FOR SALE: Custom Tack Cabinet

Yup.  It's for sale.  And WHYon earth am I selling it after all that work!?!?  

That's a story for a whole 'nother post, but you'll have to wait a week or so for that one.

Stay tuned!!!!!

Handsome Custom-Designed Tack Cabinet For Sale

Built September 2010

1/2 Plywood with 3/4" bottom and Door

Casters on bottom and also under the Door for stability and smooth opening/closing

Stain and Outdoor Spar Urethane (Varnish) inside and out.

Saddle Racks for 2 English or 1 English/1Western Saddles 

Saddle Racks are carriage-bolted through 1.25"reinforced back wall - very stable, and also removable.

Hooks inside right side of box for additional hanging space.

Door is deep and has 2 bridle racks and storage for sprays, bandages, etc.

Bottom Sections sized to fit specific Elfa (Container Store) Baskets (Not included)

Key Lock Hasp Closure (2 Keys)

Outside Dimensions: 30" wide x 36" deep x 58" high (not counting casters)

You Move.

$800 Cash only. Offers considered.

Cabinet Exterior - Newly Built, August 2010

Interior Newly Built - September 2010

The Tack Box That IS!

It's DONE! It's at the barn! It's got stuff in it!!! Yay! I absolutely LOVE it and am very excited to break it in. It really does have a ton of room in it. I don't actually have enough stuff to fill it up! I'm keeping my bench/trunk there to hold blankets, otherwise I'd be more cramped.

We still have two things to do: install a silver lockable hasp on the middle of the side, and put a 5th caster under the door. It was sagging big time when we got the hinge on and stood it upright. Just too much weight and too much gravity. I had a feeling we might need to do that, but was hoping we'd get away without it, just for aesthetic reasons, but it clearly needs to be there for stability. And so it goes.

The saddle racks were Saddle N Pad racks but my carpenter removed the pad bars so I can install them somewhere else if I choose.

I nailed one of Junior's old shoes (primed and painted with glossy rustOleum) to the door with actual horseshoe nails, the hinge is silver and the hasp will be silver too. I'm opting for a hasp with an integrated lock instead of the type you add a padlock to. I considered painting the wire rack black, but couldn't convince myself that it wouldn't flake off so it remains with an oddball finish.

Since I KNOW you all want to rush out right now and hire someone to build you your very own, I will give full disclosure with a price breakdown. I was lucky to have access to space and tools (including pneumatics) which made this project possible, and the labor for a college kid was undoubtedly cheaper than for a union carpenter.

Lumber (1 -3/4" ply, 3 1/2" ply) 124.70

Saddle Racks & Bridle hooks (2 of each) 33.00

Wire rack, interior hooks 22.50

Piano Hinge 16.00

Stain (2qts) 15.40

Poly(2qts + 1 spray can) 36.00

Brushes, sandpaper, min. spirits, etc. 24.00

RustOleum for Horseshoe 4.50

5th Caster and Hasp 19.00

Total Materials 294.40

Costruction Labor/Delivery (15+hours) 225.00

TOTAL 519.40

The total does not count the 4 casters, staples, glue, and some of the mounting hardware as they fell off a truck somewhere. It is still a savings over purchasing a slightly comparable unit I discussed HERE, AND it's fully custom made. I was able to make adjustments and changes through the process when I changed my mind or realized potential snags. I did the staining and top-coats myself, as well as procuring all parts aside from the lumber. Leave yourself at least 3 days for finishing with drying time in between.

I am very happy with the box, but of course in hindsight I think I would change a few things. First, I would go back to the double doors. The width of the cabinet plus the 3/4" ply makes one door just too heavy for the 1/2" plywood sides. Looking back, the one door cabinets were only 25" wide with 1/2" plywood, and the double door one is 30". I should have realized there was a reason for that! Secondly I would re-consider the integrated plywood saddle stand for the western saddle and then having the English saddle above it on a metal rack. On the plus side this would add overall stability, but may decrease storage space. It's actually hard to tell if you'd lose space as long as you still kept some similar storage under the unit, added some shelving to the right and left of the English saddle, and used the inside of the saddle stand for shelves, too.

