Bathroom Cabinets Installed

[Todd Burch]

Well, last Thursday I got all the cabinetry stained (an effort that started @ 9pm and lasted until 2am). Friday, the weather was borderline for spraying, but got it sprayed anyway. Saturday, delivery and installation (10:30am to 7:30pm). There are a few minor to-do's left - I forgot to take extra long screws for the customer supplied hardware (although all the holes are drilled now) and I forgot my wax pencil for the nail holes created during install for the face frame and trim. The color really is beautiful. Can't wait to make myself a piece of standalone furniture in a lower grade of black cherry (for a more rustic look) with this same red stain. Yummm, yum! Also, after the granite and sink are installed, then I will fit the sink pullout shelf.

Don't show the LOYL!!

Todd

[Bruce Page]

Todd,
Damn, you sure do some nice work. I agree, that red is yummy – what is it?

[Jim Becker]

Those look great, Todd. As much as I normally abhor any kind of stain on cherry, I have to admit this particular job really looks good. In fact, you might want to do some samples with maple, alder, birch and poplar to see if you can get the same result without the extra cost for the cherry.

[Glenn Clabo]

Great job Todd! Man that is yummy red.

[Waymon Campbell]

Wow!! Absolutely beautiful.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

This may be the only red stained cherry I've ever really liked! :D Thanks for sharing. How about sharing the staining details?

[Christopher Stahl]

Great work! That color is fantastic. I would like to also like to get the staining details.

thanks,
chris

[Julie Wright]

Fantabulous!! Wow!! Absolutely beautiful.. Great Color !! What else can I say?? Oh yeah, thaks for sharing :)

[John Miliunas]

That is just plain old gorgeous, Todd! Like others have said, I'm not one to stain Cherry, but you may have changed my mind on that! Excellent craftsmanship. :cool:

[Dick Parr]

Great job Todd! Looks very nice!

[Todd Burch]

The stain is called Cordovan from ML Campbell. They just discontinued it!! (The color that is, not the stain line of Woodsong II) No preconditioning, no oiling first, no dyeing or toning. And, it's one coat too. Brushed on with a good badger hair brush and wiped off with rags when about 50% to 75% of the surface area is no longer shiny wet. This takes about 5-10 minutes. 30 minutes after the wipedown, it's ready to topcoat.

Just a note on stain. If the only stain you have ever used is Minwax, you might consider trying another flavor. I used to use Minwax, and still have several opened cans, but I won't be buying any more if I can help it. For one, it has a real high oil content. You can tell this by dipping a rag or paper towel into it and seeing how far the oil leaches into the rest of the rag or towel. Second, because of the high oil content, it takes a long time to dry, overnight or 24 hours per their directions on the can. In a production environment, 24 hours is a whole lot of $$. Third, the color just doesn't take very good in closed grain woods. In woods like oak and ash, you can get pores dark real fast with Minwax, but the latewood, or the denser portion between the more porous rings, doesn't take it good. Minwax does work well on darker woods like walnut & Mahogany, but I've failed miserably with birch and maple using Minwax.

Thanks for all your nice comments. God made the wood - I just made a few cuts and put it together!

[Steve Roxberg]

Beautiful work, since you do my hobby for a living is it still fun even though it's work?

[Todd Burch]

Yes Steve, it is fun and rewarding. This project took a day less than two weeks to make and install. It was a lot of work. I spend a lot of mental time making sure I don't make mistakes, but still make them.

I don't have the comments from the couple that received these cabinets to add to my web site yet (and I'm still working on the pages for this project too), but they would not shut up about how much they we pleased with the project and how well it turned out. At first I think that they felt like they should leave me alone while I was installing, but I encouraged them to sit and watch and talk while I worked. They fed me snacks and drinks all afternoon, provided good conversation and carried most of my tools to my truck when I was done. It's fun for me to have someone appreciate my work. I put a lot into a project, laying out boards, matching grain lines, worrying over reveals, etc., and on Saturday I shared this with them as I went. These, what I guess you could call "intimate aspects", as to why I picked a particular board, or why I cut a board in particular spot, or why I use the hinges I do, or how to care for their new possesions are all an education for them and attention to detail and a level of service that most people don't see these days. I'm anal about my work, however, I do not strive for perfection and will never call myself a perfectionist.

