Finished the lower cabinet cases on the sink side of the kitchen, half of the cases are now built and installed!
I made the bases for the cabinets out of pine. If I had to do it again I would use poplar. When I first installed they were not the correct height. I was not sure how thick the floor would be so I waited until now to rip these to the correct height. For appearances I resawed 1/4” pieces of cherry and laminated to the bases after finishing. Once the cabinets were installed it gave them a nice look.
Once again I had some nice wide panels for the end.. they were too wide for the jointer so I broke out the hand planes before running through the planer. Worked up a good sweat here in the Georgia heat. I also made the end for the cabinet on the other side when I get there.
Unlike the upper cabinets that I built, finished, and installed one at a time. The lower cabinets I built at one time and finished at one time. This became an issue with space; I had to take over the kitchen for a couple of days while I applied the finish.
For most of the project I have done my best to not have any sap wood showing with the exception of the sink base. I had some nice pieces that I decided would help showcase the bump out sink.
This coming weekend we will add a temporary countertop and sink, this will get us back in the kitchen while we finish this project.
4 comments so far
lightweightladylefty
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#1 posted 06-28-2017 04:45 AM
MC, this is really starting to take shape! The double raised panels on the end really look great. Keep up the good work!
L/W
-- Jesus is the ONLY reason for ANY season.
EarlS
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#2 posted 06-29-2017 05:03 PM
It looks like you are getting close to the end. Looks awesome.
Were the sides of the cases plywood or solid? the interiors look like maple? Why would you have gone with poplar -weight?
-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"
MC
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#3 posted 06-29-2017 09:24 PM
Thanks L/W
EarlS the exposed sides are solid wood. Lower cabinets are Maple plywood for inside and the upper are Cherry ply on the inside . The upper cabinets will have glass doors so I wanted the plywood to match the lumber. The lowers are mostly drawers so the inside will not be seen; the cherry plywood was $50 more per sheet so i used maple where I could to save.
The pine I used came from the home center. I took care to joint and plane the material but it still warped with time. Poplar would have been more stable.
EarlS
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1891 posts in 2544 days
#4 posted 06-30-2017 05:24 PM
Oh I see now. Making the bases separate from the base cabinets makes a lot of sense. After the cabinets are set then you simply install a toe plate (1/4 plywood) over the pine. I can see where it would also make the base cabinet cases much easier to build since you don’t have to deal with the notch for the toe kick on the sides of the cabinets. Should also make the cabinets rock solid since the bases can be anchored to the floor more securely.
-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"
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