12 cabinet doors -- hybrid Neander/power tool build pictures

[Mike Allen1010]

When the LOML asked if I could replace some particleboard and laminate cabinet doors in our house I foolishly agreed before I realized exactly how much work I was signing up for (Note to self -- next time think carefully before making this kind of commitment!).


I used frame and raised panel construction with doweled M&T joints in Poplar, as my wife wanted everything painted white (I hate painting -- it highlights all my mistakes!).


Because the scale of this job was much larger than what I usually do, I used my 14” band saw to rip rails and stiles, saw tenon cheeks and a router to raise the panels and cut moldings (my ears are still ringing).


I did all the surfacing/smoothing, groove plowing, crosscutting, tenon shoulders and mortises by hand.

The joinery, construction techniques etc. were nothing unusual, but I certainly did get lots of practice! Towards the end, some of the doors even turned out fairly square and solid. If nothing else, this build gave me renewed respect for the professionals who do this on a daily basis.

I've included some build pictures below (mostly because I always enjoy hand tool build pictures). I will add another post to include more photos (I hope someone will let me know if that's bad form):

The rough glued up panels:
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Layout -- I love rulers with stops:
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Dimensioning the panels (for me the fun part):
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Panels and frame components trimmed to final dimensions:
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I'll add another post with the rest of the pictures

Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

part 2 - picturers from the last part of the build


Cutting Mortices and Tennons:

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Dry fitting and assembly:

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Installation - it's a long narrow room so the pictures are on a funky angle:

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At the end, my wife was thrilled and I get to count this as a Mother's Day present!


Thanks for looking,

Mike

[David Weaver]

Looks great, Mike. That's a lot of woodworking compared to what we usually see down here.

How (what method did you use) did you do the painting?

[Jim Matthews]

Awesome.

How did you apply the finish?

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Looks great. My first painted guitar made me realize how much of a misnomer "paint grade" can be. It hides ugly wood, but it does nothing for our mistakes. White paint especially means everything needs to a lot cleaner, as all those little shadows pop and accentuate things even more. White gloss paint means your smoothing needs to be that much flatter or it looks funny, and if it's a thicker film finish, it needs to be even or things start to look weird. (Which is why I now have a *matte* homebuilt white guitar.)

Rambling aside, that's a heck of a lot of work, and a great job.

[David Myers]

Very nice. I've got a similar project on the (distant) horizon and had similar methods/materials in mind. Thanks for posting.

[Don Jarvie]

I'll give your hand tool guys a lot of credit for undertaking a big project like that, very nice work.

I find painting hides the sins better than staining. No need to worry about the wood putty showing up in the stain.

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks guys for your nice comments.

David and Jim, I applied the paint with a brush and it was a huge pain in the butt! Trying to keep the paint from building up and obscuring the fine shadow lines in the molding and fielded panels was a challenge. I had to be very careful about brushing out any excess paint from these areas while it was still wet.

I've never done any spraying (except out of an aerosol can), but I have to believe that would be an easier way to go rather than brushing -- as I say a totally uninformed opinion.

I painted the panels before assembly so any later contraction of the panels wouldn't expose unpainted areas. Based on the advice I got from some very helpful guys in the "finishing" forum, I used one coat of Zinser Cover Blocker -- an oil-based primer followed by two coats of simple latex paint. I waaaay underestimated how long this would take -- ended up being almost 4 solid days of painting and sanding between coats (allowing each code of latex to dry overnight).

Josh, you're absolutely right about the white paint highlighting any surface imperfections. Despite the fact that the poplar planed like butter, and I was using my best smoother with rounded corners on the blade, getting paper thin shavings - you can still see some plane tracks on the panels. I didn't do any sanding. In a way, I kind of like some faint plane tracks - makes it look handmade. Properly a rationalization -- but that's my story and I'm sticking with it!

All the best, Mike