# Wardrobe



## Steve Maskery (24 Apr 2019)

My bedroom is a mess. I have far too many old clothes, a bit of shelf space, a couple of garment rails (one of which is collapsed) and a lot of untidiness.

A wardrobe has been on the tuit list ever since I moved in, 5½ years ago, but now that the rest of the house decorating is complete, I don't have any excuse.

I've made a number of wardrobes in the past using pocket hole joinery, and have always been pleased with the result. This is one from 2006:







and a curved breakfront one from 2004:






But what with Life an' all, I've not made another one since.

I have a good-sized alcove in my bedroom where this can stand. I can make the wardrobe 1.9m wide and still have plenty of clearance for the light switch and power point, and by keeping the doors to a modest 475mm in width, I ensure that they do not swing out too far into the room when open.

I've not finalised the style of the doors yet, but the general structure will look something like this:






I'm already having second thoughts about the drawers, but the general layout is:
1. Single for long hanging
2. Double with double-decker rails for shirts
3. Single with shelves

Each cabinet will be pocket-screwed together. This enables me to build it in the workshop, but transport it upstairs one panel at a time, as with any suppository furniture*. It doesn't help that I have a 180º return half way up the stairs and on that landing the ceiling is only 2m above the floor. Don't ask, before my time.

The material of choice is, of course, oak-flavoured MDF. Now don't turn your nose up like that, it is good stuff in many ways. It is uniform, it is reasonably flat, it is readily available and it is affordable. The downside is that the edges are as ugly as sin.

To be continued.
*You put it up yourself.


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## lurker (24 Apr 2019)

Like the joke.


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## memzey (24 Apr 2019)

Watching with interest. Are you going free standing as opposed to built in?


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## Steve Maskery (24 Apr 2019)

The first job is to make a load of lipping. I bought a board of what I thought was white oak, but now it is planed up it looks very red to me and it is very coarse. The board started out at 190mm wide and I've managed to get all 70m or so out of the same board.

I do have a very good rip blade






250mm dia, 24T. Nice big gullets. But this blade is designed for cutting thick material, 2" and above. Such cutting produces a lot of waste and those big gullets are great at carrying it all away.

But those teeth are a long way apart, and as my stock is 22mm thick, it means that as the blade rotates there are only two teeth and maybe even only one tooth in the thickness of the board at any one time. It's not enough. Each tooth hits the surface of the board with a bang and it is a very rough process. We aim for at least 3 for a smooth cut. I need more teeth.

Now I used to have a nice 36T blade which was ideal for ripping thinner stock like this. Not as coarse as my rip blade, but not as fine as a crosscut blade. Smaller gullets than the rip, but as I'm not producing as much sawdust, they are still big enough. I don't have that blade any more. If you've got it, I'd like it back please.

But I do have a combination blade






It has a rip tooth, FTG, followed by 4 crosscut teeth, ATB. It rips and crosscuts fairly well. The ripping is not as fast as a proper rip blade, and the crosscut is not quite as smooth as a proper CC blade, but it does both adequately and it lives on my saw most of the time.

This lipping is going to end up only about 5mm thick - 2mm visible plus a 3mm tongue on the back, so it is quite fragile. I want it to have as much support as possible whilst it is being attacked by the blade, so I fit a brand new Zero Clearance Insert.






I don't want the wood to pinch on the blade so the Riving Knife stops the two halves of the cut closing up, and a short rip fence, stopping just short of TDC, gives the strip somewhere to go to if it decides to go off on its own.






Finally an overhead guard keeps me and the blade as strangers.






The actual machining is a two-stage process. The first is milling the tongue on my Router Table. I've bought a new matched pair of cutters for this project, but when I tried them out, the tongue was so loose that it just fell out. Fortunately, the cutter came with a little packet of shims, and two did the trick.






I want the tongue to go in easily by hand, but not be loose. If it is tight, however, it will be very tight when it has glue on it, and it is the easiest thing in the world to split an MDF board edge.

So, 1: Mill the tongue






Then, 2: Rip the lipping






When the board gets a bit too narrow to hold safely, I hot-glue it to a carrier board






The result is a strip of lipping that fits perfectly with just a mm or so to trim off.


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## Steve Maskery (24 Apr 2019)

memzey":fqdead9q said:


> Watching with interest. Are you going free standing as opposed to built in?



Free-standing. This is an old house and the floors are not level. So I shall put a board on the carpet and sit the base of the wardrobe on that. There will be 8 adjustable feet, accessible from inside the wardrobe, to keep the whole thing level and properly upright, otherwise I won't stand a cat in hell's chance of getting the doors to hang properly.


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## sammy.se (24 Apr 2019)

Great WIP Steve. Following.
You didn't fancy making a video series for YouTube? Not too late to start...

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk


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## Steve Maskery (24 Apr 2019)

sammy.se":28it34pg said:


> You didn't fancy making a video series for YouTube? Not too late to start...


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## Steve Maskery (24 Apr 2019)

I forgot to mention. There is another reason for using the combination blade. That rip blade has a kerf of 3.2mm, whereas the combi is 2.7mm. It may not seem like a lot, but those 0.5mms all add up, and by using the combi I actually get a whole extra piece out of the same board, as well as making less sawdust. 
Actually I don't mind the sawdust, I have two large sacks of it now, enough to keep my smoker happy for the whole season. Perhaps I should start flogging it on ebay, £5 a bag. I could probably recoup the cost of the board...


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## Steve Maskery (26 May 2019)

There are a couple of challenges in the breaking down of the veneered MDF. The first is setting my tracksaw perfectly parallel to the edge for ripping, and the second is how to ensure that all the panels that should be the same size are identical.

I use a couple of shop-made jigs for that.

1. Track-setting gauge.

One of the first things I ever filmed for my DVD series was my track-setting gauge. Trying to set a track accurately to two pencil marks is not easy, especially when the track rubber is black, like the pencil mark. It is much easier to reference off the firm, solid substantial back edge of the track. So I have a setting gauge that consists of a moveable head, like a marking gauge, with a cursor on it. The long stock has a scale on it, but it does not start at 0, it starts at about 175mm, which is the width of my track. So I can set it to read 551, use it to set both ends of the track, and I know that the cut will be parallel to the edge and my panels will be exactly 551mm deep. Actually, as I am using a rod here, rather than measuring, I don't need to know the 551 dimension, I can simply make a pencil mark from my rod and set to that.





I set both ends of the track and that way I know it is perfectly parallel to the edge to make the rip cut.






2. The length stop.

Having ripped off two lengths, I now use my MFT to cross-cut them. I took a few millimeters off the end first, to give me a clean end (the factory cut was a bit coarse) and marked where I wanted to cut directly from the rod. That mark was set to the edge of the track.

I want to get three smaller panels (for the tops and bottoms of the cabinets) and one from the other. The I shall cut the two larger panels (for the top and bottom of the centre cabinet) from what is left.

So I install my adjustable MFT length stop into my MFT and set it up to the end of the panel. After cutting the first panel I move the board up to the stop and cut again. I can cut all four panels this way knowing that they are identical.

There is another thread on here if you want more details of the length stop.






(I have a problem with my camera at the moment. I don't know whether it is the camera itself or the card. I'm losing lots of photos. I did re-format the card and it seemed to fix things for a while. I used Easus to recover nearly all the lost shots, but as it's happened twice now I've bought another card and am ditching my existing one. I hope it is the card and not the camera...

Some of the recovered files are out of focus. I don't know if that is a data error or just my lousy photography, but I am not happy with the shots. My stuff gets published in Italy and I need better shots that the above for print. Fortunately I have some more sheets of MDF arriving this week and shall have to do all the above again for the side panels and doors, so I shall get another chance of getting them done properly. If I do, I'll substitute them for the wonky ones above.)

The next stage is to lip the panels and I've made a router stabilising foot to help me fight gravity with that one, so I think this week it will be More Of The Same. I'll post again when I get to gluing the lipping and trimming it flush.


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## stuartpaul (28 May 2019)

Steve,

Do you not use your jig that references off the front of the rail anymore or is this just a back of the rail option (which I shall be copying again!)?


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## Steve Maskery (28 May 2019)

Hi Stuart
I use both.
This one is for panels wider than the track. I have another that references of the channel, but is calibrated to what is cut off, rather than what is left behind.
So if I want to cut of a 75mm strip, I use the latter.
The difference is where the thickness of the kerf is.
In both cases it is in the waste, of course.


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## MikeG. (28 May 2019)

I use an adjustable square for precisely the same thing, albeit for locating a piece of aluminium channel rather than a purpose-made track. Naturally, this is limited to about 275mm, and involves a calculation, rather than just reading off a scale as with Steve's neat thingamejig.


