| Project by Bill | posted 196 days ago | 322 views | 0 times favorited | 10 comments |  |
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My latest project was this bathroom cabinet. The cabinet was designed to fit into the bathroom in the shop. The overall measurements are 32” tall by 28” wide by 8” deep. The idea behind the cabinet was to build it with the available cutoffs and lumber I already had onhand.
The cabinet was built in sections. The frame was made from Poplar, and was basically a rectangular box. The outside of the frame was covered with 3/4” Red Oak plywood (overkill but what I had left from some previous projects). Inside, the cabinet was lined with 1/4” Red Oak plywood. The single shelf was made from 3/4” plywood.
The face frame was made with Oak, but as individual pieces instead of a single frame mounted on the cabinet. The doors were made with Oak, and featured the 1/4” plywood for the panels. The cabinet attaches to the wall with a set of french cleats to provide the extra strength to hold this monster up.
The finish was a mission oak stain, and three layers of amber shellac.
This was my first wall mounted cabinet, so I used it as a learning experience. In the course of building the cabinet, I learned a few valuable lessons. I am sure Dennis can give me some great pointers on how to make the next one. But, the lessons were:
1. It is not necessary to use 3/4” plywood for a wall mounted cabinet that is not holding heavy items.
2. Pieces should be finished before assembly, especially the internal ones (ok, so I knew this but needed a refresher).
3. Door frames should be edged on the inside edges before cutting the grooves for the panel.
4. It is not necessary to have a frame for 3/4” plywood cabinets, especially for light use.
5. I can make decent cabinets after all.
This was a great learning project, and also helped use up some of my leftovers to clear the shop. I am looking forward to building more in the future.
-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com
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10 comments so far
pappyjohn
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138 posts in 200 days
posted 196 days ago
Bill,,, I think that it is a Totally Nice looking cabinet when I first looked at the picture I thought it was a free standing floor unit, until I started reading..Love the color ( mission oak stain )......your brother in woodworking John
-- Your Brother in WoodWorking John, Pittsburgh , PA.
GaryK
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8489 posts in 475 days
posted 196 days ago
Very nice. Nice clean and simple lines.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
rikkor
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7687 posts in 361 days
posted 196 days ago
That is very nice. The finish looks really good.
-- Maplewood, MN
TomFran
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2360 posts in 481 days
posted 196 days ago
Bill,
Great job! Thanks for all the details on how you built it too.
I think though, that I would coat that shellac with varnish, since it’s in an area that is prone to moisture. What do you think? I believe that shellac is prone to “blushing” (turning white) when exposed to humidity. Maybe others can weigh in on that.
It is a super job regardless!
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
Scott Bryan
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9116 posts in 309 days
posted 196 days ago
Hi Bill,
This is a nice looking cabinet. And you did a good job on the construction. I really like using french cleats to hang cabinets. It is so much quicker to use them than to try and hit a stud. And you don’t have any visible fasteners.
By the way Tom does have a point. Shellac does not handle water well at all. If you think that water is going to get splashed on it or there is going to be some condensation I would consider roughing up the shellac finish and topcoating it with a wipe-on poly.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Karson
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12913 posts in 887 days
posted 196 days ago
Great cabinet Bill. A nice job. If the shellac has wax in it you will need to roughen up like is stated previous. If it was de-waxed shellac. you can go right over what you have now.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
Tony
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573 posts in 517 days
posted 195 days ago
Nice looking cabinet, love the colour. You will need to make the wood impervious to water and moisture, otherwise it will swell a lot (bathrooms typically 13 to 15% MC in wood). It should not be a problem for the plywood, but the poplar will be affected.
Also as already stated the shellac will loose its lustre and go “cloudy” in the presence of water.
However, if the Bathroom in the shop, is only a WC and wash basin, then leave it and see what happens, it may not be too humid, without a shower or bath.
Keep up the good work
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Bill
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2512 posts in 648 days
posted 195 days ago
Thanks to everyone for all the comments.
Yes, I should have mentioned this bathroom is in the shop, and only a water closet. I expect it will not have a humidity problem or water splashing on it.
I thought I would try the shellac and test how it holds up. If it was an inside bathroom, I would go with the poly instead.
I used this as an opportunity to learn more about cabinet building and use some of the lumber I had laying around.
-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com
dennis mitchell
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2945 posts in 801 days
posted 195 days ago
Rule# 6…You can make a living building cabinets. Great job!
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
Napaman
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1792 posts in 564 days
posted 195 days ago
looks greeat Bill!!!
-- Matt, Napa, CA...142 days to sanity...