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...