

Dovetails are always ideal for drawers, but I was trying to keep cost down. We were able to make both drawers out of a single sheet of 2x4 plywood. We used glue and two small L-brackets used for decking on each interior corner of the drawers. We were able to do so since the foam covers the interior of the drawers. They were surprisingly square and solid when completed.

[Kayaker-J]

Oh, nice work! I feel a sympathetic pride with you, just looking at the photos.

But here's a serious question: I have a pesky fungus/mildew situation in a couple parts of the house. I don't know if I've got any lens coating-loving types there, but I'm concerned. So if I, for now, get some air-tight containers or bins for day-to-day storage, what can I add inside to discourage the fungus... without also inadvertently presenting some chemical danger to the lenses and cameras?

[Canada_Rockies]

I believe that desiccant is the best choice. If it is truly air tight the desiccant won't soak up very much at all, and you won't need to "cook" it dry very often.

[waterfall]

Maybe silica gel packets? My worry would be trapping high humidity air inside a dark container.

[Canada_Rockies]

Silica gel is the most common desiccant. Put enough in to soak up any moisture in the air you trap. Whenever you go into the container and take out/put in stuff, dry the packets.

[waterfall]

Silica gel is the most common desiccant. Put enough in to soak up any moisture in the air you trap. Whenever you go into the container and take out/put in stuff, dry the packets.

Yes, engineers use desiccant packages to test moisture content of concrete floors. They are reusable by drying in an oven to a predetermined dry weight. The packages have one open side that gets sealed to the test floor with vapor impermeable tape.

[p38arover]

When I lived on Norfolk Island (in the Pacific Ocean), we used to buy bottles of desiccant to put in our wardrobes otherwise our shoes and any other leather would go mildew quickly. That became an expensive exercise as the desiccant couldn't be dried out (it went to liquid) so I had a local electrician fit cupboard heaters/dehumidifies in all wardrobes in all the staff houses.

Something like this: http://www.cynebar.com.au/dehumidifier.php

That fixed the problem.

I never had fungus on my camera or lenses (I still have them).

[Kayaker-J]

Interesting link. Well, I thought of moisture control; I need to look at that the other way around for some of the guitars here. One conjectural approach I was tossing around goes like this --

XXXX is to fungus... as cedar planks are to moths. Something natural like that?

[waterfall]

Interesting link. Well, I thought of moisture control; I need to look at that the other way around for some of the guitars here. One conjectural approach I was tossing around goes like this --

XXXX is to fungus... as cedar planks are to moths. Something natural like that?

Dry air and no cellulose fibers are to fungus as aromatic cedar is to moths. Fungi eat cellulose but need moisture, except of course for the dreaded varieties that make water out of plant fibers they munch on. See Stachybotrus chartorum, aka Black Slime Mold that may eat Detroit.

[Canada_Rockies]

Interesting link. Well, I thought of moisture control; I need to look at that the other way around for some of the guitars here.

Yes, musical instruments don't like dry all that much. I'm an amateur organist, and the worst thing you can do to an organ is just let it sit there. The leather dries out, the wood splits .... the same for pianos, harpsichords, lutes, lyres ...

[Kayaker-J]

Dry air and no cellulose fibers are to fungus as aromatic cedar is to moths. Fungi eat cellulose but need moisture, except of course for the dreaded varieties that make water out of plant fibers they munch on. See Stachybotrus chartorum, aka Black Slime Mold that may eat Detroit.

In my neck of the woods, it's usually Cleveland that takes the beating. For some reason, in L.A., New York, and Washington, they don't seem to care...

---------- Post added 03-01-14 at 11:44 AM ----------

Yes, musical instruments don't like dry all that much. I'm an amateur organist, and the worst thing you can do to an organ is just let it sit there. The leather dries out, the wood splits .... the same for pianos, harpsichords, lutes, lyres ...

I hope that doesn't apply to a Hammond A-100 with big Leslie. I haven't fired these up since I took over the old homestead, because I know that would be a bad idea until they are properly lubricated and serviced. I have no idea where I'd find someone locally who really knows what he's doing with respect to servicing these venerable, still uniquely compelling antiques. Maybe find a jazz band still schlepping a real Hammond B-3 around...

[Canada_Rockies]

I hope that doesn't apply to a Hammond A-100 with big Leslie. I haven't fired these up since I took over the old homestead, because I know that would be a bad idea until they are properly lubricated and serviced. I have no idea where I'd find someone locally who really knows what he's doing with respect to servicing these venerable, still uniquely compelling antiques. Maybe find a jazz band still schlepping a real Hammond B-3 around...

There are any number of sites on eBay that carry Hammond Generator Oil. I have never owned a Leslie, so I don't know what the oil is for the bearings. Once you take the back cover off the Hammond, the lube points are easily located on the generator. It's been 45 years since I had anything to do with them, so I cannot give you an oil drop count, but I am sure you can find that on the web as well.

You are very smart not to try to fire the old girl up until you have lubed it. Many a generator has died with bad bearings from lack of service. Even if you lube it after it has been used for several years without servicing it, often you find transients from the shaft motion in the bearings are contaminating the sound.

PS: If you have never used an older Hammond, it is 8 seconds on the start switch before you turn on the run switch. Then I usually held for an additional 8 seconds or so, making sure it settled into the run speed. You can hear the start coil whining after you hit the run switch, and it should be stable before you let go of the start switch.

PPS: Use a vacuum cleaner and get all the dust off the electronics in the back. Some dust bunnies are flammable.