My 1st kitchen is finally done!!!

[Jeff Monson]

Well, I can finally say I'm done with my first kitchen project, I started building the cabinets last fall in my spare time. After a long week off of work the results are finally in.

We chose to go with maple and cherry for some contrast, as well as 2 different colors on the countertops. I built the cabinets from 3/4" maple and cherry plywood with solid face frames and raised panels on the exposed ends.

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I decided to purchase a porter cable dovetail jig and made all my drawers with half blind dovetails, they turned out great and was suprised at the ease of setup and the oucome

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I finished the maple in a natural finish with just spray on laquer through a hvlp sprayer, the cherry was finished with blo, 2 coats of tinted shellac, followed by laquer spray, the cherry finish was recemmonded to me by Tod Evans, so thanks to him for the generous tip, its a great finish for cherry:D

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I used blum undermount slides for all my drawers in the island, pantry and end cabinet, I'm very impressed with these slides, they are silky smooth and hold a great amount of weight.

We totally changed the layout of the kitchen, we removed a closet where the fridge sits now and I added a closet out into my garage to compensate for the lost area, I also installed new flooring at the time of the remodel, we chose Lyptus wood as it really has alot of contrast.

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I made my own crown moldings from cherry and maple to try to tie the combination together, its a dirrerent look, but I like how it came out.

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Thanks to all here on SMC for replying to the many questions I asked, I'm pretty proud to say the only thing I didnt do in the whole process was to retexture the ceiling and I had to sublet out the granite on the countertops.

[Robert Mickley]

Nice work Jeff!!! Bet the wife is happy with you!!

[Jay Albrandt]

Jeff,

Great Job! The different woods look great and the grain is lovely. I am currently doing a kitchen so I can appreciate all the work you have done. You should feel proud, it is a great accomplishment, and nice looking one as well.

Thanks for posting.

Jay

[Greg Peterson]

Wow. Looks great. The blind dovetails are a very nice touch and just scream high class. I shutter to think what one would have to pay for such a fine detail.

If you had to do it all over again, would you? I'm contemplating doing this once I get my shop together.

[Mark Rios]

Very well done. Really nice job all around.

[Al Killian]

The kitchen looks exellent. Did you use a book to guide you thru the steps or did you just use SMC for help? Next summer I wil be doing the same thing hopefully the turn out as nice as yours.I have priced out cabinets and was sickend by what they charge for average grade cabinets.Congrats on your lastest victory.:)

[Ken Weaver]

Great work Jeff - ya done good!

[Keel McDonald]

Very nice, Jeff!!! I'll bet it feels good to finally be finished.

[Mike Null]

WOW! Beautiful work. The cherry is gorgeous and the wood selection for the island is excellent.

[Jeff Monson]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Greg, Yes I would definatley go with dovetails again on my drawers, once the setup was done with the jig you can whip out a drawer in very little time, they are very strong and with the undermount slides they really show alot of attention to detail.

Al, I used SMC for a few questions that I felt unsure about the answers, I bought a book on kitchen cabinet building and went to it. I drew out all my cabinets and studied measurements alot before constructing any of them, I think that helped me out alot.

I'd have to give alot of credit to a spreadsheet program called Cabinet Cruncher also as it calculates cut lists for just about any piece in my kitchen cabinets, it was right on the money for every raised panel and end panels that I made.

[Jim Becker]

Jeff, great job!! Your kitchen really looks super.

[Luis Oliveira]

Jeff, Congrats great looking kitchen.

How long did it take you to build, install. where can I find that spread sheet.

Luis

["Gary Brewer"]

Hello Jeff: The kitchen is beautiful!!! I have several questions about the drawer construction. What is the thickness of the drawer box ( 3/4?)? Are the dovetails half-blind or did you make through dovetails and attach the front panel to the drawer box? What material is the drawer box sides made of? How about the drawer bottom?
How did you make the doors? Did you use a traditional raised panel set of cutters to make the doors?
Thanks,
Gary Brewer

[Kev Coleman]

Thats a really nice job on the kitchen. How long did it take you to build the cabinets.

Here is the link to Cabinet cruncher

http://www.cabinetcruncher.com/

[Rob Diz]

Inspiring.

Timing of your post could not have been better. I'm picking up 25 sheets of Maple ply tomorrow, and will start cutting by mid-afternoon. I can only hope for as solid a result as you have.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Very, very nice Jeff! I'm sure the LOYL is happy! Nice job on everything especially the molding!

[Chip Olson]

Wow, nice! I really like the maple and cherry contrast, which makes me happy as I'm doing something similar in my (much smaller) kitchen project.

[Peter Stahl]

Great looking Kitchen! At the rate that I complete projects I'd never get that done.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Here is the link to Cabinet cruncher
http://www.cabinetcruncher.com/
Kev:

I have not seen a package that generated cutlists. I am a tad unsure what the word "cutlist" means in this context.
It could mean as list of pieces with finished dimensions for each individual component piece or does it mean something else?
What about tenons and differen't router and shaper cutters for cabinet door frames? Or does it contemplate joinery using pocket screws??

What's that software like to use? It looks like you select a format of cabinet from the list and input the deminsions of cabinets based on the room where the cabinets will be installed. Is that right?

[Larry Fox]

Jeff - WOW is the first word that comes to mind. Those look fantastic - congratulations on a project well done.

L

[Lincoln Myers]

Thanks for sharing the pics. You should be proud. And done in less than 12 months! My wife would be VERY impressed by that. :)

[Dave Shively]

Very nice Jeff I am impressed! You do fine work. Show us more when you have some.

Dave

[Wes Bischel]

Outstanding kitchen Jeff! You have every right to be very proud. I know I would be! Thanks for posting your results. It's great to see the final product.

Wes

[Jeff Monson]

In response to some of the questions,

Luis, it took me 9 straight days to complete the kitchen installation, including removing a closet, adding a new closet, some sheerocking, flooring, electrical, painting and cabinet installation, the countertops took 2 weeks after installation of the cabinets, 1 week for template and 1 week to cut and install.

Gary, the drawers I made are all 3/4" solid wood with half blind dovetails, I used 1/4" plywood of the same species for the drawer bottoms, the half blinds cover the groove that is cut 1/2" up from the bottom so when the drawer is assembled you see no grooves, just dovetails. I made the doors and end panels with a 3 piece freud raised panel set, I made the raised panels for the drawer fronts with a jr. panel cutter and the rail and stile cutter from the 3 piece set.

Kev, it took me about 5 months to complete the cabinets, I have 2 children and only have time in the evenings and some weekends.

The cabinet cruncher program that I used for the cutlists I purchased off of ebay :(, but it is a great progam and I recemmond it to anyone for cutlists!

[Steve Clardy]

Looks great Jeff

[Jay Knoll]

Fantastic job! I'm sure you'll get a lot of compliments on that job for years to come

Jay