Plywood for library rebuild?

Wood Shop
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Hey friends - 10 years ago marc and I built one of Wichita’s first little free libraries without a lot of access to tools, materials, or woodworking knowledge. It was pre-makerspace, I had a dremel and a skillsaw and a dream.

It was a simple enough project but the 10 years have not been kind, it has some issues and this month the door came apart and the whole thing is kind of rotting because the plywood was crappy and not properly primed. I think it needs a whole rebuild so that is my project of the month.

I do love using reclaimed/scrap materials so I’ll be scanning the makerspace for scraps and if anyone has some good plywood you’re not using I would really appreciate it. I need one piece 24x24" but the rest will be in the 12"x20" or smaller neighborhood. I use 2x2s for framing but I think I have a descent stash of those.

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Talked to your worser half about this earlier :wink:

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I happen to have some nice 3/4" plywood that came with my house as desk/workbench in the basement. I have no use for but haven’t been able to bring myself to trash it. I’d be very happy to donate the material to your project.

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Kim,

Reclaimed or scrap materials are easy to source and work well. After you get it completed and painted, Coat it with 1 or 2 coats of Marine Spar Varnish. That will help with the moisture and the UV from the Sun.

Alternatives would be treated plywood or cedar planks to resist the UV and moisture.

John

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Make your next little library metal and use the free powder coat… it would be good in the elements.

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A metal library is beyond my skills but it would be SO COOL outside the makerspace, I’d buy the charter sign for it in a heartbeat! Oh and donate books, although books have never been an issue.

@SeanReed id love that plywood if there’s a way to get it to the space? I drive a fiesta. There’s scrap there to get us going as well so we might be okay.

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Ya know… a lfl is not a sign and would not need the required permits.

If it just happened to look like our logo, how could that be bad.

Put a can food exchange in there too.

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Do we need seven little free libraries? One shaped like M, one shaped like A… :joy:

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….and a riddle at each one that leads to the next

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Let’s try and avoid the canned food stored at unsafe temperatures for long periods of time if we can…

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And art supplies

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Oh there is a church here in Hutchinson that has a food … library… thing.

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Hey @doug.wilson there’s some good sized plywood in the print shop. can I have it?

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@squarenuts is the Area Lead in the wood shop nowadays

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I know but the plywood I set eyes on is residing in the print shop.

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I think @doug.wilson has plans for it.

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No problem. I think you talked to Marc about some pieces but his short term memory failed and he had no idea what you said to use lol.

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Oh hell after all this drama I was totally wrong… it’s a stack in the kiln room! I was only off by one sorry Doug.

@pwhutchi whats this pile is there anything you’d part with?

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LOL. You are welcome to use the plywood in the kiln room. Put back any decent sized scraps. Some day they’ll get chopped up into neat little squares for ware boards but in the interim it’s just a messy hoard that needs culling.

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