Bathroom Cabinet - Newest Project - Finished!

I've been wanting (needing) more storage in our little master bath for years. I finally decided this weekend that I was going to 'get-r-done'. The adjoining bedroom has shaker influenced furniture so I wanted to carry that theme into the bath. That meant (for me anyhow) dovetailed cabinet with a flat panel frame-and-panel inset door. However, all our furniture is pine and I wanted something a little more exciting.

After some digging around in the wood pile I found a maple board a neighbor gave me about 8 years ago. It was the right size and thick enough to resaw, so I figured I'd give it a try. First hurdle, I've tried resawing on my old BS and never had any luck. It was time to try the new saw. The Rikon 18" ate through it like butter and gave me two flat pieces that nearly brought tears to my eyes!

I couldn't wait to glue them up and see what I had. I'm pretty pleased.

The first picture is the panel just sanded. In the second picture it's wearing a spit coat of dewaxed shellac. I'm planning on completing this cabinet over the next 2 weeks. I'll try to post pictures along the way.

This will be neat. Keep us posted...

Rennie Heuer said:

The Rikon 18" ate through it like butter and gave me two flat pieces that nearly brought tears to my eyes!

I couldn't wait to glue them up and see what I had. I'm pretty pleased.

The first picture is the panel just sanded. In the second picture it's wearing a spit coat of dewaxed shellac. I'm planning on completing this cabinet over the next 2 weeks. I'll try to post pictures along the way.

View attachment 2925 View attachment 2926

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Hi Rennie,
That bandsaw just ate it up, good for you!
It is exciting when you have that kind of wood just jump at you and then you bookmatch, Whoa, it is a wonderful feeling deep, it's like "this is too good, I may burst if I don't share this", and thanks for sharing with us , ( really hate to have you burst all open and be really funky inside and make your pretty dog sick ) keep us posted with your progress!
Shaz

progress update

OK - progress update.

Not as far along as I would have liked, but moving forward none-the-less.

The glue-up is done (did I mention that of all the woodworking tasks I like glue-up the least? ) I sure hope I get better at this woodworking stuff or I'm gonna start feeling guilty about buying all those tools!
View attachment 3486

The 'outside' box is now complete. Tonight I'll start on the inside box. Let me explain. The outside is the part that will be outside the wall cavity. It will give the impression of a 5" deep cabinet hanging on the wall. The inside cabinet (1/2" plywood will fit snugly into the outside cabinet (3/4" set back from the front edge to support the flush fit door) and extend an additional 3 1/2" into the wall netting me a 7 1/2" deep storage area (8 1/2" less the 1/4" back panel and 3/4" for the inset door. There will be 2 small full depth drawers on the bottom and shelves in the back of the cabinet and on the inside of the door allowing me 100% access to all contents.


Pine, though comparatively cheap, has its own issues - as I am finding out. My ROS likes to round over corners and has no problem 'digging' deeper into the face grain than into the end grain at the dovetails - giving a slightly wavy feel to the edge. Next time, sanding block!


The towel bar is birch with a Lyptus wedge. Not true shaker , but I'll get over it.


Now, if I could just have a few more 3-day weekends.......

bad color???

hey rennie i think you col dhave gotten threw your glueup better with more red ones instead of those orange ones naw they both work well. you got my heart skippin alittel with your mention of that rikon 18" its on my short list. if things go as i would ike this year. bt i do like the other one too chocalte company as for that stinaed maple i think you should offer it to a close friend and use some of your pure white stuff.. wouldnt want to use that partially stained lumber in this nice project oh thats right spalted is good lookun forward to thew rest of the story.

larry merlau said:

hey rennie i think you col dhave gotten threw your glueup better with more red ones instead of those orange ones naw they both work well. you got my heart skippin alittel with your mention of that rikon 18" its on my short list. if things go as i would ike this year. bt i do like the other one too chocalte company as for that stinaed maple i think you should offer it to a close friend and use some of your pure white stuff.. wouldnt want to use that partially stained lumber in this nice project oh thats right spalted is good lookun forward to thew rest of the story.