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## LancsRick (28 May 2019)

Steve, with regards to the lost photos, are you filling the card each time? Some cameras have a setting where when they run out of space they will overwrite the oldest content. Potential culprit?


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## Steve Maskery (17 Jun 2019)

Sorry Rick, I've just realise I never answered you. No, It's not card capacity that is the problem. But new card has resolved it all, so all good now.


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## Steve Maskery (17 Jun 2019)

Having cut the boards down somewhat (they are still a tad over-width, but I'll deal with that later), it is time to attach the first lippings. The top and bottom panels will have just the front edges lipped, the side will have both front and back lipped.

To cut the groove, I use the other matched cutter, but I want to cut just about 3 or 4mm deep, not the whole 12mm that the bearing would give me. That means using my parallel fence, and that in turn means that there is very little surface area of the router base left to ride on the workpiece, especially at the start and ends of the cut. It becomes all to easy to tilt the router, so I made a router stabilser foot to prevent that. It works very well indeed, I'm glad I went to the trouble of making it.






I want to keep these boards as clean as possible, I certainly don't want glue dribbling down ruining my veneer or the finish, so to make clean-up easier I've given the boards a coat of hardwax oil. I also need to be mean with the amount of glue that I apply – enough but no more. I want to be Canny Kenny not Juicy Lucy. Just enough to get squeeze-out but not enough to run.

So after routing the shallow groove, it's time to glue the lippings in place. The first thing I found was that not all the lippngs were as perfect as I thought they were. Most were fine, but a few had either a wonky tongue (I'd obviously not been quite as diligent at keeping the board down on the router table as I had thought). That is easy enough to remedy with a shoulder plane. Another couple had tablesaw marks from the board not being held in as tightly as it should have been. One was shallow enough to plane out, the other was toast.

There is a difficulty with clamping such thin lippings, in that clamps exert pressure points unless a caul is used. The thicker the caul the fewer clamps are needed to get even pressure. For the smaller boards I used a length of 2x4, for the longer boards I used one of the off-rips from the boards themselves.

It's helpful to stagger the clamps, half on one side half in the other, to ensure that I get glue squeeze-out on both sides.











If you can't see both sides at once, glue up with the show face where you can see it and hope for the best on the other side. After 20 minutes or so, remove the clamps and turn the board over. If there are any gaps, work in some glue and re-clamp, it's not too late.






Once cured, the lippings are trimmed with a small router fitted with a trimming base, given a fine sanding and beveled with a block plane (or with a route fitted with a chamfer bit – I prefer the quietness and rhythm of a block plane). 











The face of the lipping (new edge of the board) is still a sawn surface, so that needs a couple of swipes with a sharp plane, too.

As I write this, I have all my main boards (not the shelves, but they can wait) with one lip and one coat of hardwax oil on every show-face. 






Tomorrow I shall rip them to final width, trim to length and apply the second lipping.

Or at least, I'll make a start on that...


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## Steve Maskery (27 Jun 2019)

All my carcase panels are now lipped and square - eventually. I had one panel that was not as square as it should have been, I must not have had it hard against the dogs. Not far out, but needed rectifying, as well as its mate.

So I put together a sort of proxy assembly - the single-double-single panels, with a few scraps to represent the cabinet sides, and saw how it all sat together.

I am nearly 2mm short on width. Now that might sound quite sloppy, but remember that that is the cumulative error of 9 components - side-bottom-side, side-bottom-side, side-bottom-side and this is a wardrobe it's not the International Space Station, so I'm simply going to modify my rod to take into account reality.

It's only important because the plinth base needs to be the same size as the cabinets. OK a mm or two isn't going to be the end of the world, but I want it to be as right as possible, and once I start deviating, who knows what calamity might befall me later on? Internal consistency is more important than absolute dimensions.

But before I cut my plinth components to (the new) length, I need to mill a groove in them, to take the adjustable feet which are going to keep this thing level in a very un-level world.

I fit a standard 1/8" rip blade into my TS and also fit my rebate/grooving fence that I documented on here a while ago. I don't use it very often, but when I need it, it does the job perfectly. The 1/8" kerf accommodates the flange on the adjustable foot just right.






I thought long and hard about how I am going to join these corners together. I can't use a basic butt joint as the groove will show. I did think of using a mitre lock joint on my router table, 






but it is a difficult cutter to set up and these are long and quite heavy lengths to manipulate. So I've settled on a standard mitre joint, reinforced with a biscuit. I did consider a spline, but again I have the size/weight/ manipulation problem.

So I cut the mitres on my SCMS. Now this is a good saw, it is well set-up and the blade is sharp. So why is the cut less than a perfect mitre? Well the blade is quite large at 300m and is also thin-kerf. So it wobbles a bit in use, we call it flutter, and that is enough to give me a rounded, very slightly rounded but rounded nonetheless, surface. It's really only noticeable when I put two surfaces together, but it does need sorting out. Enter my mitre shooting board (there was a thread on here recently about this very same, indispensable for a job like this).





















A couple of swipes with a sharp plane and I have a perfectly flat, straight mitre. Of course, it is necessary, but not sufficient, for all the corners to be shot at 45 degrees. Opposite sides must also be exactly the same length, otherwise I just end up with a wonky 4-sided shape.

There are also a couple of cross-braces to cut, equal in length to the inside dimension of the ends.


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## Steve Maskery (27 Jun 2019)

Mitres are difficult joints. They are difficult to cut, difficult to align and difficult to clamp. And they are not even very strong, as we are dealing with 50% end-grain. However, I can counter at least two of those weaknesses with a biscuit. It will add enormous strength and also stop things from moving when gluing up.

The biscuit needs to be positioned carefully. I want it to be as close to the tip as I can get without breaking out through the front face of the plinth.

My biscuit jointer has a preset indent for 45 degrees, so that makes it easy to set up. But the machine itself is heavy and it is the easiest thing in the world to let it tip, so I make sure that the workpiece is securely clamped so that I need only worry about holding the machine securely.











For the cross-braces, I'm also using biscuits (I did consider sliding dovetails – they would have been better but life is too short). I know that the faces of the biscuits will be against end-grain, but there is absolutely no force to push them apart, all the weight is downwards here, and given that I will also have steel brackets in the corners, I think this will be plenty strong enough.

So to cut these joints I mark the position of them directly from the proxy-assenbly, then fold the cross-brace down as if it were hinged. Two plunges with the BJ, one horizontally and the other vertically, give me just what I want.





















I'm gluing this up in sections. First I'm gluing the front ends of the cross-braces (those nearest to me in the photograph) with just dry biscuits in the other two ends. This way I don't have to worry about getting everything together at once, but I still get enough structure to ensure that everything stays square.


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## powertools (27 Jun 2019)

Nice to see that you still understand that there is still a good use for a biscuit jointer and that square you showed us and I made for myself has now become a go to tool in my workshop.
Many thanks for sharing.


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jun 2019)

I've been doing the glue-up in stages over the last couple of days, as it is too much to manage 4 mitres and 4 M&Ts simultaneously single-handedly.

So the first step was to glue the front ends of the two cross-braces - the front ends (nearest to me in the photo) ends are being glued, the back ends just have dry biscuits in them.






Then it was the turn of the front RH mitre:






and the rear LH mitre:






The advantage of doing it this way is that I only have to worry about getting one ,or at the most, two, joints right at a time.

Today, though I have to glue those two sub-assemblies together - a bit trickier, but manageable.

I remembered to check for square and wind - the front left corner (right in this photo) is a bit low. It always is in assemblies, I think I must have a problem with my table.






But a bit of packing sorts that out.






Hmm a bit too much, I think.






That's better.

The next stage will be the flat frame.


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## Steve Maskery (1 Jul 2019)

Steve Maskery":bts3wt7z said:


> The next stage will be the flat frame.



I lied.

The plinth is now fully glued up and I am feeling smug. The diagonals are the same to the millimetre and all the joints are clean and tight.






There is a bit of glue squeeze-out to deal with and the arrises need a swipe, but that is it. Very happy.

I have got a little bit of black staining. I think I must have been a bit careless with the glue and the steel clamps, but fortunately none of it is anywhere where it will be seen. I must be more careful though.

The foot plates are now screwed in. They came Bright Zinc Plated, but nevertheless I thought they would benefit from a couple of coats of paint to keep the steel and the tanin in the oak as far apart as possible. I'm using stainless steel screws, too.






Now I can lay out my three cabinet floors with proxy sides in place and lay my base on top. The back of the floors are flush with the inside of the back of the base, and the cross-braces sit directly over the proxy cabinet sides. I can then mark through the holes in the plates and drill accordingly.











