A little bit of woodworking (X-post from my journal)

[moem]

Our lovely newish bathroom has one of those classic toilet paper holders that are built into the wall, made from glazed ceramics and the same size and colour as the tiles. All great except for the actual paper roll holder: it was flimsy-looking plastic, we did not have the proper wooden version that everyone my age or older remembers so well.

What to do? Well, in our local hackerspace I found a lathe (that is a pretty recent addition), a box of round maple wood pieces, and a fellow participant who knows a lot about lathes and was willing to assist me. It took us most of the evening but the result is exactly as it should be. There's a spring inside and two dowels on either side (except they're not really dowels because they aren't glued in, they're from the same piece of wood) that rest in holes in the tile. I've varnished it and it works and looks exactly as it should. All is well with this tiny piece of my world.

Click makes big.

Comments

[antisocialite_forum]

I don't think I would ever have called a toilet paper holder elegant, but here I am? It's very well made.

- A.

[moem]

Why, thank you! That's a kind thing to say.

[ladythmpr]

That's pretty neat!

[moem]

Thanks! I love making useful things.

[tephra]

The thing I like the most about it? The ends are the same size.

I hate that the holders in my bathrooms are the cheap plastic ones and one side is necessarily significantly smaller so it can fit inside the other for the spring. (Our shop half-bath has a metal one, at least the difference between the two ends is not as dramatic.)

We don't have a lathe, but I think I could make one with various sizes of dowels and drill bits.....

[moem]

Yes, that certainly sounds do-able to me. Good idea. 👍

[lusentoj]

That looks great!

When I've lived in places without toilet paper holders I just kinda kept the toilet paper on top of the toilet or on the floor or something >.>;

[moem]

In such cases I've always made something from materials I happened to have at hand, like a piece of string and a disposable chopstick or something like that. I guess I can't just leave things alone...

[redsixwing]

Nicely done! That's an attractive and useful project.

[calzephyr]

It's the little details in life that are so necessary. We have a couple of maker spaces, but they're not near us, but so cool that you had someone to help you. Thanks for sharing :-)

[moem]

Yes, that was definitely cool! He's an older guy who is one of the most active participants in our space. Very good with tools and loves to explain stuff. We had a nice time too.