Bathroom Vanity Mirror

Link the whole thing by makeing the image smaller. If you are using windows XP right click and save the image in a smaller version. medium usually works. Your image hosting site also probably has image size options.

I can’t speak to the design question.

-- Dan, Sterling Alaska, Before you criticise some one, walk a mile in their shoes...then you will be a mile away and you have their shoes!

It took way longer than it should have but I think it is now cropped down to something you can see better.

-- Mike, Western New York

The H/W ratio should be about 1.618. I would follow DaveR’s advice, plus make the bottom rail wider to visually ground the piece. Dowels in the corners will add visual interest. Engraving a little something along the edge like an oak leaf would jazz it up considerably. Filling that in with black epoxy would be interesting. I do this kind of thing often by printing something out on paper, using spray adhesive to affix the design in place, then I just trace it with a small diameter burr in the Dremel tool. It takes very little artistic effort to transform the piece.

What kind of handle are you using? A custom made wood piece, possibly in a contrasting species might be nice (e.g. ebony handle to go with the black epoxy inlay). Check out James Krenov’s books. He does all kinds of things with small cabinets like this.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

Taking some of your suggestions into consideration here is the modified version. The circles are where the drawbore pins will go. I was thinking about trying to make them square on the face but haven’t decided yet. I like the idea of some engraving but did not add any to the drawing. My thought would be to put some grape vines at the bottom corners going about a third of the way up on each side.

-- Mike, Western New York

I think your new design has much more visual interest and is well balanced. Of course, it’s also starting to look decidedly Arts & Crafts, which is probably why I do like it so much.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

Thanks for the feedback, anyone see any other changes I should make? I like the new design much better than my original so thanks for the help so far.

I am currious if anyone has ideas for setting the mirror in, I just read about haunched mortise and tennon and am thinking if I did that it would be easier to make the slots in the frame as they would not have to be stopped. Does that make sense? Or should I just rabbet the back of the frame and set the mirror into that?

-- Mike, Western New York

Yes, depending on your joinery, and your methods, you might have to stop the rabbet so it doesn’t show. If your haunched tenon allows for the rabbet, then you don’t have to stop the rabbet. I recently bought a rabbeting bit for my router than has different sized bearings to make the rabbet on the inside all the way around after it’s all glued up, so I don’t have to worry stopping the rabbets anymore.

If you’re not using a beveled mirror, things are a lot easier. There are clips designed specifically to hold glass and mirrors from the inside of the door. Norm put a matching species plywood panel on the inside of his medicine cabinet to hide the back of the mirror and to make it look cleaner.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

If you are using beveled glass, you may need to size the project around the mirror blanks that are commercially available in your area.

I like what you have in your updated design. Challenge yourself and use square pegs at the surface.

-- Tony - Anchorage, Alaska