Just a heads up for that little bendy light you see in the picture above. Tenner from IKE - IEA -IKA, sorry my keyboard obviously has an aversion to typing the word. It's perfect for use on the drill press, it comes with a spring clip and fits onto my DP table. Brilliant.

I did want to run a small chamfer round the edge of the hole, but when came to install the cutter in my new little GMC trimmer, I found it would not fit. I'm pretty certain it has come with a 6mm collet instead of a 1/4" one. Not the same, is it? I've emailed the seller and we'll see what happens. Pity as it came with both the fixed base and a plunge base for not very much money.

I do have other routers I can use, but the small ones are set up for other tasks at the moment.

The next stage will be the flat frame....

Edit: Reply from the router seller within a couple of hours, along the lines of, "Terribly sorry and all that, there will be a collet in the post to you today". Excellent.
They did say they check everything before it goes out (the box was damaged and had been opened). But I think this must be a grey import, as it came with an adaptor rather than a proper UK plug. So if it was originally intended for mainland Europe, then that would explain the 6mm collet (even though the manual said 1/4") and I don't think that a warehouse checker would notice that it was a 6mm collet rather than a 1/4" one. I can't say that I think that I would. So a happy bunny.


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## woodbloke66 (1 Jul 2019)

Steve, what are your thoughts on that Mitre Lock cutter? I had pondered about using one for a forthcoming project but I'm not too keen on the 'Harry Potteresque' zig-zag shape you get left with on the 'show' face. I'm going to be doing big mitres, at least 350mm wide by on say, 20mm thick material and I think that your method (mitre shoot and biscuits) is the way forward.
Edit: I've got four or five of those KIORA (my keyboard won't do it either  ) lights and they're brilliant - Rob


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## Steve Maskery (1 Jul 2019)

woodbloke66":26luw3z9 said:


> Steve, what are your thoughts on that Mitre Lock cutter? I had pondered about using one for a forthcoming project but I'm not too keen on the 'Harry Potteresque' zig-zag shape you get left with on the 'show' face. I'm going to be doing big mitres, at least 350mm wide by on say, 20mm thick material and I think that your method (mitre shoot and biscuits) is the way forward - Rob



Those are wide boards, Rob. But I think it should work well. I rather like the zigzag, myself. The problem with this job really is man-handling the boards so that they don't tip or snag. It's the length that is the problem, not the width.


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## Steve Maskery (4 Jul 2019)

Steve Maskery":39xyctqg said:


> Reply from the router seller within a couple of hours, along the lines of, "Terribly sorry and all that, there will be a collet in the post to you today". Excellent.
> ... So a happy bunny.



Not. Collet arrived today. It's a 1/4 collet all right, but for a big 1/2" router, not the little trimmer. Grrr.


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## sammy.se (4 Jul 2019)

Hi Steve, 

I assume the black 'foot plates' you mention above are for leveling. Can I ask what made you choose that method to level the cupboard, and do you have a link to that product?

Thank you


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## Steve Maskery (4 Jul 2019)

I used another router to make the chamfer. The hole is barely bigger than the bearing, so there is very little movement and thus some burning.







Now for the flat frame. I could have cut mortices with my hollow-chisel mortiser, or with my Workshop Essentials Ultimate Router Mortising Jig (as yet unpublished, so no, you can't have it), and I could have cut the tenons on the tablesaw or bandsaw with the appropriate Workshop Essentials Ultimate Tenon jig.

But I've got a Domino, so I used it. It doesn't do the job better, but it does do it very well and much faster, especially when used in conjunction with the Workshop Essentials Festool Domino Dual-Purpose Workpiece Support Jig. (You're welcome).











I sized the components carefully so as not to impede access to the adjustable feet, of course.

I set up the Router Table to cut a half round in order to mould a bullnose on the front and ends, but it proved too unwieldy to handle. The long edge wasn't so much of a problem, but the ends were, there was a lot of frame hanging outboard and I didn't feel that I would have enough control. So instead I did it by hand with a block plane. There was another advantage of doing this (apart from it being quieter), I have more control when the grain changes direction.






I don't know why this happened, It's puzzling. Both long rails were cut, side-by-side, from the same board. The narrower back rail has stayed perfectly flat, as it was machined. The wider front rail has bowed up by about 10mm. That is a lot from flat. As it happens it won't matter, but I don't understand it.

To screw the frame down I need to hit the centre of the cross-braces, which, of course, I can't see. So I transferred the positions of the faces from the underside of the frame to the top.






Then I could see where to drill. A 1/16" drill marks the plinth underneath.











So the frame is given a clearance hole and a countersink, whilst the plinth is given a pilot hole for a size8 screw.











Bow? What bow?


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## Steve Maskery (4 Jul 2019)

sammy.se":2tybfsv8 said:


> I assume the black 'foot plates' you mention above are for leveling. Can I ask what made you choose that method to level the cupboard, and do you have a link to that product?



Hi Sammy,
I chose them because I've used them before and they work very well. I shall be able to level the wardrobe even after it has all been assembled, rather than relying on the plinth staying level after it is loaded up. The levelling is very important for the doors to operate properly.

Link


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## Racers (4 Jul 2019)

Steve these might fit your trimmer, I have a set if you want to try them out.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SP10174814-C ... 2749.l2649

Pete

P.s good work as usual.


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## Steve Maskery (4 Jul 2019)

Thank you, Pete. 
It's being sorted. Another prompt apologetic reply. The Customer Services lady gave the router model number to the "Engineer" who provided her with the wrong collet. She's ordered the right one from the OEM and has promised me 1st Class delivery. These things happen, I guess.


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## Steve Maskery (6 Jul 2019)

Good news bad news.
The correct collet arrived this morning. Hoorah!
Some stupid woman has parked her car across my drive. silly person.


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## Steve Maskery (10 Jul 2019)

It's time to start assembling these carcases.

So far in this project, things have gone suspiciously smoothly, not the whisper of a hint of a suggestion of a cock-up. I should have known it was too good to last 

I made a rod for the positions of the pocket screws. This way I only need to measure out once and thereafter I just copy the pencil marks.











The eagle eyed will notice that I am marking on the front edge. In fact this photo is staged because the original was out of focus, so I didn't really drill my pockets along the front edge...

I like and hate pocket-hole joinery in pretty much equal measure. It's strong and fast, but most of all I can take it all apart for transportation. But it certainly ain't pretty.

The little jig is well-made and easy to use. Line it up with the pencil mark






make sure it is flush with the edge






and with the stop-collar set correctly, drill away

Well, actually, there are a couple of problems. 

The first is dust extraction, or rather the lack of it. I have to operate the drill with one hand and hold the DX hose with the other. At least it switches on automatically when I trigger the drill.






The second is the quality of the cut. It's not so bad when I'm drilling in line with the grain, but when drilling across the grain there is considerable tearout as the rotating drill pushes the veneer in on the RH side but rips it up off the LH side.






So it needs cleaning up a bit with chisel and sandpaper.






When you have dozens to do it seems like an annoyance.

The third problem is when actually screwing. The screw is at an angle, and that means it is pulling in the direction we do want, but also a little bit in the direction we don't want, pulling the board out of alignment. So clamping the boards up to within an inch of their lives is essential. I'm assembling on the plinth base (old towels- one I seem to remember buying on holiday in Greece in my 20s  - preventing scratching between the plinth and the carcase side) so that I can get clamps in properly.






Edit - this carcase is on its side, it's easier to assemble this way. The open front is on the far side, away from me.

And this where the cock-up revealed itself.

Remember when I lipped these boards? I cut them full-size before lipping, as I didn't know how much cleaning up I would have to do. I planned to trim to size later.

Well I forgot. So all the tops and bottoms were 2mm oversize. I have to
rip this off the back edge (otherwise I lose all my front trim) but I've already cut my pockets, so the screws end up 2mm further in than they should be.

Fortunately the screws didn't poke through the face surface, I got away with it, but it was more by luck than judgement.

So I have one assembled cabinet and not a screw (nor a gap!) in sight.






It weighs a ton, and it was all I could do to get it upright on my own, but at least I can now sort out the interior, dismantle it and get it out of the way before I do the other two; my workshop has panels everywhere.

A loooong time ago, in a previous life, I made a router jig to make pocket holes. It wasn't as fast as the Kreg, but it was very clean and although it was no prettier, the screw went in straight rather than at an angle. I'd forgotten about it until I did this and all these weaknesses reminded me of that jig. I think I should revisit it.


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## doctor Bob (10 Jul 2019)

Can I ask why you pocket holed the back on, rather than just screwing through the back?