I put a high demand on my suppliers, from keeping the items I order in stock and delivering the products that I order, and this is sometimes stressful (like when you order all heart one face, no knots, no wane, and you pay the premium price for that, and then you get it sanded with the corners rounded down and tearout because they processed it too fast, and you are working againt a dealine.)

So, with all that prose, yes, it is still fun. Just wish it paid a little better! (Or I had 3 of me)

[Joe Bourbois]

Todd, that turned out great. Is the hardware on the drawers going to be identical to the door pulls? Fantastic job.

[Todd Burch]

Thanks Joe. The drawers get the same hardware as the doors on the top of the linen case (already installed). The hamper and the pullout shelf under the sink will get bin pulls.

[Glenn Clabo]

God made the wood - I just made a few cuts and put it together!

Not only did God make the wood...he gave you some awesome talent. And you are using it.

[David Blangger]

Todd,

Beautiful as always....thanx for the heads up on Miniwax...LOML and I almost dropped by ...glad we didn't ...you were plenty busy.

[Jason Roehl]

Todd, it sounds like you work by a saying my biz partner had relayed to him when he was in seminary--"Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good."

I'm with you on the Minwax...I've found it very hard to please customers with Minwax stain on anything. Maybe this post will be the impetus for me to find some better stain.

I used to really like that deep red look to cherry, but since I've discovered what cherry does naturally with a clearcoat, I find it hard to put any color-altering finish on cherry. But, if that's what the customer is willing to pay for....

Nice job!!

[Mike Scoggins]

Todd,

Wow! Once again, very nice work. I've been pondering both the wood species and finish to use for an entertainment center, coffee table, end tables, etc. for our living room that I hope to begin sometime later this year. Your work on this project has given me yet another option to consider.

I can see why your clients are so pleased. Great job!

Mike

[Mark Singer]

Todd,
Excellent job! It really looks terrific installed!

[Terry Hatfield]

Todd,

VERY COOL!!! I really like the color.

Terry

[Tyler Howell]

Todd,
Damn, you sure do some nice work. I agree, that red is yummy – what is it?

Sorry, :mad:
SMC is a very sensitive and creative group, but Yummy??? I'm not ready for that adjective to describe the color of finish. :rolleyes:

Todd,
Don’t you ever get tired of out doing yourself.:confused: All this fantastic work and kudos from the Soggy Bottom Boys. I would think it would get old after a while. All the back slapping, big money rolling in, wife helping in the shop. Could life be better? Just knock it off! You are really P. M. Off.:mad:

Sorry, :o Lots of shop time, taking nourishment but it is warming up around here, all the snow is melting. I need some 10 deg. temps.
This is Lake Woebegone country after all.;)

[Byron Trantham]

Todd, just too cool! No matter how much or how little money you/we end up with, an excited customer is, for me, payment in itself.

Congratulations on a project well done!

[Aaron Koehl]

Thanks for the great finishing advice, Todd!

_Aaron_

[Kent Cori]

Todd,

Hubba, hubba! That is one beatiful set of cabinets, both the wordworking detail and the stain.

I too have been less than pleased with Minwax stains. Thanks for the suggestion on the ML Campbell stains.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Todd, that's stunning!!! Truly impressive work. What more can be said? Do you shoot Campbell's lacquer for a top coat as well? I found their Magnalac to be the cat's meow for spraying.

[Todd Burch]

Jason, yes, I've been shooting Magnalac. It's pretty fussy about the temperature (on the low end), but fairly lenient on the humidity. I've stayed with it because I can leave it in the pot until next time I need it. If I sprayed more frequently, I would use Duravar - ML Campbell's post catalyzed lacquer. With Duravar, 30 minutes after you spray, (2 coats, not 3 like with Magnalac), you can wrap an item, pack for shipping and place 400 lbs of weight on it.

[Alan Turner]

Nice work, as usual, and nice work on the coloring as well. BTW, how is that Bubinga table coming?
Alan

[Todd Burch]

Bubinga table won't start until April.