Walnut medicine cabinet

[brian zawatsky]

I have a small bathroom remodel project looming in the future. I decided to get a jump on a couple cabinets so that when I'm ready to start the remodel all the necessary components are at hand. The cabinetry is going to be simple in a clean, modern-ish style which is not what I normally build. This is an in-progress build, and I'll try to keep it moving along so it doesn't get boring. Anyway...

Derek's mitered dovetails on his coffee table build looked so cool i wanted to try some, and I figured they would work well on the medicine cabinet carcase. A while back I adopted his blue tape trick for marking out pins & tails, and it made a world of difference in my accuracy. As usual, I milled my stock with machinery and did everything else so far with hand tools. I'm just not a big enough glutton for punishment to forgo the electrons spent on the jointer and planer.

The pics:

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Here's the simple jig I built to shoot the miters with a paring chisel.
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Dry fit joint
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This is how you know that your paring chisel is SHARP!
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[brian zawatsky]

Once all the dovetails were cut the case was dry fit and checked for square

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Then knocked apart and rabbets were cut to accept the back panel. Back will be veneer on plywood, so no need for a captured panel in grooves since wood movement wont be an issue. I had to chop the beginning and end of the rabbet on the pin board with chisels, since it needed to be a stopped rabbet. On the tail board i was able to just plane right thru.

Cutting rabbets with the original skew rabbet plane ;)
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Then smoothed out the insides of the case parts
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[Jon Wolfe]

Great post! Thanks for the build in process pics. Looking forward to seeing this cabinet develop and progress.

[brian zawatsky]

The veneer for the back panel is reconstituted "quartered walnut", which I chose for 2 reasons. The straight grain and even color fits well with the modern look, and it was WAY cheaper than real quartered walnut wood on wood veneer.

Cut the panel to size using a 7pt rip saw
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Then jointed the sawn edges to final size. I intentionally cut the panel 1/16" big to allow for a little oops room with the saw.
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Then smoothed out the veneered panel with a cabinet scraper
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I like to use a little plumber's flux brush to spread glue on the long grain surfaces of the joint when assembling dovetails. Keeps it from getting too messy. The handwork gods smiled on me, and the dovetails fit so nice & tight no clamps were needed to assemble the case. The back panel was nailed on with 6 penny finish nails. I can't remember when the last time I used finish nails in a piece of cabinetry. I'm ok with it lol

[brian zawatsky]

I have a very bright fluorescent fixture over my bench which is great for seeing what the heck I'm doing, but lousy for taking pictures. Hence I brought the assembled case upstairs and snapped a couple pics.

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I work in a commercial cabinet shop (lots of melamine and formica, don't get excited lol) and we have a spray booth so I'm going to spray it with a 2 part urethane finish that cures very hard & moisture resistant. I may do that tomorrow, provided I don't have to spend the whole day on snow removal.

The plan is to finish off the front with 2 inset mirrored glass doors. Havent decided on the hardware yet, but I'm leaning toward these:

https://www.hafele.com/us/en/product/glass-door-pivot-hinge-opening-angle-210-stainless-steel-external-for-glass-wood-constructions/000000660002148e00010023/#SearchParameter=&@QueryTerm=glass+door+hinges&@P.FF.followSearch=9917&PageNumber=2&OriginalPageSize=12&PageSize=12&Position=23&OrigPos=24&ProductListSize=78&PDP=true

The inside will get three adjustable shelves in 3/8" thick tempered glass with pencil polished edges, and I'm toying with the idea of mortising 2 small LED puck lights into the top of the case. TBD.

I'll update as progress is made.

[brian zawatsky]

Great post! Thanks for the build in process pics. Looking forward to seeing this cabinet develop and progress.

Thanks Jon!

[Derek Cohen]

That is Excellent work, Brian!

I shall steal your mitre jig. Much better than mine.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[glenn bradley]

Clean simple form that really shows off the material. I am happily tagging along. Thanks for posting the progress.

[Matthew Hartlin]

Thanks for sharing. Great work!

[Prashun Patel]

impeccable. If the floor were carpeted I would have suspected you stole these pix of such nice design and work from the other Brian ;)

[Andrew Hughes]

Nice work Brian, your work looks very satisfying. The miters are a nice touch.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

impeccable. If the floor were carpeted I would have suspected you stole these pix of such nice design and work from the other Brian ;)

Clearly not stolen. I can see dirt under the fingernails, and there was no trace of the robe/smoking jacket that is necessary to execute truly quality work.

On a serious note though, it is a great pleasure to pare walnut with a sharp chisel. I like the mitered dovetail. That is a very nice touch.

[Tony Wilkins]

Really looking good. Will be following.

[brian zawatsky]

That is Excellent work, Brian!

I shall steal your mitre jig. Much better than mine.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks Derek. I stole your blue tape idea, and piggybacked on your mitered dovetail tutorial, so I guess it’s only fair lol

Seriously though, thanks for taking the time to post so much instructional stuff. I appreciate it very much, as I know a lot of other guys here do too.