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## Steve Maskery (10 Jul 2019)

I could have done that, Bob, but it would mean screwing into the edge of the board, rather than the surface. And if, one day after I am gone, this stands somewhere with the sides more on display, I think it is prettier to see the side panels run right to the back, rather than seeing the edge of the back panel behind the sides.


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## doctor Bob (10 Jul 2019)

Steve Maskery":3hco2m0q said:


> || is prettier to see the side panels run right to the back, rather than seeing the edge of the back panel behind the sides.



I don't get that Steve, I mean do it as you have but instead of pocket holing just screw it on, or is it a case of hiding the screws?


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## Steve Maskery (10 Jul 2019)

So would you screw through the sides into the edge of the back? If so the screws would show on the outer faces.
I don't think we are understanding each other very well here!


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## doctor Bob (10 Jul 2019)

Sorry Steve, I've looked at your pic again. I assummed the back was at the top, I now realise the back is facing you. Carry on, good job.


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## Steve Maskery (10 Jul 2019)

I thank you 
Actually, as someone who makes posh boxes for a living*, I really do thank you.
S
*You, not me!


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## Steve Maskery (13 Jul 2019)

I've realised that I don't need to assemble the centre cabinet, as I can fit the rails easily enough at installation time, so it's just the RH cabinet to assemble, which is a relief, I can tell you. These things would have been heavy 20 years ago, but now they are crippling.

I bought a couple of different lengths of rail from Toolstation a few weeks ago, ordering it online and going to pick it up the same day. I could get a long rail and the short rail out of the longer length and the other long rail out of the shorter length. When I got there they had only one of the long lengths and that was damaged. The plastic sleeving was torn and the chrome plating badly scuffed. Fortunately the scuffing could be avoided by some judicious cutting so I accepted it and got a 10% discount. I love a bargain. I've not yet decided what to spend my 76p on. The rail sits in a couple of U-shaped plates.






Now I know I could drill the shelf pin holes with the panels flat on the bench, but I like to do it after assembly, as I can then be certain that they are all going off exactly the same reference plane. So I made a drill-board, the holes being every 50mm apart. 






A strange thing happened. I did a test hole in a piece of scrap pine to check I had the right drill. Perfect, easy to get in and out without being sloppy, just as it should be.

But when I drilled the actual cabinets, the pins are much tighter, I need pliers, actually. Same drill. Two different materials, two different-sized holes. Go figure.






So I now need to dismantle these cabinets (and label each panel) and finish oiling them. Some of the faces have had only one coat. They can then be brought up into the house, freeing up some much-needed space in the workshop. (Not for long, I fear, as I have to go shopping for some more boards for the doors on Monday.)


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## Steve Maskery (19 Jul 2019)

I roped in my mate Charlie for this bit and we did it in three stages, after he finished work.

Everything has had to be hauled up the stairs. We managed it, no scuffed paintwork, no smashed light fittings. But it was challenge nonetheless, that dog-leg return doesn't help at all.

I laid the base on four strips of 6mm MDF, each strip slid under two feet and then the feet were adjusted until the bubble said Yes.











The assembly filled the room, but we managed, one cabinet at a time. This is the centre one. We fitted just the lower half of the back, then got it upright before fitting the upper half. Even so, it weighed a ton.






Coming along





I locked the three cabinets together with chromed connectors.






I've also made a shelf-cum-brace for the back of the center cabinet. It is pocketed into the sides and covers the joint between top and bottom halves of the back panel.






I've not done that quite right. The shelf was supposed to end up exactly in line with the lower rail. It helps to tie the two sides together without getting in the way of the hanging shirts. But somehow I've got the cut line too high. There is still clearance for my shirts, fortunately, but I don't know how I got that wrong, it's not a difficult calculation.

I can use that shelf for things like rolled-up belts. I have a couple of boxes of cuff links that can sit there, too, though I can't remember when I last wore them. I'm not even sure if I actually have any cuffable shirts.

With the last cabinet in place it looks like this:






Now that it is in situ, the physicality of it is a bit of a shock, TBH. I know it's what I drew, but having it in the room, well, it is enormous. And I can already tell that the room looks darker.

I can also see that I've cocked up slightly. When I designed this I left 100mm or so clearance at each side. But I did not allow for the crown moulding. The walls are not vertical and there is less clearance at the top than at floor level. If I fit moulding as I first drew it, It will be so close to the wall it might as well be touching.

Fortunately I was not hell-bent on making coving of that size, I just did that as it was easy to draw. So I have to design something that tops it all off nicely without overhanging too much.

I also have to make a decision about these doors. I've discussed in another thread my thought processes regarding my veneering options. I originally envisaged QS oak with a Mackintoshesque grid motif in bog oak. But I don't have the veneer I thought I had. A guy from DW Richards is supposed to be coming back to me with a quote for the layons, but I haven't heard anything yet.

The alternative is to forget QS oak and just find a couple of standard boards with a nice figure. It would save me a lot of money and time. But do I want to compromise? I really don't know.

So I think that there will probably be a bit of a hiatus while I do some mulling. I also have some other jobs to do which will keep me busy for a while.

But at least I can hang my shirts up properly for the first time in years and I get to sleep in my bed tonight instead of in my office...


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## stuartpaul (19 Jul 2019)

Looking good Steve. Nice to know I'm not the only one who (sometimes!) has problems measuring stuff properly.

I absolutely hate it when a measurement that should be so obviously simple is cocked up, - I've had a bit of practice at it unfortunately.



Steve Maskery":18b0cmbc said:


> I've not yet decided what to spend my 76p on.


Don't you go blowing it all one go now!


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## Steve Maskery (19 Jul 2019)

I've started to populate it. It's full and I have TWO WASHING-MACHINE LOADS of discards as well! One or two need to go to the clothing bank, but the rest can go to a charity shop.
And I've found a posh one with cuff-link cuffs! Whoo-hoo!
I wonder if I'll ever wear it?


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## Steve Maskery (22 Jul 2019)

I ripped off a long length from a sheet of MDF and lipped it, with the intention of then cutting it into shelves. I didn't do a very good job of the lipping, it was not as tight as I would have liked, and some of that was on the show face. (The higher shelves will really have two show faces, as they are above eye-line).

I thought about ignoring it, as I am getting a bit tired of this project and want it finished, but there were one or two places where I could get my finger-nail between the MDF and the lipping. Not good. So with a sigh I ripped off the lipping, cut the shelves to length and then lipped them again, one by one.

I am so glad that I did. They are now right. And that has also helped me to make a decision. Remember that I was umming and ahhhing about whether to buy "nice boards" or go to the trouble of veneering my own? Well I was telling my friend about it over the weekend and she said, "Why spoil the ship for a ha'peth of tar?" Leaving aside that it is a few hundred quid rather than a ha'peth, she is, of course, absolutely right. I've got to live with this for the rest of my life. I once made a hi-fi cabinet, and one board was not right. But I ignored it and carried on. It bugged me every single time I looked at it.

So I'm going to make my own doors, lip some MRMDF, cut my own balance layons with the veneer I already have, but buy the QS oak front layons. That is if DF Richards ever get back to me.

You can't take it with you when you go, eh?


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## rafezetter (22 Jul 2019)

Steve I have to ask if you are going to scribe infills at the sides? If yes then could the crown moulding go right across and touching as you say without looking "wierd"?

If not, I'm curious as to why not? - the infills, or the crown or both


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## Steve Maskery (22 Jul 2019)

No, I'm not. I want it to look like a free-standing piece of furniture, not a built-in.
I've nothing against built-ins, it's just not what I want.


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## Steve Maskery (23 Jul 2019)

What does it mean when you dream that you meet Michelle Obama at a party and she asks you how your wardrobe build is coming along?


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## doctor Bob (23 Jul 2019)

Steve Maskery":2z0hqnh8 said:


> What does it mean when you dream that you meet Michelle Obama at a party and she asks you how your wardrobe build is coming along?



I'd say you have the hots for the ex first lady and the wardrobe is a euphemism for something!!!!!


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## Steve Maskery (29 Jul 2019)

I've done a bit more, most of it cerebral - I've made a couple of decisions.

First of all I've decided that the doors are going to be MRMDF substrate, lipped and veneered. I shall prepare the balance myself with my existing veneer supply and buy the layons for the face.

The lipping I made for the carcases is not really suitable. I need to be able to trim the doors to fit and I also want the option of having a bevel. There is nothing to keep these doors properly flat. The hinge side can be controlled a bit by adjusting the hinges, but the leading edge is left to go where it likes, which is probably not where I like. So a bevel can hide a multitude of sins. I want that option.

So these lippings are more like 12mm thick. That will give me plenty of meat to play with, should it be necessary. I don't need to T&G them as they will be veneered over. The problem, however, is how to clamp them, as I don't have 8' cramps.

