Project Information
I started with SketchUp to plan and change the dimensions to fit our space a little better then began building from the bottom up.
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First up were the four mitered/beveled, tapered, rabbeted legs. I had to make what I call a long bevel sled. (below). Once I got the sled close to 45-degrees I cut each half of each bevel on opposing sides of the blade. This worked well.
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Next up was the bottom platform and rabbeted trim to support the long panel. After this step I hesitated .. A LOT. Planning, configuring the upright panels was stressful. I knew if I forgot to account for any one item, it would be a bad domino effect. Things went well with LOTS of planning.
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Notice some panels extend to the front leading edge and others are held back due to the thinkness of the door. Others are of course differing heights. This setup was pretty flimsy. The outer 2 panels on each side were glued. The inner panels are held with dowels/dry in case I need access to the pocket doors later.
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To stiffen things up I added 3/4" backs to each outer cabinet as well as some sticks to the front to help hold the panel's spacing and serve as a door stop when doors are closed.
Next up were the shelves. All these are held in place with dry dowels except for the top shelf. It is dry/screwed from inside the outer cabinets. Again… so I still have access to the pocket door hardware. Everything locks in and holds tight.
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Doors came next. The doors are my first attempt at hardwood raised panel. I like them. The outer doors are hinged with 170-degree hinges from CustomHardwareService. I really like the inner pocket doors. The hinges took a little investment but it was worth it. They work great. See the actual photos.
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The top is a solid maple top edge jointed together with biscuits. Using differing parts of a large ogee bit, I routed a profile on both corners of the top panel edge. Next I applied a trim strip with a cove profile under the panel to give a beefy and elegant appearance.
One of my last details was to build the drawer. I started with some aspen from the home center. For being special shrink-wrapped lumber I was disappointed with the cupping. I also screwed up my cuts to boot. I scrapped that and went back to my maple for the front and sides. Maple that I jointed and planed to 1/2 thinkness was soooo much flatter! I was lucky enough to find a Leigh Dovetail on eBay. This was its first project for me. It took me a while to learn all the fine adjustment tricks but once I did this tool worked incredibly!!! I have a HF dovetail machine for sale. Haha.
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To complete the project structurally, I added a 12" shelf in each tall cabinet.
For finish I pretreated then applied (1) coat of a Transtint dye, then (1) coat of a standard stain, with a topcoat of lacquer.
First up were the four mitered/beveled, tapered, rabbeted legs. I had to make what I call a long bevel sled. (below). Once I got the sled close to 45-degrees I cut each half of each bevel on opposing sides of the blade. This worked well.
Next up was the bottom platform and rabbeted trim to support the long panel. After this step I hesitated .. A LOT. Planning, configuring the upright panels was stressful. I knew if I forgot to account for any one item, it would be a bad domino effect. Things went well with LOTS of planning.
Notice some panels extend to the front leading edge and others are held back due to the thinkness of the door. Others are of course differing heights. This setup was pretty flimsy. The outer 2 panels on each side were glued. The inner panels are held with dowels/dry in case I need access to the pocket doors later.
To stiffen things up I added 3/4" backs to each outer cabinet as well as some sticks to the front to help hold the panel's spacing and serve as a door stop when doors are closed.
Next up were the shelves. All these are held in place with dry dowels except for the top shelf. It is dry/screwed from inside the outer cabinets. Again… so I still have access to the pocket door hardware. Everything locks in and holds tight.
Doors came next. The doors are my first attempt at hardwood raised panel. I like them. The outer doors are hinged with 170-degree hinges from CustomHardwareService. I really like the inner pocket doors. The hinges took a little investment but it was worth it. They work great. See the actual photos.
The top is a solid maple top edge jointed together with biscuits. Using differing parts of a large ogee bit, I routed a profile on both corners of the top panel edge. Next I applied a trim strip with a cove profile under the panel to give a beefy and elegant appearance.
One of my last details was to build the drawer. I started with some aspen from the home center. For being special shrink-wrapped lumber I was disappointed with the cupping. I also screwed up my cuts to boot. I scrapped that and went back to my maple for the front and sides. Maple that I jointed and planed to 1/2 thinkness was soooo much flatter! I was lucky enough to find a Leigh Dovetail on eBay. This was its first project for me. It took me a while to learn all the fine adjustment tricks but once I did this tool worked incredibly!!! I have a HF dovetail machine for sale. Haha.
To complete the project structurally, I added a 12" shelf in each tall cabinet.
For finish I pretreated then applied (1) coat of a Transtint dye, then (1) coat of a standard stain, with a topcoat of lacquer.
