| Project by Elvin | posted 279 days ago | 750 views | 1 time favorited | 16 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"






























16 comments so far
Bob42
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285 posts in 684 days
posted 279 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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4827 posts in 342 days
posted 279 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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93 posts in 799 days
posted 279 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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108 posts in 580 days
posted 279 days ago
they are beautifully
-- Joe, Ga
BillG
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30 posts in 444 days
posted 279 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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61 posts in 364 days
posted 279 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.
-- PeteMoss
MyOldGarage
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95 posts in 321 days
posted 279 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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716 posts in 726 days
posted 279 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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6174 posts in 668 days
posted 279 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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953 posts in 667 days
posted 279 days ago
Well done Elvin!
-- Les, Wichita, Ks. (I'd rather be covered in saw dust!)
Karson
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25793 posts in 1294 days
posted 279 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.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
lightweightladyleftie
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413 posts in 606 days
posted 279 days ago
That’s a really great kitchen, especially for a first!
-- "But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6
DrSawdust
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231 posts in 992 days
posted 279 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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1601 posts in 736 days
posted 279 days ago
Great Lookin Kitchen
-- Jim, Kentucky
davel
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1 post in 278 days
posted 278 days ago
Great job! I hope the kids enjoy their kitchen for years!
——-Dave, Rhode Island
-- dave, Rhode Island
gizmodyne
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1674 posts in 984 days
posted 234 days ago
Great work. I missed this the first time around.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne