Kitchen Nearing Completion

[Hans Braul]

Here's some pics of the kitchen of our new house. I built the doors & drawer fronts, and installed the cabinet boxes purchased from CabParts
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The figure in the photos is a bit more pronounced with the flash than what comes across in natural light, but it gives the idea.

Waddayathink??

[Jim Becker]

Wow, Hans!! Those are WONDERFUL!!!!

[keith ouellette]

looks great. Is that curly maple?

[Larry Fox]

Hans = that kitchen looks awesome. My guess is big-leaf quilted maple.

Can we get more information about it like, finish, how long you been working on it, construction details, etc.?

Wonderful!

[Hans Braul]

Right you are Larry, big-leaf quilted maple. I have a great dealer a couple hours from here who patiently laid out many boards on the floor for me to pick, then he rough cut them where I wanted, then resawed from 5/4 to about 1/2". I then glued the panels and had them thickness sanded - the grain in the maple was quite cantankerous and could not be planed without a fight. Then I made the frames using a Festool Domino to make the joints. This was much harder than it should have been, because my new Domino had been dropped in shipment or at the distributor and had warped fence, so I had a lot more sanding to do than I'd have liked. The Domino has now been replaced on warranty. The finish is just 3 coats of Minwax wipe on poly, followed by 0000 steel wool and wax. The handles are from Lee Valley. The cabinets from CabParts were exactly right, without any quality issues, and certainly the price was right.

Thanks
Hans

[Bob Feeser]

Nice Job Hans,
I especially like the glass cabinet doors with the white interior. It really livens up the room. The cabinetry is very warm and inviting. Nice selection of wood. Great job.

[Bill Huber]

Man those are really beautiful and I bet in natural light they really just jump out at you.
The panels are just awesome looking.

Great work.

[Craig Thompson]

Hans,

Great looking lumber choice... I am about to wrap up our own kitchen as well.... I WISH we bit the bullut for such nice looking stuff.

[Evan Authier]

Hans, can you elaborate more on CabParts? I checked out their website, downloaded the catalogue and the prices look good. Did they ship to you? Do you need a business#? Why are they so cheap?

[Roy Wall]

Hans - based on all the nice furniture you've posted, I knew this would be a treat to open this thread!! Looks terrific - this is a WoodWorkers Kitchen for sure....Awesome!!

I've used the good ol' Miniwax wipe-on Poly too and like it!! Yes , do tell us more about the Cabparts Saga?? (they provide the shells and you make the fronts)?

[Hans Braul]

I found out about CabParts in a Fine Homebuilding article about a year ago. They are based in Oregon. Their cabinets are 3/4", top quality. I had all mine faced with 3 mm cherry for the kitchen and walnut for the bathroom vanities. I also ordered extensive walk-in closet units from them. The total bill, including hinges (165 degree), drawer guides, and all fasteners was under $4000. I paid about $1000 in shipping on top of that - still great value. There were no quality issues at all, and no missing parts (in fact I seem to have a pile of extra stuff!!). There are a couple of things I learned though:
1. You REALLY need to be sure of what you are ordering. If there is any doubt at all, don't make assumptions. I called them on a few things and am very glad I did - it saved me some serious errors.
2. They ship on large skids with the whole skid packaged, and the pieces are not packaged in smaller units that can be carried. When the delivery truck arrived, there was no way to unload the entire skid (need a fork lift for that), so we had to hand-bomb the entire shipment, and that lead to a temporary mess. I was at work so I had to rely on the good will of the workers who were at the house that day to unload the truck.

I told them my business was Braul CabinetWorks and that was all they needed to know. They do expect you to have your act together though. I think they don't want to deal with the general public because they would end up handholding all the DYIers and that could take a lot of time for them, not to mention there would be errors and complications. Now that I have done one job, the next one would go a lot quicker. I will post pics of the vanities shortly.

Regards
Hans

[Greg Cole]

Hans,
VERY NICE. I was inspired by a hall table I found rummaging here that you made & used that as a visual reference for one I have underway currently.
Once again, you've given some more inspiration. Well done my good man.
Man I just love that big leaf maple.....

Cheers.
Greg

[C Scott McDonald]

Wow! thats awesome!

Does Cabparts do retail work or do they only sell to other companies? I looked at there site and it doesnt look like it is for the weekend warrior like myself?
http://www.fsu.edu/~crimdo/images/clapping.GIF

[James Sweeney]

Hans, l also have a love for quilted, curly, tiger, whatever kind of figured maple there is. I think those are absolutely great. I have often thought of building my own cabinets, not only for the cost benefit, but the idea of having something very unique like yours, instead of purcasing something from the box stores that everyone on the block has. You have inspired me to really consider doing the extra work of making my own cabinets. Thanks for posting. By the way I have seen a lot of your other posts and really like your craftsmanship.

[Bill Wyko]

Great job Hans. Quilted maple is one of my favorite woods. You have done your self proud.:D

[Rob Diz]

Wow - Another congrats for a good looking kitchen. I took a look at cabparts a few years ago. At that time, they didn't seem to have many offerings in 3/4 ply, or any cabinets that weren't made with conformat screws with butt joints

Any further comments on the construction methods on the cabparts cabinets?

[Hans Braul]

Wow - Another congrats for a good looking kitchen. I took a look at cabparts a few years ago. At that time, they didn't seem to have many offerings in 3/4 ply, or any cabinets that weren't made with conformat screws with butt joints

Any further comments on the construction methods on the cabparts cabinets?

You are right, they don't do plywood. They do offer a choice though, between confirmat and glued dowel construction. My feeling was, why do I care? The basic box needs to be strong and square. They deliver this with room to spare. I have never heard of anybody's kitchen falling apart because the boxes were not strong enough, even the most budget-priced units. They cabinets were delivered on time, with no omissions, and no errors. What's not to like?

[Brad Hammond]

fantastic!!!! great job!!!