| Blog series by MT_Stringer | updated 05-06-2014 03:47 AM | 9 parts | 19832 reads | 25 comments total |
Part 1: The plan
I was hired to build a wet bar for some friends. Their house overlooks a nearby river. The whole bottom floor is a game room and three car garage. They already have a pool table, juke box, and a dry bar, but they (she) wanted me to build a wet bar to sit behind the dry bar. This house was purchased last year and they have been doing considerable amount of remodeling and improving the existing structure. One thing that was to be included is a couple of upper cabinets with glass panel doo...
Part 2: Phase I - Milling the Hard Maple
I used hard maple for the face frames, drawer fronts, doors and drawers.It all started like this I used a track saw to rip a clean edge on every board. That worked great. I also ran them across the jointer at some point during the milling. Looks a lot better after a few passes through the planer And a few passes through the drum sander. Then I cut the face frame pieces. Ready to start building the face frames and rough cut the remaining pieces for the rails and stiles for ...
Part 3: Phase II Face frame Assembly
With the boards milled and cut to length, it was time to assemble the face frames. I used a Kreg pocket hole jig to drill the holes for the frames. Not just any jig but my modified jig. It works great! I have to stay focused and keep my fingers out of the way. :-) Then I laid out the pieces and clamped them to my work bench/assembly table. A few screws later and VOILA! a completed frame. Rinse, repeat three more times, and the four frames are ready to go. Next phase, rais...
Part 4: Phase III Doors and Drawer Fronts
With the face frames built, it was time to build the raised panel doors and the drawer fronts. I used the Freud rail and stile bit set to do the cope and stick profile cutting. Then I used a Freud raised panel bit to make the raised panels. I used a Bosch 1617 router in a router table, slowed it down to it’s slowest speed and made several passes until I got the final result I was looking for. The drawer fronts have flat panels made of maple ply. Gluing up two at a time. ...
Part 5: Drawer and Carcase Construction
Onward and upward. I made the drawers out of hard maple. The front of the drawers were made using a Porter cable dovetail jig to produce half blind dovetails. The back of the drawers was simple butt joint construction, using glue and brad nails. The rear piece was ripped short so it could be installed, then the bottom slid in. I anchored the bottom with several short staples across the back. This method works out pretty well for me. Cutting the dovetails on the front only reduces produc...
Part 6: Final Assembly of Base Cabinets
Time to put ‘em together. Each face frame was attached to the carcase with pocket hole screws. The drawer cabinet is complete and ready for drawer fronts to be attached. The left side of the sink base cabinet has a 1/4 inch maple skin attached because it is open to view. Sink base is complete. Next up, the two end cabinets. Each one has two small drawers and two doors. The left end cabinet was skinned on both sides and it has the short shelf. Instal...
Part 7: Installation Day at Last
Installation Day has come at last Here are a couple of pics before we started installing the cabinets. It was a plain wall with plumbing roughed in many years ago. After installing the two right cabinets, I took some measurements and cut an opening in the back of the sink base. I got a good fit. After installing it, the refrigerator was temporarily set in place. The left cabinet was then set in place. The cabinets have been leveled and screwed to the wall. The homeowner is or...
Part 8: Upper cabinet construction
It took longer than intended, but I finally completed building the upper cabinets. Here are some construction pics. There are two large cabinets, one on each side and a smaller center cabinet. The big ones are 36H x 42W. Adjustable shelf pin holes were drilled so she can adjust the glass shelves to fit her drink glass collection. She has a lot of glasses! The General finishes Java makes for a really dark brown color, but it looks like a piece of furniture when finished with Deft Satin f...
Part 9: Upper cabinet installation
This past Sunday, we got ‘em hung on the wall. The homeowner didn’t know I was building wine bottle storage and hangers for stem ware glasses. She is tickled. Installation was easy and straight forward. I used a pair of cabinet jacks made from plywood, 1/2 inch pipe and 3/8 inch all thread. They worked great. Thanks to my friend MobilePaul for the idea. A 9/16 wrench makes adjustments simple and easy. And now for some action shots! :-) Provided courtesy of the homeowner. ...
