Wardrobe

[Steve Maskery]

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?

 

[rafezetter]

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

 

[Steve Maskery]

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.

 

[Steve Maskery]

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?

 

[doctor Bob]

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!!!!!

 

[Steve Maskery]

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.

 

[Steve Maskery]

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.

 

[marcros]

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...

 

[Steve Maskery]

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.

 

[RogerS]

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

 

[Steve Maskery]

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

 

[RogerS]

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.

 

[Steve Maskery]

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.

 

[Steve Maskery]

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.

 

[Racers]

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

 

[Steve Maskery]

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.

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.

 

[lurker]

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.

 

[Droogs]

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/

 

[Steve Maskery]

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...)

 

[Racers]

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