The solution is to tape them. I'm using gaffer tape, but parcel tape works well, too, something with a bit of stretch.

So, with some lengths of tape at the ready, I put glue on both surfaces, rub them together until I can feel the grab and then tape them on. The tape goes onto the lipping first and then gets pulled evenly onto each face.

Because the lipping is deeper than the thickness of the MDF, there is a bit of a gap underneath the tape and we can use this to our advantage. A couple of bearers clamped onto the tape, very close to the lipping, tightens the tape up even more and I get a nice even line of glue squeeze-out. I also check on the face I can't see. All good.







When cured I cleaned them up with the same router jig as before. TBH, if I polished it as it is, it would still look good.






Of course, if you move the router in the wrong direction it all goes pear-shaped and you have nobody to blame but yourself.






Fortunately that was the first one and I could cut off the damage and still have plenty of meat, all before it was trimmed to length for the second lipping. Dodged a bullet there.

The second decision I've made is to do with the style of the doors. I want this to be reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. I've made other pieces as homage to him before. I don't want to copy any particular piece, just to evoke that influence.

It seems to me that he had two sides to his style. One was all curvy and flowery and colourful, the other rectilinear. So I've designed some rectilinear motifs with some colour in them  The handles need a bit of work yet, but I hope it will look something like this:











The black bits will be Mike G's bog oak, the square inserts will be abalone, or at least, a celluloid fake of abalone. It's the sort of stuff luthiers use on guitars and whatnot.

I've changes the crown moulding from the original coving to a rather tighter dentil moulding for two reasons. This is easier to make (I know there are methods of doing coving on the tablesaw, but it is very difficult to do it guarded, and I'm not going to risk my fingers for a bit of moulding).

The other is that, although I set the base centrally in the alcove, the top is not central between the alcove walls, as the walls are not vertical. There is noticeably less clearance on the left-hand side than on the right, so a moulding like this will fit better.

I know that this will not be to everyone's taste, but that doesn't matter. It's mine, not theirs, and I'm blogging this as much as anything so that people can see my thought processes as well as the actual woodwork.


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

This is proving to be a bit more difficult than I had imagined.

DF Richards aren't interested, Capital Crispin don't manufacture layons. I'm waiting to hear from Nantwich.


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## marcros (30 Jul 2019)

you could try a place called the wood veneer hub. I used them for a small order or two, but not for layons. They claim to be a specialist, so worth an email.

Were your handles similar to what you had in mind. I quite like these if not...

https://www.thehandlestudio.co.uk/cabin ... -knob.html

You could even make them from bog oak, and inlay the abalone to match your feature. Turned, or even square pulls...


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

Thanks marcros, they are next on my list.

I've just spoken to a very helpful lady at Thornell, but they are really a panel manufacturer rather than a veneer supplier.


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## RogerS (30 Jul 2019)

Being a bit slow on the uptake here but what's a 'layon' in this context ?


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

A sheet of narrower veneers stitched together to make a wider sheet ready for pressing.


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## RogerS (30 Jul 2019)

Steve Maskery":3fufj0a6 said:


> A sheet of narrower veneers stitched together to make a wider sheet ready for pressing.



Ta.

Can you not join the sheets together yourself ? It's what I did when I made the understairs elm-veneered door.


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

Well I could. I'm planning to do so for the balance. But 2.2m is a challenge. I've only ever done anything that long once before and it was 15-odd years ago. So I'm not exactly an old hand at this. Shooting 2.2m veneers is not easy by hand. Last time I made a special shooting board, but even so.

I've bought a rotary cutter, like a pizza wheel, and plan to use that. If I get the balance a bit off it is not the end of the world, but I want the face to be perfect, so it's better done by someone who does it all the time.


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

marcros":pjeo98jr said:


> https://www.thehandlestudio.co.uk/cabin ... -knob.html



I'm not so keen on those round knobs, I'm more inclined to have longer narrow pulls, because of the height of the door, but there are others on that site that I like.

These come in two different lengths, so I could use the longer ones for the wardrobe and then use shorter ones when I get round to a chest of drawers.






And I really like these, but I'm not sure what would work for a chest of drawers:






Ah! Just spotted that they do a matching drawer pull:

[img]https://www.thehandlestudio.co...d-handles.jpg[/img]
Ooh, now I do like that.


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## Racers (30 Jul 2019)

If you are going the Charles Rennie Mackintosh way won't you have to set them alight then rebuild then burn them again?

I don't like your handles.

Something simple in bog oak, a couple of blocks with a dowel through for me, or as long T shaped handle.

Pete


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

Racers":20tl7g4s said:


> If you are going the Charles Rennie Mackintosh way won't you have to set them alight then rebuild then burn them again?



Ouch! I was privileged to have seen the GSOA before the Great Fire. An amazing place. I'm not sure how much survived, but I think the place at Northampton is still going. Well worth a (pre-booked) trip.


Racers":20tl7g4s said:


> I don't like your handles.


You don't have to, it's not your wardrobe 

I rather like the ones from the site to which marcros linked.


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## lurker (30 Jul 2019)

For handles I would have thought you would pop up (is it 15 mins away??) to 
IKEA , they strangely have some quite nice ones.
You could have meatballs for your lunch and top up with free pencils at the same time.


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## Droogs (30 Jul 2019)

Hopefully one of the following should be able to help Steve

http://www.winwood-products.com/
http://www.exotic-veneer.co.uk/
http://www.mcb-supplies.co.uk/ 
https://www.mundyveneer.com/
https://www.oakwoodveneer.com/wood-veneer/
http://www.originalmarquetry.co.uk/page1.htm
http://www.relianceveneer.com/
https://selectveneers.co.uk/
http://www.veneerwarehouse.co.uk/
http://www.uvgroupplc.com/
https://woodveneeruk.co.uk/
https://www.veneermerchant.co.uk/
https://www.veneersupplies.com/
https://www.veneersonline.co.uk/


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

Droogs":1ep87hr0 said:


> Hopefully one of the following should be able to help Steve...



Too much information!  But thank you.

I'm coming round to thinking that I might have to joint the darned things myself. I've done it before (which is why I'm not keen on doing it again...)


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## Racers (30 Jul 2019)

Steve 
How about using your tracksaw and a couple of lengths of MDF?

I saw some one shooting them on the planer clamped between to pieces of MDF, tat would be unwieldy for a 2.2m length!

Pete


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## Steve Maskery (30 Jul 2019)

Racers":3htib9vx said:


> How about using your tracksaw and a couple of lengths of MDF?



That is a good idea, Pete.
If I have to do them myself, and that is looking increasingly likely, I had been thinking of using my track as a straightedge and using a rotary cutter to cut through two leaves at once. Same idea, different tool.



 Racers":3htib9vx said:


> I saw some one shooting them on the planer clamped between to pieces of MDF, that would be unwieldy for a 2.2m length!



It would indeed, especially on my little Kity. It's on jobs like this that I notice its limitations. I wish the beds were twice as long.


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## Steve Maskery (2 Aug 2019)

I've finished lipping the doors but not yet finished trimming that lipping. But while I was adding that lipping, one piece at a time, I decided to turn my attention to those Mackintoshesque motifs.

I have spent a LOOOOONG time playing about with ideas for this. I don't want to copy a particular piece of CRM's, but I do want it to look like something he would design.

This grid-like design fits the bill, I think. But before setting to, I had to decide exactly how I was going to make this. I settled on laps and half-laps, and on this scale the easiest way to cut them is with a dado stack on my TS. Now I know that most people can't do this, because of the design of most tablesaws, but I can so there.

These motifs are going to be made from bog oak, but I wanted to be sure that my plan would actually work, so I made a prototype using some rather nasty oak reclaimed from a kitchen door.

I set up a 3/8 stack and made a little sled. It's just a piece of MDF with a runner underneath and a fence across the top. I cut a slot a little way past the fence and sized some stock so that it was a Goldilocks fits in it. 







A thickness sander is a boon here. With lengths cut according to my drawing, I cut notches into the little pieces. 






The first thing I discovered is that although I drew the sections at 10mm, in reality they are a bit less than that, to fit my dado, so I couldn't work in from both ends. One reference end only, please, Steve. Also, I had the square at 25mm and that just looked way too small, so I moved things up to 30mm, much better.

The next thing that I learned is that if the joints are too tight, the wood bends. And that lap joints stay together a lot better than half-laps. 






Glue-up looks like this:






After cleaning up, it was over to the router table. I want some very small rebates in the back, just big enough to accommodate my "abalone", but my proper rebate cutter is too big. However, I have a flush trim bit and by changing the bearing on it I could get a small rebate. I've not measured it but it is about 1-2mm. Unfortunately it is not designed for rebating and the finish is not as clean as I would like.