In other news, Junior and I had a very brief Centered Riding lesson and it was very eye-opening, AND I got a deposit today for my show saddle! They're picking it up and bringing me the rest of the payment next weekend. More on all of that later. :)

Want the step by step? Check out these other posts:

Progress III

Progress II

Progress I

"The Tack-Box-To-Be" Part III Beta -More Progress!

The door is constructed!

Bridles will go on the right side and the pantry shelves go on the left side. Almost time to stain/poly!

I am SO ready to have this box in use. I had a routine at the old barn and I can't seem to get into a groove yet. I keep making seventeen trips back and forth from the tack room to the crossties, leaving the barn with my half-chaps on, or without my sunglasses. I spent the first week shuffling stuff back and forth from the barn to my apartment. It doesn't help that I had a show right before I moved so I left lots of stuff at home I didn't think I'd need but then realized I did. I baby my English saddle WAY more than I babied my western work saddle so that's been some juggling, too, making sure it was always covered and on a proper rack. I could just set my work saddle on the ground on it's horn and not worry about it. Not so much with a saddle I show in!

So I am VERY ready to have this box in place so I can re-organinze and get back into a routine. I find comfort in the old saying "A place for everything and everything in it's place." I was even helping my BO with re-organizing the lesson tack room yesterday. The label maker will probably make an appearance before long....

"The Tack-Box-To-Be" Part III - Progress!

Evidence of progress on my tack box!

The main box is on it's backside and the rest of the ply to make up the door is lying on top. My carpenter is not so thrilled about being in the picture. :)
Really excited but kind of scared at the same time. My worst nightmare is that it will either look terrible or worse, be non-functional. Neither of those things are likely to happen, but that's just how my brain works. You should know this by now.

Now to decide whether or not I want to stain it (and what color?) before the outdoor-grade poly goes on... hmmmmm.

"The Tack-Box-To-Be" Part II

Since I've been sofa-bound since Friday afternoon due to a small surgical foot procedure, I had a spare few moments to make some decisions on my future tack storage. I've nailed down the following:

• Outside Dimensions: 30" wide x 36" deep x 58" high (not counting casters)
• Single Door will be 5" deep
• Storage areas are a combination of plywood compartments and pre-made storage from Container Store
• Interior of the Box showing the saddle area and lower storage spaces that will fit specific Elfa baskets:

• Interior of the Door with space on left for bridles and space on right for this:

I calculated the estimate for lumber (using the nicer "hardwood" ply) and other materials (not counting stain/paint/varnish or labor) and it ends up being a tad less that $300. A figure to which my dear Mother gave a dramatic intake of breath. Sure, that sounds like a lot, until you try to find ANYTHING comparable. There is only one ready-made thing I've found that will house ONE western saddle (see, if I only rode English this would be less of a problem) and it costs a modest $728.95 from our friends at Smart Pak.

Max's girls have the English version (holds 2 English saddles) and it is nice, but since I have to be difficult and need two saddles, one being a western saddle that takes 38" x 30" x 25" all by itself, I need something else. I did find a site that offers one of Elite Tack's designs finished for $699. Hopefully I can do better than that and either have a piece that I can keep with me for many years to come or sell to someone else when I no longer need it. I already know that some barns won't need/allow them, and some will. Who knows how many more places Junior and I will find ourselves?

Next step is to get an estimate from my carpenter on how much he's going to charge me, then we'll need to get the lumber and decide on a finish. I'm leaning towards stain and varnish rather than paint at this point, and since it's a single door I'm looking at either painting my logo on the front or having it printed onto a vinyl decal. BUT, customizing it that much may make it more difficult to sell so I haven't made that decision yet.

I'll keep you posted as always.

Now I'm going to find some lunch and see if I can hobble out to the barn. That poor pony's been in jail all weekend with me laid up and KAT at a show on Friday. I'm a terrible mother. But soon he'll have 7-day turnout! SOOOO very soon!

"The Tack-Box To Be" Part I

***EDIT*** Noticing that there is a HUGE number of hits on this blog entry, I'm adding the "Tack Box Project" as a topic in the sidebar. You will be able to see all of the entries about this project from start to finish. Enjoy!!!


