Bath Cabinet and Stan's Cabinet

[Mark Singer]

I am working down my list of ordered furniture for Ms. Kim. Next is a Krenov style bath cabinet, The Design was posted in the Design Forum a while back. While i am at it I thought I might make little surprise for Stan that bought me thouse incredible Japanese tools.. so a similar cabinet will be for him.

First step is paring th wood for the doors...here I am recreating nature,,,,putting same board from same tree where it seems to belong. The most important part of this type of cabinet is the doors! They make it or break it. Here are 2 posibilities ...the spalted shedua.....or the figured... I can chose one or the other and the back will be made from the one not selected. The smaller pair will make the sides. Here we will see how to make bookmatched pairs with solid wood....it is a key element in the appearance...or an asymetriical orientation can be selected.... The back will be a floating panel since the grain suggests an expansion problem potentially. Still we can use it to square the cabinet. The mortiseing for hinges and joinery is done before glue up... The doors are planed to fit in place... it takes a bit of fore thought and if it doesn't look good...it will burn nicely since it is dry 6% moisture

[Jim Becker]

Picture number three looks wonderful, Mark!

[James Biddle]

If they like the "in your face" type of decor, definitely #3. The contrast is striking between the heart and sap wood (or mineral and non, I can never remember). Me, I'd work the figured into an interesting detail for the doors and leave the spalted for the back. I like finding the surprise inside the box. Leftover from being a kid I guess.

[Mark Singer]

I paired , glued up all the panels including the tops and bottoms of the 2 cabinets. Then I selected the best matches starting with th most important....the doors. On a large sled I cut the panels with a great deal of care...using a marking knife to insure the measurements were consistent. The rear panel is oriented against the grain of the top and bottom. So I am creating expansion joints and will let the panel "float" though by use of an internal ledger ....it can be used to square and secure the cabinet laterally.
The joints are M &T and the corner detail also is an interlock expansion joint

[Mark Singer]

This morning I assembled the cabinet for the first time....this a a dry assembly...hinges get marked...Doors are rough trimed....adjustments made...a finely set plane trims to it...the line for the rear ledger was marked..this holds the back that has a wenge spline for expansion...one side is glued the other moves as required. The rabbet lap jint on the corners allows eor movement too. The hinges were located at the door centerlines..1/16" off the carcass face. The hinges are set pivot centered on base....pivot just at edge of door...this works well, if I remember correctly and allows about a 1/8 reveal for the door edge. The brass shelf pins are 2 peice and the female portion was set..The base is basically the floor plan of this type of cabinet...just mark it all and know there is little room for error with these hinges and this type of cabinet

[Mark Singer]

annd and....and

[Neil Clemmons]

You definitely want to measure that one carefully a FEW times and then recheck it a few more. Really looks great, Mark.

Assume you'll slide the hinges in after cabinet assembly while carefully holding the doors!

Thanks for the tutorial.

BTW, i missed the earlier discussion's conclusion, but did you decide on the stainless base?

Also, is that a Gerstner tool cabinet in the background or one you made?

Neil

[Mark Singer]

You definitely want to measure that one carefully a FEW times and then recheck it a few more. Really looks great, Mark.

Assume you'll slide the hinges in after cabinet assembly while carefully holding the doors!

Thanks for the tutorial.

BTW, i missed the earlier discussion's conclusion, but did you decide on the stainless base?

Also, is that a Gerstner tool cabinet in the background or one you made?

Neil

Neil,
It was a panic glue up! I should have use plastic resin which allows more time. The cabinet is a cheap Gerstner copy....the tools inside are real!
It will have a stainless base....it came out square and I got a hairline crack I need to fix...other tan that I should be on the interior soon.....these type of cabinets take time,,,

[Jim Becker]

Sharp, Mark! And thanks for the pictures of the hinge work.

[Mark Singer]

Sharp, Mark! And thanks for the pictures of the hinge work.

Jim,
I should have explained, I used a trim router and I made a jig to mortise the hinges....squared with a chisel. I will post a pic of the jig

[Dan Larson]

...it came out square and I got a hairline crack I need to fix...

Hi Mark, I'm enjoying watching your progress... what's your preferred method of fixing cracks? Do you use epoxy/sawdust as a filler?

Dan

[Mark Singer]

Hi Mark, I'm enjoying watching your progress... what's your preferred method of fixing cracks? Do you use epoxy/sawdust as a filler?

Dan

Dan amazing that crack did not show once I planed the edge flush...padauk and shedua have cracks in the wood...it is like a wind shake in the shedua and a drying crack in the padauk....hide glue forced into the crack and sand with 80grit by hand burnishing the wet glue in the crack. After it drys sand with a finer grit , plane or scrape with a hand scraper. The hide glue does not effect the finish like Tight Bond or epoxy. Epoxy fills are colored different then the wood and will show, ok for very dark woods on medium and lighter woods it is hard to color match

[Roy Wall]

Dan amazing that crack did not show once I planed the edge flush...padauk and shedua have cracks in the wood...it is like a wind shake in the shedua and a drying crack in the padauk....hide glue forced into the crack and sand with 80grit by hand burnishing the wet glue in the crack. After it drys sand with a finer grit , plane or scrape with a hand scraper. The hide glue does not effect the finish like Tight Bond or epoxy. Epoxy fills are colored different then the wood and will show, ok for very dark woods on medium and lighter woods it is hard to color match

Mark - Do you use the titebond "ready mixed" Hide glue......or do the melting pot??

[Mark Singer]

Roy,
I use both, but for this the premixed Behlen's is good

[Mark Singer]

Hanging the doors is always a touchy thing...leave them fat and plane to fit. Use steel screws until the the very end the brass ones are delicate. Scribe with a knife and plane using a straight edge. You can see the ledger inside which allows the back to be free and it can still be squared using the washer head screws.. The shelf pins are 2 piece brass... Leave proud and sand flush. The back shows the expansion joints. The door fit is quite good and comes from carefull planning and slight adjustments. Remember don't over do it....they never get bigger only smaller