I still have to clean out the corners, and this is a good opportunity to use my little corner chisel.






With the abalone behind it, I can get an idea of what it's going to look like.







I'm really glad I made a prototype, I have learned a lot. When I do the real thing, I'm going to keep everything a bit over-long, so that all the joints are laps, and then trim them back when cured. I've actually machined the rebates on the wrong face, but this is what prototypes are for, eh?


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## sammy.se (2 Aug 2019)

looks great steve


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## Steve Maskery (10 Aug 2019)

I've done the proper bog oak ones today.

I modified the jig to take an indexing pin and fitted built-in guards so that I could dispense with my SUVA guard, as it got in the way, especially with the shortest pieces. By covering over the path of the blade, I can protect myself from the blade itself whilst still holding the workpieces in place.






I'd decided to use all halving joints, even at the corners, as it makes assembly easier, so the components are made a little overlong. The squares are 30mm, and I have a 25mm packer, so I used that to position the first notch (what will become a corner) 5mm in from the end.






Then I simply move the workpiece up, notch by notch.
















For the two longest parts, I was going to unscrew the fence and reposition it, but realised that I don't have to. The indexing peg is on a push fit, so I could remove it and re-site it in another block. That way, if anything goes wrong further down the line, I still have my original indexing position, should I need it.






I was very glad of that, because as I was assembling the matrices I discovered that there were a few breakages. This bog oak is very brittle and was losing bits here and there. Fortunately most was where it didn't matter, it would be trimmed off anyway, but I did have to remake two pieces. Good job I'd prepared a bit spare.

A tiny dab of glue at each joint and no clamping is required.






My veneer has arrived from Capital Crispin, a thoroughly satisfactory purchasing experience and the veneer itself is fantastic.


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## Steve Maskery (11 Aug 2019)

I am an silly person of the first order.

Remember me saying that I though I had some QS oak veneer, but when I opened up the bag it was something horrible and red? The only oak was crown cut and I shall use that for the balance. So I assumed it had got lost in the many house moves post-divorce.

Today, searching for an old bag of assorted spanners, I found... the QS oak.

It is every bit as beautiful as I remembered it and there is loads more than I shall ever need.

So I have the National Collection of QS oak veneer, which I shall never use up if I live to be 100 and I have spent nearly 200 quid for no reason whatsoever.


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## doctor Bob (11 Aug 2019)

Wallpaper the walls in veneer.


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## rafezetter (11 Aug 2019)

Steve Maskery":3gzs4w5g said:


> I am an silly person of the first order.
> 
> Remember me saying that I though I had some QS oak veneer, but when I opened up the bag it was something horrible and red? The only oak was crown cut and I shall use that for the balance. So I assumed it had got lost in the many house moves post-divorce.
> 
> ...



ouch - worth trying to see if they will take it back for a re-stocking fee, usually 15% or so.


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## galleywood (12 Aug 2019)

I suppose we have all done something similar, but it's difficult to imagine how you came across lengths of veneer when looking for a bag of spanners.


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## sploo (12 Aug 2019)

Steve Maskery":10lr6o55 said:


> I am an silly person of the first order.
> 
> Remember me saying that I though I had some QS oak veneer, but when I opened up the bag it was something horrible and red? The only oak was crown cut and I shall use that for the balance. So I assumed it had got lost in the many house moves post-divorce.
> 
> ...


Steve - I'll happily do you a huge favour and take the QS veneer off your hands. I won't even charge you for my time coming to collect it :mrgreen:




galleywood":10lr6o55 said:


> I suppose we have all done something similar, but it's difficult to imagine how you came across lengths of veneer when looking for a bag of spanners.


Big spanners.


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## Steve Maskery (30 Sep 2019)

There has been a bit of a hiatus while I've been Doing Nice Things, but it's time to get back in the workshop.

When I first designed this wardrobe, I drew a simple cove moulding for the crown. But I didn't take into account just how far out it would stick. My assembled carcase is planted centrally in the alcove space, but as the walls are not vertical, such a moulding would almost touch the plasterwork on the LH side. So I've designed a different moulding.






It gives me all the body of the bigger moulding, whilst sticking out only 20mm.

It is fabricated from three components, a 12mm bullnose, a 40mm dentil and a 20mm bullnose.

I milled up the stock, nice and straight, and did the bullnose mouldings on the Router Table. Easy-Peasy. Then I knocked off for the day and left all flat on the bench.

Next day I came down to them and they were all like a dog's hind leg. Not just a bit curved, but properly bent. Disaster! The piece I had intended to use for the dentil was too bent to use successfully, but as only the face is seen, I decided to re-mill it. It went down from 22mm to 16. It still wasn't perfect, but at least I could handle it.

I made a little jig for the TS to cut the dentils. It's it's exactly the same as the one I made for the halving joints for the motifs except that it uses an ordinary blade instead of a dado stack.

At this point I did not know whether or not this was going to work out, such were the bends, but as it happened, each one pulled the other one straight. Well, straight-ish. It's not perfect, but it is usable.






I cut the mitres on my SCMS and cut slots for biscuits.






Gluing up was a bit problematic, but a couple of triangular cauls allows me to get clamping pressure right where it's needed, square across the joint.






You will notice that the end sections are rebated. This is so that they sit slightly over the top. This will stop it moving sideways. The front does not have a rebate (but it would have if I'd thought about it in advance), it just butts up to the front of the carcase, over the doors.

I've had the front section on the carcase just to see if was straight enough. I think it is. It's not perfect, one end kicks up a couple of mm, but it pulled down with a clamp easily enough, so I shall just screw it down and not tell anybody.


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## Steve Maskery (21 Nov 2019)

I don't know where the time has gone, but the wardrobe has been on hold for a few weeks while I did another couple of projects. Nothing exciting, I'm afraid. But I'd like to get this finished before C(*&^%&^* , so I need to crack on.

My veneers have been rolled up for 15 years, so they are not very cooperative. I've had them flat for a few weeks, but that does not undo 15 years-worth of curl.

Although I had tried using a scalpel and a rotary cutter to cut the veneers, It was Pete's suggestion of sawing them with my track that worked the best. Thanks, Pete, you are not as daft as you look, are you? 

I used two pieces of MDF, the rear piece is wide and supports the track, the front piece is only about 3" wide and is sacrificial - I cut into it with every seam.

The balance, crown-cut, veneers are wide enough to do the door with just one seam, so I did them first. It also meant that if it wasn't perfect, it would matter less. As it turned out they have come out as close to perfect as I could possibly have hoped.

I laid out a pair of veneers, back-to-back and taped the top along the edge. 






Then I laid my track on top and sawed away, nice and slowly.






When the tape was removed I had a pretty darned good edge.






Then I line up the veneers, in this case using a pin-knot for reference.






Rather than cutting tape one piece at a time, I wrapped a length of veneer tape into a fairly tight roll and snipped through the lot.






The tape needs only the faintest hint of water, so a spray bottle is ideal.






I make sure that the tape is pulled tight, and as it dries it shrinks ever so slightly, so I end up with a tight seam. I also tape the back (glue) face to strengthen the joint while it is being stored until I press it.

The joints are perfectly straight, I have no gaps at all from the seam. I do have a few places where I've lost a splinter of wood, but they are very tiny and few in number and I'm sure they will disappear as soon as the surface is sanded and oiled. There was only one joint where I had to have a second attempt.

The front veneers are not quite as wide as I need unfortunately, but I do have some long offcuts from the previous project, fifteen years ago , and they are from the same bundle, so they are a good match. It just means that there are 3 seams per door. Each seam takes about an hour and my back is killing me . How my dad stood at a bench 9 hours a day for 50 years is beyond my comprehension.

Anyway, all four balance layons are finished, as well as three of the fronts, I have just two more seams to do on the last front layon. But my back cannot take any more today.


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## Racers (22 Nov 2019)

Steve Maskery":2w0vi4nv said:


> Although I had tried using a scalpel and a rotary cutter to cut the veneers, It was Pete's suggestion of sawing them with my track that worked the best. Thanks, Pete, you are not as daft as you look, are you?



Can I have that in writing please Steve  

Pete


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## Steve Maskery (28 Nov 2019)

I've been getting the bag ready. My "proper" bag is just a bit too small, so I bought a 6x2m roll of greenhouse polythene. It comes folded in half and rolled, so I already have one good sealed edge. So, on my mate Charlie's deck, I squirted a good dollop of silicone down the open edge. The grooves in the decking made it quite easy to apply it in a dead straight line. I also taped the edge, to stop the edge opening up.