Since my soon-to-be barn has ample room for storage I finally get to build the type of tack storage unit I've wanted for a good while. The last Arab barn I was at in MN had a tackroom full of these big vertical armoire type boxes. My new tack area is also exposed to barn dust from the indoor round-pen, shavings, etc. so covered storage will be great. I can also use the closed tack rooms, but this area is much closer to my stall. The final plans are not in place yet, but I'll give you the journey thus far.

Though my job has makes me have to stay in a cold dark basement on a gorgeous saturday like today, it also provides me with talented student carpenters who will do darn near anything for cash. Thus I am able not only to have it built, but have it engineered to my exact specifications. WIN.

In my OB I have a trunk type box sitting outside my stall to hold my stuff and my saddle and bridle are in the office tack room where there aren't really enough saddle racks for all the boarders. This means that if I want to keep both my saddles there they have to sit atop one another. Though I am proud of the well choreographed swapping technique I've mastered (with the help of a nearby chair) when pulling my western saddle out and replacing my English saddle in one fluid motion (... okay maybe it's a few more than one...) I would prefer not to do that, so I need a box with two racks.

I started looking for plans even before I bought Junior, but ended up scrapping the project because I couldn't keep a box that big in front of my stall. I'm glad I didn't take the chance since the front of my current trunk shows evidence of a tractor (or six) driving by. I found Elite Tack Designs and I'm mostly basing mine on the Armoire and Western designs, but with space for two saddles instead of one and I'm trying to use as little plywood thingies as possible, opting for some things I found at The Container Store. The only problem with this is that the plywood interior sections actually help keep the box more stable, so I have to make some engineering decisions to make up for that.

I am currently working on my fifth and hopefully final set of basic dimensions and cutting diagrams. Here is the first four:

I'm playing with the options of one door or two, and with a dimensional door or just a simple flat door. I'm trying to consider size and weight, balancing a box that's big enough to store all of my tack and supplies in an organized and easily accessible way, but not so gigantic or heavy that it becomes a cumbersome behemoth. I'm also stuck on a desire to have a box that's wider than it is deep, but with a western saddle it needs to be at least 30" deep.... then if it's wider than that it takes up a LOT more sheets of ply. More ply = more money.

I'm also going back and forth between 1/2" and 3/4" plywood, a combination of both, or a combination of plywood and "one-by" lumber. Though the plans for the Elite boxes use primarily 1/2" ply my engineer suggests using at least 3/4" for any surface that needs to have items (bridle racks, baskets, saddle racks, etc.) screwed into it. The thicker the ply the more expensive and the heavier the box, but more stable, too.

I'm going to buy two racks from Schneiders to use. These seem to be the best option for what I need, even though I'll need the blanket bar removed from the top one to be able to stack them close enough to get the English saddle tucked up underneath the western. Here are the minimum dimensions I need for the two saddles:

The racks will have to be bolted through the back wall rather than screwed into the wood.

If I do the dimensional door storage I'll use THESE or THESE and if I use just the flat door I'll make the cabinet wide enough that they can go along one wall. After digging through a box for so long I will LOVE being able to see and grab whatever bottle or tool I'm looking for. I'll also need somewhere for bridles to hang, either inside the door or along a wall. I like the door storage better than wall storage because I can just see how often I'll bump the side items while taking the saddles in and out. BUT a dimensional door packed with stuff will have considerable weight to it which will stress the hinge(s). I will be putting casters on the box, too, but more to make it move a little if necessary, not intended to be trucked around. I could also put the door on a caster, though, too and that would certainly help with the weight of it but might look silly.

I also want to mount a light on the inside so I can see even if the barn is dim.

And then there's the finishing... stain and varnish? Paint? What color?

Is your head spinning yet? Mine sure is! So many things to consider and when you make one decision it tends to snowball into a bunch more. My goal is to have the basic dimensions to the student by the start of July. Plenty of time to get it done, finished and moved to the barn before school starts. Though the student can do the intricate drafting parts I still need to make a bunch of decisions on dimensions.