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Derek Cohen
05-15-2017, 11:42 AM
Well, finished except for two side panels, but Lynndy has given me time off to build a piece of furniture :)


This post is to conclude what I started, for those interested in kitchen builds ... and, I guess, woodwork. The earlier posts I made - about building Shaker-style doors, and hand finishing them in water-based poly - are on my website for reference: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Kitchen%20Rebuild.html


The original kitchen was 25 years old and tired. Even more tired was the fidge-freezer, which we bought 35 years ago. It needed to be replaced. The new fridge was wider and a touch taller than the old. The problem was that the alcove into which it was built had a cabinet above, and changing this cabinet meant changing the door … and it would not be possible to match the Tasmanian Oak to blend in with all the other cabinet doors and drawers.


So we needed new cabinet doors and drawer fronts … and then it became a new countertop in granite … and then a more modern range hood ... and the gas hob would be replaced with a fancy-shmancy ceramic electric one that Lynndy has been eyeing for a long time.


Lynndy wanted modern and light. And so the cabinet design would be Shaker and in Hard Maple (from the USA - my local wood salvage supplier had just received a large shipment).


I think that Lynndy planned this all along.


The old kitchen ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/Kitchen1_zpsag6qcrxs.jpg


With tiles stripped and a few cabinets removed ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/Kitchen2_zpsuv9m1nsa.jpg


The countertop was replaced with granite ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/1a_zpsqkram9gk.jpg


Yes, bar stools are on my build bucket list :)


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/10a_zpsv4h0ka7r.jpg


The backsplash is now a light green glass. And the new range hood ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/9a_zpskpbpw9vx.jpg


Some of the drawers ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/5a_zpsfhouxqov.jpg


... and doors ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/6a_zpseez9hekw.jpg


The new (bloody ... mutter .. mutter ..) fridge ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/2a_zpsmvemk1im.jpg


LED lighting fitted under one cabinet ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/7a_zpswykffqwx.jpg


A few doors close up ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/Over-Microwave_zpsnbe74xjc.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/Overhead-door_zpswgl7xy2e.jpg


Last picture ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/3a_zpsizouhhpv.jpg


Regards from Perth


Derek

ken hatch
05-15-2017, 11:50 AM
Derek,

Congrats...BTDT a couple of years ago and know what a relief it is to finish. My problem is it has been long enough (the boss wanted paint) they are now needing to be re-painted.

You and your S.O. did a great job,

ken

James Pallas
05-15-2017, 11:50 AM
Very nice Derek. Well designed too for a smaller space. I see you have designed the corner doors for good access. You won't have "never never" land in the corners. Very clean and should be easy to maintain with the door and drawer style you chose.
Jim

Derek Cohen
05-15-2017, 11:51 AM
Thanks Ken and Jim. It's been 4 months of weekends.

Those corner cabinets are planned to be updated internally with some fancy fittings.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Kees Heiden
05-15-2017, 11:54 AM
10 times better, at least! Nice work Derek.

Derek Cohen
05-15-2017, 12:00 PM
Thanks. How has your kitchen held up, Kees? I liked your design a lot.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Jim Koepke
05-15-2017, 12:01 PM
Very nice, but I'm not going to show this to the wife.

jtk

Michael Todrin
05-15-2017, 12:11 PM
Looks great Derek, the maple, dark granite, stainless appliance combinations is very harmonious.

Michael

Tom Stenzel
05-15-2017, 12:15 PM
Beautiful work as always Derek! I like the layout, hard to improve on that.

Did you keep the wine rack/bookshelf that's seen in the first picture? That would keep a cabinet from being uselessly deep. I might want to steal that idea.

-Tom

Hasin Haroon
05-15-2017, 12:21 PM
Looks great Derek, really nice modern look. We need to redo our kitchen too, but I never considered just changing the doors and leaving the cabinets mostly as is.....I should float the idea to my wife.

Christopher Charles
05-15-2017, 12:31 PM
Looks fabulous. Good ideas as a kitchen redo is just over my horizon...

Will look forward to seeing the new bar stools.

Best
Chris

Derek Cohen
05-15-2017, 12:31 PM
Beautiful work as always Derek! I like the layout, hard to improve on that.

Did you keep the wine rack/bookshelf that's seen in the first picture? That would keep a cabinet from being uselessly deep. I might want to steal that idea.

-Tom

Thanks Tom

The wine rack is still there. The panel to its left is one I still need to make (did the one on the right) ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Kitchen/Final%20doors%20and%20drawers/Wine-rack_zpsfyefnijt.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

Kees Heiden
05-15-2017, 4:07 PM
Thanks. How has your kitchen held up, Kees? I liked your design a lot.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Mine holds up fine also the light color of the wood. Except the door of the wet cabinet with the sink has warped quite a bit. Luckily I don't really care but it looks a bit weird.