I made the bottom platten in two pieces, both for handling and convenience of storage. I cut a grid of 150mm grooves with my tracksaw.






My track setting jig is invaluable for a job like this.






The corners were rounded off






and then all the edges. The idea is to remove all sharpness so that the bag is not punctured.






Finally, I cut some Domino slots so that the two boards can be aligned properly inside the bag.






I've also made a pair of upper plattens of 6mm MDF and rounded all the edges in the same way.

I've done a test evacuation. There are leaks, I am getting 60mm Hg, but that is still an 80% vacuum, or about 11 lb/sq", so I think that should be fine.



I have to confess that I'm procrastinating about the actual pressing. I get just one shot at this and it's really hard to do single-handed. I think I shall have to rope in another pair of hands.


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## Steve Maskery (11 Dec 2019)

I roped in my friend Charlie to help, but he is camera-shy. I'm really glad I did, actually, I could never have done it on my own.

We had a system. Trestles alongside my assembly table. Bag on the table with the platten inside and a couple of long runners on the platten. They were so that the door did not catch on the grooves as it went in.

The layon is on top of the bag to start with, the door is on the trestles. So we roll glue onto the door, slide the layon in place, cover with the platen and breather strip, slide the whole lot in, pull the runners out, seal the bag and pump out. Easy.

Ha-ha.











I keep track of which door is which by numbering them indelible. This is door no. 2.






The first pressing went well. Just a little remedial work with a hot iron, but otherwise fine.

The second was a disaster. I'd taped the glue-side as well as the front, to protect the joint between taping and pressing, so that tape had to come off. So I sprayed it with water and scraped it all off. But when I pulled the door out of the bag, there was one long bubble the whole length of the door. The glue obviously didn't like my damp veneer. So it all got stripped off and binned 

Fortunately it was an inside face and I have some more veneer, so I simply had to do it again.

I'm really pleased how they have come out. OK they are not perfect, but the flaws are small, few in number and easy to put right.

I routed a 1mm chamfer all around,






masked off whre the Mackintosh motifs are going to go and gave them a coat of Treatex.











That was yesterday, but they are still not properly dry. It's 12C in the workshop and that is a bit low. Ideally it should be about 20. So I'll just have to be patient.

I turned my attention back to the bog oak motifs. I've tried finishing them with both a hardwax oil and lacquer. I didn't like either of them. I've settle on just a wax finish, black shoe polish. It's just right, it looks like the sort of sheen you get with ebony. So I'm now in the process of cutting and fitting the "abalone".






There is not actually a great deal more to do after this. Drill for the hinges (too unwieldy to do on the drill press, unfortunately), drill for the handles. Glue on the motifs. Finish the crown moulding (it's currently in place on the wardrobe, but it's not been polished).

But if these doors are going to take days to dry between coats, it going to take some time. I once saw a table at an exhibition. The top had lots of very regular dots all over it, and it smelled. The guy had obviously been up until 2am desperately trying to get it finished and the dots were the pattern of the bubble-wrap it was transported in. I don't want that to happen, so I'll just have to wait.

But I really hope that I'll have it done and dusted by Chrost, Chrust, I mean Chres. I'm sorry, my keyboard will not allow me to utter the C-word.


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## MikeG. (11 Dec 2019)

Steve Maskery":37pcviq6 said:


> ......I turned my attention back to the bog oak motifs. I've tried finishing them with both a hardwax oil and lacquer. I didn't like either of them. I've settle on just a wax finish, black shoe polish.......



Yes, it's funny stuff to finish, but after lots of experimenting, I think I've got it sorted. If you haven't committed yet, try a 1:1:1 mix of white spirit, Tung Oil or Finishing Oil, and a dark spirit-based varnish. If you use it as a wiping varnish (ie on, leave for 10 minutes max., wipe off, leave for 24 hours, repeat) it comes up an absolute treat.


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## Steve Maskery (11 Dec 2019)

Ah, a bit late, now, Mike, but thanks for the idea, I'll try it next time.
But the shoe polish does look very good.


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## Racers (12 Dec 2019)

Steve 

I have a 35mm hinge bit that fits in a router, feel free to pop roundand borrow it, its just the job for big doors.

Pete


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## Steve Maskery (12 Dec 2019)

Thanks Pete, I might just take you up on that.
I can go to Asiana while I'm that way. Are you in on Saturday?


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## Racers (12 Dec 2019)

Should be in as far as I know.
I will check with the wife and let you know.

Pete


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## Racers (12 Dec 2019)

Steve 

In all Saturday

Pete


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## Steve Maskery (12 Dec 2019)

I'll give you a shout. Thank you.
S


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## will1983 (16 Dec 2019)

+1 for doing your hinge holes with the router!
I do all mine that way with the big Triton router.


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## Steve Maskery (16 Dec 2019)

It's this morning's job.
S


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## Steve Maskery (17 Dec 2019)

Steve Maskery":3qrqdix1 said:


> It's this morning's job.
> S


. 
I lied. It was this afternoon's job.

Yesterday I finished fitting all the abalone (celluloid) into the motifs:






I used Superglue, got it on my fingers, fingers stuck to the abalone, hurts to peel off. Then my phone stopped working because it didn't recognise my now erased fingerprint.

But today I did get round to boring the holes. I have to say that Pete's cutter was a godsend. Easy, quick and accurate. Thank you, Pete.










So currently I have 4 doors oiled and drying. If I am lucky, one coat will be enough, if not, I have enough oil left for another coat without going shopping.

The crown moulding has also been oiled. 2 coats so far, I hope it will be enough, I won't know until tomorrow.

My mate Charlie is due to come over on Friday to help me install these doors. I still have to glue on the motifs, drill for the handles, clean the house, fill up with diesel, cook dinner for a friend, take her to the airport, pick up some caul fat for sheftalia, etc, etc, etc. And not necessarily in that order.

But all being well, it will be FINISHED ON FRIDAY! 

I do hope so.
S


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## MikeG. (17 Dec 2019)

:lol: :lol: Superglue on your fingers? Have you taken up with Extinction Rebellion or something?


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## Steve Maskery (17 Dec 2019)

It gets everywhere, Mike. Everywhere.


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## marcros (17 Dec 2019)

acetone will remove it from fingers.


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## Steve Maskery (17 Dec 2019)

Now where did I put my nail polish remover?


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## Fitzroy (17 Dec 2019)

Build is looking good! I borrowed my wife’s nail polish remover to clean up a glue spill, it did nothing which perplexed me. I later found out it was acetone free nail polish remover as apparently acetone is bad for your skin/nails. Which craft and fairies is how it works now. 

Fitz.


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## will1983 (18 Dec 2019)

I usually wait for it to dry and then sand it off with some 120/180
Doesn't do anything for getting your finger prints back mind you!


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## Steve Maskery (20 Dec 2019)

Too knackered to post properly now, but just prove that I have actually got this finished today, with a whole 1h45m to spare:






I'll tell you more tomorrow.
S


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## MikeG. (21 Dec 2019)

Well done Steve! That looks great. Looking forward to the in depth expose (accent missing), as well as the explanation for the deadline.


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## Steve Maskery (21 Dec 2019)

Well I need to back up a bit first.

The Mack motifs were glued to the doors. I'd already masked off where they would sit before applying the hardwax oil, so there would be good wood-to-wood adhesion. I set three stops up to locate them, that way they would all be in exactly the same place.
















And close up






And so to the actual commissioning. My mate Charlie was coming to give me a hand and my other mate Stuart turned up unexpectedly at the same time. So there were three of us. It was absolutely pouring down yesterday, so we had to wrap each door up to get it into the house. Somehow we got them all upstairs without anything getting wet, scuffed or bashed.

I already knew that the carcase was no longer level. It's been sitting there for the last couple of months, so the carpet and underlay will have got compressed. If it's not level there is no chance of getting the doors to hang properly. So we fiddled about with the adjusters. But altering one put others out. It didn't make sense. So we ended up backing all eight off and starting again from first principles. Then it all went smoothly.

I'd marked the positions of the hinge holes in the doors using a rod, so I used the same rod, sitting on a couple of packers (to give me some clearance at the bottom) to mark out the positions for the hinge plates, a pencil mark on masking tape. I'd also made a little drilling jig to get the holes right. The big hole allows me to see the position, the small holes are for the drill. A masking-tape flag tells me when I have drilled enough.





I stripped the thread on one plate, swore a lot and wasted an hour trying to fix it. In the end I drilled it out, installed a Rawlplug and used a normal screw. The hinges are adjustable in all three dimensions, so it should be possible to get the clearances bang on. They are not bad.

