Trainee neophyte
Established Member
I freely admit that I have been a bit of a Muppet, and now throw myself on the good graces of the forum.
I am replacing the awful bathroom cabinet that sits under (and pretends to support) the basin in my otherwise fabulous bathroom. It is the only bit of MDF in the house, and I have always despised it. So, being the numpty that I am, I thought I would just replicate the cabinet, only using raised panels made from pine instead of the horrible MDF.
The panels (my first, by the way) look pretty much like real raised panels, and I am inordinately proud of them (even though they wouldn't pass muster in a real shop, but these are my first attempt at what I consider to be "proper" joinery.
However, here's the rub - how in hell do I attach the panels to the base, and back? I didn't make any frame, because I am copying the dimensions of the little MDF cabinet, so these panels need to butt up against each other, as the MDF ones do. The panels are stile & rail 19mm thick, 750mm tall and about 300mm wide, one on each side. The front will be two raised panel doors, total width 600mm, each hanging off one of the side panels; the back is a bit weird because it has to have space for the plumbing, so will be a around 400mm high with another stretcher (is that the right term?) above it, and no top, because the basin sits on top of it.
I have used what appears to be scaffold planks as stock (it's all I can get here in sunny Greece), but they plane up nicely, and glue up into panels etc - it's all going swimmingly well, and I'm about €10 down in costs, or €20 if you include the spares I now have, that weren't quite as anticipated, if you know what I mean :lol: If nothing else, I have learned how to make passable raised panels on the table saw, and I can use them for doors on something else if necessary. Quite what, I have no idea, but something will need some doors one day....
My thoughts were dowels (which I would have to make as I can't find any locally), loose tenons (ditto, no festool thingamajig), or a spline. It seems to me that dowels are just skinny loose tenons, or loose tenons are fat dowels, although I know that dowels are frowned upon, yet loose tenons are the best thing since sliced bread.
Do I need to start again, with a proper frame for the cabinet? Can it be done properly as is? Am I, as it would appear, a Muppet?
Available tools: table saw, router, router table -sort of (but only the one router), drill press (Lidl special, still in its box), clever drill bits that claim to make dowels, although never used in anger, an assortment of not sharp hand tools, pocket hole jig, although I would rather not.
Apologies for being a numpty.
A view of the evil MDF cabinet here below, if allowed...
I am replacing the awful bathroom cabinet that sits under (and pretends to support) the basin in my otherwise fabulous bathroom. It is the only bit of MDF in the house, and I have always despised it. So, being the numpty that I am, I thought I would just replicate the cabinet, only using raised panels made from pine instead of the horrible MDF.
The panels (my first, by the way) look pretty much like real raised panels, and I am inordinately proud of them (even though they wouldn't pass muster in a real shop, but these are my first attempt at what I consider to be "proper" joinery.
However, here's the rub - how in hell do I attach the panels to the base, and back? I didn't make any frame, because I am copying the dimensions of the little MDF cabinet, so these panels need to butt up against each other, as the MDF ones do. The panels are stile & rail 19mm thick, 750mm tall and about 300mm wide, one on each side. The front will be two raised panel doors, total width 600mm, each hanging off one of the side panels; the back is a bit weird because it has to have space for the plumbing, so will be a around 400mm high with another stretcher (is that the right term?) above it, and no top, because the basin sits on top of it.
I have used what appears to be scaffold planks as stock (it's all I can get here in sunny Greece), but they plane up nicely, and glue up into panels etc - it's all going swimmingly well, and I'm about €10 down in costs, or €20 if you include the spares I now have, that weren't quite as anticipated, if you know what I mean :lol: If nothing else, I have learned how to make passable raised panels on the table saw, and I can use them for doors on something else if necessary. Quite what, I have no idea, but something will need some doors one day....
My thoughts were dowels (which I would have to make as I can't find any locally), loose tenons (ditto, no festool thingamajig), or a spline. It seems to me that dowels are just skinny loose tenons, or loose tenons are fat dowels, although I know that dowels are frowned upon, yet loose tenons are the best thing since sliced bread.
Do I need to start again, with a proper frame for the cabinet? Can it be done properly as is? Am I, as it would appear, a Muppet?
Available tools: table saw, router, router table -sort of (but only the one router), drill press (Lidl special, still in its box), clever drill bits that claim to make dowels, although never used in anger, an assortment of not sharp hand tools, pocket hole jig, although I would rather not.
Apologies for being a numpty.
A view of the evil MDF cabinet here below, if allowed...
![2017_0422_1630_1.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/efa/efa77437b4e7e4278dc89f7006ebc60a.jpg)