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Thanks Larry, I'll try to pick up a few more red ones!

I'm very happy with the Rikon, but then my last saw was a 30 year old 14" AMT. Never the less, the Rikon was a great value based on price and all the reviews I read. So far it has served me well.

I should have noted this in my first post, but I welcome input from all regarding this project. It's nothing complicated, I know, but it is my first attempt at a book matched panel and my own design. OK, so let the comments come! I'm ready

Inside box dry fit

Well, this is moving along a lot slower than I had hoped. I completed cutting and fitting of the 'inside' box this past weekend. This portion will reach back into the stud bay and give me a nice deep storage area - much needed storage in our little master bath.

Simple box of 1/2" ply. The front edges will be trimmed in pine. I also sliced up the figured birch (harvested from a friends front yard) for the drawers. I took one really nicely figured piece to make the drawer fronts from. That's next weekends project.

Comments are welcome - Little and 'not too complex' a project compared to some of the beautiful work others are doing....but....someday....

Hi Rennie,
I think the project you have going is turning out really nice. It looks like a fun piece and thd fact you designed it yourself is a real plus.
Thanks for keeping us abreast. We'll be watching .
Shaz
What is your intended use for the three areas below the large upper rectangle, did you say drawers?

Robert Schaubhut said:

What is your intended use for the three areas below the large upper rectangle, did you say drawers?

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Hi Robert,

Yes, drawers. The two on the right will be about 1 1/2" deep, the large one to the left about 4" deep. The shallow ones are sized so that I can remove a drawer each morning and place it on the vanity. It will hold everything I use each morning including hair brush, toothpaste, hair grooming stuff, etc. In this way I can keep everything off the top of the vanity (keeps the LOML happy) and it all gets put away when I'm done.

The larger drawer will hold weekly grooming needs like electric beard trimmer and attachments, scissors, and the like. The third (shallow) drawer will hold all the assorted small stuff that normally clogs up a vanity like nail clippers, files, etc.

I'm hoping to get started on the drawers this evening. Haven't decided yet if I want to dovetail or finger joint the drawers.

Unhinged

Well, after losing an entire week of evenings in the shop to a head cold I was able to spend a few hours on Saturday trying to catch up. I was able to glue up the drawers and to assemble (dry) the door.


I found a piece of 1/4" ply for the back that kind of echoes the door panel


And, after one false start, managed to get the drawers dovetailed and assembled.


Instead of pulls on the drawers I'm thinking about a 3/4" hole centered side to side and towards the top of the drawer. The pull on the door will be something simple - haven't picked one out yet. The real problem I face right now - and need help with - is picking a hinge. I had originally thought about a no mortise hinge, but the more I think about it the more shaky that decision seems.

The door will have two shallow shelves (think deodorant, shaving cream, etc.) attached to its inside. I'm worried about the weight/stress this will put on the hinges. I've given some thought to using a piano hinge, but I'm afraid of how that will look.

Help! Any suggestions?

Hi Rennie,
Somehow, me thinks your thread got lost as for sure you would have had more compliments on this piece. It is looking beautiful. I can understand your wonderment concerning hinge selection. As symmetrical as the door is I question visible hinges one side only, Can't split the door and hinge both sides? I know you went to alot of trouble to get them bookmatched and into one frame. An idea is just that, an idea.

You have done a good job, maybe three 35mm euro hinges would work. Ed's suggestion about manufacture strength specs is a good one.
Hang in there, Rennie, fine project, smart ideas.
Shaz

rennie,

on the hinges that you really want to use, i assume you have a certain one in mind. is it possible that you could maybe add a third hole for another screw. just a thought, of course you wouldn't want to do something that would make the hinges look bad.

nice piece, hope you find an easy yet complimentary solution.

good luck
chris

rennie,

how bout one like this, i remember you mentioning the decorative finials.

this one screws in from the back of the door and the side.

http://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=25683


chris

Robert Schaubhut said:

Hi Rennie,
Somehow, me thinks your thread got lost as for sure you would have had more compliments on this piece. It is looking beautiful. I can understand your wonderment concerning hinge selection. As symmetrical as the door is I question visible hinges one side only, Can't split the door and hinge both sides? I know you went to a lot of trouble to get them book matched and into one frame. An idea is just that, an idea.

