Kitchen Cabinets

[monster]

I'll face the shelves with an oak strip - got loads of off cuts from the drawers so I'll plane them to size and use maybe 3 little dominos in each and glue them in place. Just been thinking about that today actually and trying to work out whether to rout in a little detail along the face or leave them plain. If anyone has any suggestion please fire away!

 

[doctor Bob]

we used to do a detail but now like plain, tiny chamfer top and bottom, I like to lip with a piece of 37mm to create a thicker looking shelf, so you have 19mm hanging down.

 

[monster]

Thanks for that comment Bob, yes I did think of facing with a deeper profile as you suggested, and I think it would look better, then I thought of the times in the past when a shelf has got damaged and you want to turn it over and have a fresh side up! - hmmm... decisions decisions!

 

[PetePontoValentino]

I went for Movento, I think they are Blums latest runners - since I am making in frame drawers I also added the optional depth adjustment which gives the 4th dimension of adjustment. Not cheap though!

Here they are fitted in one of the cabinets:

That cabinet is absolutely stunning and exactly where I would like to go with my next kitchen (getting away from the current commercial chipboard offerings). I was concerned about doing this myself as my joints are terrible, however, having read this thread I have ordered a router and dovetail jig to see how I do.

Thank you everyone who has contributed to this thread.

 

[monster]

Cheers Pete, I'd never done anything like this before, my advice would be to research each technique and then spend time familiarising yourself with the tools and understanding how they operate.

 

[PetePontoValentino]

Cheers Pete, I'd never done anything like this before, my advice would be to research each technique and then spend time familiarising yourself with the tools and understanding how they operate.

I have watched a couple of YouTube video's on using dovetail jigs with routers and am feeling rather excited about having a go. My previous dovetails have involved mallet and chisel and have, quite frankly, been total crap.

I will return home on Sunday but see that Swiss Post will deliver my router this morning so next week is going to be interesting. I plan to start by making a simple box or even just a few joints to see how it goes, then plan the full monty. I have time as we don't plan to change the kitchen until spring, however our Aga will arrive then so we will have to make room.

Exciting times!

 

[monster]

Ha - I can feel the enthusiasm! - What jig did you go for?

If you went for a Leigh, the instructions that come with them are very good, I just followed them in test pieces, making through dovetails, variably spaced half blind, and then single pass half blind. The manual walks you easily through each and if you take time to understand how each adjustment affects the workpiece you will soon pick it up.

I ended up using the 'single pass half blind dovetails' on these drawers as they seemed the quickest to do as you are cutting both the pins and tails at the same time. You are restricted with even uniform spacing though when in 'single pass' mode.

I'm currently assembling and finish sanding the final 14 drawers at the moment - the notching for the runners is the biggest pain in the arse job as there is no easy way to automate it for such a small one off batch.

 

[monster]

Just been looking at your website Pete and your adventure in Switzerland, that looks a lovely house and a great project. Ive always had a soft spot for Switzerland - I did think there were restrictions on buying property there if you weren't a resident though..

 

[monster]

Finally got all 21 drawers finished and fitted, very happy with them, I gave them a few spray coats of lacquer out of a rattle can to seal the timber.

Also had worktop fitted, its a quartzite, so being a natural stone that is apparently harder than granite, the stonemasons struggled to machine the ogee detail that the Boss requested around the perimeter - easy for us to do such a thing when working in timber, but its a lot of material removal for stone cutting machines. The quartzite has a lot of natural fissures in it which it can crack along so a tricky job for them. It is finished and in situ now though and very happy with it.

A few little jobs to do then its on to the end panels, drawer fronts and doors - which are essentially all the same in their construction method and appearance - ie pair of rails and stiles and a centre panel - they will just vary in size. I think its 45 panels in total I will have to make.

A few up to date pics of progress so far:

 

[sammy.se]

Looks great. That's turning into a grand kitchen!

 

[robump]

Great progress Monster - looks awesome! I noted you lacquered the draws, are you going to lacquer the veneer or is it already prefinished?

 

[monster]

Great progress Monster - looks awesome! I noted you lacquered the draws, are you going to lacquer the veneer or is it already prefinished?

The drawer bottoms are pre-finished so I didn’t lacquer them - they’re 8mm Egger board - melamine faced particle board. Actually a very good match to the real oak itself! Cabinets are made of the same but in 18mm.

 

[Jonathan S]

Monster, Very nice !! I would imagine you feel very happy with the results so far.
Nice La canche I see there, last kitchen I made I had the oven built to the clients spec and they made it to high, the top ended up being above worktops by about 15mm, it actually looked ok if not better than having it flush.
What colour will the kitchen facade be?

 

[monster]

Cheers Jonathan, I think the Misses is going for an off white - she says bone colour lol. She’ll choose it but I’ll have to apply it!!

Just machining up some strips of oak today to apply to the shelf fronts.

 

[ScaredyCat]

Looks great. That's turning into a grand kitchen!

Well over a grand ....

 

[monster]

Ha, well I’m certainly having a grand time making it!

 

[Tomdw82]

Monster - Just wanted to say that looks superb! I’ve joined this forum to just continue to watch your kitchen build! (And obviously I am interested in cabinet making!)

 

[monster]

Tom, thanks very much for such kind words I've got a few more pics here I can post up. The first 3 are of the shallow spice cupboard and the final one shows the pocket door sliding mechanism that will enable the centre doors of the top half of the pantry to open and slide into out of the way.

 

[monster]

I'm in the midst of ripping down planks of tulip wood and milling them to size for the doors, drawer fronts and end panels.
I'll use a profile scribing cutter in the router table to machine up the rails and stiles and I'll hang the doors with butt hinges.
I have a question for the experienced! - What is the best way to ensure I finish up with good fitting doors - is it to make them slightly oversize and then plane to fit?

 

[clogs]

Nice work.....I'd make em a tad tight and adjust to suit each opening.....
biggest prob with solid wood doors is seasonal movement......
for specials, make em a snug fit in the winter then the gaps wont be so bad in the summer....
BUT indoor heating and humidity will also create havoc.....
I'd still go with the above.....