Project: Cherry Vanities for Master Bath (COMPLETED)

[Jim Becker]

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.

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Each of the pieces cut from the original board is then flattened on the jointer and thicknessed on the planer.

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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.

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[Jim Becker]

As in the previous project, nearly all of the layout work is done right on the material or on representative samples of the material. Here, a slice off the leg stock is used to calculate the reveals as well as serve as a component in a quick mock-up on the bench for the corner post/leg to carcass joinery and cutting.

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At that point, it was time to start cutting material for the "inner carcass". For this project, I chose 18mm (~3/4") Baltic Birch plywood. The cost was right from a local source and the 60" square size easier to manipulate (read: lift!) than typical 4' x 8' sheet goods. I have to say...I will continue to use this stuff...wow. Nice. Here, I'm getting a clean edge prior to insuring my setup is square. From there, I cut up two sheets of material to get the components I needed...shown in the second photo.

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As mentioned before, I'm not going to notch the corner posts/legs; rather I'm notching the BB ply carcass bottom. Here, I'm marking for the cut using a piece from my earlier mock-up.

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[Jim Becker]

After marking, I setup to cut the notches at the band saw and proceeded to complete the task. A material support stand is used to help balance the 4' wide piece for both cuts. I should point out that I'm "production cutting" components for two units...it speeds things up. (Of course, it also means that I could make the same mistake on two units...) Sorry about the blue in the background...I chose to color correct for the interior and that screwed up the sunlight...

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The next step was to deal with the pocket screws. Using this assembly method is much faster than pre-drilling/countersinking and screwing up through the bottom and when combined with glue, it's just as strong, IMHO. And you have to love butt-joints for simplicity.

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Each of the BB ply components then got a quick run-over with the ROS and some "used" 150 grit abrasive...the aim is just to smooth things out and remove any dirt and pencil marks in preparation for pre-finishing.

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Each base has two areas that need to be devoid of finish for gluing...some painter's tape takes care of things.

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[Jim Becker]

The edges of the material are masked for the same reason...glue will be used to build the structural strength.

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When all this is done, all the components are ready for pre-finishing.

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Given it was the first 80º and sunny day of the season (after a very long cold spell as well as about 5" of rain last weekend), I decided to spray the components outside of the shop. (That also meant I could continue working on other things during that time period)

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I only had time for two coats of Target Coatings USL today (we had a foot of water in the basement this morning when the nearly new sump pump failed...so no hot water warranted a trip to the YMCA for swimming and a shower before a family meal out. Golly, I hope that I don't lose another $1000 hot water system in less than a year! ) Here's the result...and I'll put one more coat on sometime between now and next weekend if I get the time.

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To close out the first installment of this project, we return to the shop to cut the "show" end panels from some cherry veneer MDF core sheet stock that I found with the rift grain I wanted. I already ripped an 18 1/2" wide strip from the VERY heavy 4' x 8' sheet (and have a nice bruise on my arm to prove it...) and am prepared to cross cut the panels in this shot. Notice that this is a "close quarters" operation. With the Euro guard on the J/P flipped back, this 8' section has plenty of clearance. Of course, for ME to get to the other side to make the cut, I have to either duct under the material or walk outside and come back in through a door at that end......it's good to have choices!

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[Corey Hallagan]

Looking good Jim. Looks like you are making steady progress on that. Hope you get the pump working! Looking forward to more on this project!

Corey

[Don Bullock]

Jim. that's another of your excellent, step-by-step lessons for us. I especially like to read them because they give me good ideas on approaching my projects. Now, if I can find the time to get going on them.

...we had a foot of water in the basement this morning when the nearly new sump pump failed...so no hot water warranted a trip to the YMCA for swimming and a shower before a family meal out. Golly, I hope that I don't lose another $1000 hot water system in less than a year! ) ...

I'd be mad too! Especially if I had all that expensive metal equipment sitting in all that water. I sure hope it all OK.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Glad to see we have another Becker tutorial in the works. Great work so far. I'm looking to see how it develops.

[Dennis Peacock]

Looks really good so far Jim.!!!!

Now that the finish is drying, you need to break out that geetar of yours, tune it up and play us a song or two.

[Neil Lamens]

Hi jim:

Gett'in er done!!!!

How did you like your new saw???? Did it perform as you expected???? Did you notice an odd feeling between, cutting panel and solid material.

I liked your comment on........spraying outside so you could continue the build inside???? Work'in that efficiency angle!!!!

Thanks...........Neil

[Eugene A. Manzo III]

Thank you for sharing your shop and your steps. My God I'm going to see if my wife will sell her car so we can get so machines like Jim Becker has

[Matt Meiser]

Can't wait for the rest of this as master bath cabinetry is on my list of projects.

[Charles Jackson III]

Very nice work.

[Jim Becker]

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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[Jim Becker]

Here, I'm pre-drilling for screws to hold that end panel. There are similar holes placed at the very top of the cabinet.

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I mentioned previously that some thin overlays would be used to simulate rails...here I bring them to exact length to fit between the corner posts and onto the end panels.

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You can see here what the end panels will look like when finished...these are pretty much the same in appearance as on the first vanity.

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I really liked the gentle radius on the bottom rail on the first vanity and continue with that theme on these pieces. The curve was cut on the band saw and then cleaned up on the Oscillating Spindle Sander and with some additional hand-work at the bench.

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Toward the end of the day, I milled some wider stock that will be used for the top rail (and top drawer fronts) of these vanities. Like other components, they were fitted to the cabinet by exact measurement...you can see them clamped in place. There will be components added to provide additional support for the drawers, etc., before this area is completed. You can also see the "hidden" ends of both cabinets. There is a 3" wide face that is situated behind the front corner post that will hold the whole cabinet away from the wall so it retains the "furniture" look, but avoids a nasty narrow area that will be hard to paint and clean over time. I was not going to do this originally, but my GC "strongly" suggested it for practical reasons. I came to believe that this was a good suggestion. There are also a few other blocks of scrap ply in place to provide additional stiffness and support for the corner posts in the hidden areas.

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[Joe Unni]

Jim,

This is very cool! It's pretty neat to see someone's process and project unfold. I only wish I had the patience to set up the shots the way you do.

Looking forward to the final product.

-joe