You have done a good job, maybe three 35mm euro hinges would work. Ed's suggestion about manufacture strength specs is a good one.
Hang in there, Rennie, fine project, smart ideas.
Shaz

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Thanks Shaz - I really appreciate the words of encouragement. Euro hinges are one option, and I have a bunch of them in the shop left over from a project I started (but never finished) about 15 years ago. Would be nice to finally put them to use! Something to consider......
As for the smart ideas - I can't take full credit. I get a lot of inspiration from those of you who post pictures of your work here and elsewhere on the net. You guys are great! Thanks.

Chris Mire said:

rennie,

on the hinges that you really want to use, i assume you have a certain one in mind. is it possible that you could maybe add a third hole for another screw. just a thought, of course you wouldn't want to do something that would make the hinges look bad.

nice piece, hope you find an easy yet complimentary solution.

good luck
chris

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Hi Chris - I think I found the solution and that would be to not attach any shelves to the inside of the door at all. No extra weight to worry about, hence no conundrum over hinges! I decided last night (while sitting quietly in the shop staring at the cabinet while sipping some imagination expanding elixir - 12 yr old scotch ) that I would simply build another box, like those you might see inside one of those huge pantry cabinets, and hinge that inside the cabinet with a piano hinge. I can make the box from the same birch I used for the drawers and give the interior a real nice look and hide all the plywood. Extra and not often used items, would be stored in the very back of the cabinet behind the hinged box.

Chris Mire said:

rennie,

how bout one like this, i remember you mentioning the decorative finials.

this one screws in from the back of the door and the side.

http://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=25683


chris

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This is really nice and very much what I had in mind. This might be what I use! Thanks!!

rennie,

that would work, hanging it from the inside. might be a little more fun and challenging as well. hope it works well. can't wait to see the finished piece

chris

Rennie

I like that solution!

Jay

Jay Knoll said:

Rennie

I like that solution!

Jay

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Thanks!

My daughter is visiting this week end to help the LOML and I celebrate our 22nd anniversary. I'm trying to figure out how I can justify a few hours in the shop to start putting theory to practice.

Boy this is taking a long time!

This little box I wanted to build to hold deodorant and shaving cream has grown into a much more complex project than I had originally envisioned. This always happens when I work from a plan in my head - it evolves. I just can't leave well enough alone.

Instead of one cabinet it is now one inside another. The inside cabinet is hinged to swing out of the way to reveal additional storage behind. The back cabinet has a single adjustable shelf. The shelf in the front cabinet is fixed and I'll be putting something across the front to keep things from spilling out.


When closed it gives the appearance of a standard shallow wall hanging cabinet. The three drawers are dovetailed front and back and the fronts are cut from a single piece of nicely figured birch. I decided against hardware for drawer pulls and will simply drill a finger hole in the front of each drawer.


In order to insure the cabinet would swing in without interference I decided to angle the non-hinged side of the box 10* - that required angled dovetails - boy, that was fun! Actually, I downloaded the technical bulletin from Leigh's web site and it walked me through the entire process. A little tricky, but not as hard as I thought it might be.


Overall I'm pleased with the product, though it's taking a very long time. Mostly my fault - too many other commitments. Tomorrow I hope to tackle the door. That is a whole 'nother story!

Hey Rennie,
Just went through your posts. Looking good. I have one comming something like that as I am selling my house and need to put up something over the sink
Reg

Rennie,

That is no ordinary wall cabinet. It's looking great. I love the evolution it has gone through. These make for great stories when talking with fellow woodworkers. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see the door finished.

Jer