William Fretwell
05-15-2017, 5:36 PM
Looks good! Many Canadian kitchens have that exact look, well the better ones anyway!

Frederick Skelly
05-15-2017, 5:37 PM
Beautiful work as always Derek! I like the layout, hard to improve on that.

-Tom

+1. Beautifully done.

Mike Baker 2
05-15-2017, 8:17 PM
Beautiful work!

Phillip Mitchell
05-15-2017, 9:52 PM
You did a beautiful job with the maple! I have been working on remodeling our kitchen over the last year and have used a lot of hard maple for accents and really love the light and open feel of it. Countertops, trim, shelves, etc are some of the details where I've used the maple. I've also mixed some cherry in as a contrast and find that it works well with the maple.

I really love the pics you shared of the grain orientation on the door and drawer fronts. Very tasteful and elegant, and not over the top. One of the recent issues of Fine Woodworking feature a design article with hard, curly maple cabinets in a modern kitchen that was very clean; your pics remind me a bit of that kitchen.

Inspiring work!

Derek Cohen
05-16-2017, 6:10 AM
Thank you, Phillip.

Any photos to share?

Kind regards

Derek

george wilson
05-16-2017, 8:52 AM
Now,all nice and ready to turn Chris loose in!!!!:):):)

Derek Cohen
05-16-2017, 9:20 AM
Can he cook? George, all I have ever seen Chris make is mess :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Megan Fitzpatrick
05-16-2017, 10:28 AM
I don't suppose Lynndy would let you visit Cincinnati for a couple of weeks? The kitchen is my next project (after I finish and recover from the bathrooms). Yours looks great!

Derek Cohen
05-16-2017, 10:47 AM
Megan, there's a great magazine article in that! You'll have to send me a plane ticket, however. Just imagine ... a get together of woodies who have rebuild kitchens, sitting around swapping tales of finishes, joinery with a Domino vs Haunched Tenon vs Biscuits, and the best shape for a comfortable handle. And working on your kitchen! Building planes is so passe. :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Mike Allen1010
05-19-2017, 6:02 PM
Beautiful work as always Derek – thanks for sharing!


I admire your initiative and courage in taking on a such a significant project with a timeline must have been top of mind with the Boss! Good on you for stepping up to the challenge – very inspiring! On the plus side, you and Lynndy will get to enjoy the fruits of your labor on a daily basis – very cool!


In the interest of full disclosure I have to confess I'm petitioning my local representative to the " Husbands Union" to issue a formal reprimand for sharing your beautiful work publicly when it so obviously illustrates our comparative shortcomings. Like several Creekers have already mentioned , I obviously won't be sharing your post with my wife!


I love the elegance of your frame fit, shaker doors and admire the consistent reveal you achieved, which in my experience sounds a lot easier to execute, than it actually is in practice. I also like the color of Maple - seems to reflect light in a "bright, sunny" way that makes your kitchen warm and inviting.


As much as I enjoy the look of Maple, for me it's a sweaty challenge to work with – really hard, requiring very sharp tools. I wonder if that's relative. Maybe for someone with your experience with Australian hardwoods, North American Maple is isn't as challenging to work with as it is for someone like me?


I have never attempted a project on this scale and I'm interested in what you saw as your biggest challenge with a large project of this scope? I'm not very good with power tools and I'm wondering if that would be a big barrier if I were to consider something similar. I do want to impose, but very much appreciate your insight and expertise.


Derek, thanks again for sharing your work!


Best regards, Mike

Derek Cohen
05-20-2017, 2:51 AM
As much as I enjoy the look of Maple, for me it's a sweaty challenge to work with – really hard, requiring very sharp tools. I wonder if that's relative. Maybe for someone with your experience with Australian hardwoods, North American Maple is isn't as challenging to work with as it is for someone like me?


I have never attempted a project on this scale and I'm interested in what you saw as your biggest challenge with a large project of this scope? I'm not very good with power tools and I'm wondering if that would be a big barrier if I were to consider something similar. I do want to impose, but very much appreciate your insight and expertise.

Mike, thank you for your very kind words. You are altogether too modest about the scale of your work. I look forward to your builds - they are a lesson for me.

Hard Maple vs Jarrah. The Jarrah is more abrasive and harder on edges. It is heavier. Maple is tight grained and takes a finish better. It takes detail more easily. It is less effort to plane and chisel - just a bit softer. However, interestingly for me, Maple was less inclined to tear out, but when it did, the result was more catastrophic. That is, deeper tear out, and that this was always a risk when the grain direction changed. Perhaps I am just more attentive with Jarrah.

Would I do anything different, if building this again? It was not a hard build at all, just one that required sustained attention as the tasks involved became repetitive. I am very pleased I had a Domino machine to use, but I am not so keen to keep using it for furniture. The door frames were narrow enough to be done with a single Domino/loose tenon, but I could feel that they did not have the twist-free rigidity of a haunched mortice-and-tenon joint. They will last a lot longer than 20 years, nevertheless.

