Cherry Library - I finished the Beast :-)

[joseph j shields]

Well,

It only took me......... 6 months to finish it :(

But the good news is my wife is talking to me again:D:D:D (that is good thing right??? :D:D:D:D!!)

Here are the details:



Cherry (hardwood & plywood)
The file cabinets are just steel cabinets from Office Cheapo wrapped in cherry plywood. I think they look pretty good.
The moulding is cherry...5" cove. I got it from Hobo's (Milwaukee) for $1 per linear foot:D:D:D
I used Watco Cherry Danish oil followed by 3 coats of poly.
I really wanted to put a slab on green/black granite on the center piece (on top of the file cabinets)... but TLOML wanted just cherry....

Comments welcome!

Enjoy!!!

-jj shields

[gary Zimmel]

Only comment I can make Joseph is great job.
Nice work incorporating the steel cabinets into the project.
Lots of storage and items like the printer hidden away.
Is your wife going to let you start another six month project in the house...
Thanks for the look see.

[David Gendron]

The beast indeed, this piece is large! Look good and great incorporation of steel file cabinets. Nice details!
Good work!

[John Keeton]

Great project!! Your adaptation of the steel cabinets is just a super way of blending them into this project. Your wife should be pleased, and glad you all are communicating again!!:D

[Lee Schierer]

Don't you love it when a project is complete. Now that she's talking to you again, what's your next project? :D

[Mike Wilkins]

First class work. Really nice. You did a fine job on the finishing part of it too.

[Brad Westcott]

Nice job and very practical. The stain work turned out beautifully.

Tell the Mrs that everyone on the forum thinks she should repent.

You can't rush perfection.

[John Thompson]

Excellent work and a very clever approach to using the steel cabinets. That is a lot of mass in this thing and it looks good.

[Roy Wall]

You can't rush perfection.

+1 on that comment.......beautiful Joseph! Wow!

[Prashun Patel]

Awesome work! Hard to believe you got so few comments. Really wonderful.

[Hans Braul]

Absolutely gorgeous! Truly great work. Thanks for showing.
Hans

[Dirk Lewis]

Nicely done, I like the Cherry-ized file cab incorporation. Thanks for the show'n'tell

D

[joseph j shields]

Thanks all for the kind words!!!


-jj

[Martin Shupe]

Wow!

Very nice, love the cherry.

Well done.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Very, very nice work. Communication is a good thing!

[Jerry Olexa]

Joseph...Nice results...Love the warmth of the cherry...Good job!!

[Joe A Faulkner]

I would hope that in addition to talking to you, she is bragging to friends and family regarding this awesome project.

I really like the lights. What did you use for your interior cabinet lights? Am I also detecting indirect lights emitting from the top? How did you wire the lights and where are your switches?

Last question, how "built-in" is this project? Did you attach the base and wall cabinets to the hall or is this free standing?

[joseph j shields]

I would hope that in addition to talking to you, she is bragging to friends and family regarding this awesome project.

I really like the lights. What did you use for your interior cabinet lights? Am I also detecting indirect lights emitting from the top? How did you wire the lights and where are your switches?

Last question, how "built-in" is this project? Did you attach the base and wall cabinets to the hall or is this free standing?


Joe,

The lights are just the standard halogen lights (Menard's ~$5 each).

The interior lights are recessed (I think I drilled 1.5" hole)

The indirect lights are just mounted to the top.

The wires are just laying on top of the cabinet (with a little duct tape :eek:)... But the cabinet is 7.5 feet tall and the crown moulding is 5".... so only a very tall basketball player would see the wires:D:D)

I have the wires running down the back... then into the base cabinet... and then into a wall outlet (that is switched)

FYI Menards also sells some slick disk switches... they are just a metal disk (about 2" in diameter) and 1/4" thick with thin wire. You just touch the disk and the lights go on or off. I used them in an entertainment center I built last year. Very cool....

Yes... the cabinet is built-in. I used pocket screws on the top and screwed it into the studs... The base cabinet are also screws into the studs. The beast will never move.

The only problem was squeezing in the last base cabinet... I gouged the drywall a little and had to made a quick repair.

FYI, I tried some rope lights on top (just laid them on the top behind the crown) which looked very nice also... but TLOML liked the halogens better... It made the room a little brighter.

-jj

[Jim Becker]

Joseph, that's really outstanding...a lot of work went into that one obviously! Bravo!

[Van Huskey]

That is excellent work and design. Beautiful and practical.

[Joe A Faulkner]

I think I used the same hologen lights from Mennards for my kitchen cabinets. The cabinets are beautiful; again, nicely done. Thanks again for posting this project.

[Karl Card]

beautiful work. I really like the indirect lighting on top.

[Rick Painter]

Joesph how did you attach the wood to the front of the steel cabinets?

[Paul Murphy]

Outstanding design and functionality. It looks great!