Bath cabinets in progress...

John Dow

Former Member (at his request)
Messages
535
Well, finally the bath cabinets are starting to look a little interesting.

First pic is the painted one that inspired my rather odd observations about milk paint over in the finishing forum. Its been so long since I built cabinets, I forgot how high to make the toe kick. Guess this one gets to sit on a curb.

Second picture is of course Jean's bath cabinet. I'm still wondering why she gets the nice one. Probably best not to dig too deep into that. Fun to build anyway, even in spite of all the 45's. I even used some of my hoard of nicely air dried oak that seems to make flat doors. For years I've been trying to figure out why so many doors come out a little bent, and I'm becoming more convinced (without much scientific backing) that its due to rapid drying of comercial lumber. Whatever the reason, it sure is nice when they come out flush at all four corners. Panels are some mesquite scraps I had around.

Next we have the same cabinet with the doors open. One day that nice space will be full of my rather loose interpretation of plumbing. At least I'll have lots of room to fool around in this one.

Next is the mesquite veneer for the drawer fronts. I didn't have any quite the right size for these, so we decided to veneer them, in quarters no less.

Fifth shot is planing veneer. Kind of a pain, as mesquite likes to tear out where the grain changes direction, which is about 2" from any given point on the face. Lots of sideways planing and LOTS of blade honing. Good exercise I guess.

Last shot is clamping the veneer to the plywood drawer face. Really just an excuse to show off my favorite clamps.

John
 
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looking good john,

i have always liked the look that milk paint gives a project. how high did you end up making the toekick, i always make mine 3".

the second cab looks nice as well, good contrast between the oak and mesquite, not bad for "scraps". one day i need to see some of this mesquite in person. great looking stuff.

what types of hinges did you use for those door, i don't see any?

thanks for sharin
chris
 
Hinges & stuff...

Chris, the hinges are standard butt hinges, so you only see the barrels on the outside. I'm not sure I've ever used much else, so they're what's easiest for me. Toe kick came out about 2 1/2", which might be ok for me in slippers or socks, but the steel toes are going to cause some dents over the years. On the oak unit, the kick is about 4 1/2" and a bit deeper (3").
 
They both look great. The second cabinet I like better due to the contrast of the different woods. You can always redue the toekicks, unless you didn't build them seperately.
 
In the past my toekicks have been from 3 1/2' to 8" tall. When taller it is usually for a drawer, the depth is usually 3-4". It is a matter of deciding why the toe kick is part of the cabinet. Then build accordingly to satisfy the information discovered when asking why...
You are doing a beautiful job on this project, congratulations :thumb: .
Shaz
 
Now that the plumbing inspector has been and gone I've got no excuse to hang around surfing. Off to the shop to work on the kitchen cabs. Yesterday a snapped a couple more of Jean's bath cabinet (The Grand Altar of Ablutions). I'm pretty proud of the drawer fronts, finally I'm beginning to like mesquite again- worked with it for a couple years, became a love/hate sort of thing. Now I just love it.
 
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