5 Attachment(s)
Project: Cherry Vanities for Master Bath (COMPLETED)
Not long ago, I "completed" (pending a few finishing adjustments) a cherry vanity for the guest bath in our greatly anticipated home addition. ('just waiting on permitting to get started!) In addition to its intended function for the guest bath, that vanity also served as the prototype/lessons learned project for two more matching vanities that will go in the new master suite bath. I also made a recent trip to Hearne Hardwoods to pick up material for the corner posts/legs and other solid-stock components.
This thread will document the construction of the two matching cherry vanities for the MSB. In the interest of SMC storage, there are some tasks that I have not documented "thoroughly", such as breaking down sheets of plywood... ;)
In general, I liked how the first piece went together. Using pocket screws make a big difference in assembly time and the furniture look really works for me. What I'm not duplicating for these additional pieces is the extra work I did to notch out the corner posts, etc...fun and educational, but unnecessary steps after rethinking things. This time, I'm building a box carcass (in the same way my cabinetmaker neighbor does for his custom work, although he doesn't use pocket screws) and applying the ends. I'm also pre-finishing the interior components prior to assembly as I did for all my kitchen cabinets back in 2003. Spraying flat is much pleasanter than spraying into a box! These cabinets will also be a foot wider than the guest bath unit...more storage and more counter space. Nice!
This project got started by breaking down the 8/4 stock I picked up at Hearne for the corner posts/legs at the miter station. This is QS/rift stock. By knocking the boards down to slightly oversize lengths, I can quickly process the material further at the jointer/planer and table saw without wasting time, physical work and wood.
Attachment 63050
Each of the pieces cut from the original board is then flattened on the jointer and thicknessed on the planer.
Attachment 63051 Attachment 63052
A reference edge is ripped using the slider to align the grain as well as remove some sapwood along one edge and then the corner posts/legs are ripped along the fence. Not shown is returning to the planer to fully dimension them to 1 7/8" which is the intended size for this application.
Attachment 63053 Attachment 63054
5 Attachment(s)
Saturday, 12 May 2007 Progress
After being away on vacation last weekend and having little time in the shop the previous one, I managed to get most of the day today in the shop since I mowed the lawn (more field-like at the time) on Thursday evening. So it was back to the two vanities I started a few weeks ago.
I thought I took pictures when I assembled the basic carcasses, but alas, they are not to be found. So today's installment begins with fitting the corner posts to those assemblies. Everything was pretty much where it needed to be outside of a little minor sanding on two corner notches to bring the legs in flush.
Attachment 64478
During all of today's work, I employed just a couple pocket screws to hold the corner posts in place on both carcasses. They will be removed for finishing and go back on with glue and all of the intended screws later on.
Attachment 64479
As with the first vanity for the guest bath, the bottoms of the corner posts/legs get tapered...this is performed at the table saw using a simple sled. Only the first one had to be "measured"...all of the subsequent ones were just marked with a quick swipe of a pencil to indicate which faces needed trimmed. This marking was done with the posts fitted and temporarily fastened to the carcasses to avoid any mistakes.
Attachment 64480
Each vanity will have one visible end, so an overlay panel of QS cherry veneer MDF core will be inserted between the corner posts. These thicknesses were taken into account when I first mocked up the corner so that appropriate reveals were maintained. Both panels did need a "skosh" removed from the top which was done at the table saw after marking.
Attachment 64481
Once the visible end panels were at final size and fit, I measured for screw placement. These screws will be hidden by a thin overlay piece that simulates rails. But they also needed to be placed so that they would engage the cabinet bottom for some additional strength.
Attachment 64482