| Project by Elvin | posted 1582 days ago | 1755 views | 3 times favorited | 18 comments | ![]() |
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This is my first kitchen that I completed for my son and his wife when they bought a real fixer upper a couple of years ago. The kids did not have any budget left after their purchase and we had to gut the kitchen. My son asked what were they going to do and I told him I would make the cabinets. My son asked if I had ever made a cabinet before and I said “No, but how hard is it to make a box?” OK now all you guys and gals can stop laughing. It was one of those statements that you wish you never made but with a lot of books, videos and asking a lot of questions along with a lot of trial and error and did I mention error I meant errors, I finally finished them. I used Baltic Birch plywood with Alder wood face frames. It took me a lot longer than I anticipated But a seasoned cabinet maker told me, “El, your making kitchen cabinets not fine furniture”, and showed me some short cuts that really helped. I am very proud of the final product and so were the kids, which made it well worth while.
-- Elvin, Southern California, "How great would life be if we lived a little of it everyday"
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18 comments so far
Bob42
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451 posts in 1987 days
#1 posted 1582 days ago
Nice job! I’ll bet your son loves them. What finish did you use?
-- Bob K. East Northport, NY
Todd Thomas
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4969 posts in 1645 days
#2 posted 1582 days ago
good job…...they look good and I’m sure your son and daughter in law are very proud of them and you….well done
-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †
scarpenter002
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371 posts in 2101 days
#3 posted 1582 days ago
Beautiful job. I am sure you learned a lot that can be applied to many future projects.
-- Scott in Texas
Joe Weaver
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319 posts in 1883 days
#4 posted 1582 days ago
they are beautifully
-- Joe, Ga
BillG
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59 posts in 1747 days
#5 posted 1582 days ago
I built my first set of kitchen cabinets last summer and I agree that it is a big undertaking. You can be proud of yourself for you success. Errors happen, it’s how you handle them that determins the final outcome. I strive for perfection, but have not achieved it yet.
Your cabinets look awsome and I know you learned a lot from the endeavor.
-- Bill G - West Springfield, MA
PeteMoss
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186 posts in 1666 days
#6 posted 1582 days ago
Wow! Those look great. It’s funny…every project I undertake, from redoing an entire room to painting a single bathroom, always takes me three months to complete. It’s sort of a running joke in my family. I have a feeling if I ever tried something like that I may have to allocate three months per box.
-- "Never measure......cut as many times as necessary." - PeteMoss
MyOldGarage
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93 posts in 1624 days
#7 posted 1582 days ago
I was just looking at cabinets for the garage/shop and was scratching my head at the particle wood models that were absurdly priced. I think I might have to give it a go—your cabinets look fantastic! I don’t need anything near that pretty . . just something to utilize my space up overhead a bit better. Thanks for the great pics/inspiration!
-- Bradley Miller, Blue Springs, MO - http://myoldgarage.blogspot.com
Greg Wurst
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769 posts in 2029 days
#8 posted 1582 days ago
You did a good job. They don’t look home-built at all, which is to say they look like professionally-built cabinets (except you used better material than they would!).
-- You're a unique and special person, just like everyone else.
ND2ELK
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13495 posts in 1970 days
#9 posted 1581 days ago
Great looking cabinets Chief! You did a very nice job on these. I am sure your son and wife were pleased. Thanks for posing.
God Bless
tom
-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
Les Hastings
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1247 posts in 1969 days
#10 posted 1581 days ago
Well done Elvin!
-- Les, Wichita, Ks. (I'd rather be covered in saw dust!)
Karson
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34396 posts in 2597 days
#11 posted 1581 days ago
Great job. I’m on my second set of kitchen cabinets. Last house and current house. My wife keeps asking when I’m going to be done. The base cabinets are in and I’m working on the drawer fronts.
Nice job.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
lightweightladylefty
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2084 posts in 1909 days
#12 posted 1581 days ago
That’s a really great kitchen, especially for a first!
-- Jesus is the ONLY reason for ANY season.
DrSawdust
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298 posts in 2294 days
#13 posted 1581 days ago
Excellent work Elvin. I’m getting ready to redo our kitchen. I’d be very interested in the ‘shortcuts’ you were shown.
-- Making sawdust is what I do best
jim1953
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2568 posts in 2038 days
#14 posted 1581 days ago
Great Lookin Kitchen
-- Jim, Kentucky
davel
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1 post in 1580 days
#15 posted 1580 days ago
Great job! I hope the kids enjoy their kitchen for years!
——-Dave, Rhode Island
-- dave, Rhode Island
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