If I was building a kitchen professionally - or if I had to start from scratch - I would ensure that the cabinets needed only a couple of sizes. In mine, there were a number of different cabinet dimensions, which meant that I could not "mass produce" doors. Building with machines makes more sense when one replicates parts.

Otherwise I am happy. It turned out as well as I could have wished - not keen to do it again, however :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Brian Holcombe
05-20-2017, 9:30 AM
Nice work Derek! I can also appreciate the diffetence between cabinet making for kitchens and that for furniture. I'm building out a small addition to a kitchen currently and doing so with hand tool method...modified to speed up the work a bit. Shorter tenons and wide spaced dovetails, for instance.

Kitchens have a relatively short life with few exceptions compared to furniture.

Mark Gibney
05-20-2017, 10:42 AM
I like it a lot. Derek, did you do all the surfacing and dimensioning work with hand tools? on hard maple?

Derek Cohen
05-20-2017, 11:52 AM
Nice work Derek! I can also appreciate the diffetence between cabinet making for kitchens and that for furniture. I'm building out a small addition to a kitchen currently and doing so with hand tool method...modified to speed up the work a bit. Shorter tenons and wide spaced dovetails, for instance.

Kitchens have a relatively short life with few exceptions compared to furniture.

Thanks Brian. Yes, shortcuts for kitchens - I feel no pain :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek Cohen
05-20-2017, 11:53 AM
I like it a lot. Derek, did you do all the surfacing and dimensioning work with hand tools? on hard maple?

Thanks Mark. I think that I mentioned that this was predominantly a power tool build. I did finish the frames with planes, but all else was power.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Gary Muto
05-24-2017, 11:44 AM
Very nicely done. The design is very attractive too.

Power tools make this work so much easier.

Derek Cohen
05-24-2017, 11:58 AM
Thanks Gary.

Yes, power and hand tools together. Time and place for each.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Mel Fulks
05-24-2017, 12:30 PM
It has a nice neat order often missing in work designed by professionals ....oops ,YOU are a professional! Many of us know
how hard it is to get even the best grain matches to photograph well, but you have enough volume to show they are good.
That hard maple has such a nice silkyness ! That's a job that can stay modern for quite a while.

Derek Cohen
05-24-2017, 1:05 PM
Thanks Mel.

That "silkiness" is the hand rubbed water-based poly. I am very happy with the finish.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Joe Williams
05-24-2017, 3:44 PM
Very nice Derek! What a difference! I love flat panel.

John Kananis
05-26-2017, 2:02 AM
Derek, I follow all your threads with great interest. Very nicely done.

john zulu
05-26-2017, 2:16 AM
@Derek did you do a write up on this build? I have an empty kitchen and have not nailed down the designs yet. Tempted in using plywood.....

john zulu
05-26-2017, 2:19 AM
@Derek please ignore my post. I read your writeup. Why not change the cabinet frames?

Derek Cohen
05-26-2017, 5:51 AM
Hi John

We kept the carcases (removing and discarding two) as they were in very good condition, well made, and the original layout (which I designed 25 years ago) was still pleasing. No regrets.

From what you see, do you have ideas how things could have been different?

Regards from Perth

Derek

lowell holmes
05-26-2017, 12:22 PM
Derek is a show off :)

Very nice work!

john zulu
05-27-2017, 10:52 AM
Hi John

We kept the carcases (removing and discarding two) as they were in very good condition, well made, and the original layout (which I designed 25 years ago) was still pleasing. No regrets.

From what you see, do you have ideas how things could have been different?

Regards from Perth

Derek

The kitchen layout follows the triangle rule so that is a very good thing. I can't say I would have done any different but I would change the sink for 2 deep sinks *One for washing and the other for rinsing*. I believe what you have is trash compactor on the left. Good job Derek!

Derek Cohen
05-27-2017, 12:36 PM
Hi John

Just for clarity, the sink is actually a double - there is no trash compactor. I think these are quite rare in Australia. What is more common is a trash bin in a cabinet below the sink, which is what we have (open the door and it swivels out).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Mel Fulks
05-27-2017, 12:45 PM
Hi John

there is no trash compactor. I think these are quite rare in Australia.

Regards from Perth

Derek
Strange....all you need is small enclosure and one kangaroo

Eric Schmid
05-29-2017, 11:11 AM
Mel, I read this yesterday. Since I'm still laughing...

Marty Schlosser
05-30-2017, 7:27 AM
Nice job, Derek! I agree wholeheartdly with your comment related to furniture being so much more fun. I've made many kitchens over the years and the amount of work involved is considerable.

Congrats, again.

Derek Cohen
05-30-2017, 9:16 AM
Thanks Marty. But at least you got paid to build them! :)

When are you coming out my way again?

Regards from Perth

Derek