[brian zawatsky]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I don’t think my work is in the same league as the other Brian’s though. But I’ll take the praise nonetheless :D

I wanted to spray some finish today, but spent the whole day digging out from this slop of heavy wet snow & ice we were blessed with in northeast PA. Oh well.

[James Pallas]

Very nice Brian. I like your miter block too. Sometimes the small details, mitered dovetails, make a lot of difference in the overall quality look of the work. Definitely worth the effort to learn and use it.
Jim

[brian zawatsky]

Very nice Brian. I like your miter block too. Sometimes the small details, mitered dovetails, make a lot of difference in the overall quality look of the work. Definitely worth the effort to learn and use it.
Jim

Thanks Jim.

[Christopher Charles]

Brian,

Thanks for taking the time to share your work and approach. Your joinery is inspiring. And nice gennou and handle. Hiroki?

Best,
Chris

[brian zawatsky]

Brian,

Thanks for taking the time to share your work and approach. Your joinery is inspiring. And nice gennou and handle. Hiroki?

Best,
Chris

Thanks Chris! Yes, 100 monme Hiroki courtesy of our friend Stan.

[Bill McDermott]

Brian, The extreme closeup photos are great and your precision shines at 10X magnification.

[Christopher Charles]

Nice! I also have the pleasure of enjoying a Hiroki thanks to Stan, though mine is lighter for dovetailing (240 g). Will be watching your progress and am curious about your plans for doors.

Best,
Chris

[brian zawatsky]

Brian, The extreme closeup photos are great and your precision shines at 10X magnification.

Thank you Bill

[brian zawatsky]

Nice! I also have the pleasure of enjoying a Hiroki thanks to Stan, though mine is lighter for dovetailing (240 g). Will be watching your progress and am curious about your plans for doors.

Best,
Chris

I allowed myself to spring for a 60 monme (~225g) at the same time, and I did use that one cutting the dovetails. The 100 monme is about 375g and I find myself grabbing it for general work & mortising. I have a 120 monme Hiroki from another source that hasn't been handled yet, although the extra weight (450g) would have been nice to have for assembling the joints.

The doors will be mirrored glass, probably 3/8" thick since they will be frameless. Haven't quite worked out all those details yet.

[Mark Rainey]

Nice work Brian. Is that a Stanley 46 you are putting to use ? Original irons or reproductions from ebay? Mark

[brian zawatsky]

Nice work Brian. Is that a Stanley 46 you are putting to use ? Original irons or reproductions from ebay? Mark

Thanks Mark. Yep Stanley 46, and an old one. Picked one up a while ago with a full compliment of original cutters. The steel is a little softer than I'd like, but original is nice.

[Christopher Charles]

That's quite the triple crown! I also have a 375 g gennou, though didn't spring for another Hiroki. And a 450g is on the list...

Will look forward to the doors, sounds like a clean design.

Best,
Chris

[Jim Foster]

Nice Work! If Derek can steal your jig, can I steal your turtle shell Vise? :) I'm working out details for a bathroom medicine cabinet as well. Most likely Q-Sawn Oak I have for scraps from larger project.

What is reconstituted quartered Walnut? I know what the Walnut part is :) But the rest, I'm not sure.

[brian zawatsky]

Nice Work! If Derek can steal your jig, can I steal your turtle shell Vise? :) I'm working out details for a bathroom medicine cabinet as well. Most likely Q-Sawn Oak I have for scraps from larger project.

What is reconstituted quartered Walnut? I know what the Walnut part is :) But the rest, I'm not sure.

It's an engineered wood product. Arguably you could say that any wood or paper backed veneer is technically an engineered product, but the reconstituted stuff really is process engineered. Here's a link:
https://www.looklikesdecospan.com/en/Reconstituted_veneer/

[Brian Holcombe]

Beautiful work, Brian!

[brian zawatsky]

Beautiful work, Brian!

Thanks Brian! Much appreciated

[Tate Harmann]

Beauty!! Awesome job! :)

[brian zawatsky]

Beauty!! Awesome job! :)

Thanks Tate!

[Steven Mikes]

Brian, I love those miters. Going to have to copy your method when I build a medicine cabinet later.

[Jerry Olexa]

Little late but excellent work, Brian....

[brian zawatsky]

Thanks Jerry, and Steven. It took a few weeks for the glass to come in, as I had to have it drilled for the hinges and hardware. In the meantime, some higher priority projects came up, so the case and glass both sit collecting dust. I should be able to get back to it in a couple weeks, I’ll post pics when it’s all buttoned up

[Bill Carey]

I shall steal your mitre jig. Much better than mine.
Derek

2nd on stealing your mitre jig. It's also much better than mine mainly because I don't have one yet. But thanks to your post and your beautiful work I will be giving it a try shortly. I look forward to seeing your progress.