Crafted a Slide Holder
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Jun. 21st, 2013 | 08:15 pm
My herdmate Chiron has been making microscope slides recently. They were scattered all over his desk while he was processing them so he asked me if I could put together a holder for them. This is what I came up with, and I'm pretty pleased with it. It gave me a chance to use my fancy new power tools!
Construction was pretty simple: I first made a little jig to help me cut evenly space slots, then used my circular saw to cut the slots that hold the slides. I wish I had a good table saw, as that would have been easier. I rounded over one edge with a router to make it easier to get the slides in and out. I cut the ends to an angle so the slides lean back very slightly, to make sure they don't fall out. I then cut the base and made a nice profile on it with the router. I attached some thin strips of wood to the back of the uprights to stop the slides falling out of the back, a spacer at the top to keep everything square, and screwed the uprights to the base.
I think it turned out well. The hardest part was making the thin pieces of wood at the back - lots of hand planing there, which I'm not very good at.
Construction was pretty simple: I first made a little jig to help me cut evenly space slots, then used my circular saw to cut the slots that hold the slides. I wish I had a good table saw, as that would have been easier. I rounded over one edge with a router to make it easier to get the slides in and out. I cut the ends to an angle so the slides lean back very slightly, to make sure they don't fall out. I then cut the base and made a nice profile on it with the router. I attached some thin strips of wood to the back of the uprights to stop the slides falling out of the back, a spacer at the top to keep everything square, and screwed the uprights to the base.
I think it turned out well. The hardest part was making the thin pieces of wood at the back - lots of hand planing there, which I'm not very good at.