I had two drills, one for drilling one for screwing. But halfway throught there was an acrid burning smell and smoke coming out from my Workzone one. I'm not sure if I can find the receipt. It will be just my luck for it be three years and a week old  If I have to chuck it, there will be a battery and charger going begging.

To fit the handles I'd made a jig out of three pieces of scrap. It locates on the top of the door. A piece of scrap clamped on the rear face means that I get clean exit holes, too.











And so it is finished. Well almost. I need to screw down the crown moulding (I need to bring my bigger steps up) and there is a mirror to go on the inside of door no. 2, but I'm still waiting for the mounting hardware. I've also got to relocate one of the shelf pin holes in the BL corner as it fouls the bottom hinge plate.

Is it perfect? No. Is it flawed? Yes, but the mistakes are small in scale and few in number and all have been fixable. I think my biggest disappointment is that I don't think I have made best use of the veneer. It would have made all the difference if the QS veneers had been a couple of inches wider. The bits I've had to add on to the edges are not as harmonious as I thought they would be, and one of them isn't straight, either.

I think that the motifs could have been a bit bigger and a bit lower down, too.

So imperfect, yes. But it is still pretty much what I envisaged in my head, I do really love the general design. As a storage unit it works very well and I am just delighted that I have my own wardrobe again for the first time in over 8 years.

I thought I had an adapter to give my camera a wider field of view, but I can't find anything in my camera bag, so you'll have to make do with a very skewed viewpoint.






And no bluddy woman is going to make me lose this one. I don't ever, ever, EVER want to have to make another one of these again. I'm getting too old for big heavy stuff.

Next project - solid oak dining table...


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## AndyT (21 Dec 2019)

I was about to congratulate you on completing a big heavy project and guess how pleased you must be to have put that behind you - then I read the last sentence!

You could allow yourself to make a little box or a picture frame or carve a spoon, you know. 

On the other hand, a wardrobe and a dining table together are less effort than your magnificent workshop and it's great that you have the stamina back to take these things on.


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## sammy.se (21 Dec 2019)

Looks great Steve! Congratulations.

I think less is more with those motifs. They are beautiful and elegant. But if bigger, would they be overpowering? Not sure.

Am sure it is a lovely wardrobe though!!

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk


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## MikeG. (21 Dec 2019)

Steve Maskery":142prf25 said:


> ......Next project - solid oak dining table...



When? I'm doing one in 2020 some time, with 10 chairs. It could be fun to do them in parallel.


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## Steve Maskery (21 Dec 2019)

MikeG.":8e855rlj said:


> Steve Maskery":8e855rlj said:
> 
> 
> > ......Next project - solid oak dining table...
> ...



There is no way on earth I am going to try to compete with you, Mike, no way.


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## Steve Maskery (21 Dec 2019)

On second thoughts, perhaps we could market it - The Great British Table-Off.
What do you think?
Nah, I was right the first time.
S


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## MikeG. (21 Dec 2019)

No, no, Steve. Not a competition, but an interesting comparison. I've no doubt you'll be using a bit more machinery than me, and I'm sure people would watch the two builds to see the different approaches. Woodwork is never a competition, and hobby woodworking should never be done against the clock.


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## Steve Maskery (21 Dec 2019)

My mate Dave has been to visit and brought his camera, which has a wider angle than mine.


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## Steve Maskery (27 Dec 2019)

I have been videoing this as I've gone along. It's one of the many reasons this has taken so long.

I've got all new kit and I'm still learning to use it, so the later episodes are noticeably better than the earlier ones, but here is the trailer. If you do enjoy it, please remember to like and share, it matters. It's the only way that this will get a wider audience. After all, there is no point in making videos that are seen by just a handful of UK woodies, is there? 

[youtube]myfdxzWwy_g[/youtube]

Enjoy!


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## woodbloke66 (27 Dec 2019)

Very nice finished wardrobe Steve and I do like the Mackintosh accent details, very classy =D> - Rob


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## Steve Maskery (27 Dec 2019)

Thank you Rob, much appreciated.

There will be 10 episodes in total, they are not all ready for publication yet. But here is Part 1 - The one about planning the project.

[youtube]2sIrLtijyYQ[/youtube]

Enjoy!


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## Steve Maskery (27 Dec 2019)

Part 2 - The one about making lots of solid lipping:

[youtube]g_fdMkX8nPg[/youtube]

The rest will have to wait a while.


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## porker (27 Dec 2019)

Great videos Steve. I have to say that I didn't get the impact of the motifs until I saw the video. They look great. Looking forward to the table build. No pressure :lol:


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## Steve Maskery (27 Dec 2019)

Part 3 - The one about cutting all those panels to size.
[youtube]TkaQVencYoI[/youtube]


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## Steve Maskery (28 Dec 2019)

Part 4 - The one about attaching all that lipping:
[youtube]xWPEAZ0HaP8[/youtube]


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## doctor Bob (28 Dec 2019)

I like the videos ( not so much for the actual woodworking side, mainly because as you can imagine I do things differently as a commercial enterprise) very well presented and also really calm, I can't stand shouty videos from know it alls.


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## Steve Maskery (29 Dec 2019)

The plinth is arguably the most involved part of the build, hence the length of this video. Designed to appeal to insomniacs...

Part 5 - The one about building the plinth:

[youtube]reI7hyvy7bs[/youtube]

Edit - replacement file due to some very weird behaviour!


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## Steve Maskery (29 Dec 2019)

Part 6 - The one about assembling the carcases:
[youtube]4nhhskKKPB4[/youtube]


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## doctor Bob (29 Dec 2019)

Loving it ................ not sure about the lederhosen though!!


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## Steve Maskery (29 Dec 2019)

At least it's not as bad as having my flies open for an entire scene...


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## doctor Bob (29 Dec 2019)

Steve Maskery":32mnlkv6 said:


> At least it's not as bad as having my flies open for an entire scene...



I'll take your word on that, don't really want to go looking for it............. :shock: :lol: :lol:


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## Steve Maskery (29 Dec 2019)

It's not hard to find :shock:


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## Trainee neophyte (29 Dec 2019)

Steve Maskery":mvo8sopb said:


> It's not hard to find



TMI!!!


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## Steve Maskery (29 Dec 2019)

I meant the clip!
I'm going to edit the post to make it sound funnier. Would you like to edit yours to match?


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## AJB Temple (30 Dec 2019)

These are top notch videos Steve. No faff - you just get straight into it. And I like how you show the use of rods and also how to make the router stabilising jig (copied that idea). Thanks.


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## Steve Maskery (12 Jan 2020)

Some mounting hardware arrived this week, so I now have a mirror on the inside of the door.


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## AndyT (12 Jan 2020)

If you're wondering what to make next, could I suggest a bigger bedside table?  

At least you didn't commit the classic eBay blunder of photographing the mirror while dressed only in your underwear...


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## Steve Maskery (14 Jan 2020)

Part 7 - The one about making the Mackintosh motifs:
[youtube]d4iaQ9bDFfY[/youtube]


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## Steve Maskery (15 Jan 2020)

Part 8 - the one about making the dentil crown moulding.
[youtube]QsYaAd2rQlQ[/youtube]


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## Steve Maskery (15 Jan 2020)

Part 9 - The one about veneering the doors.
[youtube]qdG660GvcF0[/youtube]


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## Trigs (15 Jan 2020)

cracking build Steve, really enjoyed it


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## Steve Maskery (16 Jan 2020)

And finally, Part 10 - the one tying up the loose ends.
[youtube]X6HyklG6Lfg[/youtube]


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## Ed Turtle (4 May 2020)

Steve Maskery":2f27p03w said:


> The foot plates are now screwed in. They came Bright Zinc Plated, but nevertheless I thought they would benefit from a couple of coats of paint to keep the steel and the tanin in the oak as far apart as possible. I'm using stainless steel screws, too.
> 
> 
> 
> Now I can lay out my three cabinet floors with proxy sides in place and lay my base on top. The back of the floors are flush with the inside of the back of the base, and the cross-braces sit directly over the proxy cabinet sides. I can then mark through the holes in the plates and drill accordingly.


Hi, planning something similar. Where did you get the levelling feet from please?

Thanks


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## Steve Maskery (4 May 2020)

Ebay


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## Ed Turtle (5 May 2020)

Thank you very much!


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## Steve Maskery (5 May 2020)

I should have added that I was pleased with them Good quality. Rather scruffy-looking as they are donkeys' years old, but they are not seen and anyway a coat or two of paint made them look good, too.
S


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## Ed Turtle (5 May 2020)

They look good in that they look like they would be good if that makes sense. I looked around online for ages after seeing your post, and couldnt find anything as good as those ones. Should have asked you straight away!


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